Dress Disaster Averted

I have returned from the dress fitting and I'm happy to say that it was successful! It turns out the alteration lady is pretty awesome at what she does - thank goodness! There are a few kinks that she has to work out, but I think it will all turn out okay in the end. I really do love the dress and can't wait to wear it! Melissa Sweet's Reverie label is so incredible, I recommend checking it out if you haven't already! For all of you who said a little prayer for me after you read the previous two blogs, thank you - your support means a lot. I promise the next blog that I post will be a little more heart warming and not so stressful! Well, I'm off to boot camp! Cheers!

Wedding Dress Alterations Disaster or Should I Say, Potential Disaster

For all brides who have trusted the lady who sold them their wedding dress - this story is definitely for you. As I mentioned in my last post, my gown is a little snug around the hips. This past month I have been working out and eating light in an effort to loosen the dress up around my thighs a bit. As is the case with many woman and definitely the case with me, my body likes to store up little extras in the thigh/hip/backside region. If things worked the way they were meant to work (in my perfect world) - my body would be happy to get rid of that extra baggage first. But NO!!! I lose my weight in my upper body first, especially my face and arms leaving me (in my opinion) extremely disproportionate to my lower half.

When I posted the last blog, I felt confident that I would be able to lose a little weight in time to allow my dress to lay flat and fit properly. The fabric is a silk chiffon - so it bunches up when it's a little snug and that is really distracting, in my opinion. When I left Priscilla of Boston the last time, I felt confident that my alterations lady would be able to work her magic and that the dress would fit and we would be good to go. But my concern was heightened yesterday when I received a voicemail from her asking me to call her back. The connection was really bad so I could barely understand who she was or what she was saying on the voicemail that she left. So I called back the last number just to find out. A lady answered, "Priscilla of Boston," - so I connected the dots and realized it must have been my alterations lady. She transferred me to my alterations gal who hurriedly explained a couple of things, non of which I could understand until I heard her ask, "have you lost any weight?" That I heard and understood as clear as night and day. All I could think about was, she must be extra concerned, why else would she be asking? I told her that I had been toning up and that it was hard to say if I'd lost weight per say but perhaps I had lost an inch or a little less (which is more relevant to the dress fitting, wouldn't you think?) She didn't say anything, so I continued to assure her (for some strange reason I felt that I needed to - shouldn't the tables have been flipped in this situation) that I had barely ate anything and that I definitely had not gained weight.

The next topic she brought up was that of her manager calling all over town to the other couture boutiques to find my dress in a size larger. This officially set me into panic mode - why is her manager stressing out - if there is give in the inseam (which is what she told me last time), what's the big deal. So I asked my alterations lady about that and it turns out there is less than 1 inch of fabric to help them loosen it up a bit. Noticing that I was beginning to get worried, she tried to reassure me. She said that she would go to the store and get fabric and they could remake the skirt. Well, I know this is going to sound pretty high maintenance - but I hated this idea! I paid extra to have a couture gown and I went to Priscilla of Boston because I heard that they are experts in the business and would make sure the appropriate size was chosen for me based on my measurements. My alterations lady started saying something about the woman who took my measurements (mentioned in the last story) and it sounded like she was blaming her a bit. Towards the end of the conversation I asked her, why did you call me to ask me these things before my fitting today? To that she replied, I was just calling to see if we could reschedule for an hour later - apparently her shift had changed and she wanted to make sure she was the one helping me out because she had worked for me before. That was very thoughtful of her - now if only we could have avoided the entire first half of the conversation, I wouldn't currently be dreading my appointment to try on my dress this afternoon. To make things even worse, my friend who was supposed to go with me is not feeling well so I might be all alone in this.

One thing I know for sure, if things get a little emotional this afternoon - I am dialing my Bestie, Jordyn, one of my two MOH, and she is going to help me get this sorted. She used to work in one of the fanciest bridal boutiques in Orange County - I'm sure she can help me understand what the situation is and help me work through this with the manager and alterations lady. Stay tuned for part II - after the appointment this afternoon....

Odwalla Superfood for Lunch

Approximately three weeks ago I had my very first dress fitting. As I drove to the Priscilla of Boston in Tyson's Corner and parked in front of the Tiffany's - I imagined myself stopping there after the fitting to buy something beautiful that I could pass down to my daughter's and they could pass down to their daughter's. But let me stop right there - that's not what this story is all about. This story is about my dress not fitting properly.

Yes, at my very first dress fitting - where I was on cloud nine and couldn't wait to see MY dress, my very own dress...the dress was tight around the hips/thighs. At 5' 10" I had to get extra length, so the lady working on my alterations told me that we should focus our attention this fitting on making the dress the appropriate length. She also mentioned that most brides cry on their first fitting because the dress doesn't fit perfectly. As she told me this, my thoughts went back to the very petite (approximately 4'11" and 90 lbs) lady who took by measurements and said something along these lines, "you need to work on your hips, I'll write down one inch smaller on this chart to give you some motivation." Talk about stealing my joy after I found the perfect dress. I remember swallowing and taking a deep breath, then saying, is that easy to do? She said, "for you, no problem...10 pounds".

