dress shopping
Yesterday, we kicked off the wedding planning for Sarah (my to-be-sister-in-law) by starting our dress shopping. Sarah and Megan and Leah and me, armed with my pile of maps to well known bridal stores in the area.
I’m pretty sore from walking around all day, but I remember when we were planning my wedding, and that was one of the longer days that took a lot out of me even then, so since I made it through this, I am happy. 
Sarah had liked the look of off-the-shoulder simpler dresses when looking on the internet. But the lady at the first store suggested that she try on a variety of styles to confirm that. It was a great suggestion, and Sarah got such a better idea of what styles were good on her. Even though she hadn’t thought of wearing a strapless dress, it showed off her shoulders and neck so nicely that she tried on a few more. Ann, the store lady, found "The One". Its gorgeous. Sarah twirled around in it a bunch, and we took pictures, and then she tried a few more on before putting The One back on again. Plus, it was considered an Informal by the design company, so it was just under $300, which was Sarah’s budgeted amount.
Since that was our first store, we couldn’t imagine that we were really that lucky, so we went on to 3 other places, including David’s Bridal, which we were SO unimpressed with. And the other two stores had nothing even remotely nice for that price range. By the end of the evening, Sarah was very sure in her decision about The One, and Megan was taking her back today to put a down payment on it and get it ordered. Especially since its exactly 4 months from today that the wedding is planned for; it’ll be really tight getting it here on time.
And the great thing? The first store is only about 15 minutes from their house, so it’s going to be way easier than any of the other options. And they pay sales tax for WA buyers to encourage them to shop on this side of the river (OR has no sales tax). Its really a blessing that we found it, and Ann was absolutely wonderful to Sarah, so its great all the way around.
Leonard went and got their taxes done at a real place because of buying the duplex and having Leah—because it was kinda gonna be beyond my knowledge to get them the best write-offs. Unfortunately, the Carlton Sheets program ended up not being an accredited institution, and because L didn’t have his business license at the time he signed up for it, its not considered a full lifetime learning credit. Which cut their refund down $400 from where they originally said. :sigh: The refund money is all they have for the wedding, so $400 is a big chunk. Sarah’s mom doesn’t work, and has a lot of issues with abusing prescription medicine not prescribed to her, so L and S are paying for the wedding themselves. Dad originally said he’d take care of the food, but he didn’t tell mom that, so we don’t know if that’s gonna happen or not. Anyhow, so I’m doing all the paper stuff (invitations, programs, etc.) and decorations and flowers, and we are using as much leftover stuff from my wedding as we can. Just looking at prices on things is making me breathe a bit heavier, and I wish I could give them a pile of money. Hopefully I can sneak a few things in here and there to help them out without breaking my bank.
I’m so excited for this, though. Its been a long time coming - they’ve been engaged since late summer of 2002, and Leah was born in that time span.
