...to stop lurking! Or so it appears. 
I'm new too. Have been watching for a while. Occasionally dipping my toe in with a response. My name is Nikki, I'm in Washington state, and am getting married in November. Ask away with any other questions!
I have two questions/conversation topics of my own:
1) Please help me add a picture to my signature...it can't be hard, lots of people have them, yet I remain in the dark! How do I do it?
2) Did any of you have a less-than-perfect dress trying on/buying experience? I bought my dress, and I love it, but it was a rough day. I went with my mom and she was really offended by the sales ladies doing their commission sales thing...I took it as par for the course and didn't feel that they were over the top, I am able to quietly assert myself. I wasn't going to come away with something I didn't like, after all, so they could flutter about with false flattery all they liked and try to sell me plastic pearls for $150, but I wasn't going to be swayed.
Plus my mom really liked some of this season's current fashions. There are some really pretty and trendy styles out there, but personally, I haven't been trendy a day in my life and so I fell in love with a simple, classical style and decided to go with a cathedral length veil to give it a little oomph. I tried on a few I liked, but I really loved the dress I chose - she had a hard time with it though and kept pining over one I'd tried on and liked ok earlier, fretting over me not choosing that one both in the shop and on the ride home.
On an episode of Say Yes to the Dress the host (I forgot his name – Tim Gunn?) said that a woman old enough to get married is old enough not to need her mother’s approval. I think that’s a pretty good rule, so that made me feel better about the day, but it wasn’t a very pleasant experience as a whole. My mom is my mom and I love her, but I'll admit that I wish she'd had a smile for the sight of me in a wedding dress.
Any of you have not-so-picture-perfect dress shopping experiences to share?