i don't

Hunny Bunny was having a hard time figuring out who to be his 3rd and final groomsman. I guess he always envisioned his childhood bestie to be one, but HB hasn't talked to the guy in over a year! Hello? We've been engaged for over a month now and his "bestie" still doesn't know!

My opinion was that he should ask one of the guys that he actually hangs out with and sees on a regular basis. Was I wrong?

Anywishywashy, HB made the right choice and decided to take my advice. So the other night, while he was at the driving range with the boys HB asked, "Alright, which one of you wants to be in the wedding?"

T-Bone quickly said, "I DON'T! It's too much work."

Hahaha. Some friend.

The Doc kindly said he would do it.

Oooh. I guess I've never talked about my bridesmaids! I officially have four... I know, it's supposed to be even but one of them is my will-be-14-years-old-by-then niece and I don't really think it'll be appropriate for her to be walking arm-in-arm with a 30-something year old!

The other three, well first there's my bestie Han from forever and ever as my MOH. I was her MOH a few years ago. The other two are my cousins: Mango and Veen. Family makes it easier than having to decide between all my friends! Besides, I'm really close to these two and know that I can count on them.

Ugh. Am I getting mushy?

now for the fun

And by fun, I mean shoes!

Of course, I totally don't plan on buying any of these shoes until they go on sale! I may be crazy, but I'm practical too. When I explained to my niece why buying things on sale was better than buying it at regular price I said "If it's on sale, you'll have enough money to buy more than one thing, if you buy it at regular price, you can only buy one." Words to live by.


Anyshoe, I'm kinda drooling over these gold and silver Valentinos.

Or maybe I should get all vampy and try these Diors. You know.. Just for fun.


I'm totally allowed to get fancy shoes right? Especially since I saved so much on the dress...

Or maybe in sticking with my color scheme, I should just get a pair of
gray Uggs. It is a winter wedding, ya know.

My bridesmaids threatened to get those and I said go ahead! How cute would they be traipsing down the aisle in cozy boots? *laughs* Or not.

I need to remind myself that I still have more than a year to make all these decisions...

done, done and done

Date: November 7, 2009 - Check.
Venue: W Hotel Seattle - Check.
Dress: White-ish - Check.

All this accomplished in the last 24 hours! Ok.. So we haven't actually signed the contract yet and I haven't actually ordered the dress yet but we're this close!

Let me start with the dress. One of my bridesmaids and I went dress shopping at I Do Bridal. I was expecting yet another disappointing day with dresses that I hate but as soon as I got there, I found out that a girl I went to elementary school with was going to be my salesperson! We used to ride the bus together!

She made the experience so easy and she really listened to what I was looking for in a dress - I didn't feel any pressure at all. I ended up falling for a Mori Lee dress that was very similar to the Lea Ann Belter dress that I mentioned previously, which was nearly $4000! The one I like is under $1000! Whew.

Initially, I wanted to get a dress that was more sheath but after trying on several different shapes, I found the modified A-line style to be really flattering - rather than hide, it accentuates my shape.

I'm sure the Lea Ann Belter one is far superior in craftsmanship by the finest tailor this side of the Mississipi, while the Mori Lee one is probably made in some sweatshop by a four-year-old indentured servant. I joke, I joke! But with my mummy insisting that I need to have multiple changes of clothes (I have to wear a traditional Chinese wedding dress and now she wants me to change into some sort of evening dress), I really don't want to spend all my money on a dress I'll be wearing for a few hours. Besides, I want to be able to afford some fabulous shoes too! Priorities, ya know?

Finally, HB and I visited the W today and I think we both loved it. I know a lot of you have softspots for the W and come to think of it, so do I. When we first started dating, that was one of our spots. We went there for drinks all the time. (Oh and did I ever mention the time I had lunch with Tim Gunn? Ok. It wasn't really with him with him but he was at the next table with Angela "Crazy Rosettes Lady" Keslar exclaiming how "gorgeous" the soup was... Sigh..)

When we showed up to meet the catering manager, she even had a little gift for me. How did she know the way to my heart was free stuff and presents? Sold!

Ahem.

The space was perfect and she's putting the contract together now. Eep! It's happening!

w-w-w

It feels like we've looked at every venue in the area. And still we haven't found the perfect place. Hunny Bunny and I went to Pan Pacific the other day and annoyingly, they're not big enough to hold all our guests. Hello? Wasn't my first question, "Can you hold at least 200 people?"

It was a complete waste of time because they can barely fit 150 people. Did they think I would fall in love with the place and just not invite 50 people?

And then there was Herban Feast. I loved the space and I loved that we could buy/bring our own alcohol to be served by their bartenders - you know everyone's going to trashed! But of course, there was one fatal flaw. They don't have dressing rooms available for the bride and groom!

The only option, really wasn't an option at all. We could rent the space next door for a couple hours (at $300 an hour!) prior to the ceremony and use that as the dressing area - completely undesirable because we would have to walk about 20-30 feet outside in November in Seattle. I do not want me or my bridesmaids getting muddy and rained on just before walking down the aisle.

