Page 62 of The Game Changer

Jill

“Are you ready for today?” I ask Julia as I watch as she finishes her makeup for our first outing to look at dresses for both of us for her wedding.

“I’m so ready!” she exclaims excitedly. Beckett is out of town for a few days on a road trip. The team plays tonight in LA, so we’ve got hours before she’ll want to be home in time to watch his game.

“What are you thinking?” I ask. I know she’s been looking at bridal magazines lately, trying to get a feel for what the current trends are.

“I want something simple, not too frilly. Especially since we’re flying to Sweden, it will need to fit into a suitcase without being ruined.”

“And you still want the bridal party in a wine color?” I ask, just to make sure none of her plans have changed.

“That’s correct. I figured we could find a dress line that offered multiple styles with the color I liked and then each of you can pick the dress style that you feel the best in.”

“I like that idea,” I comment.

“Shall we head out?” she asks, grabbing her purse from the counter. “We’re meeting my mom at the dress shop in,” she pauses to look at her watch, “ten minutes.”

“I’m ready.” I pop up from where I was perched, following her out of the place she shares with Beckett. I’m so happy my bestie found Beckett. They’re perfect for one another and he treats her like a princess, without the attitude of entitlement that would come with that from most women.

“There you girls are!” Bridget, Julia’s mom, greets us as we enter the dress store.

“Sorry, I was late getting ready this morning,” Julia admits.

“Well, you’re here now, and that’s all that matters,” Bridget says as she hugs both of us.

“Welcome, you must be the bride to be,” a lady says as she approaches the three of us, but speaking directly to Julia.

“I’m the bride!” Julia exclaims. “I’m Julia,” she introduces herself, “and this is my maid of honor, Jill.”

“It is so nice to meet both of you, I’m Sara and I’ll be helping you today. After speaking with your mom, I understand you wanted to look at dresses for both the bride and bridal party, is that correct?”

“That’s correct. I was hoping to find a line with a color I liked and then I can have the rest of my bridal party look at the dress styles and pick the one they’d feel the most comfortable in. Two of my bridal party members won’t be able to come in to pick, as they live in Sweden where the wedding will take place, so I’ll have to get their measurements so we can order, then send the dresses to them for any alterations that might need done.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem. Depending on the line, we can also sometimes drop ship the dresses directly to them,” Sara explains.

“Oh, that’s even better.”

“Shall we get started?” Sara asks.

“Sure!” Julia says, clapping her hands excitedly.

“I like to have my brides take a look through some of the racks and displays, point out things you like and don’t like. That will help give me an idea of your tastes and I can suggest some others based on that. Sometimes it’s the first dress a bride tries on that is the one, and sometimes it’s the fiftieth, so don’t feel bad saying that you want to try something else on, or knowing when you’ve found the one,” she explains as she leads us to some racks.

“I’ll give you fifteen or twenty minutes to browse and then I’ll get you set up in a dressing room. In the meantime, can I get any of you something to drink? A glass of champagne, water, soda?” she offers.

“Oh, champagne sounds yummy and seems appropriate for the occasion,” Julia answers for all of us.

“Coming right up,” Sara says before she leaves us to browse.

“There are so many beautiful dresses here! I don’t know how I’m going to choose one,” Julia whispers to me.

“You’ll know, or at least that’s what I’ve been told.” I giggle as we look at dress after dress. Some get heart eye reactions while others can’t be pushed back on the rack fast enough.

“How’s it going?” Sara asks a few minutes later, three glasses of champagne in her hands. She hands them out to Julia, Bridget, and me.

“Good! So many dresses to choose from!” Julia tells her.

“Let’s set you up with a room and start trying on a few dresses,” Sara suggests. She pulls a few and leads us to a sitting area that has a couch facing a huge mirror with a platform in the center. “The two of you can have a seat,” she says to Bridget and me, “and you can come with me,” she says to Julia. Bridget and I take a seat and watch as Julia heads down a hall after Sara.

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