Miss Mitchellville aka NearlyWed Slacker is Making a Comback!

Hello Ladies,

I know, I know who the heck are you! Well if you check the archives you'll find this DC NearlyWed behaving like a newly engaged woman and posting regularly back in June/July of 2008. But as it sometimes goes, I just became really burned out and by August I did not want to see anything wedding related. Here's a re-cap; I became engaged Christmas 2007 and hit the ground running attending bridal shows, tastings, trunk shows, you name it if it had anything to do with a wedding I was there. Then came the Summer and I was like the grumpy dwarf of brides! I don't know how it happened it came over me like a funk and I was just over it! (Not head down to the justice of the peace over it, just I can't look at another flower over it!) I think it was a combination of things; Doc & I set our date for October 2009 so we had plenty of time, almost two years to plan and make everything just the way we wanted it. We selected a venue (Newton White Mansion), caterer, and I had even ordered the invitations only three months into being engagement (what can I say, I'm a planner) and then my older sister got engaged (February) and dropped her wedding like the house from the Wizard of Oz right in the middle of my planning frenzy! So what do I do; I push my planning aside and help my sister pull together her special day (She was determined to be married first!). By August (her wedding was in August) I was completely over it; and the bridal bug was officially gone.

So here we are in 2009 and I'm back; mainly because The Knot.com dropped a "Nine Months to Go!" bomb on me that would cause anyone to panic; this thing is three pages long in an 8 font! There are so many boxes to check, I think I'm getting whelmed! Breath... Okay so all I really wanted to say is I apologize for being such a "C" student okay "D" student but I will do better; I have tons to do and therefore tons to blog about. First up for discussion, I've narrowed my search for "the dress" to two! They both feel like "the one", non-traditional enough for my taste, yet elegant however, they are so extremely different from one another. One is daytime/garden & the other evening/ball, we are having both (afternoon garden ceremony w/a evening formal reception) hence my dilemma. BTW, does anyone else have a problem with 6 women standing around gawking & "judging" you as you get naked to try on wedding gowns? This is why I brought family and friends with me, they've seen my goodies! I don't know if I'll ever be comfortable with a random woman (although very nice) holding my boobs up because I failed to bring the right bra then vice gripping me into a sample six sizes off!

Gas for driving around to shop for a bridal Gown $50.00
Cell phone w/camera to sneak photos of yourself in
"the one" $ 79.99
Standing in front of the entire bridal department cold & naked
while waiting for your bridal consultant to prep a gown for you
to dive into $ PRICELESS

Check out my top two...

Favors vs. No Favors?

Favors or no favors, that is the question? I must admit the idea of favors has boggled me since I first encountered a birds nest of sugar coated Jordan almonds at a cousins wedding. Why? I wondered... I'd read the symbolic meaning of the almonds however, as I looked around the room no one cared; I saw children playing table football with almonds, adults with puzzled looks picking birds nest apart at their tables and when the reception concluded I found a ballroom littered with almonds left at the tables and on the floors and again I wondered what's the point. Today I think of a wedding and I believe it is a opportunity for friends and family to help a couple celebrate their choice to walk through life together. The couple or couples parent's plan a great party with at the very least food, drinks, and some sort of entertainment. All this is planned for the guest enjoyment so why is it necessary to give guests a gift for attending? Isn't a invitation to a wedding a gift in itself? The "favor" which in my opinion is nothing more than a unappreciated afterthought with the couples name on it is a wedding racket and a huge drain on a wedding budget! Who's really going to use the playing cards with your picture, or weird apple butter you made and stuck your monogram on. I'm not one of those people who hangs around weddings until the end to snatch a centerpiece all I need to take away are a a few photographs and some great memories. Now I am planning my own wedding and being constantly reminded by venue directors, caterers and my mom that I must decide on a favor because as they all say, "you can't have a wedding without favors..." Whatever! I've entertained the idea of making a donation to a charity in the name of my guest but I don't want to impose my beliefs on them what if they don't want to support the charity we select. I also thought about making cookies or fudge or something but really, who has the time? Second, after the wedding cake who needs more sweets! I don't know what I'll do but I'll keep you up to date on any new ideas I find. Here are a few unique ideas I found at The Knot:

A sterling silver luggage tag with a personalized thank you note. (Cute since all of our guest will be traveling.)

