Wedding Worry of the Week: Dress

It's good to address your fears every now and then. Face them head on. Throw yourself to the wolves, and let go of everything holding you back.

These were the mantras running through my head this past weekend when I faced one of my biggest wedding fears: the fear of the wedding dress. You may think I'm trying to be funny or cute, but for real, that thing scares me. Especially the veil. Oh, and the train. And definitely the weird bra I'm going to have to buy to hold the whole thing together. See what I mean: scary!

But, I got over it. I faced my fear. At least for an hour last Saturday when my mom and I ventured over to a cute little South Austin shop called Unbridaled.

At first I was truly skeptical of this place, thinking they'd probably be too funky or modern or alternative for my taste; I'm much more of a classic, simple girl. But I reasoned it would be a good fun start to the whole wedding dress hunt and less stifling than a fancier bridal store, so why not? I put on my big girl pants and bravely booked a 4pm appointment.

And you know what? It really wasn't so bad. (Shocker.) Granted, I started sweating profusely the minute we walked in the door I was so nervous, and I'm pretty sure the sales girl thought my mom and I were freaks after Mom liked all the dresses I hated and vice versa, but really, it was totally normal. Familiar, even. Like I was in junior high again, trying on clothes from the Gap in front of my mom because, a) she was paying for them, and b) she had the wheels to take me to the mall. Yes, suddenly I was 14 again, except without the weird hormonal changes or self-confidence issues or inherent teenage angst. (Though come to think of it, that description isn't too far off from a bride-to-be: hormones, self-confidence, angst. Hmmm.)

But anyway. Back to the dress experience. Even though we came out empty-handed, and though I'm still not certain which style dress I'm going to end up with, I'm really not so intimidated anymore. In fact, I think I'm ready to book my next appointment at another bridal shop. Hey, look at me! That's right, I own you, wedding dress fear.

What I learned from this is something I keep have to relearning; it's one of those lessons that just doesn't stick with me. The lesson being, holding on to a certain fear and being afraid of something is a basic human instinct. Fear is what reminds us that we're really still alive. Which is exactly why letting go of your fears makes for such a big thrill.

One of these days, the lesson will stick. Until then, I'll just have to keep on fear-fighting. Starting with the big white dress.