The dress.

Finding a wedding dress was actually way easier than I had anticipated. I had a few simple requirements:
1) Preferred material = cotton
2) Must fit in small suitcase
3) Must not hug my butt in an unflattering way
4) Must not require me to buy restricting undergarments or spanx
5) Must not have spangles, sequins, beads, wire, or pulleys to hold the top up
6) Must weigh less than ten pounds

Let me tell you, if you go to any wedding dress emporium in the good old U.S.A. with these requirements, most bridal consultants will not only not be able to find you a dress, they will most likely escort you to the door and come up with a moderately polite way to explain to you that you are wasting their time.  A lovely friend took me to Nordstrom and helped me try on a variety of dresses I never would have tried otherwise, and it was a totally fun day. They had plenty of options that met my requirements, and the sales associate was very attentive and patient. I'm really happy we did that. I also went to a bridal store in Johnstown with my mom and niece, and we had a hearty laugh over a couple of satiny confections. It was a comical experience, and I'm so glad we had that day of generational bonding.

Last July, I found my dream dress doing a simple search on etsy.com for "eyelet wedding dress." A kind woman in the Seattle area makes pretty dresses, and the one I chose met all six requirements. I'll save the final reveal for the professional photographer, but I'm really happy with how it all turned out. For now, here's a rough approximation of how we might look that day. (I still have to finish painting them, but you'll get the idea.)