A Knot Editor Gets Married

The long-awaited recap

2011-10-20T05:34:00.000-07:00

Obviously, I sort of let this blog fall by the wayside. But I'd hate to think you just never knew how things ended up, wedding-wise.

Odds are, most of you already know me in real life and were there and/or are friends with me on Facebook, so you probably have a pretty good idea what it was like, but for the 2% of my readership who just happen to find me interesting despite not being an active part of my life, here's a snapshot.

I know almost every bride thinks her wedding day was awesome, but...well, mine was just perfect. I mean, stuff went wrong and there were the annoying things you have to do, but when I think back on it, there was just so much good.

I woke up the morning-if at exactly 7 a.m. I had set my alarm for another hour and a half later, but my body was operating on wedding time now. I was so. Freaking. Excited. After forcing myself to eat some toast, the day started with hair and makeup for the girls. My sister-in-law did almost everyone's looks (shameless plug for her salon here!), and we all left the hotel looking mighty attractive.

Then my favorite parts started. First, there was the first look for Joey and me. I was so excited to see him, and he looked so good. Our fabulous photographer and videographer were in hand to capture the whole thing ( and seriously, these guys are AMAZING. I'm not just saying that. They travel, too, so if you're looking, hire them. They're also positively delightful in person.), and then we did our bridal party pictures.

Then it was ceremony time. I know the ceremony can be kind of boring when it's not your wedding. But this was honestly my favorite part of the day. It was just really...meaningful, I guess. I cried like a baby, but only because he started it. Sigh, husbands, right?

After that, we were married! That's the craziest part. It's like, one second, single. The next, poof, married! Crazy in a good way. After the obligatory family photos, it was party time.

We tried really hard to make sure we enjoyed our reception, but it is a little challenging. Everyone wants to talk or take a picture with you or, ahem, take a shot with you, but you also have speeches and table visits and to spend time with relatives and friends who came all this way. It's a bit much.

But I can honestly say it was one of the best days of my life so far. There was so much love and happiness around me the whole day. Sorry to be a mush, but I can't help but get all goo-goo eyed when I talk about it.

Feel free to check out Megan's blog for more photos and AJ's site for the video clip (links above) if you need more. Hard to believe we've already been hitched for a month! Here's hoping for a lot more "one of the best days of our lives."

Mom found her dress!

2011-03-15T14:17:00.000-07:00

My mother purchased and returned about four dresses before she finally found her dress for my wedding.

Now, I should say that this doesn’t surprise me. I have three married brothers, and I saw her go through the same struggle with their weddings. (And with my sister’s wedding in October, I’m sure she’ll do the whole thing over again for that.) To be fair, the parents of the bride and groom are under scrutiny during the wedding. They have to walk down the aisle too, and everyone will be looking.

Fortunately, my mother is a stylish lady, and I had no doubts she would find something fabulous.

The winning dress came from Dorothea’s Closet, a vintage store in Des Moines, IA. The shop has been open since 2007 and sells high-quality vintage clothing, accessories, lingerie and bridal attire. Fortunately for those not in the Midwest, there’s a website too.

I don’t want to spoil the surprise of her dress, so I’m not going to show it, but know this: It’s gold, it sparkles, and it looks great on her.

According to my Knot ticker, we’re only 26 days away from THE day. That is insane.

Favors and Food

2011-03-07T13:21:00.000-08:00

We check quite a few wedding tasks off of our to-do list this weekend!

First, my bridesmaids and I and our good (and crafty) friend Heather got together to wrap the favors. Here’s a shot of the team (minus Megan, who had to leave to meet her husband. She’s such a good wife!):

We wrapped up about 160 favors before we had to quit (wrapping favors is surprisingly exhausting). Here’s the whole bunch:

The actual wrapping is a little basic, but I our linens are a pretty blue color, so I think the brown kraft paper will pop on each place.

Speaking of the linens, the fiancé and I went to The Riviera to pick them and our menu. Vicki was super helpful, as always, and even gave us an extra food station because our meeting started a little late. (Free food will always win me over.) The Riv has been really great about taking care of all of our requests, and I’m so excited to have them in charge on the day-of (and to take the pressure off of the fiancé and me!).

I cannot believe there are only 34 more days. Here’s what we have left to do:

1. Tally up the RSVPs (deadline was Saturday, but I know I still have some calls to me) and give a headcount to The Riviera.
2. Print and assemble programs.
3. Pick up the fiance’s suit; get my dress steamed.
4. Confirm hotel/honeymoon plans.
5. Finish our table numbers.
6. Finish corsages.
7. Final payments (ugh).

And seriously, I think that’s it. All together now: SHRIEK!

"Showered" With Love

2011-03-01T14:00:00.000-08:00

Ok, I’m taking a quick break from thinking about other people’s weddings to talk about my own, because this past weekend was PACKED with wedding activities.

First, Saturday I had a surprise bridal shower! And I really, truly was surprised. I thought the fiancé and I were meeting up with some friends for lunch, but when we walked into the “restaurant,” everyone yelled, “Surprise!” I actually thought maybe they were surprising someone else. (I was REALLY surprised!)

The best part? My mom flew in to surprise me too! It was so much fun (after I recovered from the initial shock!), and I felt truly loved to have so many people go to the trouble to put it together for me. Here are a few photos of the highlights!

{photos courtesy of bridesmaid Megan}

Next up: Suits! The guys FINALLY got them. I’ll give you the deets later this week.
And after that: APARTMENT! We found one we love and we’re signing the lease tomorrow. Woo, adulthood!

Brown Paper Packages

2011-02-24T14:50:00.000-08:00

Our wedding favors came in! I don’t want to spoil the surprise for our guests (though I will tell you that they came from the Knot Shop!), so instead I’m going to talk about ways to wrap up favors.

I’ve been thinking about this for a while. I bought all those favor boxes way back when for $5 at our prop sale, but the favors we ended up with are too big for the boxes (oh well). So now I’m back to square one on the wrapping front.

Here’s what I know: I want to wrap them in brown kraft paper. My bridesmaids and future in-laws have been saving brown paper bags for me, so I should have enough. (Plus, future mom-in-law has a random roll of brown kraft paper. Perfect!) Then I either want to tie them with this pretty blue baker’s twine I bought on Etsy (surprise, surprise), like so:

{source}

You know I love a good doily. Or maybe use a witty sticker of some kind?

{source}

I’m not sure. What are you brides doing to package your wedding favors?

Can’t Hardly Wait

2011-02-17T13:03:00.000-08:00

When you’re planning a wedding (at least one that you’re actually looking forward to), time seems to move incredibly slowly and incredibly quickly at the exact same time.

Case in point, my Knot wedding ticker.

I know, I know, it’s cloyingly cute, but the colors looked good on my Knot bio, so…there you have it. Anyway, look at that thing.

The little love birds are practically on top of the birds at the end of the ticker! The fact that my wedding is so close blows my mind sometimes. I mean, I feel like we just got engaged.

But then I look at the info underneath the ticker. One month, three weeks, and three days left to go. Now, this is not a long amount of time. But still, a WHOLE month, THREE weeks, AND three days left to go?

The fiancé and I often discuss how we could have probably had a shorter engagement. But then we console ourselves with the fact that we would probably have been much more stressed and not had as much time to find good deals.

But when your wedding day is going to be as awesome as ours is, sometimes you just wish those birds would quit dawdling.

We Like Cake

2011-02-15T06:07:00.000-08:00

We had our cake tasting last night! Both the fiancé and I had really been looking forward to this part. (Um, hi? Free cake? Three different kinds of free cake? Sign us up.)

Not only is our baker, Liz, incredibly sweet and easy to work with, she also makes some out-of-this-world-good cake.

