How I found my wedding dress: Having my doubts

I made appointments to visit two bridal shops with my mom this weekend. You may recall that dress shopping with my mom was not the greatest of successes last time, and so I made sure that I was very clear on my options before I took her back.

Earlier in the week, I'd scheduled an appointment with the same shop that I'd had such success in, because (1) I'd had some success, and (2) they price match. But my mom really wanted to make a day of it, and so I made a second, earlier appointment at a shop just a few short blocks from my apartment.

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I admit, I was nervous. The online reviews of the shop were lackluster (as they seem to be for most shops carrying inventory primarily the $2,000 mark), and the manager who took my appointment by phone seemed less than thrilled to be speaking to an excited, enthusiastic bride like myself (I thought she might fall asleep on the phone with me. Maybe it's just me, but I just do a lot better with higher energy people!). But the shop had a few things going for it. First, it was walking distance from my apartment—fittings couldn't possibly be any easier! And second, they carried Allure Bridals and Maggie Sottero gowns, and Dessy bridesmaid dresses, which is pretty much my holy trinity: my two top dress contenders are Allure, I was intrigued by at least one Maggie dress, and my bridesmaids are going to be wearing Dessy for sure. (They also carried La Sposa, an early favorite of mine!)

So it was with low expectations but high hopes that, a few minutes late (as always; this is my mother!) we arrived at the tiny shop down the street...