Yippee!

Dress Success (revisited)!


Adam and I went over to his parent's house tonight for a Memorial Day Weekend cook-out. *Delicious!* But after stuffin' my belly with some tasty grub and a few "adult beverages," I started to have frightful mental images of not fitting into my dress. 


So what do I do? Why, I skibbled upstairs to the Fraser's guest room to try on my dress and make sure the thing fit! I had to know. I had to put my mind at ease. 


And whattaya know?! My dress slipped on without any struggle at all, and looked better than I remembered! I stood in front of the mirror, admiring the cleanliness and simpleness of it, happy once again with the choice I made back in November. I don't appear to have lost any significant weight, but I haven't gained any either, so I'm pretty pleased...and just a little more than excited about my pre-summer tan (thank you, Florida!). 


The bride-to-be I saw in the mirror tonight brought a giant smile to my face---this dress makes me feel and look happy, beautiful and comfortable... and it just doesn't get any better than that, does it?? Now that I have total peace of mind, I have no qualms about puttin' my dress on in front of all my moms and bridesmaids at my fitting next month...and I can't WAIT to wear it on our wedding day. My dress is very "me" and while wearing it I feel like the lovely, healthy, modern bride that I am. 


(I like that I can say that with confidence. No, I take that back. I LOVE that I can say that with confidence! I am a lovely, healthy, modern bride---woo!)  :o)

{Bring On the Moms}

Exactly one month from now I will be hoppin' into my wedding dress at David's Bridal for my scheduled fitting... with all my mothers in tow. Yepp, my mom and step-mom will be in town because my bridal shower is the day before, and I'm gonna go ahead and assume that Adam's mom and grandmother will join in on the fun because, well, why wouldn't they? After the bridal shower, this qualifies as one of the most major womanly-bonding moments in history! Who would pass up the opportunity to see me stand on a podium in the $450 wedding dress I purchased?! Ooh! Ooh! And THEN watch as the seamstress measures how much material to take off the bottom because I'm friggin' short!? What would be even better is if I've gained weight and don't even FIT into my dress! Wouldn't that be a HOOT?! And if I do miraculously still fit into my dress....well....we can all just stand there and weep because that's what they do on the tv shows!

;o) I'm such a sarcastic ass. I'm sorry.

I know this is a big deal and I shouldn't mock it because if I DIDN'T have any of my moms, family or friends present for this "momentous" occasion I'd probably lose it. I had only my Maid of Honor with me when I was dress shopping (which I think disappointed my mom a little bit...), so inviting the ladies to be a part of  "Dress Donning: Round 2" kind of felt necessary. The sentimental heart inside of me knows that this will be a day I will always remember, simply because the major women in my life will be there. And how lucky I am to even be able to say this. I mean, what if I didn't have my mother in my life? Or my mother-in-law was a horrible human being that I loathed? I know that not every bride-to-be has a handful of amazing women in her life to dote over her as she tries on her dress just months before The Big Day. I should definitely be grateful that I get to share this wedding-prep milestone with so many special ladies....and I am, I really am. <3

Do I think my moms will cry when they see me in my wedding dress? Meh, it's hard to say. We'll just have to wait and see! Do I think I'll still like my dress after having not seen it / worn it for the past 6 months? I sure hope so!! And I'm praying that I haven't fattened up like a Thanksgiving turkey, because how much would THAT suck!? :o/

Off for a run....!

Dude'ish Attire

Finding a simple gray ensemble for Adam & his groomsmen has proven to be more difficult than anticipated....

Shame on us for thinking it would be a cinch finding the groom and groomsmen attire---sheesh!! Who woulda thunk it?! I found my dress just one week after getting engaged (totally unplanned, I swear)---it turned out to be maybe the 7th or 8th dress I tried on, and I was afraid that maybe I was breaking some sort of rule, because isn't it supposed to be a ridiculously laborious task for the bride-to-be to find that "perfect" dress??? Yet, my wedding day attire has been hanging in a garment bag at Adam's parent's house since November....and here we are, just 88 days away from The Big Day, without *any* idea what the dudes are wearing!

