venue sneak peek...

we got it!

the venue is booked!  i am ahead on theknot.com's terrifying to-do list by almost 4 months!  this is a huge deal, since i am almost always behind on every other to-do list, ever.


*UPDATE*
Back to square one with the venue search.  And we can't get the date we want.  Rats.  Sometimes, eloping seems like the best bet.


other things that are still looming on the horizon:
-band
-flower arrangements
-bridesmaid dresses
-groomsmen attire
-colors
-menu/tasting (but now that we have a venue, that will come soon!)
-save the dates and invitations
-and probably about thirty gazillion other things that i have no idea about yet.

eeee!  exciting.  scary.

luna di miele

my dream honeymoon would be to go to tuscany.   jordan has never been, i am dying to go back, and it really just doesn't get more romantic than italy.

staying up all night drinking wine sitting under the ponte vecchio

taking a stroll to the piazza michelangelo
 to see this beautiful view of firenze

visit vestri cioccolateria for orange-chocolate gelato...
the best in the UNIVERSE.

day trip to cinque terre to hike between the 5 seaside villages

stroll through the san lorenzo market to haggle with vendors
for fresh cheese, fruit, and leather!

spending the day in san gimignano exploring their old cathedrals...

...and spend the evening sipping their
delicious white wine!

have a picnic outside the palazzo pitti...

...then get lost in the boboli gardens.

dress success!

so, i think i found the one.  and i don't just mean a guy, but i mean a gown too!

on tuesday morning my mom and i took a train up north to connecticut.  our travels north were not without difficulty, as we were stuck at a standstill on the tracks on an overpass in new jersey due to a gas leak at a station 10 miles ahead.  finally, after almost 2 hours of sitting completely still, we got moving again.   

my mom's friend ally picked us up from the station and our wedding mid-week extravaganza got off to a bang!  she took us right away to juliska, a beautiful portuguese tableware designer, for a quick bite in their cafe and a meeting with their registration consultant.  it was beautiful, and the items in their store are exquisite.

we also stopped at a stationary store to get a taste of all of the options available for invitations, save the dates, place cards and more.  i think the stationary might be the most overwhelming part of the planning...there are so many beautiful options and so much to think about!  letterpress?  calligraphy?  deckled edges? (<---i didn't even know what that meant before tuesday...but now i know i need it!)

that evening we had a beautiful dinner on the terrace at ally's house...pici with homemade pesto with basil from ally's garden, cherries, and champagne!  before bed we all were flipping through flower books and wedding magazines, marking every other page with post-it notes.

i could hardly fall asleep that night since i was so excited.  my eyes popped open at 6 am and i couldn't get back to sleep!  i lay in bed until i heard other people in the house moving around, then i got up, got ready, and off we went!  we drove into the city and hit some traffic going in, so i was about 20 minutes late to my first appointment, but the consultant understood since new york is never not trafficky.

the first boutique was super-tiny, with all the dresses hanging on just one rack.  since i had been obsessively looking at all the dresses on the website in the weeks before, i knew exactly which ones i wanted to try on.  at first, i will say that i was honestly a little disappointed that my absolute favorites were not exactly stunners when i actually got to try them on.  maybe it is because i am not a five foot eleven rail thin model.  but all hope was not lost: my mom suggested that i try on a gown that she had really liked on the website.  it wasn't my favorite of the bunch, but since there were only ten to choose from, and we had a two hour appointment, i obliged.

i have to say that my mom really called it: the gown was PERFECT.  you know how on that show "say yes to the dress" the girls usually start crying when they find the dress they want?  well, that happened.  the consultant brought out a veil and then all bets were off.  we were all a hot mess with runny mascara and everything.  it was wonderful!

we had appointments at two other boutiques (one of which had a broken air conditioning system...you can imagine trying on enormous gowns in 98 degree heat and new york humidity was not the most pleasant situation).  although all the other gowns i tried on there were absolutely gorgeous, beautifully constructed, and made me feel like i was going to an affair in Hollywood circa 1948, they didn't make me feel like me the way the first one did.  i have even had a few dreams about that first gown since i tried it on, so that must mean that it is the right one for me.

so the traffic, the heat, the stress of not fitting into all the sample sizes, the boob slips, the sweat, and the tears all paid off.  i can't wait to go back in august to seal the deal!