Fitting #2

I had a dress fitting this afternoon.

Fitting #1 was pretty informal, it was just my mom and me at her house back in December when the dress came in. So I guess this was my first actual fitting. It was fun to have the dress on again. Also, it was the first time I had my veil to try on with my dress.

After searching and searching, I ended up finding shoes (finally). They just came yesterday from shoes.com:
I tried them on, and pretty much immediately decided they had to be it. I needed the shoes to do the fitting because as it turns out, as much as I tried to fight it, I'm going to need a slight hem. I wanted to avoid one altogether, but it's just not going to happen. The seamstress said the original hem is actually quite crooked. It's longer on the sides than it is in front, so she needs to take it up a little in some areas but not in others. She said the dress designers usually assume that the dress will need to be hemmed anyway so they aren't too careful with the hems. Lovely.

She put all the pins in place and I will go back in mid-May for a third fitting to make sure the hem turned out correctly, and also to figure out the bustle. She says it'll be easier to figure out the bustle once the hem is done. I was a little disappointed because I thought we would be doing that today... oh well. Mid-May will be here before I know it.

I'm crossing my fingers that all goes well with the alterations! I'm grateful that the hem and the bustle are all I need to have done.

Updates on past posts

I realize that sometimes I post about things that are unresolved and then I never post how they turn out. Whoops. Sometimes I get comments asking about them, so I figured I should go back to some open-ended posts and provide updates on some things.

I get questions a lot regarding my adhesive tape situation with my invitations back in November. People write in saying they have the same problem, and ask what I ended up doing to resolve it. Well, the answer is... I answered that question on the blog back in December! So there, I am pointing you in the direction of the answer. :)

Following up to a videographer post back in January... we still have not booked a videographer. We met with one last month, but he wasn't exactly what I am looking for, and his prices were a bit high. We haven't given him a definitive "no" yet, but we want to meet with other people. I just talked to another guy today, and we'll hopefully be meeting with him in the next week or so. I'm crossing my fingers--this is one that we need to resolve quickly.

These shoes did not work out. They were just not comfortable enough, and as you can see from the photo--they offer no support whatsoever. I'd be better off going barefoot than to wear those things. I ended up ordering three more pairs of shoes from endless.com, but alas, those did not work out either. Thank goodness for free return shipping. I'm still on the hunt for the perfect sandals/flip-flops. I am eyeing a really sporty looking pair--my mom was sort of appalled, but at this point, I just really don't care. Something like these:

I know they are ridiculous, and totally non-bridal (dare I say TACKY?), but what the hell. I just want something comfortable, no one is going to see them, and it'd be nice to be able to wear them again after the wedding. We'll see what happens there. I'm seeing a lot of new pairs popping up online since this is the season for sandals to start coming back, so hopefully I'll find something soon. Actually, I need to find something soon. I technically should have them before my appointment with the seamstress for my hem on March 29. Pressure!!

I got my veil in from Occansey Designs, and I really like it. It came in really quickly (like less than a week), and I'm impressed with the quality of it. I just haven't had a chance to take any pictures since I took it over to my mom's to hang it in her cedar closet there. I go for my first dress fitting with a seamstress (for a hem and bustle) on March 29 and I'm hoping to get some photos of it then.

Finally, on the dinnerware debate... We made the decision to go with option #2, which was this set from Bed Bath & Beyond:

Anyway, so there you have it... updates on some of my past posts. Wonderfully boring, huh?

Well, tomorrow, hopefully I'll have some hilariously entertaining pre-cana stories to tell.

If not, we'll talk about hair.

No progress?

It seems like this last week, I've been doing a whole lot of nothing... except for freaking out. I honestly cannot believe it is mid-February. We are less than 4.5 months away now. I counted... only 19 weeks to go.

Looking back, we did do a few things last week, but in the grand scheme of everything left to do... we barely made a dent.

Last Monday, we met with a videographer. It was the first one we met with, so we didn't do anything yet in terms of a contract. I wasn't completely blown away by his work, he was a little pricier than we hoped to spend, and I wanted something to compare it to. There is another videographer I have the contact info for, and I know he's available for our date. I just have yet to set up a meeting for us, which... who knows why.

Also last week, I found bridesmaid shoes. I sent all the info to the girls and they agreed on them, so to my knowledge, everyone has ordered them or is going to order them soon. Here are the shoes:

I'm happy with those, and from what the girls say, they are, too. The price is right ($35 on shoes.com), with free shipping and return shipping should they need to exchange for a different size. One of my bridesmaids actually found a coupon code, too, so they ended up costing $29 and change. Not bad.

