How do your flowers grow?

Remember that time a million years ago when I promised you a post about our bouquets?

Well, all I can say is this has been a crazy week at our office, and a have a bunch of huge deadlines today and Monday. As if planning a wedding wasn’t a full-time job already.

But today, it turns out, is actually a quite fortuitous day for me to tell you about my wedding flowers, because I was just assigned as The Knot’s flowers editor. (Can I get a what-WHAT?) (I’m so sorry.) That basically means I’m the staff go-to for all things flora.

It may seem kind of funny since I said that my own wedding flowers weren’t a priority for me, but the flower images are actually my favorite part to edit when I’m reviewing Real Weddings in our gallery. It’s probably staring at all of those gorgeous petals that, in the end, made me up the ante with my own blooms.

I think I’ve posted about three different flower looks since starting this blog. (Hey, it’s a bride’s prerogative to change her mind.) My main priority was getting something pretty on a budget, and for the most part, I had been acquiescing to the budget side of that a lot more than the pretty.

I still think these baby’s breath bouquets are lovely, and I still think I could have done my flowers myself (I’m craft, darn it!), but a couple of conversations I had right before I put in my flowers order changed my tune.

First, I decided I had to have dahlias for my bouquet. My favorite flower used to be tulips, but in the course of looking at all those aforementioned wedding flower photos, I fell head over heels for these fluffy, springy blooms.

I mentioned this to my sister-in-law (the one doing my hair and makeup who also happens to know a lot about flower arrangement), and she warned me that dahlias are a soft flower that can be difficult to work with if you’re not a professional.

Ok, so there went the DIY idea. The last thing I want to be worried about on my wedding day is the lump of soggy stems I’ve just destroyed, leaving me with nothing to carry down the aisle.

My future mother-in-law, Chris, went with me to the florist while the fiancé was out of town because she wanted to get us a ceremony arrangement. We went to Flowers by Phil, The Levittown Florist, which is a different florist than the one providing my centerpieces. Flowers by Phil’s prices are better, and one of the fiance’s cousins had used them for her wedding with great success.

Anyway, I showed them some pictures of what I liked, explained my plan for the baby’s breath bridesmaid bouquets and the ceremony arrangement, they quoted us an extremely reasonable price, and we left so I could discuss with the fiancé before signing anything.

Cue the second conversation that changed my mind: The next day, Chris and I were talking about the bouquets and how even though the flowers themselves die in a few hours, the pictures (and the effect flowers have on the pictures) will last forever.

So later that day, I called the florist and asked how much the budget would change to swap in dahlias for my girls. And you know what? It wasn’t too much of a difference.

Here’s the gist of what we’re getting:

My bouquet will be a mix of blush and ivory dahlias like this:

{source}

With dusty miller around the flowers similar to this:

 {source}

The girls will carry basically the same thing, but a little smaller and with ivory flowers.

And after I confirmed the order and hung up the phone, I was suddenly SO EXCITED about my wedding flowers. And isn’t that how a girl should feel about her wedding flowers?

 

Get It On Video

Well, the Fiance was out of town on a guy’s snowboarding weekend, but I still managed to get a lot of wedding planning accomplished.

I don’t know if it’s just that our wedding is under three months away (eek!) or the fact that we’ve been finalizing a lot of major details, but I am getting SO EXCITED. Seriously. Booking vendors used to put me in a tailspin of panic about budgets and wondering if we made the right decision, but now I just get giddy when another detail is finalized. (Or maybe I’m just getting used to shelling out cash?)

Whatever it is, I am super over-the-moon about our latest two vendors.

First, we booked a videographer! This decision was actually somewhat of a surprise to me. I hadn’t planned on hiring one when we first got engaged. It was one of those things that I thought would be nice, but I also thought I could live without. Well, I guess you can blame working at The Knot, but my opinions started to change. Because seriously, a videographer can capture things at your wedding like nothing else. Your grandparents dancing. The best man’s speech. You and your new spouse saying your vows. I mean, you don’t get those things back.

Plus, one of my bridesmaids had a few people over recently, and for whatever reason we decided to watch her and her husband’s wedding video, and it was so. much. fun. I realized that if I didn’t get a video, I would regret it. Maybe not right away. But someday, I would.

Thus began the quest to find an awesome videographer who would also work in my budget. Naturally, I turned to my local board on The Knot’s Community page.

I always feel a little funny posting on the boards. I mean, part of my job is maintaining the Community page. It’s like the teacher wanting to hang out at recess. But the girls on both my local and wedding month boards have always been super welcoming, and it’s fun to see where everyone is in their planning process.

So anyway, there was a post on the local board from another bride looking for affordable videographers in Long Island, and two people suggested AJ Ingoglia. When I checked out his Vimeo page, my first thought was, “Ok, this guy can probably bench press me.” (I’m still pretty sure that’s true.) Then I clicked on some of his videos. Um…it’s pretty much exactly the style I like. Jackpot. Next, I scoured the internet for more reviews, just to make sure he was as wonderful as he seemed.

 {source}

At first, I thought it was kind of funny how many people emphasized how nice this guy is. I mean, how nice can someone really be?

Then I emailed him.

And, you guys. He is SO nice. And his videos are so good. (This is one of my favorites.) And considering how awesome his work is (and I see a lot of wedding videos), his prices are pretty incredible.

I mailed in my contract this morning. (And included a save-the-date to give him an idea of how much fun we plan to have at our wedding!)

I also ordered wedding flowers this weekend, but this post has already run a little long, so you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to hear about that. (Spoiler: It's nothing like what I've posted so far. Dontcha love a good intrigue?)

