To those asking, I bought the dress at Macy’s. Off the rack, yo. I was just trying on back-up dresses! And then I found it. Yup.
Then I bought a veil at Lacis. (Go look at that site, really. Vintage lace shop in Berkeley, exTREMEly cool.) They had me put on my dress in their dressing room at the front of the old wooden shop, and then I traipsed over the floors in my dress through two rooms to get to the bride’s room, where all the veils were. People said, "Look! A bride!" and moved of the way. Really, they said that. The women at Lacis loved the dress, and I’m thinkin’ it takes quite a bit to make the vintage-specialists oooohh-ah over a dress.
I tried on veils. Mantillas. Long lacy ones, short sheer ones. I looked in the mirror at me, a bride. A real bride. I never really wanted this. I never pictured myself married, really, let married in white. A hand-knitted skirt or a red cocktail dress would have been good enough. Yesterday, when I called Lala to tell her I’d accidentally found my wedding dress, and that I felt like it was really bride-like, and did she think I was compromising my ideas, she said, "No! Good! You’re getting married! That’s the way it should be."
She’s relieved, too. I guess she’d been a bit worried about my sanity and sleep pattern with the dress-deadline looming. Boy, am I relieved, too. But I prolly WILL make at least a scarf/shawl-like thing. MUST have something I’ve made, right?
I found the shoes, too. Best heel in the world, and they have cameos on them! Cameos surrounded by rhinestones! Ridiculously, so far over-the-top sweet. Bride-ish. Sigh…..
I’m glad I won’t be bride-giddy like this for much longer. Three weeks is about all I can handle. But it’s intense, and fun, and romantic, and rather all-consuming. I’m so GLAD I refused to think about the wedding until the first of this month.
We got our first gift off our registry! (Target, under Rachael Herron, since a couple of people have asked.) A toaster! A red toaster! We were very, very, very excited. Never knew I could feel like that about a toaster. Thank you, Sara. We love it, and I love that you can tell it the bread is frozen. That’s cool.
We also have the red coffee-maker which we bought ourselves, and just got the red microwave from sister Bethany. Lala is a widow, so that necessarily means she’s been married before. She was registered then, too, and she brought into our relationship not only music and cute little dogs but really great cookware, so we don’t need things like forks and heavy-duty pans. But dude, red appliances. Those were fun to register for.
See? All-consuming. I’m enjoying every minute of this, but when it’s all over, I will sit on the couch and knit and catch up on the L-Word and Lost. And I will be married. We will be married. In California, unlawfully, in Canada, legally, and in our hearts, happily.
Yay.
I totally have shoes that would match that toaster. Love it!
And, I’ll say it again because it’s true, I am so, so excited for you guys. Yay!
Red appliances…awesome!! I never thought I would want to be bride-ish but I loved every single minute of it. Enjoy! Love is a rare experience and being a bride just allows you to bask in that love and the happiness it brings.
ah Lacis! i’ve ordered crochet thread and steel hooks from them. 😉 glad to hear you had a great experience there and found the perfect veil to go with the perfect accidental-but-meant-to-be wedding dress!
I’m so excited for you and Lala!
i am so proud of you. the house pictures make me happy! the lover and i raise a glass of joy and our shared heart to you and lala. we are there with you as love and the freedom to love on all of your special days.
you make me so happy.
Look! A bride! That’s priceless. And what a happy post. Your excitement and happiness and love is so awesome, cutie. So happy for you two!!
I think it’s best to contain all the bridal enthusiasm and angst until that one intense period. Then it’s done and you enjoyed it, but then you let it go and enjoy yourself.
First of all, this post and the last one made ME kind of get it too: Rachael’s GETTING MARRIED. I mean, I knew, obviously, but now I’m really feeling it. Wheee!
And second, we have the greatest red espresso machine, and we’re always wondering why more appliances don’t come in colours. But they are! Glad you’re getting a few cheery kitchen things.
I’m getting more excited by the minute. I can’t wait to see the photos!
Terry and I were humming and hawing over whether or not to wear veils, as we didn’t want to look stupid, or too cliched… but in the end, seeing how it made the dress, and made us both feel like “real brides”, we couldn’t not. I’m so glad that you are having the wedding you always dreamed of.
Ooooh, so happy for you, really. My wedding was 13 years ago (I got married at a tender young age) but you’re bringing back all sorts of warm memories!
I’m really and truly happy for you two. Every single bride deserves to be feeling magical at this point in her life. Isn’t it funny how a dress finds you? I went to two stores, and tried on 20 plus dresses. At each place, a dress I didn’t choose somehow made it into my stack. The exact same style dress both times. I knew it was jumping off the rack to be mine. Must have been the same for you. Can’t wait for the “unveiling” so we can see it.
I am sneefling already. Every. Single. Post.
heh
You deserve this. I’m glad to see the two of you so happy. You’re just cuter than … um … a really cute thing. (I can’t think of something appropriate. I think hedgehogs are cute, what can I say?)
I can’t wait to see a photo of you in the dress 🙂
I guess sooner or later California will also come by and allow same-sex-marriages. They did so a few years ago in Germany, too. I keep my fingers crossed for the both of you.
Take care
Petra
Reading your excitement and happiness and joy over the house and the wedding and most of all your girl makes me smile as I sit here. Big smiles. And maybe a little tear or two, just coz I’m like that. And while I hope with you for the day your state legally recognizes the importance of your bond, as a Canadian may I say I’m awfully proud you’ve chosen to be married in Vancouver. Welcome.
