Charming Charlie

Kandee Johnson is my favorite make-up blogger/youtuber on the web. She recently did a video where she talked about her favorite things. She mentioned a store called Charming Charlie. It is a store that sells all types of accessories at an affordable cost. I quickly googled it, and I found out they have a few in the Chicagoland area. I had a break between classes so I jumped on the CTA and went to the one located at 520 N. Michigan Ave (at the North Bridge shopping center).

It was fantastic! They have so much jewelry, and the best part is.....it's all color coordinated! I LOVE when shops are color coordinated. I spent so much time roaming around. My goal was to hit the sale section up. Here's what I ended up with.

Sandals ($19.99)! 

And a chunky necklace (for only $10 bucks and that includes matching earrings) with lots of layers! 

This bracelet was not on sale, but I had to buy it. 

Wedding appropriate? Is it too gaudy? It was only $9.99. Not too bad.

I love thick bracelets. It's my new favorite fashion accessory. This is real leather and it was only $5! 

(The ring shown is from Forever 21. I purchased it last week for only $1.50!!!)

It was definitely a good shopping day! I give Charming Charlie 5 stars! It was neat and organized. They sell accessories, shoes, and clothing (although there wasn't much clothing, what they did have was very pretty). 

Bridal Expo!

I went to Matrix League's Bridal Expo on Sunday. I originally went to see Windy City Mix, the DJ I hired. Since we decided to book him right away, we went just for fun. It was at a small hotel with a handful of vendors. Most of them weren't worth seeing. In my opinion, there shouldn't be a real estate agent or Vendors that act unprofessional at an expo. The best vendors were the ones selling jewelry, and the photo booth. Just when we had seen everything and were ready to go, it was time for them to do the raffle.  There weren't many people there. There were probably only four brides there. They had given Gabi (my future sister-in-law) and I multiple tickets. Below are all the prizes I won.

What's on that sheet of paper you ask? 

A free candy buffet for up to 50 people! I didn't actually win this one. I guess they forgot to announce the winner for this prize, and since there weren't many people there they saw how excited Gabi and I were when we won something. We cheered every time. haha. Anyway, I think she knew I wanted it, and gave it to my mom for me! I am so excited. Free candy? You can't go wrong. I'll have to call and find out about the details later. 

The digital photo frame was something I knew Joe would love. He was excited. 

These pair of earrings are from Stella Dot!

I was super excited to win something from them. Their jewelry is fantastic. 

 

This next one was from Park Lane.

It's a little bow with a small pearl underneath. It's adorable! 

They also called me today to tell me I won a $50 gift certificate and a private viewing with my friends. I think this is the kind of company that you have jewelry parties with. I need to call them back and find out all the details. 

 

The best part of the actual event, other then winning all those prizes, was the photo booth! 

Photo Booth Express was the company. It was so much fun to do silly poses and have our pictures taken in a photo booth that could fit so many people! I want one of these for my wedding so bad! I really hope there is room in my budget for one! 

After the expo my mom and I want to David's Bridal to pick up on the accessories I had purchased that came in. When we arrived we were told that my dress is being shipped! It's on it's way! The lady was so nice and appoligized for us making the trip. She suggested we leave pick up the accessory when the dress comes in! She gave me $40 in Shutterfly money. Yay for a day full of free gifts! 

Royal Bridal - A Review

I have to say, the best bridal shop I went to was Royal bridal. Vera, the owner, was extremely helpful. The shop was small but very pretty. I went through the racks and explained to her my budget and what I wanted. I picked out numerous dress to try on (along with my bridesmaids and my mom). I even pointed out some that weren't in my price range but had to try on. You know, the ones you see in magazines. Yes, I tried on wedding dresses that I have seen in magazines! How cool is that? Haha. Anyway, the dress of my dreams, or so I thought, just wasn't me. I didn't love it so much on. The black belt it came with was the reason I wanted to try it on so bad. In person the sparkly belt went with it so much better. I was shocked that I wasn't in love. So I tried on more. I had a blast trying on all the dresses as Vera helped me and explained everything to me.

