When Vendors Attack

When my best college girlfriend got married a few years ago, she had a seamstress friend of hers make our bridesmaid dresses. It was a Renn-themed wedding, and the dressmaker specialized in Renn faire clothes. We didn’t have a contract because the bride was such good friends with the seamstress, and as the wedding drew closer, and we still hadn’t had out fittings, we weren’t worried because of course “Starlight” would finish in time.

You can see where this is going, right?

When the dresses were delivered — at the rehearsal dinner – the bridesmaids breathed a collective sigh of relief. So Starlight wasn’t the most professional tailor, but who cares if the dresses made it on time?

We giggled and decided to try on our gowns. The skirts and corset-tops were each made separately, and each girl had her own color. I grabbed the yellow top and bottom, and pulled them on, but the skirt was too long

Starlight had confused our measurements and colors. I had a skirt for a taller bridesmaid, with about six inches dragging at the hem. A chubbier maid couldn’t close my corset over her bust, while I tried to keep decent in a top for someone much larger.  We were looking at each other in horror when one of the groomsmen came to the door.

“We’re not dressed!” I opened the door a crack.

“Sorry to bother you, but we need the rest of our clothes,” the groomsman said. ”She must have put our pants in with your dresses.”

“No. We don’t have any men’s clothes at all,”

“But then… we don’t have any pants for the wedding!”

Everytime I see the wedding photos now, with the guys in their black jeans and wedding tunics or the girls in our pinned dresses, I laugh. Our late-night sewing session was pretty funny, but it was an awful time for the bride and groom. 

After the wedding, when the bride tried to claim compensation from her seamstress “friend”, we found out the friend’s company had gone of of business (I wonder why?!?!). It’s a horror story, but not that unusual. A WeddingBee bride went to pick up her ring, only to find the jewelry shop had closed. It’s sad when vendors let you down, but what can a bride do? Just try to get the best out of your day… and call the BBB after your honeymoon!