Squeee! New Blog!

I just started reading Jen Lancaster's book Bright Lights, Big Ass and have resolved to work "Squee" into my everyday vocab daily. If you haven't read it get it, really.

Now on to the important stuff. Maybe I'm late to the show, but I just discovered the blog, The Everyday Bride and needed to make sure everyone else knows about it too. It's deee-lightful. I have already seen at least 5 precious things that I love and have saved the pictures and added to my wedding inspiration folder.

1)I love wedding signs, but I really love this one. I need to go to Wedding Bee and print out that Michael's coupon so I can get some supplies and make this sign! That'd be a good weekend project. Our venue is tucked back in a neighborhood and you have to do the "count the mailboxes" creep in your car to make sure you don't drive right by it. I think a sign like this could serve a practical AND aesthetic purpose in our case.

2) I had this picture all book marked, and then I went to the photo credits to see where it came from so I could book mark THAT page, because this is pretty much the cutest little dress ever. I can already see myself wearing it to the salon the day of the wedding. And wow, I really know myself, because this is the Shoshanna dress that I already own in navy blue. I purchased it two weeks ago to wear to our rehearsal dinner (will give full details later). Oh well, still super cute, right? I purchased mine from Blue Fly, but understand it's also available from Nordstrom.

3)
I already planned to by lanterns as the non-floral centerpiece for our cafe and cabaret tables but I love the idea of buying a few extra and setting them along the windy brick path from the venue to the parking lot. We're planning to get our lanterns from Ikea, you can find them here.

4) Ok there's no picture for this one, but I am TOTALLY stealing this idea. We aren't planning to have a wild and crazy dance floor thing going on at our wedding. We've started compiling the list and it's full of old standards (lots of swing and big band) and Motown that everyone will know and many romantic ballads. I love the idea of our friends and family hearing "their song" and jumping up to dance. That's more the vibe I'm looking for. Thanks, Everyday Bride!

5) The natural bridal hair boat. Me and The Everyday Bride are totally on it. I saw both of these pictures else where and have already been kicking myself for not bookmarking them, here they are though.

I am an up-do-look-at-me-I-just-rolled-out-of-bed girl on a daily basis, and while I clean-up real good (I do!) I want to look like myself and feel like myself on the day of our wedding. I will not 1) have my hair straightened or 2) poofed, nor will I 3) have prom hair. I've been trying to collect lots of hair pictures lately so I can compile a little look book when it's trial time. I want to make sure I'm as clear as I can be with the stylist!

Find any new wedding websites lately?

Now I Need Your Help

from Elizabeth Anne Designs

My last post reminded me of a question I've been meaning to ask here. I read along time ago on a "photo tips for your wedding day" type article, I'll try to dig it up, that you should get a nice hanger for your dress for those pretty getting ready shots. Where on earth do you find pretty hangers? My dress is on a big ol' plastic hanger right now, so I'd at least like to get a nice wooden one. It would suit our whole look and I could tie a pretty ribbon around it. I've looked at Target and then I gave up...anyone have ideas or suggestions?

Tutorial on Mason Jar Lanterns

I found this great tutorial over on a backyard wedding on how to make those pretty mason jar lanterns you see everywhere in wedding world. Anyhoo--backyard wedding has some nice close-up shots of the process and detailed instructions.


I plan to put two of these lanterns together for our wedding, so I was delighted to find this. Funny how craft projects like this are so much easier to do when you can find tips and instructions. I won't be setting them up as lanterns though, I plan to fill them with flowers and hang them on shepherds hooks to denote our "altar" space for the ceremony, a la Miss Cherry Pie at Wedding Bee.

Mrs. & Mr. Cherry Pie got married outdoors in a lawn type area, we'll be getting married in a similar space. The lawn at the Hendry House does have a large metal arch covered in vines and wisteria, but there is another space that is a little larger (it'll fit more chairs and a larger "aisle"), but nothing really demarcates the head of the aisle. I think even having just two tiny jars of flowers will help orient people and give it a more familiar look, if that makes sense.

Speaking of guidance and instructions, I've never been a big one for asking for help, but I'm really trying to learn! So far I've scored big by just throwing out open requests for help to friends. No kidding, one day I posted on my gchat "Does anyone secretly play acoustic guitar or perform with a string quartet?" and within an hour I had several leads, and within a week, I had my acoustic guitarist at a very reasonable price.

I've also started leaning on my wonderful future mother-in-law more. She's offered to help many times, but I'm the type who hates to impose--I know, I know, if someone offers you're not really imposing!! She's a wonderfully talented weaver and has many friends who also work in fiber arts. I asked if anyone she knows makes linen handkerchiefs as I would love one for our wedding. She brought out a whole collection of heirloom linens, some handcrafted by her mother and let me pick one. Now I have a beautiful, handmade lace handkerchief with my new last initial embroidered in pale blue to carry down the aisle. I also mentioned I was on the hunt for Mason jars and she lent me her whole stash of old canning jars!

I think sometimes, especially as the bride, it's feels difficult to walk the fine line between asking for help/including people and being perceived as demanding things from other people around you simply because "I'm the bride that's why!"

Has anyone else struggled with this a bit?

45 Days and Counting!

There are only 45 days left until our wedding day at Virginia Crossings Resort in Glen Allen, VA. Time is flying, but we're making pretty good progress. Guests have started booking their rooms. We're getting RSVPs back. About a month ago, I had a laundry list of things to do. Now, my list is alot shorter.

• Order fresh rose petals. Our aisle is outdoors and super long, so we're opting for rose petals instead of a runner, but they have still got to be ordered.


• Attend the menu tasting and dress fitting. These have been scheduled for this Saturday.


• Get the marriage license. We'll be doing this next Friday.


• Purchase the flower girl's accessories.


• Print and assemble programs. We've ordered the supplies and they're on their way.


• Print and place monogram labels on the favor bags.


• Finalize the cake flavor.


• Order wedding day foundation garments, including garter.


• Choose my "something old". My attire will all be new. My garter will be blue, and I am borrowing my lovely linesister's veil.

Time is dwindling down, but I'm so excited to be Mrs. Glen Allen!

