Things That Annoy Me About Wedding Planning - #1

So the month of March was the two year mark since I was engaged (and no I don't remember the exact day that Fiance proposed). We lived abroad for work for a year and then needed time to plan so here we are now going on two years.

Some brides *think* they'd like to have a long engagement so they'd have more time to plan. But the reality is you really don't want that. I could go into all the reasons why but lets just say there is a reason most engagements are a year or less.

Anyway in honor of this mile stone I thought I would start a new little series that I will occasionally contribute to entitled "what annoys me about wedding planning." I have no doubt that at least one of the things that annoys me will probably offend someone but c'est la vie.

Number one on my list is probably one we can all agree on:

1) Dress Stores That Don't Let You Take Photos

O.k. so maybe back in they day before internet and thousands of bridal magazines it made sense not to let girls take photos...otherwise they could take the dress to a seamstress and have it remade. But in the information age this excuse makes NO sense. I can find a picture of almost any gown by any designer and usually within a day of it hitting the runway (except for mine apparently, but that's another story).

Here I am about to drop THOUSANDS of dollars on a garment and yet I can't even take a picture to be sure I want it. In what other industry are you treated that way? If I was dropping cash on a car, a house, a new couch, whatever, no one would blink an eye if I wanted to take a pic but for some reason bridal stores are the exception.

I can even see limiting the number of photos the bride takes for time purposes. Maybe the shop doesn't have time for her to be a fashion model for 15. But at least let her take pics of the top 3.

Not only does this not hurt business but it actually heps. I went to TONS of gown stores in the D.C. area and the ONLY one that let me take pictures was the store where I bought my gown. Now don't get me wrong, they weren't perfect...they only allow you to take a picture of your favorite gown, but it was so great to be able to look at it on me from every angle and not feel rushed.

After each store I'd come home and look at that picture again and it soon became the one to beat. This was doubly helpful, as for the most part I was shopping alone and didn't have other's opinions to fall back on. I'll never really know if I would have still chosen that gown had I not been able to take a pic, but I do know it played a major role in my decision.

If anyone out there can give me some good reasons why this rule exists I'm all ears!

Yellow Makes Me Happy

Tomorrow is April 1st, we're way into Spring, flowers and trees are blooming and budding....so why the heck is it gray, cold, and drizzly outside??

I don't know, but when I saw the below images in my blog reader today they made me happy.

All images below credited to Kristina of Vrai Photography. Check out her blog for more.

Moving On Up: Casey Templeton Photography

One photographer I've had my eye on for a little while now is central Virginia based photographer Casey Templeton. Casey won the 2005 College Photographer of the Year award and shot for National Geographic as part of an internship in 2006.


Since that time he has been shooting weddings, and even though he's a relative newbie to the whole wedding scene I can see how talented he is, and how much more talented he's becoming with each new wedding on his blog. In a few years I think he's going to be the photographer we all wish we could afford but can't!

In my opinion he's been blessed with some really beautiful and stylish brides. Below is just an example!


All photos below the work of Casey Templeton

^Is this dress not the most unique thing you've seen? (you can click to enlarge)



^Here is an up-close pic of the back (you can click to enlarge)

^I love this brides unique bouquet and those beautiful gold doors

Michaels...

I have a confession to make--I am not crafty...I am not even CLOSE to being crafty, when I was younger at birthday parties my mom use to have "crafts" for us kids--it was a running joke every year how bad the craft turned out. Don't get me wrong, we always had a great time, but these crafts were not something that would later appear proudly displayed on a mantel-- they were more likely to be found at the bottom of a trash can, if you get what i mean :).

So when FI and I started talking about making our own wedding invitations, I was apprehensive, I had a picture in my mind of what I wanted our wedding invitations to look like, at least the packaging part---A 3 fold invitation folder, made of beautiful paper, wrapped with satin ribbon, you open the folder and there is our invitation along with a pocket holding the different inserts *sigh* , beautiful. I was not willing to compromise on my "vision". Our design friend, swears that he can make a template for the inserts/invitation that would mirror any "pricey" invite out there ( he was shocked at the cost, and momentarily thought of changing careers:) ). I researched my favorite types of paper and I can buy them a lot cheaper wholesale--as for printing, even though I love letterpress, I was planning on going the "cheaper" route anyways, which can be done at Kinkos or at our very nice office printer at a fraction of the cost...the only part of the project that I was still hedging on was the pocket innovation. So last night I went to Michael's, to see if I could make the pocket invites.

After the initial feeling of being overwhelmed, I found my way to the invitation supplies aisle. I purchased some card stock/decorative paper/cheap ribbon ($1) an exacto knife, a ruler, and some tape/glue. I then went home to follow step-by-step directions. A few paper cuts/exacto knife cuts and about oh 20 minutes later, I had something "resembling" a folder invitation. Honestly, it wasn't that bad--I don't have any pictures to prove this haha but I could see the potential! However it got me thinking, what if we made everything but BOUGHT the folder pockets that's when I stumbled across this website - Paper Presentation

They offer a variety of pocket folds, by two favorite being :

^ Both of these folds come in a variety of colors! You can order 5 samples for free, so that's what I'm going to do, see If I love them, and than price out the diff btw buying supplies and making them, and purchasing them made--its about $60 more to purchase them--but it might be worth the saved time and frustration, I'll let you know :)

Centerpiece Alternative from CB2

I got a new CB2 catalog in the mail today and I spied a great option for a centerpiece alternative. In general I'd say most flower centerpieces average between $60-100 in our area. Multiply that by 10-20 round tables and you're looking at a $600-2,000 flower bill just for reception centerpieces.

I think the below Lumiere Candleholders bunched into groups of 5 or more would be a really modern and chic alternative. And if you're like me and hate round tables imagine how amazing these would look all lined up in a row down your long tables? I can just see the warm glow of the candlelight now.


^ The candleholders come in a clear hand blown glass style (strong as a chem lab beaker glass). They have both large ($9.95-$12.95) and small ($3.95-$4.95) styles.

^As well as a style of the same glass that has been painted silver ($4.95-5.95)

Below are some more views so you can get a feel for the overall look.













Depending on how many you get for each table and how many tables you have you could decorate your reception tables for as cheap as $250 (5 of the $4.95 candles for 10 tables).

Afterwards you could use some around the house, sell some online, or let your guests take them home (that's better then a centerpiece that dies in a few days!)

How to spend your hard-earned pennies on something that dies in a day: Part One

Who has the time to meet with 5 or 10 potential vendors to figure out who will be doing flowers or makeup for your wedding (which last only one day fyi)? Not I! But that is exactly what I ended up doing for both. I had a very specific vision for my flowers and a "didn't really know what I want but definitely know what I don't want" vision for my makeup. Either way, this resulted in a whole lot of time schlepping to meetings. First up, flowers.

As a disclaimer, I would probably have worked with any of the florists I met with. But I went with one that really latched on to my ideas (even though they ended up changing entirely, as you will see). For your benefit and resources, I'll review everyone I met with and go through my original and revised floral ideas at the end. And mind you, these are only my personal opinions and experiences!


Barbara Von Elm, Growing Wild Floral Company
571-236-4420
[email protected]

Barbara is a popular vendor on the knot and rightly so. She is very friendly and really works to stay within any budget constraints. She will be frank about what is and isn't available, along with what will be best for your budget. That said, I think she works best with minimal guidance--Barbara will discuss the "look" that you are going for, likes, dislikes and take it from there. It's very much an organic process with her. I did have a very specific idea of what I wanted, along with types of flowers, containers, etc. and ultimately it was a more modern look than what she is accustomed to delivering so I decided to keep looking.


Suzann Stotlemeyer
301-718-0280
[email protected]

Suzann works out of her home in Chevy Chase, designing florals for all types of occasions. She was a little distracted when I showed up one Saturday morning--she'd forgotten to write our appointment down and was working on a large order for an event that evening. Either way, we sat to to talk--Suzann is clearly enthusiastic and passionate about her work. She took copious notes and really wanted to know about all aspects of the event--better to help create the whole "look" for the wedding. She also brought up a good point about sizing the bridal bouquet--I am quite petite in size and stature, so an overly-large bouquet would look out of place and disproportionate. This applies to any bridesmaids as well.

