I have to apologize in advance to Georgetown Bride, who commented on one of my previous postings to warn me about the less-than-stellar service at Hannelore’s in Alexandria. This was not the first negative feedback I had heard regarding the salon. I was going to cancel the appointment I had scheduled there, but I didn’t for two reasons. First, the salon is huge and carries a ton of dresses I hadn’t seen yet (Christos, Romona Keveza), and second, snooty places kind of amuse me.
The appointment was a couple of weeks ago. My maid of honor, Deborah, was in town from New York, and my nouna (that’s Greek for godmother”) was in town from Chicago. So Deb, Annie, Jillian, and I met my mom and Nouna at Hannelore’s on a Saturday afternoon. I arrived a bit early with the girls, so we headed in to peruse the dresses.
Our saleswoman (let’s call her Kim) was nice upon first introduction and began to escort us up the spiral staircase to where the wedding dresses live. On our way up, Kim noticed that a few of us were carrying Poland Spring water bottles. Big problem. We were instructed that we could not drink the water near the dresses. The four of us darted looks at one another and put the water in our bags.
Next up—looking through the many racks of dresses. The store really is beautiful, and it has so many dresses. I told the girls to divide and conquer (bridezilla?) and grab anything they thought I would like. The dresses are grouped by designer, so Annie and I were browsing through an area that happened to house one of the store’s less expensive brands (and by “less expensive,” I mean the dresses start at $1,500). I pulled out one dress and asked Annie what she thought. Annie said, “Ohhhh, I really like that one.” Kim happened to be walking past us at that moment and announced that, actually, that dress looked “cheap.” Annie’s mouth dropped open. I laughed.
I tried it on anyway.
We pulled about eight dresses total, and I started trying them on. Once my mom arrived, I had two finalists that I loved more than anything I had seen all summer. Kim started to realize I was serious about buying a dress (read: she started being really nice to me). After some discussion, it became clear that the Christos “Bianca” dress was the one for me. It’s always better when the designers name the dresses rather than just give them a number, don’t you think?
In the end, Kim was very helpful (she can tie a bow like you’ve never seen) and has been super nice every time I’ve called with a question. Hannelore’s also carries the Melissa Sweet bridesmaid dress I love, so when we’re ready to order, it’ll give us 10 percent off!
So I’m definitely happy that I found a wedding dress but maybe just a little disappointed that I can’t go try any more dresses on. Fortunately, one of my bridesmaids recently got engaged, so I was thrilled to meet her at Hitched last week for her appointment.
Next week, I’ll introduce you to my totally adorable flower girl. And I still get to pick out a dress for her!
Eleni, a local bride-to-be, writes every Wednesday about planning her wedding, which will be in Washington in the spring. To follow her adventures from the beginning, click here.
To read the latest Bridal Party blog posts, click here.
