Warning! If you’re not comfortable reading about my skivvy’s, then you may want to visit another day. :)

Tonight is my first dress fitting. I am so excited to see my gown again and also a bit nervous. I hope I still love it!

Leading up to this fitting, I’ve been running around town trying to find the perfect undergarments to wear with my dress. Unlike many gowns, my dress does not have much structure, boning or bodice built in, so I had to find something else to “suck me in.”

When anticipating what would be the hardest wardrobe piece to find for my wedding, I never would have thought about undergarments. But you would not believe how difficult it is to find the right ones! I needed something to shape my middle area and provide a “cinch” at the waist.

First I ordered some Yummie Tummie shape wear per a recommendation from a friend. She said they were great under clothes because they didn’t leave lines.

When it arrived, I was less than thrilled. It basically just laid on top of my stomach without make me look any smaller. Maybe I needed a smaller size?

I decided that the only way to get a good fit was to try some on in the store. I trekked down to Michigan Ave. on a Saturday and hit up Macy’s, Nordstrom AND Bloomingdales, all with no luck. I was surprised and frustrated that none of them had anything suitable for bridal undergarments!

As I was walking out of Bloomingdales feeling desperate, I spotted a small boutique called Intimacy-Bra Fit Stylists. A sign said they specialized in “helping women of all sizes find a fit that makes them look and feel sleeker, slimmer, and sexier,” which sounded promising.

As soon as I told them I was looking for undergarments to wear with my wedding dress, all the sales ladies directed me to a wall of bustiers, girdles and what looked like chastity belts. They then pulled out what is probably the least-sexy piece of underwear I have EVER seen!

Seriously, this thing looks like a lace cage or something! Lol. I tried it on while trying not to laughing to myself about how ugly it was. This thing requires some MAJOR pulling, tugging and adjusting before it fits.

Just as I was feeling thoroughly embarrassed to have three sales ladies yanking some granny undies onto me, I looked in the mirror and saw how TINY it made my waist look. It has boning within it that nips at the waist and smooths all over. And for all the pulling, it was pretty comfortable once in place.

So yes, I am not embarrassed to admit that I walked out of the store with this monster of an undergarment- the Rago High Waist Long Leg Shaper. It may be ugly underneath my dress, but my body is going to look bangin!

What undergarments do you guys swear by? Spanx? Hanky Panky? Victoria’s Secret?

This weekend Luke and I attended our Pre-Cana retreat on the south side of Chicago. Pre-Cana is the day long preparation class all couples who get married in the Catholic church are required to attend.

I wasn’t particularly looking forward to spending my Saturday in a room from 9:00 – 4:00, but it ended up being a pretty enlightening day. The purpose of the retreat was to prepare Luke and I not just for our wedding, but also the life-long marriage that comes after it.

It’s easy to get caught up thinking about the wedding portion without spending much time preparing for the marriage. During the day we talked about everything including: how we define the word commitment, how many kids we want to have, how we’ll manage our finances and how our faith will play a role in our lives.

My favorite part of the day was when we were asked to write each other a love letter describing our feelings about our upcoming wedding. It was nice to have a moment to document my thoughts and also to read Luke’s in return.

The letter was to start with the line “the biggest emotion I have about our upcoming marriage is…” I won’t go into detail, but some of the words used in our letters include: excitement, hope and anticipation.

I’m planning to keep those letters locked away safely, so on our anniversaries Luke and I can pull them out and re-live the emotions we’re feeling leading up to our wedding.

I wonder if we’ll have the same feelings years from now or if we’ll laugh at how naive we were! Either way, it will be a sweet memory to relive.

This past weekend was my bachelorette party in Chicago and we had a GREAT time! Thirteen of my closest girlfriends were in town to help me say sayonara to my single-dom with some dancing, drinks and a little drag (don’t even ask!).

I wanted to get my ladies all something little as a token of my thanks for helping me celebrate. I wanted the favors to be personal, something they’ll actually use and not something that would bust my bank.

Last week I was pondering what to get them while getting my nails done when I came up with the idea of buying Essie nail polish’s with names that match each girl’s personality.

I love Essie because their nailpolish names are so inventive and there are a ton to choose from. Here are some of my favs:

One of a Kind – for your friend who is unique and has a style all her own.

Eternal Optimist- for the girl who always has a smile on her face.

Jackie Oh My - for your friend with a classic style.

Hard to Get -for the girl who loves being single and playing the field.

There are so many great names to choose from! I found ones that PERFECTLY matched my friend’s personalities, which I think everyone loved. Plus it was super easy to throw the polish in their purses for a night out.

Thanks again to all my wonderful friends who came out with us to celebrate!

Hi all -

I’m one of Liz’s soon-to-be-a-bride friends guest posting this week.

Now, I myself don’t have any great words of wisdom for the wedding bound since I’m just about to walk down the aisle, but thought I’d share a cute idea and some advice from family and friends that I’ve received so far.

For my bridal shower a few weeks ago, all the ladies created a chainlink countdown (you know, like this one, ala grade school crafts —>).  

Each person wrote a note about me and my fiance, marriage or advice. Each day since the shower, we’ve been removing a link, and it’s been a fun thing to look forward to each night (especially when the RSVPs start to slow down – you know, there’s a boom at the beginning when you send out and then they slowly trickle in). I highly recommend this to anyone who has to throw a shower!

So here are some of the Words of Wisdom I’ve opened so far and have stuck in my mind -

• Those who cook together stay together
• Always have something to look forward to
• Never go to bed angry and always kiss goodnight

And of course a few funny ones -

• If you don’t get something you want, CRY, and then you’ll get it
• Avoid wearing oversized T-shirts (suited for the gym) to bed
• Remember, just because you’re married doesn’t mean you have to let him win

Enjoy!