The Dress

A few months ago, when my student employees were looking for their wedding dresses, I looked at some of the pictures with them, just for fun. I saw one dress that I absolutely LOVED. It was one of those pictures that you see and know instantly that it's out of the question because nothing that gorgeous would ever fit you, and it would probably cost a gazillion dollars. But that didn't really matter anyway, because they were getting married, not me.

But then it turned out that I WAS getting married! Suddenly I could think about wedding dresses for myself! I had not forgotten that dress, and I kept it in mind so that when I went shopping, I could look for dresses that had some of the same features. I had it in my head that when my mom came to visit (her trip was about a month out at that point), we would go shopping together, and she would help me pick my dress. Knowing how busy these places can get, I called the first lady just to schedule an appointment for when my mom was there.

I also called because I have pretty specific requirements when it comes to the way dresses fit, so I wanted to ask if she even had dresses that she thought would work for me. I mean, if she didn't, there was no point in even going there. So I told her about my needs and then told her I wanted to schedule an appointment for about a month from then. She gasped and said, "You can't wait that long!" Her concern was that if we waited till then, and we needed to order a unique size and make alterations to it, there wouldn't be enough time before the wedding.

I was not prepared for this. Girls are supposed to go wedding dress shopping with their MOTHERS! But if we couldn't wait till my mom was in town, I asked when the lady thought I SHOULD come in. She said, "Um, can you come tomorrow?"

Ok, now I was really devastated. Tomorrow? So now not only could my mom not come, but I had to go by myself? (Because who would drop everything and go with me on less-than-a-day's notice?) I really wanted to cry. As I sat there freaking out, the lady looked through her inventory to see if there were even dresses that might fit me at all. She found three and said she had actually just sent them over to her "sale store," so I should go there the next day and try them on. I wrote down the numbers and hung up.

I still wanted to cry, but miraculously, I didn't. Instead, I went online and looked up the numbers the lady had recommended. And wouldn't you know it...the first dress I pulled up was the very same dress I'd seen all those months ago when my students were looking for their dresses and I wished on a star that I could have a dress like that when I married my own dream man.

I could not believe it. The dress I wanted in my size, in my color, and on sale. I just couldn't believe it. I called my dear, sweet friend Aunt Giraffe and asked her if she could by any chance go shopping with me the next day, and she lovingly agreed. The next morning, she and I walked into the bridal store, found the three dresses that had been recommended, and I tried them on.

My dream dress was just as beautiful as the picture, and it fit me better than I had hoped. The lady in the store took pictures of me in it and emailed them to my mom, and she and my dad got on the phone so we could all consult. Not too long after that, I walked out of the store with the perfect dress.