Hi friends!!!

I am beyond excited to share this post with you because it is all about the PERFECT day I had at TLC Bridal Boutique in Downtown Frederick!!!

I said “yes to the dress” last weekend and had a blast doing it!

J.J., the owner of TLC, set up a bridal exclusive for me and my family. As soon as we walked into the shop we were greeted with champagne, waters, chocolate covered strawberries, hot appetizers, and the tastiest desserts ever! The bridal exclusive is something that she does for anyone who wants to have a more private appointment- and trust me, I definitely recommend it! It was so much fun feeling like I had the entire boutique to myself and all the attention on me and my dress.

We started the day with the snacks, of course, and talked for a few minutes about the style, color (there is more than just a white white dress!) and my budget. I showed her a few dresses that I had pictures saved of and then we hit the racks!! J.J sent me back into the fitting room and we started with a gorgeous Casablanca ball gown. That’s the dress I had showed her in the picture and…didn’t end up going with it. It was gorgeous, but I thought it might be too heavy for my summer wedding. So on to the next! We switched styles and tried on a few mermaid gowns, A-line styles and more ball gowns, and we quickly found the styles that I loved the best and that my family also thought looked great on me.

Trying on dresses is definitely not easy, but it makes a HUGE difference and the entire process so much easier when the bridal gown expert (J.J. for me) that is pulling the dresses for you to try on is so good at it! I tried on about 12 gowns and pretty much loved them all. J.J. said she had two more that she thought it would love and I quickly slipped into it and looked into the mirror in the fitting room and fell in love (insert big heart eye emoji face here!) It was tight in all the right places, it had a structure to it that made me look extra slim and the shape of the dress made me look super tall!! It was spot on!

I mean look at it!! (to the left) the back was just gorgeous. Obviously, I’m not that tall…im standing on something, but that dress was very slimming (LOVE THAT!!!) and the front was even more gorgeous. I thought that was the one!! But, little did I know…J.J had something even better in store for me.

She pulled another ball gown, she knew I wanted the princess feel and that would probably get me to say yes. So, after a few minutes of me looking into the mirror and putting on the veil to see if the dress gave me the feels, I decided to try on one more….

But, before we get to that dress… I have to tell you how great it was to be working with someone who knows all there is to know about wedding gowns, styles, designers, and how to keep you within your budget and find you the dress of your dreams. Dress shopping can be stressful, especially if you are like me and have NO clue what kind of dress you are looking for. TLC Bridal Boutique has every dress imaginable and there are sooo many gowns that you can customize to make a one-of-a kind for your wedding. For a few of the dresses I thought about making a change to the style of the top and she offered tips and told me how I could make it look the way I wanted. Not once did I feel pressured for time, like I was being hurried, or like I was a pain for taking off another dress because I didn’t like it. I could have tried on fifty dresses and J.J would have said “okay, lets keep going”  She gave me her advice when I asked and listened to what I liked and didn’t like about each dress until we found the perfect one.

My family had a lot of fun, too. They held up signs when I walked out to help me come to my final choice 😉 Yes, that one says “Next!”

So….the dress……Tim (my fiance), stop reading here!!!

I finally got the “say yes” and “love it” signs from the family when I put on this beauty (below)…and I can’t wait to see it again for my first fitting!! It was the perfect amount of sparkle and gave me that princess feeling all in one. I LOVE IT!!!!!

I can’t wait for more to come with my wedding and I will continue to work with TLC Bridal for my bridesmaid dresses, help my mom to find her dress, and all of my jewelry and accessory needs!!

<3 Katie

*Photo Cred: Jessica Keator Photography

More photos from TLC Bridal