Three Girls And A Wedding by Rachel Schurig Read Free Book Online Page B

done?” Annie grumbled. “She’s going to be absolutely impossible from now
on.”
    I glared at her.
    “Seriously, Jen with a mission.”
Annie shuddered, making Josh laugh. “What a scary thought.”

 
     
    Chapter Nine

 
    ‘One of the most
important (and fun!) things you can do in preparation for the wedding is
picking out the dress. The dress helps set the tone for the entire event. Will
you go fancy, elegant, sexy, simple? These are some of the most vital decisions
you will make for your big day. When choosing the dress, be open-minded to
trying different styles—oftentimes what we think we will love diminishes
once it’s off the hanger. You should try on many different styles and fits! Try
to make the shopping experience fun—bring along important people and make
a day of it!’— The Bride’s Guide to
a Fabulous Wedding!

 
    My favorite thing about weddings,
without a doubt, is the dress. More than anything else, the dress is the one
thing that makes me love weddings. You know all those wedding dress shopping
reality shows that have been on cable networks lately? Yeah, I’ve totally
recorded those.
    So I found myself totally pumped to
take first Kiki, then Ginny, wedding dress shopping. As I had told both of
them, the choice of wedding dress would help set the tone for the wedding.
    As promised, I planned a dress
shopping day for Kiki on a Thursday about two weeks after our initial client
meeting. I had made appointments at three different high-end boutiques in the
area, booked a limo to cart us around, and made lunch reservations at a popular
sushi place downtown.
    For an extra touch, I arranged to
have muffins, fresh fruit, and mimosas waiting in the limo when it picked us up
at the NoLimits offices. Kiki was thrilled, her excitement at such a high level I was afraid
she might break a blood vessel in her face or something.
    “Oh, Jen!” she squealed when she
had climbed into the limo. “Look at this! Mimosas! And food! Oh, you are such a
doll, I can’t believe this! Oh! This day is going to be so fun!” She was
literally clapping her hands, bouncing in her seat so hard she nearly fell over
on to the floor of the limo.
    Kiki’s mother, superbly put
together today in head to toe gray cashmere, put a calming hand on her
daughter’s shoulder. “Let’s not wear ourselves out, dear,” she murmured. Kiki
relaxed back into her seat, and I was seized by a desire to kiss Mrs. Barker.
    Joining us were Kiki’s four
bridesmaids: her cousin Bella, a quiet girl in glasses and a turtleneck who
appeared less than thrilled at the prospect of spending the day dress shopping;
and Kiki’s three best friends, Kara, Kendall, and Krissy ,
seemingly identical pretty blond girls who I was destined to mix up for the
entirety of the day.
    The first appointment was at a
designer shop in Birmingham, one of the wealthier towns in the metro area. The
boutique was incredibly exclusive—you basically had to know someone in
order to get an appointment. As I was able to drop the name Barker, I had no
problem securing a double session with their top consultant, Christina, who met
us at the door, gushing over Kiki and welcoming us all into the shop.
    We were led to a plush sitting
area, decorated in silk creams and whites. Soft music was filtered in overhead
and an assistant appeared as soon as we sat down to offer us champagne.
    I had a great amount of work to do
today, I knew that, but I allowed myself one moment there on the couch to
simply breathe in and enjoy my surroundings. All along the perimeter of the
room were racks and racks of dresses in every cut and fabric imaginable. I was
in heaven.
    Kiki and I had a brief consultation
with Christina, who wanted an idea of what we were looking for. When Kiki
pulled out her idea board Christina’s face visibly paled.
    “I just love this look,” Kiki
exclaimed, pointing at an intricately beaded mermaid style. “Oh, and this!” she
cried, gesturing at a full tulle skirted