How about a recovery bag for when the party wraps up in the wee hours of the morning! (Vitamin Water, Excedrin, and a snack bar.) Or a breakfast bag with some instant coffee or tea & a muffin for guest to munch on as they head to the airport!

A tissue for your tears... This is a nice idea offering a hanky to your guests as a useful keepsake perhaps with our monogram...

A $1 dollar lottery ticket & a shiny new penny in a vellum envelope! Lucky in Love; give guest the opportunity to win back some of the cash spent on getting to our destination wedding !

An uplifting or inspirational read for the plane; hmmm... I'll keep you posted on our decision!

Save the Date!

Sorry I've been away so long I've been helping out with my sisters Las Vegas wedding which is rapidly approaching and completely neglecting my own wedding plans. I did however, manage to complete one DIY project in my absence. Previously I posted the save the date magnets we decided to use from Magnet Street and I've been searching for an inexpensive yet creative way to send them; well DIY project #1 is complete! In an effort to cut cost I opted to send our save the dates attached to postcards instead of in envelopes. This creative idea cut our postage cost in half allowing us to send the magnets for 27 cents each even with the magnets attached! This project was so inexpensive and yet it really sets the tone for what will be a "destination" wedding. Have a look!

Washington DC Postcards
I purchased 150 identical postcards
from a vendor at the monument for twenty bucks!

Mini Vellum Envelopes from Envelopemail and a handy glue gun held our save the date magnets to the postcards and only cost $10.95!

FYI, I just got a Magnet Street Promotional Code offering 10% off and free shipping: WEXPC10

Expires: 9/30/2008

Website Woes

I had this brilliant idea that my fiance' could whip up a website for our wedding since the freebies that The Knot or Brides.com give you don't provide enough space for everything we need to include for our "destination wedding". So we picked a name, bought the site, and we were off; Doc (the fiance) is really quite savvy when it comes to technology so I figured this little bitty website would be no big deal to set up. I selected a inspiration website something to model our site after, and I compiled all the information to be included such as travel & accommodations links, scheduled events, even a link to RSVP online! I handed this seemingly simple project over to Doc with high expectations. 48 hours later were at each others throats after I reviewed his idea of a "cool" website complete with bachelor colors and our names written in the Time's New Roman font! How did this happen? I gave a model site which should have eliminated all "creative" input. It looks like were opening a billiards hall! I did try to mask my disappointment and gingerly request that we change the font to something softer more wedding appropriate however, this apparently is no small task because in the world of flash there is no such thing as a small change! So now he's pissed and snapping at all my "little" changes but I can't just let it go. I feel like this website will set the tone for our wedding and it's all about the details! I hate to say it but that website template at the wedding channel.com is looking pretty good right now!

As if planning my wedding was'nt enough...

Of course my older sister would get engaged three weeks after me and make a mad dash for the alter to secure her position as the first to tie the knot! Whatever, she's the oldest so everything is as it should be:) My sister settled on August 23 as her wedding date and since it's right around the corner I figured I'd better get the ball rolling on her bridal shower. I decided to throw her a lingerie shower because she has all the crystal and china she wants and there is really nothing she needs (she's the type to see something she likes and buy it; it makes Christmas shopping difficult.) Anyway, while looking for my own wedding invitation inspiration I came across Wardrobe Stationary which offers custom stationary inspired by fashion! Wardrobe Stationery has a collection of reasonably priced high-style, fashion-inspired patterns and design elements that you customize. There design/patterns could work for any occaision and even satisfy the most couture bride. For the shower selected a sexy but tasteful stationary with a design that resembles a black lace garter on raspberry paper. It's perfect! Now all I have to do is decide on which games to play... oh and a menu...and location; I'll keep you posted!

Photos courtesy of Wardrobe Stationary