Bridezilla? Not really...

Well... the wedding is 138 days away. That basically means it's 4 months and about a week and some change away. And all is on track. With a tiny hiccup yesterday that felt like a severe case of heart burn for about half an hour.

Getting married this fall wasn't "out of the blue". Rod and I had been talking about our futures for quite some time, but I had said I would not do any wedding planning at all until it was official and the ring was on the finger. We know... February 11th it was all official. BUT... working in the special events world since I was in college had my producer brain in a bit of a state of quandry.

October is a very popular month... and southern Illinois is quite busy at that time of year, too. I didn't want to lose out on holding rooms for wedding guests just because I wasn't sure WHEN we'd be officially engaged.

Just so you guys know... Rod and I spoke and agreed that I would make room reservations right after the beginning of the year. So the pending engagement wasn't a surprise - I knew it was coming - but I didn't know WHEN or HOW Rod would propose. If you're reading this blog, you have quite possibly read the "engagement" blog. I'll spare you any more details. Besides... with the mention of Bridezilla in the title of this blog, you are probably reading and wondering, "WHERE IS BRIDEZILLA?!?!?"

In January when I called the various Bed and Breakfasts in southern Illinois, I had one credit card my father had told me to use to make the reservations. And this card expires in August of this year - 08/10 - as one would tell any vendor asking for the expiration date.

No problem. Or so I thought.

I had one B&B email me and say that the card I gave them expired before our wedding date, so she wanted another card to keep the rooms for us. I emailed back and said I wouldn't have another card until about a month before the current one expires (which is normal practice for all credit card companies and banks to do, right?) and that was that. All the other B&Bs were fine with me calling as we got closer to that expiration date to update info. I thought this one was, too.

In February or March, I received an email from our Wedding Central B&B The Davie School Inn and Andrea the owner mentioned that at one of their association meetings some of the folks had mentioned the same concern - we had used a card that would expire before our wedding date... what should they do? Thankfully I've known Andrea for quite some time and she said that it shouldn't be a problem... we'd be traveling out to Anna this summer for tastings and I had promised to update them with a new card as that date approached. Thank you advocate Andrea!

But I had mentioned this to my father and he decided that I should use a different credit card for "all things wedding". The card arrives. It expires June 2011. WAY past our wedding date. No problem-o.

So yesterday I started calling the B&Bs that I had posted on our wedding website to update the credit card information like I had promised. I don't know why I chose to start with this one particular B&B... but I did. And I was told that our rooms had not been held because I had used an expired credit card to hold the rooms and that she had never heard back from me with an updated card.

I confess that I felt my blood boil more rapidly than lava spewing out of the Icelandic volcano that no one knows how to pronounce unless you're FROM Iceland. And I let the proprietor know my displeasure. Extreme displeasure. Anger. Livid, blood boiling, major disappointment and ready to suck the marrow out of her bones displeasure.

Anna's a small town. Maybe 5,000 people total. And I am excited to be helping out the local economy by having our wedding there and encouraging our guests to spend a delightful weekend there at the B&Bs and hoping they enjoy the experience of traveling to southern Illinois for our wedding.

This B&B had 4 rooms available. Now there was only 1 room available. I said I would not encourage my guests to call and ask for the ONE room. We haven't even sent out the official invitations yet! But several of our friends and family have made reservations for October. How fortunate are those B&B owners?

When I was told AGAIN that I had used an invalid credit card to make my reservation, my fact drilling brain kicked into high gear.

1) Is a card that expires in August of this year invalid in January of this year - 8 months prior to the expiration date? NO IT IS NOT.

2) If I took the time to reserve rooms in January for an October wedding when I wasn't even officially engaged yet, do you think that I would want to use a card that was invalid? NO I WOULD NOT.

3) Could I still be using that card to charge things for the wedding as of today? YES. How about up to August 31, 2010? YOU BET YOUR SWEET BIPPY!

4) Do credit card companies send out replacement cards 8 months before they expire? NO THEY DO NOT.

So when I was apologized to again, I said, "What would make this right for me is to let those people know who you gave MY rooms to that you made a mistake and you give me my rooms back."

No... she couldn't do that... because they had used valid credit cards.

That was it. I was DONE with this conversation. Almost.

