Flowers

We have flowers!  Todd's family has relatives who own Pink Carnation Flower Shop in Riverside. We'll be going in for a consultation in the new year to blend our thoughts with their expertise. We were talking with Beth and Becky on Christmas and found out they both used the shop for their weddings and were thrilled. 

So if you have any event that calls for flowers, they come highly recommended!  Yea!

Big News on Dresses!

I gave Camille @ the bridal shop my mom's address (assuming we'd be in a different residence by the time the wedding came to, and I didn't want the shop to send anything to the wrong address...).  So today I got a phone call from my mom saying that my DRESS IS IN!!!  I have a fitting on Saturday, January 10th to check things out, and hopefully get the alterations going... so before that date I have to get my "undergarments" in order (uh, I didn't even start that yet... better go...) and I'll have my shoes to try on, too - but Camille is getting those in at the shop, so she'll have them for me, so that's a small relief.

So I called to get all the details, and asked about bridesmaids dresses, too, since those are ordered via a different maker.  She gave me an estimate of approximately the end of January for those to come in - so that's good news, too!  And the shoes will come in before the fitting for the bridesmaids dresses too, because she orders them right after the dresses come in (she assured me that shoes arrive fast).  So bridesmaids gotta get their undergarments in order, too (hee hee) - I notice the dresses have a lower back, so I wonder if a special accommodation needs to be made for that? (btw, this is the dress style, but it's not purple - it's black - and it will NOT have that god-awful bubble hem...) :)

...but when the bridesmaids dresses DO come in, we will all get a postcard letting us know.  I'm going to try to go with to the first fitting so we can get the hemline set so everyone else just lines up to the first one.  For that, I will need to know who's the tallest of the bridesmaids, since I discovered that the tallest gets hemmed first.  Man, the stuff you learn with wedding planning!

update...

Hello - we've been really busy with work & holidays to update lately, but we're still here! Save the date cards have been sent out - hopefully YOUR card has already arrived to you safely!

We have NOT, however, sent out Christmas cards yet! eek!

Saturday (December 13th!) was our official "6 Months Until..." countdown date. Hmmm... guess I'd better check on those bridesmaids dresses...

Next on my to-do list is flower girl dress shopping. Todd's working on wedding band designs and has got some really cool sketches drawn up!

Save the Date, Part 2

coming soon, to a mailbox near you...

follow us!

If you use blogger, too, make sure you join the list of followers (currently me, and uh..., me) on the wedding blog.  I know we haven't posted lately, but not much has gone on lately except more money woes keeping us from getting stuff done and still sitting here on the condo, hoping to have a house to make a nice little home before the big wedding day.

But anyways, the followers list is easy to add to: it's down on the right hand column (scroll down) and click on the little link to follow our blog and then when you log in to blogger, any updates show up on the dashboard.  Plus, we get the pleasure of having you added to our mental list of super-cool friends, so yayy.

more photos added.

I added some photos from Nicole to the Flickr site. If you can't see them, it's because I think I set them to "family/friends" view only, so add me to your flickr contacts and it should work. Let me know if there are any issues with that.

Thanks!

engagement party!

Last night was our engagement party/get together for the bridal party, our immediate families, and some friends.  We started out at Greek Islands with our parents for dinner, then moved on to Lombard Roller Rink for open skate night.  We ended the evening with some drinks and bowling at Lucky Strike at the Yorktown Mall.  It was really really fun, and we want to give a humongous thanks to everyone who attended: Mom Leban, Mom & Dad Miller, Lisa and Greg, Bobby and Jeri, Michelle and Jason, Nicole, Angela, Deanna and Matt, Sam, Ray, Toth, Joe, and Andy and Jill!

Check out photos of the party at our flickr site.  If you have any other photos to share, please let us know!

scoping out the location.

Last Thursday night, we went to Willby's with Nicole for dinner, which just happens to be the restaurant at the Willowbrook Holiday Inn.  So of course we looked around and anticipated set up ideas for the wedding.  Nicole took this photo outside the atrium windows, which is where the ceremony will be taking place.

