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June is a big month for weddings, so I thought I would share a funny and very embarrassing story that resulted in an important lesson about going to them.
Twice in my life, I have attended weddings wearing a dress that is way too similar to the dress that the bridesmaids were wearing. It’s extremely embarrassing and I’m quite sure the bride isn’t too thrilled about it either.
Once it actually was the exact same dress. The lesson that I’m taking from the experience is that in the future I will always wear prints or separate skirt/shirt combos to weddings! But, at least now we can look back and laugh…
In the summer of 2006, our friends Jeff and Renee got married, two months before Eddie and I did, and we were all invited to eachother’s weddings. It was a big wedding year for us. Just 3 weeks before Jeff & Renee’s wedding, I had been a bridesmaid in another friend’s wedding as well. I decided to recycle the bridesmaid’s dress from that wedding and wear it to Jeff & Renee’s. That is a big mistake. NEVER do that!
I had even asked Eddie to call Jeff (because they were really his friends, they all went to college together. I went to a different school and I hadn’t spent very much time with them.) and ask him what color the bridesmaids were wearing. He did not call (that was also a BIG mistake) but told me he thought he had heard that Renee’s bridesmaids were wearing black. The dress I wanted to wear was a light pink, so I figured it would be fine.
It was so not fine.
When we arrived at the church I went to the restroom and was greeted by about half a dozen women wearing the exact same dress I was, in the exact same color. They obviously knew I was not part of their group and they looked very confused.
I darted back to Eddie and the group of fraternity brothers he was sitting with and I was livid. I really don’t think I have ever been more angry with him. (Although I realize now I should have just called Renee myself) I made him take off his suit jacket and give it to me and I sat through the entire ceremony wearing a men’s jacket.
In between the ceremony and the reception we drove off and found a mall nearby so that I could buy a new dress in a hurry. Pickings were slim since I was a size 3 at the time (what I wouldn’t give to fit into either of those dresses again!) and the Junior’s section was barren because prom season was over.
I finally found one and put it on in the dressing room, ripped off the tags, and was on the way to pay for it and wear it out of the store when I realized you could see my flower printed underwear straight through it. Eddie was on the other side of the dressing room door so I told him he was going to have to go find me a beige thong quickly. Oh, and some different shoes too. I didn’t have time to change out of the dress, into the other one, and back again and I was not about to walk around Boscov’s with this underwear situation I had going on. We were already very conspicuous walking around the mall dressed for a black tie affair, plus we were late for the reception. I waited in the dressing room, getting more and more irritated.
So then there was a man in a suit literally running through the department store, carrying high heels, in pursuit of women’s thong underwear. He said he panicked when there was a group of little old ladies in the underwear section and he told them all his wife was having an underwear emergency.
So by that point, in addition to me being the crazy screaming lady in the dressing room (because I was now even more angry) and being with the strange perverted man running through the store carrying a thong and high heels, there was a group of old ladies who thought I’d had a bathroom accident and wanted to help.
I could not pay for those clothes and get out of there fast enough!
On the plus side, Eddie did a great job picking out the shoes and I still have that pair.
We managed to get back to the reception before dinner was served and Renee never knew! I’m sure she had too much on her mind that day anyway, but she thought it was kind of funny when I told her about it earlier this year when we had them over for dinner.
Remember, ladies, as you are dressing for weddings this season: skirts and prints are your friends. Recycling bridesmaid’s dresses is a terrible idea.
The second time this happened to me it was because I re-wore the dress I had worn as a bridesmaid’s dress in my dad’s second wedding to the wedding of a friend. I figured that since it was just a regular ol’ off the rack dress this time would be fine. Um…nope. Although it was not the exact same dress, the bridesmaids that time were wearing the same color and their dresses were the same tea length as the one I had on. Ugh.
Yeah, recycling bridesmaid’s dresses? Just don’t do it.
Jennifer says
LoL! That’s an awesome story!!! Loved it! 😀
Jen says
Funny stories, and very good to know! I’ve never been a victim of wearing a dress similar to the bridesmaids, but I’ve seen a number of doosies that have made me wonder what the wearer was thinking! Even an unenthusiastic mother-in-law purposely wearing white to her son’s wedding, just to spite the bride! Thanks for sharing! Jen @ http://www.icantstopcrafting.blogspot.com
Vanessa (Housewives Inc) says
How funny!
I had a couple turn up at our wedding in colour-coded outfits that fitted in spot on with our colour scheme (although I suspect it was sheer coincidence, so it didn’t bother me). What did IRRITATE me no end were those women who turned up wearing WHITE. Seriously – who thinks that’s a good idea?!?!
Rebecca @ My Girlish Whims says
hahah LOVED reading this
Vivienne @ the V Spot says
OMGosh! This is hilarious. I have another blog called Weddings: What KNOT To Do, and I would love to publish your post on there! Please let me know!:)
http://badweddings.blogspot.com
the cape on the corner says
oh my goodness, that’s hysterical! thank goodness there was a mall to dash to and enough time to do it.
Patricia Purcell says
This is definitive proof that when brides say that you can reuse the expensive bridesmaid dress, it’s just not true! I gave all of my bridesmaid dresses to my daughter to use as dress up clothes…I’m glad I did!
Just Keepin It Real, Folks! says
Awesome story!!!! But, don’t ever throw away your bridesmaid dresses. My friends and I have an ugly bridesmaids luncheon every year and wear our dresses from 25 years ago. It is a freakin’ HOOT!!!
Eva Gallant says
That’s quite an experience! lol
Sparkling says
I am cracking up over the whole dressing room scene and your husband. I can’t even imagine asking k-ster to go find me shoes. It’s funny, I hear so many brides say they had their girls get dresses with the intention of being able to wear them again and you point out how silly that idea really is! Found you at finding the funny.
Anna at www.mylifeandkids.com says
Love it!!
You were one of the most-clicked links at last week’s #findingthefunny! We’re featuring you tomorrow. Thanks for linking up!
Nicole says
Argh! That must have been so frustrating, twice!
I was the maid of honor at my friend’s wedding. One of her husband’s groomsmen had a girlfriend who showed up in a WHITE dress. Can you imagine?
I hope at makes you feel a bit better; at least you didn’t know what the bridesmaids were wearing. You know the lady in white knew my friend, the bride!, was going to be in white.
Meredith says
So funny! And I love imagining the scene play out in Boscov’s as you guys tried to “sort it all out”–hey at least it sounds you scored an awesome pair of shoes in the deal? 😉
The UnCoordinated Mommy says
The thought has totally crossed my mind!!! Thanks for the heads up! Lol