Chapter 127
February 13th, 2022
"If you're so in love with all things Disney why did you end up getting married dressed in black?" Rory teased her mother. They'd been in the bridal shop for about half an hour by now, most of the group having at least half a glass of champagne in the stomachs of those who could drink by now.
Rory's mother had been trying to convince her to try on about the fourth or fifth Disney line dress. The latest one was a ball gown with cap sleeves and a bateau neckline with embroidered lace. They were gorgeous, but reminded Rory just too much of her coming out dress.
"In case you missed it, I had a white dress," Lorelai defended herself.
Rory shook her head again as Lorelai held up another dress - a bare shouldered ¾ sleeved lace bodice A-line, still having that same princessy look Rory wasn't too fond of.
"Oh, please - like you think about your wedding day and picture yourself in that champagne colored piece," Rory teased, knowing well that the night before the event was what Lorelai really considered as her wedding day. She even celebrated her anniversary on November 4th, instead of the following day.
"A woman can only pull off a princess gown until her 40s, I had no such luxury," Lorelai explained, one of her major regrets having been that she'd no longer fit into the wedding gown she'd bought the first time she was going to marry Luke. Her dress on November 5th, had been a much simpler, knee length shift dress with ¾ sleeves with lace, and if she were to be honest - indeed not entirely white.
"I'd say that the age limit should be brought down considerably," Rory replied, as she looked along a long line of dresses. She just didn't want to look like she was chasing some childhood dream of a wedding like many did.
For a moment her mind wandered, trying to imagine what kind of a dress she would've picked had she been in this position at the age of 22 or 23 if she had accepted Logan's proposal back then. She quickly dismissed the thought, realizing that whatever she would've wanted would've probably been overshadowed by Emily Gilmore and Shira Huntzberger.
"I still think something shorter would look great on you," Paris suggested. "It's much easier to dance in for one," she added. Paris showed Rory a V-neck midi dress with cap sleeves. It was sweet, almost like a swing dress. The buttoned top looked more modern than the ones Lorelai had suggested earlier, making her at least not hate it, even if the recognition wasn't momentary.
"That's a maybe. Thanks, Paris," Rory replied, hoping her mother would already take a hint. That was enough for the shop assistant to take the 'maybe' dress to the dressing room.
"I would've loved something like this," Lane commented, having picked out a dress that was actually surprisingly similar to what she'd actually worn. "It kind of looks like the one you made," Lane commented, thankfully, glancing at Lorelai.
"You made her a wedding dress?" Honor exclaimed, not believing her ears. She sounded impressed but a little confused at the same time. This also made Rory realize how her mother didn't really know much about Logan's family at all, except for the elder Huntzbergers she'd only heard stories about. And suppose, the same went for the other way around, Honor having heard mostly stories about her and her mother.
"Um… yeah," Lorelai replied. "I made Rory's prom dress, the dress she wore at graduation… a lot of costumes for plays. It's what I do, my superpower in that crazy little town of ours," she added.
"The dress had been in my family for generations," Lane explained. "She just altered it to look a bit more modern. She did a great job," she added, modestly.
"A little," Rory chuckled, having seen the full form of the dress from one of Lorelai's photos she'd taken from the original dress.
"More like a little coffee accident," Lorelai replied, holding back laughter.
"A very lucky accident," Lane commented, having relaxed now considerably, as their old jokes were beginning to return.
Jokes about coffee spillages didn't seem to be something for the shop assistant's ears, but none of them seemed to care much, and the presence of Honor cut them a lot of slack.
"Hey, Honor, I think I need to get your opinion on something," Rory asked, as she moved onwards to another side of the showroom, finding a dress that actually caught her attention. Since the dress shopping had all happened quite quickly, she regretted not really having asked for Logan's opinion. He did have an eye for dresses, but she truly wasn't sure how much the groom was supposed to have a say in this. But there was another thing related to Logan that was on her mind.
"Yeah, what's up?" Honor followed her, curiously.
"I need you to tell me if something I try on is too… you know… too similar to Odette's. I want it to be fresh, I want it to be different," Rory confessed. Whether she liked it or not, she'd always compare this wedding, her… to Odette's, even if she tried very hard not to.
"Oh, I thought you knew…," Honor replied with surprise, having assumed Rory had seen the photos.
Rory shook her head.
"Well alright, then," Honor replied, adjusting her stance and trying to compose her words on how to describe it. "Well…if you stay clear of any large patterned lace then you're good. She had long sleeves, open back, and lots of beads. A train longer than was practical," Honor added, rolling her eyes a little, hinting that she hadn't been a fan.
"Thanks," Rory replied. Honor hugged Rory sideways, understanding now much better what she needed from her.
"But I do think you should put yourself first and not compare so much. It's your day. Theirs was never the day, it was just a day, and you know it," Honor commented.
"What do you think?" Rory asked her as she looked at an Augusta Jones lace cap sleeve dress, not wanting to dwell on the hesitance that she still felt deep inside.
The dress was an A-line, not ideal, but the skirt part underneath was flowy and at least looked like it could've hidden a small bump if that was what she'd need to do by that time. The neckline was a rather deep V - brave but not slutty, possibly requiring her to tape her breasts. But she liked the flowy skirt, thinking it looked a little beachy, even if a beach wedding was not exactly what they were going for.
There were a few more dresses she chose to try. But also she struggled finding dresses that she considered age-appropriate, the fact coming to her as quite a surprise that she'd classify a number of dresses too exposing or too youthful, feeling the need for a finer, more tasteful, balance.
Thankfully, the assistant knew what she was doing and quickly retrieved a number of dresses that were a little similar to the one that had caught her attention first.
There was one by Tony Ward that came with that feeling that she looked for. But since the dress had some large embroidering in the shape of feathers on it, she hesitated, looking for Honor for approval whether it'd be too similar or not. The sleeves were shorter, but the last thing she wanted to do was Logan to have a deja vu moment.
"I think it looks wonderful, Rory," Honor commented.
The dress was definitely less beachy then the former, but it was the pureness that she loved about this one.
"It's kind of princessy," Lorelai didn't want to give up, with a victorious smile. Suppose if one wanted to believe it and go by the tulle in its skirt - it did have that elegance about it. But at least with this one Rory didn't feel like she was trying to make choices according to someone else's tastes.
"I'll be walking on grass… this is going to get ruined, right?" Rory worried, observing the lenght of the dress and all that tulle, hesitating a little.
"That's why they take the photographs beforehand, and it's not like you're going to have to wear it again," Honor pointed out, hoping she'd just relax.
It was certainly not a dress for any strenuous dancing, and Lorelai knew it too, already imagining the post-reception after party, knowing Rory wasn't much for formal dancing. Truthfully, she didn't know all that about what they had planned for the wedding just yet, and she kept imagining it being something along the lines Emily Gilmore would throw, assuming Logan's family would have certain standards that they'd try to stand up to.
"You'll have to get something for the after party in that case," Lorelai pointed out.
"I could probably just hold it or… clip it up somehow," Rory said, thinking of alternatives, but wasn't ruling out getting a second dress just yet. The look on the shop assistant's face spoke of the fact that she'd just suggested something unimaginable, and caused a small burst of laughter from the group. At that moment she just stopped caring, loving the crazy and miscellaneous group of friends and family she had.
But most importantly - she'd found the dress.
AN: The dress is a Tony Ward model Edith. I struggled a bit with the fact that they're having such a summery (possibly outside) wedding that it'd be too classical, but we'll see how it turns out.
