Dress Giveaway!

I'm so excited! Today is my wedding dress giveaway! Swing on over to 2000 Dollar Wedding for more info!

Whirlwind Wedding Weekend: Day One

Although the last couple days weren't technically the weekend, they were for us. We took two days off to go to the city we're getting married in and get a bunch of wedding stuff done (as well as some visits). Since this was days were pretty jam-packed, I'm going to fill you in over the course of a couple blog posts. So here goes!

THE NIGHT BEFORE:
It wouldn't be fair to start telling you about the first day without a quick explanation of the night before. Adam worked 7:30am til 9:30pm with only a short break to gas up the van and put air in the tires. I got off work at 8pm. When Adam finally called it a day at 9:30pm, we still had to pack, plan the music for all aspects of the wedding day and work on our ceremony. We finished the music around 2am and decided the ceremony would have to wait.

DAY ONE:
The alarm clocks went off at 6am... after less than 4 hours sleep. Fun. We started getting ready, Adam took the dog for a quick walk on the beach, and I quickly printed our ceremony (or what we had so far at least) and then we rushed out the door shortly before 8.

Our first stop was the dog kennel, where we dropped off our pup for a couple nights. He was fairly distracted by all the new smells, but still jumped up on the gate to watch us leave (*tear*). Then we drove... and drove... and drove for about 4 hours. The tricky part about this drive was that we also needed to use this time to write our ceremony. So, about half way through the drive, we worked out our wedding ceremony, vows and all! Not the nice, typed version I had hoped to be passing on to the officiant, but heck, it was done!

We actually arrived a little ahead of schedule so we quickly called my mom and my brother to try to get my family together earlier than anticipated for a visit. It was great! We got to visit with my mom and stepdad, celebrate my mom's birthday, and visit with my brother and his family. Quite the productive hour and a bit!

We went straight from this visit to my final dress fitting where Adam was able to visit with our friends while I tried on the dress and had the last little bits worked out with our friend's mom, who is doing the alterations.

From the dress fitting, we hurried over to Adam's cousin's house, where we would later be spending the night. We had a (super) short visit before we had to rush off to the officiant's house.

20 minutes late, we got to the officiant's house. Thankfully, she didn't seem to mind so much. We went over the ceremony, gave her the marriage license to hang onto and complete for us, and just generally told her bits about us (since this was our first in person meeting).

Next we were off to my bridesmaid's house to get ready to go out for the evening. Her spouse is our DJ, so while the ladies went out for dinner, the guys talked music. Our DJ just synced my ipod to his itunes and uploaded everything! Lucky guy - he now has more Britney Spears than he knows what to do with!

Dinner with the ladies was so relaxing and fun! I missed my friends since moving and it was great to see them and catch up a bit! They also surprised me with a gift certificate for a manicure!!!! Aren't they so incredibly sweet?!

After dinner, we continued to visit with my bridesmaid and our dj (aka our friends!) and then quietly snuck into Adam's cousin's house sometime after dark.

Ahhhh... then we collapsed on to their super comfortable guest bed and were out like lights in seconds.

Dress Fittings

I dreaded this day with almost every bone in my body. I mean, I'm always excited to try on my wedding dress, but I was also nervous that it would need some pretty major alterations in order to fit nicely. Well, apparently I blocked out all memory of losing 7 pounds because when I tried it on, it fit much, much better than when I bought it! My friend's mom is doing the alterations and even commented that it would require less work than we originally thought. I'm excited! Also, I'm moving into a new place in the next week or so which has a fitness room... so there's potential for an even nicer fit when the wedding day rolls around!

So the experience of wedding planning I was dreading the most, has turned out to be pretty uplifting! Not only that, but I can cross this off my list now too!

Mis-Matched Maids

Photo by Josh McCullock

I was having a temporary panic attack about mis-matched bridesmaid dresses the other day. I'm not sure why. You see, all but one of my bridesmaids have picked their dresses and I honestly love each and every one. They are all gorgeous and unique to the different girls. I'm excited to see them all dolled up on the wedding day! But apparently the wedding industry has invaded my subconscious and made me feel anxious about whether or not my bridesmaids would match alongside one another.

I immediately realized this was a ridiculous feeling and decided to look up examples of mis-matched bridesmaids to conquer this silly anxiety. The picture above is my ultimate favourite example from Josh McCullock Photography. 

I also found this post and this post over at The Far Flung Fiancée.

Ok, I'm good now. I love the idea yet again!

Shoe Solution

Well, I looked in a couple shoe stores for the perfect pair of shoes but with no success. Then, I revisited the idea of wearing a pair of white flip flops a friend gave me last summer. They're perfectly clean and new because I saved them with the intention of wearing them for the wedding. Then somewhere along the line I changed my mind and was set on a coloured pair of shoes. Well, I tried the flip flops on again today and they are so comfortable that I just don't want to risk a new pair of shoes! So it's settled! I may see about dressing them up with a little DIY-ed fabric flower or something.

Shoe Inspiration

I'm excited to start shoe shopping now that Spring is here. I've decided I want yellow or green shoes, or generally any shoe that looks light and spring-ish! I like the idea of a wedge (like the one above), or maybe a thong (like the one below).

I'm also considering a thong type sandal with a tiny bit of a heel, but not too much (or my dress will look too short!). Something like this maybe:

Last, but not least, I love the look of ballet flats. These ones are super sweet:

All of these shoes were found on Zappos, but I will be on the lookout for something along these lines at our local shoe stores. I'm pretty confident I can find what I'm looking for and keep it under $30. Wish me luck!

