Wedding Update

I know I've been horrible about keeping this blog updated. I think I'm going to blame it on the hockey season (no, there's not really a valid reason to do so), and as that's all but over (just one Nationals tournament left for me!!) I'm starting to come out of my hole and look around at the rest of the world again...

And what is the number one big bear I'm seeing? Wedding planning.

Not that I'm really in any kind of tight place on this - I keep freaking out that I'm getting behind, emailing my vendors, and they keep trying to gently remind me that I'm still WAY ahead of schedule. This helps, but even so, it's really nice to knock a few details off my list of to-dos. You know, like cleaning your office of all the clutter and papers and crap helps you actually focus on the work you need to do? I've been needing to do that with my brain lately, so I've knocked a few wedding things off the list, and now I can go back to focusing on design on work!

This weekend was particularly productive, Saturday especially. I've been traveling for hockey tournaments for the last three consecutive weekends, so I decided I wasn't going to work any games this weekend, breathe a little, and get some real-life stuff done. So Anthony and I set out to run some errands, and inadvertently got a few extras squeezed in there, too.

First thing to check off the list was our wedding bands. We'd gone back in December to 'start looking' at options, and found rings we were both in love with. That was unexpectedly quick, and we weren't quite ready to actually buy them yet, so we wrote down the models and held on to it until the beginning of Feb. However, when I went back to actually make the purchase, I was shocked to hear my band, that I'd actually really really loved, was actually double the price I remember being quoted! They'd written down the price of Ant's band, and while his was a little more expensive than originally thought (prices in the market have fluctuated a bit), it was just a trivial amount off. But we hadn't actually written down the quoted price of my band. So now I don't know if we'd been remembering the price of another ring (I was being very careful to only look at rings that were within our budget), or if something big really did change. At any rate, I wasn't about to drop double the price on a ring, so I was unexpectedly shopping for another ring.

Now, I'm not sure how many of you know my shopping habits, but for the most part, I don't buy things the first time I see them. I like to see it, get all the details and options, take the thought home, and sit on it for a least a few hours, if not a few days. And for something big like this (I am going to be wearing it the rest of my life, after all) I like to have a second opinion, even if mine is the only one that really counts. So not having Anthony with me to bounce thoughts off of REALLY threw me. He's really good at reading my reactions, too, so I know that if I'm getting a little emotional clutter, he can at least help me sort out what he thinks I'm actually happy about (or telling me, "You're not really excited about any of these, you're just settling - let's move on"). Well, on this visit, which was supposed to be just ordering a couple rings we'd had months to think about, I was standing there with a sudden change of direction, and trying to pick out an expensive and important piece of jewelry without any mental preparation or my trusty idea-bouncer. I did select a ring and paid for it with customizations (they didn't have anything I was thrilled about, so I was trying to make adjustments to the 'next best thing' - oops). Anyway, by the time I got home, I was already freaking out about it, and Anthony told me to call and have them hold the order, which I did.

Anyway, this all happened more than a month ago. Shortly afterward, we started our crazy month of traveling, starting with a weekend in CO for more planning details (and a bridal shower), then my three consecutive traveling tournaments. I think I freaked out the jeweler a bit by canceling the order and then disappearing, though I can't really blame her, and, long story short (too late), it took us until this weekend to find a time we could both go in together and re-evaluate the situation. And I am so glad we did... looking at the ring I'd selected again, we both hated it. They'd also gotten in a couple new rings we were able to look at, and I found another that I was much happier with on display =) I asked about a few customizations to make it 'perfect,' though they weren't really worth the price, and we finally walked away with both rings purchased that day.

The ring on display was about a half size too large (though I probably could have gotten away with it, the resizing didn't cost anything), so we headed over to the mall across the street to blow off a couple hours while they did the work. We had fun just hanging out together (it's been way too long!), getting quick and easy lunch, and walking around a mall looking at things. We stopped in a couple jewelry stores trying to find a necklace and earrings I loved enough to buy for/wear on our wedding day (still no luck), and had fun exploring a kitchen/baking superstore in the mall.

