Happy Birthday

…to me and my dad! Today I’m 24 (while my dad's name will remain anonymous). I can’t decide if 24 is young or old. It always sounded old to me, but now that it's my age it seems really young. Based on a conversation I had with my coworkers it’s both. I’m wearing one of my favorite pairs of heels today and said, “I’m old enough to know that these can hurt my feet, but young enough not to care.” Quandary solved!

Something I’ve been thinking about that’s really strange is that this is my last birthday as a single gal. True, HoneyB and I have cohabitated for quite some time, but it’s not quite the same. I mean, this time next year I’ll be a 25 year-old married woman. Holy cow!

On another note, I decided to buy myself a B-day present. You like? You’ll never guess where I got it!

The 'Maids

All three of these women who will stand (and have constantly stood) by me are unique, incredible individuals. I want that reflected in what they wear for our wedding. While it is lovely when the 'maids look identical, it's just not for me. To make sure they feel like their amazing selves, they will be largely responsible for their attire, though I'm always availabe for comment!

I’d like them to pick something in which they’ll feel comfortable. I’d also really like it if they could wear it again. It would be nice if they were able to dress in their own style, but also reflect a sense of cohesion. In order to accomplish this, I decided to go with the ever-faithful Little Black Dress. It should be nice, but not too expensive (as all three of them are graduating college in May). To increase the odds of everything looking consistent I think I might pick a fabric, but let them take it from there. Cotton and jersey seem too casual, but I like a few of the silk ones I've seen. Here’s a few I’ve found so far…





I’m pretty sure that I’ll just ask them to wear black shoes, but I really don’t think I care. It might be nice if they wear their hair up, but only because I’m sure it will be more comfortable should it be very warm, as it often is in July.

Something else I’ve been debating is if they should wear any accessories. Perhaps that would pull it together? I love these necklaces I found on Etsy and I think they might make the perfect “statement” piece. Here's one I found in dorelabear's shop:



We'll see what they have to say the next time we get together. That being said, if I don't get them for the ladies, I might get one for me!

Trellis or Arbor?

Is it a trellis or an arbor? I’m not even sure what they’re called. I just know that I want one. We’re having the ceremony outside (hopefully!) and I wanted something that would indicate the “front.” I’ve always like chuppahs because of the symbolism. We’re not Jewish so this is the next best thing.

I assumed that we would rent one, but I was having a hard time. Most places only had arches and I really didn't like them as much. When my future father in law heard about all of this, he offered to make one for us. All he asked is that I pick out a design that I like and send him a picture. I can’t believe it…I’m so excited! Not only am I blessed with an amazing fiancé, but his awesome family too!!

My next dilemma is picking a design…I had no idea there was such a variety! I'm trying to narrow it down and it's so hard! I can't decide between white or natural wood. I also can't decide what size would be best.

This one seems great because it's large enough to hold an officiant, bride and groom.


I love the look of the natural wood. It's also my favorite shape.


It seems to me like the arbors adorned with flowers are much too fussy for me. I love the idea of using only a sheer fabric to cover it, like so:


I've also seen a few that had chandeliers hanging from the center. They were stunning! I'm sure after I look at another thousand or so pictures I'll have a good idea of what I'd like.

Also, I’m thinking of asking him to make something that can be kept in pieces and assembled at the venue. This way it’s easier to transport and we can take it apart again after the ceremony and store it in our garage.

When we finally buy a house, I want to put it up in the yard. I love the idea of telling our kids years from now that mom and dad were married under that thing in the back yard.

F Words

And by that I mean flowers and favors. In this case, they will be one in the same. I'm all about multi-purpose, cost-cutting things. The general idea is to have a variety of potted flowers, along with lots of candles, make up the centerpieces. When guests leave, they can take a potted flower with them as a favor.

You may have seen something like this complements of Martha Stewart. Her site was a great inspiration when I first starting thinking about how to consolidate things in this particular manner. She has a plethora of ideas for using favors as centerpieces or having living arrangements. I just found another one that's very similar to what I'm hoping to accomplish.

