Dress fittings and why you should always have emergency money in the budget.

  I knew that when I got alterations to my dress it was not going to be cheap... I thought I only had to get my dress taken in 1 size then I ended up losing some weight and we ended up having to take the dress in almost 4 inches on both sides... THAT IS 8 INCHES...
    There are some very important tips that you should always remember when going to a dress fitting.

• Wear ALL the undergarments that you are planning on wearing on your wedding day. (I didn't put on my longline bra for my first fitting meaning I had to get the dress adjusted again on the second fitting)
• Wear the shoes you are planning on wearing for the wedding. They will be heming your dress so you want to make sure that your hem is the right length with your shoes. (Your slip/crinoline will also affect your hem so wear your slip/crinoline at all fittings)
• If you are worried about your dress being pinned too tight or too loose do not be afraid to speak up. You are paying for this service don't say ok until you are happy with the way you are pinned.
• Drink lots of water. If your wedding dress is anything like mine you are going to be HOT so make sure that you drink LOTS of water my seamstress told me stories of brides fainting at their fitting when I was asking my bridesmaid for water.
• Make sure you have someone with you at your last fitting. If your dress is a lace up you will need someone who knows how to lace it up. Or how to do the buttons or how to just make sure it is on right. 

   My good friend told me that alterations were not cheap. I thought she was overreacting until I started calling around to get price quotes. 

   When I first went I was a bit in shock at the price I was given to take the dress in (I need to learn how to sew wedding dresses) Then after 3 fittings I got the bill and wanted to cry.... It was almost DOUBLE the price they quoted me.
   Always make sure to have extra money in the budget for unexpected expenses. If not you could be scrambling at the last minute to cut some costs or get more money because there will be at least one thing that goes over budget.

What to toss?

      I have been going back and forth on what to toss when the Mr and I are announced Husband and Wife. I was not sure if I wanted to do bubbles, confetti, or something different all together. I wanted to skip this all together because I don't really like the idea of paying for something for people to throw at us (and I don't think the guests would miss it or even realize we didn't have it) but the Mr said that we needed it so these are the options we have come up with.

Source

    Bubbles can be really pretty! It can make for some great photographs and less face it the bubbles are not so badly priced. But if it is windy then they will all blow away, leaving no bubbles for pretty pictures. If they spill they can leave stains on the guest pretty dress clothes, and make a big mess with the little ones. I think bubbles are pretty expected also every wedding I have gone to in the past few years has had bubbles. I understand why it is the "Safe" option I just don't know if it is the right choice for us!

Source

     Then there is Confetti! This was off the bat a no with our venue. They told us they would charge us an arm and a leg for the clean up of all the confetti. UNTIL I did my research! I found out that there is bio-degradable confetti that all you have to do is  take a hose to it and there you go all cleaned up!! Our venue liked the idea of this and told us that if we picked bio-degradable confetti they would allow it. I made sure to get that in writing on our contract. If your venue is not originally open to the idea you have in mind make sure to talk with them you might be surprised! 

source

   But the good and bad points of confetti.... It is pretty and just like bubbles can make for some great pictures! It comes in all different colors so your confetti can match your wedding colors if you care about that. It is bio-degradable so clean up is easy and it is not bad for the environment. BUT if it is windy it can make it so that the confetti just floats away... The confetti is not all that badly priced BUT you also need to to find a way to package the confetti adding another expense to the wedding. I can see how it may be hard to get out of your hair and anywhere else it might find its way too... I am still not 100% sold on confetti so lets take a look at the next option!

Source

      Sprinkles? Ya sounds cute right little sugar candies being thrown at you... Not as cute anymore right? My cousin and one of my bridesmaids linked me to this picture in form of a Pinterest pin, and told me it would go amazing with my bright summery wedding and yes it would probably be pretty I can see this turning into a big melty, colorful, sugary mess. I am getting married in August the chances someone is going to have sweaty hands that will make those sprinkles wet and then throw those sprinkles at me in a big white dress... I dont want my dress stained or that big sugary mess... (plus this seems like a waste of sprinkles to me and there is no way my venue would ever agree to this) So before sprinkles could even have a chance they are cut out of the running... 

