This is why we can't have kids yet: Our idea of an awesome Sunday is taking off on the motorcycle

This past Sunday reminded me once again why I am marrying this man. Not that I ever really forget, but days like this just reinforce our love.

We woke up Sunday morning (LATE Sunday morning) to a gorgeous day after a rainy Saturday. At once we knew we needed to get out on the motorcycle, as days like this are rare now, and will only get colder. We geared up, packed up our cameras (Canon Digital Rebels), I hopped on the back of his bike, and we took off north to go get breakfast. After some yummy pumpkin pancakes, we headed west to Central Mass. where we heard there were good orchards. We ended up at Doe Orchard in Harvard, and wandered around taking pictures, holding hands, and kissing under apple trees.

It was the perfect October day, reminding us that this is what it will feel like outside when we get married in a year. This is why we love fall, and why we’re having our wedding in this season. The smell of apples, the colors of the leaves…we love everything about it.

We continued on to a beautiful cemetery to take more pictures. It may sound morbid, but the leaves were gorgeous and the area was just so picturesque. We got silly and took some pictures of each other taking pictures. Look how handsome he is in his motorcycle leathers!

We’re not your typical engaged couple in many ways. We started living together after dating for only 8 months, we got engaged before we’d even dated 2 years. We’re in no rush to have kids and plan on adopting a toddler girl someday, maybe five or more years from now, even though we’re not very young (27 and 33 right now); I really have no desire to experience pregnancy and he’s totally fine with that. We’re enjoying being selfish with each other, and we’re not ready to give that up yet. We like taking off spontaneously, sleeping in, spending a rainy day in our PJs playing video games, and having a bunch of guys over to play D&D. Then again, maybe that’s why he loves me so much. ;)

I am no longer allowed to use Twitter at work

I have no tweet to base my blog post off today. That is because I am no longer allowed to use Twitter at work.

To be fair, I was never really “allowed” to use it. “Social networking” sites are prohibited. I work for a large, 800+ person concierge company, and we work with a lot of credit card information. We are not allowed to use cell phones, iPods, etc. at our desks, or blog or IM or Twitter or Facebook or pretty much anything. Since I work in Purchasing and have to be online all day to make purchases, it’s been pretty easy for me to skirt the Internet restrictions. Business is very slow right now, and I am BORED. I do my job, quickly and well, often going above and beyond my required duties.

Then, on Tuesday, I got “the talk” from my boss about my “Internet usage,” Twitter in particular. Now, I like her, she’s nice, and I could tell it was a command from her superiors that she had to carry out. But, COME ON. The rules are there to prevent stupid people from downloading viruses and goofing off instead of working. I’m not one of those people. Rules are rules though, and I am now Twitter-less from 9 to 5.

The tweet I was going to blog about had to do with all the friends I’ve made through Twitter, brides in particular. I have a Twitter friend in North Carolina now, @msrib [www.twitter.com/msrib], that’s getting married the day after me. She and I have been having great chats with @TheNearlywed [www.twitter.com/thenearlywed]. Then there’s @bobbiealice [www.twitter.com/bobbiealice] who won @BrokeAssBride’s [www.twitter.com/brokeassbride] couture wedding gown give-away, and I couldn’t be happier for her. Twitter makes me feel connected to a whole new community, and as someone who does not have a lot of female friends “in real life,” it gives me camaraderie I rarely experience elsewhere.

Now, my days are lonely and quiet. I can’t post endless links to dresses I’m looking at and vent about my family’s involvement in my wedding. I know I can do it at home after work, but I have other things to take care of then, and only post a couple of tweets. Basically, I’m miserable, and this may be my last straw here. They have no more work for me to do, but refuse to let me entertain myself in other ways. It’s a boring, dead-end job, and I really can’t see myself here much longer. I want to do so many other things. I can’t say much else, but this bride may be hitting the road if she gets her way.

