A frock for my fella

On more than one occasion, CTE has shook his head at me and said "You are your own person."

I'd rather be in football cleats than heals, managing software seems easier to me than putting on makeup and Home Depot is hands down my favorite store. Now, I'm not a total slob or Tom Boy. I've been known to pull it together when I put my mind to it. But truth be told, my sweetie has seen me in more sweats than skirts. He knows that comfort rules over fashion for me any day. He swears I'm cute no matter what I'm sporting. But all the same, I try to get dolled up for him every now and then cause I know it sets his heart all a flutter. And can you believe that makes him look even CUTER?!?! Like he morphs into the Cutest CTE! Amazing, right?

When planning my wedding ensem, I have but one goal for 12.3 and that is to BLOW HIM AWAY when he first sees me. I'll settle for nothing less than instant tears, a knee buckle, and a bead of sweat on his super cute upper lip! *SIGH*

Besides that, I want my inner Diva to step out this one special night. I want a fun and sassy figure flattering gown that screams "Tonight's gonna be a good night" I want my Sweetie to know that I'm madly in love with him, honored to take his hand and purposed to enjoy the rest of lives together.

I think I found the perfect frock for the occasion...you'll have to check back to see if I blew his socks off. No preview pics here - just can't risk it. But if I was a betting man, I'd bet the house on this one :).

S3...SSH

Third time's a charm

I don't mind telling y'all that Imma a take charge kinda girl. I hate to lose and coming in last is a tough pill to swallow for da K.I.D. But pulling up the rear has its advantages when you're playing the Wedding Planning Game. I mean, can you think of a more opportune time to learn from your buds? After they draw the winning ticket? Nah. After they eat that last piece of yummy goodness were eyeing? Nope! Being the last dog in the 2011 Race to the Altar has loads of bennies:

1. Bird's Eye View of the Craziness - By the time we wrap up, we three merry lasses will have been in planning mode for nigh on two years! In that time, we've imagined grand plots and schemes of Royal proportions scaled to Georgian budgets, stealthily navigated the male aversion to planning, been twice burned by the Chinese Dress Barns, dealth with a challenging maiden or two, and braved a frightful number of Bridal Fairs. By the time my own planning began, I had a fairly decent list of Dos and Donts!


2. 20/20 view in ForeSight - Yeah, I kinda made that one up but what I mean to say is, I don't have to wait until 12.4.11 to realize that some stuff just ain't worth stressing about. Having watched these gals fret or not fret and seeing the end result is a refreshing and constant reminder to not sweat the small stuff, kick back and relax, and just a make decision already cause in the end, it'll all come together for a beautiful day!


3. Pick of the Venue/Vendor List - This is by far the absolute best perk of them all. Because Ladies RoBo and E=DC2 squared had blazed the trail before me, I have a wealth of very current and personal recommendations to glean from. I begin each of my "planning tasks" with a note to these two. Within no time, I am sure to have an advance starting point in my InBox. This has proven invaluable and has given my already impulsive self license to pull the trigger several times already.


4. More fun than a girl should have - Ask any member of our circle of friends and you'll get the same answer "We have cried more and laughed more and loved more over the last year!" I've tried to keep a stiff upper lip but I've been the biggest baby punk of late. I should probably buy stock in Kleenex. The celebrations just keep on coming and it never fails that somebody tears up before the night is over. My manly pride aside, it has truly been a blessing to see the Happy Jar get passed around.

S3...SSH

Oh, what fun we'll have!

What comes to mind when you think of a Southern wedding? Saying I Do under a graceful old oak tree against the backdrop of beautiful spring meadow? Or maybe a circle of loved ones gathered on a grand garden courtyard on a midsummer eve?

Yeah me too, but since since CTE and I are planning a winter wedding, our venue options were kinda limited - asking our guests to sit outside in early December was NOT an option. Sure, our winters grow wackier every year but a balmy December day is a pleasant (err unsettling in the larger scheme of our changing planet) surprise not a given. And I am looking to avoid any and all surprises on 12.3.11 - that is unless of course they are chocolate, shiny, sparkly or smell good!

With that said, CTE, I and some trusty elves set out researching venues. We relied upon personal recommendations and websites to identify our targets. The perfect place for us had to be budget friendly, allow outside food and drink, have plenty of room for the ceremony and reception (no or an unobtrusive flip), have a great location and most importantly have a responsive management staff (!GEESH! - shouldn't this be a given???). Neither of us likes to dilly-dally, so we readily ruled out the misfits and narrowed the places we wanted to visit down to two:

The Trolley Barn and Lambert Place

The Trolley Barn (TB) appeared to have loads of rustic charm just ripe for a "Color Purple/Juke Joint" theme. The space was wide open with loads of potential. Lambert Place (LP) offered a cosmopolitan vibe with its lounge area scoring major bonus points with its separate ceremony and reception areas.

