The Honeymooners

Well, we finally booked our honeymoon! I literally could not be more excited. The whole process was a bit of an ordeal (though well worth it in the end!).

We knew we wanted to go to a couple countries in Europe (specifically, Spain and France), so we figured a vacation package would be the best way to go. But when I looked at the package prices (from a company similar to Costco), the flights were way more expensive than some of the flights I was seeing on travel sites like Orbitz.com.

So first we decided to just book our flights through Orbitz and the hotels through the other company. As I started to look, though, one of those “would you like to chat with a representative?” boxes popped up. I happily selected “yes,” since I was already feeling a little overwhelmed by all my options.

This is when Ashley entered our lives. God bless that woman, because she spent five (yup) hours chatting with me and helping us to book three hotel rooms AND a flight plan that all came in at about $800 less than what we would have paid for the package (and with an extra flight!).

Needless to say, I kind of wanted to invite her to the wedding after that.

So here’s the plan! First, we’re flying to Barcelona the night evening after our wedding:

Next, we take a train to Madrid:

Then it’s a flight to Paris(!):

I cannot wait. Neither of us have ever been to Europe, and I’m sure we’ll have an amazing time.

Anyone have any suggestions for what we have to do while we’re there? Where is everyone else going?

Snow Day DIY

Over last weekend, New York was pretty much at a standstill after receiving a dump of over eight inches of snow. (Eight!) So because I couldn't 't get to the office on Monday to think about everyone else's weddings, it seemed like an excuse to focus on my own, right?

Last week, I promised you another DIY project: ring pillows!

I'm happy to say they were mostly a success, although my version is a bit more rustic than Martha's. I started by cutting out he petals out of an ivory cotton material:

Next I gathered them in the center and sewed them tightly onto felt pillow "cases."

I ended up trimming the petals so they puff up a bit more and look more flower-y. I also added gold ribbon to hold the rings.

Then I stuffed the pillows and sewed them up. Not perfect, but not bad for a little DIY detail!

What DIY projects are you working on? If you're looking for inspiration, check out all the amazing details our crafty brides have dreamed up here.

Pretty Pillows

Does anyone else have a moment of panic every time they think about how soon their wedding is? I’m under the four-month mark. Which doesn’t sound so bad until I phrase it as, “My wedding is in three months and two weeks.”

Um, what?

I had a minor panic attack about it at work the other day, but one of my co-workers got me to calm down by telling me to make a list and schedule two appointments. I did feel a lot better after that. Then one of my bridesmaids offered to take me on any errand, so I picked the craft and fabric store.

Which means it’s time for another DIY project!

The fiancé is making me dinner tonight, so while he cooks I’m planning to whip up two of these:

{source}

We’re not having ring bearers, but I think it will make something cute for the flower girls to carry since they can’t scatter petals. Thoughts?

I’ll post pictures next week. Everyone have a good holiday break!

Reason #514 I love Etsy.com

I can’t believe my wedding is less than four months away. That’s just…insane.

It also means I need to start getting more serious about finalizing the last-minute details. Here’s what I have left to do:

1. Finalize the menu. We’ve picked it, but I need to call our place and let them in on our choices.
2. Centerpieces. I’ve contacted the florist, but I need to set up an appointment to make the official order.
3. Bouquets. I’m making my own, but I need to order the blooms.
4. Cake. Some friends of ours recommended a local bakery, but the fiancé and I need to make a trip to find out if they’re in our budget.
5. Decorations. I haven’t decided between a seating chart or escort cards yet, and I need to find out if we’re allowed to add any extra décor to the venue. Plus I want to get a big chalkboard (or possibly a white board) to hang near the air hockey table so people can post their scores.
6. Bridesmaid gifts. I have a few ideas, but limited fundage has put a hold on this. At least I have plenty of time for that one.
7. Invitations. They’re all designed, I’m just waiting for the fiancé to approve before I make my official order. Then I just need to stuff and send!
8. Wedding bands. I have the stones for my band, we just need to go to the jeweler and get everything ordered.
9. Favors. But this is another thing that won't get done until much closer to the wedding.
10. The rest of my accessories.