We sampled French vanilla, red velvet and lemon cakes, and strawberry preserves, eclair cream and cannoli cream fillings. Though they were all amazing, there was a clear winner among the sweet little group: French vanilla with cannoli cream. Seriously, I actually feel bad that we can’t invite every person we’ve ever known to the wedding, because you haven’t lived until you’ve tried this combo. (Of course, I’m a sucker for a homemade baked good.)

Put it this way: The fiancé is verrrry discerning when it comes to Italian food. I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t have worked out if I couldn’t throw together an impressive vodka sauce. And when he tasted that cannoli cream…let’s just say the contest was over.

Liz was even kind enough to send him home with a container of the leftover filling (pretty much making her his new favorite person). How much did he love the cannoli cream? I think this says it all:

I Heart This Idea

2011-02-11T12:04:00.000-08:00

Ok, so since Monday is the end of proposal season, I know there have to be a bunch of newly engaged girls out there. Will at least one of you steal this super-awesomely-cute engagement photo idea? Pretty please?

Found here.
Photos by Laura Leslie Photography (LauraLesliePhotography.com)

Wedding Invitations Revealed

2011-02-10T11:54:00.000-08:00

Well, the invitations have reached Iowa, so I think it’s safe to say that they’ve all been received everywhere else (sorry, Midwest, but your mail system is not the greatest). And that means I can share the design with all of you without spoiling any surprises.

Just as a reminder, here's what the outside looked like (except the color is much prettier in person, I promise):

Next, here's what our guests found when they opened the outer envelope:

It's us! Cute huh? I used PersonalizationMall.com to make the stickers using one of our engagement pictures and wrapped the whole thing in gold baker's twine. The colors turned out to be perfect.

And here's what was inside:

Again, the color is a little off in the photo (I probably should stop using my phone camera for everything), but I love, love how they turned out. Doesn't that scripted font look hand-written? And the gold backing papers added just the right amount of fanciness (in my humble opinion).

Here's a close up of the RSVP card and envelope (stamped lovingly by the oh-so-helpful fiance!):

We also have a reception info card, but I forgot to take a picture of that. So that's it! Everyone has given us positive feedback so far (though I guess if someone hated them, they would probably just keep it to themselves...). We've already started receiving response cards. Which, I'm sure you can imagine, thrills me.

We're under 60 days away now. Hooray!

Fondant Dreams, Sheet Cake Budget

2011-02-09T10:24:00.000-08:00

Oh, you guys! OK, I know that pretty much every time I book a vendor I come on here and gush about how they're the greatest vendor in the world, but you know what? Maybe that just means I've hired the greatest vendors in the world. I'm OK with it.

Speaking of amaaaazing wedding vendors, we hired our cake baker! This was actually a fairly trying part of the wedding planning process. Even though our fairly go-with-the-flow style of wedding planning has generally worked out so far, when it came to the cake, we hit somewhat of a breaking point.

Now, I like cake. Desserts and I are very close. But, like flowers, my wedding cake was never one of my wedding priorities. And yet, also like flowers, when the time came to start making decisions, the thought of having an eyesore of a wedding cake absolutely killed me. I may have cried in the car after a bakery consultation. Twice.

Because I think if there's one thing we can all agree on, it's that weddings are expensive. Like, really expensive. Unless you simply elope, even a small wedding is going to cost you a pretty penny. And it doesn't help one bit that I happen to be planning my wedding in one of the most expensive areas of the country. So here's how it all went down.

First, I made the mistake of falling in love with a cake design. This is good and bad. It's good because it means I know what I want and I can go into the bakery with a clear direction and request. It's bad because if I can't afford the thing I love, everything else seems vastly inferior by comparison.

This is my dream wedding cake (a phrase I honestly never thought I would say):

{source}

I'd say "yum," but that word kind of gives me the creeps. Don't ask.

But seriously, is that not the prettiest little thing you've ever seen? It's elegant, rustic, fashionable, and still fun. Basically our wedding theme made out of sugar.

I envisioned pairing it with a sweet little cake topper, like this:

{source}

Totally adorable, right? We'd get the groom a little seafoam tie, the bride would have a flower in her hair like I will…totally perfect.

Then we actually went to the bakeries.

Our venue has a "cake included" policy, but it requires you to order your cake from one of two recommended bakeries. Otherwise, you get a modest credit to go somewhere else. I did some research, and I wasn't impressed with what I read online about the two recommended places. So we got more recs from friends and planned to visit two highly recommended bakeries.

What follows is what I like to call the heartbreak of my wedding. The first bakery quoted us at about twice what we wanted to pay, and this was actually a reasonable fee for our area. (And yes, I realize that means we probably should have been expecting it, but I still had high hopes that we could find a bargain.) Then the second bakery quoted us for more than TWICE what the original bakery had wanted to charge. Cue second panic attack. Over a cake. When did I become this girl?

After the fiancé had calmed me down, we just agreed that we would go with one of our venue's recommended bakeries and take what we could get. Farewell, perfect wedding cake.

Then the next day, I drank really strong coffee for breakfast. And got this super-charged idea to look on Craigslist for a cake baker. Because aren't I always reading stories about brides who found some on-the-side wedding vendor who is just starting up their business and turns out to be amazing?

And that's how I found Elizabeth.

I probably love Elizabeth way more than I should love someone I've never met, but she is SO sweet and helpful, and I have a hunch she's going to be great in person too. She's a stay-at-home/certified pastry chef who started an occasion cake business out of her home when she was pregnant with twins. Her company, Todaro's Exquisite Cakes, not only has amazing prices (she was also frustrated with the cost of typical wedding vendors when planning her own nuptials, and she vowed to be different), but the level of service is extremely personalized. I mean, we're going to her house on Monday to do our tasting. She does all her own sugar work, which both of the other bakeries were going to have to send out for (which, ahem, is part of why their costs were so much higher). She even had a cake featured in the 2010 winter issue of The Knot!

I could not be more excited to see how our cake turns out. We're adjusting the colors slightly (seafoam instead of lime green and gold instead of black), but otherwise it should be pretty similar to what you see above.

Interested in hiring Elizabeth? You can reach her through email at silverangel0679@aol.com or by phone at (718) 209-1425 or (646) 238-7830. Or, check out her fan page on Facebook.

One Night Only

2011-02-08T07:46:00.000-08:00

Well, we have a few more awesome wedding tasks to check off the list! Stay tuned later this week for news about our cake baker, but for now…

We’ve been trying to find a nice place to stay on our wedding night. We wanted to stay somewhere near our reception venue, but also close-ish to the airport since we have a flight the next night. We also didn’t want to spend too much money since, you know, everything else is still getting paid for, but at the same time, we want something nicer than the Holiday Inn.

Then one of my friends discovered The Allegria Hotel.

The pictures looked lovely, but this isn’t the type of thing I really want to leave up to photography and then be unpleasantly surprised about later. So we planned a bridal party outing to the hotel’s swanky bar.

{bridesmaids}

{groomsmen}

{us}

First, the place is just as pretty as it looks in the photos, and the rooms are super modern and plush feeling. Plus, the prices were pretty reasonable for the area. Seems like a pretty great place to start this whole “married life” thing!

Our wedding invitations are done!

2011-02-04T07:28:00.000-08:00

We sent our wedding invitations yesterday! I think only other brides can understand what a relief that is. From cutting down the guest list to the endless gathering of addresses (Total disclosure: I was not as organized as I should have been, so I had to do this several times. Oops.), the wedding invitations are a great source of stress in a bride’s life.

Of course, the fact that I had such gorgeous invitations did help to alleviate that stress. It took the fiancé and me two nights of assembling, but when they were finally all put together, I think we were both pretty pleased with the result.

Speaking of which, have I mentioned how helpful my fiancé is with wedding planning? I’ll be totally honest and admit that there are some things I’m too much of a perfectionist to let him do, but for the most part, I’m extremely willing to pass off stressful projects, and he always steps up to do whatever he can to help.

