Vanessa Minnillo had troubles when shopping for her wedding dress

Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo © Yithzak Dalal/Hilton Media Group

Wedding dress shopping is every girl's dream, however, for Vanessa Minnillo it turned out differently then she expected. She says to People Magazine, "Normally this is something you do with your mother, and my birth mother hasn’t been in my life since I was 9. I have been okay with that up until now but for some unexplained reason, it really overtook me. I felt lost, confused and sad. It was very emotional."

Luckily she had her matron of honour, Jennifer Birmingham-Lee, to help her decide. Vanessa, 30, worked with Monique Lhuillier to find the perfect dress, but it was more difficult than that, "This was the hardest decision in the whole wedding planning … probably because I didn’t have the support of Nick. We decided everything together, even his tux. For the first time, I felt a little bit alone." When even Monique Lhuillier and Jennifer couldn't help her decide, she turned to her now-husband for support. Vanessa asked Nick, "What do you want to see me in when you marry me and I become Mrs. Lachey?" Fortunately, Nick had a helpful response ready. He said, "Something traditional with a little modern flair." Then it all became clear, "Literally the next day I went to Monique and tried on my three dresses for the zillionth time. As soon as I put it on, I knew this was it."

Sketch of Vanessa's two-piece dress © Monique Lhuillier