Ohio is for {Wedding} Lovers

Edible Arrangements

2008-03-06T08:39:00.000-08:00

I saw a commercial the other day for Edible Arrangements, and almost started drooling on my TV screen.

They're adorable "flower" arrangements made out of fruit. They use mostly strawberries, pineapple, cantaloupe, bananas, and grapes. Some of the arrangements even feature chocolate covered fruits, like this one on the left with bananas dipped in a white and dark chocolate combo. How delicious sounding!

I think these delectable florals are pleasing to the eye, as well as the stomach. They would make adorable arrangements for a Bridal Shower or Engagement Party, and could function as both the centerpiece and fruit tray. Although if I were a guest, I don't think I'd have the heart to eat something so pretty and creative!

Take That Grad Schools!

2008-02-26T20:05:00.000-08:00

After months of applications, recommendations, transcripts and resumes I have finally finished all of my graduate school applications and internship applications! Thank. God.

Let There Be Light!

2008-02-23T23:44:00.000-08:00

But, it has to be soft light, thankyouverymuch.

A couple months ago I was at Pier One with some co-workers browsing for some hurricane vases for an event we were having, when low and behold I stumbled upon the most perfect candles for my reception tables. It was a rare moment indeed, and I'd long ago lost hope that I would find a candle that encompassed all that I wanted in a candle. Sounds a bit neurotic, eh? How can I be that picky about candles you ask?

Here's how. I knew I didn't want tea lights. They would burn out before the cocktail hour was even finished, and the vast majority are plain and white. Votives are only a step above, lasting maybe through dinner, and I demand more of my candles. But this is where I get all Goldilocks, because while tea lights and votives are too small, but pillar candles are too big. But these candles I found are just right.

(Please excuse the absurdly blurry picture, it was too bright with the flash though!)

Perfect, right? They look like the Andre the Giant of tea lights, ( 2.5 inches tall and 3 inches wide) same shape and all, but in a wonderfully complimentary green shade, which seem to effortlessly mesh with my color scheme.

This particular scent pictured is crisp bamboo. A third of the candles we bought are this scent while we also purchased equal amounts of Citrus Cilantro (a different shade of green) and Aspen Flower (white).

We're putting two of these candles on each table, and I plan on getting pillar candles in each of the scents to decorate the rest of the reception space. I'm thinking about having some tables with candles and rose petals spread out for "ambiance". My FI laughs when I tell him I want "ambiance tables", but I think they really soften the look of the space and make it seem more romantic. I'll probably use them up by the bar and on the cake table. Here's my original inspiration from The Knot Real Weddings.

Costume Change

2008-02-21T23:35:00.000-08:00

For awhile, I was in a flutter trying to figure out two important elements of our E-pics. Where were they going to be, and what was I going to wear?

We ended up deciding that we wanted them at a couple different places, and would wear a couple different outfits; something a little dressed up and something more casual, but I wanted both outfits to be a little playful (at least mine anyways!).

The first location we're going to take pics at is called Benham's Grove, and is an historic farmhouse estate, 8 beautifully landscaped acres, right in the middle of our town. Its a location I considered for the wedding and rehersal dinner, but its too small for the wedding and was able to find a more affordable and (almost) equally lovely location for the rehersal dinner.

This is a shot of the Gerber House and Cottage. I wish I had some closer shots, but there's a lovely little garden, and below is a picture of the little fountain in the middle of the property.

And now for the wonderfully agonizing decision of what to wear. I knew I wanted something a bit dressed up for Benham's Grove and something a bit more casual for Grater's, and here's what I came up with, all courtesy of J.Crew (I've always loved their clothes, but its just weird how much of my wedding related stuff I'm getting from there!).

I'm going to wear a black cropped shrug over the dress, and FI is going to wear charcoal colored dress pants and a black dress shirt, so we'll be lookin' pretty swanky. I'm going back home next week, and will hopefully take some pics and eat some ice cream (all in the name of wedding research) at the quaint little ice cream parlor where we'll do the second part of our e-pics.

O, True Apothecary...

2008-02-20T08:50:00.000-08:00

...apologies to Billy, this isn't a post on a tragic, torrid love affair, but wedding favors. My bad.

I love the idea of a candy buffet at the reception, I know its an idea that has lost its novelty in the Wedding world, but I'm willing to bet that the majority of my guests either haven't heard of it, or haven't been to a wedding with one. So my initial fears that my guests would think I am unoriginal, was really Much Ado About Nothing (last Shakespeare reference, I promise, at least for this post). I love Knottie Suzebride's candy buffet, and used it as my initial inspiration, both for the color and candy choice.

FI was a bit uncertain, until we bought four of these apothecary jars at Kohl's for about $8 each, and got the other one for 40% off at Michael's. I'm hoping these five will be enough, since we're still doing cake and (hopefully) ice cream from Graeter's.

I've been scouring the internet for bulk candy, and believe we'll end up ordering from Candywarehouse. There are soooo many options to chose from, in the end, I think we'll go with candy that's close to our colors, and try to do a mix of fruity and chocolaty, so we'll hopefully please all our guests' palettes. here are some of the candy contenders:

Living in a dream world, I would love to get these green & pink lollipops as well, but it would break the bank to get as many as we need. And I couldn't just put out 25 or so, could I? But still, they're so cute!

Inspiration for the candy buffet is everywhere, but I found the Knot Bio dedicated to the candy buffet to be incredibly helpful. Any other areas of inspiration I should check out?

Fancy Feet

2008-02-19T23:11:00.000-08:00

The saga of the bridesmaid shoe.

As though finding a consensus among 6 girls for a dress weren't enough (actually, my girls are pretty easy to please), now I have to find some sort of appropriate shoe. I thought I had a shoe picked out for them, from Blue Tux Shoes, but I thought having them dyed would be such a hassle, especially for the price and the fact that they aren't likely to wear those particular shoes again.

So I decided metallic was the way to go, and began searching for either gold or silver shoes, but many were too glitzy and sparkly, I was hoping for a muted color. While I was searching for said shoes, I stumbled upon these taupe heels from Target.

The bow is actually sage green, not taupe, which you can sort of tell from this picture. Its actually very close to the Ann Taylor Celebrations Collection shade of Honeydew, and complements the Meadow Green as well, which are the colors of my BM sashes and dresses respectively. On top of that, they're only $20, which means the cost of my BMs Wedding Day attire is less than $100!

Here's a picture of the Honeydew sash with the shoes. Pretty close, don't you think?

Going, Going, Gone!

2008-02-17T23:34:00.000-08:00

My mind that is.

I don't know what my problem is lately! I've been so scatter-brained. I mailed out my Valentines for the Weddingbee Valentine's Swap early enough so they would get there by Thursday, except I didn't use enough postage, d'oh! Forgot that square envelopes require additional postage, so now they'll get there, um, almost a week late.

I also keep trying to download pictures from my camera, but forget to charge my battery, causing my camera to shut down in the middle of the download.

And this one's just silly... trying to get a hold of my florist to schedule a consult... the week of Valentine's Day. Yea, I bet she's a bit busy, she did, however, call and leave me a voicemail, but I'll just wait and call her tomorrow or Tuesday.

Is it bad that I'm ready for Monday? Maybe I'll be a bit less flighty.

Toilet Paper Rolls: A Must Have For Any Wedding

2008-02-13T21:41:00.000-08:00

When I first told my FI that I wanted to some of the elements for our wedding to be DIY to add a personal touch and save some money, he agreed... and actually thought it would be a great idea. What I don't think that he realized, was that my neurosis would kick in to high gear or that I would be so very scavenger-like in my attempt to do these projects. Exhibit A: saving our TP rolls. I got this idea from Weddingbee bride Mrs. Strawberry to use TP rolls for ecofetti or lavender buds.

(The ones on the left were the actual ones the Strawberries used the day of and the ones on the right were prototypes)

She had a couple posts where she talks about using ecofetti and also had a post about how the entire thing panned out. And I must say, it turns out quite lovely. So, with nothing better to do on New Year's Eve we invited over a couple of friends and fashioned up a couple of our own prototype tp ecofetti rolls, with rather successful results.

Here we have my lovely bridesmaid JT being all crafty. We did a couple different paper and ribbon combos, and tried out a couple different lengths. I would definitely recommend wrapping paper or scrapbook paper over the tissue paper, it can be a bit pricier but the results are so much nicer. Our favorites were definitely the Martha Stewart wrapping paper that we found on clearance at Michael's for $1 a roll, which saved me some serious ca$hmoney. Here are the end results of our collective craftiness. I think we definitely prefer the longer ones, they look a bit better, but the short ones are adorable too.

Sparkly Details

2008-02-08T15:05:00.000-08:00

Now that I have shoes for the wedding day, I want to find some equally fabulous jewelry to go with them. Initially, I planned on wearing the pearl necklace and earrings FI bought for my birthday a few years ago, from a boutique out in Las Vegas called Agatha, which is a jewelry boutique originally based in France. Needless to say, I love that set, its simple classic and understated... kind of like my dress, which has a lace applique across the bust and bodice. So I began to wonder, since my dress has more of an understated look should I amp up the jewelry?

I first had other ideas when I came across Knottie Mrs Reem Avenue's profile, and she was wearing this absolutely beautiful bracelet. All of her jewelry was gorgeous, but this bracelet in particular struck my fancy.

My initial impression was: gorgeous but a bit big for my style and personality. Then I come to find out via the most popular Wedding websites, that its a Haute Bride bracelet, and not just a Haute Bride Bracelet, but pretty much infamous and highly coveted. Oh. I had no clue! So I started searching for something similar, but not as big or pricey. I was pretty smitten with the Haute Bride line of jewerly. There weren't any local boutiques in my area (slim pickings here in the midwest sometimes) and found a couple different online sites that carry their jewelry.

The first one I stumbled across was Perfect Details. They carry several different lines of designer jewelry, Haute Bride among them. And I found these lovely earrings and bracelet. I love that the bracelet is as beautiful as the bracelet with 5 strings of pearls, but smaller and less expensive. Which definitely fits my personality AND my budget. And although both pieces are a bit more sparkly than I would typically wear, if there were one day to go all out, wouldn't my wedding day be it?

These same pieces and others are also available at the online boutique Leftbank Jewelry, as well as other Haute Bride pieces. The Perfect Details website offers returns on their pieces that aren't custom made, and Leftbank Jewelry offers a return policy on their items as well.

Such Great Heights

2008-02-07T14:38:00.000-08:00

My FI is a (sort of) genetic miracle. His mother is maybe 5', as is everyone else on her side of the family, and I'll give his dad the benefit of the doubt and say he's 5'8 but is the tallest by several inches on that side. So I guess its pretty a-mazing that FI is 5'9 or 5'10. I'm about 5'6, and have never had a problem with the somewhat slim height difference, even when I wear heels. But then once we got engaged, I started wondering should I try to preserve those precious 3 inches?

During the first part of our engagement, I became convinced that I wanted to be shorter, and did some low to mid-heel sleuthing. But I began to realize that I prefer a taller heel, all of the shoes I remotely liked (with a few exceptions), were clocking in at 3 inches or so. The first pair that I really adored, were the Kenneth Cole Rich n' Post shoes, I rather fancy the champagne and silver satin ones.

I really liked these shoes, and was rather partial to the bow on the side, but I wanted something a little more sparkly, but not glittery everywhere. So I thought I might buy some sort of brooch or earring set and affix them to the shoes, something like these earrings from White Aisle

Then, I fell in love, as I am prone to do, which solidified my decision to wear higher heels. And these babies will kick me up about 3 inches, and I'm totally fine with that, because they are gawrgeous!

Please excuse the inordinately large picture of the shoes. Its just because I love them. They're from J.Crew, which isn't much of a surprise, as I tend to be pretty smitten with most of their things, but these I really love. When looking at other shoes, I was somewhat non-committal, they looked nice but if I'm going to have a dress that is "the one" then I want to have the same for my fab footwear. I simply adore the bow and open toe, and like that they have a little extra sparkle without looking as though I went on a Bedazzler frenzy. The added bonus is that I would definitely wear these shoes loooong after the wedding. The one caveat? They're a bit pricier than I anticipated for wedding shoes, but I'm sure I'll talk myself into buying them within the next week.

BEE my LOVEBUG

2008-02-06T16:28:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and although the FI and I aren't prone to massive celebrations on this day, I just recently discovered this adorable gourmet & artisan chocolates called John & Kira's. They have the most precious chocolates in the shape of bees and ladybugs.

Pretty cute, no? The bee chocolates are filled with caramel and the lady/love bugs are filled with a dark chocolate ganache, um drool. I've decided for Valentine's Day to get FI a box of chocolates (but let's face it its as much for me as it is for him!). I bought the "Bee Hive Tower", which includes the yummy caramel-filled bees, as well as a 15 piece set of their every flavor box. What's additionally lovely about snacking on these delectable treats, is that the only thing you have to feel guilty about is the calories! Most of their flavor chocolates come from some sort of socially responsible background. The mint for the mint chocolate is grown by elementary and highschool age kids in Philadelphia as part of a nutrition program, the Strawberries & Raspberries are from a small family-owned farm, and their chocolate with coffee beans is bought through a fair trade program.

