Count down: 10/88 (days of engagement/days till wedding)
"We're under 3 months now". While I have gotten lots of things done, I need a few more things to get done before that statement doesn't make me a little nervous.
I started this blog mainly to give advise to my future self that would be planning Kaylee's wedding. I don't think this entry will have any great insights into that, but I still felt like getting a few of my experiences and thoughts down on paper....er.... I mean internet-cyber-space.
Yesterday was indescribable for several different reasons. I'm still kind of shaking my head over it. All I can say is: I love technology, I love people who make it nice, I love that glow that can light up Manhattan and I had no idea how connected lessons from Harry Potter were to wedding dress shopping.
Amber was up in Idaho last week. Mitch brought her to Provo on Sunday and I went and picked her up and we looked for wedding dresses.
Kaylee, being the maid-of-honor as well as the best friend/sister in all of this, is in London on semester abroad and will remain there until 8 days before the wedding. Things like missing her sister trying on wedding dresses have been particularly hard for her. I told her we would bring the laptop w/ a web-cam, and if any of the dress shops had wi-fi, we would try and Skype with her (internet video conferencing). That way she could see some of the dresses. I even called the shops I knew we were going to in advance to see if they had wi-fi.... sadly, none did.
The first place we went to was an old building. We walked in and it was a little dirty, a little stuffy and the carpet looked liked it was put down right after the pioneers got there. The only sales lady was on the phone and didn't really pay much attention to us for a few minutes. The whole store was so cluttered that walking past someone in the aisle gave me the same feeling I do when I am seated in sacrament meeting at church and need to get up and leave for some reason: excuse me, pardon me, excuse me. None of that really matters at all if you find a dress that is loved, but we didn't. Tried a few on - no magic. Left.
We arrived at our second stop. It was in a building that housed many different businesses. We walked in and it was small, but clean and nice. Josh Groban was playing softly in the background (ALWAYS a good sign). I pulled out the laptop to check for a wi-fi signal from the dress shop. They did not have one, but I was picking up a signal from another business in the same building. It was password protected so I couldn't use it.
The sales women came out and introduced herself as Nicole (LOVE the name!). She asked a few questions about what kind of things Amber wanted in a wedding dress and then whisked her away to a dressing room. She said she would help Amber with everything she needed and we were to just sit and relax....hmmm..... I sensed some pampering and I was going to love it!
I used this time to go look at the directory for the building and find the company whose wi-fi signal I was picking up. They were two stories directly above the dress shop. I went up, entered the office and found one man. I told him the situation: Daughter downstairs was going to try on wedding dresses. Another daughter was in London desperately wanting to be part of this wonderful experience. Then I humbly asked if he would be willing to allow me to access his internet. Without saying a word, he smiled, wrote down the password and gave it to me!
I ran for the laptop, booted it up, logged onto Skype only to find that Kaylee was not logged in. When we had spoken a few days earlier I had told her it would be a long shot for us to meet up so I was not too surprised she was not there. Then - about 2 minutes later Kaylee logged on!!! When she came up on the screen I explained to her where we were and that Amber hadn't even come out in a dress yet. Kaylee started crying immediately. She was so happy!!!!! :) I Love Technology.
Amber told me that while they were back there Nicole fussed over every little detail. First, she wouldn't let Amber look in the mirror until she was perfect. Once the dress was on, Nicole tried different veils and added a necklace. Amber said she made her feel so special. I Love People Who Make It Nice.
A few minutes later the door opened and out walked Amber in a beautiful dress complete with jewelry and veil. We all "oooed" and "aawwwwed" and I took the laptop all around the dress so Kaylee could get a good look at it. Nicole fussed over Amber the whole time. While it was great, we all knew it wasn't THE dress. Amber and Nicole retreated once again into the dressing room.
A few minutes later Amber walked out and it was a vision. It was different in this dress. She glowed!! It was amazing. While we tried a few different tops to go with the skirt (it is a 2-piece set) we all knew that was the one. We took pictures, walked around her, looked at the front, looked at the back, looked at the front again. Walked with the laptop, walked without the laptop. Sat down and looked, then stood up to look and started all over again. This whole time all Amber did was stand still and glow as she looked at the dress in the mirror. I Love that Glow that can Light up Manhattan!! It was perfect for Amber and that is what mattered most. She loved it! We were done. Mission accomplished!! Kaylee was able to be online with us the whole time. **sigh**
We had more time before we had to leave for home, and so we went to a different Bridal Shop that was in University Mall. This time because it had a HUGE inventory of Brides Maid dresses for Kaylee. That store was big enough that they had several Brides trying on gowns all at the same time with plenty of space for each of them. As I watched each one, I learned that I could tell if the bride was going to buy the gown she was wearing. There were four brides standing at mirrors. It was: no, no, Yes, no. Or in other words: no, no, GLOW, no.
We then went shopping all over the mall and ended up back in the bridal shop to ask one more question about a dress for Kaylee. Once again: no, GLOW, no, GLOW.
In Harry Potter you learn "the wand chooses the Wizard". Yesterday I learned "the dress chooses the Bride"...... I had no idea how connected lessons from Harry Potter were to wedding dress shopping!
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