My wedding dress will arrive WHEN?
Pardon my French, but in the words of Kirsten Lobe, “Fuckity Fuck Fuck!”
Some background info: Just before Halloween, I ordered my wedding gown. The wedding is in May, I had been told it takes 4 to 6 months to get a dress, and, I was cutting it close by ordering it in October. Joy of joys, the bridal shop told me it would be here by the end of February or the beginning of March. Sweet! That would give me plenty of time for alterations, and if I need to lose some LBs, I’ll have plenty of time to drop the 50 or so I need to (I kid when I’m stressed). They told me they’d call when it arrives. (It should be noted that I do not wait well.)
Well the bridal shop? They don’t follow up so well. I was in the store last month to order bridesmaid dresses and they said my veil and hair “jewelry” had come in, and “didn’t someone call you?” Nope, no one did. But I was too excited to bring home part of my wedding costume to care.
I’ve heard that in most cases, dresses come in before the promise date so just for shits and giggles, I called the shop tonight to see if mine was here yet. Knowing they don’t have a great track record when it comes to calling brides-to-be when their goodies come in, I wouldn’t have been surprised to have been informed that my dress had arrived. What I didn’t expect to hear was:
“Your dress will be in at the end of April.”
Wh-wh-whaaat? Oh, Hell to the no! After I replaced my eyeballs back into their sockets, dusting off the cat hair that stuck to ehm when they popped out and fell onto the floor, I explained to the bridal consultant (very calmly, I might add) that I was told at the time I placed the order that the dress would be here at the beginning of March at the very latest. But no. Seems this “custom length” I ordered would take an additional 6 weeks. Gee. Sure would have been nice to know this before NOW. I do not understand. It takes SIX ADDITIONAL WEEKS to send me less of a dress? (Damn me for being so short!) Do they have to wait for the scissors to arrive at the factory where they make these things? (Note to self: ask boss, who is taking trip to China in two weeks, to bring scissors to bridal gown factory, or grab pieces of dress labeled Catheroo and assemble it myself with duct tape.)
Now, you may be saying, “What’s the problem? It’s not like they said it’d get here by the end of May. They said April, which is like a whole month before you marry your Prince Charming!” But in wedding time, it’s not considered one full month, it is known as ONLY ONE MONTH. What will I do if it doesn’t fit right when it gets here? I’ll have ONLY ONE MONTH to get the required alterations on the top, which is made for Pamela Anderson if she got yet another breast enhancement. I’ll have ONLY ONE MONTH (rather than the almost three they promised) to tone whatever extra flesh squishes out the top of the dress in all the wrong places at my first fitting. And ONLY ONE MONTH does not provide me the very large cushion of time I was given, should there be shipping and/or manufacturing delays.
This is where I become schizo. I go from Zen-like, “It’s no big deal” to panicky, “If it’s too tight when it comes in, I’ll never fit into it on my wedding day!” to rational “Stop with the ifs already. How about ‘what if it comes in early?'” to prepared “Better start looking for a possible back-up!”
UGH.
In the end, really, it does not matter. I have friends. Married friends with dresses. Dresses they wore one day and now live in the closet forever. It’s just a dress.
But.
It’s my Gotdamn dress. And it’s my Gotdamn wedding and I want my Gotdamn wedding dress to look nice and fit me correctly on the day I get married!
Gotdammnit!
***Updated***
Oh, and I almost forgot about the delivery of the bridesmaid dresses. In December, I was told they’d be here in 6 to 8 weeks. Today they said the dresses would be here the first week in April. Uhm, I’m no math genius, but I think that’s more like 6+8 weeks.
Take a deep breath. You need to make that store understand that they need to rush it since they did not warn you. And when I get married, remind me not to go there!
Oh Catheroo…that just sucks the big one! I’ll keep my fingers crossed for an early arrival. And I’m ever more thankful that I’ve been married over 20 years and don’t have to go through this anxiety.
Okay, that sounded like rubbing it in. Sorry ’bout that. Keeping my fingers crossed for you!
Catheroo! That Totally Sucks!
But, I am with Meredith. You need to call the Bridal Shop and tell them That Won’t Do, you were Promised The Bridesmaid Dresses in Six to Eight Weeks and The Wedding Dress by The Beginning Of March. See if you have Those Promises written down somewhere (it should have Definitely been Written Down. And if it Isn’t, be sure to make All Future Orders have Delivery Dates written down to be sure it will be ready for Your Wedding.) Also, ask to speak to The Owner of The Store. Although I have Never Been Married, I have been A Bridesmaid quite a few times and I know that A Delivery Date was always Written Down On My Receipt. This was especially important since I was living Out Of Town and needed to know how to schedule My Fittings/Visits.
Of course, this all may stem from The New Yorker in me!
Holy stress, Batman!
There is one thing within your control, though. Exercise. If you work out regularly, then there should not be much of a problem with jiggly bits and parts-a-poppin’, right? I mean, I assume you tried the thing on already, so you know it fits in a general sense. Keep working out, and the alterations will not be heavy-duty.
Of course, I might be way off on this. Forgive me. I’ve had a headache for the past three weeks.
PS: I am jealous of your tiara.
Defintely tell the wedding dress store that the timeline they have given you is unacceptable and that they need to expedite your order. You’ve given them MORE than enough time to get the dresses for you, and there is really no excuse. They are not living up to their end of the bargain. If need be, get the wedding dress in it’s regular length and have the seamstress fix that when she does your other alterations.
I agree with The Daily Randi that you need to speak with the owner of the store, ASAP. And then, if matters are not resolved to your satisfaction, reveal the store’s name and lack of service on your blog. That way you can help redirect hundreds of potential clients to a store that will better serve their prenuptial needs.
That totally sucks. I’m sorry.
Okay, that SUCKS! I agree that you need to get over to the store and talk to the head honcho and get your dress here when they promised it! Stare him/her down (like Callie did on “Gray’s Anatomy” the other night with McDreamy), and get what you expected from them!
Oh yeah, and my dress too!
And I LOVE the tiara-very Royal Family!
This is bad. I do hope it works out.
Good luck in your marriage
Hi here by way of Michele’s extended meet and greet
Makes no sense why less fabric takes longer.
Tiara is awesome! bling bling!
[…] that one time, when I wrote this and was all “my dress won’t be here until the end of April! GAH! And the bridesmaid […]
Hey
My Brother got married a couple of years ago and I was a bridesmaid. Lisa (the bride) rang up the shop a few times to try and arrange a bridesmaids dress fitting. The first 2 times they told her they were late arriving which was about 2 months before her wedding. When She rang up like a couple of weeks later they told her they were in but I couldn’t go till the following week cos I live miles away. So she books us in and guess what? “Oh they’re still in China, didn’t I tell you?” ARRRRGGHHHH! and panick is what poor Lisa did. They eventually came in 1 WEEK before her wedding, mine fitted pretty well but the other bridesmaids was a little lose, but didn’t have time to get it altered properly. Horrendous.
Anyway really hope you’re wedding goes okay!
Jess