Hello Dress!

I couldn’t wait to start trying on wedding dresses, and I didn’t! A few days after our engagement, I had organised a day of actual wedding dress shopping. And with Mum and Mother-in-law-to-be following at a safe distance, off we toddled to Cheltenham’s bridal shops:

I have always admired Jenny Packham’s work and dreamed of a flowing number that turned me into a Greek goddess. Now I was having my very own Greek wedding, there was no doubt about it. A Jenny Packham I would have.

What I didn’t think about, as I drooled over the beautifully designed gowns, was at 5’ 2”, with a pear-shaped figure, two fried-eggs and my own version of a Beyonce butt (good on her, not on me!), I wasn’t going to look like the lovely Denise VO! It was in the first shop I tried on the very design Denise wore on her beach wedding (Rosalind - pictured), but although I still loved the dresses, it was never going to work on me! The flowing material, did nothing for my shape and so, after a stamp of the feet, I went back to the drawing board.

So, my dream dress was a no-no and I really wasn't enjoying the experience at all. I imagined we'd be going into boutique-style stores, where the assistants greet you with champagne and a 'your-wish-is-my-command' smile - it's nothing like that! In some shops, they act as though they're doing you a favour and you should be grateful that you're trying on their dresses! When I phoned one store to book an appointment, the woman on the other end asked if I 'was in a position to buy the dress'. Err, I've never tried on a wedding dress before, I have no idea what I'm going to like and let's face it this isn't a decision we're making for a Saturday night out on the town, it's my wedding dress, so no I'm not in a position to buy the dress!

By the third shop, I was losing the will. One thing I haven’t mentioned is that I have an attention span of a 2 year old and I don’t have a patient bone in my body. That, mixed with the fact it was 1pm and I hadn’t eaten since at least 11am (that’s a long time for me!), was not a good combination. What’s more, the appointment before me was running over and we had to wait to be seen. After 15 minutes I was ready to call it a day - the dresses hanging on the rails really didn’t look like anything I was looking for anyway – but the ‘Mums’ made me wait. And thank goodness I did.

We donned our comfy slippers and Rita, the lovely owner of Dragonfly (www.dragonflycontemporarydesigns.co.uk) made us all a cuppa, got the Mum’s settled into their viewing seats and started taking me through the collections. (Now this is more like it!)

The rails were lined with beautiful dresses, one in particular Rita had in mind for me apparently, from Amanda Wakeley and Sassi Holford, to Stewart Parvin and Suzanne Neville. All the dresses were structured, with classic designs and elegant finishes – something I really didn’t think I’d go for. But this is the reason you should always try on something you wouldn’t dream of choosing!

Suzanne Neville, I heart thee

After trying on a few dresses from each of the designers and scoring them enthusiastically, I knew Suzanne Neville was the one for me. Despite the dress being about four sizes too big for me, it felt as though she’d made it just for me. I felt it, I felt THAT feeling and made both the Mum’s cry – RESULT!

It was also the one that Rita had picked out for me when I first arrived! She’s a true pro and insisted I went and tried on more dresses from different shops before making any decisions, after all I still had almost 18months to go until I got married and plenty of time to decide, but none came close and my decision was made. So back we went to pay the deposit, and that is the dress done!

I won’t go into any more detail about ‘The One’ until after the big day, as I know my h2b will dutifully read this and I don’t want him to get even a whiff of what I might be wearing. All I will say is that it makes me feel like a princes, like I’m the first and only bride to ever exist and that feels amazing!

You can check out Suzanne Neville designs at www.suzanneneville.com - enjoy! xx