We've established...

... that I stalk wedding blogs and have for years right??

Ok, just checking. Just making sure that everyone is aware of my obsession. lol

I've been on vacation for the last two weeks, hence the absence, and when I came back my Google reader had 1000+ items waiting for me. Yes, you read that properly, 1000+ (1194 to be exact, well, as of the first time I checked the total - it could have been more).

And that is after I logged on twice during my vacation and read around 500 items. Oy.

Anyways... I am slowly working through my 1000+ items, (but in the last three days I have yet to get below the 1000 mark. Why? Because people keep posting!) and today I read this really great post from Meg over at A Practical Wedding. She's awesome. Seriously. Check it out. I'll wait...

Back? Ok. So, she posted basically two weeks ago about how she went and tried trapeze flying, but her post is about pushing through the fear that comes with something new. (It seems to have started with a fear of dancing lessons that someone else brought up... I think.)

It really struck me. She specifically mentions how as adults we never push ourselves, and I immediately thought back to the vacation I just took, and how my mother talked me into cliff jumping. Into a river.

She didn't really press too hard, but I wouldn't have done it if she hadn't suggested it, and waited to watch and take a picture. Why? Because. Because I had never done it before, because I was too busy doing nothing, because it was outside of my comfort zone, and I never would have thought of it.

I did it, and it was totally fun. (sorry everyone, no pictures yet...) I'm not saying there wasn't one moment of "well, crap... this is really high..." but I needed my mom to make that initial push. And I'm usually the one pushing for the oddities and doing things just to be able to say "I did that!"

So, in the end, Meg is right. As adults we don't step out on that limb enough, we don't push ourselves enough, we take the easy road. Even those of us who enjoy the road not taken.

Now I really want to find something to go into the wedding that we'll make us both step outside of our comfort zones. Hmmmmm... flash mob anyone?

Own it.

So I'm a little quirky. (weird, odd, whatever...) This is something that my fiance knows and loves about me, but that doesn't mean it doesn't come with it's own struggles.

I had this little speech (such as it is) for M the other day when we looked at me like I was crazy for wanting Chucks for the groomsmen, but then I turned around and needed it myself when I found myself waffling between two decisions for the sake of what's normal.

So I'm going to put it here in case anyone else needs it, or, more specifically, if I need it again. (And I'm sure I will.)


No matter what you are doing, what decision you are making, what centerpieces you choose to have - be they navy, plum, or pink-polka dotted - If it is you and you own it not one person will second guess.

This is coming from a girl that wore red Chucks to her senior prom, with a prom dress. (I even still have them.) The only person to raise an eyebrow was my mother, because she always wants me to be a lady, but even she had to admit, it was very me.

And as we tried on dresses, I lean towards the more vintage-y vibe, including a bird cage veil. Again, no one thought twice but my mother, and only because it wasn't her style. Her exact words? "It's very you."

So own it. All of it. Whatever you decide, it is yours to have and hold and love forever. Not one person will remember it later, except you and your SO. So do whatever you want, and if it's different, quirky, or even a little odd, that's okay, because most likely you are a little different, quirky, or odd.


I'll step off my soapbox now. Just remember...
OWN IT

We have a dress!

Well, we have a piece of paper that says we purchased a dress. I don't actually have one in hand.

And I don't have any pictures to show you either. My good friend, bridesmaid Mi, brought a camera and took lots of pictures as I tried things on, but won't let me see any of them. So, I don't even have anything to look at, other than my memories of actually wearing it.

BUT, it does exist, it is coming, and I'm excited!!

The consultant at the salon was so sweet and so great. My mom was flying in for the weekend, and I really wanted her to see me in a particular dress (and I really wanted to see me in that dress). So I called the salon, they close at 6 and my mom's flight didn't arrive until 5, and asked if they would mind if I dashed in just to try on one dress. The consultant spent a few minutes confirming that they had the dress, and then agreed.

To hedge my bets, I also made appointments at a couple other locations, just in case my dress ideas didn't work out.

We walked in the salon at 5:45, and the consultant told us that she'd be happy to stay and let me try on as many as I'd like.

Wow, really?

So I picked up the one that I was there for and half a dozen others and headed to a dressing room. There were definitely a couple maybes, and I saved the one I wanted for last, so I wouldn't be comparing them all to that one.

Once I put on the dress I was there for, it was obvious. This was the one! I would have taken it home and slept in it had it been the proper color (it was Ivory). lol

It won't be here until December! (I guess that happens a lot with this designer...) but until then I can still admire the pictures online right? :-D

We have a date!!

I won't be sharing the exact day here for, well, privacy reasons. I don't want anyone to crash our wedding!!

We're not sure where yet, but the decision has been made for March.

It was actually rather easy.

See, I went in to try on dresses at a David's Bridal in SoCal.* (I went home for my birthday, and, um, COMIC CON. Yes, I'm a geek. :D) At the end of the appointment, the consultant tried to confirm the date that I'd given them when signing up for their website. It was sometime in May, mainly because I didn't have a date.

May doesn't work for various reasons, so I laughed and told her that it was probably more like March, and then arbitrarily picked a weekend that I knew M didn't have to work.

Turns out, this is the same day that my mom has been giving the vendors she's calling, for different various reasons.

It's like the clouds opened up and angels sang. Ok, not really, but it seemed a really easy decision. I came home, discussed it with M for 2.5 seconds, and the decision was made.

Now for a venue, and the big stuff is almost done. :D

*And no, I didn't find a dress. But there were a couple of serious contenders. lol