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).

The Dress Search

One of my goals for winter break in Minnesota is to find my wedding dress. I've been to three stores so far, and have found a lot of dresses that I really like. My problem is that they are all very different dresses and I am a very indecisive person! (And, Erik, don't worry. The dress in the photo isn't one of the dresses I'm considering. But, it was the FIRST wedding dress I ever tried on at Dena Marie Bridal in Roseville, MN)

After looking at three stores, we've cut off the search. Going to more stores will only confuse me more. Now I just need to decide between two really great dresses. On all those wedding shows you see the brides putting on dresses and then they start crying because they "just know" that the dress is "the one." I am not one of those brides. I'm not saying anything against them, I'm just stating that I don't have the convenience of "just knowing." To me, I'm weighing the pros and cons of both dresses (I have not made an actual list, though I've considered it). Kyla (one of my bridesmaids) and I have decided it is because we are scientists. We have the blessing/curse of being too rational and can't be moved to tears by a dress.

Tonight I've got another appointment to visit one of the Top Two dresses. I'm partially hoping to be "moved" so that I can make an easy decision. I also think it's too bad that the Top Two are at different stores. This eliminates being able to try them on back-to-back and really make a comparison. Tough choices!

Edit: The dress shopping appointment was canceled for tonight. We got another dumping of snow, and with all the traffic it would have taken FOREVER to get to the shop. Going on Thursday instead. Now I've got more time to think on this...