Wedding Blog

I may have downplayed my borderline psychotic behavior during the hunt for the Amsale Bali. Allow me to share.

Gmail > Open Documents > Piglets Wedding Budget Spreadsheet *tap*tap*tap*. My restless fingers began typing away, reallocating funds to offset the pending purchase of the Amsale Bali. I was stoked. Saks was offering the dress at nearly 20% off. At the time, I convinced myself that this was a steal. We had until Saturday to make a decision (we, being Piglet and sista, since I’m incapable of making a decision on my own). Thursday passed… Friday… Saturday… (hmmm open spreadsheet)…

Sunday. No dress. Couldn’t do it. Damnit Pig! Weak sauce.

The Search: I weaned myself off of repeated searches/wanted postings on Craiglist, PartyPop, etc. and began perusing through the Hawaii Knottie bios. My heart dropped when I came across Mrs M’s bio. Not only was she wearing the Bali, but she was an East Coast bride that wed in Hawaii! What luck! Dismissing the notion that I would come across as a stalker, I emailed her asking if she’d be willing to sell her dress. To my utter disappointment, she had sold the dress months prior.

The search continued. Is this unhealthy by the way? A month or two later, again while lurking on the boards, another sighting of the dress. New girl, new hope! Ignoring the stalker perception once again, I reached out to Mrs D about the dress only to discover she purchased the dress from Mrs M. A twice worn dress?

The Decision: Did I really want to wear a dress that’s been worn twice? Surprisingly, this was somewhat of an easy decision. This was it. This was the dress and the price tag wouldn’t break the bank.

The Challenge: Would it fit? See picture above. This is the photo I sent to Mrs D to explicitly point out my measurements from my little boy chest to different areas at my waist. Looking at pictures, I was clearly bigger than Miss D who lives in California. I couldn’t purchase the dress with confidence without trying it on.

The Conquest: My VW bridesmaid and I had planned an extended weekend for a girl’s getaway in San Francisco. It just so happened the week we were leaving, I was asked to attend a meeting on behalf of Mr P… SCORE! This was my opportunity to fly to LA and try on the dress that Monday before heading back to work on Tuesday. The day was intense so everything was planned to a tee.

• 4:00 AM: Woke up; rode Bart to SFO
• 6:00 AM: SFO to LAX
• 7:45 AM: Cabbed to Mrs D’s since Best Man was en route from Hawaii back to LAX
• 8:00 AM: Tried on dress. Dress zipped up (sorta) - SOLD! Hugged it out. Left with dress in hand.
• 9:00 AM: Cabbed to Best Man’s. Danced in dress for him. Got ready. Put on Face.
• 12:00 PM: Best Man dropped Piggy off at meeting
• 3:00 PM: Piglet walked back to Best Man’s apartment
• 4:00 PM: Visited Mr P’s LA Showroom in Fashion District
• 5:00 PM: Din din with Best Man and Mr P’s cousin
• 6:00 PM: Snooze
• 8:00 PM: Best Man dropped Piggy at airport
• 10:00 PM: LAX to IAD
• 6:00 AM: Arrival at IAD
• 8:00 AM: Work!

Mrs D and M were dolls throughout the process. The Amsale is tucked away for now. Fitting into the dress may be another obstacle to tackle in the coming months. So now I am the proud owner of this twice loved, well traveled dress. From DC to Hawaii to LA to Hawaii to VA back to Hawaii. Sissy Pig recently said, “if I’m skinny enough, I’ll wear it.” Fourth time’s the charm?

What hoops of fire did you jump through to purchase your dress?