the $ is for $ervice

we experienced both ends of the wedding dress spectrum today.

we had gone to bryan's bridal on thursday night, and they squeezed in a few try-ons for me even though we blew in at 8:05 and they don't normally allow try-ons after 8:00. i'm going to call bryan's 'middle of the road,' and i mean that with all kinds of flattering intentions. the girl assigned my case took a look at my pictures (note to future brides: look through a thousand wedding magazines, and rip out anything you like. if you like the straps, rip out the page and circle the straps. write: 'straps.' otherwise, two months later you'll be like, 'what? i hate that necklace. two-months-ago-me has no taste.') and grabbed some lovely things off the rack. they've got a comfortable and spacious try-on area, and they give you a bottle of water with a bride on it, in case you get parched, or forget why you're there.

this morning, we drove down to action liquidators, in vancouver. the interior was suspciously reminiscent of the mcc store in abbotsford. the dresses here were all about half the price of the dresses at bryan's (and bryan's was quite reasonably priced), and rightly so. they certainly weren't spending any money on decor or professional staffing. there was a man-staff lingering about, which made nakedly handing a dress out to my mom a leetle sketchy, and i really think the awkward girl helping us out thought every one of those dresses was the paragon of beauty. the ones that made me look frumpy. and short-torsoed. each to her own, i suppose.

if action liquidators was those waxy chocolates that you get in advent calenders, then sposa was lindor. SPOSA!! oh, i wish you could have been there, robyn. ALL of you, friends, i wish you could have been there. we chose it at random off of new west's bridal row, but i don't think we could have chosen better even if we knew what the hell we were doing. they only fit one person at a time so that they can give you their full attention, and so that you have command of the 360 mirrors. and not to toot my own horn, but i looked good in every. single. dress. better than good; i looked AMAZING! well-made wedding dresses are built to flatter, to tuck in all your tummy bits and to hoist your girls without giving you that fat-fold in your pittoob (pittoob: that squishy bit between your armpit and your boob. on men, it's a pittec). they're snug, but self-supporting, so they can sit flush up against your skin without cutting into your back fat. mind you, they all cost more than double what the dresses at bryan's were costing, but THEY ELIMINATE FIGURE FLAWS!!!

so it comes down to this. do i love the ones (there were two 'keepers') at sposa more than i loved the one at bryan's? and if i do, do i love it more than twice as much?

the $ is for $tymied.