Wedding Wednesday - Wedding Dress Shopping Part 1

Wedding dress shopping was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I had this idea in my head (thanks Say Yes to the Dress) that I would put on my dress and KNOW it was the one. That did not happen.

My parents came down in late January to help me shop. I was sure I would find my dress that weekend. After all, we were going to four places. Since the wedding was just over 7 months away at that point, I knew I needed to figure out my dress asap to make sure it comes in in time. So off we went and I was confident.

Here's some things to keep in mind if you haven't shopped for a wedding dress before:

1. You may like styles in photos but they will not look like you want them to when you put them on.
2. You may hate styles in photos but they will look great when you put them on.
3. You have to be patient and do not rush into a decision.
4. If you know what you want, then ask for it. And if the salesperson won't give to you, be a little bit mean like I was.

At the first store, I told the stylist I had never tried anything on before and we just started pulling everything. I learned quickly that as much as I liked some styles on the hanger, they did not flatter me the way I wanted them to. I probably tried on 15 dresses and none of them were similar to each other. Lace, satin, taffeta, poofy, sleek, you name it, I tried it. I left there with one dress in mind that I liked, though I can't remember much about it now since I've tried on about 100 dresses since then.

We met Michael for lunch and then moved on to store number 2. I was a little worried about this time. Though one of my best friends got her dress there, I've heard people either love it or hate it. In the first five minutes, I hated it. But luckily, that situation improved.

I met my consultant and told her what I wanted - I really liked the idea of a one-shouldered dress. She said "Oh no, you don't want a one-shouldered dress. They are going out of style." My response - and yes, I got a little bit mean here: "I don't care that you think they are going out of style. You are my consultant and that's what I want." She then left, pulled me four dresses - I vetoed all but one immediately and NONE of them were one-shouldered, and when I commented on that, she looked at me with disgust (I'm not kidding - her face was downright bitchy) and disappeared. Two minutes later, in walks another consultant saying "Jackie got pulled into something. My name is Sarah and I'll be helping you now." Um, no she didn't. We didn't get along and you are trying to save the sale. I told her about the interaction I had with Jackie and she listened, apologized, and said we'd try some one-shouldered gowns. Well, she gave me one. NOTE: this is the only place I went that did not let me pull gowns with them. I did not like that at all. I liked doing it together so they could get a taste for my style. The one-shouldered dress was actually the last dress I tried on, and before that, my dad had picked a dress out that I actually liked too (not one-shouldered though). He told me it was "the one." Then I put on the one-shouldered gown and my parents and I liked it a lot. The problem was - I couldn't tell if I liked it b/c it was the first one-shouldered gown I tried on, or if I actually liked it. We left there feeling pretty good about our find, and thankful that Sarah saved the appointment.

Day 2, it was just my mom and I. We went to store number 3 and I instantly liked the consultant we were working with, Megan. I told her the story about my day before and she said "I don't know why she thinks that because we have a ton of them." I told her I didn't even care if they were - I just really liked the style and it's my wedding and if I want to wear a one-shouldered dress, I'm going to wear a one-shoudered dress (I promise I didn't sound like a 6 year old at her birthday party when I said this). Between Megan, my mom, and I, we pulled and tried on every single one-shouldered dress in the store, plus a few strapless ones that could be turned into one-shouldered gowns. Trying on all of these confirmed that I really did want a one-shouldered dress and that having a nice consultant really was great. I also learned that things I thought I would not like - like poof - I actually did like and things I thought I would like - like lace - I did not. Finally, I learned that pictures are REALLY helpful! This store let us take photos and seeing myself in the photos helped me veto several dresses. I just wasn't loving how they photographed. I could also send pics to my sisters and get their opinions, which was great. I left that store with 2 dresses in my head that I really liked and really happy.

Store number 4 didn't have a ton of one-shouldered dresses but they were helpful in helping me see what the strapless dresses could look like if we added a one-shouldered look to it. They let us take pictures here too, which was super helpful. I found three dresses I liked, but afterwards, when my mom and I went to lunch and we discussing the dresses and looking at the pictures, I found that I did not like the way any of them photographed, nor was I super jazzed about the idea adding a one-shouldered look to a strapless gown. I didn't want it to look like I added it. I wanted it to be part of the dress.

My parents left that day and I felt like I had some options, but still was unsure. I needed to make a decision - pronto!

Part 2 next week. 192 days!

