Bridesmaid Dresses: the Search for the Holy Grail

I have looked at what feels like thousands upon thousands of bridesmaid dresses, searching for something that looks great on different body types, won't break the bank, and (most importantly) comes in my elusive dark champagne/latte/taupe/acorn/whatever color. My idea for the bridesmaid dresses was to choose a designer, a fabric, and a color and let the girls choose their own styles. This way, everyone has input on what she wears, but everyone still matches. The problem with this idea has been that the only dresses that come in the color I'm looking for tend to be way more expensive than ideal and most of them aren't very flattering. And so the search continues with a combination of websites, magazines, and random visits to dress shops.

On a spur-of-the-moment bridal shop trip, a few of my BMs (That's wedding talk for "bridesmaids". Do you like the new wedding lingo I'm picking up? hahaha..) tried on about 10 dresses that I had looked at online and thought would have met all the criteria. I was mostly wrong. The dresses all came in the appropriate color; however, were way pricey and only 2 of them looked good on everyone. A couple of weeks later, I found some dresses online that I thought were way cute, over $100 less than the ones we tried on, and had the right fabric/color. The only problem was that they only have 3 stores in the country. My sister happened to be going to Boston (one of the three cities) that week and was able to get a last minute appointment to try on a bunch of dresses and take pictures. There were some seriously cute options, and they're all styles that are classic and won't be out of style by the time of the wedding.

I'm still conflicted about one thing, though. I prefer knee-length dresses. I think they're more fun, have a younger look, and just generally look cuter. However, everyone keeps telling me that because I'm planning for an evening wedding the dresses should be floor length. While they're still nice and all, I kinda feel like they're stuffier. Plus, given the color I'm looking at for the dresses, if they do actually want to reuse the dresses, the bridesmaids wouldn't have to pay the extra money to get them in floor length as well as to get them shortened after the wedding. In the end, I generally feel like the bridesmaids should choose the dress(es) because I want them to have input about what they will be wearing. But I always pictured knee-length dresses. Maybe I always pictured a daytime wedding and never realized it. Although, in late May there will still be daylight at 7 PM.

So can I have short dresses for an evening wedding that takes place during daylight? Seriously. I need help with this one. Pleeeeaassseeee comment/facebook/email/whatever me with your thoughts on this.

Thanks. :)

Fun times...!

So I'm taking a break from practicing for my practical tomorrow morning (accepting happy thoughts from everyone, by the way) to say how excited I am that Tim's sister, and my practically-already-sister, is engaged!! Congratulations to Kate and Kevin!!! They're such a great couple in addition to being wonderful people individually, and I couldn't possibly be more excited that not only am I going to officially become a part of their family but that we're also going to be planning one of the biggest days of our lives together! This very exciting and happy news definitely came at a good time, as school seems to be sucking every last ray of :) out of my life lately. It definitely helped to remind me that there is a life outside of MCG's School of Allied Health Sciences building. (To all my classmates reading this: Seriously. It exists. Just ask someone who's not in PT school... if you ever come across someone who's not in PT school...) As the next few days approach, I just need to do what I can and remember that this does not define me. School is a part of me, but not the whole of me. Happy things happen, and THAT is what I'm about. I've got a fiancé who I love more than anything, a great and supportive family (including Tim's family), amazing friends, a super adorable guinea pig and the cutest puppy ever. I don't know where I'd be without any one of them, and I'm so blessed to have them all in my life. And that is what is keeping me going. I'll do my best and live to fight another day because I have them standing with me just as I stand with them. No matter what.

Congratulations, again, Kate and Kevin!! :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)..... (You get the picture. But in case you don't, here are a few pictures of some awesome people!)

It's finally March!

March is finally here. This means warmer weather, Spring Break around the corner, and the stressful nearing of the end of the semester. In wedding talk, however, it means I get to start the process of booking the church and setting an actual date for the wedding! I am so looking forward to being able to tell people an exact date, rather than a month we have in mind.

I've been getting the "How's wedding planning going?" question a lot in the last few weeks. The answer is: It's not. School has effectively executed a hostile takeover of my life. As I write this, I'm taking a break from editing a paper, writing another paper, working on a project, working on another project, and miscellaneous studying. It's really starting to pile up. What bothers me most about this, though, is that I know the quality of my work can't be the best because I'm having to divert attention from each item to accomplish all of them. Turning in mediocre work stresses me out. Hopefully, I'll find some time during the next couple of months to work on the wedding and spend time with friends. Having a life outside of MCG is pivotal to my sanity.

Here's hoping the next few months go off without a hitch!

I love my ring!

