Let me start off by saying, how is it already the end of January???  I had a really small, practically minuscule, panic attack when the first of the year rolled around. June 9th 2012 seemed so far away back in 2011, but now that we are in the same year, it’s much closer.  I am kind of at this stage where I think it is too far out to order some things, but I am afraid to hold off on everything until the month before. I guess it is always better to be safe than sorry.

I was able to overcome the episode mentioned above by checking off everything that was finalized over the past 4 weeks on my Excel spreadsheet:

-Menu tasting: done and finalized

-Cake ordered

-Flower girl dress: decided upon, ordered, and arrived

-Bridesmaids dresses: order placed

-Invitations: picked, proofed, and ordered

-Bachelorette party: date picked

-Shower: date picked

So, when I looked at all the things I had done, I felt much better.

Something that I spent more time on than my own dress was the flower girl dress. I will say the bridesmaids dresses were the easiest to pick. Our flower girl, B’s niece, will be 8 by the wedding.  I felt there was a fine line with the selection of dresses for an 8 year old, and I was flirting with it.  I didn’t want her to wear a dress that was too young such that she ends up looking silly. Though, I liked the idea of her coordinating with the bridesmaids, I did not want her to have a black dress. My other restriction – and this may have been the hardest to work with - was that I wanted her dress to mimic mine. Not necessarily to a tee, but close.  What dilemmas!

I searched and searched and came across a few I liked. But then I looked at the price tag – they were as much as the bridesmaids’ dresses. That was absolutely ridiculous. So, I did what any other bargain shopper does and turned to eBay. I couldn’t have been happier. I was able to find the dress in her size – I’m praying she doesn’t grow more than 1 inch up or out – and the correct color for 33% of the original price, including shipping.  My tip for the day is eBay.

I cannot wait for her to see the dress. I think she will look like a little modern princess, well maybe that’s not the right phrase as it looks nothing like Princess Kate’s dress. I’m debating on swapping out the cream sash that came with the dress with a black one to tie into the bridesmaids. Or maybe I’ll give her both and she can do a post ceremony belt change like another wedding party member I know.