The Big Easy Wedding
First of all- a very Happy belated Birthday to supergoober !
Second, a very Happy belated (by 1 day) Birthday to captnsparrow ! And also Captnsparrow's father-in-law, Tommy!
Next... well, in between work, work, the first round of layoffs, more work, and dance, and the second round of layoffs, and work, and dance, and oh yeah, the third round of layoffs, and work... there's this wedding I am trying to plan. Not the wedding many of you may remember from last year, that fun one in Charlotte with lots of people. Oh no, that's gone the way of taxpayer dollars in the financial industry bailout. The wedding now is the 2009 Bridal Bailout! C. and I are now planning a small, intimate, wedding in New Orleans, LA! Never thought I'd be a destination bride! But there you have it.
So where are we?
Ceremony site? Check! Jackson Square, rain or shine.
Reception/ dinner site? Semi-check- contract in hand but not signed yet- I'll spill th ebeans once it's official.
Invitations? Just talked to the gal who is doing them on Sunday- semi-check!
Flowers? Ummm, flowers are the last thing on my list. Absolutely. Only if there is money left, and if there is, they're being ordered from the 'net, baby!
Hair/ make-up? Check! Hey, a girl's gotta look good, right????
Photography? We're keeping our Charlotte photographers. Yes, they are that good and worth the plane tickets to fly down to NoLa. Check them out at www.caseycunningham.com.
Cake? Check! The cake was pretty much paid for and was non-refundable. It's comin' with us! I know, how crazy is that? It has It's - Own - Plane - Seat. Good grief! www.Elizabethan-Delights.com is doing ours. 3 (small) tiers, 2 are Key-lime (french vanilla cake with homemade lime curd filling, thin layer of vanilla buttercream on top and covered w/ fondant on top of that), and 1 tier is cherry-almond (almond cake with a almond buttercream-cherry preserves filling, almond buttercream on top, and covered in fondant). Her cakes taste even MORE delicious than they look!
Rehearsal dinner? Working on that- we know where we want to have it, but need to actually find time to reach out to them and book the dang thing.
Hotel block? Also in process. The proposal is over a month old from the hotel so we're checking to make sure they'll give us the same deal.
And of course, there's the dress. The pretty, pretty, pretty wedding dress. I bet you want to know what it looks like, right? Is it beaded or plain, strapless or sleeves, ballgown or a-line or trumpet? Is it white or ivory or sparkling champagne?
Only Filene's Basement knows...
That's right, ladies and gentlemen, I am braving the infamous RUN OF THE BRIDES this Friday, March 20th, to get my wedding dress- the ultimate in Bridal Bailout. My mother, my sister, and I are coming down Thursday afternoon. gypsyariana will be joining us, and I hear tell that arseaboutface might be willing to brave it too... and supergoober will be there in spirit (as will Mini-Goober!). These brave souls will fight the good fight to help me find that perfect dress amidst hundreds of screaming, rabid women all desperate to do the same thing. I am not the day-after-Thanksgiving sale girl. I do not bother to get up early in the morning to find the best deals- I always remind myself that I save more money when I just stay home altogether. But something in my little heart knows this is the way to go for me- I've known it from a year ago when I first found out Atlanta had a sale. The economy just validated my gut feeling. And the fact that the only dresses (after about 75 that I've tried on) that I truly loved were in the realm of $3000-$5000. Umm, for a dress that I'm wearing for 6 hours, I can't justify that money. But when Filene's offers said dress for $499, I am all over it! (I don't actually have a specific dress I am looking for- my taste varies wildly.)
I have no clue what time I'll actually be brave enough to get in line. My poor helpers and I will be wearing the most gaudy headbands ever (just google "jester headbands"), and black shirts with some fleur-de-lis rhinestone bling on the front, and glittery swirly pink letters indicating our "team name" (oh, dear lord, what have we come to?!?!)- Team "Bridal Bailout" (figure that's apropos considering my employer, LOL). Maybe if we're brave enough we'll even grab a video camera and tape the whole mess. I need to finish making the shirts (2 left) and some signs... "10-12-14, ivory or champagne, strapless or sleeveless, no halters please." Trains are desirable, and I love "modified trumpet" skirts, but I am happy with A-lines and ballgowns too...
Well, it will at least make a good story! I promise to try and post pictures...
Any tips out there from experienced Runners?
Oh yeah- Happy St. Patty's Day!