As a side note, here is a beautiful necklace I found and would LOVE to buy, but I can't remember where I found it. If you've seen a jeweler with something similar, PLEASE let me know... I've been searching for a while now. I love that it's 2-stranded, pearls with a drop-pendant, and rather delicate looking.

So, after wandering the mall for a while, we took off looking for a Verizon store. This was actually the original point of heading to the mall - Ant's been ready to kick his old iPhone and AT&T plan for quite a while, and they've just come out with the phone he's been anticipating. So off we headed to another nearby mall which actually had a V-store. This mall happened to also have a DSW and David's Bridal, so we popped into those stores pretty quickly to take a look at shoes (my dress fittings are supposed to start in a few weeks, and I still didn't have shoes!). Nothing really thrilled me at DSW, so I went on to my fall-back of David's dye-able shoes. They actually had some pretty nice styles, I'm just a little concerned about walking away from my wedding with purple feet, or about somehow landing in a puddle and having the dye bleed off. My sister in law had dyed shoes from David's and she said they did bleed on her feet, but not the dress. So, it's always been an option, but more of a backup.

Well, at this point, it was time for a backup - I can't stall any longer looking for shoes! So we popped in and found a style I liked. It was great having Anthony along, too, because I know the heels are an appropriate height to match up with him =) And, as it turns out, one of their dye colors PERFECTLY matches the bridesmaid dresses we bought from another store. I didn't really expect to have a perfect match, but when I brought the color swatch home to compare, it's pretty indistinguishable. So hooray for that! I ordered the shoes (I was actually considering a size 5.5 - my feet aren't THAT tiny, are they??) and have one more thing to check off my list! For anyone wondering, they didn't have a 5.5 or 6 in the style I wanted, so I had to take a little gamble and guess. I ordered a size 6 and figure I can add padding to make sure they fit.

So, another big check mark on my list! Ant fully enjoyed playing with the new phone, and went back later that night to buy it (he shops like me - never makes a purchase without sitting on it for a while). At this point, my ring was ready, and we went over to pick the two wedding bands up. Hooray!! After this weekend, I'm able to check off shoes and rings (both of which were stressing me out), Anthony got a new phone, and we got to finally spend some time together enjoying each other's company! All in all, a great Saturday spent, and Sunday went well, too. We borrowed a friend's power tools down in San Diego and built a letterpress so I can make our invitations - but that's a story for another post, hopefully later this week. But, I'm sure if you've even made it to the end of this post, you're ready for a break before reading more, anyway =)

The Good Life

The longer I've had to get accustomed to our new place, the more I'm falling in love with it. It is incredibly beautiful, very comfortable, and small enough to keep focused on things that matter. Like reducing clutter, eliminating excessive storage/hoarding, more efficiency. Appreciating being outdoors again: tea, reading, writing, and sketching on the balcony in the mornings; grilling with company and eating dinner there in the evenings. Walking or (hopefully soon) bicycling to the store, the bank, the beach, downtown. Knowing and enjoying our neighbors. It's a good place to find peace and a little room to breathe.

And even beyond our new home and neighborhood, I'm pretty happy with life right now. I'm excited about getting married, the plans and details that go into it, and continuing to build a life together. I'm building a career working for myself with a great logic-meets-creativity profession. I'm still working in hockey (though it has been nice having a slow summer). I'm working with horses still, and at the Shea Center especially, where it's great to see the small but incredible changes taking place in peoples' lives. And I've been very encouraged to get more involved and to continue growing there. I'm thrilled to be working toward Instructor Certification (though it is yet another thing to do), and excited at the prospect of working a teaching capacity. And it's great to feel like a real part of that community, that family, and to be slowing building great friendships - the type that are deeper than just getting along in a professional capacity.

So I guess the moral of this short story is that I'm happy. Happy with where I am, and with where I'm going. And really, what more can a person really ask for?

