Shopping update...

So the shoe shopping was only semi-successful this weekend. I did find some awesome silver flats to wear to the reception (which I can totally wear again), but the perfect bridal shoe eludes me. Now, don't think I'm a masochist on pursuit for total perfection, but I also don't want to compromise. Everything I've seen in-store are 3" high! Is it okay that I don't want to be 8-feet tall on my wedding day? I guess I just don't understand the feminine pursuit of tallness.


Mom and I did have lots of luck dress shopping! She must have literally tried on twenty-five dresses that day, easily. I pushed her toward fabrics and cuts and colors she may not normally consider, just 'cause it's fun to open all the possibilities. However, for her Mother of the Bride dress, she found something blue, just as I knew she would. Blue looks stunning on my mother because she has awesome blue eyes. (Insert rant here about dominant genes and inheriting my dad's brown eyes). Just kidding!

We both also found some miscellaneous shower/cocktail dresses super-duper on sale! I got the fantastic green chiffon number over half off (sorry for the bad pics), and another Laundry by Shelli Segal dress for like 80% off! I am definitely going to be wearing these to a couple of the parties/showers and such in the coming months. Mom also her rehearsal dinner dress (which I love), and two other fun frocks on sale. It was a great day.

We also found our cocktail napkins for the reception. A really fun not-too-powdery, not-too-bright blue from Party City. We bought out all their stock (I read somewhere that you should allow 3-4 napkins per guest), so we'll need somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 packs of 50. That is going to be a freaking-lot of embossing but I don't care :) Our napkins are going to rock the house. J's still working on finding the right font for our monogram, which we'll use as much as possible for cohesiveness.

Another thing I'm stoked about: I read in one of our local

weeklies about a program called Fit to Be Wed.
One of the local gyms offers a special 12-week personal training program especially for brides. This could so be the kick in the butt I need to tone up. I really need someone to listen to my goals, assess my body, and determine a good regime for me. They meet with you twice a week for half an hour, and you do a mix of cardio and weight training. They also allow you to use all of the exercise equipment in studio, so they expect you to come earlier or stay later than your session time to get in more cardio.

I have an appointment with the founder/one of the trainers on Thursday--I'll let you know how it goes. If I commit to it, I'll probably start around the end of March, leading up to the week before the wedding.

I think that's all for now. Everything is shaping up pretty well I think!

Ordered...

this a few weeks ago (thanks Mom!) Is it not the cutest thing you have ever seen?

I will wear it on the day of the wedding, at least until I have to put on a button down to get prepped for hair and makeup. (and probably on the honeymoon, too, with the cutest bikini ever).

One update: all ceremony musicians are booked: organist, pianist, trumpeteer, violinist.

Channeling Carrie Bradshaw...

You know those women who looo-oooove shoes? Heels, especially--the higher the better. The women who can't name a favorite pair of shoes for fear of hurting the other shoes' feelings.

Yeah, that's not me. I probably have about the most boring shoe wardrobe imaginable because if they're not comfortable, I flat out refuse to wear them. My heels are mostly kitten heels, no taller than 2 or 2.5 inches at most.

Now I'm 5'5" and a half, so I'm not suffering horizontally. A little two inch heel and I'm over 5'7". No big deal. Jay's 5'9" and a half.

I haven't been able to find the perfect wedding shoes just yet. Kitten heels are a must. (And I very well may change out of them when I get to the reception. I also read that some sort of strap (as opposed to a slip-on) is a must so I don't walk out of them or lose my footing. That brides need support around the ankle/heel :)

I love these Nina shoes (available in silver, gold, taupe and black), but the heel is 3" and I'm being a baby about it. I tried them on, and they're not very comfortable. Very elegant though.














What do we think about this jewel of shoe? Very feisty and fun, and I could definitely wear them again. On sale at Urban Outfitters, in cranberry and silver. Even though they're 3" tall, the chunkier heel will aid in comfort. They look like salsa dancing shoes to me. In a good way!

My mom is coming to see me this weekend, and we'll be on a shoe hunt. I need to have them by the time I begin the dress alterations process (Feb 4).

Would love to hear your feedback.

This weekend...

Didn't really do anything wedding-related this weekend, unless you count me re-reading Jo Gartin Weddings for the umpteenth time. J and I did go out Friday night--dinner at the best Italian restaurant on the planet, and we saw heartbreakingly beautiful Brokeback Mountain.

Otherwise...it was a really low-key weekend, filled with scrapbooking (I got three pages done!), watching movies (Drumline and The Goonies were on), and watching the unfortunate loss of the Panthers last night. Steve Smith is still the man, though. A cute, pocket-sized, kick your a**, triple-crown winning kind of man.

