So in the middle of all this mess of selling a house, buying a house, moving 200 miles and quitting my job*, I’ve also been planning a wedding. (And for those of you who have asked, yes, I do have a Wedding Registry at Amazon.) Ok, so ours is not the kind of wedding that requires much planning, but there are things to be done. So far we’ve taken care of the officiant, photographer, venue, guests (all two of them) and accomodations. The only thing left is ordering my bouquet. Oh, and getting me a dress.
That’s right, the wedding is a week away and I don’t have a dress yet. Yeah, I’m a dipshit. But that’s not exactly news, now is it?
*(I’ve kind of glossed that one over, but yeah, I quit my job. I liked my job, but this not working this is kinda cool. But that’s a story for another entry.)
So yesterday I made the trek down to Sacramento to go shopping with my mom. We started out going to a bridal shop, mostly just for curiosity. I found a couple of dresses I liked, but they were $300 – 500. I realize that’s not exactly pricey for bridal attire, but I didn’t really want to spend that much. Besides they were way to floofy for me, and most would make Beau Hunk look underdressed in a suit.
We headed to Nordstrom Rack next, and spent a sum total of a minute in that store because the stock was pure crap. There wasn’t anything even vaguely near what we needed in there. So next we headed across the street to the real Nordstrom.
Where we hit paydirt! Mom and I found a blouse and pants outfit that worked just perfectly. The pants were kulotte type – where they looked a lot like a skirt. The blouse was a drape front, with sheer long sleeves and tuxedo cuffs. They both were in ivory. Elegant, dressy, but not over the top. They would also work well if I wanted to wear them to a cocktail party or a very nice dinner out. Not that I go to a huge number of cocktail parties (like none), but with Beau Hunk going into law, that may change.
But what didn’t work was the size. The pants were size 8 and were tight, but worked because they had an elastic waist. The blouse was a size 6 though, and I couldn’t even get it to zip up. But I did get the concept of the outfit and knew I liked it. The price was right too – well under $200. The wonderful salesperson checked inventory and found the blouse in size 10 and 12 (not sure which I would need), but they were in Santa Ana – southern California. That doesn’t do me much good. But she assured us she could order them and have them shipped overnight and I could return whichever size didn’t work for me. It’s so nice to know that customer service still exists!!
Deciding that having the items shipped would be a good option, but wanting to make sure there was nothing else I was missing in another store, we walked the mall. We hit a half dozen other stores and didn’t find much. We found a few dresses that were really beautiful and would be lovely for this occasion, but they weren’t very flattering. You see, although I had a goal to lose 20 pounds before my wedding, I managed to not lose a single ounce. I think I actually gained weight.
So I’ve become even more lumpy and chubby than I was, which ruled out all sheath-style dresses. They looked ridiculously bad. I’m sure I could have stuffed myself into a full-body girdle and made one work, but I’d rather be a little more confortable than that. Besides, it’s pretty much a given that I’ll be photographed (I am 50% of the main attraction, after all), and I’d hate to look at those pictures and be embarassed to show them to anyone. I’d rather hide everything behind a nice curtain of folds, thankyouverymuch.
We ended up ordering the outfit from Nordstrom. It will be here Friday. Hopefully, when I put on the clothes in my size, it will look as nice as I imagine it will. If not, I do have a plan. It involves panic, wailing, and the imitation of decapitated poultry. You’ll note I never said it was a good or rational plan, but it is a plan.