"If you aren't willing to honor what we had agreed upon on January 8th of this year and you insist on telling me that my VALID credit card was INVALID, I hope that you remember this situation the next time someone chooses to have a wedding in southern Illinois and has people traveling from all over the world and takes the time and effort and due diligence to hold rooms for guests WAY in advance KNOWING that the card will expire and KNOWING that there are cancellation policies that we agreed to and you don't make another wedding party have to deal with this kind of unprofessional situation. As a small business owner, shame on you. Good bye."

Then I called the remaining B&Bs and everyone else was surprised I was calling in May with an updated card. They had held my rooms. They knew I'd be calling them. They are excited for our wedding. And they knew exactly who I had dealt with regarding my situation on the first call.

Whew.

My steaming nostrils cooled down and my gnashing teeth and scratching nails retracted.

I wasn't asking for something off-the-charts obnoxious or demanding unrealistic expectations of this B&B. I was merely expecting that our agreement was honored. And it wasn't. And I was upset. Obviously.

Bridezilla? No. Not really. But we still have 138 days to go. Heh heh heh...

Mid May? What happened to April?

Today is Wednesday - Hump Day - and I commented on a friend's post on Facebook that my month doesn't stop until the end of the month... so can we just make this Hump Month for me? And then it dawned on me... HOLY SMOKES! May is almost half over... the year is almost half over... my wedding planning is almost half over... WOW. April was really busy for me:

• Garrison and I competed in several dog shows in California and Arizona.
• My mom flew to Phoenix to spend time with me and cheer me and Gman on in the show ring.
• My mom drove back to LA with me so we could do wedding shopping and such.
• We visited Parker's Lighthouse in Long Beach to consider it as the location for our December wedding reception.
• I flew to Houston, Texas to attend my first National Rotating Specialty for Scotties and was given "Astronaut Scottie".
• Our Southern California Bouvier des Flandres Club had its 30th annual specialty.
• My friend Jeannette (who was the judge for our specialty) stayed at my house.
• Gman the Bouvier, Astronaut Scottie, Jeannette and I had a photo-filled Monday on Rodeo Drive.
• I flew to Haltom City, Texas to attend my first Birthday Crawfish Boil hosted by my brother and sister-in-law.
• Rod met my brother and sister-in-law and niece and nephew.

May hasn't slowed down. And it's not slowing down. Until the end of June. For about a weekend. Maybe.

Another hotel stay - this one with friends both human and hounds - over a dog show weekend.

My mom (aka Grandmommy) and Garrison at Cardinal Stadium in Phoenix.

Shopping for wedding stuff in downtown LA with my mom.


Rod and Nickel at the National Rotating Scottie Specialty in Houston.

Gman the Bouvier at the SCBdFC Specialty themed "Bouvi-lei". We didn't compete. We worked.

Gman and Astronaut Scottie hanging at Urth Caffé in Beverly Hills.

Uncle Rod, Sadie and Marc with crawfish poking sticks.

The boys standing around drinking beer and staring at a boiling bucket of water. With some crawfish in it.

Kathy Grosso's letter to the Riverside Press Enterprise

Kathy Grosso wrote this letter to the Riverside Press Enterprise after an article was run regarding the "egg abuse" video recently produced by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). Cross-posted with permission.

Dear P. J. Huffstutter:

Since you have opened the door on the subject of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), I thought it might be appropriate to fill you in on some interesting side notes.

HSUS is a well-oiled political machine, that is not what it appears to be. There is little doubt that It is closely aligned with the so-called “animal rights” activists, a fanatical group whose consuming goal is to eliminate the meat industry (they believe that everyone should be vegetarians), all pet ownership, circus animals, dairy farms, horse breeding stables, chicken ranches, dog shows, etc. In that regard, they are incrementally pushing for mandatory spay and neuter legislation, one city at a time, forcing pet owners to neuter or spay their pets. Pet lovers need to consider where they will obtain their next pets, if these people get their way, and all dogs and cats are ultimately incapable of reproducing. Their euthanasia statistics have often been undocumented and/or grossly overstated. In fact, some shelters have been reported to have “imported” small dogs from other places, states and even countries, to satisfy the demand for such pets. Much of the euthanasia numbers actually pertains to cats, very old or sick dogs, and those with temperament issues, which make them unacceptable for adoption.

