Today I had a virtual fitting with Adrienne. She was in a bridal shop in Atlanta and I was on the phone with her while she tried on dresses and got measured. So now we have all the bridesmaids’ measurements and we are ready to order the dresses!!
Last Thursday, after hitting endless dead ends with finding someone close by to do my alterations, I went back and forth with a manager at Kleinfeld trying to convince her to let me come back to the store. In the end I was told there are no exceptions. However, she did tell me that the women on the list they gave me are the very same women who do the alterations in the store; they do work from home on their days off. I told her my frustration with how far they all are from Astoria, so she told me which seamstress was the best, and I made an appointment with her for today.
When I got there, I told myself I would be cautious and not work with her unless I was 100% comfortable with leaving my dress with her. Well, Stella is amazing. It was so worth the long drive to get to her. She has been a seamstress at Kleinfeld for 26 years! I stayed with her over an hour and in that time she completely transformed my dress to the vision I had in my head, with just a few pieces of scrap fabric and some pins. She also showed me how it will look with the bustle, and it’s fabulous. I felt very comfortable with her personality and I know my dress is going to be amazing because of her.
I have been wondering how I make sure the gown is not wrinkled after traveling out to the Hamptons. I guess because I’ve never been a bridesmaid or helped plan a wedding, there are so many little things I don’t know about. Stella is going to be with us the day of the wedding and steam the dress in the morning and help me get in to it. She also helps the moms and bridesmaids, does the bustle so we don’t have to get stressed out about doing it right, etc etc. I feel so relieved today after meeting with her and so blessed that she will be there on the day. The only sad part is that now I don’t get to see my dress again until my next fitting in July!
When we first thought about registering, we didn’t think there was anything we needed, but then it dawned on me that most people I know have wedding china set that is a treasured part of many holidays and I thought, that’s a nice thing to register for. Pete agreed with me, so I looked around and found a set that I really loved and a couple of backup options in case Peter hated it! I also saw a lot of other items that I loved while I was there, so I crossed over from my anti-registry viewpoint.
This morning Pete and I got up bright and early and went to a registry “event.” The store was closed except for couples registering for their wedding. It was a really fun experience. When we arrived at the store, we were offered mimosas, a scanner and a checklist to start out. I thought it would go pretty quickly since I picked my favorite options ahead of time and Pete wouldn’t have to look at every single thing, but we ended up spending about 2 hours looking around, asking lots of questions and enjoying some delicious food. The shop had several stations set up to demonstrate the different cookware and kitchen electronics and the food was amazing. For example, who knew there was such a thing as an indoor grill? I would never have thought to pick it out just seeing it on the shelf…in fact I didn’t even notice it. But after seeing it in action and tasting the skewers it made, we couldn’t resist. It’s also kind of perfect for us since we have no outdoor space! Now we just have to sort through everything and make sure we chose the right quantities etc.
We also went to Michael’s (craft store) today to get some ideas for flower arrangements and other decor. Maria had some great suggestions there too. I had originally planned to make a treasure chest instead of having a money bag. I liked the idea of a treasure chest for the “treasure,” but Maria pointed out that it’s a little pirate-y, which is true. (more…)
Today Maria came down and we went to the bridal shop for her measurements. I really liked the dress on Maria, and I can’t wait until we get them all in and start on the alterations. I also showed Maria & Mrs. M. the dress Laura picked, and they had some great suggestions as to how to make it look more similar to the other dresses…but still unique at the same time! Now we only have one more bridesmaid to finish her measurements…
So I have a wedding gown that I could love, if only I could get the alterations I want done. Apparently, no bridal shop will alter a dress they didn’t also sell to you, and Kleinfeld (the bridal shop I bought it at) won’t alter my dress either, because I purchased it in a sample sale. Kleinfeld gave me some recomendations, but the only one that is within a reasonable distance for me is a woman who doesn’t speak English very well and won’t even give me a ballpark estimate of the time or cost of the alterations I want unless I cart the dress over for her to look at. I was so happy when I saved myself over $2000, but now I’m paying for it in headache. I have been scouring all the posts on liweddings.com and other sites to see what other ladies have done. Surely I can’t be the only person in this situation? There must be someone reputable to do the alterations? Any ideas?
The lanterns for the centerpieces just came in two humongous boxes and they are soooo cute. They’re even better than the photo! I love them so much!!! The more wedding stuff I keep getting, the more I’m wondering where to store it all until the wedding…
Yesterday I went and met with one of the MCs from Variety (Ray). In addition to everything I learned at the show on Monday night, I found out about some other great options. They also have strings, a jazz trio, and lots of video options. I think I would really like strings for the ceremony. Between that and the Sinatra singer, I think I would feel like I have enough live music to make me happy, and then we could have a DJ for the rest. We also talked about the fact that Pete and I have 4 songs that are potential first dance songs, and Ray had some great suggestions for incorporating all of them throughout the night.
As far as the video, it’s interesting to know that they can have plasma TVs which show a picture slideshow and then photos and live video throughout the night. It would be nice for people who aren’t close enough to see the action, for example when everyone gathers around for the cake cutting. I’m not sure how I feel about the look of the large TVs at the reception though. Does anyone have opinions?
Tonight, Kristin and I went to a bridal expo in Uniondale. I didn’t set out with this intention, but it ended up being all about the music. First, Kristin had a fabulous idea. She is an amazing composer and musician and she came up the the idea of playing piano at the wedding! I’m so excited to get such a personal gift from Kristin.
At the expo, we saw a 9-piece band called Nightflight and sample performances by Variety Music (DJs and entertainers). I am totally impressed with Variety’s Frank Sinatra singer. He was so perfect! We are strongly considering booking him asap. I also really liked Harry’s MC style. The best part is if we do decide to go with Variety, I won a coupon at the expo. While they were performing they called some of our names to come up to the stage and we had to dance in front of everyone to get our prize!
Then the band performed, which was really fun. The male lead singer was amazing at imitating different singing voices. I’m having a hard time deciding if I would prefer a band or a DJ. Pete is leaning toward DJ. One of the songs that Nightflight performed tonight completely captured my attention. It is a great song to dance to and I think everyone knows it. It’s going to be perfect for the last song at the wedding! When I got home, I downloaded the last song on iTunes, and Pete and I danced to it in our bedroom!
After Laura was fitted for her dress, we rushed home and drove out to Atlantica for the hors d’oeuvres tasting – 52 hors d’oeuvres in all! We also got to try all the options for the stations, the champagne & wine and the cakes & fillings. (more…)