Fast forward, wake me up this time next year

We are finally almost there. And by there I mean, ONE YEAR to go. So really we are almost at the end of a big waiting line getting ready to go into another. But I don't care there is something about knowing that this winter will be my last winter as a *insert maiden name here.*
I think I may have found my dress!
I've been shopping with mum, lovely bridesmaid, lovely MOH, and my Aunty.
The most recent was in Melbourne with my Aunty who was able to find me 'wedding dress street.'
I haven't seen anything like it in Brissy.
High St, Armadale. Ever second shop was full of bridal gowns! It was wonderful, exhausting, but wonderful.
Anyway since I'm too lazy to go into any more detail right now, if you'd like to see the dress I'm hoping to find here in Brissy.
http://www.sophiatolli.com/CollectionProductDetail.aspx?cname=SophiaTolli&did=503823&pid=504140&year=2009&season=Spring&

Loving it

These are photos. Don't they look amazing? Reminds me of oil paintings.

That's all.

The first real look for 'the dress'

This week, I have finally talked someone into taking me dress shopping (hoo-ray).

It's my mum, she's not very into weddings. Loves Rhys, hates weddings.

I've tried on two wedding dresses before, mid last year, my lovely MOH took me shopping just so I could try on a dress.

The people at the shop didn't take me very seriously when I said 2010, but I know that white suits me better than Ivory.

The first trip will just be to figure out what I want and how much I'll have to spend. I'll only buy it if my MOH approves.

What am I looking for?

- a white dress

- a simple dress with one or two features that stand out

- a strapless dress

- not to spend much more than $1000

Bridesmaid have necklaces... but no dresses

I went for coffee today with a very pregnant friend of mine. We went to my favourite local coffee shop. Mei Li (May Lee) and I bought a necklace from there about a month ago. It kind of looks like the picture but darker.

Today, after a coffee and heaps of wedding talk, I decided to buy it in two other colours for the bridesmaids.

I'm loving it at the moment, I'm just a little worried that it'll be one of those decisions that seemed like a good idea at the time.

I now have this necklace in pink, green and blue! I plan to wear them myself in the led up to the wedding. I hope we end up getting dresses that suit large-ish necklaces.

Be nice to the single ladies.

I've been reading about what sounds like might become a new song in the wedding song list.

I hope I never hear it at a wedding.

During the bouquet toss, brides to be seem to be seriously 'all over' this new song.

The song is "single ladies" by Beyonce Knowles.

Now while the beginning sounds fine to me with the:

All the single ladies

All the single ladies

All the single ladies

All the single ladies

All the single ladies

All the single ladies

All the single ladies

Now put your hands up

STOP THE SONG THERE.

It goes on about break ups and crying after another failed relationship and then the best part;

cuz i cried my tears, for three good years

Ya can’t be mad at me[Chorus]

Cuz if you liked it then you should have put a ring on it

If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it

Don’t be mad once you see that he want it

If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it

The only thing worse than being single at a wedding is having that kind of stuff blasted in your ear. Or worse! If you're in a long term relationship and the man is not proposing, a wedding is the worst time to be reminded that he is yet to put a ring on it...

This months project

This month I would LOVE to have my dress found, but since my MOH has an itty bitty baby and that I cannot pick a dress without her opinion, it wouldn't be the same, I've set the goal of find a florist.
Aiming to spend ~ 700.
I've read some great advice on this site http://offbeatbride.com/.
I'm going to copy some advice from http://offbeatbride.com/2009/03/wedding-flowers
A Florist wrote a lovely 15 tips on how not to get screwed by a florist; here are my favourites:

1. Before you go "bouquet crazy" learn what flowers are going to be in season at the time of your wedding.

3. Pick 3 florists to interview. No more — no less. Too many florists and you're drowning in info, too few florists and you're very limited.

4. When you first visit a potential florist DO NOT show them any of your ideas. Don't even tell them your budget. Just ask them questions, MANY questions, like…
What styles are your mainstays?
What is the typical budget you work with?
If a flower is damaged/unavailable for my event, will you substitute it without my consent?
Could I see your portfolio (of REAL weddings)?
How many weddings do you book on a typical weekend?

5. Have a fairly solid idea of the blooms and styles you want. DON'T be talked down unless a reason sounds completely legit. Stuttering, "well," and other insincere answers means that you might need to find a different florist.

6. When you ask to see a portfolio — a "Teleflora" book doesn't cut it. You need to see real photos of actual weddings and events that the florist has done themselves. If your florist cannot provide a "look-at-what-I-did" book, DROP THEM!

