As stated previously, I have the bad habit of picking out really expensive things and wanting them with a passion. First it was all of the dresses I picked out of magazines, then the shoes (Manolo Blahniks in Something Blue... yum!), then the idea of having a photo booth at the reception. When it came time for the cake design, why break the chain?
Thankfully, I was blessed enough to stumble upon a listing for a fabulous baker. I believe that her sister is Sarah @ Parrott Design Studio on WeddingBee Pro. I don't exactly remember how or when I came across her cake website, but it was early in the process and I knew nothing about what our cake should look like or how expensive it would be. I mean, come on, how expensive could one slice of cake be?!
Expensive. Period. The local bakers in Bethel, near our reception and ceremony locales, were asking nearly $4.50 a slice. Would their cakes be works of art? Probably. Would we go broke paying for that work of art? Absolutely. Hoping for some sort of miracle, I branched out and started looking at bakers outside of our area. It would be more of a hassle to get the cake to the reception, but if it would save a few hundred dollars, it was worth it. Mr. Library and I can be creative problem solvers when we want to.
After coming across our baker's website and scheduling a tasting with her (I have never seen Mr. Library so excited about a wedding errand before!), I received my copy of Modern Bride in the mail. This became my ultimate inspiration:
Dream Cake
Mr. Library and I wanted to have a topper instead of flowers, but how gorgeous is this design?! I took the idea with me to the tasting, and Jessica, Mr. Library and I worked together to come up with a variation on the picture. I'm not really one to just copy someone else's idea. I need to have it be something original.
Flavor options were up next. Mr. Library and I had agreed that it wasn't likely we would totally agree on one wedding cake flavor. He is very plain (chocolate cake with white frosting) and I am more along the lines of fruity flavors with exciting add-ins. We landed on a decision to take turns determining the layers and we would agree on the top. It turned out not to be a problem at all. The cake was soooooo delicious (I have never eaten so many cupcakes in my life) and seemed to go with every filling we tried. In the end, we came out with the top and the bottom layer being red velvet with buttercreme and raspberry filling, the next layer being strawberry cake with lemon buttercreme filling, the third layer being German chocolate cake with the appropriate filling, and the top being lemon cake with raspberry filling. We were stuffed, and we were happy.
Unfortunately, FMIL Library decided that her side of the family would whine and potentially fight over who got which kind of cake (what kinds of family members are we inviting to this occassion?!), so she wanted to go with one flavor of cake. While I try my hardest not to be a bridezilla, I had to say "Oh heck no" to that verdict. This was our wedding cake, not hers, and if people were going to be picky, they should hurry to the cake table before everything is gone. We decided not to add a new flavor to the top layer since it only fed six people (our baker makes us a new cake for our anniversary so it still tastes good), so lemon with raspberry went.
How did you pick out your cake?
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Shoe shopping is an aphrodisiac...
Or at least that was what one issue of Cosmopolitan said. The nerves in the brain that control the sensations in the feet and the sensations in, well, other places are next door neighbors, so shoe shopping is like a ramp up to a big event. Does this also work for online shoe shopping?
I have been trolling the web for months looking for a pair of glamorous blue shoes to wear for my wedding. I saw lots of different magazines and wedding websites touting the trend of colored shoes, and not being one who likes to stand in the background on bland color choices, I jumped at the idea. My wedding colors are cobalt blue, cornflower blue, white, and fuchsia peonies. I would like my shoes to match the color of my bridesmaids, but it's not a do or die.
Does anyone have any good resources for blue high heels?
I have been trolling the web for months looking for a pair of glamorous blue shoes to wear for my wedding. I saw lots of different magazines and wedding websites touting the trend of colored shoes, and not being one who likes to stand in the background on bland color choices, I jumped at the idea. My wedding colors are cobalt blue, cornflower blue, white, and fuchsia peonies. I would like my shoes to match the color of my bridesmaids, but it's not a do or die.
Does anyone have any good resources for blue high heels?
If You Like It, You Shoulda Put a Ring on It... for the Second Time
Oh wedding ring shopping - the beauty of the rings, the intrigue of the different types of metals and what they do (or in some cases, what they do NOT do, like stand up to everyday wear and tear), the glitz of the possible diamonds - how much fun you can be. However, looking at the price tags, I now fully understand what Mother Library meant when I grew up having "expensive taste."
