AJay

Aug 16, 20214 min read

Wedding Dress Nightmare: A True Story

Hey and welcome back to my cheeky little blog! As a wedding photographer I've seen it all - or at least I thought I had until I met Ange on her wedding day! Buckle up, grab a cuppa and a biscuit and settle in kid, cause you're in for one hell of a story!

The Morning of...

I arrived at the crown plaza hotel in Birmingham city centre to capture Ange's bridal preparations on the bright sunny morning of June 2nd and was greeted with the super chill atmosphere of a bridal party above any drama. Everything was running on time, everything was going according to plan.

Make-up and heroics by @Jessicaavamakeup

'Your Text Here'

When you spot it....

The Don Arrives

Ange's Dad, Greg, arrived beaming with pride. While the girls had their hair done, he told me before he lost his son he couldn't cried, but after, he couldn't stop.

Errybody Chillin'...

Bridesmaids Maddie, Emma and Ames chill while Ange's amazing kiddo Charlie helps her get into her wedding dress.

The Uh-Oh Moment...

One by one each bridesmaid is called into the bathroom... Suspicions are aroused... until Ange emerges... still in her robe...

It turns out, that Ange's Monsoon lace wedding dress, despite being fitted by a seamstress, had bust open.

So here's a couple pro tips that poor Ange learned the hard way; it's not you, it's the zip. Pro tip number one: concealed zips are a b*!£% !!! Especially those on high street garments, consider buttons or corset lacing as a safer option. Pro tip number two: When getting your dress fitted, make sure that the person who will be helping you dress on the day (bridesmaid, mom, daughter, friend etc) is the one to practise during your fitting.

The seamstress in question who fitted Ange's dress zipped her up no problem, but she's a professional who works with these little buggers every day, so when you're getting your dress fitted, maker sure your mate can do it before you leave the shop!

An unexpected Talent...

While Ange tries to get hold of Paddy to see what he thinks she should do, Greg uses his unexpected talent along with his amazing wife and sidekick Jen to prise apart the zip in the hopes of fixing it (although he did have to enlist Jessica to thread the needle for him..) What a legend!

Meanwhile...

Bridesmaid heroes Maddie, Emma & Ames, without a second thought, head to David's Bridal Birmingham with the aim of finding a jacket to hide the caggy zip.

What to do, what to do...

Ange, flitting between phone calls to Paddy (who honestly proclaims to want to marry her no matter what she's wearing) and her bridesmaids describing the only jacket the store has (a white pleather 'Happily Ever After' monstrosity), all while trying to get signal in between, toys with the idea of simply getting married in yesterdays black pleather jeggings and t-shirt (which aren't even clean!) It's worth saying that not ONCE did Ange loose her cool, what a boss lady.

Sew her in!

In a gut wrenching second of momentous decision making, they decide to sew Ange INTO her dress!

Greg's perfect, tiny invisible stitching is truly admirable, the only problem was with less than ten minutes to go before they need to leave, it would not be done in time. As quickly as she was sewn into her dress... Greg had to cut her out again!

Crunch Time

In one final call to her future husband, Ange finally decides she will get married in yesterdays black pleather jeggings and t-shirt. Greg is thrilled, telling me that he wore black to get married and how he gets to walk his daughter down the aisle in black. Feeling the comradery and buzzing atmosphere, Ange's mom, Jen and Charlie applaud when a decision has been reached! In a stunning show of support, Charlie (the best teenager I have ever met) steps up to say if Ange isn't wearing her dress, Charlie will go in her hoodie and jeans (I'm not ashamed to say this brought a tear to my eye...)

The Girls Done Good

And just like a film, while Ange has one leg in her pleather jeggings and one leg out, Maddie Ames & Emma - having ran through Birminghgam's city centre - BUST through the door in the nick of time, bringing with them not only the jacket, but two dresses and David's Bridal Birmingham's very own consultant angel Lydia!

Reassurance

Well... the moment was finally here, Ange was about to marry the most amazing man, with the most incredible friends by her side. I loved this touching moment, it says everything.

For A laugh

Ange tries on the white, leather 'Happily ever After Jacket' just to make sure... and it's a no from Ange.

Your Carriage Awaits... or not

Ange makes her way down with Greg only to find the taxi company have sent one car instead of the requested two! But after everything, she wasn't about to let this be the thing to break her... so we all crammed in.

(photo bottom right: that look on your face when only one taxi shows up...)

Better Than They Could Have Hoped

After the most eventful morning, Ange married Paddy in one of the funniest, most touching ceremonies I've had the honour of capturing.

A Speech to Remember

For their reception, the newlywed Mr & Mrs Darlington (how lovely is their name?!) Celebrated with their guests in a secret room at the Lost & Found, Birmingham.

During the Grooms speech, Paddy said: 'It's normal for the groom not to see the dress before the wedding, but from what I gather it's a new one entirely for the bride not to see the dress before the day!' The crowd laughed before Ange desperately added 'I still can't see it!'

A Happy Ending

After all the anxiety, the stress, the major laughs, this was an occasion where good truely conquers -and would have regardless, because literally all this pair wanted to do was get married. To see how Ange handled what the day threw at her with the good grace of a GODESS, and to see how her friends and family came together was so heartwarming, and reminded me why I do this job. For those of you worried about your big day, please don't - because honestly, this photographer has seen it ALL, and all does well and truly work out in the end.