In other news, we're in the process of planning a wedding party & friends get-together next month (an "unofficial" engagement party of sorts, a chance for the wedding party to all meet up and get to know one another and hang out...), and we have the save-the-date cards to mail.   We just have to get the envelopes, print out mailing labels, and get our list of addresses finalized.  Oh, and buy stamps.  Can't send them out without those.

Bridesmaid's Dresses

Yesterday, we went to finalize plans for the bridesmaids dresses.  Michelle and Nicole met us (me, Todd, and my mom) at the bridal shop.  There, we looked at another possibility (I've been freaking out that maybe I didn't like the dress I had picked), but discovered that the original selection is actually the best one.  It's one of those situations where you have to see it in person to appreciate it, and it really will be the most flattering choice for all of the girls.  So the bridesmaid's dresses are chosen, along with a cute little jacket for the girls who would like one to go with their dress.  And, of course, the shoes, too.  Nicole and Michelle were able to get measured right away, so now the other girls only need to stop by whenever they can to get measured as well.  Then it's just waiting until it all comes in!

Oh, I ordered and paid for my shoes in full!  It's nice to know that I have at least one less thing to burden us financially, no matter how small...

View more pictures of bridesmaid dress shopping with Michelle, Nicole, Todd, and my mom at our flickr page.  Thanks to Nicole for taking photos yesterday and sending them to us!

correction.

The bridesmaids (whomever can make it, at least) will be meeting this Monday, 7/14 at 5:00 in the evening at Francia to try on/decide the FINAL dress and jacket/wrap option for those who would like one.

So assuming all goes well, an update on dress finalization will be coming shortly thereafter.  Stay tuned!

being wishy-washy about the clothing choices...

...So I have a bridesmaid's dress all picked out, but I was sitting reading a bridal magazine the other night (to which Nicole called me on the phone and yelled "Put the bridal magazine down!" and Lisa M. asked why I'd read a bridal magazine when I'm not like other brides anyways...) and started thinking that the dress I picked out for the girls is cute, but maybe not REALLY what I had in mind?  I don't know, I'm being wishy-washy, so I went online and found another one that had a more gathered wrap-style top as opposed to the more plain style top that the original choice has.  

So to ease my mind and make sure that I have explored all options, Lisa (Perez) Moline is going to go to the bridal shop with me on Monday (and if weather doesn't agree with her trip, Nicole has offered to come along as well!) to look at what's available and try on some options.  I think that would make me feel better.  We also need to choose a wrap or jacket for the dress as well, as an option for any of the girls who wish to do so.

I'm also excited because when I go I can order the shoes I picked out.  They're called "Royal" and I want to get them in ivory satin and have them dyed the same red as my dress.  Cool.  So some things I am pretty set on, and I'm not being wishy-washy about everything... just some.

We have some other cool things going on with the wedding, as far as ideas go.  We got our first order of custom guitar picks in, and we're looking into the possibility of utilizing candle light as an accent to the setting/decoration.  We'd love to get solid red novena candles (you know, the kind you can buy in the hispanic section of the grocery store - we also have a Dollar Buster store over by us on Harlem that has them in a wide variety) and use them as part of our centerpieces.  We're also shooting around some other favor ideas as well.  It all comes down to money, though, which isn't in plentiful amounts!

Also, we're in the brainstorming/designing process of our wedding rings, too, which is fun.  I have some cool ideas I won't share just yet.

we have no money.

it looks like right now, the plans for an engagement party are not going to be a go.

i looked into a few places, like the Hillside Bowl for a bowling party, or restaurants, such as Papaspiros (my favorite Oak Park Greek restaurant!) and most places are charging $20 per person for a party/dinner/etc... the guest/invite list I came up with was between 40-50 people (bridal party & their families, plus our families, aunts, uncles, etc...) - that means $800 - $1000 for a party, which we simply do not have, especially when we're trying to plan the darn wedding (and boy, is it NOT cheap!)!!!