But when it came down to visiting, we never even made it to TB. The place is only open for visits from 10 am til 1 pm (or something like that) M-F and on the weekend by appt only. CTE and I have tricky schedules so we couldn't readily fit this into the plan. We were easily able to visit LP one afternoon and it was love at first sight!

Save for not allowing outside food, the place had everything we wanted. So a few days later, we signed on the dotted line! Wahoo!

S3...SSH

No China Direct for Me

So... its confession time.  I had to wait a few weeks (ok, months) before I told this story, it was just TOO FRESH and TOO REAL for me to tell before I got to the very end.  In several moments of insanity, I decided to save my bridesmaids money, and have their dresses ordered from China.  From the first attempt that my buddy, Sssh... and I went out to look at dresses, my eyes fell on this dress that was just adorable.  Bari Jay #108.  It was a one-shoulder display of Japanese-inspired, kimono like wonderfulness.  But, I had a few reservations about ordering from Bari Jay.  Their color wheel was not as diverse as I wanted it to be, the sizes of the dresses stopped lower than I needed them to, etc.  So, thanks to the power of Google, when I was searching for the dress online to share with some pals, I kept coming across a few sites that were not Bari Jay, yet they had the dress.  At first, I did not understand, but before long, I caught on.  OH... you're ordering them direct from the maker, bypassing that brand name mark-up.  SWEET!

In the store, the dress would have been around $160.  Given that there were 2 other weddings coming down the pike, I'm all for helping folks save some cash, so I went with the one that was going to allow us to purchase the dress for $57 (free shipping thrown in).  I liked the dress so much, I decided that I would get one as well, never know when a girl wants a night out on the town with her new hubby in a one-sleeve kimono inspired dress, right?  I had everyone to take her measurements (they were custom-making them based on size, great right?) to send to me, then I placed the order.  Now, I did have a few concerns about the communication efforts of the person that I had to communicate with on-line, but considering that I have to figure out a way to decipher what some FB friends are saying, I figured that it would be no different.  Hmm...

So, I am compiling a list of sorts to share the highlights of my experience:
Chinese New Year - When I placed the order, it was RIGHT when the best holiday in ALL the world was about to be set off.  While I've never been there, I suppose that Chinese New Year must be sort of like Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Easter & Mother's Day all wrapped into one.  Like - it is a HUGE deal.  They SHUT DOWN at that time.  They shut down in order to start getting ready for it, then they celebrate it, and after that - I suppose that they have to recover.  I couldn't imagine, I don't think that I ever want to witness all of what goes on.  So, my order got no attention once I placed it, they were Chinese New Yearing...

Communication - I really appreciate having some strong mastery of the English language.  I prefer if the person that I am dealing with for business has the same.  As a matter of fact, I think that I am going to start to insist upon it.  I would write an email asking 3-4 questions that required direct responses.  The response would be something like - yes, yes... we will make it VERY beautiful for you.  WHAT THE HECK DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH WHAT I ASKED???  Yes, that should have been a clue, but...

Reviews - WHY didn't I read all of the reviews that I read AFTER this ordeal before I placed the order?  I know that I read some, but where were any of the reviews warning me that this was a dumb idea?  I found them all AFTER the fact!  Also, with a blog website that they have specifically dedicated to offset the folks who complain.  Amazingly, the folks who write the blog speak proper English!  WHAT??? 

Quality - Consistenly through the process of considering the order (I started in December) until the time that the dress was to be returned (late Feb, early March) - it was consistenly told that I would get a 'very nice' dress.  What I received in the mail was 'very horrible'.  While it had the spirit of the dress that was intended, it was a long ways off.  The material was fine, but the stitching looked like a 'C' student who was doing special favors for the Home Ed teacher completed it.  The measurements were off and did not seem to be symetrical at all.  If worn, the bridesmaids were not going to be allowed to sit down for fear that Uncle Pete's pacemaker would skip a beat from the eyeful that he received!

Response - Luckily, my fiance was there when the dresses arrived.  I was so excited, I left work a little early to see the dresses and as soon as I picked my jaw off of the floor, went online to promptly 'dispute' the dresses.  Based on responses from others, had I not done it that quickly, the funds would have gone through DH Gate to the seller & I would have been out of luck.  I immediately responded to the seller that the dresses sucked and I wanted a refund.  They responded that they would give me $30.  $30 per dress?  I respond back, I'll take $500.  They come back with $50.  Oh... they meant $30 total.  I went down a little more, they went down to $100 and asked me to 'feel sorry for us, the dress was mostly like what I wanted'.  At this point, I am livid!  I ended up escalating the issue to DH Gate, they had a half of an English class more than the seller (but went home sick before it was over) and in the end, got the majority of my cash returned in lieu of returning the package and risking their threat of customs seizing it or my real fear - them pretending that it never came. 

