Sock it to Me

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.

♥

Today is a Good Day

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!

♥

Alchemy for Arshela

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!
♥

Meeting in the Ladies Room

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)

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!

♥

This past weekend was AWESOME!

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.

♥

DIY Week: All the Little Ladies (day three)

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)

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.

♥

I Do Vera, Do You?

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?

♥

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

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.

♥

Guess who got lucky at the mall?

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.

The Bridesmaid Guide

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.

We have dresses...

...for the 'maids!

And I'm so glad my part of the process is essentially over. I'll explain what I mean later, but for now I'm going to start at the beginning.

So a couple weeks ago I came to the realization that I'd have four of my six 'maids in town and that it would be a prime opportunity to try some dresses on and get a feel for what would actually work. All the ladies agreed and Dani arranged for us to have an appointment at our local Alfred Angelo salon to start this dress process.

When we arrived at the salon, it was pretty empty. Which should have been great if it werent for our Alfred Angelo helper Belini* who really made the process a little more arduous than it needed to be. Yes, I understand that they are supposed to assist you and help you, but between the 7 of us (1 bride, 4 'maids, 2 moms) we have almost 13 degrees - we are perfectly capable of selecting our own dresses. That didnt happen and Belini took half-assed direction and started retrieving gowns.

Now, for some visuals:

We started out by just choosing some dresses we were interested in. I hadn't fully decided on floor length or tea length dresses yet so I was open to what they liked and kind of going with what looked good.

Per our request, these were some of the first dresses that Bellini pulled:

Ohmigosh, Melissa and Naima really loved this dress. I made a mental note and had them try on some other stuff. But we kept coming back to this dress and everytime I said "put on the one you like" they were all grins and kept throwing that thing in record time - lol.

When Dani arrived (yes, she had a legit excuse) we immediately put her in this one:

...and she didn't want to take it off. Prior to our visit, she had done some research on the site and she and Kristin both ear marked this as one of their favorites. Also duly noted.

At one point, Bellini brought us this two-tone number:

Thankfully, prior to yesterday, I had not wasted any mental faculties on figuring out the color mechanics of a two-tone 'maid dress. I didn't hate it (the 'maids did - look at their faces), but I definitely wasn't wild about it. I cant help but feel like the girls look like bopsy twins. I like a matching dress as much as the next person, but definitely not this dress. Brides, take note: if you want them to wear the same dress, see if you can physically see the dress on them before you order it. It may alter how you feel.

Please believe me when I say the ladies tried on many other dresses. Probably too many dresses. Some of them looked like prom rejects (to me) and others made me question whether bridal designers were helping to perpetuate that bride's put their 'maids in fugly dresses by continuing to make them. Yes, that fugly.

So what did we go with? Well, my maid and matron of honor will be wearing this floor length gown

and my other 'maids will be in this:


As you can see, despite being two different materials, both dresses have a modified sweetheart neckline, an empire waist, and very forgiving gathers across the front. The best part(s)? We all ♥ the dresses.

As I mentioned earlier, my part of the process is essentially over. Honestly, I've been really laizes faire about the whole 'maids dress thing - really flexy about the dress, shoes, accessories, etc. Once we decided on those dresses, we (mostly the 'maids) decided that they really should wear the same shoe. Melissa volunteered to spearhead the shoe process and I'm hoping she will spearhead accessories as well. I still want Kristin to manage the dress aquisition process. Someone will need to make sure everyone is informed about the proceedure for ordering the dresses and their associated timeframe. I have ideas about when they should be ordered, but no accompanying desire to manage that myself.

Thank God for bridesmaids.

So I know you're wondering how I feel at this point. Honestly? When I left the store I was very tired. Not physically, but psychologically. We kept running into impasses where I would as the 'maids what they thought and their standard response was "its not what we think its what you think." I know they were trying to help, but I am fully aware of my bride status. I don't need to be reminded that I have the last say. I live my everyday life that way...why would my wedding be any different? When I ask people what they think, I really am interested in their thoughts. Think about it, there are times (many) that I don't ask because I really don't care. Those times that I do ask, I do and I'd appreciate an honest response. Eventually I got more creative with the questions and got more appropriate feedback. My bad that it was important to me that they like their dresses. My bad.

It was a very productive outing. I was exhausted afterward and was a little sad that it was not as fun as I anticipated. It was probably more frustrating than anything.

I'm really glad its over.
♥

* No, her name was not actually Bellini, but that was Melissa's interpretaion of her actual name.

I'm back forreal this time :)

For a good part of the last week I was on a vacation from our wedding. I'm sure all of you fellow brides out there can totally relate. Were at a little more than 11 months til the wedding (I swear the time is FLYING by) and there are loads of things to do. It doesn't help that I keep adding things to the list - LOL.

I am pleased to report that I accomplished all but one thing on my Florida visit to-do list. I didnt do number 5. It wasnt like I had an appointment with him, I was just going to see him at church. Come Sunday morning I was so exhausted I needed to sleep in.

The weekend started with mom and I talking a trip to the location (numbers 1 & 2 on the list). She loved it there and after meeting with our Linda for the better part of 3.5 hours, mom felt like we were getting excellent service for our money. Yay!

