Tuesday, June 30, 2009

June's Checklist -- Totally Successful!

In May, I was only semi-successful with getting things done on my to-do list. But, with the wedding getting closer, it was time to buckle down. Without further ado:
  • Workout 5 days a week. I'd give myself a "B" on this one. I was doing this, until I pulled a muscle in my hip. Worst pain I've experienced to date. Honest. Now, I'm doing yoga until it heals. :(
  • Assemble, stuff & ship envelopes. Totally successful.
  • Celebrate birthday! Success. :)
  • Make sure Tom gets his passport (or else I'm honeymooning by myself...) Got it! And it came in the mail last week!!
  • Attend 2nd shower, write thank-yous, unpack new stuff! Finishing the thank-yous tonight and tomorrow! :)
  • Confirm men's attire with the groomsmen, and hound them until they've figured out what they're doing... Done.
  • Paperwork. Arrange new insurance policies, draft will, etc. Half-done. We have to wait for our marriage certificate to take care of the rest...
  • Remind Tom to figure out day-of transportation... Done! We've booked a convertible to drive around that weekend! :)
  • Begin working on writing ceremony and vows (!) Ceremony - done. Vows -- I still think it's a bit early, though I've been brainstorming.
  • Get new accessories for Thomas (shoes, shirt, cuff links, etc.) Done!
  • Finalize bridal party gifts... Almost done. Most are purchased/the rest have been figured out.
  • Decide on veil...(?) Well, I've ordered the tulle to make it, and will make a final decision once I meet with my stylist this month.
  • Make rehearsal dinner arrangements Done! Now I just need to let everyone know...
  • Finalize wedding timeline and photographer schedule Done, too!
  • Finalize floral selections & send to florist Boo. Not done.
  • Draft program & get quote from printer Half-done.
  • Reserve & confirm honeymoon hotels Done!

If I say so myself, that was one heck of a month! Go me! :) Unfortunately, July's going to be just as bad, if not worse! Let's take a look:

  • Buy wine bottles for "guest book" & ceremony box (more on that later)
  • Purchase remaining bridal party gifts :)
  • Attend appt. with stylist for hair/veil
  • Attend gown fitting (currently being hemmed, bustled at the next)
  • Send out rehearsal dinner invites
  • Trial hair/makeup runs
  • Finish, print & assemble programs
  • Get marriage license! (yeah! I think we're doing it this week!!!)
  • Go over ceremony with "officiant"
  • Wrap bridal party gifts
  • Get final count for reception & confirm with Maggiano's
  • Confirm & send out final payments for Czarina, Kristen & Kara
  • Book airport shuttles and other tours for Australia
  • Send "must-take" picture list to Kara
  • Finish up music playlists and confirm equipment
  • Paint flower girl wands and get them over to Kristen
  • Create signs for wedding day
  • Finalize after-party arrangements! Yes!!!

Anything I'm missing?? I'm sure there is...

Monday, June 29, 2009

Exhausted.

As predicted, we had such a great (but busy!) weekend.

Our shower on Saturday was fabulous, and we really got some great gifts. We have pretty much everything we need now, and are really excited to get everything organized so we can start using it! Some highlights:
  • We got TONS of baking stuff this weekend! Everything from rolling pins to sprinkles to cookie cutters to cupcake carriers -- it's AWESOME!
  • We have almost all of our dishes now (short 1 set) and we have all our everyday silverware :)
  • We got all of our towels and a shower curtain, which looks lovely with our freshly painted guest bath!
  • Pots and pans! (You don't want to know how we've been improvising...)
  • A party pack, complete with cooler and tiki torches!
  • A crockpot!
  • A new tv!!!

Yesterday, Tom and my brother-in-law finished up the painting in our dining room and bathroom, so once we get all our new stuff washed and put away, those rooms and the kitchen should be almost done! :)

I can't believe we have less than 6 weeks to go!!! Stay tuned tomorrow to see how well I did on our checklist!

Friday, June 26, 2009

I Live for Weekends.

Words cannot express how glad I am that today is Friday. This week has just been tedious, filled with many menial tasks.

