So it was no surprise that when she set out a week after getting engaged Christmas morning to find her wedding dress, the dress of her dreams didn't exist in her head.

Strapless? Chiffon? A-line? "I had no idea what I wanted," she said.

Two weeks after the hunt for the perfect dress began, she was full of opinions. A strapless dress, for sure. One that showed she had hips. No beading. No lace. And something a little different, but not too out there.

Three stores into the process, she found it: A strapless white silk gown by a couture dress designer in California.

To hear her describe it, it sounds an awful lot like her personality: elegant and classic, with hints of flirtiness and fun, and just the right amount of uniqueness to set it apart.

"I knew I wanted to look different," she said. "It's fun, like me. I'm very playful."

By the end of the month, her gown was ordered. She'd picked out a veil. And she'd already moved on to the grueling task of finding a dress to flatter all her bridesmaids.

Her wedding July 30 to Marcus Hughes is still months away. But fashion wise, there's still much to be done. Her nearly 30-person bridal party still needs to be outfitted to walk down the aisle with her. Mothers' dresses need to be bought. Hughes needs to zero in on a tux. The bridesmaids -- all 11 of them -- need to get their dresses in and altered. And the four flower girls need dresses.

Although the check list is much like that of any other bride planning a big family wedding, Bell's isn't just another wedding. It's a wedding of some social and political significance.

Both families are well-known in Durham. She is the youngest daughter of longtime Durham politico, Mayor Bill Bell. And Hughes is from one of Durham's most prominent families, the Spauldings. Asa Spaulding, a leader in business, education and social issues in Durham, was Hughes' great-great-uncle. His grandfather, John A. Spaulding, helped write a book about the family.

Their families have had interwoven connections over the years. Bell even played with Hughes' cousins growing up. But there's never been a connection like the wedding that will join the families in July at the American Tobacco Project in downtown Durham.

When Bell and Hughes met eight years ago, family ties were hardly a thought. The two were working at Campus Hills, a recreation center camp in Durham. Bell started working there when she was 16. Hughes was 22. The two were barely acquaintances.

When Bell returned to the camp two years ago while she was in graduate school, Hughes was working at the camp as leisure-service specialist.

"I always knew who he was," she said. She was attracted to him because he was always so friendly and playful -- much like her. "He was always so positive," she said.

When camp ended at the end of the summer, Hughes asked her out. The relationship blossomed.

Now with the engagement, the entire family has become involved. The dress was the first big step.

The dress

It didn't take long to find the dress at Victorian Rose Bridals on Glenwood South in Raleigh. The salon, which has been around for more than decade, is known for carrying midpriced to couture gowns. It's also a full-service salon, doing anything from supplying a bra when the bride tries on gowns to pressing the dress before her wedding day.

Bell, a language arts and dance teacher, had been there years before, looking for her cotillion dress. And she remembered the endless selection of gowns, which can be daunting for some brides.

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