Lingerie and Karaoke

Last night, my maid of honor - with the help of other family members - threw an incredible bachelorette lingerie and karaoke party for me.

I just want to send out a HUGE thanks to everyone who came and especially to those who helped make it happen!  I had such a wonderful time and it really made me feel special.

Plus, you know, I got to take home some very pretty and sexy pieces that will be well-appreciated.

In the other part of the very large house, Chris had a poker-bachelor party, and I think he had some fun, too.


Oh yeah and they made me dress up a little silly...but the photo would not be safe for work, so I won't post it.
BUT I will post this picture of me and my adorable niece just before I donned my bachelorette gear:

Thanks, everyone!!!!!

One Week!

So now there is just one scant week before the wedding.
It's amazing.

The wedding is so close now that I can taste it.  I am down to my last days before the wedding, and in good news I am completely finished both with my practicum and with my online coaching class!  This means that, for the next week, my attentions are entirely focused on the wedding and preparation, which is definitely a good thing.

With just one week left, most of the major wedding preparations are complete and now it is a matter of finalization and tying up of loose ends.  We had a conversation with the caterer yesterday to finalize rentals and numbers, we completed the placement of our cupcake order, we have a reasonably good seating chart done, my dress has been brought in from the shop, and lots of other checks on the list.

For me, getting the major things nailed down in a simple fashion is the easiest kind of thing to do; I am definitely more adept at creating the structure and skeleton for things....refinement and details are more difficult for me, I find that I get irritated and often bored if I over-focus on the details of something.  This is something I have a tendency to do.  I know that I do better on assignments if I either: (1) send in a first draft with only a cursory review and edit, OR (2) really, really, really spend a lot of time reviewing and re-reading and editing a paper.

For the wedding, it's tempting because there are so many details to potentially review and refine to go with door #1....which will be fine for something (e.g., the cupcakes) but not so much for other things (e.g., the seating chart).  There are so many moving parts to the wedding that I am still trying to strike the balance of paying enough attention to the details without feeling overwhelmed by them.

I just need to trust myself that it will all get done as much as it needs to and, if it doesn't by the time the wedding actually rolls around, then someone else will take care of it OR it wasn't that important in the first place.

After the other night, I haven't had any panicky feelings, but I definitely float between anxiety and calm, although the anxiety is often short-lived and easily allayed.

Wish me luck!!!!

Honeymooners

Among the many questions that people ask when we talk about the wedding is about the honeymoon that Christopher and I will take.

Unfortunately, I have rarely had a satisfactory answer.
That is because the plans, by necessity, have been flexible.

Because of his job, Chris is not able to take off much time in a reliable fashion.  That is, his schedule for the month of May has his working Wednesday-Sunday with his days off Monday and Tuesday.  He requested to use vacation days (the whole two that he gets to last him until October) for the day of the wedding and the day after (Saturday and Sunday).  He only got Saturday off via this request.  He also got an unpaid day off on the Wednesday after the wedding.

Thus, as of right now, Christopher is working the day before the wedding, the day after, has the day off for the wedding itself and has Mon-Tues-Weds off after the wedding.

He has requested that his coworkers agree to work his shifts for the 20th and 22nd (Friday and Sunday), and also for the full week+ following his days off.
He will be doing everything that he can to get all the time off that he can, but depending on the factor of time our honeymoon will be one of three options:

1. A week or more using his uncle's vacation home in the Florida Keys
2. A few days in San Diego
3. A few days in Carmel-by-the-Sea/Monterey

Right now, though, I am less concerned about whether or not we're able to take the week+ in Florida, but more so that Chris not be scheduled to work at 5am the day after we get married....or be scheduled to work until 12pm on the day of our rehearsal.

Wish him luck!

Someone Must Be To Blame

Someone must be to blame for hitting my PANIC! button.

Because, remember when I was talking all about how I am totally calm?  Yeah.
Gone.
Like, poof, into thin air.

This blog post will probably be listed as "published" at something like 2:00 am PST.  I started writing just before 1:30 am PST.

Now, not to say that I am freaking out about details that need to get done or something tragical happening....mostly, I have sneaking feelings of impending doom and my thoughts are racing like they're in the final stretch going for Olympic Gold.

