Second Guessing

"I'll take that one. . . . no, no wait - that one. Maybe this one is better. What do you think?"

Lately, I've been second guessing every decision I've made in my wedding planning process. I told you about my wedding dress and how much I love, love, love it. For the past two weeks, I've been rethinking everything from the length of my wedding dress to the color palette. I've been driving myself crazy over whether the color & style of the bridesmaids dresses will look good on all three of them. I worried about the invitations, worrying about the seating charts, even wondering if we should have looked at more venues before deciding on one.

What about you? Are you as indecisive as I am?

I'm in Love

With my fiance? Yes, this is true. But I'm also in love with my wedding dress.

Jakob, if you're reading this, STOP NOW!

Way back in May, not long after Jakob asked me to marry him, I decided to stop by a couple of wedding dress shops just to figure out what style of dresses flattered my figure. The first shop I went to was Pearls Place in Metairie, LA where I was helped by Lisa. I had a short list of requirements: I wanted a train but wasn't sure what length. I didn't want anything too flashy. No lace, and I thought anything strapless was out of the question since let's say I'm blessed upstairs. I told Lisa I was open to suggestions, so she grabbed a variety of styles for me to try. I tried on off-the-shoulder styles and halter styles. The halter style made me look too busty. The off-the-shoulder style I just wasn't too crazy about. Next was a strapless gown with detachable train, but the train was cathedral length which I quickly decided was longer than I wanted. I was getting a bit discouraged, then she came along.

(Yes, I'm referring to my dress as female - I'm going to be spending a lot of time with her on my wedding day, but Jakob's the only guy for me.)
She is sparkly but not over the top. Her train is chapel length and exactly what I wanted. I love the organza overlay and the ribbon detail at the hem. Even the back is pretty, and since that's what our guests will be looking at for the majority of ceremony, I wanted something that had some visual interest.

Best of all, the price was right. Pearls Place has a reputation for not inflating their prices in outrageous manner. In fact, some sources tout the shop as being a great place to get a deal on wedding and bridesmaids dresses. In addition to their already modest prices, my dress was on sale. I half expected the "hard sell" to begin, but it didn't. Lisa encouraged me to think it over. She told me if I decided that really was the dress for me, I had a full week to stop by again and lock in the sale price. I didn't even have to put half as a down payment - I could choose how much to pay. Once my payments reached the halfway mark, I would be measured and my dress would be ordered. This gave me the added luxury of not having to worry about the dress style being discontinued before I ordered it. If the manufacturer informed Pearls my dress would soon no longer be available, they'd give me a call so I'd have the option of completing my payments & ordering my dress.

Of course, I did go back a week later to put down $50 and lock in my price. First, I went to two other shops just to be sure. I'll write more about those shopping excursions next time. Honestly, it all just seemed too easy - I found "the one" at the first shop I stopped by, on sale, and the sales staff was super nice... I can't even buy shoes that easily, and I love shoes.

Has anyone else had this kind of experience? Was finding your wedding dress a walk in the park or did you search high and low for it?

She's Gettin' Married in the Mornin'

My niece Athena told me a few days ago that she's getting married July 18th. . . of this year. Allow me to put this in perspective for you. She (and I, as her MOH) have three weeks to coordinate a venue, flowers, attire for the bridal party & parents of bride and groom, music, photographer, cake, food, and a bridal shower. Seems a bit overwhelming, right?
Actually, it's not too bad.
Friday morning, I drove across the lake to meet her at her home, and we were off in search of a wedding dress. She's a good girl & did her homework. She found a dress she liked from JC Penney's bridal collection. Unfortunately, we soon learned none of the stores in Louisiana carry the bridal collection - you have to order them through the catalog, and we didn't have time for that. We decided to check the department stores at Northshore Mall for white formal dresses. Athena found one she liked, but alas, they did not have it in her size. After a few hours, she was beginning to get discouraged and a little worried that she wouldn't have a dress for her wedding when I remembered a money-saving tip I read in one of the many books I've perused in planning for my own wedding. . . consignment shops!
The first one we went to had three wedding dresses, one which was her size. She liked it, but we decided to keep looking. The second store we went to had a much larger selection. Athena tried on several dresses before finding "the one." She kept asking me & her mother what we thought. Finally, I pointed out that unlike every other dress she'd tried on, we practically had to force her back into the dressing room to take it off. Athena, you are right - you look like a "pretty pretty princess" in that dress. And it fits her perfectly - it's even the correct length.
Bonus score at the consignment shop - we also found my bridesmaid dress! It's a blue two piece Alfred Angelo, and more importantly, fits me perfectly. It just needs to be hemmed, which Jakob's aunt is going to do for me. Since it's two pieces, I took the skirt to be hemmed while Athena kept the top to color coordinate the best man's attire to mine.
After we're finished dress shopping, we stop at Bed Bath & Beyond where Athena and fiance Spencer are now registered.
So to recap, in one day, we were able to find, purchase, and take home Athena's wedding dress & my bridesmaid dress and register for gifts.
Day Two:
We buy hubby's wedding band, cake topper, veil making kit (we thought it'd be fun to make it together), bridal shower invitations, shower games, and bachelorette party attire for Athena.
So I have to wonder, is it really this easy or does my niece just lead a charmed life?