Wedding Inspiration: Wedding Dresses

This is the most important part of the whole weeding right?! Ok, just kidding...kind of. I have been dreaming of my wedding dress since I was a little girl. Now that I'm actually getting married, my dress is still the number one thing on my mind. Basically I just want to be a princess enveloped in tulle and covered in glitter. I wouldn't even mind if I wasn't able to walk normally due to all of the poofy goodness that will be my ball gown. I think it's safe to say I've never given up the princess fantasies I've had since I was a little girl.

1. Dress by Alvina Valenta via Kleinfeld Bridal
2. Dress by Tara Keely via Style Me Pretty
3. Dress by Maggie Sottero via Maggie Sottero
4. Dress via 20 Something Bride
5. Dress by Alita Graham via The Knot
6. Dress by Alfred Angelo via Alfred Angelo

Confession: I've Got The Wedding Blues

I've been debating whether or not to share this because I don't want it to get taken the wrong way. I know it sounds horrible. But it's a very odd feeling that has been settling in me in the last couple of weeks. It in now way means that I am any less thrilled about being engaged or marrying Joe. It's just an odd feeling that kind of snuck up in me.

It's not that I'm not excited about the wedding or getting married or Joe. I'm very happy and can't wait to marry him! But, as time has gone by and our engagement has gone from shiny and new, to nearly 4 months old, life has gotten busy and it's been getting me down. I haven't had as much time to look at magazines and flip through and add to my lovely wedding binder since school started. People don't ask about wedding plans as much or ask about the engagement. Suddenly engaged life has reached a stalemate of sorts. Maybe this happens to all brides. Maybe after a certain period of time life does go back to the norm and being engaged and planning a wedding stops being a central part of conversation and fades into just another aspect of your life.

I think this feeling may also be attributed to people that just can't let you be happy, or say things that make you second guess yourself. I've read that this happens to most brides. And I have talked to friends about how people always wanted to give them their two-cents leading up to their big day without thinking how it was making them feel. No matter what, it seems that almost every bride has at least a couple of people that just can't let them be happy and in bliss. I really don't think there's any more stabbing, nagging, annoying feeling than instead of someone telling you that they are happy that you're happy; they tell you you're too young, marriage is overrated, they would do this or that differently, etc... I feel like in being engaged Joe and I are both obviously very happy and comfortable with our decision to get married. I don't want to continuously feel like I want to avoid certain people because they can't keep their mouth closed. 

I in no way, shape, or form expect everyone and anyone to only want to talk about the wedding. I don't expect people to shout "OMG YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED" every time I walk into a room. I certainly don't expect everyone have my wedding be the biggest thing in their life. The thing is, I don't know what I expect, if anything. Maybe I'm just feeling this way because we're not making any major decisions yet. The waiting game gets a little old and boring. I want to be out looking at venues, talking to florists, trying on dresses! You can only cut out so many pictures and pin so many pins.

The best way I can even try to describe this feeling is in calling it an empty happiness. Which probably still makes about no sense at all. I am thrilled to be engaged to my truest best friend in life. I am so happy to get to experience being engaged and planning a wedding with Joseph, our families, and my dearest friends. This in-between stage is just getting me down. There's so much I want to get done, but it's not quite time to start doing it. I'm the kind of person that takes everything to heart, so I've also let the VERY few nay-sayers of marriage get to me.

I feel like I need a wedding pep talk, a wedding cheerleader to pep me up. Or maybe I just need to suck it up and get more excited about the anticipation of all of the impending wedding related decisions that are coming my way! So, I'm going to go stare at pictures of pretty dresses and handsome suits and beautiful weddings and turn my frown upside-down!

Wedding Inspiration: Veils

Lately I have been obsessed with the website Once Wed. An awesome website that is, of course, all things wedding. In exploring the site I came across a photo gallery of just veils. I never realized just how beautiful and even ethereal a veil can look. These are some of my favorites:

I'm really in love with the polka dot veil! All of these lovely images plus more can be found here.

On Choosing My Bridesmaids

I am not someone that has "throw-away friends". Anyone that is in my life is in my life for a reason and because I care about them. Even though I may not have a big group of friends, I have been lucky enough to surround myself with a few really wonderful people. So, needless to say, when I started to decide what girls I wanted to be in my bridal party it took me awhile to decide how many bridesmaids I wanted, just what girls I would ask, and how to avoid potentially hurting feelings.

When Joe and I sat down and talked about the bridal party we decided that 5 bridesmaids and groomsmen would be the number for us. Then we tried to narrow down who of our friends would be a part of our big day. For Joe it was pretty quick and simple. He is pretty decisive when it comes to the people that matter the most to him. I on the other hand, had a little harder of a time deciding on my girls and my maid of honor. If I could have my way I would just have all of my girlfriends be in my wedding and we would all live happily ever after, but in reality I had to make some decisions.

