Once in a lifetime...

To our delight, our daughter, Chelsey, has announced her engagement to a wonderful, handsome, fun, responsible, mature, hard-working, home-town boy, Dan Schenevar!!!  We couldn't be happier.  Not only will she be marrying a partner who will love and support her, but we have been FLUNG into a frenzy of wedding planning! And it is FUN! 

I wasn't terribly picky about my wedding details.  I don't remember the sheer enormity of decisions, and I know plans were much simpler back then- especially for a "flower-child" of the 70's.  I wore a long, white dress snagged off the Sale rack from a department store- $62.14!  Our wedding was held outside in a meadow with metal chairs borrowed from the local church.  My father grew the flowers used to decorate, and my parents lashed together two saplings to form the cross under which we recited the vows we'd written ourselves. It was beautiful, and it's lasted 33 yrs. so far!

 

But our daughter's wedding will be different.  It will be hers and Dan's- and that's exactly how it should be.  And it's exactly how I want it to be... because NOW, I'm able to do some things with my daughter, that I missed out on doing with my Mom.  

Like- wedding dress shopping!

Last week, Bruce and I flew to Birmingham, AL, where Chelsey and Dan are living, to celebrate Chelsey's birthday, see where they live, see all their favorite places and things, AND go shopping for Chelsey's bridal gown!  

A once-in-a-lifetime experience for me, as I only have one daughter. 

Chelsey's cousin, lovingly offered to loan Tess (our nickname for Chelsey- long story) her GORGEOUS wedding gown, so we got to start the process soon after we arrived in Birmingham!

The dress was amazing, all lace and beading and tiny rhinestones.  Chelsey looked and felt like a Princess.

  As far as I was concerned, that was IT- But, we decided to keep our appt. at Alfred Angelo's, just for the fun of the experience.  (Secretly, I was pretty sure if Tess went to the bridal store, she'd find her OWN gown.  I've watched enough of those bridal shows to deduce that plus, Chelsey kept saying, "What if someone spills something on Emily's dress? What if someone tears it?" etc.  I knew Emily would be understanding, but Tess would feel TERRIBLE).

The next morning, three of Chelsey's bridesmaids met us at the store.  Only two of them KNEW they were bridesmaids. Although Chelsey had listed Donna, Lauren and Kate as being bridesmaids on her wedding website, the only person she HADN'T told (or asked) was Kate!

Kate was SO cute when Chelsey asked!  AND she said yes!

So, we all dived in to shopping!

We spent a short amount of time, looking through color swatches for the bridesmaids, but soon we got down to the business of trying on dresses.  Chelsey's friends were invaluable. They gave constructive pointers, and suggestions, but their main concern was what Chelsey thought about each dress.  They were NOTHING like so many of those people you see on those bridal shows!  They made the experience so much FUN!

Dress 1 was pretty, but heavy, and not really Chelsey's style.

We all liked the belt, though.

Dress 2 was AMAZING!  We didn't think we were going to like it when it was on the hanger, but it was truly stunning when she tried it on.

Once again, though, it was heavy, with a long train that made movement difficult.

Dress 3 looked a bit like Chelsey's cousin's dress- only no where near as pretty.  

She disqualified that one pretty quickly.

So- on to dress 4

Personally, I LOVED dress 4.

The bodice was beaded, and I thought it draped so prettily. 

She kept this dress out as one of the contenders.

Dress 5 became another contender.

We were all big fans of the ruching on the dress, and the lovely roses on the bottom of the skirt.

It wasn't too heavy, and the train was manageable.  Definitely, another contender.

She tried on a few more dresses....

and then...

she found it.

(here's the SPOILER ALERT!!!  

If you are DAN! or you don't want to see the dress until the big day, here is where you need to exit the post!)

The last dress hanging in the dressing room was left for last for a reason.  Tess didn't think she'd like it. It was very different from the others, But, since Chelsey LOVES different, she decided to give it a try.

It was a different material than the others- but it was soft and flowy.

It had the ruching she liked so well, as well as a beautiful drape in the back.  The train wasn't too long, it was light, and she felt like she could move....

And

She looked like a Goddess!

This is it! THE one!

(we'll have to tape the one sleeve in place! :)  

And just like that- it was over. 

Now, we'll move on to the other preparations, but I'm so grateful to have been a part of this experience.