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So, I'm doing the Body By Vi 90-Day Challenge! I need to get into "wedding shape", and I have 7 months to do it. My main goal is to slim down and tone up. I'd like to be ready to wear my bikini in the Bahamas! :D 

Coffee/Mocha

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Robin and I have set aside a few days to take a trip down to New Orleans to start preparing for the wedding. It's one thing to sit at home, 600 miles away from the location, and try to plan everything out. It's another entirely to go down there and see everything in person. Soooo, that's what we're gonna do! We also wanted it to be around our 1-year date-a-versary, so we started planning to go around the weekend of March 17th (yes, St. Patrick's Day :P)


I had checked out our hotel's rates for that weekend and it was up to $300 a night! Uh...no thank you? So we had originally planned to stay at a Motel 6 or whatever was available outside of the French Quarter and just drive everywhere. 


Well, last week I called the hotel to make sure we could come by and take pictures of the courtyard where the ceremony will be. The amazing woman helping me out with all of this, asked if we would like to stay there COMPLIMENTARY. Complimentary = FREE. The only catch was that we couldn't stay on the weekend we wanted to, we would have to push it back a few days. Bu that's fine by me!!


So, Robin and I are set to stay down in NOLA in 2 weeks :) I called the restaurant we're looking at as a possible reception location and got a dinner reservation set up. I also set up a proposed reception menu and they're going to serve us samples of the dishes when we go, so we're basically having a tasting! 


Another thing I needed to set up was hair and makeup. Some might see this as an unnecessary expense, but it's something I'd really like to do. I'm awful at fixing my own hair and would prefer a professional to do it. And while I do love makeup, I'd prefer not worrying about doing it myself on my wedding day. Plus, a lot of companies do airbrush makeup so it lasts longer and looks better in pictures :)


I explored TheKnot for suggestions and e-mailed around until I found a few places. The first one: Booked. The second one: Booked. I was starting to sweat. The third one: Available! 


Now I just need them to confirm a trial for when we're down there and we're set! 


So excited about getting everything together. Once we go down there and start crossing off the big stuff, we can begin focusing on other details: ceremony decorations, scripts, vows, reception decorations, honeymoon details, etc etc. I am more thankful each and every day that I gave myself a year to plan this wedding. More prep and less stress!




Come on, Nawluns!!

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Last weekend, I had a bridal dress appointment at Lowe's Bridal in Brinkley, AR (one of the top rated boutiques in the south!) Robin and I drove down to Little Rock on Friday since he had a show that night. On Saturday my mom and step-dad picked me up for the hour drive to Brinkley. I was so nervous it was ridiculous. When we finally got there I was dizzy, light-headed, and shaking. Nervous and excited. Unlike my experience at David's Bridal where the sales consultant left me numerous times and eventually completely forgot about me, at Lowe's I was assigned a sales consultant for the entire appointment. Tiffany, my consultant, was awesome! She asked me what kind of dress style I was looking for. Previously, I had printed off some of the styles that I liked a lot:

I later learned that this is called a "slip/lace dress". I went in wanting sleeves, lace, no poof, and no tulle.

So we started browsing the dress racks and grabbing anything that looked pretty. I had my mom and boss with me and told everyone, "If it looks like a doily, I'm probably gonna love it."

We went into a dressing room and I began trying on the dresses. One by one I continued to be disappointed. This slip-style of dress was very unforgiving. The thin, loose material hung snugly to every unwanted curve and cranny. My "vintage, lace" dream dress idea was slowly starting to fade.

Tiffany then brought into the dressing room this...this...cupcake looking thing. When sat on the grown, the damn thing stood up by itself! That's how much "poof" was in the skirt. Feeling defeated from the lace gowns, I decided what the hell, I'll try it out. So Tiffany helped me pull, tuck, and zip my way into the cupcake. Walking outside towards the mirrors and my family, I was unsure. But when I stood in front of the 3 full-length mirrors I was floored. The dress was gorgeous! I spun and twirled and laughed as my dress took a full minute to catch up and stop swishing. I WANTED THIS DRESS. My mom and boss had their jaws dropped and thought it was just as beautiful.

Could it be?? Had I found the dress?? All of a sudden something struck me. Something ugly, horrible, that no bride wants to think about when dress shopping but knows she has to.

What's the price?

I pulled out the tag that was stuffed into my side and read those awful numbers printed on it. 

