Cote d'Azur Wedding

Angela was taking charge though. She handed Jurgen a card, "You should go take a look here while we go get some appropriate lingerie. The necklace needs to come down to here, and needs matching earrings. Figure out your budget and we can join you in a little while."

They talked in German for a bit; I thought she was giving him the actual length of the necklace he should be looking for. Jurgen agreed.

Angela and I headed out to acquire the needed undergarments. We walked for about 10 minutes, chatting a little bit. She was commenting how the event should be wonderful and other small talk.

We arrived at the store and the manager was already waiting for us. Apparently she knew Angela well, as they embraced and started talking in German.

Angela introduced me to Helen and apologized, "I am sorry for the German language. Helen can only speak a little English, but this store will have everything we need and I hope you can let me translate as needed."

We shook hands and Angela described the dress. She had not brought it with us as her staff was making the minor alterations required. The store itself was very upscale. I did not recognize the names of the brands on the various displays, but most of it was French with a lot of embroidery and fancy things; a variety of styles. We would need black lingerie to go with the dress of course, and soon a few options were brought out.

Angela translated, "She is going to need to see you now, to make some recommendations."

So we walked back to the dressing room where I got undressed. It was a private store, but I could tell there was not going to be a lot of privacy for me today. The store was still empty, but rather than them handing me items to try on, instead I came out in my bra and panty which suddenly felt rather plain and boring compared to what else was present.

Helen measured me carefully around the chest and then I removed my bra while she measured me for cup size carefully. Angela translated that the main problem would be providing enough support while not showing under the dress. One option was the adhesive half cups; and they put them on without the adhesive to show the effect. This would be our last resort if other alternatives could not be found.

It did not feel out of place to be walking around topless in this store. It was just "us girls" and there were no other customers. Helen went right to what she thought would be the best option. It was a black corset which went down to about my belly button with several clasps in back. But the key was that it already had built in half cups. A marvel of engineering really. The clasps in back had a couple of options for tightness and it felt comfortable. The desired effect was immediate; providing simultaneously lift and cleavage. Clearly this would work with the dress neckline.

They were both smiling as they saw the results, with Helen chiming in "Voila" as she admired her work. I had to admit the effect was pretty stunning. The twins looked pretty good as I stood before the mirror. The half-cups came up right under my areola, so I also realized there was going to be some need to be careful or I was going to have some nipple slips with this outfit.

Angela asked some questions about what I wanted to do for stockings. I had a pretty good tan at the time, so I could go with bare legs and open-toed shoes. She also said I could wear black stockings with the dress and look equally good. While the dress itself had high leg slits, they were not so high as to prevent either option. She said it would be the right weather for either approach.

I would have been comfortable with either way and said so. I asked Angela what she recommended as I was not so familiar with the venue, etc.

I immediately discovered she had a recommendation, but wanted to respect my preferences. Once she saw I was flexible, she smiled and started talking in German to Helen. Clearly they were going to have me wear stockings as they started laying out some options on the floor table.

I realized I liked the thought of stockings, as it would increase the feeling of elegance. The choice became obvious; self-supporting stockings or a garter belt. They described a hybrid option where the self-supporting stockings could be worn with a garter belt, more for show than function.

I felt like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman as they were fawning all over me with options. They were both older, so I got the feeling it was fun for them to dress me up, and of course they both realized I was not on a budget. I continued to be relying on their recommendation and we soon came to the consensus of self-supporting stockings with the garter belt. Frankly, the garter belt would be new for me, but it was fun too.

The stockings themselves were sheer. The support bands at the thigh level were about 3 inches wide and fancy. The garter belt itself was all for show, but it did the job very well.

I made the mistake of asking Angela how much this stuff cost. She smiled but rebuked me. "I have strict orders from Jurgen not to answer that question, but I can guarantee he does not care about the cost. He cares about how you look."

Then to continue, the garter belt was fancy too, mixing sheer and solid. It was easy to put on and hook to the stockings. I felt very sexy in it.

Helen then took me to look at various styles of panties. Angela translated, "You can do whatever you want here. It is completely personal preference."

But Helen laid out various styles on the table; low and high cut, varying degrees of texture and embroidery. All very nice. It was impossible to make a mistake here.

But they could see I was having a difficult time choosing as well, so Helen smiled and pointed at a French cut panty which was textured. It was easy to imagine the whole ensemble together now. It was also easy to shop this way, as the sizes were already selected, money was no object, and I was being encouraged along a path of elegance.

I smiled and went back to try them on. When I came out with the whole outfit put together, everyone was pleased, especially me. Good natural breasts were helpful, but the rest was not. And I could see my running and keeping in shape were paying off now as my butt, waist and legs all looked pretty damn good. Not bad for a 30-something.

Angela touched my arm and smiled, "You give us some nice material to work with. No man shall resist you."

I went back to the dressing room and got into my normal gear. I am not sure how they did the payment, but it was all taken care of as I came out. A nice way to shop. I discovered later Helen provided two pairs of panties.

I knew enough French to thank her properly myself, but not enough to converse. And then we were off to find shoes.

