Found.
"Just lift your arms up and ... okay, dive in!"
She held the seemingly endless yards of flowing fabric above my head, with her arms through the middle to guide me to the top. The rustle and shuffle of silk and taffeta undulated by my ears until I had shimmied into the dress.
And I walked out to where my mother was waiting, the train of the dress following patiently.
"Oh, that's the one. That's it." My mother started clapping softly, then realized it was an odd thing to do, so she just folded her hands in her lap and grinned.
I turned to face the mirror and, despite the exhaustion from the whirlwind weekend and the day of working remotely and the strong scent of Starbucks coffee, I felt pretty. All in an instant, I didn't want to wait another seven months to be his bride.
"Oh, that's the one." My bridal consultant had patiently helped me try on over two dozen dresses and she showed no signs of slowing down. But this one was it. Hands on her hips, she followed the lines of my body with her eyes and nodded her approval. "It fits you perfectly."
I nodded in agreement. She leaned in to my mother.
"Let's get the pump and I'll get the seamstress, so we can see how we'll work with this."
My mother unearthed the pump from the depths of my purse, where it had been stashed during this dress-session, and handed it to me.
The seamstress came out and gave me a coo of approval. "Oh honey, you look beautiful. Now what are we looking at here?"
"This is my insulin pump. I need to have a pocket or something created in the dress so I can access the buttons here," I gestured to the front face of my pump, "and then the tubing needs to funnel through the dress layers to a port on my outer thigh."
"No problem, honey. No problem at all. Let's see this." She reached out her hand and I placed the pump on her palm. "Not too heavy at all. We make a little pocket along the seam here," she pointed to the side of the dress, "and then we'll just tunnel through the layers to meet up with your leg. A small bit of velcro to keep the pocket shut and viola! You're a bride with a beeper."
"A pump."
"Pump."
The seamstress patted me on the arm. My bridal consultant helped me slip out of the dress and I put my own skirt and shirt back on. I looked at some options for my bridesmaids and ooohed over dresses for my flower girl (little MP). We talked about when the dress would be ordered and how long it would take to come in.
And if I closed my eyes, I could still feel the weight of the train and the way the beading felt underneath my fingertips.
I can't wait until May.
Comments
You are so fortunate to have this diary of your wedding preparations. Your children and grandchildren will love it. Waiting seven months is too long. I remember it being an eternity. It's now been almost 35 years since that day and I wish we could go back. I wish you the same wonderful memories.
Posted by: RichW | October 9, 2007 03:21 PM
Holy cow...I want to get married now...or maybe just try on dresses :)
I'm so happy/excited for you!
Posted by: Laura | October 9, 2007 03:26 PM
I LOVE that you thought to have them work with you and your pump! Very, very cool Kerri.
I'm so happy for you... hopefully the next 7 months will fly by, but the day of your wedding will pass slowly :)
Posted by: Kelsey | October 9, 2007 03:31 PM
Yaay congratulations on finding a dress you love Kerri! I'm so excited for you! :D
Posted by: alison | October 9, 2007 03:57 PM
I'm glad you found the "perfect" dress. Reading about you and planning your wedding makes it all seem so possible, in spite of diabetes!
You are truly an inspiration.
Posted by: Jillian | October 9, 2007 04:04 PM
I was hoping you would find "the one" & you did. Congratulations!
This is such a fun time. My daughter scrap-booked through the whole thing to remember her experiences. But you've got this blog - which is even better - to help you remember all of these special occasions. I'm very happy for you. Enjoy!
Posted by: Donna | October 9, 2007 04:12 PM
y a y !
(clap, clap, clap, smile!)
Posted by: Amylia | October 9, 2007 04:24 PM
I'm so glad you found the dress!! :) Every little girl's fantasy come true!
And you know, I'd never even thought about working a pump pocket into my dress! That's perfect. When you get the dress (it's really not that long away!) you need to show us pictures of how they worked that pocket. (For future reference of course!)
Congrats Kerri!
Posted by: Cara | October 9, 2007 04:47 PM
AWW! didn't we all say you'd know it when you saw it??? Like boyfriends and finances and eventually husbands, that there really is only one dress for you. That's so cool that the seamstress had no issues figuring out what to do with your beeper lol.
