vendor madness

This week has been insane!!

I have been frantic, trying to coordinate our various vendors for our next trip down to our destination wedding site. On the one hand, it is nice to know I can knock all the vendors out in one weekend, BUT on the other hand, organizing all these parties into a small time frame has been challenging at best.

The Bakery that we would like to make our wedding cake, for instance, can't be bothered to meet past noon!! Seriously? Yes. She just didn't seem concerned that my fiance and I will only be down there for 3 days and our mornings were already very busy! Welcome to island time. Clearly, there's boating to get done later in the day. Oh and they only bake 5 FLAVORS-- Vanilla White, Key Lime, Yellow, Chocolate, and Orange Sunset. The also have 5 choices for icing/filling: Vanilla Buttercream, Key Lime Buttercream, Raspberry Buttercream, Strawberry Buttercream and Fudge. Here at home, I would have my pick of all the creative flavors in the universe, but them's the breaks when you have a remote destination wedding. More complications: I am marrying (the most wonderful man ever) Mr. Picky-Pants or Captain Plain-and-Simple. Neither of us like chocolate, so that's out. And he wants *just* vanilla with strawberry buttercream filling. Lovebug, that's soooo plain, how about adding in Key Lime? "I don't like lime flavor." How about adding in a little Orange Sunset? "Sounds weird." I am still working on his flexibility, but at least I finally made an appointment! The good news: My mom and I ate at the bakery last weekend and in spite of the small selection, the taste was out of this world. Yummms. AND, we'll have other dessert choices at our reception aside from wedding cake!

at least it won't be this cake :)


We also were able to secure a florist, a photographer, a DJ, my hair and makeup trial, and our menu tasting for the reception. What a busy weekend! Additionally, this means we will need deposits for all of these vendors (except for the reception site which we did last week) all in one weekend! Only one teensy, weensy detail left to find-- The Officiant. That's only that person that does the actually marrying. Deep breath...I'm working on it.

WEDDING VENUE!

It just hit me. I finally know when and where and what day our wedding will be! It is a huge relief to move on to all the bazillions of other decisions I have to make. At the same time, it is thrilling to actually be able to visualize what our wedding will look like! Unless it rains, of course, because I can't yet let myself imagine anything disrupting all of my perfectly calculated plans. Well, c'est la vie, if it does rain...

This is our wedding venue from the sky:


And this is where our cocktail hour will be:



mmmm, I can almost relax having this MAJOR detail decided...

except for the photographer, the DJ, the officiant, the baker, the florist, OH MY...

Shoe Jewelry

I posted about my wedding shoes, which I bought at JCrew.com for a steal, and I'm not 100% about. I want a kitten heel and they are pretty hard to find when you are as picky as me. I normally wear sky high heels, but for my wedding I want a shorter shoe. I just do, and that is settled. I already have the JCrew shoes, so I should just be done with it right? Right? Maybe.

Last night I found Absolutely Audrey and their super cute shoe clips! Shoe clips may bring to mind visions your dear great-great auntie at church with a bird in her hat, but these, I promise, are really fun! Take a lookie:





Aren't these little blue bows adorable?



I think I may try out the pink flower or the white bow to add a little interest to my silver JCrew sandals. The clips are pretty affordable too, so I won't feel bad ordering them to see if I like them.

Dress Shopping

Saturday Morning, I went Wedding Dress Shopping! I was a bit afraid I would look like this in all those big white gowns--



but no! Quite the contrary, I felt beautiful in every gown I tried on. Even the form fitting ones seemed to love my figure. I attribute this completely to putting on gowns of such exquisite construction. I was at a Vera Wang salon in my hometown. The dresses had form and structure of the most luxurious fabrics, it was a dream come true to my backside! These are a couple of the dresses that I seriously loved wearing:




Sorry about the tiny picture, but the Vera Wang website is a pain! source

This dress was seriously breathtaking. The movement of the skirt was heavenly. However, as much as I first loved it, when I tried it on again, I felt it overwhelmed my frame. As amazing as it looks on this model, when I stepped off the 2-foot stool I felt like a little girl in a BIG dress. I tried it with simple sashes and while the effect was better for me, I then thought the bodice of the dress looked like too many other dresses I've seen on brides. Not my perfect dress! Moving on!

Of all the dresses I tried on, this one was the winner of the day:





My apologies to this lovely model, but --gasp-- I think this baby actually looked better on me! I have curves and the dress complemented them perfectly. It was soft and the skirt was very full with the most airy tulle pleats. The pleats are vertical and just fall to the ground incredibly. I tried it with a few different sashes and loved it even more. Of course the sash I liked best is $450.00! Let's not talk about the price of the dress!! At least it was *right* at my budget price. The problem with the dress? It looks so boring in the photo!!! The image doesn't do it justice at all, but I want a dress that translates well in pictures. A wedding dress is worn once, yet wedding pictures are enjoyed for a lifetime.

At first I thought this dress was a strong Maybe, now I think it is a Maybe Not. I am hoping that I will find "the one" this coming weekend. Unfortunately, we have to drive almost 2 hours to get to the bridal salon that carries the brands I want to see. This store has not only Vera Wang, but also Monique Lhullier (oh Monique, why are you so dang expensive??), Christos (my favorites online!), Pronovias, Rivini, Reem Acra, Anne Barge, Amsale and OTHERS! Basically a ton of amazing designers for me to play dress up in!!

Hopefully this time I will be able to take pictures of me in the gowns, and more importantly, hopefully I will find MY DRESS.

the best week!

Long time no bloggie!!

This is for a few reasons, and I have avoided the blog completely for the past few weeks. The first, and most important reason, is that my better half does NOT like me having a blog. AT ALL. That said, we've reached a reasonable compromise--so I'M BACK!! The second reason, was that I had zero time between my two jobs and was pretty miserable. Well I QUIT job numero dos!!! Happy dance! Happy dance!


More importantly, as is no surprise to my close friends and family--- I am now officially OFFICIALLY ENGAGED. The prettiest bauble ever (to me) is now residing on my left hand. My fiance has made me the happiest gal in the world!



ain't it perty???

Soon to come: our wedding ceremony plans have changed, more DIYs, a planning trip in two weeks to pick out the venue, and tomorrow -- dress shopping!! Stay tuned!

Right Hand Ring

This guy is stuck with me. Forever and Ever. I love him more than I ever thought possible. I just don't think there is another soul on this big wide planet Earth who understands me the way he does. So he's got no choice in the matter--He's stuck.



...but I'm pretty sure he likes it that way.

And in other news, I thought I'd share a lil gem I acquired a few weeks ago. I'm not going to post all my wedding day accessories--I want at least a few surprises!! This one is just too good not to share though! A jewelry store here in town was going out of business, so we (my mom and I--partners in crime!!) got this at a steal. A white gold Aquamarine/Diamond ring for my right hand:


And that amazing man I mentioned above? His reaction was, "Why do you need a ring for the other hand?? You are already getting TWO new rings!!" Pooey! I didn't realize my fiance had been taking lessons from my DAD!!

Making My Veil

I have narrowed down my wedding dress to a few choices (the final one will remain top secret!!--but I will post pics when I try on the runner-ups) and I think I know which one will be MY dress. However, I had been at a loss as to what to do for a veil. The dresses I like are pretty expensive and I just don't want to spend that much more on my veil. I know for sure I want a cathedral-length veil, but unless I go for a used veil or the David's Bridal route, they can get pretty pricey. I'm just not willing to add 3-digit $$$ to an already 4-digit $$$$ dress. It's just too much! And then I had the best idea--I will make my own! Or my mom will anyway...

As I mentioned before, my mom made her own wedding dress. She also made her veil! She's a master seamstress and years ago she actually used to help a good friend of hers who owned a custom wedding dress business. Why didn't I think of this before???


Her veil was a lovely finger-tip length trimmed in lace. Not exactly what I'm aiming for but I showed her what I want and she said it would be really easy. Now I am very excited for my custom veil! I think I might draw inspiration from this GAWGEOUS veil Cheree Berry had made for herself:



I love the POUF!! I absolutely still want a cathedral length though, but her veil is stunning! Her whole wedding was amazing; I've seen it on just about every wedding blog, like Style Me Pretty and it was featured on Martha Stewart Weddings. Very inspiring!

oh me

I am having a girl moment. A super emotional i-don't-know-why-i'm-crying moment. I was on the 'Bee earlier and read many moving/inspiring posts as always happens there. Today the real, down-to-earth awesomeness of the 'Bee just happened to collide with my hormones. Seriously, broken engagements, losing loved ones before your wedding and the like. I did see a great idea where a bride embroidered a love note into a pocket square for her groom. Check it out here. Clearly, I *have* to do this! So I started thinking of possible quotes that would be meaningful to my Lovebug. I found the perfect one, and CRIED and CRIED as I read it to myself. Gah! Such a girl! I'm gonna be one hot mess next April. I keep telling myself that I can't cry because my eyes will be all puffy and NOT cute---but I know me, I'm a cryer. I blame my Mom. What's worse, is that together Mom and I are a blubbering mess. I'm going to work on this ASAP.

Besides crying at a love poem, I also have tossed everything hanging in my closet on the floor in an attempt to find something to wear tonight. My legs are so sore from running this week and that awful 2nd job...so no short dresses. But my jeans were hot, and my tops seemed not to look quite right and BLAH BLAH BLAH. More GIRL!

It was just a moment. I found a sassy long dress that looks great, and I pulled it together. Now I can go out and have a great time tonight. However, my silly girly indulgence just reminded me how much I miss my best gals. My dearest friends, with 2 exceptions, no longer live close. They are in Florida, South Carolina, and DC---far away. Too far for them to run over and have a much needed glass of wine with me. My schedule has prevented me from seeing the two good friends that are in town. What little spare time I have is usually spent with Boyfriend. It's frustrating! Sometimes a gal just needs to cry or giggle or gossip and only her *best* friends get it.

The Dress Diet

My wedding is 10 months away (so exciting!!!), and since every woman wants to look her absolute best on her big day --- it is best to start early! I wrote about a month ago about these nagging 10lbs hanging around my backside. Well, they are still there! Give or take 1 or 2 lonesome pounds, on a given day, I am still about 10 over my goal weight. So I plan so post periodically about "The Dress Diet" -- I hope to check in with my progress and what is (present tense verbs!!! time to get going!) motivating me and how I am making my rump its itty-bitty-bikini best.

Here goes!

1. WATER. I have said it before and I say it over and over to anyone who asks how I stay in shape or how I try to lose/maintain weight. Most people I know (my former self included) do not drink enough WATER. Every function in the body works better when you are properly hydrated. From the bowels to the brain, your body craves water. Often when we think we are hungry, we just need water.(Ummm, not soda, not tea, not coffee, not juice, not flavored water, JUST PLAIN OLD WATER--throw in a lemon or two if ya want!). I first made myself attack my lack of water-drinking habit about a year ago...and I had to approach it like a chore. I used a measured 32oz water bottle and forced myself to drink 3 a day. Can I just say I used to have awful skin problems and I don't any longer? I firmly believe that water is the cornerstone to glowing, clear skin. Anyway, just drink lots of water! There isn't as much room for all those yummy, tempting snacks either...

2. SUPERFOODS. I do my best to incorporate these powerhouses into my diet daily. My motivation is not only for my dress, but to be the healthiest I can be from the inside out.

Apples
Avocado
Beans
Blueberries
Broccoli
Cinnamon
Dark Chocolate*
Dried SuperFruits
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Garlic
Honey
Kiwi
Low Fat Yogurt
Oats
Onions
Oranges
Pomegranates
Pumpkin
Spinach
Tea
Tomatoes
Turkey
Walnuts
Wild Salmon **

*I eat 85% cacao. I believe it is recommended that chocolate be 80% or higher for it to be truly beneficial. It naturally lowers blood pressure! I eat a little square in the morning to get my brain going.

**ok, I hate, loathe, despise all fish, so I don't do the wild salmon. But the Omega 3 fatty acids are essential so I instead add ground flax seed to smoothies, cereal, over fruit and in salads. But I honestly wish I did eat fish, it is soooo good for us.

Check out .www.superfoodsrx.com to find out more about why these particular foods are so good for us.

So here's to the Dress Diet! and the post-Dress lifestyle!!

COLOR!

