...nearly 6 months later...

Well, it's been a while since I've updated. So long, in fact, that Google has completely taken over the Blogger experience! I'm going to have to get used to this new layout.

Anyway, HI! I'm very sorry for not updating sooner. I know a lot of readers have been wanting details that were only teased about in earlier posts. Lots of life has been happening since the wedding - work's been eating up a LOT of time (recently got a promotion and raise!), Douglas worked his way through two more internships, there were holidays, thank you cards (almost halfway done!), a birth (not ours - Hi, Ava!), and general day-to-day events.

Now that things are quieting down a bit, I'm going to try to get some of the recaps up.

The first place we'll start is the dress. You'll remember the fun designs we checked out during our two dress shop visits: Post 1 and Post 2.

As a quick refresher, this was the runner up dress:

Loved that dress, but it definitely wasn't my wedding dress.

This was the dress that was virtually identical to my wedding dress except for the top.

HATED this dress. This was 2nd to last one I tried on.

Last dress I tried on. Identical to the last one but w/different top. 

Yup - the last dress I tried on, the one pulled by the lady at the shop who was helping us "just to try", was my wedding dress:

Wonder Woman pose (had no idea how to put on tiara)

My wonderful helpers (Janice, Mom, & Aunt Sherry)!

The dress - sample

The Whole Shebang!

We Have Bands - Wedding Bands, That Is!

Who knew the impact of crossing one little item off the to-do list?

Future mother-in-law, Jane, and I were able to make an impromptu trip to Roanoke early this weekend. It was a quick in and out trip with the major objective being making some decisions about the rehearsal dinner. On that end, we had success. On top of that, we were all able to pop into the venue and see that the window trims are up and the tables and chairs are in and the bathrooms are finished! Ladies and gentlemen, the venue is DONE!!! Being able to see everything in the space, Douglas and I were able to discuss blocking, seating, etc. Another big deal from the trip was that I was able to make some decisions about the table decorations!

But the tables are for another day. Jane and I had some time before lunch, after which we would head back to Charlotte, so Doug and I decided it was a good opportunity to pop into a few jewelry shops to look at rings. First stop, Jewells Fine Jewelry. If you are ever in Roanoke, I recommend popping in. They have an array of different jewelry styles and the ladies who work there are fantastic! We were in the shop for maybe five minutes before Douglas was holding a lovely black ceramic Benchmark ring, that he had been considering, in his hand! This was big because other jewelry shops didn't have a sample of the rings, you had to just order from a catalog. So Douglas is able to actually check out a ring in the color, material and very close to the style that he was considering. Score! We all loved the ring and the hard part became deciding which of two styles he liked best! While Douglas was deciding, I was able to check out some simple plain women's bands. This was exciting because I just was not liking any of the jeweled bands most stores showcase. They just didn't work and I couldn't even comprehend spending so much money on such thin bands. But that's just me. I found a style that I liked when one of the ladies asked the other if she had shown me "the sample ring". In a flash, a sample ring was brought up from behind the counter - a nice little white gold number in a similar style to the sample I was just looking at. After slipping it on my finger, we were floored by how perfect it worked with the engagement ring! They looked like they were made as part of a set. BINGO! I had found a wedding band! The style - Comfort Fit. The material - white gold. The size - PERFECT! "We can hold this very ring for you, if you'd like." After checking it out and seeing that it's pretty much brand new, I told her "yes, please"! I had found MY wedding band! I was wearing MY wedding band with my engagement ring and loving it! I bounced up and down with excitement as Douglas made his final decision on the style that he liked and asked a few more questions about the ordering process as he would have to order his. As soon as all was said and done, Douglas and I looked at each other. I was too excited. "Douglas, we BOTH have wedding bands!" was followed by a perfect high-five. (are we not perfect for each other?) The store is holding onto my band for me until Doug's comes in and we'll pick them up together. The only detail we have to decide before putting the order in for his ring is what to have engraved on the inside as it's free if he gets his engraved before it's sent. Mine can be engraved in-store. After having major success at the first jeweler we stopped in that morning, Douglas, Jane and I walked next door to have a celebratory lunch.

Once I got used to the fact that we had just secured our wedding bands, my wedding mojo was completely re-energized! So far, the wedmares about being unprepared for the wedding have not resurfaced. I still have some details to figure out, but none as significant as the rings. I am back to being excited about the wedding, having fun finalizing details, and am so ready for the bridal shower on Saturday! That's right, you heard me, READY for the bridal shower! "Let's do this, I'm a cashew!"(Not safe for work or children)


Did I mention that they were kind enough to clean my engagement ring for me before we purchased anything? I honestly didn't realize how dingy my ring had become until I saw it cleaned again! I'm doing my best to keep it shiny and clean for the shower, but man do I need to make sure it gets cleaned again right before the wedding! So sparkly!

