Quick update...

I got a call last night from Alfred Angelo's; my dress has arrived. I go for my first fitting September 4th. I am so excited to see it in a size that fits. The one they had in the store was so big on me I was able to get an idea, but I think the real thing is going to be 100 times better.

I went by the hair dresser today. I am so happy I found such a great replacement. The guy that I found to do my hair doesn't work on Sunday's but he is helping me to get the best 'Up Doer' in the shop to do my hair that day. He is also helping me coordinate all the other people that will be working in the salon that do to get them all working on family and friends that may want to get their hair done as well.

Be sure and let me know if you are interested in going with me to the salon. I will need to get names and set up times for everyone.

Well, that's it for now. I will post more soon.

2 Months!!!!

OMG!!! Tomorrow is 8/23, it's almost my wedding day. I can't wait.

Tim and I have officially booked the harpists for the ceremony. You can hear samples at 'Music Unlimited' on the right. Her name is Toni Destro. We are looking at a few bands this week as well. Hopefully we will have a band booked before the end of the month.

We got the final proof back on the invitations. Tim is going to call Zen and give them the green light to get those in the mail. They have to create them, but we expect they will be in the mail by the end of the month. You all should start to get them mid- September.

My dress is due in the first weekend in September, as is the bride's maid dress. Then the dieting becomes a reality :(

Tim is working on finding a photographer while I search for the band. But other than those 2 things, and fittings, we are pretty close to being ready.

Tim and I are headed to Chicago this weekend for the Chicago Tri. It should be a lot fun. I love trip to Chi Town.

Other than wedding stuff, and the race coming up I have been pretty busy with my new job. I will post more later (hopefully to confirm the band is booked!)

Last hotel post, I promise!!!

I know I posted a while back saying it was the end of the hotel details, but I do have one more thing...

We went round and round with Marriott, Best Western and a few others trying to get rates negotiated for our guest, and NO ONE was willing to work with us. We decided not to even bother trying with the Ritz since all of the less expensive hotels were giving us such a hard time.

One of our guests called the Ritz and when they mentioned they were coming in for our wedding the hotel operator told them not to make the reservation yet, but to contact us and have us set up a discount. We could not believe it. The one place we didn't even bother went out of their way to save our guest some money.

Tim called and spoke with a sales rep there and they were able to get a really good rate for anyone who would like to stay there. Call (310)823-1014 Monday - Friday 10:AM- 3:PM Pacific Time. You will need to speak with Caroline Turner. Tell her you are coming in for the Stockton-Barnes wedding and you will get a discounted rate of $259 a night. Caroline can also be reached via email: caroline.turner@ritzcarlton.com

Zenvitations

Tim has been working with a company called Zenvitation to create our invitations. They sent us the proofs today. Tim and I both really liked the same one. So I guess we have picked the invitation. Tim is going to work with them some more this week to finalize the small details. We expect the inviations to go out later this month or ealy September at the latest. Be sure and check the "Official Web Site" link in the right nav bar to see the full menu, times, directions, and many other wedding details.

Hair

Well, back to wedding stuff!

As many already know I recently had a bit of a hair catastrophe. The hair dresser I had been going to for nearly 3 years just decided not to listen to me anymore. I went in for a touch up on highlights and she decided that I needed to be blonde (even though I strongly told her I did not want that). Instead of just turning me blonde, she really messed up my hair. She under processed it, so when I got home in natural lights, I was able to see that she had turned my hair YELLOW!!!! Just over 3 months before my wedding, can you say 'Bad Timing'?! I went back to her that same day and insisted that she fix it. Instead of going back to the brown I had before (and wanted) she tried to reprocess it and turn the yellow to blonde. While she was doing that she proceeded to tell me how right before the wedding we should go fully blonde and shock everyone. I was furious!!! She lost her mind, and apparently her hearing. I had been blonde for many years, but for nearly a year now I have been back to my natural color and I was really happy with it. Anyway, she still didn't fix it, and I was not getting anywhere with her so I found a place open that took walk ins and went in for them to low light it and get the yellow out and some of the blonde.

The girl I found to help that afternoon was really nice, and did all she could, but she was worried that if she did too much it could damage my hair. So even though she did help, I was still not happy with the color. What was I going to do, 3 months until the wedding, and I have to find a new hair dresser?

Good news!!! My search is over. I have been scouting local salons (looking at the people coming out) trying to find one that I thought had what I was looking for. I made an appointment and went in today. John at 'Saint Salon' in Santa Monica did EXACTLY what I wanted. I am so happy with my hair now. It looks healthy and natural. I am so relieved, and happy. I plan on doing a practice round or two between now and the wedding to be sure I find the right style for my dress and head dressing. I have full confidence that it is all going to be okay now.

Next up, music. We are working on finding a harpist for the ceremony and a band and/or DJ for the reception. Other than that all we need ot book is the photographer. We are getting there!

Tim's Birthday

So we took a little time off from Wedding Planning to celebrate Tim’s birthday. On Saturday we went bowling with John and Sanjoy, then on Wednesday we all went to dinner at The Nook. We had a good time. Of course Tim dominated in bowling. I think if we all 3 had added up our scores it may have been close, but that’s pretty normal.

We saw a “sort of” celebrity at the bowling alley, Jessica from Hell’s Kitchen. She was paying when we were leaving so I told her we hoped that she would have won. Not really though, Tim wanted Dewberry to win, and wanted Elsie to win. Oh well, Jessica thinks we were rooting for her.

Tim saw Diane Keaton at the pool on Monday. I think he said her kids were in lessons or something. We had gone weeks, or months even with out a celeb sighting, then 2 in a few days of each other.

On Wednesday we tried The Nook since it was recommended by some of my eLogic friends. One of the contractors that worked with us told us all about it. His brother, and some friends, opened it recently. It was a small little nook in a shopping center close to our place, but it had tons of personality. Very trendy “LA” atmosphere. Really good food, and it was packed. We did have to wait a while, but it was worth the wait.

Tim and I are heading to Chicago later this month for the Chicago Tri. So now he is back to training, and I am back to wedding planning. We will have one more break to celebrate his birthday with family while we are there, but then it’s all about wedding and racing though October.

More wedding details to come soon…