...and since we don't have a house to have the party at, simply getting some catering is out of the question - we need a location and food, and preferably something fun to do, which is why the Hillside Bowl would've been a great place (bowling, pool tables, etc)...

Todd and I talked to Greg and Lisa, and they didn't have an engagement party, so it's not a necessity... just something we thought would've been fun.  but in case anyone was wondering what was up with that, Todd and I talked and we sadly agreed that it isn't the most fiscally responsible thing to do, considering all other plans and things going on.

if only this damn condo would sell so we could focus on that!!! 

:)

dresses and tuxes.

yesterday i put a deposit down on a wedding gown, which is actually a BALL GOWN, according to the lady at the bridal shop.  wish i had known this several days ago when i called a gazillion bridal places looking for a red wedding gown.  ...freakin' technicalities... !!!

but anyways, i DID find a red gown, which was my goal.  unfortunately, i cannot describe it here, because the dress is going to be a surprise!  the good news is that the woman (Camille Francia of Francia Bridal in Hinsdale) does her own alterations and is very confident that anything that I do not like about the dress (if anything) can be repaired/altered/fixed by her, and has even made a few suggestions already, so i am very excited about the final result...  and you will have to wait!

p.s. we did buy a veil to go with the dress, which is cool because we even found a way to coordinate a veil with a red gown.  very nice.

p.p.s. i did select the bridesmaids dresses and shoes (Flamingo or Riviera in black), so bridesmaids can go and get fitted and order their stuff as soon as they'd like to.  as soon as i find a link to a photo, i'll post it here.

part 2 - tuxedoes!

we stopped by Men's Wearhouse Tux today in the Oakbrook Mall, and the lady there was so nice and told us a bunch about tux rentals.  this isn't something that needs to be done until 3-4 months before the wedding, but it's nice to know ahead of time.  we're mulling over some sweet red/black/white combos at the moment...

save the date!

a red wedding dress...

I've decided that what I REALLY want is a red wedding gown. Originally, I figured I'd just have to buy a "bridesmaid's" dress in red and use that. But then Jeri pointed out that there ARE actually red wedding gowns, which in fact are a lot nicer and more traditional in the style of a "wedding gown" than a bridesmaid's dress would be, like these here.

These dresses are made by a UK company called Hollywood Dreams. Yeah, it's a terrible cheesy name for a wedding gown producer, but the dresses are fantastic. My favorite one is the first one pictured here, which is called Amara. The problem is that only two bridal stores in the US carry this line: one in California, and one in Virginia.

Lisa and I have both been calling around everywhere, from big obvious David's Bridal to the lesser-known little bridal boutiques, and we've gotten very little information regarding red wedding gowns - mostly I just got "no" answers when I inquired about them. One bridal shop I called was particularly helpful, Francia Bridal in Hinsdale, (unimpressive website but great customer service over the phone) whose employee said that the owner would try to help me out as much as she could, such as trying to order a dress from wherever we needed to, etc etc etc...

...there are other red dress makers out there, but they are very few and far between, and many of the dresses are, um, not exactly my style. Maggie Sottero makes a few, some of which are quite lovely, but not designs that immediately catch my attention (the Lana dress is a runner-up from the Hollywood Dreams dress). Otherwise, I can only find 1-2 designs by other makers, and they're usually UK brands or otherwise ugly as heck... you know, too much seqins and decoration on a long mermaid-y dress... ick.

So... Mom said we could try some white dresses that are the style of the red ones just to make sure that I like the dress style (a corset-style top with a long, full ballgown skirt and a chapel train in back) before we go any further. I'm hoping to find some time soon... maybe later today?

1-Year Countdown...

So... there's about one year to go before the wedding, and we're just starting to get things together before then. I thought I'd make this wedding blog/website/update site to let people know what's going on, and what we have planned so far. Feel free to share your opinions/suggestions, and we make no promise to listen to any of them - ha ha!

Yesterday we booked our photographer - Modern Image Studios - and we've already got the place and the DJs, too (see links on the right). Soon to come is save-the-date cards, wedding dress shopping, and a potential engagement party???