.the story behind the dress.

For as long as I've been blogging on this site, my wedding dress was a huge source of stress. I can finally, two months after the wedding, share all with you. Yes, I could have done this sooner, but I must say this-- the wedding wore me out. It seemed like recovery was nowhere in sight at times. But here I am, to recap everything from the wedding. Let's start with my dress.

When I started out, I didn't have a budget, but in my head, I knew that spending over $1,200 on a dress (and even that was pushing it) would eat me alive. But I still tried on Elizabeth Filmore, Amy Michaelson, Vera Wang and more. They all look maaaahhhvelous. And I loved the silk charmeuse on my skin. So at one point, I went to a seamstress and took her this love of my then bride-to-be life. It is Taj Mahal by Amy Michelson. It retailed for about $3,800 at Kleinfelds. Which, by the way, shopping there is ground for a whole other blog.

Here is the dress, courtesy of AmyMichelson.com



Gorgeous, huh? After trying on this gem, of which there are no photos courtesy of Kleinfeld's rules, which we respected, I needed a sexy back dress. I wanted to hear my guests gasp after I passed them while walking down the aisle. But I refused to pay that much. It was a new dress, from the fall 2009 line, so there weren't any for sale. I also found some from Winnie Couture that had the open back and they came in my price range, around $1,200.


This is the Winne Couture "Giada" dress. I wasn't able to try it on, the only store in Vegas who carried the line wouldn't order a sample. Silly, because I probably would have bought it. So...at this point we moved on.

Come June, my sister, my six-week-old niece and I went dress shopping. Again. We turned up at a little shack-on-the-road called Tina's Bridal in Totowa, NJ. When we pulled up, I almost told her to turn around, it was that much of a shack looking place. But we went in, smart move. What I would like to say most about Tina's is that we had an appointment to look at bridesmaids dresses, but when I asked if I could see their bridal gowns, they didn't even bat an eyelash and 100 percent accommodated us. And in the end, I bought a dress there.

I wasn't looking for poofy, I didn't want any skirt underneath and then I came across two gems there. One was a "Destination" label by.... I don't even remember. Darn. This was the dress. Of course, I wanted to open the back and make some adjustments to it....




Then, there was this beauty by Jovani. I had to slide into and hold my breath. However, wearing it on my wedding was of no concern. I was the thinnest I had pretty much ever been, with no intent on gaining weight, so I was good to go in this looker. I loved the back and how vintage it looked. I pictured a glamorous walk down the aisle, posing for photos with my chin just coming over my shoulder. And my body? It would be bangin'! It was June and I had 10 months to firm up and rock this dress. Apparently, my pancreas had other plans in the weeks to come.




This is what it is supposed to look like on the model who needs to be fed a steak.


So there you have it, my dress loves.... I went from loving a $3,800 gown to not being able to try on a $1,200 gown to deciding between a $400 and a $350 gown. I ended up buying the Jovani gown.... we had it ordered in a size bigger than the sample shown in the above photos. As you can tell, it was a bit snug. I was thrilled to buy my wedding dress in a size six. As someone who battled weight my whole life, this was a huge accomplishment. However, I would only be able to bask in that glory for a few short weeks.

What happened? The rest in my next post. Which will not be in six weeks. I am going to write it now.

By the way, I have the Jovani dress in my hands and am willing to part with it. If anyone is interested please message me.

.the wedding.

Readers... wow.... does anyone still even read this anymore? Sheesh. Shame on me. Life got in my way and completely halted my blogging. However, with the wedding weeks behind us already, I can catch up and fill you in.

First, the wedding was amazing. Period, new line.

Recaps are in progess....but in the meantime, here is a teaser or two....

.wedding recap 1: .the week prior.

Well… let me rewind to the month prior. March 27th was my East Coast shower. It was fabulous. My mom hosted it at her house and about 15 of our relatives attended. They are mostly my aunts and moms cousins, but they’ve all been married for 33+ years, so to hear their advice was priceless.

The day after, my dad and I loaded up his truck and hit the road for Vegas, 2,496 miles and 41 hours later…. Here we were.

It was the first time that our dogs were together in over two years. They were the reason we met, so it was great to have them together.

With three and a half weeks to go until the wedding, we had to finish packing our house and move. Yes, the sale on our home that we owned went through and we were told to be out by April 30th. Uhhh… so we chose to move on April 3rd. My dad was here and was a priceless piece to this move. He was gung-ho for it… I would have been too if I lived in the same house for almost 40 years. However, both Flo and I knew what we were about to experience. We were moving from a single story to a two-story home…. The new crib is fabulous and we have a huge yard and the home is perfect for entertaining. That is great for me because almost everything we registered for is an entertaining piece.

So the first two and a half weeks of April were spent packing, unpacking, fixing up things, running wedding errands and trying to show my dad a good time in Vegas. We took him to Mix 94.1’s “Pet-A-Palooza” and ran into some good friends with their dogs… we even made the evening news! ;)

We took him to the “Vegas Dozen” party at Saks Fifth Avenue… we ate all of the Manchego cheese. And drank. A lot. It was fun. No photos were taking at this event.