Everything went great, I didn't need an appointment, and I think I found my dress!

It finally happened…I tried on wedding gowns!

See, this is sort of epic for me. At first, I was dead-set against going to a store and trying dresses on. I hate going shopping and trying things on. I buy everything online. I had planned all along to get my gown from Lily Wedding one way or another, as they custom-make the dress to your size. But my cousin Darcy talked some reason into me, and I relented. I realized I really did need to try them on to see what looked best on my figure.

At first, I was convinced I would want to wear short-sleeves to cover my flabby arms. I then found out that doing that only draws more attention to them. I wasn’t into the idea of a halter, though my similarly-figured cousin Darcy wore one and looked great. I also didn’t want strapless, convinced I’d be tugging at it all night long.

Well, color me wrong. I changed my mind about everything once I tried some on. We went to David’s Bridal in Danvers, MA last Sunday, me still in the mindset of only trying them on and dead against buying one there. It ended up being a much more pleasant experience than I imagined it would be. I was first made nervous by all the girls walking in with appointments (it was a weekend after all) and I felt like a complete noob (gamer-speak for “newbie”). But they took my info and Cindy took me over. Darcy had her baby with her, so I didn’t expect her to be able to help much, but Cindy was an angel of taffeta, whisking me in and out of dresses, supplying everything I needed.

I tried on six dresses in an hour and a half, and ended up really liking two of them. I discovered halters look great, and strapless is a close second, staying in place much better than I expected. I discovered beads and sequins chafe my arms something horrible, so anything with them was disqualified. I also discovered that ruching in the waist area is a total tummy-hider, and an absolute must for my dress.

Super excited, I immediately posted pics for the ladies to weigh in on. I forbade Simon from looking at them, finally realizing I wanted him to see me in the dress for the first time on our wedding day (I later gave in and let him see pics of dresses without me in them, as I do want his opinion). Responses poured in, and NO ONE liked my favorite dress! It turned out the pics just didn’t do it justice, and it looked nothing like it had in person, which was super flattering. I really shouldn’t have even given them the option to weigh in on the dresses I wouldn’t ever wear, but hindsight is 20/20.

So here I am, lost and confused, and second-guessing everything. Darcy had me convinced it would be best to get my dress at David’s Bridal like she did, so they could take care of alterations and pressing and I could concentrate on other things. When I got to work on Monday, my co-workers warned me against the evil marked-up alterations there, one stating they quoted her over $100 for something she had another seamstress do for $30. (I love having recently married co-workers!) At 4’11” and with a very, um, “voluptuous” figure, anything I get off the rack is going to need to be tailored quite a bit.

I also continued looking at my “favorite” dress, which Simon had seen and approved of, and eventually found it boring. Plain white halter, the only embellishment being some ruching and gathers. I was over it already, and went back to searching Lily Wedding. This time, I had some direction. I knew I wanted color, and I knew what styles would work for me. That was when…I found THIS:

Ruching? Check. Color? Check. Flattering neckline? Check. I emailed customer service to see if they could do a few things: make the embroidery a darker red, eliminate any beads and sequins, and possibly switch it from strapless to halter. This is why I love them: they can do all three, for no extra charge. I had that answer in less than a day (and they’re based in China!). If I get it, I may keep it as strapless, I haven’t decided yet.

So I found a similar dress with red flowers on the David’s Bridal website, along with two others I’d like to try on. I’ll be going back next month with a few family members who couldn’t make it last time. After that, however, if I’m not in love with anything there, I will get something from Lily Wedding. I won’t need as many alterations when they custom-make it for me. If I have to be responsible for getting it pressed and tailored, so be it. It’s not worth a few extra HUNDRED dollars just for the convenience. I may not be a fan yet, and they did pleasantly surprise me, but I really can’t see myself getting a dress from DB. Call me a snob, but I want something made JUST for me. ;)

See my gown photo album.