Suzann took me downstairs to her studio to look at some containers and I got to glimpse some of her work in action. I wish I had taken a picture because the arrangements were beautiful! They were chock full of vibrant purples, set off with light green bells of Ireland and peacock feathers throughout--headed for some themed lawyer's party at a downtown hotel. The colors were just gorgeous and the flowers so fresh. Even so, nothing really "clicked" and I didn't want to decide prematurely. But I should mention that throughout my entire search, Suzann was the only florist to follow up with me after the proposal.

I have four more to go, so stay tuned!

DIY Moss Letters....

I had never really thought about "Letters" You know The large Initial of your first name , and A large initial of your FI's first name---Although I loved the final look, I didn't think they would be worth adding to the budget..that was until I stumbled across these Moss Letters on StylemePretty




^ I love the way the moss letters look on the door, with the ribbon, classic and beautiful!

I immediately googled "moss covered letters" and surprise surprise a weddingbee post popped up! I tell you up those bee's think of everything!

This post was from Miss.Lemon

It step by step walks you throw making your own Moss letters! Aunties Alexandria's are going to help me with this task, so I will let you know how it goes, but Miss. Lemon did a easy walk thru that I feel anybody can follow!

DIY Invitations...

DIY---My fiance just realized the other day what DIY stood for--I was making a list of DIY projects and he was quietly sitting there .....I had to call Momma Alexandria to ask about a DIY I had seen in a magazine that I really liked while on the phone with her I must have said the phrase "Do it Yourself" because when I hung up FI was grinning like a little kid waiting to tell me something..."yes dear" I asked "DO IT YOURSELF" that's what it stands for!! He was so pleased with himself, I let him have his moment....now he is starting to realize exactly what that means. He mumbled last night, and I quote "I thought the hard part was behind us, getting all the "big stuff"accomplished, now I realize I am so wrong". Hey I love a man that can admit when he is wrong :) The reason for FI's angst--with a little less than 6 months to go, all those DIY projects I've been thinking about/talking about are now starting to become a reality, and FAST. Including one MAJOR project that I will be posting about in the next months to come, our invitations. FI and I are doing them ourselves! We had a designer lined up, she did our Save the Dates and I LOVED them, but for invitations its going to be very expensive, and as I'm sure you all knwo how expensive a DC wedding is, so FI and I are enlisting or Designer friend to help design a template and we are working on the paper choices and with the help of Miss.Bubblegum over at wedding bee ( a picture below of her beautiful homemade invitations) I am feeling confident that FI and I will be able to accomplish this task! Don't worry though I will keep you updated every single painstaking step of the way :)










^ I love how professional hers look--FI and I are aiming for many of the same aspects including the pocket fold!

FI and I are also planning on making our own Menus/Escort Cards/Table Cards ( I will share these with you in another post )

Basically we are going to be busy, but we have a timeline and LOTS of help, so I feel confident everything will be accomplished! I will post more later :)

Events at Carine's Bridal Atelier

Reem Acra Trunk Show March 27-29

(and more importantly)

SAMPLE SALE!!! April 3-5

Budget-savvy brides know that one of the best ways to score a designer dress at a fraction of the cost is at a sample sale. And although I didn't purchase my dress from her store, I can say from personal experience that Carine is extremely knowledgeable, warm and helpful. Plus I tried on two gorgeous Jenny Lee dresses that made me look 10 lbs lighter. She features a wide range of bridal designers, ranging from the more traditional to envelope-pushing (I tried on this crazy but amazing St. Pucchi dress with flower cut-outs...let's just say that black undies would not be an option.). Collections include Rosa Clara, Carolina Herrera, Melissa Sweet and so on. You can check out the full list here.

Blood Platinum?

Unless you are a completely oblivious Bride then you are probably already well aware of the devastating role the world demand for diamonds has had in prolonging conflicts in parts of Africa. Diamonds not certified as having come from legitimate governments are usually referred to as Blood or Conflict Diamonds (and even with a certificate it can be questionable).

This issue has been on our social radars for a while, but today I read a very interesting article on the destructive effect platinum mining has had in southern Africa as well. Who Pays the Price of Platinum? explores the role that platinum mining has played in the displacement of locals from their land and the pollution it has caused in local water sources. This pollution has led to higher rates of death and disease in the local population as well.

Unlike with diamonds, the main destination of platinum is not jewelry markets. Oddly enough the growing demand for clean air is driving the market because platinum is used to create catalytic converters (how ironic, no?). Platinum rings, are also a part of the platinum market, however, and demand for platinum has skyrocketed in the last two decades (the price has skyrocketed as well).

What are your thoughts on this? Knowing that platinum mining causes harm to others does it change your desire to have a platinum ring? Aside from not wearing a ring are there options out there for a wedding ring in which the negative impacts on the earth and on society are minimized? It seems to me that almost any material that has to be taken from the earth has the potential to be destructive...is there a solution?

***In interest of full disclosure my engagement ring and wedding ring are platinum***

Crazy about my sharp dressed Groom

So I posted last week with my side of the wedding day, now it's Mr. Bowie's turn!

The night before the wedding, we parted ways to honor the tradition to not see each other until at the altar. We both wanted to do this but I was (honestly) skeptical that it could actually happen like that. It just seemed like there were way too many things going on and for our paths NOT to cross? For as much planning as we could do to prevent that, I just felt like it was bound to happen. Luckily, it didn't!

While I was off getting my hair, makeup, and nails done, Mr. Bowie was getting into his tux with tails as soon as possible. He was so excited to wear his tux that (I found out later) he changed into it first thing in the morning when he woke up *awwwww!* He even wore it to run some errands and pick up some last minute things before finally arriving at the church on time! Perhaps it's odd that I note this but I felt like it was a big deal because being on time on your wedding day is something that I've seen to be a major accomplishment.

Upon his arrival, he was met by cameras and most of his groomsmen. They all hung around outside for a while so that the sanctuary could receive the last of it's finishing touches *Thanks Mrs. Nearlywed!!!* and I could be shuttled off to the unofficial bridal suite (aka the church's old nursery). Mr. Bowie was fine to stand outside though as it was a BEAUTIFUL Spring-ish day AND he got his traditional groom's gift to open!

We had originally agreed to not exchange wedding day gifts because our budget had definitely been stretched beyond what we felt comfortable with but when I was running around in the weeks leading up to The Big Day, I found something very symbolic that was perfect (and not expensive!) that I wanted to give to him so that he would always remember what he means to me and why I married him.

Can you see what the gift was? It's a knight in shining armor on a horse!!! He loved it and still talks about how it was just about one of his most perfect and memorable gifts ever so much that he did shed a few tears when he read the card I wrote to him.

After I was safely hidden away and my part of the bridal party started showing up, Mr. Bowie and his crew made their way into the church and hung out in our pastor's office and then the church multi-purpose room for a while. Looks like they had a pretty good time killing time!

At our church, playing chess before weddings is a pretty traditional thing as the pastor (who is a good friend of ours) told us later that the only time the chess board is ever pulled out is when the groom and his men are waiting for the wedding to start! Unfortunately, Mr. Bowie lost the one and only game they had time to play. Oh well.

It wasn't long until it was time to finish up getting ready enough to talk that big walk to the altar to meet up with me finally! Mr. Bowie's "details" were captured beautifully by the husband part of the photography team that captured our day...

Our colors were light pink and dark pink and he was the only one with a dark pink boutenniere to distinguish him from all of the other guys. His cufflinks were sixpence pieces that we found on Etsy.com for a little under $20 and I was happy to share the "something old, something new..." tradition with him so that he took care of the sixpence instead. What's mine is his and what's his is mine - that's how we work it! *wink*

His final moments of being a singleton were spent in quiet meditation and prayer after my dad gave him a "pep talk" about becoming THE man in my life.


This is one of the last pictures of Mr. Bowie before I saw him at the altar and it is my absolute favorite of him. Nathaniel did a beautiful job with the composition and really helping to capture the moment that was.

Images: Balance Photography
Location: Trinity Lutheran Church
Groom's tuxedo: MW Tuxedos, formerly called Afterhours Formalwear
Flowers: Proflowers Weddings

Professional Lighting...Is It Really A Must Have?

Over the last five or so years having professional lighting done for receptions has becoming increasingly common and now it's a virtual must-have for many brides.

I'm really kind of torn on the issue. On one hand I've seen really boring and horrible spaces transformed into wonderlands and I'm truly amazed at the difference it makes. And the conventional wisdom says that a bride can spend less on other decorations like flowers and get more bang for her buck with lighting. Not to mention the visual impact it has on your guests.