In the case of invitations, this meant a lot of stamping and sticker-ing. My future mother-in-law, Chris, bought us a rubber stamp with their address for the RSVP cards (saving us the trouble of writing it out 90-ish times), so the fiancé set to work stamping each one and applying a mailing stamp.

He also added the stamp to the outer envelope and a return address label. (I’m pretty sure there’s a rule somewhere that you’re supposed to hand-write everything on your wedding invitations, but let’s be real here -- I do not have the time and the patience after I’m already writing out everyone else’s addresses. Besides, I bought pretty gold return labels, and they looked just fine, a-thank you!)

After he did that, I assembled the pocketfold and sealed them.

Then Chris stuffed the outer envelopes and sealed those. Theeeen, I hand-addressed (see? I handwrote something) all of those with a pretty gold pen. And, ta-da! We were done!

Chris took them to the post office for us (where, unfortunately she discovered they each needed about 16 cents-worth more of stamp…grumble…), and now they’re all in the mail. Phew.

{the color is really wonky here...stinkin smart phone camera}

After everyone receives them (and promptly RSVPs, of course!), I’ll post more pics.

And please excuse my deathly pale skin. Here's a sneak peek of our invitations to distract you!

65 days!

Bridesmaid Hairstyles: Part 1

2011-02-01T13:54:00.000-08:00

Today is the first day of February. I don’t know if you know this, but after February is March, and then it’s April. And, again, this might be a surprise, but my wedding is in April. So basically what we’re talking about is February, March, WEDDING.

Are we all on the same page? Good, moving on.

My lovely sister-in-law, Abi, founder and owner of Umami Salon & Spa in Loveland, CO, is doing my hair and makeup for the wedding. She is also doing hair and makeup for my bridesmaids, so I’ve had them start sending photos of what they’d like so I can send it along to Abi.

Megan was the first. Here’s a remind of what Megan looks like, along with her desired hairstyle:

Totally cute, right?

Also, the girls all have their dresses! I’m just waiting to get mine back from the tailor, and then we’re going to have a dress party. Where we try on our dresses. Again. And dance around in them.

I cannot wait.

How do your flowers grow?

2011-01-28T13:04:00.000-08:00

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

2011-01-24T06:36:00.000-08:00

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

2011-01-21T08:04:00.000-08:00

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

2011-01-17T08:37:00.000-08:00

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

2011-01-13T09:18:00.000-08:00

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

2011-01-03T08:58:00.000-08:00

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!

The Honeymooners

2010-12-30T10:06:00.000-08:00

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

2010-12-29T08:44:00.000-08:00

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

2010-12-23T08:52:00.000-08:00

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

2010-12-20T13:20:00.000-08:00

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

2010-12-15T13:11:00.000-08:00

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

2010-12-08T12:53:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-12-02T15:38:00.000-08:00

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

2010-12-01T07:22:00.000-08:00

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!

Flower Girl Fashion

2010-11-30T11:23:00.000-08:00

Ready to meet the youngest members of our wedding party? The girls finally got their cards and confirmed that they’re in (yay!). First, we have Stephanie:

Stephanie is 5 (six in March), and she’s the fiance’s youngest cousin. (As you can see, adorableness runs in their family.) Next up…

Lily! Lily is my niece (she’s 4) and one of my favorite people.

Originally I planned to put them in matching dresses, but the top dress sold out much quicker than I anticipated. I kind of like how it turned out, though!

They’ll wear gold sparkle shoes like these:

[source]

And I want to make some kind of gold hair garland, like this but spray painted gold:

[source]

You can’t scatter petals in our ceremony venue, but I feel like they should hold something…maybe ring pillows of some kind? Though the idea of handing a small child diamonds has always made me a little nervous. Maybe pomanders or something. Any ideas out there I haven’t considered?

Dresses: Crayon Kids

I'm a tease.

2010-11-29T12:24:00.000-08:00

We took our engagement pictures! Now, before you get too excited, I don’t have any to show you yet. What I do have? A little e-pic teaser to whet your appetite.

First, you should know that my sister (also our engagement picture photographer, you may recall) is way cooler than I am. As a result, she knows a lot of cool people. One of her friends is a hair/makeup artist named Amber. (Amber has done my sister’s hair and makeup for fashion shows and shoots -- yeah, my sister is also a model. Told you she was cooler.) Amber wanted Joelle to take pictures of some of her work for her portfolio, so Joelle offered me up as a model. (I'll add Amber's contact info as soon as I get it from my sister!)

All of that means that I got my hair and makeup done by a professional. Which was a total relief, because I basically do the same thing with my hair every day and wear very little makeup. Here’s me getting glam-ified (photos taken by my sister on my Droid):

Later that night, my parents had a wedding shower for our Iowa guests. Here’s the fiancé and me with two of my best friends (and a sneak peek of the outfits we wore for the pictures!):

I know, I know, we’re ridiculously good-looking. Can’t wait to show you the actual photos!

Bridal Party Planning

2010-11-24T10:31:00.000-08:00

I'm a planner. And right now I'm trying to plan what my bridal party will wear.

Does this mean that I spent part of my lunch break printing "paper dolls" of the potential dresses to see what looks best together?

...well, it's doesn't NOT mean that.

Wanted: Flower Girls

2010-11-23T06:21:00.000-08:00

Ok, my first DIY project, as promised!

I wanted to think of a cute way to ask our flower girls to be in the wedding, and since both of them live in different states (and are under the age of six) I also wanted to try to come up with something that would paint a clearer picture for them of what we were asking.

I had seen these adorable cards on a wedding blog, and I wanted to create something similar (but a little more girlie). And so, I created these:

Not bad, eh? The fiancé and family were impressed with my craftiness, so hopefully our flower girls will dig ‘em. I dropped them in the mail box this morning, so they should have them by the weekend!

Not only that, but we also asked our officiant to give our wedding talk last weekend, and we’re requesting use of our ceremony venue tonight. I love checking things off the list!

Sign Your Name Here

2010-11-22T07:35:00.000-08:00

Hoo boy, we’re under the five-month planning mark. It seems like the time is flying and dragging at the same time.

But we’re starting to get more and more details taken care of! For example, I got our guest book a couple of weeks ago. I had it made by designer Grey Dog Designs on Etsy.com. (You know how I love Etsy.)

Here’s the sample version:

The only difference for ours is that we used a minty blue color instead of the green (and it’s our names and date, of course!). Guests will each leave a thumbprint "leaf," then sign their name by their print. Later, we can hang it in our apartment. (Instead of sticking a book of signatures somewhere on a shelf...does anyone actually look at those?)

Be sure to check back tomorrow for one of my first DIY projects!

Kissing Cousins

2010-11-12T08:23:00.001-08:00

Apparently getting engaged runs in my family. My cousin and her boyfriend just got engaged! So happy for them, and I can’t wait to see their details!

Hanging by a thread

2010-11-09T10:30:00.000-08:00

I have a lot of plans to spend my holiday break this winter demolishing wedding DIY tasks. One of the biggest things I’d like to finish? Reception décor.

I’d like to do some kind of garland-y thing to hang above the dinner tables, and maybe along the wall by the dance floor. Here are a few ideas I’m tossing around:

{Source}

Burlap Bunting: I could also see doing this in seafoam- and mint-colored felt or fabric swatches. I probably would skip the words though.

{Source}

Tissue Paper Pomanders: A could do a few big ones or some strings of mini ones. OR I could do this super cool newsprint version:

{Photo}

Finally, this:

{Source}

Felt Circle Garlands: I have gold thread that would be pretty to use, but I'm not sure what color to do. Probably the minty/seafoam, right?

So, here's a shout-out to all you creative/crafty types. What do you think? Is there any idea I'm missing?

The date is saved!

2010-11-02T14:02:00.000-07:00

I totally forgot to post our whole save-the-date! Ok, here is what they look like. (Except we changed “Music” to “Dinner” in the final product…and I blacked out last names. Sorry.)