Source/

     Sparklers are a very photogenic option! And super fun for in the evening when it is dark and would be a even funner option for a 4th of July wedding! Once again they make for some great pictures! I think children and adults could have fun with them. They are a bit more expensive than the other options (for my wedding could not do this for under 200 dollars) Sometimes sparklers can be VERY hard to light making it so that some of your guests might not even be able to get theirs lighted and that would be a bummer. Plus a lot of venues have restrictions about sparklers for exits so you want to make sure that it is ok with your venue before you make this investment for your wedding. I would love to have sparklers at my wedding but I don't know if it fits in our already tight budget or if our venue would even allow it!

     I have a lot to think about with the Mr as we pick out what we will use for our send off... What will you be using for your send off?

Dress #3

     So I bought another dress... For those of you who are new to the blog (or didn't read the title) Yes I am on dress number 3.... BUT I am still under my dress budget so that isn't too bad... and I got one (that completely didn't work for me) was won in a giveaway so I didn't lose any money on it! and my other dress (That you can see in this post Here) I will still be wearing but as a reception dress!

     I love my dress from Ouma still and I am glad that it still works as a reception dress and I still get to wear it!

     For those of you  think I am crazy to have gotten yet another dress! Don't worry I know that it is a bit crazy too!

     See there is something different I am doing with this dress that I didn't do with the other dresses I am not going to be sharing  pictures of the dress!

     So you are probably wondering why I am writing this post if I am not even going to share pictures of the dress... Well it is pretty simple I wanted to put a reminder to DON'T BUY YOUR DRESS TOO EARLY!

    Wait until you atleast have your venue and a very good idea of the kind of wedding you are planning! I was planning a very casual wedding completely outside with BBQ and that just is not the case anymore. (even though I am so sad that this is not going to be happening anymore)

     My Ouma dress does not fit in to the "new" wedding we are planning as the main dress. 

     BUT I can't write this post without giving you a few details of the dress! It is a Maggie Sottero! and it is a drop waist A-line dress... It has sparkle and ruching and it is everything I want in a dress!  PLUS I was able to find it on OnceWed in their classifieds for an amazing price! (somewhere around 850ish dollars off retail price) and it is already hemmed to my height and has a bustle put in and those will save me a very good amount of money in alterations! 

    Did you buy your dress to far ahead of time? or did you suffer from any dress regret? or MAJOR change in wedding planning? If yes please share your story in the comments I am looking forward to reading them!

I bought a dress without trying it on!

   The title says it all! Yes I feel like I am just a little crazy right now. How could I buy my wedding dress without trying it on?

   I fell in love with a dress! I found it on Etsy, if you haven't checked out Etsy before run don't walk over to check out all of the amazing items and sellers!

   The seller I got my dress from is Ouma. I bought the Allison! Tea Length, strapless sweet heart neckline, and a pretty sash it was everything that I was looking for in a dress! And actually my original dress inspiration that I lost and finally found when I wasn't looking . 

    I wont be getting the dress for another 5-6 weeks but I will post pictures when it comes! 

   But now I have a question would you buy a wedding dress without trying it on? Or am I crazy? And what has your Etsy experience been like? (If you cant tell I love Etsy!)

My name is Shanda and Im a Wedding Addict

 Never did I think that I would become a wedding planning addict... (I'm sure I am not the only one out there) 2 1/2 weeks is a LONG time to stay away but I did make it a week and a half!

    So now I am exactly 1 week until my birthday and birthday BBQ. You think I would be planning that right? Well I really am not I hope Juan knows what he wants to do what food to serve etc... Because I haven't been much help...
    I still find myself stalking Wedding bee (And posting too...) I am a Wedding be addict also... Those of you who haven't put 2 and 2 together I am MsPanda on Wedding bee!


Isadora ann by Maggie Sottero

     But My biggest Wedding obsession right now is Wedding dresses I found a store that has the dress I want to try on! Maggie Sottero's Isadora Ann I LOVE IT! I am head over heals for this dress and I am so afraid that I am going to have the "I loved it until I tried it on moment" So I still haven't made a appointment. (I know I'm a chicken)
    I do feel like the Isadora Ann Is perfect for the Garden/Back yard wedding. But I hope It will still make me feel like a bride. I do love that it is tea length! and that I will be able to dance in it! I just have to get over my little fear and make the appointment.
    Did anyone else get "addicted" to wedding planning? And did/do you have a fear of trying on "the" dress?