After a hectic Christmas where we flew cross-country, I am glad to be back in Boston, and back in planning mode. I took people’s advice and just pushed “pause” on planning over the holidays – way too stressful! Thanks for your advice and support. But, that time off meant I haven’t posted in a while either.

So, I am back! And I already have two items checked off (even though they are only partially checked – at least they are in progress). One is our entertainment for our cocktail hour. I will post on that separately once it’s finalized. But we decided on who we want and put in a reservation for the date. Hopefully they aren’t booked and will get back to me after the new year.

The second item that is mostly checked off are the bridesmaid dresses. All my bridesmaids have picked out their styles from the Alfred Angelo Dream in Color Separates collection. My bridal shop is closed over New Years, but next week I will be placing the final order and asking my maids to send in their measurements and deposits.

We went with the separates to give my girls a choice in their style. All have very different body shapes and sizes, so I wanted them to be able to pick something they felt comfortable in and that also reflected their personal style. I made a grid to keep track of all their style choices. I actually love seeing how they will all look (sort of) together.

The maid of honor’s colors will actually be the reverse of what is in the picture – the body will be in my color blue, while the sash/bow will be in Ivory. And the Groomswoman (Hydrangea Dude’s sister) will be standing on his side, and will have the longer skirt to differentiate her from my maids. It’s so nice to be able to check things off my list again. We still have a long way to go, but I feel we’re making progress.