By Melissa Martin

We have all seen the show “Say Yes to the Dress” on TLC. Like every girl, before I was engaged I dreamed about my wedding: the perfect dress that I would wear walking down the perfect aisle, in the perfect church, to marry the perfect groom! I have seen too many episodes of that show to admit but one thing I took from all those women in all those shows—I was not going to be one of those brides that listened to everyone from their cousin to their best friend to the future mother. I did not want to sit in a room with my friends and family clouding my thoughts about what I truly wanted in a dress! Everyone knows that when we go to a movie and watch the previews, suddenly we all become professional movie critics, telling the person next to us which movie is a bomb and which one you can’t wait to see. Well, woman in dress shops suddenly become Tim Gunn from “Project Runway” looking you up and down like you are a complete wreck! Well, no sir. That’s not for me!

So there I was in Puerto Rico—total time engaged less than 24 hours—and I looked at my fiancé and said to him I was going to grab us some drinks. As I walked out of the hotel, lo and behold, across the street was a beautiful bridal shop. I thought, “Oh, what the heck! I’ll just go in for a look.” No harm in that, right?

I went into the store in cutoffs and an oversized T-shirt covering my swimsuit top and realized immediately that this was no David’s Bridal. I felt completely underdressed and wanted to turn around and leave when a sweet voice said, “Hola, que le puedo ayudar?” (Spanish for “Hi, can I help you?”)

Her welcoming smile made me feel comfortable enough to respond that I was just looking. She then asked me what style wedding dress I was looking for, and I gave her a list of the things I had thought about since I was five years old! She pondered for a minute and said something in Spanish and left. I decided that she probably thought, “Oh, what a waste of time,” and ran to hide in the back.

As I stood there, not really knowing what was going on, the nice saleslady reappeared and signaled for me to follow her upstairs. She had lined up several gowns for me to try on. She walked me over and started explaining the different styles and designers. She quickly whipped through every dress until she came to the last one, which she held up and in English said, “You try this!”

After tying and pinning me into the gown, I started to feel more and more like a princess. Once she was done, she opened the dressing room door and walked me to the mirror. I took a deep breath and looked at myself. I immediately fell in love with the dress! The only thing I could do was cry. This was the first and only dress I had ever tried on with no one with me, I said, sobbing, to the saleslady. “Exactly how can I get this dress back home?” She smiled and told me that shipping was easy to the States, and she and her helpers began alterations right away.

After I ran my card for the most expensive item I have ever purchased besides my car, I felt excited and content with my decision and headed back to hotel. As I put my key in the door, I realized I had not only forgotten the drinks, but I had been gone for more than an hour! The door to the hotel flew open and Josh looked at me and said, “Where were you? I was about to go look for you!”

“I have good news and bad news,” I said. “Good news is I bought my wedding dress! Bad news is, as you can see, I forgot our drinks.”

I think he realized, in that moment, that times like this were going to happen a lot in our life together, and he seemed to be okay with that. What I most want everyone to remember: choosing your dress is like choosing your husband; you go with your first instinct. This should be the way you choose everything for your wedding! Never second-guess yourself or constantly think you will find something better. This will lead to a path of lonely craziness.

Until next time, friends, keep your friends close and your bride’s maids closer.

Tags: Event Planning, events, local restaurants, party planning, Pensacola, Wedding

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Decir Sí a la Vestimenta: Say Yes to the Dress