AN: Hi everyone! Ready for another madness of mine? :)

This is a four part story that I wrote during what I usually call a "wedding hysteria" that sometimes takes me... It's inspired by the show "Say Yes to the Dress!" taking place in Kleinfeld Bridal, NYC...I like it a lot, so once I asked myself: "How would those people handle the Pride&Prejudice brides?"

So yeah, four parts for four weddings: Charlotte, Lydia, Jane and Elizabeth; they'll all be helped by an OC assistant, Sabrina...

I hope you'll have fun reading this!

I don't own Pride and Prejudice; I only own Sabrina.

Say Yes To The Dress!

Part One: Charlotte

Sabrina was an assistant at Kleinfeld Bridal, in New York, and was very good at her job.

Her motto was: "every bride deserves to be beautiful, no matter her age, size, colouring, or facial symmetry."

Her purpose was to apply this motto to every woman that came inside the shop, in order to make them go out happy and with the perfect dress in hand (even metaphorically).

It was a crazy August day as many when, finally, she met her last appointment. She approached a woman of about twenty-five years old, sitting in the hall with other three people, all females.

"Are you Charlotte Lucas?" She asked, smiling in the engaging way she was famous for. The other raised and extended her hand: "Yes, it's me." "Welcome to Kleinfeld! I'm Sabrina, and I'll assist you today!" Charlotte introduced her to the others: her mother, Mrs Lucas, her younger sister Maria, and her best friend and maid of honour, Elizabeth Bennet.

They went to sitting room and Sabrina noticed that the bride's sister, which couldn't be older than seventeen, was attracted by the sparkly, most expensive gowns on the mannequins like a moth to a flame. Her charge, instead, didn't spare more than a glance to them, but just waited for Sabrina to speak again.

Sabrina looked at her more attentively: she was 5'2'' tall, slim and not much curvaceous; her face was well structured, but her nose was a bit too big for her proportions and the freckles on it didn't help much. Her hair, straight and light brown, was cut in a practical, but not flattering to her features, chin length style. Her gray eyes, nonetheless, were very expressive and her smile quite contagious.

As was her custom, Sabrina took her bride to a changing room to speak with her more privately. "So, Charlotte, tell me more about the wedding, the dress you want...Where are you marrying?"

"Oh, it's going to be quite simple, actually: we'll marry in January at the town church and then we'll have the reception at my parents' house. My fiancé, Bill, is studying to become a pastor and we don't want anything too flashy, or expensive...My mom would have liked a big affair, since Dad's the Mayor." A glint of humour lightened her eyes. "But, since I'm the oldest child and she had hoped to see me married since I was twenty, she will just oblige me!"

Sabrina laughed: she liked this bride! "So, no princess gowns for you! Which style do you prefer?"

"I'd like something simple, without train or too many details...I don't have much to show, so I'd rather not have a deep cleavage; I'm not opposed to lace, and I'd like it to be ivory rather than pure white."

Sabrina nodded, starting to mentally brush through the shop catalogue. "Do you have a particular preference on a stylist? Is there a budget you don't want to surpass?"

Charlotte answered that she had no preferences and she wanted to spend no more than $ 3'000.

Sabrina floated across the shop, checking gown after gown, looking at prices tags, details and styles to find the one for Charlotte. Finally, she selected three models: a lace sheath dress, a mermaid cut gown with a modest neckline and an ivory, empire waisted gown with a long sleeved lace spencer to be added.

Charlotte examined them and said: "I think I'll try the mermaid cut one first...Maria is going to squeal, I warn you!" Sabrina chuckled, then helped her to wear it.

Charlotte arrived in front of her escorts and, as predicted, Maria squealed: "Oh, I love mermaid gowns!" Mrs Lucas fanned herself, Elizabeth smiled, looking at her friend's expression on the full-length glass. "What do you think?" Sabrina asked, instinctively knowing that it was the maid's opinion that would weight more on her bride.

