Color Crisis

I think a lot of future brides are afraid to commit to wedding colors (not to marriage obviously) for good reason. The colors determine everything else! Choosing your colors is such an important decision and it's one of the first we have to make. We can't pick flowers, bridesmaid dresses, or really delve into decor without first picking our colors!

I've always imagined my bridesmaids would wear olive green, because it's my favorite color, but that was before I knew I was going to have a garden ceremony. I don't want my wedding party blending in with the trees! Is that a legitimate concern? Are certain colors off limits for outdoor weddings?

{Photo credit: The Knot Real Weddings}

Initially, we wanted to have pale colors like pink, champagne, and creme to go with our olive green. However, I've heard that soft colors such as these do not look good in the fall and I'm having a fall wedding. Traditionally, fall colors are bold like orange, red, and mustard yellow. I like those colors, but again I'm worried my bridesmaids will blend into the fall foliage.

To solve my problem, I think I'm going to mix and match the colors. I'm going to add just one striking color to our muted base, therefore, having olive green, champagne, and burgundy! The bridesmaids will wear the bold burgundy so that they are sure to stand out during the ceremony and we will accent everything else with the lighter colors.

{Photo credit: The Knot Real Weddings}

Here are some pictures that inspired my burgundy vision:

{Photo credit: Brides}

{Photo credit: Etsy seller Mollusa Wedding Art}

{Photo credit: Vintage Design Company}

I feel like a babbling mess, going on and on about colors! Please tell me I'm not alone. Are you debating your colors? Are you afraid to commit to one palette? How did you decide what color your bridesmaids would wear?

Here Comes The...Bride...Maids!

Or rather, bride's attendants...not really feeling the word "maid." (source)

Just like Miss Charlottesville, I am also allowing my attendants to wear a gown of their own choosing (hmm...actually not liking that word either...anyone have any suggestions..."bridesgirls," "bridescrew,"...help me out here, people). Having been in weddings before and not having anything to do with the dress that I was required to wear, I felt an animosity towards the bride that was, sort of, irrational. I do have to say though, the animosity was more so related to the fact that, in most cases, the dress was too big or small, the fabric was very unflattering and I was wearing 3 pairs of panty girdles in order to not look like a rolled sausage...although I totally felt like one...

Now that all of the dresses (technically) have been ordered, I can share with you guys my "vision" (ugh...enough with words I hate in this post) of what my brides...uh...peeps will be wearing. I gave them a few guidelines because, well, I still wanted the look be cohesive, but I was also concerned with their comfort. The rules were 1. Bari-Jay (just to make sure the color would match), 2. floor length, 3. sage in color, 4. chiffon. These are the choices they made...good job ladies!

First up, single friend of honor, Kiki (left) and married friend of honor, Polley (right)
.

Next, single cousin of honor, Melissa (top) and my girl B (bottom)



Next, my cousins and some of my oldest and dearest friends, Nana (top) and Fee Bee (bottom)



And last, but certainly, never least, lil' sis, Tia (with the cutest broom carrier ever, my nephew Julian)


How are you Ladies picking the brides...persons...dresses? Are they all wearing the same thing or are you allowing them to switch it up a bit?

The Bridesmaids Shoe Dilemma

I decided to go against the usual.

I decided that I didn't have the energy to find a shoe that would please all of my bridesmaids. Besides, I'm the shortest one anyhow, so I don't care if my bridesmaid that's almost a foot taller than me wears 2" heels or wears ballet flats, same with my taller-than-me Maid of Honor (sister)

I decided, as much as comfort is important to me, it should be important to me to let my gals be comfortable in what they wear to my wedding.

I looked for pictures, and the few that I found of brides who didn't put their gals in matching shoes looked fine. I think it'll add a certain uniqueness to the pictures.

Unfortunately, I told them to either get them in navy, green or pink - because well. Who doesn't like a rainbow of colors, right? And since the dresses are all cocktail length and navy from Aria Dress, I thought adding some color and personality to the pictures would add a little umph to the pictures.

But after reading this thread on Weddingbee, I'm beginning to second guess myself. Maybe I should have told them navy shoes. But what if some of them already bought shoes in pink or green?

Weigh in, what do you think? Should bridesmaids wear matchy-matchy shoes (even though not all of them like heels - my sister never wears heels and picked a chunky shoe, my tall bridesmaid would be towering over all of us in any sort of heel, and my other three bridesmaids, are likely indifferent), my biggest thing is comfort and costs. They're spending so much to come down here so I'm trying to keep costs to a minimum and I like to think that letting them wear a dress that they could wear again and shoes they picked out for themselves, they're getting the most bang for their buck.

Thoughts??? Did you make your bridesmaids wear matchy matchy shoes?

(image via Budget SaavyBride)

Picking Out the Bridesmaids Dresses

So in a twenty-two month engagement, when do you start looking for the bridesmaids dresses? Oh, immediately. Bridesmaids dresses are one of the easiest things to look at online I think because almost every designer, from David's Bridal to Watters, shows the full bridesmaid collections online and while color isn't as easy to determine on a computer screen, the details tend to be less fussy, so I think it's easier to get a good feel for the look of the dress on the screen.

After hearing about a friends debacle with custom-made, nude, satin bridesmaids gowns, I knew I needed to make the whole process as easy on my lovely ladies as possible. After a little looking, I knew my top two priorities, fabric and price.

I love the look and feel of raw silk, aka shantung or dupioni. I also think the stiffness and characteristic body of the fabric makes it a little more forgiving wear. Since I was also concerned with price, I ended up selecting Aria Dress for the gowns as they offer the most options, best quality, for the best price as far as I could see. Unfortunately, I did much of my research over a year ago, so I can't site specific vendors, but I do recall that most silk dress were in the $250 to $300 range. Aria silk dresses start at $195 for knee-length styles.

I was still concerned about the price, so I spoke with each bridesmaid individually and asked for input on the fabric, price, and all. Everyone seemed pretty happy (hopefully they were telling the truth!), so I made an appointment at the Aria boutique in Dupont for the first round of try-ons.

We're really lucky that we have a boutique here in DC. Karen, the Aria contact here in DC, is lovely and extremely helpful. We were able to try dresses on to our hearts desire, with just us in the salon, and take lots and lots of pictures. We also used the Aria try-on program. Aria's LA shop will mail you up to three dresses to try on if you aren't near a boutique. One of my bridesmaids is out of state and just did this last week. Downsides are that it's does cost $15 per dress, but hey, it's cheaper than flying the person to the shop right? You also receive dresses on Monday and they must be returned by Friday of the same week or you are charged a late fee. Boo. Nonetheless, it worked out and my bridesmaid found a dress she loved that she doesn't think will need to be altered at all.

So let me get to the good parts...here are a few photos from our Aria excursions.

On the first trip with bridesmaid K, we tried on A LOT of dresses, and took pictures so we could show the other girls.

Above is K in style 107 in slate. This was my very favorite dress. I love the sweetheart neckline and the shirring across the bust is really cute too. The skirt is A-line and overall the dress is very flattering. K is very petite in slim and I'm taller and a little more um, filled in and I thought it looked quite nice on both of us. Here I am in the same style in tangerine.


K's dress is in shantung, my dress is actually in satin. While the Aria Boutique is just PACKED with dresses, since they offer so many styles, fabrics, and colors, the options are limitless and they can't carry every combo in the shop. Typically, when you visit, Karen will pull all the styles you like and then pull one or two in the colors you like so you can see the color. Below is bridesmaid K in her brown dress.

You'll notice it looks quite large, I think it was 2 sizes to big, and she was clipped into it.


Here's bridesmaid A in one of Aria's newest styles, 191, with a keyhole neck and a tie at the back of the neck. K actually got to try this dress on when it was still in the experimental phase...we didn't take any pictures, though. We loved this dress on A because it was a little less bridesmaidy, and super fun. This dress also comes with three skirt options: shirred (above), box pleat (below, style 173), and A-line. Most of the other styles have A-line and column as the skirt options.