Being that my engagement ring has a Tiffany setting (see below), it has been a little difficult to find a wedding band that adds something to it, but doesn't outshine the engagement ring. Different jewelers have been more than happy to show me wedding rings with more carats than my engagement ring. One even said I should trade up! I have politely declined and kept looking.
One rain-drenched afternoon in August, on the way to dropping Mr. Library off at the train station to go back to school, we stopped by a Maine jeweler called Day's Jewelers. Father Library had purchased a piece or two for Mother Library here before, so I had seen some of their pieces. We decided to give it a shot and went in. Not only were the sales reps helpful, they gave us REAL advice on what to look for and were willing to work with our budget, which is pretty tiny when it comes to wedding rings (thank you, grad school loans!).
I found this baby and fell in love with it:
Sparkle Sparkle
It had sparkle, it had class, it had diamonds, and it had a reasonable price tag. Mr. Library seemed happy with it as well (he has his own ring buying pressure to manage, so I don't expect a lot of decision-making action from him when it comes to mine.) We wrote down the number so the store and I would remember it. I'm still a little skeptical about the height, though.
Has anyone else had the ring height problem? How did you match your engagement ring and wedding ring?
Being that my engagement ring has a Tiffany setting (see below), it has been a little difficult to find a wedding band that adds something to it, but doesn't outshine the engagement ring. Different jewelers have been more than happy to show me wedding rings with more carats than my engagement ring. One even said I should trade up! I have politely declined and kept looking.
One rain-drenched afternoon in August, on the way to dropping Mr. Library off at the train station to go back to school, we stopped by a Maine jeweler called Day's Jewelers. Father Library had purchased a piece or two for Mother Library here before, so I had seen some of their pieces. We decided to give it a shot and went in. Not only were the sales reps helpful, they gave us REAL advice on what to look for and were willing to work with our budget, which is pretty tiny when it comes to wedding rings (thank you, grad school loans!).
I found this baby and fell in love with it:
Sparkle Sparkle
It had sparkle, it had class, it had diamonds, and it had a reasonable price tag. Mr. Library seemed happy with it as well (he has his own ring buying pressure to manage, so I don't expect a lot of decision-making action from him when it comes to mine.) We wrote down the number so the store and I would remember it. I'm still a little skeptical about the height, though.
Has anyone else had the ring height problem? How did you match your engagement ring and wedding ring?
Monday, November 23, 2009
A Bargain Hunter's Paradise
I know I must be super late catching on to this trend, but eBay is a god send when it comes to finding great deals on wedding supplies. I had read a few dozen wedding planning books that sung its praises for planning a wedding on a budget, but I had been skeptical. An honest to goodness wedding dress without any flaws for how much? Yeah right! But after scouring local craft fairs for the perfect gifts for my bridesmaids and coming up with nothing that worked, I had to come up with other resources.
Etsy was my next stop, but I didn't find exactly what I was looking for. While I would like to say exactly what I am looking for, but because Miss Sox in the City is watching, I have to keep my lips zipped! I am all for supporting crafters in their endeavors, but being on a tight budget and not seeing anything that struck me, I had to dive into the unknown: the world of fast-paced bidding (ok, so it's fast-paced for me when I am using the computer on dial-up at home! Yes, I do live under a large rock...) and Paypal.
Yowza! Was I surprised when I not only found exactly what I wanted, but many of them were still around $0.99! Of course there is shipping involved, but come on! This was awesome! After a few choice words for the speed of dial-up and being outbid, I found four out of four pieces I wanted. Nine hours later, the results were in: I had won three auctions and had been outbid at the last minute on the fourth. I settled on a similar item from Amazon.com for a similar price for the fourth and called it a success. I am hoping my girls will love them (if not, I'll certain take them!).
The only problem I have faced, and currently am facing, is that we have to have our account with PayPal verified. Well, what if I don't want to have my PayPal account hooked up to my bank account? What if that makes me really nervous? What if I absolutely do not want a credit card through them? I have enough bills already! What then, PayPal? What then? Has anyone else faced this dilemma?
