Meredith & Chad, April 28 2018 Wishes, WP/GM Lounge/UK Lochside- WEDDING VIDEO

Almost Two Weeks!!!

The most important update I have at this point is that the dress has been restored to her original glory!!!!!!!!



I could've hugged the alterations woman when she pulled the dress out and it was back to normal!!!! She didn't seem like a hugger, so I gave her a nice tip instead

She only charged $30 to hand remove over 30 patches/ribbons sewn through three layers of my dress. She was a LIFE SAVER and it was worth way more than $30 to me.

Now that I have the dress back and I don't feel like I'm going to jinx anything.. here's the whole story on the dress debacle.

Basically, my dress is all tulle. Tulle is very fragile (as I have now learned) and one shouldn't do an under bustle on tulle (as I have also now learned). I trusted that the seamstress at the salon knew what the dress could handle and I didn't do my own research. BIG MISTAKE. She worked on that bustle for months. When I went for what was supposed to be my last fitting at the beginning of March, everything was fine except one of the ribbons was missing. She said she was worried about the tulle ripping out when we bustled it.. so she was going to "reinforce" the ribbons. At this point, there were just ribbons under the dress like any other bustle and no one knew they were there.

Fast forward to the end of March... I go to pick up my dress and she has butchered it I didn't know the extent of it until I got home.. 3-1/2 hours away from the salon.

This is what my dress looked like from the top layer.. meaning this is what EVERYONE COULD CLEARLY SEE



No those "band-aids" ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THERE. There was at least 30 of these throughout the dress.. down both sides and the back

A closer picture showing how she sewed a clear bead on the top layer all the way through to the patch on the third layer.


An underneath picture. She could have at least used blush or ivory "patches" instead of bright white



Oh and she moved EVERY SINGLE RIBBON between the beginning and end of March.. leaving a giant hole in the third layer beside each new bustle/patch



I noticed the patches at the bridal salon when picking the dress up, and I was angry that she did it without asking but I knew at that point there wasn't much I could do. My dress had been put through the ringer - it smelt like dog and was covered in dog hair. I knew the best thing to do was get it out of there ASAP and at least it would be under my watch. I almost felt like this was done out of spite - the woman had complained since August about how hard the alterations were. I don't think the store owner even knew what she did to my dress, she was busy with another bride picking her dress up for portraits.

So I basically freaked out for about 2 days until I found this woman that could get these ugly patches off my dress but now all is well with the dress and she looks as beautiful as ever



Here she is with my veil!!! I had to blur out my unmentionables I left on the floor when I changed

I LOVE my dress. I just wish I could wear it to the reception, but it's just physically impossible because of how long the train is. Didn't really think that over when I bought it

I'll update more this weekend!​

Less than 2 Weeks! A Quick Update

Not much has changed since my last update. I did have to take my second dress to be altered because I just couldn't make the length work. The lining was way too long in the front and I felt like I was going to trip

So I get that dress back the Monday before we leave.. I think that's the 23rd? We leave the 25th. It's cutting it a little close but it's a back up dress so I'm not extremely worried about it.

We had a video conference call with our reverend last week and it went pretty well! I don't think we will remember exactly how to do everything on the day of (I know my fiancé won't), but I feel confident that he will guide us in the moment. The Type A planner in me still would really like to have a rehearsal, but it is sort of unnecessary to pay extra for one when we don't have a bridal party. My dad is really the only other person in the ceremony so I just need to run through it with him.

I have a list of last minute questions to ask my planner. She just got back in town today I think, so I'll send those in an email tomorrow. Other than that I think my nerves and to-do list are slowly shrinking!!

One of the biggest things that is back in the air is when I'm going to change into my second dress. My photographers want me to change after we do more portraits after the ceremony, that way they can leave and go set up and we follow along when we are ready. BUT I have to have someone help me into the second dress because the straps have to be crossed and hooked after it is on. So I'm thinking it might be best to change at the GM Lounge where I can get help from my mom. And that has me thinking.. maybe I should do my first dance in my ceremony dress since I like it better? But then it might be weird to come back out in a different dress while everyone is eating? I don't know.. I think it makes more sense to be changed for the big intro into the reception

Oh and here are some of my shirts for the honeymoon!!!



