Wednesday, December 22, 2010

All I write about is dresses

I'm sorry, but I did state clearly when I started that this was a vent source for me. I have tried in vain for days to keep it all bottled up, but as a result, I've had a headache for three days...

So get over it, or walk away. Not to be combative, but just to make you aware that I'm going to talk about dresses again!

So, as I promised, I am going to talk about my fantastic trip up to NYC with all my important ladies. And THANK YOU sooooo much to all my ladies that made it out. As the trip at one point looked like it was going to be an abysmal failure, it couldn't have turned out better in the end: My mom and sister were able to make it, Kyle's mom, and my other two bridesmaids Mia and Keri all made it!! I bought us all bus tickets (Thank you Greyhound!!! Not only were they cheap cheap cheap, but they were remarkably on time, we even got home at night 15 minutes early!!) and Keri made us a subway schedule. When I first met Keri, I would have laughed at her for this, not hurtfully, but she's very type A and Mia and I are type Bs about most things. But since I've known Keri, she's helped me to realize that the type A that's buried inside me is OK to be let out of her cage every now and then!

So thanks to Keri for scheduling our subway trips, because the success of getting to and fro on this day was obvious. Thanks to Mia for coming even though she was up the entire night previous writing a paper. Thanks to my mom and sister for driving to Philly Friday night even though they had just finished driving 6 hours from Virginia Tech where my sister had just finished for Christmas break! Thanks to Kyle's mom for coming just because I'm not her daughter! I was very happy to have her support considering the fact that she really didn't have to come.

So, thanks to the New York subway system, we made it to Kleinfeld's in plenty of time:


I really wanted a picture of all of us, but no one could figure out who was going to hold the camera... This whole day was such a hen party it was hysterical!

Anyway, I'm not even going to waste a lot of time talking about Kleinfeld's. My love for Kleinfeld's began because I didn't know anything else existed, so all of a sudden, and very quickly, I realized that their collection was either full of cheap crap, or full of $25,000 dresses.

The store was packed so we couldn't hear each other talk. We had to share pedestals so half the time, I couldn't even display the dresses because I didn't have any room to stand. And as soon as my consultant (who shall remain nameless, particularly because she's on TV) realized that I was not going to buy her $8000 dresses, she became impatient and restless and short and kind of rude to my entourage... There were cameras swarming all over the place. I actually walked past Randy and Nicole at one point and they were whispering conspiratorially but a camera was smack in their faces. It was all very staged and dramatic. It was worth the experience but definitely not worth a trip back.


It was craziness there!!! We got a peak though at all sorts of famous people!! Co-owner Mara, Fashion director Randy, looking fabulous and adorable... Lots and lots of camera people


We found a couple dresses that looked nice but I didn't like them enough or they were too expensive:








Hey baby! I'm about so show more wedding dress pictures!

While these are not dresses I have any intention of buying, I'd like to continue our tradition of keeping all wedding dress peaking to a negative!

So go away, but I love you!!



 

Does it even matter who they're by?? I had an epiphany while trying on the first one: It was really cool looking, the taffeta in general is just... cool. But it crinkles and is stiff like paper. I remembered all the fashion shows Kyle and I watched together (because he is a fantastic man that watches all my reality shows with me!) and he always expressed a hatred of the papery, crinkly-looking taffeta and or silk. And I've always had my reservations about it because it doesn't flow, so why are we even still talking about it?!?!

We had a nice lunch at a place called E.A.T. on Madison Ave. They had $16 grilled cheese sandwiches... $18 if you wanted ham on it. But it was warm and cozy and amazingly not crowded. And then the moment arrived... we get to Vera Wang's flagship store:


Eeeeee!!! I was so excited!!

This was my first excursion into Veraland. I had no idea if I was going to like anything. Her designs are like works of art in that they are very unique and artistic, but were they too 'out there'?

Umm, no, they were fantastic of course. They felt phenomenal, they were so comfy and not too heavy but also not too insubstantial or lightweight. I like to feel that the dress is on me, you know? I learned this about myself right off the bat, all the dresses that I was liking were really heavy. I mean, the wedding is on November 25th. I bet it'll be cold.

However, there is still debate, and I'm not posting any pictures because of stupid wedding karma superstitions. It's down to a choice between three: The Diana, the Diedre, and the Erica. My three leading ladies!
 

