Running of the Brides: Part 2

As they counted down from 10, (I videoed the whole countdown and run) we started to scream! It was so exciting and my adrenaline was rushing like crazy. 3, 2, 1!!! We were off, BUT so were a million other girls! That line we formed quickly broke and we were scattered among the crowd. Gigi got slammed into the glass door, Meredith almost got trampled over, and Whitney almost got thrown out for “going in the wrong door”. We learned that this time around we will pile up in a cluster in the middle and go through with the crowd. You do not want to be on the outside! As I made it through the doors I let my flip cam drop to my wrist and sprinted for the dresses. I wrapped my arms around a group of about 10 gowns and lifted them up. Well the sneaky employees of Filene’s basement knew people would do that and to be fair they swapped the hanger hooks back and forth so they wouldn’t all come off. As I was trying to get them off some lady started ripping gowns from my arms! I’m telling you this is some crazy stuff!

Sifting through the pile of gowns and finding some contenders.

We had already agreed on a “meeting spot” in the store. (You could see inside the store from the parking deck so we scoped it out). Some of our team went straight there so the others could find them and so that Liz had a space to dress. Now as you might have read already, there are no dressing rooms. You undress and dress out in the open in front of everyone. You also have to bring your own mirror! We had gone to Target the night before so we had 2 already! Once my arms were full and I was headed to the meeting spot, I looked back to see that the racks were empty. The racks were cleared in less than a minute! We immediately started sorting through dresses. We would hold them up to Liz and she would say whether to keep them or trade them. Early on in the morning we gave dresses away, not knowing we needed to save some of them to trade. We later learned that we were to always trade for a dress, not empty hands. If we weren’t interested in the dress being offered we said no thanks and kept ours.

See the mirror! Yep BYOM!

Another lesson learned...Size doesn’t matter!!!! We learned this was a key factor. Hot sizes were 8, 10, and 12. (Unfortunately those are the sizes we will need.) We also learned that there were “Drs” there to tell you if you could make a dress fit you or alter it to what you wanted. Once we narrowed it down to a few good dresses we called in the Dr. We could tell by Liz’s face that she wasn’t in love with the dresses she had. A few of us, Wilson, Meredith, Whitney and I kept making the rounds looking for the dress. I passed by a girl wearing a mermaid dress and an “Elizabeth dress” hanging behind her. I asked if she was getting the one hanging and she told me that she probably was. (I wanted to cry) So I told her that if she changed her mind to please bring me the dress, we were in the corner with the orange shirts on. About an hour later she came by and asked if we liked the dress….um what dress? I told her we didn’t have it and she explained that she had given it to some girl in an orange shirt. Well there just so happened to be another group of orange shirted girls there and she mistakenly gave it to them. A few minutes later, Wilson emerged carrying the dress! She got it from some girl that got it from an orange group. As soon as Elizabeth saw it she said, “That’s the dress” She slipped it on and we zipped her up and the tears came flowing down! She said again, “This is the dress!” By this time we were all crying. Oh and another interesting fact, once you find your dress, your whole group screams with joy in unison! We checked it over again and again and it was perfect. Aunt Tamara paid for it and we were out the door!

Now about the ride home, sleep deprivation is killer! I was so exhausted from our journey that I slept almost all of Saturday! This was one of the craziest things I’ve ever done but it was so worth it! I can’t wait for March 18th to get here! I hope you guys are as excited as me! Talk to you soon!

Our trip layout coming soon...

Oh and if you want to see our Run last year just go here.

*All pictures were taken by me or my aunt.

Running of the Brides: Part 1

Okay for those of you who know me, this post won't shock you at all. For those of you who don't, allow me to introduce you to my type A, major control freak, plan everything, organize organize organize, don't mess with my schedule side. As you are about to see I can be a bit over the top when I comes to planning but that's because of my past. (Post to explain that later) I don't like not knowing what's coming up in my life. My planner that I carry around with me daily is packed full of stuff. Small things to huge events, you know like attending Running of the Brides in Atlanta next week. You know just the major points in life. Hehe! Being that the Run is just over a week away I want to start my ROTB series and the only proper way to do that is to start at the very beggining. Did anyone else just hear Julie Andrews in their head? Anyway, here we go...

