.progress in the fashion area.

We made some progress in the fashion department over the past few weeks:

1. I bought my dad a tie. This compliments both the wedding and my mom's dress. I had originally found this on The Tie Bar and thought, "oh we have PLENTY of time"....well when I went to buy it.... it was gone. At J. Crew, I had seen one there and after finally making it to the local J. Crew Outlet, they had one left. One left in two colors: an olivey green and a brighter green. It looks like the tie below...except without the white. But now that I see the white...hmmmm.....

2. Flo bought some ties at the Tie Bar as well. We bought two green ties and matching pocket squares. Am loving the The Tie Bar, for serious. We haven't.... He hasn't decided on which tie her prefers. That will be his choice. He is fashion aware, as I like to call him and will give him that decision to make.

3. We are ordering the Zillaz dresses! Yay! M-Zilla and K-Zilla were able to try on the dress and both gave it three snaps up and a Z formation. So we moved forward with the order forms. I am hoping that the Zillaz all get them in and ordered by October 1. I had emailed all four of my Zillaz and heard back from one that she got it and has ordered her dress. But I have faith that all will be ordered on time. I know, it is me being crazy...but a "hey I got it." Or, "Hey I ordered it" would calm my neuroses.

4. We are ordering coordinating ties for our guys! We are going with the Dessy Group Satin ties and Pocket Squares in concord. They will coordinate with the Zillaz. So Groomsmaids and Zillaz are all set, for the most part.

5. MOB ordered her dress, had it shortened like I suggested (yay! It was optional, but it will look way cuter for the "theme"). She is going with a sassy navy dress. I haven't a clue what MIL will be wearing which is making me mildly nervous....but I can't control every detail. We haven't revisited her outfitting since showing me something white she'd like to wear. Again, my neuroses...

6. I ordered shoes. Yup. Finally. They are NOT the Louboutin's that I had dreamt about... but we DID change our venue and add quite a bit of $$$ to our budget for that. It's all good because I do love these.... and bought them for a great price. I actually love challenging myself to see what I can find for the lowest price. They are the "Giselle" by Liz Rene. Still debating on dyeing them to match Flo's tie tho....

.we picked a zillaz dress.

Last Saturday, K-Zilla and I ventured to the other side of town to check out the Zillaz dress. I loved it already, so this was a nail biting trip. M-Zilla went the week prior to check it out and she loved it as well. Well, at least I think that they love it. Maybe they are lying but I doubt it. So far the count is 2 yay and 0 nay. I am guessing that my other Zillaz won’t be able to try on the dress—no because they won’t, but it is a hard sample to come across.

Jamie at Bella Bridesmaid was kind enough to order a sample and even better—she ordered samples in colors that I was considering. After seeing the color “Concord”, I decided that was THE ONE. Originally, I wanted different colors for the Zillaz, but with Concord being the only color I truly like, we are sticking with one color but will wrap the dress different ways.

I love this dress so much that I’ve considered buying my own. A word to the wise: This dress runs BIG. And in sizes XS-S-M-L, which is great for those who don’t want to get measured!

In case you haven’t read my post on wanting my aisle to look more like a runway, read my post here.

We will be ordering the dresses within the next few weeks! Check that off of the list!

.bridal body in the making.

It is neither a secret nor a wonder that I've been feeling rather blah since trying on the dress. The dress trying on comes with some funny outtakes too, which need to be posted. Anyway, to kick start the bridal body into motion, we started Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet. Yesterday was Day #1.

Three summers ago, I did this "diet" with great success, but it was HARD, and still is. Matter of fact, I am already dying for a glass of wine. I won't try to educate you here about the diet, you can read up on it. It actually is a little variance from the way that, as a diabetic, I should be eating.

In order to not be wasteful, I took my Omnipod off and went back to good ol' insulin pens. Yesterday, I took about 4 unites of insulin, compared to my normal of 15-20. My concern with that is going back on the pod, if it will just put weight on again.

Being a diabetic bride is not good times!! I was really digging my cute little bod that I had in January when I ran through the snow in tube socks and a bikini in Big Bear. No, no photos of that will be posted, but thanks for asking.

So onto day #2 we go! We both finished day #1 with flying colors.... let's see how the next 13 go!

Our goal is to turn this into a lifestyle change. Will there still be nites when we have smores for dessert? Yes. Nachos for dinner? Of course, it IS football season. Are there nites where I will have three glasses of wine instead of one? Yes- have you seen my life?! I need it.

I will update you after five days on how many pounds we've dropped. So stay tuned for that post to come Tuesday AM.

Be healthy.

.more venue delight.

I love this blog post that was written for Tweet My Wedding!! It truly captures more of venue debacle and delight.

Go there. Read it. And enjoy it.

.i tried on my dress.

Once the dress finally arrived, late Friday afternoon, I couldn’t wait to open the box. Luckily, I only had to wait one more hour at work and then the drive home. My goal was to hit the gym first, then go home and look at the dress, put it in the car and wait until I go to the dress store the next day to try it on. That lasted as long as my car ride home!

There was a traffic backup on the freeway, so I took my normal route home instead of going right to the gym. Yea, I know… as I am freaking out about the dress NOT fitting, I should have gone right to the gym and not passed go. I know. Wait- before even getting into my car, I opened the box to glance at the dress. It looked white. Stark white. Panic #1. I texted Ster and said “I don’t remember it being this white”. She texted back with “It’s not white”. Love Ster, she is always so to the point.

Ok, so I get home and try the dress on immediately. It was snug, that is not a lie. Here is the back story:

The same size was a 4. Yes, I know…cry a river because I fit into a 4. I ordered a 6 because it is what I normally wear and every bride, 10 months before their wedding, swears they will lose weight. Me—well I am diabetic and it can go either way. In this instance, I didn’t take into account that they would put me on more insulin and that any more weight gain would happen. So between ordering the dress and receiving the dress, I am up about 8 lbs. Not the end of the world, but to a bride it pretty much is! Especially when the dress had very little room when ordering it.

Back to slipping it on. It was snug, but I know that there are still seven months until the wedding. The dress needs minimal alterations so we are good to go there. I try it on, in my unflattering full length mirror and take an iPhone picture. Excitedly, I send this picture to my sister and my parents.

I stare at myself thinking about being a bride, walking down the aisle in this dress, etc. and then realize, it is time to hit the gym. While there, my phone rings, it shows that “Home” is calling. In my head, I knew that they were calling to comment on my dress. My mother had seen my dress the weekend before while it was still at my sister’s house, so in my head, I knew that she was calling to say how fabu the dress looked. Was I right?
No.

ME: Hello?
MOM: ……….. don’t you think that it is a little tight?”
ME: [enter sound of heart breaking and being crushed] Well yea, I gained some weight. I gotta go, I am at the gym. Bye.”

To say that this broke my heart a little is a true statement. I was crushed. My parents, et al know that I am very aware of my weight gain (yes, all 8 lbs of it) and that fitting into my dress was a concern of mine. So was this what I wanted to hear? No. She was “just being honest” because she IS my mother. I get it. But not what I needed. Is my vision of my dress mildly tarnished now? Slightly. But I don’t have the budget for a new dress so this will have to do. Anyone wish to join me at the gym?

.contest reminder.

Just in case you haven't checked it out yet.... visit HERE to have a chance to win FREE jewels rentals on your wedding day!

.waiting for the dress to arrive.

So last Monday, Ster sent my dress out to me. Via UPS. Ground. Groan. She sent me the tracking number but for some reason, it wouldn’t register and I was unable to see any tracking information. For an entire week, it seemed like the dress was in Secaucus. Can you even begin to imagine my frustration and annoyance with this??

Well on Friday, after panicking… I had Ster track the dress and low and behold, it was delivered. PHEW! I had it shipped to my work so that it wasn’t sitting outside of my house waiting for me to get home. I could not wait to get the dress in my hands….