I jump topics like....well, all analogies coming to mind at this moment are a bit inappropriate...suffice to say it is a lot!  I am thinking about: the classwork that is due on Friday (four separate projects, each of which involve writing at minimum 5 double-spaced pages of pure text), what we are going to do for our honeymoon, how the apartment is a mess, the outstanding RSVP's, where we are going to find the apartment for LA, that maybe I should be working out more since the wedding is so close, how long am I going to have to stay at La Familia on Thursday to finish paperwork, when I am going to fit anything else in, how I have a party on Saturday, about coordinating flights for my officiant, my guilt over not having worked on my vows hardly at all, the upcoming move and the required organization, Chris' health, how little food we have in the apartment right now, how good Taco Bell sounds right now, that I should maybe lay off the salt until the wedding to avoid bloat, and how it would be nice to finish the dishes but that would probably be too loud and wake Chris...........
The list goes on.
And on.
And on.

You get the idea.
It's tremendous.

All with this sinking, nagging feeling that, even with every pot I have my finger in at the moment (because everything listed above will be done in time and at least adequately), I am missing something vital.

This rigamarole, this tirade in my mind is what has me up at 2:00am on a Monday night/Tuesday morning when I have scheduled myself for a 9:00am yoga class.

Now, before I click off here and hit the publish button, it would be unfair of me not to acknowledge that this is not the only time in my life where anxiety has taken sleep from my grasp.

Even as I prepare to finish this post, I took a look around the view of the apartment from my perch at my desk to see what other task I can tackle before attempting to sleep.

TWO WEEKS!

What?

I know.

So nuts.

Can't believe it.

Two weeks from right now, I'll be eating and dancing with our family and friends.
Two weeks from right now I will be married.

The Bridezilla Conundrum

So it seems now that the time has arrived wherein people are expecting that the Bride (that is, me) is going Crazy preparing for the wedding.  Which is understandable given that: (1) popular culture tells us that the Crazy of the Bride ramps up and up and up as the wedding gets closer and closer and closer, (2) the wedding is now 16 days away, (3) I am typically deal with stress by dipping into my deep well of anxiety, and (4) there have been a lot of stresses with the wedding previously.

I am, however, shockingly cool, calm, and collected.
Yes, there are a few is a lot is is still tons left to do before the big day, but I am feeling that all of this is well in-hand.  Partly, this may be because while, previously, there had been some...shall we say challenges?....with personalities involved in the wedding, those seem to have been sufficiently resolved.  Well, at least they have been resolved enough that I don't have to deal with them.

It also helps that we have a better head-count for the wedding (only 32 people have not yet RSVP'd - and yes that is only since two days ago that number was more like 50), and that I had my third and final dress fitting on Tuesday.

Another factor is that I am approaching my final days working at my practicum placement; I am going in later this morning and after that I have two days of practicum left, which will consist of training meetings and paperwork - no more client meetings.  That leaves me with the remainder of my time to work and to work on the wedding.  That's a full week with the wedding as my primary task.

I think also that because I did begin grappling with a lot of the emotions about the wedding well ahead of time, I am able to focus on the excitement.  I have butterflies of excitement, not of impending disaster.  I am feeling free and clear of so much of the nasty, heavy anxiety that generally plagues my world.

I am completely ready to be present and conscious for my wedding day, so that I can experience all the wonders and joys of the entire day.

Licensed

On Monday, Christopher and I went down to the Alameda County Recorder's office to apply for and pick up our wedding license.  Like usual, I was excited about this big step; the license is the single most important item for the wedding....without it the actual wedding cannot happen.

So early on Monday morning, we hied ourselves to downtown Oakland (always charming) and located the Country Recorder's office.  It was surprisingly easy to find, and surprisingly easy to find street parking (albeit metered parking).

Neither of us having been married before, when we went into the offices, we were obviously stumbling around like idiots trying to figure out where to go first.  A computer lab looking room to our right, the welcome desk to the left, or the large room in front of us with workers at a U of desks lining the wall clearly used with patrons sitting across from the employees.  We started towards one of these desks with a worker seated there but who was not serving any patrons.  When we told her why we were there, she politely redirected us to the computer lab.  We followed the instructions to complete the information on the form - including our parents' full names and birth states - and proceeded to the welcome desk where they handed us a form to complete by hand.  Following that, we waited in the room with the U of desks for our number to be called and, when it was, made our way to the designated desk.

When we sat, the woman congratulated us heartily on our impending marriage and answered our questions easily and with apparent enthusiasm.  She asked about the wedding and how it was going to be while simultaneously processing our paperwork.

Then came the moment that felt pretty big to me: writing for her on a piece of blank white paper the name by which I will be known - legally, personally, and professionally - following the marriage.  I am keeping my first name the same, adding my current last name as a second middle name, and taking Christopher's last name.
I slid the paper back and waited for her to complete the data entry.

