First: I look at a lot of wedding-related stuff. Tons of pictures from photographers. Now, there aren't really any ugly, or terrible weddings; I can't say I've ever seen one that made me think "oh my, they did that??" But the thing that really makes or breaks the wedding for me?

The dress.

If the bride's dress isn't a huge, fantastic, architectural wonder, the whole rest of the photos are just meh to me. They could have amazing flowers, cute favors, an 11-tier cake, the cutest ideas. I just can't get past the dress.

Sadly, big, fantastic dresses just aren't in style right now. And it's not like I can't say I don't love these sleek, silky, lacy dresses - they're amazing. I never tried a single one on. They just didn't feel like wedding dresses to me; they were just really pretty dresses that I like and wish I had somewhere to wear them.

Thankfully my dress is on a slow boat from China. And it certainly wasn't what I had envisioned, but it's somehow the perfect dress for me. It's the type of dress that makes the wedding a production ... a monumental life event. Because that's what it is!

Now, I will need something for the rehearsal ...