Etsy was my next stop, but I didn't find exactly what I was looking for. While I would like to say exactly what I am looking for, but because Miss Sox in the City is watching, I have to keep my lips zipped! I am all for supporting crafters in their endeavors, but being on a tight budget and not seeing anything that struck me, I had to dive into the unknown: the world of fast-paced bidding (ok, so it's fast-paced for me when I am using the computer on dial-up at home! Yes, I do live under a large rock...) and Paypal.
Yowza! Was I surprised when I not only found exactly what I wanted, but many of them were still around $0.99! Of course there is shipping involved, but come on! This was awesome! After a few choice words for the speed of dial-up and being outbid, I found four out of four pieces I wanted. Nine hours later, the results were in: I had won three auctions and had been outbid at the last minute on the fourth. I settled on a similar item from Amazon.com for a similar price for the fourth and called it a success. I am hoping my girls will love them (if not, I'll certain take them!).
The only problem I have faced, and currently am facing, is that we have to have our account with PayPal verified. Well, what if I don't want to have my PayPal account hooked up to my bank account? What if that makes me really nervous? What if I absolutely do not want a credit card through them? I have enough bills already! What then, PayPal? What then? Has anyone else faced this dilemma?
Friday, November 20, 2009
The "I's have it!
Ha'penny Bridge in Dublin, Ireland (Internet photo)
Ahhh... Rome at sunset. Now all we need is some gelato... (Internet photo)
Romantic Italy with its bustling streets, its ancient architecture, its creative ambiance -- who wouldn't want to spend a week or two? Being a book nut, I had fallen in love with the different portrayals of Italy in "A Room with a View" and "Under the Tuscan Sun", while Mr. Library is a theatre geek with an ever-developing love for art and art history. As a planning surprise to me, Mr. Library decided to play around with hypothetical honeymoons. He came up with an amazing trip: a week in Paris with a day trip to Belgium and to EuroDisney, followed by a few days in Barcelona before taking off on a week-long cruise around the Meditterranean, stopping in at least three Italian ports. It was a honeymoon match made in heaven... or so we thought.
If Italy and this European expedition were honeymoon nirvana, Mr. Library and I were experiencing that annoying ringing in the ears before you reach true enlightenment. With the economy the way it is, and with both of our bank accounts reflecting back on our status as students, Italy seemed a little out of reach. Airfare would chew up most of our budget, which was kind of limited for European travel. The cruise was, as expected, expensive, but we were willing to look the other way because of excursions, the all-inclusive cruise plan, and the fact that we would have been visiting at least four different countries. The hotels and the meals in Paris and Barcelona, though, were the troublemakers, so the plan was scratched. We must have gone over at least a dozen more plans before finally landing on one we could both love: Italy and Ireland.
Now, one might wonder if heritage had anything to do with these two very different locations, and the short answer is no. Mr. Library is Lithuanian, English, and Canadian French, while I am Canadian French and what my family lovingly refers to as "pale European mutt." There isn't a drop of Irish or Italian in either of us. The two places just happened to be locales we had both dreamed of visiting, and as Bob Barker used to say, the price was right. Airfare was reasonable enough and we wanted to visit more than one country, so the "I"s had it. With plane tickets from Boston (to London) to Rome, Rome (to Budapest) to Dublin, and Dublin (to London) to Boston, and hotels in both cities, Mr. Library and I can finally turn our attention to the smaller details of the honeymoon... where to get some excellent gelato, pasta, and pub food!
The After-Ceremony Seed Tossing Blues
I have always thought of having something thrown after the ceremony of our wedding. I suppose it is normally done as the happy couple run off to their honeymoon, but Mr. Library and I will be staying at the same resort as the reception and won't be leaving for our honeymoon for another couple of days. You know... just enough time to open presents, collect our newly-married thoughts, and make sure my crazy aunts haven't played any pranks on our packed suitcases.
After much deliberation over what to throw after our ceremony, I came up with a brilliant idea (ok, so I thought it was brilliant and sold it to Mr. Library as such). Instead of throwing rice, which can harm birds, blowing bubbles, which leads to too many plastic containers and seems to be overly done, glitter, which will stick to us much more than anything else, and bird seed, which I hear can hurt and smell bad, I found an eco-friendly idea: throwing wild flower mix. Getting married on a bridge means that whatever we throw will inevitably end up in the water, and I didn't want to be responsible for hurting the ecological balance. Talk about bridal guilt! If I get a mix of indigenous flowers, I won't be upsetting anything; everything will just be more colorful because of my love for Mr. Library! Sounds like an awesome plan, right?
