Linnea and Frank Austin drove the five of us girls to the salon. We got out of the car and I, for one, was pretty impressed. The lady who ran the place had a completely separate, adjacent little building to her house, where all the dresses were kept. The way it was set up inside looked like it was a completely professional wedding salon. I almost forgot we were at someone's house. She had wedding dresses on display, a little changing room, a sofa to sit on, racks of bridesmaid dresses, shoes, jewelry cases, and everything else that would be in a conventional wedding boutique. It was really beautifully set-up. Linnea was the first to try on dresses and tried on some really cute ones. But each dress kept getting better and better. Her last dress (and consequently the favourite of the group was this one):
We then had Annabelle try this dress on, as well as some others. This one was still a favourite of the group. There was also a halter-top Marilyn-Monroe-esque chiffon one that was cute, but this one was definitely high up in the running. Next, I tried it on, and just loved it. A key selling point was the fact that this dress had pockets! And, it was very flattering on everyone. (I know, I know, they always say that about bridesmaid dresses... but it really was true!) It was quite funny, though, because we had started the appointment by saying that it might be neat to have some different dresses for everyone, just with the same colour and fabric. But we ended up buying this dress for everyone! Though the coral colour was super cute, Shell wanted brown dresses, to contrast the pink flowers we'd be carrying while walking down the aisle. It was hard to imagine what they'd look like, but we were confident they'd turn out well! :)
Fast forward a few months to the day we got to pick up the dresses. Linnea, Shell, and I travelled to get them. And they turned out beautifully! Rebekkah and I had gotten straps on the dresses, and here I am, modelling the dress in a lovely shade of brown!
After picking up the dresses, the three of us went to a local shopping mall to see if we could find some jewelry to match. I brought what was basically a fabric swatch (really, it was the excess from the corset ties in the back that we cut off from the appointment, if that makes sense) with us into my favourite store, Le Chateau, in order to make sure our jewelry "went" with the colour of the dresses. Right away, Linnea saw these brown-ish pearls that were absolutely beautiful. The necklaces also had three beads that were bedazzled with sparkles. (I can never resist a little-- or a lot of --sparkle!) She also found matching bracelets for herself and Annabelle. I, on the other hand, chose a sparkly (see, I told you, I LOVE sparkle!) bracelet. We decided we'd get a bracelet for Rebekkah another day, thinking she could chose exactly what she'd want.
The three of us, Shell, Linnea, and myself, also looked at the dresses at Le Chateau, and the other two girls found some that they loved. Shell found this really cute white dress - something that would be perfect for her shower, which was that weekend. She had already previously bought two dresses that she was contemplating wearing... Only, the first one was blue, and the second one she'd found was black. And she had this lovely notion to wear white to her shower. And of course, the Le Chateau dress was white. It had a somewhat sweetheart neckline, was strapless, fell approximately to the knee, had a slightly pouffy tulle skirt with sparkly polkadots and a white flower on the waistline. It was lovely. Only, she was torn as to whether she should buy it or not, considering the fact that she'd already bought two other dresses. Linnea found two dresses that looked beautiful on her. Both were very different. The first was very show-stopping: bright yellow chiffon, with a V-neck and one flowy long sleeve. It was sleeveless on the other side. The other dress was a lot more conservative but it fit her to a tee. And I mean, TO A TEE. It was very flattering: form-fitting, to the knee, blue stripes, with cap sleeves and if I remember correctly a bateau neckline. The three of us had lunch at the food court nearby to talk about the dresses and to decide which one, if any, to purchase. Shell ended up buying the white dress and Linnea bought the blue one. Shell also generously bought all our bridesmaid jewelry.
It was so much fun to get our dresses and jewelry together! And can I say a piece of cake? We never really had any problems finding the dresses or the necklaces or anything like that. Almost like it was all meant to be, or something! I know we were very lucky, because sometimes the bridesmaid look can be tricky to pin down - but definitely not the case with Shell's wedding! I couldn't believe, however, how soon Shell's wedding was approaching........
