My only daughter is getting married. It's not going to be one of those big, extravagant, wallet-busting affairs (thank you, sweetie) but there are some things that have to happen whether you get married in the back yard or in St. Paul's Cathedral. Item number one is a dress. Little girls may not all have the same dream but most of them have envisioned how they would look on their wedding day at least once or twice. And it doesn't usually involve jeans and a t-shirt.
Yesterday, was our third shopping trip. The first two outings had been mother-daughter ventures, scoping out viable candidates for future, larger viewing groups. I have to admit, I loved having her all to myself. As I watched her try on that first dress, my mind raced back to the times she had stood in my high heels, rifled through my make-up and pranced around in Belle's yellow gown. It was only right and fair that I had first dibs on seeing her walk that bridal runway for the first time. And when they added that veil . . . It was our moment and I'm glad I didn't have to share it with anyone else.
Having walked away empty-handed the first two times out, I felt confident that we'd have a few more stores to hit before she finally said, "I do" to anything. This is a girl who loves fashion; the search wasn't going to be over until she said it was over. (Sorry, I've been watching a lot of Breaking Bad lately). When she and her fiance recently announced that they were moving their wedding date up a little (like three months from now), that idea went out the window. This was go time. There was no time to order anything. My girl was going to have to go vintage, find a sample off the racks, or scour the E-Bay website for jilted brides' cast-offs if she was going to come down the aisle in something other than her nightgown.
When we sat down yesterday with my daughter's best friend, grandmother, and future mother-in-law in tow, it felt different. This time we were in a small boutique that dealt only in off-the-rack samples and close-outs from other bridal stores. There was a warm, personal feel to this place that the big wedding superstores couldn't touch. And the dresses? Classy, stylish designer gowns without the designer prices. I felt like we had wandered into an episode of I Found the Gown.
And within an hour, she had. After trying on an $1800 number that resembled Princess Kate's and a heavily-embroidered beauty with a ten-foot train that would have been suited to a wedding in St. Peter's, she found it. Unfortunately, I can't tell you what it looked like since that might result in a speedy "uninvite" next to my name on the guest list but I can tell you what she looked like in it.
Beyond beautiful.
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