Weddingbee Blog

Recap: Like a dress/lose a dress, find the dress again, and now the final installment: in which I road trip with my mother and great-aunt to Chambersburg, PA, home to the last store in the country that has this dress in my size.

J & B Bridals was bustling. The Saturday clientele was half prom-goers, half brides-to-be, and I worked my way past both to get to the front desk. Gun-shy from my last experience, I was already feeling a little overwhelmed.

There I met Jami, who had originally emailed me. When I told her I had an appointment, and then my name, she clapped in excitement. She said she had been excited all day for me to see the dress. Her enthusiasm was so genuine that it soothed my uneasiness right away. I don’t know about you, but I can smell falseness a mile away, and it is very off-putting. Let me tell you: there is nothing fake about Jami or her sweet parents, who run the store.

“It probably won’t fit,” I said, rambling. “It’s a bridal size 10, right? And that might be pushing it.”

I thought I would feel self-conscious in the fitting room, because I had both times before. And also, because Jami is, like, six-feet tall and blonde and gorgeous.

“Oh geez,” I said, examining the dress on the hanger. “Those arm holes look really small.”

Jami laughed. “I think you think you’re bigger than you are.”

That is when I knew that Jami was an angel sent from heaven, just for me.

So the dress went over my head, and I slid my hair to the side. I heard a soft whoosh, the zzzpp noise that you hope to hear.

“Wow,” Jami said. “I don’t think you would even have to get it altered except a hem.” I glanced at myself. This dress, the last of its kind, fit like it was made for me. Tight enough to support me, loose enough to be comfortable. For the first time in my bridal experience, I walked out of the fitting room smiling.

As much as I liked the dress, I still tried on two more. I wanted comparison, and also, there are so many gorgeous dresses at J & B, I couldn’t resist. My great-aunt, who has almost impossibly high standards for garments, was charmed by the selection. And get this: I liked the second and third dresses too! I was not a freak!

Afterward, I put the first dress back on. My dress. I studied myself in the mirror and realized that, while it was possible for me to find other dresses I would like, they were never going to be this dress. “I mean, I have to get it,” I said to my mom, who cried when Jami put a veil on me.

Done and done. Another mother of the bride waiting for her daughter whispered, “I was hoping you would pick that one.” The next girl that came in for her appointment appraised my dress. “That is so different,” she said. “But I like it. It suits you.” Three different people mentioned that they thought the dress somehow “matches” my engagement ring.

Everyone in that whole store was overwhelmingly kind that it was almost surreal. The experience was absolutely worth the discomforting prior experiences.

I guess the point is this: follow your gut, even if you have to follow it all the way to Chambersburg, PA. And if you have been disappointed by prior gown experiences, it might be worth the trek anyway. I don’t think I could ever say enough kind things about J & B Bridal, who absolutely made my dress shopping experience in a single afternoon.

One more thing (peace out, PDog)

You scrolled down to look for a picture, didn’t you? (I do it too.) I’m reluctant about showing it off pre-wedding, so I’ll pony up one picture. But not of the front or of me in it.

I love this dress, and I love that it carries a story now. Did you have a gown shopping experience that you loved?