$1,350

Tears instantly filled my eyes as disappointment washed over me. There was no way in hell I was going to spend that kind of money on a dress. I told my mom the price and she tried to reassure me by reminding me how she and my dad were going to pay for it and if I really loved it I should get it.

But, for anyone who knows me, I just can't do that. I'm a massive penny pincher and this was just too much of a cost.

I trudged back to the dressing room, my poofy skirt mocking me as it swished. And once back in the room, I realized that I hadn't even been looking at price tags. My consultant had never even asked for a price point to start from. I instantly began pulling out the tags on all of the dresses in the room with me.

$1,100. $1,675. $2,050.

One by one I ruled out the dresses. My appointment was already an hour in and I had nothing but sticker shock to show for it.

And then I remembered something: It was their half off annual sale!

I asked Tiffany which dresses were half off. "Those are on the second floor." she informed me. "Well, then we're going to the second floor!" Barefoot, and clad in nothing but a thin, silk blue robe, I grabbed my consultant and mother and headed up to the second floor sales area.

The "sales room" was a tiny room off to the side of more dressing rooms crammed full of wedding dresses. Women were everywhere clawing their way through pounds of lace and miles of train searching for that perfect/affordable dress. Eagerly, I joined the masses. Working quickly because of my appointment time, I tore through the plastic bags, ripped open zippers to quickly look inside at the dresses, and flung my selections on a pole nearby. I went through a few sizes just to see the selection. Hey, dresses can be taken in or let out. I wasn't about to let sizing being a deciding factor.

After I had about 8 dresses selected, I asked Tiffany if we could go back downstairs to my dressing room to try them on.

"Actually, you have to try them on here. That's part of the guidelines for the sale."

Oh, I had to stay on the 2nd floor? That's ok. So I turned my head and looked for a dressing room somewhere. Noticing my searching eyes, Tiffany informed me, "No. I mean right here." and pointed to the floor beneath her feet.

I had to change here? Right here? In front of all of these random strangers??

I weighed my options for a brief moment. Modesty or a damn good deal? Again, if you know me, you know this option wasn't weighed for very long.

Throwing off my robe, bared to all who dared to look, I began jumping into dresses as fast as I could. My mom tried to hold up some bagged wedding dresses to create a sort of barrier from prying eyes, but my goodies ended up on display anyways. I turned down dress after dress. This one has too many beads, this one makes me look pregnant, this one would be great...if I were on a balcony with Romeo beneath me.

Finally, I put on a dress and stood to show my mom. She stopped in her tracks and gasped slightly, "It's beautiful!" she told me. My heart skipped a beat. Had I found my dress??

I ran to a mirror and looked excitedly at my reflection. It really was gorgeous! It had sleeves (check), lace (check), and a long train (eh, I'd work with it). My mom's eyes filled with tears and I honestly thought this was my dress. I looked back at my reflection. I really did love it. It was beautiful. Then why wasn't I crying? Even Tiffany kept telling me how amazing it was. I looked at the price tag. $400. That should have been the selling point right there, but I still had some doubt. Going back to my mound of dresses, I asked if I could try on just one more dress. Just to make sure that the one I was wearing truly was "my dress".

I stepped into my very last dress, curious as to what may happen. Walking over to my mom, she stopped in her tracks yet again and informed me that this one was also very gorgeous.

Crap.

So I went over to the mirror and gasped.

Strapless, sweetheart neckline, fitted waist with draped silk, corset, lace-up back, and the skirt. My god the skirt! It was composed of hundreds of bunches of tulle cascading all the way down the 3 feet of train. Pretty much everything that I had previously not wanted, but now couldn't imagine living without. It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. And when I looked at myself in it. I looked so....so....pretty.

I knew this was my dress. My eyes started watering as I envisioned myself walking down the aisle in this.

A group of women and their daughters were standing nearby also trying on dresses. I noticed them looking at me and asked, "So, what do you think?"

They gave their happy opinions and told me the dress was interesting *and* gorgeous. A fantastic combination in my book.

I turned to Tiffany and said, "This is my dress." One of the women from the group says, "Are you saying yes to the dress??" I replied:

"I'm saying yes to the dress!"

Everyone clapped and I had a cheesy life moment accomplished! 

The price after the half off sale was $800 (plus tax and tip). This was still an incredibly high price to pay for a dress that you'd wear for one day, but I was in love and had to have it.

I left the store with dress in hand and a smile that just wouldn't stop. What had started off as a dreary experience looking very lacking in hope, turned into something incredible.

I had found my wedding dress. 

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