So, I told Michael this past weekend that the next time he headed to Raleigh on a MWF I would like to go along to check out the two online stores that I found from up there. Well, he happened to need to go yesterday so we took that as a hint and I went with him. Well, the one shop doesn't exist. It's supposed to have a physical location but it doesn't. Unless, of course, it is really owned by the second shop. But whatever cause the second place (which I knew existed cause it's listed in Bridal magazines) was perfect for my needs. It's called Bridal Mart (sorry, Rebecca, for not calling you but I didn't know our time frame since Mike had two jobs up there) and is great. They have tons of dresses ranging from $100+. The price to order a brand spanking new one that has never been worn is only slightly higher ($30 for mine) than the in stock price. Actually, I suspect that difference would depend upon the condition of the dress but I didn't research that.
They didn't have "my" gown in my size but they did have it in a smaller one (8) and even in the right color. Michael was shocked by how much the thing weighs (he estimates 20 pounds). lol But he really likes the dress as much as I do. He did get to see the other two top choices but didn't like them nearly as much (Jami, the one you tried on had a pink copy there that was only $300 there cause it was a display model). We also looked for a veil and a few other things. Then we talked about whether to order it then or for me to call back.
Well, the women were so very helpful. The price was so very good. And the place had customers who seemed happy with their purchases. So, it was a no brainer that I would be getting my dress from them. In the end, we ordered it They measured me again and that's when we had some fun because my measurements are larger than what the book says should fit into the size I know I am. In order to be sure, the woman had me try on an Alfred Angelo dress (one like you tried, Cynthia) which was cool cause Michael got to see one of the three choices on me. And we got to verify the veil too. Well, you should have seen the lady's face when the smaller size fit perfectly. She has never seen that in 10 years. lol I guess I a just an odd duck. Or my fat shifts elsewhere for dresses.
Michael paid for it cause he didn't want me to touch my savings more yet. I'd already pulled some for the deposits we've made so it was all fair. We ordered the dress and the jacket I want for it. When they come in, we'll get the veil I found and a bra/corset thingie cause I tried one on and they fit awesome and fall just right.
So, that's one more thing off my list. The ladies can buy their dresses from Bridal Mart too if they want. Theirs is a very good price there. And all in all I am happy with the outcome of this area so far.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Friday, March 14, 2008
Saturation
Ok, so I spent more time on the wedding this week than any other point. I think I'm overflowing with it. lol Actually, it only comes down to two main areas: flowers and dresses. So without further ado. . .
Flowers: I have to admit that I haven't had a clue what I want for the flowers. Just something pretty. lol And that I want to get them preserved afterwards. So, I made an appointment with the owner of my favorite flower shop here: Rosewood Florist. I didn't want to seem like a complete space cadet so I did some research on the seasonal flowers and meanings and made a small list. Really, I am simple in my tastes with them because I like most flowers. I lean towards the standard roses and lilies but I also love carnations. For fillers I like baby's breath and ivy. All of those coupled with the wedding theme helped Chad come up with some great ideas. Our flowers are going to look like they've just been picked because the stems will be wrapped and exposed at the same time.
My flowers will be all white (roses, stephanotis, and freesia) with an undercurrent of blue (hydranga). I think there will also be baby's breath and ivy. I had thought having something different for each of the attendants would be good but Chad says that uniform really does work better. I trust him so they will have baby's breath, yellow freesia, hot pink mums (I think it's mums), white daisies, and ivy. He thought that yellow would be the best coordinating color. Okie dokie. I want corsages for Michael's mother, my Aunt Wendy, and Kathy since they will be the primary mommy figures. Those will be white roses. Michael will have a boutonniere of white freesia, stephanotis, and ivy wile the rest of the guys will have yellow freesia and ivy. But Michael needs to see the latter to see is he likes it so we may nix the boutonnieres. But our deposit is done and we can cut stuff later. Oh, and my tossing bouquet is free. It's something they throw in (pun intended). As for preservation, check out the Flowers Forever Link.