Simple Gifts

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

Conference for the Engaged

What a weekend! Yesterday from 8am-4pm Sig. Keswick and I were in Vienna for the Arlington Diocese's Conference for the Engaged. As part of our Pre-Cana preparation, we are supposed to attend a conference such as this or meet one-on-one with a married couple for several times in addition to meeting with our priest. We chose this option as it was easiest to schedule between my work and his school projects, etc. Honestly, it was a very positive experience! We were curious and a little anxious on the drive in the wee hours of the morning but we enjoyed it (or at least most of it). It helped us learn more and understand the Catholic church's perspective on the sanctity of marriage and really reminded me how spiritually significant and important of an undertaking we will be making in less than six months - and I liked that. Sometimes you get caught up having the perfect wedding (however you define it) and it was a nice reminder how the marriage will last long after the cake, the flowers, the favors, even the photographs and memories.

We also sat a table with 3 other couples and they were really great to get to know. One couple even goes to the same church as us AND the bride's Filipino, so I felt an automatic connection from her from the beginning - especially since I feel like I know nothing about Filipino weddings but am dying to learn more but don't know where to look. The other two couples were also really nice and all 3 brides and I exchanged contact info so we can hopefully get together to talk about our experiences, good and bad. Especially with all my far flung bridesmaids, I really hope it will help me stay motivated and excited to be able to share the excitement and frustrations with someone else that's going through the same thing and that can empathize. (Although one of my girlfriends from school just got engaged this weekend and I am more than elated for her and her fiance *eeek* so crazy to say that! And I can't wait to share all my knowledge with her so that she doesn't experience the same confusion or stress that I did, or at least help her avoid doing so.)

Even if you're not Catholic or religious, I strongly encourage everyone to undergo some kind of marital preparation. There are so many *important* things to know/learn/ remember after the honeymoon phase that will help a marriage last, like communication and sacrifice, that we often forget in this fast-paced life.

Bridesmaids Dress Quest: Part 5 of 5

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


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

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

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

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

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

Measurements

So, as you know, wedding dress sizes vary from "normal" sizes, and are based on all sorts of measurements that I had never heard of. Here is a great little guide I found on a random site.


Source: http://bestbridalprices.com

The HOLLOW to HEM measurement was always a term that confused me, and is also excessively important, given that I'm a tall bride. It'll also help you guys out, in determining how long your dress should be.

HOLLOW TO HEM is a standard industry term. Start the tape at the hollow at the base of your neck and measure down to where you want the hem. If your skirt will be full, be sure to measure out at an angle to allow for the fullness. Also, be sure you?re wearing the same height heel you'll wear on your wedding day.

Responses

So the invitations are out, and the responses are rolling in. We invited about 165, but are hoping to confirm less than 120. We love opening our RSVP cards, and we always open them together. As much as we want a smaller guest count, it still makes us a little sad when a loved one cannot attend. So far we've confirmed close to 100 guests, coming from Jamaica, Canada, England, as well as all over the East Coast and Central States of the US. We're so excited to see everyone . . . 45 days left!

Free Shutterfly Photo Book!

Hi all. I've been trying to think of a good keepsake to take the place of the traditional guest book: Signed wedding barrel stave to use as a lazy susan, signed matted picture, and of course a photo book. Sig. Keswick isn't a big fan of the signed matted picture, so my choices were narrowed slightly last night. And then, this morning, lo and behold, in my Inbox was an email from Shutterfly: Free 8x8 Photobook until March 10! Just visit their website and get started :) I've already begun mine.

Photo: Courtesy of Shutterfly

A Trip down Bridezilla Road

Hello ladies! I am so sorry about being MIA! with 94 days on the clock, I can't believe how busy it has gotten!!! Ok.....I have a confession. I have had a few bridezilla moments. (At least I know, right?) I'd love to take you for a ride down Bridezilla road, Miss CP style. (DISCLAIMER: I am aware of my actions and apologize if anyone mentioned is shocked by any of this, but I think they all know.)

source

Ok, Bridezilla moment #1: Mom CP had very specific ideas as to what she envisioned for my wedding day. This was news to me! I had thought she honestly wouldn't care and would just hand over a check....(hilarious and naive, right?) So the first big fight we had went something like this.

Mom CP: I just got back from 's wedding and it was perfect! We should do a lot of the same things.

Me: I want to be original. I don't want all the same things as . Don't you get that? I want to be unique!

Mom CP: Well, I know, but hear me out. First of all, wore high heels and they killed her feet. You gotta wear flats, sneakers even.

Me: Um. WHAT. Do you know me? Do you expect me to wear keds or something? I don't wear flats normally, why would I on this day? Plus Mr. CP is 6 foot 4!!! Heeellloooo

Mom CP: Miss CP, relax. They had the cheese in a bowl on the side for the salad. We gotta have the nuts and the cheese on the side. You know some people have allergies.

Me: Mom. I dotn want my wedding to be a Roy Rogers fixin's bar (yes that is a direct quote...shame on me)

Mom CP: You know, you are really turning into a bridezilla and I cant take it.

This was the first time in my life my mother has hung up on me. I called her right back and she was crying and I apologized and realized I was a little over the top and we haven't fought since.

Bridezilla Moment #2: Let me begin by saying, I know, deep down, that I am being somewhat unreasonable. To give a background, one of my closest friends (Matron of Honor, actually) is pregnant. YAY! I couldn't be happier. This is true. She is a close friend and I know she really wants this and I am over-the-moon happy for her. We have been close since 6th grade, and I am thrilled. I knew she, as well as potentially another bridesmaid, could be pregnant and I, unlike other brides, was so excited! The drama began a few months ago when this bridesmaids' mother told another bridesmaids mother (don't you love the small town) that I told her daughter she was "absolutely not allowed to get pregnant before my wedding," which was untrue and honestly, hurtful. This is one of my best friends. I am so happy for her! I was so hurt that not only did her mom think this, but shared this with other people, especially, since it was 100% false. Anyways, I let it go. I confronted said bridesmaid and she said she knew I didn't feel that way. So, in respect to our friendship, I let this one slide....which is totally unlike me, by the way.
Then, a few weeks later, I emailed her mom (the same one) to offer to help with a baby shower. Her mom basically tells me because the daughter lives far, they will have a party the weekend of my wedding, if it's a girl. (If it is a boy, there will be a bris 7 days after the baby is born). Now, my first reaction was, I can't be there!! How upsetting! I love this girl and can't wait to meet baby and I want to celebrate too. Maybe I can squeeze it in? Then, Bridezilla came. I can literally hear myself saying, "BUT IT"S MY SPECIAL DAY!!!!" I understand this bridesmaid must travel to come to my wedding, and with all her family local to this area, I see how much easier it is. Really. But at the same time, I deserve one weekend where it is just about me, right? I accept she can't come to my shower or my bachelorette party, but my wedding weekend!? Can she at least do it on Monday, memorial day, after all my festivities??? She had her wedding, and it was all about her. her mom would have FREAKED if the roles were reversed. Is it not ok to demand the same? I also get traveling with a newborn isn't easy. But..well...I get this day one time. Do babies trump weddings? Luckily, she is having a boy and this became an immediate moot point.

