The Perfect Dress, The Purchase (Part Four)

Part One
Part Two
Part Three

I need to preface this post by saying that this whole thing has been a total tease. I am not going to reveal my dress. Mr. Peacock has been adamant about not wanting to see it. He subscribes to the Weddingbee feed and he is slightly absentminded in his internet reading habits, I have a feeling that he might accidentally stumble upon it. He would be very sad.

I did go to one more new dress shop- the Vera Wang salon on Oak Street. I brought a whole gang- my mom, my sister and one of my bridesmaids. I had a feeling that I was going to need a team to get talked out of a particular $15,000 VW Luxe dress.

Drool.

Since the VW salon would NOT allow me to take pictures, I asked these very unhappy 14 year old girls to model the dresses for me. They all showed up without washing their hair or putting on make-up, but since I was on a time crunch, I let it slide. They were also so hungry that I was worried they would eat me.

This is Mrs. Strawberry's dress. She looked WAY hotter in it.

The very friendly owner of the salon (who looked just like Charlotte York Goldenblatt, down to the pearl earrings and Chanel suit) joined us for the appointment. She was helpful and studied my face while I wore each dress. Based on my reaction, she nixed each of these dresses, one by one. She then pulled out THE DRESS. I put it on. I loved everything about it- the feel of the fabric on my skin, the way is swished when I walked and the look on everyone's face when I came out of the dressing room. It was unlike any other dress that I had ever seen. I wanted to run out of the store and down Oak Street, jump in my car and peel off to Canada. I was not giving that dress back. I was totally sold... and then the owner started talking.

She started selling me on how wonderful the dress was and how great it looked on me. A series of unnecessary compliments followed. The color was great for my gorgeous skin. The bodice accentuated my tiny waist. My previously non-existent cleavage was rocking. She then told me that "it is perfect for a {insert my program here} PhD student." I'm sorry, what?! What the heck does that mean? It means "I am going to say whatever I need to so that you will buy that dress." I started to doubt myself. Everyone was still smiling at me and I still loved THE DRESS, but was I just being talked into it? Was I just a sale? I reluctantly took it off and told them that I needed to think about it.

The more I thought about THE DRESS, the more I wanted it in my hot little hands and the less I wanted to buy it from that store. I remembered that Macy's also sold Vera Wang gowns and for fun, I gave them a call. I have some strong anti-Macy's sentiments and until that moment I was participating in the boycott. The thought of getting a deal on my dress put me over the edge. I decided that if they could cut 15% or more, I would buy it from Macy's. Otherwise, I felt confident that the difference in customer service would make up for the price difference. Here is how the phone call went between me and Ronia at Macy's- aka, my angel.

Me: Do you have a Vera Wang dress with x, y and z?
Ronia: I think so. Can you email me a picture?

One hour later....

Ronia: We have it and our price is 10% less than the price at the VW salon.
Me: Hmmm... I need to think about it. I was hoping for more of a price break.
Ronia: Well, we do have a sample of that dress. It has barely been worn and it is in your size.
Me: {silence}
Ronia: We can give you 50% of our price for the sample.
Me: {silence}
Ronia: Are you there?
Me: Uhhhh.... yes. I will be there in an hour. {Tires screaching, cash register ringing, blonde girl goes happily bouncing down State Street with a huge white garment bag}

That is how my dream dress became mine- it was perfect for me, in my size and on sale.

The Perfect Dress, Part Three

Part One
Part Two

I think my last post caused a little confusion. I have already bought my dress. In fact, she is in a garment bag hanging in my mom's closet. She is impatiently waiting to come out and get altered. I think you all will like her, even more than Dora :)

In addition to all the fun new dress shops, mom and I also went to several sample shops. These shops carried dresses that had served as samples in new dress shops, discontinued dresses from other shops or dresses from discontinued shops. These dresses are usually somewhere between 30-70% off. You should have a general idea of what you are looking for because there is a huge selection which changes constantly and you most likely won't find one specific dress from one specific designer.

Our first stop was at Wedding Belles is in Barrington. After trying on many "oooh, thats pretty... but, no" dresses, we found this Vera Wang sample.


Oooh! I really look like a bride in this photo. I loved the fabric and the detail. It reminded me of old Hollywood- and it was only $1,000! My mom had a major crush on these little bows down the back:

I thought about her all night and into the next day, but, it wasn't my dress. Next stop, a little sample shop in Naperville called A Joyful Occasion. It was actually less than a mile from my parent's home, so it was easy to stop by on a Sunday morning. The shop doubles as the owner's home. Freyda was so warm and wonderful and she had a surprisingly large collection of dresses. My mom and I had a great time nosing through her closets.

