Bouncin' Down the Aisle

With 359 days to go, not only do M and I have a venue for our nuptuals, but ladies and gents, we have a band! For those of you who know M, music is everything. And finding a band was no small feat. Especially from Chicago. Being a plane ride away from my wedding location, it's not like I can drop everything and fly in for a showcase at a random hotel on Long Island. So we relied on DVDs and streaming video to see and hear our options. Hours of entertainment this provided - hours. Do you realize just how ridiculous some of these wedding bands are? Simon Cowell would have a field day with some of the leading ladies I heard. Moments of muscial delirium led M and I to belly-aching laughter. Two songs you will not hear at our wedding: 1. At Last, 2. Dancing in September. Mark my word. Squeeky, screechy versions of those songs have scarred me forever.

And then we heard the magic. Thanks to a co-worker of my wonderful pal SM, we have a band. Done. They are a refreshing break from your traditional "we only play motown and the Black Eyed Peas" band. Most importantly, M, the music snob that he is, loved them. I never thought the day would come. I seriously thought a 80's cover band was going to play at my wedding (even though that wouldn't have been so bad).

Now, here's where this gets interesting. Band plays Phish. Ever been to Phish concert? I have. Three of 'em (awesome bride-to-be that I am). (Side note - I went to one show in Brooklyn in the RAIN. I was the only non-hippie in the crowd and therefore opened my umbrella at the first drop of H2O on my blow-dried hair. I got yelled at by the crowd! Rude hippies!) Back to my point, M loves Phish. Sorry to spoil the surprise, but he wants to walk down the aisle to Bouncin' Round the Room! If he's really serious about this, which at this point I can't tell, I suppose I'll let it be. Weddings shouldn't be generic and I want every detail to be about me and M (without getting carried away of course). But don't expect me to be rockin' down the aisle to Janet Jackson or anything...

Tomorrow I head to Los Angeles for my dear friend AF's wedding. I've scrutinized every last article of clothing/accessory in my suitcase and I'm ready to go! It's guaranteed to be a lovely affair. Be back next week!

Trapped in a Vera

I started this blog to capture exactly the type of experience that I had at Barney's Chicago on Saturday. With the boys out for a day of golfing, my Chicago pal VC and I headed to Michigan Ave. for lunch and a day of shopping. I saw an ad in the Tribune that Barney's would be showing the Spring 2007 Vera Wang collection so a browse through the fourth floor bridal salon was on our list of essential stops for the day.

I was graciously greeted by a sales executive from Vera Wang who was in from NYC for the store's three day event. Before I could see the dresses she said I had to sit in a waiting area and fill out a detailed form. I asked if she needed a copy of my insurance card too. With the paperwork out of the way, she walked me through the trunk show. The dresses were simply splendid. All so delicate and feminine. I was immediately drawn to a v-neck rosey, satin gown that the sales lady said was modeled after a dress that Vera made for Keira Knightley. Would I like to try it on, she asked? SURE! In the dressing room I was instructed to put on a strapless bra complete with tummy sucking-in abilities and give sales lady a shout when I was ready to get in the dress. As I stood in my bra and undies with my arms pointing to the sky and sucking in big time, sales lady mentioned this dress was a smaller size than the usual samples because it was first made for a model. Interesting, I thought. If I fit into this puppy then three cheers for me! She lifted the dress over my head and then started to push, push, push the Keira dress down, down, down. This is cut very tight, she kept saying as she kept pushing. With the dress 3/4 over my body, the fabric twisting and stretching in weird directions, we decided the dress did not fit. So she begins the process in reverse- she pulls, pulls, pulls the fabric up over my head. Except, with fabric covering my head and most of my chest, the dress won't budge anymore. She continues to pull and I can hear she's out of breath! The dress is so tight around my chest that I think i'm going to have a heart attack. This can't be happening. I envision having to be cut out of a $6,000 Vera. I start laughing but it hurts. All the while VC is listening from the waiting room wondering what in the world is going on?! Finally, after lots of wiggling, I was freed from the Vera. Hallelujah! Can't I just wear a Juicy sweatsuit to my wedding??

And to pick up from my last post, our pre-anniversary dinner was delicious! Over a bottle of chianti classico and baby eggplant parmigana MB and I talked about what we would be doing at this time next year. Another important topic discussed included the dynamic relationship between...Dwyane Wade and Shaquillle O'Neal. Think I'm lying? I just love to see the respect and admiration between those two guys. Shaq, the proven veteran and Dwyane Wade, the talented and totally adorable up-and-comer. Honestly, love like that moves me.

365 days

Hello family and friends!

Welcome to my official wedding blog! I decided that with all the funny/cute/chaotic/crazy things that are bound to happen this year it would be fun to share them with all of you! I'm getting married exactly 1 year from today - June 23, 2007. So let the countdown begin.

The name of my blog is Sunday Stylin. Surprised? For all of my out of the loop readers, the New York Times Sunday Styles section hosts what is quite frankly the bible of wedding literature (aka Wedding & Celebrations). Just how cool/connected must one lucky couple be to make the weekly cut? Just you wait and see. To the dismay of my wonderful fiancee (MB), we are going to try! Yes, we will take an awkward photo "with our eyebrows on exactly the same level and with our heads fairly close together," printed in a horizontal format, of course. And you know what - I think we have a shot. As most of you have heard by now my clever fiancee proposed to me on the cover of the New York Times! The headline read "Chicagoan B asks New York K for hand in marriage." If that proposal doesn't seal the deal for the Times then I don't know what will!

Remember folks, this is all in good fun. I'm not as obsessed as I might sound. But I am excited to get married and share the process with you. Tomorrow night MB and I are going to celebrate our pre-wedding anniversary by trying an adorable Italian restaurant in our neighborhood that I've been eyeing for a while. It didn't even occur to me that one celebrates such a day until a friend mentioned that she and her husband had done so. The way I look at it, any reason to try a new restaurant is a great reason for me. Figure I might as well still enjoy pasta before the bridal diet really goes into high gear.

:-) TLK