Boston and Back.

Last weekend, I flew to Boston to accompany my sister on a crazy, chaotic wedding dress hunt. I call it crazy because the women there were definitely a bit insane! It was an event known nationwide as "The Running of the Brides" at Filene's Basement...except they outgrew the basement so now it's held in Boston's Convention Center, which is huge! It was a whirlwind of a day, but I'm happy to say that we found "the dress"! I can't say I'd recommend this event for the faint of heart, but if you really want a good deal on a wedding dress, then this place is for you!! To get an idea of the insanity, check out the video we took.


I needed a LOT of coffee that morning! ;)

Instead of getting in the line that was probably 1/2 of a mile long, we decided to check out all the "teams" that were already in line. These gals were our favorites! We found out that the women in the front of the line had been waiting outside since midnight (and it's below freezing at night here!!). There were all sorts of props for these teams-- many had matching T shirts and headbands/hats, and some even brought lawn chairs and whistles!

Yes, you see right. There was a first aid station right by the entrance! Although, in their defense, I didn't see anyone needing first aid while we were there...which was all day!

By the time we made it in the room, the racks were bare!

A picture says 1000 words, right? ;)
Well, maybe it needs a little explanation. There were no fitting rooms, so brides wore bathing suits or spandex so they could just try on dresses in the main room! This bathing suit was just hysterical though, especially with the birthday hat. Her whole team had those on so they could find each other! This picture also shows the army girls from the previous picture-- they probably grabbed about 40 dresses, and were holding them all for the bride to try on...and if they didn't fit, then they would barter with other groups to trade for a new dress! It was quite an elaborate system...which we didn't take part in. We just decided to camp out by the army girls, since their bride was the same size as Lisa. Once their bride found her dress, we were able to seize all their other dresses...genius!! :)

After 7 hours, she finally found THE ONE! This was part of the pile of dresses she tried on.

The moment of truth: a $1500 dress for $253.63!!...plus a free T-shirt that says "I survived the running of the brides!" :)

The triumphant bride-to-be, posing with her dress in downtown Boston.

We also tried on bridesmaid dresses, but fortunately that was a much calmer experience! It was a cute little shop that waited on us hand and foot!

Lisa and her fiance, David.

What trip to New England would be complete without Dunkin' ? :)

No, those aren't Boston clouds; they're Olympic Mountains! :) This was actually taken in SeaTac airport while I waited to fly to Boston. It was one of those perfect, blue sky days and all the mountains were "out"...and I was so thankful I had a window seat! I could see Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Hood! They were such a beautiful reminder of our amazing God!

Everytime I fly, I always have to listen to a certain song when I leave Seattle...the words so accurately describe how I feel when looking out at this beautiful world.

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