Soon to Be Mrs. Patti

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

2009-10-13T07:07:00.002-04:00

Several of you have asked about the future of the blog - namely when I was going to change the title and its description. Well, a few months ago I'd already decided that when the time came, I'd start a new blog - leaving Soon to Be Mrs. Patti in tact as my place to chat about our wedding.

My new blog is called Welcome to Mrs. Smithville, and there I'll continue to talk about the wedding (but from my current perspective) as well as whatever else is going on in my life that is blogworthy. I've moved my post-wedding posts from Soon to be Mrs. Patti over, but will be double posting anything directly wedding related (namely recaps).

So come see my new place. I hope you'll make yourself comfy and spend some QT in Smithville.

♥

The Google Bride, or, What Google Failed to Mention (part 3)

2009-10-09T13:35:00.001-04:00

...and we are back. If you?ve stayed through Parts 1 and 2 you know that the day was full of surprises. Only 2 more surprising things to discuss.

Google failed to mention....

6. How difficult sitting would be. I knew my dress, in all of her fabulousness was a thick. And even though she fit like a glove, sitting was an ordeal. An ordeal Im sure that our videographer and several guests witnessed. That is why having our meal served (see #4) was a nice treat. Usually, when I needed to sit down the Hubs had to step in and assist (by pushing the chair, or just supporting me as I plopped down). We ended up taking the hotel shuttle to and from the venue and that was just as difficult. I could not see my feet for most of the day, so lets just say getting in and out of that shuttle was ?fun? And by fun, I mean scary and slightly unnerving.

7. How being fully in the moment can be joyously overwhelming. I cant describe the experience of walking down the aisle towards the man of your dreams. It was amazing. And exhilarating. And overwhelming. I was on the verge of tears as soon as we got to the venue. It was like the hugeness of the event that was about to transpire got the best of me. But I was still experiencing extremely positive affect. I managed to wait til it was time to walk down the aisle to cry. By the time I got to Hubs, I had composed myself again. But the feeling was still there. And it hung out with me for the rest of the day. Because for the rest of the day I tried to stay in the moment. Time to cut the cake? I am there. Dancing at the reception and entertaining friends in our suite afterwards...there and loving every minute. It was an wonderful on-another-level-type-of-day and I tried to be fully present and in the moment for thrill of it all.

That is all I got for now. As I look back over this list, I will concede that some of these things I probably needed to experience to believe or did not know to Google. But some of the others? I feel like that stuff should have shown up in at least one of my queries. Oh well. I was not informed, but I am okay with knowing that at least I have passed the knowledge on to you. And now we all know!

♥

The Google Bride, or, What Google Failed to Mention (part 2)

2009-10-09T12:11:00.001-04:00

In Part 1, I started sharing some surprising aspects of my wedding day experience. But I only got through the first part of the day. Lets pick up where I left off. Some other stuff Google failed to mention was...

3. How hot it was going to be under my dress.Its okay, I know its funny. You can laugh. Google told me that the average high temp on October 3rd was going to be mid-80s. I grew up in SoFla, so that was not surprising. What was surprising was how hot I got under my dress. Like, under the skirt part. My upper body and torso were fine (thanks to MdOH Dani and her pre-corset regimen), but it was unbelievably hot down by my legs. I wanted to lift up my skirt to get a breeze. Over and over again. Too bad I had on too much dress to pull this off effectively.

4. Some brides and grooms eat at their reception. I have no idea why it is common for the newlyweds to skip the actual eating part of their reception (usually not on purpose). Well, that is not true. The eating part is an excellent time for the couple to visit each table and greet their guests. But there was NO WAY we were spending all that money on food to turn around and not eat it. So we ate when everyone else did. The event staff even served us, so we did not have to get up (you will see why that is important soon). I am proud to report that I know first hand that our brunch was delish. And worth (just about) every penny we paid for it. Yumm.

5. That when dumped in orange juice, cheap champagne is just as satisfying as something more expensive. How do I know? Because I consumed more champagne and mimosas on October 3rd than I have in my entire life. The champagne I was drinking cost about $5 a bottle (of course I got it on sale), and tasted great. Well, the part that I could discern was not the OJ tasted great. I looove mimosas.

Lets hit pause. At this point we have been outside (to have our pictures taken) and eaten something. Plus and plus. There are a couple more things that I want to share in Part 3.

...(one more time) to be continued.
♥

The Google Bride, or, What Google Failed to Mention (part 1)

2009-10-09T11:37:00.001-04:00

I debated on when to come back to the blog because I really wanted to go right into recaps. But our professional photos aren?t back yet (and my photographer is getting married this weekend ? congrats Chelsey!), so I?m going to wait to do the official wedding recaps. In the meantime, I?ll just find something else to prattle on about. Today?s victim: resourcefulness...or things that managed to surprise me on wedding day. Lemme explain and then you can decide for yourself what I?m really talking about.

I consider myself to be fairly resourceful. When it came to wedding planning, I often needed a prompt answer because I was trying to make a quick, but informed decision. My favorite place to consult? The interwebs. Google in particular. And over time, my friends started calling me ?the Google Bride.? It also didn?t help that I kept saying ?I read that [insert conversation point] on the internet...? or ?all you gotta do is Google [insert subject}? lol.

And while I feel like Google kept me pretty well informed on the wedding front, there were several things that I felt surprisingly unprepared for. It?s like Google failed to mention...

1. It was plausible that I would be calm and pleasant while getting ready. Everything I read about this part in the timeline suggested that it would be crazy, hectic, and that I would not feel like I had enough time to do anything. That was not the case. Even with the hair and makeup schedule being a little behind (or at least I think it was...I wasn?t wearing a watch and they took away my BBerry), I did not feel rushed. Thanks to my fab ?maids I was able to ease into the day and spend some quality time chatting and laughing with my favorite ladies.

2a. That several people would attend the ceremony and not stay for the reception ? and not tell us. Including out of town guests! Ya?ll know how I feel about wedding guest behavior: people need to do better! Okay, moving on to my second point...

2b. Almost everyone showed up. I?d read in several places that a significant percentage of people who RSVPd would end up not attending the wedding. Its one of those things that you cant really prepare for (cause its always plausible that they could turn up). However, I am pleased to report that only 2 people that RSVPd did not actually make it to the event. I just was not expecting that! But it?s a good unexpected. Since we?d already paid for their food ? lol.

But that was just the beginning. In Parts 2 (and 3), I?ll talk about several other places where The Google Bride was caught unawares.

...to be continued.
♥

Guess Who's Back?!

2009-10-08T19:52:00.004-04:00

Me! With a husband!

Most days I wake up and I still cant believe it.

For those of you who haven't seen the pics on facebook, the day was absolutely fabulous. Everyone looked fantastic, the decor was my envisioned simple elegance, and the events proceeded according to schedule - including us starting on time (take that nay sayers). Despite it being one of the fastest days of my life, I was a very calm and pleasant bride. And I probably had some of that glow that you hear about on TV.

Yes, I was definitely sleep deprived.
Yes, I had barely enough of my voice left to say my vows.
Yes, our officiant remixed our ceremony...while it was in progress.
Yes, I needed an under-my-dress cooling system.
And yes, our cash bar never actually made it to the event.

But all of that pales in comparison to how AMAZING the day was.

I am so happy...and unbelievably blessed.

♥

Quick note: I went back to work today, so I figured it was time to come back to ye ole blog. I missed ya'll.

Perfect, Yet Off Registry Bedding

2009-09-20T22:03:00.002-04:00

I've never actually come out and said this, but I'm not sure I condone off registry wedding gifts...unless you know its perfect for the bride and groom.

{found it here}
This bedding is one of those perfect off registry gifts. It appeals to my aesthetic without being too girlie for the PHI. Awesome gift, but not on our registry. Perfect candidate for an off-registry gift. As were the GreenPans that MamaP gave me at my Florida shower, and the Vera Wang toasting flutes that my former-roomie Janelle gave me at my Atlanta shower. All tasteful, amazing gifts that were perfect for me.

Now, that gift basket I received from my inlaws (MamaD, sister in-law, etc) containing champagne, massage oils, candles, feathers and a pregnancy test? Not so much. I love them, but they should have shopped the registry.

♥

Dishing on J Heart P

2009-09-17T10:03:00.001-04:00

There are several things that are very common in wedding world that I've never batted an eyelash at. Today's culprit: the candy bar.

{this and more found here}
Talk about chic and amazing! If we were going to do a candy bar, this would be our inspiration. Hands down. But, as you can imagine, most of them don't look like this. But many of them feature alphabet shaped letters that spell out LOVE. Sometimes they even make an appearance on the cake table as someting extra. But considering most people I know dont even go peep the cake up close (I checked), I know that the candy and the possible adorable-nes of the dishes is missed on most guests. Not to mention the expense involved with providing a variety of candy to over 100 people. Cute, but no thank you. Maybe for a shower, but not for a reception.

So imagine my surprise today, while catching up with the Wedding Industrial Complex (aka theknot.com) I ran across these dishes:

{found them here}
I'd never seen a heart dish like this (I've seen lots of letters; most couples spell out LOVE) and I looove it. I kinda want a set - J ♥ P, naturally - and could easily see having these filled with yummies during one of our (increasingly infamous) WII/Xbox Game Nights. Or even for a more sophisiticaed soire, complete with cocktails. Fruit, candy, nuts...oh the possibilities.

That's it. I think I just convinced myself that we should order them. But after the wedding. Waaaay after the wedding.

....off to the post-wedding purchase list you go!

♥

An Open Letter to The Unexpecteds

2009-09-16T10:03:00.000-04:00

I realize that I have very strong opinions about RSVPs. I had them before our RSVPs started trickling in, and now that the deadline has come and gone (with 35 invites still outstanding – SMH), my beliefs have been further underscored. So, at the risk exposing some of my ‘zilla tude, here is a letter that I wish I could send to people who have not RSVPd but are considering showing up, also known as The Unexpecteds.

Dear Soon to Be Unexpected Guest,

The PHI and I hope this finds you well. We are very....disheartened that you have decided to withhold your stamped RSVP. As a couple, we spent money on these invitations, tried to mail them out so that you had plenty of time to respond, and only received about 70% of them back. As you already know, yours was not in that bunch.

I assume that a lack of response indicates that you are not planning to attend. Maybe I'm wrong. But I think that if you have the audacity to not respond, then I can easily have the “audacity” to assume you aren’t coming... ...and then treat you as such when you decide to attend anyway. At our wedding, that will mean that the hostesses might ask you to stand to the side while they seat the guests that RSVPd and already have a table assignment. So, if you end up exercising your “rights” as an Unexpected, please try not to act brand new. The idea that the PHI and I just knew you were coming, despite you neglecting actually tell us is ridiculous and you know it.

If I haven’t been already, I’ll be very plain. I am adamantly against making provisions for people who might show up but did not RSVP. The PHI says that I’m getting worked up about something that has not happened yet. However, I cant stand it when everyone keeps telling me that no matter how much I plan for it, people like you still manage to show up. So what does that mean? In addition to having to wait to be seated, I can’t guarantee that your table will have a centerpiece. You’ll get a menu, cause I have plenty, but we’ll only have a set number of centerpieces, and your table may not make the cut.

There seems to be a misconception that the bride and groom’s feelings will be hurt if you quickly decline their wedding invite. Maybe for some couples that is the case. But for the PHI and I, we understand that were in a recession. We’ve turned down several invitations ourselves. If you cannot make it, that’s okay. But not sending in your RSVP because you’re afraid of hurting our feelings? Not okay. Like I said at the beginning, you already know if you’re coming or not. Why do you have to wait for us to call, text, email or Facebook you?

In closing, we understand that emergencies arise all the time and that sometimes the best intentions are not carried out. However, if you are receiving this letter, that is not exactly your situation yet, is it? We would love to have you celebrate with us next month, but would prefer if you told us about it before showing up. Normally I’d suggest some alternative ways to contact us, but considering we’ve already tried to use those ways to contact you, I can only suggest carrier pigeons at this point. It is our sincere hope that you have good luck with that.

Regards,
Soon to Be Mrs. Patti

...
I know, I know. That was FULL of 'tude. I'd never actually send that to someone, but I'd be okay with people thinking I would - lol.

♥

Hav Plenty

2009-09-15T10:03:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I briefly mentioned how I struggled with figuring out the program design. But even after finalizing the design, I found something else to get worked up about.

I didn't know how many to print.

I talked to my 'maids and checked online and found all kinds of vague information.

Print one for each guest
Print one for each family
Print one per couple
Print one per couple, and one for each single person
Print the same number of invites
Print 75-85% of the number of guests you anticipate
...etc etc etc

You may have noticed that all of these guidelines pretty much hinge on knowing how many you are expecting at the event. Which is why most brides wait until much closer to the wedding to take care of them. No, this is not an excuse to do them the night before or even the week of the wedding (there is no excuse for that), but you can see why this isn't something you do when you first get engaged, right?

Ultimately, I decided to go with the percentage. I didnt know how it worked, but I could see how planning for 75% of the guests could encapsulate the singles, the couples and likely leave a few leftovers. At the time, I anticipated 150 guests, so I simply multiplied that by 75% and rounded up to the next increment of 5 for 115. Right now we only have 110 guests that have RSVPd, so were well on our way to having plenty left over.

I'm not sure if I mentioned this yesterday, but I am thrilled that this project is complete. It was my last pre-wedding DIY project (not counting the announcements or the favors) and I managed to do it with almost a month to spare (popping my collar). I really love how they turned out, and I think that our guests will enjoy their stylish simplicity.

And I will enjoy the fact that I didn't spend my last evenings as a Miss assembling programs. Lack of DIY projects the week of our wedding: priceless.

♥

Catching Up: Programs

2009-09-14T10:03:00.000-04:00

September has been one of those months. Well, now that I think about it, so was August. Anyway, the invites have gone out, I've finished my pre-wedding DIY list, we've (probably) lost a groomsman and gained his replacement, and everyone's attire is all squared away. I know. You would not know that from the way I've been posting.

So I'm going to try and get you caught up, and then bow out gracefully a few days before the wedding. Deal?

Great. Lets get started. Today lets talk about the program.

I was never one of those brides that considered the program to be optional. Granted, my conceptualization of our program has gone through several permutations, I always knew I wanted one, and that it would be teal and green. Just like every other thing with weddings, there are several ways to skin the cat (sorry Naima and BK :/) and I opted to go with one that would be practical + stylish + simple + easy to assemble. Personally, less is more with me - as a guest I'd like to know whats coming when, what the plans are for the food, and a small thank you for being able to make it. And that's all.

So I set out to create something that would be simple and stylish, not too labor intensive, and still fairly practical (as practical as programs are). Here's what I came up with:

What you're looking at is our single panel, double sided program. the program text is printed on white cardstock, and a slightly larger piece of teal is sandwiched imbetween. Please excuse those ugly blue blocks. I didnt think it was a good idea to put everyone's business out there (including the PHI's whole name), and I really wanted you to see the both sides and how they look on the teal.

Okay, since you were so good with the blue-blocked version, here's a blog-appropriate version of the text:

Before our programs, I'd never seen a program exactly like this. The next closest thing is probably a fan program - which I see all the time. In fact, if I had glued a stick between some of those layers, I could have had a fan. But considering the wedding is inside an AC venue, we did not need a fan. But I liked the concept very much and ran with it. When I did that, I knew that every inch of white cardstock was now prime real estate, and that we'd have to be strategic about what we included on (in, on?) the program.

The front features the PHI and I's full government names, the time and location, and the order of the ceremony. Following the ceremony order, there's a quick written thank you to our loved ones, and perhaps the most important tidbits of info: where to go for cocktails, and what time everyone can eat (lol). The only thing on the back is the bridal party - all 18 of them (19 if you include Godmommy who will be directing the rehearsal and the day-of activities).

Not shockingly, I used the same double border (dotted and solid), and fonts from the other paper-goods. Despite being in the same design family as every other piece of wedding paper, I really struggled with the program design. I like that the front is centered, but the back has a right justified title, and left justified text. I also really like how the green accents turned out. Less is definitely more, and I think the fact that only our names and a few headings are both green and script really helps organize the text and capture your attention.

As with the menus, I had the text printed at Office Depot on white cardstock. This time, to save some cash I found two coupon codes and had them printed in two batches. For 115 sheets (115 programs, front and back on 1 sheet), I spent about $60. The teal I got for a steal at Hobby Lobby. I was able to get 2 teal insides from a sheet and spent about $4. Throw in another $10 for adhesive and it brings the grand total for programs up to about $75. Not bad at all.

Assembly went much more smoothly as I learned my lesson from those blasted menus. I made sure that I had plenty of hands on deck and was able to knock them out over several glasses of wine and sangrias while 4 of my maids were in town for my Atlanta shower. I did all of the cutting, but BM Melissa and MdOH Dani did an awesome job making sure everything got glued together. Even the PHI got involved and helped to do some of the gluing. I was so proud. He was very careful with the materials (apparently I give off this anal vibe - lol) and did a really good job.

Sooo...I think thats all I had to say about the programs.

Oh wait, one more thing: Programs, Check!

♥

Keeping It Real

2009-09-11T10:03:00.000-04:00

My nails and I have a...unique relationship. They’re a little hard to love because...

...I have small nail beds. Like, the space where the nails sprout from is very small.

... they’re soft. And not just after a shower, or the dishes. They’re soft all the time.

... they curve up. If you’ve never seen someone’s nails do that, remind me to show you mine when they get a little length on them.

... they have a natural aversion to nail polish. Enough said.

And despite all of their flaws, I just love them. I keep them short because a lack of length helps downplay their flaws. Thankfully short nails suit me just fine. With a little clear or neutral polish, I feel like I’m doing it up big.

One of the best pieces of advice I’ve picked up along this wedding planning journey, is to trust your gut*. Especially when you’re as close to the finish line as I am. If you’re having difficulty making a decision, do a quick gut check. Now this only works if you and your gut have an open and trusting relationship (if you neglect your gut, I wouldn’t trust it not to make up stuff – lol). Anyway, while trying to decide what to do about my nails – acrylics or au natural – I did a quick gut check. And as you can imagine, it said “Girl, go get you a manicure and call it a day.”

So that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to be keeping it real.

In preparation, I went to get a mani last night to even them up, file them down, and work on those cuticles. Finished them off with an adorable pale pink polish. I think they did a really good job. Now I just have to decide if I want pinky nails, or more of a beige-y neutral on my hands for wedding day.

And for my toes... polka dots.
♥

*not that gut, your mental one. I already know that that gut is screaming “TAKE ME TO THE GYM!” – lol.

Sock it to Me

2009-08-28T10:03:00.004-04:00

Ya'll know how I feel about custom items. If I cant find it in the stores, and I cant make it myself, I have no problem turning to someone else to make it for me.

These little socks are no exception. Aren't they adorable?

When I picked out the flower girl dresses, I knew I wanted them to wear ruffly socks. In a perfect world, they'd have a teal ruffle. Well, I never found any teal ruffly socks. And I wasnt about to spend a whole lot of money on these little socks that they might wear only once (famous last words, right?). So I popped over to Etsy and found BRKids. When I contacted her, I told her I had some teal ribbon I wanted to use (because the color needed to be spot on), and would be willing to mail it to her. She told me that she would do the 3 pairs of socks I needed for $6. Yup, $6 for all three pairs. Add a few dollars (literally) to the pot, and I was able to get 3 pairs of custom little girl socks for less than $10.

I was a little hesitant about the quality when she gave me the price, but turns out that worrying was completely unnecessary. The socks are a nice high quality cotton, the ruffle is sewed on very professionally, and she finished the edges off so the ribbon wont ravel. Long story short, if the girls are interested, they will have these socks for many years to come.

Have I ever told you about my love for dainty little girl clothing? No? Hm, maybe on the next blog. Just know, these little socks are making me swoon.

♥

Are Ya Hungry?

2009-08-27T10:03:00.001-04:00

If you weren't, you might be in a little bit. Cause I wanna show you our menus!

I can only take about half the credit for this project. For starters, it was all MamaP's idea. One day we were discussing paper-goods in general, things going on the table specifically, and she mentioned that she thought it would be nice to have something on the table describing the food. I thought she meant a few table tents with the menu on it, but no. She meant individual menus. And what did I do? I agreed to do them, only if I could design them.

MamaP's idea + my DIY muscle = an awesome team.

Here's what I came up with:

Ya'll know me, they were designed in PowerPoint and they had to match everything else. I was able to fit 3 on an 8.5x11 sheet, and had them printed at Office Depot. Since were planning for approximately 150 guests (!), I decided that I should outsource the printing to the professionals. It wasn't cheap, but it wasn't terribly expensive either. Plus, I couldn't beat submitting the order online first thing in the morning, and swinging by to pick them up when I got off of work. No sweat, tears or technical difficulties. (I spent about $30 on card stock, printing and peace of mind at Office Depot.)

To finish them off, I layered them over a slightly larger piece of Moss colored card stock from Paper Source. Again, I was able to get 3 back layers out of each sheet of 8.5x11 paper. Ever since I discovered Paper Source early into the wedding planning, I've been dying to find a reason to use them for our paper-goods. And now I have! (I spent about $15 on moss card stock.)

I am not going to lie. Assembling these suckers was an unbelievably huge pain in the arse. Thankfully, BM Naima agreed to come over and help me start them, and my cousins BM Melissa and Natalie helped me finish them this past weekend. Ladies, if you're reading this, thank you from the bottom of my bridal heart.

I know $45 is not bad for about 150 completely custom menus, but I do wish they'd come in a bit cheaper. Nonetheless, I loove how they turned out and I can definitely see why brides pay good money for other people to do this kind of stuff for them.

♥

Case of the 30s

2009-08-26T10:03:00.000-04:00

Lately, I haven't been feeling up to blogging. Like I was telling one of my tweeps zoraneale, I usually have enough time and energy to do the wedding tasks, but its a stretch to accomplish the tasks AND blog about them. Plus, I cant really say that I've been accomplishing anything fun. I'm also slightly afraid that some of the 'tude I fail to issue in my everyday life will eek into my posts if I share what I've really been dealing with.

I have diagnosed myself with a Case of the 30s. Today is the 38th day til the wedding, and I all but have a new attitude. Wait, no. I just seem to have a lot more attitude - lol. But in addition to that, there are some other indicators that I've got a Case of the 30s:

I'm scrapping DIY projects. At this point, if I'm not enjoying it, and I think people wont care, and I havent started it yet....its likely to get chucked. The first casualty? The seating chart I planned to make. It was supposed to be an additional way to inform people of their seating assignment, without me having to do individual place cards. Well, I refuse to pay someone to design it for me, and I'm having a terribly miserable time designing it myself. So I'm just not going to do it. Besides, I figure this will ensure that our hostesses definitely have something to do, right?

Half the time I feel really gangsta. Especially when it comes to people RSVP-ing for the wedding. I'm waiting patientily for our RSVPs, but I have NO DESIRE to call the people who are invitably going to fail to respond. Can I delegate that to someone? My weekly personal call list has about 3 (give or take 1 or 2) people on it, and at the rate I'm going, I'm looking at calling 100 people. No f-ing way. If I have to call them, they wont be coming. I'd like to see them get in the door. <--ooh, see what I mean? Gangsta. That aint me. That is some other bride.

The other half of the time, I've stopped caring. Now, don't get me wrong. The major stuff has already been planned. What I've stopped caring about is the stuff I STILL DONT have any control over. Like our rehearsal. Is it too much to ask that we schedule a rehearsal more than 2 weeks in advance? Evidently. So my response is not to care. And my inner gangsta bride requests that you please not bring that situation up, 'cause it really pisses her off - lol.

There are also some definite positive side effects of the 30s.

For one, there's usually more partying to be had. BM Naima is coordinating my Atlanta shower and I am so excited about it! Lots more of my girls will be in tow: MamaP, MdOH Dani, BM Melissa, BM Dionne and BM Naima will all be there. My officemate from school is coming and so are some of my college and work friends. My FL shower was amazing and I know this one will be amazing too. Also, there's my "bachelorette party" that MdOH Dani is coordinating, which promises to be a good time. Plus, if for no other reason, it will be one of the first times that I have all my maids in one place - a reason to make any bride extremely happy.

Another good thing about the 30s is that there is lots of dress news. In my case, the 'maids dresses have come in (cant wait to see them!) and I have my second dress fitting on September 5th. MamaP, Dani and Naima are planning to come with. I think I'm even going to take my veil and my jewelry so we can see how the whole look comes together.

Third, we are finally paying off some of these wedding bills! Enough said, right?

And lastly, my onset Case of the 30s means something pretty important and exciting in itself: that I'm that much closer to the day I marry the PHI and the wedding planning is almost over! Despite my (seeming) ridiculous diagnosis, I am still thrilled about the wedding and about being his wife. I'm also thrilled that wedding planning is almost over and am looking forward to blogging about my other interests- like the Real Housewives of Atlanta, cooking, baking and other everyday randomness.

So to summarize, what have we learned about a Case of the 30s?

If you really want to accomplish a DIY project, do it early.
Your case of the 30s could manifest itself in the absence of 'tude, the presense of additional 'tude, or a little of both.
Dont worry, there's a good bit of the good stuff to counterbalance some of the crap.
Stick it out, cause by the end you'll be married.

Long story short? Come on October 4th!

♥

Food for Thought: RSVPs (part two)

2009-08-25T13:03:00.000-04:00

Earlier in part one, I talked about electronic RSVPs and why they are so appealing. But now I want to talk paper. And there is definitely some strong support for utilizing the USPS for wedding correspondence.

{yes, those are our current stack of RSVPs}
To some, electronic RSVPs are right up there will calling the couple to let you know they're attending. It just makes the whole responding process that much more casual. Which is fine if you're planning an informal wedding in a state park. But if you're going for a formal and elegant affair having people email their RSVPs doesn't exactly send a cohesive message about the formality of your wedding.

A related point is what to do about the senior citizens that might be attending (or planning to attend) your wedding. Both of my grandparents are octogenarians that don't email. However, one our guests, one of Granma's BFFs Miss Alyce does email, and she's well into her 80s. All that's to say that if your only options for RSVPs are electronic ones, its plausible you may have to make special concessions for your older (or non-tech savvy younger) guests. Not a deal breaker, but just something else to consider.

Paper RSVPs could also be a nice keepsake. One of our early RSVP designs had a space for guests to write a message to the PHI and I. I canned that for a more classic design, but I liked the sentiment behind including something like that. On a more practical note, I've also seen couples use that blank space on the RSVP card to obtain infromation about their guests plans for travel and accommodation. If you have alot of guests coming in from out of town and/or are coordinating their transportation from the ceremony to the reception site, having this kind of information as early as possible is invaluable.

Some critics argue that having a card mailed back is really old fashioned. Not just traditional, but old fashioned (negative connotation and all). And on this point, they're actually right. People have been using RSVP cards a looong time, all the way back to the days where written correspondence was the only way to correspond. Most people I know no longer send hand-written correspondence. They dont own any form of personal stationary, nor do they feel the need to send written notes for any reason other than graduations or weddings. Maybe its just me (cause I love stationary, especially if its personalized), but I think that's kinda sad. Im starting to feel like hand-written notes are becoming a lost art form.

I cant say that we struggled with the decision of what to do about our RSVPs. The PHI could care less and I knew right from the beginning that I wanted our invitation suite to include printed cards and envelopes. Personally, I love sending and recieving mail. So seeing a few of those 4Bar sized envelopes in our mailbox daily makes me immesely happy.

But that's me. And these are just some of my thoughts about RSVPs. At this point, I'm more interested in what ya'll think.

What are your thoughts on RSVPs? Is there a technological line to be drawn when it comes to weddings? Or does anything go?

♥

Food for Thought: RSVPs (part one)

2009-08-25T10:03:00.001-04:00

{source}
The other day I was reading something on the interwebs about the changing face of RSVPs. Essentially, the article was saying that with all the newer and popular ways to interact with people, that some couples feel like the time honored tradition of mailing a card and requiring that you guests mail it back to you is passe.

I can honestly see both sides.

I think that the onset of social networking like personal websites, blogs, twitter and Facebook have allowed us as a society to let our guard down so to speak. Oftentimes people announce the latest and greatest of their lives to thousands (if not millions) of strangers before their own parents and family hear about it. Therefore, what is the harm in having your wedding guests email you, or leave a message on your website to let you know they are planning to attend your wedding? Evite has been doing it for ages, and companies like Paperless Post are seemingly bridging the gap between the way we used to do it, and the way people are doing things now.

There are also some financial benefits. We have been subjected to annual postage increases for the past couple of years, and mailing invites with enclosed pre-stamped RSVPs can really add up. Our of the 96 invites we mailed out, we had to stamp about 60 outer envelopes, and ALL 96 of the inner RSVP envelopes. Thankfully, I purchased 100 stamps shortly before we got engaged, another 100 or so right before they went up in May. Between save the dates, thank you notes and the invites, I still needed a few stamps to get everything out the door on time. I've stopped thinking about how much we've spent on stamps. Now I just buy them when we need them.

And not to mention that having electronic responses is considered to be very current and fairly cool. So if you are a couple that relishes in bucking tradition and doing things your own way, I can easily see how having people rsvp on your website, or on your twitter page (since Bossip says tweeps cant be deleted) could be totally up your ally. Its just you, keeping it real, communicating with your guests in the way your choosing.

I cant get mad at that. The wedding industry encourages you to do your wedding, your way. And if you way involves electronic rsvps, then I am all about doing it.

I'm sure you can anticipate the opposing argument. But pop by a little later if you're interested in what I think about leaving things more like they already are.

Adventures in Nesting: Husband Training

2009-08-19T22:03:00.002-04:00

This post is not about the wedding, but rather the part that happens when you aren’t planning the wedding: the nesting. Were having quite a few guests at the end of the month, and I want the apartment to be ready. As a result, I’ve been spending a lot of my spare time nesting – more so nesting than wedding planning (gasp!). Before we begin, I need to introduce a term that you may or may not be familiar with.

Shaping: the reinforcement of successive approximations to train a type of behavior. Not to be confused with what Pavlov achieved with dogs. A guaranteed-to-be-covered concept in every introductory psychology course.

And as you may have guessed from that definition, one of my adventures in nesting has been “training” my (soon to be) husband. The behavior I’m trying to modify? Wet bath towel placement.

You didn’t think it was anything serious, did you? Shame on you if you did!

But anyway, in the 2 years that the PHI and I have been together, I’ve been working on him and what he does with his wet towel. As someone who’s lectured about learning theory a gazillion times, I decided to use the shaping technique. Small modifications to already occurring behavior to achieve a more desirable response. It was slow going before we started living together, but now he’s doing extremely well! Here’s how it played out:

- When we first met, the PHI would leave the towel balled up or just thrown down wherever he left it. It got funky fast and left wet spots in its wake. Gross.

- I suggest stretching the towel out over the edge of the bed, since the wet towel is already in the bedroom. The PHI starts stretching the towel out over the bed, but I think that over time the bed will suffer from the daily additional moisture.

- I move the wet towel stretched over the footboard to the bathroom and hang it over the bathroom door. This is a case of not having a good place for it in the bathroom. At the time we only had one bar (where my towel usually lives), so the next best place (still in the bathroom) was the door. PHI has recently started hanging his own towel over the door (yay!), but it makes the door hard to close.

Which brings us up to today – I think we’ve made excellent progress. As many of you know, it’s hard to change a habit, even for someone you love. I recently installed a hook on the back of the bathroom door for our towels, so that’s my next move getting him to hang his towel there. And I promise, after he does that I will leave his towel alone.

I realize that what the PHI does with his wet towel is not a terribly big deal in the grand scheme of things. But considering the relationship I have with our towels, it makes me happier to know that they’re being treated a little better while in use. And if nothing else, the smell (or lack thereof) alone is worth it.

♥

Mama's got a brand new dress

2009-08-18T10:03:00.000-04:00

One of the highlights of my whirlwind FL shower weekend was that I finally got a chance to eye-ball MamaP’s ~~dress~~ gown!

I wanted her to try it on so that I could snap a pic, but we ran out of time. Hope the catalog pic will tide you over til October. MamaP found this lovely while dress shopping in Ft. Lauderdale with my Godmommy a couple months ago. The color is called “Praline” which I think is fitting and will be very pretty next to my light ivory, and the dark teal that the ‘maids are wearing. I can’t remember the exact dollar amount, but the gown is coming in well under $200, and that includes the cost of the alterations! The seamstress at the store she purchased it from is going to convert the shawl that comes with it to a short-sleeved bolero jacket (ya’ll that know MamaP know she loves her bolero jackets) that looks kind of like this.

The best part? Her ensemble will totally coordinate with mine. From the color to the design, its like her dress is the fabulous, non-bridal, more mature equivalent of mine. Hmm, that’s actually a pretty good definition of MamaP – the fabulous, non-bridal more mature version of me.

::giggles::

♥

Today is a Good Day

2009-08-18T09:03:00.000-04:00

August 18th is a good day.

In fact, if I had to choose a lucky day, today would be a strong contender.

For starters, 2 of my very best friends (who also happen to be my bridesmaids) were born today. Yup! BM Tamerah and BM Naima are celebrating another year of fabulousness.

Second, two years ago today, while celebrating BM Tamerah's birthday over dinner, I met my future husband at the Olive Garden. Who knew when I saw that sexy man moving those dishes (he was working as a bussboy at the time) that I'd be marrying him?!

So see, August 18th is a good day for me. A lucky day. A blessed day.

Naima and Tamerah, Happy Birthday. I hope its as fabulous as you are!

And to HJCS (aka The PHI): 2 years down, a lifetime more to go!

♥

Another post about cake :)

2009-08-17T20:33:00.003-04:00

Frequently I get newsletters from theknot.com. Not quite so many that I feel spammed, but regularly enough to only skim them. Today’s email contained a newsletter – not sure how often this comes out – that informed me that one of the choices we made for our cake is one of 7 (New!) Cake Trends. See for yourself:

Go figure. I don’t know if its brides flexing their recessionista muscles, or people are finally starting to admit that fondant is lovely to look yet more expensive and funny tasting, but I’m glad to see that the sage advice of icing your cake in buttercream is finally becoming mainstream. We picked buttercream for our cake only because I looove buttercream. The fact that it’s more reasonably priced is just icing on the cake (pun intended – lol).

If you’re interested in viewing the other trends you can check them out here. All this talk of cake is making me hungry. Off to see if there’s one last slice of strawberry layer cake…

♥

Who does that?

2009-08-13T23:03:00.001-04:00

Uninvited guests: the bane of every bride’s existence.

See, you spend all this time strategically deciding who to invite, thinking through all the possible justifications for why they make the cut, and agonizing over people who don’t get a high enough grade on your rubric to guarantee the invite.

And all that is before the invitations even go out. In fact, usually its before you know what they’re even going to look like! Not surprisingly, as October 3rd approaches, I’ve been having more run-ins with possible uninvited guests. And I’m always pretty surprised at the source of the inquiry. Actually, my response each time has been “Who does that?!?” Here’s whats happened (so far):

My first run-in came from one of my ‘maids. Long story short, she wants to bring her boyfriend to the wedding and for several reasons – the main one being that neither I nor the PHI have a relationship with him – we’ve essentially told her no. Honestly, I thought the matter was settled a year ago (yes, I am saying that in a year we still don’t feel like we know him; long story). But I was accosted at my FL shower about this dead-horse issue. The difference this time was she asked me in front of a small crowd of people. So I couldn’t say “What makes you think he’d be invited now when his name is not on the invitation label I printed last week?” like I wanted to (lol). Instead I punked out and said “We’ll have to see when the RSVPs start coming in.” I can’t believe I said that. I can’t believe she wants to invite someone to our wedding. I know, it doesn’t put us on the hook for actually giving him a seat at the reception, but I think opened her up to the possibility. But in all seriousness, who does that?

The next run-in came the very next day. I was at MamaP’s house packing my suitcase and trying to figure out how to get mostly everything home when there was a knock at the door. It was my mama’s godbrother’s ex-wife (were you able to keep up with that?) wondering why she had not been invited to the shower. She heard about at her ex-mother in law’s (MamaP’s godmommy) house, and after hearing that the shower was fab, proceeded to find out what happened to her invite. Thankfully she blamed MamaP and not me for the “oversight.” But my favorite part was when she said “I guess that means I wont be invited to the wedding…” Yup, especially after that stunt you just pulled, you’re probably right. Who. does. that.

My most recent try arrived in my inbox (yes, you read that right) last week during a pit stop to drop off the stuff we got at Sams. The PHI and I were having a domestic day (I’m now off every other Friday) and we took the opportunity to run some errands together. He’d never done Sams, and I imagine that from now on I’ll probably be venturing in there alone – lol. But anyway, for the sake of not getting worked up, the email was telling us that my sister-in-law’s sister-in-law (I know) has not only invited herself to our wedding, but has already purchased a plane ticket to SoFla.

Say it with me: who does that!?

It was initially framed as a question (i.e. “is it okay if she comes) but eventually turned into a request, complete with offering to pay for her plate and a reminder that she doesn’t have much family and considers the PHI and his family (her in-laws) to be her family too.

Fine. This stuff is all gradually driving my pressure up.

But not anymore. I’ve deposited here, I’ve told my friends (and co-workers), and now I’m back to the old Patti we know and love. I refuse for people to take away our choice in the name of wanting to celebrate with us. We’d love to invite everyone. But we cant. Nor are we going to initiate our own personal recession by trying to. So I’m putting it out there:

If you thought you were getting an invite and it never came, we’re sorry.

If you read my blog, and are interested in coming, thank you (!) but I am very sorry.

And if you think that you can just bop your way over to the Harriet Tubman* Theater on October 3rd, and we’re going to just let you in without a returned RSVP nor an initial invite, you’re sorry.

::stepping down from my soapbox::

I’ll be back very soon with pics and info on our invites and our menus that I just had printed. Unfortunately the invites didn’t price out as cheap as I’d like, but our invites more than made up for it. I am just swooning with love for them.

xoxox

*hilarious inside joke from my FL shower. Pics and recap are on the list, I promise.

I Got Shoes!

2009-07-30T10:03:00.001-04:00

Remember how I was telling you yesterday about my secret fret list? Well, I am happy to report on another item that has recently seceded from said list: my shoes.

Yes, I know. I love shoes. And I used to talk about shoes ALOT. Then I decided that I was going to wear shoes I already own - fabulous teal peep toes. But then I came to my senses and realized that despite our ceremony being only 30 minutes long, that would mean 30 minutes of me standing still in heels. Not a good look. Not going to happen.

So I solicited the assistance of my fabulous honor maids to help me find shoes that were flat, allowed me to have my toes out (can we say cute pre-wedding pedi), but still gave off a "bridal" vibe. In my mind that should have been easy to find, but I was having a really hard time finding a viable option. MnOH Krissi really came thru for me, and found these little darlings on Piperlime.

{found them here}

Before I found shoes, I was really dreading having to buy them. See, the best part about wearing shoes you already own is that you've already paid for them (duh!). However, I cant get too worked up about these little things - they only cost me about $30. Cute and budget friendly is definitely my kind of shoe.

I have to start my dress fittings within the next couple of weeks as I'm told they could take up to 4 weeks to complete, and now I'm ready. My shoes were the last thing I needed to get. Now when I go for my fitting, the seamstress and I will be able to adequately decide if Elle needs to be hemmed, and how to arrange her bustle.

65 days to go! Yay shoes!

♥

Where's Patti?

2009-07-29T10:03:00.000-04:00

So I completely fell off last week. Normally, I'd say I wasnt sure what happened, but I know exactly what happened.

These happened.

Yes, my lovelies, those are our wedding invites, all assembled, addressed and almost ready to go in the mail. And you know what that means - its almost time for another tell-all post about how I pulled them off. Like last time, you'll have to wait until they are hand-delivered (on August 1st) and mailed. Once I get word that they've made it to the West Coast, you and I have a hot date with the invites. I better start saving up some energy, cause I got a lot of 'splainin to do.

This week (so far) and last week have been full of hunting down addresses, printing labels, using my glue runner and dots, checking and double checking lists, and shouting curse words at the guestlist that finally stopped growing (at 188 guests). My last assembly tasks are to seal them and add the postage.

Ahh, postage. Postage has been on my list of things that I've been secretly fretting about. I really wanted them to only need 1 stamp. One regular (now) $0.44 stamp. The way to do that is to make sure it weighs less than 1 ounce, is not square, and does not have any raised areas. So light, rectangular, and flat. I did that. But I couldn't really relax about it until I took it not one, but two places to be weighed.

They came in at .8 ounce.

So now I can transfer the fret to something else. Maybe the rehearsal and the rehearsal mixer dinner. But that's a story for another day.

Today I am basking in the glow of a mission accomplished. I'm pretty sure I love our invite suite - in all of its one-stamp-needing glory - way more than you're supposed to love paper. They are simply fab, classic without being fussy, and deliciously kiwi and teal.

::swoon::

♥

Being Prepared

2009-07-28T10:03:00.002-04:00

Note: I rarely post "secret" things on this blog. MamaP reads it, the PHI occasionally reads it, and several of my bridesmaids are regular readers. Needless to say, if I want to keep it a secret, the blog is so not the place to put it. This is one of those things that should be a secret, so 'maids, you might want to skip this post, k? Cause I'm going to tell everyone else about a project that's going in your gift bags!

As many of you know, I'm a lifetime member of Girl Scouts. Its the only thing I've done longer than be in school - which is really saying something. There are several things that I have naturally incorporated in my life that I've gotten from Girl Scouting, but the one that rears its head most often is our motto: be prepared. All of the tedious planning I've done up until this point has been motivated by that simple statement. And last night, I made something that will hook my 'maids up in the event some unforeseen issue comes up.

Meet the Bridesmaid Survival Kit.

Inside, each 'maid will find tissue, band aids, a pack of Tylenol, a Shout wipe, a tube of chap stick, an emery board, a few bobby pins, and a few peppermints (my fave; pun intended).

Everything was purchased either on that travel aisle at Target or in the beauty section at Walmart, and I maybe spent about $10 total (yup, for all 6). I threw together some labels in PowerPoint that were thankfully as cute on paper as they were in my head. Not bad for $10 and about 30 minutes of my time, huh?

And can we just talk about how cute they are? I think this might be the cutest thing I've made for the wedding. Okay, maybe thats a stretch. They might be the cutest thing I've made this month for the wedding :)

Some of you may be wondering what kind of party I'm planning that would require a "survival" kit. Completely valid (and hilarious) question. No, I'm not planning to host a mosh pit in place of the bouquet toss. But, I do think that when you have so many ladies in close proximity, all dressed up, during (what I hope will be) a very exciting weekend, things are bound to happen.

So now, when they do, at least my 'maids will be prepared.

♥

Tickled Pink

2009-07-21T10:03:00.000-04:00

Look what arrived in the mail today:

My brooches!

I ended up ordering them in the japonica pink felt with the off white netting. Absolutely looove them. Anna Alicia really outdid herself. Can't wait to wear them to my shower in...11 days!

♥

Adding to My Anti-Toss List

2009-07-20T10:03:00.000-04:00

Several months ago I shared my 4 reasons for not wanting a garter toss, and asked your opinions about chucking that tradition. I never posted an update, but I'll say this: I only have one bouquet (that I fully intend on taking home with me) and have not made arrangements for a garter (yet).

However, as the wedding gets closer, I anticipate receiving more questions about this (particularly which songs we'd use) and I definitely think we'll get a few questions after the fact. I fully intend to rely on my aforementioned list as my rebuttal, plus one. This one is being added to the list post haste.

Meet Reason #5: "If you knew where it came from, you wouldn't want to do it either."

It used to be that after the bride and groom said, “I do,” they were to go immediately into a nearby room and “close the deal” and consummate the marriage. Obviously, to really make it official, there would need to be witnesses, which basically led to hordes of wedding guests crowding around the bed, pushing and shoving to get a good view and hopefully to get their hands on a lucky piece of the bride’s dress as it was ripped from her body. Sometimes the greedy guests helped get the process going by grabbing at the bride’s dress as she walked by, hoping for a few threads of good fortune. In time, it seems, people realized that this was all a bit, well… creepy, and it was decided that for modesty’s sake the bride could toss her bouquet as a diversion as she made her getaway and the groom could simply remove an item of the bride’s undergarments and then toss it back outside to the waiting throngs to prove that he was about to, uh, get ‘er done.

- {excerpt taken from The Bizarre Origins of 8 Wedding Traditions by Jenn Thompson}

Bizarre is exactly right. As a civilization, allegedly we've come alot further than this. But every week I hear about some groom spending a little too much time under his bride's dress...with the entire reception watching! Sounds like the modern day interpretation, right?

All I can say is I'm glad I hit the scene in 1982 and not 1582.

♥

You'll know whats in the cake

2009-07-16T10:03:00.004-04:00

The wedding cake seems to be one of those things that some people seek out and other people could care less about. BM Naima is a cake seeker-outer. In fact, the cake is kind of a deal breaker for her. Taste seems to be her biggie. But she also likes knowing what flavors of cake she's getting, as she is likely to go back to get a small piece in each flavor combo (am I telling all her business today or what? lol).

This small sign is for the Naima's in the world. Its nothing fancy, but I think it will do the trick nicely. I designed in PowerPoint (where else), and am going to mount it on a piece of folded green card stock. I was going to try and make the cake picture look like our actual cake, but then I figured it wasn't worth the hassle. If people (other than Naima) noticed the sign, they definitely weren't going to care if the pictured cake looks like the actual cake. And since I'm convinced most people won't notice the sign, in actuality this sign is really for me. And Naima. And now you.

♥

Another E-vitation Idea

2009-07-14T10:03:00.000-04:00

Remember how I was telling you all about Paperless Post yesterday? Well, I've stumbled upon a better idea. One that combines a my original idea and MamaP's email suggestion. I'm not terribly sure this will work, but for the sake of explanation, I'll explain my original idea first.

Initially, I wanted to either design our Rehearsal Mixer invite myself (surprise, surprise). I hadn't fully settled on the design, but had definitely narrowed it down to a few options.

{found it on Etsy!}
If I didn't design it myself, I would order this (minus the picture, plus green and teal) for our event. I think its pretty cute, yet adult, and the fonts and text can be customized in any way we'd like. How this would work is that I'd be paying for a digital design and the seller will email me the design as a .jpeg. That way we'd be free to print it however we'd like. Or not at all.

That brings me to my current idea. Mind you, this hinges on me ultimately deciding its okay to email someone a rehearsal dinner invitation. But anyway, we could get it designed on Etsy, and then email the digital image. It would look kinda like this:

{thanks again Mrs. Daffodil}
When Mrs. Daffodil did it, she went through Microsoft Outlook and then sent it to her Gmail, and then emailed it to her guests. We use Outlook at work, so I guess that's a viable option. However, I just saw that you can insert images in the body of emails in Gmail now, so I think if we do this, I'm going to just try with Gmail first.

But like I said, its still an idea right now. One I'm warming up to and that I think would work. So we'll see. Still got a little bit of time...

♥

Paperless Post

2009-07-13T10:03:00.000-04:00

What are your thoughts about rehearsal dinner invitations?

Personally, I look at them as another opportunity to send out cute invitations...and another non-budgeted line item. Yeah, I guess I feel two ways about them - lol.

But what about you? Any preconceived ideas about what they should look like?

Like I said, I always assumed ours would be paper - requiring a stamp and in a perfect world a rsvp so we'd know how many to expect at the mixer. Particularly since were inviting people outside of the bridal party. However, when I mentioned it to MamaP, she (long story short) assumed they were no big deal, and that we could send notification through email.

Email?
Email.

Up until recently, I would have openly balked at the idea. I mean seriously, how would you feel if you received a rehearsal mixer invitation over email? It would need to be done right, right? Well, what if it arrived looking like this:

This, dear readers is what you would see if your invitation or announcement was sent by Paperless Post. Paperless Post is a new-ish service that essentially sends digital invitations for a small fee (like $5 to send 60) that look like real ones. Ribbon embellishment and all (if you're into that like I am). Think of it as the Bently's of evites.

I like that I can "design" them one night, and send them out the same night. No need to have them printed, address envelopes, or hunt down stamps. And from what I gather, people can even rsvp for your event through the invite itself (like Evite).

I'm not sure I want to go the email route. And I'm not sure if I did I'd use Paperless Post. Part of me wants to have a little more control over what it looks like. Thankfully (I guess) we haven't nailed down all the details for the rehearsal and the rehearsal mixer, so I really have some time. Tomorrow, I wanna talk about another idea I have that involves emailing invitations.

But before I go, back to my original questions. What are your thoughts about rehearsal dinner invites? And what are your thoughts about receiving them through email?

♥

Favors Sneak Peek: Tag Toss-Up

2009-07-10T10:03:00.005-04:00

My cousin and BM Melissa is going to be in town this weekend, and I've been instructed to put her to work - lol. Believe it or not, its really been a struggle trying to come up with things she can assist me with. Partly because I'm on track with my to do list. And partly because I'm kinda anal and like to do things myself so I can troubleshoot when something goes awry.

But anyway, there is at least one project that I could use her help with: punching out the favor tags. Yes, I know I've been hush hush about the favors, but lets focus on what you do know. You know that they are going to be filled with green MnMs, and that they have they will have a cute tag attached to them. Considering we're making favors for 150, you can see why I'd pick this as a project BM Melissa could help me with.

Last weekend, I spent a good portion of my Saturday working out what I call tag logistics. If you remember, I originally had the tags designed by a seller I found on Etsy. I loved them. Absolutely loved them. But when I printed them out, I did not like how the green printed. My bad for not printing them before I accepted the final project. Dont ya'll make that mistake, okay?

That mistake is really where today's story begins. After I got the logistics all worked out, it occurred to me that the greens wont match. Like they will clash. Not even remotely coordinate. Its something that even the guests might notice. And if nothing else, I would notice. So I opened up my BFF PowerPoint and worked to recreate the tag. After I accomplished that, I was left with the following options:

Option A: Leave the tag as originally designed.
No extra work but prepare for the icky clash.

Option B: Print it in black and white.
This would be easy - no need to coordinate if there are no colors, right? Well what about the teal? The favors would be green, black and white, no teal? That doesn't seem right.

Option C: Just make the tag teal.
Ultimately, this is what I decided to do. But for some reason I was very hesitant to do it. I printed it out several times to check and make sure that the tag looked cute in teal, and that there would not be too much teal on the table. I don't think there will be, and at least I know it definitely matches the other teals.

So there you have it folks. The real favor tag. I really wish I had thought about clashing when they were initially designed so that I wouldn't have had to go through the process of re-creating them myself. I cant wait to get these suckers printed and punched out so that I can run them through my Xyron. Then there's attaching the labels, filling them with the MnMs and figuring out how to get them to the venue.

Geez, now that I think about it, I cant wait until I can check favors off my list for good!

♥

Alchemy for Arshela

2009-07-08T10:03:00.000-04:00

See this little dress? This is the dress I ordered off Etsy for my little cousin Arshela who is unofficially serving as our Head Flower Girl. No, I haven't decided If I'm putting that title in the program yet, so she's still unofficial - lol. What happened was, remember those adorable flower girl dresses I found at The Children's Place? The ones that were $25, but by the time we ordered them, they had gone down to $18? Well, one look at the dress ordered for Arshela proved that her's would be too short. She's long and lean, so the around part is rarely an issue. Its the length. And for her, extra length is always appreciated.

At this point, the dresses were no longer available on the Children's Place website, so I knew it was time to exercise my original option: having the dress made. And I knew exactly what I wanted it to look like. White (like the other little girls) with a teal sash (like the 'maids). In my mind, Arshela's dress would be the imbetween point, and the dress that brings the ladies dresses together.

As I mentioned earlier, I turned to Etsy. I used their Alchemy function, which basically lets you put in a request for an item. Any and everything can be requested: jewelry, clothing, wedding stuff, artwork, you name it. How it works is you set up a request, outlining what you want and providing as many details as you know, including how much you want to spend. After you complete your request, Etsy sellers (think: members that have stores on the site) bid on your project, outlining their store policies, the details of the item and the sale, and the projected cost. You can also designate how long you have your request is active, as well as shut your request down when you think you've gotten enough bids. At that point, the choice is yours. You have conversations (think: emails on the Etsy site between you and the seller) to ask further questions or get more details, and (hopefully) ultimately find a seller that can make your item.

I went through the Alchemy process with Arshela's dress, and I was very specific in my request. I wanted a solid white cotton dress that looked like the other flower girl dresses, and a teal satin sash to adorn it. I wanted the cost to include the material and labor for the dress, and I would send the satin material for the sash. Its the same material that were making the table runners out of that matches the 'maids dresses marvelously. I was looking for the best price and spent some time looking through potential bidder's sites to see examples of their work. I ended up going with Cissy of CissysSewnSew. She was a dream boat to work with and made exactly what I wanted.

Here's a closeup of the bodice. The benefit of having the dress made is that I was able to provide Cissy with Arshela's measurements, and it be made to fit her: long and lean. She's bound to grow a little between now and October, so we added a little extra to accommodate that.

I love this little dress on so many levels. I love that it bridges the gap between the big and little girls. I love that it was budget friendly. I love that it will be long enough. I love that it looks exactly like I imagined it would. I love this little dress so much that I almost wish I had all the little girls' dresses made.

Almost.

Thankfully MamaP took the lead and arranged with Granma to get Arshela's measurements. If it weren't for her, or if we had to do this times 4, it would have been a much larger undertaking. And maybe not quite worth it. Overall, I am very happy with the way this dress situation turned out. I'm even happier to check female bridal party attire off my list. And trust, all a bride in the double digits (87 days to go) wants to do is check things off her list.

Checkety check check!
♥

Bows for the Bride

2009-07-06T10:03:00.002-04:00

Happy Monday! Today I'm flying out to Seattle for my job and will be here all week. The PHI has family up that way (actually along a good chunk of the west coast), but I've never been to the state of Washington so I'm pretty excited. But anyway, I'm stopping by today to talk shower attire. Specifically, accessories.

I've pretty much decided that I'm wearing this white dress to my Florida shower. I got it ages ago, and am excited to finally wear it. But I need something to jazz it up a bit.

I have my eyes on this one:

I think its the bows. And that netting. Can we all take a minute to swoon? Remember on Friday, I told you I was really feeling the brooches I got for MdOH Dani and MnOH Krissi. Well, I think I'm going to order one for me. Ana Alicia is still running her buy 1 get 1 half off promotion, so getting 2 is uber tempting. But I'll be good and resist. And just order one. Just not sure about the color.

{click to enlarge; source}
The felt Ana Alicia uses comes in about a gazillion colors. Like too many colors. If you're curious, the brooches are in willow and white. I'm not terribly wild about the beige in the picture, but I do like that netting on top. Either way, I'm in the custom order realm.

Back to colors. I need some help. My "short" list is:

verona
midnight
carribbean
willow
japonica pink
melon pink
geranium
sunflower
peat

Which is obviously unmanageable - lol. So can you help a sista out? Real quick, let me know which color you'd choose. If you could text me, tweet me, or just leave it in the comments, I'd really really appreciate it, k.

♥

p.s. In case you're worried I left you hanging while I pretend to be bicoastal, don't fret. I've lined up a lil sumthin sumthin to tide you over while I'm away.

Brooches for my Besties

2009-07-03T10:03:00.000-04:00

Look what came in the mail:

The brooches for MdOH Dani and MnOH Krissi!

I started not to open them, but I caved. Had to inspect them to make sure I got the right product, right? Yeah, I know. I didn't have to take them out of the box. But I wanted to touch them too. They feel amaaazing. Softest.felt.ever.

As a reminder, here's the dress that all the maids are wearing. These brooches are going to look fab pinned to their dresses.

The downside of having them in my possession is that I really want a piece of my own now. I wonder if I could justify getting something like this, or even this for my Florida shower later on this month. Hmmm...

♥

Meeting in the Ladies Room

2009-07-02T10:03:00.001-04:00

I've noticed that brides these days are spending quite a bit of time and energy on the process of asking their closest to be their bridesmaids. Things like "Will you be my bridesmaid? cards are all over bridal message boards, and some brides are even attaching gifts or planning activities in the name of asking their 'maids. Not that their soon-to-be 'maids don't appreciate it. I'm sure they do. Nice, but not really necessary.

Having said all that, I really should have gotten my 'maids this card:

Inside text: Will you be my bridesmaid?
{found it here!}
I already know I'm going to be THAT bride. Yup, the one where a group trip to the bathroom wont be to socialize or talk trash. I am going to have to pee. Probably at least twice if I don't drink any alcohol (and I don't break the seal). My friends and family know I cant hold liquids. So in order to stay out of the potty all 6 hours I'll be in my dress, I'd need to severely limit my liquid intake. Like, basically not drink a single thing.

Not going to happen.

If I were doing it again, I'd consider handing out these fab cards. As I think about it more, I really don't think you can have this chat too early. I was engaged several months before I thought to mention it to MnOH Krissi and MdOH Dani. No worries, they're both on board for their dress holding duties. I'm sure MamaP, MJ, or any of my other 'maids and girlfriends would also help a sista in need.

So to all of my favorite ladies, thank you from the bottom of my bridal heart. I literally wont be able to swing this without you.

♥

Dishing Out Our Pics (the preliminary plan)

2009-07-01T10:03:00.000-04:00

Lately, despite there being 94 (eek!) days til the wedding and my wedding to do list has taken to doubling in size daily, I've been thinking about our wedding photos. Yes, the ones that are neither paid for nor exist yet - lol. I love love love pictures and the idea of having lots more, taken by our fab photographer Chelsey, makes me giddy.

I haven't finalized the list completely, but this is what I'm thinking so far:

{source}
For our guests, a photo collage to place on our Thank You notes, kinda like the one pictured above. The plan is to use Mrs. Daffodil's instructions, and have the photo be detachable so that our guests can have an additional souvenir from our special day. Right now, the plan is to send Thank Yous to everyone that attended (not sure if I told you about that part), so hopefully between the PHI and I, we'll be able to accomplish that.

{source}
For the parents, I'm hooking up with my good friend Blurb to make them Photobook Albums. Both MamaP and MamaD love our photo guest book, so I think they'd really enjoy having their own to enjoy (and show off). Some of the pictures will be the same in both albums, and we'll include some family specific ones to each album.

Also for the parents, grandparents and other relatives, we'll do framed prints. Hopefully we'll have them just in time for the holiday season. The PHI and I did something similar this past Christmas, and gave MamaP, my grandparents and my aunt and uncle framed prints of our engagement pics. We (I) selected photos that we thought they'd enjoy and we were right. So we'll be doing that again for parents, grandparents, godparents and probably aunts and uncles.

Last but not least, I want to do something like this for our home:
{source}
I love big wall groupings of photographs. Our new apartment has an empty wall thats just begging for some photos to go up on it. Although the central print is a very large 24x36, I think the whole idea can be scaled down nicely. I'd love to have them printed on canvas, but I'm afraid its going to be super expensive, so we'll have to play that part by ear. Either way, this has our name on it, and I'm going to start mapping it out as soon as we get our proofs.

So whatcha think? Any other ideas for ways to dish out the wedding pics? I can't wait to see them!

♥

The Photo Sharing Experiment

2009-06-30T10:03:00.001-04:00

Today I want to show you the results of a project that was a pain in my arse, but that I hope will yield some interesting results. In this day and age, most of the people I know have a digital camera surgically attached to their hand when they attend events. And I don't assume that my showers or the wedding will be any different. As such, I got this idea (probably off TheKnot or WeddingBee) to give guests the opportunity to share their digital photos with us. Lets call this "The Photo Sharing Experiment." And I'm going to use my wedding shower guests as my sample (sans informed consent, thank you!)

I designed these cute and instructional cards in PowerPoint (surprise surprise). Initially, I wanted to do business cards, but I was having a hard time uploading a business card size image to Vistaprint. So I made postcards instead. And found a coupon code to get 100 postcards for free. Postcards are significantly larger than a business card, but still small enough to slide in a purse. Maybe this larger size will mean they'll be less likely to end up in the deep recesses of a handbag (cause I assume everyone's handbag is as deep as mine - lol).

With postcards, you can never quite call which side you're going to see first. But technically, this is the side I expect people to see first:

Naturally, I used the wedding fonts, and for good measure I included our wedding website url. If I'm able to collect any good photos from my showers, I'll make a slideshow for the website. According to Vistaprint, this is the back. Black and white text was included for the back(I did have to pay to upload my image), so I made it black and white. The additional charge to print in color was not worth it.

This is the side I expect everyone to see second:

According to Vistaprint, this the front. So the color printing was included, but I still had to pay to upload my image. Here is where I outlined (hopefully) very simple instructions on how to upload photos to our Flickr site. I chose Flickr for this project for a couple of reasons. First, brides speak very highly of it for this particular purpose. Second, I used Flickr when I designed our Blurb guestbook, and could easily see making an additional photobooks using images guests uploaded. Flickr and Blurb are BFFs, so importing photos into the Blurb software is seamless and stress free.

Ya'll already know this experiment did not cost me very much. About $18, including the uploading fees and shipping. I really hope that the ladies at my shower will pick up a card and upload their photos. I'm not entirely sure this will work, but if people use them, I'm definitely going to order more for the wedding. Probably business card sized this time.

I'll let you know how my little experiment turns out, k.

♥

Meet Elle

2009-06-29T10:03:00.000-04:00

This is Eleanor.
I call her Elle for short.
She is my wedding gown.
And I am absolutely in love with her.

Right now, she lives in my closet in the guest bedroom (there are 2 of them). Next to my coats (including that my fave one, that tan plaid one that MamaP wore in graduate school). Yes, the PHI already knows she's in there. He's the one that carried her in the house. She's pretty heavy.

I haven't decided how much more of Elle you'll see before the wedding. But for those of you that have been with me since Dress 0, I wanted to prove that I had in fact purchased a dress I love and will be wearing down the aisle.

Besides, at this point, I don't have time to replace her if I wanted to.
Which I don't :)

♥

You don't always know what you want...

2009-06-26T10:03:00.004-04:00

...but you (almost) always find exactly what you need.

{source}
In today case, it all started with this little felt boutonniere I found on Etsy.

Wait, no. That's not quite right. It all started back in March (during my wedding planning spring break) at Granma's birthday party when I was chatting about the wedding with Cousin Cheryl and she asked a question that would stump me for several months to come. The chat went a little something like this:

Cousin Cheryl: Hows the wedding planning going?

Miss Patti: Its going well, but I'm tired. MamaP and I have been full time wedding planning this week. Every day there's a different appointment. But we've gotten alot accomplished.

CC: What did you decide to do about the bridesmaids dresses?

MP: Oh, they're all going to wear the same dress.

CC: Oh yeah? So how are you going to distinguish your Maid and Matron of Honor from your other bridesmaids?

MP: um....

As you can see, I had nothing. It hadn't even crossed my mind! Eventually I found some words and we proceeded to brainstorm some ideas. Bouquets? Naw, I want to keep the flowers simple and budget friendly. Scarves? SoFla in October? Yeah, right. Next! Brooches? Hmm, maybe. In hindsight, I must have really latched on to the idea of brooches, because when I came across that boutonniere two weeks ago in AAlicia's Wedding Store, I immediately could see a brooch application. And then I found this:

{source}
While not my personal style, I felt I was getting closer to what I was looking for. So after sitting on it for a couple days, I convo-ed Anna Alicia to ask about having a couple of brooches made for two of my favorite girls. She got right back to me, and suggested something more like this instead:

{source}
I loved it.

It was exactly what I didn't realize I was looking for (lol). I love that its different, but in a classic way. And that it can be worn pinned on their dresses, or it can be placed in their hair. And that it's an accessory that doesn't scream wedding, increasing the possibility of a post wedding application. Maybe pinned on a terra cotta or hot pink cardigan, or even little black dress.

Turns out she's running a "buy one, get one half off" promotion to celebrate the opening of her wedding accessories shop. I knew it was a sign and quickly let her know I was interested in a green and white remix of the brooch pictured above. She set up whats called a custom listing for me (think: putting an item on hold in a store at the mall), and I was allowed to pay for the items when I got ready. I always pay right away so I don't forget to go back and do it later.

Anna Alicia promised they'd be here soon, and I cannot wait. Once they arrive you'll be one of the first to know. In the meantime, you should pop over to visit both of her shops. Her pieces are really quite swoon-worthy.

♥

The Last 100 Days

2009-06-25T10:03:00.000-04:00

My lovely readers, the wedding is officially 100 days away. Not that anyone really thinks about it that way (other than me...and now you), because we normally talk about it in terms of months. I know I've been super scarce lately and I promise to be better. That might mean shorter, more drive-by type posts, but at least you'll know I'm alive and still thinking of you, right?

At any rate, we've come this far together and there's only a little to go. As you can see from my list to the right over there, there are still a few DIY projects to cross off the list, and several logistical things that need to be worked out. Long story short, its going to be a very busy 100 days.

Ready?
Lets do it!

♥

An Open Letter to My Readers

2009-06-24T22:25:00.005-04:00

Dear Readers,

I just wanted to stop by tonight to share a few things before I head to bed.

First, I know I left you hanging. I've heard from several of you, and I just want to let you know I hear you. My life has been really crazy, and I'm just starting to feel like I'm getting back into my blogging groove. Plus, I promised myself I would never start posting just for the sake of posting. I need to be inspired. And sometimes the wedding just doesn't cut the mustard for me. So I don't post. And then I come home tired. And then a day turns into several, which turns into weeks. But anyway. Not the point. Just wanted to let you know that I know you want me to blog, and that I will. Tomorrow marks the 100th day til the wedding, and I plan to be around to share with you the madness of the next 100 days. Should be interesting.

Second, I got quite the response (on and off the blog) about my last post. Part of that is because several of my handful of readers were invited to that wedding, or know the bride. I had planned to follow it up with a visual showing how cute the invite was, since the way MamaP described it sounded cute, but I needed to verify in person. But I've decided not to do that. In fact, I'm just not going to talk about that invite anymore. However, before I move on, I just want to clarify my intent with that post. It was not to be snarky, or to turn up my bridal nose. I don't claim to be an expert, but I do know how to use my resources wisely. The take away from that post was supposed to be the resource: both me and the website I directed everyone too for further reading. Not for me to stand on my soapbox and preach about the Dos and Donts of Wedding Invitations. I stand behind what I wrote, and apologize if it was construed improperly.

