It’s never a good thing when your phone rings at 5 am on the morning of the wedding. That’s when the call came in, with a tearful bride on the other end.
I answered, “Sarah, what’s wrong?”
“My, dress, oh my dress…” You could feel the heartbreak through the phone.
“I will be right there.” I throw on my jeans and a ball cap and rush to the hotel.
As I am driving down the 5-mile entrance, I recognize the Father of the Bride’s car racing down the road. I flag him down, and here he is trying to save the day; he’s off to try and catch a flight to Atlanta, go to the dress shop and buy another dress. I tell him, “Bill, it’s okay. I promise, I will take care of things. I can fix a dress, but I can’t ensure that you are back in time, on a flight or in a car. I need you to stay. I need you to be positive, and let her know it’s going to fine. I will take care of it.”
The dress was pressed incorrectly. The long billowing train of pillow-type gathering points were all pressed straight and creased into five pleated seams leading into the long line of fabric buttons running down the back of the dress. The hotel manager, myself, and the director of laundry, hang the dress in the executive offices and just stare.
“How in the world are we going to fix this?”
Step One: Call the dress maker.
Her solution is, “I’m sorry. You’re not going to be able to create the full billowing look because the fabric has been pressed into a crease. I don’t think you can fix it.”
Step Two: Call the local bridal salons.
“Do you carry this designer? This style? Anything similar?” All we got was no, no and no.
Then, I have an epiphany.
“Okay, if we removed all of the buttons, pull the fabric straight, have the dress re-pressed and then re-gather the fabric and sew back on all the buttons, it should work.”
So, we needed an incredible seamstress and a dry-cleaner. As I explain my thought process to a wonderful Russian seamstress who spoke very little English, she nods, and before I can make sure she understands, the buttons go flying! Off we run to the cleaner, the fabric is all hand-pressed and then back to the seamstress at 1 pm to have the re-make begin. The ceremony starts at 5 pm.
At 4pm, I nervously enter the brides’ home and get the overwhelming stare of the parents of the bride.
“It’s fixed. Everything is okay.” I take the dress into the bride’s room for the reveal, and tears stream down her face. The dress is just as she envisioned and fits perfectly.
Down the aisle she goes at 5 pm, and a deep sigh of relief washes over me.
Hallelujah!