The Hunt for Bridesmaid Dresses Begins

The only bridesmaid picture that I saved early on was of this floral dress from Nordstroms.  It has a casual, gardeny feel and would be great for an outdoor wedding.   When I showed it to one of my bridesmaids she wasn't too excited about it. So I let it go.  I didn't really push it because maybe... (in a whisper voice) I can use it on the night of the rehearsal dinner.

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Even though I didn't really have an idea of what I was looking for,  I set out on Saturday with three of my bridesmaids to hunt for dresses.  The first place we walked into had walls and walls covered with bridesmaid dresses.  Long ones, short ones, red, black, silk, satin ones! It was a little overwhelming, but we quickly learned that the dresses were sorted by designer and by length.  We only looked at knee length dresses since my wedding is in the summer, and after about 20 minutes of pulling dresses, we headed to the dressing rooms. I apologize for not having any pictures to show but, this is mostly due to the fact that after trying on  about 10 dresses we didn't like any of them.  They weren't even maybe's.  We decided to leave and hoped for better luck at the next store.

The second place we went to was much more helpful.  To begin with, we had an appointment and a gal was assigned to just my party.  She listened to what we were looking for and started making suggestions.  We had a lot more dresses to try on at this place so our hopes were high. Again, some dresses were a quick NO!  but others got maybe's.  Two dresses did catch our attention, though. 

The first one is a Melissa Sweet strapless bridesmaid dress but we liked how the skirt looked. It fit nice and seemed dressy and casual at the same time.  Best of all the material wasn't too thick, which is important to consider since we are getting married in the summer.

Taken on my camera.

The second dress, we liked from the Vineyard collection, had only one strap.   The first thing my bridesmaid said when she opened the dressing room door was, "You know, I wouldn't normally pick an asymmetrical dress but I really like the way this one looks!"

We all agreed that it wouldn't be a dress we normally would pick but we all did like it. It looked stunning on her.  It complimented her figure and it was also a light weight material.  The best comment one of the girls said was, "You know, I think this is a dress that I really could wear again!" Which made me giggle and made me think of 27 Dresses.

I would consider our hunting trip a success but I still want to go to some more bridal stores and see what's out there.  I am not too worried about the timeline but I am worried I might end up with too many choices and then I won't be able to decide. 

How did you decide on your bridesmaid dresses? Did you go to several places before deciding? 

200 Days from Now...

200 days from now, I will get to wear the prettiest dress I've ever owned and will have my dad walk me down the aisle.

200 days from now,  we will stand before God and our families and declare our love for each other.

200 days from now, we will say, "I do!"

And when the priest says, "You may kiss the bride." He will and I'll be elated!

So much that I still have to do, so much to plan, but the best part of the day has already been decided! I play this out in my head and it just makes me smile! I can't wait to be married! 

The best part: 

200 days from now, I will be Mrs. Vuong!

Time to make Resolutions

I guess a common cliche for January is to make some resolutions. I think most people are sincere when they make resolutions because, after all, they are improvements we'd like to make in our lives.  Resolutions like: "I'm going to work out everyday", "I will get to work on time" or "I will make more home cooked meals." No joke, those really have been past resolutions that I've made.  And you know what conclusion I've come to about resolutions: they only last for about a month! Maybe two! So a few years ago, I resolved to have no more resolutions.

But since 2010 is going to be such an important year, I thought why not? I'll make some resolutions.  Some that I can actually stick to or try and stick to! So here we go:

1. Do not become a bridezilla - no matter how stressed I am!  I don't want to take my stress out on anyone, especially Hanam.  If I feel stressed, I will find different ways to relieve the stress. So far, I haven't felt too much stress and I want to keep it that way.
   
2. Make up my mind and stick with it!  I procrastinate.  Guilty...very guilty!!!  I procrastinate on wedding stuff 'cause I can't make up my mind. I see one thing and think "Oooh, I like that." then I see something else "Ohhh, I like that too." Can you see where this is going. It's fine to have several ideas but I can't sit on it and wait. Once, I have sevral ideas, I need to choose one and do it.
3. Don't leave things to the last minute! It is my goal that the last week before we get married will be project free! I know that there are going to be some last minute things but I don't want any of them to be DIY projects or things that could have been done in advance.   Picking someone up from the airport is okay, making 200 napkins rings...not okay!
4. Enjoy every minute of our wedding day! On that day, I don't want to worry about flowers, food, DJ etc. No thoughts will start with: "I should have...." or  " I wish we would have....". None of it! It's our wedding day and we are going to have a blast. Period.
5. Last and the most important: Amongst all the planning, running around, and DIY projects .... I don't want to lose sight of what July 24th really means: It's our wedding day, the day we receive the sacrament of marriage and all of it's graces. Before God, we will give ourselves definitively and totally to one another. 

I'd like to note #2 and #3 seem to go hand in hand. If I can do #2 then #3 shouldn't be a problem but I'm going to leave #3 because a little reinforcement will work for me!  Also, it seems that #1 and #4 are tied to #5.  If I can constantly keep the reason for our wedding on the forefront of my mind, then I won't become a crazy bride and I won't worry about what happened or didn't happen on our wedding day.  At the end of the day, if Hanam and I get to say "I do" before God then I will consider my day a success. 

So, I've made some resolutions which is a good thing because it will help keep me sane and calm and ready to enjoy our amazing day!

Are you making any personal or  wedding resolutions this year?