Dresses

Even though I already found a dress that I think is going to be just perfect for my wedding (if only it would hurry up and come in the mail!), I figure this is the only time I'm going to be a bride, so I might as well take full advantage of the situation and go to the Bridal Boutique at Macy's and try on big puffy fluffy dresses. I arrived without an appointment (which shows how much I know about this whole wedding-planning thing) with my two roommates in tow and spent about an hour looking at the dresses, trying to find one that wasn't strapless, but secretly loving several of the strapless ones anyway, just because they are all sooooo pretty and feminine.

Finally, one of the sales ladies was free to help me try dresses on. Sylvia was a hoot. Clucking over me like a grandmother hen, she whisked me into a beautiful cream colored wedding gown with a beaded bodice, empire waist, and a long flowing chiffon skirt. It was so pretty! Then she stuck a veil on my head and I strolled out into the viewing area. There my roommates were in chairs while I got to stand up on a little stage surrounded by mirrors and act like a Barbie doll. I posed and smiled, and felt radiant. Even though I knew it wasn't the dress I was going to get married in, it was just so much fun to be dressed in such a gorgeous creation. However, the second dress I tried on was even more beautiful than the first. (It is pictured above.) Having just one shoulder to the dress really framed and accentuated my other shoulder, and let me just be honest--I have nice shoulders. While I'm normally not a fan of the ruched waistline, this particular dress looked really good. Then, Sylvia stuck a veil on my head, and I felt like Grace Kelly. I have been trying to think of what kind of veil I want, and now that I've seen a few veils up close, I really feel like I could make one for myself easily. Thirdly, Sylvia helped me try on a white white gown. The first two had been cream colored, and she wanted to see how I would look in stark white. I looked good! I told her I'm a winter. Nobody uses that color chart anymore, but she knew exactly what I meant, and she said that while I could wear either cream or white and look great, I might as well wear bright white because it is more dramatic and I can carry it off. She was very complimentary, and funny. "What a fun job," I said, "to help brides choose their dresses!" She said she loves it, and not only that, she writes historical romance novels, so it gives her inspiration. As I stood up on the bridal dais, twirling and swishing my voluminous skirts of tulle and chiffon, Jessica surreptitiously took photos of me with her i-phone (cameras not allowed!). Sylvia told me (in the nicest manner) that I'd better hurry and decide on a dress because if I'm going to get married in June, there isn't much time! I told her I just needed to talk to my mom, but I would get back to her soon.

It was just a white lie--I didn't want to say that I was just playing, that I couldn't wear a strapless or one-shouldered dress, and that I have already found the most beautiful vintage dress that will be more practical and more perfect than any of those princess gowns I tried on. I just wish it would hurry up and come in the mail! I found my ideal dress on etsy, and it is truly vintage, from the 1950s. I love it because it is old, it is one-of-a-kind, and because it is simple and practical. Made of linen, it will be perfect for a summer wedding, and it's not so formal that I could never wear it again to another event. Plus, it is about one quarter the price of the most inexpensive dress at the Macy's Bridal Boutique. I just hope it looks good on me! Nevertheless, it was so much fun to try on big puffy wedding dresses and, with visions of storybook weddings dancing through my head, my next stop was Kate's Paperie to look at wedding invitations!