[haha...get it..."run its course"...joggerslife...run...course...yeahhhhh....]

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If you’ve been following along with my wedding posts, you’ll know that I originally thought I wanted to wear my hair in a finger wave for the wedding.   I talked about that idea back in February, and then last month, I eluded to the fact that I had scrapped the finger wave idea.  Well, I did.  The reason?

It looked like crap on me.

Ummm...eew.

I don’t even LOOK like I’m enjoying this hairdo.  That’s just not cool.

Although that isn’t the feather I’ll be wearing (that is BFF Matron of Honor’s feather), it wouldn’t look much different with ivory feathers in it.  It just wasn’t me.  At all.

I’ve been hunting for hairdos again.  I quickly came to the realization that although I like the way that the finger wave looks on some people, my head is just too darn big to pull it off.  This is not negative self-talk, people…these are just the stone cold facts.  I inherited my Dad’s large melon, and it’s full of ‘a lot of brains’ (so he says), and there’s no hiding it (the large melon part, not the ‘a lot of brains’ part…I’m good at hiding that part).

And anyway, I wanted something with a little more…

…va-va-va-voom.

…something a little more fussy…

…and bold…

…something different…

…more “pinup”, and less “flapper”.

I’ve also been considering makeup lately as well.  I made an appointment for a consult at M.A.C., which just happens to be in the same wing of the mall where I’ll be getting my hair done on wedding day (coincidence?  I think not).  On the phone, Jadalyn (which I only remember because I thought it was a pretty name) told me to start finding pictures of makeup that I love.

…sassy…

…dramatic…

…girly…

It turns out that this is not the original “understated” plan that I thought I had as far as makeup goes.  I want to be glam and fabulous, and I want to fit in with my “Old Hollywood” theme.  Fake eyelashes are totally necessary.

Last night, I had a hair and makeup party.  With myself.  On a Tuesday.  Because I wanted to.

It kind of reminded me of that time last year when I had a skin party with myself.  I never claimed to be normal.

So, this typical ‘tinted-moisturizer-only’ gal blew the dust off of her Smashbox primer and foundation, sharpened up her eyebrow pencils (after doing a thorough shape on those bad boys), and got to work.  It was a lot of work. 

I honestly contemplated quitting the whole “girly girl” business after I almost broke my eyeball while attempting to apply a false eyelash…

whoa.

but I persevered.

feathery.

…and I even ended up having some fun…

hmmm...does this feather match my tank top?

…maybe a little too much fun…

After all of this hair and makeup business was over with last night, I had reached some decisions as far as my hair and makeup goes.  First of all, I needed to invest in a good quality eye makeup remover.  Sleeping in fake eyelashes because you can’t get the fu%ker$ off is not OK.

In addition, although I’m not exactly sure what I’m going to do yet, things are definitely going to be way more “glam” and “pinup” and less “simple” and “understated”.

I’m slowing finding out that those two words just don’t really work for me.

As a result, I plan parties almost completely for the details.

Details.  Can’t forget the details!

My philosophy on our wedding is complex. Personally, I would’ve loved to have a destination wedding. Roll together a wedding and a honeymoon?! Count.me.in. Let’s multitask! I love multitasking! However, that decision would have been selfish for us to do for a whole wealth of reasons, and we decided against it.

I’m not having a destination wedding. I’m having a WEDDING wedding.

And, since we’re really doing this, I will not do it half halfheartedly. Remember? I’m an ‘all or nothing’ kind of girl! We will remember this ‘one magical day’ (***cue heart-shaped confetti***)  for the rest of our lives. It should be spectacular. It should be everything we want. We’re throwing a party, and our name and personality has to be all over it.

But I’ll be damned if I go over the budget by one more penny!

Because of that, I’ve only splurged on a few things. The Maggie Sottero dress that I always wanted (which wasn’t SUCH a splurge since I bought it off the rack). Christian Louboutin shoes for the rehearsal dinner and wedding (the rehearsal dinner shoes were purchased used from eBay). Flowers from a great florist rather than doing them myself. A restaurant locale that makes great food. A honeymoon in the Turks & Caicos (discounted through Club Med, but still expensive to me).

