worst. blogger. ever.

Well in my defense, I didn't blog because I didn't have anything to say...until now. Went home this weekend and achieved more wedding planning in a few days than I have in the last four or five months of being engaged. Thank God for Moms and sisters. They push your ass to achieve.
So let's just make a list, shall we, of things we need to blog about:

1. WE HAVE SIX MONTHS UNTIL THE WEDDING.
I try to keep the swearing to a minimum because there are mothers present but HOLY FUCK, YOU GUYS. SIX MONTHS.

2. I FOUND MY DRESS. And honestly I think that's how I was able to get anything else done because pretty much everything is coordinated to go with the dress and two, we now have something that is expensive that cannot be taken back. This shit is ON, brother.

3. Within like 18 hours of ordering the dress, I decided on my bridesmaid dresses.

4. I have a mock-up of my bridal bouquet in my closet.

5. I made a budget (six months before the wedding! I am the least responsible engaged person ALIVE)

6. I mapped out a bunch of stupid shit like centerpieces and the like.

So, much blogging to be done. Let's go!

peachy won it!

Ebay has been redeemed! After losing the orange dress I was feeling a little defeated, frankly. I didn't want my heart to break again. And I thought, you know, you don't really want an ebay dress, a crazy control freak like you? Something you hadn't even tried on? A dress you've never seen? That would be CRAZINESS.
Then yesterday I found something really really pretty and that sort of went out the window.


So let's see it!



But, okay, this is NOT OFFICIALLY MY WEDDING DRESS. Understand? Mom and sister, don't cry because I bought my wedding dress on ebay. The measurements are a little...wee. The waist measurement is about two inches too small, but it should be fine with a few months of exercise and a nice pair of spanx. The bust measurement is also small, but I could maybe take it out? Or just squeeze and be super busty. So I bid like a madman on a dress that could potentially not fit because love makes us crazy, alright? If it looks like it won't fit over the world's most massive ribcage (mine) I will just resell it on ebay.



It was also lucky because I was in rehearsal when the bidding ended so I had a super massive "maximum bid" waiting in the wings...thanks to the other bidders for giving up!


I'm such a tease! Jesus.



So, without further ado, Dress Option A...there is not B at the moment but still, Option A:

It is made of lace and tulle, it's actually from the fifties, and has boning and accordion pleating...mmmmm.
It is he little ruffle modesty piece is going to go...I'm not big on "modesty."
Seller says it should be here in about a week and then I'll try it on! WHEE!

fantasy favors

I don't know if I've mentioned this on the blog before, but I'm planning two weddings. One is the fabulous Hallowedding you will be attending, orange and brown and black, costumes encouraged, brimming with pumpkins and candy and autumnal goodness.


The other wedding is a made-up wedding where it is not Halloween, it is warm outside, my colors are purple and grey and everything is very chic.
This wedding will not be happening.
I don't regret our wedding date, but it does rule out certain details that don't fit the holiday or the season. Outdoor weddings on October 31st are VERY RISKY in Nebraska, since we've had several Halloweens canceled for snow and few children have known a season where their costumes didn't incorporate a parka. So that's out. Also, nature will deny me lilacs, which are very sentimental to me, and were I to be married in the spring, they'd be frickin' everywhere. In mason jars.

I don't think I'm the only bride who does this. And I know without a shadow of a doubt that I am not the only person who had big elaborate plans for their wedding that they secretly hold in their heart just in case they magically find, oh, several thousand extra dollars to contribute to their wedding. The elaborate, poster sized wedding invitations. The custom made Stephanie James dress. The lighting designer projecting tree branches onto the dance floor (actually I could do this myself, were my venue willing, but I highly doubt they are capable).

And oh, wedding guests, if I had the money, the favors you would get!

Now, let me just say that in my brain, I don't care about favors. They're cute, sure, but if they're missing from a wedding I don't really care. I really liked getting martini glasses from Jen and Jon's wedding, and the individual Jones Soda from Vince and Sarah (yummy AND adorable!) and Brandon and Mura (whose wedding I still need to cover...damn) made donations for their guests. These were all great. We're doing a candy buffet for ours--painfully trendy, yes, but it really fits with it being Halloween and if people leave their favor on their tables then I get lots of candy. Win. Win. Win.
That's my in my brain.

But my heart, Maria, but my heart....

IF I HAD THE MONEY, or if I could somehow cut our guest list down by 100 people and not be torn apart by guilt, I would lurk around ebay for months and give everyone amazing vintage Halloween goodies.
You're kind of lucky I don't have the money, actually, because what I consider amazing vintage Halloween goodies some people consider "Old Crap"
Like the candles! Oh vintage candles! You beautiful waxy sirens.Cupcake picks, which remind me of the cupcakes you get at grocery stores (in a good way) and totally make me swoon. (That sounds like the wedding is getting to my head but you'd be wrong, suckas! I've always gone crazy over useless cupcake decoration. SO THERE)
Or just tiny little pointless plastic toys (which could also go on top of cupcakes!)
But they're averaging about $5 a piece (and I don't think Jesus would forgive spending that much money on stuff most people would throw away) and there's no guarantee I'd be able to find 150+ of any one item so....more pointless longing.

