Last Weekend Home

Hey bloggerland friends!

This weekend, Ryan and I went back to Illinois for the final time before the wedding. We met with our reception venue (pretty uneventful), I had a dress fitting, I had my hair and makeup trial, and we met with our DJ.

I can't post photos from the dress fitting, but it went pretty well. The lady who actually runs the company was out of town for a funeral, so her sister was taking over for the time being. They had taken the dress in by 4 inches, so it fit much better. The bottom was cut, but not yet hemmed. And she was plotting out the bustle. Hopefully it will all be wonderfully taken care of by the time I pick it up (the Thursday before our wedding).

Now onto the hair and makeup trial! It went great. Here are the inspiration photos I sent my hairstylist...


Here is what she came up with...


I love it. After wearing it for a few hours, I think it need to be brought up off my neck a little bit. The bobby pins were sticking me in the neck, and I was afraid to tilt my head back in fear of ruining my 'do.

As for makeup, I didn't give her much direction. I said I just wanted something that wasn't too over-the-top. First, here's a photo reminder of what I look like on a daily basis...


Here is what I ended up with...


Here's with the fake eyelashes...

And 4 hours later in natural light...


I'm pleased with my makeup. I don't wear a lot of makeup usually (just coverup, powder, eyeliner, and mascara)... so it took some time to get used to the color, but I think it's perfect for our wedding day. Ryan saw it and said I looked pretty. Awwww.

With the last visit out of the way, all that's left now is tiny details and 20 days of waiting.

Keeping it in the Family

Back in July, after a full day of dress shopping, my mom and I were in a full-blown wedding dress state of mind (which, btw, is way better than a New York state of mind).

As soon as we got home, my mom pulled out her gown from the depths of her closet. "I don't think this box has been opened since the day it was put in here," she said.

(Note to self: keeping my dress after the wedding is probably pointless.)

After pulling the dress from the box and admiring it for a bit, we just couldn't resist having me try it on. What's one more wedding dress in the grand scheme of the day?

Let's just say it was a hilarious sight to see. My mom must have been a size negative 4 in 1980, because the dress barely even fit my arms. It was tight in all the wrong ways and there was no chance in a million years (or 60 pounds) that we could have gotten it zipped up.


Sorry mom. It looks like your dress seeing a wedding day encore is out of the question.


(And yes... that is a bridal hat. (More like a bridal brim because it was open on top. Ohhh, 1980.))

Good times were had by all, and the dress went back into it's box.

... But not before my mom made a suggestion.

"Maybe this is dumb... but you could use the material for something if you'd like."

Ahh, mothers. Somehow they always know the right thing to say. Because I had the exact same thing in mind. I was eying the dotted lace on her skirt, and had some definite ideas of what it could be used for.

I could use it as a wrap for my bouquet...

Source

Or we could use it to make the ring pillow...

Source

My mom loved the idea, and it was settled.

(Note to self: keeping my dress after the wedding may not be as pointless as I thought.)

Picking Up the Dress

First thing Saturday morning, my mom, Ryan's mom, and I headed to the dress shop. I had received a phone call that my dress and veil were in and ready to be picked up at our convenience.

::cue my happy dance::

This may have been the part of the weekend that I was looking forward to most.

When we arrived at the dress shop, there were a ton of people there! There were two other brides dress shopping with their families (one girl brought 12 people with her!), so it was a bit crowded in the tiny shop.

Good thing we weren't planning on staying long.

The sales ladies put me in a storage-closet-now-dressing-room and laced me into my dress.

When I came out, everyone "ooo"ed and "ahh"ed... even the other brides' families. That was nice of them.

The families said it was the perfect dress for me. The sales lady said I had chosen the perfect veil to go with it. And she told me it was a near-perfect fit. (hurray!)

A tiny sneak preview

The moment it sunk in that it was my dress, I started to become paranoid. Oh no... what if it drags on the floor and gets dirty? What is this little thread hanging down here? What if I knock some of the beads off? But I mentally slapped myself and got over it.

I won't be one of those brides who freaks out about every little thing. I know that my dress will get dirty eventually, and I know that it's hand-beaded... so it's not going to be perfect. But that's what makes it great.

Flash forward 8 hours, and unbeknownst to my family and fiance, I was prancing around my childhood bedroom in my dress and veil (the dress completely un-laced because I put it on myself). It was totally surreal to admire myself in the same mirror I had admired myself in before I went to prom... before my first date... before all those first days of school.