(Source)

We left on Thursday afternoon, the day before, so we could get up there, eat a great dinner, and get some sleep before the big day. Yeah that sort of happened. We did make it to Atlanta; however we were an hour late to dinner because one of our GPSs took us on a crazy trip through richyrichville. But the food was amazing when we got there so it was a happy story in the end. Once we got back to the hotel, which was only a few blocks away from Filene’s Basement, we made signs, watched a slide show I made about the ins and outs of the day to come, laid out our clothes and hopped into bed…it was 12am! As instructed by the Bride we set our alarms for 1:30am. Yep, about an hour of sleep! No need for showers or makeup, because we didn’t want to get anything on the dresses. I bounced out of bed dancing and singing. We all put on our Auburn Orange shirts, and the bride dressed in her clever outfit (Nike shorts and a strapless bathing suit top) and we were off. Liz, Whit, Mere, Wilson and I.

We took my Gigi’s van so we could all fit and as we pulled up to the building we were in shock. There were people lined up all the way down the block. They were in sleeping bags, tents, chairs, you name it they had it out there. The first two people in line were guys. We later learned that they were the fiancés of some very lucky ladies. I might ask Philip to do this for me but who thinks he will say yes….yeah me neither! So we parked in the parking deck behind Filene’s basement and headed down to the street to get in line. Umm yeah, at 2am we were 2 blocks away from the front door and at the very end of it at that. We sat on the cold ground for what seemed like hours. Before we got there I was honestly worried about our safety but we were well guarded. There were police/security guards everywhere. Oh and side note…they do allow 3 or 4 people in to the store at a time to use the restroom. Elizabeth found 2 girls camped out in there waiting for it to start! Cheaters! The Bride told the guard outside and they were quickly escorted out!

Waiting outside before the doors opened.

So around about 6am the ladies arrived with breakfast, Gigi (my dad’s mom), my Aunt Tamara (Liz, Whit, & Mere’s mom), Ms. Kelly (Wilson’s mom) and one of Aunt Tamara’s friends. The five of us that had been sitting outside in the COLD got into the car in the parking deck while the adults held our spot in line. Around 6:30ish the Filene’s basement people told the “campers” to pack up and form a standing line. Well this is a very key moment. Remember how we were 2 blocks down from the doors. Well during the packing of camp episode we, the stragglers, moved up! Sure we stepped over people still asleep in their sleeping bags and chairs but hey, you snooze you lose! And yes there may have been a verbal argument here or there about cutting in line but who cares. Like they say on the Bachelor, “We weren’t there to make friends. We were there to find the love of our life.” Or in Elizabeth’s case, the dress of her dreams! OH OH OH…and the whole time we were waiting, there was a radio station at the doors. They were doing contest, which I will do if it means I get to go inside an hour early! They were playing music; taking pictures….it was crazy! So around 7:30am the line starting looking like a mosh pit. We were packed in like sardines! We had the idea to hold hands and form like a fence across the line…we learned that was not the best way to go.

Up next: The Countdown!

Work + J.Crew email = Happy Dance at Desk

To follow up my bridesmaid dress post...

After scouring eBay and other various sites including yours truly, I started to think of how I let down BM BonBon and offering to just write her a check for her dress troubles. That was until this morning. After I finished my morning mail I hopped over to J. Crew.com, like I do everyday just hoping to find THE dress. I have my search down to a science. J.Crew.com, sale section, women's, dresses, view up to 90, sort by price, low to high. Well today it was there! Right there in the sale section! I clicked on the Taryn like I do everyday and what to my wondering eyes did appear but a beautiful dress in dusty shale! AND IN ALL THE SIZES I NEEDED!!!! My prayers had been answered! Thank you Lord for finding these dresses in warehouse corners and return shipments.

I immediately called my mom to get her to order my little sister's, MOH Jen, dress. Since she's only 12 years old my mom had to get hers. I talked my mom through the order so she got the right one and at the same time sent out an emergency email to all my girls to tell them to go to the site and order the dress so we would for sure have it. After an agonizing 30 minutes not one person responded to my texts or emails. I was freaking out! Well being the bridezilla, I mean, over cautious bride I am I went ahead and put all of the dresses in their respectable sizes in my cart. Then I saw something even more beautiful. At the top of the page, 30% off of final Sale items + free shipping for orders over $150. Well sign me up! After seeing this there was no stopping me. I called my grandmother to ask her advice on my cousins dresses, got the go ahead from her. My MOH Court called me back and said to get hers and she would pay me back next week. Then the final call. I called my FMIL and asked if I could go ahead and get FSIL's dresses, got the go ahead from her too! With a click click click...I bought 5 dresses regularly priced at $59.99 for $46.19 each! Hell yeah! I am so excited to have this taken care of and now I'm able to focus on next week. What's next week you ask, well it's none other than the famous RUNNING OF THE BRIDES!!! And we're going! Be back soon to write about that adventure!

We're getting Married....on....at....

