heading towards the wedding

Back in the day, when my wedding countdown was at like 655 days, I used to wonder what I'd be thinking right before I got married.  Would I be nervous?  Would I be prepared?  Would I be freaking out?

Well here I am, just days before the big day and here's what I'm thinking:

1. Will I be able to eat in that dress???  On one hand, I hear you rarely get to eat at your own wedding.  On the other hand, I know myself.  You know how some people lose weight when they're sick because they lose their appetite?  Yeah, that's not me.  I eat MORE because I'm sitting in my pajamas watching Maury.  There's no question of my eating.  I'm just worried because my wedding dress is just a bit tighter than my tshirt and sweatpants.
2. Will I be able to walk in that dress???  Without the petticoat, it has about 5 layers of tulle.  With petticoat, it has about 15.  I couldn't even fit through the dressing room door and now I'm supposed to walk down an aisle.  Next to another person. I'm slightly nervous I'll sideswipe people on the way down.
3. Will I cry?  Right now I cry thinking about my father handing me off to a man who might not realize that I am useless when it comes to checking the air in my tires.  I cry thinking about our first dance.  But the real question is whether or not I'll cry when it's actually happening.  Who knows.  Maybe I'll be too busy thinking about tires.
4. Will I have fun?  I know it sounds like a silly question but from what I hear, you don't get to eat, you don't have time to dance and you don't get to talk to your friends.  That doesn't sound very fun to me at all.
5. Will anyone notice the details?  Well, will they????  I've spent the past two years designing, cutting, adhering, addressing, hole punching, and assembling.  All for details that people will glance at and either leave in the pew or toss in the trash.  But I guess they'll be too busy having fun eating, dancing and talking to their friends so I can't really blame them.

And last but not least, the big question of the week is:

What, in Heaven's name, am I going to do when it's all over?!

snow stressed out

So this is it!!  My final week of being single!  For the last month, I've been in DIY Hell.  Between the placecards and programs and menus, wedding planning has become my second shift of work.

Now I knew when I planned a January wedding that the weather would need to be closely watched.  And while my wedding day is looking pretty clear, my rehearsal dinner is not faring as well.

According to Accuweather, my area is potentially receiving 6 to 10 inches of snow from Tuesday night into Wednesday afternoon.  With my rehearsal dinner starting at 7pm on Wednesday, I've decided to change the date to Thursday instead.

As if this week wasn't going to be stressful enough!  Don't get me wrong - I am very grateful that my wedding day will not have snow falling but at least with the wedding I wouldn't have the stress of deciding whether or not I should cancel it!  

So, on top of worrying about moving my stuff into our new place and making sure all the loose ends are tied up, I am now dealing with changing the rehearsal with the church, moving the date with the restaurant and notifying all of our guests. 

Okay, just needed to vent.  I promised myself and my fiance that I would not stress myself out too much this week.  Instead, I plan on fitting in a few pre-marital blogs before I walk down the aisle!

the d.o.c.

No, not the Department of Corrections, but close!

My sister got married last week and after seeing just how hectic the wedding day really is, I'm even more convinced in my decision to have my good friend serve as my Day of Coordinator.  

I don't need her to wear a headset like J-Lo or to come dressed in black.  I just need someone I trust to have the day run smoothly and nothing be forgotten.  I know I'm crazier than most but I think that's even more reason for a bride to have someone there to have everything executed exactly as the bride would like.

Most bridal mags and Web sites encourage using wedding planners, or at the very least, day of coordinators.  And while it seems like it's just ANOTHER wedding expense that the bridal industry wants you to tack on to your budget, I really believe it's worth it, especially during the bridal preparation time.

Here's why.

