The weekend was busy, but productive. Friday night, Tim and I went downtown Tacoma to the old Winthrop (Crystal Ballroom) because there were a bunch of vendors set up for a free wedding preview type of thing. I got an email about it and we attended. The caterer I am interested in is the same guy who owns that building on 46th and Pacific that we'll be renting office space from. Kind of a small world. He was coordinating the event (along with the Winthrop).
They had tables with different place settings all set up, had plants with twinkle lights (a different vendor) lining the walls, then they had a couple of stations where they put out food for sampling. They also had a photographer, a harpist, and a DJ. We talked to the DJ for quite awhile. He and his wife were great. I think that we are definitely going to use them. They are in the right price range. Tim was talking to him about how much some are charging. He said that he does it more as a hobby and he has a real job, so he can do it affordably.

Anyway, that was an interesting evening. There weren't many people at the Winthrop, so we got to speak with the caterer/landlord for quite awhile. He told us a lot about the business, the types of things they do and said that he can work within any budget. So that was good. We were talking about different venues and I mentioned that I had wanted to have the shindig at Thornewood Castle in Lakewood, but that it was a little unpractical (pricewise). It was either have it there and not serve any food, or find a more reasonable location and serve food. He was nice and offered to get us a discount on a room there for our wedding night if we wanted. He does so much business with them, he can get us a deal. We're going to try and set up a time to talk with him in the next few weeks about catering and costs. One of the interesting things we learned from him was that they can provide cleanup service for $75 to $150 depending on the venue. We were relieved about that because that was one of my main concerns.

347 Days!

Last night, I found a dress.

I called the shop where Lisa bought her dress last year. I was going to set up an appointment to go up on my lunch hour to look around (it is in North Seattle). When I called, I got the voicemail that stated they weren't answering the phone because they were having a going-out-of-business sale. I was so upset! Serendipitously, Tim had to teach a class that evening (for work) at North Seattle Community College. I decided to go drop him off and then head over to the dress shop to see what they had. They told me that they were pretty picked over, but they still had about 50 dresses left. They said that if I didn't find my size or color, they could give me the info for ordering (which most places won't do anymore).

I had less than an hour to shop, so I quickly grabbed about ten dresses. After trying on a bunch, I narrowed it down to 3. Then narrowed it down to 2. The sales girl was stunned because she said that most people who've tried on this dress did not look good in it. It is a designer ("couture") gown so it isn't mass produced. She was excited when I tried it on because she said that it was one of her favorites and no one else had bought it. When I tried it on, she said that she thought that it was made for me. I thought that she may just be saying that to get the sale, but she didn't make a big deal over the others I tried on. I was in a dilemma. I still kind of liked the other one better... it was a very simple one, and it was slightly cheaper. So then she asked me about why I was having trouble deciding. Part of it was the fit... which would be cleared up with the alterations. Then she asked me if price was a consideration and before I answered, she cut the price of the first one so that they were both the same so it wouldn't hamper my decision. Then she asked me which Tim would like better. That is what decided it. I knew which he'd like better. Plus, the one that I liked slightly better, was completely strapless, so it would have been a challenge to deal with as far as more alterations to make me feel completely comfortable.

So I bought it and got it at a huge discount. It was originally a $996 dress and I got it for $340. The zipper needs some repair and then some minor alterations, but otherwise, I am very happy with it. :) The beading and decorations are way more sparkly and colorful in person, but this was the picture I found on the internet.

Another thing completed and checked off the list! The picture is the dress below in the larger pictures. Ignore the three small pictures at the top.

http://groups.msn.com/Kimberleesphotopage/shoebox.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=7