No this is not the dress. But it's a Maggie similar to mine!
Exactly two months before my wedding date, I found the dress.
Call me crazy, but I found it funny that my wedding is 02/11/2011 at 11 a.m., and I found my dress at the 11th shop on the 11th of December. Who votes 11 my new lucky number?
Saturday morning I was up at 7 a.m. to prepare for the biggest dress sale of the year at Alta Moda, a fancy little dress shop near Trolley Square. Once a year they hold a sample sale where dresses of designers Vera Wang, Monique Lhuiller, Priscilla of Boston and more are sold for a fraction of their original cost- 60-80% off.
Yeah, it's pretty intense. I call it Black Friday- wedding style.
They open the doors at 10:00 a.m. and give you exactly 40 minutes in the dressing room with only four dresses at a time. Being first come first serve and holding only a limited amount of dresses, I guess it's no surprise that a line had already formed when my mom and I arrived at 9:00. But we got in line anyway, cuddling under blankets and nursing our mugs of hot chocolate.
I was desperate. And I mean desperate. How depressing it is to find dress after dress disappointing. I was certain I was too picky, and I was lining up backups, in case the one was simply not in my future. With a single month before my scheduled bridals, the stress was taking over.
When the doors finally opened, we entered the shop one by one. With only 7 dressing rooms, you are helped in the order you arrived, and I was the 9th bride. As we waited for our turn, the anxiety heightened like a pressure cooker. The first three girls to finish purchased dresses- and let me tell you, every one was DROP-DEAD GORGEOUS. I have never seen such amazing, unique gowns before, and they were heading out the door, unavailable to anyone else. The tension was mounting and jealousy floated around the room like smoke.
No wonder they only do that once a year! A competitive enviornment with more than a dozen Bridezillas can not be safe! When my name was finally called, I stood up feeling like Jerry in the waiting room in one of my favorite Seinfeld episodes. "Well... I've been chosen... so long suckas!"
Suddenly I was thrown into a whirlwind of pouf, tulle, sparkle and satin. I was zipped, strapped and buttoned into dress after dress, all three sizes too big, too simple and too expensive. Fed up with sleepless nights of wedding dress worry, my mom had left me a gracious budget for the dress of my choice. While it would be lovely to spend a day in Vera Wang, I couldn't bring myself to purchase a plain jane sheath that needs sleeves, sparkles and a serious size adjustment.
They were beautiful, I admit. But they weren't my dress. When we were kicked out of the dressing room, 25, not 40 minutes later, we felt as if we'd just fallen out of a washing machine. We were completely frazzled, and utterly disappointed that Ines di Santo couldn't cure our long streak of wrong dresses.
To recouperate, we calmed ourselves over lettuce wraps and sesame chicken at PF Changs. I busted out my backup list of SL bridal shops and reavaluated my plan. Our sweet server noticed my desperate plight and pulled out her phone to show me her own wedding dress. She told me about Fantasy Bridal where she finally found the one- a strapless that needed a jacket to cover her garments. I thanked her profusely, and immediately scheduled an appointment at 3:00.
Our next stop was Fairy Godmother's, a woman I'd found on the internet. She's worked out of her home for years, stocked with a great deal of temple ready dresses. But after 5 dresses thrown over my head, I was really getting nervous. They all looked the same- the same shape, the same lace and the same sparkle in all the same places.
I eventually tried her strapless selection and found two amazing princess-style poufs that I was ready to order. They were gorgeous, with texture and detail that was different than any I'd seen. But I still had that 3:00 appointment, and I'm the kind of girl that wants to extinquish ALL options before making a decision.
And boy I'm glad I did.
For the first time in all 11 shops I'd been to, I had a good feeling. Instead of the rush and pressure I'd felt earlier, sweet Hailey told me I could grab six dresses at a time and go back for round two and three if I want. And when you see so many incredible dresses, round three is totally needed.
With so little time before the date, ordering is out of the question. So when I was laced into the first dress and smiling ear to ear, I knew I'd gotten lucky. Somehow this gorgeous Maggie Sotterro was the perfect size and color.
Finally I was left with two dresses, both exquisite and both exceptionally priced. The first- fun and flirty, with personality and crystal organza. The second- a satin Beauty and the Beast ballgown, with little detail, but elegant.
At each bridal shop I was always asked the same question. "What kind of dress do you want?" And at each shop I answered, "Something different." I'm sick of those Utah dresses that you see on your friend, your sister, your cousin and her dog. I wanted something completely unique, seen nowhere but the runway.
But I was worried about what people would say. Being different is difficult. You're up for critique and on display for the opinion of others. When I voiced these concerns the owner of the shop offered me practiced wisdom. "The people you invite to your wedding should think you're beautiful no matter what. Anyone to talk bad about you should go suck on an egg. Your friends and family are there to support you and love you and anyone to do otherwise isn't your friend at all."
Wiser words have never been spoken. And that's why the first dress was sold.
Well, only after a bit of a panic. As we added up the dress, bra, slip and jewelry, my mom reached for her card, only to find.... nothing! In a rush out of PF Changs, we had left her card on the table, and on to our dress appointments. The bridal shop was closing in 7 minutes and we had no money to purchase my dream dress! We zipped off to the nearest America First, praying they'd be open late on a Saturday night. But the luck of the 11th was still upon us, and we were able to withdraw the money needed for the purchase. Phew!!
We returned to the PF Changs to pick up my mom's card. I tracked down our sweet server and expressed my gratitude for her generous help in finding me a bridal shop. I know that without her I would not have found my dress. There we were, two strangers hugging in the middle of a busy restaurant, tears teasing my eyes. I know it was no big deal to her- just a suggestion to help a girl out, but her help ended my search.
I've been having a dream over the past few months. And not just any dream. It was horrific. Brace yourself. I dreamt I had no lingerie on my wedding night. Sounds ridiculous right? I was livid that my shower was heavy on crock pots, baking dishes and picture frames, but that I hadn't received a single thing red, lacy or see-through. I told The Captain about my dream, laughing over the silliness. But he was serious when he said, "It means your worried you'll have nothing to wear." No duh, I've been stressing about my dress!
So long bad dreams, my Maggie will fix that. After 11 bridal shops and a myriad of satin, sequins, pouf and puff, it's true when they say good things come to those who wait.
:)
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