I spent the BEST day yesterday (and by yesterday I now mean a month and a half ago...oops!) with all of my favorite ladies (aka my bridesmaids, mom, and mom-in-law!) I made a point to ask all of my bridesmaids to be a part of my wedding before Sunday (post about that later), so I was able to use it as an official wedding planning kick off of sorts! I had been following the blog of a
boutique in Clinton, CT for awhile, when I found it through the blog of a photographer I love....see what happens when you're a wedding blog creep! They advertised a
White Carpet Appointment, which I always thought sounded like the perfect way to pamper yourself. Wedding dress shopping, unless you're interested in a legit episode of SYTTD, is designed to be with a small group of the most important opinions: aka mom and sisters. HOWEVER, I have some really close girlfriends who I wanted involved in this big moment! This is where the White Carpet Appointment comes in. You get the entire boutique to yourself for 3 hours on a Sunday, when they would normally be closed- perfect for a group of 10 women! You get champagne, snacks, a bouquet of flowers in the color of your wedding, and a photographer to capture memories of the whole thing! PLUS, a swag bag! What could be better? Before our dress shopping, we went to brunch at Chamard Vineyard, in Clinton CT. The manager at White Dress by the Shore helped make us reservations. We had an amazing brunch, and as we were getting ready to leave the photographer showed up early! She lived nearby and thought it would be nice to get photos of the whole thing.
When we got to the boutique, we were greeted by Shana and Molly, who got us set up and gave us the official "tour" of the place. I didn't really know what I wanted my dress to look like, all I knew was I wanted strapless and sweetheart! The girls all got to raid the racks and pick out dresses for me to try on, while sipping champagne.
Shana helped me start trying them on. I learned pretty quickly that I definitely was a sweetheart, strapless kind of girl...although the backs on some of the dresses with straps are TO DIE for. I mean, seriously???
At one point I was fairly sure I'd found THE dress, and was having a minor panic attack about it. Shana could not have been sweeter.... I asked if I could please talking about something else, anything else. So we went on a tour of the boutique! My bridesmaids all got to try on bridesmaids dresses, and we were able to narrow down color and style- they all agreed!! Talk about an easy going group of women :) we were even able to spend some time looking at mom dresses- which gave both moms a sense of what they do and don't want! At that point I had a clear head again, and was able to try the dress on again, and know it was the one. Obviously, there won't be any pictures of the dress now...but I am SO excited. It is beautiful and perfect, and I can't wait for Ant to see it!
