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.

♥

Brooches for my Besties

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...

♥

Wanna Come to My Hotel?

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.

♥

Idunno about you, but I need a visual.

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!

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?

♥

Show Me

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

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

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...

♥