The Golden Unicorn

A wedding dress is both an intimate and personal for a woman - it must reflect the personality and style of the bride.

~Carolina Herrera

The Dress.

        There is nothing like seeing yourself in a wedding dress for the first time. It is like stepping into a whole new world where the ground is a combination of silk and tulle and the clouds are made of lace. Also seeing yourself once you step up onto the pedestal all clipped into the beautiful pieces really makes you realize that you are "the bride."

     I had always planned for my mom and sister to be there to help me choose my wedding dress, it is the most special time, and to have them both there was exactly what I always hoped for, pure joy! They helping me envision walking down the isle with my dad to my future husband in each dress. With Henley knowing that she will have a very busy schedule next semester finding time for all three of us to meet in one spot was going to be a difficult challenge to coordinate. So we decided to plan a weekend when Henley was on break to start looking; it turned out that his week was the best for all of us so I packed up and headed to Denver. This trip was to try on dresses in order to find out what shape I liked most on my body… I mean we are a whole year away I DID NOT need to find "the one" this weekend!

A&B

     I made three appointments for Friday and Saturday at different shops that so that I could get a feel for what I liked. The first shop was A & B, a great little boutique dress shop with lots of different shapes and styles in many designer's lines. I went into the experience with no preconceived plans of what I wanted to wear so I started by trying on one of every shape, I recommend this for everyone because you might surprise yourself! My stylist, Bre, helped me try on about eight dresses narrowing down the styles that i felt best in and that Henley and mom said fit my shape the best- these turned out to be a fit and flare, and …wait for it…. a ball gown! I know I was surprised too!! I felt that the two were so different that it was going to be hard to nail down the type I wanted for our wedding day. I liked that the ball gown was fun, playful, and that it offered the "bride look." You know the one that makes you really feel like that bride, the one that you saw on tv for many years as a little girl. The fit and flare was sophisticated, elegant, and gave me a womanly figure-- I have never seen that before. Within the two styles we narrowed it down to two dresses and left the store. I felt great narrowing things down and knew that I was making progress in my selection process, and did not feel discouraged walking out without a dress because I wasn't there to find one this weekend!

Little White Dress

     The second shop was called Little White Dress, a little bigger shop but not one like Kleinsfield where you feel overwhelmed! My Stylist Sara was darling! She wanted to keep going on the progress we made at A & B, so she pulled ball gowns and fit and flares with lace, bedding, tule, and anything else she could find. She also told us that we came in at a great time, because they were having a sample sale of three designers. This made it fun for her too because all the dresses had been delivered the night before so she had not even seen some. She showed us the section of the dresses and mom, Hen, and I picked our favorites, and she pulled them into my fitting room along with the ones that she found. I was really good at knowing when I didn't not like the dress or when it was beautiful but not MY dress, so the turn around in some of the dresses was very quick haha! I had fun being the first person to try on most of the dresses because they were in beautiful condition; I found three that I really liked and they were once again the two different spectrums. Sara helped us narrow the selection to a fit and flare because it gives a timeless, classic, and iconic style that will always represent elegance never be trendy. This grace and elegance is what I wanted to resemble going into my new life with Zack and it fit our day perfectly as well. 

IF you have not caught onto my subtle hints in previous posts by now our wedding date is

 December 31, 2016!

     What Sara did not tell us until I was about half way through with my selections, was that within some of the dresses were ones that were "Signature, and one of a kind dresses" mixed within the sample dresses. These "were designed but could not be mass produced because the materials were either too expensive to use in large quantities or the materials were not available for more than one dress." I of course had narrowed my selection down to one that fell within that description! Since the dresses came in the night before AND I was the first to wear them they had not placed prices on the dresses yet… Sara knew that the original price of the dress was $8,000 but the within the sample sale she estimated the price of the dress was $2,800 for the next two days. This was already over my $1,500 budget I set for myself. As I was standing in the dress, in the exact time of day and light that we will see a year from now, Henley snapped a picture of me. She had had done with all the favorites of the day, and handed it to me so that I could see myself in each dress; expecting another normal picture I did not expect the reaction that followed. As I saw myself in the picture I instantly started crying… NEVER in a million years would I have thought I would have been a girl that cried in a dress!! This made the rest of the store tear up as they knew that this was my dress.

     I instantly remembered the price tag on the dress and that we were still a year out still from our wedding date. This made me start coming up with reasons not to like the dress and hesitate saying, "Yes this is my dress." The only thing was that the dress I had on was perfect and Henley and mom knew it, but they let me say that I wanted to wait and go see the chapel in person to know if I saw myself in the dress there. Sara even agreed that I needed to see the chapel and know for sure that this was my dress. She also warned me that she could not hold the dress for me because it was a one of a kind and in the sample sale, and that if I left and another girl walked in and chose it that she would have to sell it to her. As I was changing out of the dress and getting dressed, I heard Sara say that she thought that she lied to us about the price because they had not tagged the dresses yet... this of course made me sad knowing that it was probably closer to its original price. I could see my mom and Henley were thinking the same thing when she finished her sentence with, "but in a good way! I'll be right back!" I continued to get dressed and put on my shoes, stealing glances at the dress hanging on the door. As I left the room Sara came back over beaming. She told us that she had fantastic news that even gave her "goosebumps on her cheeks," the dress was on sale for the weekend for $1000...(!) So if we back track this would make a $8000, one of a kind gown, that fit me almost perfectly, and now in exactly what I wanted to pay- Sara said that they called these brides unicorns because it never happened!


     Needless to say this girl took her unicorn home and I could not be any more excited about it!! The icing on the cake is that they were able to squeeze me in for my first fitting the next day so that I would not have to make a special trip back to Denver. During this appointment I was able to FaceTime with Tammy and Allison, Zack's mom and middle sister, so they were able to be a part of the special time as well! :) This made me very happy being able to share finding my dress with all the girls I love so much! Special thanks to Sara Bearrs at Little White Dress for helping me find the dress I will walk into my future in!

* Stay tuned for new updates on #TheRoadToRoberts *

The "I Do"s and I Don'ts so far

This week has been a little less wedding planning and a lot more work so we have only figured out a few more details, and with that...

"To Do" or not "To Do"...

     This is our question! We have just begun on the planning front and for only being engaged for a month I feel like I have exceeded the timeline that websites like The Knot and Southern Brides has laid out for me -  #OverAchiever. The speedy time line is my own fault because I have a goal to have most of the big things figured out by the end of this month because I am studying for my licensing test. Actually I found out this week that I passed my first test!! I am applying for the next two to take in April so (hopefully) I can be fully registered by the end of the summer & more importantly before I change my last name! ANYWHO back to the reason y'all read this thing hehe.

     Colors.

     We have chosen our colors! We are going for classic and elegant in our "theme" 

     The main colors will be gold and white, but to give a little depth we are adding indigo/dark navy instead of black for a modern twist to the classic pallet. We would love to have not only a wedding reception but a celebration into the new year with our closest :) We would like a black tie wedding for a more formal feel and true NYE traditions-- BRING ON THE SPARKLES!

The Reception.

     I am currently on the hunt for a caterer for our reception. We are looking into a small cocktail hour while we are taking pictures at the church so that our family can get to the lantern House and enjoy each others company while Zack and I are finishing up the group family photos and a few of us as a newly married couple (yay!). I am hoping that we can get the separate family photos before the ceremony so that we can get to our reception without making everyone wait too long! I don't know a lot of what we want but I do know some things that I know we can live with out:

Don'ts

1. Cake- We will not be having a traditional brides cake. I don't particularly like cake, especially wedding cake so we will be doing something different for the traditional cutting of the cake. This is not to say that there will be no dessert, that's just silly! We will be doing something that we both like for a little sweet ending to the night.
2. Stuffy wedding food- I am hoping to find something that is either with a caterer there in Denver, or a restaurant that we like so we don't have to have the normal steak, chicken, asparagus, and mashed potato dinner.
3. Come one Come all- to keep the numbers down we are not inviting the whole family on either side. Although neither of us have a large families we do have large extended families, and as I said in a previous post, to make sure that we are sticking to our gaol of 50 people we will not be extending invites to everyone. 
4. Bridesmaids & Groomsmen- Zack and I will only have two people standing with us during the ceremony, I have chosen mine to be my sister Henley and Zachary is still choosing which person he wants to stand by his side. 

Do's

1. Family style food- We are thinking of having a more family style serving for dinner more than the buffet or plated dinner. This way those who don't know each other can mingle a little easier, although I feel like most of the people will know each other pretty well :)
2. Breakfast for dinner- This is something that I have been considering the past week or so. Zack and his family have big breakfasts when everyone comes together and gathers around the table to talk. I think that it would also be a nice change from the traditional holiday dinners!
3. Toasts and Dances- I would love for our night to consist of people telling stories or saying what they feel and dancing into the new year. Zack is not the biggest fan of this part of the ideas, something that him and my father are way to similar in, but I am hoping that he will come around. 
4. Love. Laughs. & Light- This is just what it sounds like, I believe that if we focus on these aspects of the day there will be only memories of what a magical night that we all share.

Stay tuned for news and updates on #TheRoadToRoberts

Ruth it is!

Ruth said, "Entreat me not to leave you, or return from following you: For where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge: your people shall be my people, and you God my God."

Ruth 1:16

"I do"

Ruth Chapel

     The verse above is the exact reaction Tammy, my future mother-in-law, had to the pictures that I sent her of the chapel that we found to hold our wedding ceremony. This reaction was more priceless and perfect than I could ever imagine, because the name of the chapel is The Ruth Memorial of Parker. She went on to tell me that that verse was one that was part of her and Mike's ceremony almost 30 years ago; we instantly knew that we were meant to say, "I do" in this chapel!

     Last week while frustrated with venues in the area, I wanted to research places that we a little more traditional- I know this shocked me too, I never thought of me as a traditional bride growing up!! With my research I remembered passing a little chapel in the town square of Parker while on our carriage ride last year at christmas; a beautiful, intimate, white painted chapel with Christmas lights and covered in snow. 

     My mom and I decided to set up a time for her to go view the chapel and FaceTime me to get the feel of the space- thank you technology! The instant that she took me into the chapel I could feel myself walking in the space a year from now looking down the isle to my new life. The only other thing we needed to make sure of was that the date we had in mind was still available, and to sign the contract if it was; We are happy to announce that on Monday we will be signing contracts to hold our wedding at Ruth's special chapel!! 

    

     The interior is as simple and charming as the exterior with its wooden floors and pews that seat our exact wedding party size. It could not have been more perfect if it were planned for us over 100 years ago. The day that my mom took these pictures it was overcast and cloudy, but the light that shone through the windows made it seem like it was the middle of summer! 

     We are able to to rent the chapel for 4 hours on the day that we have been talking about for years! Needless to say we are so excited!! The next step was to find where we could hold a small reception to celebrate after, because the chapel is just a chapel not a church like we have today where there are other spaces attached. We wanted something that felt as intimate and special as the chapel that we found so the search started! 

     

     My mom and I started talking about places that we could rent that was not a formal ballroom... so not me or Zachary! I got so frustrated last Sunday that I was ready to run away and elope!! Zack called me dramatic, gave me a pep talk, a big hug, and told me to calm down and that everything will work out as it is supposed to- naturally he was correct (yes I realize that this is is writing). During my minor freak out I spouted off saying that I was just going to plan the reception in my parents neighborhood pool house. My mom, the always problem solver, quickly turned that into an actual solution by suggesting that we plan it at the next sub division over's Club house, "The Lantern House."

The Lantern House

     The Lantern House is the club house for the Stepping Stone Community, which was still being built the last time I was there. The building in general is architecturally interesting right off with large picture windows and vaulted ceilings with clearstories, that make the center of the building look just like a lantern candle holder when lit at sunset. The views from these windows are as beautiful inside as they are out. 

     The lady who spoke with my mom told us that the same day the chapel is available the Lantern House was available, our own little Christmas miracle! My mom toured me through the space via FaceTime once more and while we went through the space I think her face lit up as much as mine! 

     The interior of the Lantern House has a full kitchen, two large living/sitting rooms, and an office (that we can transform into a bridal suite), a dance floor, and dinner area. The space also has a beautiful fireplace and outdoor deck with a fire pit that we can use- yay! I have actually always dreamed about a fireplace in the winter to bring more life to the space. There is something about the Christmas lights outside and fire inside that makes Christmas and winter feel more warm and full of love, the perfect theme for a wedding if "I do" say so myself- pun intended! :)  

     We walked the space, discussing which area could be what, while Karen, the HOA director of the Lantern House, talked about how we could use this and that or they would move everything out so that we could use the space as we chose. We spent a good ten minutes talking about what we saw and how we could turn the cozy little, almost house, into our reception space! 

     Finding these spaces took taking a step back from what a "traditional" wedding has come to be i.e venues and all that they offer. By doing this I feel that Zack and I are happier and more excited to create a day that truly speaks to us and the start of our marriage. By going back to what weddings were like traditionally I feel that we are starting our marriage like both sets our parents, which have been happily married for 30 years and have set the best example for both of our families! We are so blessed and excited!

*Stay tuned for more stories and developments on The Road to Roberts*