When I was planning our wedding I guess I was a little non-traditional in a way. I wasn't excited about the dress. Not one bit.The thought of trekking from Bridal store to Bridal store just seemed like a chore to me, and wasn't something I looked forward to. I didn't want a traditional gown, and definitely not white.
We were to get married in October, so when July rolled around I thought I had better at least start looking. My Ma and I headed into the City to look at dresses in 'normal' shops to see if I could find anything that I liked.
The first shop we walked into was Lisa Ho. I looked at a few dresses... and then picked one from the rack. It was latte in colour and in a style that I felt would suit me. A girl emerged from the change room in a white version. She was skinny and beautiful. I sighed and entered, undressed and tried my dress on.
I felt awkward. I didn't want to come out, especially with Miss Perfect next door wearing the same dress. I called Ma in and asked for her opinion. She loved it. There were no tears, magic moment or feelings of it being the dress.
It fit me though, and I felt that was a miracle in itself. I asked the lady behind the counter to keep it aside and we'd have lunch and think about it. We looked around a little longer and eventually stumbled across Alex Perry's store. Alex Perry makes the most amazing dresses. He was in the store himself, vacuuming the floor as they were about to close for lunch.
I picked up the most beautiful, sparkling blue dress from the rack and eyed it up and down. It most definitely had wow factor.
Do you have this in size 14, maybe even 16? I asked Alex.
He looked up from his vacuuming and quickly replied, No.
I looked at the size 10 dress in my hands and then ambitiously asked, Do you think I could try it on and leave the zip undone?
No, Alex responded.
And that was that. I promptly placed the dress back on the rack and headed out for lunch with my Ma. We'd looked at about 4 stores, and I'd had enough. We contemplated the dress from Lisa Ho. We called my Big Sis and asked what she thought. I can't even recall what she said, but we went back and got the dress.
Two weeks before the wedding I had a bridezilla moment. I regretted not trying on more gowns. Perhaps I wanted a traditional gown. Perhaps just a full length gown. What was I going to do?
I was going to email Lisa Ho, that's what. I emailed Lisa Ho and asked if she could alter my dress and make it full length. Back then, that seemed almost logical. I didn't batter an eyelid at how crazy that sounded. Of course she emailed me back and said that they didn't offer that service.
And so I wore the Lisa Ho shorter dress, and it was perfect. I wouldn't have changed a thing. It suited our wedding perfectly, and as every bride does, I got the most touching comments all day. I felt more beautiful than ever before. It was meant to be.
What did you wear on your wedding day? If you're not married, what do you dream of wearing?
