Thank God for Family and Wine

It seems such a short time ago that I was cavalierly mentioning how little stress I'd encountered during the wedding planning process.  I've had a nasty encounter with the shop that I bought my dress and bridesmaid dresses from and one mostly exhaustion-fueled "discussion" (some might say "meltdown") about tablecloths at the reception site, but all in all, everything has fallen into place remarkably well thus far.  And actually, everything is still going swimmingly as far as wedding plans go--it's the extra-curricular activities that are starting to give me a headache the size of Texas.  Or Alaska.  Whichever one is bigger.

(Oh, that reminds me of the time Colby and I were walking around campus a when we first started dating and I noticed his RA's car with an Alaska license plate on it.  I wondered aloud how she had gotten her car to Louisiana and mused that it must have been by ferry.  Colby looked at me in horrorified silence for a moment, I presume he was praying that I was joking, and then replied, "Or maybe she drove it here?!"  Because apparently Alaska is actually connected to North America and not, in fact, an island as many maps would lead one to believe.  Who knew?  I am so glad his attraction to me is not based on my geography prowess.  But I digress.)

So, back to the whining at hand.  I'm reaching the end of my rope about the supposedly fun-filled bachelorette party that my blessed sister is trying to plan and am completely ready to throw in the towel and just put the money toward our honeymoon fund.  Colby and I decided months ago that we would have our parties in Las Vegas this summer as our friends are spread across the country, and some even across the pond.  We agreed that we didn't want to have the parties the night before the wedding and the day before that will be Thanksgiving, so we figured we'd do it a little early and pick a fun place as our base of operations.  I talked to some of my friends about it at the time and they were all, "Yay, Vegas, here we come!"  That was then...

Let me insert here that I absolutely hate that I'm complaining about this, because the last thing that I want is to sound like the self-centered bride who thinks the whole world revolves around her and her stupid bachelorette party.  I don't think that, I know that my friends have their own lives, and I respect that completely.  It's just... it's hard to watch Colby talk to his friends about the bachelor party and hear them say, "Definitely, just tell me when and where and I'll be there!" and then of the 14 girls I invite, the only definite is my sister.  I love my friends to bits, I really, really do... it's just kind of disappointing, I guess.

Enough of that.

So, to wrap up my post from a couple of days ago--because Lord knows this blog has enough plot holes as it is--I decided to go with dress #1.  I bought it yesterday, so I'll post a review when I've had a chance to try it on.  The smallest they had was a 6 and according to the size charts I should have gotten a 4, but it looks like it will be able to be altered a bit and at least I know it won't be too small, because seriously, the last time I wore a size 4... well, let's not talk about that anymore.

My reasoning went like this, the turquoise dress was beautiful, and if I were a much richer girl I would have bought it in 10 different colors.  However, like a few of you so kindly pointed out, it will look dated by this time next year and if I'm going to drop some cash on a dress it needs to be something I can wear for more than a season.  The second red dress was so incredibly hot, I still kind of covet it, but I liked how one of you put it--it looked a little too "I'm gonna steal your husband while you're tossing the bouquet" for a wedding.  So, it came down to the LBD and red dress #1, which had been my secret front-runner all along.  But then my decision was made for me when the smallest size of the LBD was an 8 and the red dress was marked down 50% and less than half of the black Vera.  Thank you so much for all of your awesome input--I could see every single point each of you made and it really helped in the decision making process.

Now I'm off to eat some truly phenomenal Trader Joe's cookies and drink some wine... you know, just to make sure I can fill out that dress.

Comments

[Kate]

The whole world DOES revolve around you and your wedding, silly! Its the most important day of your life (I think. Somethings won't turn out as expected, but you have every right to stress/whine/panic/meltdown if you so choose.
I think you made a wise choice on the dress, now we want to see it on you! They're ALWAYS out of the small sizes, you'd think someone would figure it out...

[Heather B.]

1) Isn't a wedding day supposed to be about the bride?

2) The entire East Coast of Alaska is right next to Canada

[RisibleGirl]

OK, I hate you even more now. A size 4?

You have no idea how much I hate you.

Yet? I love you too.

Such a dilemma. ;)

[Mandy]

LOL. It's a nice dress, but looks like a challenge to alter.

And why is it that when you walk into a store they're out of the 2's and 4's but have like a million size 14's? I mean, what, is no one like a size 14, or are all skinny girls clothes horses?

[Anonymous G]

Yup. You are the bride. This is your time, girl! Let it all revolve around you. Enjoy it now...once you're a mom, those days are GONE!

Size 4 or size 6, you'll be SMASHING in that dress, Ang!!

xo

oh, and P.S. LOVED the Alaska car story. I am geographically challenged in the worst way. I laughed at Colby's smart(ass)retort!
*snicker*

[TasterSpoon]

I've been to a number of bachelorette parties that preceded the wedding by several weeks, and I think it's a really good idea. Mostly just because you can go wild when you want to and then also get your beauty sleep when you need it.

It is really frustrating, though, that you can't make concrete plans. I agree that females are less likely to commit in advance to blow off other obligations in their lives for a carefree weekend than are guys - I've seen that (and been like that) myself - a lot of talk at the outset then practicality setting in. Maybe it's a guilt/responsibility thing. It definitely doesn't reflect on their affection for you.

Maybe there's something about Vegas? I think guys think of Vegas as this place where they can do lots of things they like to do that they maybe don't have access to at home: all night gambling and clubbing and buffets and (ahem) shows...and all they need is an excuse to go. Whereas girls may be like, going to Vegas to go to the spa, eh, I can do that anywhere. (Which is not to say girls don't like all night gambling and clubbing and buffets and (ahem) shows...I'm just saying maybe there's a different degree of enthusiasm for Vegas itself.)

I don't know if I'm making sense, but it is neither here nor there, since your bachelorette party is about You, not about the activities. So who knows.

Sounds like the bachelorette party simply needs to be planned around you and what you really want to do.