wedding wednesday

Photo by Our Labor of Love

I am especially excited about today's Wedding Wednesday for a couple reasons. Besides the fact that it's been weeks (sorry!) since my last WW post, I'm thrilled to finally share about my wedding dress experience. And it seems even more appropriate to talk about dresses since Jenna recently showed me her wedding gown! (Side note: she is going to be the most beautiful bride and will surely knock her groom's socks off).

So here's the story of my dress. I was a strong believer in the theory that once I saw "the dress" I would just know. And that's exactly what happened. Shortly after Taylor and I were engaged, I was on OnceWed and saw this gorgeous feature:

Photos by Brion Hopkins

I almost fell over with excitement- the cap sleeves, the bodice, and the soft fabric were everything I was dreaming of and more. On the post you can even find my original comment :) The next thing I did was research the designer, who happened to be the fabulously talented Amy Kuschel.

The gown is called Margherita and after reading the description of "dreamy silk chiffon" I knew I had to try her on to know for sure. Luckily, Amy's website offers a directory of where to find her gowns, and can you believe there would only be one shop in the state of Georgia where I could find this dress?! And that shop happened to be in Atlanta! I was a very relieved bride-to-be.

I booked an appointment with Kelly's Closet, located in the heart of Candler Park, and brought all my girls to my first ever wedding dress experience. [Yes I brought 10 people with me. Yes it was overwhelming. No, I don't regret it- I'm grateful for the memory I have with each of them.]

Next thing you know, I'm trying on the dress:

I remember feeling like I never wanted to take it off and I just couldn't wait for it to be made and be all mine. The only major change I wanted to make was the addition of cap sleeves because I didn't want a strapless gown. The ladies at Kelly's Closet were very helpful and their seamstress for alterations was phenomenal. I eagerly anticipated my trips to Atlanta for my fittings and the excuse to eat at The Flying Biscuit Cafe and Fellini's.

Perhaps some brides don't like seeing their dress on other women, but I loved stumbling upon my dress on other blogs.

Photo by Our Labor of Love

I had actually used this wedding for a lot of inspiration, and it was only until much later that I realized this was the dress I picked too! (Another ironic side note- I now work for the company that planned and catered this wedding :)

Photo by Our Labor of Love

I also saw the dress (before my big day) on Ruffled. I love how the bride added smaller cap sleeves and you can just tell the gown moves easily and comfortably!

With so much anticipation, I was so relieved to finally be in my white dress, ready to marry the man of my dreams.

Photo by Our Labor of Love

You can see more lovely photos of the dress here, here, and here! Enjoy!

P.S. Isn't it a little crazy how Lauren, Jessica & I all chose the same gown AND had Our Labor of Love to photograph our wedding??