Bridesmaid Files: Bill Levkoff

There is no better job for a bride to be, than working in a bridal shop full of beautiful gowns! Everytime a customer notices my engagement ring they say "Oh you must already have your dress picked out!" - uuummm no...there's so much to choose from, and everything is so pretty! In addition to that, I'm able to view styles comming up in future collections and I always feel as though something better might become available (I'm crazy) - so the bridal sales girl will probably leave purchasing her gown until the last minute possible, lol.

We also carry bridesmaid dresses and it's an absolute luxury that one of my bridesmaids is my co-worker Sonia. I often use her as my mannequin - which she doesn't mind b/c she loves dressing up (as do I)...we try to squeeze in mini fashion shows when we can.

One of the lines we carry at the store is Bill Levkoff, which I absolutly love - great styles and great quality! We recently received a new shipment that contained a few styles that I'd been stalking on their website and of course it was time for a fashion show!

...tie it to the side and perhaps add a brouche on it for a little "bling effect"

We also liked this style...

...which is tea length (but looked full length on us...such a tragedy) - this picture does it no justice, but it's absolutly gorgeous!

For more styles, visit Bill Levkoff's website, they've also introduced new colors which I'm super excited about - love them!!!

& oh yea...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!

ps: This Thanksgiving I am thankful for you guys b/c none of my other friends want to hear me obsess about my wedding, lol

It's a strapless-memaid style dress with a sash which I thought was a style that would look great on everyone. Like me, Sonia is only 5 feet tall, so we weren't able to get the full effect of the memaid bottom as it's just waayyyyyy too long. We loved the overall style of the dress though but the fashionistas in us needed something more - so we came up with this idea...

Thanksgiving Tasks

We host many if not all of our family gatherings at our home - usually when we have a big dinner such as Thanksgiving, we rent tables and chairs from a pretty reasonable company. This year it finally came to us that we should probably just buy some tables and chairs so that we don't have to keep wasting money on rentals. However, with the declining economy, we're all "penny pinching" and were not about to spend $100 on tables, so we came up with a better idea - let's build some! My fiance is very good with his hands and loves to build things. For less than the cost of one table (we needed two), we went to Home Depot and purchased the materials. His brother just moved down from New York, so we put him to work too, and here is the end result...

Our two tables were complete in just a few short hours! I love a man who can fix and build anything - I love that about my fiance. I can't tell you how much money we have saved on home improvement projects - he knows electrical work, plumming, capentry - you name he can do it - he even re-faced our pool himself without any prior experience (a $2500 job, we completedfor less than $1000)! I've even contracted him out to my co-workers to do a few things at their homes, for a reasonable fee of course, lol. The tables are done but we have so much more to get done for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, there just aren't enough hours in the day.

OH SNAP...COMMENTS ARE BACK

YAY!

WTF is going on with my comments thingy...

For some reason, my link to leave comments on my blog has vanished to the point of no return...I keep trying to fix it but it's not comming back - I don't know what to do...if you know about this stuff you can leave me a comment on one of my previous posts that already has comments - aaahhh, I dunno...

Yesterday I literally stayed in my bed until 7pm - yes 7pm. I was so depressed! I'm never usually like that, I'm always the person that my friends call when they need some positive words of encouragment and a joke to put a smile on their face, but yesterday I just couldn't pull myself from under the covers...I had no energy mentally, emotionally or physically. My phone rang all day and I couldn't find the strength or courage to answer it - I knew who ever it was would sense the tone in my voice and then ask me what's wrong, I just couldn't bother. I didn't feel like explaining anything to anyone because I would just end up in tears anyway.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I've gained a significant amount of weight in a really sort time period as a result of stress - I'm an emotional eater...but it's never been like this before. My weight is not something I usually stress about, I don't even have a scale in my house - but it's like now I'm looking in the mirror and I don't even recognize the person staring back at me...it's the weirdest thing. But what sent me over the edge was that last week I realized that ONLY ONE PAIR OF JEANS IN MY CLOSET FITS ME - ONE! I came to the realization a few weeks ago that I needed to go on a diet and start working out, but that was an extra slap in the face! One pair of jeans...................it wasn't going to get me down though - but then yesterday my mother informed me that we weren't going to be able to put down the deposit on the venue this weekend as we had planned. With the Holidays comming up and the declining economy, financially it seemed impossible - but the way she was talking about it, it seemed as though it would never happen - not now, not later - "just go to the courthouse and get married"... that did it for me!

