and the countdown begins...
Mood:  rushed
Topic: Wedding Plans
98 days to go...

I've got my dress ordered. That was an ordeal in and of itself. But, the worst is over. Now to move on to flowers. I plan to visit Hobby Lobby sometime this week and take pictures of the flowers I like, which I will then email to Sarah. Dearest Lu has taken on the formidable task of creating the wedding party's floral accessories. I myself will do some of the decorations, and I plan to recruit a couple of Jim's relatives and friends.

Now if I just had money to pay for all of this stuff...lol. I did have a minor windfall in that I discovered that an old credit card account from a few years ago is still open, and has $800 available at a much lower interest rate than my other card. Yay! I put the dress on that, and plan to use it to pay for the first installment of ring payments. Will pay the rest of that (and buy flowers) when we get our tax returns back, hopefully in the next week or so. Hooray for direct deposit!

Well, back to the rat race I go...

FYI
Topic: Wedding Plans
The lodge pictures that were previously available online from HP are no longer there. But don't despair, I have transferred the pictures to a permanent online photo album, courtesy of the nice folks at Angelfire. The address is http://www.angelfire.com/jazz/lamentoso/photos. Visit at your leisure.... I shall add comments and other pictures as they become available. Have a smashing day...Ta-ta!

As promised
Topic: Wedding Plans
New dress picture. (I hope I can find it, cause I really like this one better than the other.)

I've pretty much given up on the homemade dress concept. I just don't think it would save me any time or money in the long run. So, off to the bridal shops I go! Whee!

Dum de dum
Topic: Wedding Plans
I had a stroke of luck, or something. Went to the library last week, and they have a couple of short shelves in the entryway where they have books and magazines that have been taken out of circulation for sale or giveaway. There was a stack of outdated Bride's magazines from 2000 in the giveaway pile. I, of course, grabbed the whole stack and ran, giggling wildly. I have since pored through 6 of them, torn out pictures of dresses I like, and read articles until my eyes crossed. No wonder the dishes are stacked all the way from the counter to the bottom of the cupboards! heh heh (grimace) In the course of said perusing, I have realized that the pattern I bought intending to have made is no longer really what I want. I'm not changing my mind drastically. I'm just considering the practicality of a 2 layer dress. I've found several with the elements I want combined into one dress. In fact I found what is most likely the PERFECT dress. Unfortunately, it was in one of the 5 yr old magazines, and by one of the designers that is no longer as widely spread. (Or so I presume by the fact that there are about a third as many dresses by this company in the current issues.) Today I returned the movies we borrowed on Saturday, and borrowed the 2 most recent issues of Bride's, just to see how the styles have changed. As expected, the things I like are no longer very popular, which will make finding an inexpensive dress off the rack that much harder. But, I still have hope. I plan to go through the David's Bridal website again, and look for something close to my current ideal, which is both similar and different than the picture previously posted. (whee, a bit of alliteration for you poets out there...) If I find another picture that's closer to what I'm looking for, I'll try to put it on here for all o' y'all to look at! :)

I want bells to ring, a choir to sing...
Topic: Wedding Plans
a white dress, the guests, the cake, the car, the whole darn thing. But, unlike Shania, I think EVERYONE needs to know right now. Well, maybe right now is a bit of an exaggeration. Tomorrow would be ok. :) James Ashton Vaughn and I will be joined in holy moley on June 3, 2006. The irreverent event will take place at the Group Lodge in Niobrara State Park. I have a dress design figured out, but have yet to decide the most cost effective route. I have three options: 1. buy off the rack; 2. buy a base dress and make a jacket to go over it; 3. make the whole thing from scratch. Still don't know who is going to do all this magic sewing. I have Andy's phone number, but I am uncertain whether I should trust him. He seems a little flighty, and this is important. It's not a costume for a play, it's a wedding gown. Then again, I guess a wedding is a play of a different kind. Anyway, I digress. We have very few details figured out at this point, but are discussing things on a daily basis. Will update this as often as possible.

Huh, something I just realized. He still hasn't actually proposed...hmmm. Hope he doesn't forget! :)

Just in case you're interested...
Topic: Wedding Plans
Here's a picture of the dress I have picked out. Not sure yet who's going to make it for me. I am accepting suggestions! If anyone knows a seamstress (or seamster, men can sew too!) in my area that is good with a sewing machine and doesn't charge too much, PLEASE let me know! :)
My aunt Mary would do a wonderful job, I'm sure. Trouble is, she's in Denver. Much too far to go for fittings. But, unless something changes, she may be my only option. I know this captivating young man in Columbus, but can't seem to get ahold of him. Anyway...

Click here to see the picture.

I've been a bad, bad girl...
Now Playing: Criminal
Topic: Wedding Plans
I've had so many other things on my mind lately that I haven't paid any attention at all to my blogs. Oh well, it happens. However, I am happy to say that Jim and I have been talking about the wedding while we are at work together, and things are starting to happen. Yay! We've decided that having the reception 2 weeks after the ceremony is too long. We're going to shoot for a Friday ceremony and a Saturday reception. Hopefully this will make it easier for the people attending both events.

Whew! Glad that's over with...
Now Playing: Anything BUT Lohengrin : )
Topic: Wedding Plans
Had a tough talk with Jim the other night. I couldn't shake this feeling of doom in regards to our wedding. To be more specific, whether we had enough time to plan (not to mention save enough money to PAY for) our wedding, which was going to be in May. Notice I said WAS. No, no, don't panic. We're still getting married, and in May nonetheless. May of 2006. I feel much better knowing that I have 16 months to plan, and save, and get every tiny little detail as close to perfect as possible. Trying to rush through it in less than 4 months would only have left me too stressed out to function. I want to remember our engagement as a happy time, not that one time when my hair suddenly all fell out. So, Jim has graciously agreed, and the new date is May 6, 2006. According to our online countdown, we have 480 days to go. :) Oh, speaking of online, Jim and I have a wedding web page now. The address is: http://www.theknot.com/ourwedding/JessTannehill&JimVaughn

Wedding Bell Blues
Mood:  not sure
Topic: Wedding Plans
Found a pattern for a dress. It's 2 pieces, just like I wanted: a strapless A-line dress with an organza overcoat. Other than that, we still haven't made much progress. Haven't been to church, haven't talked to the priest, don't know what's required of us, don't know if the church is even available. GRR. Hopefully sometime soon, we'll get the ball rolling...

Mood:  special
Topic: Wedding Plans
The date is set. Finally. Jim and I will be married on May 7, 2005. Assuming everything goes according to plan, that is. The ceremony will be held at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Sioux City, IA. Don't really have any other details hammered down yet. I think we're going with blue for the color.