One last thing. In this year and some change that I've been engaged to marry the PHI, I have learned ALOT about weddings. Not just invitation ettiquette, or how to make the most of a vendor meeting. Perhaps the most important thing I've picked up along the way is that weddings involve a series of very personal choices. Anyone who gets involved with a wedding has to remember that. The very essence of it involves the choice to agree to spend your life with this person, to stick it out, and to grow...together. Everything you read about weddings encourages you to infuse yourself, your interests, your personality into the wedding. In other words, make it personal. And many couples are doing just that. My blog is a direct reflection of the choices that the PHI and I have made for our wedding. Some of them you may agree with, many of them you might not. That's okay. In the grand scheme of things, the wedding is really towards the top of a long list of choices. Its not really the logistical nightmare it may seem to be on the surface. Weddings should be about celebrating a very important choice: to love.

Ultimately, only you can choose what you're willing to accept, who or what you're willing to fight for, and what you're willing to choose. Wedding-wise or other-wise. So if you don't take anything away from anything I've ever said (or will say) on this blog, please carry this with you: choose love. Choose it first, and choose it always. I truly believe everything else will fall into perspective.

Whoo! 100 days to go!

♥,
Patti

You Down With OPI?

2009-06-09T10:27:00.006-04:00

OPI: (n) meaning other people's invites.

I've always loved paper and stationary, and wedding planning has severly amplified that love. Last night, while making up our bed MamaP called to tell me about a wedding invite she'd just received in the mail. In the year and some change we've been engaged, I've gotten quite knowledgeable about invites and paper goods in general. So naturally, MamaP was calling to give me a walk thru of the invite and then discuss the aspects that...um, lets just say there were some parts where they dropped the ball.

Instead of trying to tell you about the invite (which I will) I want you to be properly equipped to evaluate it first. Enter one of my favorite wedding planning/invitaitons/advice resources. Mrs. Cupcake over at WeddingBee wrote a 12 Steps to Creating DIY Invitations post that I am sure was as helpful to other brides as it was to me. Its not that she said anything that was terribly profound. Its that all of this advice was in the same place, making it one easy resource for those who are making their own invites, or having to consult on the process while someone else makes them :)

She has 12 steps in total, but I'm only including my faves here.

2. Think carefully about your “reply by” date.
If your venue needs a final count a week before your wedding, set your response date for 2.5-3 weeks before your big day. This gives you a few days to let the procrastinators get their response cards to you (taking into account the fact that the USPS may take a few days), and then have at least a week or so to round up responses from the rest of the stragglers (still also allowing you enough time to put together your seating arrangement if you’re having assigned seating). If your invitees are notorious for being hard to track down, maybe push that date up one more week to give yourself extra time to get answers from everyone. Our reply date was September 1 and we started calling people who didn’t respond on September 6, as we had to let our venue know our final count on September 17th (and we also needed a few days to get our seating arrangement and place cards together).

5. It’s “Two thousand nine”, not “Two thousand AND nine”.
This is a constant battle with some invitation clients who insist that the year should read “Two thousand and nine”, but grammatically, the proper way of writing the year is “Two thousand nine” — no “and”. This is a pretty common mistake, thus most of your guests think it is written with an “and” too, so ultimately it’s not a big deal if you already included it on your invitations. But, being the crazy OCD designer/typesetter that I am, I am a little crazy about making sure my invitations are grammatically correct and I always notice this now on other people’s invitations. (It’s a curse.)

7. Don’t include registry information.
Please don’t beat me up for this one! Although I have heard the argument that some people need to know this information and it’s more convenient for guests to have it all right there, the truth of the matter is it is just not polite. 80% of your guests may appreciate the information, but are you willing to accept that you’ll offend the other 20% enough that they won’t show up to your wedding, OR give you a gift? Proper etiquette can sometimes be stuffy, but this is one etiquette rule that I think should be followed because there are bound to be some traditionalists on your guest list. Stick to passing registry information along by word-of-mouth (tell your parents and bridal party, and they are free to include it on a shower invitation since THEY are hosting the shower for the purpose of showering you with gifts). If you or your parents are close enough to people to invite them to your wedding, it shouldn’t be difficult for them to pick up the phone to call you or a family member to inquire about your registries. Perhaps also include it discreetly on your wedding website, which you’ll likely direct your guests to via an insert in your wedding invitations. But just don’t include your registry information in your invitations.

{you can check out the other 9 steps here}.

Sadly, the invite MamaP received seemingly missed all three of those steps. MamaP got the invite in the mail yesterday, and the wedding is on July 4th. She has exactly one week to respond. I guess since they sent STDs, they figure people pretty much know already. Our own theory is that because the wedding is was planned in 7 months, they ordered the invites as soon as the details were finalized and they mailed them out as soon as they could. Either way, I think they're setting themselves up to get a large number of late RSVPs. They also included their registry information AND the fact that cash and gift cards are welcome.

Hold up.

I am actually in the camp that believes that including your registry information in the invite is tacky. MamaP and I went back and forth about it several times (she wanted to do it, I didn't) and ultimately I told her no. That's what our wedding website is for. But I can understand why a couple would want to. Its hard to say that you didn't know when you've seen the info several times. However, I do draw the line at saying I want cash. People know you want cash. They know you'd love a gift card. Imma need you to leave that part out. Or put it on your website.

And the last one, the date issue, I cant even deal with. Granted, most people wont notice, but it only takes one. Like my Granma. That woman is 85 years old and still sharp as a tack. She would notice and call you out. Its right up there with people saying June 9th, 2009 like this couple did. I shudder a bit when I see that one (most recently on a college commencement program). The thing about the date situation is that once you know the rule, you will always know the rule. Its almost as if its written in red ink and is calling your name. You will see it. And you will cringe. And then you'll probably show it to someone else (who you'll probably have to tell about the rule so they'll see the problem too).

The moral of the story today is two-fold. First, don't let that be you. I could take it back to giving yourself ample time to plan a wedding, but I've spent enough time on my soapbox, so I wont go there. If you're making your own invites do your research and have several people look them over. Hell, I'll even look over them for you if you'd like. Get lots of feedback from people who will actually read it and process the information and not just look at it. If you're having them made professionally, still have several people look them over. The worst possible thing is to have them produced or mailed out, and see something that you should have caught ages ago.

Second, if you send an invitation to me or MamaP were going to discuss it. We are also most likely to be one of the few guests that keeps the paper-goods after the event. So you better make it fab, 'cause we'll have the evidence.

::putting my soapbox away for the day::

♥

Our Moving Adventure

2009-06-07T21:52:00.004-04:00

Normally I'd say I cant believe I've been away 2 weeks, but this time I can. What have I been up to? I can tell you what I haven't been doing: wedding planning. I promise its for a really good reason.

A week ago yesterday, the PHI and I moved to Atlanta. This wasn't exactly a planned moved. Wait, no. We had planned to move to Atlanta this summer. Before July 31st when my lease in Athens expired. But up until a couple weeks ago, we could not compromise on a place to live. Or a date. He liked one place, I liked another. When we finally made a decision, there almost was not an apartment available. It was touch and go there for awhile, but it turns out there was a unit we could have, in the floor plan we love (2 bed, 2 bath, fireplace and sun room), but we had to occupy by May 30th. We learned that savory detail on May 27th.

We moved on May 30th.
I'll let you do the math on how quickly we orchestrated that move.

Believe it or not, the only hiccup we experienced was with the gas company. We had to wait a week to get the gas turned on. Yes, the gas that powers our stove, heat, and hot water heater.

Don't even get me started on the gas company.

Gas drama aside, the PHI and I have an Atlanta address and we could not be more thrilled. We love our new place, and the fact that its our place (not just him moving into my place). Its definitely been a learning experience for both of us. The PHI learned that I can be pretty tough and strong when I need to be. Like, when the 2 of us decided to move ourselves at the last minute. He also learned that I can work a small miracle and get all of our utilities turned on in about 4 hours (on the 28th). He also learned that I love to go on food/drink runs during the move, and I like to cook a solid hot meal on one of the first few nights in the new place.

What did I learn about the PHI? Well, for one I got proof that my baby is strong. Like, equipped with a furniture dolly he made the steps leading down to our terrace level apartment his b!tch. Another thing I learned is that he has gotten really good at reading me and knows when he needs to take charge and push me to keep going. Like Saturday night when it was time to unload the second UHaul load. We'd been at it all day, but the PHI kept saying "come on baby, we can do it" and we did.

However, my most favorite and valuable piece of information I picked up about the PHI is that he's a Box Nazi. Remember how I told you that alot of our boxes are unpacked? Thats because the PHI is very much like his dad - they like the house to feel like home as soon as possible. We moved on Saturday, and started unpacking on Sunday. I cooked dinner on Sunday and he could take leftovers on Monday. Yup, our apartment was that functional almost right away. A week later, our second bedroom is still in disarray (thanks partly to the half of my wardrobe that lives on the futon) and there are a few boxes here and there, but its unpacked enough to have guests over for dinner.

...which we have done twice in the week that we've lived here :)

They say that if it doesn't kill us, it makes us stronger and I can definitely see an application to moving. Moving is stressful ya'll. And I know that the PHI and I are definitely a stronger couple because of it. Since it was just the two of us, we knew that we had to have each others back (and front...and the sides when it came to my sofas - lol). But we did it, and we did it together. Were still recovering from this move, so the idea of moving again makes both of us a little ill. However, we've agreed that the next time it will be because we have purchased a house, AND that we'll be getting a mover.

No matter what it costs.

♥

This past weekend was AWESOME!

2009-05-26T21:18:00.002-04:00

As many of you know, my besties (aka MdOH Dani and GM Brew) were in town this past weekend. We had an awesome time (as evidenced by this photo taken one moring in our pjs). I even got to talk to GM Brew about our invites (more details to come, promise), and show MdOH Dani some wedding stuff in person. Seriously, the pictures just dont do some of this stuff justice.

When I think about my bridal party, I never think about them in the context of "traditional roles." I've always been a believer in the idea that your bridal party is part of your wedding team, and that each individual has a talent. MdOH Dani's talent is that she is supportive. Like, so supportive that she is willing to listen to all (yes ALL) of my wedding ideas. Regardless of cost, or labor, or sheer level of absurdity. You need people like that - who will support your ideas, click on however many links to personalized reusable shopping bags you send, and help you come up with a budget friendly justification when you two have deemed that its a must-have-find-a-place-in-the-budget type of purchase. Again, regardless of the level of absurdity. We dont talk crafts (aside from "look what I made). I go to MnOH Krissi or BM Tamerah for that. But if I'm having a bad bridal day (e.g. stressed, overwhelmed, too many things on the list, etc), I usually find her first...then MamaP...you get the point.

GM Brew is a similar but different story. I've always considered GM Brew as a voice of reason in my life. If I need someone rational, I call him. He'll tell you if you're getting out of pocket, but still love you unconditionally if you decide to stay there (lol). If you know that you're considering buying something you shouldn't, call GM Brew. An accountant by profession, he is quick to bring you back to the bottom line: where does it fit in the budget. Like those personalized cocktail napkins. I cant tell you how many times he and Dani have talked me off the edge of the sidewalk with those (Sidenote: MnOH Krissi suggest we make our own. I haven't abandoned that idea yet - lol). I really want them, but they're a frivolous expense that we just don't need.And he does not hesitate to underscore that point whenever I bring them up.

See, thats love.

I dont think I can say enough about these two. I just ♥ them. And I really love when they come to visit. Cant wait for the next episode in July. The PHI and I will be in our new place, and we're celebrating Shayne's birthday. V.fun times ahead indeed.

♥

Engage-aversary

2009-05-21T21:02:00.003-04:00

{5.21.2008 - getting my Top Model on, shortly post-proposal}
Today, exactly one year ago, the PHI got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife. Since I'm sure that October 3rd will eventually trump all of our other couple-holidays (e.g. first meeting, first date, official boo-ed up date, etc), I'd like to take a moment to commemorate the day that started it all.

Happy engage-aversary baby. I cannot wait to be your Mrs!

♥

It's My Birthday!

2009-05-20T20:47:00.006-04:00

{My 5-year old (at the time)little cousin Tori took this pic of me on my 26th birthday.
Yes, she is definitely in the wedding.
In fact, I'd put my money on her being the one who actually does her job properly.}
Guess who turned 27 today?! Me!
How do I feel? In a word: blessed.
Honestly, twenty-seven feels alot like 26...but better.

This was a low key birthday. Lunch with my work-friends, take out from one of my favorite restaurants, a small birthday cake, and an evening full of doing absolutely nothing (except for visit with you, my lovely blog readers). The PHI had to work today (no complaints here, thankful he has a job), so we'll have couple birthday time tomorrow when we're both off from work. We'll probably sleep late, get something fun to eat, and catch a movie.

Interestingly, I've had a birthday celebration of some sort more years than I have not. No wonder I'm enjoying wedding planning - its a natural next step from planning almost 25* birthday parties. This year, I'm not having a party per se, but I will get to spend the entire weekend with 3 of my favorite people - the PHI (of course) and my podmates BM Dani and GM Brew. They're making the trek up to Athens from Florida to hang out this weekend. I like to tell them that they've known me so long (and so well) that they are officially a liability. I love those two to pieces, and the PHI and I are THRILLED that they are spending the weekend with us (he's pretty wild about them too). Its going to be a fab weekend and I cant wait.

Today was a really good day, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the week. A little birthday celebration today...a little tomorrow...a little Friday...a little Saturday...you get the point.

Cant wait!!

♥

*okay, so its safe to assume that MamaP planned the first five parties or so. Id have to ask to be sure, but I know around that age I started telling her what kind of party I wanted to have, the color scheme, the activities, etc - lol.

Candy Girl

2009-05-19T08:57:00.008-04:00

The other day, I was at Michaels looking for...who knows what I was looking for, but I found these in the baking section:

Aren't they adorable? I love seeing kiwi and teal in real-life situations, so I was in absolute color-heaven. At $5.99 a package (works out to be $12.13/pound), they are way too expensive for large quantities. However, I do think they would be a nice little detail for a smaller party - like a baby or bridal shower.

If you're interested in getting your own, you can head over to Michaels or Party City (yup, found them there too). Michaels seems to carry the entire color array (pictured above), so naturally I'd start there. However, last week Party City had them on sale (like $3.99/package; $8.08/pound) so its worth looking into if you're interested.

I am sooo interested. How 'bout you?

♥

Wanna Come to My Hotel?

2009-05-16T10:48:00.012-04:00

Last I left off I was telling you about hotelplanner.com and how it saved MamaP and I ALOT of time when we needed to block out hotel rooms for our wedding guests. Today, I'm going to show you who we decided to go with.

We were always planning to get at least two hotels. One that was reasonably priced and relatively close, and another that was super close so I could get dressed there. We also figured the super close one would be ideal for OOTs that are flying in but dont want to rent a car, or people who just want to stay really close to the action. We were able to find exactly what we were looking for!

Without further ado, please meet our hotels:

Hotel #1: Hyatt Place Downtown West Palm Beach
I seriously love Hyatt Place hotels. I just think they are cute as a button. Modern, chic, and not too fussy, its definitely my kind of hotel.

Its just our luck that a new one opened up downtown a few months ago. We were initially planning to use the CityPlace Marriott as our "close hotel" but this one is even closer. Its technically within walking distance!

Here's a picture of what the Queen/Queen room looks like. Guests have the option of getting a Queen/Queen or a King room. That sofa to the left is part of what Hyatt calls the "cozy corner." Trust, that corner really is pretty cozy.There's even a pull out sofa in there. Yup, comes standard. Here's a close up pic:

Unfortunately I don't have a picture of the best part: the Suites! MamaP and I secured a HUGE suite for me and the girls to get ready in day-of. It has the king bed, a cozy section, a table that seats 6, and a humongo bathroom. MamaP and I both think there will be plenty of space for me, the 'maids, MamaP, and our beauty team to move around in. The only downside is that we needed to commit to filling up 80% of the block. Since our block is only 10 rooms, that means we need to commit to 8. The bridal suite is 1. And I don't think we'll have a problem with filling out the others. Do you?

Love love loooove Hyatt Place Hotels.

Hotel #2: Doubletree Hotel West Palm Beach Airport
Meet our second hotel. Its still pretty close to the venue, but its also pretty close to the airport. This is just a nice hotel. The rooms are nice, the rate was nice, and it was especially nice that we did not have to commit to filling up any part of the room block. Basically a no strings attached arrangement.

MamaP and I felt like this hotel gives off a South Florida vibe. You know, one of those hotels that you'd recommend to someone that wants to get the full "Florida experience." I feel like some of our guests will want that, and I'm glad that this hotel will help.

Honestly, the best part about this hotel is the free cookies. Yup, I said cookies.

They give you cookies when you check into the hotel. Warm cookies. Warm chocolate chip cookies with pecans. As a baker, I'm generally pretty tough on baked goods but these cookies are quality. If you've never had a Doubletree Cookie, then you're missing out. Mmmm, Doubletree cookies. I cant wait to have a reason to go over there to get another.

So there you have it folks

+

= our hotel blocks (finally)
...Ladies and gentlemen, you are listening to the sounds of Swiss Beats. We got Cassidy in here. Kels! We in our throwbacks.This is for the ladies, we got room keys.

♥

small setback and a bit of news

2009-05-11T22:38:00.002-04:00

I have had quite the adventure since the last time I posted.

For starters, I went to DC for my cousin Natalie's graduation from the real HU, and had a blast. So much so that part of me wanted to stay in DC...the part that powers my laptop! Luckily, I was already on adaptor #2 that was purchased from BestBuy sometime last year, so while out channelling my inner housewife, I picked up a replacement. For some reason, I was able to get a cheaper one. Temporary setback, but now were back in business.

And on to the news. Were going to bullet this list to keep it simple, k.

I got a call from the 'Maids dress shop (not to be confused with the Bridal Gown dress shop) saying that their dresses will be back by the first part of August! Eventhough MnOH Krissi told me that she placed the order, I was still pretty excited to get that call.

On a related note, MamaP and I paid off my dress last week! I realize that you don't know what it looks like (and sadly, I'm not telling you), but its still pretty exciting to have one less bill to pay. Along with the dress being paid off, that means our cake is paid off too. My gown is a gift from MamaP, so we tag teamed to pay off these two line items - she made cake payments while I made dress payments. It was silly to move the money between our accounts when we both had local bills.

Remember those table number holders I blogged about last week? No, not the binder clips, the other ones. They arrived today! They are sooo cute. I ended up ordering 15, just to make sure we'd have enough for all of our tables. Hopefully we wont have 15 tables, but in the event we do, we're properly supplied.

I think thats it. 4 months and 22 days to go. Get ready get ready get ready!

♥

Stay with us...in the hotel block we reserved!

2009-05-06T10:31:00.004-04:00

Planning this wedding would be so much easier if I lived in the state. Not just in the southern part. Florida period. For starters, it requires you to do a lot of extra planning – because now you have to plan to plan. All vendor meetings (if you want to meet them in person) need to be set up significantly far in advance so as to make personal travel arrangements, accommodate different vendor schedules, and make the most of your time in the destination city. You’ve all seen my posts from when I go home…my trips usually end up being this crazy wedding whirlwind that require me to take some time off from the wedding to pick up where my sanity dropped off.

But anyway, today I’m going to let you in on one of my planning secrets.

This site single handedly saved me and MamaP an unfathomable amount of time when it was time to block out hotel rooms for our out of town guests. This was on March's list, and we were able to easily get this worked out while I was home for Spring Break.

How it works is that after you register with the site, you set up an event. An event is simply a way of saying "Hey, I need hotel rooms for my people." The site asks some basic questions about the event - where the event will be, the occasion for the bookings (e.g. wedding, family reunion), how many nights, how many rooms you'd like to block and approximately what you'd like to spend. Then you wait for the hotels to come to you. That's the beauty of this site. No calling around to see what rates they'll offer and what the terms of the block would be.

Area hotels will respond to your rate (some within about 20 minutes) explaining the rate they are willing to give you and what the conditions are of the rate. For example, almost all of them require that you book by a certain date. Many will allow you to tack on extra days before or after the event at the same rate. Some require that a percentage of your rooms be booked, and others require a deposit. Its up to you to determine what conditions you are willing to live with. We knew that we didn't want to pay a deposit, but that we would be willing to live with committing to filling up a percentage of the room blocks if it was a hotel that we really wanted to use.

So after reviewing the bids, declining those that are not good fits for the event (Boca Raton, Jupiter? hello...downtown West Palm Beach please), we narrowed the list down to three hotels that we were interested in discussing further. At this point, the site provides you with an opportunity to email the hotel sales manager directly through the site, AND provides you with that persons full set of contact information (name, address, telephone, and email) in case they do not contact you before you are ready to contact them. Was this built for over-achiever brides or what?

After establishing contact, the next step I took was to set up several hotel visits. I don't believe this part is required. If you're okay with the pictures and reviews of the hotels online, the sales manager will likely email you the contract, you sign and fax it back in, and they send you the discount code/instructions to pass along to your guests. Then you are free to disseminate it however you want. I'm putting it on our wedding website.

However, if you decide you want to see the hotel before committing, you can set up visits. While there, the sales manager will likely give you a tour, offer you some snacks (or cookies), show you the amenities, and discuss what your plans for pursuing the block might be. Despite this not costing you any money, this is still a sales contract for them and they try to make the best impression. None of the sales managers we met with were pressuring us for the block. One sales manager and I particularly hit it off because were about the same age, and she's getting married in May. Bridget (yup, totally on a first name basis) even wanted to see our website and my lil ol blog :)

At this point, its on you. If you want to move forward with the room block, you can let them know. Like I mentioned before, you'll have to sign the contract, return it, and then will be given the discount code/instructions to pass along to your guests. If after touring, you decide the block is not for you, you can go into the site and decline the bid. If you do not do anything, someone from hotelplanner.com will probably contact you asking what you decided to do. I wasn't expecting that, but it was legit.

Overall, I had an awesome experience with HotelPlanner.com. It was extremely user friendly, and I love how I felt like I saved so much time! I highly recommend you check out hotelplanner.com for any of your event-planning needs.

I'm going to go all soap-operatic and save sharing our decision for for tomorrow's post (unless of course you've visited our wedding website already). That's okay, right?

Great. See you then!

♥

To Figure Out

2009-05-05T19:31:00.004-04:00

Despite having a good chunk of the wedding planned (note, I said planned, not to be confused with paid for), my to do list continues to grow – almost daily.

It’s starting to fill up with a category of things that I simply file under: To Figure Out. Some of it is standard fare: transportation, makeup and hair logistics, etc. But some of it is…well, lemme just give you an example. [Please bear with me, because I realize a lot of what I’m about to say is early onset Bridal Crazy Talk.]