Kind of a big deal.

Dress Surprise

Welcome to my newest follower, EricaB!

Our WOW is next weekend, and my mom had a thought that perhaps Ryan's mom would like to see my wedding dress before next June... and this weekend would probably be her only chance.

I thought that was a great idea, so we were going to make an appointment with the dress shop to go try on the sample of my dress again.


But I received an exciting phone call yesterday from my dress shop. They said that my dress and veil were in and ready to be picked up.

::Double Take:: Whaa?!?

That was unexpected.

Back in July when I found "the" dress, the shop owner told me they would have it delivered around March, 2011 so there would be enough time to have it fitted, altered, and ready before our big day.

I didn't think I would see my dress until March. It's 5 months early!


The exciting part is, now, Ryan's mom will get a chance to see my actual dress.

This is Way Too Easy

The ease of our wedding planning to date is making me extremely nervous.

There's no way it should be this easy.

Case in point...

Hair and Makeup
My mom was at her hair appointment with our long-time stylist, Amy. She asked if Amy would be available to do my hair for my wedding. Amy loved the idea, wrote it on her calendar, and offered to do hair and makeup for everyone!
Done.

Hotel Block
We drove past a hotel in my hometown this past weekend. We stopped in to check it out. It was large, secluded, and practically empty. My mom reserved the rooms this afternoon.
Done.

Wedding Dress and Veil
Picked out and ordered after one afternoon and two bridal shops.
Done.

Photographer
Signed the contract after meeting him in person at our home in Indiana.
Done.


If the rest of our wedding planning goes this smoothly, I'm looking at an extremely laid-back 12 months.

The Dress Reveal

I showed you all the reject dresses from this weekend's shopping excursion.

I present you now with THE dress...

Justin Alexander 8349

You didn't think I would show you myself in the dress, did you? Ha! I don't think so. A) Ryan reads this blog, and I'm determined to keep it hidden from him as long as possible, and B) It's a bigger surprise for all of you when I finally reveal it on the big day (or... a couple days later...).

I didn't have one of those big giant "aha" moments where I cried or just knew it was THE dress. It was a careful process of elimination and deciding what I like. That said, I learned I'm a very decisive person about what I don't like. So that helped.

I think my mom, 3 aunts, and 2 cousins all agreed that it was the right dress for me. I couldn't be more thrilled with my purchase. It has the strapless drop-waist style I was looking for, and it fits like it was made for me. Plus, as an added surprise perk, we found it was way under budget. Score!

Plus! When I was trying on veils with the dress, I found one I really liked. The woman casually mentioned, "that veil is $99." What?! I've been reading horror stories from other blogs about $300 and $500 veils, and this gorgeous, silky, cathedral-length veil is only $99?! SOLD!

So thus ends my wedding dress shopping extravaganza. Now just 8 more months until I see the dress again (go faster, 8 months!).

Dress Shopping

This is the most exciting part of wedding planning, right?

I had dreams about dress shopping 3 days in a row last week. I went to 2 boutiques (2 of the only boutiques open during this holiday weekend!), and brought along my mom, 3 aunts, and 2 cousins.

So I'll cut right to the chase and present you with a ton of photos of rejected dresses...

Meh...

Everyone loved this dress, but I insisted it made me look wide in all the wrong places. (The sales lady gave my cousin a tiara, which started a downward spiral into I-can't-wait-to-be-a-flower-girl-dom. It was adorable.)

(Kitty Chen)

See?

This was our favorite from the first shop. I was seriously considering it when we left for our second appointment...

(Demetrios 3149)

The sales lady insisted I try on something that wasn't strapless. My family "Oooed" and "Ahhed", but I wasn't impressed...

This is just bad (you can tell by my face)...

The shape of this one looked really good on me, but it was just a little too average-looking...

This was a finalist (and my older cousin's absolute favorite). It was extremely elegant, and would have flattered anyone, but it was a little too plain...

And lastly, a close contender to the dress...

So did I find the dress? Yes! But more to come on that later...

Like a Kid in a Candy Store

I got a voicemail yesterday from one of the bridal boutiques I had made an appointment with. I won't name which one because I'm a nice person.

"Hi Kelly, this is so-and-so from Bridal Boutique. I'm calling in regards to your appointment on July 3rd. I'm so so so so sorry, but the girl who made your appointment didn't know we would be closed that day for the holiday weekend, etc etc etc..."


