Orange Tag Day (or ‘the wedding dress story’).

What would make a woman stuff her wedding dress into a suitcase?  I’ll tell you:

Brian and I met eight years ago, September 11th, 2003.  Sixteen days later, we decided to get married.  The conversation went something like this:

Me, “We should get married.”

Brian, “Seriously?”

Me, “Yeah.”

Brian, shrugging, “All right.”

A couple weeks later I was visiting a friend in California.  One thing that I noticed upon exploring the area was that it seemed to me that there were as many David’s Bridals as there were McDonald’s.  Considering our verbal engagement I thought, Wouldn’t it be fun to find a David’s Bridal and let them dress me up and tell me how pretty I am?  I didn’t set out with directions, nor did I have navigation.  I was sure that I’d stumble upon a David’s Bridal if I just started the car and hit the gas.  Well, that was the one day that – for the life of me! – I could not find one single David’s Bridal.  Not.  One.  What I did spot, however, was a Goodwill thrift store.  I did a little mental shrug and figured I’d do the wedding dress thing some other day. Might as well go thrift store shopping, I thought.

So there I was crammed between the unorganized aisles of vintage and thrift clothing, not paying attention to where I was going.  My head was turned left, but my body was moving forward.  I nearly smacked face first into a big bundle of white that was hanging directly in front of me.  Because the wedding dress was in a plastic bag, I couldn’t make out the shape of it.  All I saw was a “size 8” tag that had “$60” marked on it.  So maybe I will get to try on a wedding dress after all! I hoisted the dress over to the dressing room only to remember just how small these dressing rooms really are (imagine the size of a public restroom stall).  Between me and the dress, there was no wiggle room.  I kept stepping on the train as I desperately and awkwardly tried lacing up the back.  Once I had it mostly on and mostly cinched, there was no space behind me to step back and see how I looked.  I could tell that there was potential, but here was my dilemma:  I was fresh out of Bible school; and I was broke.  I knew that $60 was a steal for a wedding dress; but I couldn’t afford to waste $60 on a dress that I would never use.  So I asked the manager if there was a bigger room.  The sweet woman set me up in her office.  She found a full length mirror, propped it up and began to help me lace up the back so that I could see the dress as it was meant to be, in all its glory.

And was it ever glorious!  It was a three piece ensemble (veil, dress and poufy slip thingy).  Each piece STILL HAD THE ORIGINAL PRICE TAG.  The three tags totaled roughly $1,000.  The wedding dress had never been worn!

So she’s lacing; we’re talking.  She’s adjusting; we’re talking.

Sweet Manager, “Oh!  This is on an orange tag!  Today’s Orange Tag Day.  If you get it, you’ll get an extra 50% off!”

Say whaaaat?  Not only did it fit me like it was made for my body, but now the dress was $30.

Coincidence that I couldn’t find a David’s Bridal that day?  I think not.  No, I think God was behind all of the invisible David’s Bridals; and I think He opened my eyes to just the right thrift store that afternoon.

I kept it a secret from Brian and stuffed the thing in a wee suitcase for the flight home.

Did I mention that my shoes cost more than the dress?!  How often does that happen?  If you’d like to see a picture of the dress, click here.

 

4 Comments

  1. August 7, 2011
    adele bernard

    I remember you bringing home your dress. I remember thinking wow. They are really serious about getting married. I am so happy you did. You were a beautiful bride and God blessed you with the dress that was meant to be yours from the beginning.

  2. August 8, 2011
    Momma

    love this story!!!

  3. August 8, 2011
    Katie

    I look forward to the “how we met” story. This stuff is SO good. I love how God walked you right into that dress! Totally wish I would have been there with you!

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