7. Your florist keeps reassuring you that he can get you that tropical bloom you want even though it's not in season. Yes, it's true. He can. But the price is going to be any where between 3 and 5 times more expensive than when the flower is naturally in season!

11. Bring in your own ribbons and other floral accessories. Remember the price mark-up? A 2x mark-up is typically used on hard goods (ribbons, pins, etc.) so see if you can supply your own. That way you only pay for them once.

12. It's okay to lie to your florist. Instead of paying a ridiculous amount for a ring pillow to get jazzed up with flowers, order an extra corsage and simply pin it to your ring pillow! It will cost you way less. You can also do this with flower girl baskets.

13. It's also okay to lie to the wholesaler. Really. Most wholesalers will not sell to the public. So try telling them that you're a church needing flowers for an event. You won't go to hell and you'll receive that amazing wholesale price. When I first started working for myself I had to use the church line a few times.

14. DO NOT pay for petals!!! Have someone pick up a bouquet at a supermarket and have fun destroying the blooms yourself. It's an amazing stress reliever and you will be happy knowing that you didn't waste $10-$20 for someone else to rip them apart.

15. DO NOT bug the heck out of your florist. Limit your phone calls and resist the urge to just "stop by". The last two floral shops I worked in would tack on extra charges to "picky" and "bitchy" brides. Bridezillas pay more.

So I've looked up May flowers
May Flowers:
Acashia, Allium, Alstromeria, Amaranthus, Anemone, Baby's Breath, Bittersweet, Carnation, China berry, Chrysanthemum, Cockscomb, Cosmos, Echinops, Freesia, Gerbera Daisy, Gladiolus, Hypericum, Iris, Juniper, Kangaroo paw, Kalancheo, Liatrus, Lily, Asiatic, Lily, Gloriosa, Misty Blue, Orchid, Pepper berry, Protea, Queen Ann's Lace, Quince, Rover, Roses, Rowen berry, Salvia, Solidago, Statice, Star of Bethlehem, Sunflower, Yarrow, Zinnia.


Victorian
Victorian posies are round and small and can easily be held in one hand. These bouquets first became very popular in mid 19th century for the bride and her bridal party. There are two styles of posy bouquets, one can be loose, hand tied and unstructured, the other formal and wired, the stems of the flowers are removed and replaced with florists wire, constructed into a much lighter posy with and easy to hold handle.These two styles are widely used where the natural stems are wrapped in a beautiful satin, velvet or organza ribbon and some embellished with pearl pins and beading trims.

Flower girls: I'm loving the flower balls for the two flower girls.

I've decided

I re-read my second last blog, and boy do I decide!
I'm beginning to feel bad about it actually. I am making all the decisions and even the jobs that I tell Rhys to do, I've already started and half way through the task by the time I have told him what is involved and what to expect.
It's not that I don't trust him to do any of it. It's just so much easier to go onto the net, get advice, use advice, make enquires, organise meetings and inform Rhys of the places he has to be and the cost that we'll be looking at.
This is probably what is standard for most brides/grooms to be. But he really wants to do something and he was the one who wanted to have the weekend.
Yes the loony with the wedding blog wanted to go down to city hall about 12 months ago.

I've given him the task of invitations. Don't let me get away with planning the invitations in the next two months.

Transport

I think we have decided on our wedding transport.

Despite my love of the pink strech hummers at the bridal expo, I think this white classic Mercedes Benz suits our venue and theme a lot better. Loving it.

Less than 13 months to go

We now have less than 13 months to go!
Last weekend it was one year since Rhys proposed! (He proposed on the same day as Earth Hour). I cannot believe how different life is, last year I was a student and lived just outside the city. Now I'm a speech pathologist and live in the 'burbs.
We've now reached the point in our engagement where it is ok for us to be organising our wedding. This time last year when I said May 2010 I was looked at like I was a lunitic for even thinking about our wedding plans!
Why the long engagement? Well I was still a student when he proposed and I wanted to focus on my studies and not juggle wedding plans and thesis. It gives us plenty of time to save. Most of all it gives our families time to believe it.
Yes, we are getting married.

We went to a wedding expo this afternoon. I've decided that in the next two months I want most of our service providers booked, and to find the dress.

I've decided on a final three florists, apparently it's the ideal amount to visit, any more and its too much information, any less and you're not giving yourself enough choice. Two of them were at the expo and one was recommended by the reception venue.

I've been very slack with this blog, now that we're starting to put our plans into action I'll try and update it more often.
Tori xoxo