Bridezilla moment #3: I am tempted to not share this and by no way, want to hurt anyone's feelings.... but I KNOW I have issues (throughout my life) Sharing the spotlight. I am SOOOO excited about my growing family! I can't wait to have a new brother and sister in law! At the same time, the Bridezilla in me is a little taken back that they have planned their wedding 2 months after me and a co-bachelor-bachelorette party 2 weeks before our wedding. We can't go, obviously, but FSIL keeps saying, "its just a weekend, you can make it, come on," which I feel is unfair, especially since she RSVPed yes to mine, and backed out after we booked hotels, etc, because she couldn't spend money since she had her own wedding....I TOTALLY understand that, but I don't think its fair to not have the same understanding! Mr. CP is sad we can't go, as am I....Thoughts?

So have you had any Bridezilla moments? Share, we all love to hear them right?

Something blue...

I've mentioned on here a few times my search for shoes. I finally found the perfect pair, and then, my dress came in and I was beyond ecstatic. They looked perfect together. I was infatuated with my dress/shoe combo.


Never the conventional one, my mother was not surprised when I picked navy shoes. She tried to get me to go with white shoes but I wasn't having it. I appreciate certain traditions but others? Are meant to be broken.

So I was appalled today when I got an email from my future brother in law telling me that he thinks I should "reconsider" my shoes.

"...personally I have to say in the pic they stick out and not in a good way. I feel a bride should be all in white and you don't want to draw attention to your feet with a dark colored shoe compared to the very white dress. Your supposed to be different from the bridesmaids no need to match something. So there's my 2 cents I don't know if anyone else had mentioned that but I thought I should."

Not going to lie, I feel, and I could be totally off base here, that he was out of line. My future mother in law told me earlier this weekend on an impromptu trip north to surprise her for the long weekend, that she felt I should reconsider my navy shoes. The picture he is referring to is the one above.

I told her - politely - thank you for the input, but no thanks. White shoes, while I appreciate white shoes, and appreciate that many brides wear white shoes, I'd just...rather not.

I've seen some fabulous pictures of brides wearing non-white shoes - in a variety of colors and I love the look. It just adds a little bit of flair to what is otherwise a rather...traditional day. I've never been the one to go all traditional so I don't plan on my wedding day being a day when I break that habit.

The Weddingbee boards show that I'm not the only one who wants colored shoes - additionally, there are other brides on The Knot.com boards who are defying convention.

[via an Excited Bride]

[via Dallas Wedding Planner]

Now, I know, I might be over reacting, being a little too sensitive. But it's a stressful time. We're signing a new contract for our reception, we just finished and sent out the Save the Dates, my boss is back from a three week trip away and we're two weeks out from a huge event at work - I'm stressed. And attacking my shoes? The Best MAN attacking my shoes??

I just feel...a little sensitive. Maybe too sensitive. Obviously I'm not the only one adding a bit o' flair to my bridal outfit....

what about you? How are you adding flair to your outfit?

Onward!

We finalized the guest list this weekend - we're just short of 150. And finished the save the dates - all 61 of them. And have a better idea about our budget - all $15,000 of it.

Now that the save the dates are done, my mother has been pressuring me to get started on researching my invitations which she thinks I should make to save costs. Knowing me, and knowing how much of a procrastinator I am, even though they don't need to go out until July for our September wedding, she's already on my butt about them. Just because your mother lives 12 hours away does not mean she will not nag - but bless her heart, I know she's bugging me only because she's not around to help more, so this is her way of ensuring I do what I need to do.

See she knows I should probably get started now rather than later because I started my save the dates in...October? They just barely got finished Sunday night. They still need to be labeled and stamped though. They WILL go out by the end of this week. Hopefully tomorrow and God willing, I won't need any extra postage.

So today to appease my dearest mother, I did a little bit of research. In the past few weeks I've become an etsy fiend.

The invitations I'm really loving?

These. Sage and Navy and Pink are our colors - so obviously they wouldn't be exactly like these. But I do love the ribbon (which I'd make pink) and the layers. [via decadentdesigns]

I also really liked these:

via [Your Style Invitations]

I'm pretty sure I could make something similar to these fairly easily, especially with the wonders of the Paper Source which I'm a HUGE fan of. Last time I was in there, I noticed that in the coming weeks, they're having a couple of wedding invitation workshops.

At one of these they say they:

"We'll look at several examples to determine what style you prefer, then learn how to design and produce your own invitations. You'll experiment with several different papers and designs to create the invitation of your dreams."

They have one coming up on the 25th of February at their Georgetown location on M Street, NW where you can register and learn the above for $55. Register [here]

They also have one where you:

"Sip sparkling champagne and enjoy chocolate dipped strawberries while you create a full suite of wedding samples — including a select group of letterpress invitations, escort cards, favors and table accents. "

The Georgetown one is currently sold out however on March 5th there's one at the Old Town Alexandria location. This one is $35 and does still have seats left. Register [here]

I'm sure eventually I might hit one of these up - for now I'm going to peruse my options and come up with a plan to make my own. I'll just do what I did with my save the dates! Find inspiration and adjust to be my own with my own creativity skills.

What are you doing for YOUR invitations? Etsy? Making your own? Or are you going all out and buying them?

Potpourri of Planning!

Three things.

First, I'll start with the most exciting! We booked our hotel for the honeymoon in New York City! We'll be staying four days and three nights at the Park 79 hotel in the Upper West Side; next door to Central Park and the Natural History Museum!





We already have reservations for the Comedy Cellar, are looking into tickets for "Tony n Tina's Wedding" and have put in a request for Daily Show tickets. Then there will be the other fun things... a carriage ride through Central Park, going to the top of the Empire State Building, amazing dinners around Manhattan. I. Cannot. Wait.

Secondly, I've finally decided against a veil. But I want to do something with my hair! My hair is a bit above shoulder length, plus I usually have side swept bangs. (Right now they're a little grown out. I so need a haircut.) I've been looking at cute headbands to wear. Here are some of the ones I've found:

[CLICK PICTURES TO BE TAKEN TO THEIR PAGES ON ETSY]







Third, I've been doing some thinking about the decor for our reception... For reference, here's the main room we will be using. It will not be set up as shown. There will be floor space for dancing, moving about, etc.


It's the top floor of the Fish Market on King Street, in Old Town. (We'll have the other room, as well.)