As if finally finding rings we loved wasn't enough, it also marked the point where we had shared a significant wedding planning moment with each of the parents!

I found the dress with Liesa, my mom.
We found the venue with Larry, Doug's dad.
And now we found the rings with Jane, Doug's mom.

Yes, yes, I know that John, my dad, is missing from the list, but he gets to walk me down the aisle and that's not part of wedding planning. ;-)

So what's next? Tomorrow I'll be calling to schedule my dress fitting, hopefully for next week!

We're getting married!! Let's do this!

It's Heeeeeeeeeeeere

Not here-here, but in-the-shop here! My dress arrived at Amrhein's! Yay!

I was expecting to have to go in for my first fitting soon, so Douglas and I had been putting off a few other meetings until the dress came in. The lady on the phone kindly informed me that I can come in and put on my dress and enjoy it, but they won't do any alterations until August. Score! That means no worries about see-sawing between now and then.

It also means, my dress is in!!!!

Spurred on by that awesome message, Doug went ahead and scheduled a few of those appointments we were putting off. In 2 weeks, we're heading back up to Roanoke to meeting with the rabbi again, hopefully meet with our potential caterer, and any other little wedding things we find ourselves doing.


On a bitter-sweet note, we learned that we could get a great deal on an awesome venue! The bitter part is that even though it's a great deal, it would still eat up at least HALF of our budget just for food.

Did I mention that my dress was in? DRESS!!!!

1 Year Out - Post 1: The Dress

First, let me get this out of the way...

Oh My Goodness, I Have My Wedding Dress!!!!!

Phew.  Ok.  

I didn't go into the weekend expecting to find the dress.  Mom wanted to at least kick off dress shopping with me in Roanoke since she and I wouldn't be able to get together often and early enough to do most of the shopping together.

In between wedding related appointments and family meet ups, the girls ventured out for some dress fun.  On Friday, Janice (Doug's step-mother), Mom, and I headed to Patina Formals to kick off wedding dress shopping.  Our goal was to start getting ideas of what worked and what didn't work so that I could take those qualities with me back to Charlotte to continue the hunt.  Patina turned out to be quite interesting.  First, the store is not where Google says it is.  So we had a nice little car trip down Electric Ave to find Patina.  Once there, we headed right over to the wedding section.  As one of the girls there started to talk to us about dresses and starting pulling stuff, I started to freak out a little bit.  Holy cow, I'm getting married!  After a few deep breaths, I started diving into the size 14 sample dresses.  Being more of a size 6, there was a LOT of extra fabric.  The girls there were very nice and were very talented at pulling and clipping tons of extra dress fabric to make it look fitted. 

There isn't too much else to share about Patina except for the now infamous booty dress:

 

Had we looked at the selection of regular dresses in Patina, we would have realized that this was status quo and it was not up our alley.

We were hoping Aunt Sherry was able to join us on this little adventure, but she was still at work.  The three of us decided that we had so much fun that we wanted to at least get out to one other place on Saturday.  Saturday afternoon, Mom, Janice, and I headed to Amrhein's and had Aunt Sherry meet us there.  I had gone past Amrhein's a dozen times on my trips to Roanoke and never thought it would be a place I would stop in.  It had a pink exterior with a light green sign.  It didn't really scream "Crystal".  We figured that Amrhein's would have a better selection than Patina and we could get some better ideas there.

While trying on dresses, a woman came in looking at the non-wedding dresses.  The ladies struck up a conversation with her about the dresses she was trying on while I was getting into the wedding samples.  It turns out, she is Miss Roanoke USA and she'll be up for Miss Virginia USA in two weeks.  She was looking for a gown for the pageant.  Everyone, say hello to Miss Roanoke USA (and wish her luck).  She was a very sweet girl and she landed a hell of a deal on her dress.

Miss Roanoke USA

Little did I know at the time, but I was getting into my wedding dress behind that door at the moment this photo was taken!  

I fell in love with two dresses at this shop.  When I had on the first one that I loved, I started to freak out because I wasn't expecting to find anything even close to being THE dress that day.  Yet, there I was standing in one I was seriously considering.  I freaked out a little more when I had on the second dress that I loved because now I knew that I was going to be buying a wedding dress that day.  It was simply a matter of which one.

At first I thought it was going to be a hard decision, until I was able to walk myself through why I liked each dress.  One I loved as an elegant gown.  I could wear this style of gown to any formal event.  The other I loved as a wedding gown.  It was that simple.

The Runner-Up

Janice, me, Mom, Aunt Sherry and the runner-up gown

Who knew that finding my wedding dress would be the easiest thing next to deciding on the officiant in wedding planning?

So, ladies and gentlemen, I have my wedding dress and headpiece.  I know how I'll be wearing my hair.  I know that I don't need more than a couple of accessories.  I have my wedding dress.

This was one of the biggest things this weekend that made all of this very real for me.