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As you know by now, I absolutely abhorred wedding dress shopping. It was all fun and games in the beginning, but as the months went by and I did not find anything within my budget that I liked. I became extremely discouraged. While planning a trip to visit my sister out of town, I asked her to contact some bridal boutiques so I may see if I had some luck in a different city. For the life of me I could not understand how I lived in a fashion capital of the world, but could not find a dress! I mean, I now know it is because I am frugal, but still….

So one morning, my sister and I, armed with spiked Lattes and breakfast sandwiches, set off to visit three boutiques in one day. I was adamant about getting a dress soon, as my wedding was four months away. We visited a cute little boutique and, of course, it was full of overzealous brides. Oh how I detest these wet behind the ears, entitled brides!

As I had been looking for over three months, I knew exactly what to look for; sweetheart neck, corset, trumpet or mermaid fit and flare style in ivory. It took no time for me to locate and pull three dresses that not only fit the look, but were also within my budget.

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A very nice attendant at the boutique (and only Black one working there) quickly offered her assistance and started helping me into my first gown. As she laced me up, I noticed I started smiling as she laced up each loop. “I just might not throw up little sis, this actually might work!” The dress is on, I am snatched to the gawds and I think we have a winner. I immediately grab the price tag, gasped at its price because it is below budget AND then the attendant utters these words: “Oh, we can take another $200 off of that, we really need to move these gowns.” SIGN ME UP!

To top it all off, my sister decides to buy the gown for me as a wedding gift! Today could not get any better. The attendant rings us up, but I leave the gown there so it can be cleaned and so I could come back later for alterations which (surprisingly) were both included in the purchase price. Or so I thought…

After leaving the gown there for over a month, I was told that the dress has been cleaned and is ready for alterations. I travel out of town for my first fitting only to be informed that I have to pay for the alterations to a tune of well over $500. NO MA’AM! I take the dress to my seamstress aunt to see if she can do the job for less and she can. Only problem is there is a pen mark on the train of the dress, so it has to go back for cleaning again.

I dropped the dress off to be cleaned for a second time and, no lie, almost two months passed until they call me to come get the dress again. As I am out of town, I asked my sister to go pick up the dress. She goes to get the dress and then calls me to say, “The boutique says that they could not get the stain out of the dress, so they are offering you a new one.” WHAT!?

She continues by explaining this “perfectly new dress” and even sends pictures. I hate it. My sister, knowing how rowdy I can get, encourages me to just try it on to see, because I might like it. I hop on the next thing smoking out of town, arrive at my sister’s house, try on the dress and like I said before, I hated this new dress. The bust was different, the size was different and to top it off, it was NOT the dress my sister bought me.

There was sentimental value in the previous dress. I called the boutique and informed them that I do not like this new dress and that I will be returning tomorrow to get the old dress and would just have to figure out how to cover up the pen mark. They say “Ok,” and said that I should come in the morning.

Armed with attitude and the “new” fugazi dress, I go to the boutique and ask for my old dress back. The attendant on duty informs me that I need to speak with the owner who is on the way to the shop, so I have a seat. Not only do I have an attitude now, but I have to again sit through more overzealous brides trying on dresses. GREAT!

The owner arrives 15 minutes later, I ask for my dress and she says, “We can’t find your dress, the dry cleaner lost it.”

Word to K. Michelle, I had visions of molly whopping that chick over the head with a bouquet of flowers.

HOW IN THE HECK DO YOU LOSE A WEDDING DRESS TWO MONTHS BEFORE MY WEDDING?!?

…To Be Continued Next Week: Part II-– I Got Wedding Gown Goons!

About the Author: She holds multiple degrees, is a natural born socialite, a business owner, an extreme exerciser of faith and a realist. After 3 years of dating and a year of being engaged, she is ready to tell the truth about what to expect when you are transitioning from being a single woman with no worries to a future wife. For the sake of these articles, let’s just call her Nina. After all, that was here “Club Name” for over 15 years….so yeah, introducing Nina.

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