The Gown

I am very excited for Lauren - She is engaged!

She and her fiance, David, are planning a wedding for June 2010, so we are getting busy with the details. The temple has been scheduled (for the ceremony), a reception location has been chosen, we have a rough budget, and colors to decorate with have been established. And we went gown shopping. FUN!

The first bridal shop we went to was in downtown Plymouth and it was just beautiful. The women working there were professionally dressed (skirts and dresses) and the beautiful atmosphere was lovely and calm. Lauren was told to try on anything that caught her eye. We pulled about 20 dresses off the racks and they were whisked away to her large private dressing room while we looked at accessories.

Lauren tried on traditional gowns, full skirt gowns, beaded gowns, slender gowns and modern gowns. She thought for sure she wanted one style (slender), but ended up falling for a very different style (full). She was beautiful in all of them, but it was obvious which one she gravitated toward. The problem was that every gown she tried on was strapless. We were told that sleeves could be added (Lauren definitely wanted a more modest gown), but we were just not envisioning it. We had a great afternoon and got some really good ideas about what she wanted.

There is a wedding store in Allen Park that carries a line of gowns that would be just what Lauren was looking for, with sleeved, modest bodices. We planned a trip with her future mother-in-law, Dawn, and her good friend Haley for a Saturday afternoon to find the perfect gown. It was a gloomy, rainy Saturday, but we were determined to be joyous, as it was a joyous occasion!

The store was smaller than the first shop we went to, and it was very crowded with dresses and gowns. We were immediately assisted by someone who looked like the pizza delivery guy that got pulled in to help - jeans, t-shirt, sneakers, keys dangling from his pocket and needed a shave. He directed us to an out-of-the-way couch where we all crowded in to look at the Eternity catalog, a company that has very beautiful modest gowns and dresses. Mr. Delivery Guy waited and watched while we looked, wanting to be helpful and to retrieve any gown Lauren selected. (She wisely kept him busy - it was a little awkward having him stand there.)

Lauren was finally led to her dressing room where her selections awaited her. I use the term "dressing room" lightly, as it seemed to double as a very small storage room as well. But, we were there to try on gowns, not be impressed with amenities. After trying on a few dresses, Lauren came out with "the one". The way she stood up tall, the way she walked, the way she LOOKED - it was quite obvious that we needed to look no further. Hooray! Although this gown was also strapless, we were informed that the company would make a new bodice, not just add sleeves. Perfect! We also got a much better deal at this shop. Oh, happy day.

We are going back this weekend to do measurements, down payment, etc. We are both so thrilled with her choice (although her thrill is much more important!) I am happy to support this little shop that carries the modest dresses, which are so difficult to find in our area. The woman who owns it started to carry them as she herself had an opportunity to visit with The Pope and realized she had nothing in her shop that would be appropriate to wear. Hooray for her!

And hooray for the gown! Now that that big decision has been made, everything else will surely fall into place.