Which one?

I don't think I'm going to have that "this is the one" moment. I have things about many dresses that I like. I'm extraordinarily indecisive, so it's not like I'm surprised by this or anything. I definitely should have seen it coming! Here are the 2 most notable dresses I have tried on:

I like this dress, really like it, but it feels over done to me. The straps in the front are bugging me. They seem heavy, I think. I love the back and the material.



I also really like this dress, and it feels much more me. I love the fact that I can shorten it and wear it after the wedding. By the way, the dress was a size to big and my mom is holding the extra material tight in the back. The dress is J Crew, and I posted about my J Crew dress trying on extravaganza earlier this month.


This one didn't feel particularly bridal...ugh. Decisions, ladies! Thank goodness I started looking for dresses like, 5 days after I got engaged. The more I look at these 2 right to each other, the more I like the 2nd one. I've quit shopping as of right now so I don't add any more confusion, but maybe I need to keep shopping for dresses. Maybe if I go to St. Louis this weekend, Ryan and I can go dress shopping together. He will definitely help me to not get overwhelmed, as I am apt to do when trying dresses on.

Did you have a hard time deciding on your dress? Because I sure am!

Crazy Sale

An extremely exuberant David's Bridal consultant called me today about a humungous sale on August 29th. A caterer's going to be there, and there are insane give aways from photographers, limo companies, etc. You just have to show up with a bridesmaid or two and try dresses on. I think the bridesmaid has to try dresses on too. I'm not sure I'm going to go, because I don't know if any of the give aways would work in St. Louis and I live about 2 hours away from there.


Speaking of David's Bridal....I really thought that this David's Bridal dress was the one. I love love LOVE the back, but this dress didn't really feel like me, you know? It seems.....overdone, in a way. I love the way this dress felt, though. The material of the skirt is a heavy netting with lace sewn on it. It just doesn't seem right, I guess? At $600 though, it's a great deal!

Is the David's Bridal in your town doing this big sale give away thing at August 29th?

The Big Ones

Ryan booked the caterer this week! That means we've got all of the "big ones" booked: the photographer, the caterer, the church and the reception hall.

I found that the cheap(er) places tend to book up quickly. I'm amazed at people who plan weddings in less than a year. Ryan and I got engaged in April, and I immediately started researching. We toured venues last month and have booked in the last few weeks. I can't imagine finding places to get married and have a reception less than a year out!

I've been telling myself since May that once Ryan and I got the "big ones" squared away, that I could relax and the wedding planning would be much more fun.

I do feel more relaxed already! Now I get to play with the fun details, like:

-Aisle decorations
-Centerpiece mock-ups
-Invitation design
-Shoes!
-A bride's man?

Much more fun than boring contracts.

How long is it taking you to plan your wedding? Did getting the big vendors taken care of stress you out?

I just can't stop....

...spending money.

Money goes through my fingers like water.

I don't balance my checkbook (online banking does it for you! Right?), I have no clue what my credit score is, and I have no idea where the h*ll all my money goes every month.

I have been sooo stressed about money lately, what with saving for the wedding and finally being a self-sufficient adult, that I knew I needed to do something, but I didn't know what.

Source

I signed up for Mint today. You input all of your accounts (don't worry, it's 100% secure) and they put together these incredible charts and graphs for you. After I input my checking account, Mint informed me just how much money I spend dining out in July. Ouch. It takes a bit to set up, and I'm still tweaking my account to make sure that the graphs are as accurate as can be (for example, making sure I mark which "Food and Dining" purchases are groceries and which ones are eating out), but I feel much more in control of my finances already.

Oddly enough, gas station purchases are automatically dubbed "Food and Dining." Isn't that strange? All I did to change them was to double click on the particular transaction, select "Auto" and then select "Gas/Fuel." It's so easy and user friendly!

You can manage every account you have from Mint. You can even set budgets up, and when you exceed your "Clothes" budget for the month, it tells you.

Mint just informed me that I spent and absolutely obscene amount of money at Wal Mart in the past six months!

I forsee great things happening with Mint. I am very goal oriented, so keeping the bars in the graph down under "Clothes" will keep me focused.

What do you do to not blow all of your paycheck in one day like I have been known to do in the past?

Losing My Sh*t

I am not managing stress well at all lately!

I just started a new job, my car needs new tires and the wheel size is weird so they are EXPENSIVE, Ryan's dealing with a lot right now, and we're in different cities...and to top it all off, he went $123 over on his cell phone bill...talking to me.

It's all just life stuff, but I feel like I'm not handling it as well as I should. I mean, isn't this wedding planning stuff supposed to be fun? Instead of enjoying it, I'm having meltdowns about how much it is costing. It's like the wedding exacerbates stress. It gives me stuff to fixate on and freak out over.

Workouts are keeping me sane right now. I never understood why people saw them as such stress relievers. Up until now, they've always been just one more thing on my to-do list, but lately, I have been really looking forward to my workouts. Yesterday I hammered out 5 miles on the elliptical after work and read some of East of Eden. I felt sooooo much better afterwards--my mood was vastly improved and I was feeling much more positive.

I have to get a grip though. Yesterday on the phone Ryan said "anti-anxiety meds aren't that bad, are they?" He was kidding...mostly!

How are you handling stress? Do you think wedding planning makes it worse?

It's Official.....

I mailed in our contract with Gail Fleming this week!

I am so, so excited that she will be our photog for our wedding. How fabulous are these pictures!

All images are courtesy of the talented Gail Fleming. Missouri brides, she travels!

She does lots of candid shots as well as the traditional posed shots. She even has a list of typical posed shots made up. You can pull from it and add your own. My man hates to have his picture taken, and she takes the posed ones in less than an hour!

Her packages were 100% customizable and her rates were extremely reasonable. We're getting 3 30-page albums, 8 hours of coverage, and a high-res disc with printing rights for $2,000.

I found her via the WPJA, which is a great place to find a photographer.

How did you find your photog?

Budget

Source

Ryan and I worked over our wedding budget recently.

Le sigh.

I'm being over-dramatic. After very generous parental contributions, Ryan and I will need to come up with about $2000 out of pocket. This doesn't include a honeymoon or wedding bands, though, so that's what concerns me.

Ryan says I worrying about this wayyy too much, but I really want a bad-a** honeymoon! I am hoping for a self-driving tour of Ireland, just like Mrs. Lovebug did over on Weddingbee (I'm not even going to link to it, I'm sure you are all voracious readers like myself!).

I think it intimidates me so much because I am quite the spender, while Ryan is the saver of the two of us. It's scary to me, knowing I have to save up a chunk of change in the next year.

Did the idea of saving all that money freak you out?