My Wedding Color Scheme:

Aqua-Fuchsia-Pink-White with Silver


I worried--for about 2 minutes--about my colors. I was concerned that the Aqua/Pink Combo was too overdone. I quickly realized that I don't care if the colors I chose are common and were trendier a year or two ago (yellow is 2009, ya know)...they are still colors that I love and that represent ME well. When I had thought we would have local wedding I wanted Carolina Blue (Clearly!), Navy, Plum and Grey. But after relocating our shindig to the tropics, I didn't think those colors were as appropriate. However, I still wanted light blue. I knew that in the sun, sand and by the ocean, no color would be as perfect as Aqua! My other small hang-up with my proposed color scheme was that Boyfriend would not agree to pink. Amazingly, he said he would be happy with whatever made me happy and didn't care at all if I wanted pink. As a Tarheel, he loves light blue too. In ye olden days Carolina Blue was much more of an Aqua blue. My grandmother even refused to ever tolerate the modern baby blue we wear as "Carolina Blue." So all afterthoughts aside, I have my COLORS!

And I already covet this:

The David Yurman Blue Topaz/Diamond Noblesse Necklace


So now can anyone find me kitten-heel bright pink shoes???

FOURTH of JULY!

The 4th is one of my favorite holidays! It's smack in the middle of sticky summertime, which I looove, and usually involves vacation time and pure relaxation. To me, the 4th is all about family, BBQ, the beach and lots of sun and fun.

Only not this year. Boyfriend and I both worked, and it wasn't the wonderful celebration of our proud country's birth that we are used to. We did sneak in a few beers yesterday and made a pact that henceforth all Fourth of July holidays will be better than this one! It won't be hard to beat, and years from now I know we will laugh at what a joke of a "holiday" the 2009 Independence Day was.

My puppy boys did get to have some fun, however, and at the end of the day they were both tired and happy:

Happeeee Doggieee!

Happeee? Look closer...

I iz sleepin under ur tummies.



***Since the 4th fell on a Saturday this year, I'm sure some lucky couples tied the knot yesterday, and I hope they had fireworks!! I also secretly hope some cutie wore this show-stopper:



oh the hotness...

Play Nice and Be Polite

Ok, ok, so I realize my engagement isn't official-OFFICIAL yet, as in I don't have a ring on my finger yet. But I don't need my ring (yet) to know I will spend the rest of my wonderful life with the most perfect man on the planet -- most perfect for me, that is. And that is all I need to know. We've made plans and we're on the same page. The ring is a beautiful symbol...but it's just a stand-in for the real thing (that thing we have, called Love). I realized I had begun to undermine what we know in our hearts "until I get my ring." I also know I wouldn't have him any other way than just the way he is. Practical. Pragmatic. Frugal. Calcuated and Reasonable --- everything I'm not!! Which is why he can take his sweet time and surprise me. Everyone else will just have to realize that the ring is merely a small detail of the whole process of getting married. In the meantime, I'll be wedding blogging and DIY-ing. Thankyouverymuch.

And that brings me to my main point of this soapbox post: Polite Courtesy. Or better yet, Genuine Appreciation. The Thank You card. A grueling task for any newlywed, new parent or new graduate. But it really shouldn't be a task should it? The thank you card should be the least we can do for the generosity someone has given us. I read a great post today by
Offbeat Bride in which she words it well:

Yes, it's courteous. Yes, it's a way of showing how much you truly appreciate people's generosity. We all know these things and honestly, they should be enough to motivate each of us to carve out a couple nights to sit down with the new spouse and get to work on some cards.

Then there's the issue of what constitutes a "gift." Did your 15-year-old cousin help you with your iPod playlist? That's a gift. Send 'em a card. Did your college friend give you a blender, but then also spend half the reception tending after your vomiting drunk uncle? Send 'em a card, and acknowledge BOTH gifts. Did your coworker who wasn't invited to your family-only destination wedding help you surreptitiously print out programs on the office printer? Send 'em a card. When in doubt, anyone made your wedding planning easier or smiled at you when you were freaking out? Send 'em a card.




Can I just say that I went to a wedding 4 months ago for a friend I hadn't seen in almost 10 years, traveled pretty far, and spent way more money than I had at the time on a gift, AND made a great effort to close the gap (of 10 years!) at a bachlorette....AND... I never got a thank you card? It's not that big a deal; I'm sure she appreciated the gesture and I bet she is very busy. At the same time, it just doesn't seem quite polite.

My goal: to make thank you cards less of a chore and more of a pleasant way to notate the nice things people do for you.


