Bridesmaid dresses, photographers, engagement sessions

I've been a busy little wedding-bee since we last chatted. I was putzing along on Twitter the other day when imagine my surprise, I see a tweet that basically said:

"Target carries bridesmaid dresses. genius" annnddd my little heart leapt.

What do women love more then weddings and Target? Answer? NOTHING.

What I love even more? What you're about to look at, looks like they could be bridesmaid dresses from ANY boutique across the country. BUT? a FRACTION of the price tag. I lurve Target.

So, I put totether a few boards of the styles/colors/fabrics I liked. I've always wanted to do different styles. I think it looks nice, and I have 7 girls with VERY different figures/breast sizes, to be blunt. We have some busty babes, and some "just a handful" not to mention a 5'10" and a 5'0".. so, it was hard finding a "one sized fits all" approach to style. Or at least I thought so. That being said, all the designer lines where you can pick the same color/fabric but diff styles are insanely expensive. Call me crazy, but I was in knots thinking about asking people to pay $140+ for a bridesmaid dress.

Aside from my wedding dress, I never have and NEVER will pay more than $100 for a dress, unless forced to (i.e. I'm a BM myself). Prom dresses were both under $100. I just can't bring myself to spend that much money on any one item of clothing.

SO, imagine my delight in seeing target had a few styles of a few dresses in coordinating fabrics! Behold, my initial "design" boards made with MS Paint:

 I sent the 3 options to a few girls, knowing all the while I liked the chiffon best. I'm not even sure what "shantung" fabric is, but it scared me a bit. Looks a LEETLE like a garbage bag in the photos. and the sateen were a LEETLE bit too shiny for me. Sorry if any of you reading picked shangtung or sateen dresses, they COULD be gorgeous, but knowing we can't try them on before means photos are important. -- oh yeah, the dresses are all "online only"- which isn't ideal, but they all can be returned "in store".. plus, if they are a bit "off" in how they fit? at $70 a pop, I feel comfortable that alterations for a bit more still isn't unreasonable.

SO, the "chiffon" collection it is! I sent an email last night, and almost everyone responded right away, and so far we have 2 picking strapless, 2 picking 1-strap, one with the 2-straps... I love the variety, and I think the styles will look great together!

In other news, we met with a photographer on Tuesday that came recommended by a co-worker. I had the contract signed and deposit ready by Wednesday morning.

We went with: Agape Moments.

 I LOVE their style. LOVE LOVE LOVE. I wanted a photographer that

1) took the type of candid/non-posed "different" shots I liked naturally so I didn't have to feel like a crazy pants saying "did you get a shot like this? what about this kind?" and I could just relax and smile and put my total faith in them.

2) had the type of finishing style I liked. I LOVE the kind of vintage filter they use in a lot of their photos.

We emailed a bit today, and officially have an engagement shoot on the books for October 5 - a.k.a exactly 365 days before our actual wedding! How fitting! I'm sure the fact that it marks the 1-year mark will produce plenty of natural "grinning like an idiot" moments for the photos. Now begins the compulsive Pinterest scouring for outfit ideas for both of us. I cannot flippin wait.

Tomorrow we're having a long overdue small ceremony at Fort Snelling for my grandpa. He passed away in February of 2011, and was cremated. There was a lot of discussion about what to do with the ashes, and myself, along with others, were upset that there was not going to be SOMETHING at Fort Snelling. Scatter 98% of his ashes if you want, but I personally wanted a solid concrete place I could go on "important" days, to visit him, to leave flowers, to sit. Also? If anyone deserves to be at Fort Snelling it was my grandpa. He was the 2nd youngest lieutenant (I think that's the right designation, I could be off) in WWII. Fort Snelling is such a beautiful cemetery.. all the national cemeteries are.

Anyway, after that we're off to Moorhead for the weekend to visit M's dad and gf, his sister and her bf will also be up there, so I'm excited to get to spend some quality time together! She just found out she got into the U of M law school on a special program that allowed her to skip the LSAT! (LUCKY. soooooo jealous. hahaha).. so, I'll be sure to take some pics and post a recap Sunday or Monday!

-Kelly