Mother of the Bride's Dress

 

 

One of the great things about bridesmaid dresses is that you can usually wear them again. Now, I know that's a very cliché thing for a bride to say when picking out bridesmaid dresses, but unless they are completely bizarre and outlandish, it's pretty much true. I was a maid of honour in a wedding this past summer and in my case, it's not me that gets to wear my bridesmaid dress again, but rather my mom! My mom was fretting over what to wear to my wedding when we decided she should try on the dress I wore in my best friend's wedding. Low and behold, it looks fantastic on her! Given that we're the same complexion and a similar build, it fit pretty perfectly! She might just borrow the shoes I wore too! How's that for a budget and eco-friendly choice?

The White Chocolate Mocha

As part of my plan to fit into my dress (and generally be a healthier me) I have had to make sacrifices. I mentioned the oatmeal before, but this one's the kicker. I finally looked into the calorie count of my favourite coffee indulgence - the white chocolate mocha. Not surprisingly, it takes up a pretty 'grande' portion of my daily allotted calories (I don't actually count them everyday, but I have a general knowledge of how good or bad certain things are, calorie-wise). So, in an attempt to eventually cut out coffee altogether, I also looked at my alternatives. It turns out the best coffee beverage for my calorie count is a non-fat mocha (regular, not white chocolate) skip the whipped cream. Lucky for me, this is an alternative I don't mind too much! Next step - lose the coffee altogether!

*I should note that regular brewed coffee is probably a much healthier alternative, but I hate the taste. My coffee must contain chocolate or flavoured creamer, or I simply won't drink it. Hello, my name is coffee snob!

My Big Bridal Mistake

In preparation for the wedding day (and the million photographs that will go with it) I'm trying to eat healthier. This is mostly because I made the big mistake all brides are warned about and told not to do. I bought a dress that doesn't fit. I love my dress and fully planned to have the necessary alterations done to make it fit, but in the back of my mind I'm hoping I can lose a little weight to make those alterations less drastic. It hasn't been a completely unrealistic goal. I have given up my fair share of sweets that I love so much and I've incorporated some healthier habits into my diet, whether I truly like them or not.

The picture above is the perfect example. Breakfast is everything I love about my healthy new eating habits and everything I hate about them too. I hate oatmeal. I hate the taste, the texture, everything. But I'll eat it because it's good for me and filling too! As for my breakfast smoothies - yum! Today's smoothie is banana, strawberry, raspberry and orange. Absolutely delicious! I think the tang of the orange juice adds a little extra kick.

Of course I also realize that healthy eating alone will not make me miraculously lose weight. I've also been periodically going to Bikram Yoga (hot yoga where you literally sweat off extra weight), exercising at home on my elliptical (although I just sold it because we're moving and can't take it with us - so sad), riding my bike and walking more often. So far I've lost 7 pounds! Not too shabby!

Creative Bridesmaids

 
I posted some time ago about dresses for my bridesmaids. We are asking them to choose their own dresses based on a colour scheme. Well, one of my maids of honour told me that she is hoping to make her dress! I'm so very excited that the wedding has given her a reason to be crafty and create her own summer dress. We have plans to go pattern and fabric shopping soon and I literally can't wait! Hopefully putting her own sweat and tears (hopefully not blood) into her dress will make it that much more special to her.

$10 Wedding Dress

Sound unbelievable? Sound too cheap to be true? Well, Threadbanger Projects to the rescue! They have posted a video tutorial on how to sew your own $10 wedding dress. With a little imagination, you could embellish it to your liking or keep it simple for a more classic look.

It could also be done as a dress for other occassions, or it could be done shorter, or in other colours... there are so many options!

Check out the video here:

Fashionista Bridesmaids

I decided very early on in our wedding planning process that matching bridesmaids was not important to me. I want my bridesmaids to be comfortable in their dresses and to be able to purchase a dress that fits within their budget. That being said, I wanted some coordination overall, so I chose a variety of colours that will match the colour scheme of the wedding, and I am letting them choose their own dresses.

In this case, the wedding colours they can choose from include pale yellow, sage green, light brown, ivory, light grey, etc. It's supposed to look earthy and soft... spring-like colours? I'm not sure what to call it, but I like how those colours look when you put them all together!

Here are some dresses I love in those colours (however impractical the prices, etc):

 

Photo courtesy of YaySave

Photo courtesy of Anthropologie

 

Photo courtesy of sohomode on Etsy

 

Photo courtesy of amandaarcher on Etsy

Wedding Dress Stress

I'll be the first to admit it - I did not find wedding dress shopping to be an enjoyable experience. I watch TLC's Say Yes to the Dress, but cannot fathom that type of dress shopping. I don't enjoy trying on clothes, and I particularly don't enjoy trying on clothes I can't afford. I decided early on that I wasn't willing to spend more than $1000 for a wedding dress. Then, as time progressed, I decided I wasn't willing to spend more than $500 for a dress. Then I made the decision that I didn't want a brand new dress. The sheer volume of fabric it takes to produce a single wedding dress made me queasy. So, I started browsing the wedding dress section of a local web site that sells used goods. A few months later, I decided there was one I wanted to try on. I went to the former bride's house and put on the dress.

Now, this is when everyone expects to just *feel* that it's the right dress. I didn't feel that way, and that's okay! I knew it was pretty and liked it a lot, but I took my time thinking about it. It would need some alterations, but overall was within my budget and previously used - so it fit my criteria more than any other dress I had seen or tried on. I negotiated a price (another perk to previously used dresses) and came in under budget at $400. Even now that seems like a lot for a dress that I will wear for one day, but I've come to terms with it.

Instead of posting pictures of my actual dress (because the fiancé doesn't want to see it before the wedding day), here are pictures of dresses that were previous contenders (please ignore how unflattering these photos are!):