Maid of Honor to the Rescue!

To my great delight and relief, my sister Lisa is flying in tomorrow morning to help me get through the eleventh hour of choosing The Dress.

It's been a long white road, as we know, but here's what I've found so far:

• I don't want poufiness, heaviness, formality, or beading
• Sheath and trumpet gowns that are fitted and have open necklines are the most flattering
  
• Clean, unbeaded lace is my favorite fabric, which feels appropriate for an outdoor, seaside wedding where the rest of the wedding party will be wearing cotton (Plus, my mom wore lace!)
  
• I want the dress to be more fun than serious, and I want to be able to slip it on easily and not have to carry it around all night

So why, then, haven't I been able to make a decision yet?

Mostly, I think, because when it's just me with the bridal consultant and a camera, it's hard to get beyond a dress being pretty to a dress being mine. (Especially when half of them are the equivalent of a street size 4, they're pinned together in the back, and there's too much boob showing.) I've taken pictures of nearly every dress I've liked and sent them out, but then family and friends are voting on dresses based on the angle of my hips, the lighting in the store, the skill of the consultant-turned-photographer, or what size the sample happens to be. I've yet to see a photo that captures how I feel in a certain dress; that can only happen live. I need someone who's known me her whole life, who has vision to see beyond the dress size on my body at the moment, and who gets the dress rules I want to follow. I need Lisa.

Our adventures begin Friday morning at 11:30 a.m, and Lisa has promised to be on "biatch alert." Stay tuned!!! And thanks, sis. Seriously.