My gown was a collection of ideas from five others

For a size eight bride, one of the hardest things to get is the gown. I learnt that from experience. I wanted a mermaid, strapless, cute gown. However, four months to my wedding, I had not seen a gown that wowed me. All the gowns I seemed to find in boutiques were either Cinderella or A-line gowns. The only two tried on looked terrible.

Out of frustration, I resolved to have my dress made. So, I went to the internet and started downloading pictures of any gown that had anything I liked. First was the plain cream dress with a stunning train. Second was one with the bust I wanted, in sweetheart (heart) shape. Then it was down to the search for a gown with slanting folds around the bust and horizontal folds around the waist to the back. That found and printed, I clicked on in search of one with a mermaid bottom attached to the dress in a slant rather than a straight line.

I printed out all the pictures I had compiled and took them to my chosen tailor. Within two weeks, she had made the exact gown I wanted, without the bottom part.

I went back to the internet and started searching for a mermaid dress with vertical folds at the bottom just as I had wanted. I got one with a bubble finishing, which I thought was nice enough so I went with it. Another four weeks, and I had a beautiful gown, but with no bead work. Back to the internet and I was back with prints of the beadwork that pleased me. I never got the chance to see the dress after they had put the train, so I did not know what it looked like at the back. After wearing it on my wedding day, I forgot about all the other details; I was head over heels in love with the train. Two fittings and five internet dresses later, I had my perfect gown.

stumwebaze@ug.nationmedia.com