Now, I'm totally sympathetic that mistakes happen. Perhaps the girl was busy and didn't realize the day I was making my appointment for was a holiday. Perhaps.... except that the very first thing I said to her on the phone was, "Hello, are you guys open on July 3rd?". She paused (I assume looking up the answer), then replied with a cheerful, "Yes! Would you like to make an appointment?". Gurrr.

So I was left with the annoying situation of having to find another bridal boutique that's open that day and available for me and my entourage of 6 to visit.

After some internet searching, I came across Rue Belle. I was slightly relieved that they were a bit more in my price range than the store that dumped me, so I gave them a call.

The owner informs me she will be out of town on July 3rd and the store will be closed.

BUT! She graciously offers to have someone unlock the store for us so we can try on dresses.


That's right... we will have the entire store to ourselves. Is that a bride's dream or what? I'm focusing on the positive (no pressure from sales people) instead of the negative (no sales people to pull pretty dresses for me). Since it's the first stop of the day, I figure it will be a good chance to try on a bunch of different styles and find out what I like.

Woo! Dress party!

Breaking All the Rules

I love the show Say Yes to the Dress. I spend a good chunk of my Thursday and Friday afternoons getting sucked into pretty white dresses and red hot family dramas.


But this show is more than entertainment. It is a true teaching tool. (Stick with me here.) The following are the things I've learned from SYTTD... and how I plan on breaking each and every one of them:

1) Always go into your appointment with an idea of what type of dress you want, or bare minimum, what type of bride you want to be. A clueless bride can spend the entire appointment just narrowing down her style.

Well, as I explained last week, I have no idea what type of dress I want. And what type of bride? Oh boy. Who knows. Am I a spunky bride? Elegant bride? Princess bride? Fun bride? Sexy bride? Quirky bride? Hmm... your guess is as good as mine.


2) Don't get your dress too early. You can end up second-guessing your dress choice or wondering "what if" to every dress you come across in a magazine.

My wedding is 1 year and 8 days away. Woops. But I'm impatient! And restless! And bored! Hmm... I wonder if those would qualify as my "bridal type"?


3) Don't bring a huge entourage to the appointment. The last thing you need are unwanted opinions when you're trying to make such a huge decision.

Haha. It started out as just my mom and I, but has escalated to my mom, 3 aunts, 2 cousins, and I. Despite SYTTD's incessant warnings, I will be a happy bride-to-be with my large entourage. I hold absolutely no fears that they will be unruly or out-of-line like some of the families on the show.

Overall, I'm extremely excited. I wonder if I'll be a cryer (I doubt it). A better question is if my family will cry.

The Dress Hunt Begins

Ryan is leaving me.

Not forever... just for the 4th of July weekend. But it's a whopping four days, so it might as well be forever!

So instead of laze around here with my dog for 4 days straight, I made the decision to be productive. I emailed my mom with the two words that would take any mother's breath away...

"Dress shopping?"

She wrote back with an ecstatic, "I'd love to!"

It's on.

After looking up many dress shops in the Chicagoland area, comparing their dresses, prices, reviews, distance from my parents' house, and whether or not they were open the 4th of July weekend, we settled with 2 shops: Bella Bianca Bridal at Oakbrook Terrace, and A Joyful Occasion in Naperville.

One of the sales ladies suggested I bring along photos of dresses I like.

Oh boy.

See, that's sort of a problem. Because... I don't know what I like. I know what I don't like (oh, yes, that's for sure), but finding out what style is "me" has been a challenge.

So I set out on a search of the interwebs and ended up with the following photos...

Priscilla of Boston JL203

Birnbaum & Bullock Leigh

Jasmine Couture T292

Winnie Couture 8358

Winnie Chlomin 3141

Amsale Coco

Miosa Couture Adrianna

Alvina Valenta AV9058

Now I'm studying the dresses looking for a common thread. This is what I came up with...

• I like relatively simple dresses with just a little bit of sparkle or flair
• I really like the drop waist
• I also like high waists with pockets
• I don't like pickups in the skirt
• I like the sweetheart neckline

Hopefully if I bring that list of likes and dislikes to the store with me, it will help the dress-shopping process move along a little easier.

One of my fears, however, is that I will look awful in a drop waist. The widest part of my body is my stomach, and I have rather small hips, so it might not work on me. If that's the case, I don't know what I'll do. It'll be back to the drawing board, I guess.