The rest of the details?

If I’m not making it myself (such as our complicated invitations), then I found it on Etsy.

Etsy. Etsy. Etsy!

Vintage Etsy. Handmade Etsy. Lovable, kind, beautiful, unique, frugal Etsy!

In the collage above, with the exception of the shoes, the favor boxes and the table overlays, everything else was purchased from Etsy. For those of you who aren’t in the know, Etsy is a virtual marketplace for anything that is considered to be ‘vintage’ or ‘handmade’. There are no huge stores offering products on Etsy–everything is made by hand with love and affection.

Handmade placecards.

Vintage pearl necklaces.

Hand-dyed ostrich feathers that I couldn’t find anywhere else for less than a mortgage payment.

The perfect clutch with hand-sewn pearls to match my dress.

Gorgeous earrings that surprisingly match the non-matching vintage necklace (above), purchased from another seller.

The ostrich feather hairpiece that I polled you on months ago.

The perfect handmade jewelry set for my Matron of Honor, my BFF since the 7th grade.

A darling guest book that will make everyone “ooh” and “aah”.

These are all details that others might not notice, but if I were my guest (and not the bride), I would notice these things. All of the details that I’ve become preoccupied with are going to shape everyone’s impression of our day–our first day together as Mr. & Mrs. Gazelle.

And I’m not willing to ignore the details.

I’m also not willing to lose my house.

Have you ever bought anything from Etsy? If you’re married, did you plan the details on your own, ignore the details, or hire someone else to plan them for you?

You know. Before he starred in 45 cheesy Tyler-Perryesque movies and got his own sitcom?

You know. When he still wore a bandana on his head because he was all ‘West Coast Badass’?

You know.  Back in the days when he sang “Today Was a Good Day”…

Yesterday, I spent a good portion of the day reciting this song over and over in my head. Just the chorus. On loop. #earworm style.

Because…Well…Yesterday?

Yesterday was NOT a good day.

I started off finely routine enough for a Sunday: sleep until 8:00, egg whites and cranberry walnut bread toast. Fill up water bottles, pack up snacks, load bikes into the truck. Standard Sunday plans for us lately. After I ride on Sundays, I go home and shower, then I drive to Starbucks and spend the remainder of the day studying.

Relaxing. Routine. RUINED!

It all began with a broken front derailleur mount at the 4th mile.

Luckily, I had my trusty husband-to-be, and he rode his bike back to the truck and came back to pick me up. I was bummed, but it’s OK. It’ll get fixed. No biggie. We brought the bike directly to my bike shop, and they proceeded to tell me that it’ll be out of commission until at least Friday.

It’s OK. I’m going to New York this weekend, and I have plans to do a bike/run brick with My Sista. As long as the bike is back in my truck by Friday before I leave for NY, it’s all good.

Although I felt like a mom going home from the hospital without her baby, I left my little Blue Betty at the bike shop for repair. It was for her own good. My ride was completely foiled, but at least my girl’s “injury” was not serious. The downside of this sad story is that because my days are so ROUTINE during the weekends, I didn’t have time to do anything else that would require sweating. The bike ordeal had eaten up my allotted 2 hours when all was said and done, I had an appointment with a wedding florist that afternoon so there was no extra time to waste.

As we pulled into the driveway at home, I realized that I had left my only car key in the seat pack of my bike. For a brief instant, I thought that our house keys (the only ones we brought) were also attached, but miracle of all miracles, I unattached them before I put the car key in my bike pack. However. This meant that I needed to make it to my florist appointment on time, drive BACK to the bike shop (20 minutes) after the florist appointment to get my car key, and THEN go to Starbucks to study.

“It’s OK. Today can STILL be a good day!”

In the midst of all of the bike debauchery, I failed to remember that the appointment I made with a wedding florist was at 1PM rather than 1:30PM. By the time that I finished taking a shower, it was 12:50PM. I needed 15 minutes to get there. As soon as I looked at my calendar and realized that the appointment was at 1PM, I jetted out the door. No makeup, no hair, no cute.

