Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Wedding

I've been absent from my blog because my Dad got married on Thursday (Valentine's Day). The wedding ceremony itself was good but it was sandwiched by lots of stress. I'll have to write about it sometime, but not now. Not yet.



I think weddings in general must be stressful. When one of my best friends from high school (Melody) got married she asked me and our friend Syndee to be her bridesmaids. I went with my Mom to get fitted at a bridal store where Melody was renting dresses. The woman at the store took one look at me and declared me a size 5. (She was the expert. She fitted dresses for a living). My mother assured her that, being well-endowed, I would not fit in a size 5. Of course, I had to put on a size 5 to prove to her that while the rest of my body fit, my chest did not. The dress would not zip up. 

I put on the next larger size, a size 7. It fit perfectly. She made a note in her book and then "humphed." "I was so sure she was a size 5," she told my mother. "It's the bust," my mother explained. 


On the evening of the wedding reception Syndee and I showed up at Melody's house. The dresses were laid out on her bed. We picked them up. We looked at the sizes: size 5 and a size 3. "What size do you need?" I asked Syndee. "A 5," she answered. "But the lady swore I would fit in a 3." Hmmm. Go figure. Obviously she sent the sizes she thought we should fit in. 


My Mom came in. As an expert seamstress she removed the darts and unpicked just enough that I was able to squeeeeeeeze into a size 5 and Syndee was able to squeeeeeeze into a size 3. We took only shallow breaths and didn't eat a thing. It was an uncomfortable night. 


We were young and wanted to go immediately and tell Melody of our dress disaster, but my Mom stopped us. "Don't you dare tell her," she said. "It's her day, it's her wedding. As far as she's concerned everything is perfect." So we never told her, and it was a beautiful evening. She was happy. And as soon as the cake was cut, we were back in jeans and t-shirts. I hope she never wondered why. 



(disclaimer: maybe I fit in a 9 and she sent a size 7 and 5, I don't remember. All I know is that I'd love to fit in any of those sizes now :)

2 comments:

Damama T said...

Your mom was a wise woman. That day should be perfect for the bride. Too many people forget that it is HER day and try to make it about something else altogether!

I'm sorry your dad's wedding was stressful. I'm sure it was hard enough to watch him marry someone else without anything else added in.

I'm betting your friend would love to hear that story now. I recently confessed to a friend of mine that the collar on the dress I wore was sewn on backwards. She said she always wondered why it looked a little strange in the pictures! LOL!

Lynne's Somewhat Invented Life said...

Welcome home. If you need to talk about the day please call, otherwise I'll see you on Wednesday. Sorry, I cannot imagine how the day could not be stressful.

Hey, I would love to be the size I was when I THOUGHT I WAS FAT when I was a teenager. Loved the story. And you.