A's favorite style was the dress shown below:


This is style 185 with a box pleat skirt. We thought the shirred skirt was a little too much skirt and preferred the look of the box pleat and the A-line skirt. Below is bridesmaid K again. This was her favorite style, 106, in eucalyptus.


She's pinching it back just a little bit where it was a little too big. I really liked this dress a lot as well. The neckline was very flattering and the halter ties in the back and there is enough fabric in the back to tie a nice bow if you want. In fact, this was the favored dress by 2 out of 3 Fairfax bridesmaids! Bridesmaid E received this dress from LA and this was her favorite as well.

I'll share just a few more so you can see a couple more styles:

Me in Style 160 in Midnight. This is just a basic strapless, but it has a more defined waistline with the band of fabric rather than just a seam.


This is style 181 in magenta on K. This was very cute and the skirt has a nice swing to it.

Here's the last one. I think this is the only dress we weren't crazy about. There was just too much dress for K, it kind of looked like it might creep up over her neck and eat her! The color is pretty amazing though. The style is 183 in burnt orange. This is the orange that is offered in the shantung fabric, while the tangerine I'm wearing in the photo above is the orange in the satins.

So far I've been quite happy with Aria. I've interacted with Karen in the DC Boutique and made a couple appointments, called to ask questions etc. I've also spoken with the LA office to ask about the try-on program, actually order the try-on dresses and ask about sales tax. They've been great every time.

The dresses are custom-made upon order so Aria recommends ordering at least 4 months in advance of the wedding. My plan is to place our orders the first week in May, though I've been told we could order as late as June 1. Most of the reviews I've read online have noted that the orders came in about a month early.

As far as the need for alterations, I've seen mixed reviews. I've seen some reviews where the dresses were perfect on delivery, and others that said that the whole bridal party needed alterations! I'm pretty confident that we'll be good to go. All the girls seemed to feel the dresses fit quite well in the store.

If you have any questions about my Aria experience, please feel free to e-mail me at fairfaxmiss@gmail.com!

How was your dress selection process? Did you have a good experience with the company you chose?

Everyone's Happy!!

Earlier this weekend, I trekked up to Boston to meet up with a majority of the bridesmaids, the girls all met and met my mother. We had a lovely, lovely lunch, laughed, chatted and everyone got along fabulously. Then we went to the appointments and the girls picked dresses!

We had two appointments - one at L'elite and one at Aria Dress both on Newbury Street about two blocks from one another. I had gone to Aria Dress in DC with Miss Jeff Memorial, and fell in love with the dresses. So I wasn't surprised when we got there that the girls (T, S, Sister GP, and L -Mr. GP's little sister) all fell in love with them as well.

The greatest part about the dresses is that girls all loved them which was what I wanted.

The color of the dresses is navy, with the green sash in "leaf."

We went after Aria to L'elite because I was curious about the Dessy collection. The girls looked through the styles and didn't see anything they liked, the prices were a little more than I wanted them to spend so I decided not to waste time having the lady pull out dresses thinking we were actually interested when the girls weren't and I too was not impressed. The service was good, but the dresses were just...a little too formal for what I'm looking for.

Anyhow, so the girls picked their styles, each one different, but all the same with the sash, so now Miss JM and I need to make another appointment so she can pick her style and then the dresses can get ordered and another thing checked off my list!

Did your BM's all match? Did you let them pick their own styles?

Thinking of My Girls

Bridesmaids. They're on my range, my to do list. I'm trying to get my girls settled away so that they can begin to save because well, Aria dresses aren't exactly the cheapest dresses in the world (not the most expensive ones either).

So I've been looking at their shoes. How to complete the bridal party look. We picked out the groomsmen ties earlier this week - as I mentioned before, we're going with Vineyard Vines ties. We still haven't really picked out what color suits but m'eh. We'll get there.

In three weeks, I trek to Boston to go with the girls to go to Aria Dress so they can pick out their dresses and thus, I can get them ordered sometime in the next century (in case you haven't noticed? I procrastinate in all things wedding planning).

But I also want to have an idea about their shoes (I'm only mildly obsessed with shoes. Really.)

All my girls, sans two - one being my twelve year old cousin/junior bridesmaid - are significantly taller than me. I'm 5'2"...on a good day - my shoes are 2 1/2" heels, so that'll put me maybe at 5'4 1/2" but realistically, 5'4". When my tallest bridesmaid is 6'0" and my shortest is 5'2" like me, putting them in 3" matching heels? Not an option.

I know, I know, it's what "I want." But since my girls are mostly traveling to be here with me, and the one that's not traveling is getting married two months after me, I don't want them to spend TOO much money on the outfit. That's why I was careful about picking dresses that had styles that they could pick, that they'd be comfortable, and dresses that looked like they could be worn again. Makes sense right?

So I thought, what about classy flip flops. Not the 2 for $5 Old Navy flip flops but classy ones.

[JCrew $78] - a little too pricey for...flip flops. Let's be real.


[Victorias Secret $38.50]


[Gap $39.50]



[Piperlime $49]

and finally....


[Nordstrom $69]

I just know, I KNOW that someone - likely FMIL, or my own darling mother will say something. Too casual, too something that they don't like. But me? I like the style. I live in flip flops from nowish to like, October. So it seems natural to have my girls in flip flops. Especially the last pair because then - navy dresses, white shoes. Me? White dresss, navy shoes. Oh my goodness, this could be perfect.

I'll get a few more opinions, I like to reaffirm my decisions with my girls cause I know sometimes I'm irrational, neurotic and everything in between but this time? This is just me.

Thoughts? Are you letting your girls pick their shoes? Heels? Flip flops? Flats? Am I being too crazy for this??

Simple Gifts

FI and I have purchased all of our attendants gifts, Kenneth Cole cufflinks for the guys, freshwater pearls for the ladies. We've ordered a doll-sized FG dress for our FG and the doll to go with it, and for our parents we've gotten gifts from Things Remembered, Tara frames for our moms, and a clock for his dad. Hopefully, everyone likes these little tokens of our appreciation. There is just one other gift 'd like to get for the ladies, and it's a simple pair of slippers. Last time I was in a wedding, the bride gave us slippers, and for those who found their bridesmaids shoes a little uncomfortable they were a lifesaver. After standing for a nearly hour long ceremony, we luxuriated in placing our weary feet in the comfort of these simple Dearfoam slippers.
The slippers are non dyeable, but you can't even see them under a long bridesmaid dress. They are so comfy, too. I still wear mine at home sometimes. For 7 bucks a pair at Walmart, you can't go wrong. Certainly, slippers like these will be a thoughtful and appreciated addition to the gifts you give the lovely ladies of your wedding party.

Bridesmaids Dress Quest: Part 5 of 5

Yay!! After several months of searching, we have our bridesmaids dresses - and they're ordered and paid for. I went to the Amsale Bridesmaids Dress Buying Party at Hitched a week ago eeeearly (5 PM) - yes, I actually left work 30 minutes early just to make sure I got there on time. Kati and I went straight to the chiffon dresses (new for Spring 2009). We / she tried on all the beauties I first spied online and we fell in love with them all over again. They were so flattering, forgiving, and I loooooove the dresses in Cerise.


And now, for our lovelies:
Amsale 456c (shown in Cerise, crinkled chiffon)Amsale 454c
Amsale 455c

Amsale 450cAmsale 451c
I decided to pick out 5 dresses so the girls could choose the dress that's most flattering on their figure and they felt most comfortable getting and they will all be wearing the same color in Cerise, which is my favorite color of all time. Seriously.

It was kind of a tedious process to order them as I was seeing them for the first time during the trunk show and then had to decide that night if we were going to get them to take advantage of the 15% discount. So we tried on dresses, I looked for wifi at 2 different internet cafes to email the girls the pictures, couldn't find one, and just called all 7 of them. They were all on board if I thought they were a good choice, and Kati and I definitely loved them. Some were concerned if they would have to wear a strapless bra under all of them, I assured them that was not the case with Amsale 454 (the halter top with ruffles) - it's definitely thick enough at the top at the neck to wear with a converted strapless/halter bra. Some were a little concerned about the color, too, but Kati and I have very different coloring (she's more fair and porcelain colored and I'm more olive toned) and we both thought they still looked good on both of us. I didn't necessarily have to convince the girls, but I definitely wanted them to feel comfortable in trusting me. My sister, the Maid of Honor, will likely go with a longer, tea length option rather than the cocktail dress to look a little different from the rest.

