Nuptials 2014: Venue & Dress Update

So it's been a little over a month since I last updated, so here goes!

Firstly, the day we had an appointment to check out The Solarium turned out to be pretty remarkable.  I got in a car accident on my way to work, 2 hours prior to the appointment.  I was/am fine but my poor sweet little Altima was totaled.  I know I should just focus on being happy that no one was hurt in the accident aside from minor bumps and bruises, but let's get real - totaling your newly paid-off automobile isn't a great way to start the day!  I learned that airbag dust smells REAL, REAL BAD, and that seat belts are your buddies.

RIP, Goldie.  Thanks for being such a good car!  Goldie 4-EVA.

We did get to tour The Solarium and we loved it!  We have the date we want reserved and we are so excited!  It's such a bright and sunny space and I think it'll be beauts!

Front corridor

Main space 

Outdoor patio space

J-Barty Party!

The representative at The Solarium was a really nice woman named Beth.  It's a beautiful place and I can definitely see our family and friends having a great time there!  My only complaint would be the interior paint color - light green doesn't really "go" with a whole slew of other colors.  I wish they'd painted it something neutral or just stuck with goes-with-everything-white.  If you look through their book of pictures of past events, you can see that a lot of people just said eff it and used whatever colors they wanted to, regardless of whether they were complimentary or not.  I'm not sure what colors we'll be using but I was loving the coral and gray scheme.  Not sure how dope it will look on a pale green backdrop, so I may have to go back to the drawing board there.  I know I'm being picky, but I'm a big color person and really like shades that compliment each other.  Anywho, that's the most bridezilla observation I've had thus far!

I also found my dress this Saturday!!  It was serendipitous.  My mom and I were out tooling around, doing our Saturday thing, and she asked if I wanted to pop into a bridal shop near our place that I'd previously said I'd like to check out.  We had no idea what we were in for and I assumed we'd have to make an appointment and come back another time.  To my surprise, an appointment wasn't necessary and the bridal consultant gave us the run-down and sent us to pull dresses that we liked.  Not 15 minutes later, I was standing on the infamous bridal pedestal - the one I've had nervous heart palpitations over; I'm not big on having a lot of me-focused attention and I wasn't sure how I would feel (I'd wagered that I'd feel like a giant goob) but I ended up not really caring!  I just knew that I loved the dress I was seeing in the mirror and I was loving the look on my mom's face.  I'd pulled 3 dresses and decided to try on the other 2 just for kicks seeing as how I'd never tried on dresses before, and I knew the minute I stepped into dress #2 that it wasn't my thing.  I still came out in it to show my mom and she was really diplomatic about asking me what I thought first rather than hollering, "NEXT!" or "EW."  I told her I wasn't comfortable in it and she said she could see it on my face the second I came out of the dressing room.  I don't even remember what dress #3 looked like because I just wanted to put dress #1 back on!  I put it on again, and seeing my mom's face light up when she saw me in it just confirmed that it was "the dress" that I was meant wear.  I am in love with it!  As a bonus, it's actually comfortable.  Who knew that was even possible?  I mean, I wouldn't wear it to Burger King for a BK Broiler and a cup of Chicken Fries, but it's really comfortable for a special occasion dress!  I am so excited!

This is how I plan to walk down the aisle.