Getting married these days...

My dear invisible friends, how are you today?
As you have probably noticed, I'm writing again so I'm clearly on holiday... or, to be more precise, off sick. How exciting! Getting deadly bored while melting in the sun... it's not nice to be ill with this weather... but here we are, still holding on!
But we are strong, so we'll deal with that. And anyway, there are some good news to keep me afloat... Ellie is getting married!!! :D Happy? I am. I shall increase your diabetes now but I have to tell you that I found the man of my life and I'm incredibly happy! We are disgustingly sweet together... ohohohho...
Now the real problem, these days, is to actually get to the big day. Apart from the enormous amount of money you have to spend, the organization of all the stuff is seriously distressing. Luckily I have parents and sister to delegate to. But there is something that the bride cannot delegate: the choice of the dress! After watching 10 billion episodes of "Don't tell the bride" I tried to convince my fiancee to chose it for me, coz I was simply desperate... but it didn't work!
I started looking for dresses in May... yeah, you can say it's not that long... but try a wedding dress on, first!!! O.o Went to my first appointment and I was completely lost...believe it or not, the shop was full of wedding dresses, all white... lace, tulle, silk... my head started spinning! Luckily the lady was very helpful (cheap dresses and very nice, check it out: www.stellasweddingdresses.com) and I managed to squeeze myself into 4 different dresses... on my gosh, they are sooo HEAVY! So many layers of stuff... I was wondering how I could ever wear it for a whole day... mamma mia! There were two I particularly liked, but that was it... I left very pensive. A few weeks after I went to another one... same story that repeats itself... try the dress on, try to close it (they always have very small sizes in those shops... gggrr!) and stand on a platform looking at yourself in a mirror that reflects back a meringue. The problem is that my face do not fit on wedding dresses... but! But I have to say that there was one I really really liked and I've almost bought it! Luckily I promised myself that, before buying it, I would have shown it to my mum. So I took a pic and left all excited. (still affordable and nice www.pronuptia-northwest.com)
A few days after I came down to Italy and starting my search back from the beginning, with mum, sister and some friends. My suggestion is... DON'T DO THAT! It's nice to have people with you giving an opinion but... too many opinions just create a mess! I was so confused... The first place i went to had a few interesting dresses, but the lady keep kindly suggesting me to lose weight. You see, this is the problem in Italy. I'm a size 14, fat ok, but in England more less acceptable. Italian standards put me in the morbidly obese category. All the dresses were far too small for me and the lady kept saying that she'll never find something that would fit... surely encouraging! 'O.o So I left very depressed, as you could imagine, even if there was a dress I really liked... but, as the lady said, I should lose weight before trying it on again!!! >.< (www.markosposi.com)
So, on to the next. We started again with the meringue style (the one my mum seemed to prefer, coz it's so "wedding dress"... is it?) but again I wasn't convinced... not Ellie at all! The only one I liked was a grey-silver one that looked aggressive enough to work on me! While I was walking around in that dress, my sis spotted an interesting dress in the catalogue. It was a bit lady Marion style, finally with sleeves... I've always wanted a dress with sleeves, coz I have fat arms! ;D I tried on and I almost cried... here's the one! I was so happy! Even mum, sister and friend agreed that it was very Ellie! (www.sposidomani.it/) The lady in the dress was very good as well, never complaining about my size... yuppi! She made me feel good and beautiful for once! At that point I took an appointment for the day after to come back with my dad. I wanted him to see it, coz he will pay for it. I go home pretty happy, already planning hair and accessories!
As you can imagine, the story is going to get more complicated. The morning after I had an appointment with my favourite wedding dress shop ever! I spent all my life passing in front of it and sighing in front of their window... prices are always sky high but I thought... I get married only once (hopefully) so I want at least try them on!!! (www.aimee.it/) I went with mum and sister again. The lady at the shop was super nice and even when confronted with our low budget (for wedding dresses standards, obviously...) she didn't lose heart and started showing me thousand of dresses. At the end I chose 7 (seven) to try, and off we go! Empire style, meringue style, elegant style, all lace ones... I was so tired! I decided to try lace coz my mum is obsessed with that... she likes lace! But I don't really... somehow it makes me feel older and too... mmh... posh? Maybe. But I'm too aggressive to wear a lacey dress, I would break it in 5 seconds... after almost 3 hours in the shop, a deadly tired bride to be and my family eating in front of me, the lady (Doriana) came out with a completely different dress and put it on me... and ta daaaan! Now THAT was THE dress. MEGA confusing! Even if there was lace on it.... mmmh.... mmmmh.... spent the night thinking and thinking and the day after I go back to the Marion dress with even more friends and my dad. He just didn't like it, saying that it looked more like a first communion dress... and it made me look older! Ouch! So I tried some more on... please somebody save me!!! And I left again, even more confused... :Q
Time passes and I decided to go back to Aimee but only with my sis, this time. I tried on the 2 I liked the most and I finally chose the one. THE ONE! I was in tears... I have a dress!!!!
Oh gosh, what a journey... at the end even my daddy liked it. Obviously I cannot tell you how it is, that would be bad luck... but when it's all done, I'll post a pic of me in my dress!
So, always remember:
take only one person with you, a very trusted one! Too many cooks spoil the broth...
take your time, start well in advance... try as many as you can, don't settle for one that is just ok
surprise yourself, sometimes the perfect one is the least expected one! let the assistant guide you
have a precise budget in mind, the incredible choice could lead you afar...


Good luck


Ellie