I’m a girl, I can change my mind if I want to. AKA how I messed up the budget.
We’re at the seven month mark. Seven months to go and we have a lot done. What we don’t have done is saving a bunch of money. We’re both to blame so no finger pointing, it won’t help anyway. I am going to ask for more hours at my part time job and Chris, well, he has plans of his own. It is incredibly hard saving money when you don’t make much or what you do make goes to bills.
We have been gifted 60% of the wedding budget already. So we haven’t far to go to reach our five grand budget for the wedding. However we both have concluded we need $1,000 for the new apartment and another $2,000 for the honeymoon. Obviously in order of importance the apartment comes before the honeymoon. We were over by five hundred dollars on the wedding budget but we buttoned down and got it just at the original budget level. That’s even with added expenses, gifts for family, extra board games for *ahem something and a couple of small things.
That being said now we get to the real meat of my story. Wherein I screw up the budget with emotions and a change of my mind. (because I’m a girl and I can.)
Remember my post “Another Cinderella’s Ball”? If you do then you know that it was a post full of emotional uncertainty. I was trying to figure out if I wanted to use the dress I had from my previously life: B.C., Before Chris. Once upon a time I did love that dress. I tried it on again and I think two things happened and I settled for the dress. I saw the dress as being “beautiful enough for me” and secondly I didn’t want to needlessly spend money on another dress when I have a perfectly good one already in my possession. I do that a lot. I try to use what I’ve got then get frustrated when it doesn’t work and I end up trying to find the cheapest version of what I need instead of what is best.
In this regard I got both so let me explain.
When I first started having doubts I would look through bridal magazines and compare the dresses. Nothing stuck out at me except a lace tea length dress. Too casual and too expensive. I would compare the dress I had to the ones in the magazines and found the one I had was always winning. Still I would look at the pictures of the dress and feel a bit sad. A little longing that wouldn’t go away. It was pretty to be sure. But was it still me? If I was having doubts I should address them.
In the meantime since July I had been going to a store and seeing a gorgeous dress. It was simply beautiful, stunning, a favorite designer of mine, Mori Lee, and in the size I needed (with a corset back, a must have for me). And ‘it was so not me’ I told myself. Not my style. Too girly, too frou frou and too poofy. Anyway why was I looking when I had a perfectly good dress at home? But I kept coming back and looking to see if it was still there. Early August I went and looked and it was gone. Just when they had a really big sale. And it was GONE. Okay see, God was giving me a sign, its not meant to be. Just be happy with what you’ve got. One week later I went back and there it was again! Only two sizes too big this time. Oh. Well, another sign.
I kept going back and kept going back, I’d shop then go over to see if it was still there. That should have told me something. Finally one Friday nite in late October I gave in. I called Chris and asked “How much do you love me?” Through the conversation I explained I had a dress that I was about to try on. He knew that I was experiencing problems reconciling the old dress to the new wedding and the new me. But financially we couldn’t afford it. He was supportive and told me that whatever I decided we’d find a way to make it happen.
So I waited and waited and waited for the large fitting rooms to open up. (I’ll bet you’re wondering just where the heck I am at this point…..) I talked to a girl who worked there off and on while I waited. She finally banged on the door and asked the person (who happened to be an employee) if she was done because someone needed the room. After waiting and over analyzing what I was doing for fifteen minutes the girl finally came out. I had asked Chris to come over and help me with the dress but the girl, Leah, who worked there said she’d help so he didn’t see the dress. I am glad she was there because the dress was too big and she ended up clipping the back for me to see the finished product. It was so pretty I almost cried. It is nothing like I wanted before but everything that I do want now. I look at it and I see Belle’s gown in Beauty and the Beast. Except for a few minor things like it’s not yellow, doesn’t have sleeves and it has pick-ups instead of ruffles on the bottom. Oh just a few differences! But if you’d like to see it check out Morilee.com style number 6106.
So I decided to buy the dress. I had a 20% off coupon so it came to be $180.00. Yes just a bit under two hundred dollars. When others spend a lot more I was worried about that small amount. Silly I know but budget wise we have no room. At that point 180 bucks is more than we can spare.
And the biggest shocker is actually where I found it. Tags on it still, brand new and in pristine condition. I found it at a thrift store called Savers. Amazing, huh? I can only think that since they had two (or more) of the same dress that it was a bridal store that went out of business. They give a tax write off for items donated. The only thing is I was kinda sad that I had my weepy dress moment in the family fitting room at Savers alone except for a nice stranger who works there. But whatever works, now that I have the dress I absolutely love.