1. All the other people you trust will be just a little bit busy that day.  Your mother.  Your sister. Your best friend from Girl Scouts.  If you love them that much, they are probably in the Bridal Party or helping you get dressed.  They will be by your side taking pictures or riding in the limo.  They will not be able to make sure all the other little things are perfect.  As organized as I was with my sister's wedding schedule, I was still having trouble balancing between being my sister's planner and being her sister.  In the end, I had to do the job I was technically ASKED to do and focus on being the maid of honor.
2. Time is of the essence.  Between making sure you get to the church on time to having all the bridesmaids board the limo, a day of coordinator's main focus is to follow the schedule you put together.  Otherwise, people run late and extra costs are incurred.
3. No stress in the dress.  You will NOT want to deal with problems and questions while dressed in your gorgeous gown and wearing your expensive makeup.  You just won't.  Let someone else handle the delivery guy at the door or the photographer's question about where the bathroom is located.
4. Good Bride, Bad DOC. It's so much better to have someone else working as your megaphone.  If you're upset or concerned about something, tell the DOC and she'll take care of it.  Are the bridesmaids wandering around?  Have the DOC rein them all in.  Are your family members getting in the way of the photographer's shots?  Let the DOC move everyone out of the way.  Let her be Bossy McBride, NOT you.  

 The DOC doesn't need to be some fancy wedding planner from "Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?" She doesn't need to have any prior wedding-day experience.  Your day-of should just be someone you feel comfortable putting in charge of YOUR wedding vision.  Someone you know will make sure that everything goes just the way you want it.

You've done all the planning.  Now let someone else help you to enjoy your day!

you are cordially invited...

So I survived the craziness of work and was rewarded with the relief of FINALLY sending my invitations out!  After all the months of planning and designing and gluing and addressing, I sealed them up and brought them to the post office.

For all of you who are curious about my calligraphy, below is an example of how the envelopes look:

For someone who has never done calligraphy before in her life, I think I did a pretty good job of inking 150 addresses AND return addresses.  Go me!

And now here's a picture of the actual invitation, all made and assembled by yours truly.  As I've mentioned in earlier posts, I had the design printed by Cards and Pockets on pre-cut cardstock.  I then used a Martha Stewart snowflake hole punch on the invitation and then mounted it on "Sparkling Sapphire" panel cards.  I wrapped a silver belly band around the entire invitation and "sealed" it with a snowflake.  All of the items used to create the invitation were purchased by Cards and Pockets as well. I highly recommend them!

Here's

The most important characteristic about my invitations is that it matches all the other stationery I am creating for the wedding.  I didn't DIY the invitations because I thought it would save me money; it took me a lot of time and dedication to get these babies finished.  I made them myself because I wanted everything to fit together.

I can't believe the invitations are finally out!  What a relief! 

Now onto the RSVPS!

panic! about the wedding

So I probably should work on the things I'm panicking about instead of blogging about the panic but expressing my thoughts seems to calm me down.

We are now down to W-3.5 months, which is about 15 weeks until the wedding.  And while I thought I was super prepared and crazy organized, I'm starting to realize that 15 weeks does not leave me much time to get everything I wanted done.

I know what you're thinking:

"Why, Ms. Nicole, you started your planning so early!  How could you STILL have things left to do?!"

Well, since you asked...

• Finalize dinner menu
• Print dinner menu
• Assemble dinner menu
• Finalize program
• Print program
• Assemble program
• Book hairdresser
• Book hotel shuttle
• Make out of town bags
• Wrap wedding favors
• Reserve rehearsal
• Reserve rehearsal dinner
• Shop for wedding bands
• Dress fittings
• Choose wedding cake
• Finish addressing envelopes
• Finish assembling invitations
• Mail invitations
• Order guys' tuxes
• Work on seating arrangements
• Print placecards

I could probably go on but I really don't want to bore you.  The above list was more for my reference than for your interest :)

And maybe 15 weeks in normal time wouldn't be so bad.  But for the next 5 weeks, I am pretty busy at work. Not to mention, there are 3 major holidays within that time span.

So how do I calm myself down AND get everything done that I need to do?  Do all brides go through this, no matter how prepared they are?

making up my mind (and face)

We are now down to t minus 4 months.  WTF.  My engagement has been so long that I kept thinking I had time to do so many things and now my time is almost up and I haven't finished accomplishing everything yet!

One Sprint item I recently checked off my list (yes, I'm still doing the sprints and they are working out really well for me!) was scheduling my makeup trial.  I met with and booked Gina Brozon, a really nice and friendly woman who did an awesome job with my makeup.  

However, after meeting with Gina, I began to wonder if having a trial does more bad than good!

