4 Months Left

Wow just over 4 months until the day. Quite a bit has been happening since the last post.

We met with the venue mid month. Our event coordinator Tess was very friendly. Throughout this process she has been so helpful and quick to answer all questions by phone and email. She clarified a list of concerns we had and offered a few tips to certain details. She gave us and our wedding coordinator tour of the ceremony location, reception, and bridal room. Gabe and I agreed the linens provided by the venue will be sufficient, rather than contracting an outside vendor. Next up, we'll be going to a tasting fair the venue will host in February. Then we will finalize our dinner menu.

The following weekend we drove to Sacramento. My bestie was graduating from college. Her boyfriend surprised her by inviting several friends to tag along on a limo wine tour. It was fun! Bought some tasty wines for later.

That same weekend us girls (mom, sis, Maid of Honor, and myself) went to the bridal boutique. I had an appointment for a dress fitting. The first disappointment was not finding anything I liked on the sale rack, haha. I showed the consultant some styles I liked. They quickly brought out several dresses within my budget.

Bummer #2 was the strapless bra was too tight. Nooo! I needed a bigger size, which made me feel fatter. I tried on dress after dress, had my ribs and lungs constricted in almost every single one. Finally, I found THE dress! It looked and made me feel oh so happy! I love it! Mom was happy with it too, she started crying as I walked out of the dressing room. Bestie cried too after seeing mom. Sissy's and my eyes teared up as well. Even better was that my dress was priced under my budget, after rushed shipping.

I got my two bridesmaids to also try on some dresses. At first I thought about just picking the color and having the girls choose their own dresses. Unfortunately, the girls are spread out in the state of California and there aren't a lot of chain type stores back home. So, I pick out a dress that looked to match the wedding colors. After my two models tried on a few dresses, I picked a different style. Luckily none of the bridesmaids had placed their orders yet. Now all I need is the measurements of all the girls so the dresses can all be ordered at the same time, hopefully before the second week of January, when the dress is discontinued.  Even mommy found a dress style she likes. Of course the bridal store price was jacked up, so we just have to hunt for a good deal. It's such a big relief to find the dress and find out it will arrive by the first week of March. However, that doesn't mean every task is completed. We still have plenty to do, such as coordinate what both mothers will wear, gown alterations, hair and makeup trial run, finalize our linen vendor, pay the wedding insurance, get Gabe's ring appraised, keep saving for the final payments, etc.

I flew back to San Diego to work for a few days while Gabe took vacation to visit friends. He said he had a nice, relaxing time catching up. While working I received disappointing news... We didn't get the townhouse we applied for. I was sad for a few days, but thanks to a couple friends, they reminded me that we are meant to find something better.

Gabe and I met this past a Wednesday at SFO, where he picked me up at the airport. I spent some additional cash to jump on an earlier flight. My original flight was delayed two hours and we still had to drive another two hours after I arrived to get to Healdsburg. We made good time with the early flight.

We met with a friend the following morning for breakfast. Then walked around the plaza. We spent our very first Christmas together relaxing and eating, a lot. At home my family was missing my grandfather and younger brother. Grandpa was in Mexico while lil bro was in Oklahoma, where he's stained with the Air Force. Still it turned out to be a nice vacation.

I'm looking forward to a girls' dinner night this week, and another extended weekend. Hopefully we can get the last of our cleaning and filing done, to then relax with a calm New Year's celebration.