After the Wedding Update

Hi everyone, just wanted to write a quick note to thank all who were able to make it to the wedding. It was great to see the familiar faces of family and friends who came to celebrate with us.

Our only regret from the ceremony is not having enough time to spend time catching up with everyone. Regardless, you all made it a wonderful day, and we are having a blast looking through all the great pictures you left for us 🙂 .

If you have any pictures from the wedding you’d like to share, we set up a photo sharing widget on the photos page, and we would appreciate it if you upload some pictures, as some of you have already done through facebook. (Thanks, Danylle!!)

Not much else has been going on worth talking about, we’re both greatly enjoying the peace and quiet after the last few months. Thanks again, and we’ll see some of you come Christmas!

Bridal Exclusives Appointment (1/25/11)

The appointment to look at/try on wedding dresses was one that I was not looking forward to. I am not a dress person and have the tendency to tug and pull at dresses because they always feel so foreign. Another dread with trying on dresses was that I am not at my ideal weight so wasn’t really wanting to see my squish; let alone show my mother/fiance and friend (Nathan, my mother and Coleen went to the appointment with me).

When we first got to Bridal Exclusives, the lady who would be helping me pulled me aside to warn me of the dangers of taking my fiance dress shopping. Apparently, she’s seen a lot of brides bring their fiances in and that it never ends well. She was sure to tell me (very quietly) that I need to remember that my tastes will differ from his and that in the end, I choose the dress. I’m going to be honest: I was a little scared at that point and nervous that Nathan and I were both going to be leaving the bridal shop unhappy. After all, this woman has definitely seen enough brides to know what she’s talking about…..or so I thought.

At the beginning of the appointment, I was shown different sections of the store and told to choose one or two dresses from each section that I liked and wanted to try on. The sections were made by dress style (Ball gown, etc.) and each section had several variations of the particular style. My mom and I went down the rows choosing one or two dresses from each rack. Nathan insisted that we add a dress to the list that the rest of us really disliked (Surprisingly it became a favorite and was narrowly defeated in the end).

The first style we tried on was a sheer Roman-Style, which really liked in the magazines. I quickly changed my mind immediately after puting on the dress and we decided that the empire waist and sheer flowing fabric is very unflattering on me. Here’s a dress similar to what I tried on:

2164F

The Bridal Consultant had me try on a wrap-style dress next. I was really not a fan of the idea and was concerned that I’d look chubby or pregnant in it. After putting the dress on, I loved it. The fit was really flattering and everyone liked it so far. Of course, we still had several other styles to try on. Here’s an example of the wrap style:

esfera-b

Each time I tried on a dress, I had to decide if it was my favorite over the other ones I’ve tried. This seems like it would be easy but it’s not…..it’s actually nearly impossible. There’s so many choices and each dress had something I really loved about it that the rest didn’t. For instance, I fell in love with a dress that was perfect – except I hated the neckline on it. Also, having your mother, fiance and good friend there being brutally honest can definitely make the decision more difficult. If I liked a dress, someone with me hated it, and vice-versa.

The last dress that I tried on was called the “Grace” by Maggie Sottoro and when I put the dress on and came out to show everyone…everyone was quiet at first – and no one could find a negative aspect to the dress.

We were now split between two dresses – The one Nathan picked out in the beginning, and the Maggie Sottero dress. To help with the decision, I tried on each dress again. The dress Nathan picked was beautiful and very flattering, so I thought the decision would be impossible….until it was time to try the Sottero again. The bridal consultant grabbed the veil that went with the dress for me to wear so we can get the whole effect.

When I walked out of the dressing room to stand in front of the mirror and my family, everyone stopped talking as soon as I was in sight. Once I reached the platform and looked at myself in the mirror….I froze. The reflection I saw at that very moment was me – with all of my soul on view to the world. I felt beautiful and was immediately seeing myself walking down the aisle with my dad. The emotion hit me so hard and I started crying…first just a couple tears as my eyes welled up, but then my mom mentioned how beautiful it was and came up to hug me, and I was sobbing. Coleen and Nathan were still very quiet but they definitely shared the emotion of the moment with us (they just weren’t sobbing obnoxiously).

I don’t think that I’ve ever been brought to tears by clothing in my life (Unless you count trying to fit into old jeans) but the fact that this dress brought that much emotion on me definitely told me something: That I found the dress that I want to walk down the aisle in.

We immediately ordered the dress and I am now patiently (kinda) waiting for it to arrive. Without further delay – Here is the dress I chose:

Save The Dates! – 1/19/11

One of the first major decisions/steps/items to work on is now completed: I have ordered our Save The Date postcards. I’m excited to get them yet dread it a little because I know there’s 120 of them to address and send out. I’m terrified to see how long the invitations take to make/put together/address and send. Anywho….here’s what the Save The Dates look like:

Wedding Planning Week!

