Dress Woes

Today, I was wearing a curtain. Several, in fact. In search of my perfect dress - the only thing, other than actually getting married, that I truly care about in this process - I went to a bridal shop today to try on some styles and see which suited me best. I was also hoping to get a sneak peek at how the dresses are sewn together.

My plans were flawed. I did not expect not to be left alone, even during the process of getting dressed. There I was, stripped bare down to my underwear, having a complete stranger with me helping me into and out of various dresses. it's NOT a great feeling.

Honestly, I didn't like most of the dresses. I was looking for variety and found that almost every dress was sleeveless, A-line and the only thing that really differed were the decorations. Now, I like A-line. With a protruding post-op belly I will never fully get rid off no matter how many pounds I shed, A-line is my saviour when it comes to hiding any extra flab. The problem is the top. I am not one who can pull off pure corset-style. Don't get me wrong, I have plenty of boob. It's the arms that are the problem, where they overlap with the corset.

The few sleeved dresses the shopkeeper had were not that brilliant. I was astonished how cheap they felt. For me, even though it's tradition, the netting took the elegance away from the dress and put the tack on.

Worst of all, she wouldn't let me leave again! I honestly felt that unless I had tried on every dress in the shop I was forced to stay and make polite conversation whilst trying desperately to get a closer look at seams and dress parts. Feigning that my far-away mum would want a say (not too far off the truth, but I wouldn't listen), I managed to convince her to take some pictures of me in what appeared to be the least offensive curtain.

It looks quite nice, don't get me wrong, though in this picture not only have I gone up from an 8 to a 12, but my head is also 3 times bigger than normal. I just felt so uncomfortable. The dress was heavy, which I expected, but I didn't think walking in it would become a new art. Knowing me, I'd stumble, fall and expose my underwear in front of the altar. Not the way I wish to go about this.

The lady showed me a loop I could use to hold the dress on my wrist whilst dancing. Nice idea, but not for me.

I asked to have a look at accessories and decided that making a tiara would be easy enough and far undercut the £75 asking price. I got the beads, wire and hairband and spent, maybe, £12.

So far, I have gathered the materials for the dress and tiara, spending around £150. Together with the corset I will need to buy, I am hoping to spend around £200-£250 altogether. And time. Lots of time.