- Do we go with this DJ or that DJ? (hint, just pick one they're all playing the same playlist).
- Do we go with these flowers or those flowers? (hint, who cares? They die anyway and no one cares about them.)
- What do we give as favors?
- What about the cake?
- What about the linens?
And, of course, let's not forget about the dresses, dresses, dresses! There's the bridal gown, bridesmaids' dresses, Mother of the Bride dress, Mother of the Groom dress, flower girl dress, and all the dresses in between for the rehearsal dinner and bridal shower. Well, as if the wedding planning isn't time consuming and stressful enough, let us add this little development in, shall we?
I'll just let that sink in a little.
Everyone has so much advice for brides to be about what colors to go with, how to wear your hair, who should be in your bridal party, etc. Well, I would like to hear some advice on what to do when your damn dress store goes out of business. Now, don't let me fool you. I have all of MY stuff. I have my bridal gown and all accessories. My mothers of the bride/groom have their dresses. And my four bridesmaids? Well three of them have their dresses. What I do not have is ONE.DAMN.BRIDESMAID.DRESS.
Long story short: My girls all ordered (and paid in full for) their dresses in March -- I was there when they ordered them. Then the dresses arrived in May (May 14th to be exact) and all of my girls were called by the store and told to come and pick their dress up. Three of my bridesmaids can follow directions and did just that. They picked their damn dress up. The last bridesmaid, however, was apparently too busy to pick it up that weekend. No problem, right? She'll go another time, right? WRONG. For two entire months she failed to find 35 minutes to go and pick up the dress. (By the way the store tells you that you have to pick up your dress within 2 weeks of it coming in when they call you).
Then, on the darkest day in July (July 14th to be exact) Alfred Angelo nationwide CLOSED. Like bye bye see you never. Peace out. Out of business. Shut the door and throw away the key. And guess what? That dress that my stupid bridesmaid was too lazy to go and get despite it being 6 weeks until my wedding and despite the dress having arrived two months ago.....yeah, that dress was hanging somewhere inside the now closed store. It and the perfect wedding I had in my mind being held captive from my unfortunate, desperate, and out-of-luck grasp.
I have no idea what to do. I need her dress and I'm pissed as hell that she didn't think to go and get it. Sure, who could foresee the store declaring bankruptcy and closing? I'll give her that. But who leaves something they already paid for just sitting at a store for TWO months? I mean really? REALLY? There have been reports that some Alfred Angelo stores shipping the dresses that had already arrived in the store prior to the closing but this has not been confirmed by my particular store. So I have no idea (1) where her dress is, (2) whether it will be shipped to me, or (3) when we might receive it. And my wedding is in less than 60 days.
So moral of the story? Next time someone starts complaining about wedding planning and bullshit details like napkin color or who to sit next to weird Uncle Dan I'm going to look them in the eye, smile, and say "let me tell you a story..." Because I'm pretty sure whatever you hated about planning your wedding was nowhere near this level of catastrophe. AMIRIGHT?
I'm Nikki. And things just happen to me to keep my life interesting. Well, hey, positive thoughts are key: At least I won't be the one walking naked down the aisle.
Wow... that's stress you don't need at the moment (or any moment actually but now is definitely not the time). I'm keeping my fingers crossed it'll all work out.
ReplyDeleteWant to hear MY horror story? (just remember: I've been married for 9 years, 1 week and 3 days now, give or take a few hours but who's counting, and our wedding day was one of the best days in my life so it has a happy ending ;)
Three weeks before our wedding day I managed to get a concussion. Not the slightly headache-y one but the real deal with unconsciousness, vomiting, the works! So I had to stay in bed in a darkened room for at least a week. During that week I received a phone call from our photographer who told me she had received another request that paid more money and since she had not signed a formal contract she didn't feel bound by our agreement (made verbally and through email). I totally freaked at that point, called my mom and asked if she could make it alright, as moms are supposed to do when you're 4 or 5... and my mom turned into the hero she had been all my life, talked to her photo journalist neighbour (who had seen me grow up as he moved in when I was 8 or 9) and while he didn't feel he would be suited to take the wedding pictures, he referred her to the photographer who taught him photography when he (the neighbour) started his training. That photographer requested to meet us before agreeing to anything. Long story short: we had an amazing photographer who arrived at our house first thing in the morning when my to-be husband was still walking around in his pj's (I slept the last night of my bachelorette-hood at my parents house) and he was just about the last person to leave late at night. And we have hundreds of gorgeous pictures to look at and to remember our day with :)
Oh my gosh!! That's a double whammy -- one for the concussion (yikes!) and one for the photographer (I would panic)! I'm so glad that everything worked out and that you had an amazing day. It gives me hope that my situation will have a positive ending. I'll post on here regardless of what happens. Thank you sharing! It gives me hope!
DeleteOh my goodness, your ending note had me in stitches. Lets hope shes body confident!
ReplyDeleteThat is pretty appalling, she should feel honoured that you chose her to be a bridesmaid, with that honour comes from not behaving so lazily about something pretty huge. I know everyone has busy lives but like you said, she really had heaps of time. It should have been a bigger priority on her list. LIKE..right at the top. I hope this doesn't change or sour your relationship, that would be a huge shame but I can honestly understand being pissed off about it, I would be. I HOPE you manage to get the dress, is there no one at all you can contact? (asking the obvious because I don't have any idea's, sorry) If you have the brand name and the dress info perhaps you can try and find it online if you absolutely can't get the one in the store. I'd say she should pay for it since it was her booboo. I'm sure things will work out, by the end of the year hopefully this is a laughable incidence that got fixed <3
Luckily it worked out. I won't lie to you though, for a period of time I could not even speak to her I was so worked up at the careless disregard and all. However, I called the bankruptcy attorney in Florida multiple times and finally she said she was going to allow access to the store for the girls with property inside. Luckily I wasn't the only girl in this situation and I guess enough of us bothered her that she felt she could open the store. My bridesmaid was able to pick her dress up with plenty of time for alterations (YAY!). I have to say I felt pretty lucky when she told me she had her dress. All in all our relationship is fine. However, I will definitely think twice before trusting her with something so HUGE ever again. With some things it's just not worth the risk, you know? But it worked out so I can't be mad at her anymore. Plus she's one of my closest college buddies. But seriously, it was u-g-l-y for about a month. As they say, all is well that ends well!
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