I had been under the impression that I might want a mermaid silhouette... this dress nixed that idea.

Holy hips batman! The fabric (I have a thing for soft, luxurious fabric, if you can't tell) was absolutely dreamy and the back was quite lovely, but I did not feel pretty. I felt wide and squished... like a Peep that someone sat on.

This Rivini was gorgeous, however. And yet, too wintry. I have decided that September is summer and I hate the winter. Moving on.

Mom and I made the trip to Filene's on State Street for the Running of the Brides craziness. Fortunately, we made the wise decision to show up at 10:00am rather than participate in the actual "running". I am claustrophobic in a bad way and messy, crowded stores scare the crap out of me. Even at 10, it was still a bit of a madhouse. I found one dress that I liked a lot, but looking back at the photos, I'm not sure why.

zzzzzz.... oops! Sorry, back the post.

The next dress was way too small and WAY too complicated. There was this sash. No matter how we twisted it, wrapped it, searched for loops, my mom and I could not figure out what to do with it. Obviously, it was meant to be a head wrap.


The final segment of this saga- finding my pretty dress- coming up!

The Perfect Dress, Part Two

Part One

Dress shopping wasn't as fun as I thought it would be. I tried on a million dresses and, until the end, I couldn't find anything overwhelmingly wonderful and yet there were very few that I wanted to rip off my body out of disgust. I never had one of those angels calling down from the heavens, proclaiming one dress to be "the one." I started to get a little overwhelmed after my first trip out. I really thought this would be easier. I did find an amazing dress that I have a major crush on and, even without the angels, I think that it is perfect for me.

Due to my long engagement, I put off looking for dresses until I was just under a year out. I had a feeling that once I laid down my credit card, I would find another dress that I loved and I would kick myself for buying early. I spent some time with wedding magazines and websites in an attempt to narrow the list down a little bit. I wasn't stuck to any particular brand and I was planning to visit sample stores, but I really loved Melissa Sweet, Jenny Lee and Vera Wang. I felt like these designers were low on sparkles and glitz, but still creative and beautiful. I wanted classic, maybe lace, maybe straps, definitely ivory. My team included my mom and my sister, although one of my very honest bridesmaids came with when I found my perfect dress.

My mom, sister and I went to Priscilla of Boston in Oak Brook to check out Melissa Sweet's line. I loved Dora, Sydney and Valentino. Lucky for me, they let me take pictures so that I could go home and stare at them for days.

Dora front and back. So flowy...

Sidney

Valentino

Dora has these little tiny polka dots all over it. It flowed and swished around me while I walked. My mom thought it was a little too "booby," although it was hard to tell what it would look like once altered. Those huge Home Depot clamps weren't cutting it. Sidney looks kinda ugly in all my pictures, but it was really quite pretty. There were layers upon layers of tulle. I would have lost that sash, however, because it didn't want to sit right and it seemed a little superfluous with all that gorgeous rouching. Valentino was very fitted with gorgeous lace everywhere. I loved the neckline, although it was also decidedly booby. This dress made me decide that I did want the big poofy bottom that I didn't think was necessary. Hmmm... I still get a warm fuzzy thinking about Valentino.

My next trip to a "new dress" store was A L'Amour Bridal Boutique in Barrington. They carried Jenny Lee as well as a long list of other brands. I am not positive that this is the same dress, because they wouldn't let me take pictures, but this little beauty stuck in my mind.

The fabric was amazing and I loved the way it fit around my waist. The skirt was also kind of unique because the train attached at the waistline. It was quite full, so you couldn't tell that it was separate from the skirt, but it made it much easier to walk in. I couldn't keep my hands off it. It was a bit out of my price range, however, so I decided to go home and sleep on it. I woke up deciding that I wanted to keep looking.

Next up, the sample shops. There are quite a few great ones in the Chicago area and my mom and I spent lots of time in them.

The Perfect Dress, Part One

I don't watch a lot of television. It isn't on purpose, I just never remember when shows are on and it takes something really killer to get me hooked. These shows include, recently, the Bachelor, House Hunters, Golden Girls reruns on Lifetime and Gilmore Girls on ABC Family/DVD. I know, I know. Blockbuster, award worthy television.

