More things to cross off that stupid list

What's this a picture of?

My DIY bustle.

I first attempted to do a one-point over bustle and then I got impatient with it and said screw it. So, now it is a bastardized version of an underbustle. Point is, it serves its purpose and isn't too hard to put up. Sorry the photo is not so great; this is what happens when Jeremy has the digital camera at work and I'm at home.

It reminded me how much I detest sewing. But, thankfully my grandmother attempted several times to teach me how to quilt, so I can do the basics every once in awhile.

I did find a favor box kit at Michael's, and it's going to be easy to put together. So Jeremy's going to be recruited to help put these together. The hardest part will be me trying to not kill the printer for the labels, which will just have a big "k" on them.

I also found a hairstyle I like. It won't be what I'm doing for my bridals on Friday, but I do want something similar for the actual day. This picture doesn't show it, but the tiara goes before the "bump" and part of it is under the part that's pulled back. The veil goes behind the "bump." I liked it because it was a little different but is still curly and is partially pulled back.

A roller-coaster week

This has been one emotionally crazy week.

Last weekend I realized that my dress was supposed to be done at the end of January. Being that it was a month later, and I hadn't heard from the alterations lady, I was a bit nervous.

Monday, I called. All I got was: You have wrong number.

I was scared out of my mind. Being six weeks away from the wedding, there was NO way I could order a new one and have it get here on time. In my panic, I started looking online for a back-up plan. Luckily, J. Crew had one that was very similar, even though it was twice the price of mine. Jeremy was nice enough to offer to pay for it if I did have to get a new one.

Tuesday, I rushed to Gulf Breeze to check on it. It was there; it was OK; it just wasn't done. She told me it would be another week. Rational thought returned to my brain. I celebrated by buying a new pair of Birkenstocks for my rehearsal dinner dress (although I did seriously contemplate buying a pair of black Rainbows for it).

Wednesday, I met with the reception hall people and set up the menu (chicken and pasta with sugar snap peas and a salad), so that was taken care of and was extremely easy and painless.

Friday, I realized I had a voice mail after school. My dress was done! I rushed back to Gulf Breeze, got it, rushed home, tried it on, and it's perfect! IT doesn't have a bustle yet because she doesn't ever do wedding dresses but did mine because it was plain and only needed hemmed. However, I have figured out a way to do it myself either involving a safety pin on the inside with the existing ribbon or sewing in another ribbon to tie it together. This wedding is really making me into Martha Stewart. But considering I will pay less than $60 for alterations and the bustle, which usually costs people about the cost of my dress, I'm quite OK with that.

Today I had my first run-in with using a new last name. We were at Barnes & Noble, and Jeremy decided that pre-ordering the last Harry Potter online wasn't going to work. So, as I started filling out the form, I realized that when it comes out in July, I will no longer be Beth Evans. Writing Beth Knipper felt really odd. It's going to take some getting used to ...

Help, please

If anyone reads this and knows of someone who does a good job with wedding gown alterations, please let me know! I'd greatly appreciate it. You can either leave me a comment or e-mail me at knip2be@gmail.com

Thanks:)

P.S.

I forgot to mention that there's been a slight change to the bridesmaids' dresses.

I was puttering around online last night and found out that they now offer them in the same champagne as my sash. So, there's been a color switch to the champagne because I'm pretty sure none of them have gotten theirs yet. And even if they have, we'll just have one in a special color:)

Oh, and I also forgot to mention in my previous two posts that Rae really was a great sport and such a sweetie during my mini-crisis. I highly recommend her to anyone in the Pensacola area!

At least something's getting done

So today I kept up with my habit of doing things that I have plenty of time to do and ignored what I need to get done ASAP.

I saw a dress a few weeks ago that I thought would be great for the rehearsal dinner, but I didn't get it because I told myself I should wait. Well, I saw it online again and decided I had to have it. So Jeremy and I headed to the mall today, and I now have my rehearsal dinner dress. I love it. And there's a high chance I might wear it before then too. If it's decent enough weather, it might be what I wear for our engagement pictures. Of course when I told Jeremy I now need a new pair of shoes for the dress, he looked at me like I'm nuts. He just doesn't understand that one pair of black shoes just doesn't always cut it.

