How Many Firemen Does it Take....?

Yesterday was such an interesting day! A couple things I wasn't expecting actually ended up happening. For starters, I found a wedding dress at the first shop we looked in! Mick's mum took me to the shop in Chichester where she bought her wedding dress a couple years ago. The shop was in a cute little arcade of shops and was called Confetti & Lace (if you're getting married in West Sussex, check it out. Great selection of gowns and really friendly staff!) We picked out a few that I really liked and put them aside. The lovely girl running the shop said she was swamped and couldn't help me in and out of any dresses (seriously, you need a pro for this. Who knew?) so we could come back in a couple hours. That worked fine, because Karen and I both had a few other errands we needed to run. Before too long, the girl from the shop called back and said she was free, so we headed back down. I tried on a couple dresses but nothing was looking quite right, or they just wouldn't fit at all.
There was one hanging up that didn't really catch my eye, but the girl said I really should try it. She had a good feeling about it and it's true that lots of times, what you don't like on the hanger looks amazing on. Well, that was the case here. As she was getting me into it and getting everything hooked up, I started to see it taking shape and I could tell that it was going to look good. "Natalie..." I said. "Before you do anymore, tell me the price. I don't want to get my heart set on it and find out I can't afford it!" The price was right. And I could tell by the look on Karen's face the minute I stepped out from behind the curtain that it was the one. We took pictures to send my mom and I bought it then and there. It was a discontinued style so we got it for over 50% off. We played with veils and tiaras and it was so much fun! I wanted to keep the tiara on so nobody would forget how special I am during this time!
Now, obviously I can't show you the dress. But here is a shot of a few that I liked but didn't work out!

Eenie meenie miney mo...

As we were chatting about the dress and general wedding plans, we noticed the gates that lead out of the shopping arcade (I don't mean arcade as in video games, I mean it as in a passage or walkway which contains retailers.) were being closed up for the evening. Natalie had stayed after hours to help us out. There were three gates and we could see that one or two of them were locked. Natalie said not to worry because they always leave one open longer.
We paid and set up dates for the fittings. She put my dress in the back to save until then. We thanked her and walked out the door and headed for the gate she said would still be open. Um. It wasn't. So we went back and let her know. "Oh, no problem," she reassured us. "I have the key to the big roll-up gate, let me get it." It didn't fit in the lock. The poor girl has only been back to work for a week after having a baby so I think she hasn't completely been briefed on everything. So we went back to the shop and sat on the couch while she called the Caretaker who locked us in without CHECKING TO MAKE SURE THE SHOP WAS EMPTY! No answer. No answer. No answer. So she tried the landlord. Out of the country for the next week and a half. She tried a coworker, no luck, no key. She tried the shop owner. No lock, no key. At this point she was getting really upset because what if there had been a fire or something? We were completely and utterly trapped in a tiny row of shops with no restrooms (they were on the other side of the gates, of course). And we were supposed to be meeting friends for dinner. When Karen called to tell the friends, they laughed and said "only you, Karen!" Which makes me pretty nervous because I'm going to be spending lots of time with this woman, as she's about to be my mother-in-law! :P
Karen called Andy and he said he and Mick would head home, feed the dog, and bring back his bolt cutters to see if he could cut one of the padlocks on a gate. Mick didn't seem all that concerned. Finally, Natalie called the police. Twenty minutes later, we heard sirens. We ventured out of the shop to see a bobby and three fireman fiddling with the lock. They talked about the pros and cons of cutting the bolt (no protection after they cut it because of course there was no replacement lock and all the shops are old and the doors aren't very strong, nor the locks). A minute later Mick and Andy showed up. The first thing Mick did was look at me through the bars like I'd done something wrong and said "it's a nice dress, is it?" Let me tell you, it's a good thing there were bars between us because he deserved a bollocking for that cheek! No "you ok babe? Been worried!" NO. Just sarcasm!

How many firemen does it take to bust a lock? In the end, about five.

The firemen (who are sexy even in England, let me say. It must be a universal thing!) tried using their bolt cutters, but they weren't strong enough. They tried automatic ones, but no luck. One of them had a screwdriver and was trying to unscrew the gate from the wall. Finally they pulled out what I think are the jaws of life (nobody here knows that term, but I heard one of the firemen say that they use it to open car doors so I'm pretty sure that's what they were) to pry the gate open wide enough to slip the padlock through and viola! Freedom! After two hours! We thanked the men for their help and headed to dinner. I needed the bathroom and a drink of water badly!

Thinking back, I remember turning to Karen and Natalie as we watched our rescuers struggle with the lock and saying "I really hope this isn't foreshadowing how the rest of my wedding planning is going to go..." And I really, really do hope that!

Time for a quick Sunday quote...

"I've never worn stockings and suspenders though. I think I'll save them to wear under my wedding dress."
-Jennifer Ellison

Ain't it the truth? All the equipment that goes into wearing a wedding dress!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, everyone! :)