The other part of me feels like it's just one more thing that's been added to the "must have" list for brides and if you can't afford it then it's just one more thing your wedding is "lacking." And as much as I'd like to tell myself that brides will skimp on other decorations the reality is many will feel pressure to have amazing flowers AND lighting.

We're not going to have professional lighting done..mainly because we don't have the extra couple thousand to spare, but our space is also quite small and because it's already so beautiful it really doesn't need to be transformed into anything else.

For those brides out there who can't afford professional lighting I thought I'd include the below photos from Night Notes and Wine Spills, the photography blog of Ben Chrisman. Isn't it amazing what you can do with simple candle light???

What are your thoughts on lighting? Are you having it for your wedding?

All photos below credited to Ben Chrisman.

Cherry Blossoms!!

The majority of my clients to date are hyper concerned about Cherry Blossoms. They are either trying to schedule their engagement sessions around Cherry Blossom Festival, plan their wedding during cherry blossom festival or incorporate the beloved Cherry Blossom into their wedding decor. Ahhh, the Cherry Blossom.... To those of you flying in for your engagement pics, rest assured the blossoms are coming in nicely, not too quickly and there have not been any torrential rain storms to destroy them all, you will be fine. To all my October brides wanting cherry blossoms, best advice i can give you is...Think Silk......

Here's a neat little tidbit of information located over at Flaming Tulle.
And did you know you can get married under the cherry blossoms? According to the National Cherry Blossom Festival website:

Please call (202) 619-7225 and ask the Office of Park Programs/Permits Office to fax you a Public Gathering Permit application. The rule is that groups of people over 25 persons are required to have a permit. You will need to fill it out and fax it back to them at (202) 401-2430. This office will help you find a location for your event so that it does not interfere with other groups who already would have a permit.

Hate to be the one answering the phones there tomorrow....

Invitations: Signed, Sealed, Delivered

All the invitations are in the mail and most have arrived to their destinations. Our grand total was around 140 invitations. I know you're thinking..."wait, aren't you the one with the tiny chapel that only seats 85 and a reception place that only seats 100?" Yep, that's me.

Crazy? Well, Fiance and I are expecting a much higher then average "No" rate because a large amount of our friends live overseas and we know they love us but not $3,000 a person plane ticket love us. We had invitations that went to Japan, Korea, Scotland, Belgium, Senegal, Hong Kong, Turkey, Germany and even Iraq. We also had a lot of courtesy invitations to extended family that we knew weren't going to be able to make it but we still needed to include. So far we have 46 "yes" responses and 21 "no" responses

Here is the final product-


^ The outside envelope. The envelope paper is is Aspire Petallics in Beargrass, size A7, 80lb stationery weight. The wrap around labels are from The Bella Bella Co. Couture Correspondence Etsy Shop. The font is Liffey Script SF. The stamps are from the U.S. Post Office and I'm thrilled the green stems of the flowers matched our green/white colors cause I really didn't want to have to pay extra to get "personalized" stamps.



^Here is the back of the wraparound labels with our pre-printed return address on them.




^The inside envelopes are also Aspire Petallics in Beargrass size A6. The font is LainieDaySH.



^The invitation. Not sure of the paper as my sister printed them, but it's a similar light shimmery white like the Beargrass envelopes. Most of the text font is Copperplate Gothic (this comes standard on most word processing programs), the cursive names are in CygnetRound, and the flourish design at the bottom is WMDesigns1 small letter "d".




^Here are the RSVP envelopes. We used clear sick on labels from Office Depot and the font is Liffey Script SF. Yes, the Liberty Bell "Forever" stamps are ugly, but our RSVP date falls close to the date when stamp prices go up, and I'm sure we will have a few stragglers who send their RSVPs late and I didn't want them to be returned to sender. There aren't any 42 cent stamps available yet so the Liberty Bell it is!

We also had an insert for the reception and an actual RSVP card but they just follow the general look of the invitation.

Whewww...glad that's done!

I don't care if it's the beach! No flip flops allowed!!!

When I decided to get married at the beach, it was very important to me to keep my original color scheme: Eggplant, ivory, champagne and maybe a splash of celadon here or there for fun. I didn't want to be the white and ocean blue bride everyone has seen a thousand times, and most importantly I did NOT want a beach theme. No flip-flops, no sea shells scattered on the tables, no lounge chair place card holders and no sand dollars in a tray of sand as escort cards. It's not that I think it's ugly, so please don't be offended if you've done these things, it's just not in my vision for my wedding. What I did want was to acknowledge the fact that we're getting married at the beach in a few understated aspects of the decor since we're not having a typical barefoot ceremony on the shore, but a formal church ceremony instead.

And it was hard to find a balance. When I originally met with my florist, I said I wanted small square vases with fluffy hydrangeas and limes or lemons in the bases. I mean, why not? Citrus come from Florida - that works, and it doesn't scream BEACH. But then, I started thinking about it, and how well did that fit with my overall design? It felt like I was unsuccessfully merging the formalness I wanted with the tropical location of the wedding. All of a sudden, I was dealing with a hodge-podge of great ideas that didn't really work together.

Thank goodness for my fmil!! It all started with a trip to Michael's and a few little understated beach items. Then, we headed to Marshall's for more big apothecary jars for candy, and she pointed out these beautiful vases. There were three, and they were perfect. But I needed 12. So we bought them and decided to try and few other TJ Maxx and Marshall's stores. Here's what we ended up with.


The vases are champagne, ivory, mother of pearl-ish, a bit of sea glass and a few hints of swirled purple. We plan to use a dark plum ribbon around them (i just threw some on there to show the effect) and still use the fluffy cream hydrangeas. Each table will have one or two vases since some of our tables seat 8 and others only 4, and we found 12 of them on our hunt for around $80 total. I love how they are all different shapes! The two big sea shells are kind of jobless right now, but I thought one would look nice on the "gift" table with a small card in front that tells people to leave greeting cards inside.

We also purchased a few of these little spheres covered with tiny shells to scatter on the candy bar table.


And last but not least, I found 10 of these amazing plum hued lanterns on mega sale at West Elm. We'll be hanging them from a tree with a candle inside. The photo didn't really capture the color well.


I finally feel like there's a cohesiveness to my entire look, and it's light and beachy but also has my purple accents and shows off how beautiful my color palette is! I'm so excited that what I originally envisioned as rich and Autumnal has transitioned so well into fresh and airy!

Have you guys had to go back and revise any of your plans that kind of just got out of control and disjointed? How did you get your design back on track?

A Sexy Something Blue

I spent Monday making my dad feel uncomfortable.

I took a sweet little visit home to Atlanta this week. My dad and step mom accompanied me to the local Priscilla of Boston to see me try on my dress, which I already ordered in DC. I didn't expect any tears from him but when the attendant placed the veil on my head, there was a definite flash of pain, followed by a visible flush of red to his face. He was trying to hold back the tears, but as fast as it had come over him, it was replaced his sheer happiness to see me prancing around like I was on the runway.

Then we went to lunch where my step mom went over wedding details and something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. I explained to her that I'll be wearing a ring that my grandfather gave to my grandmother in the early 70's. It's white gold with two pearls and two baby diamonds. He passed away in Vietnam and the ring was put away for around 40 years. Then when my mom got sick my grandmother passed it down to her and she wore it until the day she passed away. It's of very special significance to me. Something new will be my dress and something borrowed will be my aunt's veil that was also worn by my cousin. Then we started talking about something blue and how I have no idea what it will be.

Our next stop was Bloomingdales where the three of us somehow ended up in the women's underwear department - in the Hanky Panky section. I'm telling you now, if you're having a shower, have a Hanky Panky one. These underwear are the most comfortable thing you'll ever put on. And the amazing thing is that they are one size fits all!!! I know!!! Crazy! Right?! No need to even tell anyone what size you are!!!

I cannot tell you how comfortable these underwear are. Then...I found them. A baby blue pair with small crystals that say "I do." Jokingly I grabbed them and said to my step mom, "Hey Step mom Shirlington!!! These could be my something blue!!" And she grabbed them from my hands and insisted on buying them for me. I couldn't have been happier.


Until I saw the look on my dad's face when he realized he was staring at the pair of panties I would be wearing on my wedding night. It was possibly the most uncomfortable moment of my life! But for the Hanky Panky's - totally worth it!