However, I might find some place for these sort of findings if not in the hands of my guests.

(Oh, and if you search "vintage halloween" on ebay you get something that is not vintage, classic, or classy, but still makes my heart ache a little bit with kitschy nostalgia:
HALLOWEEN MCNUGGET BUDDIES!Can you smell that? I think it's the nineties.)

the name debate

Finally, some Hallowedding news! I know, you missed us. We haven't been updating because there has been little/no advancement in wedding planning. Well, a lot of talk and debate but no action. Until about this week, when suddenly, BAM! big decisions were made.

One, we found a VENUE! I know, it’s seven months before the wedding. The Knot has assumed I’ve had this done for months. But as we have said, we were sticklers for having amazing food be an option, and a lot of places just were not cutting it. Also we are terrible, awful procrastinators. So there will be an extended post very soon about that.

But now, let's talk about names.

I've thought about this last name business for a long time people, because let's just be honest here--I've been planning to marry Greg for like five years. Before we were officially dating even. I wasn’t writing “Mrs. Harries” in my underpants or anything, but I kind of assumed I would adopt his last name. I even had a moment of incredible sadness when I realized that I had to give up the name I had always planned for my daughter--Izzy--because then I would have a child named Izzy Harries...which sort of sounds like the question "Is he hairy?" and given my genetic disposition for peach fuzz I just didn't want that for my potential children.

But then, I think last year sometime, or even the year before, people started referring to Greg and I as The Jacksies (a hybrid of our last names). I grew incredibly fond of it. I'm a fan of hybridization in all areas of life and it seemed to really go with our marriage philosophy. As much as we love our families and our heritage, we want our last name to sort of showcase our relationship as a joining of our lives up until this point into something comepletely new. Also, Greg is sick of being called "Harris." And I am sick of that damn Outkast song.

Fuck those guys.
So for a while, our plan was to be The Jacksies.
Then we actually got engaged. And when you get engaged, those cutesie little plans for what you're going to do start to gain actual significance. Greg thought about it, and he decided "Jacksies" was a little too cutesy sounding. He suggested "Harkson." I thought Harkson sounded like a WASP name, and told him so. Then he was searching Urban Dictionary one day at work and discovered that a "Jacksie" was a cockney term for "ass."
That just wouldn't do. Damn cockneys!
So we talked and talked and talked. We debated. We fought. We polled our friends and families. We brainstormed completely new names--my personal favorites were alucarD (spelled exactly that way), Vector, or Velociraptor. (Even now, as we’ve found a solution, I'm still pretty fond of Velociraptor.)
But tonight, at rehearsal, on a whim, I labeled my waterbottle as "jaxies"...and Greg. Went. Crazy. He's all for it. The 'X' fixes the cutesy problem and I still get my totally cute name. And being a homonym for cockney ass is not quite as bad as being cockney ass. Our friend Sean suggested "Jaxeez" to up our scrabble potential but we kindly turned him down.

So what do you think? It's a little pretentious but meh, so are we.

So as of this moment, assuming we still think it’s acceptable after sleeping on it for a night (or a month), Shannon Jackson will marry Greg Harries and they will become Greg and Shannon Jaxies.



We’re such nerds. We’re gonna be sooooo happy.

dang nabbit!

I have been skulking around ebay lately, looking at the pretty dresses. I've bid on a handlful of dresses that are NOT wedding, at all:And this one, which is too springy for a Hallowedding but still super cute:
But I did some SERIOUS bidding on this dress, thinking that it would be a fantastic reception dress. But damn me, I had a show this afternoon and couldn't sit at the computer, and they beat me BY A DOLLAR. Ebay you break my heart.
Look how orange!Petticoats!

I think I will continue down this path, but I also think I'll be a more defensive bidder. That orange dress going to someone else makes me sad. Especially for fifty one damn dollars.

other people's weddings

Oh my goodness. "A Lull in Traffic"? More like a complete halt to traffic. A seven car pile up. I was REALLY busy for a while there...and, let's face it, a little burned out on life in general.
(I know what you're thinking...you're burned out NOW? You haven't even begun to be stressed little bride girl.) And I was going to post yesterday but then the phone rang and I had to spend the last twenty four hours stressing out and opening a one woman show at UNO (showing again on Sunday and Friday, ifyouwanttocome) but now we are back to regular programing and posting and planning with almost psychotic enthusiasm.
Why this burst of enthusiasm?
Well, one, our wedding is in eight months. So if I'm not planning now I'm a fucking idiot.
Two, I bought a new, much less intimidating and far more useful wedding planner, with all sorts of lovely checklists and blanks that I want to fill in.
Three, I went to a wedding today.
Which is the point of this post.Vince and Sarah (shown above in a promotional shot for their show Grimm Reapings...theatre people have the best pictures) are good friends of Greg, and kind of good friends of mine. I mean, I work with them a lot in theatre, and I enjoy them a lot, but I didn't consider their wedding "A Big Deal" for me. Not as big as say my sister's, or Jen and Jon's. Casual friends, you know. But it was kind of exciting because they have been dating a LONG time, longer than any other wedding I have ever been to...and, you know, I haven't been to a wedding since I got engaged. And once you're engaged things like weddings aren't just fun social events, they are business. And a great place to spy.
Well. We were a pinch late, so we rushed in and grabbed a seat right by the door right before the familial processional. I only had a second to look at the program and take off my coat before it was the groom took his place.
As soon as Vince stood in the front, I started crying.
Crying!
Oh my god. And when Sarah came in in her dress I done. Tears for the entire ceremony. It was ridiculous. At my sister's wedding I made it almost to the end, at Jen's I think I made it to the vows? And here were two people who I'm not incredibly tied to, and I'm sniffling and staring at the ceiling and basically being a Big. Old. Wuss.