Here's the catch. I have fallen in love with petal cones like the ones Mrs. Caterpillar posted. I am a total craft person, as is Sister Library and Mother Library, so that won't be a problem, but we can't find any blue paper that will work! You would think it would be easy to find nice blue paper in a range of shades. I'm not even picky about the pattern! Does anyone have any good places to get shades of blue paper?
After much deliberation over what to throw after our ceremony, I came up with a brilliant idea (ok, so I thought it was brilliant and sold it to Mr. Library as such). Instead of throwing rice, which can harm birds, blowing bubbles, which leads to too many plastic containers and seems to be overly done, glitter, which will stick to us much more than anything else, and bird seed, which I hear can hurt and smell bad, I found an eco-friendly idea: throwing wild flower mix. Getting married on a bridge means that whatever we throw will inevitably end up in the water, and I didn't want to be responsible for hurting the ecological balance. Talk about bridal guilt! If I get a mix of indigenous flowers, I won't be upsetting anything; everything will just be more colorful because of my love for Mr. Library! Sounds like an awesome plan, right?
Here's the catch. I have fallen in love with petal cones like the ones Mrs. Caterpillar posted. I am a total craft person, as is Sister Library and Mother Library, so that won't be a problem, but we can't find any blue paper that will work! You would think it would be easy to find nice blue paper in a range of shades. I'm not even picky about the pattern! Does anyone have any good places to get shades of blue paper?
Thursday, November 19, 2009
We're Going to the... Bridge?
Call me crazy, but the white chapel wedding had always been my idea of a fantastic ceremony. Our relatives would be in the pews, the church would be decorated with flowers, and there would be an altar with our wonderful preacher.
Maybe we should have thought about that before Mr. Library and I ended up being different religions.
I am Protestant (United Methodist if you want to be specific) and Mr. Library is Catholic. It hasn't ever been a problem in our relationship. Really, why should religion be an issue? Spirituality or religiousness should have the end goal of greater love, so Catholic, Buddist, Protestant, Taoist, Islamic, etc. doesn't change a whole lot for me. But when it came time to plan the wedding, religion first started to create a hard decision. Which religion would we be having for the ceremony? Would we have a Catholic mass? I voted no. After all, half of my family wouldn't be able to participate, and being the bride, I felt like I should be able to take communion in my own wedding. So that was out. Mr. Library didn't like the idea of not having any type of Catholic tradition in the ceremony, so we had to put on our thinking caps.
The location of the ceremony was a result of where our reception was, so once we landed on our party area, we hit the road to preview some churches. Remember how I said I have a need to be original? It goes for churches too. My cousin J had gotten married in Bethel a couple years before, and since her marriage hadn't made it out of the trenches so well, I didn't want to repeat anything she had done. (Incidentally, my ceremony and reception locations aren't even in Bethel; they are just over the line for the next town called Newry. Score!) After looking over our very limited options, many of which didn't even come close to matching what we wanted, we decided to save the decision for later.
Then I heard about the bridge.
There is a covered bridge about two miles away from the resort we're having the reception at, and when I found this picture on The Knot, I fell in love with its charm. Thank you, Amy and Cameron, for sharing your wedding online! After a little debating with Mr. Library, we came to a compromise; if we got married on the bridge, he would be able to have the final say over the officiant. I wasn't too terribly picky over who presided as long as I wasn't forced into stating that I would raise my future children as Catholics (I am a strong believer in raising them to make up their own minds as to a denomination), so I was a-okay with it. One phone call later, the bridge was ours on July 17, 2010. For free.
God must have had something to do with this.
Maybe we should have thought about that before Mr. Library and I ended up being different religions.