The general public should be aware that less than 1% of HSUS’ total income, generated by well-intended animal lovers, is actually spent on animals. The rest pays for lobbyists, self-promotion, advertising and management salaries. As an example, Wayne Pacelle, their reigning President, earns nearly $230,000.00 per year. Despite the implications of their emotional TV commercials, they do not operate ANY animal shelters. (Please do not confuse this organization with local Humane Societies, which are, hopefully, what they seem to be and are separate from HSUS.) HSUS has been known to take credit for animal rescues that either never happened (in Haiti), or in which they never participated. As an example, your attention is directed to the following web site: http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2009/12/04/hsus-fund-raising-pitch-raises-hackles/.

In addition, HSUS is under investigation by IRS, as a result of their outrageously lopsided financial reports, jeopardizing their current tax-exempt status as a non-profit.

FELD Ent., the parent company of Ringling Bros. Circus, filed suit in February against HSUS under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. This occurred after the HSUS suit against Feld Ent., for animal cruelty, was thrown out of court.

One additional side note: a Federal Judge, Charles Simpson, recently handed down a decision in Kentucky, which essentially says that animals are “personal property”, meaning they cannot be legally seized by any public entity for failure to license, spay, neuter, microchip or vaccinate without due process of law. This landmark decision lends strength to the belief of many animal owners, that these decisions should be made between pet owners and their veterinarians, not by politicians and animal “activists”, who are often well-meaning celebrities duped into making huge financial contributions. It also means that should such seizures occur, those who perpetrate them can be sued personally and individually by the animals’ owners.

Just food for thought……..

Kathleen Grosso

Banning, CA

Another Dog Show, but the coolest venue EVER!!

Well, I suppose the premium and judging program for the Kachina Kennel Club and Arrowhead Kennel Club dog shows said it... and I read it... but today when I drove to the dog show, it was one of those "moments" where you think, "REALLY!?!?"

Oh yes, friends. Garrison and I are exhibiting this weekend INSIDE the University of Phoenix Stadium. The coolest feeling ever is to be down on the ground looking up and seeing the empty seats, players names surrounding the stadium, and I swear once or twice today I heard the first few notes of the NFL theme song. OH wait. That was just me singing it. :-)

It is soooooooo cool!!!!!!!! Garrison put on his pre-game face on this morning and would have enjoyed playing ball inside... but no, no. We can't steal Kurt Warner's historic late-career thunder! ;-)



I learned today that the actual football field is natural and artificial grass with a built in irrigation system... and the ENTIRE FIELD is on a track that pushes into the stadium... or outside. No... Arizona Cardinal fans, don't worry. When #33 goes down on the field this season, he's not gonna get up saying, "Man... do you smell dog pee?" The entire football field has been rolled outside. The dog show is on the concrete that resides underneath the incredible field. I'm not necessarily a Cardinals fan... but I am a football fan... and a sports fan... and obviously a dog lover... which is why I created Sportz Dawgz two years ago. I like to look at this weekend being one step closer to getting my dog world and my dog toy world integrated into the sports world.

www.sportzdawgz.com

The venue itself is new to both me and the Gman, but he was ecstatic to see his friends Gina and KayCee Klang (Briard folks that we set up with in Tucson a few weeks ago) and then, oh happy day, Grandmommy flew into town! His cute little nub wiggle-waggled non-stop when he saw Grandmommy at the airport curbside and he showered her with special Gman kisses. He has chosen to sleep on her bed and next to her bed tonight.

So we're looking forward to showing again tomorrow INSIDE University of Phoenix Stadium (aka Cardinals Stadium), having Grandmommy around, talking about wedding stuff and possibly enjoying more Mexican food!

Workout Song Lists

The most recent workout song list from today, April 7 is:

Bullet The Blue Sky - U2
911 Is A Joke - Duran Duran
Music - Madonna
Just Keep Goin' On - Eric Bibb & Needed Time
I Don't Want Your Love (album version) - Duran Duran
Pulcinella: Allegro- Gnora Cediteme - Claudio Abbado; London Symphony Orchestra
Best Friend - The English Beat
French Rat Race - The Double Six of Pairs
Drive - Bobby McFerrin
She's Got You - LeAnn Rimes
Hold On - Allison Fraser (From "The Secret Garden")
Cherry, Cherry - Neil Diamond
San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair) - Scott McKenzie
Hold Me Now - Thompson Twins
Chelsea Rodgers - Prince

The man in the uniform

Yesterday I took Garrison to the park to have some awesome play time - one of our favorite things to do together. Last week I was fortunate to have a couple days of work from my former employer and it cut into our park time greatly, but I figured Garrison would appreciate me buying him dog food in the long run. At least I hope so... even though his puppy antics and ball bouncing in the house made it seem like the end of the world was upon him day after day.