We got our first piece of "engagement press" as our names ran (along with other engaged couples') in an ad for the place where we registered for china, in my hometown's local paper. Only they mispelled J's last name. Mom dropped by to ensure they get it right the next time they run it (usually weekly up until the Big Day).

Spring shoes and clothing are finally starting to filter into stores. Still on the lookout for cute kitten heels to wear with my dress. After my mom and sister see the dress, I'll be making an appointment with the local highly-revered seamstress to have it altered and fitted (all Vera Wang samples are 10s (street size 6) and I need a size 8 (street size 4). )

In Style Weddings is airing its (bi-?)annual Celebrity Weddings special on January 30. Should be an entertaining show. I really, really want this book, but not sure I can justify yet another book of ideas. Especially since I've already planned the theme and style of my wedding, and am in the execution stages. I just like reading about weddings.

Finally, you can see one of my Scrapworks DT contest layouts, since it's appropriate to this blog and because the 2Peas Gallery isn't WORKING!!!! *stamps feet impatiently*

Have a great week.

Takin' care of business....

WOW what a productive weekend! We got so much accomplished on a single Saturday. We decided on the reception menu, had a successful meeting with the cake designer, registered for our formal china and flatware, met with the music minister and decided on a few songs, and booked the organist!

Our Reception Menu. Our caterer had a nice selection of options (mom, Jay and I have been to one or more of her events and tasted her specialities). Here is what we chose:

Carving Station:
-Beef Tenderloin
-Turkey
Tiger sauce (horseradish + sour cream), mustard, mayo
Rolls
Cheese Fondue
-Vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, etc)
-Fruit (apples, strawberries, pineapples) most suited for…
Chocolate Fondue (semi-sweet)
-Cheesecake bites
-Strawberries
-Pretzels
-Marshmallows
-Small cookies
Stuffed Mushrooms
Bacon Wrapped Shrimp
Chicken Salad Pastry Cups

Water, Iced Tea, bottled cokes
Beer, wine

There will also be a special surprise outside on the deck that I can’t divulge just yet. But it will be awesome. (The country club is on a lake with a wraparound deck).

A few more details to work out about the layout of the reception hall. We’d like to move some awful wicker furniture out of the green room area to make room for more tables, but the country club’s pretty staunch about that. Our caterer says she’s moved them before, then moved them back, wink wink. Next up: searching for 90x90 espresso table cloths for the 7 or 8 round 8-tops we’ll have for seating. Here’s an idea of the food spread (we may end up moving the carving station to stand alone?):



Our Cake. The cake of my dreams. It is so me primarily, and Jay is okay with that. He loved it from the minute I showed him the picture from the Spring 2002 (ha!) In Style Weddings. I’ll reveal the design later, but it is just so cool. Our designer is so talented. She can literally do anything with icing. All of her creations are Pound Cakes.

Are you guys familiar with pound cake? It may be a southern thing. It’s so named because (for a regular family size cake) you use a pound of butter, a pound of sugar, a pound of flour—yeah, it’s really good for you ;) We chose lemon pound cake with strawberry cream cheese filling, and chocolate pound cake with Snickers bar filling! Two layers of each for our four tier cake.

We finally registered for our china, too! Because my hometown is pretty small, many people end up buying china because there just aren’t a lot of store options. (More on the other stores we’re registering at later).

We’re going with Waterford Kilbarry Platinum. Very simple, very chic. And to just set it off perfectly, we’re going with square salad plates instead of the round in the first picture. It adds such a kick to the aesthetic. Elegant yet chic.


Finally, we met with the minister of music, and decided on a couple of the pieces for sure (I want to listen to more classical pieces for the bridesmaids, mothers, etc to walk down to). Trying to choose pieces that are lovely and classic but not overdone. Everyone does Canon in D. Everyone does Trumpet Voluntary, etc.

We have my processional (thanks to Jay), and two of the prelude pieces (Ravel and Bach). Narrowed down the solo song choices. Booked our organist--our minister of music just raved about this guy. Swears he can just tear it up on the organ. Also got the names (going to call them this week) of two musicians (trumpetier and violinist) that the organist has worked with and knows how talented they are.

Whew! So that's about it for now. Otherwise, I'm waiting impatiently for spring clothes and accessories to arrive in stores so I can buy my wedding shoes (and thus get my dress hemmed/altered) and my rehearsal dinner dress.

UPDATE: Bought this book today at Michael's with my 40% coupon. Jo Gartin is a wedding planner and frequent contributor to In Style Weddings, which is where I read about this hot-off-the-press book. It is the coolest--all about making your wedding unique. Full of little nuggets of helpful info, not necessarily a step-by-step how-to. A real emphasis on invitations and flowers. Her mantra is that she's rather have someone say: "wow, that's so original!" rather than "wow, they must have spent a fortune!" Preach on!

