My Wedding Dress

You are about to become privy to top secret information. Don't you feel special? Until eSuitor asked for my hand, only a handful of people knew what is about to be revealed:

I have had my wedding dress since 2003.

Tee-hee!

And now, the story of what insiders up to this point have simply referred to as The Dress.

I first met my wedding dress in 2002. I had recently moved to Zaragoza, Spain, and I was taking a stroll down the city's main street, Paseo de la Independencia. It is a lovely, urban street lined with European architectural gems, wide pedestrian sidewalks, and indoor/outdoor cafes. It also has an El Corte Ingles and several specialty shops. One of these shops is Cymbeline, a French design house of wedding dresses.

The beautiful Paseo de la Independencia. Who wouldn't want to go shopping here?

As I was moseying down Independencia one September day, I glanced at the window of Cymbeline. There in the window was The Dress. It was love at first sight. I just saw it and thought, "That's my wedding dress." It is a beautiful creation that I can't describe in too much detail, because eSuitor is reading this. I can say, however, that it is a winter wedding dress, and if Narnia had a good queen, she would wear something like this.

Considering that eSuitor was merely a prayer request at the time, it didn't make a lot of sense to entertain the thought of buying the dress, but I couldn't get it out of my mind. Whenever I was on Independencia, I would stop at the window to visit my dress. I would introduce the dress to friends, and I even walked into the store with my best friend, Anne to show it to her once they took it out of the window.

The following May, my mom and John (my stepdad, who nicknamed me "Starshine") came to Zaragoza to visit me. I told them about the dress and how much I liked it, and they said they wanted to go see it. So we took a field trip to Cymbeline, and they suggested that I try it on. We all fell in love with it. I brought my dear friend Laura there and tried it on for her, and she burst into tears. The general consensus was BUY IT! So in a joint effort, Mom and John, my Dad, and I split the cost of the dress three ways, and I ordered the dress in my size. The store on Independencia sent the order to Paris and said it would arrive sometime in July.

In mid-July, I got a call from my mom's best friend that I should come home ASAP. John had been fighting a years-long battle with cancer, and the end was near. Within 24 hours, I packed up all my stuff, drove with some friends to Barcelona, and was on a plane home to Texas. One of the suitcases I brought home with me contained my wedding dress. As soon as I got home, and greeted my family, John wanted to see the dress. I put it on, and we took pictures together, since I knew we wouldn't have that opportunity on my wedding day. He died one week later. (The above photo is one that was taken the day I got home from Spain. I framed it and added a note about it, which was displayed on my wedding day.)

I will always treasure that moment, and I'm so happy to have those photos. As I'm walking down the aisle on a hot Texas day in June, I'll be wearing my winter wedding dress, and John will be there with me.

I wish John could have met eSuitor. He would have been very happy that I'm marrying such a great guy. I do believe he is rejoicing with me in Heaven! Yea, Johnny!