We're going to have white linens on the tables, of course. And, irony of all ironies, I showed off hanging poms in my last post as examples of decor:

[CLICK PICTURE FOR ETSY SELLING PAGE]



Oh, the irony is that I mentioned that they would not work for a wedding like mine... well, until I decided I wanted them. So we're going to be getting a bunch of them in all red or red and brown to hang from the ceiling.

I also found some inspiration for our wedding centerpieces, which are going to be very simple. The design is based off of this:



This shot is from the wedding of Amber, who has brilliant taste in design and color.

See the cute daisies in the mason jar? Patrick and I decided that we wanted to do something similar. As our colors are red, brown, and white, we're going to do RED Gerbera daisies instead of the pink pictured. In addition, we're going to cluster two or three jars and flowers for each centerpiece.

But we're not just going to do jars. We're going to start collecting jars and unique bottles to cluster at each table, to give it a punch of color.

Hope you're all enjoying your President's Day!

Love paper

Browsing this morning and discovered the wonderful work of Tracy K, aka Adnagam on Etsy. According to her shop announcement, "I'm like the In-n-Out of paper. They only sell burgers and I only sell envelopes (and sometimes notecards.) I feel like the art of handwriting notes is escaping us, so send a friendly note and make someone's day! "

I saw these beautiful sheet music envelopes and had to share. They're so bright and fun yet simple and elegant. She's also on Twitter! Happy Valentine's Day!

Save the Date Handkerchiefs

We're busy finishing our Save the Dates to mail out on Monday. But, since we're on the subject of Save the Dates, I thought I'd post a couple that I'm almost sad we didn't think of (almost because I still love mine and how well they tie in with our wedding).

These finds are thanks to Lucky Luxe Couture Correspondence via Elizabeth Anne Designs and Victoria with Roses.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Hello, Lover!

Ah, that classic line from SATC...nearly always my first reaction when I see a beautiful pair of shoes. Especially a beautiful pair of shoes on sale.

These are on sale right now at South Moon Under. They are $49.99. They are beautiful. I love this brand of shoes (Seychelles). They are comfortable, practical and beautiful. I might have to pretend I didn't already buy shoes to go with my wedding dress...

DC on Etsy!

If you over pronounce "Etsy" in the title, it rhymes. Sort of. Just a little Friday fun for ya!

I have a great Etsy find to share with you via one of my sorority sisters. How adorable is this print from Etsy seller Art Shark Designs?


Precious! There are other cities too, but I was super excited to see DC because I feel we're a little left out sometimes when the "Cities of the World" are grouped together.

Wouldn't this print look amazing matted as your "guest book"? I know I'd love to hang this up in my house!

Call Me Crazy

Yep, we went and picked out the groomsmen/dads suits and accessories already. It was on my to-do list and I figured, well if Men's Warehouse will allow me to do this 9 months in advance of the wedding, then let's do it.

I went to the Men's Wearhouse website about 4 weeks ago and "registered" our wedding. I listed Mr. Fairfax as the main contact since ultimately, the final decisions are up to him and he'll be in charge of wrangling the groomsmen...he he. Good thing they do read this, I'm not sure how they'd all feel about being wrangled! The nice thing about the registering process is then Men's Wearhouse initiates the next step. They call YOU to set up the appointment to select the attire. I gave Mr. Fairfax to expect the call and about a week later I got an e-mail telling me I had an appointment at the MW Tux location nearest me to begin promptly at 7pm. Sweet.

Between purchasing work clothes for Mr. Fairfax and attending to his various formal wear needs over the last two years, we are pretty familiar with what MW has to offer. We knew which tux we wanted, the Calvin Klein 2-Button super 100s with notch collar, and had narrowed down the vest options to either the Tuscany pattern or Rio pattern.

Tireless investigation related to our involvement in The Big Sister's (aka TBS) wedding turned up this precious nugget of information: The Calvin Klein 2-button is one of the ONLY tuxedos you can both RENT and PURCHASE from MW. I believe the other is a Jones New York. There is one tiny difference between the rental CK and the for-purchase CK: two pocket flaps on the front the jacket, however since the very noticeable details like the cut of the collar and the buttons are the same, it works.

The Calvin Klein Two-Button Super 100s with Notched Collar

When TBS got married everyone wanted to buy except two people, so that narrowed the tux choices down. The guys ended up going with the CK tux because it was flattering on everyone involved from the tall lanky groom to my brawny, big shouldered husband-to-be. We had a similar situation with the Fairfax nuptials: only two people need to rent because everyone else was in TBS's wedding or has previously purchased the CK tux for their own wedding.

The poor sales girl probably felt a bit mowed down when we walked in knowing exactly what we wanted. The only decisions left to make were pattern and color of the vests. The first question the sales associate asked was the color of the bridesmaid dresses (brown), and having been to a Men's Wearhouse or two I knew what was coming next, the hard sale for the brown tux. Sorry, lady, not in my wedding. Next, she tried to sell the merits of brown vests with black tuxes. Wrong again. I like it for others, but it's just not for me. I told her, my bridesmaids will be dresses formally and so I feel strongly the men should also be dressed formally and I did not feel the need to make them match perfectly. She was put out by this, and made the "well you are crazy, but fine if you want BLACK with BROWN, I guess I will sell it to you, but I will not be happy about it."

Tuscany......or Rio? No, do not fear, we did not select these colors, these shades just showed the patterns best. We also won't be using the striped ties, we thought plain long ties looked the best. The sales associate did not agree.

Our appointment was at 7:00 and I think we were in and out by 7:45 (yes, it took 45 minutes to decide between flowers and dots). We ended up choosing black Tuscany vests for groomsmen and dads, and a white Tuscany vest for Mr. Fairfax. We weren't wild about the stripey tie so that came with the rental so we will be asking each gentleman to purchase a plain black satin tie. We skipped the shoe issue and will simply trust everyone to shine their shoes before the big day!

We got all the information in to the MW system, and now I can log into the group manager anytime I want and marvel at our efficiency! Seriously though, I was really happy that we could set this up as early as we wanted to. It was nice to be able to take care of attire selection while I felt I had the time to spend 45 minutes debating dots versus flowers, instead of trying to cram this to-do item in between a hundred others much closer to the wedding.

I have now ticked off "select groomsmen attire" from the to-do list and have added "Send first e-mail to groomsmen about attire" to the calendar (along with "send reminder about tuxes," "last day for tux fitting,"and "pick up tuxes!"). Sigh...one item down 79 to go :)

Funny How Planning Your Wedding Leaves No Time to Blog About Planning Your Wedding

Yes, I've actually been working hard the last couple weeks to take care of (wedding) business.

