Wedding Wobbles

Have you ever seen the show, "Say "Yes" to the Dress?"  It's pretty entertaining and says a lot about the wedding industry - yes, I said "industry!"

Wedding Wobbles - Pencil, .8 black Micron pen and Faber-Castille Indian ink with brush marker on 300 series Strathmore mixed media paper.  Click on image to enlarge.

Most of the dresses shown on the program begin at $2,000 and many are designer names.  The majority of featured shoppers are twenty-somethings (although not all,) and bring an entourage of family and friends to help in the decision-making process.  

Wedding Wobbles - Pencil, .8 black Micron pen and Faber-Castille Indian ink with brush marker on 300 series Strathmore mixed media paper.  Click on image to enlarge.

Since many of the dresses are a sample only, many of the women have industrial-sized closepin style metal clamps lining the back of their "try-on" dress as they walk onto the showroom floor to model for the entourage.  Occassionally the bride-to-be has the opportunity to try on a tiara and/or veil, but seldom do they either bring their wedding-day shoes, nor does the salon provide them. 

Wedding Wobbles - Pencil, .8 black Micron pen,  Faber-Castille Indian ink with brush marker and FW acrylic ink on 300 series Strathmore mixed media paper.  Click on image to enlarge. 

This seems very ironic, to me.   The entire process is geared to visual appearance and emotion, and yet the "action" of the event is to 'walk down the aisle." It seems like the bridal salon would make a big deal out of matching comfortable, appropriately high (or not,) heels shoes to do the big "WALK."  I have attended several wedding where a lovely bride wobbled and hobbled her way down the aisle on the arm of a father, uncle or mother, clutching for stability.  Perhaps it is intended to be a symbolic march in which the once dependent daughter/niece/sister/etc. is handed off to the steadying arm of her new partner.   Perhaps......

I will admit that when our youngest son married, I spent some time trying to find the appropriately dressy/comfortable pair of shoes for the occasion. I checked  two local bridal shops (nothing at either,) and Macy's before pausing to learn more about what the bride and mother-of-the-bride would be wearing.  How excited I was to discover that the bride was planning to wear wedding Toms.  If you know these comfortable, flat shoes, you'll know why I was EXCITED!  I found a sparkly, flat shoe for their beautiful garden wedding and didn't have to cling to the groomsmen's arm for dear life on the stepping-stone path.  The Toms shoe rep should make a cold-call to " Say Yes..." to make some suggestions.  Spend more time enjoying and less time wobbling!!!!