I realize this may be a little late, but I love my ring! It's perfect! And while it's sparkly and beautiful, the best part about it is how every time I look at it I remember everything about that night. My friends and family were there (some even drove in from out of town for what I thought was just a birthday party), we had gingerbread house stations, and even Voltron was dressed up! I look at my ring and I remember Jessica talking me into wearing a dress and heels, how everyone tried to get me to get my nails done that week but I didn't even repaint my nails, the engagement cake that appeared out of nowhere, the huge smile on my face that I couldn't get rid of for weeks, and I especially remember Tim and I going outside and everything he said and how oblivious I was to what was happening until he was down on one knee. I love that he put so much thought into making the evening as perfect as it was from beginning to end. I look at my ring and I smile every time. with every little step, we get closer to our wedding day; with all the stress that can come with planning a wedding (and dealing with school along the way), having something that can immediately take me back to that moment really helps to keep everything in perspective.

I'm so excited to get married and add a wedding band to which I can look as a constant reminder of that special day.

Stationery

So, I've been working on designing our invitations, response cards, etc. because I couldn't find any in the correct colors. This, at least, has been something I've been able to work on with school. It's a good activity to do on a study break - something both creative and productive! I've come up with quite a few different designs so that we all have options when we sit down together and decide. It's been fun to play with the different colors, designs, fonts, shapes of paper, etc. I'm hoping to start meeting with printers soon to see what types of paper they can offer as well as prices, quality of printing, and other fun stuff. It'll be a learning experience for sure.

If anyone else has done this and can offer any advice, it would be greatly appreciated!

Here's a collage of our colors. It doesn't seem like it would be difficult to find coordinating colors, but anything in any shade of brown is way too dark for what we're planning to be a spring wedding.

3 bridal boutiques, 2 days, 1 dress!

My first experience wedding dress shopping took place over Christmas break. It really made it hit home that I'm actually getting married! I tried on 5 dresses in 2 hours that day, each dress being a different style from the last. I left the store that day thinking I had found a dress that I thought could be the one, although I wanted to try on other dresses still to keep my options open. Over the holiday weekend I ventured out for another day of trying on dresses. I thought that armed with an idea of what I was looking for, the excursion would only take a few hours, and the next time I try on dresses I would be able to more easily compare my favorites. Boy was I wrong.

The first store we went to that Saturday morning didn't really seem to offer what I was looking for, but I selected a couple of dresses to start. The attendant helping me was a bit aggressive. Her whole attitude seemed to be, "If there's one thing you don't like about the dress, you don't need to wear it another second. Let's try something else." This seems fine in theory, but in practice it felt like I was being rushed and not listened to when asked for my feelings on the dress. She knew I had already tried on dresses and the style that I was looking for, yet she kept bringing dresses that had key qualities I told her I wasn't interested in. I tried on around 10 dresses, and in the end the dress I liked the best from their selection was over double my budget and I would have needed to make some custom alterations to get it to look like what I was looking for. The dress from the first store was winning.

While we took a break for lunch, I called the last store we wanted to visit, Elegant Bridals. I had called that morning to make an appointment, but I got their answering machine. I called on the way to lunch and got a "we're super busy. leave a message or call back." message. I thought that maybe it was a sign and I should go back to the first store after lunch to try on my favorite dress from there again. They finally answered the phone when I called after lunch and said they had just enough time for one more appointment that day. Joan, the attendant who helped me, was great! She talked to me, joked with us about wedding dress model poses, and actually listened to how I felt about each dress she brought for me to try. I tried on 5 dresses before I finally put on THE dress.

As soon as I slipped into it, I knew that was it. With every other dress I could immediately point out things I didn't like about it, but with this dress I just kept thinking how beautiful it is! I couldn't stop smiling! I didn't want to take it off. I wore it for about 45 minutes before I called my mom who was shopping across town so she could come see it. The store was supposed to close in 15 minutes but they stayed open so that my mom could make it. I was watching my mom out of the windows as she approached the store; as soon as she saw me, her eyes got wide and her jaw dropped, and I thought, "Yes! Mom loves it! This is definitely it!" She was speechless when she walked in, which, if you know my mom, you know is incredible! I was on cloud nine. After wearing the dress for about an hour and a half, I reluctantly slipped back into my regular clothes. A little paperwork and that was it - I had a wedding dress! It was my first wedding purchase, and one I couldn't be happier with. ♥

The picture is a collage of some of the dresses that didn't quite make the cut.

See ya, Wedding Planning. It was fun while it lasted.

So I've been working on a continuing project for the last week: graduating. School started again last Monday, and has successfully reclaimed me as its workhorse. I did, however, go down fighting. I stayed up way too late most nights to work on different designs for invitations and response cards with Photoshop. (It probably took so long just because I was figuring out how to work with PS since I just got it on Wednesday.) Now, it's Sunday and I have a ton of work to do; so, of course, I'm blogging. Such is life.

I've got a crazy-busy school semester ahead of me, but I know I won't be able to totally set aside wedding planning. Since I did so much during the break, though, now I can focus what little time I do have to plan. Thank goodness I have so much time and a great support system to help along the way!

Ok. Back to the books.