Dress and Accesories? Check. Everything else??... I'll get back to you.

*Just a quick sidenote before I begin: Landon tried his hardest to do a #2 on the big boy potty today! I couldn't be more proud of him! He has shown NO interest in the toilet for a few months and today he decided he wanted to give it a go. MOMMY IS SO PROUD OF YOU LANDY-POOH!!*

Anyways...

Call me crazy (yet again) but I've known for a long time what I wanted in my wedding day attire. A VERY LONG TIME. People may think I'm insane for already finding and purchasing my getup, seeing as it's 13 months until our wedding and I am still trying to lose some weight. The fact of the whole matter is simply put: I know what I want. (The picture below was one of the "not what I want" dresses I'd tried... LOL!!!)

I spent a few hours on a couple different occasions trying on dress after dress that was being picked out for me. This was mostly to humor those around "helping" me decide on a dress, but also because you only do this once in a lifetime and you may as well try everything. The dress I picked out was the very first dress I tried on, believe it or not. I saw it when I first entered David's Bridal 2 weeks after I'd been engaged and there was an immediate connection, kind of the same way I felt when I met Alex all those years ago! ^_~ Anyway, it's an easily alterable dress if I do lose a substantial amount of weight. It's also a very simple dress: Ivory, slims me in my trying areas (my waist, my bosom lol), chapel train, and no frilly-over-the-top lacey, sparkly-ness.(Pictured on both sides here.)

Don't get me wrong: I LOVE frilly sparkles. However, with my current weight, I need a dress that will do more for ME, than ME having to do my dress justice. In simple terms: the simpler, the better.

The advantage of having a fairly simple dress is the fact that I can dramatize the rest of my look: nothing excites me more about this whole wedding business than to accessorize my girls and myself. (It's a sad truth, but at least I'm honest!) Since I do not have frills or sparkles or any kind of "bling" on my gown, I have found alternate ways to "pimp" myself out, hahaha. I found a simple ivory veil that was elbow length, but the edging was done in a small, beaded zig-zag fashion. B-E-A-UTIFUL!

Another example: LOOK AT THESE SHOES!!! I've never been a large fan of Chucks, but how can you say no to these sexy beasts?? Me being the practical person I'd like to think I am, I have decided that me in high heels as a mother out in public is NEVER a good decision.. So right from the get-go I wanted flats. Now, since I was a child and had seen "Father of the Bride" I was completely obsessed with Annie Banks's wedding shoes. I swore to myself I would have a pair of equal or greater beauty, and I have found them in an unlikely pair of Chucks! I will be replacing the shoelaces with a more frilly, girly type of shoelace. But otherwise, these shoes are my dream-come-true!


Now, as far as headbands go, I had several options I was looking into. To start, I LOVE SIMPLE HEADBANDS! A couple rhinestones attached to a very plain headband was my idea of beauty. I had always told myself I liked tiara's but the more I tried a few on, the more I realized that I was not good at pulling off the "princess-ee" look. I also believed that I could potentially save some money by doing something this simple.

WRONG!

These bad boys were just as expensive, if not more pricey than tiara's and the like! *BARF!* Well, regardless, when I went in to purchase my dress about a week ago, I took my *future* mother-in-law with me. She and I went through all the headpieces DB had to offer. While I was looking at simple, she had her eye set on a bit more flair than what I had ever thought I'd want, or could pull off.

Enter my feathery friend. Such a simple, rhinestone-d headband. Yet attached to your amazing elegance is a couple feathers and a simple flower. So chic and sooo.... not at all what I'd expected I would pick out! I love being pleasantly surprised. Regardless of whether or not I have my hair style picked out yet, I know this headband will look phenominal no matter what is chosen. Sadly, I do not have a decent picture of the veil to post so you can get the full picture. I will someday soon though! Rest assured!!

Along with this, I've also ordered my bouquet. I'm a sucker for silk flowers, and I found a site that sells their arrangements DIRT CHEAP(afloral.com). They are simple and beautiful, but cheap is definately what originally grabbed me. Once it gets here, I have a couple little adjustments I'd love to make, but the base of it is perfect for what I was looking for.

Also, I have ordered my garter set, our toasting flutes, AND our cake serving set.
More simplicity and still chic. Thank you, Oriental Trading Company!! Very inexpensive but still stylish. Because, honestly, let's just face the facts: What the hell am I going to do with toasting flutes and a cake serving set when all of this is said and done? Keep it for memories and for it's sentimental value? Possibly.

How nauseating would it be to let those sit in a cabinet and collect dust after using them once or twice in a lifetime AND paying $50 a pop for them??? No, no, no! Both sets were an affordable $17.99 plus shipping, AND included free engraving on all four pieces.....

Yes please!!!