Wedding dress shopping

This is going to be another one of those moments nothing quite prepares you for...seeing your daughter in a wedding dress for the first time. Oh my!

Lucy chose the anniversary of her Grandma’s passing, 15^th January as the day to go and look at wedding dresses. A special day to remember her Gran at the same time to do something exciting in planning for the future. The available posse assembled despite the weather ! My little Mercedes proving that despite the snow we would still go to the shops.

Granny, Lucy and I went to Close House to lay a remembrance rose in the little lake by Number 19 Club House, on the way to collect Rachel, Chief bridesmaid. It was a beautiful morning, a covering of snow and pale sunlight. A single swan made ripples on the pond as we had a moment or two to quietly reflect on Joyce/Gran. One of the reasons Lucy and Mark chose Close House as the venue for their wedding reception was the very special memories Lucy had of her childhood spent walking “Frisky” ( yes really that was her dogs name) and attending golf events there with her Gran.

So after a toilet break at Rachel’s house, we set off for “I do” at Hebburn. Now to give this trip some context I am driving, my Mum is co pilot and I have two blonde back seat drivers who freely admit they don’t really understand maps or directions. I had of course google mapped (with images which Rachel found a revelation) and printed off directions but when there’s snow and other traffic it wasn’t going to be easy. Anyhow we arrived in Hebburn with 2 minutes to spare before the appointment time of 11am. We entered a new world – full of ivory, white, cream - satin, tulle, silk, lace – sparkles, pearls – tiaras and veils. Oh my again...

Then we met our guide for the experience – we’ll call her M to protect identity. She took us all up to the area of dresses for Lucy to start choosing from. Rachel took control of the box of 6 identical coloured pegs  and M was very helpful in explaining that while it seems overwhelming to start off with, once you start trying on, you quickly soon get to know what you like and don’t like. So Lucy and Rachel set off, sometimes disappearing into the depths of miles of fabric. My Mum and I were parched...desperate for a hot drink.

Once the 6 dresses had been pegged, we were all taken into another room which had a changing area behind grey silk curtains and a few seats for the posse. It was still snowing outside, and have to say there was a freezing draught inside. The bride to be was dressed by M – the posse entertained by Lucy’s comment from behind the curtain – including regularly saying “ Heads through” it sounded more like “ One born every minute” than “Don’t tell the Bride”!

And out she came – my baby, my beautiful daughter – dressed in a beautiful dress. I had expected to be emotional, but the draught, the need for peppermint tea and I’m sure that this wasn’t THE dress – so I was surprised that I didn’t have a wobble. By now, my Mum took the bull by the horns, and politely asked M if there was anywhere nearly we could go out to get a hot drink....clever. M said , “Oh do you want a coffee? We’ll put the kettle on”.  Thank you...So Granny got her coffee, and I got hot water to put my peppermint tea bag in (always carry them in my handbag!) and we settled back to watch the rest of the dresses. M had been correct, very quickly Lucy knew what she liked and didn’t. M skilfully dressed Lucy in garments that didn’t quite fit with the use of all things bull dog clips  - could be THE accessory of 2013! I visited the Ladies Powder Room hidden behind even more wedding dresses and we were on the road again.

We left “I do” with a couple of favourites, and a definite idea of a preferred style. We headed for “Exclusively Yours” in Wingate – once again the heady combination of snow and two blondes directing me to what can only be described as the place time forgot. 

We hadn’t eaten and as we weren’t sure where we were going (!!) decided to get some lunch when we got there. Peter’s bakery on main street in Wingate got the best sale of the day at 1.30pm when we four hungry and cold travellers dropped in. There were signs stuck on the wall reading tempting things like “Hot soup!” or “Tea”, “Coffee”, “Hot bacon rolls” etc. Meanwhile, the sandwich filling tubs looked suspiciously full, and the drinks chiller cabinet was almost empty.

“What soup do you have today?” I politely enquired.

 “No soup today” the lady retorted not as politely.

 “Ok, then two hot bacon rolls please...”

“I’ll just see how much bacon we have left”...she rummaged in the tin, “Do you like it crispy?”

( Look love, we are desperate, we’ll eat anything if it is hot!!)

“ YES we like crispy” both my Mum and I replied..

 Lucy and Rachel opted for the meal deal – a sandwich, bag of crisps and a drink.

 “What drinks do you get with the meal deal – does it include a hot drink?” we enquired ,still polite.

“Anything out of the fridge” we looked over at the one bottle of water and three Fruit Shoots  “ And we haven’t got any cups for hot drinks” she added helpfully, I’m sure I saw a wry smile playing about her lips.

So we four went back to the car with Peters finest, and devoured it all. As we looked down the deserted main street in the swirling sleet, we pondered on what “Exclusively Yours” would be like.

Parking outside the shop, we trooped in  - by now all of us having various levels of urgency in the need of a Powder Room. While I tried to batter the entrance door down which I thought was slightly stuck, I turned into an enforcer as the door stubbornly refused to open. We then all read the welcoming signs pinned to the door.

First – Ring bell to enter; second – No food or drink allowed and finally, No public toilet

So we rang the bell, and entered another world. The vast array of dresses were hung in what appeared to be Greek Temple stage sets. A small fan heater blowing out cold air was turned on, as the lady said it was quite cold today. There were no pegs offered to Rachel, so Lucy had a quick look around. Meanwhile my Mum who really, really needed the toilet enquired, “I know the sign says no public toilet, but we are customers and ....” she didn’t get to finish her sentence. The owner interjected...” We don’t have a toilet, well we do but only for medical emergencies” . Now I’m sure you are thinking what we were all thinking if Granny didn’t go soon it would be an emergency. We then heard a very long story about how they hang all the dresses waiting to be collected in the staff toilet, and how one time before this rule, someone had been in the toilet and spread make up all over the new dresses. Whether this was true or not we will never know, but by then Granny was past desperate. We asked if there was a toilet nearby, looking hopefully across the road to the tattoo parlour and barbers shop. There was a cafe up the street they might have one. 

My Mum dashed off, and Lucy went into one of the Greek Temples to be laced into the dresses picked out for her. The first few dresses were ok, but definitely in the category of helping work out which ones she didn’t like. After a good half hour, I began to wonder where my Mum had got to. Eventually she returned, explaining that she’d had to buy a coffee to be able to use the toilet! And that of course the coffee was filling her up again.

However, sometimes in these odd situations something magical happens. The lady helping Lucy had said, “Shall I get the tulle?” Lucy thought she meant a hammer and by then was so tired from heaving heavy frocks round Athens ....so agreed. When she came out – I asked if they had any veils and head dresses that she could try with this dress. And then it happened for all of us. Suddenly there was our Princess Lucy . We were all a bit misty eyed. WOW.

So we returned to civilisation, chatting about what we liked and didn’t; and laughing about the adventures we’d shared. And that was only the first viewing ......and we had a good evening ahead, a hen party planning meeting. And that’s the topic of another blog..