13 days away

OMG.  We can't believe we will be married in 13 days!  Yesterday we were doing stuff at our house (me: cleaning and unpacking.  David: man stuff with the electrical outlets and some minor demolition!) and it hit me that we will be living there together in 2 weeks. 
A lot has happened both with the wedding planning and house fixing since my last blog post so I'll give some updates...

House
Our main bathroom was U-G-L-Y and outdated (updating it was top priority!). To prove how awful it was, please enjoy these pictures.

wallpaper and border!   there's also a blue toilet and blue wall tiles.  the cabinets on either side of the mirror are really neat but make the bathroom seem so small.

 



the shower had awful sliding glass doors and wallpaper above the shower surround.  who does that?!

 

 

 



We tore off the wall paper, my dad stripped the remaining glue and cleaned the walls (he also patched all the holes that were there...these people liked to hang stuff).  The doors were also taken off and the bathroom looked instantly better!!
David and I painted the bathroom last weekend and it looks great.  We still need to replace the toilet, mirror and light fixture.  Oh, and I can paint the cabinets:D

In other house news: we picked out couches and are going to order them today!  We also brought over our dining room set so we finally have a place to sit and eat instead of eating on the floor.  The first day we were there we ate take out food on napkins while drinking out of styrofoam cups...yesterday we ate real food on actual dishes!


Wedding
my dress came in near the end of September but I had to make an appointment to try it on...ugh! And it needed alterations (I measured a perfect size so they told me it shouldn't need any work.  But it was waaaay too big in one area.  Plus the train needed to be taken off)!  So I had the alterations done and went to pick it up last week. Except-surprise- it wasn't ready.  All the stitching they did was just 'roughed in' so they still had to fix it and make it look finished.  I'm picking it up for good on Friday.
We also decided on a cake after changing our minds a lot (mostly me ) and having some issues with the reception venue (they only allow cake and no cake alternatives).  We also submitted our final numbers to the venue owner and paid the deposit. 

I feel like there is still so much we need to do and that I should be panicking.  But I'm not:) 

My mom asked me if I'm getting excited and I answered "I guess". Truthfully, I'm not all that excited for the actual wedding...I just want to be married!  Our wedding will be nice and fun and memorable but we are most looking forward to just being husband and wife.

soexciting!

stangers who say "that's so you"

I'm a regular poster on a wedding website/forum group.  It's a site that really plays up what you 'need' and 'must do' for weddings but there are some really great women in the forum groups.  I frequent the October 2012 Bridesgroup the most because it's nice bouncing ideas off other people and getting advice from people who are unbiased. 
It's also a great place to post pictures of my dress, hair style, etc because I HAVE to show someone but I'm so not posting any of that on Facebook;) 
When I first joined the group I saw there was an introduction post so I decided to tell the ladies there a few things about myself and our wedding.  I said stuff like "we didn't really pick colours, but I like fall colours.  We don't have a theme, but our wedding is kinda rustic and vintage-y...and it's pretty casual. I don't want to wear a big poufy dress (not that there is anything wrong with them, it't just not my style)."
So after my hair trial I posted pictures, I posted my make up inspiration, what accesories I'd be wearing, what my dress looked like.  And it's funny that the women on the board said "Oh that's so YOU!" even though they never met me.  I've got that response from other people too...like my hair dresser, my make up artist and even the ladies at the bridal salon! 

Those ladies aren't exactly strangers but it was still nice to hear somne positive affirmation of my choices.

christina

an unconventional incident

about 3 weeks ago I came to the realization the wedding dress I planned to wear was not the dress for me (it’s a weird story so maybe I’ll save that for another post).  it wasn’t my dream dress and after consulting with my mom, I decided to look for another...it was a crazy idea considering there were about 4 months until our wedding.  I can’t buy off the rack because I’m a small size so any dress I wanted would have to be ordered and that can take several months.  I immediately went online to look up all the bridal stores in the Kawarthas and Peterborough to see what lines they carry.  After spending quite some time scrolling through web pages full of poufy, bedazzled dresses, I came across THE ONE.  It was just screaming ‘buy me buy me!’  I made a list of every single retailer that sold this line that was a reasonable driving distance from my house.  I called them all to ask if they had the dress in stock because I wanted to see it in person before ordering it.  not a single store had it!  I eventually called the local stores to see who could order it faster and found one that said it would be in by the end of July.  needless to say, I was very excited and relieved.  I made an appointment with the salon so I could be measured and pay my deposit.  just this week I received a call from the salon saying they were unable to order the dress for reasons I don’t fully understand.   basically, the dress I want is considered  a ‘destination or casual wedding dress’ and the store isn’t authorized to carry particular collection, but they can carry the typical dresses from that manufacturer.  It’s a little confusing and extremely frustrating.    Later in the day I went into the other local salon that carries this lone and told them my situation. they were very sympathetic and are able to order my dress for middle of September. 

I still  haven’t seen my dress in person so I don’t know how it will look on me.  the size that was ordered is supposed to be a perfect fit and I really hope it is!!  I’m disappointed I can’t have my dress any sooner  and am hoping it comes in by the promised date.  that would give 6 weeks for any work that needs to be done (I’m guessing the train will need to be made smaller because I hate trains on dresses).  this dress is so different from my original dress, but in a good way!

It feels more ‘me’.