Plus, it's budget friendly; she writes with this perspective in mind.

ALSO FOUND: 6" fat square vases to use on the reception tables; $2/ea. I am probably going to abandon my original idea of one dark wooden box with bamboo, and go with glass vases with bamboo and flowers. I may use one brown box in the middle if I can find them. This vases will give the center of the table more of a reflective, shimmering quality (since I am using espresso table cloths) without overdoing it--remember the picture I posted last week.

I've been tagged...

by Bridge! :) The answers are on my long-neglected baseball blog...click here to see my answers.

Going back to my hometown again this weekend. Meeting with the caterer, cake designer, and the church's minister of music to discuss songs, musicians, etc. My best friend's mom will be singing the only song during the ceremony--I would appreciate any suggestions for wedding solos.

Latest invitation news: I have been so picky about online vendors--because the samples I received have been "just off" what I want. BUT I found a stationery shop in town that prints custom invitations. Jay and I can design our own, choose the paper, choose the fonts, choose the ink, etc. And it's a lot more affordable than I ever would have thought! More details to come from this indecisive bride-to-be!

Updates

Mom and I spent over an hour with the florist this weekend, and I think I conveyed my "Elegant Modern" aesthetic to him. We talked about how we'd decorate the church, the reception, and the bouquets and stuff. Thankfully I'm on the right track with my blue/brown/with a pop of orange flower ideas--he loved it. I'm going to be carry mostly blue in a couple different flowers, the bridesmaids will carry mostly cream and orange (mini gerber daisies?) with a pop of blue.

I'm also going to incorporate either a brooch or another piece of my grandmother's jewelry into my bouquet :) (Wired or pinned as shown below)



This weekend my mom, my aunt, my sister and I went through my Granny's jewelry. It was tough seeing her signature pieces, stuff she wore everyday, or special occasions, or things that my sister and I played dress up with years ago. I miss her. I was given her beautiful ruby and diamond anniversary band. I am wearing it right now.

For the reception we're going with some really modern centerpieces that I'm on the lookout for...some deep brown boxes with chunks of green bamboo and a flow of white orchids or something like that. I have a picture of it (In Style, of course); I'll try and remember to post it. For now, here's an example of grouped bamboo and how cool and modern it looks:


The tables at the reception (just for sitting and eating briefly, no sit down dinner, remember) will look like this:


Straight from the pages of Cottage Living...espresso table cloths, pinned with woven blue ribbons that fall to the floor. Simple to execute but big on impact.

Also met with the photographer who will likely do my portrait. Our engagement shoot/wedding photographers are out of Raleigh, but I wanted to hire someone in my hometown to do the bridal portrait. It's just easier. Oh, and I'm taking my portrait outdoors, unless something major happens. I cannot stand wedding portraits taken in front of some faux-finish looking, mottled grey background. I'd like to do something on the stairs of a building on the nearby college campus, or maybe at something at the gardens. Who knows.

159 days left!

Happy 2006...

I'm getting married this year!

Oh crap, I still have so much to do, LOL! I actually made a note in the tiny notepad I carry around with me: TIME TO GET SERIOUS. I need to get cranking on a lot of stuff, so I started making appointments. Here's what's on the docket:

Ordered a few sample invitations today from two awesome sites, einvite.com and mygatsby.com. Their modern invitations rock. Have it narrowed down to two, but I need to see the color and cardstock in person to solidify my decision.

Jan 8: 1:30 p.m. Meet with the florist, talk about color scheme, go over my ideas, use his expertise to translate into something fabulous. Really concentrating on the reception.
Jan 14: 9:30 a.m. Meet with caterer to decide on the hors doeuvres for the reception (no sit down dinner, we want to keep people mingling and dancing). Find out how much it will cost to feed 400 people, and decide if we need to pare down the guest list. :) By the way, my sister's fabulous restauranteur boyfriend is going to get us all of our wine and beer at cost, and has even offered to buy back the cases of wines we don't open. How cool is that?
Feb 13: Regular dental checkup, but will make appt for Teeth Whitening before Big Day!
Feb 25: 2:30 p.m. Engagement Photo Shoot. Yes, it's a little late in the engagement, but I wanted to wait and have it done after my LASIK surgery. We'll be able to get it in the papers and still have four months til the wedding. No biggie! We're shooting it outside in Raleigh, and going for an urban-chic feel. You can see by the photos kind of what I'm thinking. (of course, we'll do headshots and stuff, too).

Growing out my hair a little, too--just trying to get it all the same length. I can never wear it long, however. You people have no idea how little hair I have. It just looks stringy long, believe me. I'd like to do some sort of sharp bob for the wedding, a la:

Also...LOVED Miranda's hair in Season 6 of Sex and the City: