I guess that I should start this post by saying yes, I found my dream wedding dress! The story behind it though, is quite amazing, in my opinion at least. I thought that it would be fun to share with all of you. :)
It all started back in March, when I decided that I wanted to go wedding dress shopping at Kleinfeld Bridal, which is located in New York. I had a few reasons why I wanted to travel all that way just to try on a few dresses.
1) I, of course, am a HUGE fan of the show.
2) There is a certain designer exclusive to Kleinfeld, and I needed to try a few of her gowns on.
3) My best friend/maid of honor lives in West Virginia, and knowing that she may not make it to any other wedding festivities besides the wedding itself, I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to not only see her, but share such an important experience with her as well.
So, after making the final decision to go, my mom surprised me with the dates that we would go, and booked plane tickets for late August. Neither one of us had been to New York before, so it was going to be quite the adventure!
Before I jump into the wedding dress story, I would also like to bring up the fact that once my mom and I landed at JFK, my dad was already there, waiting for us! It was the biggest surprise of my life, and I couldn't help, but cry.
My appointment at Kleinfeld was at noon, and we arrived a few minutes early, of course. I checked in at the front desk, then waited in the lobby with my mom and Jennifer, until it was time for my consultant to greet us. My dad wasn't going to attend the appointment, but took video and pictures of us in the lobby until we had to go to the back. The salon looked just like it does on TV, except it felt slightly smaller than on the show, which was fine with me, because I was worried that I would feel overwhelmed by the sea of dresses on the bridal floor. It was gorgeous in every way, though!
Ten minutes pass, and we were greeted by my consultant, Lisa, and an intern, who was going to help if need be. I feel terrible about it, but I can't remember her name for the life of me. Lisa was full of energy, and so sweet from the very start, which made me more excited to try some gowns on! We went into her dressing room, so she could get a better idea of what I was looking for. She had me log into my account on Kleinfeld's website to show her gowns that I had pinned in the past. I explained further the shape, material, detail, etc I was looking for, which I think made it pretty easy for her to narrow things down for me. I also told her about a dress that I had been in love with for almost a year, that was taken off of the website just days before we had left for New York. I knew since it was pulled from the site, that it was more than likely no longer available at the salon, which was hard to take in. The designer of this dress is only found at Kleinfeld, and I had gravitated to this designer, and this gown in particular so quickly... I was going to keep an open mind though, because you never know what will happen!
After explaining what had happened, Lisa asked me to pull up a picture of the dress in question onto my phone. She looked for maybe 3 seconds, and said, "Oh, I know exactly what dress this is. I believe we have one sample left of it, so let me look and pull other dresses for you, and we will go from there." My eyes widened, and all I could respond with was, "YES, thank you, wow..." If I could at least try on this dress I had been dreaming about, I would be over the moon!
Lisa asked the intern to put my mom and Jennifer in a great spot on the main bridal floor (the big room with mirrors and pedestals where a lot of the show is filmed) while I dressed into my robe and waited for Lisa to arrive back. Of course, terrible mirror selfies were taken while waiting...
Shortly after, Lisa came in with piles of dresses on each arm, but my dream dress stood out instantly. She put me in it, and I fell more in love with the dress on me than on the website, it was absolutely perfect! Deep down, I already knew that this was the one, but then Lisa went on to tell me something that she said NEVER happens at Kleinfeld Bridal. This dress, the dress that left me heartbroken once I realized that it was pulled from their site, was not only the last sample at Kleinfeld, (in perfect condition, I might add) it was also the last of it's kind in the world. That's right, my dream dress was discontinued, and I was wearing the last one in existence for sale. Is that not meant to be? There was even more news... The dress was over HALF OFF due to being discontinued. My jaw nearly dropped to the floor, because I went in there more than ready to pay full price, so this news made everything that much better.
We went out to the main area to show the girls, and my mom started to cry almost instantly, followed by Jennifer, then my consultant! I went to explain to the two of them everything Lisa had just told me moments before, and they couldn't believe it. The luck that I was having was incredible, even the other consultants were surprised. Lisa then pulls a beautiful belt from a display to put on me, and with that, I was sold. The belt was brand new that day, because they were having a trunk show for that designer, so the belt had a discounted price as well. Once we all calmed down, I went back to try on 4-5 more dresses, which were all gorgeous, like this Lazaro pictured below.
(Reminder: NOT MY DRESS)
Lisa, I might add, was very protective of me and my dream dress from the get go. As we were trying on other dresses, another consultant asked her if they could borrow dream dress for their bride to try on, and she was adamant that no other bride try it on until I made my final decision. She kept saying, "This girl came out all the way from California for this dress, it's hers until she says otherwise!" She was too funny, but I was thankful that she would do that for me, it meant a lot.
I tried on dream dress once more, and went back out to show mom and Jennifer again. Lisa added the belt, plus a veil, then asked me, "Jenna, are you saying yes to the dress!?"
As you know already, I said YES! Can I just add that I thought they only asked that question on the show. I was taken back when she asked me, but it was the perfect way to end the greatest dress appointment! Everything went so well, I still can't believe the amount of luck I had that day. Everything about Kleinfeld was better than I could have ever imagined, and I will always look back on that day with the biggest smile. Thank you to Lisa, mom, Jennifer, dad, and everyone else who made shopping for my wedding gown and unforgettable experience!