She told us the fee total, processed our payment, and handed over several pieces of paper for us to take with us, including: the marriage license that needs to be signed to certify the wedding, an instruction page for us regarding the paperwork, an instruction page for our officiant regarding the paperwork, a novelty certificate (what? weird, right?), and a booklet that includes information pertinent to married people.

She actually opened the last and showed us a page that listed the national domestic violence and sexual assault hotlines.  She was apologetic about having to show it to us, but I think we confused her when we both said that it was good that she did...we did not have time to tell her that we both work with BAWAR and are social justice advocates, so she seemed a bit perplexed.

Regardless, she congratulated us once again, handed me a large envelope with all the paperwork and sent us on our way.

When we got home, I showed Christopher and made him watch while I put the envelope in a safe and logical place so that we do not lose it.

And so we shall be married!!!

17 days.
Can't believe it!!

Chris Turns 26!

Today, May 1st, is Christopher's 26th birthday.

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!


He's started the celebration by waking up for work at 4:30am having gotten home at 10:00pm from work.
When he gets home we will celebrate with dinner and a movie at home.

If you get a chance, send some Happy Birthdays his way, will ya?
He's pretty awesome.
I'm quite glad that he was born 26 years ago today.

Shoe Clips: They're In

Coming on the heels of the Royal Wedding, I have extreeeeeeeeeeeeeemely important and exciting news:

I ordered shoe clips, they have arrived, and I am very pleased.

I know.

Revolutionary.

Whatevs. 

Here are my non-princess shoes with the shoes with the shoe clips attached:

Yes, I went with the turquoise flowers, despite concerns that the colors wouldn't match - a concern shared by all many some three two people.  I was a hair apprehensive, but I decided ultimately that I was more concerned about how the others might look a little over-bridal and result in the dreaded not-ever-going-to-wear-it-again disease that plagues weddings the world over.


And I have my results.
And I am happy.

Bottles of Bubbly

I have to say that this was one of my favorite wedding tasks to date: champagne tasting!

My wedding wine provider/selector, who also happens to be my step-uncle, chose a selection of three champagnes for us to try at Easter dinner so that we could select one for the wedding. (Chris did not participate since, as many of you know, he does not drink at all.)

First, up an Asti: the flavor was sweet and bright, and my personal favorite - hello! sweet tooth!! - but ultimately we decided that it was too much to serve to the wedding attendees since many are not likely to share my preference for sweet.

Second, Prosecco: very dry.  Some of the family preferred this one and, while I liked it, it wasn't a stand-out for me.

Third: Louise d'Estree: balanced, and spicy.  The ultimate winner with a good amount of flavor variety.

Who knew I was such a connoisseur of champagnes and that I would have such strong opinions on it?

It was certainly quite fun trying the different bottles and discussing it like a fancy-pants grown-up with my family members.  I'd never had that much of an opinion about these things, and I'm used to the real grown-ups making decisions about wine and things since I'm generally pretty easy to please.

It is definitely nice to know, though, that I got to pick this one....plus the bottle is waaaaaaay pretty, right?

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

What cures all ailments regarding DIY projects?

Ordering 80 pounds of candy!!

Last night, I ordered all the candy for the candy buffet (or at least I think I did) from Amazon.  I was planning to order from an online candy wholesaler, but it turns out that the shipping for that wholesaler would increase the overall price by 40%.  So, a $200 order would cost $280 to get to me.  Well, turns out that Amazon has some great candy deals that fall under the Free SuperSaver Shipping deal that they have (or are Amazon Prime eligible, if you have that- I have the one-year student trial :) ).

I got all the below for well under budget:

Albanese Beary Blue Raspberry Gummi Bears

Chocolate Toffee Almonds

Airheads White Mystery

Grapefruit Gummi Candy

(my 100% favorite that I fell in love with when working at the Sweet Factory)

Swedish Fish

Sour Patch Watermelon Slices

Peanut Butter Pretzel Poppers

Yogurt Pretzels

Tootsie Rolls

Candy Coated Malted Milk Balls

Cherry Sour Balls

Watermelon Jolly Ranchers

Albanese Lemon Gummi Bears

I think I ended up with a good grouping of chocolate, gummi, nut, sour, and flavors.  I also needed to consider the color situation since I want the candy, when all set up, to look good and cohesive and in line with my overall color scheme.