Not only do they have adorable, tasty and socially responsible chocolates, but they also sell them as favors! You can order favors in 2 or 4 piece sets, that are individually wrapped and tied with a bow (how cute!). I think they're adorable, but a bit out of our price range for favors, but still, it never hurts to look.

You Wish You Were My Bridesmaid!

2008-02-05T22:30:00.000-08:00

I have a profound admiration for bridesmaids, all of them really. It takes a true blue friend to be a bridesmaid. Its easy to be happy for someone when they tell you they're getting married, but its an entirely different thing to get sucked into the bride's world of planning. Its also an expensive thing to boot. You figure with attire, a shower gift, a bachelorette party gift a wedding gift, and all the travel expenses for any or all of these things can equal some serious ca$hmoney.

I not only have a profound admiration for MY bridesmaids, but a whole lotta love. That's why I'm going to try them as much as I can, and here are some of the things that I'd like to do for my lovely ladies.

I've always liked the idea of giving gifts in a tote bag, and was going to get the uber-popular L.L. Bean tote bags, when I spotted these trendy little bags at Old Navy.

But now that I've gotten them these lovely bags, I have to fill them with something. I decided that I would fill them with a few different things, but try to stay reasonable with the amount that I spent. I previously posted about the brooches the girls will be wearing the day of, but here are a couple of them again, they're all from the fabulous online store White Aisle which has lots of amazing wedding things from invites to jewelry to socially conscious sashes. I love that all of the brooches are similarly made of pearls and crystals, but each have their own distinctive look. This way all of my girls have a slightly different detail to this accessory.

The next gift for my girls is probably my favorite. I was feeding my daily Weddingbee addiction last week, when I came across Miss Hydrangea's post on these lovely bouquet crosses from Room Service Home. I thought these were both beautiful and incredibly meaningful gifts.

This first set, is from 2007 and represents Faith, Hope, and Love. The set below represent Purity, Strength, and Beauty. There is one of each that perfectly represents each bridesmaid, and I was thinking of getting these and attaching a little note that says what their own cross represents, and why I chose it for them.

When I first thought about gifts for the girls, I decided that flip flops were a must. They're not much, but will be much appreciated after a day of 3 inch heels. So I bought 6 pairs of shimmery white flip flops from Old Navy. I'll probably tie a green bow on them (of course, they have to match!) and a little note. Something little that I'd also like to include are these button soaps and sachets from White Aisle that are, well cute as a button!

Marooned

2008-01-24T09:40:00.000-08:00

So. Sad.

Over the holidays, I stopped by our Country Club reception site with FI and FILs, and since we'd last been in the summer, they've redone the carpet. Before, it was a medium shade of gray, there probably couldn't be anything less offensive. It had a bit of green shade to it as well, which again, not so offensive as our wedding colors are predominantly shades of green. But alas, that's all changed now. The new carpet color? Maroon. Maybe Burgundy. I'm not really sure what you'd specifically call the color, all I know is that it is DEFINITELY not in keeping with our wedding colors. How dare they, right? (totally kidding, although it is a bit disheartening)

This is the bar area before, its still a very beautiful space, and the large windows, and high ceilings will help take some of the attention off the carpeting. In all honestly, I'm actually not really too upset, I prefer to think of it more as a challenge. People don't really look at the floor anyways, and I'm trying to think of more creative ways to decorate the space so that it draws the eye upward.

The first thing I've come up with is the tried and true canopy that the Club already offers . But I definitely want to have a little more decoration on and around it. So, I plan on employing another of the most popular wedding trends, the played out but oh so adorable paper lanterns. The pictures above are from The Knot, but I think there are a few too, ok, way too many paper lanterns for my taste in the picture on the right. But still, I'm rather fond of how they make any space seem playful, and will definitely draw attention away from the floor.

I'm thinking of getting a few flower balls made to put up with the lanterns, kind of like the pomanders that flower girls carry, only these would be bigger, like Flower Girl Pomanders on 'roids. Or, I have a growing fondness for the Martha Stewart Paper Pom Poms. I like the mixture of paper poms, lanterns and flowers, and that they're all varying shapes and textures, but still spherical.

Out of City, Out of Mind?

2008-01-16T14:28:00.000-08:00

I love love love getting mail. There's nothing more exciting than that feeling I get when I open my mailbox and letters, magazines, postcards, and yes, even junk mail come tumbling out. Its the highlight of my day, because someone, somewhere cares (even if it is a salesman trying to sell me something I don't want today).

But, today I got something in the mail that made my heart skip a beat, it was a fabulous little post card for the Veils & Cocktails event on January 30th held by Fabulous-Bridal Boutique, The Madison & Cincinnati Wedding. But, le sigh... I live over 3 hours away, which is a bit much for a Wednesday. Not that there aren't bridal shows in my area, but they're normally at the same place and have no illusions of grandeur... and there are only so many vendors that are really helpful up here since I'm having my wedding so far away.

I suppose for now I'll just have to live vicariously through the posts of brides like Miss Penguin and Miss Cherry Blossom on the Weddingbee, since I can't make it home for something a little bit swanky. So, I'll leave you with some pics of the lovely things I will be missing in a few weeks...

(all images courtesy of Fabulous-Bridal)

Double Duty

2008-01-14T13:01:00.000-08:00

I was just listening to Ingrid Michaelson's song Overboard, and it got me thinking...

I love my fiance and I love my job, I probably love both a little too much. So I guess I shouldn't complain that I am fortunate to be in such a predicament, but sometimes its a bit overwhelming. I'm sure every bride experiences (at least a little) that overwhelming feeling of trying to merge two lives together. I'm not just talking about my fiance and I, but rather, my personal life and my work life.

I work in College Campus Ministry which is a life consuming job, but in the best way possible. There is a lot of office work and paper work involved in my job, but there are infinitiely more things that I love about what I do. I facilitate a seminar class on Christian Leadership, and work with a dozen college sophomores each week, as well as help plan events for the students at our parish. I typically work 7 days a week, and although I'm only "clocked in" for 40 hours or so a week, I tend to be here upwards of 50 or 60. While I go home feeling physically and emotionally drained, I also feel so energized by what I do. This is normally fine, since I live by myself and my FI had out-of -town internships 2 of the past 4 months for his final year of Pharmacy School, but now he's back for the rest of his internships, and I initially had a hard time balancing my work life with our relationship (I tend to be a bit independent).

I love going home and cooking dinner with him, curling up with a glass of wine, watching a movie and taking games of Monopoly and Scrabble far too seriously. But I have a hard time pulling myself away from work in the evenings, because it often doesn't feel like "work" to me. It hasn't really caused any problems, he's so understanding and supportive of my passion for my work, and patient when I'm a bit late meeting up after work.

But I can't help but think that it probably won't always be this way. And what about when we have kids? We aren't totally unprepared for this part of marriage, we've both agreed that we both want to be actively involved in raising our kids, but both of us need something outside of that home life, so we're both open to working part-time. But I know I secretly hope sometimes that the part-timer isn't me, while other times I could see myself staying at home full-time... at least for a little while.

Ultimately, I know that some sort of balance has to be achieved (and will). But right now, the scale is tipped in the work direction, with our engagement as a time to tease out a balance between the two.

Meadow Green is to Leaf as Honeydew is to Sage

2008-01-06T22:42:00.000-08:00

I received all the paper for our invites two days ago, and they perfectly coordinate with the color of my BM dresses! We ordered the dresses from Ann Taylor and the invite materials from Paper Source. I wanted something that would coordinate, but the similarity between the colors is uncanny. I keep pulling out the sashes to compare them to the paper, and still can't believe it. We've just about got the wording finalized for our invites so hopefully I'll get started on those sometime this week.

Sweet Escape

2008-01-03T21:30:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't love a happy ending? "They lived happily ever after..." or "Riding off into the sunset". Sure these scenarios aren't all that realistic, but they sure are romantic.

And for this reason, I would love to do the sending-off at the end of the reception. I think its such a beautiful and classic throwback to weddings of "years gone by", and definitely needs to be brought back. I'd love to tweak it a bit, and maybe mix a bit of vintage with a bit of modern. Maybe using a new song and changing into a vintage dress at the end of the reception for the sending-off.

For the song, I love the idea of rolling out after playing something like Gwen Stefani's The Sweet Escape. Its such a fun, playful song... and perfectly titled to boot!

Of course I need an equally cute and playful dress to go along with the song! Here are some options that I love... but in my indecisiveness haven't committed to yet. These first two are from the Vintage Clothing site Vintageous.

These next two are from the website Posh Girl Vintage and are also very adorable, and are the kind of style I'm looking for.

This final dress is one that I saw on ebay, and is probably my favorite since I've started browsing for a sending-off dress. But alas, bidding has ended on it, so I hope that it won't be too hard to find a similar style. I love the vintage look, but I'm always a sucker for a sweetheart neckline.

My Glass Slippers

2007-12-17T22:37:00.000-08:00

(Photo Courtesy of Yahoo!Movies)

Cinderella made it look so easy, she just slipped on the glass slipper and knew it was perfect. I on the other hand, am having no such luck. I've started looking for Wedding shoes and sometimes feel as though I'm searching in vain. There are days when I look, and it seems like nothing is right, but there other days when I see half a dozen pairs that I think are adorable.

I have some criteria for what I want, but I'm even wishy-washy on those too! I'm almost as tall as my FI, but he has a good 3 inches on me, so I think I'd prefer a lower heel for comfort and to not be too tall. But, at the same time being taller than him on the Wedding day doesn't really bother me or him. Low or High Heels? Open-toed or Closed-toed? White/Ivory or Metallic? All are good questions... that I don't have answers to! At some point I've flip-flopped (hmmm... flip flops, yet another choice?) between them all!

I didn't really think about shoes for the wedding until I was perusing the Real Weddings section of The Knot and came across these fab shoes. I thought that the bow was a bit over the top, but also really adorable... and then when I found out that they were Kate Spade, my heart sank. Because although Kate Spade makes adorable shoes, they ain't cheap! Especially at about $250, yikes! I am quite the shoe addict, but I don't need them that bad.

But, I kept looking... and ended up finding them on ebay (glorious, glorious ebay!), as well as another pair of Kate Spade Shoes that I loved, and they were both much cheaper than the retail price. The ones above are the Kate Spade Nuptial Shoes, and these ones below are the Kate Spade Monarch Shoes.

I think both are adorable, but I'm not sure if I want close-toed shoes like the Nuptial ones, and the Monarch ones are a bit high... I would probably prefer a lower heel.

In addition to Kate Spade, J.Crew's shoes have also stolen my heart. There's a few different styles that I absolutely love, which isn't surprising because J.Crew shoes are normally either what I'm pining after, or my latest case of buyer's remorse.

This first pair is similar to the Kate Spade Nuptial Shoes. Its closed toe, lower heel, with a big bow (not quite as big)... this is also another one that can be found on ebay if you look at the right time. This image below is from The Knot.

I don't now if I'm sold on these next shoes for the entire day, they're cute satin ballet flats that I would maybe switch into for the reception if I end up going with high heels for the Ceremony, and are also from J.Crew.

And finally... I've saved the best for last. When I first started looking for shoes, I looked only at white satin... but I was perusing J.Crew (again, I'm obsessed) and thought, why not metallic? These ones are definitely the front runner. I love that they're metallic gold, its a bit different. I have considered some bold or bright color, but I must confess I might be too chicken to wear something bright. So without further ado, here's my favorite...

And now... I'm waiting. I'm hoping that they will either go down a bit more in price, or that I'll get a J.Crew gift card for Christmas, or that my wildest dreams would come true, and BOTH would happen. But we'll see, there may be some other shiny things that catch my eye...

The Day That Wasn't

2007-12-13T23:39:00.000-08:00

"The day that wasn't", that's what my FI likes to call the first time he tried to propose to me, and I stood him up. In my defense, I didn't know!

Its a beautiful, sentimental story... almost. I work as a Campus Minister for the college that we both did our undergraduate work at. When we were students last Spring, he tried to propose to me on a Friday afternoon in March, but his beautiful plans were squashed by my flightiness, or rather a random appointment I scheduled with my academic adviser...

My FI was planning on incorporating one of my favorite prayer practices into our engagement, its also a very symbolic one, and one that I realized is perfectly suited for a marriage proposal. Its called a Labyrinth which is a meandering, but purposeful path that winds in toward the center, and then out again. Walking the Labyrinth is supposed to help quiet the mind and move the soul toward healing. "Its not a maze (there aren't any tricks or dead ends)".

The Labyrinth's pathway is located in the center of the Church under the altar. Here is a picture of our Labyrinth about 10 years ago when the Church was built, it looks way different now. (There are tapestries, and other artwork that have been added)

The experience is different for each person, but often times incorporates three different parts/processes.

