I did it. I walked right in there, told the consultant what my business there was, and got the deed done.
I am now the owner of one wedding dress.
I began this process about two months ago and enjoyed it about as much as I expected to enjoy it. Just in case you aren't aware, I really, really don't like shopping for clothes. I hate the overwhelming choices around me, I hate pushy salespeople, I hate dirty dressing rooms, I hate the fluorescent lighting, I hate getting undressed and dressed over and over again, I hate modeling whatever I'm trying on in front of strangers and feeling their judgmental glares (whether positive or negative - find something else to look at please!). And obviously every bit of all that is what wedding dress shopping is all about. I see other brides walk out of their dressing rooms ceremoniously, step up to the platform like they're an offering to the bridal gods, stand in front of mirrors coming from all directions and allow themselves to be gazed upon for minutes and minutes and minutes on end.
Me, I tromp out of the dressing room, struggling not to step on or catch any of the yards and yards of overkill fabric, get a good look in the mirror, declare I like it or I don't, and it's on to the next. Heaven help the consultant who tries to stick some god-awful veil in my hair or even dares to bring a tiara within view. Which is exactly what happened. Not only is the veil that nameless consultant shoves into your skull a bedazzled nightmare, but they make an unholy nest out of your hair in the process of making it stick. And all without asking first. I do believe I said, "No veil. I'm not a veil girl. I won't wear a veil. No, I don't 'gotta just try it'. I'm pretty firm on this." (In all honesty, I'm slowly getting over my anti-veil stance, and moving into a strict rules-apply veil area.)
And then, just I'm approaching my fake-smile limit and tell the consultant that I'm getting the dress, she giddily chirps through some over-rehearsed speech about how special this moment is and the salon believes that every bride is unique blah-blah-blah....and then hands me a gargantuan bell and tells me I have to ring it. I'm already flustered from the overcrowded McSalon, irritated about the forced veil/tiara issue, and feeling a little weird being here by myself among throngs of other brides with every woman they know. No, I don't want to call yet more attention to myself by standing in the middle of all this and making loud annoying noises! I did it anyway so I wouldn't look like a complete grouch, and because the poor consultant who had been assigned to me, probably the most reluctant bride that day, looked more excited about the whole thing than I did, and I didn't want to to let her down even more after ripping the veil and tiara out of my hair as soon as she got them in.
After changing and heading to the front of the store to get my dress details and pay, I blew out of that place as fast as I could. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled to have picked a dress, and picked one that's not abhorrently priced. I really do keep imagining my wedding day and all the special moments of the day and how I'll look for Andy. It's a gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous dress. So sophisticated and clean and untarnished by frou-frou extras like bows, ruching, billows, and applique. Perhaps my favorite detail is the fact that it's an Oleg Cassini, the designer who created timeless pieces for Jackie Kennedy and Grace Kelly. As unenthusiastic as I have been about the dress shopping process, I'm so happy with the dress I picked, and can't wait to have it in my possession later this summer, fitted and tailored just for me.
I am now the owner of one wedding dress.
I began this process about two months ago and enjoyed it about as much as I expected to enjoy it. Just in case you aren't aware, I really, really don't like shopping for clothes. I hate the overwhelming choices around me, I hate pushy salespeople, I hate dirty dressing rooms, I hate the fluorescent lighting, I hate getting undressed and dressed over and over again, I hate modeling whatever I'm trying on in front of strangers and feeling their judgmental glares (whether positive or negative - find something else to look at please!). And obviously every bit of all that is what wedding dress shopping is all about. I see other brides walk out of their dressing rooms ceremoniously, step up to the platform like they're an offering to the bridal gods, stand in front of mirrors coming from all directions and allow themselves to be gazed upon for minutes and minutes and minutes on end.
Me, I tromp out of the dressing room, struggling not to step on or catch any of the yards and yards of overkill fabric, get a good look in the mirror, declare I like it or I don't, and it's on to the next. Heaven help the consultant who tries to stick some god-awful veil in my hair or even dares to bring a tiara within view. Which is exactly what happened. Not only is the veil that nameless consultant shoves into your skull a bedazzled nightmare, but they make an unholy nest out of your hair in the process of making it stick. And all without asking first. I do believe I said, "No veil. I'm not a veil girl. I won't wear a veil. No, I don't 'gotta just try it'. I'm pretty firm on this." (In all honesty, I'm slowly getting over my anti-veil stance, and moving into a strict rules-apply veil area.)
And then, just I'm approaching my fake-smile limit and tell the consultant that I'm getting the dress, she giddily chirps through some over-rehearsed speech about how special this moment is and the salon believes that every bride is unique blah-blah-blah....and then hands me a gargantuan bell and tells me I have to ring it. I'm already flustered from the overcrowded McSalon, irritated about the forced veil/tiara issue, and feeling a little weird being here by myself among throngs of other brides with every woman they know. No, I don't want to call yet more attention to myself by standing in the middle of all this and making loud annoying noises! I did it anyway so I wouldn't look like a complete grouch, and because the poor consultant who had been assigned to me, probably the most reluctant bride that day, looked more excited about the whole thing than I did, and I didn't want to to let her down even more after ripping the veil and tiara out of my hair as soon as she got them in.
After changing and heading to the front of the store to get my dress details and pay, I blew out of that place as fast as I could. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled to have picked a dress, and picked one that's not abhorrently priced. I really do keep imagining my wedding day and all the special moments of the day and how I'll look for Andy. It's a gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous dress. So sophisticated and clean and untarnished by frou-frou extras like bows, ruching, billows, and applique. Perhaps my favorite detail is the fact that it's an Oleg Cassini, the designer who created timeless pieces for Jackie Kennedy and Grace Kelly. As unenthusiastic as I have been about the dress shopping process, I'm so happy with the dress I picked, and can't wait to have it in my possession later this summer, fitted and tailored just for me.
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