Monday, January 16, 2012

Applying for Say Yes to the Dress!

The Application

This past summer while watching a marathon of Say Yes to the Dress, I decided to look on the website for application information. I had searched all summer for the perfect dress and couldn't seem to find THE ONE. I had tried on tons of dresses at local stores and managed to have an allergic reaction to a dress and an anxiety attack in another. It was time for something new! After finding the application on Bridal by Lori's website, I decided to fill it out. Why not? I hadn't found a dress yet! The application asked a mix of generic and personal questions such as: Where will the wedding take place? Who is your fiancé? What style will your wedding have? Have you ever tried on dresses? Who would you bring with you to the appointment?

The Wait

I filled out the application in July and about a month and a half passed by without a phone call or email. I figured that it wasn't meant to be and that I would find my dress eventually. The week after rush ended, my roommates and I took a girls day and went to Birmingham for lunch and dress shopping. We went to several stores including Ivory and White in Mountain Brook. I tried on between ten and twelve dresses at that particular store and felt pretty confident that I had found my dress. The only problem was that I couldn't cry. (This reminds me of The Holiday when Cameron Diaz is trying to cry after she finds out that her boyfriend cheated on her. She just can't.....That was me) I wanted to feel that feeling, but I just didn't. We left the store and I obsessed the entire ride home about whether or not that was the dress for me. I had been praying about my dress for a while and decided to continue praying for God to help me find my wedding dress. (I felt silly asking God to help me find my dress, but I had to remember that no problem was too small for God to help with!) I prayed four or five times for the next two days asking for Him to show me my dress.

Two days later (Friday) I was getting gas in Tuscaloosa before heading home to Mobile for the weekend. I decided to check my email, which is a pain with all of the junk mail I receive. I was just about to delete an email from an unknown sender when I read the subject line. It said: Say Yes to the Dress Audition. My stomach literally dropped and I may have squealed a little, haha! The email was from the casting director (Brandy Kirschner) notifying me that I had made the first round of selections. All I had to do was send her my phone number and she would call me for a phone interview within the next few days! I immediately emailed her back and headed to Mobile with a huge smile on my face! I called and told my parents and sisters and mother-in-law and explained that I still had to have an interview. While on the phone with my mom the casting director called me back!

The Interview

Brandy began the interview with small talk and then quickly dove into the questioning process. She asked me how Justin and I met and about different parts of our relationship. She also asked what my shopping experience had been like thus far and if there were in particular dresses that I had in mind. After talking about the wedding for a little while she asked who all I would bring to the appointment. She asked what each person's personality was like and whether or not they had any influence on my decision. (The questions were obviously asked in order to seek possible controversy) After we finished the interview she gave me four possible dates to film in Atlanta! I chose the very next Friday so that it wouldn't interfere with school too much! Just like that, I had another appointment set to hopefully find my dress!

One of the dresses that I tried on at Ivory and White in Mountain Brook! The veil was handmade by a girl who worked at the store! 



Keep following for my next post! It will be all about my experience at Bridals by Lori and the behind the scenes details of Say Yes to the Dress! :)

Kaci xox

Flowers

 Our wedding colors are black and white and therefore the majority of our flowers are all white for the ceremony and reception. I love how soft, clean, and romantic white flowers make a wedding feel and I knew that it would be the perfect color choice us. However, because we are getting married in June, I wanted to incorporate a touch of yellow into the bridesmaids bouquets. Yellow has always been my favorite color and I felt that it would compliment our black and white wedding well.

When it came to selecting a florist, I had three choices in mind.


Choice One: Southern Veranda......http://www.southernveranda.com/
  • This florist is located in Fairhope, Alabama and my sister used them for her wedding. Their flowers are GORGEOUS and their staff goes to extra lengths to ensure the flowers are in each bouquet are in perfect bloom for the wedding. The only drawback was the fact that they were not located in Mobile and their flowers were a bit pricier. I did not set up a consultation with this particular florist because I was able to get information from my sister.
Choice Two: Rosebud Florist......http://www.therosebudfloral.com/
  • This florist is located in Chickasaw, Alabama. It's outside of Mobile, but only about a twenty minute drive. Justin's mom used this florist for both of his sisters' weddings and I had several other referrals.  Justin set up a consultation with the owner, Sheila, and we were able to get a quote on our ceremony and reception flowers. (HE set up the appointment and HE went with me. Seriously, how lucky am I? He doesn't particularly care about the flowers, but he went without me even asking!!) During our appointment she did not push us to order an excessive number of flowers. Instead, she helped us visualize what our ceremony and reception would look like with the flowers we had chosen to use. This was extremely helpful because it allowed us to make changes with advice from an expert. The only drawback with selecting this florist would be the distance. However, the majority of their clientele are located in Mobile, therefore it was not a factor.
Choice Three: Zimlich Florist.......http://www.zimlichbros.com/
  • This florist is one of Mobile' oldest. Their flowers are beautiful and they were able to give me a consultation through email. Not many florists are willing to do this because of the competitive nature of the wedding industry. Their prices were very reasonable and they seemed to know exactly what I was looking for. The only drawback with this florist was that they did not seem as friendly. However, I only dealt with them through email, which eliminates the personal connections made during a face to face interaction. 
What we chose:

Drum roll please... Rosebud Florist!
  • We chose to use Rosebud florist because of the level of communication they kept with us during our trial period. Sheila was so friendly and went above and beyond to ensure we felt comfortable with our selection and the price of the flowers. She had great advice and helped us choose the perfect array of flowers to include in our special day. We are so excited about our decision because we know there is an open line of communication that is continuously flowing between us! Sheila is only an email away and is so quick to respond to any questions we may have!


Inspirational Flowers

Here is a preview of one of the inspiration bouquets! I can't share them all :)

Inspirational Bouquet for Bridesmaids