This is a long story, folks. But it's a story well worth telling, for sure.
It all started with Amy. Although she and Chad wanted to have a big wedding and reception to include their entire familes and all their friends, they knew that Dar's health would not hold on for another year. They decided to have a very private, intimate wedding with parents and siblings only this year (2010) and renew their vows next year with a big celebration.
In discussing her wedding plans one night while me, Kristel and Nancy were hanging out with Dar, Kristel said to Amy, "So that means you get to wear your wedding dress twice?" Amy answered, "Yeah." Kristel commented, "I love my wedding dress! I wish I could wear it again, but that's not going to happen." to which Nancy added, "Jess feels the same way. She LOVES her dress, but it's not like she can wear it walking down the street!" I piped in that, "What you girls all need is a bride's night! We could rent a room at the Common Man Inn and have a girls night. You girls can all wear your wedding dresses again. We can rent movies and drink mimosas! Why don't we plan it for when the guys go hunting in the fall and Matt will be deployed."
Dar sat on the side of the bed looking quite sad. She said very quietly, "I probably won't be here then." Well, you could hear a pin drop! I said, "Hey, we don't have to wait until fall, we can do it sooner rather than later." Then she said, "I don't have a wedding dress." I explained, "Honey, we're not wearing wedding dresses, the girls are. We're the mothers." And Dar replied, "But I never had a wedding dress." Well, let me just say that when we were kids Dar used to sneak into the attic and try on mom's satin wedding dress. She was the only one of the four girls who was into that. So, hearing where she was coming from, and knowing what a thrift store junkie she was, I said, "Well, we'll get you a wedding dress. You and Nancy can go thrift store shopping and find one." Dar smiled from one ear to the other - literally. I thought Amy was going to fall apart. She ran to the other end of the house and, fighting back tears, she said to me, "We HAVE to make this happen for her. Did you SEE her??? I've never seen her smile that big! We have to do this soon!
And so the search was on for a wedding dress for Dar. She and Nancy didn't have much luck finding one. Kim had found a few at thrift stores but they were quite dated, very poofy and ornate, some were yellowed and crunchy. Dar deserved so much more than that! It was Wednesday, August 4th. Bride's Night was set for Friday night, August 6th. I decided to go to Elegant Bridals on Pleasant Street in Claremont. The owner had just bought Heidi's Bridal Boutique, had renamed it and was in the process of relocating down the street. I walked in and told my story to the new owner, Tracy Lafont, and her daughter, Brittany Lafont. I felt kind of awkward, yet, I would do anything for Dar at this stage of the game. I asked if they might have either a junior bridesmaid's dress that wasn't too juvenile looking or if they knew of someone who would be willing to sell their dress. Tracy didn't hesitate for a moment. She said that she had some discontinued styles in the basement that she could only sell off the rack. We went downstairs to the bowels of the store, under Pleasant Street, with one flourescent light on, and she went through a bunch of dresses and found a rather small size. We brought it upstairs. I thanked her profusely and asked her how much it cost. She said, "Nothing. Just take it. But I would like to see photos and maybe have a couple for my scrapbook." I couldn't believe it! What an angel!
I brought the dress up to Dar's. She tried it on immediately. Of course it was huge. She only weighed about 80 pounds at the time. I told her the story of having to go down in the basement for it. Her response was, "Do you think she has any more that might be smaller?" I said I didn't know - that Tracy had quickly gone through a bunch of them. Dar's response was, "Well, there's only one way to find out." and she strolled across the room, put her purse over her shoulder and was ready to go back to the bridal shop! Okay, then.
Mind you, it was HOT out. Here's Dar weighing in at, like I said, 80 pounds, She's wearing shorty-shorts and a huge sleeveless white blouse with NOTHING underneath. ALL arms and legs, I tell ya! She sauntered across Pleasant Street into the bridal shop. I think Tracy and Brittany's jaws dropped to the floor. I don't think they could visualize the woman I had described when I told my story about Dar. So, I'm standing there with the gown and I say, "I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but Dar was wondering if there was ANY way you might have a smaller dress." Tracy simply held her hand out to stop me and said, "Say no more. Let's go down to the basement and see." She grabbed a flashlight and a stepstool and all of us - Dar included - traipsed through the back of the store and down the dark stairway to the basement. And there Tracy went through EVERY dress she had in her discontinued line, looking at each and every tag to confirm the size. She pulled FIVE dresses and brought all of them upstairs to the dressing room so that Dar could try them on and select her wedding dress. Dar was loving every minute of it. She kept telling Nancy, "We need to get you a dress, too." Nancy was, like, "Don't worry, I have a dress to wear." There was NO WAY we were going to ask these people to give us more dresses - are you kidding?
So, we took the dress back to Dar's and, of course, this one was too big, too. It had stays in the bodice so it didn't fall off. Having no sewing machine and no time to play around, I decided to take the ribbons that hold the dress on the hangar and turn them into shoulder straps. With every adjustment, Dar insisted on trying her dress on to make sure the "alterations" were going as planned. She couldn't get enough of wearing that dress! Every time someone came through the door she'd drag them into her bedroom to show them her dress.
So, Friday night comes along and we all head to the Common Man Inn. Kimmy outdid herself with favors for each of us: a plaque that says, "Life is not measured by the breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away" a mini family photo frame for our keepsake photos, little gift bags with goodies, an "I Do" cake, etc. We had munchies, pizza, mimosas, and, of course, Dar's latest addiction - Rice Krispie Treats!
We had the room with the private hot tub. Dar was the first one to go in. She wanted to bring that sucker home, I'll tell ya! But she eventually got out and was the first one to put on her gown. Here we all are wearing our bathing suits and towels and Dar's promenading around in her gown - SHE WAS GLORIOUS - SO REGAL! All the girls got into their gowns and we went out in the hallway to take photos. The manager of the Common Man Inn offered to move the furniture upstairs in the main room so that we could have photos taken in front of the fireplace. And so we did.
We returned to our room and had Dar take her dress off. It was so heavy for her teeny frame. The ribbons were making dents in her shoulders. She didn't waste any time going right back into the hot tub, though. That night, Dar slept the whole night through for the first time in months! She never even rolled over! We had to check to make sure she was still breathing!
In the morning, Dar was right back in the hot tub again! When we went to the Common Man Restaurant for breakfast she wore her spa robe and ate a bit of this and a bit of that. Nothing substantial - just a little of everything they had to offer. She felt like royalty, you could tell. And rightly so.
I wouldn't trade the memory of Bride's Night for anything!
