First Try

I finally snuck off and tried on some wedding gowns. I was dreading it, and it was indeed (surprise!) a total pain. But it wasn’t as bad as I expected. You must understand that besides my First Communion when I was seven and the two other weddings I have been in (one was also when I was seven as a flower girl), I have never owned a formal dress in my life, much less tried on a slew of them, and certainly never anything without sleeves. (No, I never went to a formal school dance or prom...yes, I sound like a social leper…as I digress…) So bear with me as my naiveté may shine through a bit. Most of the dresses I am looking at have somewhat of a train, not necessarily a full on cathedral length train (though I am certainly not averse) but they are all at least floor length.

Getting crammed into the bustier by yourself is the first puzzle. I had to have the salesgirl help me. Then, you have to pull the dress over your head, and while it sounds like a simple task, I will tell you that it is not! There are numerous layers, and the material of the gown itself tends to be heavy on top of everything. And with no sleeves to guide me, I actually slipped one over my head only to realize I had it on backwards. With all the layers of petticoats and slips and corsets and bustiers, and pantyhose, and who knows what else besides the kitchen sink, I suppose it’s about a bazillion degrees under there when all is said and done. And I was concerned it might be cold in March! Not any more….in fact, I doubt I will need any sort of shoulder wrap or jacket. The A-line/ball gown style I am pretty well set on has so many layers I had no idea it was going to be that warm. Which makes me wonder: how do brides make it through summer weddings???! I think I would burn up and die of overheating.

And here’s another bit of interest. Although it is the year 2006 A.D. it is apparently still taboo in the current day to have your fiancé see you in your wedding gown prior to the wedding, not to mention have him go shopping with you for it. But what can I say, my bridesmaids are all out of town, as is my mother this week, so what’s a bride to do? The groom wanted to tag along and I didn’t object. It was fine with me to have Jon's company, however the salesgirl (and several other female customers) appeared a bit wary. All that wore off after a while, though and I think everybody got over it. Well, I hope they did. Second thought, I don’t care if they did or not. Ha! So there. Let’s not be archaic. Next thing you know he’ll be taking my surname instead of the other way around. Well, okay, maybe not.