I told you all about my new Google Wedding Calendar and Wedding Spreadsheet to track little projects, and I must report, it's really working. We've managed to tick quite a few items off our to-do list over the last three weeks, simply because I've got it all written down in an organized fashion. Oh, organization, how I love you.

I wanted to share one more document idea with you too. The Big Sister recently sent me her guest list spreadsheet since many of the same folks at her wedding will be at ours. Upon receipt and examination, I immediately scrapped my own excel guest list and started using the format she set up. It was actually really fun to fill everything in, and I could finally see all the information I wanted to see at a glance, like how many actual invitations I need to make, how many guests are attending, what I'll write on the inner and outer envelopes. There's also a column for guessing how many people will attend. When we get further down the road, there are spaces to record gifts, thank you notes, delivery of OOT bags. It's great!

I can't figure out how to load the doc so you can just have it, but if you're interested in having a copy, just e-mail me at [email protected], and I'm happy to share.

Will You....

As Miss Jeff Memorial already stated, she recently asked me to be her Maid of Honor - well technically Matron of Honor as I'll be married by then. I'm beyond thrilled - seriously - I've been going over in my head how I'll go about planning the shower (scheming with her fabulous mother I'm sure) and her bachelorette party. Excited - yes I am.

I digress, it made me think about how I asked my own bridesmaids - I wasn't creative, though I certainly wish I had been. I asked two over the phone, Fiancé's little sister in front of his family, and the only two who were really surprised were TLB - one of my best gal pals from college and Miss Jeff Memorial herself.

If I got the chance to do it over again? I'd totally go all out with AT LEAST a cute card....some I'm a fan of?

From Designs with Style [Etsy]



ALaModeBride [etsy]



From [Weddingthings.com]

The card would be presented with one of these fabulous books -



$11 [Amazon.com] (as I gave Miss JM when I asked her. Then simultaneously bought a copy for myself because I couldn't resist)

or this one....



$7 from [Give Simple]

Now I'm not one to be uber creative, though I do give myself a B+ for effort (when I actually put in effort) so I kind of failed mostly because like I said, I'm not good with surprises and I'm not good at keeping secrets and when I get excited about something I generally share it ASAP instead of waiting - thus why I asked S over the phone. I couldn't contain myself really. Same with my sister.

How did YOU ask your bridal party?

Wedding Party and Honeymoon and...

I wish two share three things; two accomplishments and then some neat little finds I wanted to share.

1) Wedding planning has taught me one thing: you have no idea what it entails until you're actually planning your own wedding. Things that seem fun? Well, they're still fun, but a heck of a lot more complicated than previously thought.



Perfect example of this: selecting your bridal party. My poor bridal party has had a series of ups and downs. A member was lost after a pretty sad and hurtful falling out. I've never really gotten my act together on who I wanted to do what. After so much drama, I kind of threw my hands up in the air and nominated my mother as Matron of Honor. Then, a couple of months later, she brought up a valid point.

"Dear Miss JeffMemorial, I know you love me. You have to, as I'm your mother. But you don't want me as your Matron of Honor. You're lucky enough to have no sisters that you HAVE to ask, so enjoy being able to choose a non-family member."

And she was right. In fact I already knew who I wanted to ask, and had thought about it for months. I just never did. Mama JeffMemorial and I chatted a bit more. She knew who I had wanted to ask for months (of course), but had hoped I would come around and do it myself. When she realized I wasn't going to she realized she needed to "give me a shove in the right direction".

But she understood. How do you demote your own mother? Thankfully I have a kick-butt mom who just wants me to be happy. Hasn't even given an opinion on the wedding unless asked for it. I love her for that.

So last night I asked my best friend, who has seen me through everything, good and bad to be my Maid of Honor, and she said yes. She also happens to be Miss Gallery Place, heh. It was really nice. I'm so glad my mom talked to me about it.

The only thing is instead of the nice lunch I had planned, this all went down at a Dunkin Donuts at Eastern Market over chocolate milk, diet green tea, and a salad. Whoops. At least I brought flowers...?

2) After some debate, Mr. JeffMemorial and I are NOT going to Colonial Williamsburg for our honeymoon. Instead we're going to NEW YORK CITY!



I'm so excited! We loved the idea of Williamsburg. I went there so much growing up... and I think that was the problem for me. I wanted to go somewhere that we were sharing together and experiencing together. Now I have been to NYC a few times (whereas Mr. JeffM has not), but with family and only a couple of times. I've never really DONE New York. And I've never been there romantically either. I think it's going to be perfect.

We're going to do all the cheesy stuff. A Broadway show... a carriage ride through Central Park... Carnegie Deli, etc. It's going to be perfect!

We'll be booking our hotel tonight at a place in Gramercy Park called Park 79.

3) Now next are a few finds. Once again, not for my wedding... or maybe? I don't know. Randomly I started looking at flower "alternatives", even though I'm going to have fresh flowers for the bouquets. And I came across some lovely pieces.



Oh, Etsy... once again, how you taunt me.

Beautiful origami flowers. Above is one designed as a garland. Perfect to string about for those garden weddings, perhaps? http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_gallery_1&listing;_id=20062764



Ring pillow. I love how even though the flower is large, it looks so delicate and beautiful. http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=cat1_gallery_18&listing;_id=18893164


Hanging pom kit. Would never work with our more rustic colonial style, but they look so fresh and the colors really pop. Would look great in a bright wedding with a modern flair. http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_gallery_4&listing;_id=20914064



Classic Bloom Necklace. I love the pairing of the feminine pearls with the flower that has an almost industrial look to it. http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_gallery_17&listing;_id=20926439

And that's all I have for today...

instead of...

Big news today freaders, aside from battling a nasty sinus infection over the weekend Fiancé made a few changes to the wedding....

Instead of partying here....

We will be partying here...

Don't ask what inspired me to change our reception location SEVEN (eee!) months out, we were going through papers and Fiancé used to be on the board of the DC Young Republicans so he had some old menus from the Capitol Hill Club. Out of the blue, we decided to just look. Not make any decisions but oh mah gawd ladies, I fell in love.

We frequent the club and have for a large duration of our courtship, Fiancé was a member when we first began dating so we'd go there for lunches during a brief stint of unemployment (for moi) and we'd meet there for happy hours. Additionally, my former roommate is a member and has been for years - once a month we meet him and his his girlfriend for happy hours to catch up. Fiancé is currently in the process of getting his membership back so it all works out.

