The Perfect Dress
“What kind of dress are you going to get?”
“Have you found the perfect one yet?”
“What style do you want? A-line, Mermaid, Empire, Column, or Ball Gown?”
“Color? White or Ivory or something crazy and different?”
“Neckline? Scoop, Off the Shoulder, V-neck, Strapless, Sweetheart?”
“I don’t even know what any of this means, I have no idea, mweh pa comprahn.” was my response anytime before a week ago.
Last weekend Julia was in town! She flew down from Portland to visit me and bring some sanity and spice. We haven’t seen each other since our time in Haiti and it has been hard being separated. During her time here we chit chatted about life (catching up on everything from the past 5 months,) went shopping, saw friends from college for our friend Lindsy’s birthday, went on walks, visited peeps from YWAM, watched movies, drove Justin a bit crazy, and took some huge leaps on the wedding planning.
I am so thankful for friends!
Saturday, after a night out with some girlfriends the night before, Natalie (a bridesmaid in the wedding, friend to both Justin and me), Julia and I grabbed some egg sandwiches at Natalie’s favorite café. After filling our bellies, we had a mission to accomplish: try on wedding dresses for the very first time and get ideas of what I want for the big day.
So we headed to a mall- one that has more outlet stores than regular stores and is huge. We knew of at least one bridal shop there and that is where we bee-lined.
Now, I have not been able to really look into the kind of dress I want for the wedding. I originally had this idea of one and my heart was set on it but then I have been swayed by shows like “Say Yes to the Dress” and by pictures in a magazine Justin’s dad got me. I was up for anything and tried on every white gown Nat or Jules threw my way. It was quiet the adventure getting in and out of those wedding dresses, some of them weighing more than me! We had fun and only a few embarrassing moments in the dressing room together.
It was surreal seeing myself in a wedding dress. With there only being a handful of times in life (like prom) where I have dressed up, I barely recognized myself in a floor length, white gown! The dresses I tried on at this particular place all were beautiful and most of them fit well but there was no BAM!!
After trying on too many dresses, we headed off to the next store. We quickly found out that there was not another bridal shop in the mall as we were hoping and asked where another one could be found in the area. A woman said that she got her wedding dress at a boutique across from the mall, just a few minutes down the road, next to Sonic. “Fine, we can get a diet coke with Sonic ice after we look at more dresses!”
Us three blondies jumped in Natalie’s jeep and headed down the road, eyes peeled open for Sonic. Instead of Sonic though, we spotted a bridal boutique- different from the one the woman from the mall directed us to. What the heck, why not stop there and look? It’s store number 2 out of a billion that I am going to have to visit to find my perfect wedding dress.
In the shop we go and straight up to the counter we march. “Hi, can we please look at some wedding dresses. We are new at this but would like for Karli, the bride, to try some on.” says Julia. “No, I am sorry but you have to have an appointment.” Says the lady behind the counter.
With disappointment Julia responds “Oh…. Well, can we just look around? We are just trying to get some ideas.”
“No, I am really sorry but you have to have an appointment for that too and we are all booked for today” the woman said before reaching to grab the ringing phone.
We huddled up and talked about how crazy it is you have to have an appointment to even look (we are VERY new to this) and then decided to go to the one by the infamous Sonic.
“Um actually the woman who is supposed to be here right now for her appointment just called and canceled. I can put you in in place of her if you like” says the woman hanging up the phone.
Jaws to the floor- “Yes, please!”
Off we go into the room filled from floor to ceiling with dresses, veils, sashes, shoes, clutches, and anything else bride-related.
I look through an inventory catalog of every dress the shop has and explain to the woman in not-so-wedding-dress-professional-lingo what “style” I like. Natalie and I did a lot of hand charades up and down our bodies, trying to explain types of dresses to the confused woman. We came up with about 7 to try on.
In the dressing room, the dresses I chose are all hanging off the wall and the woman is in there with me. She gives me a corset to put on in place of the sports bra and a slip to hide my neon colored rose underwear. How am I supposed to know what I had on under my clothes isn’t perfect for trying on white formal dresses?
Out I go in front of a wall of mirrors and my two critics on the elegant couch. Dress number one is beautiful, my favorite thus far but just not doing it completely. Dress number two, three, four, five, and six all got a good response from the girls and the random woman there with her daughter trying on mother of the bride dresses but they just aren’t what I am looking for (which I didn’t even know what that meant at the time.)
While I am getting ready to throw in the towel at this place, another woman who works there comes over and says “I have the perfect dress for you, I am going to be wearing it in my wedding next summer and I think it would be perfect on you.”
“Okay! I am down for anything!” I respond not knowing what to expect.
But then the lady working with me tells her it isn’t what I am looking for at all and I still have a few more we picked out to try on.
So back in the freezing cold dressing room I go, stripped down to my slip and corset and another number gets thrown over my arms lifted in the air.
I come out and again love it but have to pass. Unfortunately at this point Natalie has to leave because she is in her last week of med school (congratulations Dr. Natalie Forsberg!!!) and has studying for finals pressing on her. So, we say our goodbyes and Julia goes with her to grab our huge backpack, laptop bag, and purses from the night before out of the car. It’s a bit awkward to come into such a fancy place with roughed up luggage but eh, we have no shame anymore.
The woman with a different client comes over again and says “okay, I am just going to get it- the dress I am going to be wearing. She needs to try it on, I feel like she will love it!”
And the decision is made to put the dress on me. It’s a size 10, six sizes too big, so the huge metal clasps begin to line my back as the woman yanks it tighter.
I walk out and look in the mirror. Aside from lookin like a scrunge with no makeup and a ratty pony tail, I see a beautiful woman. Besides the dress fitting awkwardly because it is double my size, I look in the mirror and see the perfect dress. It’s beautiful. I envision myself walking down the aisle to the man of my dreams in this dress. I fall in love immediately and start prancing around the store- looking at it in the wrap around mirrors that show every angle.
While I am gazing at the dress, Justin sends Julia a text saying “sneak me some pictures of the dress!!!” which she kindly shoots down. But it’s like he knew I had it on at that moment!
Julia agrees with the dress’ perfection and we hesitantly ask how much it is.
Here’s the thing, they asked what my budget for the dress was and this was my response: “I don’t have one. It’s not that it is limitless or anything crazy like that, it is just we don’t have any money and when we get it we spend it on the wedding, just kinda taking baby steps. So I can’t really tell you how much I would spend because I am not planning on buying one today.”
Justin and I kinda talked about a budget for a dress one day while we were watching “Say Yes to the Dress” and I fell in love with one that had a price tag for $8,700. “It’s a bit too much,” he said “try taking off $8,000 and your closer to our price range.” So I was thinking somewhere between 600 and 800 would be good. (I know we sound crazy with this being our budgeting skills but it has been working for us…. I don’t know how and it does sound crazy to me too!)
So, waiting for the woman to tell me the price I’m thinking “oh shhhhhh, what if it is through the roof expensive, will I still buy it? I need it!! Jesus, please let her tell me $700 or around there, please!”
“It is actually a crazy amount.” Says the woman happy I found a dress after the million we tried on!
“And what is bizarre about this dress is it isn’t listed in our inventory or online. But the dress is” …….. wait for it…….
“The dress is $297.”
“What? No way! What? That’s perfect! We’ll take it!!” I say in excitement with Julia standing next to me in awe.
So, we fill out the forms for a new one in my size to get shipped to Louisville, I give her the $400 cash I have in my wallet and get change back, I sign a few lines, exchange thank yous and huge smiles, grab our suitcases that are sprawled out in the fancy-dancy trying on area and Jules and I head out the door.
Apparently we are still in non-American mindset because after leaving this upscale shop, we truck through the bushes and mulch (backpacks and all) to get to the sidewalk on the other side, not even contemplating to walk further down to use a walkway.
I call Justin who is on his way to come get us and ask him to meet us at BJ’s. After all the shopping and the huge success we needed a celebratory meal. I told Julia we have $500 to spend since we saved that much on the dress! Well, actually it doesn’t work like that so we ordered waters and split a salad. Justin arrived and questioned our scrunge-like appearance and our luggage shoved in our booth with us but then gave me a kiss and Julia a hug. He innocently asked how shopping was and if I got a better idea of the dress I wanted expecting us to say yeah, it was fun and I have some ideas.
Instead of the expected response from us, he was floored when we told him about our day and purchase just a half hour before! It was the talk the rest of the day between the three of us- “Oh hey Karli, umm you just bought your wedding dress today!!! Not a big deal or anything!”
What fun! Who says you need to start looking for your dress 9 months in advance? What do you do when you are getting married in 3 and haven’t even thought about it? You pray. And then you say THANK YOU when Jesus answers your prayer.
Cancelled appointments… a dress not listed anywhere but recommended by a woman eavesdropping on a conversation … finding the perfect dress in less than two hours at the second shop you go to at a price half of what we were expecting to pay? Okay God, could you make yourself any clearer? It could look like a coincidence but I don’t believe in that or in luck, I believe in a Father who takes care of His children!
And this is why we can keep going forward with this chaos of wedding planning- things like this give us a foundation of God’s character, knowing He is here with us every step of the way!
And Justin’s birthday was yesterday- we had fun enjoying brunch, going to a movie, and having dinner with his parents!
Happy Birthday sweetheart!
xoxx
