The Lowdown: Back-stabbing Drama from the Sidelines at Filene’s Running of the Brides

Bostonista braved the snow and cold early this morning to witness the madness at Filene’s Basement Running of the Brides at the Hynes Convention Center. As expected, hundreds of brides and their posses of ‘maids showed up, with t-shirts and team phrases ranging from the encouraging (“We won’t rest till we find Drouin’s dress”) to the downright vicious (“Knock ’em over, Plow ’em down, We’re here to find Jules a wedding gown”).

While some early birds made empty promises under a thinly-veiled guise of camaraderie, “We made a pact with the team behind us to keep each others sizes,” says Crystal, 26, of Cambridge, while one honest mother of the groom acknowledged, “Things have been friendly so far because the doors haven’t opened yet.”

Bostonista found that competition was most intense among the middle-of-the-line bridezillas and their crews, who engaged in shameless bad-mouthing, staredowns, and open threats.  “Someone in the bathroom said, ‘I don’t care what happens, I’m pushing all of these b*s out of the way.’ I’m definitely watching out for her,” says Erin, 24, of Boston.

After the initial dress-grabbing frenzy died down and bridesmaids like Lynn, 25, of Baltimore, who openly admitted, “I snatched one dress out of her hands and she fell over. I paid more than a hundred dollars to be here so she had to step away,” finished wreaking havoc, there were happy endings for some brides.

Melissa from Dover, NH bought a gorgeous gown for $249: “I only tried on three dresses, but the color and cut of this dress was perfect. It only took us thirty minutes to find it. We rented a hotel room for tonight and we’re going to celebrate.”

But others, including bride numero uno, Marissa from Winchester, who scored the coveted first spot in line after showing up at 3 a.m., had an exasperated look on her face, “I got 20 dresses but I can’t shop like this. It’s too chaotic.” Tried and true evidence that mass hysteria isn’t always a formula for success.

–Ann Lucas

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