The Big Reveal

After a long, hard search and several times falling in love with expensive dresses, I finally found the one. Is it what I envisioned I'd wear on my wedding day? Not at all. Did I fall in love with it when I first put it on? No way. But I've tried on hundreds of dresses at this point, and it flattered my shape, was appropriate for the beach, and I liked it well enough.

I've been a fashion freak since the day I was born and almost even went to school for it. So the last thing I EVER thought would happen would be that my wedding dress would fall closer to the bottom of the list of priorities for my wedding. But since my dad is barely contributing to my big day, the budget falls on my shoulders.

I asked Mr. Shirlington if he remembered my cousin's dress from her wedding in June. He didn't. Then I asked him if he remembered my sister-in-law's dress (hey chick! I know you're reading!!) and he did - but barely. So then I realized that the only person who would really remember the dress from our wedding would be him and maybe a select few of my friends and family, and he'll think I look beautiful in anything. This was my "Aha!" moment - I don't need a dress out of my budget if no one really notices it. Then it came down to comfort. I'm going to be on the beach, but I didn't want a destination dress. So I had to keep my eye out for something that was a little flowy and lighter.

After falling in love with an out of budget Modern Trousseu, I began to look for something similar. I went to Priscilla of Boston at Tysons to try on a Watters gown when I saw the PoB Vineyard Collection, and its lovely little Nora. I tried it on and loved it. The service at this paricular bridal salon was excellent, so I felt good spending my money there, and they were also doing a special promotion for 15 percent off. I took a week to think about it and went to Destin on my plannign trip It was there that I tried on the dress in front of my aunt, grandmother and maid of honor, and they loved it.

So here are the photos of my dress from that trip. This particular one was a few sizes larger than the one I tried on at PoB, so it's not as flattering. But here it is none-the less! I will also be wearing an ivory satin sash, versus the one shown. I don't want to give away how great the full look is until the big day.

Wedding Favors part deux

Wedding favors--what to do what to do. I really wanted our favors to represent FI and I, so since FI is from OH and we met in OH ( college) we thought our wedding favors would be Buckeyes ( the chocolate candy) That is very popular in OH-IO!! (if your from Ohio you are now spelling out OHIO with your hands..u know what I mean :) )

Than after reading in Martha Stewart Wedding about "regional favors" we saw a cute way to serve them to guests :

^ Buy some cute boxes in our color, put our monogram on it with a sticker, and ta-dah a wonderful favor!

This was the way I was sure we were going, I even had it check marked off my list! That was until yesterday. I must admit I am guilty of reading the gossip blogs, and I was reading Perezhilton yesterday, when I saw this link http://www.dogsindanger.com/

It just about broke my heart, I have never teared up at work, and I was fighting them back yesterday. I am an animal person, thru and thru. Even though I support many charities through donations, fundraisers and volunteering time, Dogs are my weak spot. I think kill shelters are horrific and I warned my FI in all seriousness before marrying me that "I might come home with a stray dog or two from time to time" because if I go into a shelter, and read the card that the dog is going to be euthanized the next day, well that dog is coming with me. FI and I both have the same love for animals, so when I saw that website yesterday and saw that there was a way we could help through our wedding he was all on board.

They have a way that you can give a donation to Dogsindanger and in return get these precious cards to go on your guests plates, to let them know the good dead that they did to help the animals:

You choose how much you want to donate and they give you up to 500 of the cards to put on plates!

This is what FI and I are now doing, we are thinking we might still do the buckeyes but do them the "cheap" route (i.e make them ourselves and package them very inexpensively) , but we don't know. We do know that we want to give our whole favor budget to helping these animals, and knowing that on our wedding day we are giving something that won't be thrown in the back of someones closet or thrown out--we are giving the gift of life for an animal that desperately needs it. So that is the route that we are takinig! I know its to each there own, but I thought this was a great option and wanted to share it with everyone :)

Skylines from Favors You Keep

I was trying to find something completely unrelated (but also for the wedding) when I ran across the site Favors You Keep. They have the typical array of wedding favors but they also have a whole line of wedding things that you can customize with a city skyline.
I know you're thinking "yeah they probably just have New York City," but they have over 25 different cities...including some more obscure ones like Kansas City and Cleveland. And of course they have D.C. and Baltimore!

They also have about 25 colors to chose from, 30 different ink colors, and a number of fonts so you can really customize your Skyline items to fit your wedding.


^You can get favor bags and customize them with the D.C. skyline


^ Check out the above Save-the-Date with the Skyline of Baltimore



^ You can also do a magnet Save-The-Date (this one has the D.C. skyline)



^You can also get welcome bags made up to welcome your guests to your wedding city

simplesong designs

I've found a florist! I'll post a recap of the exhaustive search but in the meantime, check out this cute etsy shop! simplesong designs is run by a young mom in the DC/VA area that makes simple, but stylish paper goods, gift tags, etc that could totally be incorporated into your wedding.

Check out these awesome fabric pins (can also be made into magnets):



This bulletin board (I'm loving the damask pattern) comes with these adorable to-do push pins, a great way to visualize your wedding to-do list.





Custom (and affordable!) stationary would make great bridemaids gifts...



favor tags, perhaps?



She also has a blog where she posts pictures of her more recent work (and adorable son). Virtually all of her products can be customized and she also makes invitations and announcements for weddings, showers, birthdays, etc. Check out this precious stationary set for a 5 yr old customer!

Going to the chapel and I'm gonna get ma-rrrr-ried...

We got our pro pictures!!! Cheer with me now - YAY!!!

Rissa and Nathaniel of Balance Weddings did an OUTSTANDING job. I'll even admit that I'm biased to their abilities as we've become quite good friends from working together. But still! I've gone through the pictures at least half a dozen times and I still can't believe that they are of my wedding. For whatever reason I've just felt like my wedding was kind of "small potatoes" compared to what most people might think of in terms of weddings. Looking at the pictures though makes me feel like it was all just... perfect? *shrug* I don't know. I have no clue. But just the same, it's just completely surreal looking at them. AND, I can't stop. :)

So here is the first installment of them. Without further ado...

My day started out with getting hair and makeup at 8AM and then skating off to the nail salon to be pampered with my unofficial maidens of honor with manicures and pedicures. We had a BLAST and it was the first time (and won't be the last!) I EVER got a pedicure. After the mini-spa treatment, I got myself to the church and hung around in the unofficial bridal suite (really the nursery) until everyone else arrived. Right before this picture was taken I actually blogged via my phone - did you read that entry? I'm crazy. Really I am.

The photographers showed up just as everyone else was getting there and helped me to get my dress out and hung up for some pretty shots of it and some of the other bridal details. I had started to hang it up myself and was standing on chairs and (of course) I got fussed at and people took over.

It wasn't long until my mom arrived and soon after my flowergirls, sister-in-laws, and friends showed up. It was really exciting to have everyone there all in one place - kind of overwhelming as I'm not used to being the center of such excitement but it was fun nonetheless.

Everyone was mostly dressed but there was plenty of final touchups that still needed done. Jewelry needed to be fastened, dresses needed to shimmied on, and people needed to ask me if I was "okay" since I'm pregnant and that's what people do when you're "with child."

I'm known for my procrastination and my wedding day was no exception as I waited until the last possible moment to not put on my dress. Luckily, Mrs. Nearlywed was there to keep my in line and on time. And LUCKILY I fit into my dress despite the huge Taco Bell lunch that I treated myself to...

*Phew* It only took two people to zip up my dress! It was truly a relief. And I'm as good as ready to strut my stuff down the aisle. But we'll save that for the next blog posting.

Images: Balance Photography
Location: Trinity Lutheran Church
My dress and veil: David's Bridal
Flower girl dresses: David's Bridal
Flowers: Proflowers Weddings

Sharp Wedding

If you've been reading this blog for a while then you know from previous posts that one of my favorite non-wedding blogs is Sharp Lily. Sharp Lily is a shopping blog devoted to posting great fashion finds for less $$$. Well the author of Sharp Lily is also a newlywed! She had a lovely December wedding with a classic preppy plaid look. I loved her bouquet and thought the dress was so elegant. To see more pics check out her blog and her photographer's blog.

All photos below the work of Jeff Reeder Photography

Gifts for the Maids....