Traveling Tuesday

I haven't posted a Traveling Tuesday post in awhile. But I didn't travel the first 6 months of my new job. However, over a 6 week period, I have been/will be traveling quite a bit, both for work and personal. Here's what I've been up to/have planned:

Jan 23-25: Chicago (So glad to go back and see this amazing city!)
Feb 5-7: San Francisco
Feb 27-29: Seattle - I'm here now!
Feb 29-Mar 4: Vail/Colorado Springs for Ski Trip 2012 and to see the S family
Mar 11-12: Naples - maybe, this might be canceled...I hope so!

And I might go to ND in March.

So much travel!!!!

Sunshines and Creeps

Sunshine to the weekend. I guess I say that every week, don't I?

Creep to feeling sick the last few days. I'm hoping I feel better this weekend!

Sunshine to Ski Trip 2012 in 5 days!!!!

Creep to going to Seattle for work next week.

Creep to having to go to Naples for work in 2 weeks. Only one person has RSVPed for the event so far. And I just don't care...

Creep to being at a standstill with some wedding planning stuff.

Sunshine /Creep to bootcamp tomorrow morning. It's going to be hard but worth it.

Creep to the forecast for snow this weekend and next week. I hope that doesn't delay me getting back on Wednesday.

Creep to missing girls night because I didn't feel well this week.

Wednesday Wednesday Postponed

I'm not feeling very well today. Between my head pounding and my stomach upset, in addition to my runny and stuffy nose (seriously, how is that possible?!), it's one of those days that I will be spending in bed.

On a good note, according to theknot.com, we are 199 days away from the wedding. We are under 200 - woohoo!

Look for Wedding Wednesday next week!

Sunshines and Creeps

Sunshine to a three day weekend. I'm looking forward to an extra day off, and a short work week next week.

Sunshine to getting my wedding dress last weekend. I'm not going to share much about it so it will be a surprise :-)

Sunshine to a delicious new dinner last night - andouille and potato tacos. They were so good!

Creep to being so tired this week.

Sunshine to finally hearing from the other caterer.

Sunshine to finally getting a book from the library that I have been on the waiting list for since September!

Creep to forgetting to thaw the chicken for dinner Wednesday. We didn't figure it out until after the gym and showers. So we have to go to the grocery store. Which led to dinner being served at 9pm.

Sunshine to chatting with Michelle last night.

Sunshine to ski trip in two weeks!

Creep to finding out I have to go the Naples next month. I'm so over traveling for work.

Sunshine to the School community choir practice on Sunday. We are singing Carmina Burana. I haven't sang in a choir since college. And Michael gets to do it too! This will be fun!

My niece and nephew

My niece Kynleigh is now almost three months old. My sister sent me this super cute picture yesterday, and I just had to share it.

And I have to share this picture of my nephew Kaden too. I think he looks just like my sister :-)

Wedding Wednesday - Men's Wear

Last week, we went shopping for Michael’s tux and to pick the wardrobe for the men. Michael has known from the get go that he wanted to wear a tux, not a suit. He wanted to go to Men’s Wearhouse because it’s a national company, and he has three groomsmen on the west coast.

For consistency, we ended up deciding that all the men, including our dads, will wear the same tux, just different colored vest and ties/bow ties.

Here are some of the styles that he tried. Michael's exact tux is not on here, though one of them is pretty close. Any guesses on what he picked?

I can't wait to see him all dressed up on our wedding day!

Only 240 days until we are Mr. and Mrs!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentines Day!

If you haven't checked out the animation Doodle at www.google.com yet today, I recommend doing so. Very cute!

Sunshines and Creeps

Creep to a bad work week. I’m sick of crying over my job.

Sunshine to Michael for being amazingly supportive through this tough time for me. I am truly blessed with a wonderful partner.

Sunshine to my amazing parents for coming back to MSP today (to help me select my dress).

Creep  to being off a month on our getting married countdown. I did this last month too! I thought we had 9 months (it was 8) and this time around, I KNEW it was 7 months until our wedding day on Wednesday, yet I still Facebooked/blogged 8. I need to get this down!

Sunshine to checking a few things off our list wedding this week – DJ and Michael’s tux. I think our DJ will be great and Michael is going to look SO handsome!

Creep to not hearing back from one of the caterers yet. We need to get that figured out.

Sunshine to all the feedback we are getting on our Save the Dates. My favorite came from my friend Katie who said “Save the Dates = uber cuteness!” Thanks everyone!

Creep to TurboTax for being down last night so we couldn’t do Michael’s taxes.

Sunshine to getting my taxes down last weekend (nice and early) AND for getting a refund.