Angela called Jurgen to see whether we should do that first or come to the jewelry store first. Angela was talking in German for a minute, but then she handed the phone to me, "He would like to talk to you."

"Hi Beth, are they taking good care of you?"

I replied, "Other than killing your credit card, I feel like a princess. They have been great."

"Excellent. I would like if you could meet me to discuss the jewelry and do shoes later as I am running out of time. Is that alright?"

I said, "Absolutely. Let me give the phone back to Angela, so you can tell here where to meet."

We took a taxi to meet Jurgen.

We met and did the European greeting with the little kisses to each cheek. This itself was unusual for us as we normally just shook hands, being business professionals. But it felt right and was over before I even recognized the change.

I said, "Angela has been taking very good care of me."

Jurgen smiled at her, "Thank you, Angela."

I knew it had been important to let him know I had been pleased by the treatment. Angela gave me a subtle smile of thanks.

Like everything else, the jewelry store was very upscale.

Jurgen said, "We are going to select the jewelry here, but what you will wear is to come from Geneva. I have a friend there who is going to loan us the items once we describe what we need."

That made a lot of sense. While the dress and lingerie were not cheap, fine jewelry was in another league.

Angela was describing the dress and neckline, mentioning I would be wearing my hair up. The plan was to have a necklace with matching earrings.

The store manager asked a generic question to the group, "Pearls, gold, diamonds, what are you thinking?"

We all looked at each other with everyone having the same expression, sort of a shrug as if anything would be suitable.

Jurgen then asked me, "Do you have a preference?"

I said, "You will have the best idea of what is proper. So really I don't care, whatever you think is appropriate. But if it does not matter, and since the jewelry is on loan, my preference would be diamonds."

Angela nodded, "With the black dress and her skin, that would have also been my recommendation."

Jurgen waved his hands and said, "I think we have a choice."

We went to another part of the store where we could look at the diamond items in the case. He said, "What your friend will have in Geneva will not be exactly the same as this. What is most important is to select the length of the necklace and the rough size and quantity of the stones."

With that, he pulled out a simple strand of diamonds without a pendant and asked me to put it on. I turned around and lifted my hair as he did the clasp. I had to unbutton my shirt and pull it to the sides so that we could get the length right. The end came about one third of the way from my chin to the front of my bra.

Angela commented, "It needs to be longer."

She then put her finger on my chest, "About here."

He commented, "Probably a pendant style will be the best for what you want."

There were a lot of styles having a very elaborate nettings and designs, but I said, "My preference would be something simpler, maybe a simple strand like you had before, but longer. And then a simple larger stone hanging down."

No one argued and he then brought out a really beautiful piece with diamonds along the whole strand -- relatively small stones -- with a teardrop shaped diamond pendant.

Angela looked to Jurgen and me and said, "That would be great."

I think there were some time pressures involved, but the fact was everyone was very happy. Jurgen and the store manager were talking in German, but the summary was he would send a description and a photo to Geneva and go from there. But the comment was that we had selected a simple piece which should be easy to duplicate.

For earrings, my preference was for a simple diamond stud although Angela was more in favor of something hanging down. I considered a couple of options, but my opinion won out. While we were selecting earrings, they already had Jurgen's friend in Geneva on the line.

The result was easy -- he could supply the earrings and necklace no problem. He offered the choice that the pendant could be diamond, emerald or ruby without any problem. We could not look to choose, but everyone looked at me.

I said, "Unless someone has a strong view otherwise, I have always loved emeralds."

Some shrugs, some smiles. But that was that. I love shopping that way.

We thanked the store manager and left. I am not sure how, or if, Jurgen compensated him for the session.

Jurgen said, "OK, I am going to head out to the airport now. But Angela will take care of whatever else you need and I will see you in Nice tomorrow."

I pulled him aside for a moment, "Jurgen, I am unbelievably flattered by all you are doing. Really, this is too much."

He replied, "On the contrary, I am very grateful you are coming. You will look fantastic, and everyone will be jealous."

He had an enormous smile on his face. I leaned over and kissed his cheek, whispering, "Thank you anyway. I feel like a princess."

He smiled again, "Good."

He left us then and Angela and I went to get shoes. It was very simple to find something appropriate. Angela only cared about the height of the heel and I found a very elegant style with a strap around the ankle.

That was very fast and Angela said, "Do you have a purse? And a wrap if it gets cool?"

I shook my head no. One store nearby had just what we needed and finally Angela took me back to her store for the final fitting of the dress.

She was confident, but said, "Just to get it perfect."

We took a quick taxi to her shop. The seamstress was standing by in case of a problem. The dress was hanging near the three-way mirror.

Angela said, "You do not need to put everything on, but I will need to have you put on the bra and the shoes."

I got undressed and put on the shoes and bra. I realized they wanted me to come out this way and put on the dress in the shop. But as I looked in the mirror, it was a little awkward as this bra had my breasts essentially fully exposed with just some uplift. Oh well, it was just us girls.

I came out casually. But like usual for me, I was a little nervous even though Angela had already seen me this way. They did not seem to care, but I was glad there were no other customers as I came out.

