The perfect shoes

My friend Roxanne is getting married in late August of this year.

She's one of those independent, financially-responsible woman that never spend more than they need to on things. The other day she came to me with a problem.

She wanted gold shoes for her wedding but since she's strayed from everything her mom wanted her to do for her wedding and thinks her mom hates her (she said it!) she's decided she needs to go for the white shoes her mom is insisting she get.

Being the ever-prepared one that she is, she decided to get a head-start on the shoe shopping endeavour. Much to her dismay, she couldn't find a classy, low-heeled pair of white open-toed shoes anywhere, which is why this normally responsible woman has resorted to asking all of her friends if they would buy a pair of shoes for $295. I don't think she wanted me to tell her my Stuart Weitzman Story (see my previous blog post), but I did- and I digress to my last post ("...good girls go bad").

Roxanne spent just over $400 on her wedding dress, and I just persuaded her to spend $295

on this completely beautiful pair of Kate Spade wedding shoes...I told her she'd totally wear them again because I certainly would! Now, I'm going to have to force her to wear them but can you blame me for justifying the to her? I just hope I don't have to also persuade her fiance to love the shoes too.

What is it about weddings that make good girls go bad?

I'm not talking about good girls going bad in the sense you're probably thinking... get your minds out of the gutter.

I'm talking about those financially responsible girls who suddenly feel like they need to spend thousands on a dress.

I see it every time I watch "Say Yes to the Dress" (and yes, I have made my boyfriend watch every episode with me... he pretends to like it, just like I pretend to like the neon green shorts he wears wakeboarding in the summer).

A woman goes in with a set budget and blows it by at least $1500.

I won't pretend that I disagree with the idea of spending a hefty sum on a dress if it's absolutely perfect (this coming from a girl who spent over $600 on her grad dress). I'd do it... but then again, I don't fool myself into believing that I'd have a dead-set budget. I think it's much more realistic to go in thinking I'll spend between $2000 and $4000 so that my family doesn't suffer from sticker shock.

I'm scared... very scared for the time when I buy my dress. I am very talented in the field of justification- which is why I have a pair of $300, 4.5-inch black patent leather Stuart Weitzman stilettos that I've worn a total of three times "because they're obviously sitting shoes but I couldn't not buy them when they were 40% off " (you do the math on what those babies actually cost before the sale).

I guess only time will tell... and that reminds me, I might need a few years to work on getting a loan for my dress... Oh Mommy...

Speaking of destination weddings...

They claim the Perfect Escape for your destination wedding and they aren't lying! Who wouldn't want their own private beach for their big day?

Powerboat Adventures, a company operating out of Nassau, Bahamas, has been offering trips to their exclusive island in Exumas for around 15 years. They've recently added a full wedding planning service to the secluded destination spot.

The company seems to have thought of absolutely everything from transportation to and from the island, to the minister, to the reception, flowers and the photographer.

As if that's not enough, they even have options to make your experience even more memorable. If arriving by powerboat isn't your style, you can by personal seaplane. Imagine that view!

Newlyweds can even send their guests back to the mainland while they "retire to the luxury honeymoon cottage, enjoying the romance of this idyllic setting for a night or two." The cottage even has its own staff.

This will probably cost my first-born child... but hey, what's the price of memories?

Thank-you Miley Cyrus?

(photo from http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4024453&id=225266186614- Tybee Island Chapel Facebook Page)

When I think of a destination wedding, I think Mexico, Turks and Caicos... you get the picture. It's hot, sweaty, and down-right exotic.

I don't think of destinations in the US and I certainly never thought Tybee Island, Georgia... But thanks to Miley Cyrus, a church in this eastern-most part of Georgia is being predicted as the next best thing in destination weddings.

According to WSAV website, a Savannah, Georgia NBC affiliate, the owners of a church that burns down in Cyrus' movie "The Last Song" have decided to turn it into money-maker.

In an article on wsav.com, co-owner of the chapel, Stacye Jarrel, said, “We thought it would be a good thing for Tybee. We had been worried so much about our economy and felt like one thing that can kind of recession proof our island is to become a wedding destination."

I guess weddings will happen, recession or not and if the plan works, I guess Tybee Island can thank Cyrus for the upturn in their economy of love.

Atelier Couture Bridal

Ladies, there are a few new girls in town. Allow Atelier Couture Bridal to introduce you to Vera Wang, Nicole Miller, and Monique L'Hullier... How this makes me wish I was engaged already... or that everyone I know who's getting married didn't already have their dresses (or were willing to spend a hefty sum on their dress). The store is located in Winnipeg's Exchange District. It almost like a little piece of Kleinfeld's in Winnipeg.

The store is open Wednesday to Saturday from 10:30 to 6:00 and on Monday and Tuesday by appointment only.

Expect plenty o' blog posts based on the goods showcased at this new bridal salon.

Commitment-phobe

I must admit, I'm a commitment-phobe. But not in the way you might expect. I'm not scared to get married in the semi-near future, or commit to a person, lifestyle, or career. I'm afraid to commit to a blog.

I'm not going to lie, I found it increasingly difficult to fit time into my extremely busy schedule to write about dance (the subject of my old blog). You wouldn't think that something I have nearly 20 years of experience in would leave me at a loss for words, but it did. Writing about dance, dancing, and teaching dance left me with a sour taste in my mouth for the art-form. So I decided to switch gears and commit to something new. I've committed to weddings- or at least for the time being, blogging about them.

I remember complaining that I'd only ever been to three weddings (one of them I was a flower girl in). My older cousin wasn't lying when she said that a day would come when it seemed like everyone around me was getting engaged and planning their big day- well that day has come.

It all started when my best friend's brother proposed to his girlfriend last January. In the past year my cousin, one of my best friend's from high school, two friends at dancing, one friend from Creative Communications, two of my best friend's closest friends, and a couple people that I graduated high school with have gotten engaged...

So I figured I'd commit to a blog that focuses on commitment and hopefully, by the time I'm ready to get married I'll know everything I've ever wanted to, and more, about tying the knot.

And, it's not a bad idea since my dream is to one day start my own wedding planning business.