I'm Back! Custom Veil Shop

Hey Ladies!!! I am back and back to a semi-normal work schedule where I can blog a bit and more importantly read some blogs!

I got a lot done in a short period of time but there's still a lot to do, I cannot believe I only have 172 days left. Whoa, once you take out the holidays, it will really be here tomorrow.

Let me tell you about the great veil experience I had! I should start by telling you that when I found my dress the sales woman gave me the perfect simple veil to try on. I loved it, just two pieces of tulle, not very puffy and a simple ribbon edge. As I was signing my bill I thought, wait, this does not add up. Oh, because she threw in the $450 piece of tulle. "My dear, this is a very good price for Manhattan", which made me think to myself "listen skinny little NYC socialite wedding fashion authority, then I will look someplace else!" (I say this with the disclaimer that I love and adore her, I just wasn't about to pay $450 for tulle that you can buy at Michael's)

Enter my mom who works in the garment district in NYC. There are fabric and trim stores everywhere. She works close to the famous Mood from Project Runway. My mom started looking around on her lunch breaks and stumbled upon Sposabella Lace. She told them I was looking for a fingertip length two layer diamond white veil with a simple trim. No problem! So I told my mom just to go ahead and order it and they told her that I had to come in, "your fingertip and her fingertip will not be the same length" duh, we didn't think of that!

So, when I had about 2 hours free in NYC last week we went in.
Here's the front of the store, nothing special, just a small fabric store. Its got some really bad flourescent lighting but you are paying a quarter of the price while getting it made specifically for you so you get over it.


I turned the corner and there were two rows of veils.

Its not overwhelming at all, just the perfect amount. See, there really are just a couple of basic styles and you work from there. You pick your length or general style (I wanted simple tulle) then started adding trim, picking the amount of "poofiness" by how much it is gathered, adding layers and the way it falls. The sales girl was great, I, of course, forgot her name but I didn't get the impression that there were too many people that work there.

I went with a simple double ribbon edge, which shockingly is the one I do not have pictures of! But, here's all of the trim you can look at! You can even bring in samples of your dress if there is lace and I can gaurantee that you will find a match.





In the end I went with a simple, two layer, simple gather (middle amount of "poofy", the technical term they used and wrote on my order form) with a double edge satin. It is like two thin rows of trim and just adds something to it. It is fingertip and diamond white. It is almost identical to the $450 one from Saks, instead it has a little extra with the edging. You know what I paid for it...$95!!! Hooray!!

Now, I haven't picked it up yet so I don't want to give them the ultimate glowing review but so far definitely so good, choices were vast, price was right and service was really friendly. I have to be back in NYC for work in a couple of weeks and will pick it up then. I imagine you can get it in about a week and you can have it shipped to you.

Here's the address and contact information for you NYC brides:

Tel: 212-354-4729
Fax: 212-391-4208
Email: Sposabellalace@aol.com
252 West 40th Street, New York, N.Y. 10018


Oh, one more thing before I forget. As tried on the different styles we (me and sales assoc.)would look at my mom for an opinion. She gave subtle opinions but nothing overwheming, the perfect amount of guidance a girl would want. The sales woman was so amazed by this and kept telling me I had a great mom. As if I didn't know that!:) :) And funny enough there was a girl in the store getting a lace and satin dress custom made (you can do that too!) and the mother was being SOOO pushy they were both almost in tears. I could not imagine!!! So yes, I know, I have a great mom!!!

More to come, I did get a beautiful hair piece, tried on my dress (no pics of that) and my mom got her dress! For now, I have work to catch up on but glad to be back!

Quick update!

So, I'm here in NYC and working like a dog but on Wednesday I had 2 hours of wedding shopping, my mother and I took this city by storm!
Heres what I got done:
Had a veil custom designed (which is a little bit of an exxaggeration considering how simple it is)
Bought a hair comb that I am in love with.
Tried on my dress and LOVED it.
Got a great idea for my flower girls.
My Mom got her dress and she got her dress for my stepbrother's wedding in August!

Anyway, I am off to a meeting but wanted to give a quick update so you don't forget me. I'm off to LA after this so I won't have much time until late last week but I did take pictures!

One good thing about business trips...sneaking away and wedding planning!

Traveling for work can be fun, it can also be exhausting. Next week I am hitting the road on Wednesday and over 10 days will stay in three hotels on two sides of the country and carry around a giant binder with all of the plans and telling people with large egos and high pay grades where to go and what to do, and most importantly what to say and what NOT to say (I am in PR).All while trying to remain flexible and smile (Good bride training, don'tcha think?). I'll also pop over to Long Island in between for some family fun!
Here's the good news. My travels are taking me to the Big Apple and I just happened to have worked in an hour or two in the afternoon to go and try on my dress! Not for a fitting, they just want me to come in for a "try on", I guess to make sure it is the right size and assess how dramatic or simple the alterations will be.

Two other things I am going to try and fit in:
Veil- there is a custom veil maker in NYC by my mom's office. They start at $100 and since I want the simplest of veils, I hope it will be right around that. I'll try to bring a camera and will report back on the process.
Flowers- when I head to LI and try and get some sleep on Saturday I am going to see if my florist has time to meet. We've never met- crazy, I know.

Anyway, you can understand that I am completely swamped prepping for this trip and my posts will be limited. When I get back, however, I should have lots to report.

To make up for my sparse posts over the next couple of weeks I thought I would leave you with something to watch.
I have fantasized about this countless times. My cousins and I have danced to this at a million weddings and parties. Its a dream - LOL. Can you believe how serious this guys takes this? I am impressed. OK, I'll stop talking you just watch!!!

A New Fad Diet

OK, I know all of you brides are looking to be at your fighting weight on the big day. I think I found the secret this morning. Before I headed out to wait in line and fulfill my civic duty I was going to head to Starbucks. Eh, it was cold out and in the wrong direction so I went to the drive-thru at McDonald's. LET ME TELL YOU- It is 3 PM and I am still shaking and not the slightest bit hungry. What on EARTH do they put in that stuff, crack??? Now, to be fair, I am not a regular coffee drinker, I average about 3 cups per week and one nice cozy one on Saturday mornings. So, I am not a regular caffeine person and its been known to hit me harder than others but this is ridiculous! I have made no less that 15 phone calls and sent at least 50 emails today, 2 blogposts, and not an ounce of food.

LOL, I think I found the cure for the common hips! Now, I am wondering if I am going to crash at like 6 PM today or if I am going to end up staying up all night?

Fancy Find #8 - For the Princesses

My undeniably cutest flower girls in all the land are the twin daughters of my cousin, who also happens to be a bridesmaid. She's got fantastic taste so I am just going to let her figure out what the girls should wear. The great thing is, we'll be right after Easter so there will be tons of little girls dresses available. We checked last year in March or so and there were tons of options. they are twin 3 year olds, I could put them in seagull outfits and they would be the stars of the show!

But, just because I need a break from the craziness that is my job right now, I did some online searching and found these beautiful dresses from Malley & Co.

The downside is you have to buy them at a boutique and I can't tell what the prices are. But, at least I know there are really adorable styles out there.

I think these two are my favorite:

especially since I could get them with a blue ribbon.

But I really love these ones also:



To see a list of boutiques where you can purchase them, click here:

Where are you getting your flower girl dresses from?