I'm so happy to say we signed the contract with Root Photography and the deposit is in the mail! I'm so totally excited about this!!!!!!! Here's me --->
So yesterday (Saturday) I went dress shopping in Orange with my friend Valerie. I went to this shop specifically because they are the only store that has my beloved Dallas Marie in Southern California.

So I get there and they had it waiting in the room for me, then I went around and pulled a few more to try. I came out in the Dallas Marie first. The shop doesn't allow photos so Valerie had to take some covert iphone pics and this is the only one she got.
Then I snuck this picture after the appointment.
I liked it okay enough. It doesn't help that I wanted it in gold with a pink bow, and they had diamond white with a blue bow. But it was pretty, and it was my favorite of the day.
The only other one that was a contender was this cute tea length number.
I actually might have had a stronger reaction to this one than Dallas Marie. I really felt great in it. But, I felt like maybe it wasn't my style. Like, maybe I was trying to be someone I'm not. It's hard to explain.
I got home and started crying to Tim. I tell him I've tried on so many dresses and I feel foolish in all of them. I feel like I'm forcing myself to be someone I'm not in this big fancy overpriced dresses. I tell him I want to walk down the aisle in my sweatpants and favorite Hello Kitty shirt. I tell him I'm never going to find the perfect dress.
He calms me down and says, "You have the perfect venue, you have the perfect photographers, you have a sorta-okay fiance

, and you will find your perfect dress."
He's right of course, he's my perfect partner and we do have the perfect venue and the day will be perfect whatever I wear.
Fast forward to today.
There is a bakery about a mile from my apartment and once in a while I walk there to get myself a cupcake or brownie. They have AMAZING cupcakes and the one downer about our Disney wedding is we can't use them for our wedding cake. So I walk and get my cupcake and on the way back, I pass a thrift store. And what is in the window? A dress.
THE dress.
I go in and check the tag. Size 8. Jessica McClintock!
I die.
I take it out of the window and look around for a changing room. No changing room! The clerk says I can try it on over my clothes and directs me to a floor length mirror. So please picture me trying on a giant ballgown over my tshirt and shorts in the middle of a thrift store with about 30 other patrons in it. You'll have to imagine it because I didn't think to take a picture of me in it while at the store. I really wish I had, it was quite the funny sight.
So anyway, the dress doesn't zip all the way up. But for such a great price, really, can I pass this up?
I buy the dress, the clerk stuffs it in one of those plastic grocery-style bags, and I walk a mile home with my wedding dress in a bag. How crazy is this???
So here's my dress! I am hoping I can get it altered into a corset back and the top will fit a lot better. When I hold the top tight it looks so good, you guys. You will just have to trust me.
This whole time dress shopping I was trying to stay away from ball gowns, and that's what I ended up with! I guess I do want the princess look after all!
