Special things don't have to be expensive

As much as I have long been looking forward to marrying the lovely man that I adore, there's something else I've been anticipating even longer: Getting to buy a wedding dress.

Now, I realize that the dress is just part of the theatrics of the day and that the vows and the promises are so much more important. But still. I'm a girl who loves dresses and a wedding dress is the mother of all dresses.

So, my Best Woman (That's right, because she's married with children, but is way too young and hot to ever be called a "Matron" of anything.), her Cinderella-loving 6-year-old daughter and I started the search pretty much right away. Finally I had a reason to wander into the fancy looking stores and try on all the gorgeous gowns and stand on that weird pedestal thingy. (Why do they even have those pedestals? Sure, it may show you how the trains flow to the floor, but does anyone actually stand on a pedestal at any point during their wedding? Wait - I probably don't want to know the answer to that!) I'll admit that I didn't go in with a budget in mind, which every episode of "Say Yes to the Dress" warns you against, even though those brides accidentally go over their $6000 budget with an $8000 dress and I wasn't planning to get anywhere near those kinds of figures.

Anyway, our first stop was The Dressroom on the Danforth where we received incredible service from a really nice woman named Sarah. She knew that it was my first time trying on dresses and that we most likely wouldn't be buying anything, but she pulled dress after dress off the floor and helped me get into them and then debated the pros and cons with us. Even though my favourite options at the end of it all were the first two that I chose, she encouraged me to try on every kind of style, if only to truly know what I wasn't looking for.

I left with thoughts of one winning dress in my head. Price tag for said dress: $900 before alterations, which I'm told can run up to $400-$500.

We headed down the street to Becker's Bridal, where the service was considerably less attentive, although we were just showing up without an appointment, so I have to cut them some slack. I tried on a few more dresses, including a variation on the first winning dress that was so much better. It also came with a bigger price tag: $1,700 before alterations.

And so the stress began. Because I simply cannot spend $2000+ on a dress for one evening. While I don't think that's outrageous for a gown, it is outrageous in the world of me. As much as I want to have a special dress that I love, there's a whole long list of other money-needing things that I want to have more.

So I checked out more stores and saw lots of dresses, both beautiful and hideous, but I was really just looking for a more affordable version of the $1,700 dress. I kept telling myself to put it out of my mind, but there is was, demanding attention. I even went back to try on the $900 one after having a dream that I bought it, but it no longer even seemed special enough to spend $900 on. I turned to the Internet and ordered a very simple dress for closer to $450, thinking I could add some accessories to make it my own, but I was worried that I would regret not having a true "wedding dress" experience.

Long story even longer, I decided to check out another place today. Recommended by a friend, this was an outlet on Orfus Road called My White Dress where every dress in the store was priced at $299. I gave myself a little pep talk before going in and decided to open my mind up to all possibilities again, rather than just looking for a version of the $1,700 dress.

And now I have a wedding dress hanging beside me as I type this.

I BOUGHT A WEDDING DRESS!!

Total: $327 and change.

Meli-Melo

Okay, I am multi-tasking while I blog, because the "Grey's Anatomy" finale is on. Do you think Izzy is going to die? I'm just not sure. Maybe they'll stretch it out until next season and leave us hanging.

Anyway, I wanted to tell you all about my favourite new blog. Don't ask questions, just click on it. Trust me! Have I ever steered you wrong?

After you've laughed your ass off (because you will), watch this awesome movie trailer. I saw the latest revival of this show on Broadway several years ago and it was amazing. This movie looks even better.

I also wanted to tell you what the Fiancé is calling me. You see, he thinks the word "Fianceé" is totally antiquated and weird, so his solution is to call me his "Beyoncé." Funny, eh?

(Okay, I'm totally trying to embed Beyoncé's "Single Ladies" video in my blog, but it's not working. Just click here to enjoy it for yourself.)




I don't know. Should these two people be allowed to get married!?

Remember me!?

Did I forget to mention that I was going to take a three week-ish break from blogging? No? Well, perhaps it was an unscheduled hiatus. It couldn't be helped though. Things have been busy in that way that starting a whole new chapter of your life is busy. For example, as I type this reclining on our unmade bed, there is a pile of laundry beside me from last Friday that STILL HASN'T BEEN FOLDED! Perhaps such a thing doesn't warrant ALL CAPS in your life, but I am not one to let laundry go unfolded. In fact, I need a certain level of order in my everyday life for optimal functioning. An unmade bed is tolerable on most days, but unfolded laundry suggests chaos.

However, this is happy chaos.

Obviously I can't possibly delve into everything that has happened in the past three weeks, because you all have better things to do with your time than read about the minutiae of my life. So here's the highlight reel:

Tammy and her DP take the Big Apple by storm!
Four gorgeous days are spent eating, snapping pictures and sightseeing. Our feet take an awful, awful beating. Why did I ever think I could break in new shoes - even smart little runners - in NYC?





Learn from my mistakes. There are so many things I could tell you about this trip. Like how our fancy-looking Flatotel room earned the nickname "Flatotel Shithole!" I could wax poetical about the unbelievable French toast we had at Alice's Teacup and the unexpected—and delicious—roasted corn appetizers they brought us during brunch at Cafe Habana.





But only one story can be the best story. And that's probably the one you want to hear.

How the DP became my Fiance!

Total disclosure to begin: I thought it might happen during our sojourn to New York. I hoped it would. However, I am the world's worst guesser, so even though he asked me at the perfect-for-me moment, I thought he would do it during something more obvious, like at the top of the Empire State Building or on the Brooklyn Bridge (which we didn't end up doing - too hot out and our feet were DONE).

Anyway, on our first night we went to see a show,"Guys and Dolls." It was the DP's first ever broadway show and had special significance for me, because Sarah Brown was my first leading role in a show, back when I was a mere baby of 18. I was extra excited, because Lauren Graham was playing Adelaide and I looooved "The Gilmore Girls." Now, the DP doesn't have a single clue what the show is about. He doesn't know that Lauren's character has been engaged to her fiance for 14 years and he won't set a wedding date. He doesn't know that the show ends with a double wedding!

At the end of the show, just as the curtain call starts, the DP leans over, drops something wrapped in tissue in my lap and delivers his perfect line, which he claims he only came up with during the course of the show: "Will you be my doll?"

So I unwrap and open the ring box while the audience is giving the actors a standing ovation around us. And of course I start crying, looking at the beautiful ring I've just been given. And it's so overwhelming, because I'm in a Broadway theatre, which is definitely one of my favourite places on earth, and the man that I adore has just delivered the most perfect proposal.

What can I say? It was magical.



We snapped a few photos and then headed out front where Lauren Graham was signing autographs. I not only got my program signed, but I also got the chance to tell her what had just happened. She totally got tears in her eyes and wished us all the best. It was the perfect cap to the whole thing.

My life as a fiancee

I love to plan things, but two weeks into planning a wedding has nearly derailed me. But I'm not going to go into it all now. Instead I'm going to save some for my next blogging session. I'll try not to stay away so long this time. Besides, now that the topic of my blog is what I CAN do, I need that motivation to convince me that I CAN plan a wedding!