Totally rad, right? I’m more than a little obsessed with them...

Meet My Junior Bridesmaid

2010-11-02T06:30:00.000-07:00

Wow, I have been really awful about posting the last week or so! Ironically, I have to blame the other wedding-saturated part of my life: my job.

But, even though I haven’t been good about sharing it, some very important wedding things have been in the works! We have almost our entire bridal party selected (you’re probably not supposed to do it in tiers, but a lot of our members live in other states). So instead of one big bridal party post, I’m going to break it up into each category.

First: our lovely junior bridesmaid!

This is Cameron (AKA, Cams), my totally awesome niece. She’s 12 years old, loves art, and is scary smart for her age (and, yeah, I know; scary gorgeous, too). Basically, she rules.

Like my other bridesmaids, I’m letting Cams (and her equally lovely mother) pick a dress they like in the wedding colors, but I’m hoping they can find one in a pattern so Cameron stands out a bit. I think it will add some dimension to the whole look, and hopefully make her feel a little special.

I’m actually kind of in LOVE with this dress, but it’s not the right colors:

Le sigh. But my sister-in-law, Lindsay, is a wizard when it comes to shopping around, so I have the utmost in faith that she will find something adorable. (Though she may have to wait until warmer weather. Turns out when you pick spring wedding colors and it’s still fall/winter, the clothing in stores doesn’t really reflect your palette. Who knew?)

And since I don’t have, you know, any children, I’ve realized I have no idea where to shop for dressy kids clothes. Any help from the interwebs? If you had a junior maid, where did you find her duds?

For the Win

2010-10-19T09:02:00.000-07:00

So, my future mother-in-law loves bridal shows. And not just loves, loves. Even though I’m the one that works in the industry, she seems to know every bridal show in the tri-state area, and she’s very good about passing along the information.

Remember the first bridal show we went to? That was her idea. And we’re going to another one tonight that she found, too. My schedule is sort of nutty, so I would never have time to find these things if not for her.

She also works for a breast cancer awareness group that holds a dinner/dance every year (it takes place at the venue we almost picked). This year, the Fiance and I went, and it’s a good thing we did.

We got to see our DJ perform live:

One of my bridesmaids and me getting down

We also entered a raffle to win dinner and a hotel night at this really awesome inn nearby, and we WON.

We were going to use it on our wedding night, but then we would have to sacrifice the dinner (not cool). So instead I think we’re going to save it for our 2-year dating anniversary in June. (Or, you know, anytime post-wedding life gets too hectic and we want a night away.)

I don’t know about you guys, but I really like winning things…

Save-the-dates? Check!

2010-10-15T06:09:00.000-07:00

They're officially in the mail!!!!!!!!!!*

Go me.

*Minus one for my cousin because I don't have her address yet and one for a friend for the same reason.**
**EDIT: ALL SENT!!!!!!!!!!

I love free things

2010-10-14T06:32:00.000-07:00

Just found this little beauty on our free table in the office. It's my wedding color and everything!

Now to figure out what to do with it...

Which is your favor-ite?

2010-10-13T07:49:00.000-07:00

So now that I have all these favor boxes sitting on my desk, staring at me every day (pressuring me), I’ve started to put more thought into what I would want to do for our wedding favor. In general, I’m kind of “eh” about the whole idea of wedding favors. I don’t like knick-knacks, or anything that is going to end up useless clutter in my apartment, and I feel like most people share that opinion.

The only time I’m in favor of favors (heh) is when they are a) edible or b) useful at the wedding (like sparklers, rally towels, flip flops, pashminas, etc.). I also don’t want to devote a lot of my budget to favors. (Sorry, guests, I love you, but I’m taking you out for a night of dinner and dancing, so that’s where I’m focusing the funds.)

However, I do want to do something, if only because a pretty little favor box will dress up the table (plus, I have the boxes and all…). And so I figured, why not use my oh-so-lovely blog audience to get a little feedback before I decide? Here’s what I’m thinking:

Option One: Coffee Beans

Photo courtesy of MyWeddingFavors.com

Of course, my bag would have a much cuter sticker (total disclosure: I would probably just steal this adorable bean phrase.)

Option Two: S’mores Kit

Photo: Jordan Ferney

Ok, cute, but maybe a bit pricey to actually put together? Not sure. And I’m a little worried it’s too cute for its own good. I guess the guest could take it home and make a s’more…would anyone actually do that?

Option Three: Homemade peanut butter cups (one dark and one white chocolate in each box)

It’s our favorite kind of candy, and I could probably make 300 pretty cheap…but it would take a while.

Option Four: Mixed CD

Photo: Kyle Hale Photography

It’s pretty, but music is such a personal thing. And I couldn’t really use the boxes for this, I just think it’s a cute idea.

So, what do you think? Place your votes (and reasoning) in the comments section!

Fortune Favors the Bride

2010-10-06T08:27:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know I keep saying that Knot editors don’t really get any special perks for their weddings that regular brides don’t get, but I have officially found the exception: The Knot Beauty Sale.

As you can probably imagine, vendors send us a whole lotta stuff that they want to get promoted in the magazine. A lot of it is beauty supplies, hair care products, and general toiletries.

Welll, today was the magical day they put all of the leftover stuff from the past year or so in the cafeteria and let employees buy it for a fraction of the original cost. (Example: I am now the proud owner of a $150 hair dryer I got for $15. All together now: Scoooooooore!)

We also sold off a lot of the Knot Shop items that were either used in photographs or monogrammed for sales pitches and whatnot. Including….

Favor boxes! I got 150 for $5. So I’m a pretty happy Knot editor/budget bride this morning!

Wedding Bouquet Ideas

2010-10-05T06:37:00.000-07:00

Now that the bigger wedding details are starting to get squared away, there is one pretty important thing I keep putting off: my bouquet!

Obviously, I’ve put some thought into the bridesmaid bouquets, but there have only been a few fleeting considerations for my own. Here’s what I do know:

1. I want it monochromatic. The bridesmaid bouquets can have color (see link above for an example), but I want my blooms white. The only color I want is a few pale blue dusty miller leaves (I’ve kind of become obsessed with this plant…it’s the perfect color!).

2. I want texture. I’ll either stick with one kind of flower (or go ‘monobotanic’ as my co-worker Anja calls it), such as big fluffy garden roses or (and I know it’s cliché) peonies, or I’ll try a bundle of white roses, mini roses, ranunculus, freesia, and anything else that can be thrown in there, similar to this (but all white, obviously):

Photo: Altmix Photography

Actually, I’m kind of loving this design by JL Designs:

Photo: Stephanie Williams Photography

The flowers are balsa wood! Amazing!

Speaking of faux flowers, I might hit up a craft store soon just to throw together a few sample ideas to see which one I like best. (And to figure out which flowers I want to actually order.) Plus, I think I want to whip up something like this for the moms:

Photo: Jill Thomas Photography

I know, I know, corsages are hokey, but seriously, how pretty is that? And what is a mom supposed to do with a bouquet anyway?

What kind of flowers are you planning to carry?

Save the Date

2010-09-27T08:51:00.000-07:00

Oh man. Wedding-related freak out (the good kind) on the way.

I just received the first draft of our save-the-dates, and they. Are. Amazing. Seriously. I don’t mean to brag, but they are so perfect. We’re making one itty-bitty change, but I put in the official order and we should be able to send them out in the next couple of weeks!

Remember my lovely wedding hairpiece? The same designer created the STDs (yes, it is an unfortunate acronym). She is basically a wedding jack-of-all-trades.

I know I've been getting stingy with the details lately, but I don’t want to ruin the surprise of what they look like until they’ve been sent, so here’s a sneak peek:

I’ll post the whole thing once they’ve been received.

Speaking of save-the-dates, I can say without any hesitation that the most difficult part of planning a wedding is creating the guest list. Unless you have some out-of-this-world budget (or you are a hermit), it’s simply impossible to invite everyone you want to. We both have big families, and our venue really can’t hold more than 150-160 comfortably.

This is always a funny discussion to have with people who have not yet planned a wedding. Invariably, at least one person will make a comment like, “Psh, it’s your wedding. Invite who you want to be there.”

Oh yeah? Just like that?

Well, here’s the thing. A wedding is a big roiling mass of emotion and meaning and heavily weighted choices. Making a choice in connection with a wedding will have eight times the impact that it would in any other setting. Yes, you can simply do what you want to do, if you just don’t care about anyone else's feelings in the matter.

You need to choose your battles. And I’ll probably get a lot of crap for saying this, but if some of those “you have to invite them or you will literally be disowned” guests RSVP that they won’t be attending, I will definitely do a second round of invites for the people I love but couldn’t fit in the first time around. You just have to do it right; namely, be honest, especially if it’s close enough to the wedding that they will be able to tell that you had them on the B-list. Manners, everyone.

But anyway, back to the happy part. Our save-the-dates rock! (Thanks, Becka!!)

Put it on paper

2010-09-24T07:19:00.000-07:00

Hoo boy, has there been an influx of wedding goings-on lately!

For a while there I was sort of entering the infamous bridal slump; I was still excited, but the whole thing started to feel far away and…well, a little tedious. But I think it’s just because there was a planning lull. Now we’re back in the swing of things, baby! (I’m so sorry…)

Anyway…so I have this friend named Katelyn who is insanely stylish and artistic and loves weddings and design and pretty paper just about as much as I do (and also recently got engaged!). One day she was in an “I don’t know what I want to do with my life” funk when she decided instead of moping she would combine her loves and talents and start a wedding stationery business.

I love the idea of supporting young entrepreneurs, so I asked if she would be interested in designing something for us. Last night, she and I met up to see what she had. It has to be said that Katelyn was extremely nervous to show me her designs (I’m just so exacting, you know?). I think she said, “If you hate it, it’s totally okay” about eight times.

But she was being totally ridiculous, because she had three lovely options, one of which I loved especially. And go figure, it was also the one the Fiancé liked best (we’re such a good match, right?)! We’re asking her to make a few design changes, but other than that I am so thrilled with the result. Yay for talented friends!

I want to keep the actual design a surprise, but here are the two options we didn’t go with:

Pretty, right? She found paper in exactly the right color (my phone camera sort of messed it up, but trust me, it's gorgeous). I haven’t even been able to do that.

So anyway, SO excited. More big announcements to come next week, so stay tuned!

Ready For Wedding...ish

2010-09-22T10:09:00.000-07:00

Our wedding is 200 days away!

It’s kind of wacky how that can sound so far away and yet so close all at the same time. I think it’s partly because I’m a mix of super-on-the-ball and still-have-so-much-to-do.

Here’s a list of accomplishments!!

DONE:
Venue (includes cake, food, booze, and centerpieces)
Dress (and it doesn’t even have to be altered! What WHAT!)
Shoes (already owned ‘em)
Photographer
DJ
Save-the-dates (well, they’re being designed..I ordered the envelopes!)

And now, a list of to-dos:
Veil (might be borrowing from someone…)
Limo
Bridesmaid dresses
Groomsmen formalwear
Groom’s formalwear (taking care of this on the Iowa trip…hopefully)
Flower girl outfits
Bouquets
DIY décor (tissue pomanders and perhaps a few fabric pennants, cake topper)
Boutonnieres
Invitations
Picking a song
Tastings
Engagement pictures (also for the Iowa trip)
Probably a million other things I haven’t even thought about yet (hard to believe, I know)

But even though it’s probably good I have all this time on my hands, sometimes I just feel so ready to get to this:

And by sometimes, I mean all times.

Photo: Jagger Photography (JaggerPhotography.com)

First Place (Setting)

2010-09-20T10:25:00.000-07:00

This weekend we actually got quite a few things (that I have been trying to accomplish for weeks) accomplished! Go us.

Besides figuring out how many save-the-dates we need to order, we also finally met with our DJ. We should be putting down the deposit in the next day or so. (So watch for a post on that!)

Getting wedding details squared away gets me excited all over again for our wedding. Not that I ever wasn’t excited, but you sort of get in a slump when you’re not actively planning.

Anywho, it has got me thinking about reception décor (as things are oft to do in my brain…).

At our venue, the napkins are pretty consistently styled like this:

There’s nothing wrong with that if it’s what you like, but for me, it just reminds me of when I would help set the table and would tuck the paper napkins/paper towels in the glasses for a bit of “flair.” I’m usually drawn toward sleeker looks, and these three options have really caught my eye:

Ok, the bows are a little cutesy, but still really cute! Maybe better for a bridal shower?

I love the draped look, and I think I might actually ask them to do this. White table cloths, seafoam napkins, some DIY menus on top…what do you think?

I love the look of a vintage doily. Mmm.

I actually saw on a blog once where a bride had printed her menus and then put them on doilies…so maybe I can have the best of both worlds.

What do you think? (C'mon, obsess over the details with me!)

Photos: Jonas Peterson (JonasPeterson.com) and Sweet Monday Photography (SweetMondayPhotography.com)

Bridesmaid Bouquet Inspiration

2010-09-17T11:09:00.000-07:00

I’ve started giving more thought to my wedding flowers. The only blooms I actually have to figure out are the bouquets; the centerpieces are included from my venue and I’m making fabric boutonnieres.

I’m still not terribly concerned with spending loads of money on the bouquets, though. In fact, up until about three seconds ago, I was just going to stick with the baby’s breath idea, a la this:

Simple, romantic, and totally pretty. But then…well, then I found this:

And now I’m torn. I love the look, and the girl is even wearing the right bridesmaid dress color! I’m thinking I could fashion some sort of white/yellow/dusty miller mix for my girls, then have a monochromatic white bouquet for me.

Any thoughts? What bouquets have you seen that left your speechless?

Photos: Brooke Courtney (BrookeCourtney.com) and Jill Thomas Photography (JillThomasPhotography.com)

Aisle Style

2010-09-14T12:13:00.000-07:00

My wedding is just over 200 days away! That is crazy!

But since we’re officially under the seven-month mark, The Fiance and I have started narrowing down our bridal parties. Which naturally has me thinking about what they’ll wear!

You already know my plan (or rather, lack there of) for my maids, but I think I’m a little more particular about the flower girls.

I saw this picture on TheKnot.com a while ago, and I kind of fell in love with it:

A tutu! When I was little, wearing a tutu was basically about as boss as it got, so I’m hoping not much has changed in little girl world. How cute would that be in a seafoam green? I would probably have to order a custom style, but I’ve found a few vendors online that were really reasonable.

I also kind of think this is cute, and a bit more dress-like:

And then to switch it up, I would also totally LOVE this dress if it came in the right color:

Can I get some opinions? For the married readers, how did you dress your little ladies?

Heading for the Heartland

2010-09-09T12:06:00.000-07:00

So, it’s official! The fiancé and I are heading back to the Midwest in November!

I’m stoked. I haven’t been to Iowa for over a year, and I have some maaajor catching up to do with some of my friends.

Plus, you KNOW I couldn’t let a long weekend go by without planning for some totally awesome wedding stuff! My mom works part-time in the men’s department of a department store, so we’re going to see what we can do about getting the fiancé his wedding tux at a family discount. AND (and this is what I’m really excited about) my little sister is going to take our engagement pictures!

Joelle is a budding professional photographer, and her stuff is pretty genius, so she was an easy choice for our engagement pics (plus, you know, “family discount”).

