The secret life of Mrs Corn...the long-lost dress hunt

Way, way WAY back before I had even FOUND Weddingbee, not to mention had applied and then become Mrs Corn...I headed to David's Bridal in Harrisburg, PA on the Friday after Thanksgiving 2006 to try on wedding dresses with my mom and my sister.

It was an extremely overwhelming experience (as you will see from the expression on my face in most of these pictures). We had a wonderful sales girl who was very helpful, but stretched a little thin. You see...I had the mistaken impression that on 'Black Friday' everyone would be too busy checking out the holiday sales to go to a wedding dress store.

Big mistake. HUGE! Turns out Thanksgiving weekend is the. weekend. to drag your entire bridal party plus all the women in your family including Old Aunt Agnes and her bridge buddies to a bridal store...why? Because everyone is in town.

As we head towards Turkey day this month, please keep that in mind so you don't freak out like I did...

So WHY exactly is this my 'secret' post? Because no one, not even my mom or sister or, heaven forbid, my husband Davis has ever. seen. these. photos...until now. I don't think there is a single smile from me in any of the photos and it ISN'T because of bad photography moments...I really was miserable for most of the day.

So now, without further ado, I present to you the never-before-seen photos of all the dresses I tried on before I found 'the one'.
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The very first dress I tried on had box pleats...it was the only one in the store with box pleats and box pleats had been on my request list since I had even thought about getting married when I was a kid...that and sleeves, but we all know how few of those options there are :)


The first thing I noticed about the dress was that with the dropped waist, I looked weird...to me. Maybe not to anyone else, but since I am all legs and no torso, seeing a dropped waist on me weirded me out so much that I vetoed the dress and moved on...


The next dress was the 'crustiest' dress in the store...absolutely covered in lace and beading. I had a strict 'no crusty stuff' rule for my shopping excursion...but really liked the look of the dress... I liked it so much it ended up becoming the front-runner for the day.

Next I tried on a dress with an illusion neckline. This was good for me to see because I loved the look of the illusion necklines that I had seen in the magazines...but on me, it looked ridiculous!

Below is my sad attempt to see what the potential could have been had the neckline been both illusion AND portrait...it actually, in my opinion, is much better...but alas, there were no illusion, portrait neckline dresses in the store so it was time to move on.

In my quest to find something, ANYTHING, with sleeves, I tried on a gown with a lace overlay thinking that would be the key...but I felt it looked dowdy on me and reminded me of my grandma's housecoat...so it was rejected too.

The wrap dress below was next and got an immediate veto from my mom...which is a shame because in pictures it really was very flattering on me. I do remember thinking it was slightly uncomfortable to wear...sort of like having your nylons on twisted...but had I known how good it looked on film, it could have been a serious contender.

This next dress was all about the beautiful overlay...I loved it. The detail was so different and really gorgeous...but in the end, the dropped waist did the dress in for me. Interestingly enough, now that I am going back through all of these pictures, this is the dress that is most like the one I eventually chose.

I was interested in trying on this style of dress (below) because of the two toned nature of it and because I had heard it had wonderful tummy hiding features...but it was the quickest 'no' of all of them for me:

This next series of pictures is of the runner up dress of the day...this is the dress that actually inspired me to start trying on veils to see what they would look like and I finally started to relax and feel like a bride.

The last dress of the day was actually the second one I tried on. The one with all the lace and the beading. I tried it on again with a veil and a sash and was completely smitten.

In the end, I didn't buy that dress that day...I wanted to at least go to another store and see what some of the other options were out there.


So a few weekends later, my mom came up to visit me in Boston and we headed to Manhattan Bridals in Dedham, near where I live. It is a small boutique and isn't the fanciest of places, but let me tell you...the service was extraordinary! And personal! And just all around, a wonderful, lovely experience.

The first dress I tried was an Empire waisted Alfred Angelo dress with two toned detailing. I liked this dress a lot but felt that it was a bit young for me. I should point out that the slight sweetheart neckline did wonders for my big ole' chest that no other dress did and I still kind-of wish the dress that I eventually chose had a sweetheart neckline.