But tonight, things are a-changing. We're having some friends over for dinner, which is exciting, because we haven't really had anyone besides our families over to our house yet. Then, we're all going out to see the new Transformers movie (that part I'm NOT looking forward to). Tom and I haven't been to the movies in such a long time -- I'm glad we're going, even though I don't approve of the choice! :)

Tomorrow is our 2nd wedding shower! Yay! Tom's parents are hosting his family, his friends, and their friends. I'm really looking forward to it :)

And, on Sunday, Tom and I will be painting our dining room. Again. For the 3rd time. 1st time: wrong color. (oops.) 2nd time: spotty. 3rd time: new (expensive) brushes, new (expensive) rollers = hopefully success. I'm seriously getting tired of our furniture, as well as all the dog stuff crammed into our already packed-with-wedding-stuff living room.

Yay for weekends! :)

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Just Say No.

As the days continue to drop and our wedding inches closer, I find myself trying to make last minute additions to the wedding. As soon as I talk myself out of something, I talk myself into something else.

At this point, I'm finding the tedious details to be painful and overwhelming, simply because I have no interest in planning logistics. I'm anxious for our day to arrive, I'm anxious to say our vows and exchange rings, and I'm anxious to jet off with Tom to the other side of the world. The rest is becoming one big, beautiful blur, and yet, I still feel compelled to continue to add to it.

There has to be a point where I just start saying "No." In the wedding planning world, where there is continuous sensory overload, it's tough to stop imagining small details that would "be so perfect."

Today, 200 blog posts later, I'm still struggling. And then, I came across one of my favorite bloggers, offering her no-nonsense, practical and thoughtful ideas, and it seemed like she was speaking directly to me:

"If I've learned one thing planning this wedding, its this: The times that you say 'NO, that is not who we are, that is not what we want' will be vastly overpowered by the times you say 'YES YES YES, this is who we are, this is what we want, this is how we live'." - Meg at a Practical Wedding

So true.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

What a Weekend!

With just under 50 days to go until the wedding, we're racing against the clock to make sure that all the details are getting ironed out. This weekend, we knocked out some really big things. First, I had my dress fitting. I approached this with some apprehension, as there was a little concern about my dress actually fitting. And, in a moment of excitement, tugging, pulling, and some oxygen loss, it fit! There's certainly more work to be done, but this is a HUGE thing we don't have to worry about now.

After my fitting, my mother accompanied me to Maggiano's, where we met with our event manager and finalized the menu, timing, and room layout. If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times --- book vendors you feel comfortable with. I am SO pleased with Maggiano's right now. Beyond the food being fabulous, the service is just impeccable. They're so flexible and let us completely customize how the event will flow, rather than just following the typical schedule. They're even going to have waiters walking around passing drinks as people come in, rather than have people wait in line at the bar! We don't even have to pay extra for that, which is a rarity in the wedding planning world. Fresh flower centerpieces and exquisite linens are all included -- and surprisingly, they live up to my standards. Love, I tell ya. I just plain love this place.

I am feeling so much better about everything now. I feel like everything that's left undone is simply small details. If they happen, they happen. If they don't, it won't change our day.

Oh, and since writing the ceremony the other day, I read it daily. I am IN LOVE with it. It's so sweet, simple and honest. I can't imagine having anything else right now!

I know I'm rambling, but I just feel like I'm on cloud 9 right now. Everything is coming together in the most perfect of ways -- this day is simply about celebrating Tom and I, and I am so pleased that it truly reflects us as a couple.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Booked! (And a Freebie!)

Yesterday's post really did inspire to buckle down and finish up the main plans for our honeymoon.

I spent hours yesterday researching hotels, scouring the internet for deals, rating hotels on qualities, features, locations, specials, etc., and sending top choices to Tom for input.

We had originally planned on using our credit card rewards for the hotel cost, but we found out that are type of card doesn't allow transfers to our hotel rewards program. Major bummer. Despite that setback, we were still able to book five-star hotels, get upgraded rooms, and save over $400!

I'll admit that I'm a bit of a hotel snob, and I didn't want to settle for anything less than perfect. You only get one honeymoon, and in reality, probably only one trip to Australia in your lifetime. Armed with that knowledge, and a free sweet upgrade, we booked this glam hotel in the heart of Sydney:



It was originally the old post office, which was converted to super swanky rooms!

While this isn't our exact room, ours will be similar:



We're about 1-2 miles from most of the major tourist attractions (Darling Harbor, Sydney Opera House, Harbour Bridge, the Rocks, etc.). Exciting!

Halfway through the trip we fly from Sydney to Port Douglas, a resort town located off of the Great Barrier Reef.

We're staying at a resort here, so while it's not as modern and swanky as Sydney, it's still pretty awesome. Our room includes a private balcony, and a private entrance into the pool. How cool is that??





