Danggit.

Well. It would be just my luck that the dress I really like (the Bridgette Moore) is only sold in THREE states (MI, TX, MA) the closet salon is five hours away and the designer - she's Irish. Doesn't even have a website. :(
Hm. We have a project going live in Kinsale next year - maybe I can make it to Dublin on the compnay. *LOL*

Blimey.

Danggit.

Well. It would be just my luck that the dress I really like (the Bridgette Moore) is only sold in THREE states (MI, TX, MA) the closet salon is five hours away and the designer - she's Irish. Doesn't even have a website. :(
Hm. We have a project going live in Kinsale next year - maybe I can make it to Dublin on the compnay. *LOL*

Blimey.

Dresses

Okay. So last night, while I was at LB (being bored) I was thinking about dresses. I have only worn two or three really 'formal' gowns - but I know jsut from clothing what does and does not look good on me. However, I was having the HARDEST time actually visualizing what my gown would look like. At a lull - I went to one of the big mirrors and pulled my hair up ( i rarely wear it up cuz it iwsn't really long enough to look right just yet) just to see what it would looke like. I looked REALLY cute (suddenly more bridal) and I had a vision of what my dress MIGHT look like. I'm pretty stuck on the 'no white, no ivory' but almost everything else shifted.




To start with - I would like this kind of sleeve/neckline (off the sholder - NOT strapless - I couldn't think of what it was called) and the bodice. See how it has all the pretty embroidery on it?





Then - the skirt I like would most likely be an A-line. Not a super full one (a medium to small crinoline) with a nice sized train. The train bit suprised me as I just didn't see myself in one - but hey - I do like the whole princess bit. I like this skirt:



but, I think that I like this one better (and it shows the train - I think I would want it a TINY bit longer unless it's all bunched up bhind her).




Now this dress I actually like overall - The shoulders, the little sleeve thingys, the skirt, the train - but it's by Brigdette Moore and it had a $$ next to it (Affordable- $601-$1500) in the Knot - so ouch. It cracks me up that a 1,500 gown is still considered afforadable. *sigh*




as for color - I think I want gold. Not like gold Lame gold, or even the common satiny colored gold. I think something like one of these colors would be really nice. I put them in order of the shades that I like best.








Of course - this would be SO much easier if I just took my tail to the store and tried some dressed on - but I honestly don't WANNA! Besides the fact that I'm a 20-22(18-20 on a GOOD day) and thus anything I put on is going to look oddly warped - I've noticed that the only dresses most boutiques even seem to HAVE in a 14/16/18 are the not-so-attractive-to-me 'plus size' gowns. Gah. So. I'm gonna wait for a little while...keep working out and watching what I eat and drinking my water - and try dresses on around January. If I manage to find my dress by Feb. that still gives me 8 months to get it, get fitted (rolls eyes) and be set for the wedding...

PS.

Just found this dress. THIS is the color. Right here. *sigh* It's called Antique Gold.






jasmyn

Changes, changes.

Hm. We are considering changing the wedding date. I really liked it because it was on the third anniversary of the day we met, but it's a MONDAY (a holiday Monday, but still). Ick. *sigh* So - maybe push it back a day to Sunday - and actually we will save a little money doing that as you get a cheaper rate for rentals (the full weekend) when it's done on a weekend.
Hm. Don't know. Nothing has been booked yet, so I guess this is the right time to think about it, eh? I just realized I am going to put the deposit down on the site on Friday, Sept 13. *cue ominous music* Hm.
I've found some discounted stuff that I plan on taking full advantage of - for my guests...since all of his live less than 2 hours away.

Airlines
American Airlines,wedding fares,800-221-2255
Continental Airlines, 800-468-7022, www.continental.com
Delta Air Lines,domestic group fares,800-337-4777, www.delta.com
Northwest Airlines, 800-328-2216, www.nwa.com
Southwest Airlines, 800-433-5368, www.southwest.com
United Airlines, 800-426-1122
US Airways, 877-874-7687, www.usairways.com

Hotels
Hilton, 800-321-3232, www.hiltondirect.comMarriott, 800-831-4004, www.marriott.com

Cars
Avis, 800-525-7537, www.avis.comHertz, 800-544-0058, www.hertz.com

The only thing is that for the airlines, I know you have to have a minimum of 10 people booked on it, so I might only pick two airlines. I don't know how it works for the hotels or the cars. But... I'll find out.