On one hand, I am really glad I got to experiment a little before the wedding day.  I was pretty sure I wanted to go with a dark, smokey look like the ones below.  Looks like Kim Kardashian is my inspiration!

Gina totally achieved the look and even added some false eyelashes to give my wimpy ones a boost.  But after looking at it a couple of hours later, I decided I didn't want as many falsies as I thought.  Better to know now than on the wedding day!

On the other hand, however, getting my makeup done so professionally on a rainy Thursday night in September kinda freaked me out!  Wearing all that makeup on a regular day made me nervous that it was TOO much makeup.  Gina kept reminding me that it doesn't look like a lot when I'm wearing my big dress and my hair is formally done, but it still worried me that I won't look like myself.  

I know this is probably the same reaction every bride gives during the trial but I'm unsure as to how/if I should do my makeup differently on the big day.

Anyone have any suggestions, comments or experience?  I could really use some!

shower of style - part one

I'm a little slow on blogging but I knew this entry would be a lot!

My sister's bridal shower was last week and while I am certainly biased (I'm the Maid of Honor), it was really a spectacular shower.  Momzilla and I, along with my sister's future sisters-in-law and future mother-in-law, put a lot of hard work and effort into it and it certainly paid off.

Sister Bride is quite the fashionista.  She's always loved clothes and jewelry and the high life.  She currently works as a manager at a very well-known and high-end retail store.  She has more designer bags than I have underwear.  So it was only natural that we plan a shower around her love of fashion.

First, we ordered the invitations from Tickled Pink Design and I penned an original saying that catered to the theme.

Next, we ordered favors.  We wanted to give guests something that was relevant to shopping but was still useful.  So I searched high and low until I found a great deal on these adorable purse valets from Sincerely Ann Marie.  Since the party, we've received a lot of compliments on them!

The restaurant was already giving us a wishing well but I had something else in mind.  I envisioned a large "shopping bag" in which guests could throw their little gifts.   

I bought a presentation display board from Staples and covered it in brown mailing paper (also purchased at Staples).  Then I glued a twine-looking wire around the top of the board that I bought from Michaels.  And last but not least, Lyndsey's future sister-in-law used her nifty Cricut to cut out large letters to glue on the front of the board.  It wasn't perfect Bloomingdale font, but came out really cute!  Then we surrounded the presentation board around a hamper in which people could put their wishing well presents.

This was the final product:

For the centerpieces, we collected small to medium-sized black shopping bags from high-end retail stores like Sephora or Guess.  We then stuffed them with hot pink tissue paper and wrapped a tag around them that indicated table number.

Here's some of them lined up:

And then one of the most creative things we did for the party was the placecards.  People are still talking about them!

I am in no way a graphic designer but I took an image of an American Express credit card and played around with it in GIMP, a free photo editing program.  I found a font that looked similar to the fonts on credit cards and added everyone's names and table numbers to the credit card.  Then I printed, laminated and cut them to look like real cards.  We stuck them in mini shopping bags with hot pink paper and set them out on the table.

They came out really adorable!!

So not to overwhelm you with an extremely long entry (which I'm sure it already is), I will dedicate my next entry to revealing what sorts of games we played and just how cute everything looked at the shower.

Stay tuned!

veil mail

So more exciting news!  My veil arrived in the mail yesterday!

I would think that most brides purchase their veil from the same salon where they ordered their wedding dress but honestly, I couldn't see spending $300 on a piece of tulle that will be worn for an hour.  So I decided to shop around online and find a more affordable option.

While I was certain that I wanted a veil with a blusher (I have been unusually traditional about the ceremony portion of the wedding), I didn't really know what length I wanted.  Here were the contenders:

First, there was Momzilla's favorite - the Cathedral Veil.  While it's formal and beautiful, I was afraid that it would be too long and cover the gorgeous train of my dress.

Then there was the fingertip length veil. I liked this better than the long Cathedral one but MZ complained that it was too short.  I suddenly felt like Goldilocks!

Until I found the veil I ordered from Love The Bride.  It wasn't too long, it wasn't too short.  It was just right!  And it only cost me $66 with free shipping!  You certainly can't beat that.

