Done and Done!

I have one best friend from college. This isn't to say I don't have other friends that I see and talk to frequently and love to death. But I only came out of college with one best friend. Laura is my other half. We are both sharp and witty women who know what they want. We wound up living in an apartment (with other changing girls) for three years and to this day I'm positive that other than my sister, Laura is the only girl I could ever live with.

Last summer, Laura and her boyfriend of 6 or so years, Jim got engaged. Woo! Weddings! The date is still not set but it will be Spring of 2010 and the past few weekends I've been traveling up to Troy to see reception halls and try on bridesmaid dresses and assist in many other bridesmaid-like duties.

A few weekends ago at the Birch Hills Expo, we met some women from Angela's Bridal and since Laura hadn't bought a dress yet, she made an appointment. So this past weekend I went back up to Troy to help in finding the perfect dress.

First off, allow me to say that the women at Angela's were fantastic. They were extremely helpful and each of them had wonderful things to say (even when negative) about the dresses that Laura tried on. When Laura put the first dress on, Chrissy, Meg and I all let out a sigh. It was beautiful, it was perfect, it was well priced, it was SO HER. It was classy yet modern and had just the right amount of sparkle in just the right places.

Laura tried on 4 more gowns but none of them compared to that first dress. She was concerned it might be too dramatic for her mother's taste but when Ursula (her sister and maid of honor) walked in, the first words out of her mouth were, "Wow." And she assured Laura that she thought Mom would also love it.

Meanwhile, Michelle, Chrissy & Meg all tried on some beautiful Bill Levkoff dresses and we all decided we loved them. Bridal gown, done! Bridesmaid dresses, done! Bam! Just like that. It was amazing. Our other two romps to David's Bridal were all for naught after that 20 minute talk about how perfect these dresses would look on all of us.

They had the sweetheart neckline that mimicked Laura's dress, they had tank straps so we could all wear supportive undergarments, the taffeta was airy and not at all grabby, they were the perfect spring wedding dress...well, in cornflower blue with an ice blue sash they would be!

And, best of all, since January when I was measured for Jaclyn's bridesmaid dress, I have officially lost an inch to my waist....
...only to gain it in my bust. *sigh* All I have to say is I'm looking forward to having to pay to get both my bridesmaid dresses taken in by the time the weddings roll around.

For the rest of the day Saturday all us girls celebrated. Laura had bought her dress! It was real, her wedding was happening. Her and Jim had a moment when they both said to each other, "Wow, it really feels real now." And they were excited about it.

Jaclyn (my cousin) and her fiance Andy had a similar moment a few months ago while we were hammering out Save the Date details. He just turned to her and said, "Hey, we're getting married this year." And they both squealed and clapped in joy.

This is going to be exciting and torturous at the same time! Hurray!

(Digital Illustration of Laura and I done by me.)