Like Reception site #1, new reception site has a lot of meaning to us. But it has the upside of...well...a lot. One, it's a block from the church and the hotel that we're making the room block at (try finding a hotel downtown with a room block price that's reasonable for family from CT and Vermont is like trying to find a needle in a haystack) which means...no transportation (saving $2k on limos/vans? I'm for it.). There were a lot of other factors, we haven't cancelled anything or signed any new contracts but a gist of what we're getting?

• A cocktail hour in the Eisenhower Room with dinner and dancing upstairs in the main dining room
• 5 hour reception instead of 4
• 4 course meal instead of three
• Saving on dance floor rental and transportation
• A planner who actually RESPONDS to my emails...within the hour!!! (my biggest complaint with site #1 is that the planner - while he's great and incredibly friendly - is hard to get in touch with via email and phone)
• We're the ONLY event there that day!!
• We get to ADD 20 people to guest list!!!
  

Oh yeah, and a $10,000 minimum food and drink. A wee bit out of our budget but since we cut back on the transportation and since I made a decision to go all Martha Stewart on everyone week of the wedding and MAKE my own bouquet (and the Bridesmaids) we're saving significantly on flowers (we'll still have to get the boutonnieres and the corsages) so we're saving in OTHER areas. It'll work. I'm fairly confident in that fact.

Of course, we're both ecstatic. I don't know why we didn't think of this place ohhh...SIX months ago, but Fiancé assumed I wouldn't want to get married at the National Republican Club (I would have been fine with it) and I assumed it was out of our price range (it's not entirely - no more than Reception Site #1 is but without having to cut every h'or duerve, drink and entreé). Thankfully we're only likely to lose $100 for cancelling our "contract." After this, and our new $5k deposit? No more changing my mind. On anything. Cross my heart.


Any major decisions you changed your mind on? How did you handle it?

Goin' to the Chapel

This weekend Signor Keswick took his LSAT (yaaay!!!) and then we drove down to Charlottesville to meet the priest of the church where we will be marrying (and see the church for the first time ever!!) and also meet with the florist (more on that in a coming post). The drive down was marvelous. It was warm and sunny and we were giddy from Mike's recent liberation. We (almost) got lost because of the GPS when we were almost to the church. Rural Virginia is no place for GPS, even if you're 20 miles from Charlottesville. However, we arrived with 7 minutes to spare before mass. I'd seen pictures of the inside from a former bride on The Knot but I was so excited to see it firsthand. I don't think I've ever been that excited while sitting in church. I was just taking everything in. My fiance would attest: I was giddy. However, when I went up to communion, I had the hotel's phone number on my hand and was so embarrassed when I held my hand up to receive the host - from the priest!

Anyways, the church where our future wedding will be is so cute, even in the doldrums of February and the priest was very nice. I wanted to take more pictures, but Sig. Keswick wouldn't let me. So I'll leave this with you. It's a bit more modern, and not what you would typicall think of as a "quaint wedding chapel" but it's lovely on the inside and actually feels like a holy place, which was important to me. I didn't want to get married in a place that I didn't feel "Catholic."

Bridesmaids Dresses: Part 4 of 5 (Hopefully)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Honeymoon Giveaway in Greece

Attention all! J.Crew is giving away a free honeymoon in Greece on their website!

According to the website, it's a "trip for two to Santorini, Greece, 50night stay at the luxurious Tsitouras Collection Hotel and beach-ready J.Crew wardrobe for two*."

To enter, click here.

But I'm Too Tall!

One of the sad things I have encountered during my wedding planning is shoe shopping. Our colors are red, brown, and ivory/white, and I plan on wearing sassy red shoes. You'd think that would open up a world of possibilities, right?

WRONG!

You see, Mr. JeffMemorial is a bit over six feet tall, and I... am six feet tall. Couple that with a crippling lack of coordination that has rendered me unable to walk in high heels since I was in high school, and you understand why I have been exiled to the world of dress flats.

Which is fine! I do really love flats! It amazes me, though, how hard it is to find a gorgeous pair of red dress flats. I do not want dyables. I think dyable shoes are great, but I want to buy unique shoes. Plus, I'd probably end up accidentally dying our pooch, Wee JeffMemorial, red in the process.

I have found a few options, though. (All courtesy of Zappos.com.)


Gabriella Rocha. $58.50.


Delman Welcome-P $114.80


Steve Madden. $79.34.


Sigerson Morrison. $244.50. (So beautiful, but the price makes me cry.)

I even entertained the notion of shoes not in red...


Type Z Cathy. $67.50.
Maybe traditional white?


Steven Kleo. $94.50.
...or I could go funky.


Franco Sarto. $88.95.
Oh, Franco. <3


Steve Madden. $80.01.
This time in gray!

I definitely want a shoe that goes from ceremony to reception.

Either way, while I have LOVED looking at shoes, and have bought a couple of almost THE shoes, it's so frustrating! I see all the cute heeled shoes and get cranky. Oh, to be not so freakishly tall. (Shamelessly buying new shoes in the name of the wedding is a great excuse, although I think Mr. JeffMemorial is starting to catch on, heh.)

There are so many options. Classic traditional white or color? One pair of shoes for the whole thing, or do you get one for the ceremony and one for the reception? Flashy? Subdued? And there are too many pretty shoes in the world!

Bridesmaids Dresses: Part 3 (of 4 or 5)

After my horrific experience at Jingles in Richmond, my friends and I visited Bella Rosa. It was WONDERFUL. They had so many dresses, the store was a great size, we didn't need an appointment but easily got a dressing room, and the sales associate was so attentive and professional - she even repeatedly apologized for not being able to be with us more because they were so busy - and they were busy! My friend Bekah tried on maybe 12 dresses while Brittany and I rated them. It was so different from our first experience - we were there for over an hour! Because this was our first serious research trip, we couldn't place an order, but she was happy to give us swatches of the top 6 dresses we liked. (More on that later.)

