Sure, there is a certain amount of fun and glamour that comes with visiting Kleinfeld Bridal, home of the largest collection of designer wedding dresses on earth, as well as the set of TLC network's "Say Yes to the Dress."However, for an admittedly neurotic woman who had dragged family and friends all over New Jersey in her harrowing search for a wedding gown, I had started to think that even the Manhattan bridal mecca would not yield the elusive dress of my dreams.After viewing countless episodes of "Say Yes to the Dress," I felt quite familiar with the Kleinfeld store, despite having no intention of visiting there until I heard about the sample sale slated for May 1.
Bride-to-be Jessica Smith emerges victorious from bridal super store Kleinfeld, dress in hand.Unwilling to fall prey to the notion that I needed to spend thousands on what would probably be the most important ― and expensive ― piece of clothing I'd ever wear, I had previously resisted the allure of the 60-year-old landmark's stunning inventory.But my penny-pinching fingers seized on the opportunity to snag a fashion-forward frock at a fraction of its original, outof reach price.Jenny Woods, my faithful maid of honor, arrived at my door around 7 a.m., umbrella in tow.She drowsily informed me that Occupy Wall Street protesters had a spate of demonstrations planned throughout the city for May Day, which morning show hosts warned would beleaguer New Yorkers with traffic jams and any number of other potential issues throughout the day.A card-carrying member of the 99 percent, I am all for such shows of solidarity ― usually. Although shamed to admit that my apparel aspirations trumped my usual activist bent, I cannot tell a lie. If anyone had stood in my way that day, I'd have made police brutality look like a stroll through Strawberry Fields.
It was about 10 a.m. by the time we emerged on the New York side of the Holland Tunnel (the Lincoln would have spit us out closer to Kleinfeld, on West 20th Street, but reports of long delays nixed that route).Minutes later, we discovered that we had passed the store, which we'd assumed would be marked by a line of eager brides spanning as far as the eye could see.Circling back, we discovered not a soul in sight. I pulled over to let Jenny run inside and retrieve our magic number: 45. Not bad, I thought, proceeding to quiz her about her 30-second experience inside. Although the woman handing out the numbers had instructed us to come back at 3:10 p.m., when we arrived back at 3 sharp, brides with numbers well beyond ours were already mobbing the multi-level store's lobby.