alian wedding

This past weekend, Matthew and I had the greatest time at our friends, Allison and Ian’s wedding. The wedding rocked for a number of reasons, and I would have enjoyed it so much more had I not had 3 exams to come home to. I spent Saturday morning on the beach studying, which was quite relaxing but also very distracting. Audrey, don’t ever try to study for exams in your last semester of law school on a beach. You won’t graduate with honors.

Anyways, as a bride-to-be (and others can attest to this), you notice the things at a wedding that no one else probably notices. There are so many cool things to say about Allison & Ian’s wedding, that we have lovingly dubbed the Alian Wedding. First, Allison’s mom rented out a suite that was stocked with food for the entire weekend. It was manned at all times with a family member, so everyone had 24 hour access to drinks & food; it was really great. Second, there was a bus that picked everyone up and took us home. Yes, I know everyone provides transportation nowadays, but seriously this was just awesome.

The ceremony was the best ceremony I have ever witnessed, and I’m not just talking fluff. I had the privilege of opening the ceremony with a reading from The Prophet. Not only did they write their own vows, but also had a hand blessing ceremony that involved wrapping their hands in a tartan. Bag pipes were played as they made their first walk down the aisle as husband and wife. It was so cool and very touching.

With respect to the decor, Allison was a very crafty bride. She did something many people would be afraid to do, she bought ivory silk orchids and potted each of them to act as a centerpiece. I give her mad props. I’m only upset that I left too early the next morning and missed the one that was set aside for me. It would have made a beautiful compliment to my future office. The room was kept very dark with only a bit of candlelight which was uber romantic.

Allison looked A*M*A*Z*I*N*G. She wore her hair up, but it was sort of down because long tendrils were hanging down her shoulder. She rocked her Sally Crew dress, and I mean rocked. It was an amazing wedding. Alian are currently in Hawaii for 10 days!!!

this post is for sarah (and hayden!)

So, my sister e-mails me last week with the subject line, “i need your help.” I’m thinking to myself something is wrong and I was genuinely worried! I open the e-mail and my sister had probably her first “bride” moment. She was stressed about her color scheme. This was a problem, no this was a challenge! A bride challenge! Oh yeah.

Okay, so here’s the lowdown. My sister is getting married in July at a yacht club, who offers blue chairs. Here’s the room with the chairs.

(From the fabulous, Agnes Lopez)

Our bridesmaid dresses are a bright yellow, bought from Nordstrom.

So here’s the dilemma: She doesn’t like the color scheme at all in the first picture. She felt the ivory linens were too bland, and she’s hoping for a more vibrant look. I went on a few blogs to try and find some inspiration, and the first place I chose was Snippet and Ink. Here are a few boards that I liked. The first one has some colors I’m craving lately – namely the pinks and oranges. I was thinking we’ve got yellow dresses and maybe a light pink or mauve linen with bright flowers like the ones below.

Or, we could go the classic black, white and yellow route. I love this combination, but I think it will suffer from looking bland for Sarah. We could use yellow linens, but I don’t think it would achieve the same classic look that going with black affords. I should also mention we’re looking to go with a solid color linen, there’s not really room in the budget for patterns.

This is probably my favorite. It’s not as vibrant as Sarah was probably envisioning, but I really love the pale peaches and pinks going on here. I think they will compliment the yellow dresses really well and allow for a very feminine feel.

(All boards from Snippet & Ink)

So what do you ladies (or men!) think?

the first gift!

Look at what arrived this week?!?!  I wondered whether I should open it or not, but clearly I got over it!  It’s a little early for gifts, I know, but I supsect it may have doubled as a graduation gift from my lovely mother.  We don’t have a King bed yet, but it will likely be our first (and only) purchase when we buy our home in August!  I’m so pumped.

This is likely my last post until next week.  I’m leaving tomorrow for Allison and Ian’s fabulous wedding which is promptly followed by 3 consecutive exams.  Ugh.  Next week though, I’ll discuss my registry experience and some recent etsy purchases!

a two-shoe bride, who knew?

Tonight, instead of outlining for exams, I spent a few minutes looking for alternatives to the white wedge.  The plus side is that I’m almost 100% sure these would be comfortable, they are all a suitable alternative to a 3″ high heel, and they’re far more versatile.  The down side, they aren’t cheap (especially the Kate Spades).

