I have finally decided to blog about our wedding. I could not have been more pleased with how everything turned out and I would like to think that I did a great job planning and doing it on my own. I cannot wait for the day ::in the long distant future I'm sure:: that I can do this for other brides and for a living.
Without further ado...
The Dress
I am in love with my dress, still! It is perfect and exactly what I wanted when I set out to find it. I have always known exactly what I wanted for my wedding and although certain things changed as I grew older, my dress never did. I have always wanted something timeless and vintage. I love lace and never wanted anything more or less. I knew that I did not want a ballgown or a mermaid and that strapless was 100% out of the question. I always wanted some sort of sleeve to keep the dress in place and something very simple and flowy. What I found completely blew me away could not have been more perfect.
The day I found my dress I had made 3 appointments. I set out on a Saturday in October with my mom, sister-in-law and another bridesmaid. We went to the shop that I was hoping to find my dress at first. I set this shop up first because I wanted to find my dress from there and thought that it would be easier to cancel the other two later in the day then to be disappointed the whole morning while I waited to go to this shop.
Renfro's is a wonderful small boutique in Placerville owned by two sisters from England. These two ladies are the sweetest things you will ever incounter. They want nothing more than to help you find the perfect dress. At Renfro's each bride gets the boutique to themselves for searching for the perfect dress. You get an hour and if you do not find what you want you can always schedule another appointment to continue your search. They go with you through their selection and pick out ones that you are interested in. They, of course, pull a few dresses that are not what you are thinking of just to make sure that you see every possibility. Once you have selected a few dresses you start the try on process. I love that you have the entire place to yourself so that their is no pressure from strangers looking or judging what you try on ::and we all know that we love to do that at David's Bridal::
The first dress I tried on was just a silly one. I knew that I was not going to buy it, but it was the only one that I was willing to try on that was not what I was interested in. It was gold - yes, gold - and had black lace detailing. I would have loved this dress if it came in Ivory and was not a ballgown.
The second dress I tried on was a close contender to the one I chose. It was all an all lace simple dress with skinny sleeves and a jeweled embelishment under the bust. It was very gorgeous and felt good but wasn't exactly what I wanted due to the fact that I wanted more lace and less bling.
The fourth dress I tried on - yes I know that I skipped dress #3 but that is on purpose - was almost identical to the dress that my sister-in-law wore at her wedding. It was simple and gorgeous and hugged in all the right places. It was perfect, but for her wedding, not mine. It was strapless and had absolutely no lace on it. It flowed and had an embelishment that sparkled. I liked it but did not feel like I would still love it a year after purchasing.
The third dress I tried on was the winner. I knew it from the second I tried it on. I loved everything about it. It was all lace, had a smaller train, no embelishments, buttons all the way up the back, lace over the entire back, ivory, cap sleeves with a satin underlay. It was my dress and I knew it. I had the feeling that everyone says you will have. They are right when they say that there is no right or wrong answer just what feels right. This dress felt A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!
Needlesstosay I cancelled the other two appointments I had made and purchased the third dress I tried on. I think subconciously I knew that it was the one from the second I picked it out. I loved everything about it on the hanger and putting it on did not change that.
My favorite thing about Renfro's - besides the owners - are their prices. These wonderful ladies offer you amazing dresses in a small boutique with a one-on-one experience for under $1000! I am very frugle with most things in my life and my wedding was not going to be any different. I could not see myself spending a TON of money on a dress that I will wear once for 8 hours and my daughters will most likely not want. I could not have been more happy with their prices and the fact that they do the alterations themselves so you don't have to worry about transporting your dress to multiple places.
I highly recommend this shop and can't wait to see who else finds their dream dress there.
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