Sunny skies and a lovely shower

Pardon me for falling behind on my entries, but to be honest I needed a break from all things bridal. Hence the Memorial Day bbq where I lost all recollection of my super snug gown and took the diet, shmiet approach.

Now back to the important stuff-- my shower. My Aunts B and K threw me a luncheon shower at Eleven Madison Park – right across from the Shake Shack for those of you, like my fiancé, who know New York City not by street corners but by hamburger joints. Shower # 1 was great, don’t get me wrong, but shower # 2 was a party with all my nearest and dearest friends and family. There were faces I hadn’t seen in years and friends from faraway that I talk to daily but only see occasionally. In addition to pillows, baking pans and blenders, there were even some Euros and travel checks for my honeymoon thrown into the gift mix. Finally something I know how to use!

Some of the memorable moments of the afternoon included:

a presentation of special occasion wines from my bridesmaids including: one month anniversary wine, making up is fun to do wine, first shabbat wine and It's a...wine.




AS printed out all of my blog entries and put them into an album!









With new initials comes a new monogram bag.






And my fiancé showed up at the end bearing gifts!

The Bachelorette Party...

5:55am: I can’t sleep. I’m too excited. I look over and there’s AS sleeping next to me and SM is on the floor.

8:00am: Time to wake up and work out. SM and I have boot camp at Equinox in an hour and we need to get there early to fight the diehards for a spot in the class.

12:30pm: I am at brunch at Essex on the Lower East Side and just about to start my second of many, many mimosas. AS, KP, MB, LM and SM are giving me a lingerie shower and the guys at the table next to us find our little party quite amusing. My friends know I love my sweatpants. I usually sleep in boxers and a t-shirt. Bu today they tell me it’s time to have some grown-up PJs. My new wardrobe includes ivory silk, gold lace, royal blue mesh and even a pair of Wifey slippers. The girls give me a little quiz to make sure that I know everything there is to know about my fiancé. Q: When did Matt first tell you he loved you? Me: Umm….S—t! I don’t remember. A: Valentine’s Day 2002. Q: Who is Matt’s favorite baseball player? Me: Umm…Derek Jeter? A: Frank Thomas. And with each wrong answer I take a sip of my mimosa.

4:00pm: I am exhausted. A woman is walking on my back. There’s nothing like a good massage after a morning of squats and lunges and an afternoon of drinking.

8:30pm: Dos Caminos Soho. I make my way to the back of the restaurant to a table my friends have decorated with balloons and penis confetti (I said no hats, t-shirts or lollipops, but confetti I can live with). Specially printed “Tori’s Bachelorette Bash” menus are at each place setting. My mom orders the first round of shots.

blowing kisses at dinner

11:30pm: My dad arrives at Dos Caminos to pick up my mom. He sits at the table, completely oblivious to the confetti and the banana and whip cream martini in front of my face. SM comments this could be the first bachelorette party ever attended by a bride’s dad.

dad and me

Friday, May 18, 2007

11:30 am: Time to decide how I am going to wear my hair to the wedding. I am back in my old hometown of Ardsley to meet with Thomas, my hair and makeup stylist for the big day. I’ve lived all over the place, tried a thousand different hair salons all over New York City and yet here I am, down the street from where I grew up, at hair salon next to the CVS where I spent hours in high school buying makeup with my friends. It’s strange how life comes full circle.

I was absolutely traumatized by my prom hair experience so Thomas has been warned that doing anything to my hair involving hair spray is likely to freak me out. After a heart-to-heart I put a little faith in his abilities and allow him to do his thing, within reason. After a little of this and that, we agree upon a very simple, slightly wavy style.

Being back in Ardsley meant I was subjecting myself to running into absolutely everyone from my childhood. By the time I left the salon I saw my old neighbor, my friend’s mother, an old classmate, and even scarier, pictures of her children. Everything in my old town was just like I remembered it. The same people gossiping about the same things.