From L-R:  Jessica Simpson, Clarks, Jessica Simpson,

O’Neill, Kate Spade

Naturalizer, J.Crew

blue sky bride tagged me!

Blue Sky Bride tagged me today!

What to do:

1) Link back to the person who tagged you.
2) Post these rules on your blog.
3) Share six unimportant things about yourself.
4) Tag six random people at the end of your entry.
5) Let the tagged people know by leaving a comment on their blogs

Since this is my wedding blog, I’m going to stay on topic!

1.  If I had a million dollars, I would order all of my stationery from Chewing the Cud.  They are seriously the cat’s meow.

2.  I love the look of banquet tables, and I think people underestimate the ease of seating at these types of tables.

3.  The decision to register online was the BEST decision ever!  We registered at Crate & Barrel (my fav) and Macy’s.

4.  The first vendor I booked was our photographer, Jason Angelini.  It was over a year before our wedding.

5.  Our wedding date happens to be the day before my birthday.  Personally, I love that we’ll have 2 very special consecutive days every single year.

6.  All of my wedding ideas have come from the blogging community.  I owe you guys THE WORLD!

uh, no, no, NO!

Okay, I know what you’re thinking and let me stop you before jumping to any conclusions. Yes, these are totally hideous. (My apologies for those that love these, I don’t mean to be terse, but these are a crime against shoe humanity). However, here’s my dilemma: I desperately want to wear heels that are at least 3″ but I can’t guarantee I will love them after 4 hours. Most would probably suffer through, but enter the OCD lawyer-to-be who plans for everything – I’m going to have a back up plan to my back up plan.

A while back, I blogged about the excitement of finding my wedding shoes, but alas, they only come in whole sizes so it’s back to the drawing board. I STILL don’t know what I’m wearing, even after I wasted about an hour last night browsing on Zappos instead of outlining for my Criminal Procedure exam on Monday. In the midst of browsing, I happened upon these from MyGlassSlipper. After a chat with my sister (getting married in July), I realized the need for “comfortable” shoes.

So, what do you think? Anyone else have a back-up plan?

For those I have offended, please accept these as a peace offering.  **UPDATE:  Okay, I admit these are a bit crazy, but so are those rubber things above!  My attempts to appeal to the masses fell short, let me try again.

hot brides challenge

(060306bigday's Knot Bio - If that doesn't inspire, I don't know what does!)

Sorry for the lack of posts, I’m entering my last set of exams until graduation in May. It’s been the fastest three years of my life, but also the most rewarding. In the midst of exams though, I’m sure many can sympathize – I don’t have time to cook, to exercise and to sleep let alone plan a wedding!

However, lack of exercise and sleep can lead to…yes, the dreaded weight gain. Of course, when your wedding is less than 7 months away (wowza), this is quite scary. Add to this a beautiful Vera Wang that fits you a little on the snug side because you had to buy off the rack with your student income. Now, that’s a lot of pressure.

I won’t back down though. I started a little group on the Knot message boards that will track our eating habits and exercise.  I even set up a spreadsheet to keep track of our measurements, etc. I’ve dubbed it the “Hot Brides Challenge!” Hopefully a group effort will produce some really great results! I’ll keep you updated!

all about gocco (and budget breakdown)

There are many brides-to-be out there who are wondering, “What the heck is a Gocco?” I remember the single moment I knew that I “needed” one. I kept reading about references to Gocco (pronounced Go Co) on Weddingbee (Miss Penguin, Mrs. Lemon, and Mrs. Lime just to name a few) and then I happened upon heatherjeany’s store on Etsy. I was sold. Even though I wasn’t a graphic design artist (far from it), I thought to myself, “Here is a money saving opportunity that will allow me to hone my crafty DIY skills!”

I took a while researching the Gocco and its supplies before actually buying one. I bought my Gocco for $100 (plus $45 shipping) from alittlegoodness on Etsy. They also offer them on eBay, but for some reason I felt safer buying from Etsy. For supplies, I bought from northWood Studios. They are located in Florida so shipping is much faster and they have the best customer service! I bought my envelopes and paper from Paper and More. Here is a thorough price breakdown (now, keep in mind I bought a lot of supplies and I haven’t used a 1/3 of them yet. I’ll be able to make my invitations and much more with the amount I bought).