I am Protestant (United Methodist if you want to be specific) and Mr. Library is Catholic. It hasn't ever been a problem in our relationship. Really, why should religion be an issue? Spirituality or religiousness should have the end goal of greater love, so Catholic, Buddist, Protestant, Taoist, Islamic, etc. doesn't change a whole lot for me. But when it came time to plan the wedding, religion first started to create a hard decision. Which religion would we be having for the ceremony? Would we have a Catholic mass? I voted no. After all, half of my family wouldn't be able to participate, and being the bride, I felt like I should be able to take communion in my own wedding. So that was out. Mr. Library didn't like the idea of not having any type of Catholic tradition in the ceremony, so we had to put on our thinking caps.
The location of the ceremony was a result of where our reception was, so once we landed on our party area, we hit the road to preview some churches. Remember how I said I have a need to be original? It goes for churches too. My cousin J had gotten married in Bethel a couple years before, and since her marriage hadn't made it out of the trenches so well, I didn't want to repeat anything she had done. (Incidentally, my ceremony and reception locations aren't even in Bethel; they are just over the line for the next town called Newry. Score!) After looking over our very limited options, many of which didn't even come close to matching what we wanted, we decided to save the decision for later.
Then I heard about the bridge.
There is a covered bridge about two miles away from the resort we're having the reception at, and when I found this picture on The Knot, I fell in love with its charm. Thank you, Amy and Cameron, for sharing your wedding online! After a little debating with Mr. Library, we came to a compromise; if we got married on the bridge, he would be able to have the final say over the officiant. I wasn't too terribly picky over who presided as long as I wasn't forced into stating that I would raise my future children as Catholics (I am a strong believer in raising them to make up their own minds as to a denomination), so I was a-okay with it. One phone call later, the bridge was ours on July 17, 2010. For free.
God must have had something to do with this.
Run for Your Dresses!
When I got engaged, I had always pictured finding my dress in a bridal boutique, surrounded by my bridesmaids, Mother Library, and possibly Mr. Library's mom. I would stand on a platform, people would oohh and ahhh over me, and we would all cry when I found "the" dress.
That was a nice dream, but my dress-finding experience was way better!
It all began when Miss Sox in the City, one of my gorgeous bridesmaids and a bride in her own right, saw an ad for The Running of the Brides in downtown Boston. It had always been shown on television as a bloodbath, a time when dress-starved bridezillas scratched and clawed their way through the racks of marked down bridal gowns to find their dream dresses at ridiculous savings. As a part-time thrill seeker, I jumped at the chance to go. There was no way I would find my dress there, but it was worth the experience. Mother Library was as thrilled as I was, and when my engagement photo shoot was rescheduled to another day, I called Miss Sox in the City and made plans to carpool.
While I had no plans on getting my dress, I didn't want to walk - or sprint - into this event without backups. Unfortunately, Sister and MOH Library had to work and couldn't get time off because of her previous weekend off. Bridesmaid C had to work, but Cousin Library (bridesmaid A) was chomping at the bit to go. Miss Sox in the City invited her bridesmaids K, N, and me (I'm so glad we are in each other's weddings!), as well as one of our friends from grad school, C. Miss Sox in the City had made matching bright orange T-shirts so we could find each other, so we dawned those before getting into the car. C would be meeting us in the city, as would Cousin A, so the rest of us bundled into Miss Sox in the City's car and headed into the big city.
With Mother Library riding shotgun, K, N, and I chattered on and on in the backseat about how we were going to rampage the event and find all of the best (and worst) dresses we could. The laughs continued when we received the first phone call from C. She was lost in a random neighborhood and had no idea who to make it to the Prudential Center. Being the tallest and most prominent building in the Boston skyline, we were a little skeptical that she could miss it if she was in Boston. After a few "Have you looked up?" jokes, she was clearly angry and the phone was passed to me. I'm not sure how this ended up being, as I am from Southern Maine and have never lived in Boston. Nevertheless, I tried to guide her through different streets and get her to the Hynes Convention Center. Once we were off from the highway and into the parking garage, Miss Sox in the City took over and had her own round of ridiculous directions. Fifteen minutes later, we landed C into a parking garage and had her walking toward the correct building. It turns out that she did indeed need to just look up.
Poor Cousin A had been waiting for forty-five minutes before we ended up gracing her with our presence, and with my phone dead, we had no way of reaching her (thank YOU, prepaid service plans!). She had taken it upon herself to stake out some of the better-looking dresses, make a singular rack of them, and prepare herself to put me in and take me out of them. She also came with water bottles, granola bars, and a whistle. This is why I love her!
