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I Bought a Tiara

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It’s official: I’m that bride who spent way too much money on a friggin’ tiara for my wedding day.

Let’s backtrack a few months, like, 16, when we first decided to get married at Disneyland.  Everyone assumed I would wear a tiara.  Back when I was in high school I wore a tiara to my Senior Prom and declared I would save it to also wear on my wedding day.  My mother reminded me of this after I got engaged.  Well, I did save the tiara, but after 15 years, tastes change.  That tiara is a bit too much for a 32-year-old to wear, I thought.  Heck, it was probably a bit too much for a 17-year-old to wear.

Grainy prom picture from 1997.  Once a princess, always a princess.

Besides, it seems like EVERY bride who gets married at Disney wears a stupid tiara.  I didn’t want to copy everyone.  I hate when it seems I am doing something because everyone else is doing it.  Pfffftth.

But then, over the past 16 months, I started this blog.  And a Facebook group.  And I connected and made real friendships with other Disney brides.  And I received real wedding submissions.  And a lot of brides wore headbands or tiaras.  And they look beautiful.  Every one of them looked amazing, and perfect, and happy.

I wanted a tiara, dammit.

I started my search a couple weeks ago, pinning on Pinterest, searching on Etsy, scrolling through endless pages on eBay.  I polled my friends for opinions, but much like with a wedding gown, it’s difficult to picture how it’s going to look without trying it on.

With three weeks til the big day I decided to check out the tiara selection at some of the local bridal shops, knowing very well that everything was going to be expensive and I had to tread carefully.

My first stop was R Mine, a very upscale shop in Studio City where Kendra Wilkinson got her bridal gown.  I was told it’s my lucky day because all their jewelry is 30% off!  I was led to the jewelry cabinet where the salesperson started pulling out headbands and handing me things, which I could reject just by looking at them – out of my budget.  I don’t want to spend more than $100, I explained.  She pulled a pretty headband with pearls and some sparkle and I tried it on. It was pretty.  It was okay.  I looked over the cabinet some more and tried on a few reasonable priced headbands. But my eye kept catching on a very sparkly gold tiara, so I finally went for it.  Of course it was over twice my budget.

The salesperson tried to help by saying, “But it’s something that you’ll treasure forever!” (I hate you, WIC.)
Me: “Or I can sell it on eBay and get some of my money back.”
Her: “…. That, too.””

I put it on, and my salesperson squeals.  “Oooh, this is it!  This is the one!”  She’s not wrong.  I can feel the tears welling.

I take it off and put the headband back on.  Then take that off and put the tiara back on.

Sigh.  This was the one.  Crap.

We head over to the register for some negotiating.  She gives me her best price, which is still a lot.  I stare at it some more.  I ask for their return policy.  “Final sale!” she says, cheerfully.  “And, today’s the last day of the jewelry sale.”  Grumble grumble.

Defeated, I hand over my credit card and walk home with my tiara in tow.

And that’s the story of how this not-so-budget princess got her crown.

 

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Brides, what’s the one thing you splurged on for your wedding?  I would love to know!
About Mindy

Mindy Marzec is a life-long Disney fan who grew up in Los Angeles. She started This Fairy Tale Life to share Disneyland travel tips for adults. When not at Disneyland, you can find Mindy at home snuggling with her cats and re-watching Thor: Ragnarok for the billionth time.