Minus 1-year anniversary

Today has been a good day so far.  I found out I'm still getting a raise this year.  There was pumpkin spice coffee in the break room.  But most of all...today is one year until our wedding.

I call it our "minus 1-year anniversary."  I left a note in Simon's car this morning to commemorate it:

"One year from today...I will be your wife.  And nothing could make me happier.  Love, Squeebee."

I know, cheesey, but heartfelt!  And to continue the cheesiness, here are some of the reasons why I want to be Mrs. Simon Nelson:

• He makes me laugh at all the right times.
• He takes care of me when I'm sick, and stays up with me when I'm too sick to sleep.
• He does WAY more than his share of the housework (which I need to fix,  I know).
• He loves animals almost as much as I do.
• He gives the BEST hugs and kisses.
• He rides a motorcycle...and lets me tag along!
• He's perfectly okay with us occassionally spending an entire day playing WoW and not leaving the house.
• He's dead sexy (but don't tell him I said it, he'll get embarassed!).
• His arms are the safest place in the world.
• He is a total gentleman.
• His smile makes my day.
• I never get sick of him.
• We almost never fight.
• He goes to bed early with me even when he's not tired, just so I don't have to fall asleep alone.
• He encourages me to better myself, and never berates me when I fail.
• He always picks me up when I fall.
• He's still fascinated by how little I am, and thinks it's SO cute.
• He lifts heavy things for me.  And gets stuff off the top shelf.
• He likes my cooking.
• He fixes stuff.
• He thinks I'm beautiful just the way I am, but still notices when I dress up and wear makeup.
• He agrees with my political rants.
• I can talk about anything with him.  Even embarassing stuff.
• He does cute things like sending me flowers and other surprises.

But most of all...

He actually wants to marry ME!

There are many more reasons, some I can't think of right now, some that are a little too personal, but all I can say is that in one year, I will be marrying the love of my life.  It doesn't get much better than that!

More dress drama

Okay, not drama really, but I go back and forth so much it's ridiculous.

So Darcy and I are going to David's Bridal this Sunday, which should finally help me clear up what looks best on me.  In the meantime, I'm still looking, of course, and came back to a dress on Lily Wedding that I loved when I first started looking at the site.  This dress is shown in white and navy:

They give the option to get it in ivory, which I want, but navy obviously doesn't fit our color scheme, so I was curious as to whether they can change that as well.  In typical Lily Wedding fashion, of course they can!  I was psyched to hear that.

So here's the question...with these as our bridesmaids' dresses:

 ...which color should I get the panel and trim in if I get that wedding gown above?  Latte, claret, or gold?

I feel like if I get claret or gold, the other color will look out of place on the bridesmaids.  However, I'm not sure dark brown is very appropriate for a bridal gown accent (I don't hate the idea though).

Just curious on opinions.  I've liked that dress for so long, makes me wonder if I'll end up getting it.  It's only $278 too.  =)

Update: My bridal buddy @msrib showed me this dress on David's Bridal that's similar so I could preview the color combos:

I'd still obviously want the main part to be ivory, and the colors above are only approximate, but I think I kind of like the brown!  Very elegant and different.

Friday is one year till my wedding!

When Simon first proposed on May 7 of this year, I was ready for a long engagement. I wanted to do everything right, take my time, and make sure we still wanted to do this. We had dated for less than two years before he proposed, and while I had known for months that I wanted to marry him, I hadn’t expected him to realize the same so soon. We love fall, and this fall was “too soon.” So we set the date for October 2010.

I don’t regret it, but the waiting is killing me! Friday Oct. 9 marks one year until our wedding. I’ve booked the venue/caterer, photographer, videographer, and lighting. My bridesmaids and I have picked out their dress. Simon and I are pretty sure we know which bakery is making our cake. I’m going dress shopping this Sunday. I have all the accessories and shoes picked out for my girls and me. I have written the ceremony, and I’m asking my possible officiant soon if she’ll do us the honor. I’ve picked out my décor and flowers and planned how to put them together. I’ve ordered all our stationery except the invitations and programs, which I’ll probably get from Etsy, and we’ve mailed the engagement announcements.