I'm so in love with all three!!! A quick breakdown: Most of my entourage felt that the skirt on the Diana was too big, but I think I'm coming around to it, I have narrow hips and broader shoulders, I'm trying to balance my body shape out. Also, the Diana is the only one with a modified sweetheart, which I really wanted. The Diedre bodice made my bosoms look great; by great I mean modestly perky, they weren't all out on display but they were held up really well and it was tummy flattering. However, it didn't move nearly as beautifully as the other two. The Erica was at first my absolute favorite, but I've since come to hesitate because the top did not look good on me. It made me look too top heavy and made it look like I was going to pop out. The bottom though was simply gorgeous and it made my butt look adorable. But the whole ratio thing again; I have narrower hips than shoulders, I'm worried that a mermaid gown makes me look top heavy, because there's so much going on up top there (boobs).

Even if I were to show pictures, because Keri had to be sneaky with the camera, they don't do my agonizing justice. But from what I've just said, how the hell do I choose?!?!?! They're all equally expensive, but the Saks in Chevy Chase has a sample for sale of Diana. If I were to choose it, wouldn't that be a nice little chunk of saved change? Just food for thought. Again, I also don't want to just pick the cheapest... but when you're looking at as much money as I'm thinking of throwing down, and really all of them are great and could equally be the one, then hello! Sample for sale! Go buy it!!!

We'll see, these are the thoughts running through my head... constantly... so if you've made it this far, thanks for reading, and HELP ME!!!!

Monday, December 20, 2010

One more reason to hate Mondays!!

No one in the wedding business is open!!!!! I do most of my calls and catching up on Mondays because I think too much during the weekend and then have to make all sorts of calls and things Monday morning. Well, no bridal salon I have ever encountered is open early. Period, and most aren't even open on Mondays!!!

I will briefly explain why this irks me:

I went to Kleinfeld's and Vera Wang in NYC this weekend (whoopie!!) and I am not going to talk about that trip right now because we have pictures but I don't have them in my possession at this second, so when I get those pictures on my computer, I will do a whole post! I think I found the dress, and you won't have to guess too hard to figure out where I found it...

All I have to say is... Vera is super dee duper expensive. Too expensive?? Kyle thinks no, and offered to pay half, or at least put it on his credit card (better APRs) and pretend to let me pay him back. So, when I say I think I found the dress, oh, I found the dress, but deciding to throw this much money down is a huge huge decision. And because it's such a huge decision, I keep making up reasons why the dress is not perfect (it is... *But I wanted a modified sweetheart neckline and the color isn't ivory enough and man wouldn't it be gorgeous with straps*)

*waffling voice

This brings me to my anger with Mondays! I had discovered long ago and then rediscovered this weekend after the NYC trip a few Enzoani gowns:

Oh, but first:




Sorry Kyle, please go away unless you want to potentially ruin my surprise.


And I know you don't want to do that.


Anywho, here is the Enzoani gown:


It has the same effect in the skirt as the Vera Wang gowns and a few of the other Enzoani gowns have this effect in some form or other as well. So I thought, well, just to explore all avenues, and because Enzoani is about a third the cost of Vera, maybe I should try them on.

Well, at almost the same time, I was formulating a plan to try to get a Vera dress a little less expensive by going to a salon that does not exclusively sell Vera Wang dresses (important note: the consultant at the Vera Wang flagship store told me a neckline couldn't be changed because "Vera does not like the way it looks"... obviously they're on a tighter leash at her own store and the sun shines out of Vera Wang's genius butt) because they'll be more willing to negotiate because for them, any sale is better than no sale... Vera's not hurting... by the way, that quote is an exact quote from an e-mail I got from my consultant...

If nothing else, I have no qualms being sneaky and shrewd: "Well, another store offered me less... what can you do for me??" HELLO!! This is a service industry! We do not exist to serve Vera, Vera exists to serve US!! All I want is a little business respect, think what you will.

ANYWAY! I found out this morning that the only other store outside NYC that's at all close to me that sells Vera Wang dresses and also sells Enzoani is the store in Jersey... Yeah, the same one that I had to call to see if they had the new collection of Vera dresses in yet and they didn't! I've got to go crawling back to them again as soon as they have the Spring 2011 Vera line so I can try on those dresses I loved again plus the Enzoani dresses.

Ok, a drive into Jersey sucks, you say, but why so angry?? THEY'RE CLOSED ON MONDAYS!!!!!