And here she is:

No. I am NOT going to show you the dress before the wedding.... :)))

I can’t wait to stop being a bride and just be a wife. Although wedding planning isnt’ new to me and being a bride isn’t a brand new concept, this wedding “stuff” is overwhelming at times. Not because I am high maintenance or because I am indecisive. But when you work, have a life, write for a magazine and four blogs, oh and have to manage an illness, it gets to be all consuming.

Right now, when I look at my work schedule, my life schedule and my wedding calendar, I am so overwhelmed that I just want to curl up and elope. There are times when I feel so untraditional that I don’t belong on wedding forum sites. There are times when I feel like too many women place too much importance on the little things… this is one of those weeks.

I will update my checklist and provide an update of where we are and where we need to go…. When will this happen? Good question!

The count down is on…. Just over seven months to go.

.hispiration, part 1.

Several weeks back, I posted that a new column would be born on this blog and it would be called, ".hispiration." .hispiration. would be thoughts from the mind of the groom. Not just any groom, but my groom. With only seven months left to plan, we finally have our first entry. You see, as you read his entry.... I never gave him the list to which he referred. After a little bribery, he finally came around and wrote this for the blog.

This is for you, dear brides and wives, take what he says and keep it- because it is true! I can give you a new reason everyday as to why I won the "Husband to be Jackpot" and this is one of the reasons why... he cares enough to share his thoughts. Read on. Enjoy. Comment and ask for more!!

I find it ironic that I write professionally for a living, yet I stare at this blinking cursor trying to come up with something clever to say.

How about a topic regarding the mind of a future groom? Since we spend countless hours trying to figure women out, why not give you intel on what goes through our heads during the exhausting months of wedding planning.

First, let me start by saying “Congratulations”. You tagged and bagged him. You reeled in one of 3 types of guys. The first, is the guy who has always been stoked about getting married. While all his friends wanted to go through a few dozen girlfriends first, your groom was already looking forward to walking down the aisle. The second guy, is the career oriented, I’ll wait type of gentleman. The one who knew he’d get married, but wanted to move up the career ladder first, then meet the right woman. Then there’s the guy who many of you know, the third gentleman. He’s the commitment phobe. The guy who never knew that a woman get’s 2 rings for her wedding (Why should he? he’s never tying the knot). He’s the one who has accepted that he’ll probably never have kids. He’ll just enjoy happy hour and date until he’s old and wrinkly like Mick Jagger. Well, if you snagged him, then you deserve a big round of applause. Because he changed all his future plans of single stardom for YOU.

Let’s talk weddings. I’m willing to bet you have your binder and list of venues you’d love to check out. However, your groom doesn’t seem so enthusiastic about all the planning. Honestly, we don’t care about the invites, save the dates, flowers, etc. What we really care about is YOU, the food, and what you’ll look like walking down that aisle. WE want our socks knocked off and our jaws to drop when we see you in that dress. However, I’m a firm believer that a couple should be in the planning together. If you want to get your groom in the groove.

Here’s some advice:

We don’t mind that you’ll plan most of the wedding. Believe me, you won’t hurt our feelings. However, if you’d like to get your groom to help out, then why not make a short list of errands. NOW, when I say “short list” I mean it. A long “WEDDING TO DO LIST” sounds like it’s more of a nagging list than anything. So, my advice is to keep it short at first. Then add a few more down the road. The approach with the “to do list” is critical. Start off with a smile and a big kiss. That way it get’s his attention. Then ask how his day went, look at him straight in the eye when doing this so get his undivided attention. Then go into something that sounds sweet and diplomatic. “You know I love you, and I don’t mind planning most of our wedding. But, it would mean the world to me if you can do just a couple of things to get the ball rolling so I’m not exhausted doing all the planning. It’s only a few things, and it would mean so much to me. Again, I’ll do most of the planning. Please “INSERT CUTE PET NAME FOR GROOM HERE!”
The disclaimer is that you’ll do most of the planning. Guys, don’t have any wedding planning in their blood. It’s just NOT us, and we run the risk of being the office joke from friends if we talk about what colors we want and etc. The key is the delivery, not nagging or sarcasm. Just a sweet – eye to eye conversation asking for his help and what it means to YOU.

