Sunday Confessional: I Went to Shop for a Wedding Dress with my Fiancé !

The wedding planning process is full of ups and downs. If you feel overwhelmed and stressed out, trust us you are not alone.  So we present to you our weekly Sunday Confessional.  We want to give you a space to share your stories, opinions and advice about your wedding planning process and your actual wedding day.  Confess and be truthful.  Your story may inspire a future bride, or just put a smile on someone’s face.  So here I go : )…

We all want to look perfect for our man on our wedding day, but how much say should your fiancé have in determining your wedding look?  I am not ashamed to say I was planning my wedding day look way before my fiancé, John, popped the question :  ).  While we were dating, I forced John to watch TV shows such as, TLC’s “Say Yes to the Dress,” and “My Fair Wedding” with wedding planner extraordinaire, David Tutera. Luckily, he was nice enough to sit through my wedding shows, as long as I sat through all of his football games.

While the brides on the shows were trying on dresses I would causally look over at him and ask, “What do you think about that dress?”  After a couple of episodes I found out that he hated my favorite types of  gowns: ball gowns and dresses with ruffles.  My heart sank.  I showed him several dresses I had been looking at, and told him to be honest.  I got responses such as, “That’s too plain,” “That looks like toilet paper,” “That looks like a bird,” “That looks like a cloud,” “That looks like two different dresses put together; it doesn’t make sense.”  Finally, after seeing the growing look of disappointment on my face, he said, “BUT, this is your dress!  As long as you’re happy, I am happy.”  Well it was too late.  My feelings were hurt, but I couldn’t be mad because I asked him to be honest.  At the time, I was determined to get a dress that the both of us would love. So I did the unthinkable.  I took John to go wedding dress shopping with me.

As soon as the both of us hit the bridal salon door, the staff looked at me like I was crazy. The woman helping me pulled me to the side and whispered, “Is that your fiancé?”  “Yes,” I smiled and replied confidently.  “Are you sure you want him here?” she asked.  I nodded my head “Yes.” “Okay,” she said reluctantly responded.  We decided to show John and my maid of honor all the dresses we pulled, and get their opinion.  However, we would not tell John which of the dresses I decided on, so there would still be an element of surprise.  I tried on one dress that I absolutely loved and had been looking at for months.  When I walked out both John and my maid of honor shook their heads, “No” and gave their critiques. I smiled, tried to pretend my feelings were not hurt and went back into the dressing room.

I ended up getting a dress that we all liked, but the next day I told John I had made a mistake.  John felt guilty and reiterated that “It was MY dress, and that I would look beautiful in whatever I chose.” This time I actually listened.  I said to myself, “You know what.  I appreciate John and my bridesmaid’s opinions, but I am going to get a dress that I love.  Everyone else will just have to deal with it.” I sold the dress I bought online and began my wedding dress search again. This time, I went by myself.  I had been looking at dresses for months so I knew what was out there; I knew what looked good on my body; I had a better idea of the feel and theme for my wedding and the type of dress that would complement it, and most of all I wasn’t concerned about other people’s opinions.  I am truly happy with the choice I made and I can’t wait to share it with you this July.

Did you take your fiancé wedding dress shopping with you? Tell us how it went!

Love this cute clip from an episode of “Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta.” This bride took her fiance wedding dress shopping and it went well!

[youtube url=”http://youtu.be/1FVoi57kGog”]

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