We got our engagement pictures back a couple of weeks ago!  They’re awesome and we are in LOVE with them!  Jason rocks my socks!  Here’s a sneak peek:

To see more & order prints, click here!

Now, on to the “& more” section of this post….

The list further dwindles!  To date we have now:

• Created & ordered our save-the-dates (using one of our engagement pictures)!  I’ll post a photo of the finished design (created by me and approved by Adrian) once I’m sure most of our guests have received them.  
• Chosen our invitations (will order in January).  We’re going with tree-free paper with embedded wildflower seeds from Twisted Limb Paperworks!  Again, no peeking at the design until they’ve been received!
• Our friend, Jon C., got ordained online!  Not sure which site he used, but it’s legit!  
• My wedding  & rehearsal dresses have been fitted!  And believe it or not, I performed the operations myself (eek!)!  But it worked!  Of course, were they not rather simple in design (no boning or the like), I would NOT have even dreamt of touching the dresses with a needle & thread, but thankfully it IS and I have enough experience to have fitted it myself, saving a load of cash!  YAY!  My mantra has been since we started planning (heck, since we purchased our own house):  Why pay someone else to do it if I can do it myself?  Of course, if you follow such words of wisdom, be realistic!  Sometimes it is better to trust the professionals!  
• In the same vein, I have also almost completely finished adding my own personal design aspects to my wedding gown.  I’ve added quite a bit here and there and changed some things about the design, but I am LOVING it more each and every time I touch that thing.  Which is a good sign, because I have been known to not leave well enough alone.  Thankfully with my own wedding gown I’ve done a good job of Keeping It Simple (SILLY)!
• We’ve just about compiled all of our guests’ mailing addresses.  Actually, as of now, we’re just waiting on ONE.  (you know who you are!)
• Decided on a ring holder!  We’re going to order a custom ring bowl from Paloma’s Nest!  I’m so excited because I have been wanting one of these for our wedding since I first saw them!  They’re so cute, so unique, and so reusable (another mantra: reduce, reuse, and….you know the rest!)!  We’re going to engrave it with “Adrian & Jenny / May 16, 2009″ and tie a ribbon in one of our colors through the holes at the top.  After the wedding, we’ll use it as an ornament on our tree every year OR hang it on the wall next to a wedding photo.  Kai will now be carring our rings (he wanted–and deserved–an extra, important job), so now he’ll just carry the bowl with the rings!
• I’ve ordered and received all of my rehearsal & wedding day jewelry (all from Etsy.  Yes, you remember, I’m the Etsy Freak Bride.). 
• I’ve received my headpiece from myrakim (SO pretty!!!)!  It’s made with feathers I gathered from my family’s farm in Michigan City, so it’s extra personal!
• booked a ceremony musician!  We’ll have a solo violinist, a student from IU Music School.   I’m looking forward to this as well because those students?!?  AMAZING!!!
• worked out the timeline/style of our ceremony.  Not the words yet, but the way things are going to go.  We’re doing things a little differently.  More on this later.
• Aaaand last but NOT least, I ordered the oft-raved-about work-the-hell-out-of-you workout DVD:  Jillian Michaels–30-Day Shred.  Yes, that’s Jillian Michaels from “Biggest Loser” TV fame.  Yes, she’s called the “toughest trainer”.  That’s right.  I’m getting in the absolute best shape of my life for our wedding!  

Now, let me explore this tangent a little more, do you mind?  I’m not in bad shape.  I’m a vegetarian, I eat well, I had kept up a pretty decent jogging routine in the warmer months for the past year.  When I wasn’t jogging, I was dancing.  This is the embarrassing part.  I have ANOTHER workout DVD for *ahem* hip-hop dancing *shifty eyes*.  It worked me out, though, and it was fun!  

Then I got this DVD.

I apparently didn’t know what working out was.  

Ho. Ly. Crap (I’ll keep this kid-friendly).

The workouts (there are three levels) are only 20 minutes long.  But, it’s Jillian, and Jillian does NOT mess around!  It’s true, if you want results from ONLY 20 min a day, you’ve got to WORK IT GIRLFRIEND and WORK IT HARD!  No breather allowed!  No mercy!  I’ve only done this once, just started today (in fact only an hour ago) and I can barely even type!  I thought I was in shape and BOY I must have been w-r-o-n-g!

All this is to say, if you want results, if you want your ass kicked hardcore in the comfort of your own home, GET THIS DVD.

OK I think that about covers it for now!  Be back once more is checked off the list!

Thanks for reading.

