Rolling with the Punches


So we’ve hit the two month mark! It was very ironic that I just met a Bridezilla and what soon followed in the next week. What was expected to be a moment of celebration turned out to be Bridezilla transformation day. You know that clever guy Murphy that said, “What can go wrong, will go wrong?” Okay, maybe I shouldn’t be that dramatic because more serious things could go wrong, but it just wasn’t my day!

First – we found a cute apartment with a loft to rent. We signed {another} lease and put down {another} deposit. So currently, we have two places to live; a townhouse and an apartment. Let’s just say a life lesson was learned on that one! We chose the apartment but it had a move in date of August 15th as in next Monday! No, no – that would not work being that we want to move in during September. “No worries” said the leasing consultant, "We’ll put you on the wait list; #1 for a September move in date." [It was too early for move out notices to be turned in so it was a great chance we’d get a September date.]

Long story short, we seized the September move in date for literally 5 seconds until it was stolen from us from another tenant. [Enter Bridezilla Step #1 here] Finding that unacceptable and after many conversations with the manager, we now have a September 25th move in date.

Not five minutes later I received word of some bad wedding etiquette from *Bob. (*names have been changed to protect the not-so-innocent) [Enter Bridezilla Step #2 here] Bob had to nicely be informed of how certain things work in the wedding world. If you’ve never planned a wedding, you have no idea the costs involved. I get that most people have only attended a wedding or got married many years ago. As much as Sean and I would love to invite every single person we know, we just cannot. We are having an adult only wedding and I’m sure there are people out there that don’t agree with that but that’s fine. I only ask that you respect my wishes as you’re my guest. 
 
We do not get a discount “per head” price for children. In a caterer’s mind, they are people that will eat the average meal. In a bartender’s mind, they are people that will consume the average amount of alcohol. People are people. Plus, I have been to weddings were children were present and let me tell you, they looked miserably bored and took to crawling on the floor/screaming to entertain themselves. Not going to happen at my wedding and besides, what parent wouldn’t like a night out with their spouse without the kids? Sounds like a parents’ dream to me!

And the hits keep coming – the Get-Away car from the venue at the end of the night has seemingly become a major issue and inconvenience. Once upon a time I wanted a timeless Bentley or Rolls Royce. Sean wasted no time in bringing me back to reality on that one and I found a limo to be acceptable. Limos, being pretty inexpensive to rent for an entire evening, are completely opposite for one way transfers. $300 for a 20 minute ride? I don’t THINK so!  Okay, now it wouldn’t be such a big deal had this snafu popped up on a different day. Seeing as I was already HOT! HOT! HOT! from the previous problems, I was not in the mood. 

I decided I would rent a car. I have rented multiple cars before, even being that I am under 25 with an impeccable rental record, so why would I have a problem now? Apparently Mercedes and BMWs cannot be trusted to persons under the age of 25 and as the Hertz representative so nicely stated, “Them cars are expensive” … Them cars are expensive. Hmm, I had no idea! She offered me a Kia. At that point I had had enough and politely discontinued the conversation.  [Enter Bridezilla Step #3 here]

But, wait, there’s more! The fun doesn’t stop there. In a previous post, I mentioned my struggle with Men’s Warehouse over fuchsia ties for the groomsmen. After discovering they did not have the color I wanted, I was told I could either purchase the ties myself or buy fabric and have them made. Seriously? They ended the conversation with, “Other than that, there is nothing we can do for you.” Well that’s customer service at its finest right there. [Enter Bridezilla Step #4 here]

Men’s Wearhouse partners with the Wal-Mart of bridal shops, David’s Bridal. I personally cannot stand David’s Bridal but like Wal-Mart, its everywhere and has an array of options when it comes to the bridal party. David’s Bridal had my color pink, so why wouldn’t Men’s Wearhouse have something to pair it with? They’re answer – “We have a close shade of pink called Tuscany because it has grape vines on it” … Enough said. Apparently you will NOT like the way you look.

As if I didn’t have enough to stress over, that coming up weekend I went for my first dress fitting. Fitting went great – but the alterations that came along with it almost sent me into cardiac arrest. I already paid for the fabric. Now I’m paying for the fabric to be cut up, modified, and removed. I didn’t have any more energy and I knew this would send me way over budget. I had no choice but to hand over the plastic. 

Needless to say our two month countdown mark was less than to be desired. We all know I strive for perfection and want the fairytale. You won’t believe it but I do know there will be things that go wrong and I cannot control everything – as much as I may try. The moving parts of the wedding are really starting to get going and the stress is starting – but that’s to be expected. For my sake and your's, please abide by this:


Please don't set out to make my planning any more complicated than it already is. It is truly about the bride and there's not much room for others on that day other than the groom [trying very hard to not sound like a self absorbed bridezilla - speaking from a planner's perspective.] If you commit to something, take responsibility and do it. It's that simple!


The “never let them see you sweat” attitude has flown out the window because honestly, it just happens. It wouldn’t be a real “trials and tribulations” of my wedding planning experience if I didn’t put the hard stuff in here! So, here’s to the last two months of planning. Regardless of sweat and stress, I’m getting married and to a wonderful guy at that!



BRIDEZILLA!

Thursday was a very exciting day for me. It was my very first Association of Bridal Consultants meeting where the best of the best in the wedding industry mix and mingle. I was super excited to network with great wedding professionals in the Tampa Bay area! 
 
