"The Bride is the most important person"

Before you blast me for being a narcissistic, self-loving female, I do not agree with the above title but consider it necessary to headline this blog edition, featuring my hunt for the dress. In all, I did not exactly know what I wanted in a dress except for three important conditions: 1.) It must not swallow me whole. 2.) It must not be outrageously priced. and 3.) It must be comfortable enough for me to enjoy the plethora of food and dancing the evening was sure to entail. What I did know was that I was anxious to get the process finished because I have a hard time mustering up enough enthusiasm toward a single dress that I would only wear for a few hours. Take the Homecoming gown for example, the number of oohs and aahs I produced could never quite live up to the expectations of the sale associates. "Are you excited?" they would ponder. "Ohhhh yes, it's beautiful. I feel like a princess," I would croon back in a voice dripping with the last bit of energy I had left to offer. These shopping trips usually left me exhausted. 

It came as no surprise that my very first trip to a bridal shop I wanted to buy the very first dress that I tried on. I don't remember much of what it looked like, but it was oversized and frumpy looking on me. It didn't matter. I still begged my mom. Somehow, being the reasonable person that she is when it comes to shopping, she convinced me to go back to Raleigh and continue the search.

Once again, my outlook toward Bridal Things was transformed. While I still resented the fact that most sales associates shared the same opinion that the bride is the most important person so why not splurge on a multi-thousand dollar gown, my excitement for trying on the elegant material was beginning to not to come across as so fake. After all, this was a dress that I would be wearing as I entered into the sacrament of marriage with a person I love and with whom I will spend the rest of my life. No offense to my past Homecoming dates, but this whole wedding shindig was shaping up to be a whole lot of a bigger deal than some night swaying awkwardly back and forth in a school gym. I won't go as far as to say that I wanted to look like a princess, but I wanted to look nice. 

So I went to bridal boutique after bridal boutique only to turn up fruitless each time. Too itchy. Too tight. Too expensive. Too overdone. While the dresses were, indeed, beautiful, none of them were me. I was simple and needed to think simple. My mom had the idea of looking at bridesmaid dresses that were white (What bridesmaids actually wear white??). Finally, I found one that fit all three of my criteria and knew in an instant it was perfect ( I vowed not to use the words "perfect" and "blessed" in my blogs, but I already blew the whole perfect thing in the engagement story, so I might as well start spewing that word around now.). More importantly, the lady did not try to convince me to get something more expensive, frilly, or flowing, stating that the bride is the most important person. 

Because in reality, the bride is not the most important person. She should not have to be placed on that pedestal and forced to live up to unrealistic expectations. She's going to make mistakes and mess up. She's not always going to look beautiful and put together.  When she fails, her fall shouldn't be alone. She should be right there with her groom who is just as equally as important as her. Together they are striving to get closer to someone a lot more important, God, for when they work together to be closer to Him, they, in return, get closer to each other. Not to mention, the bride and groom have some family and friends who are pretty important people who support and love them along the way. Therefore, a wedding dress is not meant to outdo everyone. It's meant for the bride to look nice for all the important people in her life that came together that day.