Jenny the Bride

That’s how I feel right now!  Ever since I got my dress in and tried it on, even when I took pictures with all the accessories, I knew that something was missing.  I knew it was something with the skirt, but I couldn’t quite figure out what it was.  I thought maybe it just needed to be fuller or that the pleats needed to be more spaced out.  I thought maybe I needed a crinoline to poof it out more at the base.  But the more I thought about it, I figured out what I needed.  Lightbulb!  And today, I–me, Jenny–made it happen!  I even sewed it, ironed it, pieced it together–all by myself!  Then I put the dress back on with accessories and the additional “piece”.  I cried.  I finally cried in this dress because this dress was finally, finally really ME.  It all came together and was all perfect.  Remember, I have to keep details of the dress hush-hush because Adrian has full access to this blog, so if you want to know more, simply e-mail me at jlnowak [at] gmail [dot] com!  I am SO EXCITED that not only did I figure out what was missing, but that I was able to hand-make it myself.  It means that much more to me now and feels much more mine  

Jenny the Bride

IS IN!!!!!!!!!!!

Mr. Postman dropped off a rectangular box this past Friday.  I went out to meet him because I couldn’t wait.

I squealed.  I ran inside.  I promptly told the dogs that this was my dress and made them go stay in the kitchen so it didn’t get dog hair and paw prints on it. 

I tore it open.  Inside was an opaque vinyl garment bag (how nice of Amanda to send it this way!) and a thank-you card inside (how nice again!).

i quickly zipped the bag open, squealing again, and put it on.  

hmm…it’s beautiful, it’s MY DRESS, without a doubt, but it needs some alterations.  So I pulled it tight to get a better idea, put the accessories on and voila!  

I was a BRIDE!  But I was ME!  And it was AWESOME!  It was everything I ever wanted AND it’s reusable.  The way it’s designed, after the wedding I’ll be able to hem it to the knee and it’ll make a cozy, beautiful sun dress  Wow, I’m such a recycling hippie.

But seriously, I am so relieved.  Every bride, from what I hear has 2nd thoughts and the more I thought about the dress (before it arrived) the more I doubted my decision.  Don’t ask me why.  I was doing exactly what I wanted to do.  I was having my dress made out of the fabric I wanted, into the style I wanted, by a ridiculously talented dressmaker.  But still, the doubts came, but disappeard completely once I put the whole ensemble together.  I mean, completely.  I am in LOVE with my gown.  It’s so ME and it’s SO beautiful!!  I can’t wait to wear it to become Adrian’s wife

In other news, checks we have done so far:

• Ceremony site (Rose Well House on IU campus)
• Reception site (Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center Grand Hall)
• DJ (Tom Marshalek from The Dance Machine)
• Flowers (Harvest Moon Flower Farm)
• Rentals (Master Rental)
• dress (Amanda Archer handmade creation)
• Caterer (Bloomingfoods Co-Op)
• Photographer (Jason Miller with Silvertree Photographics)

First off:

THE DRESS IS DONE!!!!  eeeeeeeee!!!!!!  

Ok now that I’ve got that out of my system I can move on.  

NO wait.  Seriously.  MY wedding gown.  My custom-made wedding gown.  is finished.  and it’s beautiful.  and by next week, I should be able to put it on!  It’ll be moments like that that I’m glad Adrian’s at work all day and I’m at home alone so I can prance around in it and edit pictures in it…

Second update:

We met with our first choice for a caterer (Bloomingfoods Co-op) and decided on a DJ (Tom Marshalek with The Dance Machine).

 Adrian and I both knew going into this that we wanted a fun party for our closest friends and families.  What better way than with good food and good music?!  To be honest, Adrian wasn’t all gung-ho about the DJ thing like I was.  He still isn’t.  But in my line of work, I’ve seen a TON of DJs.  I totally get why he’s a little scared.  I’ve seen the cheese in person.  I’ve seen the DJs that don’t know when to be quiet, or the ones that don’t realize this isn’t a show all about them, or the ones that totally didn’t listen to the bride & groom’s requests and just played whatever they want.  I’ve even seen the DJs that will stop a song that’s rocking out before it’s over leaving dead silence hanging in the air while the crowd that was just having a good time groans in disappointment.  

But our guy is not these guys.  I’ve seen some great ones too in my line of work, don’t get me wrong.  But Tom is the absolute best choice for us.  He and I have worked together at two wedding receptions in the past couple of years.  Only two, and at these two he impressed me exponentially.  We even got to talk quite a bit at the most recent one only this past month.  He’s a lot like us.  Heck, we even found out recently that he’s our neighbor!  He lives like one street over.  How small a world is it?!  Anyway, he gets it.  And he truly loves what he does and I feel that really makes a difference.  When vendors “do weddings” just to make money, or in their “off season”, you can tell.  When they do it because they love it, it shows.  Tom is excellent, end of story.  Adrian still may be a little hesitant, but he won’t regret it.  I appreciate so much his trust in me in this.  And for the record, this is the only aspect of our wedding planning so far on which we haven’t seen eye-to-eye.  I mean, iPod weddings may work for some, but for a rockin’ party, you need someone whose sole purpose is to crank out some excellent music!