When we originally got engaged, we were planning a simple backyard wedding (we thought it would make more sense financially) - then it kept growing into something else (not my idea) and like any other bride I began getting excited at the propect of having a big beautiful wedding. We would settle on an idea...it wouldn't work out...we'd go to the next thing - love it, have my heart set on it, then it would fall through - this has been a pattern for the past couple months. I'm just tired of getting my hopes up and my heart set on something, only to be dissappointed in the end. So that in addition to my weight issues, school and other random things going on I just lost it yesterday. I got back in bed around noon and stayed there only until my fiance forced me to get up to eat dinner. I slept, cried, sleep some more, cry some more...

...but today is a new day and it will be a better day...

photo credit

Although things don't always work out the way we plan, sometimes it's for a reason - maybe something even greater is comming! Where one door closes another one opens. I will shed this weight, I will have be married (dream wedding or not) and I do have a lot to be thankful for, such as my wonderful fiance, my family and my life long friends. I have air in my lungs - I can't complain.

Bring it on world...

Quote of The Day

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness. For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people. For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry. For beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day. For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone. People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone. Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands; one for helping yourself, and the other for helping others. - Audrey Hepburn

What I'm Listening To...

PAY-PER-PLATE

With the plan to downscale the guest list comes many emotions. We love everyone - everyone is special to us in their own way - who is invited and who isn't? We're both close to our families which is what the list consisted of in the first place, so how do you tell a family member who is looking forward to our wedding that they can't come...or do we get married and tell them after, lol - I dunno.

So the slashing of the guest list has gotten around and everyone wants to know who are going to be the chosen 30! My mother and God-Mother were speaking on the phone and she told my mom that she would pay for her family if she had to in order to make sure she was in attendance because it was that important to her...somehow that conversation got around and others started jumping on the bandwagon saying that they would pay per plate for their families - my initial thought "That's great!" - I wouldn't have to pay for food, and could then focus on the photography, video, flowers, etc.

...then I started thinking, are people really going to pay for their own plate at the wedding, plus the cost of travel (for some of them) & bring us a gift - that's a lot! We're in a recession and I don't know if I feel comfortable putting that kind of burden on people - but at the same time I'm not going to go broke so that everyone can come - I love everyone, but point blank I can't afford it which is why I wanted to cut the list down in the first place.

So what do I do?

Do I let guests foot they're own bill (they're suggestion not mine)

Or do I keep the list down, break some hearts so that my fiance and I can pay for everything ourselves without help?

HELP ME!!!!

I Shed A Single Tear...

I previously wrote a post about narrowing my choices down to two venues and having to make the decision on what was best for me. I finally made up my mind to get married at the golf course (VENUE A) - an afternoon wedding - no more than 80 people. With the decision freshly made I hadn't contacted either venue yet to tell them my choice. I liked the place I picked, but then as the week progressed I kept finding little things I didn't like about it, but I thought "Oh it's not a big deal, at the end of the day I will be married and that's all that matters."

Yesterday at work my co-worker (or my life coach as I call her) asked how the search was going, I told her I made up my mind and she wanted to hear all about it. As I was giving the details she goes "stop for a second...you're not in love with it". Lol, I guess she saw right through me. According to her (non) expert analysis (lol), I loved this place because of the price, but I didn't love the place itself - she was right. One of my major pet peeves was the fact that I wouldn't be able to have chivari chairs (which I became obsessed with many years ago at my bestfriends Sweet 16 and swore to myself that I would have them at my wedding one day...why, I don't know...)

So at this venue I would've had to use the chairs that were provided, which would then have to be covered with chair covers and bows - which I'm personally not a fan of - don't get me wrong, they're beautiful, but it's just not MY thing. But I kept telling myself, "they're just chairs it's not a big deal" - but as my co-worker explained to me, it's my one day and if there's anything I don't like, I shouldn't have to settle. She told me that maybe chairs were a small detail but that if it was a big detail in my eyes, not to ignore it. She told me to close my eyes and imagine walking into my reception with 80 chair covers and bows...I couldn't do it, lol.There were other factors including the fact that I would have to have an afternoon ceremony, and a minimum of 50 people for them to host my wedding at that time, and it would have to be a buffet.