Oh! And I just realized it's also my half birthday today!

Wedding Dresses

Man, it has been an insane last four weeks. We moved for good (we've been taking small truckloads over about four weeks prior) from Aliso to Seal the first weekend, flew to NYC for the next (family time and 4th of July), skipped over to CO mid-week for some wedding details (6 photographers, the florist, the planner/coordinator, attending my best-friend-from-high-school's wedding, meeting the pastor, and fulfilling my annual Renaissance Festival tradition with my friend/bridesmaid Sarah), then coming back to CA and having family (my mom and dad, and Ant's mom and sister) visit for wedding dress shopping this weekend. Whew! That makes me tired just thinking about it. And as much as I like seeing family, constant social interactions really wear on me.

I'm sitting on the balcony now, just trying to steal a few quiet moments to get my head back on straight and think a little. We went dress shopping on Sat (it's now Monday), and I haven't had a moment to think and make any kind of decision. It's been clear there will be no super-emotional "this is THE dress!" moment, but at least we've narrowed down the options a lot. I had reviewed six salons before my family came, and picked my favorite dresses at four of them, leaving 11 options to show everyone else. We now have those 11 down to four final contenders, all drastically different from each other, and all incredibly amazing. So really, it comes down to how I want to look on The Day, and what tone I want to set.

*WARNING/SPOILER ALERT: if you are a guy who will attend my wedding, or for whatever reason don't want to know anything about how I'll look on The Day, stop reading now. The rest of this post describes in some detail the dresses I'm still considering for the wedding.*

One of the dresses, and I think it's close to off the list at this point, is very soft and romantic—almost airy, but still with enough structure and detail that I like it. It is also the best blend of vintage and contemporary, I think, with some great bead/applique details on the neckline at the one-shoulder strap, and on the opposite hip. It also has some really incredible detail on the train and back that will pull together beautifully in a traditional bustle.

Another somewhat similar (yet drastically different) one is from the same shop. It is a one-shoulder dress, as well, with great vintage-esque details on the neckline at that shoulder and the opposing hip. But this dress is made of charmeuse with a bubble hem, making it more solid (not whispy), but still very light and flowy, and it reflects so much light the whole dress just seems to glow (all the others really sparkle more than glow). This dress is by far the most "glamorous" of them all, and probably one of the top two most dramatic. The one thing I'm a little bummed about is that it's a zippered back, and I've really been loving the corseted ones. I'm kind of wondering if it's something that would be worth altering, or if that's just an insanely ambitious notion I should walk away from right now.

The other most dramatic dress is the closest to a ballgown skirt as I'd ever get, but is very fitted in the bodice down to a drop-waist under the hips. From there it goes into a fairly full but fun skirt with a bunch of pickups (I actually liked them on this dress, but usually don't), and some peek-a-boo lace that almost gives it a vague country-western vibe. This one could be done with or without lace&beaded cap sleeves, depending on the complexity of the veil used.

The last dress also has some great drama, but much more subtly done, and would take the most customizing and alterations (with the exception of putting a corset back in the second dress). It has a lot of beading and lace, with a true A-line waist rather than a drop (marks against, I think - I like the more fitted look), and I'd be able to bring in my dark purple color with a belted sash. Then in the back, it has a corset lace-up, and the sash would tie in a bow and trail almost the full length of the skirt. This dress would also make for the best French bustle (tucked under, giving a peek-a-boo effect), and I LOVE that.

There was also another dress that I could play with the color on, too. It was very similar to the last dress, though with a little more beading and a lot more lace, and the color would stitch in as an empire waist rather than at my "true waist." Everyone else seemed more excited about the other color-added-dress, though, so I'm not sure if this is a contender or not. It really had some phenomenal lacing in the train, though.

So there we have it. Do I want to look dramatic or subtle? Romantic, glam, fun/unique, or ultra elegant? I have no idea, and I'd thought I'd make my decision by today...