At 11 AM, we burst into the convention center. It was much less crowded and a lot friendlier than I had been expecting; we had missed the beginning onslot by about four hours. After a few group shots in our t-shirts, we dispersed and were overwhelmed by where to start. Picture a warehouse filled with racks and racks of unorganized wedding dresses in ever size, shape, and color. It was my organizational nightmare. Word to the wise for those ladies who wish to come to this event to find their own dresses: plan ahead and have an idea of what kind of dress you want. It makes the hunt a lot easier. Also, bring a TON of people.
With Cousin and Mother Library gathering a few first dresses, I stripped down to my sports bra and bathing suit bottoms (no need for modesty here!) and tried on the first dress. It was a dud. No shape, wrong color, and a weird neckline. The next few were also very underwhelming. As my pose went to find more, I spied a dress that Miss Sox in the City had put in her "maybe" pile. I asked her if I could try it on (since it was the first dress she had tried on) and she gave me the go-ahead. I tried it on...
and LOVED it. It became the dress I compared everything else to. Cousin Library had said that she wouldn't let me settle on my wedding dress, so we still had some work to do, but this dress had some serious potential.
After three more hours, about fifty other dresses, a bloody finger (the day wouldn't have been complete without a little bloodshed), and an epic journey across the warehouse with eight dresses strung over me, I knew it had come down to a decision. Did I want to go with this dress or did I want to see what I found somewhere else? I had heard cheering for other ladies finding their dresses all day, and part of me wanted that. We had cheered for Miss Sox in the City finding her dress about a half hour before. But I wanted to know that I had found the dress. When I tried it on for the final time, I began to cry. The dress was the one. I could have my own turn for cheering!
As I packaged the dress up, I looked at the price tag to see just how much I would be saving. I expected a difference of maybe $200 to $300, but what I saw made my mouth drop. Originally, my dress had been upwards of $1500, but today, it was $250! Not only did I love my dress, but I loved the price, as well as the free t-shirt I got with purchase.
Did I get to stand on a pedestal and get oogled over? No. But in this case, the cement floor was the best place in the world.
That was a nice dream, but my dress-finding experience was way better!
It all began when Miss Sox in the City, one of my gorgeous bridesmaids and a bride in her own right, saw an ad for The Running of the Brides in downtown Boston. It had always been shown on television as a bloodbath, a time when dress-starved bridezillas scratched and clawed their way through the racks of marked down bridal gowns to find their dream dresses at ridiculous savings. As a part-time thrill seeker, I jumped at the chance to go. There was no way I would find my dress there, but it was worth the experience. Mother Library was as thrilled as I was, and when my engagement photo shoot was rescheduled to another day, I called Miss Sox in the City and made plans to carpool.
While I had no plans on getting my dress, I didn't want to walk - or sprint - into this event without backups. Unfortunately, Sister and MOH Library had to work and couldn't get time off because of her previous weekend off. Bridesmaid C had to work, but Cousin Library (bridesmaid A) was chomping at the bit to go. Miss Sox in the City invited her bridesmaids K, N, and me (I'm so glad we are in each other's weddings!), as well as one of our friends from grad school, C. Miss Sox in the City had made matching bright orange T-shirts so we could find each other, so we dawned those before getting into the car. C would be meeting us in the city, as would Cousin A, so the rest of us bundled into Miss Sox in the City's car and headed into the big city.
With Mother Library riding shotgun, K, N, and I chattered on and on in the backseat about how we were going to rampage the event and find all of the best (and worst) dresses we could. The laughs continued when we received the first phone call from C. She was lost in a random neighborhood and had no idea who to make it to the Prudential Center. Being the tallest and most prominent building in the Boston skyline, we were a little skeptical that she could miss it if she was in Boston. After a few "Have you looked up?" jokes, she was clearly angry and the phone was passed to me. I'm not sure how this ended up being, as I am from Southern Maine and have never lived in Boston. Nevertheless, I tried to guide her through different streets and get her to the Hynes Convention Center. Once we were off from the highway and into the parking garage, Miss Sox in the City took over and had her own round of ridiculous directions. Fifteen minutes later, we landed C into a parking garage and had her walking toward the correct building. It turns out that she did indeed need to just look up.
