The Dress

News of news: I am in possession of my wedding dress. The shop called last Friday to tell me the dress I ordered was finally in. So months of anticipation and slips in belief that this was the perfect dress lead up to Monday afternoon where I had a face to face with The Dress.

The Dress.

Would I still love it?

Did it fit?

Was the color off or would I wish I had gone with the champagne color?

How did it still fit in with our ever-changing wedding plans (thanks a lot to all the wedding blogs I've been reading!)?

And last but certainly not least, was it still the One?

I got to the shop and they pulled the dress out.

I made a face. This was certainly not the dress I ordered.

On the hanger it looked so...expected. I did not want to be expected. I wanted to dazzle. I wanted to be me in my wedding dress not a wedding dress on me.

I sighed quietly to myself. What would I do if I didn't love it anymore? With it all paid for, I would have to wear it even if I didn't love it. There would be no other way. We couldn't afford to not wear it (unless someone bought it off of me for the same price I paid for it). I was resigned to inevitable.

The consultant (not the one I originally bought The Dress from) escorted me to a dressing room. Once the curtains were closed, she proceeded to have me take off my shirt and help me out of my underclothes. By help I mean she took off the undergarment I was wearing, wrapped a corset around me, then proceeded to tell me to take off my pants. I was shocked. Nay, embarrassed. Now, I'm not a prude, per se, but the sheer brusque manner in which I was out of my brassiere and into a corset without so much as a "I'll turn around and let you get undressed" left me speechless. And cold. In my knickers with a perfect stranger and one giggly bridesmaid.

This did not help me love The Dress.

Off the hanger went the Dress, and into it I stepped. Still not convinced, the dress went up, the zipper zipped, and the consultant fussed over where to put the embellished strap dangling by my side. Her being flustered by the placement only intensified the giggly bridesmaid. I had to calmly explain that it didn't matter as I was planning to have it cut off anyways. The consultant breathed a sign of relief, spun me around and there I was in my wedding dress.

Shock sunk in. Giggly bridesmaid ceased to giggle but was shortly replaced with squeals. She loved it. She oohed and ahhed as appropriate. We stepped out to the main showroom and up on the pedestal I went. A few tucks here and there and a pin to simulate the sweetheart neckline I had planned for and the dress was transformed into The Dress I had fallen in love with. There it was. Me in my Dress.

(image by one giggly bridesmaid)

Falling in love with The Dress again did not diminish the fact that the shop where I purchased it was requiring me to take it home right away. How could this be? The wedding is months away and I was still counting on the idea of the first time the Boy seeing me in The Dress was at walking down the aisle.

Giggly Bridesmaid could not keep it at her home as they were in the process of redecorating and she could not guarantee the safety of the Dress. Calls were put out to the Boy who suggested calling the Maid of Honor. Thank goodness MOH picked up as I was on the verge of tears. Her parents could and would keep The Dress in their home. Several more phone calls were made including a short conversation with MOH's mother and the Boy and then me, one excited bridesmaid, and The Dress crammed into her car and drove away from the shop to its home for the next couple of months.

I do so very much love my friends and their family. They keep me sane (which is a task in and of itself minus the stresses of planning a wedding).

Along with The Dress trial, I tried on the headband I purchased with the intentions of wearing it for the wedding. *sigh* It did not turn out the way I planned. Had my dress been shorter and less embellished, I think the peony headband would look sweet. But with all that is going on in The Dress, it sort of calls for my hair off my face either pulled back or cut into a bob!

When I told friends about this, there were cries of anguish with the thoughts of my hair coming off. So to appease them I have agreed to try out some hair styles that will give me the look of the bobbed hair I like (which, if they will keep in mind, I will be returning to after the wedding). B suggested this look and I do think it goes pretty well with The Dress and the feel of the wedding:

(image from Brides.com)

Imagine it with side-swept bangs and either a flower tucked in the back or a cool birdcage veil. I will definitely give it a try. I've even got the earrings to go with it. But that's another story for another day.