THE dress

When it comes to getting married, we all know that it begins and ends with the dress, right?? I'm kidding. In reality, marriage is about so many more important things, but the dress is still pretty darn important. Doncha agree?

What I knew going in:
- I've known for years, literally since I can remember, that I wanted a lace dress.
- I've never been a ballroom, princess gown type of girl, so I knew that I wanted a more fitted silhouette.
- Although not entirely opposed, I wanted to try to stay away from strapless dresses.

Aside from those things, I embarked on dress shopping with a very open mind. My mom lives in Mobile, AL, so naturally that's where the dress shopping originally started. We visited a darling shop there called Something New. For any brides in the Mobile area- I loved this store and highly recommend it! I found a Priscilla of Boston gown there that I absolutely ADORED! It was gorgeous and so romantic. Although it was not lace, the shop owner convinced me to try it on because it had just arrived in the store that day. I loved it so much that I was thisclose to purchasing it! However, something was holding me back- maybe it was the fact that it was not the full lace gown that I envisioned myself in. I'm not sure what it was, but in hindsight, even though it was a gorgeous dress, I'm glad I did not jump the gun. I decided to do a little more shopping before making a final decision. After visiting Something New, Mom and I hit up quite a few more stores, but nothing really excited me or screamed "This is YOUR dress".

A few weeks later, Clint's family came to Birmingham to visit. His mom, his sister, his grandmother and I set out on another all-day dress shopping trip. We visited several stores on this trip, too, but most notably was Ivory and White. At this shop, I met Lauren, and little did I know that this would be the first of many meetings. I tried on several dresses at this boutique- all gorgeous gowns. At some point, I tried on a gown that Lauren had selected for me based on my description of what I liked. Wow. The minute I put the Liancarlo gown on, I knew it was THE dress. It was everything I had envisioned since I was a little girl and EXACTLY what I wanted. It happened to be strapless, but I was so in love with the dress that it did not matter. I sent my mom pictures and she loved it as well. The measurements were taken, the order was placed, and that was that. I officially had THE dress!


My dress was created by Liancarlo- an AMAZING designer out of Florida. Here is a sketch from his most recent collection- inspired by Natalie Portman's character in "Black Swan".




Here are a few photos of the adorable boutique Ivory & White located in Crestline Village (also HIGHLY recommended). Be sure to ask for Lauren- she rocks! :)





This photo was taken during lunch at Cheesecake Factory on the day I found my dress.




And finally, last but not least, here are my first photos taken in MY dress!




Note: My veil also came from Ivory & White. They carry a line called Mayra's Veils- absolutely gorgeous creations!