Any thoughts about the veil?  Do you wish you had gotten a more expensive one or a cheaper one?  Did you wear a blusher?  Or were you super trendy and wear a birdcage style veil?

something blue

I love the latest trend of wearing colored heels on your wedding day.  It adds that splash of fun and spontaneity on an otherwise extremely planned day.   

 

So while I was in Italy, I noticed that a lot of stores sold blue heels and I got really excited.  I was planning on ordering a pair of blue pumps for my wedding and I thought it would be even cooler if I got them in Italy.  So my future cousins-in-law and I scoured all over town until we finally found a pair in my size (trust me, it was a process!).

They are navy blue peep toe slingbacks.  They look a little like the picture below, only they are a darker blue, do not have such big bows on top and they didn't cost me hundreds of dollars!  Actually, they came out to only 30 euros, which translates to about $40 in American money.

Now I just need to practice wearing them so I don't fall flat on my face on my wedding day!

music to my wallet

I know!  I've been MIA for the last two months but not without good reason!

I've been pretty busy with work, and between traveling and not having time to bounce ideas off my work BFF Megan (I like the term workwife but others seem to disagree), I just haven't really had a chance to organize my thoughts.  And now that I'm back home with Momzilla, I don't have much room or time to do anything other than wedding planning!

Ok, enough with the excuses.  The point of this entry was to bring up a topic that I've kinda dodged until now but with less than 5 months until the wedding (gasp!!), I think it's time to face the music.  Pun intended.

I'm a music person.  Always have been.  I even work in a music related industry.  And so when it was time to plan a wedding, I knew I wanted to have some live music in addition to the recorded tunes spun by my DJ.

The big question for me is where are the live musicians most appreciated?  And where are my dollars best spent?

My church apparently has some sort of "contract" with a fanfare company where, for a few hundred dollars, we could have a trumpeter announce my arrival outside the church, play during the ceremony, and announce our departure as husband and wife afterwards.  When I heard the trumpet play the wedding march in church during our workshop, I was sold.

But now I'm contemplating whether or not I'll need to hire another set of live classical musicians to play during the cocktail hour.  I attended another winter wedding not too long ago where a string quartet played classical music during  cocktail hour and I remember it feeling really warm and cozy.   Momzilla is a huge fan of this idea and the romantic, sentimental side of me is as well.

I would love to do both but my wedding budget isn't so sure.  The amount of money I have allotted for live music does not cover both the ceremony and the cocktail hour.  And while I'm more inclined to have the trumpeter at the church (slightly cheaper, more powerful, more noticeable, and heard by me, the bride!), I still haven't completely thrown out the idea of just doing the cocktail hour (more romantic, more guests will hear it, cozier).

So my question to everyone is:

If you had to choose between live musicians at the ceremony or live musicians at the cocktail hour, which ones do you think is more remembered by the guests? 

Or do you think I should just suck it up and get live musicians for both the ceremony AND the cocktail hour?

sprinting to the finish line

Starting in January, my company began using an organizational system called "Sprints" as part of preparing for one of our biggest projects.  How it works is we meet once a month and determine the tasks and goals we plan to accomplish between each meeting (which is spaced about 4 weeks apart).  While there can certainly be large tasks listed, we try to break each one down into smaller, more doable items so that the big picture gets done faster.

So, being the planner that I am, I've decided to apply my work methods to my wedding.  In order to prepare for the big day (t-minus 7 months!), I have broken down wedding tasks by month.  To make it "cutesy," I named each Sprint after a winter word.

Here's an example:

I'm hoping that if I give myself little goals, like addressing 50% of the invitation envelopes, then I won't feel so intimidated to work on my calligraphy.  It also gives me a sense of how much time I'll need to set aside each month in order to plan my wedding.

Of course, after looking at my full Sprint list, I began to panic.  How the heck am I going to get all of these things done?!  Keep in mind that this is just MY wedding planning. None of these tasks are related to my sister's bridal shower, bachelorette party or wedding plans! 

Do any of you ladies have other suggestions on how to keep yourself organized?  

When would you say is the MOST stressful time?  The week before the wedding?  Or the seven months before when you realize how much stuff needs to get done?

in vendors we trust

So now we're down to 7 months and most of my vendors have already been booked.  Some of them, like the hall and the photographers, were hired quite early while others, like the florist, were recently contracted.  All of them, however, required some sort of a deposit at the time we booked them.  On average, I would say each vendor asked for at least 25% of the total cost in order to reserve the date.

