The things a girl will do for a dress

Yesterday was one of those tiring, but exciting days.

Jay and I flew in from Tampa, where the parents of my fiance, Jay, threw us an amazing wedding shower for our Florida friends and family (pictures and details coming soon). Our flight was delayed by a couple of hours and once we got to the Baltimore airport, where my mom picked us up, there was no time to dawdle. We dropped Jay at his car and off we went to New Haven, Connecticut for my dress fitting! That’s right. This girl traveled 400 miles each way for a wedding dress.

When I heard people talk about finding "the" dress, I thought is was bologna. Until I found IT.  By accident.

I first fell in love with THE dress at a boutique in Georgetown while trying on bridesmaid dresses for my friend's wedding, just four months before my wedding . I decided it would be mine right then and there, and the designer, Modern Trousseau, said it would make my time crunch work! MT is one of the few designers left that makes dresses to their brides’ exact measurements, in the USA. Many others ship the production to China and make them to a standard size that you must alter when it comes in. So when the designer’s team offered to make my dress from scratch and do my alterations personally in their headquarters in Connecticut, I jumped at the chance to meet Callie Tein, the designer herself, and have her team build my dress to fit like a glove (I must admit I was also curious to see where the “magic” happens. So often you get the impression that the fashion designers live in ivory towers somewhere!)

We arrived at our hotel and settled in for the night as freezing rain and snow threatened to thwart our plan. But we made it! Callie was so fun and laidback. You could tell she loves what she does. She dedicated so much time and attention to us and reinforced my choice for the big day.  My mom and I had a great time bonding for the night. On the way home, we stopped for lunch at Pepe’s, a world-famous pizzeria near Yale University, where the pizza was so amazing we each ate almost an entire pie! 

I have to thank my mom for everything she has done, and for being a part of the process. We’ll be back in March for my second and last fitting, but this time, I’ll be staying away from Pepe’s!

Photo:
Me with Modern Trousseau's owner/designer, Callie Tein