Say hello to my future wedding shoes:

I have been hunting for the perfect wedding shoes since the night I got engaged. I've documented a lot of my favorites on my blog, but ladies, I think I've finally found them. Behold:

$675 Louboutins via Saks

I have to seriously start saving my pennies, but I can't stop thinking about these shoes. Leia is trying to find out if there's a way to get a good deal on them somewhere. I don't care how many Saturdays I have to work, I will have them!!

Boo comment spammers :(

I got totally bombarded with comment spam tonight and yesterday, which is a real problem when I get email alerts on my phone and am trying to sleep. So I individually deleted all 53 comments that "teresa" spammed me with (is that a proper use of the verb spam? It's late, I don't care). So I added the word verification feature to comments, and it seems to have stopped. 'Night. Planning commences again tomorrow.

Thrifty dress hunting

I still haven't gotten over my obsession with tea-length wedding gowns. I really feel like they are so ME. The problem is, it's a bit difficult to find tea-length gowns with full skirts. Here are a few more inspiration photos.

This adorable bride had her dress altered to be tea-length:

Priscilla of Boston, Sophie

I really love these two gowns by Stephanie Allin, a UK designer:

Nina Short, Bordeaux Collection

Bardot, Dolce Vita Collection

This one is too short in my opinion, but I love its simplicity and the fullness of the skirt:

Priscilla of Boston, Vineyard Style Karalyn

I started compiling a list of some budget-friendly salons to visit soon (links and blurbs taken from NY Mag):

The Bridal Garden/Sheltering Arms
54 W. 21st St., nr. Fifth Ave., Ste. 907; 212-252-0061; bridalgarden.org
This nonprofit boutique offers designer gowns at up to 75 percent off retail. Designers and boutiques donate samples and brand-new gowns from big names like Ulla-Maija, Angel Sanchez, and Vera Wang ($495 to $2,895), and proceeds from the reduced-price sales benefit the Brooklyn Charter School in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Alterations not included. By appointment only.

David's Bridal
751 Sixth Ave., nr. 25th St.; 646-827-4050; davidsbridal.com
The ultimate outer-borough destination for very affordable dresses (from $299) recently opened an outpost in Manhattan. In addition to the store’s own collection, David’s carries Galina gowns and Oleg Cassini dresses and regularly hosts “99-Dollar Days” for those hoping for further price reductions.

Jane Wilson-Marquis
42 E. 76th St., nr. Madison Ave.; 212-452-5335; bridalgowns.net
This boutique carries a variety of styles and specializes in elegant custom-made gowns ($3,000 to $6,000). The Simply Jane line lets brides choose from a series of five basic dress designs (from $550) that can be embellished with couture details like lace, flowers, ruffles, beading, and gathered chiffon. Alterations are $175.

Michael's, The Consignment Shop for Women and Brides
1041 Madison Ave., nr. 79th St., second fl.; 212-737-7273; michaelsconsignment.com
Most bridal designers won’t accept returns—even if the big day is called off. This second-floor shop is where many new or almost-new Vera Wang, Priscilla, and Badgley Mischka creations end up—at far more modest prices than they commanded the first time around ($395 to $2,800). Those willing to put up with cramped quarters and half-hour dressing-room limits will be richly rewarded.

Nicole Miller
77 Greene St., nr. Spring St., 212-219-1825; nicolemiller.com
Miller’s understated, laid-back gowns appeal to the free-spirited bride ($595 to $3,000). The bridal salon prides itself on a quick turnaround. Alterations not included. Tailoring is done off-site.

RK Bridal
318 W. 39th St., nr. Eighth Ave.; 212-947-1155; rkbridal.com
This bustling 11,000-square-foot store has great prices for those willing to search through 1,300 styles ($300 to $3,000). The staff will even lower a gown’s price to match the cost of the same dress if offered elsewhere for less. Alterations cost up to $350.

I may make appointments at Kleinfeld and/or Mark Ingram for my mother's sake. :)

And I've also been regularly perusing the used wedding dresses on Once Wed and PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com, which, incidentally, is a really great way to use up time that would otherwise be wasted sleeping.

Nordstrom dresses

Chrissy (little sis and bridesmaid) sent me the following picture as a potential bridesmaid dress for herself, and I think it's totally adorable for her:

via Nordstrom

So I started looking through Nordstrom dresses again. There is not a big selection of spring/summer dresses yet, but I thought these two were beautiful:

$398 BCBG MAXAZRIA via Nordstrom

$695 via Nordstrom

Wedding fever (aka: I'm baaack?)

So the official count is 145 days to go...less than FIVE months! And we have about a billion things left on the To Do list. It's way faster to list the things we have done than to list those we haven't:

1. Book chapel - check.
2. Book reception venue - check.
3. Send Save the Dates - check.
4. Set up wedding website - check.
5. Design invitations - check.
6. Design programs - check.

And that's pretty much it. No photographer, no ceremony or reception music, no cake, no dress, no nothing!! Well, we booked the honeymoon, and Jeff seems to think that there's nothing else to do now. :) Sigh. I'm really overwhelmed by how little time there suddenly is to put this wedding together. I decided that I need to start using this blog again to organize myself and the many people I will be inconveniencing over the next five months.

Last week Jeff and I sat down and put together a looong To-Do list, and we're making an effort to work on something wedding-related every day. We're working together to get our ceremony checklist done. I delegated the task of ordering the cake to my mother and sister in Maryland. I've been hopelessly scouring the wedding blogosphere for an affordable photographer in the Maryland/DC area (we really don't have the $3,000 minimum most wedding photographer packages request). And we've asked a close friend to help us find a DJ. Oh, and we started setting up registries, which is so much fun I wish I could do it every year.

Another thing that needs to be done soon is the bridesmaids dresses. I haven't decided on a wedding color scheme besides "summery," so it's kind of important to have an idea of what the dresses will look like. That will help me determine my cake and centerpiece colors. The bridesmaids are coming into New York City in March to go shopping for bridesmaid dresses. My current bridesmaid inspiration is this photo of a bride with her maids in Rose and Ruby dresses:

via Bespoke Press

This photo is the closest thing I've found to what I want. In my head, the bridesmaids' dresses have more color, and there are more accessories. But this is pretty fab.

Anyway, Rose and Ruby is sadly not on the U.S., so we're going to try shopping in NYC for coordinated summer dresses. My sister, the MOH, suggested Calypso on Madison, and I picked out some dresses I like from the website (not a big selection, but Leia said there are more options in the store):

Shireen, $165

Circle dress, $325

Barclay, $165

I'll need to come up with a list of other stores where we can find a collection of dresses that may coordinate well. Any suggestions?