This week I’ve been struggling with table number holders [toldya, crazy talk]. When I designed them, the plan was to rent table number stands (for $1 a piece) from an event rental company. Well, several decisions later, MamaP and I determined we did not need any of our other rentals, and it seemed silly to only rent table number holders. So I cancelled the entire order. But I still hadn’t worked out the table number display.

Initially, I thought I’d buy those same silver table number stands.
Turns out they’re too expensive.
Not willing to spend more than $1 per table (our original commitment).

Then I thought I could mount them onto folded card stock to make tents.
But what color? Teal would clash…
The linens are ivory, so white would stand out a lot…
They already have green backings, so what would I do with that?
Scrapped that idea too (pun intended).

Then I thought [in an especially crazy moment] that I’d use decorated binder clips as holders*.
Yes, binder clips.
And decorate them with paint or paper, a lot like this:

Cute, right?

::crickets::

So very wrong.
That got shot down because…
Well, because I wanted to use binder clips!

Exit crazy talk, enter a real solution. Enter Etsy.

{focus on the holder, not that heinous card. found them here}
It took a little bit of searching, but I was able to find these fairly cute wire table number holders that I plan to purchase as soon as I have a little cash. They have clear bottoms, so they will not clash (v.important), and are $1 each. Cute and cheap (enough).

I would have loved to DIY them, but obviously I was struggling. And that’s the moral of today’s story. With less than 5 months to go, a dissertation prospectus and move to Atlanta eminent, I finally figured out that I need to learn to pick and choose my DIY battles. I just can’t afford to waste the energy when I can simply purchase something that will fit our needs (and our budget) quite nicely.

MamaP always says that she is willing to pay for convenience. At this stage in planning the wedding, depending on what it is…and what it costs….I am too.

♥

*I originally got the idea from Real Simple, found here.

::swoon::

2009-04-27T10:36:00.004-04:00

I found this yarn and fabric flower wreath on WeddingBee today, and am swooning. I think it was posted today, but I'm not really sure.* Anyway, the bride blogger posted a tutorial, so I definitely think I can re-create my own version. I'm just a little held up on whether or not I should.

Hanging them on a door seems to be the most natural place for them. There are definitely two doors that open up to the ceremony/reception space that could use a little decoration. Then of course, there are the front doors to the venue. Arguably, several small ones could be hung down the aisle (4 on each side or so), or....really the possiblities seem endless.

So, whatcha think? Worth exploring, or not worth my time? Would you keep them kind of large to make a statement, or make small ones? And where would you hang them? Thanks ya'll!

♥

*Several weeks ago, I purged my Google Reader of all things that were making me anxious about the wedding, or that I simply did not enjoy reading anymore. My former-beloved WeddingBee did not make the cut. Its something about the fact that there are almost a couple dozen posts a day was almost single handedly sending me into wedding overload. That and the fact that there were so many new bees and their personalities were just running together. So I quit WeddingBee. I do pop over there a couple times a month just to see what the new goings on are, but for the most part I don't feel like I'm missing very much.

DIY Week: Wanna Make a Toast? (day six/bonus)

2009-04-25T09:01:00.005-04:00

Since DIY officially ended yesterday, and I dropped the ball on this last would-be Drive By, I'm posting it today - without a whole lot of hype or text. Its almost not even enough post to call it a drive by...so I'll call it a bonus - lol.

{please excuse the crappy pic, I had a hard time getting a quasi-decent one}
This, my lovely readers, is one of our etched-glass toasting flutes. They (like most of my projects) began with me being disgusted about how much ugly, generic wedding accessories can cost. Being me, I went to Hobby Lobby and got a set of plain toasting flutes for about $7, and then proceeded to personalize them by etching the glass using etching cream and some bootleg stencils.

Naturally, they are etched with "J ♥ P" and "P ♥ J" (not shown).

Glass etching was an interesting experience. You had to be really careful about where the etching cream ends up, which generally keeps you on edge until you've finished the project. But I like the simplicity of the etched glass, and how they could easily be used post-wedding for champagne or (my fave) mimosas.

For the sake of brevity, I won't go into the logistics of etching glass. I really just wanted to show them to to you (and cross them off my DIY list - lol). Let me know if you want me to post a tutorial, k.

Happy Weekend!

♥

DIY Week: Please Sign Our Book (day five)

2009-04-24T09:30:00.000-04:00

Today is the very last day of DIY Week.* Its been such an awesome craft filled week, it will be kind of sad to go back to discussing the other wedding business (and you know there's some other stuff we need to discuss). While many of the things I've shown you this week may or may not get noticed, today's project is something I hope that every guest at our wedding will see (and enjoy): the Guestbook.

By now, you already know there was no way we would have a standard, uninspired guest book. Were having a photobook, filled with our engagement pictures (because seriously, what else do you do with those things) and lots of white space for people to sign and leave us messages. Before I go further, I better give you some visuals.

This is what you see when you first lay eyes on the book. It will probably be closed just like this on the guest book table.

Once you open it, you'll see that some of the pages have text. The text is the lyrics of our first dance song.

Some of the pages are just pictures with a good bit of white space. When we showed it to MamaD, she asked where people were supposed to sign. Spread the word: people are welcome to write in any of the white space.

One of my favorite parts of the book are the two-page spreads. I wouldnt really recommend writing on these, as it could be difficult, depending on which spread it is. The two-page spreads have a yearbook-y quality to me, and I think they really showcase our photographer's talent and how beautiful Athens, Georgia can be in the fall.

I've mentioned several times that guests will be instructed to write in the white space. I haven't decided if there's going to be a guest book attendant or not, but in the event there isn't one (or she's busy), I made a little sign (surprise, surprise) to hang out with our book. Here's my mock up:

Essentially, its just the book, some pens in a votive candle holder and the sign telling people what to do. I don't anticipate our guests having a whole lot of trouble with this. You either write a message or you don't. I really hope everyone will though.

There are quite a large number of places you can have photo books made. I decided to go with Blurb, because I'd heard good things about the book quality, the prices were competitive, and the software was very easy to use. I had a positive experience with Blurb and would highly recommend Blurb books to anyone wanting to show case their photography, their writing, or some combination of the two.

So there it is folks. Our photo guestbook. This was not nearly as cheap as many of my other projects, but I was willing to sacrifice cost for quality and bridal satisfaction (lol). The PHI and I love this little book and we can't wait to see what kinds of things our guests decide to fill in the white space with.

♥

*Sidenote: who knew blogging daily would be this much work? When is the last time I posted so many days in a row? Oh, I remember. Spring Break. And then I took almost a month off. I promise I wont do that this time!

DIY Week: Welcome (day four)

2009-04-23T08:32:00.000-04:00

I fell in love with the idea of Our Of Town Boxes/Bags before I even knew what they were called. Once I figured out that they were a little treat bag that you can leave for your guests at their hotel to welcome them to the wedding, I knew we had to have them. Today's post is simply about the packaging. Technically I've delegated the task of filling and delivering them to BM Dionne, but MamaP and I have already started discussing the types of things we want to fill them with, including some really cute baked goods. I'll have to dedicate a separate post to the contents, once we figure everything out.

Besides, the packaging is what pulls you in anyway, right?
Right. Packaging it is!

I love these little gable boxes. They are typically used for box lunches (at least that's where I usually see them), and can be expensive if you don't buy them in bulk. I got mine from another bride who ordered 100 but only needed 30. She then sold the remainder out to whomever wanted them. I think I ended up with 20, which should tide me over. If I need more, I'll just supplement with white gift bags.

Then it was time to dress them up a bit.

To make the labels, I designed a fairly simple message in my good friend PowerPoint. To maximize card stock real estate, I put 9 on a page, and print out enough for my 20 gable boxes, plus a few extra. Then I used my trusty Cutterpede (if you don't know about these, they are fab!) to...cut them out.

While I was at it, I cut out some slightly larger teal rectangles. This part was a little trial and error - I think I ended up using 12x12 scrapbook paper for the teal backing. I like to do all my cutting at one time, ending up with these two piles, which I proceeded to glue together.

I measured a length of kiwi polka dot ribbon (again, trial and error - no measuring for me!) and used double sided tape to attach the tag to a piece of kiwi polka dot ribbon on one side.

Then I wrapped the ribbon around the box and used another piece of tape to attach it on the other side. I chose double sided tape for this project, because it works double duty: it attaches the decoration to each other, and to the box itself.

I have only assembled one (as a mockup to make sure the design works) because its easier to store and move the boxes unassembled. This is one of the projects I will tackle a few days before the wedding. Seeing that all the pieces are ready, its just a matter of taping everything together and filling them.

Are out of town boxes necessary? No. And I know that. But I think that if our guests are spending all this money and time to travel and participate in our wedding festivities to express their love and support, the least we could do is spend a little money and time to make them feel welcome.

I saved the best project this week for last...see you tomorrow!
♥

DIY Week: All the Little Ladies (day three)

2009-04-22T11:47:00.012-04:00

All the little ladies (all the little ladies)
All the little ladies (all the little ladies)
All the little ladies (all the little ladies)
All the little ladies...now throw your flowers up!

Yesterday I showed you what our little guys were toting down the aisle, so naturally today is about the little girls. As I mentioned before, we're having four little ladies in the wedding. Three of the flower throwing variety (i.e. flower girls), and one of the flower carrying variety (e.g. junior 'maid).

Lets start with the flower girl baskets. In the spirit of full disclosure, I have not quite completed the flower girl baskets. They're in SoFla right now with MamaP, so I couldn't finish them this past weekend while tying up other DIY loose ends. They're on the list for August when I'm home for my shower. Here's what I've got so far:

{side view}
Buying any kind of flower girl accessory/prop for three can get expensive quickly. Per my usual, I took matters into my own hands, and purchased plain baskets (from where else, Hobby Lobby) and proceeded to hook them up with some glossy spray paint. It took way more spray paint than I expected to get fairly even coats on the baskets. I'll probably have to touch them up again in August as you can tell they have been bumped around a bit in transit.

{here are all three together}
After several coats of paint, I purchased some ivory fabric and proceeded to hot glue some of it inside in a non-bootleg way. Now that I think about it, fitting the satin inside the baskets was more complicated than I anticipated too - lol.

I plan to finish these baskets off with some teal and (probably polka dot) kiwi ribbon. I'll probably wrap the ribbon around the handle and put some bows at the bottom on each side. We'll have to see when they're in front of me again.

{the flower pomander}
I have a hard time calling the oldest little girl a junior 'maid. She's a good bit older than the other girls, and will love this more grown up role. I'd much rather think of her as the Head Flower Girl (Hm, I kinda like that...it may show up in the program, lol). As such, she gets to carry her flowers down the aisle in the form of a pomander. I got this idea from MnOH Krissi, as I carried a flower pomander in her wedding almost 3 years ago.

{all secure!}
MnOH Krissi gave me some pretty straightforward instructions. To start, I purchased a foam ball and used straight pins to attach the handle to the ball. Depending on the type of flowers you decide to attach, a little ball will go a long way. Also, put more pins than you think you need. I recommend you try to angle the pins as you insert them to make the handle more secure. And then don't use the handle to carry it until absolutely necessary. The handles can be a real headache, and once it decides it wants to come out, its hard to seriously secure it again.

{I call this the Mohawk technique}
After you secure the handle, you can add the flowers. This part is largely trial and error. I ended up using a chopstick to stick a hole in the foam ball first, then I filled it with hot glue and stuck the flower pieces in.

I used pieces of silk hydrangea for the flower ball, since that's what I'm carrying. Unfortunately, they are not the cheapest flower, but I got them on sale at Michaels (surprise, surprise). I would recommend that you pull apart the flowers before you start to stick and glue. It kind of wrecks your flow if you have to keep stopping to this. Also, I cant emphasize enough that you should buy more flowers than you think you need. Like, 2x the amount. I sucks to have to stop mid project because you ran out of materials. Trust me, I know.

{about halfway done}
Once you get your rhythm, the ball comes together quickly. Its just poke and glue, poke and glue. Try and place the flowers fairly close together so that you don't have bald spots in your pomander. If you put them too close, it will take many more flowers. I wouldn't worry too much about it though, bald spots can be fixed. And if you have a disaster, you can just pull the flowers out and start again.

{one last pic}
I love how the ball turned out. Its a little bigger than I intended, but I really think my Head Flower Girl will enjoy carrying this down the aisle, like the other big girls.

So there you have it folks. For the most part, all the props for our little ladies are ready to go. I cant wait to see it all together - them in their dresses and carrying their props. They're going to be so cute!

Tomorrow I'm going to show you something for our guests. And no, I don't mean the favors. Adi!

♥

DIY Week: Giving the Boys Their Props (day two)

2009-04-21T09:52:00.002-04:00

Today lets talk entourage. Not the 'maids, but my other set of attendants: the kids!

As I've mentioned before, we have lots of little ones in our wedding. They range in age from 3 to 10, and are all pretty cute and full of personality. Yes, I know having kids in the wedding is a potential attention-hog, but it was a huge wedding compromise for the PHI and I. He wanted kids in the wedding, and I said if were going to do it, we're doing it big. Six kids big.

Four of the kids are little girls - three are our official flower girls (petal throwing) and one will be like a junior bridesmaid (petal carrying). Figuring out what the girls would do was easy, and I'll show you their props in another post. Getting the boys situated was a little more difficult. The youngest boy will be about 3, and he'll get to carry the official ring bearer pillow. This pillow.

{the color is a little off, I promise its teal and kiwi}
I found this fabric at Hobby Lobby, and made this pillow (under MamaP's casual supervision) back while I was home in December. I won't go into detail about how I made the pillow, as they are generally very easy to pull together. Two pieces of fabric, some needle and thread, more stuffing than you might think, and some ribbon to dress it up a bit. Oh, and about 20 minutes of your time. I love how the pattern is green and teal, with an appropriate level of whimsy. Perfect for a little boy to carry down the aisle. Sans rings of course - there's no way I'm placing my diamonds in the hands of a three year old.

The other little boy in the wedding is going to be eight by October. In my opinion, that's a little old for ring-bearing. We needed something him to do. Initially, I thought it would be cute if he walked or ran down the aisle, ringing a bell and shouting "the bride is coming!" While cute in theory, I quickly came to my senses as my mind started going through all the permutations of what could potentially go wrong with that plan. Back to the drawing board.

{image source}
A couple of months ago, I came across these Here Comes the Bride Banners on the I Do Originals website. Loved the look, and the potential photo op, but I was not terribly wild about the cost. Or the size. Or the font. And again, the cost.

Enter DIY...

{I would have heart hooks next to the front door, right?
This is my version of a Here Comes the Bride Banner. I made ours smaller, since only one little boy will be carrying it, and with green accents (since he'll be in the same teal that the bridal party is wearing).

The fabric (muslin; used for rough drafts of sewing projects) was purchased at Hobby Lobby. I chose this fabric because I wanted it to be light weight, but heavier than your standard issue broadcloth. And it was a happy medium between the white and ivory cloth in the fabric section. I think I bought a half a yard and it cost next to nothing. The dowel and the fabric glue (no sewing!) I also got at Hobby Lobby.

I seriously ♥ Hobby Lobby.

The text is stickers. Scrapbooking stickers to be exact. I still have not gotten over my aisle runner experience, so there was no way I was going to be painting anything soon. The stickers worked out perfectly, and were on clearance (score!). The ribbon is some of that same $1 bin ribbon from Michaels. I used a thicker one on the banner itself, and a thinner one for the handle. Still no sewing. All that ribbon is either tied or sewed on, and I used the fabric glue to turn under the sides and make a pocket to slide the dowel through.

The whole banner, including the handle is about 18 inches long. I was a little afraid of making it too big for an 8 year old to manage, but I think the sizing came out just right. All in all, I spent next to nothing on this project, and I'm absolutely enamored with it.

Cute, budget friendly little boys props? Check!

Wanna know what the little girls are carrying?
Guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow, wont I.

♥

DIY Week Drive-By: Hair Flower

2009-04-20T18:32:00.002-04:00

Whereas most of my DIY Week posts are long and explanation laden, there are at least a couple projects that I can show you without all that. A little text a few pictures will suit them just fine. Enter the drive-by post.

Think of these posts as the equivalent of you coming over to my house to hang out, and I pop up suddenly from the sofa to say "ooh, lemme show you something real quick."*

So, lemme show you the flower I made to wear in my hair for the wedding.

{meet my model, my favorite bear Lorenzo}
This was yet another project that I was not willing to pay very much for. Essentially, I purchased a silk flower (I believe it may have been a gardenia) from Michaels, and took it apart. I wanted it to have a little bit of visual interest, so I added some pieces of tulle between some of the layers.

{its amazing to me what a little tulle can do}
After I decided about petal and tulle placement, I hot glued everything to each other, and then added some pearls to the front. I then used the hot glue to add a piece of felt and a pin back to the back of the flower. This way I have the option of wearing it on my clothes or (with the help of some bobby pins) in my hair.

{thanks Zo!}
And there you have it, easy peasy hair accessory!

♥

*yes, this example is based on my real-life behavior - lol.

DIY Week: U-N-I-T-Y (day one)

2009-04-20T08:35:00.001-04:00

Welcome to DIY Week! I'll spare you some grandiose introduction and get right to the goodness.

{that taper on the right has a gangsta lean}
That, my lovely readers, is our recently completed unity candle set. The unity candle, like many other things in the wedding world at large, has the tendency to look tired and cliche, and cost way more than its actually worth (physically, not symbolically of course). I was not willing to spend very much on this, and I was not willing to buy an ugly one. Low cost and non-cookie cutter? Sounds like I needed to make my own.

You should recognize this monogram. Its the same one on our aisle runner, with a slight modification in the way the date is typed. All I had to do to make it candle-ready was make it ALOT smaller. Initially, I wanted to print the monogram on clear vellum, and use teal ribbon as accents. However, my Epson printer was not having any part of that plan, as it refused to print anything on my vellum. Instead, I printed the monogram on white copy paper, and used some teal card stock scraps as an accent. To "decorate" the tapers, I opted to simply wrap some kiwi green ribbon close the the base of the candles. I think its just enough green and teal to keep up with the rest of the decor, but not so much that it beats you over the head with kiwi and teal. I think it turned out pretty cute.

Now lets talk money (for a bit). Remember, in order to be a success, the set needed to not only be aesthetically pleasing, but also inexpensive.

I purchased all of my materials at Michaels and Hobby Lobby. Interestingly, Michaels charged less for the pillar candle (the big one in the middle), and Hobby Lobby always has the tapers on sale (usually half off). I spent $3 for the pillar, and another $1 for the tapers. The silver-tone stand was half off the day I got it, so I only spent $5 on that. Oh, and the ribbon is from the dollar bin at Michaels. All together, the materials ran me $10, since I already had the paper here at the crib. Unity candle sets in the stores start at $19.99, so I was definitely right that it was cheaper to make my own.

Cute + cheap = DIY success.

{one more pic, please excuse my junky apartment}
I struggled with this project for a long time. I've had these materials for ages! Just couldn't decide what I wanted it to look like. This past weekend, while working on some other projects, inspiration finally struck. It was so simple, I felt silly for not having thought of it sooner. And after inspiration arrived (fashionably late), I ran with it because I could see the end result in my mind. I know its going to be a lovely addition to our ceremony space.

One project down, several more to go.

So what do we really think about unity candles? Symbolic? Traditional? Antiquated? In need of a much cooler replacement?

...until tomorrow!
♥

DIY Week! (a.k.a PDI Week)

2009-04-19T16:31:00.000-04:00

Starting tomorrow, this upcoming week is going to be all about the DIY. I've been plowing through my list of to-dos (and shamefully adding things) lately, and its time for me to get you, my lovely readers, all caught up.

As I look over my DIY list - which I should really call PDI (for "Patti Did It") - most of the things I'm going to share this upcoming week would fall squarely in the Details category. Generally speaking, I loove details. Not just for weddings, but in my daily life as well (hence the matching small cosmetic, checkbook cover, and coin purse that live inside my handbag...that no one ever sees). Naturally, our wedding would have some delicious little details that only I - and now you - may actually notice.

Which is just the way I like it.

So stick around this week while I show, tell, and flex my creative muscle a bit. I cant wait to hear what you think!

♥

I Do Vera, Do You?

2009-04-18T12:21:00.006-04:00

As many of you know, one of my favorite Vera Bradley patterns, Peacock, is being retired (well, its in the process of retiring...think of it as being in the DROP Program). Its also considered an unofficial wedding color. This has worked out really well in my opinion because not only do I have a real life example of how the colors work together, it gives me a quasi legitimate reason for buying up Vera Bradley products in the name of the wedding - lol.

MnOH Krissi and I are the Vera girls in the bunch. I can thank her for referring my favorite Vera retailer (that doesn't charge me sales tax for shipping to FL and gives free embroidery), and always being supportive of my Vera purchases. In fact, just recently during my pocket square post, she suggested Vera as a way to incorporate the color scheme while giving the guys a lil sumthin sumthin different.

Ya'll will be very proud of me. When it comes to issues of menswear, I feel compelled to run ideas by the PHI before I act on them. So when MnOH Krissi mentioned Vera, I loooved the idea.

She even suggested that we use these napkins and cut them down to pocket square size. Their Peacock pocket squares would coordinate, not exactly match, but it would still be an interesting pop of color, right?

Wrong. When I mentioned it to the PHI (obviously thrilled and excited), he calmly told me that he would wear a Peacock pocket square if I wanted him too but he did not think it was a good idea for the groomsmen. I love that the PHI is willing to wear what I ask, but that was the whole point! The PHI is still scheduled to wear a bout, and it looks like the guys will be in black pocket squares.

You wont even really be able to see the black pocket squares against their black tux!

I digress.

So I'm taking a small loss on the menswear front. I'm okay with it. As my consolation prize, I'll just continue to purchase Vera for myself. The PHI doesn't have to do Vera the way I do. He doesn't have to like it at all really. As long as he can stomach carrying them for me, its ALL good.

So tell me, is it just me, or do you like Vera too? Guys, would you wear Vera menswear? Even if a bride asked you to?

♥

The Makeup Chronicles: Thanks O!

