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The Dress

Taffeta, silk, crinoline, pearls, silk flowers, ruffles, bustles, sweetheart, v-neck, cathedral train.... You guessed it, I was in a bridal boutique. One of those great moments moms get with daughters is shopping for a wedding dress. And as every bride will tell you, they know when THE dress is found. 

I remember that moment myself, uh..a long time ago now.  Lo and behold the very first dress I tried on was the dress, although several more dresses were brought out just to make sure.  It was a short shopping trip, but the dress was on sale, fit perfectly, and I whisked it out the door that day.

The boutique we visited on Saturday was relaxing and sophisticated. Debussy and Handel furnished the background music. The deep-carpeted showroom was full of lush and lovely dresses of every kind. The owner, a Brit immediately set us at ease, listening carefully to Emily's vision of her special day. He and his assistant began to explain the designers they carried and gave her a set of clips to identify dresses she wanted to try on. Lorie, mother of the groom and I found comfortable chairs in the dressing area as Emily began her quest.  We had a two-hour appointment and I wondered how many dresses we'd go through and if she'd actually find what she wanted. One dress...two dresses...three... and more were tried on. She looked beautiful in every one of them.  Some of the price tags made me feel a heart attack coming on, but she bypassed them. The owner, James took me aside and said, "I want her to try something completely different. I'm going to find it now and send it into the dressing room." 

Moments later Emily appeared and we all knew it was THE dress. Her face was glowing; the smile was confirmation. She swished, twirled, and looked at it from every angle. Veils were then placed on her head, more smiles, and James stood in the background looking pleased.  He agreed to hold the dress until the end of the day (the sample dress was available, on sale, and didn't need to be ordered).

Since we had more appointments at other boutiques, we enjoyed lunch together and then it was on to next store.  I have to say our experience fell flat as the dresses and staff gave us a less than desirable time. In an hour we were on our way back to get the dress.  The other appointment was cancelled. Emily modeled the dress one more time. Her smile said it all. The plastic was handed over. The dress was safely zipped into the designer bag. Mission accomplished. She's going to be a gorgeous bride. 

Beautiful, but not the dress

Also beautiful, but not the dress

Comments

Debbie R said…
Ahhh ... brings back some sweet memories of my own trip to find THE dress. The first one was ... well, too princessy. The second wasn't right either. But number three! I knew it, and everyone else knew it too. Perfection!

Enjoy every minute of your daughter's trip to the altar.
July 23, 2012
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