Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:00a.m.
There's always been a running joke amongst mine and my fiancés family about when we'd actually get married. Despite getting engaged on New Years Eve 2007, whenever you asked my future husband (FH for short) about our plans, his reply was always "we're not getting married"! I had the bling but our plans had stalled for a number of reasons: 1) we were having our first child, 2) we'd just bought our first house, and 3) FH's brother was planning the wedding of the century in December 2008. Well we have run out of excuses now! Our little boy is not so little anymore, our first house is now just 'a house' and the wedding of the century has been and gone!
So here I find myself in the middle of planning a wedding, on a budget (and a tight one at that). Did you know the average wedding in New Zealand costs approximately $35,000?!
We're hoping to do it for less than a third of this, ambitious? Yes. Realistic? Possibly!
The Saturday just gone was a big day for me, it was the first time I went shopping for The Dress. Armed with my mum and my big sister we visited two bridal stores. I had no idea what to expect - this is the moment every girl dreams of but I was more nervous than excited. I knew what I didn't want in a dress – white, strapless, meringue-like or with a ridiculous train, but I didn't really have any firm ideas about what I was hoping to find.
The two stores we visited were completely different. The only thing they had in common was that they both charged you for the privilege of trying on their dresses. Store Number One was very much a DIY store – you chose the dresses that you wanted to try, and then you figured out how on earth to get them on (no mean feat with all those petticoats).
The major problem with this store was that they had limited sizes available - I tried on everything from a size 10 to a size 18! Let me tell you, it is very hard to decide if you love a dress or hate it when it’s done up at the back with bulldog clips (I kid you not).
Store Number Two was a relatively unknown store. We turned up expecting to wade our way through the dresses and decide what to try on. How wrong we were! I was shown to a changing room and given a torsolette* to put on. Thank goodness I wore decent underwear as I was expected to get down to my smalls and be assisted into each dress.
Another point of difference - the dress choice wasn't mine! Each was chosen for me for a specific purpose. By process of elimination the assistants could slowly figure out what worked and what didn't, with the aim of finding The Dress. Now the best part about this store was that their dresses were lace up so could fit a range of sizes without the need for bulldog clips! The other great thing is that they do made to measure gowns, so they can take all the different bits I love and combine them all to make The Dress.
And do you know what my biggest surprise was? I think I now want a white dress!
*Fantastic invention – lifts the girls up and sucks in the mummy tummy! I think I should invest in one of these for everyday wear.