With the great deal on airfare, along with my lovely hotel finds, we've saved over $700 off of what we originally budgeted for this trip. That doesn't factor in the actual savings off of the rack rates for the hotels and plane tickets. With the current currency rate, I'd venture to say that we've saved well over $2,000.
And if that's not all, since we weren't able to use our credit card points towards our hotel program, we were able to apply half towards our credit card balance (reducing what we pay for the hotels by about $115), and use the other half to get a new camera for free! (Tom brought my camera to Colorado, and there was a baggage handling incident that caused it to die an early death).
Seriously, a money-saving day indeed! :)

Thursday, June 18, 2009

I Need a Vacation.

Recently, I've had a lot of people asking me if I was nervous or if I was overwhelmed. I always say no to both (especially the nervous question!), but lately I've begun to feel overwhelmed. It's nothing I can't handle -- I've certainly planned other events that require timelines be created, speeches be written, people be directed, etc. But, now I'm finding it difficult to plan a rehearsal dinner, a wedding, a reception, an afterparty, and a honeymoon. I feel completely on schedule with the wedding stuff, but I feel like I've devoted no time to planning our honeymoon, and that is not typical of me.

When I travel, I make itineraries. Several, actually. I create budget spreadsheets, get directions to local restaurants, book excursions early on, program taxi numbers in my phone --- the works.

With 7 weeks until we leave for our honeymoon, we still haven't booked the hotels.

I know, I know, I suck. But I've been working on it.

Today, for instance, I just booked a day trip on this:



We'll be sailing the seas, or rather the Pacific Ocean, on this catamaran. We depart at 8:30 in the morning, sail until 10, and then dock at the Low Isles, part of Coral Cay and the Great Barrier Reef. We'll get to snorkel, lounge on a private island, have lunch and afternoon tea, then sail on back to town.



I want to be here, now. As in right now. Or better yet, 10 minutes ago.



Is it terrible that when people ask "Are you excited for the wedding?" I usually respond with "Yeah, but not nearly as much as for the honeymoon."

I think this post has given me a kick in the tush to go and book our hotels tonight.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Surreal...

Today, I've started working on a rough draft of our ceremony.

It is so absolutely surreal to see, on paper, our names, our vows...it's totally strange!

At this point, it's about 9 pages, which I think is pretty good. The rule of thumb is that it takes 1 minute per page to read aloud, which I think we can effectively round up to 2 minutes, to ensure enough time. Maybe, eventually I'll post this for critique, but right now, a) it's WAY too long, and b) it's way too close to my heart to let others (besides Tom and our officiant, and maybe my mom) see.

Seriously, I just can't get over how real this is all starting to feel! It's about time!!! :)

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Handfasting: Yay or Nay?

*I may have posted this before, but bear with me, as I think it's worth repeating!)

Handfasting, a traditional Celtic marriage ceremony, is something that has always intrigued me. This is where the term "tying the knot" derived from, and I absolutely love the honesty and simplicity of the ceremony.

We haven't decided if we're going to do this yet, but I'd like to consider it.



Traditional Handfasting Ceremony:

CELEBRANT: [Groom's Name], Will you cause her pain?

GROOM: I May

CELEBRANT: Is that your intent?

GROOM: No

CELEBRANT: [Bride's Name], Will you cause him pain?

BRIDE: I may

CELEBRANT: Is that your intent?

BRIDE: No

CELEBRANT: To Both
Will you share each other's pain and seek to ease it?

COUPLE: We will

CELEBRANT:
And so the binding is made. Join your hands
First cord is draped across the bride and groom's hands

[Bride's Name], Will you share his laughter?

BRIDE: Yes

CELEBRANT:
[Groom's Name], Will you share her laughter?

GROOM: Yes

CELEBRANT:
Will both of you look for the brightness in life and the positive in each other?

COUPLE: We will

CELEBRANT:
And so the binding is made.
Second cord is draped across the couples hands

[Bride's Name], Will you burden him?

BRIDE: I may

CELEBRANT: Is that your intent?

BRIDE: No

CELEBRANT:
[Groom's Name], Will you burden her?

GROOM: I may

CELEBRANT: Is that your intent?

GROOM: No

CELEBRANT: To Both
Will you share the burdens of each so that your spirits may grow in this union?

COUPLE: Yes

CELEBRANT:
And so the binding is made.
*Drape third cord across the couples hands*

CELEBRANT:
[Bride's Name], will you share his dreams?

