Beer & Champagne: Dress Fitting + Wedding Shower #2.

And I'm back....has to be a record since the early blogging days. I love the looks of a finished post, but finding the time while working night shift is a bit of a challenge!!! Anyways.... this past weekend is definitely worth posting about....

My mom and three of her good friends (including Fancy who frequents the blog as a main character!) plus Fancy's daughter Anna, and my sister in law Marcy met me in Chicago for a girls weekend that included my initial wedding dress fitting and my/our second wedding shower!! Why do I say "my" wedding shower you ask?? Well that's easy, because AK did not join me for this shower, nor did he receive any of the gifts OR write any of the thank yous....really he has it easy. He will benefit from all the gifts, but doesn't have to endure any of the work. Is this a sign of my future!?!? :)

But first things first.....DRESS FITTING!!! I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous for my dress fitting. I mean it's kind of a funny situation, right? You pick out your dress months in advance, you take one picture for memory and then don't see the dress again until the day of the fitting, in which case you've seen a zillion pintrest pictures, not to mention all the pictures of all my friends that are brides right now. I was scared to death I would get there and hate it, or get there and it wouldn't fit, or even worse, get there and realize my friend bought the same one as we both randomly shopped at the same boutique and our weddings are three months apart!! But low and behold none of those things happened. And the dress was just as beautiful as I remembered and I was still in love with it as much as I was when I initially tried it on....just like AK!! (#barf) But then came the fun stuff.....the final touches!! These ladies at Mira Couture had me tucked, pinned and tightened faster than you could say "I DO!" :) I was so nervous though, because I had to decide things on the fly....like more a-line or more mermaid fit, or french bustle vs traditional bustle, or just touching the ground or dragging on the ground a 1/2 inch, etc!!! I mean, I don't know. And I do take care of incredibly sick kids for a living, so I realize these decisions are really minimal compared to some in life, but the bottom line is you want to look your best, because I plan to really only wear this dress once!!!! In the end, however the choices I made turned out PERFECT and when I say PERFECT, I mean PERFECT. I've never in my life had a dress or anything for that matter fit like this gown does. When these people mean custom, they mean it and I would recommend them to absolutely anyone. When I put the dress on for the last time on Monday, I just stood there and cried. It is so beautiful and lovely and fits so well, I wanted to run down the isle, right then and there!!! In those moments, I'm very glad we are doing a traditional church wedding as opposed to a destination of some sort!!! But for now you will have to use your imagination......and stay tuned for pictures June 15th and not a minute sooner. AK prefers to be surprised!!!!

okay this is all you get.....mira the designer/owner herself!!! otherwise stayed tuned...54 days until "I DO"

Next up, wedding shower #2. Since AK's parents live an hour outside of Chicago (give or take traffic or whether there is a Bears and/or White Sox game), we decided to make the most ofmy visit and plan a shower with his family while we were close by. AK's mom (Peggy) and his sister (Melissa) hosted a beautiful shower with the theme of all things "love!" Really they went above and beyond and planned a delicious meal, organized way too many games, and opened their home up to lots of guests, including a rowdy bunch from Iowa!! ;). Oh and the sangria was tasty as well!! But in all seriousness I was overwhelmed with how gracious AK's aunts, cousins and family were in all the gifts they showered us with. It's so exciting to open all the fun stuff and have it be exactly what you wished for! It's like an extra Christmas or birthday!!! Ha!!! Unfortunately for me though, we live too far away and the TSA frowns upon extra bags on the plane, so all the gifts had to stay put for the time being. Hopefully we can convince one of our loved ones to drive out after the wedding with all the gifts or we will have to rent a U Haul trailer to get everything back to CO. The joys of living at distance!!! Thanks again Peggy and Melissa.....we all had a great time and you really out did yourself!!!!

one of our shower gifts from AK's Mom and Dad....EXCELLENT gift. we play all the time and are pretty competitive...shocking, i'm sure!!!

the host + the bride to be!!!

just the hosts....the spread was beautiful!

no surprise to anyone....going straight for dessert!!! ;)

And a few added bonuses to the weekend....my mom found her Mother of the Bride dress at Nordstrom. It was a dress I had seen online, but her friends convinced her to try it on.....looks beautiful and I can't wait to see her rock it on the day of the wedding. So elegant and so pretty and will match me perfectly!!! Can't wait. I also had opportunities to sneak in a few visits with girlfriends while we were there. A visit with Kristyn over dinner.....she makes pregnancy look good.....
And Sunday night I met up with my good friend Lindsey for a little sushi date. So fun getting caught up with some good Chicago gals!!
And "when in Rome".....a girl must shop!!! :)) I found a little dress for a few upcoming events, the main one being my bachelorette party in Sonoma/Napa in ONE WEEK!!!!!!

Bonus pics: