wedding dresses – sparkledame

Instagram: @mulltoons

So maybe there were a few red flags. Like a tree’s worth of red flags. Like picture a cherry tree, but instead of beautiful blossoms there were 500 glittery red flags. But you know, our insecurities our powerful mutherfuckers and sometimes they run the show. So I got engaged.

At the time I was working for a fashion designer and she and the CEO toasted my engagement with champagne, the CEO said:

“Well obviously she’s going to design your dress.”

No. No. No. I had planned on finding and wearing a vintage dress. Plus, I was friends with the designer and I knew she was stressed, the last thing she needed was the pressure of making me a dress. But I said,

“That would be amazing, thank you!” because at thirty-six yrs old I still had trouble asserting myself – sad but true.

The fittings were difficult, sprinkled with moments of laughter. She was my friend and boss, which is a complex dynamic. From the beginning of the process I felt unable to speak my mind, hold my ground or say “no.” Though I found it hard to breathe in the dress, like really hard, she told me, “that’s how it’s supposed to fit” and I stayed silent. It was bound to end badly and it was all my fault.

Hop a plane with me now would you? As we fly from Los Angeles CA to Ottawa Ontario, Canada’s lovely capital city where I grew up and where the wedding dress debacle continues…

At the hotel I came face-to-face with what I knew before but could not admit: the dress was beautiful but I did not feel good in it. I did not feel confident in it. I felt exposed. Plus, you know, I couldn’t breathe. It felt like I was wearing a beautiful nightgown, bias cut silk-satin gorgeousness. All the dress needed was a cocktail, a cigarette and a handsome lover. Walking down the aisle in it would feel like wearing haute couture lingerie. I had to buy a new dress and I had two days.

The hotel suggested a boutique where I found an antique-y vibe pouf dress. Was it what I imagined my wedding dress would look like? No. But then again I had never been the girl who dreamed of her wedding day and bridal gown. I had dreamed of getting a dog and and visiting Paris. But I felt confident in this dress, like I was wearing big pouf-y armour. And I could breathe. There was only one tiny problem, the dress was three sizes too big. It would have to be altered in 24 hrs. No pressure.

Meanwhile, in Red Flag Land, on the day of the epic alterations I found out my fiancee had lied about a major financial issue. I forget exactly what it was because I’ve worked hard to block it out, but it was something big enough that I clearly remember thinking:

“I could legitimately pull a Runaway Bride move here. Now is the time in the Rom-Com where the bride-to-be runs away with the help of her friends.” And my friends, who by the way are each pretty badass, would have 100% supported my decision. But I didn’t tell them. I was too busy worrying about all the relatives who had flown-in for the ceremony, for some it was their first time in Canada.

https://www.vulture.com/2011/11/see-runaway-bride.html

“I can’t cancel the wedding because it’s not fair to the guests,” is what I thought. Did I mention I was a chronic people pleaser? Emotionally it felt impossible to cancel the wedding, but had I possessed more self-love, more self-confidence, I would have apologized to the guests and walked away.

Wedding day involves a flurry of activity and frankly Xanax should be given out to everyone. Part of the flurry is getting hair and makeup done. Having not lived in Ottawa for a million years I didn’t know the scene, so when it came to choosing hair and makeup professionals mistakes were made. The result was a bridal look that aged me ten years, including heavy 80’s makeup and early 2000’s pin-straight Rachel from Friends hair.

On the balcony of the hotel my dad walked me down the aisle. He looked so handsome and somehow vulnerable too. What was he thinking? Had he seen all the red sparkly flags? After our vows and the breaking of the glass – “Mazal Tov!” – one of my favorite songs, The Cure’s “Friday I’m In Love,” played. I wasn’t in love, but it was Friday and I was now married. Dear God what had I done?

Despite the wreckage that my insecurities and I caused, everything worked out in the end. My former boss and I became even closer friends. My ex-husband and I are still in touch and keep each other up to date on major life stuff, like: “Did you get your Covid vaccination? Is your family alright? How’s your dog doing?”

I still struggle with standing up for myself, speaking my truth and saying “no.” But my insecurities no longer run my life. They may ride alongside me as I live my life, like a trail of bugs, but I swat them away when they come too close.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0thnAQKadpo

#weddingdrama #life #runawaybride #redflags #TheCure #losangeles #weddingdresses #marriage