The Search Continues

I've been emailing, calling and meeting with photographers left and right. Securing one for the wedding is one of my three goals for the summer (the other two are choosing a date and choosing a location).

It's much harder than just "who takes pretty pics and at a good price." The prices include such a variety of things. How many hours? How many prints? What is the quality of editing? Are the digital negatives included? And then there are personality questions. The photographer I met with yesterday was superb in the personality and editing realm. When we started talking he asked several questions about the feel of our wedding. He even walked through the schedule with me, including the position of the sun at 5 p.m. when our ceremony would begin.

Tomorrow I meet with a photographer who I know includes a great number of prints in his price. But who knows the kind of attention he places on any one wedding.

I really hope that after this weekend I will have met with enough photographers to make a decision and schedule our engagement photo session.

The other search that continues is the dress. And here I don't just mean THE DRESS for my wedding day. I mean my clothing for all wedding related activities. So far I have my engagement party dress picked out and purchased. The next one will be what to wear for engagement pictures. Some photographers list tips on their web site that include wearing solids for engagement pictures. It's going to sound strange but when I look in my closet I don't see many solids that I would want to wear. I might just need to look harder ... or I may have a very good excuse to buy new clothes. Then of course there's the wedding shower outfit, the bachelorette party attire, the rehearsal look, THE DRESS and perhaps even an after-party dress. That's a lot of clothes! And all the outfits of course needs shoes (oh darn).

Speaking of clothes, that plaid is his family tartan. That's what his kilt in the wedding will look like and is thus our accent "color."

Ha! And Ross says I will run out of planning to do by the end of this summer. Clearly he is not a bride and does not know the extent of planning possible for a wedding.

All Roads Lead to Austin

At work I am going through an address list of 20,000 addresses. I did a unique entries only sort (which is how I got from 27,000 to 20,000) but there are still duplicates due to human error upon entry. For example, N. 1st Street and North First St. are clearly the same street but it shows up as two different entries. Fun.

However the high point is finding fun street names in Central Texas.

The first really fun one that caught my eye was Cheryl Lynn Road in South Austin. Surprise, surprise.

But what is really exciting is I learned about a WHOLE NEIGHBORHOOD in Round Rock with baseball street names. That's right. Fenway Park Court. Nolan Ryan Blvd. Reggie Jackson Trail. Roberto Clemente Lane. Campanella Drive.

Check it out yourself.

My Bridal Personality?

You can take a quiz for anything. I took a few bridal personality quizzes. Here are the results

From iVillage

The Storybook Princess
An old-fashioned girl at heart, you want your special day to be steeped in elegance and tradition. You love the thought of transforming yourself into a timeless bride � la Grace Kelly or Princess Di. You'll feel equally regal in a gown with a full tulle skirt or long, flowing train and a beaded corset top. And don't skip on any of the trimmings; go for the veil, tiara and gloves. As for your shoes, a sleek satin heel with a pointed toe is the perfect footwear for your stroll down the aisle. To complete your blushing bride look, keep your makeup soft and dewy. Use a light foundation and cream blush in a warm rose color that compliments your complexion, keep your eyes soft and natural by using shadows in warm natural shades and polish off your pucker with a sheer lipstick in a soft red.

From BeliefNet

The Casual, Inclusive Bride: You seeks some tradition but looks more toward intimacy, sentiment and inclusion of others. The wedding experience for you is meant to be shared with those you love and celebrated in a way that is affordable and manageable. While you might want a mid-sized affair, it can take just as much planning as a formal event; yet you are more likely to choose a slightly alternative approach ex. a penthouse loft space instead of a hotel, or a rooftop or garden.

From theKnot

You're a City Girl
From funky invitations to a knockout gown, you're sure to bring your sense of impeccable style to every aspect of your wedding. Our advice: Don't be a slave to your inner hipster. If there's something classic like a tiara -- or even the bouquet toss -- that you'd like to include in your day, go for it. Besides, if you’re doing it, everyone else will think it's cool.

From ME

If you've talked to me about my wedding once you will know that I made the mistake many moons ago of telling AJ that I wanted a man like my father (this is not the mistake part!) in that he will have opinions and not be afraid to tell me he's as entitled to his wants and opinions as I am. He'll challenge me. That he would insist on wearing flip flops or something equally ridiculous to our wedding (this was the mistake, inviting ridiculousness). And what did I get? Ross, the groom who wants to wear a kilt. In all fairness, it wasn't a mistake because Ross the groom who will wear a kilt keeps my life very fun, interesting and keeps me on my toes. So all that said, our wedding style will be fun and representative of "us." It will include Ross in a kilt. Bright colored fun-looking flowers. A bag piper. Margaritas. Country music. CHIPS AND SALSA. Heels that are not too high but are still heels. A bride's cake but a groom's fruit salad. Our grandmother's properly seated in the front row and hopefully active in the ceremony. So without giving any more away, I would say I hope I am a fun and comfortable bride. I hope you leave our wedding not saying "oh did you see the flowers? They were exquisite! And yes! The tea cups were extraordinary!" but saying "That band was fantastic! I have never seen a man in a kilt two-step like that. But I guess when the margaritas are that good, anything can happen. WHAT A PARTY!"