As you all know from previous posts I have a large bridal party, 7 bridesmaids and 2 MOH's...its pretty big, but I wouldn't have it any other way! Its an amazing group of girls who have loved me thru the different stages of my life and who are always there, I talk to most of them every single day! Anyways, I get distracted...I know I am 6 months and 1 day ( whose counting :) ) away from my wedding, but I am already thinking about the maids gifts. There are a couple of reasons for this 1) with so many maids it can get expensive, and if I spread out the purchasing I can also spread out the cost 2) I don't want to wait till the last minute I want to get them something meaningful that I know they will love.

Now I am at a disadvantage/advantage as in, I am the first of our group of friends to get married, so I set the precedent, but there is also nothing I have to compare to! Two of my HS friends got married right out of college, I was in both of there weddings and I received a necklace I never wore again and a bag that is probably in my closet somewhere? So I know I want to get my girls something thoughtful and something they would use again, so my question is --Do I get a designer tote and than put in a picture frame/photo album/cheap flip flops ( for once there feet get sore from all the dancing!) and a sweet note

Or do I get a generic bag, the above mentioned and also purchase pedis/manis for all the girls on the big day?

I have attached a picture of the bags I'm thinking from Kate Spade ( I could get them on uber sale right now, but still expensive) -

For the Bridesmaids:




For the Maids of Honor:





I realize they look very similar, the only difference is the MOH would be bigger ( about $40 more)

My conundrum is, should I get them all the same bag, what if they don't like it? Do I think a designer bag would be better than mani/pedis?

I would LOVE to know what fellow brides out there are doing for there bridesmaids!!

Someone has to say something!

Did anyone see Mrs. Nearlywed's premier episode of "Whose Wedding is it Anyway?" last night???? Mr. Bowie and I set ourselves up on the couch and very much enjoyed the show! Honestly? I think Mrs. Nearlywed did a phenomenal job with the obstacles that she was faced with.

Having just "survived" my own wedding and planning and with my experiences doing event photography, the challenge of making a "perfect" day when you've only got one shot and challenges that you would never expect or even think of to begin with is tough! It takes a very special individual to be in the wedding and event planning industry. And surely, even though the television cameras were there catching things moment-to-moment, certainly there were things that didn't even make it off the cutting room floor and we probably just as challenging as what did make the episode.

I give Mrs. Nearlywed a standing ovation for her accomplishment with Sundonia and Jerome's wedding. Knowing how much of a challenge my own wedding was to pull off, she's a one-of-a-kind-incredible original who I think breaks the mold.

The Cherry Blossoms Are Coming!

Fiance's parents were visiting over the weekend and we went down to the National Mall to see a few of the monuments they hadn't seen before, and the Cherry Blossom trees were just starting to bud. No pink yet, though! According to the National Cherry Blossom Festival website the peak bloom time will be March 27-April 3rd.

Cherry Blossoms are a very popular wedding theme for D.C. brides and if Cherry Blossoms are your theme then the below note cards are a must!! Aren't they beautiful? How lovely would these be for all your wedding correspondence?



^Art of the Cherry Blossom Flip Top Note Cards - $12.00


^Art of the Cherry Blossom Flip Top Note Cards - $12.00

^Cherry Blossoms Note Card Portfolio - $8.50

^Cherry Blossoms Note Card Portfolio - $8.50

Enter code ZZZ5 at checkout and receive an extra 30% off courtesy of DailyCandy.

Déjà vu

You know you've been reading wedding blogs for too long when you see a Bride's photos on a blog and get excited because you know the bride...and then you realize that you don't know the bride personally at all...you know her from her blog posts! Time for me to get married...

I ran across some images from Mrs. Lime's wedding on her photographer, Michael Norwood's photography blog and she had such a lovely red and aqua wedding with such beautiful details that I thought I'd share a few shots that I hadn't seen before.

All photography below the work of Michael Norwood.

It's really happening

For those of you who've followed the craziness that was my wedding planning, it's officially going to be aired on Whose Wedding Is It Anyway on April 8, 2008 at 10PM EST. You'll get to "meet" me, Mr. Bowie, my family, and see how Mrs. Nearlywed helped to pull it all together in the end to officially make me a Mrs.

Honestly? I'm quaking in my boots a little. We don't get to see the episode before it airs and though I know I didn't do or say anything too crazy or embarrassing, there's something about seeing and hearing yourself on camera that freaks me out a little - especially since I'm almost always BEHIND the camera. I think this is how it works for most people though as my brother sent me an email saying that he would seriously "lay down the law" *not his words and edited for blogging purposes* if they didn't edit the part out where he grabbed the microphone from the DJ and was singing "Greased Lightning." *shrug* Hey - if I'm "going down" in reality television embarrassment, at least I won't be alone! That's what family is for right? :)

The freshman 15

I'll be the first to admit that I looked great when I started college and then gained the freshman 15. There's never really been the time or motivation to get rid of it...until I realized yesterday my wedding is almost exactly 7 months away. If I'm going to do something to turn my keg into a six-pack, I'm going to need to start working hard...and now.

I've always been decent at controlling my weight by diet alone. If I wanted to lose 5 pounds before a vacation, I simply cut out calories here and there by not eating a cupcake or a mid-day snack and only eating until I was satisfied, not completely full. And while I know I will naturally stress myself into doing the same thing for a month or so before the wedding, I don't just want to drop 5 pounds. I want to look the best and sexiest I've ever looked.

That means toned arms, a flat stomach, a tight back (so I can show it off in my dress) and some additional junk in the trunk. I would have to do lunges for a year to look like I belonged in a pair of Apple Bottoms. But gosh darn it, I'm going to give it my best shot.

So I went to Gold's today and signed up for a membership and 6 sessions with a trainer. An insane amount of money later, I'm ready to get a little more of this...

(from applebottom.com)

And a little less of this:

(from flickr)

Picture This

I'm on the photographer/videographer hunt now. Although I'm still looking, there are 2 photographers whose online portfolios have caught my eye. The first one offers above average quality and a good dose of creativity. It's a great bang for the buck, too, relative to other packages I've seen. We could get engagement and bridal sessions, 8 hours of wedding day coverage, custom 40 page album, and 3 parent albums all within budget. Then, I came across some beautiful pictures, popped right off the screen! The colors are definitely more vibrant and there's more creativity (a lot less posed)---though they both consider themselves photojournalistic. They offer a package inclusive of videography and photography that comes in $600 above budget and only gets us a 24 page album and digital negatives.

So, we're thinking perhaps we could use them for just the engagement session. It's the sensible thing to do I'm sure, but I wish I hadn't seen their site! Wondering if I'll regret not spending more for better pix....
We've actually allotted a nice fraction of the budget toward photography, so we're not trying to skimp on it. I've read skimping on photos is a common regret from brides. It's a question of upgrading or not.

I originally hadn't intended on hiring a videographer, but my mother shared that it's one of the things she wished she would've included in her day. So, I'm game for a basic edited video. After all, there are parts of the ceremony that the bride doesn't get to see that would be nice to see in motion later on. On tours, I have seen a lot of sites have installed surveillance style cameras for the bride to view the goings-on while she's in her suite. Nice touch.

So, what are your feelings about top of the line photography vs. above average quality?

Color Scheme

Yes I know its probably a little late in the planning process to be talking about my color scheme, I mean I am getting married in 190 days ( the knot tracker is helpful :) ). But I have been having second thoughts about my color scheme...I love burgundy, and I think its a great fall color, however my problem has been what to pair with it. Green ( even the light colors) are too christmasy, I'm not a fan of orange ( just a personal opinion) and yellow is hit and miss. I have been searching around on differnt inspiration boards, one of my favorites Style me Pretty has a lot of great ideas--One in particular caught my attention :





^ The above Inspiration board was found on Style me Pretty but is from the Blog Perfect Bound I love the silvery gray and burgundy red together, mixed with pearl--I think its classy ( which is what I'm aiming for) but also bold. However, I do worry that the Gray could be too "drab" but I feel if i make the bridesmaid dresses more silvery and not as grey that might help! I was also thinking of still making the MOH dresses burgundy/red as to add a "pop" What do you think?

Here is another board that I found on the Perfect Bound website-with the same color scheme:

All About the Accessories

I went over to check out Marie Labbancz's blog last week after seeing her work on The Bride's Cafe, and saw the lavish wedding of Kristina and Peter. I think most of us have one item we're willing to splurge on for our attire...a fancy bag, designer shoes, sparkly stones, but this bride rocked every single fab accessory. I'm not sure, but I think her accessories might cost more then my dress...


