Dress Sneak Peek

So, I've got a confession that would make many brides shudder....

I have no idea what my dress is going to look like.

Well, that's not entirely true.  I have a pattern, some inspiration photos, and fabric.  But I won't see what the actual dress looks like until Erin brings it with her in August.

I'm not too worried.  I never really had a dress in mind when I pictured myself on my wedding day.  The options for commercial dresses were so vast that I don't think I'd be able to make a decision if I just walked into David's bridal to buy a dress.  In addition, as a plus-sized woman, many of my dress options are also being chosen by other plus-sized girls.  On Offbeat Bride, other woman are posting pictures of themselves at David's trying on dresses.  And about 75% of them are the same ones I tried on.

So getting a custom dress means individuality.  No one else is going to have "my" dress, because it's the only one that exists.  And Erin will make it look good on my body.  And it will have gorgeous fabric.  And even if it doesn't make me cry, it will be a wedding dress that I will wear on my wedding day.

So....sneak peek!

Inspiration Dresses. Love the colors on the left, and the fabric on the right. 

The dress pattern that Erin is working off of. 

 Fabric!  Top right is "anemone" dupioni silk.  Top left is "burned-out velvet", which will be dyed the anemone color.  Bottom is "ivory" dupioni silk the the majority of the dress.  

Invitations are Complete!

A huge thank you to Aunt Peggy and the rest of the Invitation Assembly Group who put them together.  I absolutely love them and am so grateful that I've got crafty relatives who are willing to put in time and effort to help us out with wedding stuff.

They're so pretty!  A little bit of shimmer without being all-out glittery.  I still have to figure out what else we're going to put in that pocket (the card looks a little lonely all by its self).  

Again, huge thank you to everyone!  

Old Wedding Photos

There's an idea I saw somewhere of displaying old family wedding photos at the current wedding.  And I WANT!

So, family and friends, if you would be willing to scan or reprint your precious wedding photos for me to decorate with, please please please send them the paulandellenwedding@gmail.com.  This also goes for those of you who are the family archivists and have those precious pictures of great-great-grandparents gettin' hitched.  

I just love the idea of celebrating the family and all the marriages that took place to get me, and him, to this place to marry each other.  

Bachelorette Party

Myself, Emily, Lindsay, and The Other Emily all went up to Lava Hot Springs in Idaho for the weekend.  It was the perfect mixture of relaxation and debauchery. There are only two bars in the entirety of Lava Hot Springs, so it wasn't as if the debauchery could get too out of control.  The hotel we stayed at had it's own set of pools, so we didn't even have to drive the entire time.  

Here is the Flickr slide show of our adventures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eveegallagher/sets/72157629832724209/show/

Friday: we arrived at about 7pm and headed right off to dinner.  On the way to the Thai restaurant, we discovered a playground.  This distracted us for a good while, and we were all still stone-cold sober.  After dinner we sipped drinks the the springs until they kicked us out.

Saturday: we got up for breakfast (served at the hotel, and fabulous), and then spent the next six hours in the hot springs and dozing in the sun.  It was heaven. After a nap, we went to dinner at a house that another coworker of ours had rented for the weekend with her family (totally unrelated to our trip!)  Then it was off to the bar!  Lots of whiskey was consumed.

Sunday: After breakfast, some of us went back to bed and some of us went back into the pool.  We checked out at 11, and debated whether to stick around town for lunch.  The vote ended up being to just leave, so we took off and were back in SLC by 2pm.

Perfection.

Skype Bridal Shower

Since I'm in Utah and my family is in Wisconsin, there are some "traditional" wedding activities that I had resigned myself that I wouldn't be involved in.  Such as the bridal shower. Now don't get me wrong, I was OK with this.  Paul and I have been living together for several years as we have all the kitchen crap we need to function.  So there was no real NEED to have a shower.  But...I wanted one.  Not for the presents, but for the camaraderie and those general "feel the love" feelings that happen when people are genuinely interested in and happy for your wedding.

A few weeks ago, I got an email from my mom's sister.  Would I be interested in have a bridal shower over Skype?  Hells yes!  A box of presents from my Target registry arrived at my door a few weeks ago, ready to open at the pre-approved time.

Tonight, along with my MOH Emily (who's in town for my bachelorette weekend), we Skyped with a group of ladies at my aunt's house.  I opened my gifts (yay for knives, sheets, and a food processor!) and we chatted for a bit about wedding plans. It was fantastic!  I was extremely touched that all these people wanted to have a bridal shower for me so much that they figured out a way to give me one from across the country.

A huge THANK YOU to all who attended and gave such great presents.

Drinking wine and Skyping.....

So, inexplicably, in my box of "real" presents, were some pick "Mega Blocks".  No idea where they came from !  They weren't on the packing list, and there would be no reason for them to be included!  Confusing, but hilarious!

Wedding Kilt!

Paul and the groomsmen are wearing kilts instead of your standard suits or tuxes.  Finding the Gallagher tartan proved to be more difficult than anticipated, and the colors didn't really get us pumped up.  So the next best thing was to go with Utilikilts!  They're kilts made for working in: the website is full of guys hiking and doing construction in their kilts.

Paul's kilt came today!

Formal yet unique, and infinitely bad ass.  

Save The Dates have been sent!

The Save the Dates have been sent out!  They went out in two batches, one on Saturday and one on Monday. If you received one, please take some time to check out our website:

www.mywedding.com/paulandellenwedding

It would be super-duper sweet if you RSVP'd now.  That way, if someone won't be able to make it (sad face), we can maybe offer your spot to another guest.

Less than six months to go!