.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.

.invites. .rsvps. .and headaches.

I’ve already heard tons of horror stories on guest lists and RSVPs…. And thought that, for some reason, we would be exempt from any drama. Ummm…no! Our final invites were sent out in two rounds: the first round went out in January for our OOT guests. The second round went out in February for our in-town guests and for our family who has already told us that they would be coming to the wedding (some even booked rooms already!)

With two or three days left until the RSVP deadline, we were still missing almost half of the replies! So between my FMIL, Mr. Nearlywed, my mother and I, we had to make a ton of phone calls. Some people never even answered our phone calls and some said yes they will come and some, although they turned in their RSVP with a Yes or a No, some have already called to change their mind.

PEOPLE! This isn’t a carnival. This is an expensive event, where we are paying for each and every one of you to be there with us. If you RSVP no and then say yes, we are short. If you RSVP yes and then change your mind, we have already paid for you and it is rude. If you are family and have not responded to any one of the three phone calls that we’ve made, then it is rude. There, if I could say that to everyone, I would be so much happier.

I have to admit, I am really panicked about the guest list, STILL. Although we’ve written off the non responders and have heard from most people, I’d be lying if I said that the list makes me comfortable.

.2009 my best year yet.

When the countdown to 2009 began, it was like every other countdown 10…9…8… and then the clock struck midnight and the New Year started out normal and that lasted for about 18 seconds. Just enough time for a hug and a kiss to my boyfriend and my parents, who were there with us. And then, my boyfriend gave me a letter to read. While reading this letter, he was trying to gauge how far along I was so that he can time his proposal correctly. Yes, it was the moment I had been waiting 50 weeks for, the moment when he finally proposed. I say finally because when you know that someone is your lobster, it feels like forever until they ask you to share your life with them.

2009 was my best year, ever. It started off on a high note and is ending on a high note. The year didn’t kick off with resolutions of losing weight (at this point, I could have stood to gain back a lbs. actually); it didn’t kick off with a vow to travel or read more or to volunteer my time. It started off with me just being grateful to be alive and to be surrounded by so much love. Besides, when you have a wedding to plan, you life becomes all encompassed and you really don’t think about much else: wake up. Think about wedding colors. Eat breakfast. Think about wedding menu. Go to work. Sneak a few minute on line to browse photos. Drive home. Create your binder. You get the picture.

The year continued to go on the up and up….here, I share just a few highlights from the year:
January- started off great as you know. We then celebrated our birthdays with a weekend ski trip to Big Bear, CA. It was soooo much fun, if you missed it, then you really missed a grand old time. The weather was great, the wine was perfect, and the company was great. We had a blast and then followed up with my traditional birthday party at Caramel at Bellagio. That was the last year for the big birthday bash…. I am getting too old and am now too busy with life to focus on a big party. Although- they will probably resume in 2011. If you are wondering, Mr. Nearlywed celebrates his birthday on January 23 and me… I am the 24th. We are a few years and one day apart. It was January 22nd when I got the results back from my antibody test, confirming what we long knew: I am a Type 1 Diabetic. I was put on insulin that day and that was the last day of getting along with the scale. For the first few weeks, I was incessantly hungry. And it showed- within a month I had gained almost 10 lbs.

It was February 24th when we wrote out the first check for the wedding: we put a deposit on our venue that we later kicked to the curb. On that same February 24th, we had 14 months to go. It seemed like an eternity. We now have less than four months to go. Yes, it flies by.

In March, I had the pleasure of taking an icy cold, freezing trip back to NYC for my BFFs (A-Zilla) bridal shower and my sister’s baby shower. It was cold on the East Coast! Whew… but we still managed to trudge through NYC trying on bridal gowns. This is where my sister earned her Jackpot status—she was seven months pregnant and walked all over NYC and helped me to try on dresses. It was this time when I truly felt like there would never be the right dress for me. All of the dresses we liked were way more expensive than my budget would allow. In March, it also felt like A-Zilla’s wedding was still so far away. She is now married almost seven months and well…six-and-a-half months pregnant.

In April, most of the month is a blur, but we did manage to celebrate our “minus one” anniversary (marking the day when we will be married in one year). That was on the 24th and on the 28th we had our engagement photos. They turned out fabulous- I lurve them.

In May… The highlight of my year was getting engaged and then becoming an aunt. I will never forget the text, “Sue’s in labor. She thinks her water broke.” That text came from my dad. I was home alone and no one would answer their phones- my fiancé, my BFF, no one. I could barely contain my excitement and my desire to book a flight to New Jersey. But I waited through the nite with zero updates. So when I awoke at 5:30 am, I frantically called my dad. They were pulling up to my sister’s house and off to the hospital they were… within 90 minutes, no this is not a joke, my beautiful little angel was born. First baby. No drugs. Ninety minutes. Let’s all take a minute to hate on Ster. Ok, done. My angel was three weeks old before I got to meet her but holding her for the first time in unforgettable.

May turned into June, where I stayed for two weeks to enjoy my family and my niece. I also walked down the aisle for the first time in A-Zilla’s wedding. As soon as Trumpets Voluntary started, I looked at my dad who was in the back of the church and fought back the tears. All I could do was picture my own wedding and the emotion that went along with it. And I also was elated for my dear friend to marry the love of her life. Mr. Nearlywed and I also spent some time enjoying a little vacay time in NYC. We love NYC. Period, new line.

My wedding dress was also picked out and purchased in June. After my weight got back down and before it went back up. UGH! I actually bought a size bigger than the sample and still have issues with it…more on that.

This is also when The Nearlywed Report made its debut in Las Vegas Bride Magazine. It was my first published piece and let tell you…. I was (still am) so proud. I gave my parents an autographed copy. In case I ever hit it big.

August- the only highlight I can remember is working with the JW Marriott on moving our wedding. We spent most of the month crossing our fingers and biting our nails. We weren’t sure if we could swing the $$ but in the end it worked out.

September rolled around and we signed our contract with the JW Marriott. Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy.

As the year rolled on, so many more great things happened: I found out that A-Zilla is pregnant and expecting in late March, thus taking her out of the wedding, but this is much more fabu. I continued writing and discovered things like twitter and that people do enjoy my blogs and my writing!

As the year rolled on, I also continued to grow as a person and as a wife-to-be. While I didn’t try to start cooking, I did try to be more domestic and really enjoy the moments at home with my fiancé. It worked. Our house is still comfy and cozy and the quiet moments truly helped us to build a stronger bond and cherish our relationship. It is easy to get caught up in the grind of the wedding planning and the pressure of the planning. It is easy to forget about the goal of the day and that is to become a wife, not a princess (for me at least). I could see a difference in the depth of our relationship over the past year and few months.

Moving on…. In October, I interviewed for a position with Las Vegas Bride magazine to become their editor. I was offered and accepted the position. One step closer to my goal of being a writer. I love this job and I love the company! This year probably could not have been better. When December arrived, the holiday season was already flying by. Since I wasn’t at the mall this year, I didn’t get to enjoy the season as much, but that is OK- it helped to keep us from over spending. We pulled a Four Christmases and took off for the holiday weekend to our favorite get-a-way, Lake Las Vegas. It was glorious. Our last vacation as a single couple, the last vacation before we tie the knot. It was bittersweet. The next time we stay there will be as a mini-moon.

Christmas day didn’t pass us by without the wonderful news of becoming an Aunt and Uncle again! My sister in law is pregnant with a little boy and we can’t wait until he enters the world and we get to spoil the life out of him!

Life is good.

As 2010 knocks on my door, I am not trying to set more resolutions. I am not trying to become a super woman. I resolve to continue to be a good fiancé/wife, a good friend, a good daughter, sister, aunt. I resolve to surround my life with positivity and put myself, my husband (to be) and my health first. That will mean saying no once in a while and it will mean being tired because of hitting the gym so early, but in the end, it is my life and I love it.
So there ya have it folks…. 2009 was the best year yet and I can only hope that 2010 at least matches it but I have a feeling it will surpass it.

I wish you all a healthy year, a successful year and one that brings you all that yuo desire- without being greedy!

My wish for you all is good health, great happiness and much success- no matter what you set out to do, do it honestly and always be positive.

Cheers!

.vendor saturday.

Today is going to be one busy day....it doesn't help that I went to bed at 1 am and woke up just after 6 am. Why, you ask? When you find out, let me know.

FINALLY it is eyebrow wax time. Is it just me or does it seem like your hair grows twice as fast once you make the appointment? I made this appointment about 10 days ago, instead of styling my hair, I need to style my 'brows to keep them out of my face. They are so gawd awful right now that my sister commented on them being "rather full". How did she do this? Via webcam on Skype. Yes, you can tell from 2,500 miles away how in need they are of some grooming.

The brow obsession started back in about 6th grade when I realized that my brows resembled Bert's brows.

No, really, I mean it. And NO pre-teen should EVER attempt to fix her own brow. EVER. Doing that caused me about 18.5 years of uneven brows. So now I only trust them to Tessa, my esthetician. She's been caring for my hairs for coming up on four years. One of the few long term relationships I have here in Vegas, so that goes to show you how good she really, truly is.

Dear Tessa,

I am sorry for the beast who is coming to see you today, forgive me, Tessa for it has been about 8 weeks since my last brow wax.

Love,

The NearlyWed

Then.... I can come home, nap-- I should take my flab to the gym, but sweating for 24 hours while your pores are open from a wax is bad news, darn-- so then I will nap and head back out to meet an invite stationer and then a something super special and super secret for our wedding. What is it?? Well I may just crack and spill what it is..... lemme think about that one.

Tomorrow finds us meeting with out wedding planner to discuss what is left to do (a LOT!) in the next 3 months.... and then the final wrap ups that are due in the last three months. Wow.... only two quarters of a year until we get married. Where does the time go?

So I leave you with no exciting photos of today, but stay tuned for my invite inspiration and meeting recap. And maybe, just maybe I will share a secret with you!

.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.

.e-pics: lessons learned.

Lessons Learned from Engagement Photos:

1. I read up on E-pic sessions and it was recommended to leave your purses, bags, etc. behind and just take your car key. I disagree. Take everything you need: lipstick/gloss, compact, hair spray, make up for touch ups, mirror, and snacks! (especially if you are diabetic, like me)…. At the Boneyard, there was a table where we kept our items and I totally could have used a touch up.

2. Keep your lip sticks, gloss, keys, etc. in a bag. DO NOT keep them in your pocket like I did. D’oh….

3. Practice your poses! We did this, trust me…but still ran into difficulties with “performing” on the spot.

4. Therefore—if you find pictures that you love, save them, print them and take them with you. Give them to the photographer or the assistant so that they can guide you through the poses when your mind goes blank. We reviewed poses with Scott at 11 am but by 3 pm we had all forgotten everything. Should have brought the photos with us.

5. Over prepare. I spent weeks trying to get the outfits perfect- I took two garment bags full and wore only four outfits but I was prepared and felt good about the day.

6. Be sure to share with your photographer body parts, skin imperfections or your best side so that he or she can be sure to warn you about your armpit cleavage and not get your cheek pimple!

7. Have a mimosa! It would have loosened me up a little bit earlier. Even though I’ve been friends with our photographer for years and am comfortable with him, there was just something about the pressure of engagement photos that left me stiff, antsy and showing a forced/fake smile.

8. Enjoy and have fun! It hit us a few times, “WOW! These are our engagement photos.” It was surreal yet exhilarating.