the hills are alive, with the sound of music....

For those who hadn't heard, Premier Party Planners is going international!  Yup, that's right - our international destination wedding is about a week away!  We are so excited for this trip!  And even though, I haven't seen 'The Sound of Music' in yeeeeeaaarrsss (I might not have ever seen the movie from start to finish, actually...) the words of Julie Andrews are stuck in my head... naturally, with with our upcoming trip to Switzerland, I feel like I must watch it and be ready to re-inact the iconic image of 'Maria' running through the hills of Switzerland

Most folks who didn't grow up under a rock or were born before 1990 are familiar with this image

Be prepared for something simliar from me, yet less creepy than this dude -

horizontally challenged random dude... I'd retire that shirt if I were you...

details:
We will be flying out of RDU on Wednesday, Sep. 7th and will arrive in Zurich the next day.  We will then board a train and travel 2hrs south to the middle of the Swiss Alps to the town of Lauterbrunnen.  Once we arrive there, we will then have to take a cable car up to the small village where our bride & groom will officially tie the knot.  This romantic, medieval village does not allow any cars!   
The ceremony will take place on Saturday and will be an outdoor event on the terrace of our hotel with beautiful views of the Swiss alps.  *sign* sooo romantic!  I can't wait to show you pictures!

Dress Shopping - part deux

So as you all may know, my parents came up this past weekend with the goal of purchasing my wedding dress.  Up until this visit I had been periodically checking out different bridal stores around the Raleigh area (“part une”). My mom had asked that I look around before her visit - that way I'd have a few of my favorites for her to check out and then we'd make a decision. Quick and easy… or so I thought!  Our “quick and easy” quickly evolved into "let's exhaust allllll your dress options in Wake County"… She wanted us to go to the bridal mart in Burlington AND the bridal mart in Smithfield AND David’s AND all the other salons here in Raleigh… I was exhausted just thinking of all the driving we’d be doing!  (aren’t they tired of driving?  Didn’t they JUST drive 11 hrs from Florida?!!)

Thursday came, mom and dad arrived without a glitch.  We met up with the sales woman at the reception location and checked out some linen options, had dinner and called it a night.  Luckily, I was able to talk Mom out of going to Smithfield in exchange for us going to another store that sold the Maggie Sottero line (we had found a few different Maggie dresses that we both really liked!)  So we started our search in Cary at the Bridal Boutique of NC.  I would highly recommend this store to any dress-shopping bride!  They have a large selection, huge salon with lots of room for trying on dresses and comfy couches for dad’s to sit on.  J  I ended up finding two dresses at the Bridal Boutique that we loved!  After we left, we went over to Lana Addison (also in Cary) and tried on three more dresses.  None were a hit.  Not to my surprise, Mom did not like the original dress I had found a few weeks ago…. Sometimes our taste lines up… other times not at all.  So we left Lana’s and went to our final appointment at Victorian Rose on Glenwood.  This entire time, I have been searching for a dress with lace.  I knew I wanted lace on my dress… someway, somehow.  Unfortunately, VR did not have that wide of a lace-dress selection.  Now don’t get me wrong, there were a TON of beautiful wedding dresses!  But I knew what I liked and what I had been gravitating towards, so we eventually left without finding anything worth thinking about. 

The next morning, I was again able to talk Mom out of going to Smithfield right away.  We compromised and decided to go back to the Bridal Boutique and try on the two Maggie dresses I liked and then decide if we’re going to Smithfield OR back to Lana’s.  Nice compromise.  As fate would have it, we wouldn’t be going anywhere else.  I put on MY dress and I was sold!  I had needed to sleep on it, think about it (dream about it) and once I put it back on, I was ready to stop looking!  So as you can see/read I have “said yes to the dress”!!!!  (sorry, no pictures for this blog!)  I’m having a few alterations done (sweetheart neckline and they are extending the train) but otherwise the dress was perfect!  I LOVE it!  I wish I had it now so I could wear it around the house when Jimmy’s not home!  LOL   

So now we’re on to the guys attire and my bridesmaids!!  This wedding planning thing is fun!!   ;) 

Dress Shopping - part une

Technically, I've been dress shopping three times now.  Once with my future sisters'-in-law and twice with an awesome college friend.  The first time, we went to Traditions by Anna which is this great boutique in North Hills where the dresses are way outside of my financial parameters... but they were having a sample sale!!  How could a bargain shopper such as myself pass up a sale that was boasting 50% off??!!  So we went and basically we were able to narrow down what style of dresses I didn't like.... Which was a huge help!  Part of me wanted a ballgown - I mean, what other time in a gal's life do you get to wear a big poofy white dress?!  never!  So carpe diem ladies!

Reema Acra Fall 2010 Collection

After trying on a few of the princess-style, I found that even though I love them, they just don't flatter my body.  Oh well!  On to the next style....

I had a feeling I was going to like the fit and flare style the best (otherwise known as mermaid, or trumpet).  This style just hugs your body and can really flatter most any figure.  I tried on an organza dress with a rose applice right at the skirt where it flared out - loved it!!  The way the material was gathered across the body was so figure flattering! 

Jenny Lee 2011 Collection

So the first trip was a huge sucess!  I was able to start narrowing down my options.  The next trip was an impromptu "You-need-to-go-to-David's-Bridal-at-least-once!!" trip with my college friend.  So I made us an appointment (the day of our trip, and yes, you do need an appointment at David's) and I was able to try on even more mermaid style dresses.  I found two very pretty dresses that I like but I just wasn't super excited about either one.  I mean, if the world was ending and I had to pick one of them, I would be fine with it.... but nothing "wow-ed" me.  So on to our next trip...

Most recently my friend and I went to Lana Addison, a super cute boutique in Cary.  Personally, I love Lana Addison because the salon is all done in purple - my favorite color!  I tried on a few more mermaid-style dresses and fell in love with one dress (& veil) in particular!  Oh my gosh - this dress fits all my criteria: trumpet style, check!  lace, check!  long stunning train, check!  sparkle, check!  funky-cool belt, check!!  I love love love it!  Totally ready to "say yes to the dress" but.... must wait for mom!  Mom & Dad are making a Dress-shopping-trip-to-Raleigh next weekend - this is when we will purchase my dress!  So we will have to wait for Dress Shopping - part deux!