But anyway, I realized that it really wasn't what I wanted, and although I am on a budget, I should be able to bring my dream to life. The other place was perfect but it was just a bit over my budget ::sigh::

...then today while I'm at work the wedding coordinator from VENUE B calls me to follow up. I tell her I'm thinking of scaling down the wedding a lot (meaning, I'm going to the justice of the peace b/c I'm over this whole thing already) - she says "Great, I'm having a small wedding of 30 people this evening, stop by so that you can see the whole effect" - I hate telling people no, so I told her I'd be there right after work. Thankfully I hadn't driven myself to work today and my fiance and future brother in law were picking me up, so I dragged them along.

I got to the venue - it was all set up for the wedding - guests were arriving - the decor was set - she brought me to the ceremony area (the same one I'll be using - so I got to see it ceremony ready) - she took me upstairs to where they were set up for the reception, and guess what kind of chairs they had...CHIVARI'S. I hadn't seen them there before so I asked about them, she said they could contract them out for a very reasonable price...the dinner area was beautiful and just as we were about to leave I saw the bride and bridesmaid ready to make their way downstairs

...seeing everything "wedding ready" I felt myself choke up a bit, and all of a sudden I felt this one tear comming down my cheeck - lol - it was soooooo dramatic and random I had to wipe it away quickly - but it was at that moment that I thought: "This my place." ... the venue was a magical place to begin with, but being there tonight I couldn't believe that I almost passed it up.

She told me that there wasn't a minimum for the amount of guests - so we're chopping the list again from 80 to about 40 (they'll live...) - all I want is an intimate evening with those closest to me - the wedding was about to begin so we had to cut our conversation short and will speak again tomorrow...

I wish I had a picture to show you all - I bring my camera everytime, but as soon as I get there I always get so excited and I never remember to take pictures. I feel as though I've been looking at venues forever, I keep getting excited and then I change my mind about it, but I really hope this is it...I've never cried (happy tears) at any other venue so hopefully this is a good sign :)

Feed Me!

It's hard for me to accept the fact that I've gained a ridiculous amount of weight since getting engaged in May...atleast 15lbs (I'm guessing). One of my friends told me it was because I was "getting comfortable", however, my fiance and I have been together for 4 years already so I'm wwwaaayyyy pass walking on eggshells trying to be perfect. I had a rough summer (that had nothing to do with my relationship) and I definently took up a habit of eating when I was stressed - and believe me, there was lots of stress.

Unlike a lot of people, I'm not very critical of my body - I don't stare in the mirror picking at myself, calling myself fat and crying about it - I don't even own a scale. Seriously it was like all of a sudden, I couldn't fit in any of my clothes anymore. I had just taken a new batch of clothes out of the laundry and nothing fit - was it possible for everything to have shrunk?!? (lol)...there was a problem here. So I took a deep breath and went for the ultimate test - trying on the dress I wore on the day I got engaged (I haven't worn it since) - it couldn't even zip! I picked my heart off the floor and looked in the mirror - what happened? It really crept up on me...

As soon as my fiance came in I asked if it looked like I'd gained weight - his face said "OH CRAP!", his mouth said "I did notice, but I didn't want to say anything to hurt your feelings".

It's not the fact that I've gained weight (b/c my booty is looking really nice right now - watch out J.LO) but it's the fact that I gained so much so fast, and that's not healthy. So this weekend I will begin the dreaded diet and exercise regime - uuuuhhhh - the two things I hate the most. I've been saying that I was going to start for a long time, but this is getting ridiculous so I have to do something about it - I have to take care of myself.

To celebrate my new healthy lifestyle that doesn't start until Sunday - I will be eating all my guilty pleasures for one last time...cake, cupcakes, candy, all things sugary! One of my friends said I'll probably have a heart attack before I can get started on Sunday - but hey, it's a risk I'm willing to take...

I'm going to be doing Jenny Craig, a program I've done before and I had fabulous results...I will be calling Jenny again this weekend to help me to get healthier and look great on my wedding day...

