the dress fitting: episode 1

HUGE weekend, guys.

My gown and I were reunited after almost a year! She is just as lovely and voluptuous as I recall. And, most important: she fits.

It's my dress in a box!

Now, granted, I haven't changed my eating or exercise habits that much since last year. But when we placed the order for the dress in July, our lovely salesgirl insisted that, since I was between sizes, we should go a size down. Gulp.

While I haven't been that person obsessing over whether the dress is doing to fit for the last 11 months (at least, I hope not), in the days leading up to my first fitting I was keeping my fingers crossed that everything would go according to plan. In the end, I just kept reminding myself how many thousands of dresses Kleinfeld sells every year. I would think that the staff can eyeball sizing pretty well at this point.  Luckily, I was correct.

Before you arrive at your first fitting, ladies, remember that you need to have a few key items on hand. First and foremost, your wedding shoes. Your heel height is how the seamstress will determine the length of your dress hem, so if you do anything, find your glass slipper as soon as you can. Second, your undergarments. Do you want to wear chicken cutlets and/or a Kardashian-style push up bra? Bring that with you so that your bodice can be altered with the proper underthings included. Just a suggestion, but you probably want your nipples covered, so, you know, keep that in mind before you go overboard with the cleavage enhancement.

I also brought the earrings I plan on wearing so I could see how they look with the whole ensemble, but since you'll generally have 2-3 fittings, I don't think these are a necessity for your very first fitting.

We sent my gown to Maryland, so my mom and I lugged the whole shipping box to Kleinfeld on Saturday morning, where it was immediately whisked off to be unpacked and presented all fluffed-out in my dressing room. My seamstress is an amazing Polish woman named Anna who I am already pretty convinced is a real-life fairy godmother. She found me the perfect bra, but more on that later.

Anna's domain.

It's important to like your wedding gown seamstress because within five minutes of meeting, you will be standing nearly naked (thank you for my "bride-to-be" thong, Lewin family), tottering on one stiletto-clad foot and holding on to her shoulder while you navigate yourself into a massive sea of tulle/organza/ostrich feathers. Also, even the best of tailors will probably prick your boob by accident at least once while he or she is fitting your bodice, so, yeah, it's a vulnerable time.

Once I was zipped in (and veiled!), Anna dramatically threw the dressing room curtain open so that my mom, Mike's mom Bonnie and his sister Allie could see the whole package. My mom says it was one of those once-in-a-lifetime moments and I think I have to agree. It was really wonderful and special to be able to share it with family and future family.

The fitting took about an hour and mostly consisted of pinning up the hem (which is maybe two feet too long) and the bodice while we pondered Kleinfeld's somewhat questionable musical selection. And, as I mentioned, Anna found me the perfect bra to wear underneath. I didn't even know Kleinfeld sold those sorts of pieces, so if you're looking for corsets/strapless bras/etc., make sure you pop by to take a peek. Nothing on my dress is actually going to get cut until after my next appointment, which is on June 22nd.

Until then, kale salads and giant bottles of water for me.