I went down to see family about a week ago, and was able to get three out of my four bridesmaids together to go dress shopping. We picked
this little number, in rose petal. We're going to hem it to be knee length though, because it doesn't come long enough for all my girls (My bridesmaids are 5' 6", 5' 8", 6' 1", and 6' 3", and will all be wearing heels.) They all really liked it!
Additionally, I met with our florist, who was wonderful. I described my vision, and she came back with a bunch of pictures, and a few little sketches, color swatches, and vases that were
exactly what I wanted. It was like she took my fuzzy, vague idea and transformed it into a concrete plan!
Finally, there was the drama part. My family is very involved with the planning, and when I met with a potential officiant at the family home, of course they both wanted to sit down and meet her too (especially since my FI was unable to travel down with me). I loved her, and she talked about her specialty, conveying the sacredness of the event without including religion. That was very important to my FI and I, because we're both atheists, but still believe that a wedding ceremony is 'sacred', and should be treated as such.
Well, she explained her methods, and my mom and I were both enthusiastic. My dad looked annoyed, and said "now I know this is what Gabrielle wants, but I think a wedding is promising to be together, before each other, your families and GOD." The officiant handled it gracefully, and we hired her because she was totally wonderful, and had everything FI and I were looking for.
After she left, my dad sat me down and spent an hour accusing me of being disrespectful to my entire family, and being selfish, and self important based on my lack of religion (not anything I said or did, just the beliefs themselves). The last straw was when he claimed that the Nazi's were an atheist organization, and asked weather I agreed with their beliefs (are you kidding me?). It was really hurtful, and pretty much ruined the rest of my trip.
End of vent.