What's going on?

I had my meeting with Jillian (my dress designer) yesterday. We talked about design, fabric, etc. Looking at my inspiration board below. We are goign with a funky strap like the braid, a trimmed waist, empire waist and tea length.
Chris and I are going out of town Memorial Day week-end and luckily there is a big warehouse style fabric store that sells online. I am going to go buy some samples to bring back and then we can order the yardage online when we find out what we need. I also hope to find some trim or an applique for the waist. Jilliam can hand bead it but that would go WAY over my budget. My original dress budget was $500. I want to stick to that plus the cost of fabric. The thing about working with an artist is I can't get a flat quote because she will design it as we go along. You are assured that I will nag her along the way - "So if we add this how much does it add to my price?" Having seen some of her more complex designs I know I can keep it in budget if I don't go off into fairytale princess land once we get started.