Two months, two weeks, and three days to go!

Wait a minute, Mr. Postman

Oh boy. We got our invitations. And they are bee-u-tee-ful. Seriously. Katelyn did the most amazing job.

Here’s the cliff notes to how she ended up creating our wedding invitations for us: Katelyn is one of those super fashionable/artistic/creative people who also happens to love weddings (she’s actually getting hitched about two months after us!). One day at her office job, she realized she was unhappy and wanted to find a way to channel her passions and talents into employment she would actually enjoy. So she bought fancy papers and a letterpress machine, downloaded a (ok, kind of sketchy) version of Photoshop, and her design side job was born.

When I first got engaged, she casually mentioned that if I wanted any help I should let her know. I am SO glad I did.

Not only are her creations entirely custom designs (and you know how fancy that makes me feel), she also gives you a few options. I sent her links to a few invitations I loved, along with my desired color palette, and she put together three options. The fiancé and I mixed and matched our favorite parts of each, added in some gold paper (*thrill*), and Katelyn made it all happen.

Plus, her prices are amazing. She actually ended up giving me mine as a gift (an extremely generous gesture!), but even if I’d paid for them, you’re not going to get this quality for less anywhere.

She doesn’t have a website (though I’m gently encouraging her to create one…), but let me know if you’re looking for invites or stationery and I can hook you up! Just leave a comment below with your email address.

I’m hoping to start putting them together this weekend so we can send them out on February 5th. I don't want to spoil the surprise, so you'll have to wait to see them until then. I know, I'm a tease.

The Ringer

We got our wedding bands!!! I may have actually jumped around the fiance's house for about five minutes after we got them. It's so exciting!

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but the stones on my band are kind of special. I guess in cleaning out her jewelry drawer, my mom discovered an infinity band that she never wore, so she decided to split the stones between my sister and me. This is cool for two reasons:

1. I get a super pretty ring that has some family history (and can double as my "something old," if you're concerned with that type of thing).

2. It's super budget friendly!

As for the fiance, he's not really a jewelry guy, so he wanted something simple, but with some kind of detail that would make it special. I instantly loved the ring he picked as soon as I saw it, but I didn't say anything until he made his decision. But it turns out we both had the same favorite anyway. We're obviously meant to be.

Here's his:

And here's mine (ignore my weirdly wrinkly hand...winter is not kind to my skin. I swear I'm not actually 90.):

We both pretty much want to wear them all the time (I may have spent part of Sunday afternoon "trying mine on" again), but we've agreed to keep them safely tucked away until the wedding so they don't get scratched or dirty or anything. Le sigh.

We also ordered our centerpieces, picked our first dance song, and I'm almost done getting my attendant gifts. Meaning the only things left to do are:

1. Guys need to get their suits.
2. We need to order our cake.
3. I need to call the Riviera and tell them our selected menu.
4. Book our wedding night hotel. We're 99% sure where we're staying, but we're going to visit before we book (and grab some cocktails with our bridal party at the rooftop bar!).
5. Stuff and send invitations.

I think that seriously might be it. Only 83 more days until THIS happens:

Cute, ain't he?

Put a ring on it: Male edition

Guess who has been a very naughty Knottie blogger? (See what I did there?)

I have a few excuses for the lack of posting:

1. I was SO sick last week. As in, really-only-worked-one-full-day-due-to-leaving-early-staying-home-and-doctor’s-appointments sick.
2. I’ve been busy playing catch-up with everything I missed whilst sick.
3. Nothing especially interesting has happened wedding planning-wise.

Well, that last one isn’t entirely true. Our wedding bands are in! We’re going to pick them up this weekend after payday. (Ah, young impoverished love. Just kidding, but weddings are expensive, yo.)

{photo: The Source}

We are both crazy excited for the wedding bands. The Fiance wants to wear his right away. I told him it was fine with me, which actually sparked quite a discussion in my office about the topic of “man-gagement” rings. (It’s sort of an awkward term…it just looks like you're misspelling “management,” right?) It turns out that the vast majority of Knotties are totally ok with their fellas sporting their own bling pre-nuptials. And even wackier, more and more dudes are also into it. Kind of adorable, right?

Would your groom sport his own engagement ring? (Or does he plan on wearing a band before the wedding?)

DIY Wedding Boutonnieres

I hope everyone had a nice long weekend! Mine was pretty good, except that I came down with something that has me feeling pretty awful and coughing up a phlemy storm. (A lovely mental image, right?)

The fiancé had it a week ago, and his parents have had it ever since, so I guess it was only a matter of time before I succumbed. The only good thing about being home sick all day yesterday? I got some wedding DIY knocked out!

Remember my plan for our boutonnieres? Well, I actually did it! Here’s how it went down.

Step #1: Cut out two circles of fabric (one slightly smaller than the other). For our ushers, dads, and my bridal attendant, I made white flowers. The fiancé, groomsmen, and man of honor got blue.

Step #2: Fold over part of the bigger circle and sew into place with about two stitches. Do the same with the smaller circle, attaching it to the bigger circle. It should look like a flower now.

Step #3: Cut a trapezoidal(ish) type shape out of green fabric for the leaf. Fold the bottom part and sew onto the flower.

Step #4: Sew on the lapel pin.

Done!

Once I got in the swing of it, I could make each of these in about five minutes. I think they turned out pretty cute!

{they look kind of huge here, but they're actually about quarter size}

We ALSO ordered our wedding bands this weekend! They should be ready in about a week. I’ll post pictures when we get them.

97 days to go!