So we took a whole week off of work to be able to hash out some of the major wedding planning. Here’s what the schedule consisted of: 

1/25/11 – 2PM – Bridal Exclusives

1/26/11 – 12PM – Lamb’s Thriftway

1/26/11 – 6PM – Cupcake Jones

1/27/11 – 11:30AM – Flowers For You

1/27/11 – 3PM – A Floral Affair

1/28/11 – 11AM – Saint Cupcake

1/28/11 – 3:30PM – Charlotte’s Bridal

1/29/11 – Mail Save the Dates (Part 1)

Cake Testing! – 1/26/11

Today we’re going to go visit some local bakeries for what may be the easiest part of the planning, picking a cake design and flavor! On the agenda is Lamb’s Thriftway and Cupcake Jones. Depending on what we find we may have another decision behind us today, or we may just disappear in a blissful food coma. Wish us luck!

*Update*

Lamb’s – We went to Lamb’s first thing in the morning and their cakes are amazing tasting. Since it was our first appointment, however, we waited to sign any papers. They had some sort of pink champagne cake with strawberry filling that was perfect. One downside was that in order to do the stacked tiers like we were originally wanting, only half of the tiers would end up having icing on them because the spaces under the tiers are not iced. We left the appointment thinking that maybe the cupcake idea would be a better choice for us.

Cupcake Jones – The appointment to meet with Cupcake Jones and try out the cupcakes/get information was at 6 PM. We arrived at their downtown office and were led to the back where there were 3 very pretty cupcakes awaiting us. If I recall, there were the following: a chocolate filled with chocolate ganoush and frosting, red velvet filled and topped with cream cheese icing, and a white cake with cream cheese frosting. To be honest, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the flavor/texture but they were very attractive looking. No papers were signed at this appointment but we did decide that we will definitely go with cupcakes.

Saint Cupcake – After making no committments to the bakeries we visited, I decided we should make a visit to Saint Cupcake to see what they have. We had an appointment for Friday (1/28) shortly before the afternoon. When we got to the shop, we were led upstairs to a room that included photo books of what they’ve done, sprinkle examples and the cupcake stands available. There were also around 12 beautiful tiny cupcakes on the table for us to try. That’s 12 different flavors of cupcakes. We were both impressed and overwhelmed. We were left alone to try the cupcakes and talk amongst ourselves before they came back to check on us and give us the details. Every cupcake we tried was amazing and the prices were just as good so we decided to jump on it and place our deposit to hold the date. If you want a peek at what kinds of cupcakes may be at their wedding, here’s their menu:

http://saintcupcake.com/index.php/menus/

The Ring

The story of where my wedding ring came from is one that I am excited to get to tell my children when I get older. After Nathan and I got engaged, we quickly told our parents figuring they would pass the word on throughout our families. We also planned on heading down to Roseburg that next weekend to see the family and visit my grandmother (on my dad’s side) who lives in Coquille.

We left to head south on April 2nd after work which means we actually got to my parents’ house around 9-ish. My aunt (Patty)  had been at my parents’ house hoping to get to see Nathan and I but unfortunately left about an hour before we got there. Patty had a care package for me that came from my grandmother. Apparently, my grandmother had saved her wedding ring from her first marriage to my grandfather (my dad’s real father) so that she could give it to me when I was older. As I JUST got engaged to Nathan, now was the perfect time to give it to me.

Here’s the story behind the ring’s origins: My Grandma Pat got married to James Gow (grandfather) back in the 1940’s and used a beautiful platinum diamond ring as an engagement ring. She located the ring in LA when she was still a working student and regularly visited a jewelry store to oogle the ring in the window. She used a simple platinum band as the wedding ring and later joined them together as one solid ring. My grandparents ended up getting divorced when my dad was a teenager and my grandfather passed away long before I was born so I missed out on getting to know him. I feel blessed that my grandmother decided to give me her wedding ring and proud to be able to use the ring as my own wedding ring. I feel as though I get to keep a piece of my family history and have it with me always.

Saturday we woke up and got ready to head out and visit Grandma Pat. Mom decided she didn’t want to go to the coast so Nathan and I took dad with us. We made a quick stop at the coffee caboose to get an iced latte for grandma on the way and arrived at her house to find that she was in great spirits. After a bit of chit-chat at the kitchen table it got awkwardly quiet and I decided to break the news to grandma. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen her smile so big. She said that she knew there was something else going on when we decided to come visit. 

The rest of our visit was spent talking about wedding plans and listening to grandma share details about her wedding with her second husband (Grandpa Gary). She ran to get a book for me that she has kept on her night stand since she got married. The book was called “The Prophet” and was marked up and highlited by grandma in certain passages that she really liked. Inside the  book was a few other quotes and a list that she’d given Gary before they were married. The list was entitled “Things to know about me before we get married” and had topics of “Strengths, Weaknesses and Expectations”. I have never before heard of someone handing a list like that to anyone. At any rate, Gary still accepted her and, now that I think about it, grandma was pretty smart letting him know everything up front.

Since seeing my grandma, Nathan and I have taken the ring in to be cleaned and resized. (My grandmother is a size 41/2 and I am NOT that tiny). I’ll be posting pictures of the ring soon.