Oh dear lord.  The relief.  The sweet, sweet relief.  The precious exhale of relief.  GIGANTIC  HAPPY SIGH OF RELIEF.

I HAVE A DRESS. 

And I need to stop and give thanks to my new favorite people on the planet, the bridal dress wizards at Demetrios.

Let me back up so we can play a little game called “horrendous dresses”.  Or as I call it, pretty much everything I’ve tried on before now. And I should clarify- they were not at all horrendous, they were beautiful, stunning gowns.  But with every dress I tried on that was not “MY” dress, I felt a smidge more hopeless and despondent.  I was always told one great truth about love that I assumed would be transferable to the wedding dress hunt: when you know, you know. And when it came to wedding dresses, I JUST. DIDN’T. KNOW.

Until I walked into Demetrios (http://demetriosbride.com ). 

The genius who made me not want to have a complete panic attack (even sans alcohol! Oh the horror!) was an unbelievably fun guy named Paul.  Paul made me laugh, Paul made me try on everything I even showed a slight hesitation of interest in, Paul made compelling but unobtrusive pro/con points for me.  Paul was a godsend. 

And while Paul rocked my world, he couldn’t have done squat with horrendous dresses. 

The story of Demetrios goes like this:

Greek-born Demetrios is a leading, world-renowned designer and a fashion icon in the bridal industry with over thirty  years’ experience. In 1980, Demetrios’ dream of owning his own company became a reality. He purchased Ilissa Bridals of New York. Virtually overnight, he turned this small unknown business into a thriving international company. Bridal boutiques throughout the world , including his own Brides by Demetrios salons and the Macy’s Bridal Salons By Demetrios proudly sell Demetrios gowns. He is one of the most versatile designers in the bridal market, covering the entire range of styles from traditional and romantic to sleek and sensuous and is on the cutting edge of the fashion world. They have been showcased in all leading bridal magazines.

And they’ve won a bajillion awards.  I like thinking about these awards because it’s highly likely the statuette is wearing a big ‘ol wedding gown.

Dallas Fashion Rose Award – Best Designer

Southwest Bridal Association Award – Manufacturer of the Year

Atlanta Fashion Award – Designer of the Year

Chicago DEBI Award – Outstanding Designer

Chicago DEBI Achievement Award – Distinctive Excellence in the Bridal Industry

Las Vegas Katelyn Jo Humanitarian Award – In recognition of Special Achievements in the Bridal Industry

Now, obviously I can’t show you the dress.  But I will tell you a couple of fun facts about it.

1) It’s not white, it’s a darker champagne, which is AWESOME with the vintage feel of the space (and my white-hating skin color. Which accidentally sounds racist.)

2) It has volume without being an obnoxious plastic cake-topper/Disney princess spectacle. Somehow Demetrios has managed to marry something romantic & even simplistic but give it a show-stopping element, all while avoiding the cheese factor.

3) It gives me one hell of a J Lo booty. 

That’s all you’re getting.

Everything about the experience, the staff, the quality & selection of dresses was just ridiculously awesome.  I actually had fun (imagine!), instead of breaking into my typical cold sweat of panic in which dresses starts to melt together and become as indistinguishable as every scent at an over-enthusiastic perfume girl’s counter.

If you’re in NYC, here’s where you’re going to go for your wedding dress.  Save yourself a meltdown &/or the subsequent hangover from dealing with the new term I’d like to coin: “dresstress”.   Start on fcebook, since you’re probably sitting at your computer & procrastinating finding a dress at this exact moment. http://www.facebook.com/demetriosbride

Dresstressless,

R