The Countdown Begins...

Well, I am less than two months away from our big day. My "Can't Wait to Get Married" To Do List is getting smaller and smaller, but then I decided to add a couple more DIY projects to it and it gets big again. So the pressure is on...

1) Invitations went out on Saturday when my fiance realized he had left off a couple friends. Then I realized I left off my boss. Oops...
2) I love, love these card boxes that I saw on Something New, Something Old. I have said that I would love to do this as a DIY project - but does anyone know where you can find these type of boxes? I am willing to do the fabric, etc., but can't seem to find any boxes with lids.
3) Four TJ Maxx stores later - I ended my quest for the letter "R". We might do something else with the S only...but darn you TJ - why could you not have an R!!
4) I seriously am addicted to stalking my gift registries.

Chicago-Style Etsy

I must confess - Etsy is going to be the death of me (or actually my checkbook). Unfortunately, if I am not reading all the lovely wedding blogs out there, I am on Etsy. After reading Tina's very cool discovery of possible Welcome "Chicago themed" totes for her out of town guests, I decided to see if there were any really cool Chicago gifts on Etsy. I think some of these would be perfect for welcome gift additions or even bridal party gifts.

Chicago EL Magnets! How cool are these? And she even does buttons!

I think including one recipe in your welcome gift of any local food is a great idea - and how neat would this be to include the Chicago Hot Dog and exactly what ingredients are included!

Or maybe your guests will need these little notepads in their welcome gifts?...

The Chicagoland notecards for your thank you cards?

I am loving the Chicago photos coasters. It looks like the artist also has several other Chicago landmarks that you can pick and choose from!

This was actually my favorite - the Chicago streets art canvas - and I ended up purchasing it for a friend's bridal shower gift. But it actually might just end up lost (...on the wall in my home).

Despite getting married several miles aways from downtown Chicago - this city means a lot to my fiance and I. It is where we met and I so want to include something as a memento to our guests.

Dress Doctor - Part Two

I have had a couple folks ask me about some of the Dress Doctor tips that I was given during my fitting. Hopefully this will answer some of the questions.

1) What was the bra she suggested? Unfortunately, I can't remember the brand name of the bra that she offers (my next visit I will get it)- but it was this one listed on her website - a seamless hidden wire bustier. It fit like a glove - it did not roll up. And it made you look very, very slimming - another huge plus.

2) What were some of the undergarments that she suggested buying? Of course not a surprise - Spanx. When I went shopping I found several different types. The Hide & Sleek Hi-Rise Body Smoother, which goes very high up on your waist. I also found the mid-thigh Body Smoother - this was the one that I bought. She suggested the Hi-Rise one (of course...), because you can tuck that one underneath the bustier bra. The mid-thigh you can, but she did say there could be a gap (around your waist between the spanx and bra) if you did not go with a bustier bra and instead went with just a regular bra. The mid-thigh was still very high so i was able to tuck it underneath the bustier.

3) What were some of her tips for the dress to fit better? Again the undergarments are huge, but she also suggested for the "chesty" girls like me to basically tuck your chest in (hehe - this is very hard to write and not crack up...). The only way I can describe it is that you are pretty much trying to tuck them underneath your armpits, so then there is less cleavage. (Any girls that have small chests, can come find me and beat me up - I know - you of course would love this type of cleavage). The twins amazingly stayed in place (the test will be hours of dancing...)

4) Do I need to bring in everything (bras, underwear, shoes?) for my first fitting? Definitely bring the spanx and the shoes. She had bras available. This was a huge relief for me because I could not find a bra that worked. I did notice that she had some shoes available for you to use for your fitting. Please keep in mind that your wedding gown is only basted for your second fitting, so you can change out your shoes, undergarments, etc. I realize now she had some great advice on which undergarments to use, so you might want to wait before purchasing these.

Some other interesting tips:
When putting on your dress - put your hands on your waist and then have someone do the zipper. I believe - It helps with not stretching the dress and putting too much strain on the zipper. It also sucks everything in (or that is how I felt when she told me to do this and I looked in the mirror!).

Something I knew, but didn't want to face the fact - Bridal shops will charge you more on alterations, so it is always good to get several estimates from other places. If I had gone with the bridal shop that I got my bridesmaids dresses from - it would have cost more than triple what I am paying now. But make sure to get referrals from recent brides. Go to a seamstress that has experience in bride alterations.

Hopefully this answered some of the questions...

A is for Agitated...

