Minutes after landing in Charlotte, NC. Waiting to get our rental car to head to South Carolina!
On Friday, November 6th--my mom and Nonni flew from Burlington International Airport and arrived in Charlotte, NC by 3:30pm. It was the first time I ever flew in a plane with my mom, as well as the first time with my Nonni, so it was great to have a mini vacation with these very important women in my life.
We rented a car and drove to Greenville, South Carolina, where the shop of my wonderful gown designer is located. It was a fun drive since we saw so many billboards (a big difference from our state, which has no billboard signs), and we experienced a lovely 4-lane highway--it was just a little scary! haha. Even though I attend college in a good-sized city, I couldn't get over the amount of tractor-trailers on the road. We were sandwiched between so many trucks carrying loads of who-knows-what, but we survived! We had Mable, who came in very handy (sometimes). When I won the title of Miss Vermont, Ashley Wheeler's (Miss VT '08) family donated a GPS for me to use during the year. If you know me well, you know that I like to give names to random objects, so collectively, my family decided on the name "Mable" for our GPS. Mable was helpful with most of the directions, but sometimes I think she liked to get us lost for fun. At least Greenville was a fun city to get lost in!
As soon as we reached our hotel, we unpacked and rushed over to the Overlook Grille, to meet up with Kelly Sloan, Miss South Carolina, and her mother. We enjoyed a delicious meal and had a great time catching up on what we've been up to since we first met in August at MAOTeen in Orlando. I have enjoyed staying in touch with many of the incredible women I met at MAOTeen, and I look forward to seeing them all in Las Vegas! It's coming soon!
Outside with Kelly--standing on a bridge that overlooks some beautiful waterfalls.
As soon as we finished dinner, Mom, Nonni and I headed back to the hotel to get some rest; but first we watched the new episode of "King of the Crown." This show is a hoot--it airs on TLC, and it is actually based in Columbia, SC--a city that I had the opportunity to visit (keep reading). I was hoping to run into Cyrus during my visit, but our paths did not cross. Maybe next time!
Saturday morning was the day that I had been waiting for! Miss America Wardrobe fitting!! One of the best experiences during my year as Miss Vermont was meeting Gregory Ellenburg while at Miss America's Outstanding Teen in Orlando, Florida. I was at a tradeshow looking at all of the beautiful items from various vendors, when I ended up stopping at Greg's table. Since Vermont is not a pageant state, I learned a lot at this tradeshow about various designers that specialize in pageant gowns. I was not aware of who many of these designers were, so when I was talking with a friendly man at the Gregory Ellenburg table, I did not realize that I was talking to The Gregory Ellenburg! I ended up having a great conversation with Greg (without realizing who he was), which turned into an incredible friendship. Greg offered to help me with my Miss America wardrobe, which was a huge blessing for me! I have heard horror stories of contestants going into the debt over their Miss America wardrobe. I've always dreamed of having a gorgeous wardrobe for the national competition, but when I was crowned Miss Vermont, one of my first thoughts was how I was going to raise the funds to have my dream wardrobe. Many of you know that the Miss Vermont Organization has been going through a transition this year, and with this transition, there has been a limited amount of funds available to support Miss Vermont's expenses. I'm proud to say that our state is in the process of getting a wonderful board put together, so hopefully future Miss Vermonts will have more money to access through our organization. I've been so fortunate to have many wonderful supporters throughout our state, and the generosity and kindness from community members has been simply extraordinary. But, the expenses involved in competing for Miss America can add up quickly, and being a woman who truly benefits from the scholarships that the Miss America Organization provides, finances have constantly been on my mind. I wore a $120 gown at Miss Vermont, and I have always been a bargain shopper. But with this once-in-a-lifetime experience, I wanted to find a way to not focus on the money and clearance shopping, and make sure that I found a wardrobe that I was absolutely in love with. I 100% believe in the power of positive thinking, and I believe that my positive mindset was what helped lead me to meeting Gregory.
It was great to reunite with Gregory after meeting him several months before. We have talked on the phone several times, and he really let me put my input into his designs. I fell in love the sketches of my wardrobe, and Gregory did a wonderful job of incorporating my personality into his designs. The first outfit I tried on was my talent costume. I thought it was beautiful when I first put it on, but I did not realize that I was only wearing the shell of the costume. All of the sudden, Gregory magically assembled a costume in front of my eyes, and I starred in the mirror with amazement as he kept making my costume even more incredible with each stage of the fitting process. I love it! I think you all will love it as well!
The gown is something that I've been dreaming about since I first saw the rough sketches. When I first put on this gown, I could feel the tears form in my eyes. It's perfect. It really is the perfect gown for me. When I turned around to show my mom, the look in her eyes solidified my feelings about this gown. It's stunning. It's unique. It's completely me. I have never felt more beautiful in a gown than when I tried this gown on...and it's not even 100% complete! Ahh I get goosebumps. Gregory Ellenburg is so talented. I know that many contestants try not to reveal who they are working with until closer to the pageant, but I am too excited to not share. You all can have a preview of my gown at my send off party on January 9th.
After the first fitting with Greg, I headed over to Identity Salon in Greenville to work with Susan Grant. Susan is a fantastic hair and makeup artist and has been a supporter of the Miss America Organization for years. Susan gave me some wonderful advice and tips, and styled my hair and makeup for an appearance later that evening.
On Saturday night, I had the honor of attending a preliminary competition for the Miss South Carolina Pageant--Miss River City. The pageant was in Columbia, South Carolina, which was about an hour and a half away from Greenville. My mom, Nonni and I attended the pageant with Gregory and Jonathan who works with Gregory. The ride to and from the pageant was just non-stop laughter! It was a great ab workout for me. This was the first year for Miss River City, and I was very impressed with the production and the quality of the contestants. It was a very entertaining evening, and it was fun to sit and watch, although, part of me wished I could run up on stage with all of the girls! It was a great evening!
Mr. Edward Peterson, a Miss America Board Member, attended Miss River City!
Sunday was another fun-filled day, as I spent the afternoon with Amber Finley (a former Miss South Carolina 1st-runner-up) and Taylor Fitch (Miss America's Outstanding Teen 2009). These ladies were so kind and down-to-earth, and gave me some great advice which will travel with me to Miss America. I really appreciate their friendship and I hope to reunite with them when I return to South Carolina before Miss America!
After meeting with Amber and Taylor, my family and I went into a couple stores and then headed back to Greenville to go out to dinner with Gregory. We decided to have some "cheat food" so I had a delicious BBQ Chicken meal with french fries! Hey, I was on vacation, right?!
With my incredible friend. The talented Gregory Ellenburg!
Monday morning came far too soon. With one last stop to Greg's shop, I was sad to have to say goodbye! This weekend was jam-packed with great memories and I left South Carolina with an extra boost of confidence. There is a lot that I need to still accomplish before January, but I know that everything will turn out the way it is suppose to. I'm staying positive!
I cannot wait to head back to Greenville to see the final product! Thanks again Greg for your guidance and friendship! You are one of a kind!
~Laura
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