Fast forward to my dress fitting - I was so mad at that little lady and her tiny self - what does she know about thighs anyway? I can lose ten lbs quickly - but it all comes off my arms and stomach - the thighs are the LAST to go (a curse, I would say). After the dress I ordered did not fit, I started to dream about that second dress that I hadn't gotten and decided it was time to try it on again. This is something the folks that work at the store should not allow! Once a dress comes in for a bride - that's it - no trying on other dresses and then changing your mind. That dress of course fit perfectly which lead to 4 days of tossing and turning at nights trying to decide which dress to get. If I bought a whole new dress, I would forfeit my dress and lose the deposit - and then I would have to pay an additional $3k to have the new dress of my dreams. At the end of the day I rationalized with myself, "Self, you picked out that other dress first - don't be crazy and get this other one now, just get into shape for crying out loud!"

I happened to watch the movie Bride Wars a few days later - I know, I know, terrible movie - but if you are interested in watching all things wedding right now, it's filled with updated styles and fashions and it's pretty amusing at times. At one point in the movie, Kate Hudson is trying on a very pretty Vera Wang and the sales lady says something along the lines of you can't gain weight if you buy this dress - which kind of shocks Kate Hudson because why would a sales lady be so rude. She follows that up by saying, "You don't alter a Vera Wang to fit your body, you alter your body to fit a Vera Wang." Now, I didn't buy a Vera Wang - but as I was standing up there in my Melissa Sweet gown, I thought, if this gets altered too much, we will undoubtedly lose the beautiful shape and I can't have that. So, what did I do? I enrolled in yoga and boot camp - long and lean baby, that's the goal! I've been going for 3 weeks now and I'm already noticing a difference in my arms ( big deal).

My second dress fitting is on Wednesday and because of this, I am going to have Odwalla Superfood for lunch these next two days and try not to eat anything too salty which puffs me up. Silk chiffon is not forgiving if it's tight - it bunches in the front in a way that looks terrible!! And there isn't any fabric to work with here - she'd have to pull the gown up to get a little of the volume that is found lower in the dress (it's a very subtle trumpet fit). In doing so, I'm concered that, A) the dress will then be too short, B) the dress will lose it's beautiful, soft curved, long and flowing shape. Ugh.

Superfood it is. Cheers! (can't even believe I'm making an Odwalla pitch on my wedding blog - desperate times call for desperate measures...)

Find me a Vase!

It's a little ridiculous but...I've spent hours and hours looking at vases online. I like flowers in very organic arrangements and so I thought it would be lovely to have several different bouquets on each table in different size and shaped vases.

1. My first solution for this was to just gather as many vases as possible from friends and family - regardless of color, shape, size - and see how creative we could get with arranging them as centerpieces. I haven't completely let go of that idea because it is a really thrifty way to do it and I'm sure that Elaina (my florist) will be able to make it come together and look very preppy chic.
   


2. On the other hand, I love the idea of using mint julep cups as vases - I like their southern, traditional look and feel. I could get three different sizes of these silvery vases, maybe add ribbons to soften them up, and get a very preppy/romantic feel.
   


3. Lastly, and this would be a heck of a lot easier if I were in Poulsbo - I could go shopping at Antique Malls and Flea Markets and really get an assortment of vases that look vintage and shabby-chic (have I gone overboard and used the word "chic" way too many times in this post??). Honestly, I arrive in town the Tuesday morning before my Saturday wedding, I could easily hit up three antique stores that I am familiar with on my way home. If I go this route it's a tad bit risky because I won't be able to budget for the vases - on the other hand, it seems so much more personal and interesting per table.


4. I also like the idea of incorporating old mason canning jars - this idea kind of ties into option number three as I think you are most likely to find these old jars in antique shops.
   

When asking my beau about this dillema he said, "Bud, do you think everyone is actually going to notice the vases you choose?" I know he was trying to be helpful and his statement actually made me crack up and release some of the stress I was experiencing over this decision. The flower's are what make the centerpieces lovely, I guess I'm putting way too much time and thought into what we put them in. Which option do you like? Do you have any recommendations for places to find great deals on vases?

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Cake Toppers -

I spend way too much time on Etsy these days! But I can't help myself, there are too many sweet crafts and accessories that are so unique and professional that could potentially add the personal touch that I want to achieve without looking too "DIY". Here are a few cake topper options that have caught my eye...let me know what you think! We are doing cupcakes because I spent half of my time at Cupcake Royale when I lived in Seattle - but there will still be a small cutting cake so we can take part in the tradition of feeding each other cake. Speaking of tradition, someday I plan to write a book of new, revitalized traditions...there are some traditions that should really cease to exist. That however, is a totally seperate blog for when I have a little more time to elaborate. Anyhow, check out these cake topper ideas, all found on Etsy.com.






If the cake topper idea is too cheesy, we can always use some flowers to dress the cutting cake up a bit. I really love these little yellow flowers called billy buttons, they are precious!

7 Weeks to go...

For some reason I was feeling really good about the wedding plans - until I realized that I am no longer in front of the 2 month mark by a few weeks, but actually, just past it by one. I stopped by TJ Maxx yesterday to get a yoga mat for my new ultimate boot camp class that I'm now taking 3 days a week. Afterwards, I came home and had just enough time to walk through our engaged couples class assignment from last week with my fiance before I fell asleep from exhaustion. How does one work full time, plan a wedding, get into shape, take a pre-marital counseling course, and oh yeah, just find time to enjoy your fiance -- when the list of wedding to do's are insane. And I don't think as brides, it's entirely our fault. Sure we decide what to take on, but from the day you get engaged there is this month by month list of things you ought to do in order to prepare for this wedding and since you have never actually been married, you kind of assume that you should do everything on the list when it tells you to. I recently subscribed to a blog called A Practicial Wedding, that has a very interesting perspective on this...it really made me laugh and put it all into perspective.

Today, I'm happy to say that I'm throwing the list out the window and making my own list. So there!