The Event - The Wedding Dress

Ok, it's been almost 40 years that my wedding dress has been sitting in it's lovely box in the corner of the spare bedroom taking up much needed space.  What do we save them for?  Posterity?  No it's just difficult to discard certain material possessions.  But the other day I had an idea.  I asked Janel if she would like to make Mathilda's first communion dress out of my wedding dress. Mathilda is grandchild # 4.   Janel has been sewing alot lately (those 4-H sewing lessons I spoke about earlier  are paying off!).  She thought it was a great idea.  So the vintage dress in the pretty box will find a new home and a new life very soon!  And I think I will suggest she make a nice little ring bearer pillow out of it as well in case son Cash ever decides to get married!   Recycling is in isn't it?

There are some events in life that one just treasures the memories of.  For me, a special memory is "The Wedding Dress" x 2.  Specifically, sharing the selection of  the perfect wedding dress with each of my daughters. 

In 1994, after shopping in the bigger cities of Lincoln and Omaha, Janel finds that perfect dress at home in Scottsbluff.  An event that is vivid in my memory ~ and the sales clerk's memory as well!  Just last week the former co-owner of "A Bridal Affair" stopped at my garage sale, and after a few minutes of chatting, said "Oh, it was your daughter that bought that ugly wedding dress!"  Yep.



  Janel had a specific idea in mind, and while trying on a dozen other dresses, I browsed the racks and found an ivory and gold brocade with a tulle train sprinkled with gold  "glitter."  That's right ~ glitter!   It was so ivory/gold that it looked brown next to the white dresses on the racks.  Yep, really ugly.  Since it was the style she was looking for ~ sheath, off the shoulders, tulle train ~ I convinced her to try it on for the style she was looking for.  She literally dragged the dress across the floor to the dressing room disgustedly mumbling  "this dress is so ugly I don't  know why I'm wasting my time."  A few minutes later she came out of the dressing room, radient, smiling!  We gasped!  She  said "this is the dress."  We  beamed.  The perfect dress.  Perfect fit. Perfect everything.  It was even marked 75% off because it looked so "brown" on the rack no one else ever tried it on.  It had been on the rack a long time!  On Janel it was beautiful. And Janel was beautiful in it.  An event to remember!



 

In September 2004, Janel and I planned a "girls trip" to California  to visit Alexis and wedding dress shopping was on the agenda for Lexi's July 2005 wedding.  We buzzed around the San Francisco area to a few different stores, the first one being what we  decided was a very upper class store.  We spent about two hours there while Alexis tried on $4,000 - $6,000 dresses ~ obviously out of our price range, but fun anyway.  She found one affordable dress she particularly liked by  famous designer Monique Lhuiller, but something was just not "her".  We continued our shopping elsewhere, and late in the afternoon we went back to the first store to revist the Monique dress.  While there the second time, we asked "Don't you have ANYTHING on SALE?"

 

The clerk starts bringing out  "sale" dresses.  Among them was the perfect dress ~ strapless airy chiffon with green embroidered flowers. Sounds about as "weddingish" as gold brocade!  Alexis tried it on.  We were  in awe!   Classy!  Perfect.   "This is the dress!"  On  Alexis it was beautiful, and Alexis was beautiful in it!  We cancelled the next day's appointment at the really big bridal shop.  Done!  We spent the rest of the time in and out of bakeries  for cake ideas, and other fun places in San Francisco.  An event to remember!

Sharing those special events with my daughters will always be treasured.  Recalling those memories is an event.  My daughters are my eventful friends!  I love them.  I think we need to start planning another "girls weekend" together somewhere.  That's a good idea!