This past week, I finally graduated. I’m finally done; finally moved on; finally free! The last year has been an absolute juggle between my business and school and I’m so thankful to be able to focus 100% on my business this summer (as well as sneaking in some rest). I’m headed to TWU in the Fall for just one year of school (majoring in Business). Those eight months of full-time classes as well as running a full-time business will also be challenging, but exciting!

Anyway, this post is all about the dress–isn’t it always? I’ve always been mature for my age, especially in my fashion tastes! When it came to buying a grad dress, I was very set in what I wanted. First and foremost, it needed to be black! Classy, elegant; I was set on black. And there needed to be no crystals, no sparkles, a lack of crinoline, no-lace up backs and no strapless styles. Yes, I knew what I wanted! Well, my criteria, I soon discovered, ruled out almost every single dress in the whole world.

I’ve always been such a HUGE, huge, huge, huge-I don’t know how many times I can write this–HUGE fan of Monique Lhuillier and her dresses. I have a love affair with the timeless quality of lace, and Monique uses lace in a lot of her designs. I also have loved the “sash” trend I’ve seen in wedding dresses the past few years–I added that to the list of what I wanted. We found the perfect seamstress to make my dress in White Rock, Kristine of Bernardi’s Bridal. She is just incredible, and completely custom-designed my dress from the photos I brought to our design meetings!