Time flies...

It seems like just yesterday that I was lamenting that the wedding was over a year away, and here we are less than nine months out. Everytime I blink, another month passes by. March is drawing to a close now, and I'm realizing we actually have to start getting details in line. Most of the planning has gone very smoothly, but now I am starting to enter freak-out mode in getting my bridesmaids ready, because that's the only part of this shindig that I've made very complicated. I'm realizing several things. First, letting all of my bridesmaids choose their own fabric and design their own gowns is going to be difficult. I'm realizing that as I go through the wedding planning process, I have very little time outside of my job and my conversion studies to get anything done. Well, most of my other bridesmaids are either lawyers or doctors, and even if they arent, they're still very busy with their jobs. For example, Amanda and I have been playing phone tag for over a month now. So I don't know what made me think they'd have time to go running around finding fabric and dress designers. I have a feeling though that if I can just make some progress with their dresses this month I'll feel much better. Their dresses will look amazing.
The other thing is coordinating the actual day. I still need to find hair and make-up people for the bridesmaids, and realize that I need to get on this! People are starting to get booked. Aagh.
I have also been endlessly harrassing Kenny about the save-the-date cards to the point where he's probably re-thinking this whole "marrying Cindy" thing. He volunteered to self-address them so that we wouldn't have to employ a calligrapher, but I was really nervous about this. Mostly I was nervous that people would receive our save-the-dates sometime in December. Those of you who know Kenny well know what I'm talking about (sorry, Kenny). In the end, however, Kenny addressed and mailed the cards only one week past our target date. Amazing. Truly amazing.
So I guess what I'm realizing is that the closer the wedding gets, the more OCD I get about the planning process. In coming to grips with my type-A wedding-planning personality, I am incredibly thankful that we have a florist, photographer/videographer and caterers that we trust to the point where we are leaving most of the decision-making in those realms completely up to them. Thanks Chris, Hy, Gayle & Bob! You guys are amazing!

Shoes! Glorious Shoes!

I'm not a huge fan of shopping. As my friend Gina will attest, I am a "mission shopper." I almost never shop "just to shop"--I always have a specific goal. I've actually amazed the ladies at Nordstrom with how quickly I can get in and out and find what I'm looking for. This tactic obviously didn't apply when I was looking for a wedding dress, as those of you who read that rather lengthy post already know. I was afraid I would have a similar, very drawn out experience when it came to shopping for shoes for my gown. But oh! Not so!
There I was, out at the mall to do some mission shopping for an iPod (I have convinced myself that I haven't been meeting my goals of going to the gym regularly because I don't have an iPod to workout with). I always park at Nordstrom because, although I will never admit to browsing, I do like to glance at the shoes as I walk to my car. So I was passing through Nordstrom on the way to the car, iPod in hand, pumped that I would now be going to the gym everyday, and there they were--the most beautiful shoes I have ever seen. The rest of the shoe department disappeared in that moment. Gone were the Kate Spade espadrilles I had been eyeing. The Carmen Marc Valvo pumps that normally would have made me swoon were suddenly taking second chair. The freakish salesman with the inappropriate blue hair and goth lipstick (I know! At Nordstrom?!) could no longer pull my gaze. Perched high atop a Stuart Weitzman display were the most beautiful set of slingbacks I have ever set eyes on. It was like they were made for my gown, with their ivory mesh, silver embroidery and hand-sewn beads. I think I could hear angels singing as I approached them. (Turns out I was hearing the excited utterances of the saleslady who was about to get a commission off of these shoes.) I tried them on, and they were so amazingly comfortable- great for a long night of dancing the Hora. Usually I let my purchases linger in my head a while before I buy, but I knew I had to have these shoes so I bought them right there. Because of my haste, I'm now recognized as an easy target in the Nordstrom shoe department. I collected two business cards from sales associates, not including the one who actually sold me the shoes. That one is now "on watch" for me for "other styles I might like." Read: "This chica drops cash faster than Dick Cheney at a gunshow, and I'll give her a reason to spend."
And no, the iPod had no apparent effect on my gym habits.