Because of the distance between my husband-to-be and me during our courtship, we took to Celine's song "My Heart Will Go On" -- or, more specifically, "The Portrait" as played by James Horner. It was only natural, then, that I have a wedding dress based on those Kate Winslet wore in the film.

I went on a mad search. Unfortunately, seamstress Jennie Chancey was booked, so I used the links which she provided on her page. I found "Anahysia's TymePortal." After e-mailing and chatting with the seamstress, Brandie Thomas, it was agreed that I would order a "dinner dress," done in silver satin and blue overlay, with medium beading for a total of $1000 -- not unreasonable for a wedding dress.

A few weeks later, I returned to Jennie Chancey's site. The link to "TymePortal" was gone. I thought nothing of it. Turns out that I should have. In October of that year, I contacted Brandie to notify her of a change of plans. My wedding had moved from March of 2000 to January of 2001 due to my husband-to-be's college obligations. At that time, I had yet to receive fabric samples and her copy of the signed contract. I urged her to send these.

After a few repeated attempts, I finally received both. The fabric samples were not at all what we had agreed upon. The silver had changed from a satin to a polyester/rayon mix that I have to admit seemed to flow better. The choices for the blue overlay, however, were not impressive. It seemed to me that she had chosen the three sheerest blue materials from Wal-Mart. Choosing the lesser of the three evils, I chose my fabrics and sent the samples back. The contract I signed and kept.

Another few months passed, and I heard nothing. According to the contract, the agreed completion time had been eight months. While I was willing to provide her time for (what she said) personal setbacks, I also knew that I would need to get rolling on the rest of my wedding. Finally, in March of 2000, I decided to pull the plug. She had produced no evidence that she had worked on my dress.

When I phoned her, we discussed this. She cried pitiful, claiming that she had been forced to move, had to find a new job, etc. It was agreed that she would not be able to complete the project; a letter of intent was due to follow a week later. It, as with everything else, never arrived. Since that time, Brandie has disappeared. Her web presence has gone under.

Having moved to the Washington DC area -- where she was based -- I have attempted to phone her to no avail; the phone simply rings off the hook. I also filed reports with the US Postal Inspectors AND the Takoma Park/Cabin John Better Business Bureaus. So far, no resolution has been reached.

The $500 deposit which my mother sent in good faith is gone -- $500 my mother could scarcely afford to furnish. It was my wedding day, however, and she wanted me to live my dream. Funny how quickly a dream can turn into a nightmare.