And in business! All has been quiet on the blog front lately, I know... I've been a big slacker, as I was in Seattle the last two weeks and found it quite challenging to get some time to write my normal posts. But no fear. I've been saving them up, so this should be a busy posting week!
I'll be back tomorrow to start my posting marathon. In the meantime, I will leave you with a great piece of news I received by phone last week. The bridesmaid dresses are in! 
More tomorrow...
This past Saturday all of my bridesmaids met me in St. Louis to go dress shopping. Bridesmaid dress shopping, that is. And in around two hours time, the decision was made!
I was all about letting them each choose something they liked, so each girl ended up choosing a different dress. It's so hard to pick ONE dress that will compliment everyone, so I think it's great that they all look fabulous and will be comfortable in the styles they chose.
The dresses will be burnt orange and and I love how they ended up tying together with a little bit of rhinestone on each dress.
Here are the four dresses. They are all from the Jordan collection.
And here are my BMs modeling the dresses:
We had such a fun time... And it was so great to be able to sit back, relax, and give opinions when asked...instead of being the one trying things on!! Every decision made keeps making things seem even more real...
The search is finally over...I have found my wedding dress and I absolutely love it! My mom and I went to a trunk show at Demetrio's today, one of the shops we had visited before. For those of you who don't know what a trunk show is, let me explain. Basically, they bring in all of next season's possible dress designs for one weekend for a preview, and let all the brides-to-be try them on. Whatever dresses are purchased the most are the ones that make the cut for next season's collection. So, the hard part about a trunk show for the customer (me!) is that you have to make your decision to purchase a dress then and there because you have no way of knowing if the dress will make it into the collection for next season. So in other words, you reaaallly have to love the dress to commit to it and buy it that day.
Something I think I had working to my advantage is that I had already been to many, many bridal shops and had a very good idea of what I wanted. Yesterday, I had actually narrowed my favorites down to the top 2 dresses out of all the places I'd been. And when I put this one on today, I knew it totally beat out my 2 favorites! On the other hand, there was another girl trying on dresses at the same time as me...and she said Demetrio's was only the second bridal place she'd been to. So, even though she loved a dress, she didn't feel comfortable committing to something that quickly. And FYI, just in case Nate decides to read this, I don't want to put much detailed information about my dress on here. Just know that it's somewhat simple, but totally my style. However, if you're really interested, you know how to contact me! ;)
By buying the dress today, I did get a fabulous deal. First of all, by paying for the dress in full, I received 20% off the price. Additionally, I had the option of putting $100 down towards bridesmaid dresses, in order to get my maids 15% off their dresses...which of course I did! Girls, right now I'm leaning toward maids dresses by Jordan. The burnt orange color from this designer is exactly what I had in mind. There are tons of cute designs--be it one piece or separates. You can check them out here: http://www.jordanfashions.com/default.asp. Finally, by buying my dress today, I got my gown preservation for free, which was a $250 value. So that's one less thing I have to worry about...
I am so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Jefferson City Bridal Show on Sunday was a fun time! This was actually their smaller one--there were only 40 vendors--and they have a much larger one in January. My mom, my childhood best friend Lindsey, and I made the most of it, however, browsing around and talking to someone at most every booth. One of my girlfriends mentioned that I should print off mailing labels with my name, address, and contact information on them, and I'm so glad I listened to her! Most every booth had some sort of giveaway drawing, so all we had to do was pull off a sticky label and attach it ...instead of writing my name a gazillion times! As far as ideas, the bridal show definitely got me thinking about things such as bridesmaid dresses, wedding cakes, and photographers. I'm certain now that I'm striving for a square wedding cake...I absolutely LOVE the modern look the squares bring. I took a snapshot of one that I saw...
We also flipped through portfolios of several photographers. Most weren't terribly impressive, but there was one that was absolutely fabulous...for $4500!! What I liked about that particular photographer's style was that he brought the photo journalistic approach to his pictures--the more candid, artsy sort of look. What I would love to find is someone who can do both the traditional group shots and incorporate some of the artsy shots in as well. And, of course, being able to afford them would also help! I know there are tons of options out there and I'm confident I will find someone who is affordable and qualified when I start looking. The reception facility is on the top of my priority list right now!
Another discovery we made is that Alfred Angelo has a burnt orange color available for bridesmaid dresses as well. Alfred Angelo and Bill Levkoff can be starting points for bridesmaid dress shopping. One vendor had mannequins setup with chocolate brown dresses next to a black tux, which also looked quite sharp. The dark brown would be my second choice if we can't get the orange to work out...
Of course now since the show, the wheels in my head are turning even more. How fun!
I was doing a little online browsing last night, and stumbled upon a designer that has a burnt orange color available in several of his dresses: http://www.billlevkoff.com/main3.asp?p=1. I'm planning on doing some wedding dress shopping next month, and I know one of the shops carries this designer's dresses, so I'm excited to see a color swatch and see what dresses are available! You never can tell with colors on computer monitors--they could be dramatically different in person....so we'll see!
I also found a couple of pictures of bouquets which I think are gorgeous. I've included them below...
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