Mid-April:
I know I'm cutting it fine - it's mid-April, my wedding is at the beginning of July, and I have no dress. Nor have I liked any of the dresses I've seen so far. This is making me ever-so-slightly concerned so I'm off to London, where I feel I'll stand a better chance of finding what I want. I drag Dee (my fiancee's sister and my bridesmaid) along on a mission, to find my dress and two bridesmaid dresses in two days.
Monday: Our first stop of the morning is for a make-up job at MAC on Foubert's Place. This is particularly indulgent, but we decide that if we don't look our best, we'll hate every dress we try on! We head for Oxford Circus where we stick our heads into the small bridal department at Debenhams and are impressed only by the designer collections on offer. If you're looking for something traditional, it could be worth checking out, and you should definitely also stop off at Virgin Bride, a vast store near Charing Cross station. When we arrive for our appointment here, I fill in a form with my size, my preferred style, the date of the wedding and other details. All the dresses are kept in glass cabinets like a cryogenics experiment, so they're in excellent condition.
Dee tries on a few different bridesmaid dresses, but because of their cut and the fact that they're all in a size 14, it makes it hard for petite Dee to get a good idea of how they would look in her size. Any of the bridal dresses I try are easier to pin to my size. If you do see something you like, however, you can generally get it made to measure.
After Virgin Bride, we decide to hit a few shoe shops to discover whether I'm really destined to wear naff shoes on my wedding day. Our first stop is Gina on Sloane Street, which has a fabulous range of elegant, funky, slinky shoes, and a couture service - if you don't find exactly what you want, but something similar, you can order them. We also visit L.K. Bennett on Brook Street, which is another source of fabulous footwear.
Tuesday: My final stop on my hunt for the perfect dress is at Maria Grachvogel, a designer whose creations I've always admired. Sophisticated, floaty, glamorous, simple, sexy - whatever their tone, they are always ultra-feminine. Maria has successfully built up her couture business since its launch in 1991 and has a loyal celebrity following that includes Posh Spice, Yasmin le Bon and Shakira Caine.
Dee and I arrive at Maria's studio on South Molton Street, and I can hardly contain myself. Having seen one of her dresses in a magazine the previous month and fallen in love with it, I called the company and got the wonderful and friendly response: "Come on over to London. We'll see what we can do!"
We are welcomed in to the airy studio by Zahra Sajan, Maria's commercial manager. The dress from the magazine is hanging in front of us. I'm almost afraid to try it on, but the minute I look in the mirror, I know it's the one!
Maria herself comes out to talk to us and is incredibly friendly, interested and helpful; more importantly, she's reassuringly calm. I try on variations of the dress, and after chatting with Zahra and Maria, we decide exactly what to go for. We also look through Maria's spring/summer collection, and although I want all of it, I manage to pick out just one item for my going away outfit. I have to come back a month before the wedding to try it on, and any other arrangements can be made with Zahra by phone.
After Maria Grachvogel, we have an Imelda Marcos moment in Harrods and Harvey Nichols - shoe heaven! They have a vast selection and the service is second to none.
Two months later: I'm back in London for a final fitting, with my sister, Lanes. We hop in a cab and arrive at Maria Grachvogel's studio. Can you be confident and nervous at the same time? I'm confident that the designer is fantastic, but nervous that my body isn't! The first thing I try is my going away outfit. It's the perfect size and I love it - success number one. Then Zahra brings me the dress. It looks beautiful, but it's still on the hanger; please God, let it fit! I try it on and it's perfect; I have no idea how, because I've lost weight since the first appointment, but, either way, I'm happy - success number two. After a few tiny adjustments to the straps, it will be couriered to me.
In the mammoth day of shopping that followed, we also found my shoes, accessories and the rest of the bridesmaids' outfits.
While you have to factor in the cost of the flights, I was still surprised by just how reasonable it was to get a wedding dress and personal designer attention in London. I could lie and say we hit some of London's top night spots to celebrate that night, but lying on our beds by 10 p.m. and ordering room service was the height of the madness.
