Napkins, help me decide!

Today I received a swatch of the custom linens that we ordered for our long banquet tables (I’m so pumped to have those).  I neglected to order matching napkins, but also because it would cost a fortune, so they sent me some possible options.

Here is the initial photo that inspired my linen/chair choice (from knottie mrs.pootiekins):

OPTION #1: Here is our linen with Chocolate Lamour napkin.  It’s not a perfect match, but the reception will be darker than this terrible flash, and it’s the one that mostly resembles the above picture.

OPTION #2, 3, 4:  Here is our linen with Ivory Lamour, Candlelight Lamour and Cashmere Lamour.  They are all about the same.  Candlelight is the darkest and Ivory is the lightest.

So, what do you ladies (or gents) think?!?!

I feel a change in the air…

Okay, I know I’ve been neglecting this blog and focusing all my energy on being a dutiful bee, but I PROMISE it will get better starting this week!

There’s been a great change in my color scheme, and hopefully I’ll be able to post about it tomorrow on both blogs!

If you don’t remember, we ordered J.Crew strapless Espresso dresses. Pretty, but not the POP of color that I always rave about.

Isn’t my sister just the cutest??

So can anyone guess the new color?!?! (By the way, I must mention that J.Crew graciously allowed us to exchange the dresses after oh 5 months! Aren’t they the best??) I will be selling the Ann Taylor sashes though to anyone who is interested!

Sarah’s bridal shower

Planning my sister’s bridal shower was an amazing experience! I had such a great time thinking up creative ways to make her laugh and making things look pretty is always fun for me!

For the venue, I originally wanted to have it at a nice restaurant, but that was proving too expensive. I tried to find smaller venues, but then I would’ve needed to rent a bunch of other stuff. Wishing that I was no longer a law student with zero income didn’t solve matters, so we decided to have it at one of the bridesmaid’s houses. The house was big enough for 30 people and it was on the lake, so I knew we’d get some nice pictures.

For food, I didn’t really want to go through the trouble of making it myself. I love to cook, but it was too nerve wracking, so I called my wedding caterer and asked for a brunch menu. I ordered two salads, three types of sandwiches (turkey, tuna and veggie) and a dessert tray. I also ordered a delicious cake from a gourmet house located downtown. For drinks, the hostess made sangria and champagne sangria which was delicious. I also bought Pellegrino and spring water for those on a diet.

For decor, I tried to keep it simple and elegant. I knew I wanted to display pictures of them and I wanted at least 2 flower arrangements. I also bought wood letters that spelled Sarah, and spray painted them this coral color. I also found a really cute planter and decided to make a candy tree out of it. I had seen a picture of this on a blog (sorry, I can’t remember) and it was really cute. It took A LOT of time, and no one really touched it, so in retrospect I probably went overboard making it, but still it was cute! I also tried my hand at tissue paper pomanders, they were cute but not as cute as I wanted. I think higher quality tissue, a glue gun and flower ball would have worked better.

Every bridal shower has to have some games or some other form of entertainment. It was tough because I know some people find them dreadfully boring, but I tried to add a lot of humor and I think it worked.

The flow of the bridal shower went like this: I had the guests arrive at noon, Sarah arrived at 12:30, and then we sort of mingled. I had put out a cheese tray to the girls had something to munch on. Afterwards we had lunch, and then played our first game. We then moved to another game but this one was a quiz for Sarah, and then started opening gifts. The shower lasted about 4 hours.

there’s a new bee in the hive!

I’ve been waiting a couple of weeks to share some exciting news with you…I’m a Bee!!!!

So, I’ve thought a lot about what I would do when I started blogging with Weddingbee, and I think I will continue blogging as An Excited Bride, but it will be more about the things that have inspired me through the wedding planning process. I’m going to use Weddingbee in the more practical sense, where I will post about DIY projects and prices, etc.

I hope you follow along with me on both blogs!!!

i heart ikea.

My sister and I woke up bright and early to drive down south for her bridal shower this weekend! First though, we had some major errands to run, and boy were we multi-taskers! First, we went to our beloved IKEA to pick up some stuff for the bridal shower. I’ll let you know what we bought after the shower!

After IKEA, we went to meet a baker for my wedding. We decided on the design and price of the cake and I signed a contract and handed over a deposit! Yippy! Next, we headed to my venue to take some much needed measurements and pictures and found the perfect spot for the ceremony! After all that, we checked out our rehearsal dinner site and actually had a dinner there! The coolest thing about the rehearsal dinner is that it’s going to take place on Halloween, so we’ll definitely be utilizing some pumpkins and funny custumes!!

It was a full day, but it wasn’t over yet! My sister was still without a dress for her bridal shower. She had a back-up with her, but I just wouldn’t accept that. We went to the mall and spent 3 hours looking and finally found a cutsie at Nordstrom. You’ll see it soon enough! Okay, I’ve got to get to work finishing all the decor and games for her shower tomorrow! See you on Monday!

bridal shower teaser!

So, I’ve spent the past couple of days completing various projects for my sister’s bridal shower!  We are leaving bright and early tomorrow morning to drive down to Tampa, but first we’ll be going to my favorite store (IKEA) and then to my wedding venue to take a few measurements and snap a few pictures.  I’ll have a ton of stuff to blog about next week, so please don’t forget about me!  For now, here’s a teaser of the bridal shower projects, taken with my snazzy new Canon!

bridal shower games!

My sister’s bridal shower is this Saturday.  THIS SATURDAY!  I’ve got a lot of ideas but I can’t seem to pick which one.  I don’t want to give too much away, mostly because some girls and a bride-to-be might be reading this blog, but here are a few things I want to do.

Games are pretty much a must at bridal showers.  Honestly, I wish there were some cooler ones, but I think there are a few that everyone will enjoy.  The first game to play as an icebreaker will be “How Well Do You Know the Bride.”  (Audrey, don’t even think about studying for this one!)  Instead of merely reading out a list of answers, I’m thinking we’ll put sister in the middle and make her answer them on the spot!

One of her bridesmaids came up with the idea of doing an homage to their favorite game, Boggle.  I’m not going to explain this one in detail just yet, but I’ll be sure to explain it afterwards!!!  I’m saving the best game for last and I’ll give you a hint that it involves asking the bride questions.  That’s all I’m going to say!

I’ve got to start working on all this stuff!!!  If you have any other game suggestions, please let me know!

I’m a J.D.!

I know what you’re thinking. Lynn, this is your wedding blog, we want to hear about bridal bouquets and invitations, not graduating from law school. I assure you I won’t make it a habit, but this requires just one personal post. On Saturday, my dear friends and I graduated from law school! After 3 of the most grueling years of my life, I can finally sit back and relax! No, wait I actually have to start studying for the bar exam. CRAP! Well, anyways, here is a photo of me with my kick-butt friends, Maricruz and Lucian. Don’t we look like painters?!?!

Next weekend is my sister’s long-awaited bridal shower, so please be patient, there will be a ton of posts coming up! Sarah, please try to stay away from the blog for a week or so!