2 Registries down, 3 to go!

After reading a discussion online about how only very greedy people make registries, stated by people with holier-than-thou attitudes that are registering at charities because they don't need the material items the rest of us soulless people need, I got my Simon Pearce registry. And um, we went a bit overboard.

However, I (and others) view a registry as a wish-list. A suggestion, if you will, for those that want to buy gifts, full of things I can and will use often in my new life as a married. I will faint if I actually receive everything on the list. I am not being greedy, I am pointing out things I'd love to have. And you can always donate to charity in lieu of favors, or through your registry on theweddingchannel.com.

And ugh, I will definitely not put anything I (or Clint) am not dying to have, because I know exactly what it's like to live in a home smaller than your possessions.

In case anyone's interested:
Simon Pearce registry
(beware- aside from the dinnerware, this registry is close to a beyond-my-wildest-dreams wishlist)
Williams Sonoma registry
(and type in my name)

We still have Lux Bond & Green (for fine china, and some duplicate Simon Pearce stuff, like place settings and bread plates), Crate & Barrel (everyday stemware, some kitchen/casual entertaining items) and Macy's (linens, duplicates of the fine china- again, place settings, etc, and a George Forman.)

note: the dates on the registries are not accurate. WS date is our engagement, SP date is a wedding date option. I'll definitely post the official date, once we have it.

oooh, wedding shoes

These would be really pretty! They're sold out in my size, but I will have to keep an eye out...
Mattie, by Kate Spade
We also set up our Simon Pearce registry on Saturday. It's not up on their website yet, but hopefully will be soon.

Registry!

Today we set up a registry at Williams Sonoma, with the help of my friend Elizabeth. It's not complete yet, but yay!

After Thanksgiving, we're going to mosey on over to Simon Pearce to do our registry there. I'm really surprised by all the freebies you get just for registering!! woohoo!

A step in the right direction...

Stepping: those gold shoes are not going to work as wedding shoes, they're rather dark. However, as general dressy shoes, they're kind of awesome.

and in the right direction:
I handed in the draft of my thesis yesterday, so this is a step towards getting ready to plan the wedding!

In other news... nothing. Ho, hum.

Shoes!

No posts recently due to writing my THESIS. Ack. It's a tad stressful... just a tad.

Anyway, I bought shoes yesterday (I splurged and got 2-day shipping, so I hope they arrive tomorrow, but we'll see- I need them before Friday) that might be used for some upcoming events, but also are in the running for Wedding Shoes.

Shoes! They're "champagne", which might work... if I get a champagne dress. That's definitely an option. If not, they're pretty anyway, and could be used for other occasions. Also, leather, embellishments, and 2.5in heels. Awesome all around. (I just hope they fit! But free returns, just in case)

More pretty dresses! (phew!)

I've been looking at dresses online this week, because I've had small spurts of down-time near my computer in lab. And... I've been disappointed :( There are so many pretty things, but everything is either the wrong style/cut or the wrong embellishments. I've decided I really want beading, and beading seems to be less popular these days. Sure, you can find it on $5K+ dresses, but I'm trying to be frugal on dress expense. A lot of people are poo-pooing that Vineyard dress I tried on at the White Dress, so I'm trying to look for more options.

Finally, last night I found some other options. I really like these two, and I like others by this designer almost as much.
Alfred Sung:




Yay pretty pretty! (click on the pictures and you can see other views of each dress)














I also saw this adorable dress, but not right for my wedding- perhaps a pretty party dress? I'm sure it's about $2500, though, not a party dress price.

Post for the sake of posting

I'm being pretty good about updating my other blog (wamozart12cooks) this week, but this one looks neglected.

Um... oh, I know. Someone on ravelry, who brought my attention to the Maggie Sottero dress (she's apparently decided that's the one, even though the ruching and beading are things she never thought she'd want, but poor girl has no stores in her area that carry Maggie S. Mariella's in Rocky Hill carries it, so I'll be there at some point.) apparently has the same taste in dresses as I do, because she saw #7276 by Cosmobella (I'm not posting the direct link to the dress, because you have to scroll through them all, but it's near the end of the collection if you want to look- I think about 30 thumbnails from the end). I might let her go dress shopping and share her faves and do my work for me! heh. She's going dress shopping again this weekend.

How did people ever plan their weddings before the internet?!

Online wedding communities...

...are very helpful, especially when people share links of pretty things.

Like this dress another raveler has fallen in love with. Can I fall in love with it, too? I think Aimee'll be pleased, she had a Maggie Sottero and was quite fond of it. I looks like the same lines of the Vineyard dress from Sunday, but with the embellishments I want (although I wish the train were fancier).

I want to look at other dresses right now, but I should be fussing with my figures. Bah.

O-ho!

Inspiration from ravelry! Someone in the wedding group (With this string, I thee wed) is making purses for herself and the MOH.

I'm totally knitting a purse for myself. From the pattern I'll use for the shawl. They will match.

O-ho.

More info on this as it becomes available.