I'll take an intermediary when I deal with China the next time.  The only contact that I think that I'll want with them is the little tag on the bottom of the product that says 'Made in China'...

*YES, we do have other dresses, I'll tell you about those later, my blood pressure increased just thinking about this whole bit of nonsense and I need a nap!

Linens Purchased

                                 
Found a great color (Antique sage) at CV Linens. Looking forward to seeing them in person.

WOW this process was one of the hardest for me! I had to decide on the layout of the tables and coordinate everything in my head and then purchased based on a dream! I like to work with FACTS!! lol My BFF created a great layout for me to be able to see the space clearly!!! So that was a blessing!!! Now I feel like it's coming together!!

Anyway, finally purchased them and now I can say WOOSAH that is until they arrive. HA! I'll update when they come!

Anyone else have a hard time purchasing linens or anything else?

UPDATE: The linens are in (they came two days later) and they are SOOOOO perfect!!!

Can I get my morning back?

So where's the last place you expect to find a skittish bride who suffers from Cootie Phobia???

FILENE'S BASEMENT on March 18, 2011

I know, what was I thinking? Clearly, I wasn't really thinking. Cause if I'd really sat down and thought about it, there should have been no way in the world that I would have even been within half-a-kuntry-mile of Buckhead much less in da midst of the madness! Particularly since in my pre-betrothal days I have scoffed and sneered at the mere notion of participating in such foolishness. I got 99 problems but risking a limb for a dress ain't one! So how in da world did I end up on Peachtree that lone Spring morn???

I'm nosey! Pure and simple. I'll not have another chance in life to witness this firsthand so I felt compelled to seize the day!

I will say that my MOH and I had already planned to take the day off for a leisurely jaunt to NashVegas to kick-off a dear friend's Surprise Baby Shower weekend extravaganza. Since we had the day before us, we agreed to just stop by Filene's just in case we found a winner on the racks. After reading a few posts online, we agreed to:

• 
  
  Not camp out. I'm only willing to do so if my beloved VOLS are at the end of that rainbow.


• 
  
  Wait until the frenzy calmed down. Again - risking a limb for a dress just ain't prudent.


• 
  
  Not stress about the venture. Nuff said.

So we sat out with an extra buddy in tow for good luck and stepped into the jungle.

WOW. ARE YOU SERIOUS? DOES THAT GIRL HAVE ON A GOLD LAME BIKINI? DID SHE JUST BEND OVA & SHOW ME ALL OF HER BEEZWAX? ARE YOU SERIOUS? ARE THESE CHICKS REALLY WALKING AROUND IN THEIR DRAWLS???

WHAT IS THAT SMELL!?!?!?!

To say this was a disappointmet is an understatement. To say this may be one of the most overhyped, sensationalized, mismanaged and dare I say sexist displays of the wedding biz taking us for granted may be a bit dramatic but I submit the following to support my case.

First - Most of the gowns were totally old styles. I saw ONE chick, count 'EM, UNO who had two cute dresses that I actually would have considered buying. I saw far more ladies walking around desperatly seeking some of the more recent styles. So the BIG mark down was somewhat suspect. Those gowns SHOULD have been on sale! And "low" was a relative term. I heard one chick exclaim "This is a $6000 dress for $400!" Really? Would that dress really retail for $6000 today? And are you happy cause you "found" a $5600 coupon or because that is the dress you've been dreaming about?

Second - It's set up to encourage chaos. The gowns are not arranged by size or style. So apparently the girls just ran in there smashing and grabbing as many gowns as they could. Once loaded down, they started bartering which quickly took an ugly turn. Gals were sitting on stockpiles of dresses that they had NO intention of buying. But the were "theirs" and you couldn't touch them for fear of a beatdown. It was sooo pre-K. And chicks were stripping down to next to nothing all out in the middle of the floor completely disregarding our Southern sensibilities. AND since many of them had camped out, the place was funky!

Third - With all of this nonsense, the gowns were getting ABUSED! As the morning wore on, folks were just piling gowns up on the floor, not bothering to hang them properly, dragging them around or worse just walking right over them! I tried on 3 dresses and all were torn in some fashion.

Fourth - As we bid our adieus, we saw two chicks "posing" with their gowns. Both had purchased some standard issue gowns that they could have easily scored from David's Bridal while wearing clean underpants! So that got our merry bunch of three pondering what we'd just witnessed. Did some Brides take the plunge simply because they got caught up in the hoopla? By chance did they feel obligated to leave with a bag having wasted their friends' time with the camp out? Did any of the Buying Brides have remorse later and end up buying a 2nd gown under saner circumstances? I know my head's always clearer after my morning shower.