I think that a lot of the reason that I had such a hard time with narrowing it down is that I hate hurting people's feelings, making people feel left out, having people upset with me, and so on. To be honest, I love all of my friends and feel like each and every one of them could and should be a bridesmaid. Different ones have been there for me at different stages in my life when I needed them the most. Some of us may not talk all the time, be at the same places in our lives, or like all of the same things, but, at least on my end, I still feel so much love for them. In the end I ended up with girls I have known for over a decade and girls I have just gotten close to in the last year or two. It's a nice mix and people that I love with all my heart and then some.

When I made my final decision on my fab-5 I felt both relief and a whole new wave of anxiety. I had finally made a decision (something that if you know me, does not come easily). But, I was also going to 1. have to ask people and 2. potentially make some people upset. I'm actually the most anxious about my maid of honor pick. Not about the person, but the other girls feelings. While I feel like everyone could have been in the bridal party, I also feel that any of my 5 bridesmaids could really be my maid of honor!

I don't think I was made to make decisions like this. I get anxious just deciding which restaurant to go to! But, I know that the girls I'm asking to be in my wedding are going to make my day and the whole wedding process so special. And as for my other wonderful friends who I was not able to put in the wedding party, I hope that they know how special they are to me and how excited I am for them to share in my wedding day when it rolls around! I also want them all to feel included and am so glad that so many of them don't roll their eyes at me when I bring up wedding stuff!

I still have 3 girls left to ask, thus why I am keeping mum on their identities (so secretive, right?!). That's the problem you face when you don't currently live in the same city, or even state, as some of them! The process has also taken longer because I decided that I wanted to ask each girl in person and in a "cute" way. Hopefully everyone will be "officially" asked within the next couple of weeks and then I can share who they are! Which, really, may be some of the worst kept secrets around.

Two Bridal Shows and a Very Tired Bride-To-Be

On Sunday I went to my very first bridal show. Well, I actually went to two! Fort Wayne was jam packed with goodies for us brides-to-be. I went with my mom and my friend (and one of my bridesmaids) Kristin. I really didn't know what to expect. I knew that there would obviously be a lot of information coming my way, but I didn't quite realize just how much there really is out there!

Our first stop was the Wedding Day Bridal Tour at the Grand Wayne Center downtown. Right when we walked in I was armed with a pink polka dot and rhinestone flower, magazines, and a bag to carry all my papers and goodies in. My mom even convinced the woman at the check-in table that Kristin was also engaged so she could have her own bag! When we entered the ballroom I was immediately taken back by the amount of booths and displays set up all around. Every vendor had their own set-up that really showed off their personality and everything they had to offer. I really wish I would have taken more pictures because there were some really cool booths, but I was busy moving around from booth to booth getting information and taking it all in. There were make-up and hair demonstrations, food and cake tasting, fashion shows, florists, event planners, all things honeymoon, photographers galore, and so much more! By the time we made it around the entire ballroom my bag was pretty heavy. And we still had one more to go!

Our next stop was the Bridal Spectacular at the Coliseum. This one was almost an entirely different animal. Unlike the bridal show at the Grand Wayne, this was not spaced out. Each vendor had the same amount of booth space and they were all very close together, leaving little room for any one vendor to show off much. I felt like I had been thrown into the lions den with blood thirsty brides. Everyone was fighting for the chance to look at a booth or talk directly to a vendor. While it was packed and chaotic, there were a lot of fun vendors.We tried more cake and food and desserts, saw more gorgeous dresses, and even got to play in not one, but two, photo booths. I am now completely convinced that we need one at our reception. How much fun would that be?! 

By the time our day was over Kristin and I both had two bags full of wedding stuff, and I was drained. It felt like we had entered a million giveaways for everything from a Jamaican honeymoon, to monogrammed napkins. When I sat down that night and dumped out my bag of wedding information goodness I even had a ton of freebies! Vendors had given out pens, bubble bath, chocolate, cookies, and even deodorant. In going through all of the booklets, papers, and business cards my total was over 200 pieces of information to look through.

I've had every intention this week of buying an accordion binder and organizing everything, but my giant bag is still hanging on one of my table chairs staring at me. It's all kind of overwhelming at the moment to be honest. Dreaming up your wedding and picturing what you want is one thing. Actually having to sit down and make decisions and pay people is a whole different ballgame. Luckily we are still a couple of months from having to make solid decision. So, for now, I will focus on looking through every bit of information and slowly processing it. Or, what I will most likely do, is get it organized and then spend the next couple of weeks staring at a binder on my kitchen table.

Regardless of how overwhelming it was, the day was awesome. I am so excited to get to plan this wedding, and even more excited after seeing a whole new slew of ideas and options that I never knew existed! Hooray for wedding planning.