And then on the 17th, we picked my mom, sister and niece up from the airport. This, to us, truly kicked off wedding week, since this was the start of the guests arriving! My uncle and the best man arrived on Monday. Tuesday we hosted a “Ster is cooking BBQ” and entertained in our new home for the first time. We had some of Flo’s BFFs over, the Zillaz and my family. It was just a sign of the good times to come. I loved every second of it.

Wednesday started the Bachelor activities… Flo rented a Fantasy Suite at The Palms hotel... I worked… and packed. It looks like the guys had an amazing time… who couldn’t?

Thursday was my bachelorette party. We reserved a cabana at the JW Marriott Pool and had plans to sit out in the sun and have some fun. It rained and was 56 degrees. In Las Vegas. In April. What are the chances? The weather didn’t dampen our fun; they moved us to a suite, we ate, we drank and we talked. What more can one bride want? My Zillaz treated me to a wonderful Vichy scrub, which I do not recommend after drinking. It was hard to not want to pass out in all of the heat and steam… but it made my skin ready for the spray tan. Three of the Zillaz and I got in-room spray tans for the wedding. Getting it two days before the wedding allowed us enough time to let it set, wash it off, etc. Well, I looked dirty in our Thursday meet and greet photos… oh well. I didn’t have to wear makeup or a bra, both of which I quite enjoyed.

Thursday also came with one heckuva tired groom, but his tiredness was no match for my blazing bridal stress. Actually, I wasn’t overly stressed once we got to the hotel and got settled. But his tiredness was no match for my to-do list. We had invited our out of town guests over for a little “meet and greet” party. Our party didn’t consist of much food, just some homemade chocolate sauce from Budelia’s Chocolate… I ordered six jars. They were delivered to one of Flo’s co-workers who was kind enough to bring them to me, except she didn’t know that we ordered six jars and she brought one. We made it work. Ironically, my dad’s friend sent us an Edible Arrangements fruit basket and it worked out perfectly. We served that, pretzels, the jar of sauce and tons of beer, wine, water and soda. It was actually quite fun.

Friday…. The day that I had set aside for Flo and me to relax and enjoy. We woke up, munched on whatever stash of food that we had in our room. Wait, Flo ran off to go do something... because I remember calling him and telling him that we needed to head to the spa at a certain time. Bridal Brain, it affected me. We had a spa appointment at noon for a couples massage. I had also booked a manicure and pedicure. When I checked in for the appointment, the mani and pedi wasn’t scheduled. It was my first “bridezilla” moment because in my head, I knew that my snaggle toe nails were in no condition to walk down any aisle without being groomed or painted. This is where the JW highly impressed me. It was a Friday, they were busy and booked. The spa hostess with the mostest told us to go and have our massages and that they would take care of it. So we did. It was 50 minutes of pure bliss; it was THE best massage that I had ever received. When we were finished, my mani and pedi were scheduled. Not just for me, but for Flo too. Wow.

While at the spa, I bumped into the fabulous, amazing Andeen of Hair By Andeen. She would be spending the nite with the Zillaz to get us ready for the wedding, but she took some time to enjoy the spa, the sun, the pool and get some much, way deserved R&R. She looked so fabulous. Every day she inspires me to become a better person.



And then…we head into the rehearsal….

.favors: almost finished.

In late November, my dad sent me photos of him bottling my favors. They are just about complete- the last piece, which is the label, is waiting on me. My only concern now is having enough. Since we compiled our final tally, there have been some adjustments to the guest list; however, I believe that we were always shooting for 200 bottles.

Back to the favors. Ok, so we are giving away homemade wine (which is my dad’s retirement hobby) and there will also be a candy buffet and another little fun thing, which is remaining nameless, for now. The one time I received wine as a favor, I kept it in the bottle as decoration- mostly because I was only 17 when the wedding took place. I want people to enjoy the wine, it is homemade, it has been about 9 months in the making now and it is a labor of love. I want guests to DRINK the wine, ENJOY it. And, if you want, save the bottle as your souvenir because the labels are going to be fabu.

So what I am asking for is some help—I need something catchy to put on the labels. I have wine & love quotes, but I want a cute saying that we can use to let guests know to drink the wine now and save the bottle. It can be about friends, aging fine wine, enjoying now, etc.
Anyone have any ideas? Yes, I am a writer and I am asking for writing help. The irony.

.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!

.vacation recap.

Wow- two whole weeks away from home. I thought it would fly by; thought it was would drag and certainly thought that there would be enough time to blog. My last post was days before I left. Whoops.

Going home to see family is always a bevy of emotions. I am happy and excited to see them yet all I can think about is how dreadful it is to leave them. Even when I had 12 days with them, the thoughts of leaving would not escape my mind. This trip was different- I met my niece for the first time and saw my parents as grandparents and my sister as a mother.

