Dress #1!!!!

I've made my decision. Last night mom bought me my wedding dress!

After feeling so torn between the two dresses, I tried them both on last night for mom, Emily, Lynnette and Linny. It sounded like everyone was leaning toward dress #1, saying that it went more with the style of the wedding and I looked more comfortable in it.

I wasn't completely convinced, because I had practically decided on dress #2 (it was getting so many votes!) and I thought it looked like a more expensive dress for the same price as the other. That's when aunt Linny asked the question that became my ultimate deciding factor..."Which dress would Andrew like better?"

Automatically I pointed at dress #1, and the decision was made. Everyone agreed that he would appreciate the simple style. So, I guess it's onto dressing others for the wedding now! (Though I'm so excited to take my dress to be altered, so that's it's a one-of-a-kind dress, just for me!)

It's Down to Two!

Last Saturday, mom and I went to a few bridal shops in town and we found that the J’Maries Off the Rack shop was finally open!

What a wonderful place! All of their bridal gowns are either $99 or $199! Their bridesmaid dresses are $29 and their flower girl dresses are only $20! I’d love to invite Rylee to shop with us there to see if we can find a dress for her and maybe dresses for Liz and Emily too.

I found two dresses that I simply cannot decide between. They are holding the two dresses for me through tomorrow. I’ve been taking votes on which dress people tend to like better on me. So far, there are three votes for #1 and six votes for #2.

They are both $99 dresses, so that didn’t make the decision any easier. As I started taking votes, all I got were votes for #2, so I thought I had my decision made. However, both Emily and Liz have voted for #1, so now I’m back where I started. However, I will love either dress. So, really, it’s not such a dilemma. It’s kind of a fun problem to have.

More dress shopping soon?

I’m thinking about planning another wedding dress shopping outing, possibly the 1st or 2nd Saturday in May. I’ve found dresses I like at the Wedding Gown Outlet (these are less expensive then all my other favorites!) and also at Sarah’s Bridal.

I really liked the consultants at both of these dress shops. I’d like to use Sarah’s Bridal for the alterations on whatever dress I choose, if possible. I was really happy with the alterations on my dress for Linny’s wedding done at Sarah’s, and it sounds like the same person would be working on my wedding dress if I have the alterations done there.

There are several "before and after" photos at Sarah’s of alterations, and the difference is really remarkable in some of them. There was even a dress at the Wedding Gown Outlet that’s too large, but inexpensive enough that maybe we could pay to have it altered to fit exactly how I want it to.

I finally received the contract for reserving the Perin Porch for the ceremony. I was assured that it was all mine for the day, but I was worried when over a month had gone by with no word and no contract to sign. I suppose my next task will be getting all the addresses for the save the date cards.

Andrew and I are scheduled to have our engagement photos taken next Saturday. They’re going to be outdoors, so here’s hoping that we don’t get rained out. I’ve really been looking forward to having them taken.

Grandma Eleanor's Visit

While grandma Eleanor was in town last week, we had planned to take her to see me try on some wedding gowns on Thursday evening. She was going to take us all out to eat afterward and I was really looking forward to it.

Unfortunately, a really nasty cold has been going around at work and I started to feel it on Tuesday. I stayed home sick on Wednesday and Thursday, and I had a fever the majority of the time, so I didn’t feel like going out at all. I feel so terrible that I missed out on the dress shopping and dinner.

Finally, I broke my fever and was feeling well enough to go back to work on Friday. I had passed on my cold to Andrew (poor guy, I guess that’s what he gets for taking care of me), but he felt well enough to go out for Liz’s birthday celebration that night. She invited us to Granite City for dinner, and it’s been quite awhile since I’ve eaten there. Everyone’s food looked really wonderful. Liz and I ended up getting the same kind of flatbread pizza (it’s funny how often she and I opt for the same meal when we go out to eat together). We had a very nice time, but the place was packed. There was quite a wait for a table (and still just as many people waiting for tables when we left).

After dinner, Andrew and I met mom, dad, Grandma Eleanor, Grandma Leona, Debi and Elly at The Blend to hear Tim and Sarabande Jazz play. By the time we got there, Tim was already taking advantage of Elly’s "attitude" as he called it. He was teasing her and putting her on the spot. It was hilarious, and she turned an array of shades of red.

Grandma Eleanor also spent some time drumming on Tim’s belly, which was quite entertaining!

I loved the drummer Tim was playing with on Friday. He did lead vocals on a few songs, and he has played with the drummer from the Vince Guaraldi Trio (the Charlie Brown music I love so much). I would love to have him at the wedding as well (I wonder if I can make that request when we put the contract together.)

Mom and I drove to Mound City with grandma on Saturday morning, and met up with Carl, Sharon and Heather at the McDonald’s there. They we’re kind enough to meet us half way, and on the drive back mom and I were able to talk about wedding and vacation plans for the upcoming months which was a lot of fun.