riotbrrd

More wedding stuff

"Wife"!?! Holy $@#$!

Sheesh, how did this happen? I remember something about a sunny day a week or so ago, a white cloth, a fluffy dress, a big white cake, and riding a chair... But I don't really remember anything else.

Oh, yeah. The wedding! Now I remember. Here are a few early pics from friends & family.

Tasting

Right now I'm eating peanut butter with champagne.

The Dress she is mine

I'm calling her "Jane" - after Jane Austen. Despite all the incredibly practical and sensible advice of family, friends, and strangers, I gave in to dress love - and the urgings of my incredibly sweet fiance.
Yesterday I called Marina Morrison to find out if I could still get it at sample sale prices. They agreed, I drove up to SF with credit card in hand, and Jane is now hanging in my house, ready for her alterations. She's so pretty! :-)
I haven't had any buyers' remorse yet. It's still early though...

Wedding Dress Staredown

Yesterday Lori and I went to the sample sale at Marina Morrison. As predicted, I found a fabulous dress that, even with the markdown, was still over my budget.

The dress is by French designer Suzanne Ermann. The picture can give you sort of an idea, but it doesn't show the incredibly fabulous detailing (assymetrical tulle with tiny pleats) and the beautiful back and profile.

It's the most interesting wedding dress I've ever tried on. Think Jane Austen on acid.

I loved it, and spent 2 and 1/2 hours at the salon trying to decide whether to buy it. I tried it on. I took it off. I called my mom. I tried it on again. I took off. I called my sister. I put it back on. I asked everyone in the entire salon for their opinion. I asked two salespeople about altering it. I tried bargaining the price down. Finally, I sat alone in the dressing room, staring at the dress on its hanger. The dress stared back. I meditated. And finally I decided that it's silly to spend thousands of dollars on a dress I'm going to wear once for a few hours.

Sigh....

Bye bye, haute couture!

New entry in Wedding Dress Derby

Spent an hour or so with Mom & Lori at Amy Kuschel bridal salon in SF. Lovely place, very laid back, and nice dresses. Very little bling bling.

"Savanna" was the one dress I really liked. It's a strapless A-Line with a fitted French lace bodice - not too frou-frou, the lace pattern's kind of modern. The waist is slightly dropped and has a simple ribbon detail. The skirt is heavy organza. Very pretty, and very traditional - as my mother remarked with much surprise. Of course, it was the one dress I tried on that was significantly over my budget, at $2,600. ;-) I just have to figure out if it's 7 times better than the $300 bridesmaid dress I found. Sigh....

Like Courtney wisely observed yesterday, planning a wedding would be a lot less hellish if you just had unlimited amounts of money to spend.

Somebody stop me!

I've just bought 12 back issues of Martha Stewart Weddings in three separate auctions on E-Bay. I don't know whether it's the magazines themselves, or the thrill of victory during the auction. Either way, expect a plethora of semi-tasteful wedding crafts come May...

Wedding Dress Saga, pt. 8

Only 108 days to go, and I still haven't bought The Dress. According to the nice ladies at the every bridal salon in the greater Bay Area, I am LATE. VERY LATE. Almost TOO LATE. Here's where it stands:

"The Dress" - this is by Bonaparte-NY. It's called "Anemone," and at $4,000, it's just too expensive.		Such a deal! A nice Vera Wang dress with lovely pintuck details. Only $10,500.
A very pretty dress by Elizabeth Fillmore. Originally $4,000, now $1,600 at the consignment shop. But I'm not in love with it.		The current top contender. A $300 (!!!) bridesmaid dress, which I can get in white silk dupioni.

Wedding Scam #473

Vera Wang has some chutzpah. She makes bridesmaids dresses, but you cannot buy just one in ivory. Why? So as not to eat into her over-priced bridal gown business. :-)

Am I actually GETTING MARIED?

I have a date. A location. A caterer. A groom.
Looks like it might actually happen.