One day last week I had some "down" time around lunch so I took Garrison to the park for a short play stint. As I stood in the grass throwing his beloved ball over and over, I could feel myself relaxing and enjoying the moment. For the last several years I have thought that this park time was necessary for Garrison to burn off energy, play, burn off more energy, practice herding skills, burn off even more energy, listen to me and then sleep later in the day and not chew my shoes.

The shoe chewing was a nervous puppy behavior and Mr. Chew Chew Shoe lost that nickname around December of 2008. He was actually caught in the act by a friend who gently told him, "No, Garrison. We don't chew shoes." I was told that he looked up at her with a quizzical expression, but since that day no shoe has lost its demise due to Garrison chompings. But I digress. Back to the park and ball playing.

Last week while I was enjoying this relaxing ball-throwing and happy puppy time at the park, I noticed some "workers" watching Garrison. I'm used to him getting lots of attention and stares and I admit that it's quite impressive and an amazing sight to see this large hairy dog fly across the field, stop the ball, and run back to a shady spot to sit before bringing me the ball again and hitting his own personal "repeat" button. So I didn't think much of it last week.

Yesterday we went during our normal morning time. No children were playing on the play structures. No other people were in the park. No one was playing tennis. The park was there for the Gman (or so he likes to believe every single day). The same man who walk/jogs with weights several times a week shuffled by. A car drove by and slowed down to stare at Garrison. And then I noticed a person in a blue shirt with badges sewn on standing by the fence over my left shoulder. They were on the outer side of the fence and just stood there. Then I noticed another man walk up. I wasn't sure who they were or what they were doing at the park... especially since they were in "uniform" and just watching Garrison.

Now then... I'm used to city workers at the park regularly. There is a Water Utilities building and a port-o-potty that gets quite a lot of use from them. I'm sad to say that I am aware of these things... but I keep my eyes open and observe things even if it looks like I'm not. Awareness is our best defense in life.

And I was aware of these men at the park staring at Garrison.

I was also aware of the precise moment when one of them decided to start walking over to us. I called Garrison over and he was solidly focused on his ball which I held in my hand... with his leash in my other hand.

"Excuse me... but I can't help but stare at your dog. I saw him last week and was so impressed. May I take his picture? My daughter loves dogs and she would not believe this."

"Oh sure."

Garrison stood still for the picture, but wanted his ball to be thrown again.

"Wow... he really likes having his picture taken, doesn't he?" (The man has no idea that Garrison has his picture taken on average once a day.)

And then the normal conversation took place.

What kind of dog is he? How much does he weigh? What is the breed name again? Where are they from? What were they bred to do? Are they good with kids? Who does his grooming? Does it require a lot of grooming? Do you really do it yourself? Wow he's so fast. May I pet him?

The man was from the Department of Water Utilities. He has a German Shepherd/Husky mix. The dog sheds. A lot. His daughter loves dogs. He was so excited to see us there today because he was intrigued with him last week. What an impressive dog. I agree.

Oh... and the Dept of Water Utilities is different than the Department of Water and Power. And I am thankful that Garrison is a very well behaved dog used to the "pup-a-razzi".

Found THE dress!

Well... it was bound to happen. I was going to go dress shopping at some point sooner than later... but I never thought I'd find THE dress the first time out shopping.

I know that many people say, "Oh the first dress you try on... that's IT."

That was not so in my case.

I thought I would spend a week or two going to the gym religiously before heading up north to the Bay area so that my mom and I could go dress shopping after a 4-day dog show cluster. Well, my parents got to finally take a vacation and went to Florida... and then my niece and nephew have their birthday on March 19th so Grandmommy wanted to fly to go see them... and then I decided to go to Tucson instead of Vallejo for a dog show... and the sale at David's Bridal was gonna end before my mom could get down here... SOOOOO....

My mom told me that as much as she wanted to be with me when trying on dresses and possibly finding THE dress, she wanted me to actually go shopping and possibly find THE dress... because we were in that critical "get the dress while you have time for alterations and changes" time frame. I've been told 6 months is the critical date and well... as a project manager/producer person? That's a critical date I don't want to have to get to!

So on Tuesday, March 9th I called my friend Annika and asked if she could go with me... and since I wasn't going to have to wait for my mom's schedule to work with my schedule, I decided that going to the gym for two weeks and THEN shopping wasn't necessary because I'll be going to the gym LOTS between now and October 10th.

Annika didn't answer. I left a voicemail at home and on her cell phone. Annika has an adorable 9 month old baby so she's kinda busy most of the time. :-)

Wednesday came around. I was starting to get that "wedding dress shopping" focus and couldn't shake the obsession of going shopping and figuring out what kind of dress I might want and finally trying something on. I called Annika again. And got her voicemail. Again. *sigh* Her baby really is cute.

But I wanted to go shopping on Thursday, March 11th.

So I called my friend Jen and asked if she could go with me and Thursday was the day. She would take a slightly long lunch and meet me at David's Bridal in Torrance at noon. WHOO HOO!!! I was going wedding dress shopping!

And the morning of March 11th, Annika called! She would love to go - it would be an honor for her - and she'd have to bring her baby. Hooray! Annika and Evan the Baby and Jen helping me with wedding dress shopping!!! This was gonna be fun.

Annika picked me up at 11:30am and the three of us (because Evan was in the baby seat, ya know) drove down to Torrance. She knew right where it was because it's next to a Babies R Us. How convenient for our day of fun!

David's Bridal only had one consultant that morning and she was already assisting another bride. (That sounded weird to me... bride. Hmmm... oh wait... that's me, too.) So we looked at the appointment book (how was I to know I should have made an appointment?) and 2:30 was our time slot. That would be problematic for Jen since that would be way past her lunch hour. Fortunately for her, she had been stuck in a meeting so I texted to let her know not to come.

Annika and I decided to stroll through Babies R Us so she could look at a few things and then we went to TGI Friday's for lunch. I didn't eat TOO much because I was going to be putting myself in many gowns and didn't want to look like a pooch belly, but we ate and it was yummy and we went back to David's Bridal.

The consultants (we had more than one in the store now) were busy so I glanced through bridesmaid dresses and found a style I thought would look gorgeous on Katina my Maid of Honor and I kept going toward dresses that were a deep rich red apple color. I took a snapshot of the dress hanging up and then texted her the style so she could give her two cents and then we noticed a woman scanning our area looking like I might be her next assignment.

Oksana came over and introduced herself and asked me some questions about when I was getting married, where, what time of day, indoor/outdoor and did I have any dress preferences. I pulled out a printout of "My Favorites" and told her that these had caught my eye while I was doing some web surfing, but my mind was open and I trusted her judgement on what might look good on me. Some dresses she said might not be available because they were being discontinued, but she felt that she had a decent place to start for me so that I could start to figure out what I liked and didn't like.

She escorted me to a dressing room, handed me a corset, a slip, and told me to go pick out a pair of shoes that would be about the height I would be wearing on my wedding day... and I did... and I went into the dressing room and started sausaging myself. GEEZ those items really suck ya in!

Oksana showed up with two dresses... one in ivory and one in white. Apparently they were both on my list. The first dress in ivory was pretty. Simple. And if I were cast in something that was set in the 1920's or '30's... I could see myself in that dress. But not in ivory. It wasn't doing much for me. NEXT!

The next dress was white and had rouching on the side. I had NO idea what the heck ROUCHING was until I started trying on these dresses. I don't watch Project Runway (well... I did watch part of the first season because a co-worker was on the show) so this rouching term was new to me. I called it "gathered". That's the wrong term, folks. It's rouching. I got it now. ROUCHING. And the rouching looked pretty and fit my hourglass figure well. But the dress was plain and too simple. Time to try on something else... in white.

Oksana came back with another dress... one of the least favorites on my list, but it was there because it had sleeves. The dress didn't look right. There was something about it... it just didn't look right. Annika couldn't put her finger on it either. As Annika and I stood there pondering, Oksana came back with a few more dresses and looked at us and at me in the dress. She said, "This dress? No. And it's not you. It's the dress. Trust me. It doesn't look good on anybody... not even the mannequin."

