soooo blessed!

yayyyy for free stuff! henry's aunt and uncle own a shoe distributing company. the uncle actually designs the shoes and gets them made in china and then distributes it here in the u.s. so when i went over his house on friday, his mom told me that they're sponsoring the shoes for the wedding party. whoohooo! free shooes! just gotta look at the catalog and pick out a style.

ohhh, annnd, his mom is a dress pattern maker and knows lots of seamstreses, so she said that i could probably have the dresses made through them. yayyyyy!

ok, and it was a very wedding-planning-filled weekend. i'm exhausted. on sat, we went to see the sheraton delfina. *sigh* it was my favorite location for a long time. it was a great set up of the ballroom with the little room where the kids can play. and it was on the penthouse of the hotel with a great view. the guy we met with was really nice and easy to work with actually and with the date being on a friday on a very slow weekend for weddings, he's cutting us a good deal. but the good deal is still higher than what we'd like it to be, so it's not looking so good for the delfina.

and yesterday, we went to a bridal show, then went hotel-hopping around the anaheim convention center. not our favorites at all. ideally, we both want a location that has unique architectural features, and these cookie cutter, good-for-conventions hotels are not what we had in mind. good thing is the price, of course.

but we finished off the location hunt last night with a lovely place in newport beach. it has this really nice courtyard with a fountain and very spanish-style architecture and design. and the ballroom was ornately decorated with lots of paintings and mirrors. we've already received their wedding packet, so price-wise, it's pretty good, especially because they throw in so much stuff with it. but we really just need to sit with their folks to ask more questions. we'll see them on friday.

ooh oooh, i'm going to start bridal gown shopping on thursday night. i'm excited about it, but also worried. worried that i won't find one i like, worried that i'll find one i like but can't afford it. and to top it off, i have no clue what i'm looking for. they all look lovely to me so far. not sure what would be most flattering. i'm pretty sure i don't want a ball skirt, and i think i want a sweetheart neckline, but who knows. i'm open to anything right now.

the best part: i'm a lot less stressed out about it all. henry has taken the lead in analyzing the numbers and calling the locations and it's totally taken the load off my shoulders. he's even received some compliments from potential vendors who are just surprised and impressed that the groom is the one calling and inquiring about these things. i'm sooo blessed to have him! :)