I now pronounce you bride and gown

I vaguely remember shopping for my wedding dress 43 years ago, when I was almost 21. I went with my future mother-in-law to Lord & Taylor, where she was Fashion Coordinator. As a L&T executive, Gerry (I’m Geri) got a whopping 40 percent discount, so it made sense to buy the wedding dress there. I can’t for the life of me remember if my mother, or anyone else, came with us. I don’t remember having fun, either.

Today, I had fun, shopping for a wedding gown with my sister, her soon-to-be-daughter in law, DIL’s mom and DIL’s maid of honor. We went to J. Crew Bridal, where the selection is simple, elegant and extraordinarily well priced. Why any woman, or her mother, would spend thousands of dollars on a wedding dress escapes me. Every bride looks beautiful. She doesn’t need a $10,000 gown to make her look good.

Anyway, Nicole chose the second gown she tried on and she looks exquisite in it. The dress will be sent out within days. No Byzantine fittings schedule, another ridiculous marketing ploy. The gown has to be hemmed, but otherwise it fits perfectly. It doesn’t hurt that Nicole has a perfect size 2 body!

Weddings have become big business, but now that fewer young people feel compelled to get married, the market is probably going to shrink over the next decade. I hope the people selling those grossly overpriced gowns are prepared.