I can't believe it! My mom and I had such a great time at Kleinfeld. The whole trip was wonderful and far too short.
We flew out of Cleveland very early to head to NYC. Our flight was supposed to be full and I had given my mom the aisle seat, accepting my sardine status as a middle seat flyer. Luckily, the flight turned out not to be full at all and I was able to slide over to the window seat, giving us both plenty of room to stretch out and relax.
Our hotel was the Omni Berkshire in Midtown East, steps away from 5th Avenue and all of it's fabulous shopping. We checked in and although our room wasn't ready we were informed that we were upgraded to a suite! We ended up in a very plush, two double bed suite on the top floor, complete with jacuzzi tub, glass shower, and tons and tons of space. We killed time until our room was ready shopping on 5th; we stopped at the World of Disney and Tiffany's, and window shopped along the way.
Finally it was time to freshen up and hail a cab to Kleinfeld! We arrived about 20 minutes early for my appointment and checked in with the sweetest person in the entire world, Gina. We found out later that she actually worked downstairs in alterations but we were so lucky to have her check us in. We chatted and she found out that I had requested Audrey, who wasn't available, and my mom gushed that she had to meet Randy. A few minutes later, Gina walked over with Audrey, who was as sweet as pie and thanked me for requesting her. She also made me promise to have her called so she could see my final choice and gave me a great big hug.
Then Randy came over! My mom just about died with happiness. He was so nice and friendly; he got a kick out of the fact that my mom called herself a fan. He promised to check in on me later as well.
My consultant was Debbie, who also happens to be on the show. Randy later told me they call her "One-dress Debbie" because she usually nails it on the first dress. Oh, I was about to make her life difficult! We talked about the wedding, looked at the pictures I brought and the dresses came piling in. No. No. Maybe. No. I like this part but not this part. I like it, Mom doesn't. Mom likes it, I hate it. Repeat, several times. I could tell Debbie was starting to feel like this was a lost cause. Randy came in to see how we were doing and possibly help out. She brought out one of the dresses in my photos; a lovely Priscilla of Boston dress with a dusty blue belt around the middle. I really
liked it. I could tell by the look on my mom's face that she wasn't so crazy about it. Elena from accessories came up with a jeweled headband and I looked like Alice in Brideland. Of course, that was good enough for me since I am a huge Alice in Wonderland fan!
Still not feeling like it was
the one, Debbie brought in two more dresses. The first I nixed right away and the second was a Kirstie Kelly for Disney dress. I hated it, too and Debbie said she had one more dress in mind. As I stood on the pedestal in the dressing room I re-looked over my pictures and honed in one photo in particular. It was a photo I had only found on Thursday, when I was about to print out my photos for my appointment. I added it on a whim and hadn't though much more about it, but now I found myself looking at it thinking
"She should bring this dress". Debbie walked in with one dress and as she unzipped the bag I saw that the dress in the photo was the dress she had brought in. It was much prettier in person than in the blurry runway photo and as I began to put it on I could feel the excitement in the room building. As I walked out of the room and to the large mirror I could hear the gasps and "ooohs" of other dress seeking brides and their families. Audrey, who was helping a bride across the hall, shouted
"That's it!". And it was. My mom was crying everyone was in pure agreement. I was in LOVE. After all my doubting, it really happened. I had really found "The One".
Joan, the sales manager, came in to measure me and she was so nice as well. Everyone was wonderful, so sweet and welcoming. I felt like the only bride there. By the end of my appointment we were all hugging and laughing and chatting like we'd known each other for years. I understand why Kleinfeld has the reputation it does; they truly go above and beyond and I will remember Gina, Debbie, Audrey, Randy and Joan forever.