Since the wedding is going to be in Long Island, I want our engagement pictures to be entirely un-New York. I love the look of these desert shoots (though for Iowa, we might have to swap in a prairie or a dried-out cornfield…I’m ok with that!):

Gorgeous, yes? Oooooh…November can’t come soon enough!

Photos: Leigh Miller Photographry (LeighMillerPhotography.com) & Beaux Arts Photographie (BeauxArtsPhotographie.com)

How do you 'do?

2010-09-02T12:00:00.000-07:00

Remember how I started thinking about my wedding hairdo?

Well, when you work where I work, “starting to think” about anything wedding related actually means have done extensive research including keeping tabs on over 150 wedding blogs. So…yeah. I have thoughts.

I’m 99.9% sure I’m going to do some kind of half-up-half-down business (yes, 99.9% of brides do this, but I don’t really care). Like this:

It’s pretty, non?

Even so, I like to look into a few different options. (Because this is all I think about, remember?)

For example, today I saw these two lovely styles on two of my favorite blogs:

Photo: Jonas Peterson

Loose, relaxed, but still effortlessly romantic.

Photo: Braedon Photography

A bit Taylor Swift-y, but I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing.

And, of course, I had to at least consider an updo. If I go that route, it will be something with a lot of height, like either of these two options:

So whadya think? Any other brides struggling with what to do with their tresses? If you’ve picked your style, where did you find inspiration?

(Hair)piece of Mind

2010-08-31T08:20:00.000-07:00

Oh boy. Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!

I am so excited. Here’s a quick back story to my elation:

As I’ve mentioned before, one of the main perks to working at The Knot whilst planning one’s wedding is that my coworkers know quite literally everyone worth knowing in the wedding biz. Even the people that might not be considered “well known” just yet.

Case in point, my lovely coworker Anja has a genius best friend named Becka who has recently started designing bridal hairpieces. She has an Etsy shop (seriously, that site needs to sign me as their spokesperson) called Bexcessories with a few gorgeous designs, but she’s also more than willing to design a custom piece (and I don’t know about you, but having some design me a custom ANYTHING makes me feel fancy beyond belief).

So anyway, I contacted her a while back, sent her way too many pictures to try to describe my wedding style, and today she sent me the “first draft”!!! I’m bouncing-out-of-my-seat excited. Check it out!

This isn’t the final product (I requested a few small changes), but it gives you a definite idea. I’m so in love. Now I just need to figure out how to do my hair…

Getting Crafty

2010-08-26T14:29:00.000-07:00

I like to think I’m a pretty crafty person. (In the arts-and-crafts kind of way, not the Disney villain way.) Growing up, my mother was always very encouraging about taking on crafts that involved drawing, painting, sewing, sculpting, and just generally being creative, and I think it’s served me pretty well (as long as it’s a fairly basic craft).

That being said, I’ve decided to try to make as many things as possible for our wedding. It’s generally cheaper than purchasing, and I like the idea of looking back on my wedding and seeing a personal stamp on the details.

So here’s a list of all the things I want to DIY:
1. Veil
2. Cake topper
3. Escort cards
4. Table numbers
5. Bouquets
6. Boutonnieres
7. Cake table décor
8. Pomanders/pennant banners
9. Favors
10. Guest book

For the boutonnieres, I want to do this:

I thought about just buying them (my wedding is fast turning into an ad for Etsy.com), but I think I can whip them up for cheaper. Plus, so cute, right?

Maybe all my projects are a little ambitious, but after all, I’ve got 227 (eek!) to figure it all out.

Photo: LindenLovebirds

Made You Look

2010-08-24T12:02:00.000-07:00

So here’s something I love: first look photo shoots.

I mean, I LOVE them. I do think there’s something to be said for waiting until the ceremony and having your big moment and whatever, but in my mind, you still have that moment with your guests. But with a first look, you ALSO have a moment just for you and your fiancé.

Plus, I have never heard anyone say they regretted doing a first look. (Though, if those people are out there, please leave a comment as to why!)

Case-in-point, this cute cute cute shoot:

I can’t look at these pictures without grinning! And since the fiancé is on-board too, you can bet your big moment that we’re going to do one.

Eek, can’t wait!

Photo: Jonas Peterson (JonasPeterson.com)

The Tired Bride

2010-08-23T12:10:00.000-07:00

Hello, my lovelies!

Here’s the thing, folks. I’m feeling a little…overwhelmed. I swear, I have not abandoned you! I've just been a bit crazed with work (you know, writing about OTHER people's weddings). Plus dealing with the standard family drama that comes with weddings. Plus…I don’t know…feeling pulled in too many directions. I’m sure there are other working brides out there who can relate.

BUT, on a more positivenote, I have a lot of great posts in store for you! Including:

1. Our save-the-date! I’m hoping to get them made next weekend. Keep your fingers crossed!

2. Our table numbers!

We bought the hockey pucks, we just need to buy paint and some sort of dowel to mount them on. The Fiance and I came up with a truly brilliant seating chart idea (if I do say so myself) to add a bit more hockey love into our wedding.

I think my favorite part about the hockey stuff is that every time The Fiance tells his dad about some other detail we’ve added, his dad refused to believe that I have OK’d the idea until he hears it directly from me. I’m very easy-going, I swear! Besides, the hockey stuff is fun, and of the two requirements I have for my wedding day, one of them is FUN. (The other is pretty, in case you were wondering.)

So, to sum up, sorry for being overwhelmed and neglectful of this blog, but good things (and projects!) to come!

Photo: Elizabeth Messina (KissTheGroom.com)

Cute Cover Up

2010-08-17T11:54:00.000-07:00

You guys know how I love a cute wedding slogan, right?

Then feast your eyes on these beauties:

I don't know if I feel kitschy enough to create wedding bibs, but if I do, I'm totally stealing this clever catch phrase.

Photo: Sean Walker Photography (SeanWalkerPhotography.com)

All in the Family

2010-08-16T10:00:00.000-07:00

I don’t know how I forgot to mention this before now, but my little sister recently got engaged! (Well, “little” is used for ceremonial purposes only – she’s only two years younger, and she’s about three inches taller. What can ya do?)

So my lucky parents now get to plan for TWO weddings next year. (Don’t worry; mine is in April and hers is in October, so they at least get a little time to recover.) I think it’s super exciting. For one, I love weddings. (Shocker, right?) For another, my sister and I are about as different as two people with the same genetic coding can get, which means our weddings will also be totally different.

Of course, I can’t help but start planning her wedding in my mind (just suggestions, I promise not to be a sisterzilla…or whatever the “zilla” equivalent would be). I may have sent her three inspiration boards this morning. (Total disclosure: I did. Including these two:

They're a little haphazard, but I kept thinking of ideas! I just can’t help myself....)

I love that I now have an outlet for the awesome, funky wedding ideas I think are awesome, but that don’t fit my own aesthetic.

What about you? Are there wedding ideas you love but don’t think you could pull off? Anyone else have more than one family wedding to worry about in the next year or two?

Calling all bridal bloggers!

2010-08-13T14:42:00.000-07:00

So you know how this blog is also fed onto TheKnot.com as part of the Knottie Diaries? Well, guess what! We’re looking for some new bloggers to add to the blog.

Do you have a blog about your wedding plans? Email a link (along with a photo, a brief bio, and why you would make the best new Knottie bridal blogger) to messageboards[at]theknot[dot]com.

Post a note in the comments section if you have any questions!

Bride's Favorite Cookie

2010-08-13T07:59:00.000-07:00

For the other brides out there that aren’t into standard wedding cakes, feast your eyes on this little beauty:

Um, whoa. And yum. And YUM.

I don’t know about you, but I love Oreos almost as much as I love creative wedding ideas. This treat was crafted for a swanky housewarming party, but how easily could it transfer to a reception as the groom’s cake or even the main confection? The Fiance hates chocolate, but maybe I could swap in some Golden Oreos to please everyone…

Bigger question, why do I think about these things before lunch?

