Sonsi Wedding Fever 2.0 Twitter Event

I got married a little over a year ago, so I know it can be hard to be a plus size bride. Where to go for a dress? Most stores don't carry plus size sample wedding dresses to try on, which can be frustrating. In fact, I only tried on 5 dresses. Don't believe me? Here they are:

That's every single dress in my size in the store. Luckily I had a good friend there to help guide me into what styles were working for me. Well now you can get advice not only from your friends, but also from a panel of experts.

It's a Twitter Party:

Join Sonsi and Sydney’s Closet, along with Bridal Guide Magazine, for a Twitter first: a Twitter Party exclusively for full figured brides-to-be and their wedding parties! I'll be participarting in the twitter party.

Brides will have an opportunity to tap into a panel of experts for everything bridal, from figure-flattering styles and shapewear to the season’s best accessories to wedding party attire, bridal bouquets and budget receptions invitations and honeymoons.

Prizes:

Five lucky brides will win a stunning Sydney’s Closet wedding dress courtesy of Sonsi. To enter, brides may visit www.bridalguide.com May 2nd— May 6th. Twitter Party guests will also have a chance to win one of 12 Sonsi $50 gift cards offered throughout the party.

If I was getting married right now, this bad boy would be my dress of choice. ----->

Details:

• To RSVP for the party, visit www.sonsi.com/bridal
• Date: Friday, May 6, 2011
• Time: 12:00 p.m. until 2:00 p.m. EST
• Location: Visit TweetChat.com and enter event #plussizebrides
• Join the fun and follow: @Sonsiwoman, @BridalGuideMag, @SydneysCloset

And just for fun, here is a flashback to what I wore to my wedding:

Coordinators & Harry Potter

I wanted to look nice for my meeting with a wedding coordinator (day of only, we're on a budget!) but I wasn't feeling inspired or up to standing in my closet for a long time trying to decide what to wear. How long does it take you to decide what to wear? I usually spend about 1/2 hr to an hr on Sunday picking out for Monday - Thursday. If I haven't planned in advance it can take me 15-20 minutes in my closet.

What I Wore While Meeting a Wedding Coordinator:

• jersey dress (Lane Bryant)
• black satin flats (via Kohls)
• black ribbon/pearl necklace (Target)
• black crystal earrings (via Sam Moon)
• black/white silk scarf, worn as bracelet a la Kimberly (Express)

What I Ate After Being Shocked At Wedding Expenses:

• breakfast: 1 c. Fiber One, 2 oz blueberries, 1 c. Almond Breeze
• lunch: 2 T. almond butter & 2 T. sugar free jelly sandwich, 1 c. zucchini, 1 carrot, 1 c. cherries
• snack: cliff bar, string cheese,
• dinner: brisket tacos, 5 tortilla chips
• movie snacks: 45 animal crackers, 1 Hershey's Bliss dark chocolate bar, 2 Monsters (to stay awake)

We went to the midnight showing the new Harry Potter movie. I tried to be good by getting some animal crackers for the movie, and it did give me lower calories than popcorn by a LOT, but since we got them on the way to the theater, I didn't have any way to portion them out, so I ended up eating about twice as many as I wanted. But to be honest, considering I stayed up until 4 am, and spent HOURS at the theater before the movie started, I'm quite proud that the only thing I bought from the snack counter was water.

Total for the Day: 7 glasses of water, 45 points* (2481 calories), no exercise

* my daily allowance is 28, plus the 6 I earned yesterday, so I dipped into my 35 weekly extra points by 9 points. I think this was an expected and managed splurge situation and I am pleased with the outcome. Plus I am going to try to get in a lot more activity points in the next few days.

Venue, Venue, Who's Got the Venue?

We are going to try to keep this wedding as inexpensive as possible, which is very difficult in Dallas The Land of Big Hair, Big Diamonds, and Big Weddings. A few months ago this led to me doing a little research and picking a sweet little venue that is on city property so it's really inexpensive (about 1/8 the price of most other venues). I didn't make any calls or anything since Rand hadn't proposed yet. Rand called yesterday and it's booked solid. Oh well. Time for more research and a larger budget!

What I Wore While Researching Wedding Venues Online:

• salmon shortsleeve sweater (Nine&Co.)
• skirt (Walmart)
• red suede platform heels (Jessica Simpson, thrifted Goodwill)
• blue plastic chain necklace (thrifted, charity shop)
• silver cuff bracelet (Payless)

What I Ate While Watching The Prizewinner of Defiance, Ohio:

• breakfast: 1 c. Optimum Blueberry Cinnamon cereal, 1/2 c. unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze, 1 small banana
• lunch: salad with spinach, 1/2 c kidney beans, atichoke hearts, grape toms, carrot, and 1 oz fat free feta; 1 c. cubed watermelon; 1/2 whole wheat pita made into chips
• snack: Luna bar
• dinner: homemade veggie pizza with basil and fat free feta

This pizza is amazing. You really must must must make it some time. We don't make the crust from the recipe anymore, b/c we find it to be a little heavy. We just use a thin crust Boboli from the grocery store.

What I Did After it Dropped Below 100 Degrees:

Rand and I went for a walk around the park just as it was getting dark. We went around twice (1 mile) and were going to go around a third time, but I was wearing flip flops and my feet started getting sore. So tomorrow I'll wear tennies so we can walk around as many times as we want.

Total for the Day: 1569 calories, 6 glasses of water, 1 mile of walking

Weekend BLING

I'm engaged!!!! So of course I had to show all of you my ring, which means you also get to see my weekend wear. Variety is nice, isn't it?

What I Wore While Spending the Day With My Future In-Laws:

• green polka dot blouse (Target)
• white crochet trim tank (Kmart)
• jorts (Gap)
• sandals (thrifted, Goodwill)
• earrings (?)
• coi necklace, upcycled from a Scrabble tile (Etsy Fair, but she doesn't sell on Etsy)
• art deco engagement ring (local jeweler)

What I Wore While Calling All My Friends and Family:

• burnt orange UT tank (The Co-op, Austin)
• burnt orange lion silk scarf, worn as shirt (Anne Klein, thrifted Goodwill)*
• jeans (Gap)
• sandals (Old Navy, thrifted Goodwill)
• belt (Dots)
• faux amber necklace (hand-me-down froma friend)
• orange earrings (?? Ross)

* I tied the corners of the scarf to my tank and used the belt to create some shape. I got the idea from a photo display of ways to wear scarves that Maria sent me. It's slightly modified, but I think it looks great. It's a little rumpled here b/c we just came back from lots of champagne at brunch.

What I Ate While Accepting Many Rounds of Congratulations:

A little while after Rand proposed, I was googling Weight Watchers Meeting time for the following morning (he asked around midnight). I have been talking about joining WW for a while now and had actually intended to go to a meeting Saturday morning. But Rand thought I was doing the new bride weight freak out thing. He's worried that I'm going to get all freaky about food and crash diet my way to the alter. I think this weekend has disabused him of that idea. There were swedish crepes, sausage, Sonic, birthday cake and ice cream, raviolis in alfredo, etc. Yes I would like to continue to lose weight but I'm not going to freak out just because there is a wedding dress in my future.