Then, the night before the meeting, a surprise guest was added to the list - a Bridezilla! When I saw Krystal's name as the special guest, I instantly knew which 'zilla it was. How could you forget the Clearwater bride with Jolly Trolley issues?

  

Turns out, the topic of the meeting was Reality TV. Krystal was really sweet and shared her experience of getting married with a camera crew. I could not imagine cameras following me always waiting to capture something crazy. A lot of her vendors were there as well and talked about how it was like for them working around the cameras. We laughed about the trolley and the poor driver and raved about her beautiful hair and makeup. The takeaway, reality TV is not real. Krystal was definitely not like how she was portrayed on the show! Although, throughout the whole meeting I debated whether or not I should ask to take a picture with her. Would that bridezilla surface again? Surely not!


First David Tutura (see September 2010) and now a Bridezilla! I'm on a roll with WeTV!

The meeting was a success! I met fantastic people and made great connections not only for my current job but when I start my own wedding planning business! I am already looking forward to the next meeting!

Home Sweet Mom's Home?

Not only are we smack in the middle of invitiations, programs, menu options, dress fittings, rehearsal dinner locations, and nonstop wedding coorespondance - Sean and I have to find a place to live after the "I Do's" have been said. One of these days my brain will indeed explode! Hopefully it'll stay in tact for the priceless wedding pictures.

Rent. Buy. Rent. Buy. ...  Rent. Buy. That is the topic that sways are decision at least once a day. Yes, this IS the best time to buy a house, granted that you want to stay forever whereever you plop down. Who does that nowadays? Besides, the ultimate goal is to move to Georgia. I miss my multiple story, brick front, big yard homes with basements. In Florida, you pay MORE for a box like home adorned with plastic flamingos in the yard. Charming. So, what's more important, Lake Lanier or the Gulf of Mexico? Red clay or white sand? Big house or little house? Hmm...

Which is better? 1 or 2?
 


3 or 4?


5 or 6?


If you're starting to feel like you're at the eye doctor, welcome to my life at the moment! So the question that begs is, "What do we do and where do we do it?"

Today, we're leaning on the renting side. It doesn't make sense to buy a house in Florida when we don't want to stay here. But, it also doesn't make sense to spend more in rent than a mortage! I don't need these kind of decisions/stress while wedding planning!

We found the perfect townhome (to rent) in the area we want to live in. So perfect I started arranging wall samples with fabric samples. Then we second guessed the price. We can, but do we want to?

Back to the drawing table and square one! You know that saying from the parent when their daughter gets married, "I'm not losing a daughter, I'm gaining a son?" While that is true, but it really should go like this for my mom, "I'm not losing a daughter, I'm gaining a son AND another person living in my house!" Haha! Home sweet Mom's home it is unless we can make up our minds! I'm sure she'll just LOVE that!

Stay tuned for where and what we end up with!

A Registry Gun & Waterford Crystal

Ready! Set! Zap!

The idea of registering for wedding gifts is super exciting! Especially when you're like Sean and me: both living at home with our parents = not having anything to contribute to our new home/life together. 
No, the coffee pot, shot glasses, and the toaster I racked up in college don't count! Hey, at least I collected the essentials of college student!

Fast forward to our first stop at Macy's - and that registry gun is placed in our hands. The heavens sing! Power! Of course Sean takes off with it - BANG! BANG! BANG! And before we knew it, he racked up over $1000 in Waterford crystal barware. Let me repeat, WATERFORD. I, calmly approach him and ask him, "Honey, can you show me the Waterford section?" All I receive is a blank stare and the response of "What's Waterford?' ... Exactly! Needless to say, you will NOT find any Waterford barware on our registry. 

I then knew it was time to set some ground rules. Even though we had nothing to start with, we didn't need the entire store! And we definitely didn't need Waterford!

Put it down, Sean!

Once I got in the zone, there was no stopping me! I went room by room starting in the kitchen. Martha and I became BFFs that day! She has some great stuff! Sean was a great sport - even though he didn't know what half the items were, or why we would need such things, he kept the pace going. He gave me free reign of the home and decoration so I took full advantage and continued working. 

We had to add some fun things into the mix - of course!



We wrapped it up at Macy's and headed to Bed Bath and Beyond and Kolh's. I left Macy's a happy housewife-to-be and arrived at BB&B a sad bratty wife-to-be after Sean told me I couldn't decorate the bathroom in rhinestones! So much for free reign!

I guess we both had to compromise - no Waterford and no rhinestones!

Bridesmaid Times Take 2!

Here's the Bridesmaid Times Second Edition. It consists of mainly reminders of important details and dates. I LOVE my bridesmaids! They are all amazing and I'm so lucky to have them as friends!
 
(Some information has been whited out for privacy reasons.)

Tuxedos sans the Ties

Tuxedo time - and Sean left all the coordination to me. I haven't the first clue to men's formal wear! Pleated or straight leg? Single, double, triple button? Our sales consultant at Men's Wearhouse was extremely patient with me and after over an hour, we got it {almost} figured out! As you can see, it was a bit stressful! Haha!

The only snafu, which I'm still not happy with, is that MW did not have one shade of fuchsia for a tie. 15 shades of baby pink, but no hot pink - how does that happen? Looks like Sean and I are personally purchasing 9 fuchsia ties. Lovely! Congratulations groomsmen - you each have just won yourself a hot pink tie! Woohoo! I think our sales lady could see the frustration in my eyes and gave us $10 off per tie. Yay for groomsmen, boo for us! Whatevs!