Many moons ago, Adam and I agreed that he and his wedding-party lads would look quite dapper in light gray pants with matching vest, coupled with a white shirt (with rolled up sleeves, of course), a  fun tie (orange, yellow, or green), and  a cheerful gerber daisy boutonnière. With male vests proving to be trendy and accessible, (*mental image of Joseph Gordon-Levitt in "500 Days of Summer"---mmm-hmm!), Adam and I assumed that Men's Warehouse would offer a large array of vest-and-pant combinations to choose from...and if not Men's Warehouse, then certainly places like Macy's or Nordstroms...........right????

Wrong-o. All of the aforementioned had such slim pickins, it was almost comical. Sure, Men's Warehouse has a store especially devoted to tuxes, but their vest selection was shiny and ugly and looked cheaply made. That, and they didn't have a shade of gray to offer. Gee, neat. "You're gonna like the way you look---I guarantee it."  <---not so much. Hmph.

So off we trotted to Macy's, Nordstroms, and Zara...only to be disappointed AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN! Zara had some really nice vests (more than the whoppin' THREE that Nordy's had on the rack, or the ONE that Macy's had in a sand'like hue), but they were really dark shades of gray and didn't match any of the friggin' pants. *Le siiiiiiiiigh* The guy at Zara was super helpful in bringing out every vest they had in the back, and tried so hard to match it with all the European-cut pants (which fit Adam's skinny rear rather nicely....!)....but alas, no avail. And so he told us to check back at the end of June for their big sale (as if a matching gray pants-and vest combo would miraculously appear then???), and check online for their incoming Fall collection. (FALL COLLECTION??? In June?!?!? Friggin' fashion industry, you never cease to amaze me....and piss me off)

So, the hunt still continues for the perfect groom attire, as well as groomsmen get-ups. I'm so glad that Adam and  I are in agreement with what he would look good in, and we are still optimistic about coming across a pair of suit pants and a vest that are both affordable and wicked-hot. ;o)  A recent thought that popped into our heads: what if just Adam wore the vest---assuming we find one, seeing as how it's become such a struggle---and have the groomsmen don gray pants, white shirt (with rolled sleeves---don't forget!!!), and suspenders!?! That would be five less vests to find and buy, and who doesn't find a guy in suspenders totally irresistible??? It's not set in stone, but it's definitely a viable option....and it this point it may be best to have a Plan B, C, and D in case the gray vest with matching pants is just never found.

Overall "vibe" for the wedding party dudes:
* relaxed and comfortable; not too friggin' hot to wear in the August heat
* anti-tux! no black, no coat, no way.
* semi-indie / unique / untraditional
* handsome and fun 

Wish us luck as we continue our search for the perfect groom-garb!

*Two Weeks In*

Ashley:
Well, Adam "popped the question" two weeks ago just this past Saturday....and yes, I can't stop staring at my bling! This shiny little token of love and affection is just so much prettier than I anticipated, and it's nice to have it there as a reminder that Adam and I are wholly committed to one another and on a wild and crazy adventure together: WE'RE GONNA GET MARRIED!

The proposal couldn't have been better, and wedding planning is in full swing now. We took a look at a few venues on Saturday, and while we fell in like with The Barn at Gibbet Hill, we're just not sure it's in our budget, so we need to explore other possibilities. We would absolutely love to be married on a farm or in an orchard, but there are so many facets involved in conducting a wedding ceremony and reception (ideally in the same place); it's proving to be harder than I thought it would be, not to mention time consuming and not just a little stressful!

Oh, so I already found my dress----yahoo!! One important thing down, many more to go....! The dress is not one I anticipated liking or wanting, but once I put it on, saw myself in the mirror, saw Jackie's reaction, and saw the price tag, I knew that was the one. It made me feel beautiful and bride'ish (and thin!) I had kind of been dreading the whole wedding dress shopping thing, for fear of feeling and looking like a moron, but I wound up having a pretty good time, just me and my Maid of Honor. I'm so pleased to have found and purchased my dress (and veil...and fabulously supportive strapless bra!) already....though now I find myself wanting to put it on and dance around the living room! Maybe I will...when Adam's not here.... ;o)

I'm anxiously awaiting the wrap-up of my Masters program with Lesley University---just 4 more weeks!!!---and THEN I can really dedicate myself to organizing / planning all this wedding whoopla. We still have a lot to discuss / investigate, but I feel like we're doing a pretty good job thus far----we have a tentative theme, some tentative dates picked, and plenty of connections to consider. Glee!!