Weekly Gratitude

1. Thanks to this cute little dog for making me smile every time I look at it.

2. Thanks to the Carolina Cup for providing me a very much needed pick-me-up for the rest of the semester. I've been so busy with schoolwork and other stuff recently that Saturday was the perfect mini-escape from it all.

3. Thanks to my friends who like to eat dinner with me at night. All of our little chats about boys, snacks, dresses, banquets, homework, and everything else you can stuff into an all-you-can-eat buffet dinner from cici's.

4. Thanks to Wal-Mart for putting candy at such ridiculously low prices.

5. Thanks to TLC for running a Say Yes to the Dress Atlanta on Sunday morning when I couldn't move because I was so sleepy and allergy-ridden.

6. Thanks to my fabulous tutor who literally is changing my semester. From confused to little-bits-of-confidence in a class I perpetually struggle in is unbelievable. 

7. Thanks to the absolute pouring rain this past week. You have done wonders for my allergies. Now that we have nice weather again, my nose is stuffy again. I took you for granted.

8. Thanks to the fabulous boy from my shag class who said hello to me on my tour. I wasn't sure you recognized me, but when you did it was so much fun! #classfriends

9. Thanks to everyone's advice via twitter. I needed to know of a tailor here to drop a hem for me on a dressy dress and within 10 minutes I got 2 responses telling me the same place! Voila!

10. Thanks to all of my readers--700 fans this week and 200 facebook fans! Wow!

xxKatie

P.S. (literally P.S. not just an added note.) 11. Thanks to the wise wisdom and advice of a friend. She handwrote me 2 letters that changed my day. Annap sCe, I owe you so much--look for your return letter soon.

Southern Wedding Week: The Dress

A few weeks ago when I was in Charleston, Aly and I were window browsing just about every store we could see! There were so many little boutiques (90% out of our college girl budgets) that had dresses and party essentials that we couldn't really help ourselves! Among my favorites were all the wedding dresses that we'd pass from window to window. The periodic tuxedo was so precious too, I mean how can you not just swoon over a tux and bowtie combo? Gets me every time. Although we didn't see Fabulous Frocks, the idea behind it is so cute, I had to pass it on to any ladies in the area after a reader of mine told me about it!

Fabulous Frocks specializes in consigning wedding dresses that have been "wed" already! What a good idea, right? I mean my mom's never gonna wear her dress again, and isn't this a great idea for any bride who won't use her dress for anything else! There are some criteria for each dress to be consigned, but how cute is this? What a good idea for the bride on a budget or looking to get a designer gown for far way less!

Fabulous Frocks has brand name designers (including my 2 favorites!!) ranging from Badgley Micshka, to Carolina Herrera, to Modern Trousseau (one of my favorites!), to Rivini (my other favorite...remember this dress...MY dress?) to Vera Wang. There are currently over 80 dresses listed online for you to check out and have even more in store to choose from personally! Also, go visit store manager and recent Gamecock grad, Mary, to help you out, she's adorable and in the planning stages of her own Southern Wedding!!

Next time I'm in Charleston Fabulous Frocks will be a definite stop just for fun...I mean you can never start too early right? No way! No go follow Fabulous Frocks on twitter at @FabFrocksBridal to see what they've got going on!

xxKatie

A Free Wedding?

So I was online last night checking my email, and the subject line read, "Who wants a free wedding?" Weird. I click to see who has sent this mysterious email. Wait for it. My school newspaper, the Daily Gamecock. Very intrigued, I click to see what this madness is about. Could my college be offering a free wedding? Really?

Yes, really. A class here at USC (HRTM 362 for any of my USC readers) is actually going to plan a wedding for the engaged couple who wins this contest. The wedding will take place (in what I'm assuming is next) November on the historic USC Horseshoe, seen here:

 A very small portion of me wanted to apply for this contest (too bad I'm only a sophomore...oh yeah and aren't engaged...or even in a relationship. That could be a problem!), but then I read on and one of the requirements was to be engaged already. The couples had to be current USC students, alumni, or children of alumni.

Unfortunately the wedding can only be limited to 75 guests. That could have proved to be a problem with me (well, realistically, not really. I have to remember I'm not on Say Yes to the Dress...) but the cool part about it all is that the reception is held on an 80 foot yacht. I've seen photos from some sorority functions on this yacht and it seems very nice. 

Photo from the Daily Gamecock, and she's the winner of the 2007-2008 contest! How adorable is she?

As far as all the "stuff" goes, it all has to be donated. (Does that mean the dress?) The catering will be done by a delish restaurant close to campus, very upscale, the type of place you would bring your parents. The class is broken down into committees that plan each of the portions of the wedding: catering, etc. 

As interesting as this concept is, I don't know if I could just give over my wedding to a class of college students. I think it's a great idea (I wish they could be on TV so we could watch their progress!) especially for someone who's a current student on a super limited budget. I'll keep you updated on anything I hear about this wedding!

Could you do it? I don't think I could just give all the reins to a class!! I wish the bride, groom, and 70 students in HRTM362 the best of luck!!

xxKatie

Say Yes to the Dress Atlanta

To be honest, when I first saw the commercials for SYTTDA, I thought I was going to hate it. All the commercials were full of loud women that I would just be annoyed by, but boy was I wrong. I love this show. I actually saw my favorite dress (enough to do some research) on any of the shows that I've watched:

Episode 6, Bride Christine, Designer Rivini

When they brought Christine out in this dress, my jaw dropped. I've never been a strapless fan, but this dress took the cake. I wouldn't wear the brooch (as they call it..."all jacked up") because it isn't me, but I fell in love with this stunner. I decided to look it up since I'm currently watching the show's newest episode as I write this and found on the SYTTDA that they have a featured dresses section! I was so excited to see my favorite dress and after some scouring, I finally tracked it down!! I also just love her expression in the photo above. She looks so cute and happy!! Here are more photos:

SO PRETTY! Plus how gorgeous is that studio? I actually know a woman who got her dress at Bridal by Lori and TLC filmed her fitting!! Maybe she'll be on one of my favorite shows...we'll find out!!!

Lesson learned, Say Yes to the Dress is always good! I like Monte (the Atlanta Randy) and all the consultants!

xxKatie