Monday, November 10, 2008

Attire: The Dress




Wedding dress = Princess for a day

When this whole shebang started, I was the bride who was dead set on bucking tradition. A right hand ring for engagement, a slinky, sexy dress with colorful, killer pumps, and absolutely no bridesmaids. No aisles or giving away. Then something called the wedding bug hit me. Maybe it was all of that Knotting and Wedding Beeing that I did like a good little bride. The online browsing turned to shopping which turned into a full fledged wedding complete with dress, shoes, and attendants (not bridesmaids, more on that later)

As a newbie to this wedding thing I had absolutely no idea that the wedding dress industrial society was so, shall I say, involved. Mothers and best friends making a day of helping you put on and take off dresses that cost as much as two semesters of tuition at FAMU (Go Rattlers!). It was all so overwhelming to think of spending $2,000 on a dress when our budget was only $10,000. Then I learned of the sample sale, which actually should be named the cattle call for stylishly frugal brides.

Not knowing what to expect, I got up early, dropped the fiance off at work, and drove to Oak Brook in rush hour traffic, thinking I would be the first one there at 9:00 a.m. Not so much. There were about ten other brides and their mothers and best friends squealing and fawning over the most amazing dresses. The wait for a dressing suite was about 30 minutes so I continued to browse while trying not to drown in the taffeta and silk the other girls were slinging.
THE dress was the first one I tried on. Princess AJ took over as soon as the silk hit my skin and the dress lady zipped me up. At that moment I realized just how my practical, non-traditional lesbian wedding turned into this amalgamation of who knows what. But the great part about that princess moment is that it only set the budget back $215 + $100 for alterations. (hint: one of these dresses is the one I'll be wearing)

Photos from Brides.com

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