Dress Shopping (2)

"This is a dressing room?" Kelly asked, amazement in her voice. She sat on the couch and let her fingers run over the material. "Soooo nice."

I smiled and sat next to her. "Right?! They have the best service. That's why I picked this place first." The room was big enough for a couch, a couple of soft chairs, all of which were facing this three-view mirror. In the corner of the room, there was a more private changing area so Brittany can put on the dress and the consultant would help her with the buttons, zippers, and ribbons.

Someone came into the room with two buckets. Each filled with ice surrounding a champagne bottle. The second reason this place was first: alcohol.

Champagne glasses were passed out and topped off by an assistant.

"We've already set some dresses aside based on the information we got from your bridesmaid. Very detailed so we were able to narrow it down. Obviously if you don't like any of these, we can go pick some off the rack together." The consultant explained to Brittany, showing her what was already brought up.

Brittany gushed. "Oh my! These are so pretty!! So much better than the rag I got." She looked at the consultant. "This is what's for sale right? I don't want an imitation sent to me. I just had that happen and it was ugly. Hideous."

The consultant smiled. "Yes, what you see is what you get. We also do free alterations in regards to sizing. We can add on beads, lace, or pearls to almost any dress for extra cost though."

Brittany nodded, satisfied with what she was hearing. "That's fine. I'm not sure if I want something completely new, but let's just try on the first dress and see how it looks!"

Her and the consultant grabbed the first dress and went into the private area.

Mrs. Cooper took a seat on the other side of me, champagne glass in hand. "This is so much more professional than the place we went to. You really have good taste, Val."

Kelly nodded in agreement after taking a sip of her champagne. "Right! I don't know if this is just the difference in money or the difference in location. I definitely feel both. Like, Seattle is just so much more relaxed. The place we went to didn't feel...'special'. If that makes sense?"

"How did you find this place?"

I smiled and lowered my glass. "I haven't been here personally for anyone's wedding, but I've been in a couple of weddings already. There's the classic 'David's Bridal' stores or you can find boutiques. I have experienced all kinds of places so I really know what to look for. First step, 'yelp'. It's the best directory you can find with a wide variety of reviews of what was good, what was bad, and just get the overall feel of what the place will be like."

"Can you really trust that?" Kelly tapped her glass. "Don't some people give spam reviews and others try and sabotage places?"

I nodded. "That's why I also ask for local opinion. Coworkers, family, and friends. Go on Facebook and ask my community pages. It's also about preference. Some brides like to shop on their own, others like guidance."

"You really put a lot of effort in this." Mrs. Cooper patted me on the knee. "I'm so happy that Brittany has a friend like you. I was honestly mad when you first told her that we should go dress shopping again. Sorry."

"It's okay, I understand. It's not like Brittany is ugly in that dress. It's the dress that didn't make her look more beautiful." I explained. "Even if she just felt it was ugly, but it wasn't, then I would still suggest a new dress. The bride should be happy on her wedding day. A dress shouldn't take that away from her."

"Awe." Mrs. Cooper smiled.

"We could have saved a lot of time and money if you just planned the first dress shopping date then." Rachel scoffed.

I opened my mouth to say something, but instead it was Kelly who took over. She got up from her seat and looked down at Rachel. "Girl, What is your problem? You've been so mean and nasty since the plane took off from Seattle."

"I don't have a problem." Rachel snorted. She looked to AJ. "Am I wrong to say that? Valerie couldn't show up to our first dress shopping day and now everyone is fawning over how nice this is? Why didn't we do this first..?"

"Because Valerie was busy that weekend." Kelly threw back. "She told you two that she had a wedding to be at that weekend. She can't just miss someone else's wedding to go dress shopping. It's you two who couldn't wait for a better date to go."

"So our lives have to revolve around her busy schedule?" Rachel rolled her eyes. "Brittany thought it was fine to go without her too. Excuse me for trying to make the bride happy."

"Girls, please..." Mrs. Cooper tried to intervene to no avail.

Kelly must have snapped because she started to go off on Rachel on her very annoying personality. A part of me wanted to cheer her on, but today wasn't the day to clear the air. Today should be about Brittany.

I downed the rest of my champagne and stood up. "Okay, okay, that's enough." I guided Kelly back to her seat on the couch. "It's fine. I'm fine. This trip shouldn't be about blaming others, or throwing attitude, or anything like that. The purpose of this weekend is to get Brittany a dress and to make her feel special."

"Something we already did." Rachel pointed out.

"So why can't we do it again?" I asked. "Brittany is my friend, and your friend. We can all get along for her sake. She's always there for us, so let's start being there for her. I was busy last time, but I'm doing my part to make it up to her, and to you guys, this weekend. All you have to do is sit back, drink, relax, and compliment Brittany. Is that so hard?"

AJ nodded along. "Yea, Rachel. Let's not spoil this for Brittany."

Rachel pursed her lips. "Sure. Whatever."