Gocco = $145

Gocco Supplies = $144.18, this included:

3 packs of Hi Mesh B6 Masters (5 screens in each pack)

3 10-pack Flash Lamps

LOTS of ink: (3 of Karacha/Dark Brown, 3 Matsuba/Olive Green, 2 Konjou/Deep Blue, 3 Metallic Gold, 2 White Ink, 1 Moegi/Lime Green, 1 Akane/Burgundy)

Paper = $62.94 (Again, I bought enough paper to make Save-the-Dates, Sister’s Bridal Shower Invitations, Our Invitations and Inserts)

Sand Card Stock 80# (100 Sheets) = $14.99

A-6 Bronze Metallic (50 Envelopes) = 2 @ $13.99 = $27.98

Champagne 80# Metallic Text [Cut to 5 1/2 x 11] (100 Sheets) = $7.99

Bronze 81# Metallic Text [Cut to 5 1/2 x 11] (100 Sheets) = $7.99

Other Misc. Items:

Xyron Machine from Michael’s = $11.99

Canon Pixma IP4500 ($100 Rebate from Apple) = $29.99

Cutterpede from Jo Ann’s = $24.99

Magnet Paper (3 rolls) from Michael’s = $9.99 x 3 = $29.97

Kinkos Printing = FREE

TOTAL SPENT FOR ALL DIY PROJECTS: $449.06 (Definitely not the cheapest way, but cheaper than the letterpress invitations I was oooh and ahhing over)

Okay, now that I’ve aired my crafty dirty laundry, let me try to figure out how much my projects have cost.

Save the Dates:

Paper ($0.1499/sheet x 30 sheets) = $4.97

Envelopes ($0.2798/envelope x 73 envelopes) = $20.42

Inks (Dark Brown, Olive, Gold Metallic) = $9.75

Magnet Paper = $29.97

Kinkos Printing = FREE

Postage (I hand delivered some of mine) = $24.80

Total supplies on Save-the-Dates = $89.91 for 80 = $1.12/each (a little more than I wanted to spend, but it was really fun and I’ve gotten a lot of great responses from our guests!)

Sister’s Bridal Shower Invitations

Paper = ($0.1499/sheet x 17 sheets) = $2.54

Ink (Metallic Gold (leftover from S-t-Ds) and Burgundy) = $3.25

Envelopes (bought at Michael’s 2 packs @ 5.99) = $11.98

Ribbon (3 reams @ .99) = $2.97

Postage = $16

Total Supplies on Bridal Invites = $36.74 for 40 = $0.91/each (They would have been cheaper had I ordered the envelopes in bulk, but I failed to think ahead on this one, and ended up purchasing envelopes from Michaels in packs of 20.)

I’ll keep everyone updated on the other DIY projects! Hope this introduction to the Gocco helps those crafty brides-to-be make a decision. Although, I will say that there are cheaper ways to do things, and of course less time consuming. However, being the crazy control freak I am, this was the way to go for me. It allowed me absolute creative freedom and ability to make a ton of paper products. In the end, I’m 150% sure this is a money-saver, although definitely not a time saver!

this is the last time, I promise!

I know what you’re thinking, Lynn shut up about the stupid candle centerpieces!  But I swear girls, put your money towards amazing photography, not flowers that will die in a few days!

(Photo by the Ultra Fabulous Becker)

my sister’s goin to the chapel!

As many of you know, my sister is getting married in July. Yes, I know what you’re thinking. Wait, you’re graduating law school, taking the bar, your sister is getting married and then you’re getting married. What can I say? I’m very good at micromanaging my life! (Wait, is that a good thing?)

Last night I had an amazing time making my sister’s bridal shower invitations! Of course, my trusty Gocco was there for support.

 

I put my address on the back of the envelope, which was made easier by marking the spot with a piece of paper.

 

40 invites seemed like a breeze compared to 80 save-the-dates!

 

I stamped the same scroll flower on the envelope. Here they are before I rounded the corners!

 

The colors are a plum wine and gold (the gold gocco ink is AMAZING).

 

Here is the final product!