pretty.

Here are the photos I gave the florist this weekend. I sure hope her work results in something similar to this.

We Voted, And You Lost: The Bridesmaid Edition

This weekend took me and the 'maids to House of Brides to finally decide on a bridesmaids dress. Before I get down to the nitty gritty, I have to say the best part of the trip was when Stacey told, no, gently screamed "YOU ARE CRAZY" at the receptionist. Because she is crazy. She guards the front of the house like someone is going to attack the President of the United States. I think I may have discussed her in a previous post.

Anyway, I had the girls try on many, many dresses. The process of elimination was fairly swift and quick. If one of the 5 of us didn't love it, we put it back. The exception to that rule of course is if I decide it stays in the running. Now, let me backtrack. I've been telling the girls since day one that I do not care about what they want to wear. I just want them to be comfortable and look good. I know what it's like to try on something and just *know* that it isn't going to make you shine. However, I do have a general idea of what is okay and not okay. I would love it if the girls all wore different, yet coordinating dresses - I was overruled. I would love it if the the girls wore short dresses - they humored me, but were definitely not feeling that direction.

I tried.

I know it is "my day" but I love my girls too much to rule with an iron fist. So, I was overruled. I would post the dress that I wanted them to wear, but it is one of those situations where it looks much better in person. I don't remember the designer we ultimately decided on (it was a very long day) but I did decide that the color would be navy. Navy is not my "wedding color" because I don't really have "wedding colors" (I know you're thinking: "my colors are blush and bashful" - "her colors are pink and pink"). I chose navy because I think the flower colors I chose will really stand out against a dark dress. Plus, everybody looks good in navy because it hides flaws. Much like black.

Anyway, once the stress of that situation was over, I had no choice but to treat myself to a chocolate cake shake from Portillo's. I bet they put a Portillo's next to a House of Brides for people just like me.

I Want It Just Like That, Except the Complete Opposite.

The beautiful thing about your own mind, is that you can change it. Often. Over the course of the past year I have visited several websites and blogs, bought a dozen magazines and stalked various people on Facebook who have recently been married or attended a wedding just to get ideas. Everything that I've said I want to do has pretty much changed. While I still love all of the ideas, I love other ideas more. That can be a problem. I like too much. I'm a terrible decision maker. I have boxes of shit at my house that will probably never, ever be used, purchased because I have way too much free time on my hands during certain times of the day (*cough*, work, *cough*). In that moment, I am SO sure that what I'm about to purchase will be a focal point of our wedding. But a couple months later I can never really figure out why I spent the money. I'll have to work on that.

As you know, we are able to decorate our space any way we want but we have to do it ourselves. This posed quite a problem. Initially, I was all for doing everything myself. There is a certain pride I was feeling in being able to say that I did alone.

Enter - Reality.

There is no way I can do all of this by myself. When I did a mental timeline, I realized that should one thing be even 5 minutes off schedule, the day is ruined (dramatic, right?). I just can't take that chance. After a very long, sleepless night, extensive list making and much discussion, Brian and I decided we need a day of coordinator. I met with Elizabeth at Anticipation Events last week and loved her. She has done a wedding at our location before so she is familiar with what she is up against, which makes me happy. She described this service as an insurance policy. This instantly made me feel better. I was experiencing so much anxiety and guilt thinking about my mother or other family members racing around the day of the wedding. They aren't employees! They are guests! They shouldn't have to do these things. So, I realize that hiring a coordinator makes me sound like I'm Ms. Money Bags, throwing a Platinum Wedding but that is not the case. Let's get one thing straight - I planned this mother fucker. Yes, curse words and everything. I pounded the pavement, I made the phone calls, I sent the emails, I mailed deposits, I'm sending out invitations, I'm doing crafts (okay, THAT I am not doing all by myself. Stephanie + a glue gun = not a good look.) So, like Elizabeth said, her services are an insurance policy. And everyone likes insurance, right? 
  

PLEASE COME BACK! I'm SORRY!

It has been way, way too long. Mostly because I had nothing new or noteworthy to share. I suppose I should've had an update in September and October but you know how these things go. Right?

July:

We booked our caterer. It took me quite awhile to feel comfortable enough to sign the papers. I had to be sure that we were doing the right thing. Let's be honest here - we aren't capable of hiring a company that serves exotic and exciting cuisine that uses rare meats stewed in far away spices. We don't roll like that (yet). We are excited about our menu though. It is...different. Different from a typical wedding menu, not different in a "what the fuck am I eating?" way. At least I hope it's not in that way.

We also secured a baker for our desserts and cake. He is a friend of my brother who works for a Chicago bakery. We are very excited about all the goodies he is going to make for us. We aren't doing anything fancy or exotic, just recognizable, tasty treats that may or may not remind you of being a kid (if you were lucky enough to enjoy sweet snacks as a kid).

September:

Brian and I had our engagement shoot with our photographer Jeremy Lawson. Let me just start out by saying that it was nothing short of awesome. Jeremy is so much fun and made us feel very comfortable. It took me awhile to warm up because you know I'm only good at taking photos when I've had a few drinks, but Brian was a natural. This guy thought he was a supermodel during the shoot. The shoot that almost didn't happen - if I must add. I completely mixed up the days of our shoot. Here I am, off to Jennifer's house for a nice lunch, visit with Jane, and jewelry raiding when I see several missed calls from Brian and one from Jeremy telling me he was waiting for us. Long story short, I fucked up and we did our shoot the next day.

We did our shoot at my old stomping grounds - Portage Park. A place very near and dear to me. Portage proved to have more to offer than drunks and bad ass kids skipping school. Jeremy was able to make Portage look BEAUTIFUL.  We were so anxious to see the photos that I literally stalked his blog for a month. It was embarrassing to say the least. When we finally got the photos I could not stop looking at them. All 93 photos. Non-stop. We were obsessed.

We absolutely can't wait for our friends and family to meet him at our wedding and we can't wait to see what he captures that day!


December:

I sort of slowed down in December, what with the holiday stress and all. Brian and I did start to put together a list of songs we'd like to play, what we don't want to play (Sorry Shakira, sorry Sean Paul, sorry G6 song). I did discovery that Brian picked not one, but two UB40 songs. Interesting. We'd be more than happy to hear input on this from everyone! We aren't music snobs! Naturally, Britney will be played more than once, but you must have known this. Love me some Britney. If I really had my way, we'd play all Britney and all Glee. ALL NIGHT. : )

Present:

It's time to kick it into high gear. I've made an appointment with a florist, set up a meeting with my girls to go dress shopping, hired a day of coordinator (more on that in another post) and am in the process of looking for hair and make-up. Oh, and I'm also trying to work on my fitness. So far, so good. It's just a matter of staying motivated. Motivated to do EVERYTHING. Particularly keep this blog up. If you've left me because of neglect on my part I'm sorry! Please come back! I promise I'll be better!!