You gotta hand it to her... she was bringing over dresses I thought I liked based on pictures but she knew that I needed to try some things on to get a better idea of what I wanted in a wedding dress. I'd never done this before and it's different for every bride - I've been shopping with a few friends in my time... and it really is a personal experience.

Up until this time I had said NO STRAPLESS DRESSES! I don't like them nor do I like the way they fit my body. I don't have a lot to hold 'em up in front and my rear does it's own job filling 'em out but I think I look imbalanced in some of those styles... so I had just said no no no to strapless dresses. Oksana then said, "You know... we can add sleeves to any strapless dress." Oh? Really? Hmmm... that just opened up the market!

There was a pretty dress on a mannequin in the front... why don't we try that one on. And it shot to the to of the list. Yes, it was in ivory, but it was available in white so I was able to look past it. It had beading... cup sleeves... a light and soft appearing skirt. It was pretty. It wasn't THE dress... but we were getting closer. Something with more beading, please.

She brought out two more dresses. One was NOT right. Silver beading... too vintage looking for my tastes... and it was a pretty quick "Nope" on that one. Then the 6th dress. White. Rouching. Beads. And the kind of a dress that I walked out of the dressing room and said, "Wow... this is a pretty dress."

It felt more like what I was thinking... but it still wasn't THE dress... but it was a REALLY nice dress.

And then it was time to try on dress #7. Unfortunately for you readers, I'm not sharing as much detail on these dresses because my fiance reads these and THE dress is going to be a big surprise for him on our wedding day (205 days to go, by the way). He knows I have a dress... he knows it's white... and he knows it's not going to be strapless. So do you. Because you just read it. And you've been reading. Oh well... back to dress #7.

Dress #7 wasn't in my size... it was a size bigger... but Oksana thought I should try this one on. It was along the same lines as dress #4 and dress #6. She helped me into the gown (I always aimed for her arm and felt like I was diving every time I tried on a dress) and used hanger clips to pin the back to tighten it up. And I opened the door and walked out... and as I saw myself emerge from the dressing room... I knew this was THE dress. It looked stunning. It made me look tiny. It made me look like a princess. It made me look like a bride... and not a bride in a movie that was marrying some character... it looked like ME. But I wasn't going to make an emotional decision. Not me. Oh no. I was going to be practical! Even though Annika looked up at me and said, "Oh Pilar... I think this is the one." I said, "I do too."

So we had narrowed down this search to Dress #6 and Dress #7. I decided it was time to complete these pictures and make the decision. I mean... what if Dress #7 looked like crap after a veil was added on? It could happen.

I put on a petticoat that filled out the dresses a touch more and Oksana did the entire veil presentation... long veil... elbow veil... blusher veil... comb... tiara... head band.... egads.

I put my hair up and when the veils were put on my head and I was in Dress #6... I just stared in the mirrors. I was getting married and this moment was not about the guests... the food... the flowers... the music.... it was about me. And I'm not comfortable with things being all about me. Just read my posts on Facebook sometime... how many of them are about me vs. my dogs?

So now it was time to slip back into Dress #7.

And this time... with my hair up... the petticoat underneath... and the veils... I knew. Well, actually... I started to tear up and get all emotional and junk. Annika did, too, and it hit me that this was THE dress. This is THE dress I'm wearing on October 10th as I walk down the aisle on my Aunt Barb's farm to marry the most wonderful man who loves me for me and asked me to marry him and share lives and have a family and care for one another and support one another. This is THE dress that little girls dream of wearing some day and hope and pray to find a man that is worthy of her love and devotion. This is THE dress that my father will see me in as he escorts me down the aisle and kisses me and hands me over to Rod in his approval of this man taking his only daughter as his wife.

Thankfully, October 10th will not just be "all about me", but it will be all about me and Rod and our commitment to one another and the start of our lives as man and wife. And I'll be wearing THE dress that's perfect for me.

And I'll be wearing it again the next day for pictures around the farm... and on December 3rd at our Los Angeles reception... and then that might be it.

Y'all will have to wait until October 10th to see THE dress. Just like Rod.