We signed our photography contract in October and I really, really wanted to set up our engagement shoot for the same weekend 2012 as our wedding would be 2013, kinda get an idea of just how everything would most likely be 1-year out. After all, one of the perks of signing with Honey Lake Plantation is that using the grounds for engagement pictures is included in the contract, might as well make the best use of it!

Unfortunately we’d left it until too late and not only was Kara (our photographer) unavailable but there were events on her available weekends for the rest of the month. It just wasn’t going to work out before the holidays, so we went for the next best thing: Saturday, January 12th.

Now, we’d scheduled this with plenty of time to spare, so what was I doing New Year’s Day?

Realizing that neither Todd nor I had done anything about our glasses situation, that’s what.

Here I was, 12 days out from our shoot and I still had major glare to deal with and some semi-distracting frames, and Todd still had those Transitions lenses. Todd was going to need a new prescription and while he tried to get an appointment in the coming week it just wasn’t going to happen fast enough. He had a plan B, though: stunt glasses! Sure, they were just reading glasses that he couldn’t actually see much through, but they’d do for the photos without darkening in the sun.

I, on the other hand, decided to take a chance with an online site I’d heard good things about from some other bloggers: Firmoo.com

Like many online eye wear companies, Firmoo offers designer frames at low prices. And like some, they also have a deal for first-time customers (there were big banners while I shopped with the offer and code “firmoofree”; always verify for yourself, though, as that could change). In this case, it’s your first pair of frames free–you just pay for the lenses, any special requests, and shipping.

Knowing that one of my wish list items was some low-profile glasses–the kind that wouldn’t obscure my eyes or take attention from the rest of my face–I focused (hah!) on their wireless frame selection and went with the “Sarah Palin” style (0212P, can’t seem to link directly to it, so they might be out of stock) since it came in a width that I needed and an unobtrusive gunmetal color for the bridge and arms. Size selected (based on the arm length and frame width information on my current glasses), I entered the prescription information from my last check up (in April) and that was most of it. The only thing I had to figure out on my own was Pupil Distance–the actual width, in millimeters, between the center of your pupils. Usually the optometrist does this when they fit you for glasses and it’s something you can request to be on your prescription, but you can also do it yourself.

It just takes you, a mirror, and a ruler with millimeters on it, plus the ability to look straight ahead and down sort of at the same time. It doesn’t hurt to get a friend to help, but I was impatient so managed on my own.

I was a little worried about them getting to me on time, so I paid for the Express Courier Service ($12.95) figuring I might cut it close but it should still be okay. After the first-frames-free discount ($38–a steal even if I’d had to pay full price, considering my last frames I paid around $200 for) my total, with shipping, was only $42.85, a price worth the risk of ordering from an unknown entity.

The glasses arrived in their sturdy case, with a cleaning cloth and wrapped in bubble wrap inside and out.

My glasses arrived on January 9th after coming all the way from Japan–good thing I went with the express service! They also took some serious getting used to. I thought frameless glasses meant they’d just have the little fishing line-type of bands around the lenses–I never even thought about how the bridge attached. And how it attached is with two bolts into the corners of the lenses and, at first, those two center bolts were really distracting, especially when I was working in the computer.

But, just like anything else, you get used to your new normal pretty quick and I didn’t feel the need to make use of their 3-day return window.

Little bits and pieces to keep your glasses in proper working order.

Speaking of those bolts, apparently they can come loose easily (though I haven’t noticed it happening to me, yet) so Firmoo kindly includes a little key chain-addable all-in-one tool to tighten them up, along with some extra screws and nose pads. They were tucked inside a black drawstring pouch that also held my receipt and some wear and care instructions. I thought that was pretty thoughtful.

And how did they do for pictures?

Photo by Pink Shutterbug Photography

The last thing I’m noticing in this one is that I’m wearing glasses at all, so I call that a win!

Would you order glasses online without being able to try them on first?