^ She had these beautiful 5″ (yes 5!) Christian Louboutin shoes!

^She had 2 beautiful head pieces custom made by Leah C. Couture Millinery

^ And yes that is a Prada bag

^Here is the whole look. The dress is Atelier Aimee. I know the gown might be too much for some tastes (i like very simple, streamlined designs), but I love that it's 100% unique and she really works her own style. She "owns" that dress and it looks amazing on her. No one will ever mistake her for a typical bride.

Paper Source Workshop!

A few Sundays back, fmil and I headed over to Paper Source in Georgetown for a lovely workshop. It was a sweet birthday gift from Mr. Shirlington, and we absolutely loved it. It was taught by Caroline Armijo and she was excellent at making sure no one got left behind and encouraged everyone to tailor the projects to their own needs. The class was helpful for me since I'm a wee beginner, and my only worry with going to another one would be that the projects would be a little too basic. Either way, Caroline did a nice job of making sure everyone was working on their own level.

I would totally recommend taking one of these workshops if you want to do a little something from scratch for your wedding but have no clue where to start.

Without further ado, here are some of my little creations!

Wedding Shower Invite

fall BBQ Invite (and kitty Shirlington standing in for Vanna White)

Brunch Invite with double envelope technique

General info folder to hold directions, local attractions and other info

Our Readings

The church that Fiance and I are getting married in has been really open about the readings at the ceremony. The pastor said we could have as few as 1 or as many as we wanted and none of them had to be from the Bible oddly enough. Call me old fashioned, but personally, I like the fact that a wedding in a church is a religious event. I like the ritual of it and the solemnity of it and unlike most brides now days who search every book ever published for the correct verses on Love, I actually wanted readings from the Bible.

That's not to say that I wanted any resounding gongs or clanging symbols, though. So we decided to mix it up with some less common Bible verses and one poem to even things out. So without further ado...here they are:

Reading 1: Colossians 3:12-17 (New International Version)

12 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Reading 2: i carry your heart with me (E.E. Cummings)
i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)


Reading 3: Proverbs 3: 1-6; 21-24 (New International Version)

My son, do not forget my teaching,
but keep my commands in your heart,

2 for they will prolong your life many years
and bring you prosperity.

3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.

4 Then you will win favor and a good name
in the sight of God and man.

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;

6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.

21 My son, preserve sound judgment and discernment,
do not let them out of your sight;

22 they will be life for you,
an ornament to grace your neck.

23 Then you will go on your way in safety,
and your foot will not stumble;

24 when you lie down, you will not be afraid;
when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

A month of being a Mrs.

Hello everyone! It's been just over a month since I was officially married off and I must say - life as a NEWLYwed vs. a nearlywed is definitely awesome and worth all of the work and wait that it took to get here. :)

We've not received our professional pictures back yet but I expect to get them either this week or next. Until then we've got some from friends and relatives...

This picture is actually of the interior of the church. My uncle took it! It looks photoshopped with the colors splashed over the cross at the altar but (if you can believe it) that's actually how it really looks with the sun shining in!!! There is stained glass that goes down either side of the cross and colors stream in over it. It's most beautiful in the mid-morning and mid-afternoon (when we had our ceremony). I'm so glad that my uncle was able to get this picture. :)

Here's another from my uncle. He snuck in and got this shot between the photography team and my dad. I changed the tone to sepia and it's my latest favorite of us so far. Mr. Bowie is shy about his "crooked" smile here but I think he's so handsome and it's one of my favorite expressions of his.

And finally - my husband... being his usual goofball self in his tuxedo. He stopped by his best man's house mid-morning before the ceremony. His best man - for reasons that I STILL cannot understand has a collection of decorative penguins. Doesn't Mr. Bowie totally fit in with them in his (literal) penguin suit?

And that's it's for us for now. Since we're both teachers, we're gearing up for Spring Break that will start this Friday and we'll have almost a full week and a half to just rest, relax, and go to doctor's appointments. *Oh the life of STILL being in a high risk pregnancy!!*

By the way, I was feeling all nostalgic, warm and fuzzy about being newly married the other night and I almost went and tried on my dress except that I can't. Why? Because I look like this now at 26 weeks:
Mrs. Nearlywed ESPECIALLY should appreciate this picture seeing as how we were both VERY worried about if I could squeeze into my dress a month ago. Imagine trying to do that now! So much for the nostalgia. *shrug*

The Age (old) Question

(Sorry for the lack of photos. Google is giving me issues uploading.)

It's been a busy few weeks with my planning trip to Destin, fiance's mom's visit from Atlanta, and then my birthday this past weekend during which my best friend /bridesmaid's visited from Atlanta as well. I've done some really fun stuff like order my dress and take a great class at Paper Source, but right now (since I can't get photos to uplaod), I want to talk about age.

As a girl, I always wondered how old I would be when I got married. At 13 I thought I'd never get married. At 16 I promised myself I'd wait until I was at least 27 when my dad told me I would really have a grasp on who I was and who would compliment me best by that time. And here I am, only a few days after my twenty-third birthday, planning a wedding. This is the year I'll be married. Though I'm completely happy with that, some people tend to think I'm a bit young to be making this decision. My dad forgot the 27 rule when he met Mr. Shirlington (and even told him he knew Mr. Shirlington was the one for me while we were only dating) and couldn't be happier for us.

But I couldn't help but feel a little out of place at vendor meetings or dress shops where people looked at me just a little differently when I told them I was 22 and getting married, and I doubt my recent graduation to 23 will change things. It's almost as if they don't think my marriage will last. I've been told over and over I'm "such a young bride"...which makes me feel like people see me as looking more like a second grader in a white first communion dress than a grown woman....and even sometimes like they think I'm being (gasp) irresponsible. They also don't know that I do other grown-up things like own a home, pay all my bills on time and cook my own dinner every night. I have a strong grasp on reality and am not expecting a "love will get us through anything" fairytale marriage.

So I started to wonder how young I actually am according to other brides out there. Here are a few facts from Dr. Phil's website. Some of them are a bit depressing, but it really gave me insight into some of the negative response I have received.

• The average age of a woman getting married in the United States is 27. — Bride's Magazine

• 59 percent of marriages for women under the age of 18 end in divorce within 15 years. The divorce rate drops to 36 percent for those married at age 20 or older. — "Cohabitation, Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage in the United States," M.D. Bramlett and W.D. Mosher ( a good one!)
  

• 60 percent of marriages for couples between the ages of 20 and 25 end in divorce. — National Center for Health Statistics

• The average age of a man getting married in the United States is 29. — Bride's Magazine

So the odds are against us, but the odds have been working against me my whole life and I've done just fine, and for the record, am doing much better than many 27-year-olds I know. How old are you guys? How young is too young? What's the best age to get married? Are you tying the knot at the age you always thought you would?

About Me

Sorry, I dived right in there without introducing myself! I grew up mostly in Stone Mountain, GA, though we bounced around a bit. I was born in MD and lived there for some years. My father and family still live there, so I frequently visit the area. I did my schooling in New Orleans, where I met FH. We recently moved to the Atlanta area after finishing grad school. FH is from Gulfport, MS. I'm glad to be back here, and near family.

The Engagement...
FH proposed on New Year's Eve 2007, so it's been less than 3 months. We've been together for 5 happy years. I spent the holidays with my mother's side of the family and rushed back to ATL to be with FH for New Year's celebration...whatever that may have been. We had no particular plans, just wanted to be together. His parents were in town as well, so I was happy that I'd get to see them before they headed back home.

FH told me to dress up and get swanky for our night out, which was also my Christmas present. When we got about a mile away from our exit, he told me to close my eyes until we reached our destination. When we pulled in front of the Civic Center he placed 2 tickets in my lap and told me to open my eyes. I was thrilled to see it was a concert featuring two of my favorite artists, Chaka Khan and Frankie Beverly and Maze! I kissed and hugged him. He knows what I enjoy. We danced and sang through about an hour and a half of the concert. When Chaka Khan began singing "Sweet Thang" I was all smiles and trying my best to carry a tune along with her. I'd never heard it live, it was wonderful to feel the music. What a night! In between my terrible duet with Chaka, I felt a ring being slipped on my finger. I could not believe it, I know my mouth was wide open. Then, tears and laughter and more tears. He was telling me what I meant to him and how he couldn't wait to marry me. I heard some of it, I know I missed a lot of it, though---I was just too excited. I even missed the question! He informed me later, and I screamed yes! I was touched to find out he asked both of my parents for their blessing individually (they're divorced).