2009-04-16T21:16:00.012-04:00

Previously in the makeup chronicles: intro and manifesto, MAC me over, learning lashes

I (almost) hate to say this, but I am not a big Oprah Winfrey fan. I've never really watched her show, I've read some of her book club suggestions (usually a little before she deems them worthy of carrying her name and sticker) and was in sheer disbelief when I found out she was going to be on the cover of each issue of her magazine. Surely she was jesting. Nope, she wasn't. And until I actually picked up a copy of said magazine (thanks MdOH Dani), I was completely anti it too. At this point I realize you may have pegged me as a hater. Not at all true. I just didn't believe the hype...and truthfully I still don't.

However, I will give credit when its due. I really love the magazine. Although I cant afford much in it, it looks really polished and sophisticated which is pleasing to me. And I actually enjoy looking at Oprah's cover photos. Sometimes she's wearing something really cute, or holding an interesting prop. I completely coveted her hair all last summer. It was the hair I wish I could wear everyday - full and curly and fab.

The point of today's post is not hair. Its makeup.

Besides, she's switched over to a straight look that suits her but is not as covet-able as that curly wonderfulness.

Anyway, I finally got around to reading the May 09 issue of O (trying to be better about reading magazines since I only keep 3 of each in the house at a time), and I couldnt take my eyes off madam O. Look for yourself:

I loooove her makeup this month! Its natural, but glowy, and if she's wearing fake lashes I can't tell (truth be told, I think she is though). It screams daytime bridal to me. I'd been struggling to find some halfway decent makeup inspiration pictures and now I have one.

I'm happy with just one.

So you may be wondering why I need some inspiration if I'm doing my own makeup. Well, it always helps to have a model, right? Naw, I'm just joking. There is a slight chance that a professional may end up doing my makeup after all. BM Tamerah requested that I look into having a makeup artist come do my makeup (...and hers, MamaP, BM Naima). She offered to subsidize it as my gift and at that point, I knew there was no amount of explaining that could change her mind.

So I caved.
And then kindly asked MdOH Dani to look into it for me.

I haven't heard anything back in awhile on the makeup artist front, so I cant give a full update yet. Its in lovely capable hands, so now worries on my end. I'm just thrilled have finally found an inspiration picture that captures what I want for my wedding day makeup - whether I do it myself or recruit someone else to make me up. What gets me, is that I found it a seemingly unlikely place.

Thanks Oprah!
♥

important (random) revelation

2009-04-15T21:16:00.003-04:00

I hate to interrupt the wedding talk, but I feel like I need to share something that's really starting to wreck my mood (and my Bridal Brilliance in the process): My house is a mess. Like, its so bad that I now see why people pay good money for house keeping service.

But today I stumbled upon something that I think may work for me...once I get my house cleaned up a bit. Its called the Daily 7 for A Highly Successful Household, and the lady that created it used Covey's 7 Habits for Highly Effective people as the inspiration for 7 behaviors that we can do everyday to make our houses a little cleaner.

Number 1: Make Beds Right Away

Number 2: Do One Complete Load of Laundry

Number 3: Empty All Garbage Cans

Number 4: Keep Your Kitchen Sink Empty

Number 5: Clean Up After Yourself and Help Children Do the Same

Number 6: Bathroom Wipe-Down

Number 7: Before Bed 10-Minute Clean Up

See, it breaks cleaning up into small, manageable tasks. If you do a little every day, the house will stay pretty clean. If you're interested in more details, you can read more about the Daily 7 here.

I actually think I'm going to apply this to my wedding world - which could also use a good bit of spring cleaning. But maybe only 1 or 2 things daily (rather than all 7).

Number 1: Tackle one thing on my growing to-do list, no matter how small (and even if I add two additional things in its place)

Number 2: Have the daily wedding pow wow with my co-planner, MamaP

Now if only I could get in the habit of making my bed...on any day (let alone every day).

♥

Sans Bouts

2009-04-09T18:23:00.001-04:00

I'm not sure what happened first. All I know is that I got it in my mind that we did not need boutonnieres, and that these could be a viable alternative for live flowers.

Here's another view. Pretty cute, huh? I had even considered incorporating some of them into the 'maids bouquets to tie it all together. The instructions seemed simple enough. All I needed was fabric, floral wire, floral tape, modge podge, scissors, and a little bit of time. Those last four things I already had. I found some cute teal and green fabric, the wire and the tape at (my fave) Hobby Lobby.

What seemed like a really cute idea turned out to be a complete and utter disaster! Its so bad I couldn't even take a picture to show you. I just threw it away. All in all, the materials cost very little, so I didn't take a huge financial hit on this crafting failure. If I had to mass produce them they would have been about $1 each, if that much. However, this was my leading contender for boutonniere alternative. So I needed a new plan.

Enter pocket squares.

When MamaP and I first discussed the guys going sans bout, she suggested pocket squares. At the time, I was not sure you could wear them with tuxes. Turns out, people do, and they're considered to be quite chic when done well. (Besides, its not like the guys are dying to wear flowers on their lapel - lol).

Once I found that out, I started thinking about colors. My first choice would some teal and green combo. That was quickly shot down. Then I thought green or teal would be nice. But I was having a hard time finding some online that didn't look cheap or weren't terribly expensive. MamaP suggested I contact our tuxedo "vendor," MW Tux to see if they could help us out. And it was at that point, that I decided to delegate this to the PHI.

Especially since he's always offering to help.

Yesterday while strolling through the mall, we stopped into MW Tux to ask about pocket squares. It was his idea to stop in there, since he hadn't completed his pocket square recon. Turns out that the tuxes already come with pocket squares! But they're black. Against a black tux. And the other options are ivory, red, and other fairly standard colors. They don't carry teal or green. So, if we wanted teal, green, or some combo, we'd need to find some other place to get them from.

What did we decide?
Black pocket squares it is. Something like this:

{found here}

To summarize:
- We decided against live flower boutonieres.
- I thought I could make fabric flowers to use instead.
- That was my first crafting failure.
- Change of plan: pocket squares.
- Tuxes come with black pocket squares.
- We're going to use the black pocket squares.

I love that the current plan manages to save us money. Boutonnieres from the florist would have been about $8 each, and the fabric flowers would have been $1 each. Their pocket squares won't cost us a single brown penny! I would have liked them to be in a wedding color, but frankly, I don't think the guys care. And if they don't care, I'm going to try not to care either.

Well, not that much.

Whatcha think? Boutonnieres: necessary? not needed? good place to save in the budget? opportunity to do something different? Do you plan to have your guys wear them? Why or why not?

♥

Its been a long time...

2009-04-09T13:27:00.003-04:00

...I shouldn't have left you.
At the very least, I shouldn't have left you without reading materials.
I'm sorry ya'll.

I know its been awhile since I blogged. In fact, MamaP mentioned it yesterday. Yes, my mama. My mama who reads my blog and giggles. My mama who assumes that I blog because I'm an only child and I need someone to talk to (she's not terribly off base with that one). So when MamaP noticed I hadn't posted in awhile, I knew it was time to comeback.

You're probably wondering what happened.

Well, when I got home from Spring Break, I needed a break from the wedding. So I took one. At first I was just tired of talking about the wedding. But then I realized I didnt feel like writing about it either. I think all brides get to this place at some point in the planning process. I was overdue for a small vacay.

Despite self-imposing a wedding-vacay, I was still doing wedding stuff. But mostly just the bare minimum. As an example of my wedding-negligence, there are about 6 save the dates that need to go in the mail. Have I sent them yet? Nope. Am I worried? Not really. They'll go out soon enough.

Long story short, I'm back, refreshed, and bearing lots lots more wedding goodness to share. We only have 6 months left!

And as a peace offering, if you promise to come back by later today, I promise to tell you about my first (and hopefully last) wedding craft failure, and its replacement plan.

Interested?
See ya in a bit.

♥

Please Save the Date

2009-03-15T08:52:00.002-04:00

Now that I've confirmed that a fair number of our guests have gotten them, I'm finally ready to share our save the dates with you!

When I decided to make them myself, I knew that I wanted the fonts to be Century Gothic and Freebooter Script (to match the rest of the paper), that it would include our website address, assumed that it would be teal and kiwi in someway, and have our picture on it. I love that picture of us, and preferred it in black and white, so when I decided to use that photo, I just made the whole card black and white. I think that STDs can be a departure from the invites (especially since they are usually ordered before invites are fully decided upon) as long as they ultimately coordinate with the other paper-goods. Ours do, and I'll prove it...in due time.

I designed the cards in PowerPoint, converted the file to a pdf, and uploaded it to VistaPrint so I could get them for free. There is always some kind of promotion going on where you can get free stuff. I googled "VistaPrint free postcards" or something like that and found a code to get 100 postcards for free. All I had to do was pay the minimal image upload fee (it was like $2.50) and the shipping. Unless you need them yesterday, don't waste your money on the fast shipping. I selected the slowest (and cheapest) rate and got them in about a week and a half. Card printing and shipping: about $8.

To keep with the black and white design, I decided to mail them in black envelopes. I really wanted the envelopes with the Euro (triangle) flap, but these square "announcement" type were a little cheaper so I ordered 100 of those from envelopemall.com. Again, I selected the standard shipping rate. It was kind of expensive, but crazy fast. I think I got them like 2 or 3 days later. I was a little nervous about mailing the black envelopes, but I asked around and determined they should make it okay (they did). Envelope cost and shipping: about $17

I made these wrap around labels using my Xyron 510 sticker maker machine and plain ole copy paper. Designing the labels themselves was a little tricky. I made a table in Word, and then hid all the borders except for the outside one - which I made polka dotted. Then I cut and pasted my formatted table a gazillion times - I was able to fit about 5 labels to a sheet.

After all the labels were printed, I cut them and ran them through my Xyron. I love my Xyron. It doesn't require batteries and will turn almost anything into a sticker. Easy peasy wrap around labels. I purchased my Xyron ages ago, but hadn't used it for a project yet. I'm planning to use it for our favor tags, the programs, and possibly to make another set of wrap around labels for the wedding invites. Haven't decided how I'm going to address them yet. Wrap around labels: a little bridal elbow grease.

As I mentioned last week, to save some change on postage, a good number of the save the dates were hand-delivered. However, we did end up mailing about 40 of them. 40 stamps: $16.80

Here's the gang all ready for their trip to the mailbox.

I have to admit, initially I was against sending STDs. I thought it was a waste of paper and outside of our budget. The PHI felt very strongly about sending notification to our OOT guests and I told him that I would agree to them on one condition: that they'd cost us less than $1 each (I know, I can be awful). I'm so glad we sent them now. I think they are a lovely combination of chic and personal, and invoke the spirit of our wedding invites without being teal and kiwi green. You already know the best part: the price! Forty-two cents each! Couldn't beat that with a stick if I tried.

Are you planning on sending STDs? What qualities would you like yours to have?

♥

Idunno about you, but I need a visual.

2009-03-14T11:29:00.008-04:00

I don't know if you noticed, but I failed to mention what I want the cake to look like in my last cake post. The cake design is just as important to me as the contents, and I knew I'd need a visual aide to explain my vision to the baker. So I threw this together in PowerPoint:

click to enlarge
Basically, its my two favorite cake inspiration pics, and an explanation of which aspects of the inspiration cakes that I'd like our cake to have. I also included a small picture of our cake topper so that the baker could see it without me having to tote it around. Here's a larger one.

I made the cake topper using some wooden letters from Michaels, a thin wooden dowel (divided into 3 pieces), metallic green acrylic paint and a little bit of high gloss sealant.

Making these was a really simple project. First, I sanded and painted the letters, then I used hot glue to attach the dowels, and finally I spray painted the letters with the high gloss sealant. The whole project took me less than a couple of hours, and only cost me about $6. I think they're going to be really cute on the cake, and are very similar to the topper from one of our cake inspiration pics.

I was able to leave a copy of our cake planning sheet with Lorene and I'll have a copy in my wedding planner. I'm thinking about updating it to include the cake dimensions and flavors (may as well be thorough, right?). I highly recommend pulling together a comprehensive visual aide when you go speak with your vendors. If you don't know what you like, that's one thing. But when you know what you want, I think it helps your vendor if you can connect the dots between your inspiration pictures so they'll have the vision too...in your own words.

♥

We Got a Cake!

2009-03-12T10:22:00.000-04:00

Today, MamaP, my BFF Brew (who's also a groomsman) and I went to have a cake tasting. MamaP suggested Lorene from Lorene's Loving Oven to bake our cake because she'd had Lorene's pies when my uncle passed away several years ago and was impressed by the quality. Lorene is a professional baker whose product really does taste homemade.

I was a bad bride, and didn't take any pics at the tasting - of the adorable little cakes she served, or us eating said adorable cakes. When I stopped by on Tuesday (on a whim) She asked what I'd be interested in tasting and I told her we wanted to taste the standards, as well as their specialty: butter pecan. She also did a small cake in fondant, because I told her I wasn't wild about it and MamaP and Brew had never tasted it. The verdict? It tasted better than I thought it would, but it still felt a little weird in my mouth. Like, the texture is so different from the rest of the cake, there's a little fondant left in your mouth that you have to kinda chew separately.

When I say it that way, it sounds gross, doesn't it? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound gross.

Anyway, we (mostly me) ultimately decided to have three tiers: the bottom tier will be a white cake with refreshing lemony custard filling. The middle tier will be red velvet with creme cheese frosting in the middle, and the top tier is chocolate with a fudge filling. The whole thing will be covered in vanilla butter cream.

As much as I love our cake, we are almost doubling our cake budget. And I cant pretend to be thrilled about that. As many of you know, the plan from the beginning was to get our cake from Publix. I love Publix. But as we moved along, the idea of getting our wedding cake from (my favorite) grocery store became more unsavory. I thought talking to the baker would make me feel better, but it just made me more uneasy. I was looking for someone to bake our cake without realizing it. So when MamaP suggested Lorene, and the cake was delish, I was sold.

I'd love to say we'll find some where to cut so that we can afford our cake. But we might not...and were getting it anyway. The deposit is paid. It is going to be SO GOOD. So good that people are going to be trying to take cake home. You'll see.

How do you feel about cake? Do you love cake too? Are you making it a priority at your wedding or are you willing to spend a little less so you can spend a little more elsewhere?

♥

The Makeup Chronicles: Learning Lashes

2009-03-11T21:42:00.004-04:00

Previously in the makeup chronicles: intro and manifesto, MAC me over

After I got my makeup done at MAC, I fell in love with the look of false lashes. Problem is, I've never applied them myself before. In a perfect world, I'd pop over to the Sephora across the street from the HHT. Since I'll be made up and dressed by the time Sephora even opens, that's not really an option.

So my bcurrent plan is to purchase some cheapies from my nearest drugstore and practice practice practice. That and watch a bunch of YouTube videos.

I found one today that I wanted to share with you ladies who are interested in developing/perfecting your own fake lashes technique (lol). Lo of Lo&Co (a professional make-up artist and WeddingBee Pro blogger) posted this entertaining how-to video for applying false lashes.

Not only was it hilarious, I really learned alot. I think I'm going to try my first lash application soon. How about you? Anyone feeling like the bold and beautiful and interested in doing them yourself? If so, wanna compare notes?

♥

Show Me

2009-03-10T11:15:00.001-04:00

On Sunday, I got to attend my first bridal show as a bride. As you can see I was pretty excited. Not only because it was my first one, but because I got to spend a good part of the day with some of my favorite ladies: MamaP, my MdOH (maid of honor) Dani, and Godmommy.

{l to r: MamaP, me, and Godmommy}
{l to r: me, MdOH Dani, and MamaP}
With less than 7 months to go a good bit of our wedding is already planned. However, bridal shows can be an excellent resource if you need inspiration or vendors. We went to a show down in Miami (which~60 miles away), and many of the vendors don't do events up our way. No biggie. MdOH Dani and I did see a DJ that was promising, so I went on their site and sent an email. We'll see.

By far, the best part about a bridal show is the inspiration. There were tons of food displays, flower arrangements, and just general decor. If you don't know what you might want your wedding to look like, popping by a bridal show isn't a bad idea. Here's a sampling of what we saw that day. MdOH Dani took all the pics because she rocks...and my hands were full.

They try to make up for the mass chaos at the beginning by giving us food...

How fab is this creation? I know it reads very tropical at first, but I think this would be an awesome addition to any cocktail hour or buffet set up. This booth also offered chocolate covered strawberries (See em? Bottom left corner). I could care less about that cheese, I was all about the strawberries.
SO cute! Too bad they tasted like crap.
There were also quite a few table scapes...

This blue, yellow and white combo just felt refreshing. I'm not sure I'd decorate a wedding reception table this way, but maybe a brunch or some other kind of ladies luncheon. I so want be a lady that lunches...hint hint. LOL.
If we were having sit down meal, we would totally have menu cards. I know they are a waste of paper, but I love them! They're an excellent way to add color to your tables, and provide another opportunity to use the wedding colors in the paper-goods. Plus, if done right, they are really chic.
And we mustn't forget the flowers...

MamaP and Godmommy love Calla Lillies. I like them okay. The bottom bouquet looks like my FSIL's bouqet - which was quite lovely. I'm just not a Calla Lilly girl.

This green and white arrangement is much more my style. Fabulous!
Oh and we absolutely loved this topiary. Perfect for a garden party themed wedding (or a bride that just loves topiaries). The vendors at this booth were giving out free roses to all of the ladies - everyone had a rose. I looove big lush romantic roses, and these pink ones were beautiful. Sorry, no pics.
I feel like bridal shows are part of a bride's rite of passage. You're expected to go to them and (believe it or not) alot of times brides can get in free. I'm thinking this might be my only one for my wedding. It was a fun afternoon, and I got a serious sugar high from the free samples (esp. the mini doughnuts, the Doubletree cookies, and the ice cream bar). But there were a gazillion people there, the people were poorly herded, and some wedding vendors are very very pushy. Overall, the fun times definitely outweighed the logistical difficulties. Have you ever attended a bridal show? Whatcha think about it?

♥

Hot Date w/ Hydrangea, part 2

2009-03-09T22:18:00.016-04:00

Now that we had the basics straightened out, the first hands-on thing (think: fun with flowers) we did was sort out the centerpieces. As I mentioned earlier, she suggested we provide our own glassware, and told me that for the size tables were having (60 inch rounds that seat 8-10 people), a 5-inch cube vase would be nice. Turns out 5-inch cubes are a little difficult to come by locally (and not to mention EXPENSIVE), but I found some 8 inch bubble vases that had a 5 inch opening. I brought those along instead.

Here's a mock-up of the centerpiece using green hydrangea and the bubble vases:

That's MamaP's hand. It was right at that point that she asked Darines if it was possible to add some greenery to the centerpieces. She went and retrieved these wide green leaf things and stuck a couple in there ( so we could get the look). Here is Centerpiece 2.0:

Not the best pic, but you can see the wide ribbon looking leaf I was talking about. She's going to add about five of them to each centerpiece and we're going to sit the centerpieces on a dark teal satin table runner. I just love them. They're exactly what I requested, but better.

Then we moved on to altar arrangements. I know I got on my bridal soapbox and declared that I wanted an arbor at the ceremony. Well, I've stepped down off said box, and have opted to have Darines design some arrangements to put at the front, rather than the arbor. I didn't have anything specific in mind, but we decided to use some silvery looking urns, filled with hydrangea arrangements. Initially we were thinking something like this:

That's Darines trying to hide - lol. We really liked the look of the white against the modern but still neutral containers. And we definitely could see using these arrangements somewhere else in the event space after the ceremony. But then Darines suggested throwing in a touch of color to these arrangements. Something like this:

She added some standard sized hydrangea stems that have a hints of green and blue on the leaves. From a distance they read green, but upon closer inspection you can see the touches of blue. I like AltarArrangement 2.0 better because the additional stems adds visual interest to the arrangements, and is a nice way to incorporate the wedding colors without beating everyone over the head with them.

Overall, I am so pleased with today's appointment. I went in not knowing what I wanted the ceremony decor to look like, and having all of the flowers turn out better than I imagined. Hydrangeas will be everywhere! I love that I'm able to use the bubble vases (that I can get at Michaels for the low), and that MamaP and Darines totally hit it off. I know everyone getting along is not necessary to work together, but it sure does make the process go a lot smoother.

Hiring a florist is definitely not the cheapest way to approach wedding flowers, but I definitely think its worth it. When its your turn, how are you planning to approach flowers? Do you already know what you want, or will you require an expert to help develop your vision?

♥

Hot Date w/Hydrangea,part 1

2009-03-09T20:50:00.001-04:00

Back in January, on a whim I decided to hire a florist rather than have my godmother arrange the flowers. Godmommy is not a florist by profession, but has this unbelievable talent when it comes to flowers - live, silk, it doesn't matter. While I knew hiring a professional would cost us more money, I really wanted Godmommy to be able to enjoy my wedding as the godmother of the bride, rather than the florist. Unfortunately, I decided this towards the end of my 2.5 week holiday break.

Enter Darines at Simply Flowers. I called to see if she could meet with me on such short notice, and she was crazy enough to schedule an appointment with me before I skipped town, and we hit it off immediately. She shares my love of hydrangeas and did not scoff at our very tiny floral budget. I had done my homework, so I knew I wanted:

Simple, but elegant flowers. I DO NOT like my flowers fussy. Designs featuring one or two types of flowers really speak to me
My bouquet to be white hydrangeas and ivory roses, and the 'maids flowers to have some green in them
Simple low round hydrangea centerpieces (white or green)

I also needed several boutonnieres and corsages. And after some discussion, MamaP and I decided we needed some floral ceremony decor. Thankfully, Darines sent a proposal back that was well within our budget, and told us that our centerpiece costs would decrease significantly if we could provide our own glassware. She also suggested we brainstorm ceremony decor when I was home in March.

I recruited MamaP to come with me to the floral meeting today. She wanted to meet Darines, and eyeball the flowers...even though she isn't paying for them. I think its a mama thing. Technically, the first thing we did was review the plans for the personal flowers: my bouquet, the 'maids, the boutonnieres and corsages. I'm carrying white hydrangeas with ivory roses, the 'maids are carrying ivory roses with kiwi green button mums, the PHI's bout will be roses and hydrangea like mine, the other bouts will be green button mums, and the corsages will be ivory roses. Just needed to verify that was still the plan. It was.

Thankfully our meeting was not all talk. In the next part I'll show you some pretty flowers...

♥

Gimme some suga

2009-03-09T11:04:00.002-04:00

Bridal showers have been on the brain lately. My maid Naima is spearheading what I'm calling my Atlanta shower, and she's been trying to get a date down in the books. My MnOH (matron of honor) is coordinating my SoFla shower. Both MamaP and MamaD are crunk about these showers and have pledged their support. From the looks of things, August and September are my months to get a little wet (lol), and I'm actually starting to get excited about the possibility.

