"Oh no! You went to the Zoo?!" the woman exclaimed as she fitted my wedding dress for alterations.
I'd gone to the Zoo, David's Bridal, first. This was 30 years ago mind you, and I thought I was hot shit when I answered the question "What is your budget?" with "$1000". What did I know about wedding dresses?
I waited in a tiny cubicle for quite a long time before the saleswoman brought me a yellowed, torn, grubby piece of trash for me to try on. I tried it on, got the idea that I wasn't welcome there, and left.
Thus began the search for something suitable to be wed in. I suppose I could have taken the difficulty of that task as a clue to the future difficulties of the marriage, but I didn't. My future husband and I had been living together for eleven years already (the rabbi used the word "finally" at the ceremony), had a few businesses together, owned a house together, raised cats together, all amicably. What could be so hard about adding children to that mix?
I eventually found a lovely dress that made me a happy puppy, and cost me less than $1000, alterations and all.
I am so glad I did not spend $10,000 on a dress.
This is my entry to @mariannewest's daily five minute freewrite challenge. Today's prompt is zoo.
As you might be able to tell from the photo, even at the wedding things were not going as planned. Here, I was peeved with the photographer, whose lens is visible on the right of the photo. Hubby looked happy though, and I like remembering him that way, since there were so few happy moments thenceforth. At least I really loved that dress.
What a gorgeous couple you were ... yes, signs of difficulty are visible ... thanks for the note about David's Bridal ... not that I WOULD go there or spend anywhere near $1,000, but all Guardians of Earth Healing Knowledge ought to be equipped with the knowledge to keep people out of the Zoo ...
Love your reply, DeeAnn!
And love that photo!!! Wow, gorgeous couple is right! And love your attitude, Stacey.
I laughed at the Zoo, aka David's Bridal, and managed not to wince and gnash my teeth....
My mom sewed my wedding dress. In hindsight, I wish I'd found one used somewhere. for $300, I could have gotten one new at J.C. Penny's, but I was young and fashion-challenged.
Enter my daughter, major in - of all things! - Fashion Design. I expected she'd sew her own dress. HA HA
She bought it, for almost a thousand dollars (new!). Ok, bridesmaid dresses: keep it simple right?
DAVID'S BRIDAL, six "canary yellow" gowns, all requiring fittings and alterations. (Sssh, don't tell, but I did alterations myself on our other daughter's dress. And I did them totally the "wrong way.")
Oh what a punishment for me to endure all those visits to David's with the younger daughter trying on all those dresses, and me thinking there was no more fitting way for the older daughter to rebel against me than to insist on a conventional church wedding with matching bridesmaid dresses and the whole nine yards.
All the world is a zoo at the present moment. The trick is to find a place to hide.
Hi owasco,
Visit curiehive.com or join the Curie Discord community to learn more.