*SIGH*

*yawn*

Must decide. Flip a coin? *LOL* I'm so sick. It's gona be Sunday. Now to run this past Corey....but something tells me he won't mind. Gah. The only thing he has minded about thus far has been the food and the officiant. But I'm thinking that might be more than usual. :)

jasmyn

The Dress Dilemna

Something just crossed my mind - what is it that is so darn special about a wedding dress that demands 50 trillion alterations? It's (when you come right down to it) a white or ivory or whatever colored evening/formal gown. In other words - a really dressy dress. I know that most women can stroll into their neighborhood Saks and pick up a dress off the rack that FITS - no major bust/waist/hip/length alterations needed. Why is it then, the second you step into a bridal salon, you are almost EXPECTED to have five or six fittings?? Come on - I can understand that for a custom made dress, but when you are working off of a basic pattern? Is there something right fishy here or is it just me missing something? If everyone in my high school class who wanted to go could find something off the rack to wear (and we varied widely in sizes) why the devil can't bridal manaufacturers do the same thing?? I think they PURPOSELY make the dress shaped 'wrong'. It doesn't cost the designer anything extra as they can custom make ONE for their model - and the dress shops get a HEALTHY boost in their income because women come back to them for alterations. Just think - the worse fitting the original gown is - the more alterations you need. If one designer made rather wonky dresses, giving the bridal shop more alteration money, maybe the bridal shop will buy more of his or her dresses - perpetuating a cycle that only the designer and the bridal shop benefit from.

*shakes head* I really don't know what I'm going to do as far as my dress goes. I don't want to even try ONE on right now because I expect to be a nice bit smaller before the wedding - and what may look good on me now, my not look good on me then, and vice versa. Besides - I don't want to deal with bridal shops AT all. Everytime I walk into one I hear this huge sucking sound. And I might be a WEE bit oversensetive - but I swear the level of customer service has been down right nasty in every bridal shop I have entered. I've gone to about 4 now (2 David's *shudder* and 2 little boutiqey ones) and neither of them gave me a warm and fuzzy - oh I want to give this business 400.00 for one dress for one day kind of feeling. And I don't have the smallest engagement ring - so any observant clerk would have guessed that I was REALLY there shopping. Maybe it's because I either came alone or with Corey - they figured that unless I had an older woman or two or three friends in tow I wasn't serious.
Eh.
I was flipping through Harper's Bazaar a few nights ago - and realized that I really dug some of the gowns they had in there. While the magazine itself is irratating as all get out (who ARE all those people - and are they the dirty rich that aren't famous? Maybe I don't like it cuz it makes me jealous. I wanna be RICH!!! and what's up with the sexy starvation look??) I for some possesed reason used my soon to expire airmiles on a free subscription. At this point, I'm starting to appreciate more though because it is giving me more ideas as to what I could wear. If a style/color is good enough for the Oscars - I'm thinking it will be fancy enough for a wedding, eh?

I bet they only need one or two fittings too.

jasmyn.

Liars!

ARgh. So, I was right the FIRST time - you can't book the Hideaway until the Monday AFTER Labor Day. *sigh* *pout* Anyhow - I wouldn't have wanted to book it now anyhow, as you have to put down half the deposit within ten days, and I don't think the wedding fund (or either of our pockets) is quite ready for that. *Pouts* I want to schedule another time to go out there so that I can take some pictures and get a general idea of how to decorate the place.

The centerpieces have been bugging me. It's not really a 'fall' wedding - and the theme is not really one that lends itself to a centerpiece, and since the wedding is in the afternoon and the rooms that will have the tables set up in have either one or two walls of NOTHING but windows I think candles would look kinda silly. So - being the crafty little bugger that I am (and doing a little more unpacking) I came across my container of glass etcher and had the BRIGHTEST idea. I would get a bunch of the old school glass pitchers from thrift stores, etch them with the symbol (randomly three or four times), color the etched bit with either burgandy or gold glass paint, and then fill them with sangria or apple cider (the apple cider would go in the burgandy etched pitchers and the sangria in the gold etched ones)and put one of each on a table. Then - we could give them away to anyone who wanted one, or keep them. Thus - something colorful, something useful, something kinda cheap, and something that we can re-use afterwards.

