Search for a Dress: Part 2

Part 1

I love love love Maggie Sottero. I knew her dresses would be out of my price range brand new, but I wanted to try a few different styles on and if I loved any of them, I'd look for them on websites with preowned, once worn wedding dresses. My mom and I decided to go to Reni's Bridal Boutique in Wichita one Saturday morning. We drove all the way across town and when I called to find out exactly where they were located, she told me I needed an appointment and they were full that day. So, we did what any normal people would do... We went anyway. Ha, I know that's kind of rude, but we were already there, and I wasn't going to drive all the way back out there without knowing which Maggie dresses they carried. I wasn't planning on getting to try any on or anything.

So we walked in and the first thing the woman working says is, "Do you have an appointment?" and I said, "No, but..." and she cut me off and said, "You were the ones who just called, weren't you?" Uh, what a way to start. So I explained that I just wanted to look and that I knew I couldn't try anything on. When she found out where I went to high school things started looking up, finally. She told me her favorite brides were from my high school. She gave my mom and I the Maggie books they had which had the dresses they carry marked. I had made a list of about 15 dresses I liked, but they only carried 2 or 3 of them. (But they made sure I knew I could order any of the dresses from them - Eek! I'd be way too scared to order a dress without trying it on.)

They decided to pull the couple that they had in stock so I could try them on - Turns out their next appointment wasn't for another hour and a half. I liked both of the dresses I tried on. Both were too big, though, so it was hard to see exactly what they'd look like and they were both over $1,100. I only have pictures of one of them:

David, there are more pictures of me in white dresses, so don't you dare read the rest of the post. Love you!

I Feel Naked!

One day I was reading on a board on Weddingbee (surprise, surprise!) about white gold yellowing over time. So I looked at band of my ring, and noticed it was a little yellow. I took it off to look at the inside on the band, and I noticed a line through it. I looked at the outside again and found that the line went all the way around - My band basically had a tiny crack the whole way through! I texted David and he called me right away. I told him what happened and he said he really wanted to take it in before I went back to school (the next day). So we went to Powell, where we bought the ring, and showed them what happened. She said it wasn't too uncommon and that they would have it repaired and replated - so it wouldn't be yellow anymore either! Luckily, David bought the protection plan, so it didn't cost us anything. I'm sure it won't be the last time we use it! She said it would be about a week, but when we told her I would be leaving for school the next day, she said maybe they could get their repair person to get it done in a day so we can pick it up the morning I was leaving! They ended up getting it done in a day so I had it before I went back to school, but I felt so naked without it!

I just love the people there. They go out of their way to be friendly and accommodating. While one woman was looking at my ring, the other one was having me try on a 2 ct diamond just for fun! Ha! All of the women there are such sweethearts and I'd recommend them to anyone.

Have you had something similar happen? Did your finger feel naked for a few days?

We're Goin to the Chapel... Part 3

Part 1

Part 2

The same afternoon we looked at RiverWalk, I talked to my mom and she had a couple other suggestions. I was raised Lutheran and was baptized and confirmed in the same Lutheran church. (I also attended preschool through 8th grade at that church's Lutheran school.) However, a few years ago there were some issues with the principle of the school and my nephew. My sister and brother-in-law, their family, and my mom and I all left the school and church. (The church because the pastor, who had known our family for over 20 years, refused to get involved in the situation or say anything to the principle, who was out of line.) Anyway, long story short, although the 2 people we had problems with there have left, there are still some negative feelings among my family for the church and I'd rather not be thinking about that on my wedding day. So my mom suggested another Lutheran church, Trinity Lutheran, which is actually only a couple miles from our reception hall. It was the first LCMS (Lutheran Church Missouri Synod) church in Wichita. When I looked at their website, I was amazed:

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Copyright Wright Focus Photography

I called the church immediately and talked to their substitute secretary. Growing up in a Lutheran church, I knew how strict their rules on wedding ceremonies are, but I thought it was worth a try. I first asked if they do weddings for non-members, and she replied, "It depends. As long as there isn't a member wanting to get married on the same day. What is your date?" I told her June 12th, and she said it was open! The next part was what I was worried about - usually Lutheran churches ONLY allow ordained Lutheran pastors, and specifically LCMS pastors, to perform ceremonies. She asked, "Do you have your own minister?" and I told her we did, and asked if that was ok. She asked what denomination and when I told her non-denominational and that he is a pastor at one of the large Christian churches here in Wichita, she said, 'Ok!' So she said she would get me information regarding prices. However, over a week went by without hearing from her.

We were both really hoping everything would work out. It had the pews I want, the center aisle, it's BEAUTIFUL, and it could seat around 400 people - perfect size! We were praying the price is reasonable and that there weren't any other restrictions regarding the ceremony. But, believe it or not, we ran into yet another roadblock. Would we ever find a church?

Search for a Dress: Part 1

Even before I got engaged, when I thought about dress shopping I pictured all of the important women in my life there - my mom, my sister(s) (I wish my sister in Arizona could've been there, but that's a little unrealistic), my FMIL, my FSIL, and my bridesmaids. So I scheduled an appointment at David's Bridal at the end of June and invited my mom, David's mom, David's sister, my sister (and Matron of Honor), and my 2 bridesmaids that live close enough to come.

The whole group:

From left to right: BM S, BM M, me, MOH/Sister A, FMIL, Mom

Second row: FG R, FSIL/JrBM K

I thought I knew exactly what I wanted and gave her a few style numbers that I definitely wanted to try on.

Babe, I know you don't want to see pictures of me anyway, so go ahead and close this window now. :)

We're Goin to the Chapel... Part 2!

Part 1

Well, it turns out that the pastor we'd already chosen has a problem with the church we found - Or rather, with the beliefs of the church we found. So basically, we needed to start all over. David called about 10 churches, and none of them did non-member weddings or else they did, but don't allow outside pastors. Finally, we found one that allows both: RiverWalk Church of Christ (formerly Central Church of Christ). However, the fee for using it is $800 - which is a whole $500 above what we budgeted for the church, and that doesn't even include our gift to the pastor we're using. We decided to go look at it anyway, because frankly we didn't have any other options. The church has very few restrictions as far as music choices or the service in general. Also, we could have our rehearsal dinner at the church after the rehearsal (for no extra charge) and we could decorate at any time on Friday. RiverWalk is beautiful (minus the yellow pews):

I loved the white steeple, the pews, and the stained glass. And if we used the screen at the front for our slideshow, it could be raised afterwards and the beautiful stained glass behind it would be visible. They also had a couple candleabras and holders for pew bows/decorations available for use. The only negative was the price, and we just couldn't seem to get over it. The secretary who gave us our tour and all of the information said she would put a note on our date and contact us if anyone asked about it, so it gave us some time to decide.

 Have you had to sacrifice part of your budget for an alternative venue/vendor/item?

We're Goin to the Chapel...

Or so we thought... We had originally planned to get married at the church that we attend. The main sanctuary is huge (seating for a couple thousand), so we looked at the chapel which seats right around 300.

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The chapel was perfect - just the right size, and it has pews, which was important to me. I grew up in Lutheran churches and it just seems more like a church if it has pews. It also has a central aisle, which was another thing I really wanted. (The main sanctuary doesn't have pews - The seats are more like movie theater seating, which was another drawback in my mind.) The stained glass in the chapel was even pink! So we got the contact information for the wedding coordinator and called her a couple days later.

Unfortunately, she called back and told us that the weekend we've chosen (and the weekend after, which was our second option) are not possibilities for weddings - It's the week of Vacation Bible School. We're having one of the pastors there officiate our service anyway - more on that later - so he tried to see if there was any way we could work around it, but it's a pretty firm decision. The main sanctuary is not available either, so that wasn't even an option.

We were basically back at square one. My mom had noticed there was a pretty church right across the street from our reception location, so we decided to look into it. The church is United Methodist and is beautiful!

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David called to find out if the allow non-members to use the church and if they allow outside pastors to preform the ceremony. They said yes to both and it was the perfect size! And there was even a choir loft available for extra seating if we needed it.

*Ignore David's head - He stepped in front of my picture. This is the choir loft/doors - The ceiling is beautiful!

The church has such a history, and it was so interesting to hear about the congregation's past. David and I both loved it, so we just needed to meet with the pastor there to work out all of the details. I was so excited that the location would be so convenient for all of our guests! They'd just have to cross the street over to our reception venue after the ceremony.

Of course, nothing is ever as easy as it seems... We ran into another roadblock.

Was findning the location for your ceremony an easy decision? Or did outside factors end up changing your original plan?

We Have a Photographer!

Since we're putting down our deposit tonight, I figured I could go ahead and blog about our photographer! I am SO excited about having Brandi, from Captured Expressions Photography (being renamed Lola Jo Photo Design), shoot our wedding! I found one of Brandi's ads in a Wichita Bridal Guide, and was drawn to her work just from the one picture in the ad. David and I met with her a couple weeks ago, and loved her personality. Unfortunately, I'm not able to copy/paste or link to any of the pictures from her website, but I found a wedding on The Knot that Brandi shot! It's beautiful!

Source for all of the following pictures:

Source for this picture:

Those are just a few of the MANY pictures I love that Brandi has taken - Be sure to check out her website! I just love the "feel" of her pictures. I'm so excited we found her!

Was finding your photographer an easy decision? What drew you to him/her?