I already got my shoes (I broke down and bought a new pair…trust me, they’re worth it), but I needed a necklace. At first I was going to do a long gold chain-type thing, but then, true to bridal nature, I changed my mind. Or really, this wedding changed my mind.

It’s actually one of my all-time favorite weddings. If I hadn’t done seafoam, I would have done this gorgeous blush pink. Ugh, doesn’t it just make you swoon?

Anyway, one of the many details I love about this wedding is the chunky pink and gold necklace the bride wore for the reception. I mean, seriously. Love.

Hers is from J. Crew…about two years ago. After a brief eBay search proved fruitless, I decided to test something that I’ve actually been anxious to try for a while: the Alchemy feature on Etsy.com. (No one is surprised I’m on Etsy, right?)

I posted a link to the photos, explained what I wanted, and sat back to wait for people to start clamoring to create it for me. I actually got about ten solid offers. I picked a girl who included photos of the beads she would use (visual aids are a great way to win me over) and stayed within my requested budget. Now I just have to wait for my custom piece.

Have I mentioned how fancy custom pieces make me feel?

Bang it out

Sometimes growing your hair out for your wedding can get really boring.

Case in point, I really want my hair to look like this:

{source}

Still long, but I miss my bangs. But my hair stylist has convinced me to wait until after I've said "I do."

Sigh…another day, bangs. Another day.


Anyone else looking forward to a post-wedding chop?

Bouquet Crush

Sigh. I am so in love with this bouquet:

(From this wedding on The Knot!)

Pretty much all of my flowers are taken care of so far (centerpieces come with our venue, I'm making the boutonnieres out of fabric and the  bridesmaid bouquets out of baby's breath and pretty ribbon), but I think I may splurge a bit on my bouquet.

What are you doing for your flowers? Any brave brides creating all their arrangements?

My Engagement Pictures!

Ok, I finally have pictures to show you! (I know, two day lag time. I’m sooo lazy.) It literally killed me to pare them down to these (there are so many I love!), but you can check out the full album (and see these ones bigger!) here. We had a lot of fun traipsing around rural Iowa with my sister and her fiance (AKA, her second shooter...what's with all these parentheticals?) And even though it was freezing and I destroyed a pair of shoes, I think you'll agree it was totally worth it. Enjoy!

 

all photos copyrighted and courtesy of: figmentartphoto.com
Hair+Makeup: Amber L. Hathaway, FreeStyle Design, (FreeStyleDesignStudios.com) 

It's A Party

Ok, so you have already met my junior bridesmaid and my flower girls. Now it’s time to meet the rest of my attendants!

First, the bridesmaids. I think this picture accurately describes all of them:

Megan and Dana are married (Dana’s husband is one of the fiance’s groomsmen), which is incredibly helpful since they already know everything I will probably forget. But they have all been totally awesome and ready to help with anything. Best (looking) bridal party ever? Probably.

AND I’m even going to give you a sneak peek of their dresses. (Lucky you!) Only one of them is wearing the actual dress she will wear, but we wanted to get an idea of what the colors all look like together. Check it out (sorry for the poor quality...the store didn't have the best lighting):

I think we’re going to add something like this to the silver one (but in seafoam) to add a pop of color. I’m liking the look so far, if I do say so myself.

Finally, my man of honor is my brother Jeff.

{the first picture is one of the only ones I have of him and me...it's really old. the second picture is more recent, and shows his lovely wife, Lindsay!}

Jeff and I have been close for as long as I can remember, and I credit him largely with my sense of humor, nerdy interests, and in general a lot of how my personality turned out. (So I guess you can thank him too…right, guys?) Sidenote: he is also the aforementioned junior bridesmaid's step-father. So it's a family affair.

Jeff’s first question (after finding out that a “man of honor” is actually a real thing) was, “So…I wear a dress?” He was joking, of course, but having nontraditional attendants does pose additional fashion conundrums. I asked him to wear a light gray suit, but he’ll still stand out from the fiance’s guys because they’re all shopping together, so Jeff’s suit will be different. I’m thinking something like this (of course I hit up J. Crew for the photo!):

{source}

With a tie like one of these (the middle one is my favorite so far):

{source}

So there you have it! I’m getting really excited to see the whole thing put together!