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After a ridiculously long and arduous ordeal, Russ and I are finally back. It has been said that to measure the strength of a relationship, you should travel together. We agreed that if you really want to test the strength of those bonds you should travel together, around the other side of the world, with cats.
We've hit the ground running since our Wednesday night arrival and hope to pace ourselves for all of the new adventures in the coming months. While Russ was taking care of some paperwork, my maid of honor, Kristin and I went to Bleubelle Bridal in search of the perfect dress.
Fresh off the boat, so to speak, in a semi conscious state of a thirteen hour time change in my body with 100 degrees of Savannah sauna outside, I was wonderfully and surprisingly mellow. Always a bridesmaid and never a bride, this was the first time I'd ever tried on wedding gowns. I am blessed to have a tremendously organized bridesmaid. You have to be in order to help your friend plan a garden wedding in Georgia when the bride to be (moi) is living literally on the other side of the world!
She made the appointment and upon arrival we were welcomed by the lovely Shannon. After greeting us, she returned with Bellinis in hand and helped Kristin and I select a few gowns for me to try on.
Bleubelle has a lovely collection with a variety of designers, but, not surprisingly, I only had eyes for Wang. I've always had what I consider a very classic, and therefore pricey taste but never the budget to match. I remember shopping for my prom dress in the Village at the Antique Boutique knowing that I had very little to work with. I came home with a pretty, though dated dark green velvet dress. To my utter amazement, my mother and father surprised me with a box containing this beautiful midnight blue Jessica McClintock prom dress- with matching dyed shoes!
It was a perfect night and it started with the dress. I began to feel the same way as I slipped, or should I say, walked into the first dress. I felt a little like a thirteen year old tomboy playing dress-up. For many women, we forget we are women until we look in the mirrors and see ourselves in arrayed in such splendor. Feeling a little awkward, Shannon and Kristin encouraged me to move around in the weight of dress number one. It was beautiful.
But oh my, the next dress. It was a model being sold and amazingly discounted by the boutique. And, to my delight, a Vera Wang. All three of us stopped. Another consultant in a different part of the shop said she was not able to stop looking. It was the dress. Shannon, the graceful and calming consultant she was, simply told me that she had seen many people try on that dress and that honestly it was made for me. And there it was: the simplest, quietest dress shopping I think Kristin and I would ever experience.
