Sunday, August 15, 2010

I. Can't. Breathe.

On Thursday afternoon, the call that I've been anticipating all summer finally came. My wedding dress had arrived in the store and was ready for me to try on.

I immediately went into a bit of a panic. You see, I purchased my dress in December of 2009. Its been a VERY long time since I've seen it, and even longer since I last tried it on. I was nervous, to say the least. What if I no longer liked the style? Or the color? Or, and this was my biggest fear, what if my body size had increased drastically since I was measured back in December? What if the darn thing didn't fit? What if I looked *gulp* fat? AAAH! The anxiety was literally enough to keep me up at night. Like, I would fall asleep and wake not an hour later and just lie in bed totally stressed out.

Nevertheless, I made an appointment for yesterday afternoon, threw my Spanx in my purse, skipped breakfast and lunch and dragged AG with me to the shop. I was excited, and nervous and I had no idea what I was in for, but I knew I wasn't going to go in with a full stomach!

I'm sure those of you that have been through this ordeal are currently nodding your heads in complete understanding. If not, let me be clear....I was *terrified*. I mean, this is THE DRESS. The one I will wear on the day I become Mrs. DJC. To say I was scared was a gross underestimation of what I was feeling. I parked the car, got out to walk towards the shop, and immediately started to sweat. When I saw my dress hanging in the dressing room, my breathing rate and pulse increased. And then I put it on...

I think the lady helping me offered me some water and a chair. Apparently, I looked ill. I certainly felt ill. I stood there taking short, shallow, rapid breaths while she laced up the corset. I felt cold and clammy and hot and dizzy and faint as I tried to hold it all together. The lacing seemed to take WAY too long and I started to believe that something was wrong with the dress. My god, I had gotten fatter, I thought! How can this be?! NOOOO! I felt vaguely nauseated. All my hard work at the gym hadn't paid off at all.

But then, she started to pull. She warned me to hold on before the yanking began, but I didn't really know what she meant. Then I realized she was pulling so hard that I actually couldn't breathe! I panicked for reals this time. But as quickly as it had started, the panic was gone and I could breathe. Everything was OK. She continued working her way down and when she had finally finished, I walked out into the viewing room with all the crazy mirrors.

And you know what? I was (and still am) TOTALLY happy with my dress. Its gorgeous. And thanks to the corset from hell, I actually have a waist and a really nice shape. AG took endless amounts of pictures to send to my mom in Florida. I'm so excited for the big day. There are some pretty extensive alterations that need to happen (because I'm not a 6' tall model), but I think its going to be absolutely lovely...

...and perfect, minus about ten pounds. ;)

5 comments:

Arvay said...

I'm glad you love it! But might I suggest that perhaps you didn't feel so hot due to the skipped meals? Sweetie, I love to see you do what makes you happy, but please don't sacrifice your health. You'll be beautiful at any size!

Anonymous said...

YAY! i'm glad you loved it (and it fit). No bride is ever completely happy with her form (even on the wedding day, i regret to say).. but i know you're going to look amazing. Looking fwd to the celebration!!--LG

The Enforcer said...

Awww, thanks for the compliments, ladies.

Arvay, it was just breakfast and lunch that I missed on one day out of the week. Trust me, I could live on the extra padding around my midsection for a month at least...

The dress really would look much more breathtaking if I were about ten pounds lighter. We'll see how that goes, but I'm not gonna do anything drastic. I like food WAAAY too much! =)

Arvay said...

Okay. Just be sure to take care of you. :)

*takes of mom hat*

I thought you were going to send me photos? :)

Miss E. said...

I think since I tried on my dress I have gained about ten pounds. I have little desire to starve myself back to an ideally healthier weight for running at the moment...but due to a new regimen of boot camp, farming, biking up big hills mixed in with the usual running and yoga, I am decidedly stronger. I guess I choose stronger over skinnier. You will look amazing and we can't wait to see you!