I found the Gilmore Girls as it was wrapping up its final season. I got hooked, without even realizing that the final season was by far the worst of the seven. I bought the first 3 seasons on DVD at Costco and was later gifted seasons 4-6. In season 6, the eternal flirts Luke (Scott Patterson) and Lorelei (Lauren Graham) are finally engaged. Lorelei makes almost all of her wedding plans in one day due to a series of very fortunate occurances. One of these very fortunate occurances is that she found the PERFECT DRESS at the first shop that she walked into. It was her size, just what she was looking for and on sale.

She's so pretty...

I just wanted to let you all know that I found my PERFECT DRESS. It was in my size, just what I had been looking for and on sale. It wasn't found at the first shop that I walked into, however. Parts two and three will outline the very exciting journey from "no dress" to "THE dress."

My Favorites

I have seen some really fabulous ways to ask your bridesmaids to be your bridesmaids. I had been asked a handful of times to serve as a maid before it was my turn and I had never received any elaborate gifts. The bride called, told me how excited she was and that she hoped I would be able to stand by her on her big day and we cried happy tears for a moment before she scurried back to her new fiance.

When it was my turn, there were a slew of engagements going down. I knew that I wouldn't be the only one asking or that they would be trying to plan their wedding alongside me. I wanted to give them a little warm fuzzy just to ease the request in. I invited them to brunch at the southside Orange location- a very fresh and yummy brunch spot- and handed them this little basked of goodies.


Brunch occurred a few weeks before Valentine's Day last year, so I had my pick of all the heart shaped candies that a girl could want. Also inside the cute little Paper Source bag, I included a love note on a blank Paper Source card and made them a little paper fortune cookie with the big question inside.


I used Martha's directions and bought my supplies at- you guessed it- Paper Source. I used brads instead of double sided tape because I think brads are cute and I am always looking for excuses to use them.

How did you ask your bridesmaids to be part of your wedding?

Safe and Sound

Mr. Peacock and I are throwing the party of our lives. Every vendor has been considered according to how much they can add to the party- band, caterer, bar options, decor. We want everyone to stay until the last dance and then keep breaking it down all the way to the after party.

When we were considering Medinah for our venue, one of my primary concerns was transportation. I could swing the costs for the bridal party, but renting buses for the entire wedding would be a stretch. Medinah isn't terribly close to any hotels and none of our friends or family live in the immediate area. I knew that many guests would miss our ceremony or be worrying about getting home if we didn't rent transportation on a grand scale.

This narrowed our choices to downtown options. Although a good portion of our guests don't live in Chicago either, there are far more options for public transportation going into or out of the city compared to between the burbs. We also had it on good information that a few of Mr. Peacock's sisters and our married friends in the suburbs were looking forward to a night in the city and were planning on getting a hotel room. Even with these considerations, we still wanted to help all of our guests to get home safe and sound.

I found these cards in ryanserafin's knot bio and they got me thinking:


I might word it a little differently, but I thought providing a few options for a safe route home was a great idea. For the most part, you can walk a block from Cafe Brauer to Clark street and catch a cab home or to your hotel. However, with everyone leaving around the same time it might be a bit of a challenge. It will hopefully put that little thought in the back of their mind that maybe they should think twice about driving home after that third martini (you know what they say about three martinis, don't you? No? Well, that joke is not safe for Weddingbee. Let's just say the third one is probably one too many).

Are you planning to do anything special to make sure that everyone arrived home safely?

The Handmade Wedding

Just in case you haven't gotten the word yet, Etsy is launching a new focus on weddings with the Handmade Wedding series. The series will highlightall the wedding goodies that appear in their shops. Storque will also feature a series of articles and guest bloggers that will bring more attention to all the ways that you can make your wedding more handmade. You can find more information here.

Etsy is also announcing the re-opening of Alchemy. As Etsy phrases it, Alchemy is "a service which allows buyers to request custom orders. Interested sellers bid on the job, allowing you to match yourself with the perfect artist for your needs. Theoretically, you could get just about anything made."

Here are some of the fun items featured in the shops.

Pistachio Press

joanshum
Do you know that you can get your wedding dress on Etsy?! I think that is such a fabulous idea. You can customize it in almost any way that you like and you can actually talk to the person making your dress!

bellasophia

mykonos

andreafays
Flowergirl pomander that you can use to decorate your home with after the wedding

Hurray! Booking the Cake (aka My Last Vendor)

This morning, Mr. Peacock and I had a late and yummy breakfast. It consisted of chocolate cake, vanilla cake and chocolate and vanilla cake. On the side, we had lemon custard, strawberry preserves and cannoli.

This is how I felt about it afterward. I made friends with that cute little Italian baker next to me. He was offering cookies.

All the other goodies...

