So with all this anticipation and so many things going on in our lives we have really wasted no time in planning or SHOPPING....believe it or not!! :) And this past weekend, one of my dreams came true....
Thursday night my momma and Jacki (a.k.a Fancy/Aunt Jacki) drove the big rig (my mom's big pick up) to Chicago for a weekend of wedding dress shopping, concert going, food eating fun!!! We kicked off the weekend late Thursday night with champagne, snacks and ideas....imagine three girls who love to plan a party that have access to Pintrest....poor AK, it was as if he wasn't even in the house. In fact he was so quiet watching TV (sports, I'm sure) that I forgot he was still awake until he came back to our room at midnight and said "that's it girls, move it to the spare room, I'm tired!" Ha, so we kindly obliged. We picked up our laptops and magazines and headed to the empty bed where we continued "the wedding meeting!" Super fun and I'm not sure what a girl would do without Pintrest these days or a wonderful Mom and a super duper Fancy!?? We closed our peepers at about 1:30a and decided to get as much beauty rest as possible, because Friday would begin the journey of wedding dress shopping.....in downtown CHICAGO!!!! :)))
Friday morning came way quicker than it should have, but we were up and off. We were headed to our first appointment at 11a and the day never stopped. The first place we went was fabulous....from our assistant to the space to the dresses.....it was fabulous. I easily could have bought the first dress I tried on, but boy I'm glad I waited!! Next stop was a different atmosphere but just as wonderful and found a definite winner there, but I still couldn't pull the trigger. I mean we still had 2 places to go and 4 more appointments total for the weekend, so how could I say yes so early?? After the second place we were in dire need of some food and a beverage (champagne and diet pepsi, duh!!) so we grabbed some lunch, hashed over the first few spots and were off to the next place. Our third place was a bust for me regarding wedding dresses, but the two positives were: 1. they served champagne (Fancy and I were tipsy by the end) and 2. My mom found a great dress option for herself...didn't buy it, but "we always know it's there!" (famous last words). Anyhow the fourth and final place was amazing, but I'm gonna just throw it out there....EXPENSIVE!! But think of bridal boutique, fancy gowns everywhere you looked, big mirrors and windows, and adorable assistants. This place had me hooked....I loved a dress there so much, I was willing to join a detasseling crew next summer just to pay it off....that's how gorgeous it was. Luckily for me, I was shopping with the voice of reason or reasons, and let the dress go. It was gorgeous, but little did I know Saturday morning.....we would beat it. Friday ended with a flying trip to Nordstrom (I mean why not?) and the longest cab ride ever to get home (Fancy and mom aren't much for the El, so cabs it was!). The night was supposed to end with a nice dinner in Bucktown, however the shopping took it out of us, so we ordered the Art of Pizza (fabulous deep dish), popped our own bottle of vino and ate and talked "wedding" a bit more. Again....poor AK. Before we knew it, it was lights out and we were preparing for round 2 on Saturday!!!!
Saturday was super fun....start to finish!!! We had one appointment scheduled for Saturday at 11a at a place I was really excited to experience!! We walked in and I'm not kidding I almost knew it was going to be special. Again the atmosphere was so fun, the designer of the boutique was in the store, our assistant was lovely, the gowns were gorgeous (and affordable! :)))....I could feel it!! I told her what we were looking for, explained the over priced experience from the night before and we were off. We snagged a few gowns as options and sure enough the first one I tried WAS THE DRESS!!!!!! I knew the second she zipped it up. I almost ran out of my dressing room just so my mom and Jacki could see my initial reaction. This is where my mom started to cry....I got teary with the first dress I tried on on Friday, but my mom hadn't shed a tear....NOT ONE until this dress!!! It's perfect, and I can't wait for AK to see it!! It's going to be so hard, because he is the one person who always knows everything and this is a pretty big secret to keep!!! And you see, so many times as a little girl I would dream of wedding dress shopping in downtown Chicago and not only did I get to shop, I got to buy......dreams do come true!!! ;) Corny I know, but so fun and so fun to say Yes to the Dress!!! So after that we were on a "dress high" and headed no where else to calm ourselves other than, you guessed it, J. Crew!!! Ha, my mom can't stay away and let's be honest, neither could we!! So after dropping some cashola and a little jolt of Starbucks it was about time to call it a day....of shopping that is. Because Saturday night, we had tickets to Bruce Springsteen (a.k.a The Boss) at Wrigley Field and my mom for one was not about to let that pass her by!!! :)) AK made us dinner (grilled fillets and sauteed potatoes and asparagus...yummo) and we were off to the concert. It was a blast....I'm not sure what we (AK & I) enjoyed more, The Boss putting on a good show or watching 40-50-60 somethings rockin out!!! Too funny, but all in all wonderful!!!
Sunday came and went quick, but not without a brunch stop at Southport Grocery (also YUMMO) and a shopping stop at Lululemon. I never need a reason to go in there, but my mom and Jacki are only by a Lulu every so often, so it was a must do!!:) We all left with a few new duds (lucky us) and we were on our way. The weekend came to a quick close unfortunately. But hopefully they both left knowing how grateful I was for them coming and taking time to shop with me. It was definitely an experience I will never EVER forget!!!!! Check out a few photos below....not many, because of the pics were of me in dresses and those will remain confidential until wedding day!!!!!!!! June 15, 2013!!!!!
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| out and about....dress shopping!!! |
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| the friendly confines....hosted The Boss!! so fun! |
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| pretty cool set up at Wrigley!! |
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| pre concert pic!!! |
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| the crowd on the ground dancing in the rain....pretty fun to watch, but luckily we were under the railing!! |
