Saying "Yes" to the Dress

Someone told me that saying "yes" to the dress is even harder than saying "yes" to the fiance and boy are they ever correct on that one!

The dress shopping deserves a post of it's own....

Last year I found a dress that I L.O.V.E.D, but wasn't sure that it was "the one". It made me feel sexy, fantastic and even better I didn't have to suck my guy in when I turned sideways. I held off on buying it because he hadn't set a date and in the case that it wouldn't be last fall like we orignially wanted I didn't want to regret buying one so quickly and findly one that I ADORED later. So almost exactly 5 months from the wedding, I started to panic, because I.did.not.have.a.dress! My first instinct was to purchase the one from last year, but I questioned whether I loved it just because I felt sexy and what was it exactly that I wanted to feel on my wedding day. Was the dress "weddingy" enough?? I never wanted to be a princess on my wedding day...or did I?? So I made a last minute decision to go on Friday the 19th to try on dresses. Mary, my friend and co-worker who I look up to and wouldn't be able to write a letter to save my life at work without her, so graciouly took the day off to come with me. My personal attendant and good friend, Amanda, also accompanied me on this special day. We had lots of laughs and tears and bad directions that day!

It started off searching for about an hour in Duluth for a bridal shop that no longer existed. (But hey, I found a GREAT place to take pictures if I ever do a photo shoot in Duluth any time soon!) We finally ended up just going to David's Bridal, a much better experience this time than last time. Sara, the lady helping me was wonderful and very attentive. Not to mention great with Rylee, who came to try on Flower Girl dresses. (Which I'm not discussing...thinking of her again in those dresses brings tears to my eyes!!) I narrowed it down to 2 poofy dresses that were princessy but could not for the life of me decide on one or the other. So we went to lunch at Grandma's Restaurant to take a break and do a pro and con list of the 2 poofy dresses and the sexy dress. I decided to go to Princess Bride (home of the sexy dress) and try on some dresses to see if one would jump out at me. I only picked out about 4-5 "ok" dresses. By the 3rd one I was so frusturated and confused and getting stressed because I knew my dress should've been ordered months agao. As I unzipped the bag, I looked up with a tear and thought, "Mom, I need you here right now. I need to know what kind of dress YOU would've seen me in. If only there was a sign." I put on the 3rd dress and looked in the mirror before it was all laced up and sighed. I didn't like it. Mary came to help me lace it up and "had a feeling" about the dress. Once it was properly on and I looked in the mirror again, it was the ONE! It was elegant, it had a little bit of everything I liked in other dresses I tried on, and better yet--CHEAPER than the sexy dress!!

I later (thanks Mom!) got the "sign" I was looking for. About 5 days later, someone I worked with bought me a bridal magazine and out of the HUNDREDS of dresses I tried on, the ONLY dress in there that I tried on was MY DRESS...now that's gotta mean something!! :)

Update

We have booked the Grand Ely Lodge for our Wedding Ceremony (outdoors) and our Reception for Aug. 21, 2010!

We are currently working on setting up a block of rooms for our wedding guests. Because the rooms are above and below the Reception Area we are required to book those 10 rooms. There is one smoking room with Two Queen Beds and the rest are non-smoking rooms with Two Queen Beds or single King Beds that overlook beautiful Shagawa Lake. These rooms were completely re-modeled 3 years ago and come complete with pillow top mattresses, flat screen TV, mini fridges and microwaves. Not to mention your everyday amenities such as coffee maker, hair dryer, wet bar, iron and iron board. Feel free take a look at our website:

www.grandelylodge.com

Our block will be the Larsen/Akemann Wedding Block and the rooms will be at a discounted rate of $139.95. The 2 night minimum has been released for the group block for those of you that may only want to stay Saturday night. The block is not set up as of right now, but I will notify everyone when it is for if you'd like to make reservations! Keep in mind that the GEL has lots to offer in the summer and is great for a family vacation if you'd like to extend your stay! We have FREE canoe, kayak, paddle boats and bikes for guest use. Or you can rent a pontoon or fishing boat to check out Shagawa Lake (if you're lucky, Brad will give you some pointer for all the "hot" spots!)

We hope to see you all there!