Let Them Eat Cake

(So says Marie...)

While I love the process of picking DIY projects, picking the dress, and picking the flowers for our wedding, I would have to say picking the food takes the cake (geez I'm lame, but I couldn't resist!). I think the main reason for this, is that its not all about me. This is the aspect of the wedding that is focused on the guests, and that my fella is most excited and eager to plan. While we haven't been able to go out to sample all of the options at our venue, we have been able to sample potential cake vendors, courtesy of many birthday celebrations. Right now, our two top picks are A Taste of Elegance and Dorothy Lane Market. Both are incredibly tasty, and very reasonably priced. So, how to choose? I guess we'll just have to keep on trying the cakes until we figure it out. It will be tough, but it is a sacrifice we're willing to make.














Both bakeries have beautiful looking cakes as well as yummy tasting, making the decision even tougher. So until we settle on both a design and flavors, I'll continue to browse online (the two above from The Knot are ones that strike my fancy). And although we don't have our cake exactly pinned down, we do have a cake topper, which is something, right?!

A Party For My Pretty Maids!

Like most brides, for me planning my wedding is one of the most exciting things, ever. For my bridesmaids, however, not so much. But they have all been so supportive and so involved over the past few months of planning. Pouring over magazines, debating between blush pink vs. rosebud, beading vs. lace... and typically tend to let me prattle on.

So I've decided to host a spa night for them in a couple months, as a way for them to both get to know each other, and as my way of saying thank you! The Spa Night I'm hosting is through Beauticontrol & In-Home Spas, and was at a recent Bridal Show I went to. They have different themes: Girls' Night Out, Margarita, Bride-to-be,etc. They even send out invites for you, and accommodate a group as small as 4 or as large as 25.

Not only will this be a great way for me to say thanks to the girls, but I'll get to really test my DIY chops. I've always enjoyed little projects for Birthdays, Christmas, etc. but I've never done little projects for 100-200 people. So I've decided to try and incorporate DIY for this little fete!

I am a card/invite fanatic, I just love little notes and cute designs, so in addition to the invites that Megan (my spa consultant) will send out, I'll be sending out cards, both to remind them of the party but just to catch up as well. For these, I love, love, love quotable cards, and my girls are well aware of this, so it will be an appropriate little gesture. Here are some of my favorites:

I also want to try and find some brooches for the girls. Their dresses have a sash, and I hope to have them wrapped and pinned, with each girl having a different brooch. I really like this one from The Knot. As a gift at the party, I'm thinking of doing a shadow box for each one, or a little favor bag, and wrapping the sash around the present like a bow with the brooch on top.

If I don't end up sending the girls the quotable cards, or if I decide to send out thank you notes afterwards, I've been wanting to try to do envelope liners like these featured in Martha Stewart Weddings, Summer 2007. They're cute and creative, and add a special subtle touch, and something my girls would appreciate.

Our Time And Our Clothes Gotta Coordinate

Earlier in the summer I fell in love with the Ann Taylor Celebrations Collection, but was a little put off by the price, I know at just under $200, they aren't exorbitantly priced, however, I'm trying to remember the perspective of my girls. My two younger sisters are in the wedding party, and with one getting ready to go off to college and the other in her early teen years, $200 sounds like a lot. This concern isn't just with my sisters, one of my maids will be in three weddings next summer, and that's an awful lot to spend on dresses you may not be able to wear again.

So just imagine my excitement when these dresses went on sale, and I'm talking huge sale! I hopped to it, and was able to get all 6 of my maids their dresses for about $75! Here are the pictures of the dresses I ended up choosing...


The color of the dress is called Meadow Green, and the underlay on the bottom dress is Honeydew. My four bridesmaids will be wearing the dress on the left with a honeydew sash tied around the waist. For my 13-year old sister who is my Jr. Bridesmaid, I wanted something with straps so I chose the dress below for her, she'll also wear a honeydew sash. And the last dress with the jacquard print is the dress that my MOH will wear, probably with a honeydew sash as well. I love that they're all wearing dresses in the same color, but with some variation in the style.



Now that we have the girls' dresses set, Brandon and I have started looking into something snazzy for the fellas. We're definitely going with tuxes, but he might want striped ties and solid vests for the groomsmen and himself. Something like this striped one from The Knot is a favorite of both of us. Especially since the colors are very similar to our own palette. I think if we went color for the tie, it would definitely be striped. But I'm also particularly partial to the charcoal one on the left, which is also from The Knot. It just looks so clean, simple, and classic. We'll probably choose white for Brandon, and black for the boys.

Lucky 13

Our Wedding Date... there was a lot of flip-flopping when we tried to decide when to have our wedding. The original date(s) were sometime in mid-July, but with potentially humid weather those dates got the ax. Moving it back to June, we shot for the middle, and picked June 14th. Everything fell into place... except the reception site we wanted! Rather than try to move to another week, we decided to just move it back a day, and are going to be married on Friday the 13th. I guess its a good thing that the only Superstition in my life is a little Stevie Wonder!

Superstitions aside, I'm glad we went with a Friday, and would recommend it if all/most of your guests can make it. That way you can have a day in between the wedding and leaving for the honeymoon to have a nice brunch with your family, open presents, or just sit around and relax. It can also make things more affordable, venues may be willing to negotiate their rates on Fridays. The Knot has a nice little article on dates to avoid that can also be helpful.

Beginning to Blog...

Hello! Since our June wedding is fast approaching and I've been inspired by so many wedding ideas I've stumbled upon online, I figured I should start blogging about our wedding plans. As you may have already guessed from the "Buckeye Bride" and "Ohio is for (Wedding) Lovers", my fiance (Brandon) and I hail from the Midwest. Or you may not have guessed it, I may have told you about the site, and that's why your here! Either way, I hope you enjoy reading about our planning adventures.

I suppose I'll start with a bit of background about ourselves. My fella and I are from a suburb called Centerville in Southwest Ohio. We graduated highschool together, and even suffered through an American History class together, and although I had a thing for him in highschool, we didn't really become friends or start dating until we ended up at the same college together 2.5 hours away from home. We've been dating for five(ish) years, and got engaged over Easter weekend this past spring. I just graduated from the University of Toledo in May, with a dual degree in English Lit and Law & Social Thought. I'm currently doing a year long internship in college campus ministry here at UT, and I'm loving it! Brandon is finishing up his Doctorate in Pharmacy, and will graduate this May, then we're getting married a month later! Afterwards, we're off... somewhere Boston, Chicago, Dayton, Columbus, Lansing... depending on where I get in for grad school.

We're sports fans, I'm a book nerd/he's a science nerd, and we love to travel. We've started some of the planning for our wedding, and have most of the big stuff (venue, photographer, dj) figured out, but I'm excited to start working on the details, and infusing our personalities into our big day.