Next I tried another dress with an overlay...but it just wasn't happening. I couldn't shake the grandma picture out of my head.

Having always LOVED me some Audrey Hepburn classic style, I tried on a boat neck dress...HUGE MISTAKE...the girls were very. constricted. in this style below:

Ahhhh...something a bit more romantic maybe? With a cap sleeve? Close...but not quite special enough:

And then, nirvana...look how innocent I look below before getting to see myself in the mirror in the dress I eventually chose...

I liked it so much I tried it with a wrap....but that wasn't going to work....

...so then I tried the cathedral length veil and I was h-o-o-k-e-d!!


Below are pics of the dress and me in the dress from my wedding day...I couldn't be more pleased with the outcome and I definitely felt more beautiful that day than ever before or since.



Ok...so that was 13 dresses to find 'the one'...how many did you try on and did every one of them make you smile or were you a frowner like me?

So, how exactly WAS that anniversary cake?

I know this is the information you have been waiting on bated breath for, so I won't make you wait any further.

Last year, we indulged in the most incredible chocolate bourbon wedding cake with white butter-cream frosting from Sin Desserts in Providence, RI. It was hands down, the best wedding cake on the planet. Believe me, I know there is a lot of potential that I am biased because it was at our wedding...but we received more comments on how good the cake was than I can count.


It was so good, that when it came time to freeze the top for next year, I just couldn't bear to freeze the whole thing, so I cut it into pieces, saved two for our anniversary and then brought the rest along on our honeymoon to snack on.

I don't remember where I eventually got the instructions to save the cake top, but here is the process I used and the end result:

1) I was told to store the cake in a non-self-defrosting freezer. Not sure the reason for that, but the only non-self-defrosting freezer we had was the itty, bitty freezer in the upper right corner of the mini-fridge that Mr Corn brought over from his apartment when we bought the house. It now resides in our basement and is an excellent place for storing beer, vitamin waters, and the ridiculous trophy his brother won one year for winning his FANTASY hockey league:






2) First I refrigerated the cake for at least an hour (to get the icing to set) and then wrapped each slice in cellophane at least 8 times (I just kept rolling the cellophane around it). Then I wrapped them in TWO layers of aluminum foil and finally, I put each slice in a zip-lock bag and stored them in the freezer.

3)This year, I took the pieces out of the freezer the day before our anniversary and put them in our fridge to defrost. Then, about two hours before we ate them, I took them out of the fridge to let the icing get soft. Below are pics of the process of unwrapping the pieces after taking them out of the fridge:






Upon close-up inspection, I was really very surprised at how good the cake looked and I had relatively high expectation for the taste:

Mr Corn, who doesn't like chocolate cake anyway, had some trepidation:

In the end, we both only made it a few bites into the cake. The icing was perfect, which surprised me...I would have thought that with all that butter, it would have been the first to go. The problem was that even though the first taste of the cake was surprisingly good, the aftertaste was very I've-been-in-a-freezer-for-a-year. But, considering we were able to eat any of it and weren't grossed out at the get-go, I actually consider this a success. However, I 100%, without question, recommend only saving a little of it and indulging in the rest of the cake top when it is at it's freshest!

Happy One Year Anniversary Mr. Corn!!

Today is our one year wedding anniversary. As is expected, I can hardly believe it has already been a year while at the same time, I feel like we have been married forever!

It was a bit difficult to get away this week, so we took a trip to Boothbay, Maine just before Labor day to celebrate our anniversary.

We spent a day golfing at the Bath Country Club, stayed over night in a bed and breakfast and then spent a day sightseeing around Boothbay.

The beginning of our sightseeing day was cold, damp and overcast:

But it didn't stop us from enjoying some super yummy seafood at the Lobster Dock:

I had a 'hot' lobster roll for the first time ever. I have only had 'cold' ones and never knew there was a difference. For the uninitiated...apparently, a cold lobster roll is served cold and is bound together with mayonnaise. A hot lobster roll is served warm and bound together with melted butter. I would like to give a huge shout out to the inventor of the hot lobster roll because it darn near knocked my socks off!

