dress drama

Pictured above is the dress I purchased for the Lo wedding. I wasn't thinking straight when I bought it and it caused me some unnecessary drama. But with the help of my sisters, it all worked out in the end.

The thought of receiving the dress via mail the day before we left for Monterey and not being able to zip it up past my giant behind was freaking me out! Big sister to the rescue! My older sister was nice enough to go to the Santa Monica store and try it on for me to make sure that the dress would fit me.

Two days before our flight out, I realized that the dress wouldn't arrive in time. Then it was lil sis to the rescue! She went to the South Coast store and picked up the dress for me the day before we left. When she brought it over to my parents' house that Thursday I was bummed to see that it was WAY bigger than I imagined.

I am "vertically challenged" so the dress was about 3 inches too long, the chest part was about 2 sizes too big, and the waist part just drooped! Getting it altered was not an option at 10pm so I had to make work! With the help of my sis, we found an old belt lying around at my parents' house. I pulled that sucker on tight and it helped hold the dress up and actually gave me back my waistline. To fix the top, I sewed up the sleeves so it wouldn't be a cap sleeve and it seemed to help with making the neck line look a normal size.

I paired it with Zara black ankle boots but even with the 3" heels the dressed dragged. Nothing I could really do about that but the thought of just getting fabric scissors and chopping of a few inches did cross my mind. I tried tying a knot in it and thought maybe I could go for the "funky" and "different" look but it just looked weird! In the end, I just decided to take the end and wrap it around my wrist to hold it up. Surprisingly, it didn't get in my way at the wedding. Not even an issue while I was boogy-ing away on the dance floor!

Long dresses are so much fun! I'm gonna make John take me out to a fancy date so I can wear it again!

* The dress is now on sale here. Zara, dang you for not giving price adjustments!

Shoes: Zara

Clutch: Juicy

monterey weekend - day 2

The day of the big Lo wedding!

The handsome groomsmen! The second one from the left is extra handsome!

These guys got the best seat in the house!

Mr. and Mrs. Lo! It was a gorg' ceremony that included the sharing of vows, exchanging rings, and feet washing! But most importantly, it was a beautiful picture of the way that Christ sacrificially pursued us and gave himself for us.

That's the groom, doing his signature picture taking pose. What a weirdo!

Me and my honey-bear. What a handsome fella, no?

monterey weekend - day 1

John and I wanted to fly out to Northern California instead of driving and my lil sis decided to join us. She was totally the third wheel, so I put her to work! We conveniently attached our suitcases together so she could pull her bag AND mine! What a nice sister...

A quick flight into San Fransico International Airport, and an hour and a half drive later, we finally arrived in beautiful Monterey.

Without even time to check in, we were off to the rehearsal as John was one of the groomsmen. A quick run through and off to witness Nick's baptism! What an amazing thing! Get baptized the day before your wedding, by your soon to be father-in-law... How amazerz is that?!

It was so wonderful to share and celebrate this time with Nick and his family. Why do we celebrate? Pastor John Piper can it explain it much more eloquently than I can - "When we immerse them in the water, we celebrate the death and burial of Jesus Christ for our sins. When we raise them up out of the water, we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and their participation in it. And when they walk out of the baptismal waters, we celebrate the newness of life in love and joy that Jesus gives."

And celebrate, we did! Some of the groomsmen even jumped in the pool to celebrate with him!

The rest of the night we just all hung out and had a jolly ol' time.

I got to see some old friends, meet some new ones, hang out with my cousin and sis, AND have my hubz by my side! Lovez it.

This is really random but does anyone else think Monterey looks a little like Ketchikan, Alaska?! No?...