BRIDE Yes

CELEBRANT:
[Groom's Name], will you share her dreams?

GROOM: Yes

CELEBRANT: To Both
Will you dream together to create new realities and hopes?

COUPLE: We will.

CELEBRANT:
And so the binding is made.

Drape fourth cord across the couples hands

CELEBRANT:
[Groom's Name], will you cause her anger?

GROOM: I may

CELEBRANT: Is that your intent?

GROOM: No

CELEBRANT:
[Bride's Name], will you cause him anger?

BRIDE: I may

CELEBRANT: Is that your intent?

BRIDE: No

CELEBRANT: To Both
Will you take the heat of anger and use it to temper the strength of this union?

COUPLE: We Will

CELEBRANT: And so the binding is made.
*Drape fifth cord across the couples hands*

CELEBRANT: [Bride's Name], Will you honor him?

BRIDE: I will

CELEBRANT: [Groom's Name], Will you honor her?

GROOM: I will

CELEBRANT: To Both
Will you seek to never give cause to break that honor?

COUPLE: We shall never do so

CELEBRANT: And so the binding is made.
Drape sixth cord across the couples hands

Tie cords together while saying:
The knots of this binding are not formed by these cords but instead by your vows. Either of you may drop the cords, for as always, you hold in your own hands the making and the breaking of this union.

Monday, June 15, 2009

A Weak Moment...

I was having a weak moment last Thursday, trapped in wedding-land, where all I could see were artistic photos and wedding magazines, and purchased these:

Well, 10 of these, to be exact. In blue.

I pictured a fun picture like this:


(coincidentally taken by our lovely photographer).

I picture cute pictures in the garden of my sisters and I, each holding one of these, and the extras sitting in a basket for the guests who wanted to stroll in the sunny rose garden...

I admit, it might not have been my finest moment, but at $4 each, I thought it was worth it.

Besides this moment of weakness, the rest of the month has been going pretty well. Just wait until you my to-do list at the end of the month!!! I am on top of it! And really, with 56 days until the wedding, I need to be! Things are creeping up!

Friday, June 12, 2009

YUM-O!*

One of the tasks on my list that I've been putting off until closer to the wedding was choosing the final menu. Maybe fate somehow had this in its hands, because Maggiano's just updated their menu offerings, which would have negated all the hard, hard work it would have taken to choose between an omelet or a scramble :)

Upon reading the updated menu, I am once again so glad we're having the reception at Maggiano's! One thing I had stated from the beginning of this process was that I did not want to pay $60 a person for dry chicken. Tom is not a picky person, yet we somehow end up in the McDonald's drive-thru after several weddings because neither one of us could eat the chicken. I think Maggiano's offers the best of both worlds -- affordability (surprisingly) and FANTASTIC food!

Our package includes:
  • Assortment of muffins
  • Sliced seasonal fruit
  • Croissants, Assorted Jams & Butter
  • Fresh Baked Zucchini Bread
  • Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake
  • Assorted Fruit Juices
  • Regular & Decaffeinated coffee
  • Assortment of Hot Teas
  • Fran's Potatoes with Roasted Peppers & Onions

Along with a choice from one of each bullet:

  • Scrambled Eggs, Italian Sausage & Bacon Frittata, or Spinach & Tomato Frittata
  • Cheese Crispelles, Apple Crispelles, or Cinnamon French Toast with Caramelized Bananas
  • Italian Sausage or Bacon

Because a few people attending are vegetarian and one of my coworkers is Muslim (no pork products), I'm leaning towards choosing the Spinach & Tomato Frittata, and then those who want meat can enjoy the bacon. Also, I LOVE almost anything banana, and I love me some french toast, so I think that's what we'll go with in the middle category.

I do have to run it all past Tom, but I'm pretty sure he'll just shrug his shoulders and say, "Whatever. I eat anything."

So, what do you think? Put your votes in now, or forever hold your peace! :)

*normally I detest Rachael Ray, but in this case, this was the only clever title that I could come up with.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Feeding My Love Language...

Gary Chapman's best seller, The Five Love Languages discusses how people demonstrate and feel loved, specifically breaking it down into five separate categories.

I always knew that I enjoyed buying people things, more so than I enjoy shopping for myself, but I never realized that this was how I demonstrate love until I read this book. Quite an aha moment, really.

But it's true. I LOVE buying people gifts. I love brainstorming for ideas, I love analyzing them to figure out what they need or want, I love wrapping it up, and most of all, and I love seeing how much they love it (because really, I'm good at it. I'd say 98% of my gifting endeavors are highly successful).

So, I knew that I wasn't going to be gifting our bridal party and parents with standard gifts. Not an option. I also really didn't want to give them all the same gift, because that just seemed so impersonal. We are thanking these people for sharing this day with us --- does a monogrammed flask really do the trick?

I set out on a quest to find the "perfect" gifts for my sisters and my nieces. I'm 2/5 done with my sisters, and still on the hunt. I bought gifts for 2 out of 3 of my nieces last night, and I'm absolutely thrilled with them.

Normally I don't give jewelry to people. I feel that it's a very personal thing, and I certainly wouldn't expect someone to understand what I wanted to wear every day (though coincidentally, I wear my pearl earrings, a gift from my parents, every single day). However, in this case, it just felt like the right choice.

For my older nieces, one is turning 6 and the other just turned 3, Tom and I purchased lockets. Originally, I was only going to get this for the older one, but both Tom and my mother convinced me otherwise. We were able to get them engraved with their initials, which I think was a sweet touch.



I personally think they're pretty cute, and is something they can wear every day, or for special occasions, and will be pretty timeless.

It's safe to say that we have a pretty special relationship with our nieces, and Tom and I both felt strongly that we should get them something to reflect that, not just an embroidered flower girl tote or t-shirt.

Now, does anyone have good ideas for a 1 year old? (Just kidding, I've got plenty of ideas!!)

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Adventures in Wilder Park

The beauty of getting married 10 minutes from where I work is that I can steal away on my lunch hour to complete wedding-related tasks.

Yesterday, I met with my lovely florist, Kristen from Kio Kreations, to view the ceremony site in full bloom and decide if we need to add any more arrangements. We decided that we really need nothing besides petals, and a piece of fabric for the arch. I'll explain that once we hit the right photo...

The entrance to the park, with the ceremony tent peeking out:



This looks like the same shot, but I really just walked to the other side of the garden (so the tent is at my back, and took a picture of the entrance.



The tent! Straight ahead is where we'll be standing, with chairs filling up the grassy area...


This is where we'll be standing in less than 8 weeks!


The black arch you see has been primed for clematis growth, but it doesn't look like it will fill up completely in time for the wedding, so we're going to secure green sheer fabric (that will match the sashes on the chairs) and stretch that across the top of the arch. It won't be draped, as Kristen thinks that will take away from the simplicity of the garden itself.



There will be large amounts of petals, however. They will line the aisle, outline the circle, and then fill it to create the "pillow carpet" that I had talked about previously.
Magic, I tell ya.


Oh, and the flowers planted behind the "altar" are white lilies, and there's a very good chance that they'll be in bloom just in time for the ceremony!



We'll just have to wait and see!
I absolutely LOVE this space!! Now, if only I can figure out the processional...

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

In the Mail!

On Sunday, I picked the envelopes up from the calligrapher, and surprise, they're fabulous!

Yesterday was a flurry of stamping, stuffing and sealing, but this morning, there was a stack of 100+ invitations ready to head to the post office.

Here they are, in all their final glory:



The completed "invitation suite":
You can see the DIY envelope liners that I did (with the help of my lovely sister Nicole) back in January. I think they turned out quite smashing! :)
Knowing what I do now would have saved me some time, money and aggravation, but the truth is, this probably wasn't as painful as it could have been. And, when all is said and done, the final product is really close to my original vision (and hey, maybe even better?).
I'm so glad to have this done! Now, onward to tracking the responses! I know this will be a fun task, because I was already handed back a blank one from one of my coworkers where he wrote in that there were 148 people attending...haha.

Friday, June 5, 2009

Grateful.

Today's my 23rd birthday (I know, I know...I'm young. My coworkers affectionately call me a zygote). In honor of this, I thought I'd do something a bit different. So, without further adieu:

23 Things I'm Grateful For (and a surprise at the end!)

  1. Thomas. There are not enough words in the world to demonstrate how grateful I am to have this wonderful specimen of a man in my life.
  2. My family. Through it all, they encourage me, keep me grounded, smile with me, laugh with me, cry with me...Whether or not it's a late night or early morning phone call because I just need to talk, or it's just a lazy Sunday morning thumbing through the Sunday ads while eating Mom's pancakes, they're always there.
  3. My nieces. While certainly a part of #2, their smiles, hugs, sloppy kisses, giggles, and sweet words bring me more joy than I ever knew possible.
  4. Dunkin' Donuts coffee. Starting now, these are in no particular order. But seriously, I love this coffee.
  5. My job. Everyone has moments of frustration, but overall, I love my coworkers (who I'm grateful for, too! Yay for bringing me cookies today!), have great flexibility, and pretty much enjoy what I do. And I get a paycheck. Not too shabby.
  6. Our house. More specifically, the whirlpool tub that I used for the first time last night. (Side note: I'm not particularly grateful for the muscle pull in my back that required me to use the tub. Stupid working out.)
  7. My puppy. Once you get past his crazy barking fits and his occasional temper tantrum, he's a sweet, sweet boy who loves to cuddle with me at night. More than once I've woken up to find him sleeping on the other half of my pillow...haha.
  8. My friends. I'm so very grateful that they haven't ditched me after all my hair-brained schemes...you know who you are, girls! :)
  9. A sense of humor. Seriously, people are boring without one.
  10. J.R. Watkins Apothecary Lemon Cream body cream and hand lotion. These 2 bottles are within 6 inches of my hands at all times at work. True love, people, true love.
  11. Fresh flowers. I pick up a bouquet weekly at the store, and they just make me smile.
  12. Sweet Iced Tea with Lemons. Constantly chilled in my fridge --- yum! :)
  13. My BlackBerry. I'm connected ALL the time, and I love it. I told Tom last night that I would never, ever have a normal phone again.
  14. My past. It's shaped me to who I am now, and brought me to where I am, and I'm always grateful for that.
  15. Love Actually. If this movie had never come about, my life would be less rich.
  16. The opportunity to travel. I'm so thankful that I can go where I'd like and experience what I want. Not everyone has that opportunity!
  17. New clothes. I got a bunch of new clothes yesterday (an early birthday present). There's something about putting on a brand new outfit that just boosts your self-esteem. :)
  18. Flip-flops. My life would not be complete without these.
  19. My ability to write. Whether or not I'm making one of my crazy lists, writing for work, or just blogging for fun, writing has always been a creative outlet, and I'm so grateful I've discovered it and used it to my advantage.
  20. Chocolate. What list would be complete without it?
  21. Manicures and pedicures. A guilty indulgence that I'm most definitely grateful for.
  22. My GPS. I'm grateful that I never have to worry about getting lost again.
  23. My finished wedding invitations. Yep, you read that right. They surprised me and arrived yesterday. Ta-da!


Oh, sweet, sweet love.

Happy Birthday to me!

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Shipped!

My invitations were shipped today, with 3-day shipping, which should put them on my doorstep on Friday.

What's so exciting about that, you ask?

Well, Friday's my birthday, and I couldn't ask for a better birthday present! YAY!

How weird is it going to be HOLDING my wedding invitation? Ahh...so strange!!

I just can't believe how soon everything is creeping up. It feels like just yesterday I was complaining to Tom that we wouldn't be married for another 2 years and pricing out a huge outdoor tented affair...and now it's 2 months away and couldn't be more perfect!

I still have moments where I kick myself for not coming up with clever favors, or not renting a photobooth (I priced one out over the weekend before coming to my senses), but then I have my moments of clarity, too. For being so detail-oriented, I find it funny that my vision of the wedding day no longer includes any details. All I see is Tom, waiting for me at the end of the aisle, and blurs upon blurs of family and friends smiling upon us. And then it hits me --- that's all that matters anyway.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Because I'm Not the Only Person Attending This Wedding...

The past two weekends have been fairly successful for members of my family out seeking dresses. Last weekend, my younger sister and maid of honor was able to find the cutest black dress for the wedding. It looks SO good on her (I already warned her not to upstage me!). I don't know where she got it, so I can't post the details, but be warned, it's seriously hot. And I'm jealous.

This weekend, I was out shopping with my mother for her dress. After trying on at least 20 dresses, most pretty classic mother-of-the-bride style, she found a winner. I can't really describe the dress, other than to say it's crazy, but in a really, really good way. It's certainly nothing you would ever expect as a mother of the bride dress, but it looks great on her, and that's really all that matters. I tried finding a picture of it, but no such luck. I did find a picture of her shoes, though, which are doubly awesome because they complement the dress perfectly.




The dress, a combination of black, blue and silver, should look really good in pictures (if you ignore the fact that my dad is wearing a green tie!).


In non-wedding news, Tom's back from 2 back-to-back trips, and I'm SO glad he's home! He's going to get his passport today, so we can check that off the list, too!