I called today all excited, ready to plan a little calming two hour drive into the armpit of America, hopefully find the dress of my dreams (one way or another) for a steal, and they're closed... so now I have to wait till tomorrow...

...   ...........    ....       ........

Well, maybe this wouldn't set you on edge, but I'm dying. Tomorrow?!?! I want to schedule an appointment now!!! What does the wedding industry have against Mondays?!?!

Friday, December 17, 2010

Save money save money!

I would like to introduce everyone to my new favorite thing!!

Saving on crafts!!! I found this website completely serendipitously: I saw a blog post about balsa wood flowers... interesting, those were cool looking:
 

And so just for fun I looked up balsa wood flowers on google (also known as sola and tapioca wood, oddly enough) and low and behold I found the save-on-crafts website. It's basically an online Michael's or Joann's but with a lot more stuff... I love the internet. I started randomly flipping through and found some cool stuff... not stuff I had pictured, but very cool stuff nonetheless:

 

Did not even know that roses could be chocolate! Don't these two look awesome next to each other?!

 

These will add a very nice splash of color, I love the velvety, swirly celosia and those rose petals are about $8 for 5 cups!

 

Ah yes, of course, what we actually started looking for! Lovely balsa wood flowers!! Aren't they sweet?!?!

I absolutely love the cake up top there, love love love it!! Then when I saw the preserved champagne and chocolate roses together, I thought to myself "... This is amazing!" in an awed voice, I almost got teary eyed. Champagne or ivory and chocolate are two of my colors, throw in a burgundy and I think you have a very nice well-rounded color scheme, and preserved or wood flowers makes it feel more down-home-on-the-farm! But there was more!!!
 





Everything to make the centerpieces and accents I have been thinking off. I would love to put our cake on a wood base! It was one of the first things I saw when I started using blogs for inspiration! I also love the driftwood as a candle holder, or if no candles, just something for the middle of the table... although I picture this more for long tables than round ones... maybe, maybe not.

The wood bases were $13, the wheat stalks (something like 30 in a bunch) were around $10. I was astounded!




The moss comes in 7 pound bags! for around $15!! And then I found this glass vase for terrariums with succulents!! But wait! there's more!


 I wanted pussywillows, but these tallow berries are still adorable!



Can't forget preserved rose leaves for body and verdancy! haha, don't know where verdancy came from... they're green!

Get it??

 



They also had all the feathers I've been thinking of and a nice selection of feather hair accessories should I choose to go that route.

They had some really cheap feather boas too! heehee
 

 

All the little details I've been contemplating. That twine... actually comes with the hanger!! How cute! Those chalkboards are $13 for 6!! and the burlap is 10 yards for $11!!!

So, I just COULD NOT pass up the opportunity to let absolutely everyone in on this. I am not that selfish, everyone needs to know about this!!! So, what's the point?? I still haven't 100% ruled out DIY flowers or at the very least DIY centerpieces. The price of these products (I forgot to mention, the preserved roses aren't cheap, but not horrible. And of course they're preserved, so they last, so that to mean equals worth-more-money) is great and I can do the work whenever because everything is preserved or otherwise not alive. Also, everything was homey without looking kitchy or yard sale-like. And of course, the end all be all: I don't have to go running around to store after store.

I do so love the internet!!

Thursday, December 16, 2010

What a piece of work is a man...

But methinks the lady doth protest too much!!


Thanks Shakespeare!

It occurred to me the other day, and I have been trying to find the best way to put it into words, that even though people say you should not have to enunciate your feelings for your beloved, all the best literary minds were able to do so... Somehow, and all their words are now overused and there's no more originality left! And I'm curious, if I give it a try, what comes out?? I've never actually said out loud or written out why I love him or what I love about him or however you want to say it.

And never fear, this will not be vulgar or sappy, I can't function but logically. So, with no premeditation, just for fun on a freezing cold, dreary, looks-like-snow afternoon, here goes:


"I cannot fix on the hour, or the look, or the words, which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun."

While Mr. Darcy's words make the whole situation even more convoluted, he's absolutely right! Thank you Mr. Darcy!

The one true and constant fact that I can always draw upon in my relationship with my intended is that in my mind, it's always been there. I can't remember ever emoting as much and I certainly can't remember feeling for anyone else the way I feel about him.
"Think only of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure."
This is not enough though, and I don't mean to stop there, because if it was, then it would imply that he's just been the best so far.

