Still in the running.

I've been waiting for days to be able to do this post, so that's why there's been such a lag. I kept thinking, "Oh, I'll get them tomorrow, so I don't want to post today." Them being ... my professional Running of the Brides pics!

I'm a leeetle disappointed, mainly because I'm sure she took more pics than the ones she sent me, and I really wanted to be able to show you guys some of the super ugly dresses I tried on. And since I already shared the whole Running of the Brides experience with you once, I won't bore you with all the details again, and will make this post picture heavy.

Team Werchaible, minus Katie and her mom. This was probably around 6:30 a.m., which ... explains a lot.

Yeah, there were lots and lots of dresses!

Me meeting the president of Filene's, which quickly turned into awkward time and ended with a kiss. Yeah, clearly surreal.

This was NOT the one. Didn't love the skirt portion.

My mom's friend Bev was the BEST at seeking out dresses for me... she was a pro!

Yeah, it's stuff like this that best friends are for :)

This was exactly the kind of dress I thought I wanted before I went. Lacy-tank-ish top with a simple skirt. And looking at the picture, I wish I had tried it on again without the stuff on underneath, but I'm trying to remember my first impression -- "I look beefy."

Me being a ham which is a surprise to absolutely no one who knows me.

So this was the runner up. And my mom is going to make a face when I say this... but I actually think this looks nicer on me then I remembered. I like how the buttons trail down the back and I think it frames me nicely. It was also the kind of dress I had originally wanted. However, it had sleeves, which despite people's claims that they could be taken off, I was wary of that. Also, I didn't feel like it defined my waist and felt sort of plain. I like how it looks here ... but I still like my ACTUAL dress better.

This is definitely one of my favorite shots! My mom's friends, Bev and Jan, came with us to ROTB (that's Jan on the left, my mom in the middle and Bev on the right). They wanted to come because they both had sons and didn't get to participate in the whole dress buying experience. They were SUCH good sports and SO excited to be there, so they just made the whole day more fun. They've been friends for almost 40 years, along with another woman, and they're like Aunts to me. They used to get together once a month on a Friday for "Girls Night" at rotating houses. It was so much fun because my mom would try out new recipes for the girls -- before I was banished upstairs for the night. It's a pretty amazing story of friendship, and I'm pretty sure they are the only people who can tell my mom the truth and get away with it. She listens to them and fully trusts their judgment.

HOWEVER -- hehehe -- they could not convince my mom to like my dress. I love this pic because Jan is tearing up at my gown, and although I can't HEAR her, I feel like Bev is telling my mom in this pic, "Now Barbara, it's HER wedding day." They were all bridesmaids at my mother's wedding and were trying to harken back to those days. 

In order to ensure that the dress I chose was THE one, I had to take off my undergarments and try it on. Not exactly the easiest task in a giant room of people, with cameras, with men. And it's not like my dress just slips on, it's sort a "wiggle-pull-wiggle-pull-zip-adjust" dealy. So here's my lovely group holding up a blanket around me while my best friend and awesome MOH Katie gets me into the dress. 

I have quite a few pictures of me in THE dress, but I can't post them because of Jeff. If you wanna see them though, drop your email in the comments (unless I have it already). There are also frame-by-frame shots of my infamous slow-mo dance from the ROTB video I posted a while back.

Ahh, so much fun. I suspect sometimes it's difficult for brides to have so many around while they are picking out dresses. I had the opposite experience. I couldn't have had such a fun day without every person that came. It's a story I can tell forever -- and probably teased about forever. I wouldn't change a thing about it!