H: It begins...

I started my dress search last Saturday. I must say it was fun! I had all the appropriate undergarments, my inspiration book, and my friends in tow and was sufficiently loosey on pomegranate mimosas.

Saturday: one shop, nothing.

Sunday: two shops, a few things, but not exactly "the one" and two that I liked were waaaaaaaay out of my price range. Actually, I found a dress that's a little different and lovely and only $400, but I told myself I'd keep looking since I didn't feel like it was quite "the one".

Monday: several shops and nothing.

I'm not overly concerned or frustrated by this. I know that finding the right dress takes time and patience, and I was very happy being surrounded by friends and family at various intervals. I've taken a more calm and serene attitude about the whole thing, since in my opinion that's the healthiest way to go about it.

But that doesn't change the fact that last night, Josh and I went to look for his wedding suit and we had it found and bought (INCLUDING SHOES) for well under budget and in about an hour and a half.

WTF???

Do we do this to ourselves? Is the perfect dress really just an illusion fabricated by the wedding industry? Do I - I who never dreamed about my perfect dress - really need to find "the one"?

Sigh.

But, I'm going to keep my chin up and trust my gut....it will happen!!! Probably when I least expect it.

H: My year long holiday season

I feel like it's Christmas Eve Eve.
The day before Christmas Eve is always the most exciting to me since I know that tomorrow there's fun stuff to do to prepare for the following day, when all the tension is released and pure enjoyment can commence. I'm always a little disappointed on Christmas day, since it's the preparation that I enjoy the most. The day itself never quite compares, which is not to say that I don't enjoy it quite thoroughly. I do. And when Christmas day is over, you have something to remember it by, something you'd longed for in one way or another. Obviously in the case of my wedding, I'll have a marriage to the man I love in all his remarkable glory. I'll continue to be the luckiest woman alive.

Tomorrow, we take Dondi in for a good grooming and Trotsky in for a follow up (the poor dear has been shaved and coned since last Friday), but then it's off to Monte Verde Inn to put down our deposit and sign the contract and thus will begin one very long Christmas Eve Eve.
Since I'm unemployed, wedding planning has become a full time job (aside from looking for work, of course). I spend several hours each week reading about weddings, finding ideas for things that I didn't know I loved or solutions to problems I hadn't considered I may have. Part of me is concerned that I'll run out of things to research.
Incidentally, I didn't realize what a balancing act wedding planning is, especially as it pertains to time (other categories would be things such as environment and family politics). Things that I want to get out of the way (invitations, save the date cards) I can't since it's too early. Depending on what kind of dress I end up with, I may just be right on time. And depending on our venue, I could have been late. It's amazing. One piece of planning will invariably lead to several more; there are consequences and considerations to throwing this kind of party. I wonder if this was what it was like all the time back in the day, when things were more formal.

Extra special thank you to Dana, one of our groomspeople for coming with me yesterday to Nordstroms to try on proper undergarments. Dana, you're a jewel and a darling and we're lucky to have you!
Wedding dress shopping will be in full swing as of Saturday, which is both exciting and nerve wracking. Exciting because obviously I'm going to be getting married in this dress and I'm very much in love with my husband-to-be.
Nerve wracking because what if I don't find anything that I like? What if I fall in love with a dress that's waaaaaaaaay out of my price range? What if I flip out because I'm wearing a wedding dress? Plus, the Columbus day sale at Macy's ends on Monday and as Dana pointed out, we shouldn't get Josh's suit before I figure out my dress so I'm really hoping I find one this weekend. Blue pinstrip IZOD for $200.00? Yeah. That must happen.

Anyway, I've taken precautions to make sure nothing gets in the way of an enjoyable afternoon. We'll meet at Mom's at one and I'll have plenty of people that love me surrounding me to make it an extra special event. We'll eat some snacks and bond a little and then off we'll go!
Plus, I plan on being just a teensy (and I do mean teensy) bit buzzed. I'm thinking pomegranate mimosas.

And thus shall begin a lovely, long, and successful holiday season :-)

H: Coordinating, researching, and planning...oh my!

The time has come to search for The Dress...the one that will make me laugh and cry in one fell swoop...

I've never gone wedding dress shopping before, so I posted on Weddingbee and asked around and here were the top three things I learned:
1. Wear appropriate underwear. This means a strapless bra, corset, whatever (Nordstroms, here I come!!!).
2. Get a little drunk beforehand. It will make things infinitely more fun. And
3. Enjoy the experience (perhaps with a little help from your bubbly buddy, one Miss Mimosa).

I'm thinking meet at Mom's, have a few appetizers, bond a bit, and hit the road. Woo hoo! This will be a brilliant opportunity to get most of the bridal party together for some getting-to-know-you time. They may find dresses they love too!
The only thing we'll be missing is the presence of my darling Maid of Honor Tracy, who will be traipsing around the East Coast wowing the likes of John's Hopkins and Princeton. Give 'em Hell love!!! Don't worry, you will be kept apprised. Oh, how you shall be kept apprised.

All in all, I'm very excited to go dress shopping but also a little nervous. I don't exactly know what to expect, and I'm a little worried that I'll fall in love with something that is way out of my price range. A very little bit, actually. I have every confidence in my bargain hunting abilities, so the plan right now is to hit up Bridal Salons in Sacramento, and from there Bridal Mart to see if they have the dress...for less!

I'm happy to say, I've already been doing my homework! LOTS of homework. Wedding planning is brilliant for unemployment, let me tell you.
Anyhoo, I've been told that having pictures to bounce off any sales associates that will be assisting me would be a grand idea, so I created a dress book. I took a 70 page notebook and then scoured quite a few bridal magazines for the dresses that caught my eye. I spent the majority of this morning very happily tearing, cutting, gluing, and making notes on my favorites, and then using the store locators to find them. Blessed, blessed store locators!
I've come up with altogether three locations: Bella Donna in Sacramento (which has pretty decent reviews on Yelp.com), Bridal Mart in Rancho Cordova, and finally House of Fashions in Sac, aka The Belly of the Beast. After 26 reviews on Yelp, they have two and a half stars, and one of my dear friends gave me the personal "Don't go there". Still, they carry three brands that I'm looking for, and that I would have to go to two other separate locations to find. It may be worth it. I'm hoping that if I do go, I'll go in saying "I want to see this, this and this" and they'll just bring me what I ask and leave. I'll keep my expectations low on that one...but anyway, yeah.
Dress shopping hurrah!!!