The dress!

My dress has officially been ordered!  Whoop whoop!

I'm soooooooo happy that this has been taken care of. I have "type A" personality and I needed all of the wedding things that I had control of, to be over and done with. (lol)

This process was exhausting! I don't like shopping or trying on clothes, so after each bridal boutique, I was worn out!  I went through different stages; from not really caring, to being completely obsessed with looking for a dress.  The style I thought I wanted, was not cute in person. Then I got to the point where all the dresses I tried on looked good, and I liked all of them. I started to get a little defeated. I thought I was never going to be able to find the right one.  My dream dresses were all from Israeli designers whose dresses started at $5,000. Ha!...Trippin! Even if I had the money I wouldn't spend that much on a dress that gets worn for about 8 hours!

I was very close to just settling, because I couldn't believe I was wasting that much time and energy on a dress! (Yes, I know it's a big day... but all objections can refer to my first post!) But then I looked up some local trunk shows and booked an appointment.

I went with my mom, early on a Saturday morning and met the design consultant for Sophia Tolli.  I tried on a few dresses and they were better than any of the others I tried on before.  I started to get excited, so I tried on another one.  As soon as I came out, my mom started to get tears in her eyes.... I swear I thought that "moment" was only in the movies! lol

Everything about the dress felt amazing, it wasn't heavy but it was detailed and fit like a glove!  I rotated between 2 dresses, trying one on and then the other... this continued for a good 40 minutes! Funny thing was... neither dress was anything like what I thought I wanted!

Although both dresses were beautiful... the one (that made my mom cry every time I put it on!) just felt different.  The design consultant was taking pictures of me and sending them to the designer, who was expressing her love for me in her dress... it was from the brand new collection and aside from models, she hadn't seen the gown on anyone else.  Everyone in the boutique was coming to look, I even had another bride's mom watching me and fussing over the dress.  It was all extremely overwhelming!

I still didn't know if I could commit.... then my mom said, "That's Mila's favorite," annnnnd then came my tears! lol My mom had been secretly taking pictures and sending them to my sister in-law and niece, and apparently my niece picked the same dress! It was just meant to be!

Next thing I knew, they popped a bottle of champagne and we were celebrating!

Dress stress DONE! 

-L's

Guestlist

It's that time!

Time for the dreaded, "I better be invited."

Time for that one crazy second cousin's uncle's brother, to get mad that he wasn't invited.

Time for that old friend, that you use to be really close with, to ask where her invite is.

Time for those awkward conversations!

Yes, we finished our guestlist... and let me tell you, it was no easy feat. Our guestlist is super small (compared to the 300+ names we originally started with) since we're having an intimate destination wedding (yay!). Although we wish we could invite everyone, it's just not reality.

All my newlywed friends kept telling me, "wait until you get to the guestlist," "people get so pushy over the guestlist," "you'll hurt a lot of feelings doing your guestlist."...but I never thought it would be that bad. I definitely underestimated their statements!

It really is difficult to go down a list and cross people off without feeling bad.  More than half the people who were crossed off the list, are dear to us in some way... But it had to be done.  Anthony and I went back and forth for a few weeks trying to narrow it down, but it got to the point where we had to say, "sorry, but hopefully they understand."

...so, we're SORRY, but hopefully you understand!...

Our guestlist isn't even a quarter of the original list; some family members aren't even being invited, some childhood friends aren't being invited, no co-workers, no kids, etc.  At the end of the day, it comes down to the capacity of our venue, and our relationship/bond with certain people in our life.

We hope people can be understanding and not take anything too personal. We hope people can take things into perspective and just be happy for us!

We hope that all of you who unfortunately cannot be invited to the wedding, will still join us for a big engagement party to celebrate! (details coming soon)

And to those of you who are invited-
This cute little picture is for you! =)

-L's

My Priority!

I've never been the girl who dreamed about her wedding; I don't know what colors I want, I couldn't tell you the difference between wedding dress fabrics, and up until a couple years ago I never even knew there were bridal showers. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE weddings! I think they're beautiful, romantic, and hella fun... I just never really pictured my own.

From day one (after the proposal), we were inundated with questions regarding a date, venue, color scheme, etc. And of course we got numerous accounts of the dreaded, "I better be invited," which ironically usually come from the people who most likely won't receive an invite!  Maybe other brides like the million and one questions, but I DON'T!  

Now, before you go on and call me a b!t(h, I know the questions come from a place of love and I really do appreciate the interest.  However, please realize that you are not the only one asking these questions, I had 12 other texts calls, and emails to respond to before yours. And if you keep asking me questions, daily, I will never have time to even THINK about planning a wedding. Friends and family, I love you... but please let us breath and enjoy this process.

Not only do the questions and suggestions make my anxiety shoot through the roof, but most of them are irrelevant to the bigger picture. I never dreamed of my wedding, and till this day, my wedding is not my main priority.  I am so excited to be MARRYING THE MAN of my dreams, that everything else is secondary.  I would even be happy going to the court house, it's all the same to me, because the end result is being married to my best friend.  

I don't want to spend tons of time planning a wedding, when I can spend that time strengthen our relationship.  I don't want to spend tons of money on a wedding, when we can continue to save for our future home.  Please understand that this wedding is not my priority, my relationship is.  After all, the wedding is only one day, the first day of our long journey ahead.

-L's