As for Bloomingfoods, we both agreed on this from the beginning.  After meeting with the super-friendly and totally laid-back (like us) Alan Simmerman from the near west side store, we felt even more sure about our decision.  We’re still awaiting a price estimate which will help us make our final choice, but we’re pretty set on them.  All organic, vegetarian, and super ridiculously delicious food.  How can you go wrong? 

In other planning news, we’ve also discussed the whole officiant thing.  I mean, technically, the officiant is the most important (read: necessary) vendor.  And when we think about it, it feels very strange to us to have anyone marry us that doesn’t already know us well.  So we’re heading very seriously down the track of having a friend who gets ordained online marry us.  We discussed possible friends of ours over lunch one day and came up with a couple of names.  We’ve since narrowed it down to one that we think is the best for the job.  Next step:  Asking said friend.  And no, we’re not giving away the name until he/she is asked!  :)  Nice try, though.

So yeah, I think that about covers it on the wedding planning front.  More as things progress!

Jenny the Bride

I’ve always heard brides say that while they were engaged, they would have countless terrifying nightmares about various aspects of the wedding day.  In these nightmares, things would go horribly, horribly wrong.  They would have to go down the aisle naked, as they’d forgotten to put on their dress.  Everyone forgot about the wedding and no one showed up.

Well, I had my first a couple of nights ago, and it was scary! When I think about it now, I should have realized it was a dream while I was having it, but you know most of the time, while you’re having a dream, you are 100% certain everything is REALLY HAPPENING to you.   This was one of those dreams.  This one centered around my dress.

As you know, I’m having my dress custom made by Amanda Archer (awesome!).  I have had zero doubts about my decision to do this, as I know Amanda is extremely talented.  Or at least I thought I’d had zero doubts.

In my dream, Amanda showed up at my house with my dress (super cool if she would actually show up at my house in Indiana since she lives in San Fran, but I highly doubt this is going to happen).  She took the dress out of its package and it was…. words cannot describe.  OK, I’ll try.  It was made out of about ten different kinds of eyelet lace, none of which coordinated with the others.  It was two pieces.  The bottom piece was PANTS.  It was tea-stained brown.  That enough for ya?  Oh, and she had no idea why I had a problem with it.  Now, remember, I was firmly convinced this was all really happening to me.  I was so livid and scared and upset and confused!  How had this wonderfully talented dressmaker even concocted something so hideous?!?

…Then I woke up.  Aaaahhhhh that relief when you realize that nightmare was just a nightmare!  It never really happened!  Oh joy oh joy oh joy!  Angels were singing in my head!  My dress could still be beautiful! But my GOD how that image has stuck in my mind!  I cannot get that abomination out of my head!  The only difference is now I realize it was just a dream, and I can laugh a little at myself.  Because really, it wasn’t the talented dressmaker that concocted such a hideous mess.  It was my own subconscious.

Weird.

Jenny the Bride

I’m having it made.

I want to give you so many more details because I am so so so so so so excited to be having my gown custom made, but alas, Husband-in-Training would come across it and know all too much.

So what helped me make this decision? During all my tryings-on of bridal gown after bridal gown, I found myself thinking “this is not ME. This gown was made for ‘a bride’, but not for ME.” and there were things I would want changed with each gown. This includes the amazing Pronovias gown I almost went with from Bridal & Formal.

Upon coming across an amazingly talented dressmaker based in San Francisco, CA, I knew I found the young woman who would make MY gown. And it felt SO right, especially after exchanging a few e-mails, sending along a photo of what I was looking for and even more so after receiving the fabric in the mail. It was all coming together and it would be MINE!

This decision feels so RIGHT, so GOOD, and I am THRILLED! Anyone who is interested in seeing the photos of the design and fabrics, shoot me an e-mail (jlnowak [at] gmail [dot] com)!

Any other brides out there having their wedding gown custom-made? Please share!