Then, I went the wrong way on the highway.

Then, when I came back by my house, I stopped to get my makeup. At least if I was going to be late, I was going to be cute.

“It’s OK. Today can STILL be a good day!”

The florist wasn’t even mad when I came in 20 minutes late. She was really quite nice, actually. Everything was going perfectly fine until she showed me this…

Just in case you can’t read that…yes…it definitely says “$2,261.52″. That, my friends, is not in the budget.

“It’s OK. Today can STILL be a good day!”

After my florist appointment from hell, I headed back to the bike shop with My Gazelle’s truck. No craziness there–just picked up my car key and rolled out. As I was getting back in the truck, I received a phone call notifying me that I had HIS wallet in MY purse. And he was leaving for work. Now.

“It’s OK. Today can STILL be a good day!”

I drove BACK home (20 minutes), dropped off the wallet, had a quick sandwich for lunch, and then I FINALLY made my way to Starbucks.

I got there at 4PM.

They closed at 8PM.

Yesterday was not a good day.

Please pray for Blue Betty that she has a speedy recovery. I have a triathlon in less than 2 weeks.

So far, I told you about The Chapel, My Dress, My Hair, and The Cake.  However, I’ve changed my idea on how to wear my hair.  I decided a few weeks ago that a finger wave is just too similar to my regular-every-day hair, and I’d like to do something a little more ‘finished’ looking.  So.  I basically have no idea yet what I’m doing.  I plan to make an appointment with Lisa at Cavallaro & Company to discuss what she thinks I should do.  She masterfully pulled off my finger wave trial, and it took like 3 hours…so I’m nervous about telling her that I’ve changed my mind now.  Luckily, we still have over 4 months to come up with a plan.

If I have to be completely honest here, I’m really thankful that the last race on my calendar for this year is in August.  I am feeling a little overwhelmed with everything going on (work, school, triathlon/race training, wedding planning), and I’ll be thankful when I have some time to breathe.  I’m fully tossing around the idea of not scheduling any races for 2011 so that I can focus on basic fitness goals instead.

Anyway.  That is a different post for a different day.  I’m a little scatterbrained today, clearly.

When My Gazelle and I were planning our wedding shin-dig, we knew one thing for certain: we didn’t want a crazy party.  Neither one of us are heavy on the partying, he doesn’t drink, and I don’t drink all that much (unless I’m on an NKOTB bender).

For that reason, as well as keeping costs low, we decided to have only a dinner party for 50 people.  The dinner party is still not going to be cheap (as is NOTHING when it comes to weddings), but it’s a little more manageable than spending our entire budget just on a reception.  Since it’s a dinner party, we won’t be having a DJ or any of the standard ‘reception’ hoopla, but everything else will pretty much be the same.

We are having our dinner party at the restaurant where we had our second date.

(DJ, please cue the “aahhhhhh’s”)

Red Sky Steak and Fish House in Laurel.  It’s a very nice restaurant without being stuffy or over the top.  Since we’re not into the fancy schmancy side of things, but we love good food, this place is ideal for us.  For the party, we will be renting out the back of the restaurant, which is somewhat secluded from the remainder of the restaurant.

The seating is going to be slightly awkward, but my plan is to push 2 or 3 tables together along the right wall (which has a full bench seat all the way down) to create the “head” table.  My mom is making large pillows that will also act as wedding favors to fill up the empty table-less areas on each end of the bench.  The other tables in the center of the room will be moved against the head table to create a “U” shape.  Some people will have to sit in the booths to the left, I think that this arrangement will keep them from being excluded from the group.

Also, the area in the middle that we’ll create with the “U” arrangement will make a fantastic little dance floor.

We are lucky to have a budding opera singer in the family (My Gazelle’s little sister is amazing), so in addition to her playing the piano at the chapel for us, she will also be singing a song for our first dance (”At Last” by Etta James).  We are making a 5 hour long playlist that will be played for the remainder of the dinner party.