Even though it was over the phone and I could not see his expression - I know he was giving me that "Are you kidding?" face. I usually get this when he thinks I am being ridiculous (now this is usually whenever I am talking wedding plans). So around 5 p.m. last night I called him to inform him I was going to be late for our friend's dinner party because I was hitting every TJ Maxx store in the Chicago area looking for these...

It all started out innocently that day. I actually had stopped in our local TJ Maxx store looking for possibly a cool storage box that could be made into a card box and then I found these - Brown leather alphabet letters with white stitching for 6.99 each. I thought how perfect for our guest book table or escort card table! And it was like fate too - I found A for my fiance's first name and an S for his last name, but I needed an R for me...so three TJ Maxx stores later...no luck. I am bummed, but have not given up hope. I actually now have my mother on a mission to hit all her TJ stores. Keep your fingers crossed.

Hello Mr. Postman...

To you it may just look like an old Paper Source bag...

...but for me this is a huge, huge accomplishment - all 88 invitations - ready to go in the mail tomorrow. I am going to be honest - the nerves have set in a little bit, just because it is now very real. I guess it did not hit me until I noticed my name on these suckers. It then really hit me when I checked something on our registry and noticed that it was telling me that I had 65 days until the big day.

Somethings I learned by doing the invitations as a DIY project...

1) I am not a designer.

2) But I have friends who are great designers.

3) I love the RSVP postcards. I am thrilled that they turned out so good and saved money on postage.

4) I hate the post office. I love my postcards but hate the fact that I had to suck it up and use this ugly cougar stamp on the card. Really? A Cougar? I wish I had the time (and money) to do the vintage stamps.

5) Make sure to add in your budget the cost of mailing out these suckers...If you looked at my budget sheet - I guess I thought they were going to be mailed for free!

6) I wish I had gotten a caligrapher to address the envelopes, but happy with the printer address look.

7) It is never to late to start on the invitations. I had a happy-go-lucky attitude that I had all the time in the world and then the next thing I know I am almost eight weeks away from my wedding date. Yikes!

If the Dress Fits...

After fretting for months over finding a seamstress, I had my first dress fitting this past week. I ended up going to the Dress Doctor, located in the Water Tower. Unfortunately, I have a chest and was having the hardest time finding a strapless bra that worked with my dress. My wedding dress is not strapless but the back is low, so I would have to go with a strapless bra. Another issue - my dress is somewhat low in the front too (Something I noted when I found my dress but the salesperson told me that was because I was trying on a far smaller size! Ha...that was a lie). The problem - I am not the type of girl who wants to show off the twins on my wedding day or practically any day, so I had to find the right bra - a bra that was still supportive but low in the front and back. Yeah - well, there is really no such thing. Seriously. - I actually spent more time trying to find the right undergarments than finding my wedding dress. After tearing up twice to a Nordstroms salesperson in their intimate apparel department, I was given the name of Soheila Ghofrani, who is known as the Dress Doctor. Soheila immediately put me at ease, telling me she had some bras that would work. Well, I have to say I was thrilled. She had a great bra that she will be able to sew into the dress for even more support and another plus - not make me look "boobalicous" (yes - I actually used that word when I was describing my dilemma to her). She also gave me a couple pointers on how to make the dress look its best and then gave me a very, very reasonable estimate on my dress. I was sold. I have several more fittings, but I would highly recommend her to anyone.

My Shower Invitation

My sister spent several days trying to score the perfect invitation for my bridal shower. She ended up at Papyrus and found these. I have to say I love them. They are perfect for our spring wedding.

Today we talked about what I was wanting for my shower. I am not a big fan of games and would rather just keep it a social gathering. A very cute addition that I just found out is folks have to bring their favorite recipe to the shower. After registering for many pots and pans, I have sworn that I will become more of a cook, so now I have no excuses with all these recipes!

To Do List

So I still have so much I need to do, but decided that I would at least highlight the things I have done!

1) Phew...invitations are done. DONE! And ready to go in the mail next week.
2) I am working on our menu cards and trying to figure out what we are going to do for escort cards and programs. Hopefully those suckers will be figured out next week.
3) I have scheduled my hair but still need to figure out make-up.
4) Approved our budget with our flowers...I went crazy and then decided to cut some things. Yes, the peonies centerpieces and bouquets are still on it!
5) Finally finished our registry.
6) Received my shower invitation and it is beautiful.
7) And did all of this while on the road for the last two weeks for work...Ugh, I miss you Chicago.

The Photographer Shot Sheet

One thing I have been told over and over again is - make sure your photographer knows exactly what shots you want. I recently have been getting Real Simple's wedding emails and saw this the other day. It is a photographer/videographer shot sheet.