Wedding Dress Shopping (and lots of updates!)

It's been awhile since I've written anything personal, but I've been relaxing back in my home state of Tennessee. Getting back wasn't so bad, but I had a crazy time in Toronto, Canada; specifically the Toronto Airport. On the morning I left Japan, I said goodbye to my friend and stayed around to finish the book she lent me before heading to Fukuoka Airport. From there, I went to Tokyo and mainly played my 3DS until we started boarding our flight to Canada.

I met a really sweet Korean lady who sat next to me and we chatted a little before everyone started settling down to sleep or watch movies during the 13 hour flight. The Korean lady was traveling with her son and his wife, who was Canadian. It was really fun talking with her about international marriages and she was really happy I spoke Korean.

However, that's when the dream ended and the nightmare began. When we arrived in Toronto, our flight was a bit late, so I had to rush to catch my flight to Chicago. The airport staff all gave me different directions and instructions, and I ended up missing my flight and not being able to find my bags for a while. They put me up in a hotel in Toronto, but I just wanted to get home to my family and my dogs, so I was not a happy camper. Thankfully, I met another lady in the same situation, and we were able to find our bags and go to the hotel together, but I didn't get much restful sleep.

The next morning, I almost missed my flight again due to the stupid security and customs system in Toronto, which is a new system from what I can tell. I'm really ready to not have to fly internationally for a while, but I have to do it again very soon. Once I got back, I had terrible jet lag, which I used to be immune to, so I slept a lot, even during family get togethers.We met up with a lot of my family members and had a great time hanging out again. I finally got to rest a little during the week, but my mom took off work to spend time with me, so we tried to get things done. I made plans to see some of my friends, but the biggest thing I wanted to do while in town was go shopping for my wedding dress.

While in Japan, I couldn't really do much wedding planning, and since I don't have a job and my fiance is thinking about changing jobs next year, we can't really set a date for our American wedding. We are also waiting until I get to Korea to set a date and plan for our Korean wedding, so I was in limbo for quite a while after getting engaged. It was very frustrating and every time someone asked me that innocent question, "When's your wedding?" I would sigh and wish I had something to tell them. I guess that's all part of the process and I shouldn't rush anything.

Finally, though, I called and made an appointment to go dress shopping in Nashville. I coordinated with one of my best friends from high school, who spent a year working in Korea a short distance away from where I'm moving. She's back in town for a few weeks but is moving to Seoul for her next year of teaching. I'm glad to know I'll still be able to see her in Korea, but we had to get together in our hometown. She was free Wednesday, so we decided to go then. I got giddy just saying the words, "I need to make a bridal appointment," and it was even more exciting talking about dress designs on the way there.

The morning of the appointment, I formally asked my friend to be my Maid-of-Honor at my wedding. She said yes, and we jumped in the car. Unfortunately, we got a little turned around on the road, as our GPS took us to the wrong address, but the bridal salon was fine with us coming late and gave us better directions. My stomach was feeling weird from all the nerves. What if I didn't find something? What would dress shopping be like? I'd watched a million wedding dress shows, but I still felt unprepared.

We got to the salon, Glitz Nashville, and were greeted by the lady who handled my appointment. She was really sweet and even knew someone who is living in South Korea, so I felt really at ease. We sat down and discussed my wedding venue (which is still undecided but I have a pretty good place in mind) and my price point, as well as the season of my wedding and what kind of dress I was looking for. She took us to the back room and guided us to the ballgown section and let me, my mom, and my newly appointed MOH pick out about six dresses, all in different styles and colors but all generally what I had in mind.

The first few dresses were really pretty and exactly what I thought I'd wanted, but the third dress was by far the one to beat. I tried on a few others, but nothing stood out until one of the last ones. I went back and forth, wearing the third dress and then the last until I decided I didn't want to get out of the third dress. She put a veil on me and we picked out earrings and a head piece to match and she even gave me a bouquet of fake flowers. We took pictures of all the dresses but I kept looking at myself in the mirror and in the pictures with a big smile on my face. I felt really pretty and both my mom and Maid of Honor agreed this was their favorite.

The staff asked me my favorite question, "Are you saying yes to the dress?" and of course I said "Yes!" and everyone cheered. It was a really fun experience, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Being a bride is sometimes stressful but so far I've been really loving it. When I get to Korea, telling people I'm engaged will baffle more people that it will excite, so I'm living it up while I'm still in the States. We ordered my gown and my veil and bought my accessories, and I even decided on my hairstyle for the wedding day. Now all I need are some shoes!

Afterwards, we went out to eat lunch and then my Maid of Honor and I hung out at her house before meeting some of our high school friends for dinner. It was great catching up with them, as one of them is also engaged and all of us now have significant others, so we had a lot to talk about. Then, we went to see the Paper Towns movie, which I thought was pretty close to the book. I read it in college, though, so I want to go back and read a few parts to remember how everything happened.

While I've been back, I've gotten my hair cut, gotten a pedicure and a massage, and seen a lot of my friends and family. I've eaten great food and went shopping, and now I've got a wedding dress ordered. All I need to do is buy another suitcase for my trip back to Korea and I'll be set to go. I even booked my flight to Seoul! I'm leaving in about two weeks. I can't wait to finally see my fiance again after 3 months of not seeing him. Our long distance is coming to a close and soon our wedding plans will be in full swing!