Inspiration Board

Now that you know which dress I chose it's time to reveal the look we're going after, the only way I can describe it is: Old Hollywood Glamour. I think it's the dress and Mr. Encore's uniform. We chose the colors based on the peacock feather and I hope to have a peacock feather here and there.

I'm still trying to decide on a veil or no veil...I know, this encorebride is considering a veil....yes I am. What type of veil do you guys think will work with the dress?

My Dress!

After unanimous votes by those closest to me, I chose:

Yes, I'm a super Pronovias fan but I ended up choosing a Maggie, I don't think I can go wrong with a Maggie, it does something great to curvy girls! I ordered this same color too, Light Gold, can't wait to see it!!! Oh yeah, did I mention I haven't seen it in person? Well, it's a little hard to shop from here BUT I tried on wedding gowns in the past and I knew I needed an A-line with a corset top. I think I have a winner. Don't you think?

The Dress!!!

Planning a wedding from Iraq is hard, shopping for a dress is even harder! I picked a few gowns I liked. I emailed my sister, best friend, mom and Mr. Encore for their votes and I made my decision.

These were the runner ups:

Pronovias-Radiante

Pronovias-Francoli

Enzoani-Dorothea

Maggie Sottero-Scarlet

Can you guess which one I picked?

It's Coming Together-Invites

The chapel and reception dinner restaurant are booked. With the two major vendors out of the way I can now look for the details such as invitations. We are still going for a peacock "theme" but we are on a budget and sadly at $7+ a pop these are over our budget. We are only going to need about 25 but still, we can use that money somewhere else. I haven't seen too many peacock invites that I liked so I may have to go the DIY route. Of course there is this minor thing called distance, as in, I'm-in-Iraq distance. But that's OK, I'll find some space around the floor to print, cut and glue these bad boys!

Etsy

Do you know of any invitations web sites I should take a look at?

There's a Date and Place

Not only do I have my ring, we also have a date and place. It is only weeks after I return home so there will be a lot of planning from here, not to mention there will be no DIY projects. So, without further due...we are getting married in:

Yes, wonderful Las Vegas, we'll have the ceremony at the Little Chapel of the Flowers:

 Little Chapel of the Flowers

The Chapel is much nicer than I thought inside and we will have a small dinner with the few family and friends that make the trip.

Any recommendations on where to eat, stay or play?

I Got The Ring!

Please forgive my MIA status, it's been a busy month. We went back to the states on leave and enjoyed both Mr. E's and my family. And guess what, I got my ring!!!!!

TBD... I'm sorry, I have to go, we just had an incoming round.....

What keeps you going?

I ask myself that question very often. I've been in this country now a few months and it took a lot of work to get here. I "heavily" volunteered to come here; I know this is something I had to do for my career and myself. Luckily for me I ended up in a totally different area that I was supposed to and I work closely with Mr. Encore, I could not have been more blessed. 

The downside to this wonderful opportunity is that my life is confined to a very small compound; it was hard the first few weeks. It only took me a few minutes to walk from where I sleep to where I work (and they are at opposite ends). Lately though, time has been ticking and when I walk that path to my living quarters I wonder how can I keep going? How can one do the same, day after day, away from your family and friends, away from my "life" back in the states? I wonder...what keeps me going? I have no kids, pets or plants back home, no human or living being depends on me. 

I have my parents, siblings and Mr. Encore's family to provide support and encouragement, but they are very far, they do not depend on me. If I had kids I knew I would be doing it for them, but I don't. I'm not sure where I keep getting the fuel that keeps me going, all I know, is that I do. I wake up every morning, go to work, maybe fit in a workout during the day, I go eat but always go back to work. Some nights I've been at the office over 12 hours, once I get "home" I just do the same, take a shower, check emails and go to bed. 

The upside is that the days start to run into each other and by the time you really pay attention at the date, another week has gone by. Most of us count down our time by the weeks or months and I haven't been here long enough to even start counting down. Some people say this feels like prison (most are civilians) but I disagree, prisons don't have wonderful cafeterias with an "all you can eat" menu, or wonderful gyms with indoor pools, even beauty shops where we can get manicures, pedicures and facials. 

This is a period of our lives where we are stripped of all the "stuff" we own to include our civilian clothing, our families and friends and our regular lives. We give all that up for the mission, whether we agree or disagree with the politics. This is all about given someone else a better future even if it may never look like our own but in their world this is a free as one can be. I think that is what keeps me going.

What about you? What keeps you going?