Sunshine to reading more books lately. I love reading in bed with Michael before we go to sleep every night.

Sunshine to buying 35 bottles of our favorite wine last night for the wedding. I’m so glad we can serve what we want and that it was a good price (thanks Costco!).

Sunshine to already planning a lazy Sunday with Michael. Other than hitting the gym, we plan to lay around in our sweatpants and watch TV all day. I can’t wait.

Wedding Wednesday - Save the Dates

Michael and I mailed our save the dates on Saturday so people should have received them by now. Hopefully this doesn't spoil it for anyone!

We knew what we wanted to do for our Save the Dates, but since we aren't doing our engagement photos for a few months and Save the Dates are typically mailed 6-12 months in advance, we needed to think of a solution quickly. Luckily, one of my coworkers did us a huge favor and met us on a Sunday morning at 9am at Lake Harriet (where we got engaged) to take some photos for us.

We love how this turned out - I hope you like it as much as we do!

Took our last names off, just to be safe from any creepsters :-)

7 months from today, we will be married!!!

February Goals

February marks my one year anniversary of my goal posts. Read my original goal post here. I’ve really enjoyed these over the past year. It’s been fun to set some professional and personal goals and achieve (some of) them. Hopefully I can continue to improve my completion percentage. Who knows? Maybe I’ll get to 100% sometime…

Purple Bold = complete

Black Bold = incomplete

Professional Goals - January

Update alumni/ae relations strategic plan and plan timeline. Done!

Finish volunteer job description and plan for Reunions 2012. Done!

Send Save the Date magnets for Reunions 2012. Out the door on Friday so even though I didn’t finish in January, I’m counting it!

Coordinate all travel plans for Jan-Mar. Still not sure if I’m going to Naples (hopefully not!)
Create a daily work schedule. Working on it.

Follow up with Annual Fund volunteers. Done!

Personal Goals - January

Create a blog schedule, and follow it. I still need to do this.

Put away the stuff in the basement. It’s such a disaster that I avoid going down there as much as possible. Grr…still there, though Michael did organize it a bit.

Finish guest room in basement. Still a disaster.

Deep clean the house. I would say I cleaned it but not as much as I wanted to do.

Have phone/Skype dates with friends this month: K, Michelle, Steph, Caitlin, Kristie, and Johanne. Except for Steph and I still playing phone tag, I actually achieved this!

Cardio three days a week. Start NOW! Other than the week the gym was closed, I did this. We even ran outside once!

Yoga once a week to de-stress with wedding plans. Done (hoping for a Groupon sometime soon so I can afford this).

 Celebrate Michael’s birthday at the cabin. Done!

Set wedding date and location. Done!

Book a photographer. Done!

Order and send Save the Dates. I sent them in February because the Post Office didn’t have the right stamps. But I’m counting it.

Research caterers. Done. Met with them last week.

Go wedding dress shopping with my mom. Went but still no dress.

Professional Goals - February

Finalize Seattle and Naples events.

Recruit Reunion Volunteers. 

Start planning Distinguished Alumni/ae Awards Ceremony.

Update resume.

Figure out next steps in my career.

Personal Goals - February

Blog at least three days a week (I want to post things other than Wedding Wednesdays and Sunshines and Creeps).

Put away the stuff in the basement.

Finish guest room in basement.

Do my taxes.

Cardio three days a week.

Yoga once a week.

Research chess table options.

Buy lamp for living room.

Select and buy wedding dress.

Book caterer.

Book DJ.

Book honeymoon.

Book hotel blocks.

Finalize rehearsal dinner.

Start shopping for the guys' tuxes.

Research officiants.

Research transportation.

Research cake bakers.

Meet with graphic designer to determine feasibility.

Sunshines and Creeps

Sunshine to meeting with caterers this week. Hopefully we have a decision finalized soon!

Sunshine to lots of wedding appointments this month - caterers, tuxes, graphic designer, etc. Making decisions, baby!

Sunshine to me and Michael's date night last night.

Creep to missing watching the Super Bowl with Michael because I have a conference in San Francisco.

Sunshine to seeing my aunt Melanie in San Francisco.

Creep my work week.

Creep to not picking a wedding dress when my mom was here last week.

Creep to the Post Office not having any decent stamps this week, which delayed our sending of our Save the Dates.

Creep to my total breakdown on Tuesday.Too much pressure.

Creep to bad dreams this week.

Sunshine to pizza tonight.

Sunshine to White Collar marathons with Michael.

Sunshine to Ski Trip 2012 in three weeks. Cannot wait to go to Vail with Jami and Chris.