1:30 pm: My mom and I meet my Aunt K at Lulu’s Bakery in Scarsdale to design and order a special wedding dessert. We walk in super excited. We ooh and aww at all the fabulously designed edibles. But suddenly our bubble is burst when Mr. Pastry Chef isn’t quite as excited as we are. Something about delivering to a New York City venue in June makes him nervous. He’s afraid one of those street fairs (the fried food, ugly fake purses kind) will prevent his truck from being able to make it to the Harmonie Club. The conversation precedes something like this:

Me: Nooooo! You can make it. I know you can!
Mom: I work at the Better Business Bureau. That is no way to talk to prospective clients.
Aunt K: That’s ridiculous. If 5th is closed, take Madison or Lexington.

After much back and forth and a phone call intervention to my wedding planner who recommended this place, we reach an agreement. We taste, design and order exactly what we came in for. And the rest is a secret.

The problem with this whole pow-wow is I am now about 30 minutes behind schedule. Mom and I run to the car and head into the city for dress fitting number 1.

3:20 pm: Mom and I are stuck in traffic on the wrong highway headed in the direction of Mount Vernon instead of New York City. Directions have never been my forte and for some reason, on this very hectic today, I swear to her we need to go east, not west. We quickly realize we need to go west, not east. My fitting is scheduled for 3:30 pm. As you can imagine the conversation inside the car sounds something like this:

Me: S*&^%HJWK!!!
Mom: F(*&^JWA!!

3:49 pm: I arrive at Vera Wang exactly one minute before my appointment is canceled. I tell the receptionist I came straight from the airport and my plane was delayed. Just a little lie to make me feel better about taking the wrong highway from Westchester to New York City, a trip I have made thousands of times.

4:00 pm: I am in my dress and as cool as a cucumber. Oh how I love you wedding dress. You make me forget that I’ve been stuck in traffic and swearing at my mom for the past hour. The sparkly but terribly uncomfortable Stuart Weitzman shoes I returned in exchange for a simple pair of comfortable heels turns out to be the right move. The shoes go perfect and dress maker goes to work.

The Bachelorette Party!

6:00 pm: I’m finally in a cab heading downtown. I make a quick stop at 54th and Broadway to pick up SM from work. Time to get ready for my bachelorette party.

8:30 pm: SM and I head to Otto to meet my friends for dinner. Over a bottle of red, a bottle of white, eggplant, artichokes, mushroom pizza and chocolate-hazelnut gelato we toast to being together and a great weekend ahead.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

9:45 pm: I arrive at Westchester County Airport on time after an easy, breezy flight from Chicago. No delays, no lost luggage. It must be a sign from g-d. There’s my mom, she spots me making my way to the exit. She’s waving one arm in the air and grasping her cell phone with the other. I run over to her and she smothers me with kisses. I’m home. Let the marathon begin.

Details, details

Forty five days to go and we’re still (pretty much) drama free. A small episode between the mother of the bride and me involving a bridal shower game caused my blood pressure to spike, but slowly I am returning to normal. For this game M and I had to individually answer a set of “how well do you know your future spouse” questions. Some were fun, i.e. what’s M’s ideal job? Some were dumb, i.e. what was T’s major in college? And one caused trouble; how many times a day does T call her parents? To make this story short, the mother of the bride was not happy with her future son-in-law’s attempt to generate some laughs with his answer. Argument ensues. Everyone accuses everyone of being too sensitive. Hence, I am not a fan of bridal shower games. They only cause commotion.

Small blip number two involves the mysterious appearance of C, my Vera Wang sales associate. It seems silly C changed jobs without a warning or a farewell. I truly support his ambition in bridal couture and I’m sure bridesmaids throughout New York City join me in wishing him well. However, he made one serious mistake, one that stirs my inner bridezilla. He forgot to order my flower girl’s dress! Even though I just placed a rush order, it’s likely that little KB might not have her pink dress on time. Jeezzz.

Talk about wedding overload, next weekend I head to New York for my shower, bachelorette party and two fittings; in addition to ordering our wedding cake, doing a tasting, meeting with our rabbi, getting a marriage license and meeting with band. So even though my future husband tells his friends all the details are taken care of, I beg to differ…