-christina

finally got my dress

...i shouldn't say "finally" because it's not like i had to wait several months for it to be ordered and altered. i brought my dress to the seamstress for alterations around the end of december and, after some confusion on her part, picked it up last friday.  i had to wait about 4 months for it, but now i have my dress in my closet.  that's one more thing off my checklist!

my mom, mother-in-law and sister-in-law/maid of honour came with me to pick it up.  i had one last fitting and wanted them all to see it.  everyone saw the dress before alterations so they were excited to see the finished product.  sadly, my bride's maids were unable to come because we all live in different cities. i described it to them and they eagerly await pictures.

i started writing this post a few weeks ago but never actually published it.  the dress is still hanging in the back of my closet, away from dirt and my cat's fur. i wish i had a more worthy place to hang it, like on a 'Mrs. Fleming' hanger on the back of my bedroom door so i see it every morning and night; a constant reminder of what's to come...but then i couldn't close my door properly and the dress might get sun bleached.  on the odd occasion i need to reach the back of my closet, my hand brushes against the plastic protecting the delicate fabric of my dress and i have to fight the urge to try it on. 

dress update!

Today my seamstress called and said my dress is ready.  My mom and I went shoe shopping before picking up my dress (which still needs to be hemmed according to what shoes I get) but weren't able to find a good pair.  I was pretty excited to try on my dress because I haven't seen it since December.  The bodice was too tight so I couldn't bring it home today. No, I didn't gain weight; the dress was just taken in too much!  The seamstress said I can come back in a few weeks to try it on again and she gave me a scrap of fabric from it to bring shoe shopping with me.
The dress so delicate so I'm afraid of ripping it when I try it on.  I've been assured it's made of a hearty material but I'm still super careful! 

That's all I have to post today.  We have about 8 months to go:)

first dress fitting

I brought my wedding dress to this great seamstress a couple weeks ago. I told her I want all the work done ASAP because I don't want to be leaving thigns to the last minute. She understood completly and said she would start working on it in January and be done by March. As I was leaving she said she may even start sooner because it's such a gorgeous dress and she was excited to start!
I got a phone call on Monday from my seamstress and she said the pinning was done (she wasn't going to cut any fabric until I approved) so I could come try it on.

It was exciting:) Hopefully she finishes just as fast!

oh, and we are getting married in exactly 10 months+2 weeks:)

it's starting to come together

Yesterday I went shopping for brides maids dresses with my besties. We went to Yorkdale Shopping Centre and looked in several stores. One store had about 8 or so different dresses in the same colour and fabric so the girsl each grabbed their sizes and all tired on the same dress at the same time. Then they ranked the dresses in order of most fav to least. After much debating and a few definete NO's everyone found a dress they liked. We also went shoe shopping! It was a super fun and busy day of bonding and merriment:) Over lunch I obviously talked their ears off with wedding stuff and it feels like all these abstract ideas in my head are finally coming to life. David and I have talked a bit about what the guys will wear and we have been out to look at invitations. I consider myself crafty so our invitations will be awesome!

I hadn't planned to have a "theme" but it seems like a lot of our ideas will create something cohesive and fantastic!

christina

uber productive

the day after we met the photographer (see previous post), Kaitlyn and i went to look at more dresses. i didn't see anything i liked...except my 'wedding buddy' (jessica) from work in her gown! she was modelling it for her family and Kaitlyn and i got to see all the loveliness. the gown is big and poufy and flowery...its so pretty. jessica is getting married in October of this year so we have been comparing plans and she has been sharing a lot of ideas. it's pretty fun:)
on sunday David and i went to look at a venue for the reception. i'm not giving any hints about it so that if we choose it, the small group of people coming for the dinner can be wowed! we like it a lot and the owners actually make all the food fresh that morning.
i thought i knew what colours i'd like for everything but i changed my mind this weekend...the new colour scheme is also a secret! only David, our mothers and my girls know:) speaking of the girls: we're going to look at bridesmaids dresses next month.  YAY!

that's all for now.

christina

feathers and sushi

This past Friday I went dress shopping again with my mom, my sister-in-law Kaitlyn and my mother-in-law Lois.  We all drove seperate cars coming from various parts of the city, which I found a bit funny:) I tried on about a dozen dresses of varying styles but I didn't find THEONE. Kaitlyn picked out a lovely dress that had an extraordinarily long train that was covered in little feathers. The bodice was beaded and applique-flower adorned and everything! I even toppped the whole thing off with a furry cape (confession: the cape was really soft and I kind of liked it)! After we had some giggels at the store we went across the road to get a late dinner of sushi. I had never eaten it before because raw meat grosses me out, but I was pleasently surprised with my cooked salmon rolly thingy.
In other news: David and i are meeting with a photographer next Friday and scoping out a venue next Sunday.  We also talked to his parents and they've agreed to loan us their amazing CORVETTE (or maybe it's a porsche...I'm pretty sure it's a corvette). The car belonged to Lois' dad and now it's Joe's. It's so cool and retro, so we are pretty excited to use it.

That's pretty much everything for now, stay tuned!

*Christina

A date, a dress and some girls

We set a date! We are getting married October 28, 2012.
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Last Thursday after work I went dress looking with my mom.  I tried on a bunch of different dresses and found one I really like. I'm not going to describe it because I don't want David to know what it looks like:) I will say that it's ivory in colour and not what I imagined wearing...I haven't bought it yet because I'd still like to look around.
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I've talked to the people I want to be in my side of the bridal party and I'm happy to say they are all in! I've asked my future sister-in-law Kaitlyn to be my Maid of Honour and my best friends Kate and Sarah to be brides maids.
I'm so excited for everything!