Mr Corn was getting "lobstered out" so he had haddock:

After lunch, we did some more exploring:




Then, at exactly 3:00pm when we had our reservation to go on a tour with the schooner, Eastwind, the sky completely cleared up:

(a picture of the schooner from where we had eaten lunch a couple of hours prior to us actually getting on the boat)

We had such a great time and it was so fun to get away together as a couple and celebrate our first year of marriage! Do any of you married bees have anniversary trips in the works?

How to Honeymoon

Hey there hive. Mr Corn and I are a month out from our one-year anniversary. As cliche as it sounds, it feels like the wedding was ages ago...yet I can't believe it has almost been a year since the big day. I still have some posts in me that I think will be beneficial to the hive, so strap on your favorite summer sandals and join me for my How to Honeymoon series.*

(source)

Mr Corn and I started our Italian Honeymoon on the Island of Capri off the Amalfi Coast. We chose this destination because after the hard work of planning and executing our wedding, I knew I wanted to go to a place where I could get some R&R before becoming a full blown tourist.

Honeymoon Tip #1: Always, always ask for an upgrade.

Mr Corn is pretty shy and doesn't like to make a scene...me, well...I have no qualms about talking to strangers. So when we finally got to the JW Marriott in Capri, after two plane trips, a bus transfer, a seriously rough ferry ride (I'll spare you the gory details), a ride in a mini-cab, and a walk through the center square of town, Mr Corn was ready to just check us into our hotel. I however said to the lady at the front desk, "it's the first night of our honeymoon, is there any chance there is an upgrade available?" She went into the back for a bit and when she came out they had upgraded us to a sea-view suite. We had to wait about an hour for the room to be available, but it ended up being the difference between this:

(source)

and this...

A king suite with a double balcony overlooking the ocean and a bottle of champagne on ice...not bad!

(source)

While we were waiting for our room to be ready, Mr Corn and I had a chance to talk to one of the hotel staff while we had drinks on the front veranda overlooking the Mediterranean Sea (I told you it wasn't such a bad thing to have to wait an hour!)

This brings me to Honeymoon Tip #2: Ask the locals where they like to go

It seems like such a simple concept, but really some of the best times we had on our honeymoon were when broke away from the guide books and asked the locals for inspiration.

Of course, being a good hotel staff person, they first suggested the hotel restaurant...but after some chiding, we were able to get a recommendation to head up the hill and go to La Savardina.

So we headed up the hill on foot, along the tiny 'roads' that lead to Villa Jovis.

Along the way, we saw signs like this, along with posters for the restaurant which had me convinced we were headed to the 'Chili's' of Capri.

But when we got there, it ended up being a tiny restaurant on a terrace under a grove of lemon trees overlooking the bay of Naples.

No one in Italy even thinks about eating dinner until at least 7:00pm, so even though we got there when it was daylight, we ended up walking around until it was night time, which made the whole experience even more magical.

(source)

Hive, this was hands-down, the most amazing meal we had in all of Italy. I don't know if it was because we were the only ones there for an hour or because it was the first time we truly sat back and relaxed since the wedding, but the meal we had at La Savardina was phenomenal! And when it was all over, they served us a bit of Limoncello, straight from the freezer. A deliciously cool, tangy drink that had been made from the fruit of the trees hanging right over our heads. Obviously this meal was beyond anything we had ever imagined, as I ended up naming my company based on this experience alone! And all of it was because I talked to a local and found out her favorite haunt.

Speaking of locals, here are some fun kids playing soccer in the largest area on the road they could find. We sat and watched them play while waiting for the restaurant to open. They all had bikes so they could chase the ball down the mountain when it inevitably rolled past the goal tender.

* Clearly our honeymoon is just a very small example of the many types of trips you can take with your new spouse, so obviously this series is not supposed to be the be-all/end-all of honeymoon advice...but while our trip was one-of-a-kind, I think the general advice applies to most.

Looking Back, continued...

This FINAL installment of my 'Looking Back' series* focuses on one of the details about our wedding that we are both very glad about: we had a day off before leaving for our honeymoon.

Mr Corn and I were both super excited about our two week honeymoon in Italy; especially after a year of planning; a week of last minute details; and the most fun, yet incredibly intense, day of our lives.

