Tier 1: Game Plan

As J- and I are hoping to have a courthouse ceremony (no decorations needed!) for Tier 1, we'll probably have to have the ceremony on a Friday. Most of our family live out of town, so once the big day gets a little closer we'll be looking for hotel blocks. This might actually work out on our favor as far as transportation is concerned.

Pre-ceremony:

We'll probably hire a couple of limos to for our transportation needs. That way no one has to worry about traffic and everyone can drink to their hearts' content. So, we'll all meet in the hotel lobby and ride together to the courthouse.

Ceremony:

Thankfully this won't take a whole lot of planning on our parts. A simple straightforward ceremony, sign the documents, and we'll be married!

Post-ceremony, Pre-dinner:

We'll pile back into the limos, which will be stocked with light snacks and drinks to tide everyone over until dinner. Before we go to dinner however, we'll hire a professional photographer for an hour or two for photo sessions. We'll have to decide on locations beforehand.

Dinner:

Once again the limos will take us to whatever restaurant we pick to have our family dinner. We've been looking at more upscale restaurants than we tend to frequent. We're shooting for about $40-$50 per person for entrees. This way we can treat our family and we can have proper champagne toasts and a small, single-tiered wedding cake. Most of our budget will go toward food and drink, though I think that's pretty typical of most weddings.

We're also hoping that the restaurant will allow us to have simple decorations we can drop off beforehand. J- also wants to have a video to show at dinner, but that will depend on what sort of amenities the restaurant has.

Post-dinner:

Once everyone has finished, the limos will take us back to the hotel and we'll all say our goodbyes.

Back to the Dress: Tier 1

Since my last post about options for my Tier 1 dress, I have decided on a design.

I was originally torn between this pattern and another that was much cheaper, but this one was advertised to have extra instructions to make sure that the dress was made with the best fit possible. One of the main points of making the dress myself is that it would be specially made just for me, so I decided on this one.

I will be making dress C (the one the model is wearing), though I'll be making some adjustments. I plan on making the skirt just a tad shorter (knee-length) and instead of the ribbon around the waist, I'll be attaching a gathered sash.


How to begin...


First off, all of the information on the materials needed to make the dress are printed on the back of the pattern's envelope. In this case, the dress calls for 2 types of fabrics, lining, thread, a zipper, and a button. My addition of the sash will require separate fabric and thread. The amount and sizes of these materials is explicitly stated on the envelope. I like to buy just a little extra fabric just in case I screw something up.

Luckily for me they were having a sale at the fabric store. So I went ahead and got the 2 main fabrics. I decided on an ivory-colored dull satin for the under-dress and an ivory-colored chiffon for the overlay. Both are polyester products, hence the low price. The dull satin is heavy enough to give the dress shape and solid enough not to show my underwear. The chiffon is light, floaty, and sheer. All in all, for the pattern, dull satin, chiffon, thread, and embroidery floss, I spent only $50.

But before I begin using my good fabric, the pattern instructions suggest making a muslin dress, or first making the dress out of an inexpensive fabric as a test. This will also help me with the embroidery process. I figure I can mark up the muslin overlay and use it as a guide when I begin embroidering the chiffon. The instructions also say that it's a good idea when taking your measurements to wear the underwear you plan on wearing with the dress, and when you're making adjustments to the fit, wear the same underwear as well as the shoes.

I'm hoping to start on the muslin dress by the beginning of July.

General Wedding Basics: Paperwork

To come down a little from the high of planning for dresses, let's talk about paperwork.

The necessary paperwork will depend on where you're living, but for us at the bare minimum we will require a marriage license, an officiant, a notary public, and witnesses to become legally married. The marriage license in my state is about $80, though we can earn a ($60) discount by participating in marriage counselling beforehand. Some marriage counselling sessions do cost money, but there are plenty (at least in my area) that are free of charge. The trick, I think, is finding one that fits not only your budget, but also your religious/non-religious viewpoints, whatever the case may be. Officiants usually charge a fee as well, though I have seen some offer their services free on Valentine's Day.

There is also the matter of timing. You usually have a certain amount of days after obtaining a license to actually have the ceremony performed, after which you are given a certain amount of days to turn it back in to the city. Go over the time limit and you'll probably have to do everything all over again (including spend all that money on a new license). You will need to also buy a certified copy of the marriage certificate to keep for your records, though these usually don't cost very much. This is very important, especially if you plan on changing your name.

That's another thing. If you plan on changing your surname, as I do, there are quite a few agencies with which you'll have to deal. These can include:

- the U.S. Social Security Administration
- the U.S. Internal Revenue Service
- your state's Department of Public Safety (or wherever you go for your driver's license)
- your local Tax Assessor-Collector
- your local Voter Registrar
- the U.S. State Department (passport/passcard)
- the U.S. Post Office

It's actually quite a bit of paperwork, for which you will need the certified copy of your filed marriage license. For my part, I've pretty much decided that I will start the name changing process after we get back from whatever honeymoon on which we end up going.

Major Project #1: Tier 1 Wedding Dress

Here we go.

This is probably going to be the most time consuming project I take on for our wedding. I have no experience making clothing, though I have successfully made a dress for a Halloween costume and a bow tie for our first anniversary. This past Halloween J- and I went as Indy Jones and Marion from the Raiders of the Lost Arc. It took me a month, but I made the whole thing by hand. And it originally had a train as well. It looked quite good, actually, before I had J- chop off the bottom as per the movie.

Now for the design. For aesthetic purposes I really like the Grecian design, which goes well with the season we've chosen, though J- has mentioned in passing that this particular style of dress makes the upper body look a bit boxy. I like simple, elegant designs, though I am afraid of it being too simple. I made that mistake with my prom dress. It was way too simple and looking at the pictures now I rather regret picking it. So I definitely want to add embellishments to my wedding dress. I also don't want a blindingly white dress. I was thinking with going with cream or ivory material with a mint green sash around the true waist with ivory/cream, gold, and glass-like embroidery and embellishments.

For practical purposes I want something light-weight with a decent amount of flow. I also want something with which I could wear a normal bra. I really like the feel of support a corset gives me, but at the same time I knew it would be rather difficult to work with one. Not to mention the heat. So I'm leaning toward the bra.

For Tier 1 I would need a shorter (and therefore less formal) dress. But I could also wear it at the reception for Tiers 3, 4, and 5. The shorter dress would be the exact same design and materials except for the skirt which would stop at or just above my knees. This would make it much easier to do an uptempo dance we plan on doing for our first dance.

So here are some dresses that I've found through Google Image searches that I liked...

An A-line dress with a Bateau neckline, though I'd add a sash at the natural waistline.

If I went with a strapless dress like this I would definitely need something like a bolero for the ceremony.

I like the basic design, though I would definitely have to forgo the hosiery and the accessory on the shoulder (I have wide shoulders). 

I like the overall design, but I think I'd rather go with a looser fabric.

I love this design, but I'd be hesitant to attempt sleeves especially when the fit would be everything. Plus the waistline would have to be lowered. However, the bottom half of this dress is exactly what I pictured.

In the end I'll probably end up mixing and matching patterns to suit my needs.

Disclaimer: none of the photos in this post are mine!