A journey to JC Penney for a lovely Junior Bridesmaid dress…

There’s a story to every special occasion dress, I suppose.

The Plan. The Hunt.  The Journey.  The Catch.

And the story of the Junior Bridesmaid dresses for Taylor and Maddie, Jane’s two nieces and my two granddaughters, for Jane & Brian’s July wedding is no exception.

Jane & Brian’s Bridal Party is intimate.  Audrey is Jane’s Matron-of-Honor, and Brian’s brother, Jonathan, is Brian’s Best Man.

The wedding attire is all chosen for these people, and of particular beauty, grace and elegance is Jane’s Wedding Dress and Audrey’s attendant dress, each from Ann Taylor Bridal, and yes, here’s a sneak peak…

Just about everything wedding is taken care of, including the Wedding Colors of Gray & Yellow, leaving only the great, happy anticipation of a beautiful day of family, friends, celebration and fun.

Well, up until last Friday, everything was taken care of but the dresses for Taylor and Maddie.  Both of these lovely ladies are 11 years old, right in the tween stage,  so careful consideration had to be made for attire “too old” or “too young”… and dresses couldn’t be purchased too early in the planning because 11 year old girls grow taller as you blink, and style preferences have a way of changing, too.

Last Friday became Junior Bridesmaid DRESS DAY.  Maddie and her Mom, Aimee,  couldn’t make it because of a prior commitment, but The Plan was that Taylor would stay in total phone touch with Maddie, with each dress.

I met Jane, Taylor, and Taylor’s Mom, Nicole, at a well-known national bridal chain shop… a great choice to begin The Hunt and, hopefully, end The Journey with The Catch.

Ah, the best laid Plans of mice and brides.

Taylor tried on 7 dresses and she liked and/or loved each one.  Problem seems that the yellow that Jane wanted wasn’t time available in 4 of them, and the attendant at this national bridal chain wasn’t one of those can-do-let’s-make-this-work kind of gal.  Or, at the very least, happy to have a beautiful, excited young lady who loved trying on dresses for her Auntie Jane’s wedding party.

The no-can-do–without-a-smile gal made the decision very easy for us to head out of that shop and on to our local mall.

Taylor maintained her beautiful enthusiasm on this Dress Journey, though, and this made for a fun Phase II of The Hunt.

Well, The Hunt would take us to 6 stores in that mall.  We Hunted high, low, and everywhere in-between… in Children’s, Juniors, Misses.  Our Journey took us to small shops, giant department stores… Hunting for the perfect yellow dresses for two beautiful Junior Bridesmaids.  Some dresses were lovely, but just this much too Children’s.  Some dresses were lovely, but just this much too grown-up.

When it seemed that The Journey would have to be continued another day, Jane remembered one more store at this mall… the JC Penney, kind of tucked in another corner, down a corridor, at the opposite side of where we entered the mall.

Our little party of 4 headed there, smiling and laughing at the conversation… can you imagine if this last store of the day is where we find the perfect dress?

Up the escalator we sailed, each scanning our eyes, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting for the perfect yellow dress.

Nicole was the first to say, “Hey, look at this!”

On a rack of dozens of pink dresses, was one yellow dress.

Taylor skipped to the dressing area to try it on, and within moments, Jane, Nicole and I could hear her almost sing, “I LOVE IT!”

The Dress. Sweet.  Summery.  A beautiful, sophisticated shade of yellow.  Not too “young.”  Not too “old.”

In a word, perfect.

The Catch.

Taylor would need one size smaller and Maddie would need another size, too.

But in a sea of pinks, whites, lavenders, greens and blues, there wasn’t another of The Yellow Catch anywhere.

Taylor carried The Catch as we held our collective breath and headed to the nearest register to ask the cashier – a young woman with a can-do-let’s-make-this-work smile – for help…

She checked the inventory at that JC Penney.

No go.

Then she called the nearest JC Penney and we waited while she worked the magic of the moment.

Yes, there were 2 identical yellow dresses, in the right sizes, at that location!

“Put ’em on hold!”

Ah.

The Plan. The Hunt.  The Journey.  The Catch.  All in one afternoon.

Nicole and Taylor headed to the other JC Penney location, picked up the two dresses, and all is well with the Wedding World.  And I will just mention here that The Catch was… drum roll, please… $30.00.  The perfect yellow dresses for $30.00 each.  Wow.

Thanks, JC Penney, for both the dresses and the friendly, competent, helpful, smiling cashier who made this Journey perfect.

Taylor and Maddie will be two beautiful Junior Bridesmaids in their beautiful yellow dresses at Auntie Janie & Uncle Brian’s wedding… and I think I’ll hold off on photos of The Dresses until the Wedding Day – July 14th – in the splendor of the day itself.