Letting Go

The Labyrinth represents a "letting go" of all the daily concerns that frustrate or consume us. "It is releasing, emptying, quieting" of the soul. Its also a way of letting ourselves "drift out of conscious focus". For me this is crucial, I have a hard time doing this daily, I'm always go go go, and when I have a hard time doing this on my own, my FI challenges me to s l o w d o w n, and realize that so many of the things I worry about aren't as dramatic as I tend believe.

Illumination

"Such a long winding path is so illogical. We do not know that we have arrived at the center until we actually arrive". This is true so many times of life. Often times its surprising (at least I know it is for me), but when we come with an open heart and quieted mind, we find the truest answer. With our relationship, it was kind of the same way... I didn't know that I was falling in love with him until I already had (so sappy, but so true).

Integration/Union

This is typically the third part of the Labyrinth prayer experience. It is "a time of meditation and empowerment... and incorporating insights gained." At this point you have typically reached the physical center of the labyrinth, "... each (person) is invited, empowered, even pushed to be more authentic and take the risks needed to manifest our gifts for the world." How beautiful, right? I feel that this is not only true of an individual person's pathway, but that invitation to live more authentically, to take risks is crucial to relationships.

The Labyrinth is a feature not normally heard of in Church architecture and structure. The one at the church I work at is modeled after the one of the famous cathedrals, in Chartres (one of the most beautiful Gothic-style cathedrals in the world). And is identical to the Labyrinth inside the Riverside Church (also a gorgeous church) in New York.

(These two above are of the breathtaking Chartres Cathedral)

(These two are from Riverside, which is an interdenominational church in NY)

For the proposal, he had planned on waiting for me to come to the Church, there are certain days that are designated as "Labyrinth Days", where the play instrumental music, and people can come in and walk/pray the Labyrinth all day long, and wisely anticipating I would go there my FI waited for me to call to let him know I was going to go, so that he knew when to meet me for lunch afterwards. Instead of meeting me for lunch, he was going to go and stand in the center of the Labyrinth, while I walked (well, I would probably have run this time!) the winding path. But I stood him up. Bummer. Soon I'll post on the real proposal...

(The information for this post is courtesy of Veriditas, and if you want to learn more about the Labyrinth Prayer Experience I definitely recommend checking out their website.)

Takin' Care of Business

2007-12-10T08:54:00.000-08:00

I have the day off!

What a rare thing, since I normally work 7 days a week! I'm planning on working on my grad school applications today, cleaning, and of course trying to get some serious planning done. But first, I took a personality test on Personal DNA ... apparently I am a "Benevolent Creator", that has a nice ring to it, eh?

Hot Mama!

2007-12-06T22:37:00.000-08:00

I must say, I absolutely love Ann Taylor and their fabulous Celebrations Collection. Not only did I score my 'maids dresses there, but my mom's too. Without much (any) hassle, which surprised me. It was almost too simple! Especially since I know this can be almost as tough as picking out the wedding dress. But without further ado, here is what my mom will be sportin' on the big day:

Its simple, elegant and comfortable. Three things that I know my mom will appreciate for such a long day. Its also way long on her, she's only about 5 foot tall, so there will be some hemming involved. The only critics of the dress were my sisters, they were hoping for something shorter, because my mom does have some rockin' gams for a middle-aged woman, but I think she'd prefer a longer dress.

And while this dress was pretty easy to pick, the mother attire is far from over. I still have to see what my FMIL and F(step)MIL come up with. But they're pretty fashion savvy, so I'm not too worried.

STDs... The Good Kind!

2007-12-03T21:58:00.000-08:00

Only in the Wedding World would a sweet little girl like me proudly proclaim that yes, I finally have my STDs! For those who haven't been sucked into the Wedding World, and its bountiful supply of acronyms STDs= Save The Dates.

We ordered them from VistaPrint in November. I have to admit, I was a bit nervy a few weeks ago when I read the Weddingbee boards about some sketchy reviews of the company. But I must say, ours turned out wonderful, especially at such an inexpensive cost. Below, I've included pictures of the actual STDs and the price breakdown as well.

Yes I know that the "filmstrip" idea is a bit cliche, but its cliche for a reason right?! Because its so darn cute! We want to incorporate pictures into our big day as much as possible, on the guestbook table, dessert table, and as a part of our table numbers. We (and by "we" I really mean I) would love to have a photo booth at our wedding, but its at least $1000 and that's a lot of ca$hmoney for our budget. But I can still lust after this local photo booth company that I found on The Knot In Your Area, right?

Anyways... enough babbling and down to the $$$. The postcards themselves normally cost $7.95 for 100, but we were able to get them for "free". I put that in quotes, because they charged us $5 per picture we uploaded, so they really cost us $20, plus shipping & taxes, which came out to about $28. Since we had them done as postcards they will only be 26 cents, and will end up costing us only $54 (54 cents each). Which isn't a bad deal if I do say so myself!

It Figures!

2007-11-30T21:45:00.000-08:00

I'm a big fan of Paloma Blanca gowns. I tried on several, and liked the way they looked, but I didn't quite feel like me in the gowns. They all had elements that I absolutely loved, but not all of them in one dress.

I loved the shape of this first dress as well as the sash, but other wise it was a bit too simple for what I wanted.

This next dress I really loved on me. I loved the sweetheart neckline, sash and the lace on the entire bodice and the bottom of the hemline. And I was almost sold on the pick-up skirt, but the entire dress wasn't really how I envisioned looking on my wedding day. I think its a beautiful dress that I can't really pull off.

This dress I looked good in, damn good if I do say so myself. The draped, ruched sash at the waist made me look like a skinny-minny. And again, I loved the lace sweetheart neckline. But this (for me) was a dress that I just looked good in, I didn't get that "bride" feeling.

So, it would figure that right after I buy my gown, Paloma Blanca has added some new gowns to their line that basically embody what I wanted to merge from the top three! Ah, well... such is life. I'm still the most content with the one I picked, and that's what matters! However, I definitely recommend checking out their new gowns, they have a very soft, romantic look to them.

Celebrate MORE Generously

2007-11-28T21:14:00.000-08:00

A little while back I blogged about one way to make your wedding day into a charitable celebration, and here's another that's been floating around the Wedding Blogosphere (did I really just use the word Blogosphere?!). The White Aisle, a lovely collection of relatively inexpensive wedding accessories started by Rebecca and Dade Sokoloff. The have absolutely beautiful jewelry that I just recently bought for my bridesmaids. I got each of them a brooch to pin their sashes around their waist. I got a different one for each of my 6 'maids and also got one for my adorable flower girl. I've pictured them below.

(This bottom brooch is for my flower girl!)

And while the site has some very beautiful things, some of them have an even more beautiful purpose behind them. As the Weddingbee and Style Me Pretty already blogged about, this new line of handmade silk accessories is created in Cambodia, by young women and girls trying to leave the sex trade. 100 % of the profits go back to helping to improve the living conditions of the girls. Unfortunately, I had already bought sashes for my girls' dresses before I saw this, but its definitely something I'm considering for my flower girl's sash and ring bearer's pillow. I also might get some of the silk flowers to accent some of the ceremony and reception decor. Its definitely worth checking out, they're beautiful accessories that help an amazing cause.

Can I Dress You Up In My Love?

2007-11-26T18:58:00.000-08:00

I've been MIA for a bit, but I've gotten a ton of wedding stuff done during the past week! But I'm most excited because...

I bought my wedding dress.

How do I even begin to blog about this glorious event?!

I guess I could begin by saying I thought this would never happen. Between my indecisiveness and and my pickiness, I didn't think I would be able to settle on a dress, and had a hard time doing so. I was able to find my dress on our trip to The Bridal District in Reading, Ohio. A convenient collection of many, many wedding related stores. I'll blog later on the journey to the dress.... but right now I'm soooo excited to actually have it, I want to tell you all about it!

The Dress is a Marisa Bridal Couture Gown. It has an ever so slight sweetheart neckline, which I loved. The straight across strapless was just a bit to severe on me, and the truly sweetheart necklines were a little X-rated on my well-endowed frame. This sample dress even is a bit tighter up top than my actual dress will be.

It has the fit of the slight flare/trumpet/mermaid that I absolutely love, and complements my figure well (if I do say so myself!). It hugs my curves in a way that's flattering but not over the top. The dress is 100% silk, but looks like organza, and has lace appliqué from the knee up.

I've decided to add satin faced buttons all the way down the back of the dress as another special detail. I'm also going to add a sash to the gown. Actually, two! I'm going to wear a cream colored one for the Wedding Ceremony and a green one for the Reception... that's almost like having two dress, right?

Blue Tux Shoes

2007-11-19T16:27:00.000-08:00

So I may not be any closer to having my wedding ensemble picked out, but I sure am making progress on my 'maids attire! Now that I have their dresses all taken care, I've moved onto a search for some fabulous footwear, and let me tell you this is no easy task!

The perfect solution would be to order these shoes from the Ann Taylor Celebrations Collection. They match perfectly, and are very cute.... with one big problem, they cost $108. Not very friendly to my bridesmaids' budgets.

With the Meadow Green Dresses and Honeydew Sashes from Ann Taylor, I was a bit baffled about what color shoes would look best. I figured I could go metallic either silver or gold. But neither of those was a real favorite. Out of the ones I did see, I really liked the popular Nine West Accolia shoe in gold, which is on sale right now for $39.99. Or the dyeable Tori thong, which runs between $35-$50 online.

But, for the first time I got some less than positive feedback from the girls, so I kept looking. And came across Blue Tux Shoes, a collection of dyeable and metallic special occasion shoes. What I liked about their shoes, is that they're simple and clean looking. I don't want all the attention to focus on the girls shoes when they have such pretty dresses and will look so beautiful, but I also don't want them in shoes that they think are a bit drab or a bit too much. So I think I've settled on a couple styles. The Kate (on the left) and the Melanie (on the right). They're very similar, and very much on sale for $39.99 each. This way the girls will all have shoes that essentially match, but have a bit of variation. I've decided that I'll have the girls try them on and buy them at the nearest retailer, and then I will collect them all to take them to get dyed together.

Guestbook Alternatives

2007-11-17T21:32:00.000-08:00

For awhile now, I've been considering alternatives to a traditional guest book were the guests just sign their names. I know I want a special way to remember all of the people who were at our wedding, but at first I wasn't sure just how to do so.

I considered the Polaroid Guest book option and really liked the one on the Am erican Bridal website, and getting the Polaroid Instant Camera to go with it. I think this popular alternative is a cute way for your guests to write down their Congrats, and could be extra helpful for identifying well wishes from guests that you may not know as well, i.e. parents' friends. Although, with the cost of the book, film, and camera this alternative can end up costing upwards of $200 retail. However, you can always find these same items cheaper on ebay, especially the instant cameras. The picture guest book would work well with our theme, we just ordered Save The Dates with our pictures in the film strip style, we plan on using pictures of us holding numbers for the table numbers, and having pictures of us with friends and family up at the reception. (Geez, all these pictures of us make us sound a bit narcissistic, huh?). But I love the picture theme throughout, because it something that you can use as keepsakes for yourself or give to your family to keep long after the reception. We'd probably have the guestbook out before the ceremony and during the cocktail hour for guests to write entries.

Although I really like the Photo Guestbook idea, there's another alternative that I absolutely love as well. My fiance and I are a quite honestly a couple of winos, so we were also considering another alternative that would take advantage of this indulgence. While fans of many kinds of wine, we've discovered Firelands Winery about an hour away from us in Sandusky, that has good wine at great prices. We've tried a couple different kinds and have liked the selection thus far, and wanted to somehow incorporate it into our Wedding. So I'm thinking of setting up a table at our Reception that has 5 bottles of their Vintage Collection Wine. On each bottle, will be a small tag marked with numbers 1-5 and a pouch. We'll have a little instruction sign for our guests explaining that each number represents one of our first 5 wedding anniversaries, and would like them to write us a little note that we will wait and read on each of these anniversaries. This way we can spread the well wishes of our Wedding out over the first part of our marriage! If we decide to go this route, I'll post pictures of the tags and pouches I make, but I must admit, this will probably be the route we go.

But how will we choose which wine to use you ask? Well, it just so happens that the Winery has both a giftshop AND a tasting room. My FI has been to the Tasting Room when he was up in Sandusky for work and had a great experience, so we were planning on going up there to do a tasting of the wines, and finding one that tastes good and ages well. I'm not sure which guestbook idea we'll end up doing. I'd ideally like to do both, but I don't know how realistic that is to expect guests to write in two different kinds of guestbooks, and if we have enough extra money for those kinds of expenses.

Planning Playlist

2007-11-16T09:11:00.000-08:00

Hello, my name is Cynthia, and I'm addicted to wedding planning...

It's true, I am addicted. The Knot, Weddingbee, Style Me Pretty, Brides, Martha Stewart, The Bride's Cafe. And I'm not even ashamed, no actually, I feel irrationally justified in my addiction. However, the piled up laundry, the still packed winter clothes, and the full dishwasher beg to differ. It is a (delightfully) terrible addiction, and I need to stop...well... at least cut back. My FI is out of town this month, so the addiction has intensified.