Wedding Planning

It seems I'm doing a fantastic job of staying distracted from work these days, between moving (oh so slowly) up to Seal Beach, wedding planning, and other little details in life. This weekend, however, was a BLAST going out shopping for dresses!

I went with a new friend of mine that I met through Meetup.com (it's a great social website, especially if you're new to an area or trying to extend your social circle), and we stopped in for lunch first at Pomodoro's. I'd done some research on Here Comes The Guide, and found 9 salons in Orange County that looked interesting and were recommended on The Guide. So, I picked 2 that were near each other, we met up for lunch (if you haven't tried Pomodoro's, you should - it was right next to Panera, which was our original plan, but I was feeling a little more adventurous than just going to an old stand-by), and then went shopping!

Our first stop was Ferndale's. Of course, we had a little trouble finding the salon, as this area distinguishes between North and South Tustin Ave, so we were doing circles on the north side trying in vain to find an address that didn't exist. When we finally arrived in their lot, we parked and walked right in through their back door... I would have expected it to be harder to make that mistake than it was. We were met by several confused staffers in the middle of their lunch, none of them looking too pleased to see us, and none really volunteering to help point us in the right direction. Overall, I wasn't terribly impressed with the shop and service - even David's Bridal had more helpful staff, and I would expect a dedicated salon to rank higher than a budget-friendly chain.

Once we'd finally found the correct entry and checked in, we grabbed a few dresses (with unexpectedly little help or direction from our consultant) and headed back to try them on. We worked through several dresses that I liked, but none that were just to die for. The beginning of the appointment went well, but once another appointment arrived, the space got very crowded, very quickly. They only had one room with mirrors, with 3 pedestals and one couch, so any overlapping appointments they had shared the same space. The woman who came in toward the end of my appointment was accompanied by about 6 people, so it became very difficult to have any discussions with my friend or even the consultant. So, we wrapped up pretty quickly and moved on to the next place. In the end, I had 3 'favorites' recorded in their log, but only one I think I'd go back to look at again (I'd rather see if another shop carried the same designer/gown, honestly).

So on to the next salon - Mary Me Bridal! This one I was very excited about visiting, as they had TONS of great pictures of amazing gowns on their site online. We made a short stop at Starbucks first since the first appointment had ended earlier than anticipated, and enjoyed about a half hour to chat about life and dresses before moving on.

When we walked in, the salon was more like I'd expect to see - beautiful cabinets filled with dresses and glittery accessories, and a friendly face behind the desk. After checking in, we were invited to go ahead and look around while they called up our consultant. This woman was absolutely fantastic. She listened to what I was looking for, pulled dresses fitting right within my budget, and was a great help in recommending dresses that pushed the envelope or tried something a little different (which I'd asked for). Whereas the last salon I only tried on about 4 or 5 dresses, we started here with at least 8 and continued on from there. Our consultant was great at helping guide our thoughts and decisions (I have a hard time eliminating dresses because I really do like most that I see), and we worked through some fantastic gowns. She was great at pulling a few accessories and such that helped visualize additions and alterations I want to have done, and really made the whole experience top notch. I left that salon with 4 great dresses I'll be going back to look at again.

So in the end, I have 5 dresses I really like, and I honestly don't feel like I need to look for any more. They essentially fall into 3 basic style categories, with three of the five being very similar in style yet distinct in execution. I'm looking forward to having my mom come out (and hopefully Ant's mom, my bridesmaids, and maybe my grandmas?) to go look at all the dresses again and make a final decision. No beating around the bush... just make a decision and run with it! Looking at dresses and feeling like I've found mine (even if it's somewhere in a list of 5 still), is making this whole getting married thing feel so much more real, and it's exciting!

Major Life Changes

It's pretty much accepted that the time after graduating college is pretty much guaranteed to be full of big life changes. What I'd never really considered, though, is how much the life changes of those around me whom I'm close to and care greatly for can be almost as effective as my own personal adjustments (or am I just displaying my emotional hypersensitivity here?). Well, this last year and the one ahead (and I'm sure a few more even beyond that) are very much filled with change. Exciting changes, to be sure, but some scary ones, as well.