Now that my wedding is getting closer, I'm considering whether or not I should be paying off more of that wedding night balance.

On one hand, if I pay off little by little each month, it won't feel like such a financial dent in my wallet.  I've been pacing myself with all of my other wedding purchases and I really think it's what's helped me stay relatively calm about spending so much money.  Fifty dollars here and $100 there doesn't hurt as much because it's spread out.  It also means that on the night of the wedding, I won't need the Best Man or Matron of Honor (yes, Lyndsey, you will be a MATRON) to be worrying about all that cash they'll be carrying.

On the other hand, I am quite paranoid about prepaying for a vendor who may bail on me last minute or not end up providing the services they promised.  I've heard so many horror stories of vendors who take your money and run. 

One example I posted in a previous entry was around Enzo Bridal who unexpectedly closed its doors and left brides without dresses.  Depending on the cost of your dress, a bride may have left thousands of dollars down as a deposit only to have to deal with a lawsuit right before her wedding in order to get it back.

Another example is Celebration Studios, who took thousands of dollars from couples and then ended up filing for bankruptcy in 2008.  I can't even imagine knowing that I will never get to keep the only lasting memories of my wedding day!

So how can we protect ourselves?  Here's what I've been doing so far.

1. Check out their reviews on Wedding Wire.  Not only can it legitimize the vendor by providing other brides who have used this vendor, but it can let you know if there were any problems or issues.
2. Search for the vendor on Better Business Bureau.  Smaller and more local vendors may not be accredited by the BBB but it can at least provide ratings for those who are.
3. Ask for referrals!  Even though I absolutely adore Papillio Photography now, I was still a skeptical bride when I met them so I asked them for references of past brides.  I was assuaged of my fears when a former bride emailed me and answered all of my questions. 

Considering I'm still new to this whole wedding business, is there anything else that you married ladies can suggest?  I'm sure my fellow brides would appreciate the advice!

moving back with the 'rents

So it's going to be a pretty big week for me.  Tomorrow is my 28th birthday (gasp!) and by the end of the week, I'll be living back at la casa de my parents.  That's right, I am moving back in with my folks, or at least until I get married in 7.5 months!

So I haven't been able to blog much lately due to the fact that I've been cleaning out my little bedroom in order to move everything out.  It's amazing how much clutter I've accumulated in just three short years!  But as excited as I am about moving on to the next chapter in my life, I'm really sad about saying goodbye to this one.

When I moved into this apartment, I had no idea what the future was going to bring.  All I knew was that I wanted a fresh start; a change to my life.  Little did I know just how much of a change this one little move would bring me!  The night I called this apartment home, I met the man of my dreams.  The man I am going to marry.  He literally arrived at my doorstep and was standing in my living room when we were introduced.  And believe it or not, I knew from the moment I met him that he was the ONE.  Cliche, but true.

So here I am, getting ready to leave the place I've made my home and move back to the place that made me.  And as much as I tease Momzilla, I'm actually excited about living with my parents again.  MZ and I will have a lot of fun with our wedding plans and when I leave that house on my wedding day, I'll really be leaving from it.

I promise to write more once I'm settled!  Till then, happy planning!

Dancing with Dad

I thought I knew all the obscure "Father-Daughter" songs out there but Miss Newport's blog, Newport Nuptials, posted a new sappy, sweet song from Edwin McCain so I thought I'd pass it on. I've also posted the lyrics below the video.

Enjoy and be sure to keep a Kleenex nearby!

I’ll take this slow sweet walk with you
You’ll let go of my hand to say: I do
He will discover just how blessed a life can be
I know cuz all those years ago
Someone handed you to me

Every step that we take
Brings back the memories
Winter snows and horse shows
Dancing on the beach
I can’t help thinking that I’m the lucky one
You’re still my baby daughter
And now I’ve gained a son

Chorus
I’ll take this slow sweet walk with you
You’ll let go of my hand to say : I do
He will discover just how blessed a life can be
I know ‘cause all those years ago
Your mom handed you to me

Don’t miss a chance to put each other first
Now that you’ve vowed for better or for worse
Don’t let the beauty of this life pass you by
In the times of trouble you’ll stand side by side

Chorus
I’ll take this slow sweet walk with you
You’ll let go of my hand to say : I do

I picture a slow sweet walk yet to be
When you’ll take my hand and say : Daddy come see
Then you’ll know what it felt like
You won’t believe what it feels like
Then you’ll know what it felt like
When she handed you to me

She handed you to me

busy, busy, busy!