I had a few days to myself at my parents where I visited with the family of now five and also spent time going through my childhood bedroom and cleaning it out to make room for the current grandbaby and any subsequent grandkids that may one day play red light/green light in the back yard just as my sister and I did as kids. This was an interesting trip down memory lane… there were boxes of things from my adolescence, my teens, my college years and post college life. While I wouldn’t change anything because I am happy with the woman I’ve become, the woman I’ve rescued my teen self from, some of the memories were less than pleasant to relive. I was an insecure kid, a teen with low self esteem who seems to have faked it though her years. It bothered me to remember how I felt about myself then but overjoyed me now to see how I’ve distanced myself from that. I made a mental promise to never let any young girls in my life look at themselves in a negative way. Daughters of friends, daughter of my sister, which is now my goal- to make sure that they are loving and strong.

When I began cleaning, I took one large garbage bag with me and when my dad asked if we would need to double bag it, I said no stating that there won’t be that much stuff and one bag is more than enough. Turns out that I had no only two bags full, but they both needed a double bagging! I got rid of every unpleasant memory, every pleasant memory that has no current place in my life. Yes, ex boyfriend, I loved your dog, but have no need to hold onto photos of him. Yes, former classmates, I enjoyed re-reading on your senior class photos, but they are in both the yearbook and now thanks to Facebook, I see you all the time. Gone are those photos. Yes, Europe when I was 17, I loved you more than any trip, but I really no longer need to hold onto the box which housed the Calvin Klein underwear I bought in Switzerland. Gone is the box. Yes, I remember when soda tabs were cool for something, but do not feel that at 31 there is any need for them right now. Gone are the soda tabs. Autograph books were fun, then. Notes were fun to write and read, then. All the stupid stuff that I could not picture taking into my home with my husband are gone. I did keep professional portraits from the dances; my niece will need something to laugh at in the future. I kept a few items to remind me of the good times, the good years and when I really was 22. Putting the bags out in the trash was a relief, even though the items still exist in a landfill somewhere, they no longer exist in my world.

On day #3 of my vacation, my fiancé flew in. And it was time to get our vacation started, we spent quality time with the family, showed him more of the area where I grew up, took him for lunch where it cost $11.75 for three people, took him to a restaurant where I ate as a single digit child, funny how the place hasn’t changed in 15 years! I like showing him this part of my world and life, thinking that he can picture a chubby, unibrowed little girl visiting these places.

On Thursday, we headed to NJ where we prepped for the wedding I was in on Saturday. He met one my BFFs and Zillaz for the first time, along with her now husband. While I knew that they would all get along, it was one of those “we’ve known each other forever” evenings and it was fabu. They were amazing hosts and we can’t wait to return the favor when they come out to Vegas.

Friday- the day before the wedding… we did girlie things like manicures, pedicures, drinking champagne and reminiscing about the years gone by. I was impressed by A-Zillaz ability to remain calm and collected. It was almost as if Saturday was an ordinary day.

And then Saturday it was. The Wedding Day. Up and at it by 6 am. Yup, well rested and ready to start the day. My mental notepad was ready to go! Things to blog about, things to remember for my wedding, things we forgot to remember and things we wish to forget. Luckily, we didn’t forget anything (I had a great e-kit checklist) and we didn’t wish to forget anything.
The morning started off like any other- in hair and makeup! I will admit to being nervous about having strangers work on the beauty aspect for me…. I asked for hair to do a “faux bob” and they looked at me like I said, “Bob Loblaw”. In the end, two painful hours in the chair later, the hair looked good. Make up was a-may-zing! The makeup was stellar and it lasted, all day. The only thing that mattered was how the bride looked. I don’t even know what word to use to describe her. I choose Grace Kelly-esque. She looked like classic royalty. I’m not sure that I have ever seen a woman look so stunning before. I don’t just say this because she is a BFF, I mean it. With her permission, I will one day post a photo!

I’ve never walked down an aisle before in a wedding and was terribly nervous. It showed, one of her other maids picked up on it. Let’s just say that I made it down the aisle without falling or crying like a gassy baby. I did cry. It was emotional to see someone so close to you marry and be so happy. Just a short hour later, it was party time! Woo!!!

But as the late afternoon approached, my body was starting to crash. After almost 12 waking hours, my nerves and anxiety going up and down, eating then not eating for a while, it was making my blood sugar go all over the charts. Being a diabetic is never conducive to all day long activities. I could slowly feel my body craving a break. This was where my mental notepad opened up and I made a note to be better rested and take a break and relax during the next big day.

The nite forged on and I spent most of it seated, enjoying the amazing band, the delectable foods and just all around great company. This wedding was five star, five diamond everything!! My hat is off to the amazing A-Zilla and her impeccable planning!
And in just a brief moment the day was over! It really does fly by and you really do need to savor each and every moment because in the blink of an eye, it will be over. The wedding is already 10 days ago….wow.

Flo and I continued our vacation for a few days longer. It was the perfect blend of R&R, travel, culture and time with my best friend.