So what to do? It's not a terribly inordinate amount of time I spend surfing (or so I tell myself), but I'm beginning to be neglectful of the outside world. So, I've decided to create a "Planning Playlist" for my iTunes and iPod, and I've vowed to only surf the internet and pour over (the same) wedding magazines, experiment with DIY ideas until I run out of songs. This gives me about an hour of pure planning bliss each day, and then I'm done. Ok, fine sometimes I've been listening to it on repeat for 2 hours, but that's it I swear!

Below I've listed the songs on the current Planning Playlist, these are definitely subject to change. Most are songs that I love, or we're planning on incorporating into our wedding, but the cheesier Journey music at the end is specifically for my FI, so that when I'm trying out new projects, he'll be crafting right along with me. I've also tried to link some of the songs to YouTube if a good version is available...

1. The Way I Am - Ingrid Michaelson
2. Feels Like Home - Chantel Kreviazeuk (this link has Gilmore Girls clips)
3. I Never - Rilo Kiley
4. Ice Cream - Sarah McLachlan
5. Better Together - Jack Johnson
6. God Moves Through You - Jason Mraz
7. Best of What's Around - Dave Matthews Band (this link has General Hospital clips)
8. This Will Be- Natalie Cole
9. Unforgettable- Nat King Cole & Natalie Cole
10. I Can't Help Falling In Love With You- Elvis Presley
11. Warm Love- Van Morrison
12. You're My Best Friend- Queen
13. Let My Love Open The Door- Pete Townshend
14. Open Arms- Journey
15. Don't Stop Believin'- Journey

In addition to using these songs as a Planning Playlist, its also a good way to compile a sample of songs to give to our DJ. And while I'm using this as a way to keep myself under control, its mostly for the times that I'm just looking for inspiration, or toying around. When it comes to the actual execution of the DIY projects I want to use and the guest list revisions, I'll take as much time as I need... and maybe next time I'll even create a longer playlist!

I Heart Fern Curls

2007-11-13T21:37:00.001-08:00

I just blogged about my florist last time, but I want to write a little sumthin' about a trend in floral arrangements that I absolutely love. And seems to be an especially popular trend in bouts for the boys. I saw these fern curl bouts pop up in one of the recently featured Real Weddings on The Knot, and also in The Bride's Cafe (which I discovered via Style Me Pretty recently). I find the one on the right particularly fetching, although I may be biased because its close to my wedding colors, but I think the fern curl really pops against the bright leaves and berries, which are similar to some that I was considering using as an accent for the bouquets.

I also think the fern curls look quite nice in bouquets. Below is an example, again from The Bride's Cafe. I like that they're subtle, but also offer a great texture that few flowers or leaves can offer. They really pop out of the bouquet, without looking crazy. I also think they are really adorable for detail shots as well. I mean, how cute is the one on the left that makes a little heart?!

Pretty Posies

2007-11-11T20:46:00.000-08:00

(these pretty bouquets that I absolutely love are from The Knot gallery)

Over Thanksgiving, I'm doing some serious Wedding planning. I live 3 hours away from my hometown where our wedding is going to be, so every visit back home is jam packed. As I previously blogged, I am going dress shopping that weekend, but I'm also meeting with our florist to do a consultation, and am really excited about that.

Our florist The Flowerman is phenomenal, and is a DIYer's (is that even really a word?) dream. They offer three different options for creating the flower arrangements for weddings:

1. Designer Weddings, "if you can dream it up, we can make it happen", this option is akin to that of a traditional florist who designs your flowers from start to finish, you also get a free consultation, itemized list, and cost saving tips/ideas. This is ideal for the bride who has an idea of what she wants, but wants the florist to put together all of the arrangements.

2. Do It Yourself Wedding Guide, this one is the dream of the DIY bride. They offer consultations, order the flowers for you & provide everything you need to create your arrangements. You choose a day right before your wedding to have a "Floral Construction Party"... how fun does that sound?! And they also recommend that you enroll in one of their Floral Design Classes before you create your wedding arrangements.

3. Combination Weddings, this is for the bride who wants to DIY, but is a bit apprehensive. You get the consultation, price quotes... and the satisfaction of doing your flowers, but with a lot more help of their staff.

And, it gets better... I've picked up a bouquet here and there for my mom when I've come home, and their prices are really reasonable. They were also picked as one of The Knot Best of 2007 AND rated with $- inexpensive.

My mom and aunt are really getting into this part of the wedding planning, they're going to go to one of the Floral Design Classes later this month, and hopefully I can go to one with them near Christmastime. I haven't decided which of the three I will go with, however, it is nice to have these options. Right now, I'm probably leaning towards the combination route, maybe making the bouts and corsages for our parents. I like the idea of those being handmade by me (and maybe my FI if I can get him into it).

Celebrate Generously

2007-11-10T22:35:00.000-08:00

The Wedding is your day, but its also a wonderful opportunity to raise support, money, and awareness for some of your favorite causes. We're getting ready to register this month, but we're going to do at least one or two of our registries through the I Do Foundation. All you have to do is go to their website and fill out registry info. By simply buying gifts online off your registry up to 10% of your guests' gift purchases can go towards your selected charity. Not sure which you'd like to donate to? They have a list of different charities categorized by the cause.

In addition to raising money through your gift registry, you can also do so through your Honeymoon, Invitations, and Favors. The gift registry idea would be great if you're already planning on doing a donation for your favors, here are some favor ideas from The Knot, that are both adorable and generous.

Down the Aisle...

2007-11-08T18:00:00.000-08:00

Its the moment it all begins. Most brides spend years anticipating it, months planning it, and hours that morning getting ready for it. For most brides, walking down the aisle is a moment of excitement and anxious butterflies. But when I first got engaged, it was the last thing I wanted to think about. Now, 6 months or so into planning, its something I've started to seriously think about.

I know for me, walking down the aisle will be one of the most wonderful moments of my life, but it could also be bittersweet. My dad died when I was younger, and now 10 years later, I'm facing a moment most girls can't imagine without their dads, and even though he's gone, I'm still one of those girls. When I first started thinking about it, I thought that I might have my mom walk me down, but we would probably cry way too much trying to walk down together. Then, like my friend Molly who also lost her dad, I thought maybe I would walk down alone, because my dad isn't replaceable. Molly is actually going to walk half way down by herself, and have her fiance meet her halfway, which I just think is adorable. Its just such a symbolic way for them to say to their friends and family how much their love together has meant, and how supportive their love is.

