Saying 'Yes' to the Dress, Part 2

Previously, on Miss Potion's Blog:

-I went dress shopping with a bunch of fabulous ladies
-EVERY. DRESS. FIT. PERFECTLY.
-You should shop at The Timeless Bride!

So, did you guess which dress is The Chosen One?  It's time to find out if you were right...

But first:

Gandalf, from LotR // plus my super sweet Paint skills

 If you guessed the 1948 dress...

Squee!  // This image and all following are personal photos

 ...then you were right!

We all loved this dress from the very beginning.  It was the only one I twirled in, and when the consultant brought out a veil for me to try on...I teared up.  I looked so...bridal, as corny as that sounds.  I compared every other dress to this one and none of them stacked up- did you notice that in the last post, I had a minor complaint with all the dresses except for this one? 

Granted, she looks a little imperfect in this picture.  She needs to be cleaned, the skirt and the edges of the sleeves need to be pressed, and she needs a petticoat underneath to floof out the skirt (floof being the technical term).  Also, as this was the millionth time I'd put it on, we were lazy and didn't do up all the buttons, which is why they appear to not line up.  

BUT I FEEL SO BRIDAL!!!

 I've got a petticoat on in this picture, but it's a bit too short- the skirt poofs out at the knee, but then hangs down.  I tried on a crinoline that is fullest at the bottom, and it looked much better.

But Hive, I haven't told you the best part yet:

Wanna guess how much this sucker costs?

$299

You read that correctly.

All told, we snagged this dress, a crinoline (with alterations so that it fits right), and the finger-length veil shown in the photos for $497.04, which includes a cleaning (and tax)!

[I'm also wearing a crown in these pictures, but I decided not to buy that one.  More on hairstyles later!] 

Of course, this leaves me less than $3 for shoes, which ain't gonna happen (well, okay, I haven't ruled out thrift stores yet) so I will be going over budget for the bridal ensemble, but the gorgeous sleeves and neckline on this dress mean the only jewelry necessary will be a pair of pearl stud earrings- and I already have a (faux) pair!  This pleases The Budget greatly.

Since this shopping trip, the dress has been cleaned and the crinoline altered, and my mom picked it all up and brought it back to her house.  This means I haven't seen the finished product yet!  Of course you, Hive, will all be privy to the trying-it-back-on experience :D (but not Mr. Potion.  No dress pictures for you!)

Did you manage to find a dress that fit without any alterations needed?