Eleni Engaged: A Mishmash of Wedding Planning
Eleni gives us a roundup of the recent wedding-planning tasks she’s checked off her list.
By
Eleni Garbis
Eleni, right, with her maid of honor, Deborah.
This week’s post is going to be a random assortment of wedding planning. I’ve been doing some things here and there, so let’s get right to it!
First, Ron and I finished our registry at Crate & Barrel. I have to say that we actually found the whole experience to be much more user-friendly than Bloomingdale’s. Adding and subtracting items from our registry list is incredibly easy on the Crate & Barrel Web site, and after we were done in the store, they gave us a cute heart-shaped glass bowl!
Second, I’ve been shopping around for a veil. I’d tried one on in August when I actually bought my dress, but I wasn’t really focused on it and figured I’d just look later because I have plenty of time. I’m pretty anal-retentive (no surprise there), so I wanted to be able to try on my dress while choosing a veil versus just buying one on its own.
About a month ago, I went to Hannelore’s with my mom, put Bianca (the dress) on, and looked at several veils. Any excuse to have the dress on again, right? They have a ton of veils at the store, and they’re all beautiful. I knew I wanted a long veil, so that narrowed it down a little bit. We spent about an hour at the store and took a ton of pictures, but we didn’t really find anything that worked. There was one lace veil that my mom and I both loved, but it was way overpriced, so we decided to just shop around. We did, however, get the measurements for the bridesmaid dresses, and the girls are going to be ordering them this month!
I’d made plans to go to Manhattan to visit Deborah, the maid of honor, at the beginning of October, so I thought, ‘Why not go to Kleinfeld’s to try on some veils?’ It looks like bridal heaven on TLC’s Say Yes to the Dress. So I called them and asked to set up an appointment. I told the moderately friendly customer-service representative that I wanted to try on veils and asked if I could put Bianca on while I did it. She said that was absolutely not allowed because I’d already bought the dress elsewhere. I thought that was lame, and they were all booked anyway, so I moved on.
We ended up going to the Amsale flagship salon, which worked out perfectly because they were very nice and let me put Bianca on. It was quite a pleasant experience, and I ended up getting a simple, chapel-length veil that will be ready in five weeks. Done and done.
Also, Ron and I are trying to gather all of our guests’ addresses because the save-the-dates are almost ready to go out! They should be finished by the end of the month. We’ve also been working on our wedding Web site, adding pictures and hotel information.
The last thing I’ve been thinking about recently is shoes. I know I want heels, but definitely not too high, because Greek wedding ceremonies are 45 minutes long and I’ll have to be standing the whole time. I’m thinking about not wearing white shoes—maybe silver? That way I can wear them again after the wedding. Thoughts? Eleni, a local bride-to-be, writes every Wednesday about planning her wedding, which will be in Washington in the spring. To follow her adventures from the beginning, click here. To read the latest Bridal Party blog posts, click here.
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Category Tags: Eleni Engaged
Comments
I agree with you DCBride. I too, am getting married this year and read my fair share of wedding blogs. I am continually disappointed by all of the wedding bloggers on this site. Instead of trying to go all multicultural, maybe Washingtonian should try finding some brides that have a more readable, fun, writing style. Before all of you commenters inevitably jump down my throat, take a look at www.weddingbee.com and see why they have such a high readership.
Posted by: knotgirl, Nov 15, 2008 12:59:43 PM
Jaimee: I’m getting married in May at Woodend in Chevy Chase, I’d highly recommend it. It’s an Audubon Society Sanctuary with a beautiful mansion.
Posted by: Briana, Nov 14, 2008 11:42:40 PM
Who the heck is dcbride? She is nasty! I just found out about your blog, and it’s really nice to be able to read about your plans, since I rarely see you or your mom.
As for shoes, go for comfort (although, personally I loathe kitten heels - sorry Angie). I’m still working on losing weight by April. I hope I make the cut off.
Love you. aunt diane
Posted by: Aunt Diane, Oct 18, 2008 10:49:41 AM
Hi Eleni - I think you’d be most comfortable in kitten heels. They’re not too high but also not too flat. I’ve found that a small kitten heel keeps your feet in the right position to support your weight comfortably for a long time.
Posted by: Angie, Oct 17, 2008 10:35:07 AM
Hi Jaimee - I agree that the Decatur House would be a great choice for a wedding reception. My parents went to a wedding there once and thought it was beautiful. Also, these are not mansion options, but the Corcoran and the Kennedy Center both rent space for weddings (not sure how expensive they are though!) Good luck!!
Posted by: Eleni, Oct 17, 2008 07:29:34 AM
Jaimee: Maybe the Halcyon House? Or the Meridan House, Decature House...maybe even Mount Vernon?
Posted by: anon, Oct 16, 2008 05:53:35 PM
I would like to rent a mansion on the washington dc area, bethesda, chevy chase or rockville to hold a wedding reception. I don’t want the traditional setting like Strathmore or Rockville Mansion. Can you suggest.
Posted by: Jaimee, Oct 16, 2008 05:00:39 PM
dcbride: "I never applied to by a writer here. But I do enjoy reading writing this is interesting."
Awe, bless your heart. Flustered, much?