But I've finally decided, and asked my dad's best friend Greg. They were friends for over 35 years when my dad died, and were incredibly close. Our families have remained close over the years, and his family is my family. I know that if there were one person my dad would want to walk me down the aisle it would be Greg, he's the man my dad respected most. I've also decided that since I won't have a first dance with my dad, I'll walk down the aisle to an instrumental version of one of the songs we would have danced to, I Can't Help Falling In Love With You by Elvis Presley, or I was also considering Unforgettable, by Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole. I'm excited now to walk down the aisle, and it will be even more special to me now with Greg by my side for my dad, and one of our songs playing.

I think that if you're faced with this choice, you ultimately have to do what feels best to you. Having Greg walk me down the aisle is just one of the many options I considered, but for me, its what I'm most comfortable with, just as the decision to walk halfway down alone is perfect for my friend Molly, just as walking down the aisle alone may be the perfect tribute to how much another bride loved her father. This is one of the few wedding details that is only and all about you and what you want, no compromise.

Unveiled

2007-11-07T16:13:00.000-08:00

You always hear that most brides are either veil brides or hair brides, its just a fact. But what if I want a beautiful veil AND gorgeous hair on my wedding day? Can I have my veil and wear it too? I'm thinking for my wedding of wearing my hair down: gorgeous, romantic curls ala Carrie Bradshaw in the final season of Sex and the City. I just think they look so soft and romantic, & perfectly embody the look I want for my wedding day. However, I don't know if I like the way a veil would look with that.

Well, I think I might have found a compromise. While searching for a veil option I liked, I stumbled upon Unveiled Bridal Designs. Its a website that specializes in custom veils. Each veil made is designed uniquely for the bride by Dorene. What most excites me about her veils, is that she specializes mainly in the birdcage style veil. What I liked is that you don't just get to pick the style, but she has a ton of different materials for the combs, flowers, beading, pearls, etc. If I do decide to wear a veil, it will definitely be one of her creations. Her designs seem to perfectly suit her brides, whether they want modern, classic, or funky. She really tries to represent their personality down to every detail. I may even see if she'll use a butterfly adorned with pearls that was part of a pin that my Grandma gave me.

Jim Hjelm: A Lovely Addiction

2007-11-05T19:31:00.000-08:00

In my search for the dress, I've definitely fallen in love with certain styles. In my head, my perfect dress is an amalgamation of: Strapless, Sweetheart neckline, and either A-line or Mermaid/Trumpet. I also tend to fancy lace (rather than beading) and satin sashes.

But in my search for the perfect dress, I also must admit I've fallen in love with Jim Hjelm, and its getting pretty serious. I know I'm not the only one with this addiction Miss Penguin from the Weddingbee blogged about her Designer Lusting over Jim Hjelm dresses.

There are a couple that I've tried on and liked, and a couple that just look absolutely gorgeous. The crazy thing is, that there's a few different styles I like. While I've always envisioned myself as a soft, romantic bride with lace and curls, there are some sleeker more modern gowns that I absolutely love as well.

In my incessant internet surfing of bridal gowns, I've always had an aversion to bead work. I think it looks great on some girls, but I don't know that it suits me. At least that's what I thought before I fell in love with these two gowns.

I tried on the dress on the left on my first and only visit so far on the advice of the bridal consultant at Gallippo's in Toledo, Ohio. The dress also has a clean shape, and accentuates my curves rather nicely, and since the beading is only focused on the bustline it wasn't too overpowering. I love the back of the one on the right, and its a simple, but very powerful gown. They're both a bit more sleek and modern than I would have picked for myself.

While I do love, love, love these dresses there was one I tried on that has stolen my heart, and gave me that this is it feeling. Unfortunately, it also would have stolen all my money, and left me with that broke bank feeling. When I went in, I gave my consultant a price range, but I also said that I specifically wanted to try this gown on, so I, unfortunately, am the cause of my own heartbreak.

I love the lace, the thin satin ribbon, the flared shape, the slight sweetheart, sigh. But most of all, I am totally in love with the layered fluted hem at the bottom. Actually the dress is just a dream. I haven't decided if I'm going to talk myself out of the dress, suck it up and buy it, or find it online preowned. We'll see how this next dress shopping trip goes.

T-H-E Bridal District

2007-11-02T16:54:00.000-07:00

I am e x c i t e d. I just made an appointment to go wedding dress shopping the day after Thanksgiving! Which makes me both excited and insane, but its the only day I'll be able to go with my MOH, my madre, and her madre. We're going to the Reading Bridal District down in Cincinnati, Ohio. The district is the home of over 30 different wedding related businesses and services, all within a two miles! Most of them are on the same street even.

The two bridal salons I've made appointments at are on the same street of this Bridal Mecca: European Bridal and Bridal & Formal. European Bridal used to actually be two separate stores, European Bridal and Classic Bride, that were housed in the same building, the first floor features dresses under $1800 and the second floor features gowns over $1800. I plan on trying on dresses on both floors. And Bridal & Formal is the largest wedding dress salon in the country... so I'm a bit nervous that it might be overwhelming. But I'm excited to see all of their options, and hopefully find the dress!

Your Love Is Better Than Ice Cream

2007-11-01T17:37:00.000-07:00

I just realized in my previous post on the glorious cake I forgot about the ice cream. Whoopsie Poops!

Graeter's Ice Cream is a little piece of heaven right here in Southwest Ohio, I'm not kidding when I say its some of the most uh-mazing stuff in the world. My personal favs are Mocha Chocolate Chip (when I'm feeling indulgent) and Blueberry Sorbet (when I'm being good), and Brandon's favorite can vary on any given day, but he has an affinity for the Black Raspberry Chip. I'm hoping to have a couple different kinds at our reception, but I have some opposition, he's mostly concerned about the cost, which is a major concern. But I know all of our in-town guests would love this hometown favorite and I'd like to give our out-of-town guests a taste (literally) of our hometown.

It would also be a cute personal touch, because we've spent so much time there together throughout the past four years. We're actually planning on doing part of our e-session there, because the store is so quaint and picture perfect. I would love to use one of the pictures from the e-session at our reception. Maybe put a framed picture on the table where the ice cream is served with the a framed copy of the lyrics to the Sarah McLachlan song Ice Cream.

Let Them Eat Cake

2007-10-31T20:22:00.000-07:00

(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!

2007-10-29T08:30:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-26T10:31:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-24T13:54:00.000-07:00

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...

2007-10-23T19:31:00.000-07:00

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.