After Mindy's divine encounter with Carrie, the rest of the day was pretty quiet. There was this cute blond that came in with her friend, asking if we had party or "reception" dresses. Let me expand on this term. Apparently, the current trend in regards to wedding dresses is that one is not enough. Now, women need one dress for the ceremony and then one for the reception, hence the term "reception" dress. I guess weddings of today are more like Taylor Swift concerts with outfit changes between sets.
This little chick-a-do explained that her wedding was next month (July) and although she already had a dress, she felt that she would be too hot in it, since the ceremony and reception were going to be held outside.
Here she had already spent $800 on a dress and now is willing to spend more for another one. And, with the wedding less than three weeks away, she would have to buy something off of the rack since it was too late to order anything for her.
She picked some dresses out and fell in love with the first one she tried on. Literally, she LOVED it. When she came out to the three-way mirror, her whole countenance changed. You know why? Because it was the dress she was meant to have. There she stood in a billowing fairytale gown made of layers of soft dotted-swiss netting. It was perfect for a naturally beautiful young girl. It was very romantic and youthful, with a bit of whimsy, like her. The color was ivory, but it was more like buttermilk and was so pretty against her fair skin. I didn't know much about this girl but I knew this dress defined who she was at heart. And the cherry on top was that it fit her perfectly...no alterations needed except for a bustle.
Now, the girl who was with her was a true friend because she tried to keep this distracted bride from making another bad decision. It's not that she didn't like the dress; she was truly worried about the cost.
The bride-to-be did come down from the clouds enough to tell me that she had bought her original dress last August from a bridal shop that has since gone out of business. She had the dress with her and I asked if she could bring it in and put it on for me and Mindy.
When she walked out with her dress on, I didn't say anything right away. Standing there in front of the mirror, she looked pretty. It was a completely different dress than our dress, so I couldn't really compare the two. It was strapless, sweetheart neckline, A-line, in white satin with crown-shaped gold embroidery all over the dress. It fit her curves very nicely, but it just seemed too formal...too old for her. I kept wanting to say "Anastasia...oh my Anastasia!" Give that girl a velvet robe and satin gloves, and she's ready for her coronation as queen.
Still, I found myself obligated to talk her into keeping this dress. Some bridal associate I turned out to be; I should be trying to sell her a dress...not talking her into keeping the one she has. I brought out a gold satin sash that had the same pearls and crystals on it that her dress had and tied it around her waist. BAM! It was the perfect accessory...as if it was meant to go with it in the first place. Man, I'm good. Then Mindy and I played dress up with this life-sized barbie, picking out earrings and necklaces and hair pins and flowers to go in her hair.
After we were done playing barbie, the overwhelmed bride did feel better about keeping her dress. She was going to order the belt, but later. She and her friend thanked us and left the shop, with the original dress in hand.
About a half hour later, the girl came back and proclaimed that she had to have the fairytale dress. She couldn't stop thinking about it. She tried it on again and was transformed into the woodland fairy princess (minus the wings) that had danced out of the dressing room an hour ago.
Mindy and I once again played barbie, accessorizing our fairy princess from head to toe. I got so caught up in the moment that I suggested that she put her hair up in a messy bun, accentuating it with a white silk flower hair clip above her ear. I went to show her how to do this style but stopped suddenly, with a wad of her hair still in my hand.
In the midst of my excitement, I totally forgot about the fact that I had no clue how to style some one's hair.
I just plunged forward with the notion of showing this girl how a soft loose bun would compliment the romantic beauty of the dress.
I had the picture in my mind and I had the (unusual) self-confidence to do it. It was the realization that I didn't know HOW to do it that made me stop. If she would have asked me if I knew what I was doing...I would have said "No, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night."
The awkward moment ended when I opened my hand and let (the now) tangled ball of hair drop to the girl's shoulders. I regained most of my composure by diverting her attention to jewelry. I'm pretty ok with jewelry.
It was settled. This cute little apple-cheeked young lady was walking out of the shop with a new dress. Mindy, being the caring Mindy that she was, knew of a seamstress who sold dresses on consignment. She called the woman who was willing to take the dress.
So, as if by the wave of an imaginary magic wand, I witnessed a young woman enter as a plain jane but leave as a fairytale princess...minus the mice, the pumpkin and the midnight curfew.
Hopefully, she'll live happily ever after.
The End.
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