To my faithful readers, I deeply apologize for not writing an entry sooner!  It's not that I've been too busy to write, it's just I haven't had too much to write about just yet.  

I've been spending the last few weeks finalizing my DIY plans.  What began as a simple thought of making my own menu cards has now turned into doing everything myself!  And while I'm still ironing out the kinks, I thought I'd share with you a couple of things I've learned so far:

1. Give yourself enough time.  While your ideas may change along the way, it's really important to leave room to not only decide on your vision but to determine how you're going to achieve it.  Sure, layered programs don't look like much but when I actually sat down and had to figure out the dimensions of the pages, I was relieved to know I had plenty of time for trial and error!

2. Order samples.  Textures of paper or fabric cannot be felt through a computer screen and colors are RARELY represented accurately.  I probably spent $25 on all sorts of papers and ribbons and invitations but it was well worth it.  What appears nice on the screen may end up looking cheap or tacky in reality!

3.  Seek inspiration.  Just because you're doing the project yourself doesn't mean you have to be creative enough to come up with an idea from scratch!  My design didn't just magically appear in my head; I took other creations and mixed and matched them to fit the snowflake vision I already had.  If you have an idea or color, I suggest entering in a keyword into Google images and let it do it's thing.

4. Be organized! If you were to ask my father about my organizational skills, he'd laugh.  My work desk has papers scattered all over it, my bedroom has drawers filled with random junk and my car needs a maid in order to stay neat.  When it comes to my DIY projects, however, I am pretty anal.  I keep track of everything - the color, size, amount, company, cost, dimensions, etc.  And I don't order anything until I consult my spreadsheet.

5.  Ask for help. Don't assume you can do all these tasks by yourself because unless you are a stay-at-home bride, you won't have the time.  There's so much that needs to be done and some of it doesn't even require lifting a finger.  My co-workers have been so helpful with helping me determine paper colors and design layouts that I don't think I'd have the confidence to go forward with these projects if it weren't for them!  And when it comes time to assemble everything, I'll be fine even if only one or two members of my large bridal party can spare an hour or so to help out.

6.  Know when to go professional.  I'm doing a lot of the stationery myself but that doesn't mean I want it to look that way.  So instead of using Momzilla's temperamental deskjet printer, I'm having all of my stationery printed by my local Alphagraphics.  And while I was able to pull off a crash course in calligraphy, there are still some trades I know I will never be able to learn.  Like how to cut in a straight line. As I mentioned above, my program pages will be layered and I really don't trust myself to use the paper cutter in my office to make each layer the exact length it needs to be.  So, in addition to printing my stationery, Alphagraphics has offered to laser cut my programs, menus and placecards as well.  This will certainly cut my DIY time in half!

So there you have it!  Granted, nothing major has been finished yet so I can't tell you if these tips really work but so far, everything has been going smoothly.  I've started the invitation making process and have already begun addressing a couple of envelopes.  I don't want to post up any of my finished work until after the wedding, but I do plan on blogging my progress along the way.  And if any of you other DIY Brides have advice or questions, feel free to comment below!

Happy DIY-ing!

invitation situation

I've heard about it.  I've read about it.  And now I'm thisclose to actually doing it.  That's right, I'm pretty certain I'm going to make my own invitations.

Now before you all start to freak and yell about how I'll want to rip my hair out in the process, let me first inform you that I'm not making the invitations from scratch like some of the really DIY brides do.  Instead, I'm taking a simple design that I liked and recreating it myself with a few minor adjustments.  I'd like to think of my latest invitation decision as a hybrid of professional and DIY -- a DIP, if you will (do-it-professionally).