It was more difficult to determine the line-up than I thought it would be; all the considerations (color, flavor, price) made things somewhat challenging to balance well.

You know what, though?

I'm definitely excited to eat all the candy....you know, to taste test it...in case it's....poisoned.

The Map Project

I have mentioned before that we are getting married at Rush Ranch, which is an entirely open space.

What I may not have made clear is exactly how much we are making this ranch INTO a wedding venue.

Here's the long view of the venue:

You can barely see the connection to the 'main road' right in the top corner.

Now, a little closer:

Some of the buildings become clearer and more discernible.

And this is the space that will be used for the actual wedding:

Buildings, cars, trees, right.

Even though I'd been there more times than anything else, eventually I had to make this so that I could make some sense of what things are and where each part of the wedding will be (yay for Paint):

There we go!

I think maybe one or two small changes have been made, but this is the basic idea of where things will be the day of.   It's a lot of space and it definitely went through many iterations before settling on even the biggest basics, like where dinner and the ceremony will be.

I have sent these to the vendors and given them to the parents...my ushers and greeters will definitely have some things to learns about where everything is. 

I love the space and it should be beautiful and green when we get there.

Pins and Sticks

Yesterday I had my first real dress fitting wherein I didn't just put on the dress, I had to stand verrrrrrrry still for a verrrrrrry long time while a woman put many, many pins in my dress in order to make it fit me properly.


Apparently I lost a lot of weight since ordering the dress...which is good, generally speaking, but makes more a much more laborious dress fitting since the dress needs to be taken in on all sides, essentially.  It also means that I don't actually have a good vision as to how I will actually look in my dress.

[Alright Christopher, look away now. I'm going to have to trust that your curiosity doesn't ge the best of you....not like it ever does, which is simply astounding to me since I always want to know what's going to happen.  Maybe that's why I'm marrying you. :) ]





We also worked on adding the halter strap to the dress which, when they pinned on the trial fabric for placement and shape, made an enormous difference in how the dress looked on me.  I knew it would because my shoulders are quite wide indeed and this poorly suited for the proportions in strapless things.  Adding the halter definitely broke up the line of my shoulders, hid the armpit folds (that everyone has to some degree no matter size or shape and that I know I certainly don't find the  most attractive, particulalrly on myself) and changed the whole look of the dress into the pin-up aesthetic which is partly/kind of the point.

It was just me and my step-mom at the fitting, which was nice since we were able to share that together and chat about the wedding one-on-one. 


I also find that I am 100% fickle as all get-out when it comes to completing the look of the dress.  I mean, I picked the shoes, but mostly because I knew I would have to before the fitting for the pinning of the hem.  Other than that, I'm not set on hairstyle, earrings, bracelet, makeup style, or even shoe clips!

The combination of these things can dramatically alter my overall impact - not necessarily better or worse just...different.  I keep finding photos of things that I like that I think will work but then I don't know how I want to put it all together.

Generally, I'm not so great at choosing looks beforehand - I like having lots of styling options in my bag when I travel because I'm never sure how I want to put things together.  Sometimes I like something more subtle, sometimes more dramatic, and other times I just slap it together until I feel like I'm finished or the clock says that it's time to go.



You know what?
Probably I will make ALL of these decisions on the day of the wedding.

Wish me luck!

Surfacing

One theme that I have been noticing is that, with the wedding so close, it makes me think about my relationship with Chris in a different way.  Mostly what that means is that conversations about the future surface more -- and not in the "isn't it fun to dream about the future" kind of way, but in the "how are we actually going to make this happen?" kind of way.

To be sure, Chris and I both have things we want to achieve both as separate people (e.g., our careers) and as a couple (e.g., children and a home).  We have talked about these things before, many times and at great length.  And yet, as we creep up find ourselves closer and closer to the day of the wedding, these conversations seem to take on a different weight.

As a psychology grad student, I know that this behavior - the re-evaluation of a commitment during that in-between time after deciding to commit (e.g., engagement) and before the commitment becomes finalized (e.g., marriage) - is completely normal.  It happens with small decisions and large, good decisions and bad; this psychological reflex does not discriminate, particularly if you have a pragmatic style of thinking.

So, given that, it's completely normal and natural that Chris and I are having more and more serious conversations about the direction of our lives - particularly considering that, for the next year, I will be living in LA and he will be here in the Bay Area.  It's also particularly present, I think, because for the past four years the needs and demands of my schooling have been of paramount importance and largely immovable while Chris had to mold to mine.  A difficult feat to balance these things and now we are moving closer to being able to prioritize Chris' career and needs over mine. We discuss how we are going to manage this coming year while living apart, but also long-term financial planning, personal goals, professional goals, and family planning.