Posted by: michelle | October 9, 2007 05:12 PM
oh and lol on the alt text on your pic. *wink*
Posted by: michelle | October 9, 2007 05:12 PM
Awesome-glad you've found the one.My gown is still undergoing alterations,I'm not sure how I'm going to work in the pump just yet.Maybe they can do something like that with mine.
Posted by: type1emt | October 9, 2007 05:33 PM
Congratulations on finding The Dress! And I'm so glad you found people who will help you get the dress to work with your pump. Great idea!
Posted by: Ky | October 9, 2007 05:36 PM
Here I sit, blubbering all over myself remembering the day I found my perfect dress- the emotions came flooding back.
You sound so utterly happy, Kerri. I wish you and Chris all the happiness in the world.
Congratulations on finding "the one" (the dress, and the guy)
;)
Posted by: Lea | October 9, 2007 06:42 PM
I think you should patent the Pump Access Hatch in wedding gowns.
I'm honestly curious to know what other women have done with their gowns...even women who take shots.
Posted by: Shannon | October 9, 2007 06:51 PM
Congratulations on finding your dress! You know, where to put the pump in my wedding dress [when I get engaged that is :)]is something I never thought of. Hope it all works out & that’s definitely an idea I’ll be borrowing down the road.
Posted by: Randee | October 9, 2007 07:35 PM
Yay, yay, yay!
I'm so glad you found the perfect dress, and that the dress shop is willing to make it work so well for you to use your "beeper". I can't wait to see the pictures either!
Congratulations!
Posted by: Beth | October 9, 2007 08:47 PM
Congrats! It's a great feeling, isn't it? I used the "Leg Thing" for my pump and it worked great. I didn't think to have a pocket added to my dress, but I think it was too flimsy a fabric to manage that anyway. Yours will be so cool!
Posted by: Auntly H | October 9, 2007 09:40 PM
Kerri-
Congratulations on finding the perfect dress! Once you put it on, you just know. I also had a "pump pocket" put into my wedding dress, less than two years ago! I didn't even realize it was there and I certainly wasn't willing to go back on shots and not feel my best on my wedding day. Enjoy each day leading up to the wedding!
Allison
Community Outreach
AgaMatrix, Inc
www.wavesense.info
Posted by: Allison | October 9, 2007 10:21 PM
The dress sounds p-e-r-f-e-c-t!!! You make me want to get married all over again! Enjoy every single minute of the planning and, of course, the big day!!!
Posted by: hhp | October 10, 2007 09:25 AM
:)
Posted by: Rachel | October 10, 2007 10:25 AM
Yay Kerri! Oh, I am so happy for you. I loved my wedding dress--absolutely loved it. I only wish I had cause to wear it again!
Posted by: Hannah | October 10, 2007 10:46 AM
How Beautiful! I can't believe you found the perfect dress on your first trip.
Congrats!
Posted by: Mandy | October 10, 2007 11:22 AM
Awwwwwww. How great!
Jesus, where are the tissues in this place? I have, uh, something in my eye. Yeah, that's it.
Posted by: Major Bedhead | October 10, 2007 12:51 PM
hope the dress isn't pure white ;)
Posted by: Scott | October 10, 2007 01:06 PM
Kerri!
So glad you found the perfect dress. When I tried mine on, the pump was definitely something I thought of. It can fit in the top pretty well, but do you think you could post or send a picture of how the pocket will be for all of us curious brides-to-be? I'd appreciate it.
Best wishes to you and Chris!
Posted by: Allison | October 10, 2007 01:08 PM
The dress is ivory. ;)
Posted by: Kerri. | October 10, 2007 01:27 PM
Awww! That is great you found the dress.
Love your writing. It felt like we are there during a precious moment between mom and daughter.
May will be here sooner than later.
Warm congrats!
Posted by: Jill_E | October 10, 2007 03:47 PM
How very awesome, Kerri. It was obviously the right choice and I am so happy for you and Chris!!
Posted by: Johnboy | October 10, 2007 04:50 PM
I have so been there!! My mom sewed a little pocket inside my slip with light blue ribbon ("something blue") for my wedding in May 2004. It was hilarious when the catering manager walked in to our little private room at the reception place while my husband was crawling under my dress trying to find my pump so I could bolus before the reception. :) LOL! I've never blushed so much in my life!
Posted by: Katie | October 11, 2007 08:52 AM
Ker, congrats, remember i told you about my designer making a pump pocket!
Posted by: Gina | October 15, 2007 01:23 PM