Wednesday, September 9, 2009

The Fake (but one-day-will-be-real) Wedding: dress trends

It's a growing trend: the shrinking hemline. And I just might join the chorus line! I LOVE short dresses -- they are effortless, more comfortable, less formal, and very sexy.

I don't know about you, but I'd like to be able to get close to my groom when we dance -- it's probably the only time he'll dance with me in public! -- and a frou frou gown is likely to keep us apart or get stepped on in the attempt to snuggle up.

So here are some choices I am crazy about right now. More to come!



I can't find the designer for this dress, but it is so classic and simple, yet that flower makes it so over-the-top! Sigh. I love it. Can't you just see it with a little lace shrug and a netted veil for the church?

Imagine this dress cut to the knee! This 2008 Oscar de la Renta number is certainly out of my current budget -- but I could always have it sourced in China ;)

This little number retails under $200 and is available at Best For Dress
A few snazzy little numbers. I think they're all Melissa Sweet (i.e. above my budget), but again...sourcing from China anyone?!?!?!

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

The Fake (but one-day-will-be-real) Wedding: time of day

I dreamed of a daytime wedding. Getting up early to have make-up and hair done, getting dressed, and starting my wedding day! Church wedding at 10:30 a.m. and reception to follow at noon. Pictures from 3:00 until we felt we were finished. Dinner with the parental units and an early night. Wink. Wink.

Oh, Hell, throw another one in there. WINK!

Then I got a wake-up call from my mother. My entire family will be travelling to my hometown for this event, and if I have an afternoon wedding, my parents will have to host a party for my family that night anyways. You can't leave family alone in a hotel -- you have to entertain! This is the I-talian in us. They started talking about having it catered, renting a tent for the backyard, hiring a bartender, etc.

That's a lot for my parents to take on! So my mother asked that I reconsider the luncheon and she'd help with the added costs of a regular plated dinner at night. I'm sad to see my afternoon tea party slash Barbeque fade away, but truth be told, if my parents host a big party for my family, I want to be there to enjoy it!

This means a mid-afternoon wedding, a more-formal dinner, and dancing into the night. I'll have more time to prepare which should quash the likelihood of my missing my own wedding thanks to a broken sense of time. And Chris gets to golf in the morning (the only thing he is really looking forward to).

I don't know that I want to do an outdoor reception at night -- so we're switching from outdoor Billings Estate to indoor Ottawa Rowing Club or the Aviation Museum to save my guests from having to sport bug repellent.

I feel like I'm starting from scratch now. I had all these little details sorted out and now... I just don't know. Expect more posts on new decor ideas, dress ideas (maybe two dresses?!?!?) and definitely a new menu.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

House Hunters: Regional Edition

I am house hunting, and it ain't pretty out there. I thought this would be easy: get pre-approved, look around, and make a bid on a cute little place you'd like to call home.

Ha!

Have you seen our housing market? It's a jungle out there!

I imagine myself in camo garb; black smeered across my cheeks to deflect the light; crawling around and inspecting; deciphering a strange, new language that is real estate jargon -- a version of English with lots of badly-chosen adjectives, but without punctuation.

Sigh. We've seen so many houses I worry that there is nothing out there for less than the cost of my first-born or that doesn't smell worse than the SPCA on a bad day.

I've seen stoves from 1954, and bathroom tiling from 1968; foundations that couldn't be dated, and roofs that looked assembled by children.

Yesterday at one house visit, another couple drove up, got out of their car, and promptly got back in. My agent said "they just pulled a Paige" because I had done that so many times!

It gets better doesn't it?

My agent says we are in the best position because we're first-time homebuyers:
  • we aren't in a rush
  • we don't have to sell another house
  • we get to upgrade from an apartment
  • we don't have to pay land transfer taxes
  • we can demand our price or walk away
I am at the point where I feel bad for my friends! I keep emailing them, telling them about the latest house viewing -- the next potential -- and it always falls through. How bored they must be by the mediocrity!

But fear not, ladies! I am on a mission to find a place or be damned. If I can find Badgley Mischka at Winners, I can find a house!