Me, my mom & my wedding dress

My mom and I probably saw one too many Hollywood-wedding-movies, because as we experienced during my stay in Vienna, shopping for a wedding dress, is just not that much fun.

I am not a good shopper anyways, I do good by myself, because I only have to listen to myself, but when other people are with me, I do ask for their opinion and I do value what they say, which makes going shopping that much more, well let’s say interesting. My mom’s and my taste in clothes do differ very much anyways, she is very chique, very up to date, very trendy and I am more like, timeless. If I can get away with wearing the same sweater 10 years, I will wear that sweater until it is ‘retro’. It’s not that I don’t have a sense of fashion, it’s just that I have an even bigger sense for comfort. So when going shopping when there is a temperature high around 100 Fahrenheit (about 37 Celsius), I will not be happy, I will not be wanting to try anything on and I will not, and do not, find this enjoyable. But being with my mom, I figured, I put my discomfort aside and try to make her happy. Which is exactly what I did.

We went through, well let’s say a million stores? And I tried on about… well, let’s estimate 50 dresses, and that is me being generous. I guess the biggest problem was, that what ever I liked, she did not like. I found great dresses, very simple, very elegant, very not-making-my-mom-happy dresses. Sometimes I didn’t even have to try on the dress, she would just give me that look of disapproval. You know that look, when you know, that you are doing something wrong and you are trying to get out of it as quickly as possible, just to avoid confrontation with your parents? Well, I know that look too well. Turns out though, getting out of wedding dress, when you are drenched in sweat is just not that simple or comforting or nice, or any other feeling you wish for, when trying on dresses for your special day. I have no idea how Hollywood actresses do this, without being completely miserable on screen.

I called it quits on the 2nd day in dress No. 3343 I told my mom, I needed a big break and that I cannot take putting on another dress and people (sales reps that needed the sell bad) telling me, that I “look oh, so gorgeous”, when I in fact look either like a discoball or a close to exploding sausage. My mom understood, but knowing my mom, I knew that this was only a small victory for me, the quest of finding the perfect dress will continue, whether or not I cared for it, was an entirely different story.

On day 5 of my vacation, early in the morning, my mom asked me, if I had some time to walk around the city with her, and I figured, sure, why not, it’s not like I had any other plans. So we had some coffee, told jokes, went around the city and enjoyed some bonding-time. My mom then, “all of a sudden” (I still don’t believe that she didn’t know about the store) saw a wedding store and said, “hey, let’s check it out”. I was a bit, let’s say, getting to the point of no return of wearing a simple night gown to my wedding, when she pulled out a simple, elegant dress of a rack. She said, how about you try this one on? Well, how about that?

I put it on and within seconds, I knew it. That was it. That was my wedding dress. This was the dress I was going to wear to tell A that I will be with him for the rest of our lives together. My quest was over, that was at least the feeling I had all by myself in the dressing room. I then opened the curtain and saw the look on my mom’s face. That kind of a look, that as a girl, you will never forget. It was her realizing, that I found the dress I wanted and that she actually really liked it, despite our differences in taste.

I write these lines as I sit on my sofa in my wedding dress. It still needs to be alternated and fitted properly, but I tell you what. I might not be the most prettiest bride with the most elaborate dress but I will be the bride, that has an awesome husband awaiting her. A great family that supports every single one of my decisions and last but not least, against all odds found a dress that equally made me and my mom happy, what do you need more?

P.S. the wedding dress now hangs in my closet, protected and so A cannot see it, but just looking at it makes me so happy, I could cry. But also, usually I would post a picture of the subject right here, but as you might understand I will not do so now, we all need a bit of suspense for the big day, right?