Christy and Bert ~ August 2012
When Bert was introduced to Christy his first day at work at OPB, he was compelled to get to know her better. And Christy? “I was just getting over a relationship, and I did not want to get involved with anyone.”
As Christy tells her story, she’s trying on a pale ivory Emma Domb cocktail dress with a sweetheart neckline and beaded spangles across its bodice. Christy has curves in all the best places, and the dress makes the most of them. Perched on her head is a 1950s hat with teardrop pearls that move as she talks.
Christy says Bert made it his business to spend time with her and started hanging out with her, her dog, and her housemate. “Oh, I was interested,” Christy says, “But I still wasn’t ready for a relationship.”
One night at dinner, the thought of romance got to be too much. Christy abruptly tossed up her hands. “No more!” she said. “This can’t go on!” Bert played it cool and pretended he didn’t know what she was talking about, but he told her later that the moment was a turning point for him. At last, he knew he had a chance. Christy laughs when she tells the story.
Now certain it was only a matter of time, Bert accompanied Christy’s housemate to the dog park and confided he wanted more than Christy’s friendship. “He told me he knew she would pass it on to me. It was part of his plan.”
That was three years ago. Recently, Bert dropped to one knee in a meadow in British Columbia and asked Christy to be his wife. In late August 2012, Christy and Bert will be married at Oxbow Park in an afternoon ceremony.
Today, Christy is at the Xtabay Bridal Salon auditioning wedding gowns. Besides the Emma Domb cocktail dress, she has pulled a few other dresses aside.
Her Maid of Honor, Maya, and a good friend, Taylor, are with her. They’re drinking mimosas while rare December sun floods the Bridal Salon, reflecting off crystal chandeliers and warming the fragrance of vases of lilies and roses.
Maya immediately found her Maid of Honor dress, a floor-length 1960s robin’s-egg blue dress with metallic thread woven into a pattern of peacock feathers. Its décolleté neckline transforms the demure cut of the dress into a real stunner. Maya has pale green eyes and black hair, and the combination of Maya’s and the dress’s coloring is worthy of a Turner portrait. She also found a pair of silvery 1950s pumps that complements the dress perfectly.
Christy tried on a long, bias-cut, beaded slip dress with a plunging back that looked pure Jean Harlow. She wasn’t sure it was right for the wedding, but I bet Bert’s eyes would pop out if he saw the way it hugged her body. She slipped a 1930s, grass green velvet wrap over the dress. She seemed relaxed and happy, and I could imagine her on a veranda with an orchestra’s dance music wafting into the summer garden.
Her favorite dress is an elegant, ivory silk column that reaches the floor with plenty of fabric for a train. Its straight-across, strapless neckline and the warmth of the ivory makes the most of the creamy softness of Christy’s skin and the gold in her hair. She tried it with a trailing tulle veil.
Christy says she wants her wedding to be easy and happy, full of friends and laughter. And, of course, she wants to feel beautiful. Judging from her afternoon at the Bridal Salon, feeling beautiful will not be an issue.
She says Bert has put together a ten-day honeymoon for them, but he’s keeping the destination secret, and he changes the subject whenever she tries to get hints. She laughs again. That Bert always seems to have a plan.
Congratulations Christy and Bert!
Post by good friend and long time Xtabay enthusiast Angela Sanders. Angie is a frequent contributor to the popular perfume blog
Now Smell This and writes vintage clothing themed mystery novels.
Xtabay Vintage Bridal Salon is open by appointment only. Please email me at xtabayliz@gmail.com to schedule a time to try on dresses.