I do hope they turn out well. I just love them so much and really have high hopes that the girls will like them too and that they'll look as stunning as I think they will.

Did you have any specifications or goals during your bridesmaids dress search? Was it difficult? Did the girls seem receptive?

Bridesmaids Dresses: Part 4 of 5 (Hopefully)

As promised, here is the report from our visit to Hitched in Georgetown last week. (Don't forget about their Bridesmaids Dress Buying Party this Thursday!) Below are the stand-outs:
Callie by Thread: Elijah by Thread (not sure why it's a guy's name):

And Kiki by Thread. We also loved these dresses by Simple Silhouettes:

A-Line: def sans sash, but that's just me. I'm trying to go for the "not bridesmaid" look.

Empire: This was much cuter and very flattering on my friend.

There was also a strapped cocktail option that my friends both liked, but it's not online. These are more traditional and in the $250-$275 range.

Comparisons: My friends loved the quality and feel of the Threads dresses, but they're significantly more expensive -$350 oto $375. They also thought they were the most flattering, but they're not as fun and the colors are okay (bright-ish pink but with an orange "tinge" in the silk shantung) for what I'm looking for. Right now, I'm leaning towards the Melissa Sweets from my previous post, some Amsale dresses, and the Threads dresses, based on color, dress type, and price. The Threads dresses come in an awesome color they call "Popsickle." It's kinda bright, but lots of fun, however, not sure if all my girls will be 100% pleased about it, I'm guessing maybe 85%.

With so many choices, it's rather difficult to pick just a few! I had decided to give my girls options between at least 2 dresses, but it'll probably be around 3 as some have requested a dress that didn't require a strapless bra - oh for the "blessed" among us. Did you find it difficult to choose? What swayed you?

Making Decisions!

With the 7 month mark looming ahead of us as of next week, Fiancé and I are still slacking on those pesky save the dates.

Whoops? My mother has been uber nag since January 1. Each time I talk to her it's "have you finished the save the dates? You need to finish the save the dates." Yes mother...yes. I know.

This weekend, we're looking at a *cough* new *cough* reception *cough* site. I'm not saying more because we're not ditching the one we have yet. Rumor has it we might get more bang for our buck at the one in question (that we'll be visiting Saturday) and if that's the case it doesn't hurt that it's merely ONE block from the church and the hotel where we're hoping to block off 20 rooms for our guests (that we're also looking at this weekend).

Of course things couldn't be that easy, as opposed to site #1 that we currently have a deposit on, a deposit that was only ~$100, the one in question has a $5k deposit, $10k minimum food and drink, thankfully that $5k deposit? Goes towards the minimum. Now, our proposal at current site, had us at $18k. We brought it down, cutting out just about EVERYTHING, to about $11k. So if we can keep it in that vicinity and get more for our money, we're golden and totally only losing $100.

No decisions have been made but if I can have a cocktail hour downstairs, dinner and dancing upstairs, with a full cocktail hour? I'm totally bailing on site #1.

I digress though. I'll hopefully more info next week and pictures.

In other happier news,

I picked out the Bridesmaids dresses, have a trip scheduled to Boston to go with the other girls, and should have them all ordered by May 12. The dresses in question?

[via Aria Dress]

The fabulous dreses from Aria Dress. They'll be short with an Aline skirt, in navy blue. The girls will then wear fuschia shoes. Carry green and white flowers. It's going to be fabulous. I love the navy/fuschia color tablet with a hint of green, like a spring green. Ahh love colors.

My vision? Something similar to this:

[via Miss Havy]

I've got the navy shoes, the girls will have navy dresses and pink shoes with white flowers with a dash of green in the mix. I'll have pink flowers. The men will have green mums as their boutonnieres with navy suits and vineyard vine ties.

All in all, it's coming together. If this ah-hem new reception site works out we'll save a significant amount on transportation. Like seriously - none needed. The men can stay at our apartment and walk over the day of, and I can stay at the hotel which is catty corner to the church. I'm pretty excited about this all, now if I could just sit down and get those stupid Save the Dates done....*le sigh*

Rebuffed: Bridesmaids Dress Search Part 2

Two weekends ago I visited Richmond to see some friends and go bridesmaids dress shopping. We visited 2 different stores and had 2 very different experiences. The first was Jingles. I had called them 3 days prior to our visit to see if we needed an appointment to look at dresses (they were fully booked for appointments because of a trunk show). My friend had tried to prepare us as she had researched them prior to our visit and reported that she'd read comments online that the shop can be a little snobby, even though they have some nice dresses.

The woman who answered told me no, only if I wanted my girls to be measured for their dresses. When we arrived, the first woman who greeted us asked if we had an appointment. I told them about my phone conversation. This first woman was very nice and even apologetic that their dressing rooms were all in use, but she may be able to squeeze us in after a group of girls was finished. I thanked her and we began our browsing. A second woman asked us if we had an appointment, ready to record my answer on her trusy clipboard. I told her the same and she was very rude and said, "Well, we you need an appointment. We're very busy today, with the trunk show and all." I told her we understood and we would be okay just browsing if if need be. A THIRD woman asked us the same question (mind you, the shop is very small and the section with the bridesmaids dresses is right in front of the front desk, so even if you wanted to have a quiet conversation with a potential client, you would still only be standing a maximum of 10 feet away from anyone else in the store! Well, the first one was able to get us into a dressing room 15 minutes before her 2:30 appointment. Between the 3 of us, we were able to try on 7 different dresses in less than 10 minutes. On our way out, we said thank you and let them know that the dressing room was available. We will not be returning.

BM Dresses (Minus 1)

My BM dresses have arrived! (minus 1 - more about that later) They are gorgeous and I love them. They are Alfred Angelo in sunshine yellow. When I decided on this dress, everywhere had samples in pink. So, when the dress arrived at the local boutique, it was the first time I got to see the dress in the actual color. My BMs and MOHs are wearing the same dress. To differentiate the MOHs a little I'm having a bit of embellishment added to their dresses. This is the dress. It's more sunshine-y in person. My pda camera does it no justice.

Now, back to the "minus one" part. My younger sister (23), for some unknown reason me is opting not to be in the wedding and has not ordered any of her attire, which should have been ordered in November. Everyone else's dress and shoes are here. It's bothersome that she's choosing not to be in the wedding, but what's also bothersome is the way she going about it. She's just not ordering her stuff, and not taking my calls. I had to hear that she has no intention of participating in the wedding from my baby (17) sister. Has anyone else ever had a situation like this with a member of their bridal party?

Bella Bridesmaid

So I had finally decided on the flower girl dress, and Dessy design. The next step was to find where had it for the best price. I wanted to make it as cost effective as possible for her parents. On the Dessy website, I found about 5 boutiques in the area (MD, DC, & NoVA), and I started calling. I found the best price at Bella Bridesmaid, located in Baltimore (Federal Hill). This Sunday, I went with my flower girl and her mom to have her fit for the FG dress. The place was very cool, great atmosphere. I'm kind of picky about where I go for wedding-related services. Because, I'm only getting married once, I want a nice experience throughout this planning process, and part of that experience is the environment in which I do business. Bella Bridesmaid was great. We found parking with no problem. The store was very chic, and the owner Tammy, was absolutely wonderful. She was friendly, fully knowledgeable of the designers, the sizes, and her inventory. The store carries bridesmaids dresses by designers such as:

• Dessy (incl. After Six, Alfred Sung, & Lela Rose)
• Elon Michelle
• Eve & Ellie
• Melissa Sweet
• LulaKate Bridal
• Priscilla of Boston
• Vera Wang
• Twobirds

For brides that love tea-length, BM dresses, I noticed a wide assortment of tea-length dresses in gorgeous designs. What was really great about Tammy was that she has a little girl, too, and while fitting my FG, she really made her feel like a little princess. She was just so sweet, tied ribbons in her hair, and gave her a fresh flower to practice her FG duties. My 5 year-old FG was too thrilled! She did this all while taking care of business, and giving much needed guidance on our fabric choices, and what size to order that will best fit this growing child in 3 months.