The kids (number 4 on the list) really deserve a post all by themselves. I will say this though, the five kids belong to 2 of my first cousins. I called both of them to ask their permission and both of them were surprised I was calling to ask. I thought thats what I was supposed to do before I volunteered someone's child(ren) to be in my wedding. Before I added an extra activity and financial responsibility to my wedding. My bad :) Thankfully they both agreed and I can check that off the list. Now I'm left with figuring out what the lovely little ladies (all 4 of them) will be wearing. You know mom and I have started kicking around some ideas...

(Sorry for not moving methodically through the list) Although not completely wedding related, I accomplished both numbers 3 and 6. I love my mama and I wish that she lived much closer. Even before I got engaged. Definitely now much more so. I also saw my Dani, my Brew, Dani's boo and my Dionne - not in that order I don't think. I loved seeing them but I was tired of being social by the end of the weekend. Thankfully next time I'm home I'll be there for a while and can spread out the love a little more.

As I mentioned last week I even got to see someone I hadn't planned on seeing. My godmother is my go to for all things flowers. Both real and otherwise. We popped by her house on Friday for a quickie visit. I just happened to have my wedding organizer in tow and next thing I knew on Saturday she was fetching me for a marathon Michaels trip. We discussed bouquets, boutonnieres, centerpieces and other general floral things. We now have a good working plan for the flower component of the decor. The plan is for a mix of silks and live - particularly live for the bouquets. I hadn't planned on seeing her this trip, but I'm glad I did. Not only does she rock, she's super creative and very open to my aesthetic and budget. A perfect combo!

I have loads more stuff to report on - updates from the weekend, plans that are in the works, and DIY projects I've already completed. I officially came off wedding vacay at 12:30PM, and fully intended on posting at 12:31PM to commemorate. I've been running all day. Not even with wedding stuff. I needed an oil change, I had library fees to pay, I have bills to pay, I had to figure out what to eat, I needed to go to Walmart for my class, I needed to register for next semester....on and on and on all day. Up until now really.

But I'm back now, and I hope you didn't miss me too much.
♥

I'm Going Home!

Just wanted to pop in and tell you that right about now I'm on an airplane headed to sunny South Florida for a long awaited mini-vacay and wedding business trip.

On the Florida to-do list:

1. Taking mom to the location. She's never seen it, and its hard to talk about logistics, decor, etc when she doesn't have a visual. We will be fixing that tomorrow.

2. Talking to the caterer..ahem event planner. Again, mom has never met her, and we havent met since we met so it will be good to sit down with her, talk budget and making the menu more brunchy, give mom and I both the chance to ask a tons of questions (I already have a list), and just get on the same page since the wedding is less than a year away (ahh!).

3. Kick it with some of my people. Actually, 2 of my 'maids live in town. My maid of honor/best friend/podmate (were 2 peas in a pod) and one of my favorite teachers. Hmm, I havent really introduced you to them...I better get on that. Anyway, they are on the list and since they'll be standing with me on my big day, we can lump them into the wedding business category.

4. Recruit the other 5 kids that are going to be in our wedding. Yes, I said "other five." If all goes to plan, there will be 6 little ones in our wedding. Blame it on us not being able to choose. I love all my little cousins and I couldn't decide so I figured we'd just find little jobs for everyone. I haven't talked to their parents yet, but mom and I feel like everyone will be on board to participate.

5. Talk to our officiant. I mentioned how he called us out in church the other day (by announcing our wedding to the congregation) and how he hadnt officially told us yes. I'll see him on Sunday. And even if I have to get some smoke signals, I want to be able to say "Officiant? Check." No question mark.

6. Spend as much time as I can with my mama. As you may have surmised, mom is one of my best friends. Seriously. We talk all the time, and thanks to the PHI blinging me out, we talk quite a bit about our wedding. Consider her the co-wedding planner. So yes, mom did just make the wedding list on a technicality, but she is totally on there.

Whew, that's quite a list, huh. When I'm not "working" for the wedding, I plan to be chillaxing, kicking it with the family, doing some good for the alma mater, and enjoying being in south Florida. Unfortunately that means I wont be blogging. I'll be back on Sunday, so expect something from me late Monday or on Tuesday, k.

♥

Bridal party roundup!

So, in the event you hadnt heard...I'm official! Jason popped the question on the 21st and I said yesss!

(there wasnt any doubt I would, right?)

I'm officially a bride. Which means I officially have a gazillion extra things to be worried about/tend to. Thankfully I have some pretty awesome women in my crew:

Dani and Krissi - my maid and matron of honor, respectively. Although I have to say there is nothing matronly about my Krissi. Plus, she's my only experienced bride. Between the two of them, I have a wealth of information at my disposal - love those two.

My main maids: Cuzo (Melissa), Dionne, Naima, and DrHunt.

My bridal attendant: MJ! She will be totally instrumental in me being situatied for the wedding day. Plus, I'm convinced not only will she help me pick the gown, but she'll be the only one who knows how to bustle it - lol.

I also have to shout out Mommy (just for being who she is) and Godmommy (flowers and coordination).

And thats the crew. Dont they sound bridalicous?!

...yes, I just made that up

xoxox