You are Cordially Invited!!!

From the minute I got engaged, I knew that the one choice that would give me the most trouble, would be the invitations. I may have already alluded to the fact that I had done some "wedding looking" before getting engaged. (Ok, let's be honest. I knew my colors and theme months before we got engaged.) This meant that I was already well aware of the fact that there were no invitations that matched the picture in my head. There were a lot that were this close, but they had to be perfect.

While I am excited to say that I have finally chosen and ordered invitations (yay!!) I am not ready to share them *just* yet. So, in the meantime, I will share some of my inspirational ideas that led me to my amazingly talented designer and my final choice!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/belletristics?ref=seller_info

http://www.etsy.com/shop/LaBelleVieDesign?ref=seller_info

http://www.etsy.com/shop/Preppypaperie

In case you can't tell, I really like stripes and anchors :) All of these invitations were amazing, but what I was envisioning combined all the best elements of these, and then some. I can't wait to share the finished product with you! Sadly, I'll have to wait another 6 months to do so, since I won't be mailing them out until May! 

I do have other little detail-projects that will be included with our invitation sets, so I am excited to begin sharing those details! 

Was there any one task that you knew was going to be a challenge? How were you able to find what you wanted?

Love is Sweet!

I love, love, love candy buffets. I mean, seeing photos like these, how could anyone not??

simplycandybuffets.com

Courtesy of big-wedding-tiny-budget,.com

beautiful-bridal.blogspot.com

As much as I loved this idea, I originally gave it the ax. Remember when I was afraid my ideas were kind of running wild and I was trying to remember that I didn't have to do everything just because I liked it? Well, it was during this time I decided against the candy buffet.

But then! One of my other bride friends (yes I am lucky to have several friends getting married in 2012!) and I had this amazing idea....since our weddings are only 7 weeks apart, why not split the cost of all the materials (minus the candy) and use everything at both our weddings? Genius! 

We are DIY-ing all of the favor bags (more to come on this later), and all the signs and decorations for the tables. Plus, thanks to all the boards on the bee, I have tons of great ideas on how to do this as inexpensively as possible. Obviously, I'm not skimping on the actual candy. :)

I've started collecting jars and vases and she is doing the same. So far, here is what we have!

Don't mind the random balls in that one in the middle. :)

I'm excited to start working on this project and am already thinking about all the mouth-watering candy choices that come in green, blue and white!! 

Did any of your ideas end up on the chopping board and then come back to life?

Pretty 'maids all in a row

A few weeks ago, I set out with a couple of my in-town bridesmaids to find a dress for them. Now, mind you, I have TEN bridesmaids. Some people hear that and think I'm crazy, but quite honestly, I can't imagine not having all these girls stand up with me on the most important day of my life. 

Having so many bridesmaids has been challenging because *of course* I want them all to wear the same dress. I see other brides who have mismatched dresses, or let the girls pick their own color and style, and they look beautiful! But for some reason, it just doesn't "go". It doesn't quite fit my vision. I realize that this can be tricky, but I was determined to make it work.

We got to the salon and I told the 4 girls to go nuts, pull whatever they liked and try 'em on! My only request was no chiffon. For some reason, I hate this fabric! Anyway, I figured we'd try on a few dresses, pick the winner and head to lunch and enjoy some wine. Boy was I wrong.

They tried on one-shoulder dresses, dresses with ruching and ruffles, strapless dresses, crumbcatcher dresses, pleated dresses, halter dresses, satin, taffeta....and nothing. Like, honest to goodness, we didn't like any of them.  Sensing my frustration, the sales girl brought over a couple of ---- gasp ---- chiffon dresses. At that point, I would have tried anything. And guess what?!

Success!! The dresses looked gorgeous and everyone felt comfortable in them. So now we have two winners! I have another 6 weeks before we need to make a decision, but for now, here is the front runner!