Dresses: We did this over two days because I didn't go to the shop I prefer. (sigh) Should have cause the other one didn't have anything that I could really try on though I did make an attempt. We're all getting something from the Alfred Angelo line. We went more for Jami and Cynthia to try on my top dress choices for them. I pretty much had a firm decision made but I wanted to see it on them. It (#6494) looked fabulous:
It should fit Jen well as I'm pretty sure I've seen her in that kind of neckline. I really hope that Valerie likes the dress too because I have been in love with this one since I first started looking. She prefers straight satin and I like the fluidity of the chiffon over the satin. I think it will flatter her but I don't know. I'll trust her judgment on the yay or nay. I have other choices that will be ok.
As for me. . .well, I got to see some of my top choices on. Jami said that she had been surprised because I didn't act like a Bridezilla about the whole thing. Um, no. A Bridezilla would never have told her attendants to try on the gowns so that she could see how they look. lol Jami and Cynthia modeled two of my top choices because the sizes weren't anywhere near close enough for me to try. And Jami wanted to see what they looked like just as much as me so I was like, "Well, if you want to see them that badly, you model them!" lol So she did. They were both great. Jami looked beautiful. It freaked her out a little. But she will be an awesome bride some day.
Anyway, I love the back of my top choice dress but I am not so thrilled with the front. It's a little plain. Jami liked the one she tried on better. Cynthia liked mine. Obviously, in the end, it's what I want that matters. However, I am going to show Michael the pics and see which he likes. After all, he isn't seeing me in the dress so it doesn't jinx things.
I may just post them all here for you to vote on just for the hell of it. I'll make a decision at some point so it will be a surprise in the end for you all but it's good to have various opinions.
Flowers: I have to admit that I haven't had a clue what I want for the flowers. Just something pretty. lol And that I want to get them preserved afterwards. So, I made an appointment with the owner of my favorite flower shop here: Rosewood Florist. I didn't want to seem like a complete space cadet so I did some research on the seasonal flowers and meanings and made a small list. Really, I am simple in my tastes with them because I like most flowers. I lean towards the standard roses and lilies but I also love carnations. For fillers I like baby's breath and ivy. All of those coupled with the wedding theme helped Chad come up with some great ideas. Our flowers are going to look like they've just been picked because the stems will be wrapped and exposed at the same time.
My flowers will be all white (roses, stephanotis, and freesia) with an undercurrent of blue (hydranga). I think there will also be baby's breath and ivy. I had thought having something different for each of the attendants would be good but Chad says that uniform really does work better. I trust him so they will have baby's breath, yellow freesia, hot pink mums (I think it's mums), white daisies, and ivy. He thought that yellow would be the best coordinating color. Okie dokie. I want corsages for Michael's mother, my Aunt Wendy, and Kathy since they will be the primary mommy figures. Those will be white roses. Michael will have a boutonniere of white freesia, stephanotis, and ivy wile the rest of the guys will have yellow freesia and ivy. But Michael needs to see the latter to see is he likes it so we may nix the boutonnieres. But our deposit is done and we can cut stuff later. Oh, and my tossing bouquet is free. It's something they throw in (pun intended). As for preservation, check out the Flowers Forever Link.
Dresses: We did this over two days because I didn't go to the shop I prefer. (sigh) Should have cause the other one didn't have anything that I could really try on though I did make an attempt. We're all getting something from the Alfred Angelo line. We went more for Jami and Cynthia to try on my top dress choices for them. I pretty much had a firm decision made but I wanted to see it on them. It (#6494) looked fabulous:
It should fit Jen well as I'm pretty sure I've seen her in that kind of neckline. I really hope that Valerie likes the dress too because I have been in love with this one since I first started looking. She prefers straight satin and I like the fluidity of the chiffon over the satin. I think it will flatter her but I don't know. I'll trust her judgment on the yay or nay. I have other choices that will be ok.