The closer we get to the wedding and the closer we get to more freedom (in the form of me becoming a licensed psychologist) the more these questions and discussions are imperative and hold more weight.

I suppose I have to think of this in neither a good/bad manner, but rather accept that the intensity of these transitions is appropriate and important to consider.

Banded!

Guess what came in the mail?!?!?!?

Chris' wedding band!

He tried it on and is making complaining noises about how it fits and how he's not used to wearing jewelry.
I told him that he has decades to get used to it. :)

Seriously, though, I'm so happy because it's pretty, and it fits, and it goes very well with my rings.  I know the photo is blurry, but I can't find the website's photo so this will have to suffice because I am definitely not the photographer.

Bachelorette Weekend!

When I talked to my maid of honor - also my little sister - about what I would like for my bachelorette, we discussed primarily that I liked the idea of doing an inexpensive weekend getaway. Only she and one other bridesmaid could make the trip, so we adjusted the plans accordingly.
With that in mind, we made plans for a weekend in Reno.  Yes, not the most exciting of all places, but close enough to drive and generally inexpensive with enough fun things to do that those activities plus good company ought to make for an enjoyable weekend.

Well.
This trip was supposed to take place this past weekend.
I don't know who saw the weather reports, but on Thursday night I got text messages from my sister, my dad, and my step-mom who had all noted the truly awful weather hitting the Sierra-Nevadas.
This weather was so intense that they closed the roads from the Bay to Reno.
Closed them.
As in, shut down, no one is getting through here.

Many curse words were awash in my brain.
What were we going to do now?

Some ideas surfaced, none of them sounding really all that great
.....
until....
I remembered that, since Chris works for Southwest Airlines, we can get these things called Buddy Passes (a limited number) so that others can fly on standby for free.  After talking to Chris, I decided that I wanted to use these passes for my bridesmaids and fly somewhere.

Where?
Glad you asked.
Las Vegas!

And with that, we were off and running.  We changed all the plans, notified people, adjusted reservations, checked flights and went through the process of completely flipping the trip upside down because, even though both places are in Nevada, the planning and prep for trips to Vegas are definitely not the same as for Reno.

Once everything was in place (with the help of many people!!!), Friday afternoon all three of us made our ways to the airports - myself and one BM to Oakland, the other to San Francisco.  We all, very thankfully, were able to make our flights and we landed together in Las Vegas at nearly the same time.

So far our trip was off to a great start.
I don't want to detail all of our shenanigans here, only partly because that would take to long, but suffice to say we had ourselves lots of fun.

We walked (a lot!!), drank, talked, ate, socialized, and gambled.
I also had some really lovely and meaningful conversations with the BMs, and got to reconnect with them both on several levels.
We even watched the lights go out on the Strip on Saturday night from 8:30 to 9:30, in honor of Earth Hour.  I videoed it, too.

The only truly difficult part of the trip was coming home.
Remember how those Buddy Passes mean that you fly stand-by?
Well, trying to leave Las Vegas on a Sunday afternoon is apparently a very bad idea.
We arrived at the airport at about 1:00pm.
We jumped from gate to gate trying to make flights (all of us with sore feet, some of us with more blisters and injuries than others).
Then, after 9pm we were waiting on the very. last. flight. home.  The employees told us that I was at the top of the list, and my BM's were #s 3 and 4 to get on the plane.
I made a strategic decision to go to San Diego instead - since there were seats on those flights and since I was going the next day anyways (more on that later) - hoping that having me off the list would mean that my BM's chances of getting on that flight were improved.

I moved to the gate for my new flight to San Diego (after calling an old friend who graciously agreed to pick me up and give me a place to crash for the night!!!) and waited.  I got a boarding pass right away (meaning that I was almost-guaranteed to get a seat).

When I was on the jetway, I got a text message from one of my BM's saying that she got on the flight....but that the second BM hadn't gotten on yet.  My heart sang and then sank.  I felt like I was abandoning them and I hoped against all hope and reason that they would both get on that plane and get to be home that night.

I spent my flight in an anxious sweat for my compatriot.
When I landed I got good news: both BM's got on the flight and made it home!

So.
In all, it was a really great trip and I'm soooooo happy we went.
Next time, though, we're trying for the very first flight out!