And I'm not doing this to save money.  While I will save a little bit by doing it myself, it's not the cost that motivated me.  I've actually found several professional invitations that are really pretty and are right in my budget.  No, the thing that pushed me over the DIY edge is the fact that pre-designed invitations won't match the beautiful stationery I've been working so hard on these last few months.  It would really bother me if my invitations didn't match the programs, menu cards, and table names.  And if I'm doing all this work already, why not go all the way?!

So how do I plan on pulling this off?  Well, without spoiling the surprise for my guests, I'll explain:

1. Envision the design.  This was pretty easy for me since I already had an idea from another invitation but I did draw it on paper out to scale so I could get an idea of what the final design would look like.  What makes me really happy is knowing I'll get to incorporate my monogram colors and font!

2. Create the invitation.  I'm having my invitations printed through Cards and Pockets and in order to do so, they ask for your document as a PDF with the exact paper dimensions that you plan on using.  This has been the trickiest part so far, mainly because I couldn't convert my Word document into the appropriate PDF size.  Luckily, I had my graphic designing uncle do it for me.  Thanks Uncle Al!

3.  Create the RSVP/enclosure cards.  Like the invitation, the RSVP and enclosure cards need to be a specific size so while I already have the design created, I need to have my uncle resize them for me.  He's certainly earning the boutonniere he'll be wearing on the wedding day!

4.  Submit designs for printing.  This is pretty self-explanatory.  I just email the PDFs to Cards and Pockets and they'll print it all for me on their pre-cut cards.  The pricing is reasonable and it doesn't require any paper cutters on my part, which makes me happy.

5. Order the paper and envelopes.  I plan on backing my invitations on cardstock also ordered through Cards and Pockets.  Cards and Pockets does a good job of informing you what sizes you'd need for each type of invitation you can design.  And they have a lot of really nice colors that can also be matched on envelopes from the site as well.

6. Mount the invitation.  I'm anticipating this to be the most tedious part.  I was told spraying two invitation backs at a time with adhesive would do the trick.  Haven't decided who will help me with this task - MZ?  Groomie?  Or the fair maidens of mine?

7.  Address the envelopes.  Thanks to my wonderful instructor, I'm feeling pretty confident about my newly acquired calligraphy skills.  My regular italic lettering is decent and I'm set to start learning copperplate, which is nice and fancy if done correctly.  The only thing for which I want to give myself time is the spacing.  Most of my guests are probably not reading this blog and will therefore not know that I will be doing the addressing myself so I want to make sure it looks semi-professional!  The good news is by doing it myself, I can order the envelopes even before the invitations so I can get a head start on the addresses.


Here's an example of italic calligraphy:

And then here's copperplate:

So I know this is going to require time and patience but I'm up for the challenge.  My only fear is that I'll screw it up somehow!

Has anyone else made their invitations?  If so, any advice you can give me?

if it's too good to be true, it usually is!

Remember when I posted about Enzo Bridal, a bridal shop that was offering free airline tickets to any bride who tried on dresses?   When I had gone with my mother, sister and grandmother, I had tried on a beautiful dress that was at a really reasonable price.  Momzilla fell in love with it and tried to convince me to purchase my gown there.  I, being the researcher that I am, had read terrible reviews about the salon and refused to comply with MZ.

Thank goodness that I did.  According to this article and the furious brides on The Knot message boards, Enzo Bridal has suddenly closed its doors.  Brides who have put their deposits down may never see their wedding dress and some of these women are getting married in just a few months!  I couldn't imagine.

I hope this teaches brides two things:

One, you should always do your homework before you use any vendor.

And two, if it's too good to be true, it usually is!

let there be WHITE!

Three of my bridesmaids are getting married just a few months before I am and lately there has been one common aspect of the wedding with which we all seem to be frustrated -- FLOWERS.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I don't plan on having many flowers for my wedding.  My bridesmaids will wear white muffs in lieu of bouquets and the reception centerpieces will be white birch branches in a tall glass vase.  Since bridesmaids bouquets and floral centerpieces are usually the bulk of the florist cost, not having them will be a load off my budget.  But there are still some flowers that are necessary - like my bouquet and the guys' boutonnieres.

I don't really know much about flowers and honestly, I don't really care.  All I'm really looking for is a white bouquet with some pinecones thrown in (see picture below).  And for the guys, just give them a white flower to pin on their jackets.  I don't think I'm asking for too much so it's a little surprising when the florists do.  