Interestingly (or not), I really don't have a preference for how my girls make it rain. But I ran across this French Heart-Shaped Sugar that would be perfect for any kind of tea-themed party:

I know I'm biased, but I think these things are absolutely adorable. They come 64 to a package, and right now they're on clearance for $9.99. So, cute but a little overpriced.

Idunno. A little cute goes a long way with me, but maybe not that far. If you were throwing a tea, would you spring for the sugar to complete the look? Or would you spend that cash elsewhere?

♥

Lea-ving on a jetplane

2009-03-06T10:45:00.001-05:00

I'm going home today! Its almost kind of sad how excited I am. Well...maybe not. You'd be excited to if you got to go home to this:

You're looking at a pretty awesome picture of West Palm Beach, Florida (aka my SoFla hometown). That building on the left is the Palm Beach County Convention Center. The right is the West Palm Beach Marriott, the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts (I only use the whole name cause MamaP used to work there - most people just call it the Kravis Center), and the bottom right corner is the southwest side of CityPlace. If the camera scooted a bit to the right, you'd see our venue - the Harriet Himmel Theater! I just realized I haven't blogged about it yet, so I'll be sure to post some pics and show you around (it's absolutely fab).

Yes, many of the streets really are lined in palm trees like that. I never really noticed it until I moved away and started bringing friends home. Its always one of the first things they comment on - lol.

I will be at home for about a week and some change, and I'm looking forward to sleeping in, hanging with MamaP and the fam, handling some wedding business, going to my first bridal show (!) and getting a smidgen of school work done.

Can't wait, can't wait...

♥

I spy...

2009-03-05T16:36:00.008-05:00

...with my bridal eye something small, black and ready to be mailed.

As you may have guessed, those are our save the dates, all stamped and ready to go out. I am so excited about them! I promised you several weeks ago that I'd show and tell after the recipients got to see them, and we are still on schedule for the big reveal.

I have a small group of that will be hand-delivered (gotta love saving a on postage) to close family and friends. I'm traveling home to SoFla this weekend for Spring Break so it works out quite nicely. The rest will be dropped in the mail sometime tomorrow or Saturday. That means by the end of next week, you'll have seen them too!

Cant wait? Me either!
♥

Heart Bling + Target = All Good

2009-03-04T09:09:00.002-05:00

Remember that bracelet I told you about? Well, I bit the bullet and ordered it! As soon as it got here, I immediately opened the box and tried it on - I had to see it on my wrist. It is so sparkly and those are definitely blinged out heart shapes. Here are some pics I took just for you (because I love you just that much):

{the topside}
{and the underside where you can really see the hearts}
Please excuse how dark the photos are (and that trash that needs to go out). It is SO sparkly (I know, I keep saying that), I had to turn the flash off to get a decent pic. I am so glad that ya'll encouraged me to order it. I absolutely love it. Waay more than anyone should ever love a bracelet. Even one with blinged out hearts - lol.

However, seeing the heart bling in person has made me seriously reconsider the remainder of my accessories. I still wanted to wear earrings with some type of sparkle, but maybe not on the level of the essence of pretzel earrings we all loved. Then I remembered that I had some earrings that I got from Target ages ago. Here's a (halfway decent) pic of them in my ear:

The earrings are pearls, clear crystals and rhinestones. Simple, elegant and a lovely accompaniment to my blinged out bracelet. At the time, I liked their elegant simplicity (and $8.99 price tag), but over time I had stopped liking them quite so much. Yesterday, while tidying up the apartment (before the cable/internet came back on) I ran across them and saw them in a new light. Whereas before, they were a little too understated, now they were just what I needed. Dangly, with some sparkle.

That $8.99 price tag ain't half bad either.

Normally, I'd end the post with brilliant piece of take-home advice. Ya know, something to inspire your own wedding or accessory shopping, or something to encourage you to look for bridal accessories in unexpected places. I'm going to break up the pattern and leave you with three (fairly obvious) words: I love Target.

♥

The Makeup Chronicles: MAC me over

2009-03-03T09:15:00.002-05:00

Previously in the makeup chronicles: intro and manifesto

When I decided to do my own makeup, I knew I wanted to consult with some professionals along the way. Well, for some reason I decided to stop by the MAC counter in the mall for my first "make-up consultation." The reason I say "for some reason" is because every time I've gone to a MAC counter, its been too much. Too much color, too much foundation, just...too much. More makeup than a girl like me (who wears little to no makeup most days) would ever apply, even on my wedding day. However, you really cant beat the color selection they offer. Have you seen the displays? Shadows, blushes, lipstick for days! Too tempting for this DIY bride.

Despite my previous experiences, I threw caution to the wind, sat down in the chair, and hoped for the best. Here's what I got. I forgot I should have taken pics before I blended my shadow with my fingers and wiped off some of the makeup. Even with my "sabotage," I think this one with my eyes closed shows off the overall look better:

...and this one that the PHI and MamaP will approve of, with my eyes open:

As anticipated, overall I thought it was too much. The foundation was a greasy mess, the shadow was poorly blended, and the lipliner was a little overkill. However, there were several things I did like:

The eyeshadow base (you cant really see it in this pic) was a creamy peachy color. It was awesome by itself, and I didn't understand why she proceeded to put some other colors on top (and then not blend them). I would have posted its info, but come to find out that its not recommended for use on the eyes. Why in the world she put it on me, I have no idea. Maybe she didn't know?

Sheertone blush in Pinch O' Peach. Its a shimmery peach blush. I could tell by the way she applied it that a little bit goes a long way. Definitely layer it on a little at a time. It gave me the bridal glow that I have pictured in my mind, without having to add a whole lot of other products.

LustreGlass in Beaux on my lips. It's a bronzy-shimmery color. I liked that she asked me what color LipGlass I normally wear (Oh Baby and C-Thru are my faves), and then selected this one. She lined my lips first, a move I haven't done since undergrad, and I started to remember why I used to do that. We'll probably do a little of that day of.

Fake lashes! This was my first time in them. I think my natural lashes look pretty good, especially when topped with a good black mascara, but the fake lashes take it to a whole new level. Love.it.

So what did I take from my lessons? Peachy-bronzy neutrals are definitely the look I'm going for. I normally wear neutral/shimmery pinks, so this is a reasonable and logical side step for wedding-day colors. I also literally took away that delicious peachy blush and the LustreGlass.

It goes without saying that she must have used about 15 different products on me, and tried to sell me everything from the moisturizer she used (no wonder I was greasy), to all the makeup products she used, and the brushes she used to apply it with! Seriously. Were talking hundreds of dollars of product. Do people really fall for this? She acted as if I never ever wore makeup and I needed everything! I'm not sure if I was supposed to buy something, but I already had it in my mind that if she used something I really liked, I'd definitely purchase. And that's exactly what I did.

Cheeks and lips? Check. Two products down, several more to go.
To be continued...
♥

A party in my honor...at Crate&Barrel!

2009-03-02T20:27:00.013-05:00

I'm sorry I've been a little absentee, but I have a really good excuse: It was snowing.

I'm serious! This isn't your run of the mill cat-ate-your-homework kind of excuse. It was like the NorthPole got turned around and hung out in Atlanta and Athens for a while. Look!

This was my drive back to Athens yesterday. I might have been about halfway home when we took this picture. Yes, there was snow in the forecast, but we usually only technically get snow (think: nothing that sticks or gets in the way). No one was prepared for this. My car got stuck and I abandoned her and hiked home (about .25 mile in the snow), the power went out, the power came back on, the cable/internet was out almost all day today, UGA shut down, and I still can't see my driveway. Yes, I was able to "rescue" my car this morning and now she's parked on the street - lol. I was serious about not being able to see that driveway.

So at this point, you're probably thinking, "With that kind of snowstorm on the horizon, what made you leave the house?" This did:

Our Crate&Barrel registry is by far my fave, so there was no way I could pass up the chance to shop at an exclusive event for registry holders! Besides, it was only raining when we struck out from Athens. Because the PHI was away handling some business this weekend, I went with my most favorite (and only) bridal attendant MJ. She wont let me post her pic, but you'll meet her at the wedding. She's the one who will be accompanying me and helping me stay photo-worthy fab all day.

Anyway, I'd already "started" our C&B registry online, but I just knew there would be some things I hadn't thought about registering for, and some other things that I wanted to talk to someone about. I really enjoyed talking to one of the C&B ladies about knives. Oooh, and there was this really awesome electric hot-water heater. Wait, that's not what its called. I think its an electric tea kettle? Hmm, that doesn't sound right either. All I know is that it heats water up in 90 seconds, and I registered for it.

I also really enjoyed being able to palpate many of the items on our registry. Our china is absolutely lovely. MJ commented that she thought it would be nice now, and just as nice 30 year from now when our kids are bringing home their fiance's to meet the parents. Two things I love about that comment. One, she thinks it will stand the test of time style-wise. I picked it because its classic and has a lovely dot accessory. So, mission accomplished. Two, I seem to give off the vibe that I will have people over for dinner and serve them food on the china. Score! I so want to be that lady. Our registry totally reflects that; there's all kinds of hostess stuff on there.

By far, my most favorite thing was holding that scanner.

All of the bridal guides encourage you to give the scanner to your man, so that he can feel involved in the process. Nuh uh. Now that I've seen the light, I don't want to let it go. That scanner and I are BFFs now.

We arrived at the store around 9:30 (it opened early for the event), and we stayed there easily a couple of hours. I had so much fun! I picked out some new things, re-evaluated some things that were already on there, added some furniture pieces that we'll (hopefully) get after the wedding, all while drinking mimosas! MJ even picked up some souvenirs for her parents.

As the icing on the cake, right before we left the store, I spotted a real-life example of our wedding colors:

You know I almost bought those cups. Don't the kiwi and teal look fab? I ended up not buying them. On one hand, I'm thankful that I didn't since I had to pay to have my car pulled out of the snow on the way home. But now that I'm looking at the pics, I really liked them.

Maybe I'll add them to our registry.

♥

The Makeup Chronicles: Intro & Manifesto

2009-02-26T19:04:00.001-05:00

I've added another thing to my DIY list...my makeup!

Unlike most of the things that made the list, I wasnt sure I wanted to tackle this. I also wasn't sure where the money, the time to do makeup trials, and the energy to find makeup artists was going to come from. Interestingly, MamaP assumed I'd just do my own makeup (but has no problem saying she'll need some help for hers). In her words "I do a good job." To some degree she's right. And as I get older, my makeup application technique gets better. I know that blending is the best thing since sliced bread, and that you can add more at any time, but its more difficult to take it off when you've overdone it.

The real reason I know I can handle this DIY Makeup? Because I want to look like me, only purposefully glowy-er: my foundation will be matte, my eyes will pop, my cheeks will be shimmery and, and my lips will be glossy.

This is my wedding-day makeup manifesto.
And I can definitely handle it.

I'm still working on the gameplan. Thankfully, I updated my every-day makeup not too long ago, and discovered a wonderful matte foundation in the process. I tend to gravitate towards shimmery pinks, peaches, and bronzes, so we'll be sticking with those. I've been investigating some new products to add to my arsenal, and plan to stop by a few makeup counters to pick up some tricks and techniques (and try out colors of course).

When I'm done, I'll look like myself, only better.
These are the Makeup Chronicles.

♥

The writing's IN the pen

2009-02-24T10:31:00.001-05:00

image
I ran across this unique DIY project for dressing up pens for the wedding. Essentially, you type your message in some word processing software, unscrew the bottom of the RSVP pen, and slide your message in. Think: message in a bottle. The color and ink combos are pretty much open - as long as you use something that will be legible through the plastic barrel of the pen. You can find the full instructions here.

We only need pens for the guest book. And it might be cute for the hostesses to have "wedding pens" to cross names off the list as people enter the reception. I was planning to use those Sharpies that are thin like pens and don't bleed for the guest book, but this may be better. If not, I think it would make an awesome addition to our out of town boxes/bags.

Whatcha think? Personalized perfection, or taking it a bit too far?

♥

White dress, hold the stockings and the shoes.

2009-02-23T13:27:00.002-05:00

I had the privilege of attending a very prestigious Historically Black college for women. I loved attending a my alma mater and I believe that it definitely helped mold me into the woman I am today. One of the biggest characteristics of women's colleges is the sense of tradition. We did a lot of things because they were traditional; because that's the way the founders did it. Yes, we all know a good bit about Sophia and Harriet.

One of the more interesting traditions involves the required dress code for important events, like graduation. All of us wore the same thing under our cap and gowns: White dresses, flesh toned stockings, and closed toe black shoes. When I share this aspect of our tradition with others, most people can dig the dress and the hose, but they are thrown off by the shoes. Remember what I said earlier about our reverence for tradition? Well, for the founders and the first students, their nicest shoes (think: church shoes) were black. So it made sense that those were the shoes they wore with their finest for school events. And we do it today because its tradition.

What does all of this have to do with wedding planning? Well, I feel like a bride should have a cute white dress to wear to wedding events. Especially since my gown is ivory, I wanted a white dress to wear to our rehearsal and maybe my shower. Something that speaks to the bridal tradition* without the mounds of fabric and the train. That, and I haven't owned a white dress since I graduated from college and considering my background, I should have one in my arsenal. Thankfully spring fashion has finally sprung, so you're starting to see white dresses in light breathable fabrics (a necessity for SoFla) in the stores and online.

I ended up ordering this dress from Old Navy.com:

I love that the dress is white and cotton and can easily be dressed up with some cute flats or wedges and big chunky jewelry, or dressed down with flip flops and a jean jacket. I think it will suit my current white dress needs quite nicely.

I'll pass on the stockings and the shoes this go round. However, when I need to step foot on campus for an official event, I'll make sure to complete the look in the way tradition mandates.

♥

*you like how I worked that in dontcha :)

My Ears Need ♥ Too

2009-02-20T12:00:00.001-05:00

The other day I showed you my swoon-worthy bracelet. I haven't ordered it yet, but thanks to your feedback, I probably will.

So I'm back for more. I've been shopping for earrings. As a refresher, here's what I wanted from my wedding day jewelry:

As far as my personal accessories, I'm only planning to wear my e-ring (of course), earrings and a bracelet. Dangly earrings (maybe chandelier) and a cuff bracelet to be exact. I want them both to be sparkly. If the right non-cuff bracelet came along, I'd be willing to give it a shot. Oh, and the accessories will get extra credit if they manage to have hearts.

In addition to the aforementioned criteria, I also want the earrings to be on the long side - between 1.5 and say 2.75 inches long (yeah I know I could have just said 3 inches...but doesn't that seem long? 2.75 seems more manageable.). So here's what I've come up with listed in order of obviousness:

Option #1

Yup, these are almost like the earrings that showed up in my wedding day look board. I've been looking for them ever since (becuase of course I didnt save the link), and I found these that are actually a little better! I love that they are simply sparkly hearts dangling from my ear. And that they scream Patti in an obnoxious tone. But are they too obvious?

Option #2

I like these earrings, mostly because they are still hearts, but they aren't just hearts. Like someone tried to design a look around hearts. But they also look cheap to me. And I happen to know that of the three, they are the cheapest, which is normally great. Unfortunately, in this case, I'm pretty sure "cheap-looking" outweighs any of their other more redeeming qualities.

Option #3

I just like these earrings. I can't really explain why. They have what I'd call essence of heart - like if you flipped them upside down. Okay, maybe they're more like essence of pretzel. More importantly, I know the fact that they don't scream "I'm heart earrings!" appeals to me. Alot. Plus, don't they seem sophisticated?

As you have probably gleaned, Options 1 and 3 are my faves. My head knows that #1 would fit the bill, but I'm drawn to #3.

Perhaps a better question is, which pair (if any) go best with the bracelet? Should I choose Door 1, 2 or 3? Or even if there is one you think I should definitely opt out of. Whatcha think?

♥

Feeling Clustered

2009-02-20T09:57:00.001-05:00

"Life comes in clusters, clusters of solitude, then a cluster where there is hardly any time to breathe." - Mary Sarton

I saw this quote on the spine of my January Real Simple that I finally got around to reading the other day. (Yup, I know that if it was labeled January it arrived in December) When I saw it, I immediately thought of wedding planning - it definitely comes in clusters. Some days I feel good about where we are. We have the basics and a good bit of the details covered.

And then there are other days...where I am so overwhelmed that I don't even want to talk about the wedding. Or I just want to crawl up in a ball and elope. Except for the fact that I ordered a dress that wont be here til May, and we've paid the deposit for the catering and the photography and the save the dates haven't been sent out that I agonized over....you get the point. This wedding definitely has the ability to get me worked up! Most of it is self-inflicted lunacy, things that only I care about. Sometimes there are bigger issues that others care about, but still expect me to fix.

Patti = the bride/wedding planner/captain-save-a-wedding.

Thankfully the overwhelmed parts don't last very long. But they do happen. And I can definitely see why people hire wedding planners, and why brides generally consider it to be money well spent.

Last week I was struggling to breathe. This week, I've been holding steady in a solitude cluster, thanks to QT with the PHI and a wonderfully relaxing Valentines Day weekend. This isn't to say that everything is perfect, but I'm satisfied with our planning progress and am looking forward to our upcoming milestone: sending our save the dates out.

I'm so glad...trouble don't last always.
♥

Favors Sneak Peek: Fillings

2009-02-18T09:24:00.000-05:00

(Personal pic, click to get the full effect.)
Ever wonder what 50 bags of MnMs might look like? Well, here it is. You're looking at the almost 40 pounds of Peanut MnMs that we need to fill 150 favors.

The favor fillings have been up in the air for awhile. Green Peanut MnMs were always my first choice, but up until recently, I had let them go as a viable option. Off topic, I just read on Wikipedia that green MnMs are allegedly an aphrodisiac (lol). When I first started researching them, I was only able to get them through an MnM store. Luckily, there's one in Orlando, and my favorite groomsman (my BF Brew) was willing to pick them up for me. However, they were going to cost us $11.99 a pound. I didn't know exactly how many we'd need, but I guesstimated (incorrectly) about 20 pounds. That meant, we'd have spent $240 on the candy filling alone. Talk about busting the budget! I had to come up with a new plan.

So then I toyed with filling them with caramel corn - a personal favorite. Unfortunately the PHI doesn't really do caramel corn. Then I considered jelly beans. They'd be pretty cheap, but they just weren't us. If we had to pick a candy we both love, we'd choose Peanut MnMs. Every time.

Well, the MnMs/Mars gods must have caught wind of our struggle. Why else would they, for the first time in my recollection, released bags of all green MnMs for Valentines Day and put the girl MnM on the packaging? I made it my business to ride over to Target to pick up a bag. Turns out we could fill 3 favors with one bag, so we'd need about 50 bags. Plus, since Target charged me less than $2.50 per bag, it was cheaper for us to buy lots of small bags rather than order them "wholesale" from the MnM store. After crunching my numbers, I happily went back to Target to purchase 50 bags of MnMs. Yes, I got some funny looks from people (because I pushed them around the store in a cart), but overall it was a smooth transaction.

I knew, that by purchasing them at Target, they would go on sale the day after Valentines Day. What I didn't know was if I'd be able to get 50 bags the day after Valentines Day. I had to find out. So the PHI and I loaded all 50 bags into the car, and drove over to Target...just to see. We were planning to either return the ones we bought and buy more, or try for a price adjustment. Turns out 1) Target doesnt do price adjustment, and 2) Target had 2 bags. Just two! So our gamble would not have paid off and we'd still be here brainstorming favor fillings, rather than looking at a (wonderful) huge pile of MnMs.

Take home message? Idunno what the take home is here. This is by far the craziest thing I've done for the wedding. I guess the message here is: Don't be afraid to do what you gotta do to say within your budget. For most brides, that means contracting services and negotiating prices. But, if that happens to mean wheeling a cart full of MnMs through Target, then so be it.

Just be sure to let me know so we can talk strategy before you head over there.

♥

I'm in love with a bracelet

2009-02-17T09:05:00.000-05:00

Found it here.

Is it in the budget? Probably not.
Is it worth it? I'm thinking so.

As far as my personal accessories, I'm only planning to wear my e-ring (of course), earrings and a bracelet. Dangly earrings (maybe chandelier) and a cuff bracelet to be exact. I want them both to be sparkly. If the right non-cuff bracelet came along, I'd be willing to give it a shot. Oh, and the accessories will get extra credit if they manage to have hearts.

Geez, the more I look at it, the more I like it. And those hearts are making me swoon.

Whatcha think? Worth it for a (kind of expensive but) fab bracelet? Think I can sell it after the wedding?

♥

ORG Idea #4: To Hold

2009-02-17T00:06:00.000-05:00

source
I ♥ these ring bowls from Palomas Nest. Taken from their etsy site:

"Our spin on the classic ring bearer pillow...a ring bearer bowl, sure to be modern heirloom. This little white ceramic ring bowl is an exclusive Paloma's Nest design. It is hand crafted and stamped with the words TO HAVE & TO HOLD. After the ceremony, the cord can be tied into a loop or a bow, and the bowl can hold jewelry, mementos or other treasures.

But that's not all...my favorite part of this piece is that the tiny bowl can also be hung by the cord, on a wall in a special spot(next to your wedding photo would be nice), in a shadow box frame, or on your holiday tree."

Although we have a ring bearer pillow, I really want one of these to hold my rings when they're not on my finger. Aren't they just adorable?

Paloma's Nest makes other ceramic things, including little bowls that can be personalized with a saying of your choosing. If you're interested, you can find your own here. Visit at your own risk...you're going to want one.

♥

Deciding on the Musiq

2009-02-16T09:39:00.000-05:00

There have been very few things in the wedding planning process that the PHI and I just fundamentally disagreed on. Most of the discrepancies have been minor, and we've both been willing to compromise on something we could live with.

Our first dance song decision was not been nearly as smooth.

This task started out on the PHI's list of wedding responsibilities. For some reason (completely unknown to me) I assumed he would mysteriously be able to choose a song that we'd both be in love with. He chose this song:

It's called Happily Ever After and is sung by a little known artist named Case. I love this song. And if we were getting married 5-7 years ago, he would have been on to something. But despite loving it, I just didn't have a good feeling about it. Something inside me cringed when I pictured that song being the soundtrack of our first dance. But the PHI was so excited about it, and even changed it to his ring tone. I couldn't burst that bubble, could I? I waited about a month before I mentioned it. He eventually understood my hesitation, and agreed that we still had plenty of time to make a final decision. We both knew we'd find something.