Our guest book will be on a (currently imaginary) table at the right of the entrance to the room, and our gift table will be the first one on the left:

This is where my dessert table creation as well as our wedding cake will go, but the table will be larger and most likely be turned sideways or at a bias (I’ll probably fill that bench seat in with more pillows or something as well):

This is a view looking from the back of the room to the front of the restaurant:

Gift table (to be turned sideways), as well as the challenge that is bench seating:

I was kind of upset when I realized that all of the bench seating was immovable, because I had a vision that the room would be open and we could just slide all of the tables into a “U” shape.  I got my initial inspiration for the “U” shape from this collage (which is basically my dream wedding neatly packaged into a photo collage):

However, it’s just not going to be fully possible.  Since we really like the sentimental value of keeping the venue at Red Sky, we decided to just work with what we’ve got and do part of the seating in a “U” shape.

I’m going to do a sample table decoration this week, so I’ll fill you in on that when I’ve got it finished!

Next up, our wedding registry.

This is not a shameless promotion to get you to buy me a wedding gift.  I’m merely satisfying my own need to be nosy, and I’m assuming that you also have this need.  So go ahead.  Look at the sheets and china that I covet for a moment.

Also, I’m really afraid that I’m forgetting something important.  Keep in mind that both of us have fully-functional homes.  When we moved in together, we opted to use his ’stuff’ because I rented out my condo fully-furnished.  At this point, my Target-purchased dinnerware and things need to be replaced, and much of what I was using in my condo was purchased/gifted in my last marriage.  It just feels kind of gross.  I’d like to have a set of ’stuff’ that is specifically OURS.

Namely, new linens, bedding, and most importantly I want a set of nice(ish) china and silverware.  I was married before.  I didn’t want china then.  Although things like china aren’t super important to me even now, each time I used the toaster as a child, my Mom would say, “your father and I received that as a wedding gift 20 years ago!”  So, I understand that the material things aren’t insanely important, but I would like to have these things to attach a memory to.

So that I can remind little Junior about Mommy and Daddy’s wedding day each time I make him eggs in my Logic cast iron frying pan.  You know.  Because I probably will.

If you’re married…did you receive anything from your wedding registry that you absolutely can’t live without =or= what was the best gift that you received from your registry?

If you’re not married…what is the thing that you will MOST DEFINITELY put on your registry when you get married?

Also…does anyone having a constructive suggestion on my seating challenges?

That’s where you guys come in.

In case you missed my first hair post, I’m going to be sporting a modern version of the classic finger wave.  Since our wedding theme is “Old Hollywood”, I think it’ll fit in with the theme pretty well.  However, my goal is to have movie star hair without going completely overboard.

I’ve decided that I’m not going to wear a veil, but I want some sort of embellished ‘thing’ in my hair.

My lovely, wonderful, gorgeous BFF Matron of Honor will be wearing this in her blonde hair (as long as she approves it, of course):

p.s…my decor is going to be heavy on the peacock feathers, so this will fit right in.  I will be wearing a champagne pearl necklace, but I haven’t come to a decision regarding earrings yet.

Here are the fascinator hair pieces from Etsy that I’m toying with:

#1

#2

#3

(the picture is kind of blurry, but it has pearls)

#4

Now, keep in mind that my hair is sort of brownish-reddish, and it will most likely be some shade of brownish-reddish for the wedding as well.

Input?

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I anticipated that wedding cake shopping would be much more fun than wedding dress shopping, and I was correct.

Today, I went to JP’s Kake Korner, which is a cute little bakery near my house.

I mean really.  How can you not love this place?  It has pink shutters.

In case you have missed my previous wedding posts, the theme of our wedding is “Old Hollywood”, and my intention is to channel all things Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, and Jean Harlow.  With a little Betty Page thrown in for good measure.

My initial cake inspiration was based on our dessert table (insert red in for the yellow aspects, and remove the funky grapefruit-esque cake):

I plan to bless this table with an abundance of cookies, candy, and other diabetic-coma-inducing elements.  I have visions of buying every single red candy available from CandyFavorites.com, and stuffing all of the little plates and dishes that I found on eBay full of the good stuff.  I’m exaggerating.  I won’t fill every dish with red candy.

There’s a fine line between cute and tacky.

