Finding the Perfect Temple Dress

When I first got married like all girls from the time we are little the thought of a big beautiful wedding was all we dreamed about.   Mine would be the best one anyone had ever been too.  I remember as a little girl begging my mother to take me with her when she would attend wedding receptions.  My dad was not very social so he was all too willing to let me go.   I remember sitting at the table looking around taking everything in.   I knew from the very first reception exactly what colors and style of dresses my bridesmaids would be wearing.   Little did I know that styles were an ever changing fact.   I would take the mint or candy swirl that they served and keep them for the longest time believing they would stay perfect for ever.   Usually my sweet tooth would get the better of me and I would end up eating it. 

 But the thing I remember above all else from each wedding reception I attended was just how beautiful each bride was.   How could the brides just keep getting more and more amazing?   I grew up in a small city and a time where it was the only thing a girl could do was wear white.    Did I want a dress with a big hoop that stood out like a merry go round.  This was the style of dress my older sister wore and she was the most beautiful bride I had ever seen.    When my sister got married I couldn't figure out why she had 2 wedding dresses.   One dress was not as ornate as the other one and my mother told me that was her Temple Dress.   The other dress with the hoop and slips was for the reception.  Oh how I loved to crawl under all those beautiful white starched slips.  Much to the  frustration of my mother and sister as I am sure my mother had spent many long hours starching the slips to make they stand out so far.

                As my sister was many years older than I was it was a while before it was my turn to be married.   And yes styles had changed.  Gone were the slips and hoops.  But not my dream of wearing the most beautiful dress I could find.   I also would be getting a chance to have two dresses.   A dress for my ceremony and a dress for the reception.  They were equally as beautiful and equally as important to me for the most important day of my life.   My Temple Dress however would be one I would be using over and over so as I carefully chose this dress I was sure to make it the most comfortable one I could find but also easy to take care of.  The dress I chose is so pretty it lets me feel like a princess every time I wear it.  If you are looking for a white dress you should check out the ones I found at www.dressedinwhite.com/

Passing on my Baptism Dress

From the time a little girl realizes that she is a girl she will always want to look like a princess.  That has been my experience as I have raised seven daughters.   Don’t worry I did manage to slip one boy into that mix.   If you ask my son he will say that he always felt growing up like he had 8 mothers instead of one.   It was really easy to hand down clothing having so many of one kind.  I have had some of my daughters that only wanted to wear dresses.  Even when they were two years old and I would dress them in the cutest summer outfits if it was not a dress I would soon find her in her room pulling out articles of clothing from her drawers trying to find a dress or a skirt or simply running around in only a diaper refusing to wear anything but a dress or skirt. As time went on this daughter got married and has two daughters of her own.  She is finding that she too has a little one who is refusing to wear anything but dresses or skirts.  A new favorite line of mine to say now is “Payback is SWEET”.

  I finally learned with that child to start the day off in a dress therefore elevating extra laundry by having her changing all day.    Then there were other daughters who didn't care exactly what they wore except that it had to be “cute”.     The year finally came that my oldest daughter needed a Baptism Dress.   My mother was the type of person that saved everything.  As the special day came closer my mother showed up with the Baptism Dress I wore as a child.  I was so excited to have such a thoughtful mother that would think to save this special dress for me.   So my oldest wore my dress.   As you probably guessed with having so many children the next daughter’s time for a special dress came very quickly.   By letting my oldest wear my dress I wanted to keep the tradition of having that special dress go with that child.   I wanted each child to have special memories of that special day so I began looking for a white dress just for her.   A special white dress that she would be able to hand down to her very own daughter on that daughter’s special day.   And so began the new tradition of taking each daughter with me to pick out a perfect dress.  A dress that would make her feel exactly like a princess.  

 All of my daughters have daughters of their own now and there is something to be said about all the memories that come flooding back when I see my granddaughters wearing their mothers Baptism Dresses.   Since there is more than just one granddaughter in each family the mother of that family is making memories with the other girls by finding great dresses at www.dressedinwhite.com.                  

Oh yes, my only son…..he wore a jumpsuit.