I promised my lovely fiancée that I’d offer a little advice into what goes through the mind of a groom. Well, I hope this helps. Take it from a guy who was groom #3 on my list. Yeah, the commitment phobe guy. What it boils down to is, any guy can be all “machismo” about not getting married and joys of single life. However, when YOU finally meet the ONE that destiny planned for you. Then, all your guy rules go out the window. That’s what love does to you. :D

Follow the thoughts of my groom here, on Twitter.

.fabulous free contest.

Dear Future Bride:

As a member of Bridal Tweet, I feel compelled to share this with you:

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Tell your friends.... or better yet, keep it to yourself and join with three usernames! Just kidding...share with your friends!

A snippet of the press release:

NEW YORK – September 15, 2009 – BridalTweet.com today announced a contest awarding one lucky bride a complimentary rental of dazzling diamond earrings to wear on her wedding day. Each bride who joins BridalTweet.com before October 30 will be entered to win, compliments of Adorn Brides.

“The Red Carpet Wedding contest is our way of thanking brides for joining our wedding community,” said Christine Dyer, creator and founder of BridalTweet.com. “We’re seeing that brides will rent anything from visual props to floral arrangements, table linens, head-pieces and sometimes even dresses; why not rent diamonds for the special day.”Each bride that joins BridalTweet.com will also gain access to the wedding community’s ongoing benefits such as free wedding advice, exclusive offers, giveaways, information about local events, a local vendor directory, and more. All BridalTweet.com members, including brides, wedding vendors, and wedding bloggers, can also share tips and information via chats, blogs, discussions, groups, photos, and videos.

ENTER!!!! You know that you want to! I am.

.a wish and a dream.

Our first “date” after meeting was on a Thursday nite/Friday morning, after Flo had gotten off of work. Who knew that within a year we’d be engaged and getting married right back where it all [almost] started?? Not us.

If you remember back to my post about finding a venue, you would know that I was in love with the aesthetics of the venue. If you remember my post about awful service, then you won’t be surprised to know that we cancelled that venue. Done. Over it. You provide AWFUL service and therefore, we won’t give you our money. Yes, we cancelled because of the “event coordinator” who is really more like a receptionist who was given added responsibility to save money. Big mistake on their part. Big.

When word got out to some industry friends, they were more than willing to help us achieve a dream wedding! I am not one to ever use the words, “dream, perfect or princess”, but I can’t help but use the words “dream and perfect” to describe our new venue and how we now feel about the wedding. It took about a month for us to get it worked out, but they were more than accommodating and more than willing to help us out and create a custom package to fit our desires. That is service. None of this crap where you won’t accommodate us after 4 pm.

Anyway, words can’t describe my excitement after giving the verbal “YES!!!” to the new venue and words can NOT ever describe how excited I was to send my “cancelling and give my deposit back” letter to our first venue. I hope that they take my words, read them very carefully and reevaluate the way that they treat their clients.

So why didn't we do this in the first place?? Well, with our original guest list...it was out of our budget. While it sucked, we had to make some trims here and there...We hacked about 50 people from our original list. This also included previous cuts... but that is the first way to stay within a budget.

I try not to be an emotional sap too much…but we get married where we had our first official date, our first smooch and where Flo first looked into my eyes and said that he has never seen green eyes and love them. He still says that to me every nite before we fall asleep.

The contract is in my hands, we are just going to review, sign and deliver on Tuesday when we do our walk through.

In the meantime, allow me to introduce you to our new venue, the JW Marriott

Here we are checking it out:



And here it is:




.above photos found here.





.above photos found here.

.more of the nearlywed whereabouts.

Ok- so in one of my last posts I said that you would soon know why I've been a mish-mash of a person. You still have to wait.


