Friday is Bride Day on TLC. Almost every Friday night I watch at least one of these shows: Say Yes to the Dress, Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta, Four Weddings, or My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding. If M is home, she usually watches the shows with me. And therein lies the problem.
I'm afraid these reality wedding shows are setting M up for unrealistic expectations when (if ) the day comes for her to shop for and choose a wedding gown. The lowest budget any of the television brides have for their dream dress is $2000. I know right now that there will be no $2000 dress when M gets married. I doubt if there will be a $1000 dress.
When E was married, almost 5 years ago, we really lucked out. She found her wedding gown at a bridal store that was going out of business. When she first tried on her dress, it was marked 30% off. It was a beautiful dress, but this was also the very first time E had looked at wedding gowns; naturally she wanted to try on more dresses. After looking at two other salons and not finding anything, we decided to go back to the first store. The gown she loved was still there and now it was 50% off. Because it was so reasonably priced, even at full price, I told E we should go ahead and buy it -- if she found something else in the next few weeks, we could always sell this dress at a consignment shop. As it turned out, E loved the dress so much that she never wanted to look for a different gown.
It was all so easy . . . too easy. There was no battle over price, no pouting, no endless trips from store to store to store. From start to finish, the experience took two days. E tried on the dress one day, then went back the next day to try it on again. Once she made her decision, I paid for the dress and we took it home with us. No special order, no waiting, no fittings or alterations. Just buy it, bag it, and load it in the car.
Does lightning ever strike twice? There is no way I can possibly be that fortunate a second time. : /
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