This all started when I visited Lisa with a friend to discuss the formation of a local T* support group in Detroit. I noticed Lisa looking looking rather strangely at me and was quite relieved when she asked me if I would mind trying on this dress she had, as I appeared to be the right size . Never one to refuse the chance to dress , of course I accepted , trying not to appear too enthusiastic. It was only then I found out that the dress was a wedding dress with a beautiful train.
The photo on the right and below was taken that night
It didn't take long to realise that the dress could have been made for me, it fitted perfectly, even the length of the dress was right. Lisa explained that she wanted to show the dress at the Dressing for Pleasure weekend in October, and would be the highlight of the fashion show. The event was to be held at the Hilton Hotel in New Jersey ,USA. After a lot of persuasion, about 10 seconds, I agreed that I wouldbe a part of the show, after all how often does a girl get the chance to wear such a gorgeous dress.
Over the months leading up to the show Lisa and I spent many hours putting together my wardrobe for the rest of the event. Apart from the fashion show there was also a batchelorette tea party on the Friday afternoon , the fashion show in the evening and a Grand Ball on the Saturday evening. I soon had outfits for most of the weekend except the main ball on the Saturday, for which I wanted something special to wear. Finally on the last day of my visit to the US I found a fuchsia pink dress hanging on the display wall. As soon as I saw it I knew it was perfect for me, low cut with ruffled puff sleeves, a sequinned bodice and a tiered skirt, all in satin . Finally , there was just the accessories to get, a new purse, some shoes to match the dress and various bit of jewellery ....phew .
The picture below is my dress for the Grand Ball taken at Lisa's house with her cute dog Katie
Finally the weekend arrived , to say I was excited was a decidedly understating matters. First task was to pack everything into a suitcase for the weekend, not a trivial task. My plan was to take everything handbaggage but seeing the size of the case I began to have doubts it would fit in the overhead bins. As a special treat I had decided to have my nails done professionally with French tips rather than just use stick-on nails.It took 3 hours to apply the nails , but soon they were ready and I could admire my long elegant nails, they looked so real and felt wonderful.
It seemed like just a few minutes after I'd turned out the light when the alarm rang.....4.30am, time to get up to catch the 7am flight to New Jersey. Once in flight the stewardess began to serve coffee, but rather than just placing the cup in front of each passenger they offered a tray, with cups etc. which they would then fill as you held the cup. Well of course it didn't take long for her to notice my nails, but I was so excited about the weekend I didn't really care. In fact I was rather pleased she noticed.
Soon I was in Newark Airport and after a brief taxi ride I found myself at the Hilton. Pausing only to register for the weekend I made my way to Lisa's room to get ready for my tea party later in the day. I was wearing my back jacket with lace sleeves, over a black lace teddy. The matching stretch black skirt stopped about 4ins above the knee, with black stockings and black suede shoes. Lisa had bought me a white and pink corsage to wear for the party which was pinned to my lapel.
Walking through the hotel lobby felt wonderful, my shoes clicked on the marble floor as I walked over to the dining room, it all felt so perfect. In the dinning room were every type of outfit you could imagine, rubber, leather, silk as well as more conventional. Seated at our table was the rest of the wedding party.
Promptly at 3pm the guests started to arrive for my batchelorette party, each brought a present for me which I placed on the table ready for opening later. Soon everyone was ready and Lisa introduced the wedding party to all the guests. Then she insisted I sat on a chair in the middle of the floor while behind me she introduced a 'special ' guest. When the music started and I knew something was up and the guest turned out to be a leather clad male stripper who soon proceeded to gyrate lewdly around me . The video crew took great delight in filming this event providing encouragement along with the rest of the girls. All too soon most of his clothes had been removed so the only place left to put the dollar bills was down his g-string.....honest. Then it was all over, and on to opening the presents. I got some lovely underwear , including a night-dress, a suspender belt and matching knickers, I also got a picture, now hanging in my office, and a feather fan, which I had great difficulty in wresting back from Lisa. After tea and cakes and a good chat with all the girls it was time to go to the rehearsal for the fashion show to be held later in the evening.