Late last week, two wonderful friends went with me to a third store to look at bridesmaids dresses. This was at Priscilla of Boston in Tyson's Corner (after stopping at Tiffany's next door). I had a few in mind from doing more research online with Bekah and from the dresses we liked at Bella Rosa. And now, for the dresses:

Vineyard Style 1414

Amsale Style G456C in Cranberry (in love with the color)

Melissa Sweet STYLE MS307

Melissa Sweet STYLE MS219

Melissa Sweet STYLE MS120

Some runners up, but unfortunately, they don't come in colors that would go with our wedding:

http://watters.com/product.php?coll=wtoo&showid=751
Waters, too STYLE 306

http://watters.com/product.php?style=4331
Waters & Waters STYLE 4331

http://watters.com/product.php?showid=973&coll=watters&style=4335
Waters & Waters STYLE 4335

**Photos are courtesy of Priscilla of Boston and Amsale.

All these dresses came in GREAT colors (Cranberry / Raspberry). However, they all seem a bit expensive (in the mid to high $200's). But they're quite cute. My girls loved the last 3 Melissa Sweets, and I do, too. However, my friends tonight said they felt like the Melissa Sweets weren't as good quality as the dresses we tried on tonite (Simple Silhouettes and Threads). However, Simple Silhouettes and Threads are up to $200 more!! * le sigh *

Soon, I'll post about my visit to Hitched in D.C.

Big Hair or Be Square?

(photo credit Curly Hair Styles Magazine)

I've just seen one of the best blog headlines ever: it was on Martha Stewart Weddings Bride's Guide blog and it read: "Girl, You Can Never Get My Hair High Enough." A dear friend of mine always said, "The higher the hair, the closer to G-d." So I started to think about big wedding hair.

I went to my hairdresser for the usual chop of my mop last week and she said to me, "I've got a great idea for your wedding hair! Why don't you put it up in a messy bun and put a tiara on top?"

Messy bun? An updo? Wha? I am not really an updo kind of person. Not that I don't like them--I really wish I had the kind of hair that I could sweep into a casual chignon. But my hair doesn't really grow that way. At the moment I have kind of a Chrissie Hynde thing going on:

(photo credit: Dark Party Review)

Chrissie is one of the coolest women of all time and the hairstyle almost always looks awesome. So I am more than happy to have her as my style icon. Stop Your Sobbing!

However, the style doesn't really lend itself to updos. It would need a lot of bobby pins and hairspray to make that happen. But my stylist, who is responsible for my Chrissie-alike hairdo, says that it'll look great. And it might, but it's not really how I ordinarily wear my hair.

That said, though, who doesn't love playing with their hair on special occasions? This is my one chance in my life to wear an updo and a tiara. I'm sure this is not how this woman wears her hair ordinarily, but it looks gorgeous.

(photo credit: Paige Brown Photography, via The Knot)

Should wedding hair look like your normal hairstyle? Or should you experiment with something fun and different for the occasion?

Marriage "Matters"

Mr. CP and I have had a rough few weeks. With the wedding planning in full gear (107 days!AHHHHH), we also have moved (technically I am Miss Crystal City now), his job is in limbo with the economy and I have been a little under the weather. It has been a liiiiiiitle stressful, and to be quite frank, we have been bickering more than usual and its been tough. Last night, we got just what the doctor ordered....Marriage Class!
Mr. CP and I are taking a course through a synagogue with 4 other Jewish couples (one of who is a fan of the blog, Hi Lexie!). Last night's class was about communication and somewhat about disagreements. First, she asked us to pick a topic of disagreement that is not closed, something that's on-going. Then, she handed us a list of positive characteristics. We were then to circle the characteristics that our to-be spouse has and even make notes of examples next to it. The funny part was we didn't share this with each other. It was simply to put us in a good frame of mind about each other and remind ourselves why we are getting married and we love and cherish about each other.
At this point, we discussed what makes good listeners, and although we laughed about it, it was definitely helpful to be reminded to not interrupt and to really listen to each other. She asked that we go in the hall for 15 minutes and discuss the issue. All of the couples returned with positive feedback. For different reasons, this worked. For me, I was in a different state of mind. I had JUST reminded myself how wonderful of a person he is and then all of a sudden were talking about money, which tends to be a sore topic for us! The main difference was we tend to interrupt each other in a heated way, "I was speaking! Listen!" or "You're not even listening" whereas in this exercise Mr. CP would flash a smile at me and say in a sing-song voice, "its not your turn yet" and I would laugh and it lightened the conversation.
I am surprised to say I am really enjoying the class and I feel that every time we go, we take away something important. Have you taken a Pre-Martial class? What did you get out of it?

"What are You Going to Do About That?"

I'm going to let you all in a well known secret - I have a tattoo. The tattoo is on my right shoulder blade, a small shooting star. My friends in college used to laugh and call it "the more you know" star because it resembles the logo of the PSA often seen on NBC -


The other week, after telling the FMIL about the bridesmaids dresses (she likes to be kept in the loop and to keep drama at bay, I give her updates on a need to know basis which I'm fine with) she asked about my tattoo. She hasn't approved of it since she saw it at a wedding where I wore a strapless dress and quickly asked if I was going to cover it up with a cardigan, which because it was the ceremony, I did. Since then, it's been a non-issue for the most part, my own mother was slightly disappointed when I got it, but I think a large part of that stemmed from the fact that I had talked about it for weeks and she didn't think I'd go through with it (which I did) because of my large fear of needles. Fortunately, I've never been one to chicken out of something because of fears (with an exception of my fear of bees).

I hadn't really thought of what I was going to do with it. I don't really want to go through the hassle of covering it up and risking getting make up all over my dress, but is it really something I want in my wedding photos for years to come?

But then again, it is a part of me, it represents for me, my youth, the fun I had in college and the friends I had. Of course back then, I also had a nose piercing, belly button, and two holes in each ear with a cartilage piercing to boot. I rarely wear earrings anymore, and if I do it's usually only in one hole. The belly piercing is only there because I'm too lazy to have it removed and I've never changed the hoop since I got it my freshman year of college; my nose stud fell out on my twenty-third birthday and because I was so close to my college graduation, I figured it was for the best.

But my tattoo was a decision I thought long and hard over for weeks. I ended up getting it at place in Burlington, VT when I was at home just before my twenty-first birthday. It's just there. I don't think about it often. It's small, tactful, and well, out of the way. I never actively try to cover it up, I don't wear a lot of clothes to work in the summer where it's shown so it's really only visible on the weekends.



I think I'm going to end up leaving it uncovered. I don't want the extra hassle and it's me. I can't remove it. It's there for good and I? Am okay with that. The people who may not be? Well, that's their problem, not mine.

Do you have any body art? How did you deal with it on your wedding day? Did anyone give you a hard time about covering it up?

Book a Wedding, Head to Paris

(photo credit: stevenvanwel)

My wedding venue, the Clifton Inn, is running an amazing February deal. If you book your wedding at Clifton before February 28, 2009, they will give you a week in a gorgeous Paris apartment for free. That's right, you can have your honeymoon in Paris with free accommodation. Not bad! Scroll down to the bottom of Clifton's homepage to learn more.