Then I tried on a dress that made us all wonder if I was going to say yes! I had the David's Bridal dress in the back of my mind, but this dress was making it difficult to choose. My Matron of Honor cried and I could tell that everybody loved that dress. I liked it. It was beautiful....but was it me? I tried on all the accessories. I think that is what blinded me at first. The dress came together so well. They had some beautiful accessories, and together with the dress...it was hard not to look away. I walked in it. I sat in it. We took a ton of pictures. (I LOVE when they let you take pictures. It helps you see the dress in a new way). I couldn't commit, and I loved Vera for not pressuring me at all. She didn't even kick us out or hint that the store was supposed to be closed 30 minutes before we left! It was a great experience, and I have no complaints.

When we left the store I was so torn between the David's Bridal one and the Royal bridal dress, that I called and we headed off to try on the David's Bridal dress. That's when I knew, when it was all so fresh in my mind, what the decision was. Although, David's Bridal didn't have all the accessories and It was just me and the dress. I felt like it was my dress. 


I would highly recommend Royal Bridal. I give it 5 stars! The dresses they had were gorgeous and Vera was amazing (and it is essential to have a good consultant for a good experience).

To view pictures of their shop go to their facebook page!
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1782352521

What I've said yes to!

My goal was to get the major parts of the wedding booked before school starts. I know that once school starts, wedding planning will be harder to do. So here is what I've said yes to.

1. Kitchen Chicago! I'm still very happy with my choice. If you google "Kitchen Chicago Weddings" it now comes up in a google image search. That made me so excited to see two/three other weddings there. It made me go crazy with ideas on how to decorate the space. 

(screenshot of a google image search)

1. I said yes to the dress! After going to a total of three bridal shops, I had to go back to the first one and try it on again. It felt very Melissa. That dress described me perfectly. I must say that I went to another bridal shop which I will do a review on, and it came close. It was so close that, like I said, I had to go back to the first place to try it on to compare while everything was fresh in my mind. A week later I purchased my dress. I'm so silly. I have no idea why it takes me so long to make up my mind. I rang the good luck bell that every bride rings when they've found their dress at David's Bridal. It was a good feeling. I said yes to the dress! 

1. Photography is very important to me. After a lot of drama with the photographers of my dreams, we worked everything out and I signed the contract. Yes, you heard me drama. We had a bump in the road. I have to suggest that when e-mails start getting lengthy it is best to insist that you call them. I had asked to, but she kept e-mailing and it came to a point where she misunderstand me and things got a little bit crazy. I still don't know went wrong exactly. Anyway, we "hugged it out" as my brother would put it. I called the husband (in the husband and wife team) and went over the package. I e-mailed her. She seemed very friendly towards the end, and we booked them. It will be a huge relief when I get the hard copy of the contract. They are amazing though. I love their work. I am excited to work with them. I get an engagement session as well, which I am stoked about. 

1. DJ! We just met up with a DJ on Friday. I am about to e-mail him to see when we can sign the contract. I love the price and the fact that he is going to give us a discount if we pay in full! He looked like a DJ (haha) and has been doing it for 18 years. With the company he has, it's been 5 years. He is all about customer service and making sure the wedding runs smoothly. If the kitchen is dragging and the timeline seems off, he is more then willing to talk to the kitchen. There is no extra charge for us if we need ceremony help with sound (since the reception and ceremony are at the same place). I'm so excited. There is always a back-up DJ on call and equipment. They have insurance and the price just seems right. The DJ I met with the be the DJ on the day of the wedding and he is hispanic! It is important to me that he is bilingual with his mom and some of our guests that are spanish speaking only. I need somebody who can play spanish music without me holding their hand on which songs to play. I'm going to e-mail him right now I'm so excited! The price is way under $1000 which is hard to find in the wedding world. If the reception is 4 hours or 6, there is no extra charge! If you are interested the website is www.windycitymix.com.