THE Dress Arrived...Last Month

When I got the call that my wedding dress had finally arrived at the bridal shop, I was both thrilled and anxious.

Now, that happened, several weeks ago (in point of fact, I began writing this particular blog post on February 11th....it is now well past that date) and I have since tried on the dress and, just yesterday, I scheduled my first two dress fittings!

I realize now that I should probably explain the anxious part of that first sentence.
As you may know, I bought my dress quite some time ago and had first found it even earlier than that.
It was just about six months between purchase and when I learned that it arrived at the bridal shop.  That's a looooooong time to wait in between viewing what is arguably the most important and  expensive dress I will even wear. Especially when our culture puts such a premium on finding the just-right dress; I want to look exactly how I want to look on my wedding day and the dress itself is a huge part of that.  Thus, I definitely do not want to have any serious doubts about whether or not I picked the right dress.

For myself, I tried on dress after dress after dress and had a difficult time finding the right style for me and for what I wanted.  I love clothes, and so it was easy to imagine myself getting married to Christopher in many of the dresses I tried on.  I'm not really sure what ultimately sold me on this dress, and so visions of what I remember this dress looking like when I tried it on danced in my head along with visions of a dress I almost bought and ones that I seriously considered.  Who knows?

So six months without seeing the dress and no taksies-backsies can make a gal go a little silly.
Thus, when I got the call the dress was there, I definitely got nervous that it wouldn't look the way I had remembered and that it would be the wrong size and that I picked the wrong version of the color white for it.


[[NOTE to CHRISTOPHER:  STOP READING HERE!  No spoilers for you, young man!!!!]]


Sorry, I need to eliminate the possibility that he accidentally sees some key words that will give it away -- I don't know why exactly, but I've decided to go with near-mystery on how I will look the day we get married.  Except for my shoes and that I'm wearing a big-ass flower in my hair because...well, of course!! on the latter; not wearing a flower would just be silly!!!


Ok.
Better.

:)

Fortunately, though, when I arrived at the bridal shop with parents and a sister in tow (along with no less than 3 trial shoe options, two hair fascinators, a veil, earring options, and a bracelet) and tried on the dress it was what I remembered.  RELIEF!  Wearing it, I felt beautiful.  The size was the right size to have ordered - although it will have to be taken in in the waist and a little in the bust, it was the right size for my hips which, proportionally, is where I am the biggest.  BUT because of the rest, my dress saleswoman, had to hold back all the boning so that I wouldn't look like I was swimming in it.

I think, also, that I feel like keeping the rest of how I will look a bit of a mystery from the world-at-large, as well (because obviously, 8 kajillion people read this blog religiously!).  If you want to see some of the photos from the try-on, let me know and I'll happily share, but I think I'd rather keep it a bit under my hat for now.

Suffice to say, I loved it.  I can't wait to put it on again and make the changes in the sizing and in the adding of the halter strap (which I am convinced will make a huge impact on my silhouette).  
So I for my wedding-day look I have:
(1) the dress
and
(2) the shoes

I still need to make a decision on:
(1) hair accessory/ies
(2) bracelet
(3) shoe clips
(4) earrings [post to come on that one]
(5) hair
(6) make-up
and
(7) nails

That's good progress, right?

Bridesmaids Dresses: They've Arrived!!

I posted previously about the selection of the bridesmaids dresses, and the vendor I had chosen.

Well, recently, the box arrived from my Etsy vendor: localovespirate, and I thought that she packed them so adorably that I had to take photos.

She put a personal, hand-written note in with the packaging.

Each dress was wrapped with a ribbon and a matching silk flower attached to a clip (which the girls may or may not use).  They also each had attached a business card and some other marketing.

They also came with a photo-list of possible ways to wear the dress (though there are about a bazillion ways these dresses can be worn), which I thought was nice.

I've distributed the dresses to the girls who currently live in the U.S. (sorry Cat!) and got to play around with trying different styles with two of them.  I'm really excited about them, although we did run into two....I don't want to say issues, but that's the only word coming to mind-----oh! considerations!  We ran into two considerations: (1) bras: we definitely need to find styles for these girls that allow them to wear a bra with the dress since my BM's are not flat-chested, and (2) fabric cling: these dresses - in this fabric, anyhow - require that the wearer have a slip or Spanx or similar unless they want every crook, cranny, dip, and bulge evident.

Other than that, though, which should be easily remedied, I can't wait to see them all dressed and prepped and styled on the day.

Yay for my BMs!!!