Jenny the Bride

Remember when I said we’d been approved for that beautiful circular grassy space on IU’s campus?  Ah, those were the days!  Turns out, I was mistaken.  I’ve since been contacted by the Student Activities committee and filled out a form stating how many guests we would have (75 or less), if we would have a tent (NO), and how long we would need the space for (not very).  Adrian and I are now awaiting approval from the Board of Trustees at IU and whomever else needs to go through our form and decide if we should be the lucky ones to have the first and likely only wedding in this area.   Currently, there are only THREE (!) approved outdoor ceremony spaces on campus, and this is NOT one of them.  Their decision could go either way, though, and that’s the problem.  We’re waiting….waiting….waiting….. and on THE MOST important detail of the wedding day (besides each other)–where we’re having our ceremony!

I will update further once a decision has been made.  Keep your fingers crossed that it’s SOONER rather than LATER!

As for THE DRESS update……..

My mom came to visit this past Saturday through Tuesday.  We had a GREAT time just hanging out and celebrating my birthday on Sunday (it was seriously one of the best ever!)  And on MONDAY she and I traveled 2 hours to Cincinnati, OH to visit the largest bridal salon in the country: Bridal & Formal!  I’ve been wanting to come here ever since I first heard of the shop years ago and it truly was an amazing experience.

Upon arrival, I was given a form to fill out with my name, wedding date, and contact info.  Then I was shown the (over 3,000) gowns!  Thankfully, they were organized by designer & price to make the search a little easier   I chose 8 Pronovias gowns rather easily, as this designer is heavy on my style of vintage lace & European design.  They had every single one of their styles I’ve been wanting to try on for FOREVER!  I was thrilled and SO EXCITED to start trying them all on!  Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait long, because my consultant Tracie was ready to take me back to the LARGE communal dressing room minutes after I chose the dresses.  She was hilarious.  She said I had a beautiful “olive skin tone”!  Pff!  yeah right!  Not with these freckles!

Well, the first one I tried on back there was IT.  It just was.  It was amazing.  It was unique.  It was ME in every way.  This was the dress.  Although I’d tried on about 4 or 5 more dresses afterward, I knew I’d found my dress.  Tracie took me back to another lady who is in charge of accessorizing.  This was a part of the shopping experience that made Bridal & Formal stand out among other bridal salons.  They took me in this gorgeous gown I’d chosen and sat me down on a plush stool in front of a vanity set with mirrors surrounded by veils & jewelry of all kinds.  Here I was adorned with a chapel-length veil, gorgeous earrings & a bracelet to go with my gown.  And here is where I couldn’t keep the tears from coming as I was led to the bridal platform area to see it all put together.  Of course, my mother was in tears herself   It was definitely one of those moments everybody’s been telling me I’d have but I never believed would happen.  Well, it did.  You all were right. 

After all of that, even though super-sweet and helpful Tracie kept trying to get the price of this amazing gown down, it still was more than we were wanting to spend (I just cannot see spending four figures on a dress that will only get worn once) and we left the store.  Of course, I have resources upon resources and am certain I won’t have a hard time finding this exact gown elsewhere for a friendlier price.  So the search is on!

The great thing is, if I don’t find it for a better price, I have another just-as-exciting option:  I have found an amazingly talented dressmaker on Etsy who is more than willing and more than capable of creating a very similar and just as beautiful gown out of a material I’ve always LOVED and yet a material that is very very hard to find in wedding gowns.  This seller has sent me sketches, I’ve seen her work, and I would be just as thrilled to work with her to create a one-of-a-kind gown for our wedding day as I would to find that Pronovias gown in a more reasonable price range.

So now I’m down to two.  Two beautiful, exciting options.  Of course, I will not post any further information and certainly no photos of these gown options here, as Husband-in-Training could and would stumble upon them, but if anyone is interested in seeing what I’m talking about, please feel free to contact me: jlnowak [at] gmail [dot] com.

Jenny the Bride

]]> http://adrianandjennyswedding.wordpress.com/2008/07/02/updates-ceremony-site-the-dress/feed/ 0 jennythebride http://adrianandjennyswedding.wordpress.com/2008/05/18/tried-on-more-dresses-may-have-found-the-one/ http://adrianandjennyswedding.wordpress.com/2008/05/18/tried-on-more-dresses-may-have-found-the-one/#comments Sun, 18 May 2008 21:27:59 +0000 jennythebride http://adrianandjennyswedding.wordpress.com/?p=23 ]]>

I went to Indy on Thursday as I mentioned. I enjoyed the PUG meeting and learned a lot. THEN I went gown shopping.

I canceled my appt at 1:30 and instead went straight to Nancy’s Bridal and I’m sooo glad I did! I had heard lots of great reviews about Nancy’s from other brides, plus they carried the designer I was most interested in trying: Watters.

I was greeted by a beautiful store with LOTS of gowns and a friendly consultant (I forgot her name ) who showed me to the Watters gown section. They had, like, EVERY Watters gown in stock! I was in heaven! I tried on 7 dresses I think. Three I loved, one I super-duper-loved!

