Dress & Shoes

When Erik and I were back in Minnesota in July, I was able to drop by the Wedding Shoppe and pick up the wedding dress.  It fit, and looked great in white (the sample dress was gold/champagne), so I was pretty darn happy.  Also while there I got a better idea of what I want in my hair, but am also determined to either make one myself or find a reasonable flower on Etsy.  Bridal boutiques charge way too much for my tastes, not to mention for my budget.

Sorry if you were hoping for a sneak peak!  Erik wants to be surprised, so I can't post actual pictures here.

Also while home, some wedding shoes that I ordered arrived.  Yay!  I could try them on with my dress.  However, I should have known that there is no way that I can walk in 3-4 inch heels.  Not a chance.  So I sent them back (yay for Zappos' 365-day return policy with free shipping!).

Murphy (recent addition to the Julie/Erik household) is also excited to be getting shoes. :)

It wasn't until recently that I got back into online shoe shopping, because I was fairly disappointed in the variety of shoes available in the 1-2 inch-heel category.  It seemed that no matter how hard I searched the shoes I could walk in were too chunky or awkward, and the shoes I have absolutely no chance of walking in were oh-so-pretty!  That was until I found these babies...

Cute, but just not the right purple for me.

Unfortunately, the really nice purple color shown online doesn't quite match reality.  They were a nice purple, but they were too dark for what I had in mind.  Then I noticed that the same pair of shoes was available in white (and on sale!).  I'm pretty happy with these shoes, and can't wait to jazz them up a wee bit with some DIY purple flower shoe clips!

Probably my wedding shoes, but with a 365-day return policy I could always change my mind.

Some Progress

First bit of progress: Erik and I have confirmed our minister/officiant!  Some time ago, Erik and I came to the conclusion that we wanted someone we both know to do our wedding ceremony.  We wanted to avoid the whole "wives obey your husband" stuff and such that might come with a random pastor.  We also didn't want a judge, a complete stranger, to be the one who officiates our wedding.  After brainstorming people that we thought we might like to do our ceremony, Erik and I had come up with the same person.

We both thought of our mineralogy professor, Jamey, from undergrad.  Erik and I started dating the semester we took Mineralogy (study sessions for the weekly mineral identification quizzes were some of our first dates).  But then we thought, would he want to do our wedding ceremony?  How should we ask him?  Would he think it's too cheesy?

Over Memorial Day weekend Erik and I had the chance to meet up with Jamey and his girlfriend in Zion National Park.  We hiked, we camped, ate good food, and had fun times catching up on news.  The topic of the wedding also came up.  Turns out that Jamey had thought it would be cool to be our officiant, but he thought that I wouldn't be on board with the idea.  Once we cleared that up, he said that he would be our minister!  Now we just have to work on getting the official paperwork to make it all legal, and it looks like we'll be having a wedding!

Jamey, Erik, and I hiking down "Walter's Wiggles" on the Angel's Landing hike at Zion National Park.  Photo taken by Kim (Jamey's girlfriend).

Second bit of progress:  My wedding dress arrived!  Or rather, I should say, my wedding dress arrived??  I called the store this week to see if the dress would be in by July (when I'll actually be in MN to try it on and pick it up).  The lady on the phone said that the dress actually had already arrived, and that they had sent me a postcard to notify me.  A postcard?!  I would think that spending money on a wedding dress (sure, I'm not spending the amounts that people do on TV weddings--thank goodness!) would at least merit a phone call or an email, or any combination of those in addition to a measly little postcard that got lost in the mail.

Despite my frustration that they only sent a postcard, I'd like to note that everything is fine.  They are willing to let me pick up my dress in July when I'm in town.  I was just worried that the 60 day period (as noted on my contract) would run out.  And because I haven't paid the full balance yet, that they would send the dress back to inventory before I had a chance to get there.  But, like I said, everything is fine.  The lady on the phone was very polite and made a note when I would be in town and available to pick it up.  Yay!  I'm very much looking forward to seeing the dress in white (the one I tried on was a gold/champagne color).

Love is Love

"Marriage is one of the "basic civil rights of man," fundamental to our very existence and survival..." 

-- U.S. Supreme Court, 1967, Loving vs. Virginia 

The fight currently being fought at the Minnesota State Capitol is one that I cannot wholly relate to.  I am a white, straight, American woman.  My right to marry the man I love has never been questioned or brought to a vote.  However, it deeply saddens me that same-sex couples are not able to have their love and commitment be legally recognized by our government.  I really wish that I could be there, in Minnesota at the Capitol, right now to show my support for the Minnesota couples and families fighting for the right to have their marriages recognized.  

Families are families, and love is love.

Photo: http://blisstree.com/feel/wedding-photo-idea-ring-heart-shadow/

It's official: We're saying "I Do" at the Zoo!!

I got the confirmation that our caterer received our contract/deposit yesterday.  They're associated with our venue, so I assume the venue got their deposit as well.

We're getting married at the Minnesota Zoo on August 25, 2012!

Our ceremony will be on the Lakeside Terrace.  You can sort of see the little arch in the background where we would be standing (without the snow, of course!).

Then, for the reception, we will go inside to Discovery Bay.  Excitement!!!!!  The dance floor would go in the foreground, and the tables would be in the open area behind the open pool (or interactive estuary, as it is actually known at the zoo).  The head table goes right up by the dolphin tank!!!! Eeeeeeeee! :)

So cool!!!!

This was during our tour back in December.  The Zoo was our first choice from online searching.  As shown by our smiles, we could tell that we didn't need to look anywhere else!

Photos by LLB

Honeymoon Shoes :)

It has been a while since we've done anything concrete for our wedding (which is just fine, because we have until August of 2012).  I bought my dress back in December, and then we've been working on our venue/catering contracts.  We just need to ask a few more questions, sign, and send in deposits.  Other than those things, however, it's mostly just been thinking about ideas.  Not actually doing anything... until today.

Today I ordered my reception (if the fancy shoes from the ceremony aren't comfortable enough, even though they don't exist yet) and honeymoon shoes!  I had my heart set on some new Keen sandals.  I love the ones I have, but I'm not thrilled about the color (navy blue).  Our wedding colors are purple and green, so when I saw these purple Keens I knew that I had to have them!

Spending nearly $100 on a pair of shoes (even though I know I love Keens) is something difficult for me.  Then I realized that I had my REI member dividend and a 20%-off coupon.  Score! These shoes will now be so much easier to buy (read: $35 YAY!!!!)!

Wrong... REI doesn't have that shoe in purple... :(

Thankfully, they have them in green! It took me a while to give into the green shoes, but I love green and I'm a frugal person.  So, I couldn't pass up that deal!  Now my fancy shoes for the ceremony will definitely have to be purple.

My reception (?)/Honeymoon shoes :)

http://www.rei.com/product/732896

Save-the-Date Teaser

"Touch of Nature" from dafont.com

Okay, alright.  We haven't actually booked a venue for the wedding yet, so things could technically change.  But after I found this font online I just couldn't resist downloading it and messing around with some Save-the-Date designs! It's pretty much perfect.

Edit: It's official now.  See this post.

Awesome Necklaces

I stumbled upon this Etsy store today, Pearlstory, and wow! They've got awesome pearl necklaces.  Here are my two favorite.  However, neither go with my dress.  The dress would need to be more plain for either of these to work.  But, they're just so pretty that I had to post them!!