If anyone is looking for me, I’ve fallen down the Pinterest rabbit hole and can’t find my way out. I’ve never been great at making decisions when presented with too many options, and wedding planning is just that – a billion ideas and options. Flowers, décor, music, place settings, invitations, and on…and on…and on.
The same thing happened when it came to choosing my wedding dress. I had never looked at a bridal magazine, never tried a wedding dress on, until I walked into my first appointment at Kleinfeld in New York last October. The amazing Jessica Mulroney (or my “Fairy Godmother” as I like to call her) brought me and my Mom there ahead of Kleinfeld’s opening at Hudson’s Bay in Toronto. As a “decision-challenged” person, you can imagine how enormously overwhelming it was to be in a literal sea of wedding dresses. I had really vague ideas of what I thought I wanted, and that went right out the window when I saw all the options. Beads and jewels, tulle and lace, and sparkle and satin. It was like nothing I’ve ever seen. It was magical.
I met my consultant Debbie for a quick chat before we got started. She was lovely and asked the standard questions: Did I have any pictures with me? No (apparently this NEVER happens). Any designer in mind? Not really. Any ideas of what I wanted? Nothing big and puffy. Without a whole lot to go on, Debbie then asked about our wedding, asked about my personal style and Randall’s style too. And with that she was off in search of some dresses for me.
She came back with three choices to start. The second I stepped into the first one I was in love. Like loveeeee! I cried. My mom cried. It was gorgeous. But I was asking myself, do I love this dress or do I love being in a wedding dress? So I tried on a few more. Then a bunch more after that. Then went to have lunch, came back and tried on a dozen or so more. At the end of the day I wasn’t quite ready to make a decision.
After a night of staring at pictures of me in the various dresses, zooming, pinching, and filtering, we headed back to Kleinfeld the next day. Indecisive Danielle was at an all-time high. How could I possibly choose just one dress when there were so many out there? So there I went to try on more dresses. All the while, Debbie was kind and supportive, and most of all, patient. She even let me into the room where they store all the dresses, which was beyond overwhelming to say the least. Another round of 15+ dresses and I was feeling more and more confident that the first dress was the one. I put it back on and instantly knew. Crazy right? You hear of these things happening, but I never really believed it. I told Debbie I’d made up my mind and she said she knew that was my dress all along stating, “they don’t call me One-Dress-Debbie for nothing!”
So with the wedding dress decision made, I just have about 30,000 more decisions to go.
Danielle McGimsie is a senior reporter for Canada’s #1 entertainment show, etalk, which airs weeknights at 7 p.m. ET/PT on CTV. For more information visit, www.CTV.ca/etalk. Follow Danielle on Twitter, @MissDMcG.