I've shown this bouquet example to four different florists and have gotten four different costs, ranging from $100 to $200.  And the difference in prices is what really frustrated me.

First of all, aren't they looking at the same flowers?  With the exact same "product," wouldn't I just automatically choose the cheapest one?  I don't know; maybe I missed Flowers 101.  Even if some florists have magical greenhouses where the flowers live forever, I only need them for the day.  That's all.

Secondly, can you tell what each of those flowers are?  Cause I can't.  All I see are white flowers but supposedly there are roses and peonies and lisianthus and ranunculus and that, my friends, is what makes or breaks the cost.  Peonies, especially in winter, cost more than roses, which cost more than lisianthus.  

 White peony:

 White rose:

White lisianthus:

I'm glad I researched this before I went to the florist because if I just told them to replicate this bouquet, I'd be spending a fortune on flowers that I can't even recognize.  Instead, I was very clear to mention that I wanted to replace the expensive peonies with the more affordable lisianthus.  And honestly, I bet no one would even notice a difference.  Would you?

In the end, I went with Flowers By Chuck because he not only gave me the best price (by several hundred dollars) but he also received good reviews on Wedding Wire.   For my floral purposes, that was good enough for me.

Of course, there are a lot of brides who want a particular flower or a particular color that may be more costly but if you're like I am and are just having flowers for the sake of having flowers, here's my advice to you:

Visit a florist prepared with two things: your colors and your budget.  Then let them figure out the best way to combine the two.  After all, they're the experts!

bridesmaid dresses - CHECK!

So after much deliberation and many sleepless nights (ok, now I'm exaggerating), I finally made the decision to stick with the Alexia Designs dress I loved so much. 

Last week, Momzilla, MOH, my cousin/bridesmaid Amanda and my aunt met for a day of dresses.  First, we stopped at Dolores Bridal Boutique where Amanda and I got measured for my sister's bridesmaid dresses.  The dress for her wedding is gorgeous - I can't wait to wear it!

Lyn's bridesmaids will be in a latte color (almost a mocha color) and I, as the Maid of Honor, will wear "butterscotch."  She just got the swatches in and the colors are really nice, although it looks like I'll need to be a lot tanner for November than I am now!

After Dolores', we headed to the Park Avenue Bridals, where Lyndsey and I got our wedding dresses.  They offer their brides a 10% discount on bridesmaid, mother of the bride, and flower girl dresses and since the salon is close enough for most of my girls, I wanted to make my final decision there.

Since I was so uncertain about the Alexia dress, I had Lyndsey and Amanda try on this Bill Levkoff dress that I had also liked.  

While it looked great on the girls and had a really nice navy color, it had crinoline underneath the skirt.  Now, the crinoline would keep the girls nice and warm for any outside pictures but may make them really hot and uncomfortable during the reception.  And I would so rather my girls be dancing it up and having a great time than being bundled for the few pictures we may  not even take outside.

So I once again looked back at the Alexia dress and realized that I still really loved it, iridescent taffeta and all.  The taffeta actually makes the dress "glisten" which fits perfectly with my snowy theme.

When I looked at the tiny little swatch again, I was relieved that the color was a pretty dark "royal blue" and the salesperson even helped me find a similar color on another dress.  This tissue taffeta Jim Hjelm dress seemed to be the closest match and I think it looks great!

Then the best part of the day came - Lyndsey and I tried on our sample wedding dresses again!  They weren't fitted of course, but it was so fun to try them on again after a six month spell.  We're going to be such beautiful brides!  And what made it even better was the fact that I fell in love with it all over again :)

 So the dress dilemma has been resolved and two of the 8 girls have submitted their measurements.  With 10 months to go, it looks like I'm really on my way!

*correction*

So I've been telling everyone, including my readers, that the bridesmaid dress I like is tissue taffeta.  I finally double checked the dress description today and realized it's IRIDESCENT taffeta. 

Does this matter?  What are the pros and cons of iridescent taffeta?  What are the pros and cons of taffeta in general? 

I'm a pretty good planner but lately, these wedding decisions are stressing me out!