Though I walked into the store knowing exactly which style FG dress I wanted, she showed me another dress option, with the same price, which was helpful, and let allowed me to make an even more well-informed purchase decision. Tammy and her store manager kept us informed of the designer's shipping dates to ensure that we had an accurate idea of when the dress would arrive, which allowed us to get to the store just in time to have the dress shipped in good time for the wedding.

Overall, I had a great experience at Bella Bridesmaid. My FG felt like a princess and was so excited, it made me very excited about the big day. The 3 of us (FG, me, and her mom) were so glad we went. Though we went in for just the dress, I even ordered the doll-sized miniature of the dress to give FG as a gift at the rehearsal . I was surprised to find that I could order that sort of accessory through the store. I'd been planning on ordering it directly from Dessy online, but this way, I didn't have to pay shipping, and it would be cut from the same dye lot as the dress. I can't wait for both to arrive!

Bridesmaid Dress Alert!

If you were eyeing any J. Crew dresses for bridesmaids gowns, get yourself on over to the J. Crew sale page right now. Lots of the cute late summer and fall styles are on pretty big sale ($160 dress marked down to $80, etc.) and they seem to have lots of sizes left, especially if you're looking for sizes 8, 10 or 12. The color selection is pretty good too!

Silk Taffeta Ballerina Dress in Regal Purple

Berry Trim Dress in Deep Persimmon

Cotton Cady Lyndsey Dress in Fresh Mint

Also, if you're not familiar, check out J. Crew Aficionado. This blog always has the latest sale information and discount codes. The featured code right now is for free shipping on orders of $100. Perfect if you are ordering multiple dresses.

I've never had the occasion to deal with J. Crew customer service, but I've heard it's pretty good, particularly regarding wedding/special occasion orders. Anyone have any good/bad/ugly experiences to share or advice?

Bridesmaids Makeup

I've got a dilemma. I've got a wonderful makeup artist that I'm contracting for my April wedding in Richmond. She's great at what she does. She is professionally trained, works for MAC as has done my makeup in the past, for engagement pictures and for a previous wedding that I was in. Some of my BMs have used her before also. She's very professional. We've got a great rapport, and most importantly, I trust her with my face. I met with her a few weeks ago and did a makeup trial for myself and to select the bridesmaids makeup looks. Afterwards, I received her quote. Since I've used her before, I was familiar and comfortable with her fee. One thing that I underestimated is her travel fee to come to Glen Allen. The mileage rate quoted is $1.75/mile for the nearly 250-mile round trip between Columbia and Richmond. This makes the total cost 20% more than my original estimate, which was based upon past experience. I included a buffer for travel fees, but clearly not enough.

I initially hoped to pay for all makeup (I did not communicate this to my bridal party.), but travel costs so much, that I am having to reconsider that. I now intend to pay for the travel fee and my own makeup and have the ladies pay the $65 each for their makeup. In the last wedding I was in, BMs each paid for their own makeup, and I didn't have a problem with it.

For my wedding, my BMs have only to purchase their dresses and shoes. I don't require any special hairdo. I only ask that hair be professionally done in whatever style they're comfortable with by whatever stylist they like. I am also gifting to the ladies all of their accessories, including jewelry (cultured freshwater pearls).

My questions are:

• Is it wrong to have the bridesmaids pay for their own makeup?
• Are travel fees a negotiable factor for something like makeup?
• What have your experiences been?

What to wear . . . for the Bridesmaids

Early last week I made myself check out J.Crew because of the bombardment of coupons and sales they had been sending to my inbox. At most times of the year I try to resist the temptation, but it was the holidays and I had felt bad about neglecting my bridesmaids and their search for dresses. Lo and behold, the dresses I had loved early this fall were on sale AND they had a lot of sizes AND they were in the colors I wanted!

So I refined my list of prospects and sent them quickly to my girls for comment. They have been so sweet and willing to wear whatever I asked the, but I still wanted them to have a choice in their dress cut and color so that they would have something that brought out their best features.

One of them said to me tonight online (while we waited for J. Crew.com to come back online . . . and we're still waiting): p.s. thank you thank you thank you for not making us get a certain kind of shoes (like a specific pair)...i appreciate that SO much! i think it looks silly when it is all matchy matchy. i knew you wouldn't do that but still!

I'm not saying my way is the only way to do it, but I really wanted the girls to be able to choose a dress style and color (they're picking between 2 colors and 3 dresses) that also made them happy to wear. Another one told me tonight that this is the first dress that she has bought as a bridesmaid that she'll actually get to wear again. Both of these comments meant so much to because they were exactly the end result I wanted to achieve.

I would show you their choices, but because J. Crew.com is being crappy, I'll have to update you with them later. However, knowing that they're all ordering their dresses and who's going to wear what makes me SO EXCITED all over again! It's one thing to pick them out, but to know they've ordered them and who's wearing what at the wedding in 9 months, it's completely different. I can't wait to see them on some of the girls when I go home next week!

Bargaining for Bridesmaids? Who knew?

I picked my Bridesmaid Dresses! Wooohhoo! I am so excited because a) I absolutely love them, b) I would totally wear them, and b) I got an amazing price for them.
I never thought of myself as a good bargainer. (which is ironic, because for some reason, people assume I am skilled at this) I get flustered and back away before they even have the chance to consider my price. However, bridesmaid Laura is a PRO! The dresses I chose were over $200.00 everywhere I could find. We went to one last place, Rosalin's in Falls Church, VA and found them at $145.00! That is a price I feel much less guilty about, asking these girls to shell out. Bridesmaid Laura mentioned that she found them online for $133.00 from a discount store. The owner at Rosalin's said she could do $135.00! I couldn't believe it! I never knew this was a negotiable item. After talking to more brides, I found this to be common. Have you ever considered bargaining the price of the dress? While I am discussing Rosalin's, I might add they they have been great to work with.
Now on to the dresses. It was important to me that my girls feel great in these dresses. I have been a bridesmaid 3 times and have been lucky enough to have a gorgeous dress each time. I liked that, even though it was obviously not MY day, I still felt beautiful and comfortable. I mean, spending $200.00 (Or $135.00 if you can bargain down, like we did!! YES!!!!) on a dress is a lot of money and I wanted the girls to feel great in them, and if possible, be able to wear them again. I was particularly concerned that the material was a wearable material, for this reason.
I am head over heels for these dresses. I loved how they looked in person even more then the way they look in these pictures.
For the 5 bridesmaids, I chose 3 styles to choose from. I am asking that they get them in ROYAL BLUE, even if the dress is 2 tones, it should be all blue for this occasion. I feel that with a lot of different body types, I would like the girls to feel good. I also selected a different style for Maid and Matron of honor, and have their detailing in black, and the dress in blue. My matron of honor allowed me to pick a dress with a train for her wedding (yes, you read correctly...don't judge..please..I am embarrassed enough), and I felt special, so I wanted my MOHs to feel the same.

They are all Barijay dresses. These dresses are not your typical bridesmaid dress and are just stunning and flowy, in person! Here are they are, drum roll please.....
These images are from the Barijay website. The first 3 are for the bridesmaids to choose from.

This one (below) will be worn by the Maid and Matron of Honor)

What do you think of different, but similar dresses? Have you ever considered bargaining for the price?

BM Attire

Half of my BMs have ordered their gowns and shoes, and I am so excited. I love their dresses so much! I even tried on a sample. (I wouldn't put my favorite gals in something if I wouldn't even wear it myself.) The ladies are wearing a sunshine-colored Alfred Angelo gown for our spring wedding in Richmond.

