Things I Swore I'd Never Do

Despite having trained for a half-marathon in March and continuing to train for another one in August, I found myself feeling like the pounds were creeping on. I am afraid I fell into the old, "I've just run 5 miles, I can eat whatever I want and however much I want of it" trap. I, therefore, decided that I needed some discipline. I re-joined Weight Watchers. As I submitted payment by typing in my American Express account number, I started thinking about how this is something I promised myself that I'd never do before my wedding. I swore up and down that I would not be one of those brides who insists that she lose 10 pounds before she walks down the aisle. "I am what I am," I proclaimed in my most feminist of tones. "This is just one day, an important day, but just one day. I refuse to succumb to those discourses which make women feel that they should look "better" on their wedding days." Anyway, sometimes I just need a little disciplining in my eating habits. This is probably the sixth time in my life that I have joined the big WW. One would say that shows how much it doesn't work, but it helps me get my balance to add my points and make sure I stick to them.


In any event, I've yo-yo'd since I've re-joined. We've given up the internet in our apartment, which hinders my obsessive tallying of points. Therefore, I haven't really done it in two weeks. Maybe it is a good thing and maybe it isn't. I'll guess we'll find out when I put on the dress. Either way, we're just going to have a good time celebrating that day and hopefully, nobody will be counting their points.

A Surprising Turn of Events

...caught your attention with that one. Didn't I?

My two best women - Janette and Samia have picked out their best women outfits. As you may or may not recall from previous blog entries, I have always been against assigning dresses to my "bridal party." I have purchased way too many "oh, you'll wear it again" dresses for hundreds of dollars. Besides, we were trying to be a little less formal, a little less "wedding-y." I wanted those participating intimately in this special event to feel their most comfortable, their most confident without breaking the bank. After one far in advance planned shopping trip during which we came up empty, we decided to do internet searches and reconvene. It turns out that David's Bridal - that's right, David's Bridal, of all places - had the most reasonable prices for flattering green dresses. Before venturing into the hotbed of all things wedding machine, we chose the color "clover" and the ladies tried on a bunch of short cocktail style dresses. They both chose the same dress. So suddenly the bride to be who was trying desperately not to dictate dress style or even color is scratching her head over the fact that her best women will be clad in David Bridal Couture. This is not their dress.

Speaking of which, after the best ladies chose their garments, I went back to David's Bridal (a different one in LI) a week later with my mother, two of my aunts and my cousin (the flower girl...is there a better genderlicious term for this? Flower girl sounds kind of nice). This would make the third time that I had an appointment with them. Yet, I could not get over the difference in the amount of attention I received from appointment A - looking for a bridal gown to appointment B - looking to purchase two "bridesmaids" dresses to appointment C - just shopping for a flower girl dress. The first time, I had a devoted attendant. She spent over an hour on me, getting me anything I wanted and helping me at every turn. The second time, the woman helped us out and proceeded to sketch pictures of naked women by the computer monitor (I kid not) until we needed her, but at least she was around. This last time really irked me. Our attendant walked us over the white dress flower girl area showed us where the size 10's were and watched us as we picked out a few dresses. She then took us to the fitting room and disappeared for the rest of the afternoon. We had to flag down another person to show us some of the other more colorful options. When we went up front to put some things on the "wish list," and asked about sizing, we were asked snottily, "well, did she try on the 10?" When I explained that nobody had been around to help us, the attitude continued.

You know, I'm not particularly sophisticated, but when the clerks at David's Bridal in Smithtown give you sass, it may be time to reassess some things.

We bought the flower girl dress at Burlington Coat factory for less than half of what the evil people at DB were going to charge. Take that! This is NOT Sarah's dress. I just thought this image was slightly creepy. Thought we could open up the floor to the implications of projecting images of young girls as brides...any takers?

Anyway, as the fates would have it, we might have to go back to DB. We liked one of the dresses for my mother. She looked beautiful in a Sapphire blue number with a lacy top. Maybe Burlington Coat Factory will have a better deal on that one too. At the very least, since we do not need to make an appointment or have someone pretend to help us, we won't be disappointed with the service.