It is a Bill Levkoff, style 521, but we will order it in navy chiffon with a navy sash.

Did anyone else have to let go of what they thought they wanted? Has anyone else had any luck with finding one dress for multiple girls?

With this ring...

The story behind choosing my wedding band is of course, full of drama. I mean, this is about my wedding...it wouldn't be normal if something didn't go wrong!

Because of the setting of my engagement ring, I knew that I would either need to have a curved band that fit nicely under my ring, or one that went straight across and didn't "fit" exactly.

I turned to a jeweler friend, who agreed to custom design my band. We looked at metals, diamonds, and took measurements. Finally we decided on a design and an inscription, I put down a deposit and she ordered the materials. Now all I had to do was wait! And I waited. And waited. Almost a month passed. Where was my ring?? Even my jeweler was stumped, it should have been back already. After a few phone calls, she came into my office with the most somber face. Oh no. This could not be good news! Turns out the ring had been sent back by the engraver---weeks before---and signed by someone else in the building. It took a couple of minutes for this information to sink in, but essentially, someone stole my one-of-a-kind, engraved wedding band. I think I was more upset about the idea that someone could steal a wedding ring than over the fact that it was really gone! :(

In the end, she was able to get a replacement ring made and I had it in my hands (on my finger??) within a week. So all's well that ends well. Want to see a picture of it? Of course you do!

My e-ring with the band!

The band alone, courtesy of Mahri

 

 

 

I know that this is probably not the last of the drama we will face, but I'm grateful that this got all sorted out! Did anyone else have issues with their wedding day jewelry??

Things I am thankful for...

I can't believe how quickly time is passing. Here we are winding down our long Thanksgiving weekend. From Thanksgiving right through my birthday, time flies very quickly. This year is no exception especially considering I am mere WEEKS away from graduating college. Yep, that's right...in just about three weeks I will officially be done with school. I never thought this day would come!

http://happy-pictures.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Happy-Dance7.gif

 

I graduated highschool at 17, and that fall enrolled in a local community college and graduated with my associates degree about 2 1/2 years later. Then, I took a break. It was only supposed to be for one semester, maybe two, but that quickly turned into years.  Before I knew it, I was turning 25 and finally getting around to finishing school. Honestly, aside from feeling like I am the oldest person to get a Bachelor's degree, I don't normally regret my time off. It was during this time that I moved across the country, met some amazing people and gained some valuable work experience. Going back to school at the age I was, made me appreciate my education even more. Especially since I was paying for it! I've worked my butt off these last couple of years, taking 3-4 classes a semester while working full-time and juggling all the other responsibilities I have. I've gotten used to being crazy busy, not sleeping and running around like a mad woman. But I am really looking forward to having my life back!

I'm sure it will be an adjustment for Keith and I, since the whole time we've been together, I've been in school. Part of me worries that he'll get sick of me being around every night or that I will go stir crazy without papers to write and research to do. :) Thankfully I have wedding projects to occupy my time for now :)

I'm especially proud of this achievement because of what it means to me. Education is something that no one can ever take from you, and it makes me feel so great knowing that I'll be able to share this with our kids one day. This year has been an intense one. Try getting engaged and planning a wedding while finishing up your last two semesters :) But I am so incredibly grateful. Every year my life becomes richer, more fuller and amazing than the last. Closing this chapter of my life means that something else is right around the corner and I can't WAIT to see what it is!

What things are you grateful for/looking forward to this holiday season?

Once in a while.....

...in the middle of an ordinary life, love hands us a fairytale.

I don't think that I've written yet about the amazing man that will be marrying us exactly 8 months from today!

