Robe de Mariée

Just got home for what pretty much was the girliest day of my life, a really fun day, filled with emotions I've never felt before.

What was the plan today? Go visit 2 fancy bridal stores in Beverly Hills with 2 really good friends of mine. I knew it would be fun, and all about me... and it was... and more.

This was the very first time I'd been to a bridal store. Ok, well, I recall, when I was 14 years old, visiting my cousin during my summer vacation who was living in Nice at the time, and she worked in the bridal area of a department store. I came to work with her one day and hung out in the back. I can't recall if I actually tried on a dress or not, but I did put on a veil - and that made me feel really special for some reason. I mean, I was 14, no boyfriend (good thing), no intentions of getting married right away, but there was something about having that veil on my head... for once, I felt really pretty. I mean, really REALLY pretty. Who knew that a piece of lace could create such a boost in a teenager's self-esteem.

Fast forward 13 years later, my good friend (we'll call her R), said to me over dim sum in Chinatown last month: "You haven't bought your dress yet? Girl, you need to start shopping now, it takes months to order and about another month to hem/tailor."

Um... what? Here I am, engaged for 2.5 years, my wedding's in 9 months or so, and I really need to worry about the dress? I was planning to get this done maybe 2-3 months before the wedding to make sure the dress fits me (instead of me fitting the dress). But ladies (and gentlemen), apparently that is a big no-no, and you have to get the dress in advance. Ok... that means I get to start SHOPPING!!

So R took care of everything and made an appointment at 1PM today to visit a fancy bridal store, then plan to visit another one a few blocks away who was having a store closing sale. This is in the Beverly / Rodeo drive area of Beverly Hills mind you, so totally shopping for fun. I'm sorry but I'm not spending $5k on a dress I will only wear one day. But hey, if we can get pampered... and my guests can sip champagne while they comment how gorgeous I look... well, I still call that an awesome Saturday afternoon :)

1PM: First store, first experience. Tried on maybe 8-9 dresses. All beautiful. Some fit my figure perfectly, others not so much. And then... there it was. A beautiful ball-gown style dress that fit me perfectly. I tried the veil, the shoes.... and as I stood on that pedestal, looking in the mirror and my friends looked really happy, I almost got a little teary-eyed. This is beautiful. I feel beautiful right now. I truly feel like if babe saw me walking down the aisle in this dress and veil, it would take his breath away and fall in love with me all over again. Man, I am such a girl and I need to stop watching all these chick flicks :)

But seriously, I walked around, took some pictures... did not buy the dress as it was not only outside my price range, but also only my first store, and I want my mom to be there... but for a moment there, I felt like a million bucks. I guess that's why ladies shell out the big bucks for a wedding dress. I just don't think I need to spend over $2,500 to feel good about myself when I can do it for much less. But boy did it feel good :)

Second store: although still high end, 70% off everything because the store closes December 31st, which means employees basically don't care anymore. No employees came to help me get into my dress, the carpet in the fitting rooms had big stains on them, the clamps were industrial sized and my friend had to clamp the dress... yeah, but the good news is, found cute dresses that are more reasonable. Nothing like the first store, but still pretty. Plus, my other friend tried on some dresses too and it was so great seeing her light up inside. She is very skinny and I have curvier hips, so it was cool to see how certain styles fitted her in a way they couldn't with me, and vice versa. Most dresses are pretty, it just depends who wears it.

Then we went to happy hour.... then Anthropologie... then R's house for dinner for cornflake crumb chicken (yum!) and Indian desserts. What a perfect day.

Sorry for the guys reading this, as this is definitely a chick's post... but I really wanted to write down this amazing feeling of euphoria, hope, happiness, and overall feeling beautiful, because it's true, I don't think I've ever felt this good about myself in a long, long time, and I want to read back on this someday and remember.

In other news...

I gave my apartment my 30 day notice 2 days ago, and plan to be packing all Thanksgiving long. Tomorrow is Sunday, and nothing really exciting planned except relax - wedding dress shopping is actually pretty exhausting!!

Today I'm grateful for having such great friends taking me to bridal stores, and for our friendship I've treasured these past 3 years, which I hope does not go away when I move back to SLC next month.

Peace out!