Check One Check Two

I have been devoting much of my free time on wedding planning. I finally did get SOMETHING(s) checked off my list.

Last weekend:
My parents, Chang, and I went menu tasting at our venue. We were pleased with the food. Yum. :-P I'm glad my parents were there to share the moment with us. It is fun having them be a part of the planning process, and of course their input was invaluable when making our selections. Food is very important to our family.
Afterwards, we tried to sneak in to the ceremony site, which was gated off due to it still being under construction. All I got to see was the villa that stands in front of it, which was also not yet finished. I think they were putting the cement on, but it looked like they have had some good progress. For example, the tiles on the roof looked pretty much done. It's supposed to be finished in December. I can't wait to go back and see!

The same weekend:
My mom and I went to a fabric store to buy the tulle for my veil. We must have spent at least an hour in there... it was really so much fun. My mother is going to make my veil which I think is so wonderful.... In addition to saving some $$$ (you would not believe how expensive veils are... think cost of making veil yourself times 10 or even more depending on the detailing you want. Besides you cannot put a price tag on something handmade by your mother), I will have something so special and personal to me that day. She is going to spend her spare time hand stitching the beads. I shall keep it forever. I love mom.

The weekend before that:
I ordered my wedding gown! Although I had found my gown the weekend before, I had to go back for measurements etc. ... and being the sensible bride that I am, I spent the week doing some "research" (you bridesmaids know what I did. :-)

The weekend before that:
In just one weekend - yes that's right, I AM VERY PICKY but I did it in one weekend - I selected my wedding gown. Of course, it did involve going to about eight different places and trying on I think about 40 gowns... but I actually had found it pretty early, I just was trying to keep an "open mind". I love my dress. My mom, my friends, and I all think that it is really "me". When I had it on my mom got really emotional - I did too. I will never forget the experience. So THIS is what it feels like getting married. It is a lovely process. We took alot of pictures, but that is for my eyes (and maybe my bridesmaids) only. This was such an exhausting but fun weekend. My body felt like I had just come back from a snowboarding trip. And it was so fun playing dress up, trying on so many beautiful gowns and also veils and jewlry (this is how we got the idea for the veil my mom is making).

Anyway I found out very soon that what I had originally envisioned myself wearing was not the most flattering, which was a bit of a shock to me... but i am really glad I didn't just stick with the "vision" and went with the reality -- and it was in reality that I found the gown of my dreams.