Weddingbee Blog

Kleinfeld, scene of the show Say Yes to the Dress might have been more appropriately named Say I Dunno to the Dress for my visit.

Kleinfeld Bridal Storefront (foto by me)

I saved my Kleinfeld Bridal appointment for a weekend when SF BM (wife of Save-the-Date creator) was in town to make a weekend out of it. In total, I brought 4 bridesmaids for moral support. I booked my appointment during a Monique Lhuillier (my bridal fashion crush) trunk show and my sales consultant was Sarah about whom I heard great things.

First Round Results: Zippo on Dresses

Dress after dress after dress. There was something wrong with every one. Don’t like the fabric, we don’t like ribbon thingies, makes my hips look funky, this one’s overdone, too boring, no way, what IS that on your chest. A long time had passed but SF BM had some fancy M&Ms. That seemed to appease the four of them for a while longer. I was determined to find something. Anything? If not here, then where?

Surprise Contender

Then Sarah stopped by with a gorgeous satin ivory gown. “What about this one? It has ____ _____” The ____ _____ is the part of the dress that threw me off. I leave it blank because I don’t want to give away the surprise just yet. I said to her “You know, it sounds really nice and looks pretty but I don’t think I’d want _____ ____. So I won’t try it on.” Sarah said, “OK,” and was about to walk away when one of my BMs said “Just try it!!” (She sounded hungry.)

I tried it on, Sarah opened the door, and got blank stares across my bridesmaids. Seriously?

“I think… I love it,” I declared.

Crickets.

A moment passed. More crickets?

Then I got nervous and started rambling. I had 4 faces staring at me in the mirror. Eventually people started coming around. However, SF BM had furrowed brows. She did NOT like it at all - the blankety blank was too weird for her. But I wanted us to all be on board (yes, I know I don’t *need* anyone’s approval). My bridesmaids all have very different tastes. I knew if they could all agree then I must look tootin’ great in the dress.

Looking for that “Lovin’ Feeling”

I asked to retry on some of the previous dresses. None of them gave me “special feelings”. I retried on the contender with the blankety blank. This time everyone gave their thumbs up. But I was still uncertain and having taken up 2 hours for a 1 hour appointment, I decided it was time to leave and contemplate over tapas and champagne with the ladies (I told you, food must always be involved when dress shopping, it was tip #something in my survival guide).

Lobster sandwich: NYC bridesmaid, me, college bridesmaids, all still friends after the madness

me and SF Bridesmaid

After Kleinfeld’s

An agonizing 18 hours passed of thinking. I hate thinking. I woke up in my bed, eyes wide open. I HAVE to have that dress. It’s *the* one. All the signs pointed to Yes - it was a Monique Lhuillier, it was the right shape, material, all my girls agreed, the blankety blank made it special.

I walked out into the living room where SF Bridesmaid was sleeping. I bounced on the futon. “IT’S THE ONE!!! LET’S GO!!” She looked at me, grunted, rolled over and went back to sleep.

Back at Kleinfeld’s

Back at Kleinfeld Bridal, waiting for my sales consultant Sarah. I was being silly to kill time… I don’t really know how else to explain this pose.

SF BM and I sat in an empty dressing room waiting for them to come back with the dress sample. 5 minutes passed. Then 10. Then 15, Sarah popped her head in the room and said, “Oh, another bride is trying it on right now.”

Um, right now? SF BM and I simultaneously stuck our heads out the door. There SHE (my one and only dress) was on someone else. Gasp!!! The girl was debating if she liked it. I hoped she didn’t because I was starting to feel possessive of MY dress.

SF BM and I closed the door and looked at each other tensely. Finally, the dress was back in the room. I tried it on again and loved it! I was twirling, SF BM was laughing. We were in the room alone so crazy antics happened. There might even be some awkward video that will never be posted.

Reading the contract… clearly not paying attention

Did you know your dress was The One right away? Or did you have to sleep on it?