I think the cutesy whimsy of Red Cap Cards should help motivate just about any reluctant thank you card writer!

Paper Flowers!

As I mentioned before, I have been working on a paper flower arrangement to compliment my real flowers at our wedding reception next spring. Thus far, they are coming along great, and didn't take very long to make. Unfortunately, I don't have much time lately...but here is what I've done so far:

Drawing inspiration from Martha's Encyclopedia of Crafts, I fell in love with these fringed paper flowers:



I also happened to have paper that I thought would be perfect for my flowers. The flowers above are made by Quilling, which is basically the art of shaping strips of paper into various forms such as letters or flowers (usually in tight scrolls). To do this you will need strips of paper, glue and a Quilling Tool (a slotted tool used to hold the paper as you wrap it around). This tool, small and simple as it is, is actually quite important. It holds the paper firm and allows for tighter curls. Don't bother looking for this tool at AC Moore or Michael's--they no longer carry it. Looks like only old ladies, Martha and myself are into Quilling these days. I did find what I needed at www.quilling.com and www.acmoore.com (search Quilling Tool). Cost: $8.00


(as you can see from the tag over the photos this pic was liberated from a quilling expert-- InCreations.blogspot-- who is also Russian? Sorry to borrow a pic...mine came out blurry and I'm too lazy to re-do)

I cut my paper into strips and got to work. I didn't really read the instructions as the twisting looked self-explanatory to me. I scrolled a center for my first flower with strips of light pink paper. I cut the strips by hand, although I do have a paper cutter, I just thought the less perfect the cut, the more texture there would be in the flower. After I created a flower center ---



I went to work on the rest of the flower. I used a darker pink paper with thicker strips that I then cut the fringe into. It really is a simple technique, you twist and glue! I added more paper fringe as I saw fit, when the flower needed more depth. I am very pleased with the result. Boyfriend really liked them too (as much as a guy can like paper flowers, that is) but he did brag to his mom about how nice they turned out!

where did the week go?

oh my gosh it's Thursday already??!!! Clearly my life is a fog lately. Last Saturday I got my hair all gussied up, was writing a check for the highlights/cut and asked "What's today's date? The 12th?" --- She just looked at me and answered: "Ummmm, the 20th." Point is, my life is swirling around me and I am only Mostly Participating. TWO JOBS SUCK. I am relatively used to it now and IT STILL SUCKS. I'll have to check back in when I locate my thinking capabilities. Hopefully sooner rather than later.

the mondays

no words are needed for Mondays...

after I get this day over with I will upload pics of the fringed paper flowers I have been working on. So far, they look great!

daddy's day!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to my pops, the swellest guy in the whole world. I am a Daddy's girl and I always will be; he's the best. For his big day, we got him SOCKS. He actually wanted SOCKS. Turns out we haven't been giving him enough of the usual Dad gifts lately and he was running out of socks without holes. I'm sure for his birthday he'll ask for underwear. He also will beg us not to spend any money (as he did for father's day and every other holiday) because his fear is that we will spend too much money and somehow we'll need money from him and his present will end up costing him money. Awww, Dad, we're all growd up now, we can pay for it, we promise. Gotta love how practical he is though! We threw in a nice shirt, a book and a bathing suit to go with the socks all the same.

After dinner, we sat around laughing and joking until talk of my wedding came up. Daddy gave me the "are you sure you want to get married next spring? are you really sure???" Yes Dad! "Well ok, but I am writing ONE check for an amount I decided and not a penny more!" He reminds me of Spencer Tracy in Father of the Bride (one of our family's favorite movies--the original version is SO much better than the remake!):


and that was about the face he made when my mom pouted "she's my only daughter and this is for me too and if I want to pay for something extra I will!" I love my parents.

Shoes, a girl's Other best friend

This week is BABY WEEK on Discovery Health, with plenty of spectacular winners like "Obese and Pregnant," "Amazing Births"--and this one IS amazing-- all kinds of Delivery Rooms shows and my personal favorite: "I Didn't Know I was Pregnant." I have the DVR on overload and I can't wait to catch up on them this weekend. Babies are an obsession for me but that currently has to be put on the back burner. Boyfriend is so sweet to tolerate me re-telling of all the outrageous stories I watch on Discovery Health or TLC (isn't he a keeper???) but seriously, I just can't think TOO much about babies just quite yet...

