Wednesday, Nov. 05, 2008

Say Yes To The Dress

As I carried on my mundane grocery shopping for wheat bread at Costco, I noticed the expiration dates: Sell by November 5th.

I took a look at these delectable chocolate pastries: Sell by November 5th.

I got to this hallucination (as I always do) about myself, being sold by November 5th. You see, about 24 years ago, this date is my birthday. Since I'm adopted, it's highly unlikely this is my real birth date, but it is my Sell By date.

This year is not a big milestone. 24 just sounds so blasé. I'm more looking forward to being a quarter-century old, so my mind set is "get this year over with already!"

However, this coming year should be a huge one for me. I'm getting married, after all.

Another date that has been picked out in my life is my wedding date, which also lands on a 5th.

Exactly a month after getting engaged, I picked out what will forever be the most expensive piece of clothing I will ever own.

The dress is by Maggie Sottero. I had picked her collection months ago when Mr. Big and I first talked about the idea of marriage. She is classic Hollywood, very refined and all about the woman's silhouette.

My mother, sister and I headed to a particular store that we heard carried Sottero's collection. There, we learned we were pronouncing the designer completely wrong. Doh!

Sottero names each of her dresses, instead of assigning a number. Originally, I wanted the Paigley, which was a beautiful lace dress. Unfortunately, the shop only had the Sandrina, which I tried on and loved. The problem, it was so tight and had a mermaid skirt, so I could barely walk, let alone sit.

You never know what kind of dress you'll love until you try, right? So when I tried on a particular dress, I stood there in front of the mirror, wondering if this was it. And then I tried on 8 more dresses.

In the end, it came down to three, but there could only be one. I decided on a dress with a cutaway taffeta train. I was giddy to learn there were Swarovski crystals embroidered on, along with other shiny appliqués.

After deciding on the dress, we began our search for bridesmaids dresses. As my mother and sister browsed, I overheard another mother and daughter picking out their wedding dress.

The humble pair were looking for a dress under $100, and apparently the bride-to-be had a bun in the oven. The mother, had a limp and relied on a cane to get around. The daughter tried on just 3 dresses, and quickly fell in love with the third.

"How much do we have to put down on the dress?" the mother asked the store employee.

"It's 50 percent, so that would be $48," the lady said.

After a slight hesitation, the mother nodded to her eager daughter, to which she flung her arms around her mother's shoulders.

It was a beautiful moment, making me tear up slightly. It was almost a sign, showing me that material things aren't important. It's who you're with and get to share it with that are important. Whether it's a $100 dress or a $1,000 dress, it's the people who are there to support you and want to work through the planning process with you that is priceless.