I had been planning on going to one of the many fancy and supremely talented bakeries in Chicago. I was suffering from a bit of sticker shock, however, after my first tasting. Although they had many delicious flavors of cake and fillings and their book of cakes was full of "Oh my gosh, is that really a cake?!" cakes, I was hesitant after they handed me the proposal. I had one of those devil on the left shoulder, angel on the right shoulder fights going on.

Devil: WHO CARES how much the cake costs?! You have been eyeing their cakes for years, dreaming of the moment when you could actually place your order.

Angel: Ummm... are you sure about this?

Devil: Of course she is sure! Quick, sign the contract!

Angel: But remember your friend's cake? It was gorgeous AND delicious. She got it from that Italian bakery that you love.

Devil: But they are known for their supermarket breads, not wedding cakes! They won't compete in a Food Network cake decorating challenge!

Angel: Let's just go for a tasting and see what happens.

Miss Peacock: That's a good plan!

Devil: Fool!

So, the angel won. The Italian bakery was not only delicious, not only did they seem qualm-less about making the pretty cake that I saw in Martha Stewart Weddings, but it was $5.50 less per slice. Yup, per slice. We are planning on having about 200 guests, so you do the math. (Fine, I will do it for you. That's $1,100.)

Here is the pretty cake I showed them. The baker didn't even flinch when she commented on all the detail. A lot of the cakes in their book of photos were much more complicated than this beauty-


The one downside is that their list of flavor options was significantly paired down. They couldn't do white cake, only yellow, and they couldn't do the lemon curd with cream cheese filling that I had fallen in love with at that first tasting. In the same way that the baker didn't flinch at my MS cake photo, she didn't bat an eye when I asked about the cream cheese filling- "We don't do that." Ah well. At $5.50 a slice, I can bring my own cream cheese frosting and ask the cater to slather some on.

Just in case you were wondering about lemon curd and its endless delicious uses, I found a great post on Stephmodo to fill you in. I thought making some might help me say goodbye to that dream cake. Enjoy (preferably with cream cheese frosting- trust me)!

This is the Most Fun!

The Save the Date email for my bachelorette party went out yesterday! We are going to spend a few days on the lake in lovely Coloma, Michigan. Mr. Peacock's family has a condo right on the lake, with a party boat in the dock and a hilarious townie bar within walking distance. There isn't a place where I feel more relaxed and happy. I can't wait to spend a few days lounging around in swimsuits, drinking margaritas with all my favorite girls. I love it too because it will be pretty inexpensive, its only a few hours drive from Chicago and there is nary a stripper in site.

I am down in Austin, TX right now with Mr. Peacock enjoying the South By Southwest Interactive Conference. The sun is shining (unlike in Chicago) and the southern accents in Texas are so lovely. The combination of receiving that save the date and the accents are making me really wish that I had a copy of one of my all-time favorite movies with me- Shag.
Did anyone else watch this movie repeatedly as a teenager? I had such a mad crush on Buzz. Anyway, Shag is set in the 60's. Carson (Phoebe Cates) is engaged to be married to the heir of a tobacco fortune (Harley Ralston) and her three girlfriends are taking her one last trip before she becomes a married lady. Carson thinks that they are going on a trip to Fort Sumter to tour colonial homes, but instead they are going to dance with boys in Myrtle Beach. Bridget Fonda plays Malaina, the daughter of a minister who is dying to break out as an actress. Annabeth Gish plays Pudge, a formerly overweight and super shy girl who is looking for love. Page Hannah plays Luanne, the extremely proper daughter of a Senator. Its totally one of those movies where you start wondering why these four girls would be friends in the first place.

This movie rules because of all the fun oldies music, fabulous dance moves and classic teenage silliness. There are also some of the best movie lines of all time, including but not limited to "this is the most fun!", "beevo?" and "y'all is the horniest bunch of white folks I ever seen!" Aside from the fact that Carson leaves Harley for the smoking hot Buzz, that would be the best bachelorette trip ever. Maybe I can ask my friends to speak in southern accents and dance to 60's music with me. Maybe not...

Out-of-town bachelorette parties seem to be increasingly popular. Does anyone else have fun plans for a getaway?

Innies and Outies

Mr. Peacock and I are one of those "opposites attract" couples. Here is a quick list of the ways in which we differ:

• He went to all public schools, I went to all private schools
• He is the youngest of four, I am the oldest of four.
• We vote for different political parties
• He is a White Sox fan, I am a Cubs fan (as any of the Chicago readers can attest, this is a big deal)

Sitting in the Bullpen Bar at the Cell/Comisky. Crosstown Classic, June '05.
I saved my "gear" for the game, but took no pictures!