When Keith and I got engaged, we knew that we wanted to be married in a Catholic Church, but we weren't sure which one. Up until our engagement, going to church was never really something that we thought much about. Sure, we believed and considered ourselves spiritual people, but we just weren't that kind of go-to-church-every-Sunday kind of people. But of course, when we first called St. Patrick Parish, the first thing they told us was "go to Mass". In fact, the Deacon wouldn't even meet with us until after we had attended. He said "come to Mass this Sunday and then come find me after and we'll chat". So that Sunday, off to church we went. (It was literally a stone's throw from our house! Why had we not come before??) The Mass was beautiful and the church even more so. I knew instantly that this was the church I wanted to be married in. This was a parish that I wanted to be a part of.

We met with Deacon FD after that first Mass, and were even more convinced that not only was this the right church, but this was the right guy. He made us feel at ease, he was warm, loving, kind and down to earth. We booked our date that day and he sent us on our way.

About a month later, we had our second meeting with him. It was during this meeting when he asked us questions about our relationship, our upbringing, our family's involvement in our lives, ect. When he asked us how we met, he kind of paused and said "hold that thought, I'll be right back" and left the room. (Now for those of you who don't know, and I promise I will post about this at some point!! Keith and I met at a Dierks Bentley/Brad Paisley concert in June of 2009)  I looked at Keith, kind of perplexed, wondering what on earth he was going to do. And then a few minutes later he reappears in the room wearing a cowboy hat with the name "Brad Paisley" across the front.  And he says "I was at that same concert with my wife and daughters!" When I tell you I was speechless, I mean that my jaw was on the ground and my arms were covered in goosebumps. I absolutely could not believe it. I had always said that I felt that Keith and I were meant-to-be. It had to have been fate that we were at the same place, at the same time, at the right time in our lives for us to meet. And to find out that same night, somewhere in the crowd, was the man who would eventually marry us. It was more than fate. I truly believe that all the events in my life leading up that day, prepared me to meet the love of my life. I hope he feels that same. Kidding :)

Along the path of wedding planning, there has absolutely been some stressful, tense moments. But in our meetings with Deacon FD, we are reminded of why we are doing this and that our love is something that is truly meant to be celebrated. We are so blessed.

The dress diaries: Take a chance or play it safe?

Ok, so while this post IS wedding related, it is not related to my wedding. Today, BM AP and I went wedding dress shopping!

AP is getting married just 6 weeks after Keith and I, and it has been so much fun having someone to do wedding-related activities with. Today, we went to the same salon where I bought my dress.  I really loved the experience I had there, and my consultant was phenomenal. She listens and understands and just "gets" it. After working with countless brides, she really knows her stuff. With AP, boy did she knock it out of the park!

She tried on probably close to a dozen dresses and at the end of the hour, had three very strong contenders. We quickly narrowed those down to two. And then the dilemma began. Both gowns looked ah-mazing on her. They hugged her curves in all the right places, put emphasis on her tiny waist and more importantly, made her glow. Success! The problem, as I'm sure you know, is that you can only have one dress. Well sure, you could have more (ahem, Kim Kardashian) but for AP, and the rest of us who can't afford $17 million weddings, only wanted one. But which one??

We loved them both for different reasons, the first one was more of a wildcard, and my personal favorite. The second was more of her favorite, in part because it was such a classic, gorgeously simplistic style. She said it reminded her of my dress. Awww. I think I leaned toward the other because it didn't remind me of mine. Funny huh? The bottom line is, at the end of the day, it's her choice. She chose to sleep on it, and come back next Saturday with the rest of her bridal party to make her decision.

I made mine 4 1/2 months ago. Some days I doubt if I made the right one and I wonder if I played it too safe. Should I have taken more of a chance and chosen a dress with more of a "wow" factor? Or will I look back 20 years from now and see my dress as timeless, classic and always in style? My dress hasn't come in yet, so it's hard to say how I really feel about it. I do have some changes up my sleeve and a great seamstress at the ready, and I think once it's all said and done I'll be happy.

And whatever dress AP chooses, when those church doors open and she walks down that aisle, she is going to look stunning.

Because there really is nothing more beautiful than a glowing bride on her wedding day! :)