Photo: Paul Costello

Taking the Plunge

2010-08-12T08:52:00.000-07:00

Yup, it’s another Two-Post Thursday (just made that up). But I saw these photos and couldn’t not share them:

I’m actually not a fan of the “trash the dress” photo shoot. If you don’t want your dress anymore, donate it. Or sell and try to make some moolah. But simply destroying a piece of clothing that many brides pay crazy amounts of money for seems…wasteful. Besides, I love my wedding dress -- I don’t want to destroy it.

But then, of course, the moment I make up my mind about one wedding tradition I find something that makes me question my opinion just a bit. I probably still won’t trash my wedding dress, but how ga-ga-gorgeous are these underwater photos? *Swoon*

Photos: Michelle King

Show Business

2010-08-12T08:32:00.000-07:00

Well, I can officially scratch another item off the “100 things to do during your engagement” list -- the future hubster and I attended our first bridal show last night.

We like free things.

Not only do you get to check out a bunch of awesome wedding vendors in your area (all in the SAME building!), you also get free food and drinks. And when the show is hosted by a catering hall, you’re not just getting a lunch meat tray from the grocery store -- we’re talking the same scrumptious treats the venue would be serving your guests.

Last night’s event was also in conjunction with this contest I entered to win a $100,000 wedding (because seriously, Knot editors don’t get their weddings free on our own), so we got to attend the “VIP” party just for people who had entered.

Sidenote: We find out if we won next week. Send us good, winning vibes!

The only awkward thing was that the event was held at the venue we didn’t end up picking. Eh heh….Although it was kind of cool to get of glimpse of what it would have been like.

The best part of the whole thing was that we got information about the limo company we’re interested in, as well as a few tips for good (and affordable) DJs. It’s all coming together, folks.

Crybaby Bride

2010-08-11T10:05:00.000-07:00

So, I have a confession: I’m a wedding crier.

I wasn’t always. When I was younger, I just didn't get crying at weddings. It’s a happy time, right? Who cries about happiness?

Surprise; this girl.

Somewhere along the line I started getting more invested in the meaning behind things, and really happy things started getting me all misty. And when I think about the meaning behind people saying their wedding vows, I get a little choked up. (Especially when the guy says his. I feel like wanting to get married is a much more natural desire for women -- which is probably sexist of me to say…oh well -- but for men it’s something you have to grow into. I think it’s very sweet.)

So why are my theories about wedding vows and tears relevant? Well, it turns out I am not what you would call a “pretty crier.” My eyes get red, my face is blotchy, and my nose runs. And I don’t know if you know this, but people take a lot of pictures of you on your wedding day. (Heck, you hire them to take a lot pictures of you.)

And since just thinking about my wedding day has the tendency to form a lump in my throat, I’m a little worried about turning into a total mess on the actual day.

Anyone have any advice for holding back the tears? Or at least crying prettily?

Photo: cp_odd

I Got My Wedding Dress!

2010-08-10T06:06:00.000-07:00

I’m SO excited.

I picked up my wedding dress last night! It’s a little amazing because they told me it wouldn’t be in until October, but a coworker (you know her as Knot Annie) who used to work at a bridal salon told me that they often give brides extended deadlines so they don’t have anyone calling them every day to check up on it. Besides, it’s always a pleasant surprise getting something you’re looking forward to early!

The only downside to having my wedding dress (exactly!) eight months before my wedding day? I live in a studio apartment. Meaning I do not have storage. What I do have? A nosy fiance dying to see my dress. (Ok, he admits he would be disappointed if he saw it early. But he still hates being left out.) So currently it is wrapped in a sheet (they gave it to me in clear plastic – not good for hiding anything) and tucked into a corner of my closet, safe from view.

I’m going to have to get it steamed anyway, right?

Oh, I forgot the other downside to having my dress early: I want to wear it all the time. Like when I’m watching TV. Or reading. Or sleeping.

Where did you store your dress prior to saying “I do”? Did your fiance ever find it?

A Sterling Idea

2010-08-05T12:43:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know I JUST posted, but my dear friend Michelle just sent me a link for one of the cutest wedding ideas I’ve ever seen:

Stamped forks! How adorable would this be for the first bite or cake or as a cake topper?

Get yours here!

All Mixed Up

2010-08-05T12:27:00.000-07:00

When I tell people that I’m not picking my bridesmaids dresses (rather, just giving them a color and saying, “Have at it.”), I get one of two reactions:

1. “Oh, that’s nice of you. That’ll look neat.”
2. “Wigga-what?”

Ok, the second one doesn’t really happen -- but its more eloquent counterpart (“You’re doing what?”) sometimes does.

One of the more difficult aspects of being an editor at TheKnot.com is that my fellow editors and I see wedding trends the second they happen – sometimes before that. And trying to describe a relatively new trend -- such as mismatched bridesmaid dresses -- to more traditional wedding guests (i.e. Great Aunt June) can cause a bit of a stir. It’d be like trying to describe the iPhone to someone in 1986; sure, it sounds neat, but they just can’t buy into it yet.

But it’s not like I’m just telling them to wear their favorite pair of cut-offs and a red T-shirt. I’m thinking something like this (the color is even right!):

And I love the corresponding bowties for the guys (though I think we’re going to stick with neckties):

See? Not a bad looking bridal party:

What’s the trendiest thing you are incorporating/incorporated in your wedding? And what wedding trends are you ready to see disappear?

Photos: Aaron Shintaku Photography (aaronshintaku.com)

This is Why I'm Marrying Him

2010-08-04T14:14:00.000-07:00

Can we just talk about how adorable my fiance is for a second?

Yes, I’m aware that I am mildly biased. (Due to that he gives me pretty, sparkly things. And I, you know, adore him.)

But remember when I said that he was only kind of into wedding planning? Well, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t just like to be helpful. So when we first got engaged, I delegated finding a DJ and transportation to him. (Ok, I may have done some research myself. Just to make sure. This is my job, people.)

But last night we were out to dinner with some friends, and all of a sudden his face lights up and he goes, “Oh! I found our wedding DJ!” And you know what? He had. And for a great price. And with great optional features.

Yes, he got some help from his mom, who has worked with the DJ through her job (thanks, future-mom-in-law!), but I say it still counts. Yay for fiances who care!

Besides, who couldn’t love that face?

It's A Date

2010-08-02T11:55:00.000-07:00

So I totally forgot to mention that we picked our wedding date! (Per the selection of our reception venue.)

I will officially be an old married lady on April 10, 2011.

(Yup, THAT happened.)

One thing you need to know about me is that “patient” will NEVER be one of the three words I use to describe myself during a job interview. Which means that counting down the 251 days left until my wedding (thank you, TheKnot.com wedding ticker!) is already getting stale.

Of course, then I remember that I still need to figure out tastings, wedding flowers, wedding save-the-dates and invitations, a DJ, transportation, and lodgings for my out-of-town guests (*gasps for air*), and suddenly eight months, one week ,and one day seems like hardly enough time to get it all accomplished.

Everyone says it flies, so I’m trying to savor the planning time as much as I can (for a girl who just wants to marry her fiancé already!).

To all the married ladies out there, what did you think? Do you wish you’d had more time, or would you have gladly cut a month or two out of the planning time?

She's Got the Look

2010-07-30T07:42:00.000-07:00

Ok, for my final post this week (and yes, I know there have been a lot so far!), I’m so excited to say that we’ve booked our wedding photographer! Her name is Megan Lange, and her company is Lime Green Photography.

I’ve mentioned before how photography is one of my budget priorities, but in my opinion, it’s also one of the most important aspects of your wedding. The wedding and reception last a few hours, but you have the pictures forever. And since I’m one of those people who actually enjoys looking through old pictures over and over again, I really, really, really want to love my wedding pictures.