Thankfully, we booked our honeymoon to leave on Monday which gave us a day to get back from Newport, RI to our home in Boston; pack for the trip; open all of our gifts; and work with US Airways on correcting my ticket as Mr Corn forgot to check that my ticket for our honeymoon flights had arrived as well as his when they were sent to us months before the wedding. :)

That extra day was well. worth. it. and I highly, highly suggest giving yourselves that extra time to veg out!

So that's it. Nine months after our wedding, and I can still only come up with five ridiculously small, only moderately meaningful, things that I would have done differently.

I think the main lesson in all of this looking back is that it is most important to focus on the fact that you are getting married to the person that you have chosen to commit yourself to for the rest of your lives. Even if it isn't exactly perfect, even if you have to step on toes, even if you accidentally put a hyphen in the wrong place on the delicately cut menus that match your bridesmaids sashes that are made from the same fabric as your Mother's...at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is that you are married.


Best of luck to all of you!!

--Mrs Corn


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*Previously in this series...

I'm so glad I did this:
renting a full length mirror
setting my DIY deadline for a week out from the wedding
making arrangements for my disabled father so he could participate
having an 'open-door policy' at the site where I got ready
going a little overboard with the theme


I wish I could fix this:
being too proud to start a few minutes late
not testing all of the directions before sending them out
forgetting to pause before rushing down the aisle
handling the cake cutting logistics


succumbing to pressure and tossing my flowers

The alternate to being given away

It doesn't surprise me that many people think that the whole 'who gives this woman to this man' part of the ceremony is antiquated and chauvinistic.

What does surprise me is how many people apparently don't realize there are other alternatives.

Below is the wording from our ceremony supplemented by the choreography we worked out. Hopefully it will help someone out there...

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*Processional (everyone walked down the aisle, the last of which was me escorted by my dad who remained standing with us at the 'altar')
*Statement of the Gift of Marriage
*Prayer (the 'congregation' sat at this point)

Declarations of Intent
Davis, understanding that God has created, ordered and blessed the covenant of marriage,
do you affirm your desire and intention to enter this covenant. I do.

Miriam, understanding that God has created, ordered and blessed the covenant of marriage, do you affirm your desire and intention to enter this covenant. I do.

Affirmation of the Family & Friends
Guy and Karen (Davis' parents), do you give your blessing to Davis and Miriam, and promise to do everything in your power to uphold them in their marriage? I do.

Marty and Peg (my parents), do you give your blessing to Davis and Miriam, and promise to do everything in your power to uphold them in their marriage? I do. (my dad was still standing with us at this point, so my mom stood up at her seat and they both said, individually, 'I do'.)

And do you, the witnesses to this union, give your blessing to Davis and Miriam, and promise to do everything in your power to uphold them in their marriage? We do. (at this point, my dad joined Davis' and my hands together, gave me a quick peck on the cheek, sat down next to my mom and the ceremony continued)

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See...narry a degrading word or action in sight.

Dream big, kids....dream big

Not to be outdone by Mrs. Ant's gorgeous spread in the June/July 2008 issue of Modern Bride, Mr Corn and I have been feature in...



...wait for it...



...the June 2008 edition of the Angie's List, Boston Magazine.

(click on the pictures to enlarge)

For those of you unfamiliar with Angie's List, it is an incredible resource for finding realistic reviews of service professionals. While it is mostly for home-related services (contractors, cleaners, plumbers, etc) they have expanded to include the medical profession (doctors, dentists, etc) and now they are including wedding vendors as well (dance instructors, alterations places, wedding gown salons, etc).

There is a yearly fee to be a member, but that gives you access to the entire list so that you can look up vendors and see their reviews. The best part about this site is that it lets the vendor know that they have been reviewed and if it is a bad review, they are allowed to explain their side of the story. This keeps the reviews pretty 'real' and very reliable.

Mr Corn and I submitted reviews for our wedding gown shop, our dance instructor and our band and we received an email from the editor asking us if we could give them more information on our dance instructor and submit a picture. And now, we are part of Angie's List Boston magazine history.

I know you are jealous.