This was too cute to pass up.

I'm so excited that I've gotten so much done. Despite the fact that I hate the fact that I start school next week, I feel ready-ish. 

Wedding dress shopping. A Brides by Demetrios review.

I could not fall asleep yesterday. It was very odd. I was so tired. It could be because my brain can't stop thinking about the wedding. It is a whole year away... I figured that once school starts time will fly by, and it will fly by fast. It was super irritating to get up this morning very sleepy before an 11 hour shift at work to realize....I've woken up too early. So now I have about 40 minutes to spare. Why not blog?

This is what the store looks like. I will say, it was very pretty. 

After having that wonderful experience at David's Bridal, it was time for shop number two. After plans for Sunday were cancelled I quickly texted my girls to let them know wedding dress shopping day number two was in motion. When we pulled up I immediately remembered the place. It was the same place my cousin had went to. I hoped all would we be well as we walked up those stairs into Brides by Demetrios. After filling out my information for them, my consultant greeted us. I told her what I want. She had me start to look around a bit and then quickly escorted my group to sit down on the couches and wait as I came out. One thing I have to warn you is to make sure you wear a strapless bra! The one I had to put on....just wasn't pretty. I'll leave it at that. This made me think "strike one". She didn't ask me if I wanted somebody to help me or her. I guess that is the way they do things, but I liked it how they asked at David's. Anyway, I came out in the first dress. I wasn't convinced. As a matter of fact, I don't remember what it looked it! My girls weren't either. Dress number two proved to be more successful and turned out to the be the best one I tried on at that store. The fabric was gorgeous. I just wanted something I haven't really seen before. I felt like maybe i've seen that one. It needed a touch of pizzaz or just a little something to make it unique. I found myself altering every single dress in my head. I don't want to have to do that. Ahhh, then strike two. Another consultant started talking loudly to mine as we were putting a dress on. A minute later she opened the curtain. I found it rude. She didn't ask. She just did it. She was asking about who was in the other room and how nobody knew. She then proceeded to ask for the dress I had just put on! Another bride wanted to try it on! It was irritating. I expected my consultant to apologize for the way she acted. It looked like she was. It was rude and a little obnoxious. Instead she smiled and said, "She's so....cute". Cute? Cute?!?! Cute was not the word. I tried to brush it off but this really confirmed the fact that I didn't want to be there. I felt rushed and quickly returned to my room after not falling in love with it anyway. Strike three was her taking her time putting each dress away. It really annoyed me. Here I am half naked next to a stranger as she takes her time putting the dresses away. Not just that, but it really slowed down the appointment. She made me step into the dresses instead of pulling them over and the same to take it off. It was really not the fastest way to do it. It dragged. A dress later the lady came back. She came back!!!! This time she barged in with my in me in my underwear. Again, without asking or without a warning. This made me so mad. It was very rude and inconsiderate. I think she ran out of suggestions when she eventually no other dress to give me. I think she thought I was confused on what I wanted. She told me to look at the racks again. In their stiff (corset on top) dress, I began searching...through every dress in the store. I felt like it would be weird of me to walk away. Everything was the same though. A lot of this and a lot of that. Not enough of this. They all started to look the same as my back started hurting from the dress. I was already done. I did go through them all and picked one out to try on. She said she'd meet me in the dressing room. I went to my girls and told them I was done. There was one more, but I was pretty much done and ready to go eat! I went to the dressing room and when she finally arrived, and told her I was done. Her reaction made me feel awkward as I fumbled around trying to get dress. She suggested that I look at bridal magazines, and look at all the dresses. She was basically implying come back, when you know what you want. I don't think she meant it in a mean way, but after all that I know I will never step foot in that shop again. I do not recommend it.

 I do realize that a part of the reason why I didn't find a dress was because I might have already found the one.  I pushed that dress aside and thought, "are any of these dresses me?" The answer was no. What I want could not be found there.

