Hello all!
I'm going to get right into it because...well...I am.
Yesterday Hubby and I went to Total Wine and More for the first time since this whole Covid thing popped up in our neighborhoo. Fun fact...I realized yesterday we haven't driven on the interstate near our house since March. Now, that might not seem like a big deal...except for me...I was flooded with a weird new axiety. I may never have to ride a roller coaster again. I got enough thrills watching hubby navigate the interstate between Waukesha and Brookfield at 5 PM on a Friday.
You people have all either forgotten how the heck to drive...or you just all left your manners at home and decided to drive with you big old crabby pants on.
Anywhooooo....
So we went to Total Wine and if you haven't been to a Total Wine, you should go because honestly....it's got a...um...what's the word...oh yeah...a total selection of wine and other cool adult
beverage type stuff.
We went to find (Hubby tells me) a special Australian beer he was going to use to toast his cousin's husband (hi Bob!) who lives in Australia and named this beer as his favorite. It was called West End Draught and the can looked like this:
I should note that Total Wine and More...has more than wine. It has a TOTAL selection of beers and spirits. They are silly with beers and spirits. And adult beveraging accessories you never knew you needed to get your drink on. They have it all.
Anyway....
Right. So it's June. And June is the big wedding month, even in this time of Covid. So it only surprised me a tiny bit when we got to Total Wine the biggest, brightest, front of the house display was...well...this:
What I didn't know what that a friend of mine in Michigan had set up a couple appointments at dress shops for me so they would actually talk to me and pull dresses for me. Sort of like Randy at Kleinfeld's.
So we hit a couple dress shops and got the cold shoulder from the dress shop ladies! Saddened, we decided to go to the mall and find the bridesmaid dresses, which Abby was determined were going to come from a normal store at normal store prices. (We were in our early twenties and the cost of bridesmaid dresses when you're that age is...a lot.) We did NOT find the bridesmaid dresses that day. (More on that later.) What we did find was a Laura Ashley store with a lovely summery display, just right for a June wedding. Much like the one at Total Wine. And, much like the one at Total Wine, there was a wedding type dress in the display...and it was THE ONE.
Now, how does one go about purchasing part of a window display?
Okay, this is going back 30 years, but if I recall correctly, we were young, thin, cute, and I believe there were tears involved. After all, we'd been turned away by the bridal boutiques (because we didn't have an appointment, which I realized later, but that took away from the tragedy of our story) and the dress in the window, even though it wasn't part of their inventory, we JUST HAD TO HAVE IT.
I don't recall everything else. I do remember, Abby was allowed to try it on and it FIT and she looked like a Laura Ashely angel.
And isn't that veil lovely? Let me tell you about the veil, because that's another story that Abby actually brought up when I posted a pic of the wedding dress in the liquor store. See, once I got married I moved to the Milwaukee area, and Abby was originally from there. And we still needed a veil and bridesmaid dresses. So we headed to the local mall in Milwaukee. (Many of you know it as pretty much the only real mall left in the area that's NOT Mayfair. If you're from here, you're already shouting the name of the mall at your computer.) Anyway, we walked past a Wicks n Sticks Store and...
Wait, you don't know what Wicks n Sticks is?
Oh children, in the great days of the malls... when teen girls had tall hair and there was an Orange Julius at every corner...there was a Wick n Sticks. This was a store that literally stuck a wick in any shape and called it candle.
Two foot long wax tiger? Candle. Kewpie Dolls (look them up) Candle. Weird shaped couples entwined in a passionate kiss? REALLY disturbing candle.
They also sold incense. Hence...sticks.
Anyway, Abby wanted to get a unity candle (look it up) and that was the place to go for that. And there, because it was getting again to be June and June is the time for weddings, there was a long veil surrounded by CANDLES.
And Abby said...I MUST HAVE IT.
We were still young. Still thin (Abby, by the way, is still gloriously beautiful and thin 3o years later) and still ready to play on the sympathies of some retail clerk. Oddly enough, Wicks n Sticks didn't give as much push back on selling the veil. It was sort of like, "Dude...really?" To which we responded, "Dude, yeah."
And we had a veil.
Oh, secret message to Abby: We thought there were no more Wicks n Sticks. in looking up the logo, I found at least one that's still operating...in Daytona Beach, FL. ROAD TRIP!
Anyway, that's the story. Oh, and those bridesmaid dresses? Yes, we found them at the mall, for a really nice price! Here's a picture of me posing for the cameras in one now:
And, because I can't leave you with that dorky picture when I'm talking Abby's wedding, because it really was lovely (and because I can't find the picture of their wedding I REALLY want to post, the one where they're cutting their cake and she's holding this giant butcher knife pointed at him and she's wearing a grimace that is far more...murderey than marriage-y.) I have to leave you with this classy picture of their wedding party!
Happy June Everyone!
Oh, and whatever became of the beer?
Well, apparently "Total Wine and More" does not include random Australian brews. But that's a quest for another day.
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