"Don't you think it's a bit too...simple, Charlotte?" Mrs Lucas spoke, betraying a bit of disappointment. Her eldest daughter rolled her eyes and said: "Geez, Mom, I'm marrying a clergyman, I can't show up with a dress embroidered with Swarovskis!" Maria spoke eagerly: "It's beautiful, Charlotte!"

Finally, Elizabeth spoke: "You don't look very convinced, Char...It doesn't flatter you as it should." Charlotte smiled and nodded: "Yeah, that's right. It's nice, but it isn't what I want." She turned to Sabrina. "Next one!"

The lacy dress had more success. When they came out, Sabrina noticed approving expressions on the other women's faces. "So, do you like it?" Charlotte asked. Maria nodded, but seemed far less excited than before. "You look quite nice, sis." Charlotte raised an eyebrow at her. "Quite nice, Maria?" The younger girl shrugged. Mrs Lucas rose to examine her more closely. "It makes you a good figure, dear...yes, I think it could do."

"What do you think, Lizzy?" Charlotte turned to her friend. Sabrina noticed that a knowing glance passed between the two, then eagerly listened to Elizabeth's opinion. "You know, me, Char, I'm not very fond of lace, but I like the way it looks on you. I'm not so sure about the opening on the back, since you don't want any cleavage to be exposed..."

Sabrina observed her bride, then said: "Are you ready to show them the third one?" Charlotte answered in the positive and they went back to the changing room.

When Charlotte looked at the third gown, she looked quite confused. "How do you wear it?" Sabrina smiled gently. "Don't worry, it's easier than it seems...it's a sleeveless gown, on which you wear a lacy spencer. It looks a bit like a Regency dress, I thought we should give it a try."

As soon as she buttoned up the spencer, Sabrina knew that, no matter the others' opinions, Charlotte would want this one. The bride's gray eyes were shining and she was caressing the lace on the sleeve almost with tenderness.

Sabrina smiled again and fixed her client with her piercing green eyes: "Do you like it?" Charlotte blushed slightly and whispered: "Yes...It's beautiful..."

They went to the others, and Charlotte's joy was clear to them. Maria's jaw slacked open, but a brief glare by Mrs Lucas made her close it. "Oh, Charlotte, you look like a character from Jane Austen's books!"

Sabrina chuckled and said: "I think that's a compliment, Charlotte!" They all laughed, while Maria blushed and lowered her eyes.

Mrs Lucas dabbed at her eyes with a tissue and murmured: "Oh, dear, you look so beautiful! I've waited so long for this day...!" Charlotte turned and said: "Please, mom, don't cry!"

Elizabeth smiled brightly, stood and went to hug her friend, saying: "You're gorgeous, Char...You'll leave Bill speechless, and that's a great achievement, ain't it?" They laughed heartily, while Charlotte gently slapped her friend on the arm: "Lizzy, I'd like to remind you that Bill's your distant relation! He's just loquacious!" Her maid of honour looked quite sceptical at this defence.

Sabrina smiled, admiring the friendly banter: after almost five years of working at Kleinfeld, she had seen many maids, friends and even parents that made things difficult for the bride, but in this case, everything had gone quite smoothly.

She stepped forward, looked at Charlotte in the eye and said: "So, Charlotte: is it the one?"

Charlotte smiled broadly and her face glowed in happiness: "Yes, it is!"

Charlotte Lucas left Kleinfeld after ordering the gown and taking the measures. Sabrina registered her sales for the day and, doing so, thought about the various brides she had assisted; she was quite satisfied, since she had reached her purpose with every one of them, but was extremely happy for Charlotte.

Audrey, one of the older assistants, peeked at her paper and exclaimed: "You sold the Regency dress! How did you do it?"

Sabrina smirked: "The same way you sell those gowns with a transparent bodice!"

All the assistants present laughed heartily, knowing Sabrina's strong adversity towards some kind of bridal gowns.

Sabrina sighed deeply and went out of the shop, thinking: "What a good way to end such a hard day!"

Oh, yes, she was very good at her job.

AN 2: Charlotte's dress comes purely from my imagination...

Second part coming soon...get ready, it's Lydia next!

Read and Review!

Hyacinth Judy