Say Yes to the Dress: Part 3- Found It!

This is how I wanted to feel in my wedding dress

This is how I wanted to feel in my wedding dress

After my 1st trip wedding dress shopping I needed a new game plan. So, I did some research on some bridal shops in northeast Ohio that didn’t have the same wedding dress designers as Catan’s. I scheduled a bridal appointment at Henri’s Could Nine, in Minerva. I had gotten some of my homecoming and prom dresses from Henri’s back in high school so I thought it wouldn’t hurt taking a look there. This trip I took my mom and my Yiayia, aka grandmother, Clara. My Yiayia is sometimes a good luck charm when it comes to shopping, I found some of my best swimsuits and other various clothing items while shopping with her. I found two dresses I liked while trying on dresses at Henri’s. One was called “Gatsby” which goes with my wedding theme and another lacy chic number. But, I didn’t feel like either of them were just the perfect dress. They just didn’t wow me. So we decided to go the bridal shop closet to my parent’s house, Abott’s Bridal in Canton. I had the best salesperson Sarah help me out. She was the nicest and most helpful salesperson I encountered while shopping for wedding dresses. If you go to Abott’s ask for her. I tried on about 20 dresses there and found this beautiful Sophia Tolli dress that I felt really pretty in. But I left the store empty handed.

Me in one of 5,000 rejected wedding dresses

Me in the Sophia Tolli

A week or two later I asked my cousin and MOH Sarah to come shopping with me at some of the east side of Cleveland bridal shops and to browse bridesmaids’ dresses. First we went to Matina’s in Beachwood. That was a huge strike out. I tried on 1 dress that I didn’t even like. Next stop was Demetrios in Legacy Village. Sarah and I picked out a lot of dresses to try on at Demetrios. I think Sarah was picking out dresses for me to try on so she can just dress me up just like she did when we were little.  I told her that I didn’t want a really poofy cupcake dress but she still made me try one just to see what I look liked. But Sarah was super helpful by telling me the positives and negatives to each dress I tried on and gave me a new perspective. I liked some of the dresses at Demetrios but I didn’t love any of them. I was frustrated and tried and was thinking that I wasn’t going to find a dress or I was going to pick the Sophia Tolli. But Sarah and I decided to go check out bridesmaid dresses at Nordstrom. I picked out 1 dress to try on and it was THE ONE. I felt gorgeous in it so after a lap around the mall thinking about the dress I went back and bought it. I had a wedding dress 🙂

Picking a Reception Venue

I really don’t watch wedding shows like Say Yes to the Dress, Bridezillas, or that one with that creepy David Turtera guy. The only “wedding” show I like to watch is TLC’s “Four Weddings” If you haven’t seen the show, it is a competition show in which 4 brides attend each other weddings and judge them on the dress, the venue, the food, and overall experience. The bride with the most points wins a honeymoon. I enjoy this show because the brides on it our complete and total bitches.  Some brides will take away points for there being “too much” food or for the bride changing into a reception dress. It is great. Following the “Four Weddings” guidelines, when wedding planning I knew it was important to pick a good venue.

Our lives

Our lives

Phil is Greek and I’m Greek and Arab so we both have big families and  we probably knew that we really couldn’t keep our wedding a small affair. After “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” came out all non-Greeks basically expect you to have a large wedding. The only problem with planning a wedding with around 350-400 people is that there isn’t that many places you can have your wedding in Northeast Ohio. All the really cool venues only hold around 200 people. Just our family is 200 people…so that doesn’t work. After researching venues in the Canton/Akron area. We narrowed it down to 5 venues based solely on size. After weeding out the venues that were booked Labor day weekend 2013. We visited 3 venues. The 1st one had too many columns, the 2nd one was too small, and the 3rd one Tangier’s was just right. Tangier’s had the vibe that I wanted, plenty of space for the cocktail hour and reception, and it has a celebrity autograph hallway. If you know me I love celebrities and their autographs. But my mom and Phil gave me 1 condition to have our wedding venue at Tangier’s , I have to do this pose in their fountain:

The Condition- Source

I accepted this condition…now let’s see if it actually happens 😉