The point is that I have put a lot of thought into this table, and since I’m trying to keep my flower budget to a minimum, this table needs to do double duty: dessert and decor.

My plan is to have 3 different cakes.  One cake (to replace the wonky grapefruit-ish cake) will be 2-tiered.  The top tier will be a 6″ square cake (saved for our 1 year anniversary), and the bottom tier will be a 10″ round cake.  In addition, there will be a 6″ round cake to the right (replace the yellow “lemon” slices), and to the left there will be an 8″ round cake (replace the yellow-topped cupcakes).

The design of the cakes themselves are inspired by these:

We will have a Swarovski crystal “S” as a cake topper, along the line of the one on this cake.  I like the scroll work on this cake as well.

I’m not crazy about the weird swirly affects on this cake, but our cake will look like this with the round cake on the bottom and the square cake on top, with black satin ribbon (and scroll work instead of the weird swirly-flowery things).

Our cake will have red roses on top, around the Swarovski “S”.  So, it’ll be more like this:

…and with a square top.

…with scroll work on the top layer as well.

But you get the idea.

I popped into JP’s Kake Korner today on a whim, and expected to receive an astronomical price for my cake demands.  The average cost of a wedding in the VA/MD/DC area is upwards of $25,000, and cakes are expensive business, people.  I was intending on having a friend make the cake, but figured I’d at least get a price and see if I’m able to fit a stress-free cake into the budget.

I was delighted when Diane, the owner of JP’s gave me a quote of $175.00.  That price is to feed 50-60 guests, and we will have to pick up the cake on the day of the wedding and set it up on our own.  But, that’s no big deal in my book.  It would be an additional $35 to have the cake delivered and set up.

And, as if the reasonable price tag wasn’t enough, Diane bribed me with these…

I mean seriously.  If someone offers your girl free cupcakes, she’s going to proudly announce her favorite flavors, impatiently wait for them to be placed in their neat little cupcake tray, and gleefully skip out the door.  Amen.

And then, she’s going to go home and eat them.

Hallelujah.

Of course, My Gazelle is inconveniently unable to eat anything with the word “sugar” in it at this time (I’ll do a post soon about his ABSTINENCE-RIDDEN black belt training cycle. Yes.  That kind of abstinence), so I had to try these cupcakes all by myself.

Oh darn.

He said that he trusts my judgment.

And, my judgment is as follows:

So, hopefully my cake-tasting skills are better than my Photoshop skills, eh?

What cake flavor would you choose?

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Since the theme of our wedding is “Old Hollywood”, I’m trying to maintain an old-school feeling in many of the elements that I’ve planned.  The decor that I’ve chosen so far has been retro-style, and my centerpieces will be simple red roses with black ostrich feathers.

And maybe a shiny (fake) rhinestone thrown in for good measure, because I cannot deny myself of anything shiny.

As soon as I decided to make the theme of the wedding “Old Hollywood”, I immediately knew that I wanted a finger wave hairstyle.  And, if you’ve been following along, it’s going to go smashingly with my dress, our chapel, and the decor.

I love Audrey Hepburn.  I love classic movies (before color film was even on the radar).  I love the culture and the romance and the disgusting indulgence of it all.  I love the bright red lipstick and the outlandish black eyeliner.  And I love the finger wave.  Old fashioned or modern, it just doesn’t matter.  I simply love the finger wave.

When I think of the modern finger wave, I think of Gwen Stefani.  I don’t know why.  Maybe it’s because I’m 30-something, and she was the first mainstream chick to rock a finger wave in my era.   It doesn’t really matter why–the fact is that Gwen Stefani ROCKED the finger wave.

Christina Aguilera is also a modern pioneer of the finger wave.

And several other celebrities have jumped on the bandwagon.  Here are some of my favorites:

This is an interesting twist…but I’m not sure that I like how it is poofy at the ends.  You know that I hate poofy.  Poofy has the tendency of throwing me over the edge.

Simple and understated on Charlize.  I like the hair doo-dad used in this style.

Oh, Hi Greta!  I love you.

Did I mention that I love Greta too?  And I love her hair.