As for me. . .well, I got to see some of my top choices on. Jami said that she had been surprised because I didn't act like a Bridezilla about the whole thing. Um, no. A Bridezilla would never have told her attendants to try on the gowns so that she could see how they look. lol Jami and Cynthia modeled two of my top choices because the sizes weren't anywhere near close enough for me to try. And Jami wanted to see what they looked like just as much as me so I was like, "Well, if you want to see them that badly, you model them!" lol So she did. They were both great. Jami looked beautiful. It freaked her out a little. But she will be an awesome bride some day.
Anyway, I love the back of my top choice dress but I am not so thrilled with the front. It's a little plain. Jami liked the one she tried on better. Cynthia liked mine. Obviously, in the end, it's what I want that matters. However, I am going to show Michael the pics and see which he likes. After all, he isn't seeing me in the dress so it doesn't jinx things.
I may just post them all here for you to vote on just for the hell of it. I'll make a decision at some point so it will be a surprise in the end for you all but it's good to have various opinions.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Wedding Site
We have a locale for both the wedding and the reception! Yay! Actually, we've had it for a few weeks but I haven't had time to let you all know. Just look at the Wintergreen Woods link under wedding stuff. It's perfect. The pictures really do capture the place well. In fact, those are what kept drawing me back to the page. That and the idea of having a place with all in one capabilities.
I mean, we looked at a lot of places and narrowed them down to 12. But the main problem was that the places we liked were awesome for the budget but hell on time because we would have had to do all of the decorating the day of, etc. Ugh I so don't want to spend our wedding day stressing out about where everything is going to be set, etc. I'm not being a Bridezilla, I'm being practical.
Well, with Wintergreen Woods, we get it all in a nice neat package. The couple who owns the place set it up for busy people like Michael and I. They will take care of it all to our specifications. And we will be ok for both an outside or inside ceremony depending upon the weather. There is plenty of parking. The food choices are awesome and per head within the budget. We don't have to pay extra for alcohol cause we can supply our own for no extra charge! One place wanted to charge us a $15/head corkage fee if we brought our own alcohol. WW supplies us with a bar facility and a bartender within the cost of the package. That really sold Michael after the other place. If we decide not to go with one of their cakes, we get some $ off per person. So that's cool too. Plus they coordinate everything and I don't have to stress about not having a planner or trying to designate someone to help. Everyone can come party with us like we want. All in all, it's a wonderful idea, place, and deal. And we really like the people. It was a great weight off of our shoulders.
Of course there is still a ton to do but WW really will help me with the small details. So, right now we have: locale, DJ, and photographer. Next up is hotels (which I have a list of) and flowers (appointment this Tuesday). 8 months to go!
I mean, we looked at a lot of places and narrowed them down to 12. But the main problem was that the places we liked were awesome for the budget but hell on time because we would have had to do all of the decorating the day of, etc. Ugh I so don't want to spend our wedding day stressing out about where everything is going to be set, etc. I'm not being a Bridezilla, I'm being practical.
Well, with Wintergreen Woods, we get it all in a nice neat package. The couple who owns the place set it up for busy people like Michael and I. They will take care of it all to our specifications. And we will be ok for both an outside or inside ceremony depending upon the weather. There is plenty of parking. The food choices are awesome and per head within the budget. We don't have to pay extra for alcohol cause we can supply our own for no extra charge! One place wanted to charge us a $15/head corkage fee if we brought our own alcohol. WW supplies us with a bar facility and a bartender within the cost of the package. That really sold Michael after the other place. If we decide not to go with one of their cakes, we get some $ off per person. So that's cool too. Plus they coordinate everything and I don't have to stress about not having a planner or trying to designate someone to help. Everyone can come party with us like we want. All in all, it's a wonderful idea, place, and deal. And we really like the people. It was a great weight off of our shoulders.
Of course there is still a ton to do but WW really will help me with the small details. So, right now we have: locale, DJ, and photographer. Next up is hotels (which I have a list of) and flowers (appointment this Tuesday). 8 months to go!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
