Seeing as how I don’t exactly have thousands of dollars to splurge on a Vera Wang dress, I’m feeling rather perplexed as to how to go about looking for a wedding dress. Since I’d like a simple ceremony in a garden somewhere, I’d like a dress that’s elegant, but not too fussy. No trains and no big foofy skirts. I also want it affordable. Like, less than $500. Hopefully WAYYY less.

What I learned by searching around on the web, is that anything that has the word “wedding” accompanying it, is bound to be rather pricey. So I figure a good alternative would be to find a non-wedding wedding dress. That is, find a dress at a regular boutique or store that looks lovely enough to be a wedding dress, but isn’t sold as one. It doesn’t have to be all-white, and it doesn’t have to be one of those evening gown things with drapes and shawls. Just, I don’t know… lovely. Romantic. Garden-y. Pretty. Maybe I’ll wear a crown of flowers instead of a veil or tiara thing.

It’s all terribly confusing and mind-boggling. I don’t have any girlfriends around here (I really don’t have many girlfriends period) to ask about this stuff either. I feel lost. I need help.