*Love* the red toaster. I want one! Anyway. About the dress. I’ve been biting my tongue not to bore you to tears with my own unexpected wedding dress story, but I do have to say, yes. You must make yourself a shawl, or something. I made myself a mohair shawl that I still wear all the time, and while for the most part it’s just “my shawl”, every so often I remember that it’s my wedding shawl, and it’s that much happier to wear. Having a special, proper, wear-once wedding dress is great – but having something that you made just for the day, that you actually do wear often, carrying the day around with you; well, that’s different great.
Make a shawl. That is all. 🙂
You know, I’ve never been a fan of buying a registry gift, so impersonal, so expected…but red appliances? This I gotta check out.
Ooh, I have shoes that match that toaster too!
I’m not usually a fan of registries either; I like to pick out gifts that are more personal and a surprise, but that long list of red appliances looks so cool…
I got married in January…remember all too well the giddiness that was both wonderful and draining. Enjoy enjoy enjoy! As to making something, you could also do some lacy gloves, or lacy fingerless gloves if you want a speedier project. I did gloves for my weddin’, and they ended up going pretty quickly. Shawls and stoles rock too, tho. Or a piece of jewelry to wear–that’s also a nice keepsake.
In any case, congrats on the dress! And all the very best wishes to you and Lala.
I saw Rachael wear the dress and shoes. Oh…so beautiful….Rachael is going to be the most beautiful bride.
*sniffle* You go, bride girl!
The way Rachel and I see it, we are legally married (we have the same certificate my parents have) without question. It’s just that the US doesn’t recognize it. Nasty reminder when we did our taxes last week, and had to file separately and pay more since we’re queer.
Wow – I just LOVE those red appliances!! Gotta get me some of those!
So, with all this talk about your dress – what is Lala going to be wearing on the special day?
I covet your red appliances….
Love Lacis! (It’s the only place I can find 00 DPNs)(not that my needle finding knowledge is comprehensive). I wish I had an excuse to get a veil from them.
I’m so glad you’re having fun and being excited about this! Too many times I have friends planning weddings that make me thankful I didn’t do it like that and make me sad they’re having such a tough time. Yay for good wedding excitement! Yay for serendipitous, perfect dresses!
Yay for sweet red toasters!
Congrats on the dress, and the registry, and the party and all that bride stuff! And by the way, you have great taste in applicances. The very same red toaster greets our bread and frozen waffles every morning at Casa de Mommio!
I love the idea of the last-minute full-on embrace of bridey-hood. That’s how my best friend did it, and I was her maid of honor, and it was a sweet, hilarious, suprising, and exhilarating ride. Keep enjoying it!
such awesome updates — cheers!!!
i just have a second, so forgive my being brief. i just read that you wanted to knit some thing for your wedding, and thought of my most favorite knitted-wedding-thing ever — and just HAD to get it to you ASAP!
http://www.saartjeknits.nl/archives/2005/08/index.html#000077
scan down to the posting near the end, “06 augustus 2005” and see the gorgeous shawl saartje’s mother made for her son’s bride. can you imagine?
of course, that might just take a few extra days to knit…
xoxoxoxoxo
and so many happy thougths too!!
Oooh…I can’t wait to see pictures!
You guys are too sweet. I liked your last line the best of this entire post. One day. 🙂 We’ll keep re-electing Gavin and he’ll make it happen.
Your wedding and life together will be wonderful.
Here is a plagiarized blessing for your life together:
I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.
I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.
How cool is that toaster? Dontcha think it’s the bride that makes the dress? You must have been really lovely if they were oohing and aahing!
I’m so happy for you!
It all sounds so wonderful, and you have such a refreshingly calm and happy attitude towards it all.
This is SO much fun for us! Thanks for keeping us involved in your Bliss, girlie.
Is there someplace we could send “other” gifts/cards through snailmail w/o compromising your privacy? I know you’ll be all Rachael-ish and “oh no, really, we don’t expect you to…” but tough shit. I wanna send you and La something! (perhaps some spare sock-yarn might find it’s way into the box too, eh? Sweeten the deal any?);-)
Mwah, you crazy bride, you.
Yay, indeed. Your red appliances are to die for, you guys have the coolest house.
Oooh, red toaster…
Lacis was so very cool when I got my veil and tiara there, I’m glad they are keeping up their end.
So many good wishes for you!!! I hear Spain is lovely in the spring!!
“But I prolly WILL make at least a scarf/shawl-like thing.”
Of *course* you will, sweetie. Nathania will be so proud. 😉
So, happy for you! I too can’t wait to see the photos of you as a bride!
And especially photos of what you will ‘prolly’ make for yourself. If you really run out of time, you could always go with a garter! 😉
Oh, man, I am soooo behind in my reading! Very very *very* happy for you about the house, the dress, the wedding, the godson, everything! It is starting to look like I might have three weddings: a quickie legal one for Taz’s green card, one in India, and another in the US. I really don’t feel like planning any of them, especially not the US one. How many guests are you going to be wrangling?
So, what’s Lala wearing? Love the toaster, by the way.
I love that Lala was once a bride and now gets to watch you enjoy being a bride. I don’t know if I said that right – and anyway it’s still cool whether Lala considers herself a bride too, I dunno. It just struck me as sweet and I wanted to say so.
Best to you both.
I lurk, mostly, but I just wanted to say that catching up on your posts about the wedding are making me all teary. I truly with the best for you and Lala!