I know exactly why this is.

I blame the ring, really.

Whereas previously I would've felt intense pride for Vince and Sarah for making this commitment, and touched that Vince's dad was their officiant, and honored to be present...but no. Now that I'm engaged, this is what was going through my head:
"They're getting MARRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIED! Her dress is so PRETTYYYYYYYY! I am also getting MARRIIIIIIIIIIIIED! I will also get a pretty dress!!!" And then, tears.
I have at least three weddings to attend before my own...this could get intense you guys.

A Lull in Traffic

Sorry for the lag in posts, we've hit a bit of a wall in our lives. Shannon's got six different theatre projects going at the moment, I've got four of my own, one of them being the direction of my mainstage debut with a world premiere play at the New Ways/New Works festival at UNO. I've got a great cast and it's going incredibly well, but it is a drain on the ol' time banks.

Anyhow, we're getting very close to having a confirmed venue for the reception, with it being down to just a couple of options at the moment. It'll just be a matter of prioritizing and budget from here on out, but neither of us are level-headed enough given our current schedules to make that commitment. We will have a location by the end of the month and that's when we'll be spreading our truly phenomenal STDs. HA! Also, this blog will be moving to the true Hallowedding website, so RSVPs can start flowing in and we can start our registry and all of that business.

So while we haven't posted in a bit, the gears are still turning. They just aren't very interesting to watch. To make it up to you, here's a desktop background I made out of history's most ridiculous event. Call it a gift. It's optimized for widescreen monitors, but it'll do on the others in a pinch. Click through the link to get to the full size version. Take care!

holy crap!

(Like this, only with wedding clothes and on top of cupcakes)

Yes, yes, I know. I suck. I post dresses and promise news and then nothing. Well, for a while anyway, you might need a little more of nothin'. One, there's not a lot to share until we get the venue picked out (I KNOW, I KNOW, CALM DOWN MARTHA WE'LL BE FINE!) and two I'm crazy busy right now with non-wedding stuff...but I just had to say something.

PAUL PAPE GOT FEATURED ON WEDDINGBEE. I had mentioned him and his chocolate miis in a comment on there (which I believe got him quite a few orders) but then today Miss Hummingbird just stumbled upon his cake toppers and DAMN! That man is gonna get some business. (For non-Omahans, Paul is the guy whose family helped Greg with the proposal? Remember? Great!)
This is awesome because hooray money for Paul. This also means that Paul will be super busy so I'm also kinda sad for Paul. But we are also planning on getting a wii topper from Paul with a tiny mii Ruffles, so hell, this might be a trend! We are trend setters! Go wedding!

first look: dress shopping

Not able to make a big post right now, but here are a few of the dresses I tried on during WEDDING WEEKEND.

the fever

The mom and the sister are coming up next weekend for a two day spree of wedding dress shopping and bridal fair going...to. But since I realized that we are actually going wedding dress shopping, I have had The Fever, and I want to look at dresses all the time always and when I run out of dresses to look at on the internet it makes me angry.
So you might get a lot of posts like this. Or not, because spring semester starts up again tomorrow and in the next two weeks I am auditioning for shows, casting a show, teching a show and attending ACTF. And wedding dress shopping.
First of all, mmmmm:
Essence of Australia D594...How I love thee. Again, a brand that many boutiques carry, but a style that will probably go the way of Eden Informals 1171 which no one carries because it is short with a ruffle. The more I love short, ruffly dresses the more Omaha seems to hate them. Dammit.
A $10,000 wedding pointed me towards Bridal Power, where there were all sorts of dresses to look at. Not a lot in my size or price range but as I have said, I have The Fever and must therefore look at dresses for hours and hours. When I searched for shorties this came up: which is out of my price range as well as the range of how small my ribcage could ever become. But still, oh, look at the back.
But I am starting to realize that having a short dress that is actually beautiful might be out of my midwestern, low budget reach, I am going to go ahead and post some long dresses because it might be where we end up. And I think I will be okay with this if these long dresses have sleeves.
Look out fellas. This one's a little bit sexy.
It isn't that I hate long dresses, but my wedding is going to be as casual as possible--because casual is our style, our life, and our budget, and frankly, if I walked down the aisle in some big white confection I think people would say "Really, Shan? That looks like a costume" and they would be right. BUT! I have confidence that I will find a beautiful dress. That fits with my theme. And looks good on me. And is cheap.
Goddamn.