The concert as a surprise was the perfect distraction! I am elated to be marrying my best friend.

Just like me, I dove into wedding plans not long after. I've learned a lot so far, and I'm still learning. So far, we have our reception site, band and DJ. The date is March 29, 2009. Picking the reception site was definitely mind-rattling, so I'm glad to be over that hump. The standard phrase for every location that proved to be out of our budget was "reduce your guest list". Much easier said than done. The 200 we expect is already trimmed of excess. Why? FH's mother has 14 living siblings with children, and some grandchildren. So, we can't exclude them. Luckily, the future in-laws are contributing a nice amount to the budget. Our colors are Apple green, balck, and white. However, I'm having trouble finding reasonably priced BM dresses in apple green. I told my MOH it may have to be black with apple green scheme bouquets. She didn't seem thrilled about that at first, but I showed her some black dresses that had cute cuts, and she seemed to like the idea better. I'm totally open to her finding something else, though. I want them all to pick their own styles, just want it to be from the same store.

We're still deciding on the ceremony location, but it's leaning toward a church ceremony. It's a pretty sanctuary and everything is already there (audio equipment, seating, etc.). Less of a headache. I'm shopping for a photographer now. I'd like to do our engagement session and get those save-the-dates out soon.

Glad to be here:)

Break A Leg?

Last week I was thinking about wedding disasters and I thought "what would I do if I broke an ankle or leg right before the wedding?" Don't ask why I think like this...all I can say is I've always been a glass half empty type of gal.

After thinking about it I concluded that it would suck but wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. It might be better then breaking an arm because your dress would cover your cast so it wouldn't really destroy the whole look, you would have a good excuse for doing the stand and sway for your first dance, and overall the day could still go on.

You know how they say that the thoughts you put out in the world can sometimes manifest themselves? Well this week I ran across not one but TWO pics of brides who broke their ankles before their wedding! How random and weird is that? I think these brides still look pretty amazing even with injuries. What would you do? Would you let it ruin your day or have fun with it?


^This bride totally rocked a cane. I've never seen a cane look more sleek and sophisticated. Picture from Jennifer S Rau photography and the wedding of Jen and Mark.


^Picture from Jennifer S Rau photography and the wedding of Jen and Mark.



^Picture from Seattle based photographer Sean Flanigan and the wedding of Ashley and Jesse

^Isn't it sweet how he's carrying her bouquet for her? Picture from Seattle based photographer Sean Flanigan and the wedding of Ashley and Jesse

Set Your DVR's!!! We're On!

OK ladies (and lurking Gents) our first episode for Season 7 of

Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?

will air TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 2008 at 10pm on the Style Network. Sundonia and Jerome's wedding was a blast! We're excited and can't wait to see how they pulled the whole event together for television. Hope you enjoy it!! Don't forget (like you could:)

Tell us what you think! (and be kind!!!)

New Orleans Comin' To Town...and Making Budget Adjustments!

Well, FH and I bit the bullet and hired our favorite brass band from New Orleans, LA (NOLA) to come to ATL for the wedding reception entertainment!! Yes, the cost made me cringe at first---must pay for their travel expenses as well---but, I stayed up some late nights with legs folded Indian style, hair frazzled, and a handy calculator in hand crunching numbers and re-figuring our budget to allow this treat. FH's eyes lit up when I suggested we contact them. Actually, he used to go see them perform every Thursday night with his good buddy (also a GM) when we lived in NOLA. So, I just knew we had to have them. The wedding day tends to be all about the bride, I definitely wanted him to be extra excited about the plans too. Plus, I love the band too, so we're both very excited!! These guys are sooo talented! We're doing our best to keep it a secret from our guests that are connected to us from NOLA.

Pic from Nola.com (photographer: Michael Democker)

Anyhow, we had to let go of our dream reception location, The Foundry at Puritan Mill, in order to make room in the budget. The exposed brick and plenty of windows is just our style. It has a facility charge, of course, because you have to hire a caterer (from their preferred list of course). However, the fun we'll have definitely outweighs exposed brick and windows. We also changed from evening to afternoon to reduce food and bev (F&B) costs, and we're probably going with a faux cake with sheet cakes in the back---they actually make a slot in the back for a piece of real cake for the cake cutting ceremony!

Foundry at Puritan Mill (www.novarrevents.com/puritan/)

Atlanta Cake Rental (http://www.atlantacakerental.com/)

We found a great place, The Emory Conference Center Hotel, where we can pay for food and bev ONLY at a very reasonable price, and the hotel looks great---lots of stone work and dark, rich tones in the decor. It's cool! Plus, they provide a bandstand, and they have a 4 hour block of time for the actual event. And, we can now have it on a Saturday! Nips the drama from family over a Sunday wedding (It was cheaper at Puritan Mill to do it on a Sunday).

I admit to contract phobia! What if I found another rare gem???! With exposed brick???!! We did it, though. But, I scrutinized the heck out of that contract. The CM had to send me a new contract 5 times! She was making errors in numbers that could wind up in a big mess later. What if she isn't in that position a year from now? Our word against a contract wouldn't be good. She had the F&B minimum, the expected revenue--in case of cancellation, FH's last name, and the cancellation date ranges, all wrong. She'd fix one thing and mess another up. Anyway, that's all done with.

www.emoryconferencecenter.com/weddings

Ballroom (http://www.emoryconferencecenter.com/)

Thought I may have lucked up when I was referred to The Freight Room, operated by the GA Building Authority. It's a great spot too, with exposed brick, a gazebo, and track lights inside. But, there was a facility charge. Understand, these charges aren't ridiculous, it just wouldn't fit with the band! All in all, we're happy with our choice!

This pic from georgia.gov

This Is A Cake!!

^ Seriously! The two pics above are wedding cakes!! Isn't that amazing? I found these pics on the blog of Arizona based photographer Katrina Andrew of Sedona Bride Photography (check them out!) the cake is the amazing work of Arizona cake artist Andrea Blaut of Sedona Cake Couture. Look how big and real it looks!


^ Here is another one of Andrea's more traditional cakes, but look at the incredible details of the pink flowers and the leaves. Not to mention that beautiful lace work on the cake. I'm so impressed!

To see more of Andrea's work check out her website and the Sedona Bride Blog.

All photos above credited to Sedona Bride Photography.

Pure Pura

Way back in October I wrote about how much I liked Pura Lopez shoes. Well this little beauty below popped up at Nordstrom's yesterday and I luuuuv it. It's beautiful! The heel is a little high for me at 3.5 inches but at least the heel is thick so it wouldn't be too hard to walk on...I also like the wrap around part at the ankle...that assures the shoe won't go flying off during the first dance!

Recap: Martha Stewart Weddings at Macy's

So I dragged my sister (and MOH) along with me to the Martha Stewart Weddings event at the Macy's in Tyson's. Honestly? I was pretty bored (the sis dozed off once or twice). I did enjoy Darcy Miller's presentation (she is the tiniest thing), but virtually all of the material was a recap of various Martha Stewart Weddings issues. She did have some cute tidbits about planning her own wedding though, along with some personal pictures.

There was a pretty large crowd, mostly brides-to-be and their mothers; I was pleasantly surprised to see a handful of men, although I was glad I didn't drag out FI since most of the guys had a glazed-over look in their eyes! I must admit, fondant and favors aren't too exciting to the majority of the population.



Wendy Kromer also gave some pointers on the wedding cake process. Darcy was right, Wendy is much too thin for a pastry chef. I like my bakers nice and plump :)

Did I learn anything new? No, not really, although I did score a free copy of the latest Weddings and a $10 Macy's gift card. I also had a chance to browse the home goods collection, since FI and I need to register in the next month or two. The event was basically a promotion for Martha's new line of Wedgewood fine china and a lucky bride won four complete place settings of this:



I didn't see any patterns that I'd like to register for though. You can see all of the patterns available only through Macy's here.





There was also a display of not-too-interesting cakes, presumably to entice people to buy the MS Wedding Cake book? Darcy and Wendy both stuck around for about 45 minutes to answer questions and sign books, which I thought was a nice touch. Servers walked around with trays of ginger iced tea (yum!) and cake bites. My sister took one bite of the cake and announced that Martha Stewart would not be pleased. She was right! The cake was dry and icing sugary-sweet. All in all, not a total waste of time but perhaps I'm expecting too much from the MS Weddings empire? At least I was suitably entertained on the metro this morning with my new magazine :o)

Oh and please excuse my whack photography skills!

