WW: Another Dress Adventure

I'm not going to post any photos on the off chance Chris reads my blog, but Julianne found her wedding dress!

Huzzah!

We started off Saturday morning at Curvaceous Couture. Julianne, Casey, Cynthia and I had been there previously and there were one or two dresses that she really liked and wanted our mother to see.

What's interesting about Curvaceous Couture is it feels like an upscale bridal salon and they treat you like you're the most important person in the store, but they still have that homey family run business feel. Yukia Walker, the owner (who's pregnant - congrats!), is pretty much the illest bridal attendant ever.

She freaked Julianne out a little bit though. Apparently Julibean had mentioned something about her first experience at Curvaceous Couture on her blog and Yukia had not only read it, but taken action. Originally Julianne really wanted to try on a bunch of mermaid style gowns (girl has a nice butt, we like to flaunt it), but CC didn't really have many on hand. So after reading that, she ordered some mermaid style dresses.

I thought it was great that Yukia was so interested in pleasing her customers and catering to whatever need they had. Julianne thought it was weird. This is what the internet is for people! No doubt she's found this post and is reading this right now. (Hey lady!)

Julianne left CC with a few styles written down. I left with a style written down for an incredible veil. But I think I got the wrong style number or designer since I cannot find it ANYWHERE online. It was beyond perfect, white beaded flower (I was planning on making beaded flower bouquets for my bridesmaids so that's an epic awesomeness in coordination right there), with a feather or two, and it was the perfect angled birdcage. My note says it's a Kristina Eaton design but something makes me think it's actually a Sara Gabriel. It just seems more her style.

So if you are reading this Yukia, and you haven't already heard from me by phone, you know the veil I'm talking about? Can we find out what it's called and exactly which designer it is? kthanks.

After that we drove down to Virginia, met up with Becky and Andy, sent Chris off to hit the driving range with Andy, and nabbed Becky to stop in at Curvy Girls Bridal. They're new. Their website isn't fully up yet. But they're pretty fabulous.

The salon is a little bit more over the top than CC is, but they are also family run. They have a bunch of different designers than CC had so there was a little more variety. But they also freaked Julianne out a little. At the time of our appointment there wasn't anyone else in the store, so when Julianne came out of the dressing room for the first time there were like 20 people standing around because they wanted to be a part of it.

The CGB ladies are extremely nice and professional, the place was not as homey as CC but they did in fact have a "man cave" with the TV set to ESPN so any men who got dragged along could have a moment's silence away from all the estrogen. They do need to invest in slightly more stronger clippies. They were using plain plastic oversized clothespins to hold the dresses tighter to get the feel for how it would be in your size. The plastic guys weren't getting it done. They need the industrial metal clips, so that would be my only complaint.

Long story short Julianne found a fabulous La Sposa gown that was the right amount of mermaid and the right amount of ruffles. The price was perfect (hell it's about the same price as my dress and mine has half the fabric), and VA taxes are a far cry cheaper than NY taxes.

One less thing to worry about now that Julianne has found her dress. We'll start looking for bridesmaids dresses within the next month or so.

Overall the ladies at Curvy Girl Bridal were wonderful, but they definitely were not as hilarious as Yukia and the staff at Curvaceous Couture. If you're a plus size or just slightly curvy lady in the Baltimore/DC/N.VA area, I highly recommend going to either place (or both!) to find your wedding dress. They really understand brides who aren't a perfect size six.

...my fingers are kind of itching to try that veil on again...I might have to go back to CC to buy it!

I torted you!

Hey, hey you. Check out my sister's new blog!

From Torts to Tortes!

Yeah, she's clever like that.

Dance Party Friday

Nothing sexier than a bunch of nerdy guys getting down with their bad selves...

Thanks Ash!

Tonight we're going to the Westbury Manor for dinner to get a feel how their menu tastes. Right now it's one of Julibean's top two choices for her wedding venue. I'm sure it'll be deliciously overindulgent!

PLUS tonight my girls get into town! Laura and Chrissy are coming down for the weekend to go out to the outlets for some shopping and to work on Laura's Save the Dates :) It'll be good to see the girls!

Also, tomorrow afternoon is yet another tasting, this time at the Thatched Cottage, which is the other top choice for venues. It'll be a wedding-filled weekend I suppose.

Good morning Baltimore!

In case I hadn't mentioned it, my sister Julianne and her boyfriend Chris got engaged! Currently Chris is living outside of Baltimore while Julibean finishes out her first year of law school. She's looking to transfer to another DC/MD area school next year.

This past weekend was their engagement party down in the MD. Julibean and I packed into the newly fixed but still not perfect Lulu, and drove down. It was painful. I'm sorry New Jersey, but learn how to drive!

We finally made it into Maryland and to celebrate Julibean swapped a bunch of ridiculous cds into Lulu's 6-cd changer and I was shocked, but not all together surprised that she had chosen the Swan Princess soundtrack. Yes friends, I love the Swan Princess and a lot of other non-Disney animated movies! *gasp*

Our favorite tracks include the opening number: This is My Idea and Far Longer than Forever performed in all it's 90s glory by Jeffrey Osbourn and Regina Belle. I'm always the man in that duet. If you haven't heard this magical song, the best I can do for you is this video of the credits.

Anyway, when we finally got to Chris' apartment we enjoyed some good pizza, some good beer, and some good company as our friends began to pour in. It was a good night of frivolity, as you can see by the happy faces of Rich and Morgan as we played Uno Explode or whatever the Uno game is called where it spits cards at you.

The engagement party was also a great time. A bunch more of Julibean's friends showed up who happen to live in the Baltimore area or who were visiting family there that weekend. And since we had about 8 former PC Kids we even sang a few songs a cappella for Chris' grandparents.

The whole gang (minus Cynthia *sadface*)

All in all a great weekend, plus I got to see Jason since Baltimore is half way between Virginia and LI and that was simply wonderful!


I had to tack this last photo on at the end because Chris is the least photogenic person EVER and he actually looks pretty good in this shot!