I'm sooooo relieved! After all these stories on TK and on SYTTD of brides buying their dresses then hating them when they have their first fitting 9 mos. later (or even worse the dress doesn't fit!), I was really worried that'd be me. But NO, I looooove her, and she looks gorgeous. Even prettier than I remembered.
She requires more work than I'd initially realized, but nevertheless, it's all totally doable, and I found someone local who's super experienced and will take care of it for me.
We're going with a three-point French bustle, which I had no idea even existed. And I learned that my silver sequined ballet flats might not be the best fit - my ivory sandals will probably work better. All good to know.