About a week ago Sarah, Lindsay (Sarah's roommate) Whit's Mom (Janice) and I traveled from Chattanooga to Atlanta to look for a wedding dress. For those that are not aware - Sarah and Whit are getting married June 20th. Whit's sister had purchased a dress there when she got married - Sarah had looked around in Nashville and Memphis and not finding exactly what she wanted - thought a trip to Atlanta was in order. ROAD TRIP!
We had a great time - left early in the morning - saying bye to Mike, Whit and his Dad (Bill). They were left to their own devises for the day and I think looking forward to it. A quick drive through at Mickey D's and we were on our way!!
For those that have not gone through the "pick out a wedding dress" ritual - let me enlighten you - it is sooooooooo much fun but if you allow it it can become VERY stressful!! We had a 10:00 appointment at Bridals by Lori. First you met your "wedding dress specialist" - her name was Marissa - who asked the bride to be questions - her likes, her dislikes, etc as far as wedding dresses were concerned. I won't bore you with all the details but eventually we were seated in front of a HUGE mirror - Sarah was in a dressing room and trying on the dresses she and Lindsay had carefully selected. She would come out and "model" each dress - looking to us for our opinion. Janice and I laughed and thought it would have been fun if we had brought little cards to hold up - to rate the dress - each time Sarah came out - you know - 1 - 10 or maybe a thumbs up or thumbs down type thing. Remember - we're having a good time.
You know - each dress looked great on Sarah - but I will say that when she walked out in THE dress - the one she eventually picked out - I KNEW it was the one - as Sarah would say - it was AMAZING!! I won't go in to any details on what it looked like - don't want to give that away before the wedding but even though it took Sarah almost all day to decide -a trip to another bridal shop - lunch and then a mall visit to help clear our heads - I KNEW it was the dress and hoped that she would decide that too.
I must say that I thought I was holding up pretty well through all this - friends had warned me - you are going to cry - you are going to BAWL when she comes out in wedding dresses - I did tear up when she came out in the AMAZING dress but it wasn't until she was in the "accessories" room (yes - you go to a different area for veils, etc) and the sales person put a veil on her head that I had to leave the room!! All I was picturing was Sarah - in a little smocked dress I made for her and her hair up in pig tails and then buddy - the tears started. I thought about how she and Christopher use to dress up and do performances for us and how she would have loved a little wedding dress to dress up in. But - here she was - grown - beautiful and ready to get married and start her own family. I was overwhelmed. Don't think you really realize that the wedding is actually going to happen until you see them in the dress!!!
One of the things - when I was diagnosed with breast cancer - that really upset me - was that I wouldn't be able to beat the cancer and wouldn't see Sarah get married. For those that haven't gone through that - you have no idea of the things you think about - of the things you regret not doing and the things you so hope that you are ABLE to do in the future. I have seen Christopher get married and was there when he and Emily had little Noah - so fortunate to be here for those things. Now I'm going to be able to watch Sarah - in that amazing dress - get married to Whit and start their life together. I thank GOD for moments like that.
I know when Sarah walks down that aisle - yes - she will be beautitful - she will be radiant - the dress WILL be amazing but what I will be seeing is the little girl - in the smocked dress and the cute little pigtails - smiling at me!!! I love you Sarah!!
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6 comments:
Oh my word, I think you need to put a disclaimer at the beginning of this post: May cause tears! This is beautiful, and I love reading about it from your perspective. And if you think you're emotional now, just wait for the wedding! My mom was a mess. On our wedding video, every time there's a shot of her, she's blinking her eyes really hard b/c she's trying not to cry.
I can't wait for the wedding!
My goodness! This was a tough one to get through. I've seen those pictures of Sarah in her pigtales and little smocked dress, smiling ear to ear - it's so innocent and at the same time it's like she's telling you she's up to something. It's hard trying picture Sarah in her dress and having no clue what it looks like, especially when other people have seen it! But it is my surprise to receive and I can't wait for it. Thanks for this beautiful post.
Okay..so I was riding in the car with Lindsay and Haley on our way to get a little breakfast when I read this on my phone. Let's just say I looked out the window for awhile....:) I had an absolute blast looking for my dress and I CAN'T WAIT to wear it!!!! Thank you for all you have done so far!!! We are going to have so much fun!!!!!!!
OK, Ive had my cry for the day!!!! And I'm like you, when Sarah walks down the aisle in her beautiful dress, I will see a little girl with dog ears in a smocked dress. She may even be looking up at me with one eye closed and her bottom lip trembling, but I really think that I will be the one with the bottom lip trembling!!! Love, Mom
That is exactly the feeling I had when Miranda walked out in her dress and when she walked down the aisle(sand). When Justin got married, I saw a little boy standing, nervously waiting on his bride.
They just grow up too fast!
You and Sarah have so much fun ahead of you! Enjoy each and every minute. Relax and have a blast on that trip in January, because when you get home, it's full speed ahead!
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