...ok bye, I'm gonna go have some strawberry cake... :)

photocredit

The Decision Has Been Made...I Hope

We've made our choice!

& we will have our Nov 7, 09 date...

...all we have to do is make our deposit...

it's finally hitting me that this time next year I will be married!

OH MY GOODNESS

My mother and I made one more trip there to make sure this venue was "the place"...my fiance was supposed to be there with me, but had that unplanned trip to New York on the day of our appointment

...it will be a simple and casual daytime affair - no frills, just the way we like it

...no more than 80 people, just

family, close friends...and each other

I've been tagged...

I've been tagged to share my election day experience:

1. Did you vote?
Of course I voted!
2. In which state are you registered?
Florida
3. What time did you go to the polls?
10am....I think
4. How long was your wait?
3 - 3 1/2 hours...I stopped paying attention to my watch after a while
5. Did you incur any problems?
Nope
6. What was your reaction when you heard the news that Barack Obama won?
I cried...a lot
7. Who was the first person you shared your reaction with?
My family

Time To Choose Between My Top Two...

We are down to choosing between two venues:

VENUE 1 - I would have to have an afternoon ceremony because I can't afford an evening cermony at this particular venue

- Has a room for myself and the bridesmaids to get dressed in

- Has back up rooms in case the weather decides to go crazy on me (all the rooms are beautiful)

- Is already booked for another wedding on my Nov 7, 2009 date (therefore I would have to push my date back)

- Chairs for the ceremony are included

- The venue prints the menu which would be places on the tables

- 20% deposit

- Beautiful/Unique setting

VENUE 2

- Would be approx $2000 less than the first venue

- I would be able to have the wedding for my Nov 09 date

- I would have to pay a seperate fee for the chairs used during the cermony

- If it should rain or anything crazy, I would have to have my ceremony in the reception room, which would be set up as a reception and not a ceremony (I wouldn't be able to walk down the aisle)

- $500 deposit

- Cute setting, but not as striking as the first one

...I have to put my deposit done on either venue pretty soon, so once my fiance gets back from New York we have to make a final decision on what we're doing - all of a sudden it's beginning to set in that I'm getting married! Ahhhhh!

All Alone

My fiance's brother is in the process of re-locating to South Florida from New York and had mentioned previously that he might need help driving his belongings down here. For some reason the date kept getting pushed back and then as far as I knew he didn't need his help anymore - then this morning on my way to work, my fiance calls me to tell me that his brother booked his ticket for him to go to New York TONIGHT. How last minute? I had no time to mentally prepare for this, lol. My fiance and I have traveled without one another plenty of times before and had even had a long distance relationship for a year, but we haven't spent a day apart since getting engaged. I was so bummed the entire day at work knowing that by the time I got home, I would immediatly have to leave to take him to the airport...I was so sad. I said a quick "bye and I love you" at the airport before hopping back in the car and fighting off the tears.

It's not a big deal...they'll start the drive from New York tomorrow morning, so he should be back on Sunday morning hopefully - I just hate taking him to the airport because it reminds me off the first year of our relationship - long distance is no fun! I would be so heartbroken everytime that he would leave, I'd cry all day until finally the last time he came I told him not to come back unless he was moving because I couldn't handle it...so he moved :)

I have to sleep by myself for two nights in a row...bbbbbboooooooo

CHANGE IS HERE...

YES WE CAN...& WE DID!!!!

While I Wait For The Presidential Election Results...

I live in South Florida and took advantage of early voting during its first week - I stood in line for 3 hours - I felt powerful voting - it was my first time! Now I'm nervous - my heart is swollen & for the first time in my life I can't change the channel off CNN

...in the next few hours we are going to have a new president...the man who has single handedly destroyed our country will no longer be our leader - we've turned out in record numbers to vote because we're fed up...because we're tired of hearing stories of friends and family getting laid off - because we want to be able to afford our mortgages...

...WE NEED CHANGE!

PS: Not too far from where I live, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Mary J Blidge, P.Diddy & others surprised early voters who had been standing in line for hours the day before yesterday...things like that never happen to me - jeez!

Thought We Had It All Figured Out

But then...

...more later...