I may love the dress too much, because I've chosen to have the BMs and MOHs wear the exact same gown and shoes! All ladies will also wear pearl earrings and a necklace, which FI and I will give them as gifts during our rehearsal dinner. Yet, I still think I want to differentiate the MOHs just slightly. They will wear different pearls from the BMs. I've also thought about sashes for the MOH's, either pink or white, and Davids Bridal has some really pretty sash embellishments, so I've got a couple that I really like.

My concern is that I don't want to overadorn he MOHs and have the BMs look plain beside them. However, I'm pretty pleased with my decision so far, and the dresses look great on all the ladies.

Meet the Bridal Party!

So last night I finally completed my asking of bridesmaids. Mr. GP has a general idea who he wants in his party but I'm uncertain of whether he's clarified who's doing what.

In my party we have S - my older sister, who's playing Maid of Honor. Unfortunately, her and I haven't spoken in a couple months since we had a tift after her visiting, but taking away the title would cause more trouble than it's worth so while I'm still including her, I have no expectations as to her level of involvement. My mother suggested demoting her to a regular bridesmaid but m'eh, again, I don't want drama and my sister holds a mean grudge. Just like me.

Next, we have L - Mr. GP's younger sister who's a nice girl, she's a freshman in college outside of Boston this year. I don't know her too well but we have plenty in common including a great sense of style - she's about as obsessed with JCrew and Vineyard Vines as I am.

Then we have SL, TLB, and E three of my best gal pals from college. E I asked last night, we had a big fight this past spring and thus when I asked my bridesmaids we weren't speaking. Since we started speaking again, things have been ten fold better so I decided to ask my last girl right. I'll get to that in a few minutes. TLB and S and I have been friends since sophomore year in college. Those two girls are included in some of my greatest memories of college. Finally, I have N my 11 year old cousin who's my junior bridesmaid. Her and I are about 4 days and 14 years apart but she's got a spunky personality and I've adored her since day one. Not to mention she's probably the only cousin I actually speak to out of all 30 of them.

So big sister I asked over the phone, I asked L over dinner one weekend when we were up in CT, and then I asked S over the phone (I really can't keep a secret) but TLB I totally surprised by asking her in Boston at the end of June over drinks. She was absolutely surprised, which was awesome. Last night, I asked L over drinks, I bought her a copy of the "Bridesmaids Guide" and gave her a sweet card asking her to be a bridesmaid. I thought it was mildly creative, more so creative than being "wanna be a bridesmaid?" over the phone? I kind of dropped the ball on my other gals so I wanted to make up for it.

I'm pretty excited about including E in my bridal party especially since all my other gals are so far away and with an MIA Maid of Honor I need all the support I can get and since she lives down the road and I talk to her a rather...daily basis it works out. My mother and FMIL were a bit concerned that I was letting the bridal party get too big but I don't think it is, I have all the gals I want standing up there next to me. I could have been more creative asking them all, but with tricks up my sleeve, I sense I'll make it up to them.

How'd you ask your bridesmaids? How many are you having??

Say "I Do" to the Open Bar

This beer's all ready for the black-tie wedding!
from beeradvocate.com

I am fortunate in life to have wonderful friends with many and sundry unique talents such that I never want for advice or assistance when life presents me a problem. Helping me with all my alcohol problems (haha, beer humor) is my friend and bridesmaid, A. Not only is she a beer enthusiast, but also a beer professional as she works for a national distributor bringing delicious beverages to your favorite watering holes. She asked if she could share some of her knowledge with all of you via a guest post and I jumped on the opportunity...so without further ado:

Dearest DCNearlyweds,

I am a bridesmaid in Miss Fairfax’s wedding next October, and have really enjoyed reading all of your posts these past few months (every workday needs a distraction!) There was one post in particular, from Miss Gallery Place, about her concern over providing an open bar on a small budget. Let’s be honest, weddings are less fun without open bars. I myself have been to five weddings already this year (with another one this Sunday!) and belieeeeeve me, nothing says “I Don’t” like paying for drinks.

BUT FEAR NOT!

Not only am I a bridesmaid, but I also work for a beer distributor here in DC and do lots of event planning. And when I read Miss Gallery Place’s post – I begged Miss Fairfax to let me provide everyone with a little beer math in the hopes that at least some of your wedding planning pains might be eased. The main question you have to ask is – do I want liquor at this event, or just beer and wine? I personally think that liquor is a little trickier (and makes guests a little sloppier). But here’s a suggestion:

My boyfriend’s sister got married last year - and they just went to the ABC store in Maryland (go there, it’s cheaper because alcohol isn’t regulated by the state like it is in VA and NC) and bought x-dollars worth of liquor and told the bartenders at the reception to pour until it ran out. After that, you were out of luck. They also had light beer (Miller Lite cans).* And they didn’t run out. There was a small corkage fee at the reception hall, but nothing compared to the total cost of allowing a reception hall to run your open bar. Yikes.

Now, if you’re just into beer and wine, think of it like this:

The estimate I came up with is based on Miss Gallery Place’s 80 person count, this can be adjusted for your guest count, and a budget of $800.00.

If there are 80 wedding guests in attendance, and you are also serving wine, assume about 50 guests will drink beer. Be generous with your guests (especially the guys) and assume that everyone will have a maximum 6 drinks apiece. Therefore:

50 guests x 6 drinks = 300 drinks

300 drinks / 24 (beers in a case) = approx. 13 cases (I rounded up)

The five most common beers served at any reception are Miller Lite, Yuengling, Corona, Blue Moon, and Sam Adams Lager. Twelve-packs of these brands should be available for under $15.99 in the District (Corona has the lowest pricing here in DC than in any other market in the country) and in some cases will be even less (like $10.99 per twelve-pack).** For the sake of math let’s say you buy 26 12-packs (13 cases) in an assortment of flavors:

26 (12-packs) x $15.99 (per case) = $415.74

$415.74 + $37.42 (9% sales tax) = $453.16

This leaves you roughly $350.00 of your $800 budget for wine and non-alcoholic beverages (if that isn’t already included in your per-plate total). Harris Teeter carries an excellent white Mediterranean wine for about $6.99 and Trader Joe’s has a great red wine (a cab-sauv mix) for $5.99 a bottle.***

The conclusion to this novella of a post? Open bars are soooo do-able, and for relatively cheap. I hope this helps – good luck everyone!

*Don't dis the can! It's the perfect excuse to offer your guests the wedding favor of choice for all the young prepsters down south, the WEDDING KOOZIE! And as my dear friend who has quite a collection advised me, "don't forget to order enough to give out at all your showers, engagement parties, and reception and also send the whole bridal party home with 15 after the wedding."Koozie and matching programs from clared23 on flickr

**While Costco is not always cheaper, doing a price comparison with your local grocery store can be worthwhile. Costco is also a great place to get your N/A bevs like water and soda.

***If you have a neighborhood wine shop, check them out too. They may be able to assist you by finding a distributor that supplies a wine you like at a price point that fits your budget. We love Unwind in Alexandria, and have already been in to talk to Vanessa about wines. She's going to help us find wine and Champagne at our price point. More on this later...

Bridesmaids Dresses - decisions decisions

I'm having a problem with my bridal party. Well not a problem with them, but a problem that they're all so far away. You see, Big Sister is in Vermont, she's my ah-hem "maid of honor" (don't get me started), and the rest of my bridal party is in Boston - Mr. GP's lil sister and my two bff's from college.

I've been looking at a variety of dresses - I'm looking for tea length or cocktail length, something that's wearable again, and either navy or a cloverish green.

Some of my favorites so far?

J Crew Rebecca Dress in Deep Atlantic

J Crew Sophia Dress in Deep Atlantic


David's Bridal short halter dress

Alfred Angelo strapless dress - navy with clover sash

Unfortunately, most of these dresses are only available online and the alfred angelo ones I like are all strapless and most of my girls don't like strapless. I don't want to make them wear something they don't like so ixnay on the strapless...eh?