Perhaps I have matured over the years and this is kind of a chicken and the egg argument, because I honestly can't say whether my maturity has made this love more real or whether this love has made me more mature. Probably, it's a mixture of both, but the most important facet in my mind is that it was not solo. I matured around someone else. I kept all that was best in me, and I grew up myself, but the part of me that was able to participate emotionally in a relationship matured with the part of him that was able to emotionally participate in a relationship. He has made me very very passionate about ensuring that I live up to the ideal I have set for myself to be the perfect partner to him. His passion echoes mine!

When I stop to really examine it, our ideals of the perfect partner were nurtured and turned themselves into... us! Compromise, maturity, patience, strength, loyalty, I had no idea what these things looked like; I might not even have known that I wanted these things! These ideas molded into him - he molded into these ideas. That's why there was no beginning and there will be no end, there was only ever him.

On a more substantial tact, it was the way he walked, straight and tall, and the way he stood, kind of cocky with his toes pointing outwards. It was mostly the way he always touched me when we were talking, a hand on my shoulder or something innocent like that. But I love being physically close to someone. For some reason that I cannot fathom, I feel huge security in small touches. I don't know if he knew what he was doing, but he made me feel safe near him before we were even that acquainted. Perhaps he's just got boundary issues and I've got the opposite of boundary issues!

His facade definitely has something to do with it, because I constantly smirk to myself when I think about how impassive and stoic I thought he was. I was so amazed by the passion and intelligence he had underneath that I know that had a major play in my falling head over heels for him. We could just talk for hours!! He's also always been a lot of fun when we would go out in big groups on Thursday or Friday nights, he could always make me laugh, I could always make him laugh, we were constantly competing to do better impressions of cartoon characters to see who could make the other one laugh the hardest!

"We should be woo'd and were not meant to woo", but I disagree. He sort of let me chase him. He tried to be sly, but I knew he was amused that I was chasing him. Nonetheless, I always appreciated that he let me sort of take the reins as the aggressor in the relationship, especially because he's the big, strong, bull-headed type you would think would be the initiator. It made me feel like I had some sort of control, I was a huntress, and I was happy to have that small victory since I am now the victim with Stockholm syndrome.

Oh, and speaking of bull-headed, I absolutely hate when someone can't make up their mind, and the reason is as simple as I can never make up my mind!! It drives me crazy, and he's very very sure-footed; he makes his decision and he sticks by it and he very very rarely waivers once he's made the decision. One day when we have kids and a house and a mortgage and real careers and retirement accounts, I am going to need his steadfastness. I could go on and on about what I hope I have contributed to him, but I don't need validation that he needs me as much as I need him, and this is yet another important point in the "why I love my love" discussion.

"I have no other but a woman's reason." He makes me feel giddy and girly and fuzzy and warm inside. He's sweet and loving and gentle and gives spectacular hugs. But he's also firm and disciplined and independent. When we have a disagreement, he doesn't just roll over for his lady goddess. Yeah, we get in fights, yeah, they can get heated; voices raised, threats to sleep on the couch (we're very self-deprecating, it's never "You can sleep on the couch" it's always "I guess I'll just be sleeping on the couch tonight"... no one has ever slept on the couch for real because of a fight.) But I'd rather both of us stand up for what we feel is right, talk it out, maybe even yell it out, then come to some understanding, compromise (if necessary), or apologize, and then kiss and make up than yell at him as if he were my lap dog, and then give him a treat when he comes running back to me with his tail between his legs!

There's more I'm sure, he's got amazing eyes and he's big and strong and sexy, but I've been babbling on long enough. Hopefully it wasn't too sappy. Basically, I never saw him in my dreams before I met him. I never imagined it would be just like this. My love for him has far surpassed whatever expectations I might ever have had. I can talk to him about absolutely anything (which has made dress shopping and vow writing very hard!) and because of that, because he always always always listens and always offers support and advice, he's my best friend. He's the love of my life.

Such stuff as dreams are made of! Fine, if I was aware I had a dream man, yes, he'd be it.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Yay Germany!!!

So, This gigantic envelope got caught in my mailbox the other day... I was about the be really ticked as I yanked it out, but then I saw the label!!!



EEEEEEE!!!!

It's from Gmund!!

It's my Gmund samples!!!

Check out this label:
Sorry, I know it's out of focus, but more importantly, it cost 6 Euros to ship, and they charged me nothing!

