Finding The Dress

DON, DO NOT READ THIS POST OR YOU WILL SEE THE DRESS AND DAMN OUR MARRIAGE FOREVER!!! #superstitious

Seriously, do not ruin this moment. Take your nosy self on out of here. ;)

Ok, ladies, now that he's gone...I have a VERY curious groom, ya'll. I have been keeping him posted on my dress shopping progress, and he is super excited to see me in my dress and super jealous of everyone who has seen it when he knows he can't.

Anyway, I found my wedding gown in near-record time. I was really hesitant to shop, because I have packed on the pounds as the stress of my first teaching job has gotten to me, and as awful as this sounds, I really did not believe anything would look good on me. Brides, if any of you are feeling like I did, calm down. You will be beautiful on your wedding day, and find a gown that feels like it was made especially for you.

It only took two shopping trips for me to find my dress, and both were at David's Bridal. I hear good and bad things about David's, and I was honestly not expecting to find my dress there, but when you find the one, you can't question it.

Our first shopping trip was on Black Friday, and let me tell you, it was a bust. My consultant was trying to help me and two other brides, and she did not pull a lot of dresses for me. Since she was so busy, she did not put me in a long-line bra and slip, just a regular strapless, and that made a lot of difference in how the dresses were fitting me. I found two that I felt ok in, but neither were really right, so Mom and I left without buying anything.

David's Bridal Style 9V9743

My mom actually really liked this dress, especially the train. For some reason, the train really reminded me of Natalie Portman's Queen Amidala costumes from Star Wars. Yes. You can't unsee it. I also did not like what this dress did to my hips. The consultant kept putting me in empire waist dresses because she said they would flatter me, but I wasn't feeling it. 

David's Bridal Style 9WG3707

This dress was my favorite of the day. I really loved it because it had pockets. However, it was going to be quite heavy for our July wedding, and the cleavage was a little over the top for me. Neither of these dresses made me feel like a bride.

For our second appointment, I asked for a different consultant, and the lady we got was wonderful. She immediately put me in the right type of undergarments, and pulled some dresses. She put me in some of my mom's picks and my maid of honor's picks. Finally, she decided to put me in a dress that she thought would flatter me. 

Drum roll please...

This is David's Bridal Style 9V3587. I hated it on the model on the website. I hated it on the hanger. Neither of those things did this dress justice. As soon as I saw myself in this dress, I started to tear up. I was definitely having one of those moments. This made me feel beautiful, and I did not want to take it off at all! The lace appliques were exactly what I wanted, and the blingy belt options kept my mom happy. I am so freaking excited for my fiance to see me in this dress. It truly took my breath away. We bought it on the spot, in solid ivory. It is shown here in champagne and ivory. 

We even picked the bridesmaids' dresses while we were at it. All in all, a very productive day! And I couldn't be happier with my choice!

How long did it take you to find your gown?

Love, 

Linds

Groom Guest Post: From One Groom to Another

As excited as I am to plan this wedding, my excitement pales in comparison sometimes to Don's. Since I promised to involve him in the process in every way, I asked him to do a guest post here for our readers. He asked me what he should write about, and I told him to write about whatever's on his heart. Without further ado, here are Don's words from one groom to another. 

I am getting married! Needless to say, when I wrote, “marry me?” in the sand, I was not expecting a barrage of questions from all of the women in my life. 

Some grooms like to be told when and where to show up and that is the end of it, but I knew from the beginning that I was not like that. I’ll be honest, like most guys, I have never had a dream wedding planned out, but I still wanted to be involved because a wedding is our day, not just mine or hers – despite how it sometimes seems from my mother, her mother, and even my fiancée. Especially in the South, the role of a groom is greatly reduced to just showing up, and even if I weren’t in the South, I imagine my struggles are similar to other grooms elsewhere. With that in mine, here are some tips for being an involved groom without being over bearing.

Communicate!

This is really relationship advice 101, but the same is true for the wedding. I cannot explain how many times we were looking at a venue and then when asked if we like it, we have competing views. That is totally OK! The two of you will disagree on things, and that think you thought was really cool might be completely tacky or look terrible. Look at the pros and the cons of everything, and you will see that you and your fiancée have some opinions in common. Talk around what you like, not what you disagree on otherwise the conversation will always turn negative – sell something, don’t bash it.

Mothers really liked being brides

Your mother was probably a bride and if she wasn’t, then she thought about being a bride. Everything she thought was cool in 1991 is still cool to her today. On top of that, Pinterest and other blogging sites exist, so now you have an amalgam of 1991 and the hottest, trendiest wedding innovations. Unfortunately, those two often don’t mix well. You have to think from the perspective of your mother (or Mother in Law). Just like your future wife, she had a billion wedding ideas floating around while she was trying to plan, and your father or her mother probably shot them down. She may be trying to live vicariously through your wedding. Secondly, wedding etiquette was ingrained in her and she probably has very specific ideas about what is expected from a wedding.

