Guess who got lucky at the mall?

At this point in the planning, we pretty much know what everyone is wearing. My dress, the 'maids, the men. But I hadn't found any viable options for the flower girls. See, I've been shopping for FG dresses a long time. Since planning day one. And all this time I've had the perfect dress in mind: cute, affordable, tea- or knee-length, and re-wearable. Oh and of course in a green or teal. I wanted them in a colored dress.

Cute was a no-brainer. They're almost all cute* I also knew I wanted them to be re-wearable. If they could get at least one more wear out of the dress, I'd be a very happy bride. Hence me wanting them to be tea- or knee-length.

Affordable was a little trickier. Mind you, when we first got engaged, I really had no reference point for what's considered affordable in kids-clothes land. I don't have any kids (yet) and believed that it was absurd to spend the same amount on a little girl's dress (who wont be able to wear it in a year) that I would on a grown-ups dress (who still may not be able to wear it in a year - lol). I definitely still feel that way. So to reconcile that, I felt $50 was reasonable. The FG dresses needed to come in under $50. As far under $50 as possible.

Honestly, I didn't think I was asking for a whole lot. But I must have been smoking something. I just found something that may work. And I've been shopping for (at least) 7 months. Let me set the scene.

Last week I was walking through the mall here in Athens (yes, there's only one) going to get some dinner from Piccadilly. Since I didn't go to the gym, I figured I'd power walk through the mall to the restaurant rather than drive over to the entrance closet to it. Ya know, burn a calorie or something. Well, on the way back to the car I happened to see an adorable dress in The Children's Place store window. This dress:

Oh.em.gee.
The green was not quite what I had in mind, but otherwise it was one of the most adorable dresses I had seen in a while. I almost walked away because I just knew it was expensive. But a small voice told me to "Go see..just in case."

So I went in the store. And my heart skipped several beats when I saw in came it another color:


It's teal! Well, varying shades of teal and turquoise...which is actually better! Its at this point that I reached into the little dress and sloowly pulled out the price tag. I think I was holding my breath. It said $24.50.

TWENTY-FOUR FIFTY!?!

I had no words. I didn't understand. I was always told that kids clothes, especially from mall stores, were terribly over priced. But here I was standing in front of this perfect little dress. This cute, affordable, tea-length, totally re-wearable dress in our wedding colors. At. the. mall. When I got home, I immediately sent the link to MamaP and the PHI (to ensure he feels included). They loved them! I knew they would.

Even as I sit here and tell you about them, I can still hardly believe it. Every time I see those little pictures, I swoon. Our flower girls (all 4 of them) are going to look so cute! Take home message? If you're still shopping for flower girl dresses, don't count the mall out. Well that, and walk through the mall when heading to Piccadilly. Don't just drive over there.

♥

*Except those one's that are supposed to look like mini bridal gowns. Those aren't cute. They're creepy.