I don't know about the quality of this either, but here's my samples:
So I misspoke a couple posts ago when I said I got Bier Papier in Ale, I got a dark shade in Die Naturlichen instead, that must have been last minute. Here is my assessment!! I love the Savanna but I can't see where I would use it... I don't have woodgrain anything else. I just think it's cool! Kyle loves the Lager Bier Papier. He says it's because of the color, he may be telling the truth. It was the best color, but it had these little dots in it that's supposed to be little bits of grains or hops, which is cool, but kind of just looks like little dots. I fell in love with the Federn (the top one). It's not the color I would want because it's a bit too white, but it has all these little fuzzies and irregular bits and pieces that make it look much more like homemade paper:


Hard to see here of course, they're tiny bits of fuzz and whatnot! but trust me, it's really cool.

Oh, and the Torf (the middle one)? Just brown construction paper as far as I'm concerned.

Anyway! The point is I got my paper samples!! The paper feels fantastic, which is not at all important but worth noting I guess; an excuse to charge so much normally, I guess. Each sheet costs 1 Euro. I would need... over 100 sheets... Anyway, not important because this was just to give me an idea AND an excuse to finally use my stamps and play with some invitation ideas! As soon as I get a free second (ummm, I mean apart from having time enough to blog) I will make a mock invitation and scan it in!!

Aren't you excited?!?!?! I'm so excited I could just go home and take a nap!

Monday, December 13, 2010

And pretty succulents all in a row!

I want to talk about an idea that has taken hold of me:




SUCCULENTS!!!!!!


How about a big OORAH for my first inspiration board!!! Took me about 30 minutes to make! (I'm not a marine, nor is anyone I know, but it felt like an oorah moment)

Succulents are everywhere right now, but it's one idea that I'm totally ok with not being original on because they're a really nice classic touch... if not classic now, I think they'll continue to be used forever. Newsflash, they're another possible DIY element!!

Now, Kyle and I are no strangers to succulents. While I have never been able to keep a cactus alive, we are proud parents to about 20-25 aloe plants that started out as 3 aloe plants. Sooo, I guess when I say proud parents, I mean parents, grandparents, great grandparents, great great grandparents, and great great great grandparents. That's right, I get super excited every single time another of our aloe plants has a baby.



Well... now we are the proud parents of our own flower-shaped succulents!!!





Whoo hoo!! Now, at the rate our aloe had babies (I'm sorry to say, we had to sacrifice a lot... we just don't have enough pots!) We could have enough to use these as favors and/or bouts and/or aisle decoration and/or bouquet accompaniment and/or centerpiece decoration!! They don't technically fit into our color scheme, but they do fit with the overall theme of earthy, woodsy, organic-ness.

Anyway, my favorite application is in boutonnieres and bouquets, so if nothing else, we can use them for that. But we can decide as we get closer, depending on how well they're growing by then. Exciting, right?? I also got Kyle a new bonsai, a little juniper. He's a huge fan of bonsai and I got him one a year ago, but it was a very fickle, very delicate bonsai and we just couldn't keep it alive; we think it got mites :( Junipers are heartier and if it's still alive in a year, look for its appearance somewhere in the wedding! I would love it to be at the same table during our ceremony where we'll light our unity candle...

Is anyone else as excited as I am when new DIY opportunities present themselves??

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Pre-married life

I've got a funny story!!! I swore I wasn't going to post about this because I didn't take a picture this morning... but I'll just paint a picture for you.

Kyle exiled himself to the couch last night for the first time in our entire relationship. He stayed up till 2 AM last night playing video games and drinking beer and then fell asleep on the couch instead of coming up to bed!! I had gone to bed at 11:00, being no longer able to hang because I'm an old lady, and I woke up at 6:30 this morning with the bedroom lights on (I had left them on for him) and allllll alone! I wondered absurdly whether or not he was still playing video games, but decided to investigate. I threw on a robe and slippers and sneaked downstairs.

Good Lordy I wish I had taken a picture. But I will try to help you visualize: Picture a 6 foot 3 inch guy, laying face down on a couch with his arms hanging off one end of the couch and his feet hanging off the other, with blankets tangled around his feet and pillows spilling out all around his head, an eight pound Yorkie on his back, and a Jonas brothers concert on the TV. Ya'll, I had to cover the whole bottom half of my face with both hands to keep from busting out laughing. I think it might have been the shrill Jonas brothers that woke me up.