At the end of the day, the consultants were nothing special. The other consultants are not considerate of brides that are not their own. Some of their dresses (I supposed this is with any place) made me feel like the dress was worth $300. I am not going to buy a dress that is over a grand to have it look like it was  $300.  I want my dress to look like a million bucks and look even better when it is on me. They did have an equal amount of dresses that looked fabulous for the price. I think it was just some materials. Again, I will not be going back.

Shopping for the dress! A David's Bridal review.

Everybody knows that one of the most important parts of the whole wedding process is shopping for the dress. Not just any dress, but the dress that will wow your groom. The dress that displays who you are. The dress you save to have your kids look at. The wedding dress.

It's so important to me to find the perfect dress that I fall in love with. A dress that will make me feel beautiful and will compliment me well. My favorite part of a wedding has always been that moment when the bride walks into the church for the first time. Everybody stands up and looks at how beautiful she is. To me it also runs deeper then that. My favorite part when I am dressed up, even when I'm not feeling so beautiful, is when I come out of my room or house when Joe is waiting for me. It's that look that he gives me. The way he whispers to me how beautiful I look. I know he'll be happy in whatever I am in, but I want this to be extra special. It's not just my wedding...It's our wedding and I want to take his breath away. Ok, I am done rambling now.  haha

Picture from Yelp

It was a Saturday morning and I headed off to my appointment at David's Bridal. I chose to go to the one in Lombard, IL. I arrived with my mom, my cousin (also my Matron of Honor), and my sister-in-law to be (also my bridesmaid). After a few minutes of waiting, my consultant came out. I had already chosen my favorite dresses online so she was able to quickly pull my favorites. The first dress I put on I really liked. The more I wore it, the more I liked it. I went on to try a few others. I have to say though, if you go to David's Bridal ask for Amy to be your consultant. She was great. She listened to what I had to say and was very helpful. She made me feel comfortable and was very friendly. After trying on a few dresses I put that first one back on. I loved it even more. I think it was a slow-ish process for me to realize how much I liked it, but I think it's the one. I won't go into details in case my fiance decides to read this...but the more I had it on, the better I felt in it. I will say this. It was from the White by Vera Wang collection. Her dresses are fabulous and are a great price from being a couture gown. I had such a great time, I didn't want to take the dress off. I tried on nets and veils. I put on accessories. I think when I put on the right net or viel (I'm not giving it away!) we all kind of knew. It was then that I became an actual bride-to-be... in my head at least. haha. In case anybody is wondering, I didn't cry. haha My mom said she came close to it, but held back. :)


Vera Wang stated,


"I adore the challenge of creating truly modern clothes, where a woman's personality and sense of self are revealed. I want people to see the dress, but focus on the woman." 


This is exactly what I want. That is what I think I have found. I adore her gowns. The next day I woke up unconsciously thinking about that dress.   :)

I didn't expect anything from David's Bridal. I will say this though (as a warning), I went the next day as a bridesmaid (for my brother's fiance to try on dresses) and this time,  we had a completely different experience. Again, Ask for Amy. She was amazing! It will make a difference.

Centerpieces for a budget

I never cared that much about the floral arrangements at weddings. At the end of the day, who will remember that? I though that I could possibly make them myself. Then I went to Dominick's. They have gorgeous flowers! They really were so beautiful and the prices were great when you think about what it includes (vase, flowers, and having it already arranged!). 

I don't know what kind of flowers I want, but these were pretty and fit the color scheme! 

I also loved the shape of the vase! 

I know this isn't the cheapest way to do things, but when I think about it, I don't really want to put floral arrangements together the day before if I don't have to. If it is a cocktail reception I only need half the tables to have flower arrangements on them. Let's say they they cost $25 each (the most expensive arrangement from above was around $25), then that means it will be around $300 to decorate the tables. Not too bad. I am going to see if they actually do weddings and if I can order them in advance. I'll update as soon as I find out. For now, I am loving this idea.