Super Powers

The last few weeks I’ve discovered something…it seems I have incredible super powers the likes of which I never imagined. For example, I can spend hours looking at pictures of chuppahs and finding out all the history of the custom of jumping the broomstick. I’m not even remotely Jewish or African American.

I have the ability to spend hours on the knot, wedding blogs and every dress manufacturer in the free world. I know what the most popular cake flavors are, the wedding trends that are soooo right now and which ones are overdone. I have opinions on things like ice luges, signature drinks and the cost of letterpress invitations. I have opinions on Martha Stewart’s opinions.

I have gained the ability to not only form but voice strong opinions on fondant versus buttercream icing and spend hours anguishing over whether or not to have personalized napkins.

Who spends time being worried about personalized napkins?

Dress Shopping

On Saturday my bridesmaids, maid of honor and I went dress shopping and I was (foolishly) but idealistically hoping that by some miracle we’d not only find my dress but their dresses as well and…because I’m crazily optimistic, that it would all be under budget.

I’m going to wear a traditional Indian lengha for the ceremony and a white dress for the reception. I’ve been to a few Indian stores to find the lengha and one of my bridesmaids referred me to a the boutique where her sister-in-law got her dress. The owner is amazing, all of her stuff is custom made and you are able to choose everything from the color and fabric to the design of the beadwork.

Last Saturday, on our search for a wedding gown we had a great time and the weather was perfect and springy, we had a fantastic lunch on a patio in the sunshine and all the girls got to know each other a little better. It was just overall a good day of girlyness.  

We went to four bridal salons, I tried on what felt like a thousand dresses. Some were stunning and some were just beyond awful…one of them made me feel like the bride of Chucky and another made me feel like I was wearing a tablecloth. The very first dress I tried on all my friends absolutely loved, it was a strapless ivory silk with a small silver bead design under the bust and a full A line skirt with a chapel train. It’s a contender.

The last bridal salon we went to has the repuation of being snotty and overpriced, which it was, but they also carried the designer I wanted to wear most. Unfortunately, the consultant didn’t understand what I wanted even though I had pictures and dress styles to show her…I asked for simple, understated and minimal to no beading/sparkles/crap, no ballgown skirts and nothing more than a chapel train. One of the dresses she brought me was soooooo pouffy in the back it looked like my duvet was attached to the dress….the exact opposite of simple and understated. Another had a train long enough to be cut up and sewn into dresses for not only my bridal party but all of my guests as well.

I couldn’t find a wedding dress that made me weak in the knees with love and want so we moved on to bridesmaid dresses. I absolutely love the lime green, raw silk Aria dress so we’re looking for something similar as there isn’t an Aria showroom closer than Boston. We did find one dress everyone liked…until we realized it was $430 and then it suddenly wasn’t so appealing.

We didn’t find anything but it was so much fun!

Engagement Party

So last weekend my parents threw me a lovely engagement party, invited all of our close(ish) family and I invited my closest friends. It was at a Moroccan restaurant downtown that my fiance and I absolutely love. It’s absolutely stunning, the lighting is very dim and it is sectioned into tents with tons of cushions and Moroccan lanterns everywhere. Its much nicer than my pictures would indicate. The food is AMAZING and if any of you find yourselves there make sure you get the flourless chocolate torte…and make your dining companion get the creme brulee so you can eat both of them yourself.

I think everyone had a good time…excluding my cousin who decided that my engagement party was a perfect time to announce HIS engagement…his fourth engagement. And then he got upset because nobody was really all that enthralled by his news. My guess is because it was it was the fourth one?

I Could Get Used to This…

Our first wedding present arrived! Actually, I think its an engagement present…but I love presents so the reason is irrelevant.

Yay for presents!

One of my old co-workers gave us a $50 gift card to Crate and Barrel, where we registered. YAY!

Crack Open the Checkbook

Hello! How goes it? I’ve been a little absent from these parts…just too much to tell you and no idea how to get it all out. So I’m just going to update you on all that’s happening in Rubyland. 

The job search is back on, I have a few interviews but its a horribly dismal market right now. Hopefully something will turn up soon. 

My sister-in-law (to be) just had a baby boy and he’s adorable…although he just sleeps all day. I went to Babies R Us to get him presents and was so sad that he wasn’t a girl because little girl clothes are just so cute! And for some odd reason I’m not allowed to dress the baby in girl clothes. He’ll never know! 

We’ve been to every single possible wedding venue within a one hour radius of the city, we wanted something that wasn’t just another banquet hall…but rather somewhere with personality, charm and history…something different. Unfortunately, the brimming with history and charm don’t have the capacity we need and the interesting and fun places either cost too much or are a blank space that would require us to bring in everything from tables and chairs to cutlery. Or all of the above. And they’re booked for this fall.

We were going to sign a venue that we were both “meh” about when we found a fabulous golf club that we just LOVED. It’s stunning, the staff is amazing, and its within our budget. So that’s where we’re getting married this coming November! The walls are a gorgeous, intense blue so we’re going to use ivory and gold as our colors and add little blue accents where we can. My bridesmaids are wearing champagne dresses and we’re going to start shopping for them in the next couple weeks. We’ve also decided to register at Crate & Barrel because they’re just so fabulous!

My parents are very graciously throwing us an engagement party next Saturday at a restaurant I love and my extended family is over the moon that I am *finally* getting married. I’m 27 and that’s ancient in the Indian community, they were getting very worried about me.