The wedding gown and veil have been purchased. There, I said it. I did it. I finalized the purchase of THE gown and accompanying veil. And what’s more impressive, is that I didn’t get sucked into spending more than necessary. Yes, it would have been fabulous to wear the big, bustly dresses with multiple layers and a corset with crystal details, but it’s unreasonable, too. I’m only going to wear this once. What I am supposed to do with it afterwards? Hang it on my closet door to remind me every day how big or how small I was on my wedding day? Wear it every once in a while when I feel like watching the video of that special day? I really don’t know and I’m open to ideas if anyone has them. *GOOD* ideas. Nothing like, “Wear it on Halloween and dress up as the Bride of Frankenstein.”

As much as I would like to post up a picture, I’m afraid that my fiance would have a fit. We keep having this debate that goes along the lines of:

Me: Let me show you the dress and how beautiful it is!

Him: No! Don’t you know it’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride’s dress?

Me: That only applies when she’s got it on the day of the wedding.

Him: NoOooOoo. That applies always. I shouldn’t even see what OPTIONS for dresses you were considering.

This may all be a ploy to get him out of helping with wedding-related decisions, but he’s been pretty serious about it all. He didn’t want to see how the dresses compared or how much they cost. He was ok with me getting the one that would tally up to $800 after accessories like the veil and underskirt, which doesn’t help because I know he’s not being rational. Spend $800 on my gown alone? I’d rather go lower and spend the difference on the honeymoon trip.

But that’s the other part of this gown hunt. It is incredible how much stores will charge you for things like a bra or a shoulder-length veil which isn’t much more than mosquito netting. I was offered the “special price” of $50 for the bra with 10% discount and $75 for the veil also with a 10% discount. Oh and as it turns out, you know how in movies you see the bride with the veil on her face before she meets the groom and then the groom (or her dad, I don’t really know) lifts the veil off her face? That isn’t the veil I’m talking about. THAT is a separate piece. So the “back” veil that was most reasonable to me cost $70 and the “blusher” as they call it, was $20. A longer veil with fake crystals on the edges was only $180… or more. (No thanks). I skipped on their particular bra because it offered nothing special as far as my silhouette under the dress and I made sure to listen to my conscience. Like I said, I would have loved loved LOVED a big dress with the bustles and a corset and a full length veil with fancy details on the edges, but that bundle would have been too much to pay off AFTER it was all said and done. I need to remember that I’m just a recent college grad without my first career paycheck.

So yes, I have a dress. Now it is even more official. Only a few more steps to wrap this up, like bridesmaid dresses and accessories, flowers, caterer, cake, tent, favors, registry, etc.