Needless to say, I turned off the TV, let the dog out, and covered up his feet. Then I went back to bed... It's one of my new favorite of our stories!!

But speaking of stories, I was asked to submit our story to a blog called So... How did you meet anyway? and the writer posted our story! Pretty cool right? I mean, our relationship origin has always been a touchy subject and it's something I don't think needs to be addressed here, but writing it for the blog entry was cathartic, I realized I had never really talked about it after the fact; now that we've been together so long I sometimes tend to forget the fact that our relationship might not have survived at all if we had not persevered in the beginning. The struggles we went through represent the basis for why our bond is so strong today!

Anywhooo, I promise more pictures and fun posts coming up!! I just thought our pre-married life story was too fun not to share!

Friday, December 10, 2010

A few thoughts

I completely skipped over the whole ONE YEAR mark!! It was over Thanksgiving and so I was busy visiting family, but... ummmmm... WE'VE GOT ONE YEAR!!! Less now of course, only about 350 days!! I'm super pumped about that. Now, when I want to make decisions or buy things for decoration I no longer have to use the argument "No, you're still more than a year out" I am now officially LESS than a year out!!!!!

DJ and Save the Dates are the next items I am going to start thinking about... And possibly a duet/trio/quartet for the ceremony, if we can fit it in the budget... That's right, I said a while back I would post about budget, and I will, soon.

I am super super super super pumped about our upcoming trip to New York, it looks like everyone might be coming now, because my mom and sister don't want to miss it... and I of course don't want them to miss it, but here was my convo with Kyle:

"My mom and sister aren't coming :("

"Aww, I'm sorry, Kid, you'll see them soon though, it's only a week before Christmas, and I'm sure Mia will be able to sneak some pictures of you like she did in the Maryland salon"

"Yeah, I know, but what if I find the one and my mama isn't there??"

...

"...Well, at least we now have places for everyone to sleep..." (with Kyle's mom and her boyfriend, our friends Mia and Dan, and our roommate Kenny... and the dog, it was already going to be a very tight squeeze at our Philly townhouse that weekend).

Then, Mom said they would try to come, so the convo went like this:

"Hey baby!!! My mom and Jordan might come after all!!!"

"Great. Where's everyone sleeping?"

...........

Anyway, there's room, Kyle and I will have to take the love seat and couch though... When Kyle and I moved to Philly, we had three bedrooms, so my parents gave us MINE and MY SISTER'S old bunk beds for our guest or spare bedroom... Hey Mama, guess where you're sleeping next weekend *wicked grin*

Lastly, I need a touch of advice. I really like this blog, I've had a good time venting at it. I also really like the way my pages are coming together though. I really like our About Us page and I worked really hard on that Directions page. Anyway, point is, can I make this my wedding website when I finally send out StDs??? It has all the info a "real" wedding website would have, plus I've seen those wedding websites... I hate them, I like this one... Someone please tell me I can make this my wedding website...

Back to work!!

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

The last (hopefully) wedding dress trip

As promised, I said I would post about this past weekend's trip up to a bridal shop that carried Vera Wang dresses. Well folks, I've never been more disappointed in pretty much ever!

I wish I could post the name of the shop, and I'm sure I could without suffering any repercussions, but as the people working there were nice, I wouldn't blast the whole shop all around. They had about 4 Vera Wang dresses and NONE OF THEM were the designs I was looking for. The consultant said "oh, all those designs are at our other location"... now, the website clearly stated that Vera Wang was only at this location, that I drove an hour to... in New Jersey, and got lost along the way trying to find. No, apparently I had to drive another 45 minutes out of my way to get to the shop that carried the designs I was looking for. Sooooo, so as not to have wasted an entire day, I called the other location and said "do. you. have. these. specific. designs??" and they did not have them... Now, maybe I'm being a snob, but for an industry that prides itself on being a year ahead of the times, how do you not have Spring 2011 fashions in yet?? Spring 2011 is, like, going to be here soon!

Anywhoo, I wasted an entire day, drove an hour into New Jersey, got lost, got really mad at New Jersey, and got to my appointment 30 minutes late just to find out that I might as well just turn around and walk back out. But again, at least my consultant was very nice, but she kept going on and on about how she knew exactly which fashions I was talking about and that they were awesome and that it was a shame she didn't have them... Umm, yeah, all of thee above, stop talking about it!