What else going on wedding related? Ah! I went to David's Bridal this weekend (just to wander through) and I repeat - YEECCCHHH!! This time, it wasn't even the style of dress that bugged the be-jesus out of me, it was the fabric! The fabric feels like the absolute CHEAPEST polyester that they could find - with the crunciest chiffon. *gag* So - I see that I shall NOT be getting my dress from there. I came home and rummaged through my closet for the prom dress that my mother made me - and oh mercy! THe fabric is PERFECT. It's rich and soft and dense and just lovely. And I know that the dress cost no more than 80 bucks to make - and we used some expensive fabric. I really night have to twist her arm and get her to make me my dress. :) That can be her gift and her oly contribution (money or time wise) to the wedding.

jasmyn

Calming Thoughts.

 Buckethead's note on my last entry really helped me center myself. For a second there I was getting sucked into the madness - the search and total obsession with perfection.

What I will remember - what I will MAKE myself remember - no matter what kind of obstacles, stupid mistakes, money problems, bratty families, or dilly vendors I run into - what I will ALWAYS remember is - no matter what happens (unless the officiant keels over 5 minutes before the ceremony) is that - when Sept. 1, 2003 is all over, said and done - I will be married. I will have joined into an amazing covenent with the man I love and who is my heart. No matter if I spill a pitcher of sangria down the front of my dress or if all the tuxes are a size too small - we will be married. Even if hal the food gets burnt - and the cake is nasty - we will be married. Even if the photgrapher shows up drunk, and the CD's are all scratched - we WILL be married.

And when it really comes down to it - that's all that matters.

Jasmyn

Curiouser and Curiouser

I know I'm odd - I know my wedding is going to be odd. So why do I get so exasperated when I ask questions and get back cookie cutter replies? *deep breath*

So far - there looks like I have about three choices for a photgrapher.
1) Hire a Fine Arts Student (one of my coworkers at LB is actually a photog major - she may know someone)
2) Hire someone from a newpaper to do it (that way I will get more photojoural look and less mushy frou-frou)
3) Beg my Man of Honor to do it (really don't want to do that - I want him to relax)

I figure it's bad enough we most likely won't have many pictures of the reception - though I'm bringing my camera and I plan on taking plenty of pictures - but we reallllly want to take nice pictures of the ceremony. I need to make a list of what pictures we really want.

Addendum:

Okay - I just saw a website that has the EXACT style of photography I'm looking for - and I'm just mad at this point because I knoooowwww it's expensive. Those pictures are just GORGEOUS - and so my style. Most of the photos that I take are in that - catching little moments and tiny details and still managing to give a nod to the big picture kind of style. In a perfect world - I would clone myself and take my own bloody pictures. Gr. So now (as I'm guessing he is in Aspen) I'm looking for a photographer here that might do something similar. *LOL* Oh mercy!! I'm going to have a photographer like ole girl from Diary of a Mad Bride - bouncing around like he is doging bullets. *LOL*


bllleeghhhhhhhhhh.....

jasmyn

Excuse the Dust

*brushes off the last bits*

Well - thus completes the total revamping of my diary - from "My wonderful Life" to "Our Wonderful Wedding".

:)

All else I want to do is find a good, free countdown clock to count down the days to the wedding.

jasmyn

Oh!

It's so PRETTY!! - the paper that is - I've decided which ones I'm goig to use - originally I was going to go with one color for the mailer for the Save the Date, and another color for everything else....but in the paper I chose, I only LIKE one color. So... now I have to figure out how to do this blasted mailer. Hmm... maybe I can use the heavyweight vellum for the mailer - that would be nice, something a little sheer. Yeah - I should be able to find that at a paper store around here....esp. considering as of right now I ONLY need 12 sheets.

*grins* and the envelopes are gonna be soooo pretty too. I'm using this really rich copper color with black writing on it...*wiggles* I'm soooo excited.

Also - reading The Knot and the like - I realized that I had seriously over-estimated how much the flatware and plates and stuff would cost - so that makes me feel a little better. Not a lot - just a little. :)

*wiggles* I do realize that by the time I'm done collecting stuff a little it at a time, it's not going to cost NEARLY as much as I expect it will. Like I plan on buying most of the paper next month. Also, I'll be collecting the paperware, and the centerpieces right after the fall stuff goes on sale and.... well - it's nice to have a year to gather stuff AND save money. :)

We gonna have a NICE honeymoon - yes sir we are.

jasmyn