The Perfect Dress

Every bride to be desires the perfect dress for her once in a life time special day.  The dress must be the right shade of white or color, the right style to fit the shape of the bride, and the dress must be comfortable.  Will the bride find the dress at the first location or after searching several locations?  How many opinions will she need to hear before she knows beyond the shadow of a doubt that she has found the perfect dress?  No one knows the answers to these questions.  The certainty is that the bride will persevere in her quest to find the perfect dress.

After Stephanie’s announcement of her engagement to be married in the fall, a trio of us began the search for the perfect wedding dress.  Every dress Stephanie tried on was unique and beautiful.  Every store had exquisite dresses.  Not every dress reflects the specialness and uniqueness of Stephanie’s personality as with any bride to be.

Initially the search party consisted of Stephanie, Hannah, and me.    Later three of Stephanie’s best friends joined the search team: Hannah, Nicole, and Jennifer.  We all had a BLAST searching for the perfect dress!!! 

We drove to Norman’s Bridal, The Dress, David’s Bridal, Karl’s Tuxedo’s, and more businesses in downtown and south Springfield.  The shops were filled with dresses from lacey and poufy to simple and elegant.  Stephanie modeled different dresses to observe the feel and look of each dress.

                                                           This dress is too white.

                                                          This dress is too feathery.

                                                  This dress is too mermaid looking.

                              This dress is too fluffy (Actually, Nicole calls this dress Swan Lake.)

                                  

                                                             This dress is too lacey

                                                            This dress is too black.

                                                                               

                                                         This dress is too shapeless.

                                                                        

                                               This dress is follow by too much of a train.

                                                                              

After many hours on different days of searching these five ladies and I were becoming tired.  A lunch and rest to revive us and we were ready to continue our quest for the right dress.  And wonder of wonder and miracle of miracles Stephanie said, “This is the dress!  This is the one!”  She just knew in her heart and so did the rest of us. 

This dress is just right: the right shape, the right shade of white, the right amount of lace, and the dress is comfortable.

“Ring-a-ding-ding” went the bell as Stephanie shook it up and down.  She was smiling a huge beautiful smile.  As a mother I must say that seeing Stephanie’s beautiful smile was worth all the hours spent in locating the perfect dress.  It was more than just finding the perfect dress.  It was about time spent together with my daughters and her friends.  It was about making a cherished memory to be enjoyed for years to come.

For me there are times I find it difficult to live in the moment.  I am either remembering the past and wishing to go back or looking toward the future and trying to anticipate what could happen.  When I do this, I miss the special moments in my life.  It is my goal to truly feel and enjoy the present moments.  I am so very grateful to be experiencing these moments with my daughter.