Becoming Left-Handed

Glass Slippers

My wedding dress is too big.  I must be the luckiest bride in the world.  I have lost about 3-5 pounds since I ordered the dress, and it seems that the weight I lost came out of my heels because the beautiful gown is too long.  It's too big, and it's too long.  The first seamstress gasped when she saw it, declared it "huge" on me, and suggested I return it for a smaller size. She said the only way she could salvage it would be to take it apart and rebuild it around the top, the waist, and the hem.  I almost passed out right there in her sewing room.  I called the dress shop, almost hysterical, and they said they don't accept any returns or exchanges and insisted that my 3-5 pound weight loss was to blame. 

This Saturday, I took my now well-traveled wedding dress to a second seamstress for a second opinion about how to make it fit me.

Linda started by telling me how beautiful the gown was, and complimented my very high-heeled beaded Cinderella glass slippers.  I explained that I hoped the high heels would make the dress the right length, and she just smiled and said, "I'll make the dress the right length.  You concentrate on learning to dance in those shoes!" 

Linda chatted, and pinned, and a few times she went, "Hmmm.  The dress shop really should have measured you for length" before sticking another pin into the fabric.  But she didn't gasp, and she didn't say anything about taking my dress apart.  She did tuck and nip and pin and pinch until it fit snug all around, and the hem is far enough off the floor you can see my peep toes and my beaded Cinderella glass slippers. 

 

With A Little Help From Our Friends

One of the delights of our wedding day will be looking around at the family and friends who are sharing our day and our joy.

In the meantime, we are having the humbling and thrilling experience of sharing the planning and preparations with a few wonderful friends who have given so freely of their talents, their passions, and their ideas.

I don't want to give anything away, but our wedding invitations are perhaps the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.  Our designer, our friend and fellow newlywed Barce, took his love for design, and our love for each other, mixed in our delicious fall colors, and created truly inviting invitations.  That sounds redundant, but it's not.  I've seen plenty of invitations that were not really that inviting.  Barce gave us warmth and character and something that is truly unique and "ours."  I'm not sure how I'm going to survive the next several weeks while we print and assemble and stamp and mail, because I'm so excited to send our invitations to everyone.

Our friend Craig has also thrown his hat into our wedding ring (pardon the pun) by agreeing to travel from Ohio to be our videographer.  Craig did my sister and brother-in-law's wedding video 2 years ago, and it's hands-down my favorite wedding video ever.  We are so excited that Craig will be in New York with us, capturing our memories for us to keep forever!

Our friends Sally and Josh, in Miami, FL, may not know it yet, but they'll be helping us with a very important part of the pre-wedding party process on Friday of our wedding weekend.  We are so sure they'll say yes, we haven't even asked them yet!

And then there are our friends who've been so supportive these last several weeks.  I don't know what I would have done without the advice and good cheer from Kathryn, Jamie, Stephanie, Suzy, Alison, Amy and my sister Rachel.  I know Steve's also getting good advice from his friends and it's helping us along.  I think the wedding planning has been harder than we thought, but I'd happily do it all over again for the chance to grow closer to these friends and share our happiness with them.

Thank you, to all of you. 

Underwear and a Toothbrush (a.k.a. We're Not Planning A Wedding Anymore)

Last week, when this blog became the site of my bridezilla pity party and I was just daring the world to  close in around me, my friend Jamie sent me this awesome email titled "Underwear and a Toothbrush."

Jamie said  getting married is like packing for a trip.  When you stare at your suitcase at the last second, you realize that if you have underwear and a toothbrush with you, you can buy the rest at your destination.  When you're getting married, if you have the right guy beside you and something to wear, you don't need much else.

She was right.  And I was too upset to listen to her (sorry, Jamie!)  I was hell-bent on having an emotional meltdown and I was successful.

Then, Saturday afternoon I'm lying half-naked on the massage table and the masseuse touches my neck and says, "Wow.  What kind of work do you do?" 

I reply, [pity party continued] "I'm in marketing, so I sit at a computer all day.  But I'm also planning a wedding, so I'm pretty tense."

The masseuse doesn't miss a beat as she digs into my neck.  She says, "Your own wedding?"

I thought that was odd.  But it wasn't until 2 hours later, lying on a hammock under a tree with my energy balanced and my skin scrubbed and masked and massaged, that I realized WHY it was so odd.

Who says, "I'm planning a wedding" when referring to their upcoming wedding day?  We're not planning a wedding, we're GETTING MARRIED.  Jamie, you were right.

Planning a wedding makes you tense, tired, grouchy, and selfish - even if you like planning, which I do.  Getting married makes you happy, it reminds you why you're doing what you're doing, it shifts your focus from budgets and lists to love and the look in your groom's eye when he says he loves you.  And it just feels good.  It even feels better than that massage ;-) 

Giving In

What I really "should" be doing is calming down and taking it easy.  So, I am going to a destination spa tomorrow.  Leaving Columbus in the late morning, driving through the gorgeous Hocking Hills and valleys, and checking into the Inn at Cedar Falls.  I've scheduled two spa treatments, a dinner, and a private Queen room.  I'll be back Sunday.

I need to get away, and breathe a little, and relax.  This week has been brutal for me and I'm sure I've made it brutal on Steve.  So, I'm taking what I hope is a positive step toward getting back to sanity. 

Moving forward, I need to work on forgiving myself for being so darn human (**read: imperfect**) and building in these pressure-relievers so I don't keep melting down. 

That's one "should" I can cross off my list.