A girl I know did them and she did an amazing job!!!

I also attempted to stop drinking caffeine in an attempt to drink more water before the wedding but I'm not doing that well I have cut my caffeine down to just one cup of coffee in the morning and water for the rest of the day. I tried to do without the morning coffee and I'm just DEAD without it. It sucks, but I think it has helped my skin be less irritated/inflamed. I tend to break our under stress so I'm just hoping for nothing major the day of

I started packing this weekend. Everything is pretty much just waiting in the floor of my closet ready to go
We do have to lug 40 cans of dog food down with us Oh the things we do for our pets

And I think I'm FINALLY satisfied with our honeymoon plans. I've spent all day tweaking dining times today. We added an extra day to our stay, so I decided to book the 8 AM Keys to the Kingdom tour on our last day!!! I'm super excited. I usually don't have enough time in the itinerary, but my fiancé really expressed interest in seeing the backstage areas (which is saying something because he usually doesn't express much interest in anything Disney related at all ) So I'm hoping he really enjoys the tour.

And I booked the Frozen Dessert Party for this night as well. I love the Dessert Parties, but my fiancé hates being herded like cattle so we will see if this stays. I've heard couples say they didn't get to actually watch the fireworks at their Illuminations dessert parties because of posing for pictures, so I wanted a guaranteed good view for later in the week in case we don't get to see much of the show. I'll probably cancel the Frozen dessert party if we get to see most of the show at our DP... although the desserts look delicious regardless

Everything is pretty much done other than going through the ceremony on our own time (which is necessary because I don't think my fiancé was paying much attention during our video call) and making sure my fiancé packs everything he needs (he is a VERY last minute person)

This is our last full work week and it will hopefully be stress free. I dealt with a lot of family drama last week that made me feel like just eloping, so I'm trying to have a "Hakuna Matata" attitude for the next two weeks

Next weekend I'm pampering myself with some hair highlights, a shellac manicure and a pedicure. I've never had shellac done, but I'm hoping it lasts at least a week! I have naturally long nails, so I don't like to do artificial. I guess I need to come up with some nail design ideas!!!​

Just a heads up that I've started a Pre-Trip Report for our wedding/honeymoon trip if you want more details about our plans!!! I'll try to keep this thread mostly wedding plans and the trip report mostly Disney plans, but there will probably be some crossover ​

SEVEN DAYS PEOPLE

This gif is an accurate representation of how I'm feeling. On the outside I think I seem pretty calm to people, because I mostly am. There's just a little piece of my brain that starts freaking out if I start thinking about the logistics and little details of the day. I think I've come to realize that I've done as much as I can at this point, so I need to let the planning go and just enjoy it and deal with whatever hiccups may happen.

It's also very surreal that my wedding is NEXT weekend. How in the world did a year go by THIS FAST?!?!? I honestly thought it would NEVER get here.

Today was my "pamper day"



I got lowlights in my hair (to cover up the stubborn "strawberry blonde" pieces that like to pop up on top of my head ) and a conditioning treatment. My hair looks and smells amazing.. I just wish I could bring her with me to blow dry and curl my hair

Then I got a mani and pedi! My first mani and pedi in 7ish years I NEVER paint my nails because they chip so easily and I like to peel them when I get nervous. I got a shellac manicure which involves you dipping your fingers in powder multiple times and then the artist buffs the nails and applies a clear polish to make them shiny. They are supposed to be chip resistant and last like 4 weeks.. so I'm just hoping to make it past next Saturday.

I just got normal polish on my toes since those really don't matter. I got the pedi mainly for the relaxation aspect and to make my feet nice and soft. I don't think I would get another one anytime soon though.. it was pretty expensive for something I could've easily done myself

So we leave THIS Wednesday night!!! We will spend tomorrow packing and running errands. This might be my last update until after the wedding!!!! I'll be sure to post any wedding day pictures ASAP

everyone for following along in my wedding plans and being my support through all the stress!​