Poor Cousin A had been waiting for forty-five minutes before we ended up gracing her with our presence, and with my phone dead, we had no way of reaching her (thank YOU, prepaid service plans!). She had taken it upon herself to stake out some of the better-looking dresses, make a singular rack of them, and prepare herself to put me in and take me out of them. She also came with water bottles, granola bars, and a whistle. This is why I love her!
At 11 AM, we burst into the convention center. It was much less crowded and a lot friendlier than I had been expecting; we had missed the beginning onslot by about four hours. After a few group shots in our t-shirts, we dispersed and were overwhelmed by where to start. Picture a warehouse filled with racks and racks of unorganized wedding dresses in ever size, shape, and color. It was my organizational nightmare. Word to the wise for those ladies who wish to come to this event to find their own dresses: plan ahead and have an idea of what kind of dress you want. It makes the hunt a lot easier. Also, bring a TON of people.
With Cousin and Mother Library gathering a few first dresses, I stripped down to my sports bra and bathing suit bottoms (no need for modesty here!) and tried on the first dress. It was a dud. No shape, wrong color, and a weird neckline. The next few were also very underwhelming. As my pose went to find more, I spied a dress that Miss Sox in the City had put in her "maybe" pile. I asked her if I could try it on (since it was the first dress she had tried on) and she gave me the go-ahead. I tried it on...
and LOVED it. It became the dress I compared everything else to. Cousin Library had said that she wouldn't let me settle on my wedding dress, so we still had some work to do, but this dress had some serious potential.
After three more hours, about fifty other dresses, a bloody finger (the day wouldn't have been complete without a little bloodshed), and an epic journey across the warehouse with eight dresses strung over me, I knew it had come down to a decision. Did I want to go with this dress or did I want to see what I found somewhere else? I had heard cheering for other ladies finding their dresses all day, and part of me wanted that. We had cheered for Miss Sox in the City finding her dress about a half hour before. But I wanted to know that I had found the dress. When I tried it on for the final time, I began to cry. The dress was the one. I could have my own turn for cheering!
As I packaged the dress up, I looked at the price tag to see just how much I would be saving. I expected a difference of maybe $200 to $300, but what I saw made my mouth drop. Originally, my dress had been upwards of $1500, but today, it was $250! Not only did I love my dress, but I loved the price, as well as the free t-shirt I got with purchase.
Did I get to stand on a pedestal and get oogled over? No. But in this case, the cement floor was the best place in the world.
The MOH - What does the H stand for again?
I love Sister Library, please don't get me wrong. She was the first person I called when Mr. Library and I got engaged to ask immediately if she would be my MOH. She has such great style, amazing art talent, and is gorgeous to boot. She had been so excited to think about helping out with weddings before Mr. Library popped the question that I knew she was not only the best choice, but the wholeheartedly most wonderful choice for the job. With an overwhelming yes and a few shrieks, we were off.
So what's the problem? All of that excitement has somehow died away for her. Mr. Library and I have had, to say the least, a lengthy engagement (he proposed in April 2008 and we're getting married in July 2010) and it bothered her that I couldn't give her any jobs to complete right off the bat. Sorry, Sister Library, I can't give you anything to do when I cannot do anything myself! I have kept her in the know about everything we have planned -- from the wedding cake topper to the many, many ideas over where to shop for bridesmaids' dresses to picking out the reception location -- and have asked her to come to everything multiple people can come to. Unfortunately, her answer to many of the group outings have been "Sorry, I can't go. I have 'this' planned instead."
Sad. She's my sister. I want her to be apart of all of this. While it wasn't anyone's fault that she couldn't be at the Running of the Brides, but I cried half of the way home from Massachusetts because she wasn't there when I found my dress. She was clearly upset, though she tried to hide it, and I think it has bothered her ever since. When I asked her to come look for bridesmaids' dresses, she said she had to visit her boyfriend instead. Needing to know what she thought about dresses and wanting to have some one-on-one time with her, I scheduled an appointment for she and I to have fun with ridiculous dresses and cameras. She wasn't having it. With the enthusiasm of someone getting three teeth pulled at the dentist, she trudged through trying on dresses, through her hands up and proclaimed that she didn't care what the dress looked like, I was the bride. When I asked her what was wrong, she snarled that this appointment had been my idea, not hers, and I should be more aware of what works for her. She was missing time with her boyfriend and had to try on "stupid dresses."
