Mom found her dress!

My mother purchased and returned about four dresses before she finally found her dress for my wedding.

Now, I should say that this doesn’t surprise me. I have three married brothers, and I saw her go through the same struggle with their weddings. (And with my sister’s wedding in October, I’m sure she’ll do the whole thing over again for that.) To be fair, the parents of the bride and groom are under scrutiny during the wedding. They have to walk down the aisle too, and everyone will be looking.

Fortunately, my mother is a stylish lady, and I had no doubts she would find something fabulous.

The winning dress came from Dorothea’s Closet, a vintage store in Des Moines, IA. The shop has been open since 2007 and sells high-quality vintage clothing, accessories, lingerie and bridal attire. Fortunately for those not in the Midwest, there’s a website too.

I don’t want to spoil the surprise of her dress, so I’m not going to show it, but know this: It’s gold, it sparkles, and it looks great on her.

According to my Knot ticker, we’re only 26 days away from THE day. That is insane.

Favors and Food

We check quite a few wedding tasks off of our to-do list this weekend!

First, my bridesmaids and I and our good (and crafty) friend Heather got together to wrap the favors. Here’s a shot of the team (minus Megan, who had to leave to meet her husband. She’s such a good wife!):

We wrapped up about 160 favors before we had to quit (wrapping favors is surprisingly exhausting). Here’s the whole bunch:

The actual wrapping is a little basic, but I our linens are a pretty blue color, so I think the brown kraft paper will pop on each place.

Speaking of the linens, the fiancé and I went to The Riviera to pick them and our menu. Vicki was super helpful, as always, and even gave us an extra food station because our meeting started a little late. (Free food will always win me over.) The Riv has been really great about taking care of all of our requests, and I’m so excited to have them in charge on the day-of (and to take the pressure off of the fiancé and me!).

I cannot believe there are only 34 more days. Here’s what we have left to do:

1. Tally up the RSVPs (deadline was Saturday, but I know I still have some calls to me) and give a headcount to The Riviera.
2. Print and assemble programs.
3. Pick up the fiance’s suit; get my dress steamed.
4. Confirm hotel/honeymoon plans.
5. Finish our table numbers.
6. Finish corsages.
7. Final payments (ugh).

And seriously, I think that’s it. All together now: SHRIEK!

"Showered" With Love

Ok, I’m taking a quick break from thinking about other people’s weddings to talk about my own, because this past weekend was PACKED with wedding activities.

First, Saturday I had a surprise bridal shower! And I really, truly was surprised. I thought the fiancé and I were meeting up with some friends for lunch, but when we walked into the “restaurant,” everyone yelled, “Surprise!” I actually thought maybe they were surprising someone else. (I was REALLY surprised!)

The best part? My mom flew in to surprise me too! It was so much fun (after I recovered from the initial shock!), and I felt truly loved to have so many people go to the trouble to put it together for me. Here are a few photos of the highlights!

 {photos courtesy of bridesmaid Megan}

Next up: Suits! The guys FINALLY got them. I’ll give you the deets later this week.
And after that: APARTMENT! We found one we love and we’re signing the lease tomorrow. Woo, adulthood!