I have practically nothing left!!!

I know I won’t feel the same in a few months. As it gets closer, there will be more and more things to do. But I feel like, at this one year mark, I’ve already done everything I can do ahead of time, and can do nothing that needs to be done later! We’re not ordering dresses till December (even that is early, but I want to get the styles we picked before the new year and new styles come out). The save-the-dates will be sent in April. The food will be taste-tested within a few months of the wedding. Shouldn’t order the rings yet. Simon’s trying to lose weight, so we don’t want to buy his suit for a while.

I spend hours at work browsing wedding websites and talking about weddings on Twitter. I exchange links to dresses with friends on Facebook (I’m 27, EVERYONE I know is getting married!). I gaze at the dress I want and ask people’s opinions on my choices over and over and over. But there’s nothing else I can actually do for the wedding right now. That makes me ridiculously sad. Why do I have the wedding blues…ALREADY?

Engagement announcements, check!

Finally done with engagement announcements.  We bought labels yesterday for the addresses, and I stuffed and sealed the envelopes while Simon printed labels.  We were only short two addresses, one of which I got today, so we're not officially done, but just about!  Simon brought the 52 finished ones to the post office today.

I'm especially excited since I printed our website address on them, so more people can get wedding details.  And the website links to this blog!

I also set up an engagement announcement to print in the Boston Globe on Sunday, Nov. 1.  Need to remember to buy a few copies of that.  ;)  I want to start a scrapbook now that I have these things to put in it!  If I wait till after the wedding, it'll never get done.

So, one more thing is out of the way.  I need to mail contracts to our videographer and lighting designer.  Oh, and I'm going wedding dress shopping with my cousin Darcy on Sunday!  Could not be more excited.  I have a special little favor to ask of her that day.  ;)  Details later!

Vistaprint wedding stationery

I love VistaPrint . I’ve bought address labels, pens, magnets, stamps, and more from them in the past. They are always the cheapest personalized stationery out there. When it came time to order things for my wedding, I knew I’d be getting most of my stuff from them. I drew the line at invitations and programs, which I want to be a bit nicer, but everything else was coming from them.

So I started with engagement announcements; post-cards with two of our professional engagement photos on them, announcing our engagement and our new address. Got 70 of those, as I have about 55-60 addresses on our guest list.

Then I need save-the-dates: 2010 calendar magnets with the basic wedding details and our website address, and the wedding date circled. 70 of those as well.

At the wedding, we’ll need favors! We’re making a donation to the American Cancer Society in memory of my mother and Simon’s grandmother, and they send you pretty notices to give everyone to explain this. I decided to also give pens with those, so at least people walk away with something they can use. Ordered 75 pens.

Also at the wedding, we’re doing “guest wishes” cards instead of a guest book. Guests can write a sentiment on a notecard and place it in a vase, and I will put them in a scrapbook later amongst our photos. Ordered 100 of those.

After the wedding, we need to send wedding announcements to the people we couldn’t invite, especially extended members of my huge family. 50 of those should do the trick. They look like the engagement announcement because these people won’t have gotten one of those.

And last but not least, thank you cards! Let me tell you how fun it felt to have these printed up with my married name. ;) Ordered 75 of those I think.

Total for all of this, INCLUDING nice ivory envelopes with our return address pre-printed? Less than $450. If you go to www.vistaprint.com/twitter, you automatically save 25%. Plus we got it during a free express shipping promotion and got everything in a week. I squealed when I opened the box, I was so excited!

You can also follow them at @Vistaprint and @VistaprintDeals on Twitter for announcements and sales.

Of course, I’ve now had everything for another week and still haven’t addressed and sent out the engagement announcements. I guess I should get on that, huh?