We visited a couple other places that I wasn't crazy about... Ugh. This is hard work!
We're going to check out the W hotel on Monday. I'm really hoping that this will be the place! Word on the street is that they had the carpeting redone so it's no longer striped, but rather a chocolate brown.

The perks for having my wedding there sound perfect, though I don't want to get myself too excited yet. Because we're planning a winter wedding, they're offering to waive both the ceremony fee and the room rental fee - a total of $3000 in savings! Included is one night in a corner room with an option to be upgraded to a suite.

Also included is makeup application for the bride, mother of the bride and maid of honor by a Smashbox makeup artist. And depending on how much I spend, they'll even fly celebrity makeup artist Hank Hoffman in from LA to personally primp me!

Their menu sounds wonderful too. If their food is anything like the food in their main restaurant Earth/Ocean, I'm sold. One of the dinner options, while a tad more pricey than the regular plated dinner is where the guests' entree order will be taken tableside. Basically, HB and I would choose four options beforehand and instead of asking guests to respond to the invititation with their dinner choice - they would choose for themselves that night.

Of course I'm totally getting ahead of myself. I just want to scratch this off my list of things to do!

always a bridesmaid

As I said before, I'm looking for cute cocktail dresses as bridesmaid dresses. I really don't want to get one of those dresses that scream bridesmaid!

I'm hoping that they'll be able to wear the dresses again. Doesn't everyone say that? I really mean it though.

I also don't want to spend a ton of money on the dress because I'm planning to pay for them. The girls are in charge of their own shoes, but I personally don't think it's right to expect them to have to fork over a wad of cash in order to participate in my day.

I liked the tiered Ella Moss Black Label dress and was just about to order it when I decided that while it's cute, it's a tad skimpy for my buxom BMs and I want them to feel comfortable wearing it.

I also like this gray Sunner dress. It's very simple and I think it'll look really sweet and romantic with bright yellow flowers. But the price tag ($315 at ShopBop) is a bit of a downer. Maybe if it goes on sale!


I really was looking for a gray dress but I walked by Anthropologie and saw this adorable yellow dress. I can picture it with white flowers wrapped in luscious gray ribbon. It would definitely be unexpected, but not out of place, during a winter wedding. And the price is right!

Now if only looking for wedding dresses was this easy and fun!

out in the cold

So I've visited a couple venues including the Arctic Club Hotel, as I mentioned before. I was really hoping that that would be place because I love the photos.

Anyway, I love the venue but it won't work. They don't have the space for me to do both my ceremony and reception without there being a 2 hour gap between the two (I can't even hold the cocktail reception during that time!) I was pretty disappointed, but what can you do? I suppose I could have the ceremony at a different location, but it's not really practical for us since neither of us are religious (no church) and it'll be too cold to have an outdoor ceremony some where.

We still have the Pan Pacific Hotel coming up next week.

We're also visiting Herban Feast this week too. It's basically a warehouse that has been converted into a reception venue. I think it looks promising although my fuddy-duddy family might not get it, if you know what I mean.

They already think I'm crazy for wanting a winter wedding! They'll probably think I'd want to get married at any old Costco.

We still have several other places to visit, but I really hope to have a venue chosen by the end of October, if not sooner!

i heart stress

I've hardly had time to bask in the glow of engagement-dom and I'm already feeling like this all needs to be over! I did a little bit of wedding gown shopping over the weekend with my bestie/MOH and I swear I nearly got hives from the anxiety!

As soon as the salesgal put the first dress on me, I thought I was going to suffocate (though that may have been due to the bustier I was wearing.) When she added the veil. Oh lord. I was minutes away from wretching all over the store. Hahaha. The other bride-to-be in the store seemed to be prancing around like she was having the time of her life! She probably was!

I couldn't wait to get the damn thing off! I don't think I like this whole center-of-attention thing. I know, I know. This is just the beginning and I'll start enjoying it soon, right? RIGHT?!!?!

I suppose it didn't help that all the bridal shops we visited had mainly those vile, princess-bride gowns covered in sequins, beads and lace.

Barf-o-rama.

My dream dress is really simple - flowy, empire-waist, nothing fussy. I adore this Carolina Herrera.

I must admit though, I found a lacy number by Lea Ann Belter that was far more fancy than I envisioned but it was so flattering. Unfortunately, it's way out of my price range. (I'm not going to post a photo of it because I don't want HB to see it, in case I end up getting it! But ask me via comment/email and I'll tell you.)

Anyway, I'm hoping that the other bridal shops will have a better selection. I've given myself a deadline of February to find the dress and get it ordered. I'll probably check in San Francisco when I go next month!

Ugh. I need to look for a Chinese wedding outfit while I'm there too. But that's a whole other story.

Are we there yet?

shotgun

LRB: Guess what, Auntie Q?

(flash the ring)

Auntie Q: Ohh! Did you get married?

LRB: No... We're engaged!

AQ: Ohh! That's great! Are you pregnant?

LRB: Noooo!!!

AQ: ...Because if you are, that's okay too! It's completely acceptable! I won't judge you.

LRB: Umm. Thanks for understanding.. I think.

AQ: Do you want some braised pork? I just made it.