A More Successful Day in Wedding World

S8001658.JPG
Originally uploaded by cheryl_lynn425.

I am very excited to marry Ross and I know he feels the same way. But believe it or not, the intricacies of ceremony chair arrangements and reception just do not excite him.

But they do excite Brittany and me! So we left Ross and home and we went scouting for wedding items. First I got my veil from her - which is really her's but will be my something borrowed for the wedding. Y'all, it is so pretty. It's down to about my elbows and has crystal beading along the bottom. LOVE IT.

Then we went to Mercury Hall, which is where this picture was taken. It's down off South First Street and I love it! There are so many options for how to use the space. There is a rock covered area with an archway for the ceremony. A large grassy area that you could also use for the ceremony or maybe for the reception. AND there is a nice reception hall for a rain plan and/or any part of the wedding. I love it! I can't wait for my mom to see it. (Oh yeah and Ross too. You know b/c envisioning ceremony chairs and dance floors will be so thrilling for him.)

And finally the end of our adventure was to visit Ms. Nikki at her bridal shop. She called me on Tuesday to see if I had found a dress (no) and to tell me she thought she just got my perfect dress in at her shop. Yup, and she was right. I think it might be the one. Now you know the drill, I can't tell you any more. But suffice it to say its beautiful, relatively simple but with a little pizazz. Again, I can't wait for my mom to see it!

So while I was a little down after Friday's wedding adventure, I was super pumped after Saturday's. Saturday's goodness didn't end there either. Rick came back from a month in Mexico so Ross was downright giddy. Then we had our housewarming/welcome home Rick party. It was a relatively small gathering but I think everyone had a lot of fun. Ken really chatted it up, more than I have seen him do before. The girls and I played some hilarious card games. Suzannah is such a blatant cheat it had us rolling with laughter.

Now we're just having a lazy Sunday. Ain't life great

Fun Flora

S8001654.JPG
Originally uploaded by cheryl_lynn425.

On a whim today at HEB I bought some daisies that might be like our wedding flowers. Brought them home, gave it a trial run, got some ideas for developing my flower look and am quite satisfied.

Unfortunately not all wedding things are as easy as $4 gerber daisies in a recycled salsa jar. We looked at a location today. Nice space but lacked some small things that add up. For example, I was not impressed by the staff. I know they do weddings every darn day nearly but they are trying to sell us on hosting the most important day of our lives there. They didn't even congratulate us! It was like the magnitude of our wedding to us didn't even register. And somewhat petty but the mirror in the bridal suite was full length yet not large and nice and pretty. It will be my wedding! I want to see every inch of myself before I walk out there. So we'll see.

Brittany and I are going to take a sneak peek of another location tomorrow and then I'm trying on a dress that Nikki has at her store. She called to tell me she just got it in and thinks I'll love it. I'm excited for that!

And Ross wants just one day without wedding. Sure honey, one day. Just not today :)

The Adventure of the Dress: Part 1

Yesterday I went with Mom and Grandma on the first wedding dress exploration. We went to Alfred Angelo and David's Bridal. I tried on some beautiful dresses of every shape and style.

I determined a few things...

1) I do not want a mermaid dress. You can't move in those things! It reminds me of when we did the pillow dance in high school and you tie a belt around your knees. There's no way I could shake my groove thing properly at my wedding in one of those.

2) I like dresses that have it all built in. The Alfred Angelo dresses have boning built in and really have great shape. They also have all the petticoat layers already in them which is fantastic.

3) I've said it before and I have to say I was right on the money...I do not want a train on my dress. I went, I tried on, I felt silly. (Not to say they aren't pretty - they are. But they are not my style.) I felt so silly standing in one place and having part of my dress a yard behind me. And I must say, I did not like having to ask my mom to fix my dress with every step I take. What a hassle! I can't tell you how many people tried to convince me that I want a train. "Oh we can bustle it up." "It's so bridal with a train." "Here try on this dress [with a 6 foot train]." I just simply don't want one and this seems to baffle the bridal world. It was very hard not to snap at the sales ladies but I just wanted to say "I said I DO NOT WANT A TRAIN. AT ALL. PERIOD." They just kept raving about this bustle business. Good lord, I am sure other girls have gotten married without a train before. It seems to be the biggest deal. I found some dresses without trains and they were beautiful. But you can't know any more b/c what if you are my lovely fiance? You certainly can't know what my dress looks like before I walk down the aisle.

Rest assured though, there will be a dress. And it will be white. And floor length. And with no train. What more do you really need to know?

One hell of a weekend

It started with my car being hit in the parking lot at Docs on Brodie. Just a bumper bump and thankfully a phone number left. Not really the way you want to start a weekend. Unfortunately for Ross the mood lasted through the weekend.

On Monday fortunately the mood lifted. Everything has been peachy since. :)