What do I do? I want her to enjoy this process with me and all on her own. This wedding, to me, is about bringing family together, and it hurts that a key family member just isn't having anything to do with it. I have consider the fact that maybe it is more important to me than anyone else, and perhaps I have a ton of wedding energy to burn off. But is it too much to ask to have her a little excited?
Have any of you had problems with wedding motivation for a wedding party member?
So what's the problem? All of that excitement has somehow died away for her. Mr. Library and I have had, to say the least, a lengthy engagement (he proposed in April 2008 and we're getting married in July 2010) and it bothered her that I couldn't give her any jobs to complete right off the bat. Sorry, Sister Library, I can't give you anything to do when I cannot do anything myself! I have kept her in the know about everything we have planned -- from the wedding cake topper to the many, many ideas over where to shop for bridesmaids' dresses to picking out the reception location -- and have asked her to come to everything multiple people can come to. Unfortunately, her answer to many of the group outings have been "Sorry, I can't go. I have 'this' planned instead."
Sad. She's my sister. I want her to be apart of all of this. While it wasn't anyone's fault that she couldn't be at the Running of the Brides, but I cried half of the way home from Massachusetts because she wasn't there when I found my dress. She was clearly upset, though she tried to hide it, and I think it has bothered her ever since. When I asked her to come look for bridesmaids' dresses, she said she had to visit her boyfriend instead. Needing to know what she thought about dresses and wanting to have some one-on-one time with her, I scheduled an appointment for she and I to have fun with ridiculous dresses and cameras. She wasn't having it. With the enthusiasm of someone getting three teeth pulled at the dentist, she trudged through trying on dresses, through her hands up and proclaimed that she didn't care what the dress looked like, I was the bride. When I asked her what was wrong, she snarled that this appointment had been my idea, not hers, and I should be more aware of what works for her. She was missing time with her boyfriend and had to try on "stupid dresses."
What do I do? I want her to enjoy this process with me and all on her own. This wedding, to me, is about bringing family together, and it hurts that a key family member just isn't having anything to do with it. I have consider the fact that maybe it is more important to me than anyone else, and perhaps I have a ton of wedding energy to burn off. But is it too much to ask to have her a little excited?
Have any of you had problems with wedding motivation for a wedding party member?
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
With a year and a half down...
It seems like I was just in college, celebrating the end of my senior year with my boyfriend in Williamsburg, VA, wondering what would happen next. A ring, of course, happened next, along with a deluge of planning, bouncing ideas off from anyone who would listen, and some maddening honeymoon searches. Wedding planning isn't always what people tell you. It isn't necessarily filled with the wonder and excitement of becoming a Mrs. So-and-So; you can feel doubt about the future, regret over not having little decisions to make after you already have (backwards, I know), and anxiety over the tiniest of comments. What did my FMIL mean when she said that I should have higher standards for my planning? What does that mean? Am I making everyone happy? More importantly, are we (Mr. Library and I) happy?
With all of the pressures of "getting this wedding right," it can be easy to get caught up in the rush and forget to look at the celebration as a whole. Mr. Library and I are in love, we are able to celebrate that by coming together with the help of our families and friends, and we look forward to learning with and from each other for the rest of our lives. Our families are supportive - even with the occassional snafoo over detail preferences - and are willing to help us any way they can. Our friends are willing to join us from all parts of country and the world to celebrate and take part in our love.
Can it get any better than that? I would like to see someone try!
With all of the pressures of "getting this wedding right," it can be easy to get caught up in the rush and forget to look at the celebration as a whole. Mr. Library and I are in love, we are able to celebrate that by coming together with the help of our families and friends, and we look forward to learning with and from each other for the rest of our lives. Our families are supportive - even with the occassional snafoo over detail preferences - and are willing to help us any way they can. Our friends are willing to join us from all parts of country and the world to celebrate and take part in our love.
Can it get any better than that? I would like to see someone try!
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