Nicole even gave the finger wave a shot.  With not much success, in my opinion…but she tried.

My head is way to big to pull this one off, but congrats to you, Kate Bosworth.

This is my favorite in the non-celebrity realm of finger waves.  I think that it’s gorgeous, although I would have to tame that poof on the side.  Just say no to poof.

So, what do you think?

To finger wave or not to finger wave?

Your girl needs all the help she can get.

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Has anyone else besides me noticed that wedding dresses are ridiculously overpriced?

Unfortunately, I am not the daughter of a real estate tycoon, so the $15,000 Vera Wang dress of my dreams is just not an option.  However, I am a modern woman! I know what I want! I ask for what I want! I get what I want!

Unless it is a $15,000 Vera Wang dress.

I knew very early on in this process that the most difficult part of my wedding planning was going to be finding a dress that both fit my personal taste as well as my budget.  In terms of budget, my goal was to spend $800 or less. I would bend up to $1,000, but I decided anything over that would just make my forehead sweaty and I might not be able to sleep at night.

In terms of actual wedding dress prices, I quickly learned that my budget goal seemed completely unattainable.

Although this is my second wedding, and some may argue that the wedding shouldn’t include anything that resembles a “real” wedding dress (Hi Mom…love you!), I wanted a beautiful wedding dress to properly celebrate my beautiful occasion.

And, you may not have picked up on this yet (even if you’ve been reading for a while), but although I am very laid-back regarding most life decisions, the ones that I actually care about are very important to me, and I am not very compromising in these situations. I’m the person who will search high and low before I’m willing to accept an alternative. That said, going into my dress search, I had a very concise list of demands.

(p.s…I also clean my kitchen counter with hydrogen peroxide up to 5 times per day…this might be a disorder).

My list of demands:

1) Fitted bodice with trumpet skirt.

2) Strapless/sleeveless.

3) Lace overlay.

4) Not white.

5) Not satin/shiny/slippery/poofy.

These are all factors that I wasn’t willing to bend on. And I wanted all of them. In one little neat package. Tied with a black satin bow. For under $800.

During my November trip to Tennessee to visit my BFF, we went to the shop where she bought her wedding dress so that I could try on dresses. I fell in love with a dress by Pronovias (the designer dress line that they often feature on those TLC wedding shows).

And, by ‘fell in love’, I mean that I was prepared to buy the dress on the spot, take it home, and wear it while I vacuumed and cleaned my kitchen counter.

Until I looked at the price.

The dress was $1892.

After I looked at the price, I curled up in the fetal position in the corner of the fitting room and cried like a baby.

I spent the next 24 hours in Tennessee trying to figure out a way to afford it, but I was SO against paying that much for a dress. I even went so far as to search eBay for the dress, and I found it for $1200. In the end, even though the dress was listed on eBay by a store that claimed to be an authorized Pronovias dealer, I was nervous about it being a fake and being of poor quality.

“Goodbye, beautiful Pronovias dress. I’ll never find another quite like you.”

Then I cried again.

Back to the drawing board.

After spending a few weeks mourning the loss of my Pronovias Rosana dress, I jumped back on the horse and made an appointment at the small bridal shop down the street from my house.

The shop is like 4 square feet big, so my expectations were very low.

I invited Mama Gazelle and another friend to come to the dress shop with me, and afterward, we planned to have lunch at the restaurant where we’ll be holding our dinner party after the wedding. I figured that even if I didn’t find a dress, at least I could count on a decent meal.

Or that food would console me after spending 2 fruitless hours trying on poofy satin dresses.

When I walked into the shop, I informed the owner and her assistant of my (demanding) requirements:

(I repeat)

1) Fitted bodice with trumpet skirt.

2) Strapless/sleeveless.

3) Lace overlay.

4) Not white.

5) Not satin/shiny/slippery/poofy.

Mama Gazelle and my friend picked out about 5 dresses for me, and the dress shop owner picked out like 5 more.  Imagine my utter amazement when every one of the 10 dresses were poofy, satin, shiny, had straps, and were white. Not a single one matched ANYTHING that I asked for.