They quickly helped lift the dress over me and zipped it up. This will sound egotistical, but I looked fantastic in the dress. The bottom hem had come perfectly, so the shoe selection was just right. I should not have been surprised, but the real stunning effect was the bra and the neckline. My cleavage looked wonderful; sexy but not sleazy. My waist and hips looked great too.

Angela had a big smile, "So Beth, what do you think?"

I started with a small, subtle smile. But I could not hold it for long and slipped into a big grin which said it all.

She continued, "I think we did very well today."

I said, "Thank you Angela."

She replied, "I think you will get a lot of attention, and I know Jurgen will be pleased."

I continued looking in the mirror, "I do not show this much cleavage very often. It will be an experience."

Angela replied, "I am envious. I have always been jealous of women with larger breasts. If I had yours, I would love to display them this way."

They helped me off with the dress and I went back to change again. The dress material was not easily wrinkled, but she made the good suggestion that I carry the dress in a carry-on instead of packing it in my luggage. We also condensed all the bags and boxes from our shopping trip to make it easier for me.

I already knew Jurgen had taken care of all the expenses. I also was sure he had taken care of Angela over and above that. But nevertheless, I was very grateful for her care and attention.

I said, "It will be very exciting to see how the event turns out, but I feel very fortunate for everything you have done. Thank you."

She gave me a little hug, "It was my pleasure. Actually, I had fun today as well. And of course I am pleased that both of my customers are satisfied."

I left and went back to my hotel. The day's activities had caused me to be both tired and hungry, having missed lunch. I went back to my room and figured out how I would pack the extra things. I lay down on the bed for a minute. I did not want to sleep, but it felt great to relax. After about 15 minutes I got up and got organized. My flight the next day was early, so I would have to get up pretty early to get to the airport, deal with customs and security.

Life is not too bad. A free night in Munich, on my way to the south of France the next day. Hard to complain.

I took a quick shower and got ready to go out, opting for casual clothes. The weather was warm so I put on a black skirt and a loose cut white blouse with my hair down. Simple, but good.

Jurgen called to check if everything had gone well. I described how well the dress looked at the final fitting and how pleased I was about everything.

I told him, "I really am excited to be coming to Nice. I was a little apprehensive at first, but as we have moved forward, it has turned into something quite special. Thank you."

He was glad to hear the planning on my end was going well. He confirmed the jewelry was ready and was similar to what we had seen earlier. We discussed our timing for the next day and wished each other a good evening. I told him I was getting ready to go out to dinner and he was going to do the same. He also said he hoped I had a great time tonight.

I went down to the hotel bar to have a drink before heading out. I had been looking forward to a glass of champagne. The place was semi-crowded already. I got my drink and began to relax. I looked around and noticed the opulence of the place. Very ornate, but also a lot of light.

On a Friday night in Munich, people were dressed still from work, not ready to go home. Others dressed for parties. The whole spectrum.

I felt a little torn as I looked around while I drank my champagne. On the one hand, I knew I should not stay out too late as tomorrow was going to be interesting. On the other hand, I really enjoyed the city and the nightlife.

The bar and the people were interesting and I thought about what I wanted to do this evening. I knew some fancy restaurants and I also knew some more casual places. I thought about the famous Hofbrauhaus where the beer was fantastic and the atmosphere was fun. I thought about spending some time at the spa instead, maybe having a sauna followed by a late supper and maybe some drinks later.

I finished my drink and was thinking about another one. I recognized my dilemma -- too many choices -- and thought about dinner at an outdoor bistro. The bartender came up and asked if I wanted another. The choices became acute as I realized I wanted everything. I was aware enough to realize I had been in this situation before and having too many things to choose from could sometimes leave me making no choice and later being sorry.

I chose to be more decisive, knowing that tomorrow in Nice would be the opposite and I would go with the flow. I ordered another glass of champagne and would go on to phase two of the evening when it was done.

My drink arrived and with it came the first guy, in this case guys, hitting on me. There were two of them, both likely Americans by the sound of their voices. I immediately thought they were here on business as they were both in suits.

"Where are you from?" one asked. I guessed New York from his voice.

I replied, "The U.S. How about you?"

Almost in unison, "Us too."

I was wrong, they were actually from Boston. I got it right they were on business, having been in Munich for a week with another to go.

We made casual conversation as I knew a lot more about the city than they did after my multiple visits. I gave some suggestions for places to eat and drink as they had been mostly taken out by their business hosts during the week. Both were married, and though it is probably shallow to say, neither was very attractive to me. Each was overweight and balding, which was not a problem or me being judgmental, more that neither was attractive to me. None of that had made me rude, as they were polite and unassuming. But if they had any designs for me, I just did not find the thought appealing.

I declined another drink and signed for the bill. The guys were not too forward about it, but they did invite me to join them for dinner. I declined but thanked them for the offer. The entire conversation had helped me to reach my choice for the evening. I said goodbye and headed to the hotel spa. I was going to have a sauna and relax for a bit as it was still early. I would find a nice outdoor restaurant for dinner; stop by the Hofbrauhaus for beers before turning in for the night.

My hotel was one of the best in Munich and had a fairly elaborate spa. I had been there briefly a couple days previously, but without time to relax.