Showers of Love

The last Saturday of July was my beautiful bridal shower. I came home from a business trip to Minneapolis late Friday night, and enjoyed a lazy Saturday morning before heading over. I need to reiterate that my Maid of Honour, Michelle, is truly amazing.

So many amazing women were there to greet me when I arrived. Looking around, I was really amazed at what a diverse look at my life they represented. My grandmother was there, with my great-aunt. Cousins, girlfriends... work friends, school friends... some I've known for only a couple of years, and some I've known since I was 5. One of my oldest friends brought her baby girl, and it was delightful to have her there too!

I suddenly understand the meaning of "shower." I've always assumed it was a showering gifts. I got spoiled, no doubt, but in so many ways. It was a shower of love, laughter, and stories. It was a shower of wisdom and blessings that having a group of women together can bring. It was nothing short of awe-inspiring.

I have to brag about two gifts that astounded me. My grandmother presented me with a floral cross-stitch she did for me. I love my grandma's needlework. She taught me (I'm not that good), and it really is a defining part of our relationship. My mom has spent time putting together a cookbook of family recipes for me. It includes all my favourites and I can't wait to get started with them!

Today's Already-Dones

I'm going to list some of my already-dones instead of talking about everything I have to do still. Reporting on accomplishments keeps me motivated to do more, much more than a massive list does. Speaking of massive lists... I have one. I find it overwhelming, so my new method is to look at it once a day and pick 5 or so things that I, or my mom, can get done that very day. A list of 5 things is much more approachable than a list of 50 things.

Today's Dones:

1. Dropped off the hairband I chose for my headpiece. The seamstress who is working on my dress is going to attach my mom's beautiful veil to this after she covers it with a coordinating fabric. I'm nervous because I don't really understand how this going to look, but I'm sure it will turn out beautifully.

2. Visited Western Tux to discuss switching over there from Moores. More on this later.

3. Found a Barn Star for a project I'm planning to do. Stay tuned! Does anybody know where to get small versions of these? Mine is quite large, and I'd like 2 smaller ones as well.

4. Resent three invitations that had come back undelivered.

5. Updated list of guests for the wedding -- we have 57 confirmed so far!

And, had a Starbucks iced coffee with milk, which is clearly the thing that's fueling me through this list.

Customization of a Dress

First of all, I need to apologize for not having any photos of the dress process. I keep meaning to, and I keep forgetting. Perhaps this is how it should be.

I had my first official dress fitting last week. Have I mentioned it's perfect? The first time I tried the dress on, it was a little tight. This time, it did up so beautifully. I'm thrilled, it really felt wonderful. The seamstress I'm working with has not many size alterations to do... really just a hem.

However, we've decided on two changes. First, we're making a design change, and I'm extremely happy with it.  I think it takes this dress, which is gorgeous, and makes it MINE. It totally speaks to my personality and style, which has got to be a win.

Second, we're altering the veil. My mom's veil is gorgeous, but the lace headpiece is just too fragile to work with. Since we have a little extra dress fabric, we're having a headpiece made. We will be attaching my mom's actual veil (the tulle part) to this new piece. I'm nervous about it. Even though I know it's the right thing to do, part of me really resists changing what my mom wore.

But, I can't wait to show you the results!

Camcorder Giveaway!

I'm trying to learn to be more frugal, since Dan is going back to school and we'll be living "skinny" for a while. I've recently been introduced to The Grocery Shrink, and I love Angela's blog! 

Today, she's posted a giveaway for a Vado HD Camcorder! Get thee to her blog and enter... I personally think it'd be excellent to have this little device around for all the many events leading up to the wedding!

The Grocery Shrink Blog is here: http://www.groceryshrink.typepad.com/

Invitation Inserts

Our invitations have arrived, and I love them. I think it was wise to order them and not make them myself. However, I did forget one small detail to add to them... our website address! I've worked hard on the website and really wanted people to know where to find it! When I realized this, I tried to come up with all sorts of possibilities to add it on there. Dan heard the conundrum and instantly remarked:

"Why not just print it up on a separate little card?"

... umm, I needed somebody to tell me this? Clearly I am sleep deprived, but to be fair, my friend who was with me hadn't thought of it either.

So, tonight with the help of Apple's Pages, I did just that. I managed to match the border and colour pretty closely, and Pages has a great business card template that made it a snap. I'm thrilled!

I do have one more "insert card" I'd like to add to the package, but I'm happy to have figured out how.

It's Christmas in May...

Seriously, all I need is a red suit and I'd be Santa Claus. I'm making my list folks, and I'm checking it twice... and three, four, five times over.

I am completely and utterly paranoid that now, when it comes down to finalizing the list and writing out all those addresses, that I'm going to forget somebody. 

So far, the count is 116 "parties" (that is, the number of invitations) and just shy of 200 people. Mom & I still need to go back through and figure out which kids are invited, and who exactly we've missed.

And then I'll probably have nightmares about not sending an invitation to my grandma, or one friend out of a group or something ridiculous like that. How do people handle this part?