Shoes

There was a post over on Weddingbee today (Source) where a gal was asking if the dress was easier to find than the shoes.

Yes. A million times, yes.

I have a ton of time until this even becomes an issue, but my head is a-buzz of possibilities. I just posted a few weeks ago about desiring to go with shoes that break the mold of white, strappy, plain - but the more I think about it and discuss my thoughts with my sister and friends, the more nervous I am about heels. And flats. And anything else. It all starts glomming together into a ball of "oh, crap."

What if heels are too high? What if I want to dance and party in my dress all night long but I can't stand to STAND for that long in them? And if I take them off, the dress becomes too long? That's no good!


I love these, but are they two high? (Source)

What if I wear flats and it's the middle of October and there's snow? And we wanted to do some pics outside? That's no good!

What if I wear boots of some sort and my feet are hot the entire time? That's no good either!

Next week will mark the time that my dress will officially be ordered - with a set height (which can be altered, but at cost) - and I want to try and give the store the most accurate height measurement of Lilacwire with shoes on as possible.

As a regular-height gal living in an Express-height world, it means that most of my pants come too long and I have to hem them to a good place. And I'm 5'5". I stress about the length of items on my legs and feet almost every day. I guess this should be no different, but I kind of wish THE SHOES would launch themselves out of the woodwork like my dress did and make this whole decision ridiculously easy.

Unexpected Expenses

As I have began the process of purchasing the dress, I've had to set some money aside each week so I can pay half of the dress's cost. It's a pretty pricey piece of clothing, ringing in just under $2,000. I figure I can't take the money to the grave, and I'm lucky enough to have a job that pays me well, so I can do this.

On that note, things happen. My little poodle Loki has been a bit under the weather this week, needing to use the restroom in the middle of the night A LOT, so I had to take him in to the vet for meds and a checkup. Suddenly, that extra money that I was going to use toward a dress has gone to a vet.

My sister texted me via her boyfriend's phone a few minutes ago and informed me she had dropped her phone in the street and a passing car ran it over and destroyed it. Ouch. She helped me buy a laptop when I was jobless last year, so I've been paying her back. To get a phone, she needs some money pretty soon. Thus, her immediate need for cash becomes my immediate need, and I need to give another payment for the dress today.

It's those expenses that we never really figure for.

I'm lucky. I can help her out with a laptop payment and still do a payment on the dress - but her phone isn't inexpensive. I wonder what else she's going to have to put on hold while she builds back up that painful dent in her wallet.

Now I have to figure that as Mr. Light and I head into possible marriage plans, we're going to have more items like this happen. Things break or get stolen. People park by braille and put dents in cars. We require doctor's visits.

I wonder what other unexpected expenses have come up to stop a good wedding plan?

Poof.

I mentioned in my first entry that I'm thinking I'll be married within the next few years. I don't even have a ring on my finger yet, but I find myself looking through an ample selection of online sites relating to weddings. The Knot, Offbeat Bride, and other assorted sites Google Reader's pushed my way. It's probably not the best habit to get into, but Dr. Light and I are pretty committed, and he admitted the other day that he joined The Knot before I did!

We've had some conversations about what we want at a wedding (he and I like the same colors - blue and purple), Dr. Light did drop one bomb on me: he wanted my dress to be primarily white. Now, I've never been that gal who daydreamed about her dress, what it would look like, etc., but I've also never had my dreams set on a white dress. In fact, I was thinking that it would be awesome to go with something colorful.

A few years ago I saw a wedding where the bride wore a red dress, and it was the first time I had been exposed to a different color dress. So my options had been expanding. Maybe a lilac dress to match my favorite color. Maybe something blue! So this kind of made me go "oh."

I guess I could look at it in that way of "BUT it's MY DRESS!" I can't. I feel like he's allowed to have his fantasies come in here too, so I've been thinking about a way that I could include his and my dreams.

On that note, what are my dreams, you ask? I started with wanting a halloween wedding. Then evolved to a costume party. Now, and this is what I think will stick: a masquerade. Guests can wear awesome formal attire and masks, something outrageous, something fun. I want my dress to fit in with this. I think I can, and I think that I can give Dr. Light and myself something we both want.

[This part removed for spoilers, since I don't want Dr. Light to know what I like.]

What did I realize as well? I'm not a fan sashes on gowns. I've definitely seen some that look great and I understand why women do it - it makes an easy match to any wedding colors and can define a waist. It's just not my style, however.





To me, they draw attention away from the beauty of the dresses. If I'm going to spend a grand on a dress, I want the dress to shine!

Of course, I don't mind the idea of color in dresses - I just want to see it incorporated more fully.

So now that I have some thoughts for possible dresses, I gotta wait and see how finances and ideas pan out. Will I make my own? After all, I did spend six months on this travesty. :P

The Hello

I've been a poster on good ole Livejournal.com for about seven years now, but I felt that my posts there were more of a personal nature and I wanted to open a blog that focused on the more homey aspects of my life. I am expecting to be engaged within about a year. I sew, sometimes for work clothes, sometimes for more alternative projects. I like to paint, decorate, whatever.

A little more about me. I'm a 29-year old records manager (think: corporate librarian) from Denver, Colorado. I've been sewing for ten years, mainly in the form of reproductional costuming. It's a pretty sweet thing.

The guy. Dr. Light, I'll call him. Pharmacist, Air Force brat, and will likely make a guesst appearance or two in photos. He's pretty sweet for a guy. For instance, he wrote Christmas cards this year while I was lazy.

Other main characters: a sister, friends, and a toy apricot poodle.

The setting: Beginning February 1 I will be moving in with Dr. Light. It's a condo he's owned for a few years, so there will likely be a long uphill battle for us to work out a situation where it feels like ours, rather than his. He's been on board with me the whole way on this, but I know there will be some rough spots.