My first love

They say you never forget it. Your first love...the one that made your hands go clammy, and your heart go pitter-pat. The one you envisioned yourself with, on a very special day in the not-too-distant future, surrounded by your family and friends...


This was mine:

What did you think I was talking about??

I found this dress in a wedding magazine one day at work, about a year before I got engaged. Let's face it, I'm a girly-girl ("I don't want He-Man! He's a boy! I want She-Ra!"), and I luuurve wedding magazines. I've always paged through them, whether I was single, in a new relationship, or waiting for a proposal - none of this halts my enjoyment of wedding stuff! Anyway, so I spotted this dress and immediately knew I HAD to have it. It was perfect - it had straps, a nice cleavage-enhancing V-neck, a full skirt that was princessy without being poofy, and a lovely slimming bodice. Drool, smack chops, etc. I had no idea where - or if - I could get this dress in South Africa, but I didn't care - I was going to wear a dress like that One Day When I Got Married, so there.

Well, it didn't work out like that. First, there was the problem of unavailability. Then I found a shop that imported Jasmine gowns. I thought I had it made! BUT. Huge BUT. They wouldn't import it for me without my paying for it upfront. So basically I'd be paying for a dress I'd never even seen, let alone tried on. And how much would I be paying? Nine and a half THOUSAND Rand. For a dress that might look really crap on me, or even just really ordinary. Ummm...no, thanks.

So my next option was to look for a dress that was similar. Except no one seems to carry dresses that have that sort of neckine! It's all strapless, strapless, strapless. And I was convinced I didn't WANT strapless, because of the inevitable tugging on the bodice all night that I was sure would ensue! However, the lack of options didn't leave me with much choice, and luckily the strapless dresses don't actually look too bad on me.

This one is okay but not great...

This one makes me look like I'm wearing a big satin apron...


I loved this one, but it looks a little plain (I apologise for how dorky I look)


So I moved on and up in my choices! Ok wait, this one is almost the same idea. It's very pretty, though. The bodice was covered in sparklies. And I'm totally having fun! That, or bored of having my picture taken.


So I moved on and up, really this time. I went all bold and tried a split-front skirt! Whoa, baby, hold me back!


Somewhere in the midst of this I also tried on a sheath and a mermaid, but somehow we didn't get pictures because I didn't really like them on me...and, frankly, I didn't know I'd be blogging about the whole thing! *Bangs head* Always get picture documentation, dammit! Have I learnt nothing from Weddingbee?

And that brings me to my final dress choice, which....



**drumroll**



I'm not going to post. Not yet, anyway. But I will say that it's not too far a departure from the last one, because, despite all the trying-on and time-wasting, I know what I like! (I've spoken about it here) And, yes, I love it even more than my first love. I can't wait to wear it on that special day, surrounded by my friends and family.


PS - When I was fifteen, this was going to be my wedding dress! Oh, the joys of early 90's Days of Our Lives!

You can't see the skirt, but believe me, it was POOFY.