The Unique Gown

I had always wanted a unique wedding gown but after I became a mother, I knew that my wedding gown was not going to be white. White represents purity and honestly, I just wanted my gown to represent what I was and pure was far from that. The journey to finding my best fit for my wedding started a few months after I started dating my high school sweetheart for the third time in my lifetime. He had just concluded his divorce that same year and he was longing for a new fresh start with this old love. When we started dating, we knew that this time, this was going to be for keeps and as agreed, we wasted no time. Suitable wedding dates were set, and wedding plans kicked off almost immediately leaving no room for sideshows and naysayers.

The first thing I decided to find was a wedding gown. I settled with the colour green because the colour green represents a fresh new start, renewal and growth, all components of what I believed our love represented. I searched all over for a green wedding gown to no avail. The only thing that came close were prom dresses. I decided to find those prom dresses in a second-hand shop in Ngara that specialised in selling dinner dresses. When I got there, I found Jackson who was so helpful and got me all the green dresses that he had in his shop. I tried them all but none of them gave me the chills. I took his number and asked him to send me pictures of all the new stock he received as soon as they got to the shop. Each time he did that, I went to try them on until this one day where I narrowed down my choices to two dresses. The prices were the same and very affordable. The only problem was that none of them came with a veil. I decided to leave the two and wait one more time for the next stock.

By this time, we had started telling our close friends and family about our decision to get married and it was during this time that one of my young aunts offered to buy me the wedding gown of my choice. I was elated because this gown she wanted to buy was of whatever amount, but I still wanted my green gown. I decided to go to the gown shop with her and tried out all the dresses. She selected what to me was the best choice and she paid for it, choosing to go home with it as it needed some few adjustments and a veil. In the days following that, she had chosen a seamstress who took all my measurements and went to start working on the gown with us having to meet about three times in several months for fittings and readjustments.

Exactly one month to the wedding day, the gown was complete. It looked totally different from when we had bought it. It was mint green, the colour popping out more than it was, the torn parts no longer there, the simple embellishments standing out and yes with a matching veil. The dress was perfect, it fitted just right, and one would have thought we spent a fortune on it. Recreating it cost us a lot more than buying it but the difference was indeed one to behold. That was one of the best choices of my wedding day and yes, all my bridesmaids wore different shades of green and they looked oh so marvellous. The wedding gown is now on hire for all brides who want to stand out and be unique on their big day.