Dinner was next on the agenda before we all left to get changed for the fashion show. Everyone that is except me, I changed into a cream suit and skirt, but with my hair ,shoes and everything else ready for me to slip into the wedding dress later in the evening. We all sat down at our reserved table right next to the catwalk, to enjoy the first half of the show. Soon the first half of the show was drawing to a close and Lisa, Emily and I went backstage to get ready for our part of the show. It felt so nice to step into that dress again, but as Lisa started to zip it up I began to get butterflies in my tummy about stepping out on stage in front of all those people. All that remained to do was wait till our turn came as the finale of the show, after what seemed like forever we were called to start our show.
The shots below were all taken from the video taken of the show available from Dressing for Pleasure, NJ
Mike was first down the catwalk wearing his leather 'gladiator' suit, followed by Bobbi with Tiger in a top hat and on a leash, next was Betty and then Emily. Finally, Lisa and I stepped out onto the catwalk to an amazing round of applause. All my nervousness disappeared to be replaced by a huge smile as I looked and saw all these cheering and smiling people. Slowly we walked down the catwalk, and all too soon reached the end. Mike bid Tiger and myself forwards while he performed the 'blessing' and handed me Tigers' lead. Then Tiger kissed me , to thunderous applause and cheering and we began our walk back along the catwalk. Halfway down we stopped while I turned away from the audience and threw the bouquet over my shoulder, hoping it didn't land in anyone's drink .
We continued on to the end of the catwalk where I sat on a chair facing the audience . Tiger carefully raised my dress and then slowly removed my garter before throwing that too to the still applauding audience. Taking his arm we left the stage , followed by the rest of the wedding party. A short time later we were back on stage for the curtain call, before leaving to get changed once again. On the way back however, we decided that the opportunity to have photos taken in the hotel lobby was just too great to miss. So I stood at the top of a short flight of stairs , with the dress draped across the stairs below me. Everyone wanted a photo, so we had lots of photos of me and with the rest of the party, it was wonderful. I did wonder what the regular hotel guests thought though as they smiled at all the goings on.
I rejoined the party in my black crepe dress, split up both sides and backless, it fitted very tightly, just the thing for the continuing celebrations. By 4am I decided that 23+hrs was enough on 4hrs sleep so I called it a night .....till tomorrow.
Five hours later it was time to get up again ! By 10am I was dressed, this time in a soft green dress, short gathered sleeves, ready to face the day, or breakfast at least. After breakfast Joanne and I attended one or too of the seminars on various topics, looked around the vendors area and relaxed. We were both tempted to visit the Mall across the road but decided it was too cold and there was too much going on in the hotel we didn't want to miss, especially lunch.
During the afternoon, we relaxed talked to lots of people and prepared for the evening ball. Around 5pm I began to get ready for the evening, time to put on the pink party dress, matching shoes, purse etc. with the pearl jewellery , I felt a million dollars. The cocktail party started at 7pm and soon I was making polite conversation, pausing only for another video opportunity. By 9pm it was time for dinner, with a very nice meal to set us up for the evenings fun. During the meal the contestants for the various competitions had to parade for the judging . Of course I entered for the Belle of the Ball contest. After the meal the results of the contest were declared , with yours' truly being voted the Belle of the Ball, yet another video opportunity !. I think I could get used to all this attention .
After the results the dancing started with me proving a very popular dance partner. The highlight of the dancing was jiving with a very nice lady (Janet) who left me in no mind as to who would be leading. It was fantastic to follow her around the floor, my feet hardly touched the floor, yet another amazing experience in an already filled weekend. All too soon it was 5am and time to retire yet again .
10am the phone rings, it's Lisa who managed to get the time wrong, she thought it was 11am, a very sleepy Stephanie manages to get down to the champagne brunch about 11.30. Lots of very tired looking faces, all happily recounting the events of the last two days, and exchanging phone numbers and addresses.
The video was released in November and I can now relive every moment . I fully expected to feel very depressed after it was all over but to my delight the euphoria lasted all week and even now I'm to be found with dreamy expression thinking about the weekend.
Time to start planning for the next event ...................................
I will always be very grateful to Mistress Lisa for helping me, she taught me so much. Her shop 'THE DRESSING ROOM' has everything you could ever want and is in MI, USA. Her web site is The Dressing Room which just happens to have a few pictures of me. If you go there tell her Stephanie sent you
Mail 
Stephanie