Wedding Dress Search

Steven has been pestering me to put something on the blog so I thought I would write about my search for the perfect dress.

The search began in Dubai wedding shops where the tiny lady behind the counter looked me up and down and then said she didn't have any dresses to fit me and that I would need to eat less and go to the gym before my wedding. She did manage to find one dress in a 'big' size for me to try but after that start I had pretty much lost enthusiasm. I then went on to try on some of the sample sized dresses but the lady in the shop tutted every time I tried one on and said that if only I was slimmer I could really see what the dress would look like. After trying on a few dresses it seemed like a good time to make my excuses and leave to go and console myself with a nice bar of chocolate!

Round two started with one of my bridesmaid's, Steven's mum and Auntie Lorraine and a good friend of mine. We headed out into Dubai to seriously try on dresses. It was a Friday and so not many places opened. In Dubai a Friday is rather like a Sunday and everywhere is a little sleepy in the day. We started at Lamcy Plaza where again the lady behind the counter said she would have nothing to fit me and that all the big sizes had gone. My bridesmaid and friend took over at this point, I didn't want to try dresses on anyway after the last experience, and asked if we could try dresses on anyway. The lady finally agreed and we began trying on dresses and it became quite good fun even if they didn't fit. Amy was in charge of taking photographs while Alex and the mums provided moral support and an everlasting supply of dresses.

Later we tried Jumeira, the 'posh' bit of Dubai, as they have several wedding outlets. Most places were too scary to even go into and you certainly could not try dresses on without an appointment. This is very typically Dubai where you need a permit before you can fart- and of course it must have the obligatory rubber stamp, even if it is signed by Mickey Mouse.

Anyway at the end of the day we came across a large wedding shop in a little Mall and although you still needed to have an appointment the lady behind the counter was very kind and had hundreds of dresses. I went back for the appointment with friends Alex (and baby Nell), Louise and Amy. I tired on loads of dresses and even though a lot of them were sample sizes for the first time I didn't feel like an elephant. We had a really fun evening and baby Nell climbed into a laundry basket and disappeared which was very amusing. She seemed to love parading round the shop and trying to find things behind the till or in the rubbish bin. Louise was this visits official photographer and documented the huge meringue dresses and the ridiculous creations covered in bows and frills.

It was good fun going shopping with friends and they came up with dresses I would never have tried on by myself. The only problem was when it came to deciding which dress looked best on me we all had completely different taste so we couldn't agree on any of them. This shopping trip gave me a good idea of what suited me and what I wanted, or at least what I thought I wanted.

Steven has been getting really stressed about the dress, which I thought was my job. He was becoming cross that I still didn't have a dress organised, but I had a plan.

Next trip was to Satwa with my friend Sarah who recently got married and had her dress made. She took me to lots of different places that made dresses and to fabric stores. The fabric stores out here are something else. If you can imagine a whole area the size of your local town centre packed full of shops selling all sorts of tat and tailors and fabric stores, bustling with people then this is what Satwa is like. The Indian guys who work in this area are talented tailors who can make pretty much anything. They do all sort of embroidery and beading as well and can turn even the most ordinary fabric into something special. However I just didn't feel that they shared my idea of my perfect dress and so it was back to the drawing board.

I was browsing dresses on the Internet when I came across my perfect dress. Now I'm not going to tell you too much about it as this will spoil the surprise on the day. It is very traditional and that is all I'm saying. Next I needed to find someone to make it. Rachel, who I worked with at my last school had a dress made by a lovely lady and so she is who I decided I waned to make my dress. I met up with her on Thursday and she was very excited about the dress and she showed me loads of samples of things you can get done out here. I can't wait to meet up with her to have my measurements taken when we get back from the UK. Until then it is back to the personal trainer to try and make me look as amazing as the dress. I think I need a fairy godmother like Cinderella had.