I kinda' panicked when I got home and called my mom who was pretty much like "Well, I don't like them anyway." So I still have some convincing to do on that end, but regardless, I told her I was going to have to go to New York where the flagship store carries the current fashions (I know, I called them, I was very explicit!) and cancel my trip to Kleinfeld's because at this point, I'm just giving myself too many options and I'm being more indecisive that I've ever known myself to be.

Long story short, Vera Wang's only appointment open for the date I wanted was in the afternoon and I already had an appointment for Kleinfeld for the morning. So Kyle said "go to both! Duh!" So, for fun, we're going to spend a whole day in New York with the girls next Saturday! My mom and sister had to back out (which is sad, but understandable) but Mia and Keri will still be there and Kyle's mom will be there. Keri is going to be analytical and supportive, Mia will be impatient and blunt, and Kyle's mom will be blunt but supportive.

Now, I just have to figure out where all this money that Vera is going to cost me is going to come from...

Friday, December 3, 2010

Get to work!!

So, I've been feeling a little anxious because I have all these ideas floating through my simple mind, and as of yet, there's been no actual progress...

Now, I realize I might be being a little hard on myself, we've made a lot of major decisions, BUT none of them are concrete. As of right now, here's what I have:

  • A place to get married
  • Someone to marry us
  • There will be food
  • There will be photographs taken
But so far, I'll be naked, and you'll be eating in a completely white hunting lodge-like building, and it'll be really boring and quiet.

Now I blame blogs for making me feel woefully far behind. I of course have plenty of time, but I want things to do! I want things to be happening!!

Well, I finally did something!! Not anything I can show you... YET! I ordered something!!

I saw these invitations:
And was like "Whoa!! Check out the wood grain!! How cool is that?!" so I scrolled down the post and found out that the paper she used was from a German company called Gmund.

I went on their website and found some really cool paper! Very artsy stuff, very very expensive, but they do offer free samples, so I ordered a sample of some types of paper, here is a quick image of the types I'll be getting in the mail shortly!
I fell in love with the Die Naturlichen on the left because it looks like homemade paper, and the one in the middle is called Bier Papier! How funny!! The light one is Lager and the dark on is Ale. Of course the one on the right is the wood grain paper. Like I said, the samples were free so I am going to play with my stamps and my special pens and special watercolor pencils and maybe do some sort of mock up of an invitation! I'm so excited to be doing something!

In a completely unrelated note, I want to proudly flaunt my new photographer; he just posted honeymoon pictures from his very recent marriage and they're awesome!! Click the link!! It'll be worth it. 

In another completely unrelated note, did I mention that my bridesmaid/quasi-MOH just got engaged?! Like, a couple weeks ago, but I forgot to post it, and since she doesn't blog, I have to be the one to put it out there! MIA'S GETTING MARRIED!! YAY!!!!! So now our best man/maid of honor pair are also engaged. They, however, are in much more of a hurry than we are for some reason and are getting married in April! Yeah, count your calendar real quick, that's five months. I don't care that she won't be a "maid" when she's in my wedding, I don't think any of us can be called fair maiden's anyway, except my sister.

I don't know where I was going with any of this... Oh yeah, Keri, who is much more proficient on photoshop, fixed my ring picture:




I think that's it for now. Dress shopping this weekend!!! Yay!!!!

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Rings on our fingers

And maybe bells on our toes?? Well, I'll put bells on my toes, but that's beside the point!

I want to talk about wedding bands!!!

First it's necessary to take into account my engagement ring:
It is a marquise cut prong set diamond in a round diamond bar setting.

Now I must admit I was nervous about this upon really examining it after the initial shock wore off. Why?? Because I had never, ever seen a ring with side stones in a bar setting. I felt awful inside for even thinking this way. I asked myself "Don't you love it??? How horrible a person would you be if you didn't love it?!?!"

Kyle kept saying that if I didn't like the setting we would go straight back to the jewelry store and get it changed. This of course made me feel worse, that I was making him think I didn't like it... I love it! I do! But it took me a few days to get over the shock and then to recognize that I was just unfamiliar with the style.

Then, out of nowhere, it hit me, like a ton of bricks, the biggest "DUH!!" moment:

No one else has this ring, I've never seen anyone else with a ring even remotely like this. This is my ring! He had to custom made for me! And the process of falling in love happened all over again... and it's soooo shiny!! It's near colorless so that's why it's so shiny, he done good! So now I love my ring even more than I did upon first glancing at it in it's velvety black box. It's unique, it's special!

