It's getting really real

Since we got engaged, Jay, our parents, and I have all been teasing each other by asking "so, does it feel real?" after we do something wedding-related. Buying my dress was when it started to feel real for me, and for Jay, the "real moment" was when we started playing with the scanning gun at Target.

But, with 15 days to go, things got really real when we went to apply for our marriage license.

And yes, I was feeling lame enough to insist on this photo.

As a side note, our county courthouse is really beautiful. I made Jay head up all the way up to the top floor to look at the architecture and artwork.

The Forge of Vulcan, aka Youngstown Steel Mills.

Lanternman's Mill

The rotunda is decorated with the names of the municipalities in the county.

Sadly, we didn't have a legit reason to wander into any of the courtrooms, where there are murals of different places around the county.

Yesterday morning, with our five-day waiting period officially over, Jay went back and picked up our license packet.

Thanks, Judge Belinky!

We had needed our birth certificates to get the license, and I always get a good laugh out of comparing them. Because Jay was born in India, most of his is devoted to proving his parents' citizenship--and it's signed by the Vice Consul!

I'm just relieved that tomorrow we can hand our packet off to Fr. Maturi and ensure that our marriage is well and truly legit.

One of my favorite things:

Seeing my new last name in print.

(I got a Hallmark membership card, and decided to just give them the new name since I'd probably have a heck of a time getting it changed).

Henna Experiment

One thing about the wedding rehearsal that I'm especially looking forward to is the Mhendi. Early in the afternoon, the bridesmaids and any other women coming in from out of town will meet up at the Welches' to decorate our hands with henna.

I love the Mhendi--it was one of my favorite parts of Rus and Heidi's wedding. All the women get to sit and talk....

...and the end result is beautiful:

(c) StudioBash

The only downside of the Mhendi is that we have a limited number of women who can  really work with henna and a large number of girls who want to wear it. To make things easier on everyone, Mama Peg suggested that we try using henna stencils.

I wasn't 100% sure how the stenciled henna would turn out, so I tried it for myself. I made a cheater batch of henna (I didn't let the paste "mature" and I only kept it on for about 30 minutes) and tried one out.

 The stencil didn't actually fit, so I wrapped the thumb piece around my hand to keep it secure.

Here's the design after I removed the stencil, but before I scraped off the henna. I think that it would've looked a lot better if someone else had put the henna over the stencil, but I'm not sold. I'm not wild about the henna staining the negative space of the design.

BUT, the stencils are unbelievably easy to use.  No denying that. Maybe I just need to find a stencil design that I like.

Bachelorette Party and Bridal Shower

I'm pretty late in talking about my super pre-wedding weekend, but I've been working on my teaching applications, non-teaching job applications, and unpacking, organizing, and repacking all my crap.

But, back in June, my bridesmaids (with major help from our family friend Cathy) threw me a bachelorette party and wedding shower. My bachelorette party ended up being pretty low-key, but I loved it. Originally, Sara and Heidi had worked on taking me to a nightclub for a drag show. Unfortunately, the best night for the party ended up being a "no show" night at the club. We talked about going dancing after dinner, but since I managed to sprain my ankle (falling five inches off of our back deck) the night before, I wasn't really in the mood.

We ended up being served an amazing multi-course dinner by Heidi's husband. Jay went out and picked up wines to go with the meal and Rus picked a few more that paired better with his dishes. After we ate, we sat talking under a canopy of party lights before moving to the fire pit. It may not have been the crazy, wild night that Sara threatened, but I really loved being able to catch up with my far-flung best friends (minus Nicky, who we totally owe a night of wine and cheese!) and sisters.

The next afternoon, I met up with the girls at Cathy's house for the shower. I was so happy to see more of my friends, many of my mom's friends, my Grammy, and my fabulous aunts:

And I was only forced into one crazy party game!

Jay stopped by to help open presents to be, by turns, sweet and ridiculous.

I was so excited to see all three of my "dance sisters:" Cristina, Miranda, and Juliana.

All in all, I had an amazing weekend.

PS--Love these girls:

Aenigma Colatur

I'm interrupting the wedding updates to bring you this other, life-altering news:

I graduated! With both of my degrees!

Jan Hodson summed it up pretty well at the HTC Graduate Dinner:

So, in brief:

1. I passed both my Praxis II exams (I actually did this last July, but my score reports were lost in the mail during my move).
2. I convinced the College of Eduaction that English Lit tutorials are, in fact, English classes, thus finishing the course requirements for my ILA degree.
3. I spent eight weeks teaching the best group of tenth graders I've ever met (other than my sister of course).
4. I wrote my thesis examining the development of feminism in young adult literature--and you can read it here: http://etd.ohiolink.edu/view.cgi?acc_num=ouhonors1307377432

I feel like this post has much, much more bragging in it than I'd like, but I'm just so relieved to have finished all my coursework! Now, if only the university would send me my real diplomas...