**WAHHH…WHY DOESN’T ANYONE LISTEN TO ME…WAHHH…I’M A MIDDLE CHILD…WAHHHH…Bridezilla…WAHHH…MIDDLE CHILD…WAHHH**

I’m joking. I didn’t have a Bridezilla moment for real. Only in my head.  Needless to say, two of these dresses never even made it out of the dressing room for modeling purposes. One of them never even left the hanger. Poor dress.

Around dress #8, as I was getting into dress #9, I was beginning to lose my center.

“Do you guys even HAVE the type of dress I’m looking for?!”

To which the assistant answered:

“I don’t really think so……I’ll take another look around though.”

To which I answered:

(in my head)

“WELL THANKS FOR WASTING OVER AN HOUR OF MY LIFE THAT I WILL NEVER GET BACK!”

(but in reality)

“OK, thank you very much.”

I finished putting on dress #9, and the assistant left the room to “look around”.  I stepped onto that annoying pedestal to look at myself in the equally-as-annoying 3 phase mirror; poofy, shiny, and poofy. And shiny.

Pissed. Sweating (wedding dresses are heavy, man), and pissed.

Then…all I saw was BEAUTY as the assistant came around the corner with a mannequin dressed in MY dress.

Lace overlay. Trumpet skirt. Light gold with gold accents. Sleeveless.

I might have gasped and jumped up and down. And I might have also yelled “THAT’S THE ONE!”  Everyone might have laughed at me.

I put it on, and it fit like a glove. I sheepishly looked at the price, and it was $825. The rest is history.

And, for those of you who sat through this whole entirely-too-detailed wedding dress story (and because I know that even My Gazelle didn’t make it this far, so there’s no risk of him seeing it), here is my dress.

And I love it!

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Since I was young, I’ve always been a party planner.  I don’t generally follow through with these parties, because they’re all about imagination and daydreaming.  However, when I plan these imaginary parties in my head, the one thing that I always ignore is The Budget–which I now endearingly refer to as “Le Boojay”.

Le Boojay is not my friend.  I am becoming increasingly aware of the fact that when my fun and vision is challenged by a boojay, I curl up in a ball and cry.  Begging for independent wealth and an overpriced wedding planner.

I won’t be working personally with Vera Wang like Ivanka did (although I would not have a problem with this…Vera, call me), and I will probably have to rig up my portable iPod speaker dock instead of hiring Khloe’s 10 piece orchestra.  This is the cold hard truth.  The reality is, I have a budget, and it is far below the average wedding budget in the DC metro area of $35-$50K.

Notwithstanding a huge dose of self-imposed doubt, my goal is to create a classy, modern wedding (complete with some  bold, retro, movie star qualities) for $11,200.  Caveat: this total must include a relatively fabulous 1-week long honeymoon outside of the United States, which in turn, also must include the cost to board our dogs for at least a week.

I’m quickly learning that in the DC Metro area, it’s exceedingly difficult to host anything more than a backyard BBQ for 30 guests with a budget of $11,200, much less a wedding and a honeymoon.

At this point, I feel like I’m part of Operation: Impossible Wedding Budget.

We could always just opt for the cheapest alternative with a courthouse wedding and dinner at The Texas Roadhouse.  That’s sure to save us $11,125 in the long run.  Unfortunately (fortunately?), that is just not how I want to commemorate our first day together as a married couple. I want to celebrate our wedding with the close members of our family.

Close.

Which leads me to the next dilemma: the guest list.  Everyone is going to be offended when they’re not on the list.  We’re literally only inviting 60 people.  Including children.  Including guests and spouses.  That’s all we can afford (because our semi-fabulous honeymoon ranks slightly higher on the priority list than does familial harmony).

We had to set a limit, and only choose the people who are closest to us.  Plus a few people who are directly involved in the guaranteed continuity of my employment.  I thought better of excluding them from the list.  I kind of need a job in order to pay for this shin dig, ya know!

I’ve already mentioned our wedding location, which only cost $200 for 4 hours.  This includes using an hour of that time the night before for our rehearsal.

