Bridal fabric shopping - a rant

So I went to a couple of local fabric stores to see what kind of bridal fabrics they have. Well, not much! I'm indeed surprised. I thought that they would have lots of those. However, all I found was some itchy polyester lace, heavy crepe back satin and some cheapy polyester satin. They don't even have something simple like white dupioni silk! Does it mean I have to travel an hour to the city centre just to get some bridal fabric? What's going on with the fabric stores in my area? To be honest I have met less than 5 people in my area who sew, and most of them were quilters. Where are all the garment sewists? I guess I should not be surprised at the lack of selection for apparel fabrics in my neighbourhood.

My dear friend (around my age) who lives in a suburb of Montreal has 2 fabulous fabric warehouses in her neighbourhood. When I visit her, we always go to the fabric store because I just can't believe the selection, the quality and the prices of apparel fabrics they offer there. Does it mean there are more home sewists who sew garments in her city than mine?

Anyways, I am not going to visit my friend soon and I really need to finish this wedding dress for the photo shoot. I guess I'll just base my fabric choice on how photogenic it is than my personal comfort. Sigh.....