Tying the Knot: Wedding Dress Shopping Details

Now that the wedding is over (gah, I still can't believe I'm saying that) I figured I would go back and fill in the holes and overall vague-ness that were my wedding dress shopping posts with some actual details and pictures! 

If you want a refresher, head on over to the original posts. 

Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3

To make three posts short, there had been a total of four dresses in the running during my whirlwind two-day search for the perfect dress. 

Dress A

Exactly what I had thought I wanted coming into the store. 

Somewhat fitted. All lace. Sweetheart neckline. A little bit of sparkle. 

My logic, A-type personality almost made me get this dress because of the fact that it had been in my head the entire time. The question of How could I possibly stray from the dress that I had envisioned? kept popping into my head.

Dress C

Not quite perfect but at David's Bridal you can't beat the price. Unless, like me, there is so much you would want to change about the dress that the alterations price drives up the overall cost. I really liked the train and the overall lace. I would have had to add a sweetheart neckline and remove that tule edging around the bottom. 

 Dress D

Very, very similar to the first dress. Similar cut with sweetheart neckline. The lace faded down the dress, the buttons went down the entire back and I wasn't sold on the color of the waistband. 

And finally Dress B, the winner! 

You've already seen a sneak peak at my dress in our wedding photos I've posted but these are the pictures from the actual day of shopping. 

If it hadn't been for my amazing consultant, I would have never tried this dress on, fallen in love with it and walked down the aisle to my husband with it on. I got so many compliments on it at our wedding and felt absolutely amazing wearing it the whole night. 

I am still so thankful for the quick shopping I did at home with some of my favorite ladies and I couldn't have dreamt of a more perfect dress for me. 

Dreams Really Can Come True

This is me at age 4.

Approximately.

This is also the age where if you were to ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up?

I'd answer fiercely, a Doctor. 

And I've been answering that question the same way for 20 years. 

For those of you unfamiliar with the process of becoming a doctor, I'll tell you that it is tough, really tough. You must have a bachelors degree that includes a big list of prerequisite courses and most likely you have to be in the top of your class. High GPA made even better with honors recognition, high MCAT scores, emphasis on community involvement, leadership, volunteer work, clinical hours, clubs, research.... I think you get the point. 

Then there's the application process. A primary application that gets sent to all the schools you are interested in that includes every detail you can possibly put on about why you will be an outstanding physician, what you've done to prove yourself and what sets you apart from the thousands of other students in your position. Secondary applications from specific schools if they're interested in you about why their school, their programs, their missions, what you'll bring to the school and how they know to invest their time and education in you. It seems easy, you talk about yourself, what makes you who you are but the tough part is the doubt about whether it's enough, whether they'll pick you over someone else. Not to mention the financial burden that comes along with application fees and such.

And if they do pick you at this stage you're still not in the clear. It's now on to the interviews. Flying around the country, dressed to your finest, hoping that the person you are in the flesh coincides with the person they have on paper and that they will see you as an attribute to their school, that they will pick you once again and give you a seat in the much-too-small class size from a pool of more than qualified applicants. 

Now if you'll remember, our trip home for the holidays and the wedding was extended slightly for me while J took the burden of driving back to SD alone as I was given an interview at one of my top schools. The interview was a little over a week ago. 

The stress, the application process, the waiting, the doubt about whether you did enough, the analysis of your interview answers, everything. It is all worth it. Because sometimes life works in mysterious ways and now, sometime within the next 6 months, we are headed back to Colorado and I will start my first year of medical school in the fall. 

On Monday our lives were forever changed. 

And I am left feeling so thankful, so excited, so blessed, so immensely grateful for all the things that have happened in my life within the last month. I honestly feel like I'm in a bit of shock with the realization that in less than 30 days I was married and accepted to medical school. 

2013 is my year. Life sure is good. 

Book of Lists: v2

This post was supposed to go up 3 days ago and I'm not sure when my excuse of "life is CRAZY" will be going to go away. And I promise to update you on what's been making it so nutso around here too. But regardless.....

Its month two for the Book of Lists project! 

This month was "Looking Forward"

These were very easy for me to come up with given what's been going on in my life in the past few months. The end of 2012 was everything I ever hoped it would be and 2013 is definitely looking like it's going to be a great year as well.

Did you miss List One?  

Check out Kathleen's blog Kapachino to see more. 

Next month's topic: The Perfect Day

Immensely Blessed

I am beyond blessed for the people in my life and for the events that have happened recently. 

+ At the end of 2012 I married my best friend on one of the most amazing days of my entire life.

+ We rung in the new year in Breckenridge as husband and wife snuggling on the couch in the cozy condo as fireworks boomed outside. Even though I was sick as a dog (thanks to being out in the freezing cold taking wedding pictures) we had a great relaxing weekend to cap off the wedding festivities.

+ We spent the last few days getting all the chaos from post-wedding under control and spent time with some great friends. Its so encouraging to have friends who are in the same stage of life as we are (recently married and/or recently parents) to be able to talk with and get advice from.

+ Saturday was supposed to be our 18 hour drive back to San Diego but a huge change of plans happened late Friday night. Around 8 pm I got an email with an invitation to interview at one of the schools I applied to here in Colorado. Some last minute phone calls to work, some sacrifice from my amazing husband and I'm still in Colorado until my interview this coming Tuesday!

+ Not only did J volunteer to drive home by himself with Ollie tyesterday so that I could stay here and get the earliest interview date possible but when I was trying to tell him how thankful I was for what he was allowing me to do, all he had to say was how proud of me he was. He is such an amazing man, sacrificing an 18 hour car ride alone and pushing me towards my dreams.

+ And to top it all off, I'm here with my mom spending time with her while still getting text messages from my new in-laws about joining them for dinner or pumpkin pancakes in the morning. J is gone and I still feel right at home with them and I couldn't have asked for a better new family.

My heart is so full of love and joy and hope for life that I sometimes find myself wondering how I got so lucky. I cannot wait to see what life has in store for me individually, for J and I in our marriage and for our family in the coming year. Here's to 2012 with everything amazing it brought and to 2013 for what's to come!

Tying the Knot: Photo Sneak Peak

Somehow it has already been one week since our wedding. I cannot even begin to describe how insane it is that time has flown this fast.

The day was absolutely amazing in every way!

Everything we worked on for the last year came together perfectly, we shared the evening with 90 of our closest family and friends and I find myself wishing I could go back and do it all over again. 

Thankfully our amazing photographer, Josh of Ignite Images, gave us a sneak peak of our wedding photos just yesterday! Can you believe that? Less than a week after our big day and we're already seeing pictures, he's awesome! And ever since I got that email I've been looking through these pictures constantly, trying to relive our big day. 

I promise to do more detailed recaps once I get all our photos but take a glimpse for now!

Seriously, my husband is so handsome!

Photo booth love!

all photos from Ignite Images 

Want to see all the preview pictures? Go here!