(We return to the scene of the proposal!)

April Showers Bring More Fittings

Early in April, I drove back to Youngstown (and on to Niles) to pick up my altered dress.

Love it!

Then, for most of April, I had to put wedding plans on the back burner while I started my student teaching. This past weekend, I was back in town for Vijay's senior thesis premier and wrap party. On the drive home on Friday, Mama Peg called to tell me that my sari had arrived!

Like most fancy blouses, mine has a plain front and an embroidered back. My petticoat is satin instead of cotton--already I felt like a princess!

Even though I know how to put on a sari by myself (okay, with backwards pleats), I let Mama Peg do it whenever possible.

Here we are post-pleating, pre-pallu arranging:

The finished look. I have to dig out my box of old photos to find the 2004 version of this photo--high school me in a pale blue sari for the first time.

 A close up of the jacquard and the embroidered peacock.

First Fitting

Tuesday was my first dress fitting. Mom, Emily, Mama Peg, Heidi, and I all descended upon David's Bridal to watch women poke me with pins. This was Mama Peg and Heidi's first time seeing my dress.

Emily was official photographer of the afternoon.

It only took three David's employees, but we managed to figure out the awesome bustle that Chrissy showed me when I first tried on the dress.

It got a little awkward towards the end ("Everyone! Stare at me! Stare at meeeeee!") but I had a lot of fun. After the fitting, the five of us went for coffee--and I always love hanging out with my moms and sisters.

Sari Party!

Mama Peg and I finally found my wedding sari! She sent me a link to a beautiful, non-traditional red sari with with green and purple trim and embroidered peacocks.

I'm in love.

Quick side note for anyone who hasn't heard me (or someone else) explain the sari:


The sari is a traditional women's garment in India. You start by putting on a cropped blouse and a petticoat, then wrap six yards of beautiful fabric around yourself:

Because the blouses need to fit like a second skin, Mama Peg had to take many, many measurements. Including some awkward ones:

With my order on its way, Mom, Emily, and I decided to start picking the wedding party's saris.

Like Rus and Heidi, Jay and I decided to have a semi-traditional Indian rehearsal and dinner. The girls will wear saris and have the opportunity to get henna . Jay and some of the other men will be wearing kurta pajama.

So, Mama Peg pulled out as many of her saris, blouses, petticoats, and salwar kameez as she could find. I promptly made a sari pile.

Emily tried on a couple and settled on this gorgeous one that Mama Peg wore on her birthday:

Then I started pulling out other saris  for the rest of the bridesmaids (I took pictures of the pallus--the end that goes over your shoulder--because they have the most detail).

I've known for years that I would have Sara wear this green and pink chiffon one:

And I think Katie Ya would look stunning in this pink floral chiffon:

Since Emily's is so bold, I tried to find a similarly striking one for Nicky and spotted this sheer royal blue:

I'm hoping that Mama Peg's gold blouse and petticoat set will fit her.

Heidi wants to try to wear her wedding salwar again. It's beautiful and she hardly ever has a reason to.

My mom tried a few and eventually picked a deep maroon one. It was a real stroke of luck because the sari still has the blouse piece attached (at the end opposite the pallu is some extra fabric that can be cut off and used to sew a matching or contrasting blouse).

When we have (a bit) more time in the summer, the three of us will have a sewing party so that we can make sure everyone has a blouse that fits.

Spring Break--Making Impressions

...and I'm back! Winter quarter was especially tough on me, hence the lack of wedding planning/posting. I'm currently on spring break and will soon start student teaching which will (oddly enough) leave me with more free time in afternoon than usual--of course, there will be lesson planning and thesis writing, but at least I can in comfy pants!

Anyhow, I've been at my parents house since Thursday and will be staying until Sunday morning. While I've been home, we've really hit the ground running with wedding prep. One of the first things I did was to make impressions for Jay's wedding ring.

Before we even got engaged, I found what would eventually be Jay's ring at an etsy shop called Fabuluster. Jess and Brent Williams make cast impressions of fingerprints and incorporate them into their jewelry. Jay really liked the idea and picked this ring:

I ordered it and received my impression kit in the mail. All I had to do was follow Brent's instructions and send him my fingerprints.

So first: boiling water in a pot and sticking my hand in a hot (but not boiling) sink.

Once the water on the stove boiled, I poured it into a bowl and took its temperature.

When it had cooled to 140 degrees, I dropped in an impression strip.

After thirty seconds, the water had softened the black side of the strip so that I could make my impression.

Then I just had to cool it until the black side stiffened again and peel the strip off my finger.

And repeat three more times!

As a side note, the funniest part of making these impressions was when my brother came home from class starving and started making pizza. Of course, the pizza was ready to come out of the oven at the exact moment my last pot of water boiled, so for a few minutes, we had to dance around each other while holding a variety of very hot objects.

The impressions are in the mail, so soon enough Jay's ring will be here. Cross that off the list!