Fifth - On our way to breakfast, we saw 3 or 4 groups of girls (in their FB matching T's) heading into Demetrios' Bridal on Piedmont. Clearly, they didn't get lucky either.

I rest my case. www, you be the judge!

S3...SSH

Oh... you wanted those back???

RSVP's...

Where do we begin?  You send out your lovely invitations that are carefully coordinated to match the envelope and matching RSVP response cards that have a .28 stamp on them.  (We will not get into how WRONG the United States Postal Service is for offering ONE lone postcard stamp design)  You get texts, phone calls and Facebook wall posts telling you how lovely the invite was and how excited they are that the day has finally come.  At first, you get a nice, steady flow of RSVP's in the mail.  Oh, yeah... looking good!  Then, it slows down a little.  Then... it is almost at a complete standstill.  After a few days of not receiving anymore RSVP's in the mail, but nearly 3 weeks left to the close of the invites, I decided to start reaching out to those who were outstanding in a way in which they might be easily accessible.  WHY did nearly half of the people that we spoke with tell us that they no longer had the postcard, or had forgotten where they placed it for 'safekeeping'?  I went into this whole thing in a very practical matter.  While it can be the cutest thing going for ME... to a typical guest, they just need the basic information so that they can show up to the shindig...  I don't think that they care that there was a polar bear on the postage stamp.  Shoot... 

And then there were THREE!

As it seems that I can delay this NOT a SECOND longer....

DRUMROLL please

Hello Everyone!!!!

Yes, the rumors are true, our already larger than life crew is celebrating Three Weddings and a Baby in 2011. No, I'm not preggers but I, S3...SSH!, am planning to wed the Cutest Thing Ever! on Saturday, Dec 3rd! Why the big secret, the reluctance to post, the Liz Taylor entrance????

Well for one, I am a bit overwhelmed! Helping the Original Zillas plan their days has given me a bird's eye view at just how stressful, crazy, exciting and admittedly FUN wedding plan can be. At first, I kept my little joy a secret cause my honey & I wanted to speak with our parents and immediate families first. Then we broadened the circle to include our closest circle of friends (though I still have a few calls to make!). And now it seems that our circle is including "dat internets" (said in my kuntriest old-timers voice)!

But more importantly...I am a SLACKER! Yes, it is true. I have grand schemes and aspirations at blogging but I never seem to make good on my plots. What's more, I am known in some circles as the world's foremost staller and can double-book like it's nobody's business! I mean well but I tell ya, if left to my own devices which includes a more than healthy dose of self-diagnosed ADD, I would stay in an infinite loop of "I meant tos". So y'all may have to prod me along this cyber journey from time-to-time else I'll fall up MIA!

But enough of that! I'm sure you want some deets on the dude, the deed, and the design.

WHO am I?

I have had the pleasure of knowing Lady RoBo and E=DC2 for now on 8 years. Since meeting, our circle of friends has grown to include a childhood best friend, a roommate, fashionista here and there, and some nuts just looking for a good laugh. We have shared A LOT over the years and so why not throw anotha wedding into the mix?

WHO is CTE?

OMG(osh)!!! He is just about...where do I start....LAWD AMERCY I grow faint just trying to describe him!!! Gracious...he is Hands down the most patient, sweetest, silliest, proudest, and strongest Giant of a Babe that a girl could ever want. *SIGH*

HOW did he pop THE Question?

CTE and I have been pratically inseperable since the day we met. Truth be told...in another post for another day...we've been talking marriage for quite some time now. We've known for awhile that we wanted to wed in 2011. So a few days after V-Day, CTE and I were waxing poetically about how much we meant to each other and our hope for our future when he very sweetly asked Me to Marry Him.

And I said Yes.

And then we chose a date - 12.3.11 (which happens to be the weekend in between our bdays!).

There you have it! The veil has been lifted. Now I don't wanna give up too much on our first date and all so till next time

S3...SSH!

The Big Reveal...

WHEN will this next chick reveal herself?  Certainly, she has exceeded her deadline to get a blog post up here?  I'm calling on the authorities to look into this! 

Website Shared

OK, I can't talk a lot about this one, I gotta go hang out with my Partna in Crime for a little while.  But, before I go... I have GOT to share this website with you.  I have fallen in love & I can't get up!  LOL  I've been dreaming about all of the different products that they have to offer and can't wait to finally figure out what I want to order!

Smarty Had A Party!  WHEW HEW!!!  Check it out and PLEASE let me know what you think!  Are your wheels just CHURNING like mad???

RoBo