The Dress

This weekend was fun filled and action packed as I usually refer to it. With my mom and grandma in town for only a short period of time, it was important to cram a whole lot of stuff into the time we had!

I had been planning since Griff and I got engaged to use this weekend to find the coveted wedding dress. Every girl knows that they have looking forward to finding their wedding dress since they were about 5. At least I know that I was. Through the years my taste in dresses has changed...I used to be into the "white cupcake" look...but my thought of how I wanted to look on my wedding day has never changed. If you ever watch those wedding shows like Say Yes to the Dress (c'mon you know you do), the salesperson usually says to the bride, "Tell me how you want to look/feel on your wedding day?"

My immediate answer? Stunning...

To me, there is no other word for how I want to feel. I want to look and feeling stunning. So with my brood in tow (Mom, Grandma, Sister, Future Mother-In-Law, and Future Sister-in-Laws) I set out for my dress in hopes that I would find something stunning.

As I sorted through the dresses in the shop, choosing my few to take in the dressing room with me, I was getting nervous. Nothing seemed to pop out at me..nothing said stunning to me. But I pushed on. There was no way I was going to end that day without my dress.

As the bets to what number dress I would choose were mumbled outside my dressing room, I tried on 6 dresses. Satisfied with 2, I was going to take my chances at another shop down the street (there are only 2 here in Great Falls) and hope that I would be able to say "This is my dress". I just wasn't thrilled with the 2 satisfactory choices..that's until my mom spoke up.

Now my mom knows me better than anyone else...she knew what she thought I was looking for. So she asked the sales lady if she had something that combined the 2 satisfactory dresses. After scouring the back room, she returned with a brand new dress..one that hadn't even made it out onto the floor yet...and actually never would. After being laced and buttoned, pinned, and tucked, I walked out of the dressing room, looked in the mirror and felt stunning...

Surprisingly, I didn't cry and neither did my mom (that's the real surprise) but the smile never left my face and I was a tad bit sad when I left the shop that day and had to leave my dress behind.

Some brides get that instant "feeling" when they finally find their dress, some brides are never satisfied with anything that they try on, and some brides are like me..they look past the fact that you are wearing a beautiful white (off-white, ivory, eggshell..whatever your choice) dress and suddenly see the life that they are going to live the day after wearing said dress.

To me, the thought of that was more stunning than anything else.

Blast From the Past: Finding a Venue

Haven't blogged in awhile. Thinks on the wedding front have been quiet for a little while. Since most of the big things are done, we've taken a little break...although I have to get my Save the Dates out pretty quickly!

In the "time to get back to blogging" nature, I have decided to "back blog"..ya know, talk about some stuff that's already happened.

Even before Griff and I got engaged, I knew that I wanted to get married in Connecticut. Until last October, I had lived in the same town my whole life and I knew that it wasn't likely that I would ever live there again. So I knew that I wanted to spend one of the most important days of my life in the place that I will always call home.

Being a creative person at heart, I knew that I didn't want to get married in a place that was "normal". No banquet hall for me. So after he placed that ring on my finger (have I ever mentioned that it is a BEAUTIFUL ring?) , the search began.

I considered a few places...the Carousel House at Lighthouse Point, the Maritime Aquarium, and the Wadsworth Mansion at Long Hill. All beautiful places and all completely capable of hosting our special day. But I knew that those places weren't really "me and Griff". I was getting married in Connecticut but I wanted to bring some of the feel of Montana back there with us.

And that's when I came upon The Barns at Wesleyan Hills. It was exactly what I was looking for. So I gathered my mom and my sister and some friends and went to check it out. Here are some pictures from our excursion:

Inside the Barn

A clean slate...hmmm, what can I think up?

This patio will be tented and the bar and cocktail hour will be out here...and there won't be any snow : )

Outside the Barns!

The unique look of The Barns and the amazing reviews made my decision very easy. With all of that "raw" space, I have creative liberty to do whatever I want when it comes to decorating..although the barn itself is a great back drop. With my creative juices flowing, I better get to the drawing table!

Giant Springs Park

The weather here has been amazing. It feels like spring although we all know that it won't last very long. Griff and I ventured out on Monday to get our exercise instead of going to the gym. The Springs are definitely one of the gems of Great Falls and they will be a great place to hang out this summer!


Here are a few pics I took!

Etsy Obsessed

I'm often jealous of people who have artistic talent. Sure I have talent when I really put my mind to something, but there are just some people who can take that needle and thread and create a masterpiece or hop on their computer and produce an amazing picture.

Today, I am no longer jealous of those people, but grateful. Griff and I have been trying to find ways to cut costs for this wedding as I mentioned with the Save the Date cards. If you haven't taken a look at Etsy.com, go...now. I promise you won't be sorry.

This website is chock-ful of great handmade things including invitations, signs, favors, and accessories. And the great thing is, it's not just for people who are getting married. You can find handmade clothing, handbags, and much, much more.

One of my favorite finds the other day was the handmade tutus from this talented artist.

Since we don't have  a flower girl and there is no way I could get my nephews into one of these, I kept searching.
So what did I find? A graphic designer who will create a PDF or JPEG file for your invitations, reception cards, and RSVPs so that you can print them yourself. The suite runs at about $40. She'll even create files for your table numbers, menus, programs and anything else that you can think of to go along with the motif that you have chosen.

If these Save the Dates come out half decent, I could have the invites print the same way and walk away with gorgeous invites for a fraction of the cost.

Now you see why I'm obsessed?