On April 21st, 2012 at Panther Creek Farm/Plantation, my Pop Pop and Colleen's farm out in Fitzpatrick, AL! Pop Pop and Colleen are my stepmom's dad and stepmom. Philip and I went out to their house last weekend and asked to have our wedding there and they were so excited to say yes! Little did we know, but Pop Pop had already suggested to Colleen that we have it there since I love that land so much and enjoy spending time there. We will be having our ceremony on top of a hill overlooking some ponds and lower lands with trees. The reception will be under a tent beside the ceremony site. I was a little worried about having everything so far from the house though. What were we going to do about electricity for the lighting and sound? Pop Pop informed me that he already has electricity and a water pump up at the hill for his field trials so not to worry. I'm so excited to really start planning this wedding. It's going to be completely wonderful!

Bonus: Because of the location being so close to my dad's house and some other family members houses, people won't have to travel far and the boys can get ready at one of the close houses. The girls and I will be using Pop Pop and Colleen's house to get ready at since it's on site and close to the ceremony site. This way I can still oversee most of the activities leading up to the actual wedding and satisfy my Type-A personality. Although, given that we have until next April I'm know we have plenty of time to make sure everything is perfect.

And on another note, allow me to introduce you to our newest addition, Piper! She's a miniature Rat Terrier. She's so cute and has a great personality! Enjoy the pictures. And yes I made that crate cover. Sad I know.

Bridesmaids, have you reached a decision?

Okay let me back this post up. A while back I came across this post by Miss Panther, and I of course followed her link to the StyleMePretty post. That's where she came along. Meet J. Crew Taryn in Dusty Shale.

After seeing this dress I knew this was the color for my girls! Thankfully I had already sent out multiple emails asking what style of dress they liked best and all said the J. Crew, Taryn. When we saw this color it was set. Well a couple of weeks after we found the dress and color, I was browsing J. Crew's website. {Slide bar - Confession: Hi, my name is Peyton and I'm addicted to J. Crew.} What did I happen across in the sale section, Taryn in Dusty Shale on sale for $59.99! Talk about a great deal on a bridesmaid dress! I immediately sent out an email to all my girls telling them about the deal and to go ahead and purchase it if they wanted to. Well only one of my girls was able to get to the site and buy hers before they sold out in Dusty Shale. Now on one hand I was so excited to have my dress style and color set in stone but on the other hand I was so nervous having my dress style and color set in stone. The fact that they sold out so quickly scared me to death! Thoughts raced through my head like, "What if we can't find everyones sizes? What if this discontinued color never comes back around? What if we have to change the dress because we can't find it for everyone and BM BonBon has to eat her $59.99 purchase since as we all know you can't return a SALE item?" I was sweating major bullets. My MOH Court calmed me down by stating the simple fact that we had over a year until the wedding and we would find the dresses!

Did you freak out because you thought you jumped the gun on a major decision?

New Additions and Sad Goodbyes

On another note, I've started back to school for my second to last semester and it's making for some very long nights. Philip has moved into a new apartment and to quote him "This doesn't even look like a guys apartment." I may or may not have decorated the entire thing but in my defense it's really pretty and now feels like a home. It's nice to have a place to come to in between classes and after work instead of running around wasting time shopping. I need to save up my money for more important things like wedding poo. The weekend we moved Philip into his new apartment, his Papaw John Paul passed away. He will be greatly missed and never forgotten. The first time I met him two years ago, Philip told Papaw that he knew he was going to marry me. Another thing we realized in Papaw's last month was that his wife and I's engagement rings are very similar. That makes my ring all the more special to Philip and myself.


Well this week we have a big event coming up...tomorrow morning we are going to pick up our new addition. We are getting a new puppy! During Christmas, while at my dad's house, Philip started to really love on the rat terriers they have. He suggested that we look into getting a rat. So the search began. We found Piper online when she was only 2 weeks old. Once Philip saw her, he said "That's the one!" We sent in our money and that was that. The lady that has the litter has been sending me emails and text weekly with picture updates. We can't wait to pick her up tomorrow and start the crate training process. Woohoo fun! I will post pictures after we get her.

Hello Strangers!

No I did not fall off the face of the Earth but I have been super busy. To follow up on the last post, Courtney did say yes to being my #2 Maid of Honor and she is already doing a great job at it! After asking Jensen and Courtney to be my MOHs I asked the rest of the girls. I decided to paint each girl a canvas with their name on it and "Will you be my Bridesmaid?". I am happy to report that each girl accepted! I will include pictures of the canvases in a later post. I am so blessed to have each of them stand up with me as Philip and I say our vows.

How did you ask your ladies to stand beside you?