I Said Yes to the Dress!

Wow! This popped up in my photo timeline.  3 years ago today, I said yes to the dress.  This was such a great experience.

Castle Couture was the second bridal boutique that I went to.  The first boutique I went to with my family, I tried on mermaid style dresses. I took my mother, grandmother and aunt.  They came to NJ for our engagement party.  I figured this would be a great experience for my grandmother to see the first of all the grandchildren to get married.  Who wouldn’t want to see one of their granddaughters try on wedding dresses?

So why did I try on only mermaid style dresses?  I think people, especially my hubby expected me to wear a form fitting dress because that’s my style.  I love to show off the curves.  I will say that I did fall in love with one of the mermaid style dresses, but I was not ready to commit.  Although I was 80% close to saying yes to the dress.

My family (mother and sister) and my hubby’s family(aunt and cousin) went to Castle Couture with me 4 months later, which was the second bridal boutique.  Why did it take me an entire 4 months to go to my second bridal boutique you may be asking yourself? Story for another time.  I will just say that my family did not make my wedding experience one of the best.  Anyway…

This time I decided to try on a-line wedding dresses.  I knew I didn’t want a ballgown, but I still wanted to feel like a princess.  We all fell in love (well not my sister) with two dresses, but I still didn’t commit.  I knew it would be one of the two.  However, I  pretty much knew which one I would choose. It would have to be customized because it had sleeves and wasn’t really a sweetheart neckline, which you can’t tell in the photos. My consultant worked magic with some bobby pins.

I had to decide if I wanted the mermaid style from the first boutique or the a-line dress from the second boutique.  Without a doubt, it was the a-line dress.  I actually felt like a bride in that dress. 

The day I said yes to the dress, which was about 2 weeks later, I did not have anyone to go with me. I was very sad about it. My hubby told me not to cancel my appointment.  He said that it’s actually better that I will be there by myself without different opinions. So… I decided to go on my own and it was actually the best experience. Like my now hubby said, I had no influence by friends or family. Just me and my consultant, Arianna.  Not sure if she’s still there, but she was the best ever!   

I will not lie to you.  When I first arrived, the sadness returned because other brides were there with a support team.  But I will say as soon as I started trying on the dresses again, that sadness went away and it became a great experience.  I talked with my consultant and made my suggestions.  I had no one to tell me they don’t like my suggestions or make their own.  It was perfect!

Missing You!

On this day 4 years ago at 6:32pm, I sat next to my dad’s hospital bed as he took his last breath.  It was a surreal moment…something that will never leave my mind.  I was in complete shock, as I never expected that to happen.  I will never get over that moment.  It’s something that I relive in my head all of the time.  And after 4 years, I  still haven’t really grieved.  I think I just keep it bottled up in me.  It’s almost as if I’m in denial and don’t want to face the obvious reality. 

There are literally times where I wonder if he’s really gone.  He literally did not look like himself when he passed.  According to the funeral home, we had to do a close casket because he didn’t look  good enough for a viewing.  So I’m literally driving myself crazy with all these thoughts in my head.  I know my dad would want me to move on and be happy, but how can I fully be happy when a big piece of my heart is missing???  Grief is a beast…

And P.S. I know I said literally so many times.  My dad use to tease me about that.  I literally said it all the time.  Lol.

There was a leak in our main bathroom a couple of weeks ago and we had to call a plumber.  The first thing I said to my brother was that our dad would have been able to detect the leak and fix it himself.  My dad was the go to for everything in my life.  Anything that went wrong with my house or car, he was the first person I would call.  I would not make a major purchase without getting his advice first.  Anyway…

They say everything happens for a reason.  I’m still trying to figure this one out. 

Love you daddy.  I literally miss you every single day.  Not a day goes by that you’re not on my mind.