Sunday, August 30, 2009

How Mariee lost my business

Last year, Amanda and I sat in our editing class which consisted of a few things: 1. not editing 2. making fun of our dumb classmates and 3. looking at wedding stuff.

It was in that class that I found Drew, a dress fromPriscilla of Boston. This line is, by far, the classiest of all the wedding designers. I searched high and low for dresses that were gorgeous in their simplicity and hushed detail. I am not one for rhinestones, jewels, bows, fluff, tiaras, trains or any of that nonsense. I am not Cinderella and my wedding is not a ball. My sister Annelise's wedding however ... that's another story.

While looking for bridal stores carrying the Priscilla of Boston lines, my mom came across Mariee in Scottsdale. I should have known right off the bat that Mariee would be trouble, considering the name of the store is in French. But, I went against my best judgmental judgment and visited the salon two weeks ago.

I was not amazed by anything I tried on--the dresses were nice, but not my style (see: ornate and long). They didn't have the short PoB dresses that I liked, but the sales associate said they would be able to order the samples in for me to try on. I was very impressed and thrilled by this. She told me to e-mail them the names of the dresses I'd like, and she would get them in right away.

I e-mailed her that afternoon. Like two hours after we left the shop. My mom heard back from her a few days later, saying that she had spoken with the representative and they would be in for my appointment on the Saturday the 22nd. The day before our appointment, the woman e-mailed my mom, saying they were supposed to arrive on the 17th, but hadn't. She said she would contact the representative on Monday (the 24th) to see what the status was.

And then we never heard back from her.

Who knows how many times my mom called, left messages and e-mailed the store. It was ridiculous. What kind of business doesn't answer its phone during business hours? Despite our best communication efforts, she never got back to us. So, she lost a sale.

My mom, my friend Sara and I headed up to Uptown Bridal yesterday to try on some ridiculously cute dresses we had seen the week before.

After privately embarrassing myself wearing Spanx for the first time--"for my privacy," the saleswoman assured me--I stepped into a dress and opened the velvet dressing room curtain. I could tell by the look on my mother's face that this dress was "the one" and that was that. I tried on some others, but everyone kept reverting back to the original. So, I tried it on again.

I was in love with the dress completely, but in the back of my mind I wondered about the PoB dress and if I could commit to any other. I voiced my concern and my mom stopped me short. They apparently did not want our business. After numerous phone calls and e-mails, they had still not gotten back to us. They didn't deserve our money and I wasn't going to give it to them (or, at least, my mom wasn't going to give them her American Express).

So, I went for it, a la Michael Ian Black (no one will get this). And I'm very happy.

The shop made me put on this ridiculous "bride" garb because I found a dress. Then they took a picture. I look absolutely ludicrous, but I think it sums up my wedding attitude of "I mostly hate this, so I'll be really sarcastic and fake obnoxious smiles." This is only how I feel sometimes. My mom hates being photographed and will kill me for letting the Internet see her. But mom, look at me -- I appear to be bald with a double chin.



Highlights from dress shopping:
- Having boobs like an 80-year-old, courtesy of the flattening and lengthening powers of Spanx
- Wanting to try on the ugliest dress ever and post pictures saying, "I found it!"
- Witnessing a very lost and unhappy bride try on her wedding dress
- Wearing clear, stripper-like heels
- Realizing that my hips and waist are about two sizes bigger than my bust -- really?!
- Finding the dress I'll be wearing on my wedding day ... I guess that's pretty cool

7 comments:

  1. This is exciting! I want to see a picture! Also, the veil looks like a nun's habit.

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  2. Weird! I went to Mariee last weekend and think I found the dress I wanted there (after trying on ridiculously mermaid-looking gowns). They were sort of nice but I could tell that they didn't understand I didn't want to look like a princess for my wedding...

    Might I recommend Twirl Boutique (www.twirlboutique.com) for your bridesmaids? My girls found the dress and only tried on one. It is a PoB style (vineyard 1515). Keri is a sweetheart and totally follows-up w/ you via e-mail on anything you ask.

    Congrats on finding the dress!

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  3. Mariee does suck,I'm convinced those people really don't want your money unless you are willing to pay $8,000+ for a dress or unless you have your credit card out and a floor sample clutched to your bosom. (I was the latter..I made them resize a pronovias floor sample like 10 sizes...I had to make my dream dress work!) I would have gone somewhere else if I had the time and options--I'm so glad you found the one!

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  4. Ha! I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who thinks so.

    And I had no idea that's where you got your dress. I am convinced that you had the prettiest dress out of anyone I've ever seen! It looked perfect on you and for your guys' wedding. Too beautiful!

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  5. Aww thank you, I'm so glad you liked it! I think I looked at 10,000 dresses (and frustrated everyone around me) until I saw my first-pick in the window of the store. My goal was a flowy, goddess dress that would not have to be altered should I gain or lose weight from the stress of the bar exam. (So: pretty and practical, hah.) I probably could have hidden a third-trimester pregnancy in that dress!

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