The thing that I like most about these dresses: J Crew dresses look versatile, a dress I know my girls could wear again. They're also relatively affordable. Unfortunately they're only available online so I have no idea what size they'd be - not that's my problem to order their dresses but still.

David's bridal dresses are also affordable, they have my colors, and I like that you can add sashes, and a skirt so that you can see, say green, at the hem or the bust. I like that. I don't like that most of their dresses are long, and I'm still bitter after my last experience at DB which was just as bad as the first. Not that my gals would be shopping down here but I don't even know where the nearest David's is to Boston...though I'm sure it's not far.

Finally, with the Alfred Angelo dresses they're super cute, affordable, and they have great colors with the mix and match effect that I really like. Unfortunately, again with the "where can I find these dresses for my girls near Boston/Burlington," most of the AA dresses I like are strapless and I have no idea how they'd look with the spaghetti straps. Though I'm sure they'd look fine and would give my gals a good option between straps and strapless if they so choose. Though I'd prefer the uniformity I suppose I can't be Bridezill about little spaghetti straps.

So now that my dress is all ordered, I can't spend all my days looking for shoes for me (that's a whole separate post! Let's just say...I know what I want. And can not find it. For the life of me. *sigh*) so before I head up to Boston this winter to meet up with my gals and take them to a lil Bridesmaids luncheon thing, I want to have a good idea the options I plan on giving them. Hmmmm, decisions, decisions. I NEED INPUT! I should probably email my gals about this shouldn't I?

On top of all these decisions, I also have a junior bridesmaid and I haven't even started considering her - my 12 year old cousin who within the next year will surely be taller than I. Sad I know.

Gah! Decisions, decisions!

Any other suggestions where to look for bridesmaids dresses? (I saw a website with cute dresses but I think I forgot to bookmark it...D'oh!) Any pros/cons of the above that I missed?

[images from jcrew.com, davidsbridal.com, alfredangelo.com]

Will you be my bridesmaid?

Beginning in the spring before we were engaged, when I thought about how I was going to ask my closest friends (and my only sister) to be a wedding attendant, it often made me anxious and excited at the same time. I wanted to be able to include many of my closest friends, but I knew that it would be difficult organizing everyone and I'd have no friends left to watch the ceremony! I waffled between 6, 7, and 8 bridesmaids and thought about how pictures would turn out with each number, who would do what, how'd they get along, etc. Then my mother told me that Filipino weddings have a few more wedding attendants than other kinds of weddings:

1) Primary Sponsors - basically same as the couple's wedding godparents.
2) Secondary Sponsors - for the cord (to bind us), candle (to light our ways), and veil (to clothe us)
3) Bridesmaids and Groomsmen
4) Ushers and Usherettes
5) Flower Girl(s), Ring Bearer, and Coin Bearer (the coins are a Spanish tradition, I believe)

This gave me a little more flexibility, but it was still difficult to decide. And then, HOW do I ask them? I wanted to do something a little extra to show the girls that I really appreciate my special relationship with each one of them rather than just asking them in person or over the phone. Also, since not one of them lives in the same city as I, it was a little more difficult (they're in NY, PA, my hometown, Richmond, and my sister is in London). So, I decided to write them a letter thanking them for all their love and support and friendship and begin decorating a scrapbook for each one. I've asked them to send back their responses on the scrapbook pages that I'll save as a memento of our experiences together. Below is a shot I took in my prep stage:The notecards aren't attached to the page and the girls are free to use them or use something else when they respond.

I've asked all the girls to call me before they respond because I want to make sure they understand what goes into being a bridesmaid (I'm the first of our friends to walk down the aisle) and I want them to be there with me in any way they can, bridesmaid or not. I would never want any of them to feel like they have to be one or be surprised at some of the duties associated with it. Did anyone else do something specific or have something important in mind when "making the ask"?

(Almost) Home Sweet Home

This past weekend, as mentioned below, I visited a dear friend from my childhood. Seriously, it was just what I needed. Driving down I-95 bumping to to Rihanna and Danity Kane (yes, yes I know), I couldn't wait to see her, even though I saw her about 2 months ago when we first became engaged. It was like I'd gone back in time: Friday night we got ready to Nelly and Justin Timberlake before meeting up with some of her friends. We avoided the normal riff-raff at the bar, left around 12:30 am, and then stayed up until 2 am catching up. It was like our sophomore year in high school when I slept over at her house after our Sadie Hawkins dance and we couldn't figure out why boys were so stupid (sometimes we're still doing this).

Saturday morning, she made blueberry muffins, another tradition, and we went shopping! We were easily able to balance normal-speak and wedding-speak. However, my shopping experience (and hers) seemed to be enhanced by my newly minted fiancee status. So many things that we would have loved normally we loved even more because we had another "reason" to buy them. We saw cute these adorable Kate Spade shoes that would be such fun bridesmaid heels! They also come in Black, too!
When we came home, we had a wonderful surprise waiting for us from her mother. She sent coupons (because that's what retired elementary school music teachers and principals have the leisure to do now -I'm secretly excited to start coupon clipping) AND homemade No-Bake Peanut Butter Drops :) They were the perfect combination of sweetness, peanut butter, without making you feel like you had to go to the gym right afterward. I even thought of making something like them for gift bags since VA is known for its peanuts :) Her recipe follows below. Sorry I didn't get to take a picture of them! They were too good.

No-Bake Peanut Butter Drops

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cup Quick Oats (one minute oatmeal, any brand)
• 2 1/2 tbsp. creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup chopped nuts (i used peanuts)
• 1/2 tsp. Vanilla

Directions
Measure oatmeal and peanut butter into large mixing bowl. Combine sugar, butter, and milk in small saucepan. Bring to boil over medium high heat. Boil for one minute. Pout, while hot, over oatmeal and peanut butter. Add nuts and vanilla. Mix together. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto wax paper* or cookie sheet. Let stand until firm. *I dropped mine by tablespoons and put them on a no-stick cookie sheet. I thought the cookie sheet worked better than wax paper.

27 Dresses . . . No Not Really

Something about hitting the ripe old age of 25 has everyone tying the knot, getting hitched, jumping the broom, and a zillion other euphemisms for getting married. A week before my own 25th birthday, my then-BF/now-FI popped the question. (I'll talk more about that later.) I suppose this is because at this age, most are out of college and have completed or are completing their graduate/professional studies. At this age, many have a solid foothold in their career of choice, and are ready to solidify their personal relationships.

It just seems to be wedding season, at least within my network of friends, family, and sorority sisters. I am a bridesmaid in my sorority sister's wedding in two weeks. I am also the MOH in another linesister's wedding in May, a month after my own April nuptials. My recent weekends have been filled with the fun of bridal showers, bridesmaids luncheons, dress fittings, shoe fittings, makeup consultations, vendor visits, and the list goes on. I am completely honored to have a role in my closest friends' special days and I'm so excited to share in their joy. Both of these ladies are also in my wedding, as my Matron and Maid of Honor. I've been to two other weddings this summer, and look forward to having a role in my MOHs'/LSs' nuptials.

The great part about being involved in weddings as I plan my own is that I get to experience being a bridesmaid, and having that recent knowledge lets me know how to make my BMs' experience in my wedding wonderfully pleasant. At least, I hope that's how they feel when it's all said and done. I also get to witness how 3 brides can have 3 very different styles and personalities, yet it all comes together in equally beautiful events. My Matron of Honor is currently planning a fabulous church wedding and reception at the Ten Oaks Ballroom for over 300 guests, in fall-themed hues of orange and green. Her dress is traditionally appropriate, yet with some contemporary elements, that so suit her style: classic, yet fun and with a flavor all her own. My Maid of Honor is planning a city wedding at the exclusive Engineer's Club in Baltimore for a guest list that is just topping 200, with shades of pink and silver throughout. Her dress is more modern in shape, form-fitting, and with extensive detailing throughout, which so accurately reflect this bride's sassy/jazziness and brilliance.

