Ten Months and a Wedding Dress

Our wedding lingers only ten months in the future, or 303 days according to the online countdown. According to The Knot, we need to complete the following tasks in the next four weeks:

• Appraise and insure my engagement ring
• Announce our engagement (perhaps a bit delayed?)
• Finalize the guest list
• Investigate family traditions we want to incorporate into the wedding
• Look for a florist
• Decide on wedding invitations and save-the-dates

Looks like a busy month! Luckily, Terry already finished the design for the save-the-dates (I am so excited for everyone to see how talented my fiance is!), but otherwise we have our work cut out for us. My work this semester (so far) feels much lighter than last year, perhaps because this year lacks the horrendous seven-hour adventure to Northridge, so in theory we can focus on the wedding. In addition to planning, we decided to join a gym while my foot is in the final healing stages. My physical therapist gave me the okay to work out, but I can't do my usual combination of running/yoga/Pilates/whatever I feel like doing, so the gym will provide the obligatory bike, elliptical, and lap pool. I can't wait to run again!

While not on the current month's to-do list, we can check off buying my dress! My mom and I planned a morning adventure to Pleasanton's adorable Main Street, where we could check out J'aime Bridal. This bridal shop comes highly recommended by every vendor we have encountered, and now I can see why! I already knew - or thought I knew - exactly which dress I wanted, so Saturday morning was supposed to serve only as a chance to get together with some of my favorite women and celebrate buying the most important dress I'll ever own. But the wedding gods had a different plan!

With my matron-of-honor, mom, second mom (mom's best friend), aunt, and bridesmaid Jenn who happened to be up in the Bay Area, I entered J'aime Bridal confident that I need not try on more than just the one dress. But the owner of the shop, Jamie, convinced me to take a look around at all the dresses. In my browsing, I mentioned the few concerns I had about "my" dress, which Jamie overheard and immediately corrected by grabbing a few new dresses. One by one, I tried them on, and I realized how wrong I was about the original dress. Three dresses in, I had a new favorite, and I truly felt like a bride. We even ordered the veil to complete the ensemble! Sorry, no pictures until the big day, but I will tell you the dress is NOT Maggie Sottero, despite my love for her designs! After the big purchase (and three texts to my out-of-town bridesmaids!), we ventured down Main Street for mimosas, girl talk, and a trip down memory lane with my aunt's photo album from her wedding!

A big thanks to my mom for buying the dress of my dreams, and to the lovely ladies who accompanied me to J'aime Bridal!