Posted by: amused, Oct 16, 2008 04:25:57 PM
eleni, as i said before, i barely know you but i find your blog ridiculously entertaining after a long day of work. those who can’t detect your playful sarcasm and exaggeration lack a funny bone, a sense of humor, a personality, and- as made apparent in a recent comment post- any ability to offer valid rebuttal. keep posting. and to the hijacker of dcbride’s comments....love it.
Posted by: mirabelle, Oct 16, 2008 12:25:21 PM
wah wah wah wah wah wah.
wah wah wahhhh wahhh wah wahh wah. *itch *itch *itch wah wah wah.
Posted by: dcbride, Oct 16, 2008 11:51:42 AM
Is your made of honor engaged? If not, I’d like to be her date to the wedding.
Posted by: DC Guy, Oct 16, 2008 11:33:17 AM
Yawn. All this angry commenting is banal. Bring on the wedding stories we have grown to love, Eleni. Wooot!
Posted by: navajo, Oct 16, 2008 11:28:40 AM
Your maid of honor is hot- is she engaged?
Posted by: DC Guy, Oct 16, 2008 11:25:31 AM
09:35:05 AM is obviously not me. My wedding is going to be awesome, thanks for asking!
I never applied to by a writer here. But I do enjoy reading writing this is interesting. I was asked, and did, provide specific and constructive feedback.
And angry annie, I happen to have an impressive vocabulary and did extremely well on my SATs - thanks for noticing!
Posted by: dcbride, Oct 16, 2008 10:04:32 AM
dcbride, if you don’t like eleni’s blog, then stop reading it. if you think you could write a better blog, then write one.
or, you know, you could just keep tearing apart eleni’s blog, offering freshman-level critiques of her writing style, and peppering your comments with sat vocab words to prove your superiority.
Posted by: angry annie , Oct 16, 2008 09:46:23 AM
dcbride: In addition to the fact that the average blog reader scans a blog for about 90 seconds, I’m assuming that Eleni has to deal with space constraints that prevent her from inserting anecdotal stories.
That said, thank you for ELABORATING on your first comment, which simply came off as whiny and passive aggressive. At least now you’ve offered a framework for constructive criticism that Eleni can either take into consideration or ignore.
Posted by: Curious, Oct 16, 2008 09:37:04 AM
I’m also no fun and my fiance is a troll. he doesn’t want to marry me but since he is my conjoined twin he really has no choice. I think I’m so witty but for some reason Washingtonian didn’t pick me to blog. wah wah wahhhh. my wedding is going to suck. wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Posted by: dcbride, Oct 16, 2008 09:35:05 AM
DC Bride-
Do you have a job? Do you critique into every blog that you read? Really- what is the point of your comments? Why don’t you do what we are all doing, reading Eleni’s blog, enjoying it, and moving on. Were you turned down to be the wedding blogger? I find your comments pointless and petty.
Posted by: Blog Reader, Oct 16, 2008 09:31:47 AM
Her sentences are conclusory, rather than descriptive, which doesn’t allow for any wit or emotion or humour. For example:
"It was quite a pleasant experience" - what made it pleasant? And why use such a banal word?
"but we didn’t really find anything that worked" - why didn’t it work?
"I’m pretty anal-retentive (no surprise there)" - really? How do we as readers get that from you? Here was a place she could have inserted a funny or descriptive anecdote.
"We’ve also been working on our wedding Web site, adding pictures and hotel information" - what type of pictures?
Elaborating on any of these sentences could draw the reader in. Instead, Eleni just moves on the next sentence. As someone who’s getting married next year in DC and has several friends getting married next year in DC, I’ve been continually dissappointed with this blog.
Posted by: dcbride, Oct 16, 2008 08:59:21 AM
Eleni! What a great blog. Please don’t listen to people who don’t enjoy this blog. Your writing is witty and you have a very personal tone that allows readers to connect with you. AND everyone out there who doesn’t care for this blog - it is just for FUN! Let Eleni blog in peace.
Posted by: dcgirl, Oct 16, 2008 03:37:35 AM
dcbride: what would you do differently, if you were blogging?
Posted by: Curious, Oct 15, 2008 02:34:52 PM
I don’t want to be mean, but I don’t get why the Washingtonian bothers with this blog. There’s no sentiment or drama or insight and it’s not written in a creative or witty matter. It’s just straight-forward that Eleni did this, or that. Whenever I read it, I think, so what?
Posted by: dcbride, Oct 15, 2008 02:26:40 PM
Well, just a thought...but hypothetically, if you wear silver shoes to someone’s wedding in a few weekends, you could save them to wear again at your wedding and they could be your "something old."
Posted by: Jessica, Oct 15, 2008 12:31:31 PM
I think you should wear purple shoes the same color of the bridesmaid’s dresses.
Posted by: J, Oct 15, 2008 12:29:17 PM
I was a bridesmaid in a greek wedding this weekend and truthfully I didn’t think the standing was that bad. I wore HIGH heels and then a lot of greek dancing in them. But I love the idea of the bride wearing non-white shoes. (Maybe the red ones Lynne featured this morning?)
Posted by: Jessica, Oct 15, 2008 12:28:43 PM
A friend of mine wanted her shoes to be her "something blue" so she was on the hunt for a pair of blue shoes to wear with her gown. I thought it was a great idea if she could find the right pair, the right shade, etc. Unfortunately, when her mom caught wind of the idea, she put the kibosh on it immediately. Maybe you can be the pioneer on this one!
Posted by: Emily, Oct 15, 2008 12:04:00 PM
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