Just last weekend, my big brother took vows to love and cherish an incredible young woman for the rest of his life, and took her into his home, quite a distance from her family, friends, and everything familiar, promising to love and care for her there. I was so happy to be able to take 5 days and spend it with our combined families, enjoying an extended celebration with them in Nebraska. But it really is incredible to see how much change really takes place from an outside, yet still very close, perspective. I've grown very close to his wife over the past year (I met her a year ago now, almost to the day), and even closer to him over the last several months as well (we'll chalk that one up to both of our growing maturity and the realization of 'the real world' as we both left school). I've had the great pleasure of designing both the invitations and the programs for their wedding, so I've had ample opportunity to hear from both of them about the whole planning process and big deal of getting married. And, can you believe it, now that their wedding is over, it's time to actually buckle down and start planning my own. But that significant change in their lives feels like it's had a large impact on my own life, too, whether that's realistic or not.

But speaking of major changes in my own life, I've now been in California for almost a year (about 10 months I think), and it's already time to move. A little unexpected, but Anthony's had a great opportunity to change jobs to one that matches his interests even better than his last - he's now working for SpaceX, an independently funded space launch company that looks to be the real future of American space exploration. It's an incredibly exciting change, but requires about an hour and a half commute each direction for him from our current location in southern Orange County, so we're looking at moving a little closer to LA. It won't be a fast move; we're taking our time looking for places in Seal Beach, and can stay in our current place on month to month rates until we find one after our current lease expires in July. But, it's yet another change in life, and another place to get used to.

I'm incredibly excited to be heading up to Seal (and I do hope that location follows through), with its very small-town atmosphere, perfect beach location, and walk-everywhere downtown attitude. They also have a great number of beautiful art galleries that I'm excited to visit and keep an eye on, and Ant is thrilled about many mom-and-pop shops and cafes, as well as a very traditional Italian shop for some more unique food options. And most of the places we've been looking at are gorgeous, and usually in quaint little buildings/old houses. They are a little more on the expensive side, but both of us seem to agree that if we're not staying in California forever (which we're not), we might as well live a 'true California life' while we're here. I really think it'll be worth it to stay in a nice place with a nice location, especially as my business ramps up and brings us to a two-income household.

Speaking of business, that has been going rather well for me, too. Better than should probably be expected for a one year out of school, just starting a new business graduate. I've been thrilled that my greatest problems lately have been managing my time (and stress) for having too many projects at a time. It's not quite at the point I'd like as far as regular financial income, but it's getting very close, and I just need to buckle down and figure out how to streamline my processes to make the business more efficient. And, while we're speaking of news, I'm looking at officially registering the business very soon. I'm thinking to call it Grape Seed Designs. What do you think? I'll have to write more about the origination of the name later, but I like that it works well for both graphic design, but can also carry over to include handmade books and other items if I ever find the time to expand into that as well. Phew... think I've got enough going on right now?

Oh, right, that's not all. I'm also seriously considering getting certified as an instructor for therapeutic riding. As many of you know (and many others I'm sure don't), I've volunteered at therapeutic (horseback) riding centers all over the country, starting in CO, continuing during college in NY, and now again here in CA. There is the potential for me to pick up some part time hours working there starting this fall, basically coordinating volunteers and prepping horses for lessons (a job which I interview for this week, by the way), and it was suggested to me that I may be interested in pursuing instructor training, as well. The thought really piqued my interest, and so I've been seriously looking into it. I'm not looking for a career change, but I would love to get a little more deeply involved in the therapy process, have a more complete understanding of it, and maybe be able to work as a substitute instructor when others need some time off.

So, I think that's the bulk of my recent exciting news. At this point, it's just a lot of going with the flow and applying myself with drive and dedication in everything I do. But then again, I'd say that's kind of just who I am...