Then, last week, I ordered a gown from J. Crew to try on. As their wedding gowns are not available in stores, if you want to try them on, you’ve gotta order them. J. Crew has a GREAT return policy (within 60 days, unworn, with tags still attached) and at the time of my purchase, they had free shipping. Sooo…. I had nothing to lose by purchasing the dress, trying it on (and taking pictures) at home, then sending it back for a full refund the next day. It’s going back tomorrow, but I HAVE PHOTOS! And not only of this dress, but the dress I super-duper-loved at Nancy’s Bridal!

….but, if you want to see them, you’ve gotta ask permission! E-mail me at jlnowak@gmail.com!

One step closer!!

Jenny the Bride

]]> http://adrianandjennyswedding.wordpress.com/2008/05/18/tried-on-more-dresses-may-have-found-the-one/feed/ 0 jennythebride http://adrianandjennyswedding.wordpress.com/2008/05/14/more-dresses-tomorrow/ http://adrianandjennyswedding.wordpress.com/2008/05/14/more-dresses-tomorrow/#comments Wed, 14 May 2008 22:22:40 +0000 jennythebride http://adrianandjennyswedding.wordpress.com/?p=22 ]]>

Tomorrow I’m going to Indianapolis for a monthly PUG (Pictage User Group) meeting for photographers in Indianapolis & surrounding areas.

I had been thinking that I should check out some bridal salons in Indy while I’m there, so I made appointments with three:

Sophia’s Bridal & Tux at 1:30pm

Dreams of Indy at 3:00pm

Something Old, Something New in Pendleton at 5:30pm

And in between appointments, I’d like to visit Nancy’s Bridal in Indy

We’ll see what I have time for!  The PUG meeting starts at 11:00am and should only run 1-1.5 hours.

Then of course I need to be back home in Bloomington by 10:00pm for “LOST”.  But I’ll be sure of that.

Oh, and I heard from Timothy Womock about viewing the Grand Hall.  Next week would be better, he says.  No appts made yet.  Have to talk to Adrian, but he’s been in Indy himself all day for work.

More later!
Jenny the Bride

]]> http://adrianandjennyswedding.wordpress.com/2008/05/14/more-dresses-tomorrow/feed/ 0 jennythebride http://adrianandjennyswedding.wordpress.com/2008/04/24/dresses-so-many-dresses/ http://adrianandjennyswedding.wordpress.com/2008/04/24/dresses-so-many-dresses/#comments Thu, 24 Apr 2008 21:57:04 +0000 jennythebride http://adrianandjennyswedding.wordpress.com/?p=14 ]]>

Oh my oh my oh my did I try on a LOT of dresses this past weekend in northwestern Indiana!  We went to a total of–get this–10 stores!  I would guess that I tried on AT LEAST 50 wedding dresses.  Yes, I said 50.  At least.  And I’m not even close to done!

Remember, if you want to see the photos of me in the dresses, just ask!  I will not post the link here, as Husband-in-Training may run across it, but it is available to whoever asks!

All in all, I did have a great time shopping with my mom.  We used to go prom gown shopping and always had a wonderful time!  And now, 10 years later, here we are searching for a wedding gown.  It’s a natural progression and I am so glad we get to do this together!

In other news, yesterday after dinner, I got two pieces of paper and two pens out so Adrian and I could write down our ideas for our wedding.  When we were done, we traded papers and realized our lists were almost 100% the same!  I guess you couldn’t ask for a better outcome.  We both want the same things from our wedding day.  So what kinds of things did we write down?

The words we ended up agreeing on were:

• Informal
• Small
• Inexpensive
• FUN
• Outdoors (ceremony)
• NO cake!
• Personal
• Nontraditional
• Eco-friendly

What’s that, you say?  “No cake!?”  That’s right!  Neither Adrian nor I like cake, but I have no doubt we’ll have LEAST one other dessert option.  Most likely more than one.  That is, if I have anything to do with it.

Some links of interest:

Vintageous

Portovert

Wai-Ching

(I am in LOVE with one of her dresses.  Guess which one and win…my admiration!)

Etsy Weddings

We Dream in Colour

Leah C. Couture Millinery

eco-artware

Bell’ancora , Encore Bridal (preowned wedding dresses)

And of course, my favorite:  Ebay

Please let me know if you come across any other links of interest!  Anything DIY, eco-friendly, vintage, etc.!

Jenny the Bride

]]> http://adrianandjennyswedding.wordpress.com/2008/04/24/dresses-so-many-dresses/feed/ 0 jennythebride