What else... we booked our interisland roundtrip flight between Maui and Kauai for the honeymoon. I stalked prices for months and they weren't budging. There were people who told me I could get them for cheaper, so I was waiting and waiting and waiting... but nothing. Ultimately, we decided to just go ahead and book them at $142/person. They're direct flights between Maui and Kauai, so it didn't seem like such a bad deal to us. We could maybe have found something cheaper if we had waited until much closer, but we're planners and wanted to get it booked and paid for in advance. I'm so glad I booked them when I did--the next day, the prices did finally budge--but UP. I went on the website and the prices had jumped overnight to around $170/person. I would have been kicking myself.

I started bidding on rental cars on priceline.com. I think it might be a little too soon for that, though. I think you can get better deals on priceline the closer you are to your vacation date. We're trying to get a convertible for the regular price of a compact car. We'll see what happens. We might go ahead and book compact cars for Maui and Kauai through the rental company, and then cancel if we end up getting a good deal on a convertible through priceline. Or, if we get close and aren't having any luck with the convertibles, we will bid on the compact cars to try to get a lower price. Either way, I'm determined to get a good deal on rental cars. With normal prices for just the compact cars, we'll be paying more than $400 for our 10-11 days in Hawaii. I thought rental cars were usually pretty reasonable, but it really does add up!

The shower and bachelorette party are planned... well, the dates are set at least. My bridal shower will be on April 19, and the bachelorette party on May 31. Once those things start to hit, reality will really begin to set in. I was figuring it out... April 19 is a Saturday, and we need to have our invitations out on that Monday (April 21, exactly two months before the wedding). It is just so weird to be thinking about actually having to get the invitations done to mail them out! Eeeek!

Anyway, I know we'll get everything done, but it does give me a little bit of anxiety to think of how the next few months will go. On top of all of this wedding stuff, we're ripping up our floor in our kitchen and dining area this weekend (hopefully) and doing a few other things (replacing some molding, adding a pantry cabinet, etc.). Then on February 25, the guy is coming to put in a new floor (wood laminate). So that'll be sure to add some stress to the next couple of weeks. I'm sure we'll love when it's finished, though.

Michael's birthday was on Saturday. It was low key. We ran a few errands during the day, then went out to dinner. His friend (best man) and I had concocted a plan last week to surprise him, so he and his girlfriend showed up at dinner without Michael having a clue it was going to happen. It was fun, aside from me suffering from agonizing stomach pains (prior, during, and after dinner). But I was determined not to let it ruin the night. The four of us ended up going back to our place for cookie cake. Once they left, I collapsed on the couch with my stomach still bothering me. I had a low-grade fever, but by this morning, it had pretty much subsided. I still spent the day "recovering" on the couch, though. Which is maybe why I'm feeling so unaccomplished.

Glass Slippers

Eh, who the hell am I kidding. I'm no princess bride. And I don't want to be.

But the "glass slippers"? The perfect shoes for the wedding day? They have been a challenge.

Michael and I are the same height, so I knew from the beginning that I wanted flats. Not to mention that I just like flats, especially on a day when I will be on my feet constantly, will be carrying extra weight (my dress), and I just want to be somewhat comfortable. I also want sandals because it's June and I don't want hot, sweaty feet stuffed into shoes.

First, I found semi-cute flip flops at Target on clearance at the end of the summer--for something like $5. I bought them up because I figured I couldn't really go wrong. Even if I ended up buying something else, they were only $5. Well, when I had my first dress "fitting" when it came in, I knew pretty quickly that I would not be wearing these shoes. They are really uncomfortable. I don't like having a plastic strap over my feet, I have decided. It was really bugging me, even only having them on for ten minutes.

Thus the search began again for wedding shoes. I've scoured the internet for exactly what I have in my head, but haven't been able to find it as of yet. I would really like PLAIN flip-flops, with some kind of fabric strap, and comfy soles. These are actually perfect, except that they seem to offer a little too much "lift" in the soles, and I think they would be the equivalent of me wearing like a one-inch heel. Not to mention they don't have them in my size (I'm a big, honking size 9). I'm tempted to order the size 8's and give them a try, though. Stranger things have happened.

I went ahead and ordered these:

They have free shipping both ways--so if I have to return them because they don't fit, I don't like them, etc., it really cost me nothing to try them out. Very nice perk. So I figure what the heck.

I do have to get this figured out soon, however. I need to decide whether I'm going to be able to get away without a hem, and if not, I am going to need to get said hem. Which means the shoes are a must.

I wish my feet didn't make this so difficult on me.