Say Maybe to the Dress

Now that the Save the Dates are out, my next priority is finding a wedding dress. So far I have visited two bridal salons. The first being the famous Kleinfeld Bridal in New York. The same place where that TLC show, Say Yes to the Dress is filmed. My mom couldn't make it, so it was just me and two bridesmaids, Mimi and Heidi.

Kleinfeld claims to have the largest selection of wedding dresses in the world, and I had no trouble believing that. There were all kinds of gowns lined up along the walls from all different designers and price points. Having no clear idea of how I want to look, I felt overwhelmed with all the choices. Skirts can be Ball Gown style, Empire Waist, A-line, Sheath, Mermaid. Necklines are either Jewel, Scoop, Strapless, Queen Anne, Sweetheart, Off the Shoulder, and the list goes on and on. No wonder the sales lady laughed when I said "A wedding dress?" when she asked me what I was looking for.

I tried on about 6 dresses and immediately fell in love with two of them. The problem was that my mom was not there to make the final approval, and we were told the dress would be gone after the weekend. As I stayed in the dress, biting my nails and trying to figure out how to get out of the store without the sales lady biting my head off, I noticed my bridesmaids increasingly turning into the angel and devil on my shoulders.

Heidi: "Ava, you do not want to rush into any decisions. If you don't know, then just tell them we'll come back. I'm sure you can find a similar dress elsewhere."
Mimi: "If you know you love the dress, then just get it. What's the worst that can happen if you just put the deposit on your credit card? Will your mom seriously be upset? You look so good!"

I was able to escape with my head and savings intact. Which is a good thing, because upsetting my mom is far worse than annoying a pushy Kleinfeld sales woman.

We finally had a chance to go together this past weekend, along with my other two bridesmaids, Sara and Tiba. We visited Hannelore's in Old Town Alexandria. A much smaller venue, but the funny thing was that my Kleinfeld dress was on display right in front of us as we walked in. A one-of-a-kind dress, my ass!