Wedding Mania (Finding the Ring)

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Wow, I can't believe today just happened! I'm on cloud nine and so totally happy, that I don't know what to do with myself.

Al took me ring shopping at Rubin Brothers in order to check out what they had available for engagement rings. Unbeknownst to me, Al had already been to the store, established a budget and had an idea of what I wanted.

He basically "unleashed" me in the store to find something that I really liked in order to get a starting point. I was drawn to the House of Taylor collection [apparently that Elizabeth Taylor has good taste in diamonds ;) ]. Al actually found the ring and suggested I try it on. I swear to you that I could not take that ring off of my finger. I was awestruck (and probably drooling). The piece was so beautiful and I just kept staring at my hand. A fellow shopper actually came up to me and said "wow, that ring is AMAZING!, you're a lucky girl". I was sold. One of the owner's, Mitch, who helped us kept trying to show me other pieces, but I just kept coming back to my ring. The others were almost perfect but not quite, but mine was absolutely perfect for me. I'm a little ashamed to say that I fell prey to the power of diamonds, but as Mitch said, "this is important....this is your forever ring". I had found my second love. What was even more shocking was when we sat down, Mitch quoted us a price, and Al said "we'll take it". I think I nearly swallowed my tongue. I couldn't believe this was happening. I was so sure that I would still be on the search in order to find something that would be just what I wanted, but much more budget friendly as I had previously encountered at the Shane Company. And yet, here we were, sizing my ring finger and Al putting down a deposit. I was literally in this fuzzy trance, where everything goes a little bit in slow motion and volume is turned down super low. I was snapped out of my trance by Al's big smile. I think he was amused by my reaction.
I can't believe we just picked out my engagement ring.

Afterwards we had a quick lunch at Fudruckers before heading down to the Villa Christina for a wedding show. I took Al on a quick tour of Villa Christina to show him the location as a possibility for a reception venue. I've kinda been in love with this venue for a while as it is so picturesque and beautiful. It turned out that the bridal show was in another building in the complex, so we ended up walking across the street. I had no idea what it would be like and imagine my surprise to find that it was a wedding dress trunk show for Savvi formal wear (who are normally known for their tuxes). So......I freakin tried on a WEDDING DRESS in front of Al!!!!! I couldn't believe that he was just going with the flow, not freaking out and actually enjoying himself at this impromptu fashion show.

There were also a few Vendor's there including Charles for Spectrum Entertainment and Sabrina with Bliss mobile spa. They were doing a free hair and makeup trial, so I got my hair and makeup done.....wow! Al was so patient and completely let me have my moments of glory. All this while missing basketball. I was impressed.

We ended up taking a bit too long at the bridal show, so instead of going home, we ended up going straight to the Band alumni dinner at Scalini's. I'm really enjoying attending these events and hanging out with the band folks. We always have a good time, but this year the place was overrun with babies....holy crap it was a zoo. Still it's always nice to have good Italian food, garlic rolls of death and good wine.
After dinner a small group walked over to Bruster's for an icecream night cap.

What a great ending to such an amazing day!
I can't even begin to express how happy I am....this is definitely something I could get used to.