And of course it’s one of the most important things to me…
I have spent much time reading Bridal Bargains by Denise and Alan Fields. I took notes. I made checklists. I mentally walked through conversations I would have with various vendors. I did my homework.
So tell me why I bought my wedding gown, final sale, without doing any of the things they say to do in the book?
It’s a beautiful gown. It looks great on me. It’s the style I wanted. It cost twice what I wanted to pay (but then again, I wanted to pay a little, little bit to begin with), but it was THE gown. I tried it on when I went home to NYC and knew it was the one. I didn’t order it then, because I had to sleep on it.
I came back to Tennessee and found a store that carried that designer’s bridal line, so I went back for it. I tried it on in that store — a size 6 — and it was too tight, but, ironically, it still looked nice once it was on, but I knew it was entirely too small to buy. I struggled to get in and out of it.
So the consultant took my measurments and I compared them to the gown manufacturer’s dress size. My measurements hovered between an 8 and a 10. (Note about bridal gown sizes: they have nothing to do with sizes in real life. In real life, I wear a 12 or 14. I’ve never worn an 8 in anything in my life and I couldn’t get a 6 over my ankles or the top of my head.)
So what’s the smart thing to do? Everyone say it together: Order the 10!
The consultant thought my measurements were closer to the 8. So that’s what I ordered. The Fields say to make sure it’s written on the receipt that you ordered the store recommended size. It will help when negotiating for alterations.
I didn’t do that either.
It took two days for the dress to come in because it didn’t require any custom sizing. I tried it on in the store. It fit much better and it looked great, but I did have to suck it in to zip it all the way up.
Oohs and aahs from the store employees and two shoppers and I happily paid the remainder of the balance on my dress and left the store, the whole time a nagging lump in my chest saying “you should have ordered a 10.”
All sales final. It said it on the receipt and on several signs near the cash register.
Now, don’t get me wrong, the dress looks great and it does fit. But that’s the trouble. It fits. As in, so long as I don’t gain a pound or two by the wedding, it’ll be perfect. And I’m not one of these women who buys a dress and then plans to lose weight to get in it. How silly! But here I am.
Not to mention that I’ve never spent so much on a single item of clothing in my entire life, so I think I’d feel queasy about the purchase no matter what.
I love the dress. I want the dress. I don’t have any regrets about the dress. I just know I should have gone a size up, just in case. It’s easy to make things smaller, but another thing to make them bigger.
But, being a pf blogger, I’m going to see what I can do anyway. I know that the 10 might actually be too big, but like I said, it can be made smaller. But, if I can’t exchange it for a 10, I’ll just have to go easy on the holiday cookies. Stay tuned…
Well, I knew this wouldn’t be foolproof, but I hope I don’t make any more mistakes… especially since I’ve done the research and I know better!!
Lesson learned: Don’t shop on emotion. I wanted the dress yesterday, so rather than find a location that allowed exchanges, returns or some negotiation, I just bought the dress. Now, no matter what I wanted to do, I’m pretty much stuck.
Lesson learned: Always exercise your better judgment. If you know you know better, don’t let anyone talk you into something else.
Lesson learned: I didn’t go into it in the post, but never discuss woman stuff with a man. He’ll just say something that’ll piss you off.