It was time to get changed into my wedding gown.I can still remember in April 2009, the day I saw the gown in GPO Brides of Melbourne. The dress was hung on a clearance rack along with a few others. It looked a little stained, tired and quite unattractive. Clearly, it wasn't one that was liked by many.
I was, nonetheless, attracted to the simple yet eye catching details sewn onto the gown, created using strings of long shaped beads. The rear of the gown, was attached to a long and beautiful train, and was embellished with 9 crystal buttons. And the quality of the dress was much better compared to many custom made ones in KL!
Gazing at the dress, which was a size 12 gown, I was thinking whether I should be spending AUD3,000 for an Essence dress that I really like. One side of me was thinking 'this is a once in a life time event, don't do it and you will be regret'. On the other hand, I really don't see why I should be spending that money (perhaps a little more if I have gone with Pronovias gown) on something that I can only wear once. It was yet another difficult decision for a fussy person like me. Not long after that, I was asked by our photographer, Fiona, if we would like her to shoot our pre-wedding photos in Melbourne. I told CJ, I had to get something 'just in case' I have no other option.
So there was I in Brides of Melbourne again. One of the shop assistants was really kind and happy to help me to put on that dress (it was a heavily discounted dress). At AUD500, I made a decision to buy it and get it altered when I go back to KL in June 2009.
The first alteration was to shorten the hem of the gown. The dress wasn't fitting very nicely still. On my return to Melbourne, I made a trip to GPO again to get the dress altered the second time. This time, the tailor did a fantastic job. At the back of the gown, she added a few loops on each side of the edges, so I can tighten the dress to my liking. She had also altered the seams underneath the arms so the gown would hug my torso better. The final result was simply beautiful.
I am glad that I did not spend more than AUD750 on either buying a more expensive dress, or renting it from one of the bridal shops in PJ SS2. One of them wanted to charge me more than RM3,000 (beyond AUD1,000) to rent a dress similar to mine. I certainly didn't think I could afford to custom made a similar piece with Soo Lin Lei and Pretty in White. Although, I almost went with That Special Occasion, for Chris' cheaper but up to standard custom made gown... in the end, nothing quite beat the professional encounter I had with GPO Brides of Melbourne sales assistant, who had given me the reassurance that the dress will look beautiful on me.
She is certainly right!
