Though it should have, the thought of going alone never even crossed my mind. Of course I invited my mom and one of my sisters (my other sister was out of the country). I also wanted my matron of honor to join me, being that she is my best friend and that we have very similar tastes. Finally, because I have wonderful relationships with my future in-laws, I invited my fiance's mom and his sister, who will also be a bridesmaid. Oh, and the matron of honor brought along her 1-year-old daughter, who is super cute and also my God-daughter. So that's how many people? Yep, seven including me! I must say, we had quite the posse.
Four bridal salons later, the day was a huge disappointment! Only a couple of the dresses I wanted to try on were on hand, and only one of my three "absolutes" was available, style 2020 from Alfred Angelo, which just did not appeal to me. I had far too many people along, each with thier own taste and opinion. To top it all off, I wasn't feeling particularly well for most of the day.
When it was all said and done, despite the fact that all the dresses were beginning to look alike, I did find two promising beauties: D904 by Essence of Australia and "Mirabella" by Maggie Sottero.
I loved the feel of the satin and the peek-a-boo lace hem on the Essence dress (without the straps though). And Mirabella's tulle skirt and train was truley charming! But I still didn't get that gotta-have-it, that's-the-one feeling about either dress. More than anything, I still wanted to try on my two other "absolutes!"
So, over the course of the next week, I visted numerous other bridal shoppes, still dreaming of the Platinum by Priscilla of Boston dress I first fell in love with. Knowing better from my first dress shopping experience, I went solo. I drove anywhere from 20 minutes to almost three hours, only to be disappointed each and every time. I never did find Casablanca 1900, but I did manage to locate Anjolique 1018. I thought my search was finally over, but I knew the instant I put it on that it just wasn't right.
Then it happened. I was at yet another bridal salon, paging through the dress racks as the attendant followed me around scooping up "hopefuls" to put in the dressing room. I came across a dress I will never forget. It was "Hindu" by Pronovias. Prior to this dress, I hadn't even considered this designer, because I had the impression that it was beyond my budget. This dress proved otherwise. I'm still not sure why I even picked it up, because it was so.... different. All along, I had been looking for a dress with bling, a dress with a vintage flair, a dress with lots of lace. This dress didn't have one bead, not one rhinestone, not one inch of lace. Instead, it was light and airy, modern, and even a bit whimsical. It was a dress that everyone would certainly remember. I put it on, and it felt perfect! I instantly loved the hankerchief skirt, the pleated material, the simple beauty of it. But in the back of my mind, I couldn't help but wonder, "Will he love it as much as I do?" You see, my fiance is quite conservative, typical prefers tradition, and basically doesn't like change. The voice in my head ever-so-softly whispered, "This is far too modern, too different, for him." So I drove home with a heavy heart, still not knowing what dress to choose.
That night when I arrived home, I did something most brides wouldn't even dream of doing. I printed out pictures of about a dozen dresses, Hindu included, and gave them to my fiance to look through. I told him to set aside any dresses that he really did not like. I know it's taboo for the groom to see the dress, but I wanted more than anything for him to love my dress as much as I did. My eyes filled with tears as the beautiful Hindu quickly made it into his "no" pile. He could tell I was upset and told me over and over again, "Buy the dress you love because I will love whatever you wear!" I know he meant well, but it just didn't help.
I had finally found the dress, but I knew that my fiance didn't like it! I felt more torn than ever. Now what?
To be continued...
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