How do you cope with this? You might need to have a come-to-Jesus meeting with the mothers. It is not 1991, and it is not their wedding. Moreover, etiquette is nice, but we have to have our wedding, and really making our day special is more important than making someone else happy. That being said…

My parents on their wedding day

Lindsey's parents on their wedding day

Etiquette matters

I know I just said etiquette doesn’t matter. For the most part it doesn’t, but it is not worth it to upset your grandmother over it. There are certain expectations around weddings. Does this mean you need to follow all of them as though you are Emily Post? Nope, you don’t. Etiquette is actually great at providing some structure and advice as to what you should be doing. It should not dominate your wedding though. My advice: get an etiquette book and read up on what you should be doing. Some of it will seem strange, but do it. If you see something you find absolutely awful (like some wording on an invitation), then change it. It isn’t the end of the world, and if someone doesn’t come to your ceremony because the etiquette was wrong, they probably didn’t really want to come anyways and they’ll probably send a gift anyways since they love etiquette so much.

Be Happy and Get Excited

You always see people frantically scouring Pinterest or trying to figure out the perfect way to do something. As someone who likes to be precise, I can appreciate all of that, and I have scoured Pinetrest trying to make some DIY crafts. People get into arguments over all sorts of crazy wedding things. Literally any part of the wedding is up for debate – and this is not just because my fiancée and I were debaters. Everyone will have an opinion and it is overwhelming and at times annoying when you really disagree with someone but you’re trying to be nice. At the end of the day, on July 9^th, I will be marrying the love of my life. That is the fact of the matter regardless of how much arguing happens. You are getting ready to start your life with someone that you love and cherish and she loves and cherishes you too. I always tell Lindsey, “I’m so excited to be marrying you!” and I don’t do it because I want to seem excited, it is because I genuinely am excited. You have to take a step back from all of the inevitable drama that is a wedding and realize that what you’re about to do is incredibly special and something to be excited for.

Everyone is pushing both of you a million different directions. Listen to them and if you disagree, then you disagree. If you see something tacky, speak up. In the same breath, realize that you probably like something tacky, so be ready for criticism. The Mothers and the bride will bicker, just try to make your opinion known without seeming overbearing. Most of all though, enjoy it and get ready to marry the woman of your dreams! 

Rings, Rings, and More Rings

In case ya'll haven't noticed, I really love jewelry. When we took my ring in to be resized and dipped a few days ago, they told us it would take four or five days to get it back. My finger felt SO NAKED without my ring. My fiance thought I was crazy, but I needed a stand-in ring.

This is my promise ring from my fiance, which he presented to me right before I left for college, almost five years ago now. It's a blue topaz, which is my birthstone. Normally I would just wear this in place of my engagement ring, but we've been out of town on an extended vacation and I hadn't packed it.

Cue Walmart. Yes, Walmart. Does this girl look like she's about to drop hundreds of dollars on a temporary ring just to make my finger feel less naked? Nah.

I picked this up off the costume jewelry rack just to have something on my hand, and I kid you not, I have gotten loads of compliments on this ring. It almost makes me wish I had gone with a colored stone for my engagement ring! I guess people just notice them more because they see clear stones on left hands all the time. 

Do you wear a ring in place of your regular engagement ring or band?

Love, 

Linds

Bling, Bling, We Chose Rings!

My engagement ring has been snagging on my clothes lately, so I figured it was time to take it in to the jewelry store for an inspection.

The one bad thing about purchasing important pieces of jewelry from Etsy sellers, as we did, is that you are not getting any sort of protection plan with your purchase. Since my ring is white gold, I can expect to shell about between $40 and $60 every time it starts to get yellow and needs to be redipped, as well as for any repair work. I guess it's a small price to pay for a ring that you love, but definitely something to think about if you (or your groom!) haven't picked yours out yet.

Sure enough, my prongs needed to be retipped. Since Don was with me in the jewelry store, we decided to browse for wedding bands while we were there, and ended up finding bands we both love.

Don's is a 6 mm white gold band, and mine is a 2mm white gold and diamond ring wrap. For a lot of brides, it is way too thin, but I love small and delicate jewelry, and I loved the way it looked on my finger! We decided to go ahead and put our rings on layaway, so we'll have them in a few weeks! I can't wait. 

Sorry for the extreme close-up and blurry quality!