Wedding dresses

Mom and I went to the White Dress by the Shore in Clinton, CT yesterday, and I see why everyone raves about it so much! It was a lovely shop, they had a decent selection of dresses, and everyone that worked there was so helpful. My appointment was with Beth, the owner, and she was great. She was very helpful and good about finding dresses she thought I might like (as a whole or for certain embellishments). It was a very good experience.

I tried on two dresses i liked, one by Judd Waddell (the top dress, the one where the girl is standing by the wedding cake and licking her finger)- although I think this picture is not it exactly, the bodice of the one I tried had lace on the bodice, and this looks like shirring. I loved the skirt.

I tried on this dress from the Vineyard Collection by Priscilla of Boston (ooh la la), which was perfect except for two things.... I really like beading or some embellishment, and this was completely simple. Also, as you can kind of see, it's a tad low in front. It's low in back too, but I like my back, so I'll show it off.

Last weekend we went to Camille's, which was nice, but nowhere near as nice as THDbtS. I bought (yes, bought... it was pretty and it was a sample sale) this dress (which, as you can probably tell, needs some work before it fits as well as the Vineyard dress)
But I love the beading, especially on the train...

I'm going to keep looking. I love this dress with the silver vine-y beading, but less so after wearing the other dress. The other dress is perfect except for the lack of beading and deep V neckline. I could bead it myself (run on down to Gemstar and buy some swarovskis and pearls) and I could put in a little panel to make it less low, but I worry a panel would screw with the nice lines of the top.

Mom and I went to a stamp/scrapbook store in Westbrook on our way home, and they had some nifty papers for making your own invitations and STDs. I'm definitely making the STDs, and we're thinking maybe Clint will do the invites on the printing press at school. I think that would be cool, especially because he's specifically asked to do it. We're still thinking on colors, I've always been wavering between pink and blue, but my mom thinks I should have pink. I think either would be pretty, but there are no pinks out right now that I really like, and would work for BM dresses. Finally, mom came across Emily Post's Wedding Etiquette book at the WDbtS. I'm pretty sure she's running out today to buy it, but I supposed it'll be helpful.

Speaking of books, we're also considering going on that new Flat Belly Diet diet, the authors were on Rachael Ray and mom and I are both intrigued. Olives are a part of the diet, and any diet that tells you to eat olives is fine with me! Also nuts, avocado, olive oil and dark chocolate. It's based on the idea that this one type of fat is very healthy and helps you lose weight primarily from your belly. If it just tells me to include those foods more and eat normally and exercise, I'm good with that. I don't want any crazy un-maintainable diets like Atkins, thank you very much.

Another BM dress

I forgot this one yesterday! I like the color they show it in. Only thing is the low back.... but perhaps an optional shawl would fix that.

Engaged! Planning! Procrastinating!

Well! I got engaged a little over a month ago (... ok, I guess almost 2 months now), on June 22. It happened at the beach, when FH and I were walking along (on our 3 year anniversary, no less), and suddenly, he "found" a diamond ring, and decided to propose. I lost the power of speech, he ended up with a sandy knee, my mom videotaped the whole thing from afar, and that was that. I ended up with a beautiful ring, one that's just perfect for me.

So now I have to plan a wedding. Imagine that.

First thing's first, however: I have to graduated. I've been in grad school for 6 years, and I'm starting to write my thesis. I have a job lined up, but I'll have to sell my condo and (hopefully!) buy a new one near the new job. Then I can get married.

As you can imagine, I haven't done too much planning. I've always known I'll get married at my family's homestead in Granby, CT, in the garden, like my mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and her sisters, and great-great grandmother (and probably her sisters, too). I hate the heat, so the wedding will be either fall or spring- these days we're leaning towards fall, of 2009. It'll be in the evening, none of that get-up-at-6am-to-get-your-hair-done nonsense, I want plenty of time to let the knowledge that I'll soon become Mrs H sink in.

So, while I haven't done much planning, I have actually bought a wedding dress. Yeah, I was surprised, too. I went to sample sale, and I couldn't pass this up.

(Clint, if you're reading this, and I'm purposely not telling you that I have this blog, do NOT click on the link, bozo)

http://www.evahforsyth.com/Stephanieenhanced.ivnu
It's white and satin, and I'd wanted ivory or champagne and ..... not satin, but I love the beading, it's vines with small flowers, very appropriate for a garden wedding. However, I'm not done wedding dress shopping! I'm a little crazy. I may not get another dress, or I may. Time will tell.

Now I'm thinking bridesmaid's dresses. Here are yesterday and today's possibilities.
#806
#938
#934

a couple from David's Bridal (how is the quality of DB? Anyone know?)
one
another
and another that I really like in the blue, but it's so short....
and finally, this one might be discontinued

My goal is to find a dress for a variety of sizes, either in blue or pink, but a rich shade suitable for a fall evening, tea length, not strapless, and affordable (under $200). The BM dresses are trickier than my dress. I will ask all my BMs for their input before choosing the dress, however, although that won't be until we set a date.

That's enough for now. I'll talk about favors and my DIY ideas in the next post.

yeah by the way, I have no idea how everything is underlined, and therefore no idea how to stop that. rar.