Wedding Wednesday -- my first trip to a Wedding Dress shop (sort of) ended in me buying a dress (sort of)

That's right -- my very first trip in person to look at wedding dresses ended with me buying a dress.

But not in the way you would think.....let me explain.

MVP and I went to Lynchburg, VA last year for a wedding.  I asked if we could go a little earlier than planned to scope out Church Street Bridal, a place that had been recommended to me on WeddingBee.  Church Street Bridal gets designer dresses donated to them from folks like Kleinfelds (of TLC's Say Yes to the Dress), think previous season styles or sample dresses.  They then sell these for a HUGE discount and the proceeds are used to help women and children in the Central Virginia area. A wedding win-win to say the least.

While I didn't find "the one" when I visited, the folks at Church Street Bridal were beyond friendly and I quickly followed them on Facebook so I would know when new donations came in.  MVP and I went to grab lunch and while we were there, I got an alert on my phone.

A Jenny Packham Mimosa sample was available for purchase from Vows Bridal Outlet (of TLC's I Found the Gown).  This was THE DRESS I dreamt about, lusted after and pinned more times than was necessary.

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Some quick texts back and forth with my mom and the dress was purchased and on its way to my apartment.  I was on cloud nine -- I couldn't believe my good luck!  

While it was not the way I had originally envisioned buying my wedding dress, it did involve some of the know-how I had learned from watching so many hours of wedding-related TLC shows, that is for sure!

However, this did not end up being the dress I ended up with....more in another post :)