Soooo back to wedding stuffs:

AND SHOES!!

I bought my wedding shoes! Or I think I did anyway.

What I really wanted were: COLOR, preferably bright fuchsia pink (possibly aqua blue), and Kitten heels. Of course it is easy to find plenty o' fab pink heels but not so much in a kitten heel. I did find a lovely pair at JCrew.com in silver. Silver falls in the category with gold and black shoes; great and necessary, just a tad BLAH. But they went on sale (!) and then I got an "extra 20% online coupon" --- so I bought them. I was too afraid they would sell out of my size. They are adorable, I am just not 100% about them. Thankfully I have them and maybe I will decide that I just can't be bridezilla about every little detail. Maybe.


They are also very comfortable-- But we will see if these are the ones!

OR

If I wanted to spend $715.00, I could go with these saucy Manolos:



Ummmm, no I do not wish to spend $715.00 on shoes as I do not want to scare my Lovebug off just yet!!


Check out other brides shoes on Wedding Bee's real budget series:The Bee's Shoe Budgets

Quickie!

Aggghhhh...I promise am not giving up my blog--I just have SO LITTLE TIME! If I wasn't working so much I would be updating all my wonderful ideas and inspiration twice daily. BUT in the meantime, I ran across this beautiful rehearsal dinner on Style Me Pretty:


This is precisely the casual elegance we are aiming for!

36 years and going strong

Yesterday was my Mom and Dad's 36th wedding anniversary. 36 years together and they still couldn't imagine life without the other - (although sometimes Daddy swears he would be just fine without my brother and I!)

They fell in love their freshman year in college. So the story goes, my Dad had a crush on my mom AND some other girl, forever known in our family as "The Tuba Player." After their freshman year, Daddy went home to Chapel Hill and my mom spent the summer with her family in Gloucester, Mass. They wrote each other over the summer (as in they wrote LETTERS--how cute is that??) and promised to meet back up in the fall. The fall of their sophomore year, my Dad got back to school and decided to check out both my Mom and THE TUBA PLAYER! Well, the Tuba Player had gained 20lbs over the summer so my pretty and still slender Momma won out. Mom tells us she always knew there was no contest.

The rest is history!


I think my Pops looks especially dashing in his bow tie! My mom made her wedding gown--even staying up late to finish it the night before, and as far as "budget" goes---Mom says: "Budget?!? Our budget was ZERO!!" But they were happy and in love!

They married on June 9, 1973 in Chapel Hill, NC. I had always planned to marry at the same church someday, and sadly, it was recently torn down. I was heartbroken! We had toyed with the idea of a destination wedding before, but once we realized that we can't marry in the church I always dreamed of -- We will *settle* on a wedding in paradise instead (some compromise, eh?).

DIY fun!

This past weekend, while not dreading my now hated 2nd job, I picked up this sweet puppy:


Like most artsy-crafty-chic ladies, when all else fails, I go to Martha. She is always full of ideas and her website is a cornucopia of creativity. Of course, she has legions of people helping her, but all the same, I unabashedly love Martha. Before I discovered the big wide world of wedding blogs, I had www.marthastewart.com/weddings. There are tons of templates on her website, so I perhaps I didn't need the Encyclopedia of Crafts...but I know I will use it a ton and it was only $35.00 ($28.00 with my big bro's B&N discount!).

I am most excited about the sections on handmade flowers -- from paper and from fabric. My mom would disown me if I don't have real flowers for my wedding bouquet or centerpieces, and I wouldn't consider not-- BUT I am excited about cutting my floral budget WAY down by making some gorgeous handmade flowers.

Note: To me, there is a huge difference between "fake flowers" from Michael's or JoAnn's, and "handmade" works of art that take their cue from nature's beauty. Just sayin'...

Here are some goodies from Martha's Encyclopedia:




Please excuse the crappy pics (it's late!)...I plan on getting to work on the fringed paper flowers ASAP with some lovely stamped paper I have. As of now, I think that I might make a large dramatic paper floral arrangement for the cake table, since I am decorating my guests' tables simply with single Real flowers in bud vases. I do need to get to work, because while I still have a good 10 months-ish until our wedding, time is at a premium these days. I'll post pics as I make them though!