Bridesmaid Dresses

So I know you all have heard me post about this a few times, but now its getting down to crunch time...a lil more than 6 months till the wedding, I want these dresses figured out and preferably ordered by the end of March..I think that gives us a good amount of time! So like I said I have 2 MOH's so on Monday I made a PowerPoint presentation of about 25-30 dresses for the girls that I liked. Than I told the girls to pick out there "top 5" and get back to me by this Friday. Then I plan on comparing the two lists ( hopefully some will be the same) I will go and look at swatches, compare prices and see how well they fit...than hopefully we will have our dresses! I thought I would post 1st MOH's top choices--

1) Mellissa Sweet







^ I love this bow--since my dress has a bow too, I thought this would be a good way to incorporate it in the bridesmaid dresses!

2) Dessy Dress




Sorry For the poor Picture quality you can click here to get a better idea!

3) Watters & Watters #5437




^Love this dress!

4) Watters & Watters #1297




^This dress would be in the Pomegranate color, and I feel you really have to look at it in that color to get the full affect!

5) Lazaro #LZ3779






^Another Beautiful Dress! My MOH couldn't choose just 5 so one more...

6) Lazaro LZ3731







And that's all of her choices...what do you think? I know some people probably think I should just pick a dress and my bridal party will deal, but I feel that my MOH's are both very fashionable , and have great ideas! They also know me better than anyone, and I started the process off with dresses I approved of, so in a way I do have the "control". I just also strongly feel that I want all my girls to be happy in the dress, and I love all the input I can get! I will let you know once I get MOH#2s responses!

Rosa Clara

When I first started wedding planning I was living abroad and couldn't really go to bridal stores to try on any gowns...so I spent an inordinate amount of time looking at pics of dresses online. Aside from Romona Keveza, my favorite dresses were from Rosa Clara.

Rosa Clara is a Spanish based designer and her line is similar to what you would see from the Pronovias line. What I love about her dresses is that they are very unique and unlike a lot of the typical dresses you see in the states. Her line spans the design spectrum so you will have dresses ranging from super sexy to conservative, frilly to slinky, soft and feminine to modern and linear.

Sadly, I never did get to try on a Rosa Clara gown. She has boutiques in Spain, Portugal, Mexico and London and only a handful of stores in the U.S. carry her dresses. So if you can find one try one on for me!




^I love brides who wear sleeves. It's so unexpected and sophisticated.




^Many of her dresses have removable tops...this one you can wear with or without the lacy part. Great way to change things up from the ceremony to the reception.

Getting the Word Out

Wedding websites are pretty much standard now and are an excellent way to get information out to your guests. One question I see a lot, though, is "how do I let people know about my website." Etiquette is evolving and it's generally considered acceptable to put the website on your save-the-dates but still frowned upon to put it on the actual invite (rsvp card or info card insert is o.k.).

I really wanted people to visit our website mainly because there's a lot of info on there and I wanted them to go there first instead of calling and asking me, so when we sent out our save-the-dates we included our website on Moo minicards, and threw them in the same envelope.

The original Moo cards allow you to put a picture on the front and a few lines of text on the back. You can put any image you want that isn't copyrighted...so you can put your engagement pics on there, or your dog's pic, or your "monogram" or "motif" or whatever it is you have going on with your wedding.






Fiance and I chose to forgo the usual picture Moo Minicards, and instead went for the new Moo Text Minicards. as pictured below.


^With the Moo Text Minicards you can put whatever text you want on the front and then six lines on the back of information. So we put our website address on the front and then said something like "for all the information you will need about our wedding please visit our website. Password: hitched".


^I did a little mock-up for you so you can see what it would look like. Of course you can change the font and colors to better suit your wedding. Apparently, Fiance and I have very common names so a website with our names in it was not an option unless we wrote out firstmiddlelastANDfirstmiddlelast.com and who the heck wants to remember that? So we decided to go with the date of our wedding instead. So for example, if you wedding was on the 9 of February 2009, you could have 09Feb09.com. thought it was a good alternative to our names and to other cheesy titles, and hopefully it will help our guests remember the date.



^Here is an example from Flickr of what the backs look like. You can put whatever you want. This couple did their entire save the date with Moo Cards!

The only word of warning I have is that Moo is based out of England so shipping can take a while. My package actually took longer then the ten days they said it would take (i think cause it was Christmas time?) and after going back and forth with customer service (rating: C. Some were SUPER helpful, others not so much so) they printed a new set for free and sent it by DSL. So basically a MONTH after I ordered them, I finally got them. Just give yourself plenty of ship time. And wouldn't you know it...I got my original order a few days after that...so now I have like 200 of these laying around! Yikes.

Martha Stewart Wedding Event!!!!!

I am so excited for this!! Darcy Miller and Wendy Kromer, gurus of all things Martha, will both be there and I'm especially looking forward to the goody bags :o) I'll be sure to provide a full re-cap for those who can't make it.

Modern Day Design Floral Inspiration

As is often the case in the blogging world you follow a link to a link to a link and somehow you end up some place fabulous and you don't even know how you got there. Well I'm glad I ended up on the site of California based floral artist Camille Panzarello of Modern Day Design. Her portfolio is GORGEOUS! With over a dozen weddings to drool over this will surely keep you from getting back to work for while. The below bouquets should be saved and sent to your D.C. florist immediately!

All below floral art the creation of Camille Panzarello of Modern Day Design.

Making It Legal - Dude.

Forgoing the traditional priest/preacher route and having a friend or family member preside over your ceremony has been a growing trend for some time now. I don't know all the legalities, but it usually involves some online ordination and authorization by your state government. So if you're going that route, why don't you go just one step further and have your officiant ordained in the "slowest growing religion" in the world? That's right- Dudeism.

A good friend turned me on to this growing faith and now you too can instantly be ordained as a Dudeist priest---complete with certificate! A mix between the tenants of Taoism and the philosophies espoused in the movie "The Big Lebowski," Dudeism is for the truly laid back at heart. My advice for you if you go this route is to go all the way, and you know what that means ---White Russians as your signature drink!

Wedding Bands..

Sorry for being absent last week, I was out of town, and am leaving again this weekend, times are crazy :) But I do have a lot to post about!!! As you can see from the subject, FI and I got our wedding bands!!! We also have gone to two cake testings, and I believe found our Honeymoon destination, but I will write about all of that on later posts, right now its ring time!

We bought our rings from Washington Diamond . Right away I knew I loved them, they had a great feeling about them. Very Knowledgeable, listened to us, I felt at home right away. We were lucky to work with Tom Daube --- If you get to specify who you want to work with, I highly recommend him. He was aware of our budget constrictions, and he never tried to "push us" to get a "better" ( i.e more expensive) ring, like an experience I had at a different store. He listened to what we were saying, he helped us find the perfect rings! Without further ado, let me introduce you to my wedding band :





^ Instead of the eternity Band, we are just going half the way around ( personally I don't find the need for diamonds all the way around, also if you ever lose or gain weight they are impossible to re-size!). This ring was an "ahh" moment with me. I was discouraged after trying on MANY rings, and this one just felt perfect. It looked amazing with my engagement ring, complimented it, but didn't overshadow it. I will take a picture of the two of them together once I get the ring in!

FI went for the classic route---Below is a ring that is close to the one he ended up purchasing-







--And there you have the Alexandria's wedding bands :) FI and I each purchased each others ring, and I love that we got them from the same place and that they are made out of the same metal! Now We just have to figure out what we want engraved on them!

Fresh Flower Girld Dresses from JCrew

I'm loving the modern fresh looks for flower girl outfits from JCrew. I'm not loving the prices...especially for a little girl's dress she can't wear 6 months from now, but I love that everyone is moving away from the "mini-wedding dress" look that flower girl dresses of the past have had.



^The flower details around the bottom of the Flora Dress are really beautiful. Also available in white for you purists. - $168


^Mod Abigail Dress - $98



^Jeweled Grace Dress. Also available in Bright Berry. $248.00


^These Jeweled Ballet Flats look like something mom could wear too. Also available in clover. $118 (hey that how much I'd pay for adult shoes!).