Wedding Wednesday - Bridesmaids

I am really excited about my bridesmaids. I have two sisters and so does Michael, and since our families mean the world to us, it was a no-brainer for us to have them standing up with us.

A little bit about my bridesmaids:

Matron of Honor – Jami

Jami and I on Ski Trip 2011

My younger sister Jami will be my matron of honor. Jami and I are just 11 months apart in age (we’re Irish twins) and have always been best friends. Every memory of my childhood includes here because we literally did everything together. When people ask me what my favorite toy was when I was kid, I respond with “my sister.” Now I don’t consider her a toy, but since my parents weren’t rolling in the dough when they were parents in their early 20s, we had to improvise, and Jami and I sure were creative. My favorite game we played as kids was probably “Rescue.” We had bunk beds and we would throw all our stuffed animals on the floor. Then we’d jump on the top bunk, which served as the rescue helicopter, and fly over the “ocean” to save the animals. One of us would jump off the bed with a purse, and hook (i.e., strangle) the animal into it to be pulled to the safety of the helicopter. We’d even wear plastic grocery bags as parachutes! As you can see, we were creative J Jami is the creator of “fun hats” and is always my partner when we play cards. I was the maid of honor when Jami got married 2 and a half years ago, and Michael and I are getting married three days before Jami and Chris’ third anniversary. She is also the mother to my adorable nephew and niece. I am so thankful to have such an awesome younger sister!

Maid of Honor – Jessi

Me, Jessi, and my mom at Jami's wedding

My older sister Jessi will be my maid of honor. Jessi is three years older than me and we have a lot in common. I think one of the things that most connects us is our love to read. We are constantly giving each other suggestions and loaning books to one another. Actually, she and Michael have a lot in common for reading tastes too, even more than me, so it’s fun to see that too. I have lots of memories of Jessi, Jami, and I out on the farm as kids, playing in the hayloft or trying to find the new batch of kitties. As we’ve gotten older, Jessi is the one who always starts our “countdowns” until the next time the family gets together again. Jessi and I also love board games, especially the original version of Trivial Pursuit. Last winter, I was stranded in Fargo at Jessi’s for a few days and we played many games of Scooby Doo Clue. She is an amazing baker and makes my Grandma’s fudge better than my Grandma. I can’t think of a better person to be my maid of honor!

Bridesmaid – Amy

At Hollidazzle - Amy is wearing the purple hat

Amy is Michael’s sister and the middle child, like me. Amy goes to school at Northwestern so she was in Evanston while Michael and I were there. I am thankful that I was able to get to know her there. Michael loved having Amy in Evanston his last two years of college, and they saw each other pretty often. Amy is one of the most creative people I know. I envy her sense of style, but I know I could never pull off any of the stuff she wears so beautifully. I also envy her study abroad experience from this fall, when she went to something like 13 European countries in 3 months. I wish Amy and I lived in the same city again so we could take trips to Lululemon and go to yoga classes together. One of my favorite things about Amy is that she gives the best birthday cards. She always gives two – a funny one (and her funny ones are funny, not corny) and a sincere one. I am super excited to call her my sister in 7 months!

Bridesmaid – Molly

Molly, Michael, and me at their cousin Lauren's wedding

Molly is Michael’s youngest sister. She’s a freshman at Marquette and recently became a sorority woman (Alpha Phi – just like Amy so now they are “double sisters”). Like her siblings, Molly is crazy smart and she is considering being a PA someday. I can definitely see her in the medical field. I think there is something to be said about being the youngest and the funniest, because both Jami and Molly are the youngest in their families, and they are both the funniest. Molly is also super creative – for example, she made her own rainbow fish costume for Halloween this year. It was darling! I love Molly’s bubbly personality and her desserts are the best. Molly and I spent the whole night dancing together at her cousin’s wedding this fall, so I expect that she will not only spend most of the night on the dance floor at the wedding, but that she will also do a good job of getting others out there too. I can’t wait to be sisters soon.

As you’ve seen from my blog posts, you know I’ve been a bridesmaid in several of my girlfriends’ wedding. If I asked all of them to be in the wedding party (I couldn’t have just one of them), I would have ended up with nine bridesmaids. Eek! I think that’s too many, especially since I’m nearly 30. Do I feel guilty about my decision to just have family? Yes-incredibly guilty. This was one of the hardest decisions I’ve made regarding the wedding so far. These women are my best friends and I am so blessed to have them in my life. But I hope my gfs will understand my decision. 


Next week - I hope I can post our Save the Dates!