Its at that point that we started what can only be called The Song Game. I'd throw out a suggestion, and he'd shoot it down. He'd suggest something, and I'd shoot it down. We considered having two songs - a bride's song and a groom's song. If we went that route, we'd dance to his song first (guaranteed he'd pick a slow song) and then dance to my choice (I was feeling I Need You by Alicia Keys). At one time, MamaP was even making suggestions! Her fave was Take You Out (aka Excuse Me Miss) by Luther Vandross which was a tribute to how we met.

What I realized through this process was that the lyrics were very important to me. So we needed a combination of the lyrics and the sounds together saying "first dance". For me, I needed the song to speak to our love for each other and the promise of forever we are making. I needed the song to say I've called off the search, you are the one my soul has been searching for. And that's it. I don't want to hear about how I've put up with you and the baby mama drama. Just the love.

Case was not going to cut it.

Fast forward to fairly recently. One of our favorite artists, soul singer Musiq Soulchild has just released a new album. The PHI and I are both huge Musiq fans but dragged our feet a bit in getting the new album and listening to it. One day I get a call from the PHI telling me he's listening to the Musiq album and is feeling track 9. A joint called Someone. I kinda remembered that song, and knew I liked it, but that was about it. I immediately popped open iTunes to investigate. Musiq basically sells his albums singing about love, so I was not surprised to hear it was a love song.

What I was surprised to hear were lyrics like this:

Someone who will put up with the things
Loving me can bring
But still be there to see us through
Someone who would put up
With the strange and complicated things
Cause I would do the same for her too
Someone who I can be real with
Aint gotta be perfect
Because loving one another is all that matters
It's not hard to explain
So believe me when I say
That I found all of that in you

My lovely readers, I had stumbled upon a song that lyrically was up to snuff. Like, I could have written those myself. It only took one more listen for me to instantly envision the PHI and I out there swirling around the dance floor (yes, the PHI likes to swirl me around). The melody is smooth and romantic, but has some passion behind it. Kinda like the PHI :)

Lyrics AND music? Check.

I called the PHI to get his opinion on making this our choice, and after reading him some excerpts of from the lyrics, he was sold. We had found a song. A song we both could stand behind. A song that when we hear it we smile and sing along. A song we both liked independently, but love even more because of what it will mean to us as a couple.

This was not an easy decision, and it feels good to have it taken care of. Plus, I love the lyrics so much that I've decided to integrate them into some other wedding details. This was important to us: initially to the PHI, and increasingly more to me as we went along. I'm so glad this is a decision that we ultimately made together.

How do you think you will decide? If you've already decided, how ever did you do it?

♥

Happy Valentines Day!

2009-02-14T10:59:00.006-05:00

I just have to say that I've had a fab valentines day so far. Last night I made these White Chocolate Mocha cupcakes for the PHI (its his favorite mixed coffee drink). Which look absolutely delish. I'll try and get a pic later.

Then this morning I got to sleep in. Like, really sleep in. It was wonderful.

The PHI ran out to get something and pick up breakfast. I'm getting my favorite Pecan Pancakes from Cracker Barrel! So excited. I ordered him french toast, hashbrown casserole and his eggs scrambled soft with cheese. I'm going to make a good wife..I know exactly how to order his food for him.

I think the reason for him venturing out is he's picking up my gift. The PHI really enjoys giving gifts. They may not always be wrapped (sometimes he surprises me), but he knows that its the thought that matters with me. So if my flowers are from Walmart (like they were last year - ah-mazingly gorgeous), thats fine with me. If my gift was purhcased day of, that's okay with me too. If you have to call me and ask me some details about what I wanted...well, thats just giving it away. And pretty funny.

Daisy. He called to ask me about a fragrance and I thought he was talking flowers. LOL.

I have to deliver cupcakes to my other valentines - my hairdresser Tess who I could probably call my hair whisperer for how she's able to turn my long mop into something luxuriously sexy time after time. And one of my favorite people MJ. She's working today, with her crazy co-workers. So she could use a little pick me up.

The PHI and I also talked about catching a movie. And I'm making Shrimp and Crab Gratain for dinner. I found the recipe at my beloved Publix last night (yeah, I know...pushing it at the last minute) and knew that I could whip that up with a tossed salad and some french bread (and a bottle of wine) for a very sexy but simple Valentines Day dinner.

These days, I like the idea of Valentines Day not being a big production. Idunno if I always felt that way. I really feel like its a day to show your love to the people you love. And that it doesn't stop with your sig.o. I sent MamaP and MamaD flowers, and if I were there, I'd bake for them too. Nothing says I love you like something fresh from the oven. You'll know you're loved if I take requests :)

Plus, today I'm officially taking leave from wedding planning. Just for today. Initially, I promised myself I wouldn't crack open the laptop. Obviously that didnt happen. Mostly because the PHI left to run errands. But when he pulls into the driveway, I'm snapping it shut again.

Happy Valentines Day from the PHI and I! We ♥ you!

Guess who got lucky at the mall?

2009-02-11T09:10:00.006-05:00

At this point in the planning, we pretty much know what everyone is wearing. My dress, the 'maids, the men. But I hadn't found any viable options for the flower girls. See, I've been shopping for FG dresses a long time. Since planning day one. And all this time I've had the perfect dress in mind: cute, affordable, tea- or knee-length, and re-wearable. Oh and of course in a green or teal. I wanted them in a colored dress.

Cute was a no-brainer. They're almost all cute* I also knew I wanted them to be re-wearable. If they could get at least one more wear out of the dress, I'd be a very happy bride. Hence me wanting them to be tea- or knee-length.

Affordable was a little trickier. Mind you, when we first got engaged, I really had no reference point for what's considered affordable in kids-clothes land. I don't have any kids (yet) and believed that it was absurd to spend the same amount on a little girl's dress (who wont be able to wear it in a year) that I would on a grown-ups dress (who still may not be able to wear it in a year - lol). I definitely still feel that way. So to reconcile that, I felt $50 was reasonable. The FG dresses needed to come in under $50. As far under $50 as possible.

Honestly, I didn't think I was asking for a whole lot. But I must have been smoking something. I just found something that may work. And I've been shopping for (at least) 7 months. Let me set the scene.

Last week I was walking through the mall here in Athens (yes, there's only one) going to get some dinner from Piccadilly. Since I didn't go to the gym, I figured I'd power walk through the mall to the restaurant rather than drive over to the entrance closet to it. Ya know, burn a calorie or something. Well, on the way back to the car I happened to see an adorable dress in The Children's Place store window. This dress:

Oh.em.gee.
The green was not quite what I had in mind, but otherwise it was one of the most adorable dresses I had seen in a while. I almost walked away because I just knew it was expensive. But a small voice told me to "Go see..just in case."

So I went in the store. And my heart skipped several beats when I saw in came it another color:

It's teal! Well, varying shades of teal and turquoise...which is actually better! Its at this point that I reached into the little dress and sloowly pulled out the price tag. I think I was holding my breath. It said $24.50.

TWENTY-FOUR FIFTY!?!

I had no words. I didn't understand. I was always told that kids clothes, especially from mall stores, were terribly over priced. But here I was standing in front of this perfect little dress. This cute, affordable, tea-length, totally re-wearable dress in our wedding colors. At. the. mall. When I got home, I immediately sent the link to MamaP and the PHI (to ensure he feels included). They loved them! I knew they would.

Even as I sit here and tell you about them, I can still hardly believe it. Every time I see those little pictures, I swoon. Our flower girls (all 4 of them) are going to look so cute! Take home message? If you're still shopping for flower girl dresses, don't count the mall out. Well that, and walk through the mall when heading to Piccadilly. Don't just drive over there.

♥

*Except those one's that are supposed to look like mini bridal gowns. Those aren't cute. They're creepy.

Cole, you're killing me

2009-02-09T23:09:00.007-05:00

I already have shoes.
Fabulous teal shoes (that I realized I haven't shown you yet)
Shoes that I wish I had more places to wear.
Shoes that my bestie loves to see me in because I love to wear them.
I have a new attitude in those shoes.
Imagine me...more fab than I normally am.
Yup, thats me in those shoes.
And I get to get married in them!

I promise I was not even shopping for shoes.
But when Miss Hot Cocoa blogged about these, I had to go check you out.
I know that NikeAir sole.
I know how it makes heels feel like flats.
I know that when I see stuff like this:

click here to get to the promised land
...I seriously consider wanting new shoes.

Cole, you're killing me.
Hear those screams? That's my closet saying we.need.those.shoes!

Didya know they're all dyable?
Yeah, now its killing you too.
Welcome to my world folks.

♥

The Bridesmaid Guide

2009-02-06T09:37:00.000-05:00

Look at this cute video that BudgetSavvyBride posted from the Dessy Group! Even though we're wearing AA dresses (remember, it's this dress in Tealness), the animation is very fun and kinda interesting to see where bridesmaids came from*.

Happy Friday!
♥

*yes, other than sugar, spice and everything nice.

Reading it Into Existence: Part 5

2009-02-05T11:06:00.002-05:00

I hadn't planned to seriously revive the readings series, but I seem to be coming across more viable options lately. Maybe because its getting to be wedding season and people have ceremonies on the brain. Anyway, I found today's reading here. Enjoy!

from Still Life with Woodpecker
by Tom Robbins

"Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won't adhere to any rules. The most any of us can do is to sign on as its accomplice. Instead of vowing to honor and obey, maybe we should swear to aid and abet. That would mean that security is out of the question. The words "make" and "stay" become inappropriate. My love for you has no strings attached. I love you for free.

Considering the PHI majored in criminal justice and spent the last almost 2 years as an officer of the law, this might be a serious contender. I like that its has some personality and is a little offbeat, yet still is honest and true.

You know, all the things you want your wedding ceremony readings to be.
♥

[morning musings]

2009-02-04T09:58:00.000-05:00

So, I've been thinking....

I don't think I want to have a garter/bouquet toss. I have my reasons:

I think they're kind of antiquated. Right up there with head tables and ugly napkins.
They're kind of weird and awkward. And its never enough that you go up there, you're supposed to actively try and catch the bouquet. The last one I went to, I didn't even try. The PHI however, was all for catching the garter until he saw me actively not trying to catch the bouquet. However, the one time I did catch the bouquet, I simply raised my hands in the air and it fell into them. About 2 months later I met the PHI. Maybe there is something to it - lol.
The rules about who counts as single are fuzzy at best. If you're in a relationship, are you single? Or is it if you're just not married?
Selfishly, I fully anticipate loving my bouquet and garter and wanting to keep them. For me. I'd be willing to toss an alternate (think: less cute version) of my bouquet, but I don't want to wear 2 garters. Hell, I'm not wild about wearing one, and I don't want the one I had made thrown to some guy. Oh and there's the whole thing with the PHI wanting to be terribly inappropriate during that part- with my Granma watching (!).

So obviously I've given this some thought. Whats the hold up, right? The PHI.

For the most part, my baby is as traditional as he wants to be. If its something that people do at weddings, he (sometimes erroneously) assumes we're doing it too. This idea has been stewing in my mind for awhile, but I held off because I wasn't sure if this was battle-worthy*. Well, yesterday, I bit the bullet and asked him what he thought. And what did he say? Two fairly succinct things:

Its tradition, so he assumed we would (toldya...I know my man)
If I didn't want to, we didnt have to.

Ooh I love that man. Seriously.

Now the ball is back in my court. And I'm passing to you. What do ya'll think? Garter toss: antiquated or fun?

♥

*you know, you pick your battles with your sig.o.

Veil Talk: Talking the Talk

2009-02-03T08:59:00.001-05:00

A couple of weeks ago we started learning about veils. Consider that a primer on veil utility - or stuff you'd need to know to walk the walk while wearing a veil. Today were going to deal in aesthetics. Keep in mind, the choices brides make at this point are simply based on what they like, and the options are almost limitless.

Before we get started, please direct another tab in your browser to this site. The visuals will come in handy as we move through today's material.

The very first thing to consider is how many layers or tiers you want to wear. Most veils you'll see are two-layers: usually a long one and short one. Your knowledge about veil lengths apply here. The longest layer could easily be chapel or fingertip and the shortest (on top) is usually the blusher. Blusher = part that goes over your face. Two-layer veils are designed so that you can flip that top layer to serve as the blusher (or not). Since blushers are still wildly popular, I'll save my diatribe for another post.

Some veils even have three layers. Must be an aquired taste because that middle layer just looks silly. All others can be broadly categorized as single layers. This includes traditional tulle veils, mantilla veils and birdcage veils (albeit loosely). Single layer veils are just that. One layer of material - tulle, organza, chiffon. You name it. People makes veils out of all kinds of stuff. Tulle is the most common, the most translucent, the cheapest, and the easiest to work with. Unless you can make a serious case for using some other fabric, just go with tulle.

The most common veil is a wide piece of tulle, gathered, and stitched to a comb. Yup. That's it. And that's precisely why increasing numbers of brides are opting to make their own. Krissi has volunteered to make mine, as long as I don't want something too elaborate - lol. I just want a single layer chapel length veil.

We know birdcages a little so lets talk about something new. I didn't know about mantilla veils until I really started wedding planning. Mantillas are a special kind of veil that is made out of one piece of material, edged in lace and is usually worn at the back of the head. They don't usually have a blusher, but some brides pull their mantilla to the front to have a blusher. A similar veil, without the lace is called a drop veil. Imagine a bride just draping a piece of tulle over her head - no gathering, no comb. That's kind of what a drop veil looks like. Very sheer and barely there (cause you cannot hide under tulle - lol). A drop veil is probably the only way you'd get me in a blusher. Period.

Talking about drop veils and mantillas brings me to another thing you'll hear about - securing the veil. Veils are usually attached to a plastic or metal comb. And many stylists often secure the comb with a few bobby pins - to be safe. Technically, you dont have to attach your veil to a comb (and you can buy them that way). Just know its harder to secure it without a comb. A shaky veil isn't a good look. Personally, I feel like people are going to be pulling on mine all day - both on purpose and not.

Lets stop here for today. I have at least one more teaching moment in me because as of yet we have not talked about How Veils Accessorize. Ya'll come back now, ya hear?

♥

Reading it Into Existence: Part 4

2009-02-02T09:05:00.001-05:00

I almost cant believe I haven't posted this yet, but last night while looking at some wedding bios, I came across one of my favorite Bible passages. It just so happens to be very popular on the wedding circuit. You'll see why in a second.

1 Corinthians 13
(New International Version)

Love

(1) If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. (2) If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. (3) If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

(4) Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. (5) It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. (6) Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. (7) It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

(8) Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. (9) For we know in part and we prophesy in part, (10) but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. (11) When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. (12) Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

(13) And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Love love LOVE this passage. Not terribly wild about that "when I was a child" bit, but I know its part of the point. I cant promise that if we use this at the wedding, I wont ask for it to be taken out. Just keeping it real :)

♥

STDs Update

2009-02-01T14:14:00.005-05:00

Not the diseases, but I dont think you'll like what I'm about to say very much either.

See, I had fully planned to share my save-the-dates (yes, thats what I meant by STDs - lol). But then I realized it was completely unfair to our guests. Its important to me that the recipients have a chance to oogle them before I share them with the Internet. MamaP hasnt even seen them yet!

Because you've been so patient, I will give you a little bit of insider info. This is the stuff that I've been cookin up in my little head that I haven't shared with the PHI yet. Uh huh, that kind of insider info.

They have these on them, but of course I had to put my stank on it (read: I created my own version and they're much cuter now).
The PHI didn't see them until after I ordered them. I know, bad girl. But thankfully he trusts my judgment.
Each one is about $.29 (card+envelope) before the stamp. Nope, not joking. Fab+ Cheap = Gotta love it.

I really hope its okay that I'm not unveiling them this weekend. The plan is to shoot them out 6 months before the RSVPs are due...March 1st. We can wait til then, right? In the meantime, I promise to prattle on about all kinds of other stuff to keep you distracted.

Cool...only about one more month to go.
♥

*take my word for it

Can I have one of these?

2009-01-30T12:43:00.006-05:00

(found it here)
I haven't given a whole lot of thought to ceremony decor. But I do know that I want something like this up at the altar. I think I've been avoiding thinking about ceremony decor because I haven't been able to get this (or something like it). But that time is over. I'm going to use all my little resources to accomplish this for our ceremony. Painted a soft ivory, or stained dark cherry (oh how I ♥ cherry wood). With better greenery and fewer flowers.

In the meantime, how would you decorate your ceremony space? I still need some ideas for the rest of it!

Before I go, I know I've been absentee this week. And I feel bad about it. I've been swamped with school, work, gym...life. I know I owe you the follow up to the veil series, and I'm dying to show you our save-the-dates. The PHI is away this weekend, so lets pencil in some quality time together this weekend, k? Just you and me.

♥

Veil Talk: Walking the Walk

2009-01-20T12:20:00.002-05:00

Hello my darling readers, these one is for you.

I know most of you just don't read the wedding blogs/sites/magazines the way I do. And therefore, the distinction between a chapel length mantilla veil and a birdcage veil may be lost on you. Its okay. That's what I'm here for. We're going to briefly pause the veil talk to have a teaching moment. I'm going to share what I've learned (and deemed relevant), and you're going to read along and act like I've managed to teach you something. Okay? Okay.

Lets start here:
(my apologies, I don't know where I snagged this pic from)
This is perhaps my most favorite diagram explaining veil length - which is frequently where people start when discussing veils usability. As you can see, this diagram distinguishes between the different lengths available, and gives you approximate measurements. Of course, if you're a little taller or shorter, your veil may be shorter or longer on you, but these are the approximate lengths.

The biggest impact that veil length will have on your wedding day is by far the most obvious (and the inspiration for my title) - ease of moving around! The longer your veil, the more cumbersome it is. Granted, most brides only care about the the visual impact of the veil, but I think you really do need to take a moment to consider how it will be moving around with an extra yard (or few) trailing behind you. Some brides choose to go short for that very reason. Some forego a veil all together. It has nothing to do with the blusher (the part that hangs in your face). I take small issue with blushers, but I'll save that for another post. :)

When considering veil length, it's also important to keep your dress in mind (duh, right?). Specifically, the length of its train (if it has one) and how embellished it is. The idea here is that your veil and your dress should work together - even if you're planning to take it off for the reception. So if your dress is heavily embellished, you may want to simplify the veil, scale back the lace and the beading. If your dress has a train, the veil should end either way above it (i.e. elbow or fingertip) or beyond it (e.g. chapel or cathedral length). Again, taking into a consideration the decorative aspects. You. do. not. want. to. over. do. it.

Allegedly, one more thing to keep in mind is your physical size. This is probably the length aspect I've seen addressed the least in the literature (lol). Possibly because its hard to make a case for a piece of tulle making a difference for how wide/large you look. I've read that larger girls should go above to the waist (or above) or to the floor and to stay out of that middle section. Not sure I buy this one folks, but that's what some people saying.

On that note, we're going to wrap up today's veil discussion. I'll be back soon share what I know about "Talking the Talk" and "How Veils Accessorize." You have to come back to see what I mean :)

♥

Gotta Love a Fairy Tale Ending?

2009-01-18T11:57:00.004-05:00

You can click to enlarge :)
Happy Sunday!
♥

Miss Manners is my Homegirl

2009-01-16T12:59:00.006-05:00

Today while perusing the SoFla board on TheKnot I came across something very interesting posted by iLoveMrBurpsalot:

Dear Miss Manners,
I have noticed lately, that amongst women of the same age group as myself who are engaged and planning large, expensive weddings, that my single friends are invited to said weddings without "and guest" added to their invitations.

It is almost as if the engaged women, in an attempt to keep cost down, have decided that the single women, whether they are dating someone or not, do not get the option to bring someone along to the wedding and reception.

Is this rude? I feel that just because these women are not married or engaged, they still should have the opportunity to bring a date to the wedding and that by assuming their dates just aren't as important if not legally bound by law, the engaged woman is being presumptuous and rude. What are your thoughts?

Gentle Reader,
That the invitation is to a wedding, not to an evening out on the town, and it is not rude not to be married in front of strangers who mean nothing to them and not much to you. If you must scour up a date, Miss Manners suggests looking over the single gentlemen at the wedding, who would not have been asked to bring along "and guest" either.

First of all, can I get an Amen?

Second, the PHI and I plan to invite sig.o's that we have a relationship with. If we know you, then the invite is addressed to you (married or not), not to a very vague "and guest."

We have no problems feeding and entertaining those we love and care about. Its the randoms that we take issue with.
♥

Memo

2009-01-13T09:43:00.005-05:00

TO: Everyone
FROM: Patti, Wedding President and CEO
RE: Downsizing

In an effort to ensure that the bride gets exactly what she wants we have had to let someone go. Effectively immediately, we will not be using a graphic designer to design wedding paper correspondence. If you have any further questions, feel free to contact Dani and she will be able to assist you.

PD

Yes, folks. I am in the process of letting my graphic designer go. I really like her, but honestly, working with her was not as fun as I thought it would be. It just felt too much like work (if that makes any sense at all). I was going to keep going because I committed myself to working with her (no contact though), until I decided to throw together some signage. As I was admiring my work, I realized I had some thoughts about the rest of of the paper goods. I knew I wanted our names in script, what the fonts would be, and that there would be minimal enclosures. I knew we wouldn't have a pocket fold. I knew the invites would be printed on white paper with a colored backing. I knew they would be kiwi and teal. Somehow.

Basically, I realized that I had a design in mind. And after pulling together that signage, fairly quickly, I knew I could do it. I'd already been doing research on envelopes and cardstock, so I basically needed to design, order the materials, have everything cut, and then assemble. Four steps. 6 months to get it done.

Sounded doable to me. And MamaP. And Dani. So were going forward. I still havent figured out all the specifics yet, but I know it will only cost me one stamp to mail them and that were doing a card (rather than a post card) for the replies. I'm also playing around with the idea of a an inner vellum envelope. The only small speedbump is what to do about our Save the Dates. I have a design in mind, but I dont think I have the proper software to put it in the correct format. I may get some help with that becasuse those suckers need to go out in the next 6 weeks or so (dont get me started on my lack of addresses to put on them). Other than that, I have a pretty solid plan of attack for our invites, and I cant wait to share them with you.

...and I know you're dying to see what I've come up with.
♥