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I’ve never been one to plan my wedding long before I met my groom.  Heck, I didn’t start planning my wedding once I was sure that I had met the one.  The one and only thing I had looked at before hand was the wedding dress, and only by pure accident.

You see, I’m a bit Beauty and the Beast obsessed.  And by a bit, I mean, I know all the lyrics to the songs and words to the movie.  I’ve seen the musical on stage- both the Broadway version and the Disney Park version.  And, perhaps, I know all of the DVD commentary by heart as well, even the fact that the name some book gave the Beast was not one that any of the directors/writers/commentators came up with themselves.

So, when Alfred Angelo came out with a Disney Wedding dress collection which included one for Belle, I naturally had to look at it.  Belle’s was everything I imagined it would be.  Yellow, but not cartoonish yellow, a very classy, almost golden, tone with off the shoulder straps for sleeves and pickups in the skirt.  It was beautiful and exactly what I wanted.

Skip ahead a few years, that collection has come and gone and can no longer be purchased, except in some Bridal Shop that still has it laying around from a few years ago.  Jesse proposed, and I’ve gone on the epic hunt for a bridal dress.  By this time, Alfred Angelo has designed two more wedding dresses for Belle, one which is completely hideous, and one that looks nothing like I would have imagined for Belle, but completely perfect for her (and by extension me).  I fell in love again.

I spent hours and hours staring at the image of the dress on the website.  I memorized everything about it- the shape, the color, the fabrics, even the model number of the dress.  (Side note: I’m pretty sure that it’s not a model number, but I’m not sure what the proper term is.) 

When it was time to go shopping for a dress, I made sure to make an appointment for Alfred Angelo to try on what my Maid of Honor and I have been referring to as “the pretty princess dress” for days now.  I also, for safety’s sake, made an appointment at David’s Bridal for that same morning.  While at David’s I tried on 10 dresses that were similar to my pretty princess dress, but lacking that special something.  Then, for fun, I tried on one that, somehow, accidentally got put on the rack with the rest of the dresses I wanted to try on.  It was different from anything I decided I wanted in a dress and the exact opposite of the one I had picked out online.

And then I put it on.  And I didn’t want to take it off.  The other women who were waiting for their daughters/friends/whatever to get out of the dressing room told me it was perfect and wonderful.  I looked at myself in the mirror and agreed- I looked great, better than I ever thought I would.  My consultant asked if we were saying yes to the dress and I said “Not yet, I’ve got another appointment at 4.  But, perhaps.”

First off, a few corrections: My oatmeal was MAPLE and brown sugar (more on that in a moment) and Jesse purchased a 32oz bag of rice, not 24.

My breakfast this morning was two packets of the maple and brown sugar oatmeal, which I watered down so it would last a little longer and hopefully be more filling.  Lies.  All of them.  All watering it down did was make the maple flavoring taste like freaking syrup.  By the end of it, I felt like I was eating chunky maple syrup.  I’m now referring to that oatmeal as “sad-meal”.

For lunch, I had ace in a hole (or eggs in a basket, depending on your family), which was filling for a few hours.

For dinner, I had another ace in a hole with an extra slice of toast.  Which I burnt.  So, that became kind of sad.

Right now, I’m starved.  I ate everything I had today, even the burny bits, except for a small chunk of egg which I couldn’t force down.  I’m not sure if it was my aversion to eggs or the fact that my body was being fed after constantly wanting food this morning that wouldn’t let me eat it, but I just couldn’t do it.  As much of a challenge as today was to not just give up and buy a damned candy bar, tomorrow is going to be worse.

Through BzzAgent, a site I’ve been a part of since high school, I was offered a chance to Live Below the Line.  Living Below the Line wants everyone to experience the equivalent of “living on the extreme poverty line” (about $1.50 a day) for five days.  The challenge began today, May 7th, and lasts until Friday, May 11th.

Both Jesse and I had prior lunch engagements that we couldn’t get out of, so day one was kind of a cheat-day for both of us, which, we understand, kind of misses the  point.  But, either way, after work, we went to the store and purchased our $15 worth of food ($7.50 each).

The way we worked, Jesse and I decided to buy some food separately as well as split some items.  The items we split: a dozen medium eggs ($1 at the Dollar Tree), a loaf of white bread ($1 at Tops, on sale), a 10-pack of store-brand cinnamon and brown sugar instant oatmeal ($2.50 at Tops), a small package of mild breakfast sausage ($1 at the Dollar Tree), a berry-flavored just-add-water pancake mix ($1 at Tops), and a tub of margarine ($1 at the Dollar Tree).  Jesse’s purchases on his own: a 24oz bag of white rice ($2.50 at Tops) and a can of garbanzo beans ($1 at Tops).  My purchases on my own: 2 Uncle Ben’s flavored rice boxes ($1 each at Tops, for a total of $2), a box of Rotini pasta ($1 at the Dollar Tree), and a can of Hunt’s pasta sauce ($1 at the Dollar Tree).

For dinner, I had 1/3 of my chicken-flavored Uncle Ben’s rice and two slices of bread with butter on them.  Right now I feel pretty full, but talk to me tomorrow, and I’m sure that my tone will have changed.

As of right now, Jesse’s unsure of what he’ll eat, if at all, stating that he “had a big lunch,” but he said he’d probably end up eating some rice mixed with beans and butter.

It’s been just over two weeks since Jesse popped the question, and I’ve already begun to appreciate all the hard work that goes into planning a wedding.

My mother, a bride’s traditional big helper, lives not only in another state, but in another timezone.  So, she’s been helping with what she can, telling me what I need to get done first, through Facebook messaging.  (Not my favorite form of communication, but it’s what works for us.)  She stressed that the most important thing to find at this point in time was not a wedding dress, but a wedding venue- which included somewhere to hold the reception.

Through a series of listing off places in town, we did happen upon a wonderful place for the reception and the ceremony.  (We’re not getting married in a church- but I’m sure that blog post will come later.)  I was afraid it would be too outrageously priced, but, after viewing loads of pictures online, decided to go ahead and take a look at the place.  I had eaten at The Old Library before, but Jesse had never seen more than the outside of the building.  After taking the few steps up into the foyer of the ex-Carnegie library turned restaurant turned banquet hall, I’m pretty sure he was in love.

Since it’s no longer a restaurant, we would have the entire two-story building to ourselves, which is exactly what I wanted.  The downstairs foyer also doubles as an amazing dance floor with chandeliers overhead.  (They covered up what would have been the ‘dome’ of the library long ago.)  Then, there are three separate rooms that we will have use of, including both the bar and a little balcony area overlooking the dance floor.

I must say, after having a couple days to think over all the things I could do in there (and discuss them with my maid of honor), I’m just as in love with this place as Jesse is.  And I can not *wait* to start making decorations for in there.