Now, bearing this in mind, we move on to considering wedding bands. I had initially said I was perfectly content with a plain band, and I would still be happy with whatever he is willing and able to get me, because he is also paying for that majority of the honeymoon and using his miles for our plane tickets. This makes me feel squirms of guilt on the inside. Really uncomfortable squirms of guilt. But I just don't have the funds to help as much as I would like, so I've been trying to convince him that we should go to Puerto Rico instead of Hawaii, go with white gold instead of platinum, and get plain wedding bands instead of fancy ones.

Either he thought I was lying or being too humble, he convinced me to look at and consider every type of wedding band. And I stumbled across this:



And I thought "*Gasp* this goes perfectly with my engagement ring!" The band itself (I don't like those rounded edges ones) and the bar setting of round diamonds. Also, the five stones is neatly wider than the three stone setting on my engagement ring, it will round the whole thing out as if it's cradling the engagement ring... if that makes any sense (it does in my head of course)... here, just look at it:

Please don't make fun, I suck at photoshop. This is the most advanced thing I've ever done on photoshop! Please no one leave comments about how I could have done this better, because Keri already lectured me and I was like "whaaaaaa?????"

Anyway, not the point. I'm very appreciative of symmetry and cohesion, I think these two fit really well together. Ah, and something that's not communicated by this photo, the marquise diamond sits really high up on the setting, the band will most likely clear it, nevertheless, a small detail that will have to be taken into account. I really don't want to have to get one of those curvy wedding bands.

The main point is that I'm worried about it being too expensive, because I don't need a wedding band with diamonds in it! But I also can't pretend I don't really like this, and whenever Kyle forces me to tell him what I'd prefer, he always gets it for me... I'm very spoiled, but not without guilt.

Even more so, I felt guilty when I found out that the wedding band he wants is extremely inexpensive. He has a love of unbreakable things, so he wants tungsten carbide:



And I love the brushed look and the beveled edges. His biggest dilemma is whether or not to get this one or this one:


This one still has the brushed front and beveled edges, but it's all mysterious and sexy and black. It's also unique and a really nice contrast between my ring and I really really like it and I'm all for it! But like I said, it makes me feel guilty because tungsten carbide; which is a ceramic capable of grinding diamond, is surprisingly inexpensive. Whereas platinum with diamonds is not...

Can I offer to chip in for my own wedding band? I should think so, even though he probably won't let me, I think I will anyway...

So does everyone like? We don't have to think about any of this for about 6 months, but it's fun to talk about it now!

Huzzah!!

We have a photographer!! I know, I know, I've dedicated so much time and blog space to this great debate, but it was a really difficult decision. In the end, I said to myself if it were just down to skill and/or experience, this would be an easy decision, so why am I having such a difficult time deciding? Because it went deeper than that.

This may sound cheesy, but when you go to decide who your wedding photographer will be, take into account that your pictures are going to turn out 100 times better if your chemistry with your photographer is solid!

So, here is a taste of what we told Ben we want our wedding to look like:
Only with a bride and a groom in the picture. I think he does a great job of finding the light and playing with processing a little, like this one:
In anyone else's mind, this is just a car in a field, but it's immediately more interesting to me because of how gritty the field looks, how the car isn't in the center of the shot, and how the sky part of the image is processed. I think he processes well and I'm really looking forward to seeing our final product.

Anyway, as stated a few posts ago, I'm trying on Vera wang dresses this weekend and I'm very very excited!! I have a relatively small list, compared with what I've tried on at salons in the past, so we'll be in and out and I'll have made up my mind, because as soon as they go on me, I'll know, and if they're not what I was hoping, that is OK, goodbye Vera! We will put our nose to the grindstone and find something better! Can you tell I'm pep talking myself? I'm freaking out!! But with excitement! I cannot wait!!!

Here's why: My huge decisions:

  • Venue... check!
  • Date... check!
  • Color scheme... check!
  • Photographer... CHECK!!
  • Dress..............
The importance of this is that my contentedness about this one day has all boiled down to these major decisions, and they're all made except for one!

Everything else is either an easier decision or not as crucial to me. In other words, if these things fall into place as I hope they will, absolutely anything else can happen and I'll still be a happy bride. We're soooo close!! I just have to stay sane for a few more days.............