Most of it is pretty silly and doesn't really affect our relationship. We love going to the Cubs v. Sox games together, wearing every piece of fan gear that we can find. My Cubbies have made me proud the past few times. The oldest/youngest thing is actually wonderful because I inherited three older sisters and he found himself with a few younger brothers and the bossy younger sister that he never knew he needed (love you, E!).

The one thing that does cause us to butt heads on occasion is that he is an introvert and I am an extrovert. We solidified this difference by taking the famed Myers-Briggs test and finding that the answers fit us perfectly. The introvert thing is a more recent phenomenon for Mr. Peacock. He was a crazy frat boy in college and he continued his fratty ways until around the time that we started dating. One of his sisters mentioned this past weekend that they were a little worried about him because he was such a wild man, and they noticed a major change in him once I came into the picture. Strangely enough, however, I am an extrovert. I love spending time with my friends and I feel antsy when we spend weekend nights at home. His sister's comment got me thinking because I can't believe that I am the one who settled him down.

For the first few years of our relationship, I lived in the city and he lived in the suburbs. He would come spend the weekends with me so that we could cab around to fun parties and meet-ups with our friends. After my lease ran out on my amazing Bucktown apartment, I moved out to the burbs with him. For me, the Suburbs= a slow social death. I apologize if that offends any readers, but you can't deny that a late night with your girlfriends is much more of a challenge if you have to drive home or wrestle with a Metra schedule. Mr. P and I usually end up crashing with friends when we have an excuse to party downtown. I can usually convince him to grab dinner after work, but anything more than that becomes a major debate. He has taught me how to enjoy a night at home, but I am still working on convincing him that a night on the town is worthwhile. We are planning to move back to the city this summer and I am very curious to see what happens. Will I be going out by myself (which is great, as long as I am not always leaving him home alone) or will we continue down the hermit path?

Does anyone else suffer from the innie/outie debate? Which side are you on? Any tips to finding a compromise?

Aubergine Applied

After the decision had been made on the bridesmaids dresses, I couldn't wait to get home and play with my colors- aubergine, gold, ivory and green. Here is what I came up with.

Clockwise from the top and then around the inside: Livia Cetti bouquet, K-Amato necklace, tablescape from Oh, How Charming!, MS cake, Jennifer Behr hairpiece, drinks from InStyle Weddings, Oh, How Charming!, candles from MS, invite from Ceci NY, centerpiece via Brown Turtleneck Sweater, Vera Wang gown via Brooklyn Bride, Simple Silhouettes dress, K-Amato earrings

I took a few items from my last board and tried to keep that same feel. The green will really just be leaves and ferns, but I would like a lot of it showing as the arrangements will be lose and flowy. Some of the items are things that I have actually selected/purchased, which makes this even more exciting. I am so glad that things are coming together- and it only took 13 months.

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise

I was a very lucky girl on Sunday. All my bridesmaids met me at my mom's home for brunch, champagne cocktails and bridesmaids dresses. The ladies from Vegas to Venice brought over several sample dresses from Simple Silhouettes and a whole bunch of fun fabric swatches. The plan for the morning was to make a decision on the color, get everyone sized and pick out the dresses. Each bridesmaid could pick their own dress style, as long as it was knee length and any trim was the same color as the dress. Expectedly, we had a wonderful time together and spent hours catching up even after the dress ladies left. Also expectedly, they insisted on getting sized before we dug into these.

However, three unexpected things happened:

1) Between the 6 bridesmaids, three dresses were selected, 2 in each dress. 2, 2 and 2. Perfect!
2) My preppy friend and my "latest trends" friend chose the same dress
3) We chose the color and it is... purple.

I don't like purple. I don't own one purple item of clothing- I looked. But, this wasn't really purple. It was aubergine. Hello, aubergine!

After doing a little research, I found that aubergine is French for eggplant. The flickr devotees claim that it is not really purple but rather its own unique color. I am actually pretty excited about it. It plays really nicely into the color scheme that I had going- deep green, gold, ivory and very pale pink. My lovely sister/maid of honor came up with it and, since she is a fashion maven, I trust her completely. I had actually planned to go with chocolate brown dresses, but the maids thought that aubergine was a warmer, prettier color.

Everyone seemed to enjoy picking out their own dress and they look forward to wearing them. These wedding decisions can be difficult since everyone is inclined to say "whatever you want," even if you are begging for assistance. I am going to pretend like they were being completely honest with me :)

Here are the three dresses they selected. How do you think they will look in aubergine?