We’ve purchased several cases of glass votive holders from Michael’s that look like tiny pots, see:


My mom is really amazing. She's pretty much turned this project into her baby. She has the greenest thumb I’ve ever seen and thrives on this kind of stuff. I talked to her last night and she told me that many, many flowers would be in season at the end of July. The ones I can remember off the top of my head are:

Snapdragons


Alyssum


and Dusty Miller

(in real life it has a frosty, silvery look)

We’re going to wait until the week of the wedding to purchase flat of flowers. I understand that no one is going to have the time or energy to take care of tons of flowers for more than a week, but cutting it that close makes me nervous. However, my mom’s a regular at almost every nursery in town and feels that this won’t be a problem.

Let’s take a moment to realize how big it is that she’s NOT WORRIED!!

The idea is that a day or so before the wedding my mom’s posse (i.e. the church ladies) will cut the flats apart and place one section into each votive holder. The idea is to wrap the bottom in a plastic of some kind (a baggie or Saran wrap?) and camouflage the bottom of the flower with tulle or tissue. We’re going to practice this a lot before hand, just to make sure it works.

I’m a big fan of this idea. It reduces costs, fuss and waste. And I love the fact that no flowers have to die… unless, of course, we kill them.

I’ll make sure to include photos of a “dry run” as soon as I have them. Also, any ideas for how to mask the bottom of the flower would be appreciated!

Indecision 2008

So far my biggest problem is my indecisiveness. I fear making the wrong decision, so I put off making a decision for as long a humanly possible...then I change my mind several times. This is a more recent problem and I'm sure that this will become a common theme throughout future posts. It's driving my family nuts. I can't blame them, but I can't help myself either. Ahh!

On another note, I love Etsy. I was only recently introduced to it via Etsy Wedding, but it quickly become an obsession. They have everything and I love the fact that it's all handmade.

Bring those two thoughts together and I give you my first etsy purchase...





When I first saw this I laughed out loud and knew I had to have it. It's an ID case, but I use it for my cigarettes (which I think makes it even more hilarious). After all, if you can't laugh at yourself...




**Exception to the Rule**
I'd also like to make sure to note that there is one decision that was made quickly and without question. That would be when I chose my mate, my HoneyB. Of all the decisions that need to be made during the wedding planning process, I know without a doubt that I made the right one with him.

Here We Go...

I’ve decided to start blogging. Though I’ve been a blog fly for some time now, I thought it might be nice to write my own. I’m getting married in a few months, so I’m going to write about it. Partly to chronicle the journey from Miss to Mrs., but also because I’m getting concerned that people are sick of hearing about my obsessions. I feel that this is a way to get it out of my system without everyone I know wanting to kill me. Besides, if/when they do want to know about it they can come here whenever they like.

Our engagement has been an eventful one. I’ll elaborate on that later. For now I’ll just say that we’ve been engaged since October of 2005. In October 2007 we were finally able to set a date. We will be married on July 25, 2008. The date is fast approaching and I’m getting more excited with every passing day.

As this blog is beginning after the planning has commenced, here’s a list of the more significant tasks that I’ve already checked off the list of “To Do’s.”

• Set a date
• Booked the ceremony and reception venue (the caterer was included)
• Booked a Photographer
• Booked a DJ
• Purchased a wedding dress

It seems to be a high recommendation of other brides to create an inspiration board. Though I haven’t come up with a “theme,” I do have a pretty good idea of what I like. Here’s my first attempt at a board of my own…

Obviously it’s a work in progress.

Hopefully I’ll keep this up on a regular basis and have a nice little keepsake when all is said and done. I’ve never been very good at keeping a journal, so we’ll see how that goes!

Thanks for reading!!

P.S. I didn't provide links to where I found the pictures in the board because I'm not exactly sure how to do it yet. I'm new to this, so please bear with me as I learn how to use these tools.