Gown Shopping

The past two days have been a WHIRLWIND! Mother and I went Bridal gown shopping yesterday in York for the perfect dress for the big day. We had an appointment at Renaissance Bridals, a rather exclusive gown shop in downtown York. One room of the huge antique building is pictured above where my mother stands in the main salon. There was another very stunning room where I tried on the gowns. It was such an amazing experience!

Yesterday I tried on tons of gowns but never settled on the perfect dress. Prior to visiting Renaissance, mom and I stopped at Lilla's Bridal Boutique, also in York. There I found many stunning dresses and one that seemed to really speak to me. Last night I slept rather fretfully, tossing and turning and wondering which gown was the right one. So this morning after mom's Bible study was over we returned to York to retry some of the gowns. We stopped first at Lilla's and I immediately felt drawn to the same stunning gown on their racks. But, at Renaissance there were several other equally stunning gowns. We sat and debated and tried to picture each at the wedding in our minds. And finally returned to Lilla's to look at the first dress. I tried it on. Nearly cried...but did very well at holding it in. And knew deep down that this was the dress. The sweet little older lady who helped us said that the perfect dress would sing to my soul, and I think this one was singing just my tune. I felt so beautiful in it, it was the most elegant dress, and absolutely perfect for me. I know now that I have the perfect wedding dress for my wedding day!

Naturally, I insisted on trying on only silk dresses because it's my favorite fabric. So there were really some absolutely gorgeous gowns that I was able to try. Usually I shop for silk gowns on sale racks or at thrift stores...my favorite places to haunt, but for this special day we could finally see that the perfect gown was worth whatever it cost.

And, we figured, we could always cut out the favors at the reception. ; )