In the meantime, you can see some of the fabulous things that I've written. The fabulous is clearly subjective.


When setting up my blog, it was a no brainer to try to write for someone else too! So I sent in apps to a few blog sites and they all took me! YAY! Which means, that I am a busy writing woman right now....and in return, my blog has taken a backseat. BUT I will post some of those entries here.

On Mondays, you can find me on Tweet My Wedding, where I take one of my Twitter tweets and turn it into a blog. This is where I write the "ugly", the stuff that may not be for all public eyes. This is almost like my journal that stays hidden. But now...well....that won't happen any longer.

Twice weekly, you can find me on Bridal Buds, where I am Poinsettia Bud. This is where I try to post some inspiration, whether it is for my wedding or just in general. I find it challenging to post inspiration for something that may not work for me, but it is a work in progress.

You can also find me at Weddzilla, where I am just me (Jennifer B.). I love this blog and try to post some of my "hot topics" or current challenges with planning.

Blogging is one of my favorite things. Do I think that maybe it is over committing? Maybe, sometimes, but the stuff gets written. Whether everyone finds it interesting or not...that is personal. Most readers seem to enjoy me and for that, I thank you, dear readers. And promise to get you more content more often.

Have a great day!

.here comes the dress.

HOLY CRAPPPP!!! I just got the call that my dress is in! Final payment is due and pick up is available. Here is the sucky part- the dress is in NJ. Ster has to go and pick it up for me, pay for it and ship it to me. Lucky for me, she is still on maternity leave so she has time to go and get it. Let’s hope that she can go Tuesday, ship it and by this time next week, I should have my dress?

Now it is time to accessorize that beauty. I needed to see the dress again before buying anything because it needs to not conflict with the dress. Stay tuned and watch me accessorize. And wrap up the great shoe debate!

You will not see ANY pics of my dress until after the wedding, but I will show you what didn’t make the cut.

**Vera Wang**

**Elizabeth Fillmore**

**Kenneth Poole**

.where oh where has the newlywed been.

Well Blog followers…. It has been a month almost since my last post. In that time, there have been a bunch of new followers! ::Hi, new followers!:: And hopefully it gave long time readers time to catch up on old blogs.

The months of July and August were interesting and flew by. Although, when it was 120 degrees for a week, those days crept on by. Anyway, my friend who got married in June (already THREE MONTHS AGO?!?!?!) told me that the summer flew by in her planning- and she was right. And then the next few months will fly because it’s the holidays and then darn it- it is almost the wedding.

So why haven’t I blogged? Been busy- plain and simple. And uninspired.

The summer started early in May with the birth of the most beautiful girl in the world- my niece. I was lucky enough to spend two weeks on the East Coast getting to know her. I was in a wedding and spent some time with my dear friend, A-Zilla. Then, my sister returned the favor and came to Vegas for a five days and my mother in law was here for just over three weeks. So then we enter into July. I have a break from visitors and then my parents came to visit for 10 short days. In those 10 days, we did a few wedding related things: I picked up my reception dress, we talked about favors, we saw our venues, we looked at a new venue, we gambled and ate at buffets like they were brand new. What is that I wrote?? We looked at new venues? Hmm…what does that mean?

Then, my parents leave and frankly, I am exhausted. Having guests is fun but a ton of work and once they left, it was time to recoup, recover, and rejuvenate. And connect with my hubby-to-be, again. When you have people in your house for such a long time, you start to become roommates instead of fiancés and worry too much about making sure everyone is happy and entertained. If we had no guests until the wedding, I would be a happy wifey-to-be. The months of March and April next year are going to be insane. That is all.

In August, we tasted cakes, met with a florist and some other things…. More details will follow, there needs to be a reason for keeping you reading, right?

Ok- so we passed the nine months to go and the eight months to go. We are just over seven-and-a-half months until “WE DO!” And big things are happening in the wedding of the Nearlyweds.

Now that I am back on and back to blogging…. You will have to stay tuned for the big announcement. Ohhhh….it’s killing you, isn’t it!