However, what I haven’t yet mentioned is that thanks to all of the wonderful ideas on the Amy Atlas Events website, I have grand ideas for my dessert table…

With this ultra-cool tablecloth in place of the yellow…

And red flowers and accents instead of the yellow ones.

Again, thanks to Amy Atlas, I’m daydreaming about my guest tables looking like this…

Minus the individual hand-painted fondant wedding cakes.  I am certain that the boojay doesn’t include those!

I have managed to find a few solutions, and have so far purchased that fantastic tablecloth, cylindrical vases for the tables (and dessert table), and various melamine plates and bowls to accomplish the other features on the dessert table.  I’m not certain how it’s going to work out as of yet, but luckily I have 11 months to repeatedly screw it up and try again.

I have also designed and built the prototype for my save the date cards and invitations.  Despite my initial thought, I don’t really feel as though creating them myself is going to save me any money.  It’s possible that I’m being overly complicated and perfectionist-like, but I created the exact save the date cards and invitations that I wanted.  Maybe that’s the problem with being crafty–I always want to do these things myself.

Could I have paid someone else to make them for less than $300.62?  Probably, but I didn’t have to compromise on getting exactly what I wanted.  I’ll show you these in a future post.

To date, this is what yer girl’s working with:

And, I’m getting a little nervous.  I’ve already spent 11% of my budget, and I haven’t even done anything particularly important.  Scary.

So, anyone who has planned a budget wedding can feel free to chime in here.  Help!

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• Full-time accountant
• Freelance writer
• Part-time Mother
• Pretend blogger
• Exerciser
• Full-time crazy person
• Wedding planner

In essence, I took a 12″ plate fit for a buffet, piled it high, and then decided to order a side of fruit, yogurt, and granola.  And cookies.  And ice cream.  Lots of cookies and ice cream.

Ironically, that kind of sums up my dietary selections lately as well.

Despite all of the crazy that I have birthed, I welcome the chaos.

Besides my problem of taking on too much at once, I also can’t stand having responsibilities looming over my head.  I like the idea of getting a job finished quickly so that I don’t have to worry about it anymore.  For that reason, I’ve almost planned my entire wedding.

Already.

Six days post-proposal.

That’s kind of just how I roll.

Also ironically, My Gazelle and I had discussed the wedding basics last week on Wednesday (he proposed on Friday).  We decided at that point that we would get married in a tiny local church called Dorsey Chapel.  It holds historical significance in the area because it was  built in 1900 to serve the black farming community of the area because there was no other Methodist church within comfortable walking distance.

The church was abandoned around 1971 when the congregation merged with another local congregation due to low attendance.  The church was planned for demolition in 1980, but was instead acquired by a group of local citizens, who then renovated the church and turned it over to the local Park Police.  Now, the restored church is adorable, and is rented out to people for weddings and such.

We looked at the chapel on Wednesday morning, and knew immediately with no hesitation that it was the place we wanted to be married.  The chapel itself has five pews on each side, and each pew seats 5 people.  Since it only seats 50 people, it is ideal for the intimate wedding that we’re planning.  Since this is my second wedding, I want to celebrate, but I’m not interested in going all out.

There are two old-school outhouses located behind the chapel, but luckily they have since been replaced by a separate building that contains two restrooms, an office, and a large room that can be used as a sitting room or a changing room.  It’s small, simple, and perfect for us.

Since the chapel sits on a beautiful wooded lot, it’s perfect for photographs.  Our wedding date is October 16, 2010, so the fall foliage is going to be amazing.  **sigh**  I always wanted a fall wedding!

I was so touched by all of your nice comments and congratulations on my Love and Marriage post.  Hopefully now you’ll all stick around while I manage my wedding craziness and get all of the details ironed out.  I’ve already planned my save the date announcements and invitations, and (shocker), I’ll be making them by myself.  So, stay tuned for my wedding series!  =)

p.s…I know Kobe is a gross cheater.  But he still looks good.  lol.

p.s.s…to all of you wonderful resort owners:  I would be happy to compose several very SEO friendly articles in return for a free honeymoon.  **wink, wink**  There’s no shame in my game.

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