You could definitely do worse than spending your honeymoon here:

#

(photo credit pedrosimoes7)

Our First Dance

Mr. JeffMemorial actually picked out our first dance for the wedding.



"She's Got a Way" by Billy Joel.

Billy Joel has always been one of his favorite artists of all time. For many months we didn't really have a song that we identified with. In fact, we had a completely different song chosen as our first dance: "L-O-V-E" by Nat King Cole. Then, on my birthday, at the conclusion of an amazing surprise birthday party, we slow danced to this on the jukebox at the bar. We have done that a couple of times since then, but it really is "our song".

...and I kind of love that Mr. JeffM was the one who chose it. Gets me every time, when I listen to it.

For awhile there, picking a first dance song felt as stressful as trying to pick out a dress. It seemed like an easy task, but picking a song that kicks off your marriage? That's tough! Then the answer came so easily. Even though I didn't pick it out, the first time we danced to it was magical, and it felt absolutely right.

Have you guys picked out your first dances as of yet? Was it an easy decision or a tough decision?

P.S. I hope that video is correct. My speakers aren't working properly at work.

Making Decisions!

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

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

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

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

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

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

In other happier news,

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

[via Aria Dress]

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

My vision? Something similar to this:

[via Miss Havy]

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

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

Rebuffed: Bridesmaids Dress Search Part 2

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

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

Paying tribute

Last fall I asked my maternal grandmother, my last living grandparent, to send me something that I could keep with me on my wedding day in case she wasn't able to travel from the Philippines. I wanted her to know that she was very special and her presence at my wedding was very important to me. Within a few weeks, I had received a card and a letter scrawled with her signature and a few keepsakes of hers: 1) a rosary because Catholicism is very important to her and 2) a handerkerchief because she's always warm and 3) a fan because she has a strong Spanish heritage and because she always had either a fan or a handkerchief with her. I was very touched when she sent me all three, along with her card.

Unfortunately, Lola Rose (Lola = "grandmother" in Tagalog) passed away early last Wednesday morning. My family, including my sister in London, flew to California to say our last goodbyes to her before they sent her to the Philippines. Her death was and probably will be for some time, especially difficult for my mother, sister, and me because we were closest with her and we all looked up to her. She was the model wife and mother to us, ever loving, selfless, and kind. She was intelligent, witty, and funny and always knew the right thing to say when you came to her with your problems.

Now I struggle with the best way to remember her at our wedding. I know she'll be with us in spirit, but I still want to recognize her . However, will it seem inconsiderate and rude if I don't recognize my other 3 grandparents? I thought about having their wedding pictures displayed somewhere. I also thought about having a rose in the front row in memory of her, but will I need 6 roses (both pairs of my grandparents and one set of Signor Keswick's)? That may seem excessive and lose its meaning. I definitely think simpler is better, but finding something appropriate and fitting for such a great woman is a tall order. However, all my grandparents were wonderful people, so I may just do something for both sets and my fiance's as well.

Now I guess I actually have to make the Save the Dates...

So remember a while back when I shared the two mock-ups I had created for our Save the Dates? Well I really liked the second design, but I was not impressed with my MS Paint skillz in creating the little heart logo. So I went to a pro.

This is one of my few splurges for the wedding, getting a REAL LIVE designer to make a special logo for my Save the Dates. I started my search for a designer in the first place any frugal gal goes when she's on the hunt for something: Good Ol' Craigslist. He rarely fails me.

I quickly found Rori Bean Designs based over in Alexandria. I was blown away from the website and the prices seemed very reasonable. I wrote Ali at Rori Bean a very nice e-mail about what I needed and if the job was too small I understood.

Let me just say that Ali was awesome. Over the last week, I've described my ideas about our wedding and our invitations, shared some photos of my "inspiration" for the look of our reception and looked over designs Ali came up with. Ali was great to work with and I was amazed with what she put together and how quickly too. I only wish I had the budget to have our whole invitation suite designed!

So here is what we ended up with at the end of the process-

and, bonus!

The best part about these, and what I could never have done myself, is that the images have that pro polish AND they can be re-sized (bigger and smaller) without pixelation. The latter aspect alone was worth getting this done. Now I can use these image in multiple and different sized wedding projects, from teeny envelope seals to the front page of our program without compromising the image quality! Yay! Ali also gave the files in different format: a .jpg for "everyday use," as well as a .png file so I can lay the logo over other things without getting the "white box" effect around the image.

So I bet you can guess whats on my Google calendar for this weekend, yup, design those Save the Dates! I can't wait!

Google Calendar Saves the Day!

So I'm the kind of girl that if I don't write something down, it's in one ear and out the other. Though somehow I seem to retain every piece of useless knowledge I've ever heard, which makes me absolutely deadly in Trivial Pursuit.

In the last couple months I started forming this running lists of things in my head, random things, the kinds of things that keep you awake at 3am in the morning. I knew I needed to write them down, but I needed more than that. I needed to organize all these little ideas and tasks so I could see when things needed to happen and when to do them in relation to all the 8 million other little tasks. Basically, I needed to come up with a foolproof way of avoiding "I was tying ribbons on my programs at 4am the night before my wedding...haha!" syndrome.

I finally hit on it: My Google calendar. I can enter all those little tasks, when I want to get them done, and see when my "deadlines" are looming. Extra points for being web-based and accessible from my home AND office, I can't lose or misplace it. Hurrah!

Here I've got all our upcoming Sunday School/Wedding Prep classes, all the days Crate &Barrel has their special registry parties, the upcoming Paper Source FREE wedding workshop and a florist appointment!

Every time I think of something I open up my Google calendar and add it. I've noted the day we're in the 60-day window to get our marriage license, the last possible day Mr. Fairfax is allowed to get a haircut (yes, there is a moratorium on haircuts within two weeks of the wedding), when we should mail the Save The Dates, when final payments are due. There's even a reminder to get my ring cleaned (Wednesday before), a note on the last day I can possibly get my brows waxed, and a reminder to shave my legs (yes, otherwise I would be stepping into my dress realizing I HADN'T SHAVED MY LEGS).

I also took advantage of the Spreadsheet feature in Google docs to get into the detailed tasks that can't even be calendared yet. Things like, "decide if I want copper lanterns or silver lanterns for table center-pieces," and "call florist and ask what type of ribbon can be used on bouquets,"
or "save more jars for flower arrangements."

I can happily report that now I'm getting all this stuff down in one place, I'm sleeping much better at night...except for the wedding nightmares which kicked in right after Christmas, but that's a story for another time.

How are you keeping track of the little details?