When I went back to the store yesterday, I got to pick up my newly pronged and dipped engagement ring, as well as try it on with the band. I DIED, ya'll, it just makes me melt to see them together on my finger. It was perfection. 

How did you pick a wedding band? 

Love, 

Linds

Vendor Love:

Rings - Fred Meyer Jewelers 

Hers

His

Things I Stressed About

When Mr. Blue Moon and I first got engaged, one of the things I was most nervous about was working out all the little details with my parents. There was never really a question that my parents would pay for a good portion of my wedding. We are Southerners, and it was something my mom's parents did for her, and we have always made jokes since I was a little girl about my dad footing the bill for this shindig. That said, the way this usually goes down in Southern families is that since the bride's parents are paying, the bride's parents want (and deserve!) a lot of input in the wedding. I have a great relationship with my parents, but we are also very different people. This is my list of all the things I was initially worried about dealing with, and how we are handling it...for better or worse!

1. Food: Mr. Blue Moon and I have been vegetarians for going on three years, and I never really imagined serving anything other than vegetarian food at the wedding. Many of our guests don't eat meat, but our families both do. The menu has been a source of contention between Mom and I from the get-go. She thinks it's bad-hostessing to not offer a meat option, but I think the reception menu should be a reflection of the couple. Either way, we both want to make sure all of our guests are happy and that no one leaves hungry, but we still haven't decided on a final menu. Thankfully, it's just as important to my mom to help me pick out a fabulous meal for our vegetarian and vegan friends to enjoy. I hate going to weddings where I can only nibble on the veggie display!

From My Big Fat Greek Wedding via Joy Runner

2. Booze: The majority of my family doesn't drink. Not a glass of champagne on the holidays, no wine at dinner, nothing. =This is the lifestyle I was raised in, and I've always been ok with it. I have never really questioned that I would be having a dry wedding due to my family's preferences, but my parents compromised on this one and agreed to allow us to serve it to please all our guests. Though I will always respect my parents for sticking to their guns as they were raising my brothers and I and trying to provide us the very best example they could, I'm glad that we will have different options for our wedding guests who choose to partake. At the end of the day, I want everyone to have a great time at our reception and be happy with both the alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverage options (I can make some rockin' mocktails). 

3. The Dress: Dress shopping was the part I was least excited about out of everything. I was worried that what my Mom likes and what I like on me were not the same thing, and since she graciously offered to buy my dress, I wanted something we both loved. I like lace and lean towards simpler looking gowns, probably because I have put on weight over the past two years and feel really self-conscious about anything that draws too much attention to me. My mom really likes bling and the wow factor and would encourage me to try anything on no matter how much I felt like it wouldn't flatter me. It's nice to have someone who always thinks I look like my best self. I guess that's what moms are for! Thankfully, this resolved itself because Mom and I both fell in love with the same dress. I was so glad I took her dress shopping with me and got to have that bridal moment with her. It was perfect!

How are you resolving differences between all the parties interested in your wedding? Has anything surprised you during the planning process with family members?

Asking My Bridesmaids

I love cutesy stuff. I really, really do. I love all the bridesmaids boxes I see on Pinterest, the custom wine and champagne bottle labels, the monogrammed tumblers and jewelry and robes. I wanted to put together something nice for asking my girls, and it had to fit with the wedding theme. I randomly found these Msaon-jar-looking travel cups at the store one day, and bought like ten. I did not know at the time what I would use them for, but I did know I liked them and could find some kind of wedding use for them.

Meanwhile, my best friend since kindergarten, MOH K, was coming to visit me in my college town so that we could attend a concert together. We are Nashville girls, and would pretty much follow Luke Bryan to the ends of the earth. ;) But in the midst of all the excitement over the concert, I was also considering the fact that I might not see MOH K again for several months, and I knew I didn't want to ask any of my other bridesmaids before I asked her to be my maid of honor.

Enter the Mason jar cups. I decided to stuff these babies full of wedding goodies and things in wedding colors. I picked out earrings for my bridesmaids, and included those. I put in fancy chocolates, and pretty make-up that will go with my wedding palette. I ended up ordering PDF files from Etsy to print off onto cardstock for my cards. They come with different hair colors for the girls, so of course I picked one that matched all of my bridesmaids hair. Because I am OCD about random stuff like that.

From April Heather Art via at Etsy.com

When I met with MOH K for brunch on the day before she left, I presented her with her stuffed travel mug and a sweet letter inside her card, both wrapped up in wedding color paper (our colors are lilac and mint).

She said YES!

It was the great end to a fun weekend, and I ended up repeating this process with my other girls. Receiving fun goodies is definitely a great way to hype everyone up for the wedding! 

How did you ask your bridesmaids to join you on your wedding day?

**All Personal Photos