And, Jeremy has actually contacted a few people to DJ the rehearsal. We decided on one, and then I found out that he failed to ask them if they were actually available for April 14. So, now we're just waiting to hear back about that. If they are, we've got a DJ. If they're not, I've learned my lesson and will give a list of questions Jeremy needs to make sure he asks when making requests.

I now have all the paper cut for the pocketfolds for the invites. It's great having a monster paper cutter at work:)

Hair and such

People I do not know very well seem to think that asking how I'm going to wear my hair for the wedding is a good question to ask me. Personally, I can think of much more exciting questions about the wedding to ask, but to each his own.

Anyway, I don't want it completely up because I don't like the way my jawline looks when I have it up (which is funny b/c I'm all for wearing it up when I'm lazy). But, I didn't want it completely down either. So, half up, half down seems like the best choice for me. But I still don't know the specifics. I like the one below because it has most of the elements I like such as the curls in the back and the sweep stuff in the front, plus a good spot for the tiara. However, I think the poof is a bit too poofy.
This one I liked for awhile, but then I decided I didn't like the front. Nor did I think it would work well with my tiara. I just thought it was too flat.
And then I found this picture of it where it looks too mulletish from the back. So it got nixed.
But, I think this one is the one i like the most:

It's curly, it works with the tiara and it's got the sweepy things but doesn't look like a mullet from the back. Then again, I could change my mind. It doesn't help that my hairdresser doesn't do wedding hair because she said she's just not good at it. So, now I have to find someone (although she did give me names) to go to for trials. I hate having people I don't know work on my hair. One guy I freaked out because I tensed up as soon as he touched me.

Anyway, I've been trying to post at least one idea up a week. However, don't expect any for the next few weeks because I start my new job as a teacher next week. And it's going to be hellish because I have to be at school early in the morning and go to the old job at night. So basically I'll be working and sleeping with no time to get anything wedding related accomplished, which I honestly haven't done since sometime in June (well, minus some invites). Next up on the list are save the dates (since those have to be sent out in a few months I figure I should think about working on them and I do have a basic idea; I've just got to design them), DJ and starting on ceremony stuff (I do know Matt will be playing "In My Life" on his guitar and we'll be walking out to the "Star Wars" theme).

Shoes, how I love shoes

I think I've actually put more thought into my shoes than almost anything else. And, no, I am not wearing the white Birkenstocks I swore for years I would wear. I said that before I learned to wear heels, and I like being taller any way I can. Of course, they had to meet a lot of qualifications: be cute, meet my heighth standards (I have no heels under 2 inches, and I did not plan on lowering that for my wedding -- especially with Jeremy being almost a foot taller than me), be comfy, be cute, be white, not blend in with my other shoes and did I mention be cute?

So, first I found the top shoe, except in white. However, there was just something about it that I did not like. I think it was the fact that they were closed toe. But, I was also leery of getting something that was strappy because they have a tendency to cut into my feet alot, which didn't fit the comfy stipulation. But these also worried me because I tend to take my shoes off when my toes get cramped.

But, today, I was wandering through Dillard's when I found the bottom shoe. I was still leery about the peek toe because I've had bad experiences from those in the past. But, I tried them on and fell in love. They are so comfy and just perfect. And they were a lot cheaper than the first pair, which also made me happy. So, I might not have to get pair of shoes for the reception. Although, I could always use an excuse to get a new pair of shoes:)

Big accomplishment

So, after I excitedly spent the day traipsing around town looking for the latest bridal magazine issues, I curled up with a few of them and made a great discovery.

I found the elusive bridesmaid dress.

I was really thinking about just picking a color, length and material and letting the girls just pick their own because I wanted them to wear something that would flatter each of their body shapes. But, I think this one will solve the problem.

It's not the champagne color I was looking for -- instead it's a pale pink. If anyone had ever told me I'd be picking a pale pink dress for my bridesmaids, I would have laughed. But I did. And, I think it will look beautiful on all of them.

At least it's not seafoam green with poofy sleeves:)

More bling

I never thought I'd be buying a tiara, but I did. I'm claiming it's more of a headband than a tiara though.

The description said the "flowers" are supposed to be daisies (I think it's actually called the Princess of Daisy tiara), but now that I have it, they don't really look like anything. But it was the look I was going for, so I'm happy with it. Plus it was far cheaper than anything I'd found anywhere else. They claimed the crystals are Swarovoski, but I don't know if I'm buying it.

Anyway, here's what it looks like: