the crucial twirl factor has been obtained

you can click on any of these photos to see them larger. The first one is from when I first looked at the dress in June, the second 2 are screen shots of detailing from the website, and the others are all from my adventure in ordering today. Someone will need to come with me next time to take better pictures. The ones where the dress looks great obscure my face and when you can see the dress, my damned camera bag is blocking the dress!

I ordered the dress to end all dresses (or so my wallet says) as a custom order, meaning I paid a reasonable fee to get 2 muslin fittings before they cut the real dress and am then allowed one minor alteration (up to 1" in or 1/2" out) on the dress once it is finally cut. That means that the torso won't be too long and my bosoms will be properly covered. I also ordered extra tulle to make a matching veil out of and an extra yard of silk to make the halter straps out of (instead of taupe ribbon, that's there just to get the right width [1.5"]).

One last note: my $49 DSW shoes are the PERFECT color and look like their from the same silk/dye lot as the sample!

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un-flowers

woohoo. We're meeting with the flower lady either this Friday or next to talk about simple orchid arrangements. Woohoo for un-flowers! Sadly, we've been talked down from from the breadbasket-centerpiece idea because every coordinator/planner involved has told us how sad it will look once everyone eats it. It's true, an empty bread basket isn't nearly as attractive as a full one.

I want to feed the models

Is it bad that I often think that and not "Oh, I like that dress" or "That's not my style, moving on" when I look at bridal gowns? But seriously, what's up with all the waifs in wedding dresses?

that was a waste of time

Ben and I drove into downtown today (my bus passes expired!) to hunt for parking in Denver and to attend a bridal expo. This is notable because it was not a bridal show. As far as we can tell, bridal shows are meant to show off the venue and their preferred vendors. This was not the case at the bridal expo, an expo appears to be more like a conference with booths showing stuff off and presentations. While it did highlight the venue, they used the conventional hall space and had a huge runway for a fashion show (which we left long before). There was also only ONE vendor handing food out samples. Shocking! We were sorely disappointed by this, since we had gone with empty tummies expecting to fill up on lots of catering/cake/bar tending samples.

I did get to see some pretty dresses from the "bridal barn" that I didn't see when I went to visit there about 9 months ago. Sadly, the one dress I did see that I liked there isn't findable on-line. Whatever, I guess I'll just have to sell my soul and make another trip there. This time, I'll bring a friend to guard the door so that no old ladies open the door to show my panties to some other gal's dad again.

The saving grace of the bridal expo: free Lindt chocolate truffles, free bridal magazine, free tote bag, and only 2 blocks from getting a smoothie!

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if only I wasn't so short and curvy

BCBGMAXAZRIA Dress, Strapless Satin Tiered Gown - Macy's

BUBBLES! bubbles, bubbles, bubbles, bubbles, BUBBLES!

If the weather forecast for our wedding looks favorable, I am SO ordering this. Maybe two. Maybe I'll order them anyway, according to the Target website you can return online purchases in stores. Is there a shipping fee? Can I have it shipped to the store to avoid them?

Anyway, it makes BUBBLES! Lots and lots of bubbles!

Party Bubble Machine : Target

kitchen wish list (of things not on our registry)

Beech Rolling Pin, Wood Rolling Pin, Pastry Thickness, Adjustable Rolling Pin

Herb Chopper, Garlic Chopper, Ginger Chopper