- MR. GLEN ALLEN, IF YOU'RE READING THIS, YOU BETTER STOP HERE! -

My own wedding will have an outdoor ceremony, at Virginia Crossings Resort with the spring shades of butter yellow, accented by pink and platinum, and my dress will be more traditional than most would assume. Most days I can be found wearing a business suit and collared shirt. Yet, my wedding gown is a very princessy design, with not-too-much-but-just-enough detailing, and a long train. I love my dress and the next time I visit it at the boutique, I'll be sure to snap a few pics to share.

From having a very close view of these very different weddings in progress, I often marvel at how they are all equally beautiful, yet so distinctly unique. I would say to any nearlywed to choose and do what makes you happy, because the most lovely and meaningful wedding you can plan will be the one that is so perfectly and distinctly you.

First Official E-Mail

Yesterday I sent my FIRST official wedding party e-mail to the lovely ladies who will be standing up with me. One of the girls, KLH just finished up the Virginia Bar Exam (YAY!) so I figured that was excuse enough to start sending frivolous e-mails her way. First order of business was, of course, the dresses. I'm not 100% set on the company yet. I want to see the dresses in person before saying, "yes, this is it," but I did want to show them what I was thinking of and what the price range we'd likely end up in.

^This is what I'm thinking, sans the flower girls and possibly sans the sashes. I love the chocolate brown and KLH, A, and College Roommate all look lovely in rich colors. From the Aria Photo Album

The plan (pending in-person meeting with said dresses) is to use Aria Bridesmaids because of their excellent reputation for quality and re-wear-ability. Aria offers so many style options, hopefully each of my friends will be able to pick a dress she really likes and will feel comfortable in. Plus they do petites!

^There's that pink and navy again! And the sash is a celadon color, it's a little hard to see in the small picture.

^This is kind of cool where each bridesmaid is wearing a different style AND color!

The price tag freaked me out a little at first, just the WIC* rearing it's ugly head, but after discussing with a few important people--the ones who have to buy and wear the dresses--I've been assured this is perfectly reasonable.

^Aria offers the contrasting hem on the top or bottom free of charge. Contrasting sashes can also be included free of charge.

ALSO, I LOVE RAW SILK aka silk shantung. It's a light-weight silk that has slubs (nubby bits) in the fabric and therefore a beautiful natural texture. It's very flattering and easy to wear and in October it will be perfectly weather appropriate too. Aria is one of the few places I saw raw silk dresses under $200. So as long as the dresses measure up in person, I think "select bridesmaids attire" can be ticked off the check list. Of course that still leaves fitting, ordering, receiving, altering, bridesmaids' dresses to go.

^This is my favorite style, #170. I like the empire waist and I think the tie straps are really feminine and elegant. I'd pick this one if I were my bridesmaid...haha.

How did you decide on bridesmaid dresses?

*Wedding Industrial Complex

Miss Capitol Hill Wedding Recap - Posed Photos

Once we had the big reveal it was time to take the posed family photos.  Don't worry, though, I'm not going to post most of those...I always found it kind of boring when people posted family photos cause nobody besides myself knows those people so it's not very helpful for other brides. But I will post some with the bridesmaids/groomsmen. 

All photos below the work of Linda Wallace 

^Before we went for photos we had to get the flowers!  This is my calla lily bouquet from Blue Ridge Floral Design and my purse!  I looooved my purse.  I don't know why I even wanted one, but I did, and I searched high and low and never really found anything that I liked that wasn't insanely expensive. I ended up buying something that was "o.k."  Then the day before the wedding I had a last minute errand to run and ended up at the Charlottesville shopping mall (which is tiny) and the only real department store they had was a Belk. Which is a pretty inadequate department store...but there on a sales rack marked down half off was my no name brand purse.  It matched my dress perfectly and was only $25!

^Here is one of the groomsmen's bouts, also from Blue Ridge Floral Design 

^Here we are with all the groomsmen.  Navy Blue, three button suits from Men's Wearhouse, navy blue ties with green shamrocks and groom's kelly green tie with navy blue shamrocks from Wild Ties.

^Socks from The Gap 

^Bridesmaid dresses from Maggy London at Nordstrom. Flowers from Blue Ridge Floral. Bridesmaid hair from Daphne Latham. 

^My cutie flower girl in her Rare Editions dress from Dillards. 

^Once photos were over we all began to leave for the church. Linda captured this great photo of my Dad looking on as fiance and I shared a moment. 

Vendors So Far:

Video- Monachetti

Photography - Linda Wallace

Hair/Makeup- Daphne Latham

Dress Designer - Vwidon

Dress Salon - Promise for the Saavy Bride

Shoes - Vera Wang new from Ebay

Bracelet- Carolee

Veil- Occansey Design 

Purse - Belk 

Flowers - Blue Ridge Floral

Suits - Men's Wearhouse

Ties - Wild Ties

Socks - The Gap

Bridesmaid Dresses - Maggy London from Nordstrom

Flower Girl Dress- Rare Editions from Dillards 

Baltimore Cupcake Company Comes to D.C.!!!!

YAY! I will be the very first to admit that I am a certified cupcake snob. I can't help it! And my very favorite cupcakes have arrived in D.C.!!

Photo by Martha Fitzsimmons via The Baltimore Cupcake Company

The Baltimore Cupcake Company has teamed up with ladies of Hitched Salon in Georgetown to bring their delicious and whimsical little cakes to Washington. Deliveries will be made daily, so you can stop in and pick up a two-pack or six-pack (I'm really liking this new meaning of six-pack) any old time you want.

How perfect for bridal showers or bridesmaids luncheons or birthdays or baby showers or Tuesday afternoon...I mean is there is really a time when cupcakes are not appropriate? You can also place a special order 48 hours in advance and pick up at Hitched. Just call The Baltimore Cupcake Company at (888) 990-0133 to place your order for any flavor and quantity.

Classic Baltimore Cupcake Company flavors like key lime, vanilla and chocolate will be available along with toasted marshmallow, and an exclusive new flavor, coconut framboise! YUM!

Photo from Hitched

It all starts tomorrow (Wednesday, July 9), don't be surprised if you see me in line for the first cupcake. ;)

Hitched is located at 1523 Wisconsin Ave.
Store Hours are Tuesday -Thursday 12pm-8pm,
Friday 11am-6pm & Saturday 9am-5pm

Baltimore Cupcake Company Cupcakes
available during business hours

Rules of Engagement: What You Need to Know

Who would have thought that getting engaged was something that you had to put on full protective gear for!  It's somewhat combative in nature due to the barrage of questions fired at you by everyone from your mother to complete strangers in the elevator.  So, take it from me - be prepared!

1. Know who's on the short list - who you are going to call in the 10 minutes after it happens.  In fact, outside of the parents, I'd recommend sending a text to siblings, other family members and close friends.

2. Turn your phone off!  Seriously, your phone will exploded with all the well-wishes, which are awesome, but...spend some quality time with your fiance basking in the excitement of the commitment.

3. Know the date - its the first question and everyone wants an answer right away.  So, don't be vague (my response was maybe May, June, or September of next year) - that doesn't satisfy people's curiosity and encourages unsolicited advice.  If you don't have a date - make one up.  Really. 

4. Know where you are going to get married - This should be an easy answer, but if for some reason its not been settled between you and your soon-to-be spouse, pick a place.  Any place. People will want to know, trust me. 

5. Have pictures taken.  Why? Well for one you'll want to remember the occasion, but also because your parents will want to submit the announcement to the local newspaper right away and a picture is a necessity.  You also want to have a general sense of what you plan to say, particularly if you have divorced/remarried parents, etc.

6. Know who you want in your wedding - and don't ask them.  Not yet anyway.  Even if you do know - don't ask anyone to be in the wedding in the midst of your excitement.  Let things calm down and then reconsider.  There are so many well-wishers and people you care about, its easy to get caught up in the moment, run your mouth and oops! you've now got 14 bridesmaids!!  So stay mum on these arrangements!!

6 1/2.  And the special bonus prize?  Know what your wedding colors are going to be.  Who would think that would be a questioned asked in the first week after getting engaged, but it sure is!  I still have no sense of what colors I want, but people keep asking!  I'm inclined to start saying in "pink and green" just to see the priceless expressions I'll get in reaction.  Hee hee heee.

But, seriously, these are a few of the things that I wish I had known to expect.  I'd typically say - lesson learned for the next time, but I don't plan on a next time!

 

Once Upon A Time In Mexico

Not only are the details of Demi & Frederick's Mexico wedding amazing, the photography from Parker J Pfister is simply breathtaking. I can't wait for his new site to be up and running.


^Although they look nothing alike I can't think of a bride that more resembles Grace Kelly then Demi does in this moment. Look at her elegantly gloved hands.


^Her dress was a classic


^Beautiful shot


^Don't think your bouquet has to be large to make an impact. The small size was the perfect compliment to her outfit and the bouquet brooch is amazing.

^Don't forget the bridesmaids. They all looked so elegant...and the bride's dress choice really did compliment all their figures.

^They each carried these simple yet elegant bouquets.

^Love that pop of blue. Very fitting with the Mexican location, but the white keeps it toned down and tasteful

Pink Week Tribute

One of the many wedding blogs I have in my reader is, of course, Elizabeth Anne Designs. All this week over there has been "Pink Week" so if this is your wedding color it's a must read.

Personally I'm not big on pink at weddings but if you have to go pink I think you should TOTALLY embrace it. Go all out!

So since today is Friday I'd like to post the below dress I saw today on Nordstrom.com in honor of a very fun and inspiring Pink Week.

It's a Kay Unger with pleated ruching, an obi style tie at the waist, and it is made out of multiple tones of iridescent silk taffeta. I officially declare it the most perfect pink bridesmaid dress in the world.

New JCrew Dresses are In

FYI if you are still looking for bridesmaid dresses or you are going to be a guest at a summer
wedding -






^ Polka-dot Rosette Dress - $168





^Portico Wrap Dress - $150


^Jillian Strapless Dress - $295



^Strappy Florence Dress - $250 and Strapless Florence Dress - $250

Merry Maids

Happy V-Day everyone! Or as my sister says "Happy Single Awareness Day!" But if you are reading this Blog you probably aren't single. Fiance and I don't have any crazy plans...just going out for a nice dinner.

Anywho, I'm happy to say a decision on bridesmaid dresses has finally been made. As I posted before, I was having trouble finding dresses. As a quick recap...I really wanted the dresses to be 1) in the right shade of a vibrant kelly green and 2) I wanted something that would be flattering and that they wouldn't feel miserable in because 2 of my 3 bridesmaids are full figured and full figured bridesmaids usually get the short end of the stick in the wedding world and 3) Didn't cost a fortune, which for me meant it had to be $200 or less and 4) I really wanted something that had a sleeve to it so my bridesmaids wouldn't feel exposed.

So these requirements basically ruled out any "typical" bridesmaid dress since 95% of these are all strapless, made for super skinny people, really expensive (usually for no apparent reason since most come in horrible fabrics and are simple designs), and none are in the right shade.

I scoured the internet daily for months, hoping to find something that fit these requirements. And in the end I didn't get exactly what I wanted but I came pretty darn close.

I saw this first dress in Macys and the color was AMAZING. So much more rich then the picture below. I decided to run it by my most fashion concious bridesmaid who is also full figured to see what she thought and she LOVED it. I knew if she loved it then we were on the right track.

^The dress is a sleeveless silk dress from Maggy London and it is in a color called "Absynthe." As we were looking at the dress we realized there were a few other dresses also from Maggy London and in the same "Absynthe" color. There were 4 dresses total so I've told my bridesmaids they can chose whichever dress they feel the best in and like the most.


^One of my bridesmaids adored this dress, ordered it, and loved it even better on. Sadly it's sold out now but she's thrilled that she actually LIKES the dress she'll be wearing.


^Another of my bridesmaids likes this silk chiffon halter dress best.


^My last bridesmaid is deciding between this surplice chiffon dress , the halter dress above and the very first sleeveless dress that I orignally liked. She's ordered all 3 to see which will look best.

I've also had a friend who was visiting Hong Kong pick up some white pashminas for the girls just in case they want to cover their arms/shoulders.

The best part of all of this? The price! Almost all the dresses were on sale. 1 dress was only $44, another is $74, another is $87, and even the most expensive one is only $140. That's not too bad!

I'm really happy that I was able to find a color that I loved, styles that they all loved and could chose themselves, and prices that wouldn't be too much of a burden on them. I also think the color will look great in photos.

In the end...it doesn't matter how cute you think a certain bridesmaid dress is...if your bridesmaids have layers of armpit fat hanging over the top of that strapless dress, have a color that washes them out and makes them look dead, have a fit that makes them so uncomfortable that they don't feel like dancing or even smiling then that super cute bridesmaid dress will just be ugly in pictures.

I know it's hard but do try to find something that everyone will be happy with even if that means you have to make some exceptions to your vision of what you think you wanted. Compromise is the best choice in the end. Your bridesmaids will thank you for it. Mine have.

Bridesmaid Bargains from CK Bradley

The below Tulip Dress from CK Bradley is a steal for $75 (marked down from $320.00!). They'd make really great bridesmaid dresses for a beachy or summer wedding. They'd also be really cute as a rehearsal dress.




The below Charleston Dress isn't on sale at all :( And at $295.00 it's a pricey choice but so many brides have chocolate and pink as their colors I had to include it.


Finally, the Lola Dress below in "Blue Calligraphy" silk dupioni and black satin is gorgeous. The good news is it's on sale. The bad news is it's still $340! But hey it's marked down from $425.00.

New J Crew Spring Bridesmaid Dresses

J Crew's Spring line of bridesmaid dresses is now on their site. It may be their Spring line but they are definitely channeling summer with colors like orange peel, sour lemon, bright berry, papaya, fresh aloe, and blue oasis. I can already see myself sitting beneath a palm tree drinking pina coladas. My favorites?
The black dress in the middle, the bright berry dress (3rd row far left), and I love the color of blue oasis (3rd row far right).

K.Amato Discount - 20% Off

K.Amato designs a wonderful line of reasonably priced jewelry that would make great gifts for your bridesmaids or for you to wear. Now they are an even better deal with 20% off. Just use discount code "PEOPLE" at checkout. She has a wedding line as well, but alas, it's special order and not avaliable for sale online.


^The Armitage. Originally $48, now only $38

^The Maple. Originally $60 now only $48

^The Barry. Originally $38 now only $30

^The Surf. Originally $70 now only $56

Subtle Fox

If the below designs from Foxy Originals are too bright for your taste make sure you check out her more subtle pieces. All available at Snazzy Girl.

Foxy Bridesmaid Gifts

I love this colorful jewelry from Foxy Originals. They would make great bridesmaid gifts and they come in so many colors it would be easy to coordinate. You can buy them at Snazzy Girl and I haven't seen anything over $40 so they are very reasonable.

Adorning Your Maids

If you are looking to coordinate your bridesmaids' jewelry (notice I didn't say match...let everyone be unique!) then you should check out Chemistry Bridal. They have different styles of necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and rings available in 16 different colors. The best part is that prices range from $25-75, so giving these as gifts will not break the bank. The necklaces and bracelets can also be monogrammed with each persons initials. Each piece is made to order. They also carry gold, silver, pearl, and crystal colored jewelry so you might find something that goes with your dress as well.

Labor Day Sales

Labor Day marks the end of summer and the last of the great summer sales. If you are a Spring/Summer 08 bride then now is the time to get your bridesmaid dresses at a discounted price. You might also want to pick something up for yourself as well for all the parties, showers, and the rehearsal dinner.


^Photo by Echard Wheeler


^ JCrew Seersucker Dress in Lemon - 89.99 down from 250.00


^JCrew Lucie Heels - 99.99 down from 168.00


^JCrew Seersucker Dress in Blush. 89.99 down from 250.00