I said in my first post that Knot editors don’t really get as many perks as you would think when we’re planning our weddings, but there is one thing about my job that gives me a leg up on some brides: connections. Because even though no one is giving me a free wedding, my colleagues and I know some of the most talented people in the wedding industry. I found Megan because she went to school with one of my friends at work (thanks again, Jaimie!), and boy is she talented:

Can’t wait to meet you in October, Megan!

What about you? Which vendors were your priority and how did you find them?

Location, Location, Location

2010-07-29T07:26:00.000-07:00

Ok, so as you can probably tell from the frequency of posts this week, a LOT of wedding planning happened the weekend my parents were here.

You know about the dress, but another major decision? We picked our reception venue!

As you know, we started looking at catering halls before my parents’ visit so we could narrow down our top two to show them.We ended up with Chateau Briand and The Riviera at Massapequa.

I have to say, I was honestly torn between the two places. They are completely different styles, with one on the water with a more rustic, old-time mansion style, and the other more reminiscent of old Hollywood and Sinatra and packed with Art Deco details. They both had great food and wonderful staff that were willing to accommodate just about all of our requests.

As of the Saturday of my parents’ visit, we had decided (well, I had decided…for some reason everyone left it up to me. So. Much. Pressure.) on the Chateau. The Fiance and I agreed that we wouldn’t be disappointed with either place, and the Chateau had a few extra amenities (like a free hotel room on our wedding night and a few extra meal options) that it was tough to say no to.

Then I woke up Sunday morning, signed onto my Google reader (with which I follow several hundred wedding blogs…as part of my job…I swear), and the first thing to pop up was this sweet, quirky wedding in a rustic venue. It was exactly the type of wedding I fall in love with over and over again. And I knew right then that I could never have that in the venue we had picked.

So I talked it over with The Fiance, my parents, and his parents, and in the end we decided the Riviera was just more our style. Plus, they had offered us a free chocolate fountain, but since I have a phobia about combining chocolate and big white dresses and The Fiance hates chocolate anyway, we asked if they could swap it out for an extra meal option. They readily complied AND threw in two other extras, including an “expresso” bar (I can’t decide if they’re being cute or just didn’t use spell check…but when someone is giving you something for free, it is NOT the time to correct their spelling).

Last night we went to sign the contract and drop off our deposit, and I have to say, I know in my gut we made the right decision. The Riviera is so much more "us," and we both love the water so it’s nice having such a great view of it. I can't wait!

So many big things are getting decided! This whole “getting hitched” thing is starting to feel more and more real…go figure. I paid a deposit on one other vendor, but I’ll save that for another day!

I Heart Cake Toppers

2010-07-28T10:16:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know I've already posted once today, but I just spotted this picture on one of my favorite wedding blogs and I can't get over it.

It is cake topper perfection. And totally within my sewing capabilities!

Photo by: Our Labor of Love

Wedding Dress to Impress

2010-07-28T09:09:00.000-07:00

So, I bought my wedding dress on Monday. No big deal.

PSYCH! It’s the BIGGEST of deals!!!

Now, I should say that similar to flowers, the dress was never really a budget priority for me. I wanted to look pretty, I wanted to feel comfortable, and I wanted to be able to dance in it (correction: NEEDED to be able to dance in it).

But other than that, I’ve never really been the type to spend a wad of cash on a piece of clothing. And the fact that I would only wear this dress once (and for a few hours at that) weighed heavily on my budget-conscious mind.

So, naturally, my first stop was David’s Bridal. Okay, I know this place has kind of a negative rap for being cheesy, boring, or cheap, but guys, DB has really stepped up their game. Not only did I try on about seven totally different dresses, they were all classy, lovely, and affordable.

Though I had a pretty solid list in my mind of what I like (simple, fitted on top, matte fabrics) and what I don’t (all-over beading, pickups in the skirt, anything too princess-y), I tried to go in with the mindset we recommend to all of our brides on TheKnot.com. Namely, an open one.

I had resolved to try on whatever someone handed to me (after explaining to my posse -- my mom, my FMIL, and my FSIL -- and the DB assistant Nina the likes and dislikes), even if it didn’t immediately seem like my style. After reading enough message board posts about brides who ended up with a dress totally unlike what they expected, I know that sometimes you have no idea what looks good on you until you actually put it on.

The first dress was nice, but definitely creeping into princess territory. (Although, not going to lie, just seeing myself in any kind of wedding dress gave me thrills.)

(Doing the robot?)

Next was an adorable tea-length number with a high-low skirt and a flower detail on the bust. I actually loved it and thought maybe my search would end earlier than I anticipated. But, like a good Knot bride, I knew I had a bit more trying on to do.

Next was something totally different. It was slinkier, more Grecian-inspired. It was very pretty, but we all agreed it wasn’t really my style.

The fourth dress was probably my least favorite. The mermaid cut was nice (Nina, my wonderful salesperson, totally made my day by going on and on about how my figure was perfect for it. Yes, I know she’s a salesperson, and no, I do not care.), but as I mentioned, pickups are just not my thing.

And then…there was the dress. The dress. And I just knew. And my mom cried, so apparently she knew too. As I looked in the mirror, all I could think was, “I’m going to marry him in this dress.” Sounds like a winner, right? (Scroll down for photo!)

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PSYCH AGAIN! (Apparently it’s 1995.)

C’mon, guys! The Fiance is one of those supportive types who actually reads what I write. No way am I risking him seeing it here. But suffice to say it’s a style I never thought I would pick.

And guess what else I learned? I’m a veil person! Who knew, right? But the second they put it on my head, it was like, “Well, dang. I feel like a bride.” I think I’m going to add that as another attempted DIY project, though. Something about spending over $100 on a piece of tulle and a plastic comb doesn’t sit right with me.

We went to one other bridal salon, but the dresses were expensive, the salespeople were a bit snooty, and, let’s face it, I had already found my dress.

So, to sum up, here are the lessons wedding dressing shopping taught me:

1. David’s Bridal is awesome. (And so is Nina!)
2. Try everything. If you hate it, you hang it back up -- no harm, no foul.
3. When you know, you know.

My Girl Likes to Party All the Time

2010-07-27T12:30:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a busy weekend! We made a lot of major wedding decisions while my parents were here (think: venues, dates, photographers, and DRESSES!), but to avoid wedding overload (and to avoid running out of things to talk about!), I’m going to break it into a few posts.

First, we took my parents on a tour of Long Island, including a relaxing evening at a winery. Look, everyone getting along!

Then, we had our engagement party! It was pretty small since we borrowed the house of a really (really, really, really, really…) awesome couple friend of ours – just church friends and immediate family – but it was nice for my parents to get to meet everyone out here.

We don’t really do engagement parties in the Midwest (did I mention I grew up in Iowa? Midwest shout-out!), so in my mind I imagined it was something like a bridal shower. Well, apparently it can be anything from that to a full-on party, complete with a rented hall, dinner, and dancing.

No offense if that’s your thing (because really, who hates an extra party?), but in budget bride world that just sounds like a lot of dough I could put toward the actual wedding day. Fortunately, the fiancé and I tend to see eye-to-eye on budgetary things, so he agreed.

So we decided to have a barbecue. But even though we were eating simple (and delicious) burgers, hot dogs, and sides, I don’t think the party felt low-budget at all. It’s amazing what good friends and a gorgeous backyard can add to ambiance.

Of course, things weren’t perfect. It rained (and there was a tornado watch) for up to, ya know, like fifteen minutes before our outdoor shindig was supposed to start (no one even wanted to talk to me until the sun came out I was so stressed out), but in the end the weather was perfect and everyone seemed to have a really great time. Put it this way: It was a good lesson in the fact that your attitude determines the party; not the forecast. Besides, look at the pictures! We look happy, right?

What about you? How are you cutting budget corners (without anyone noticing)?

The Game of Love

2010-07-21T12:41:00.000-07:00

I’m not going to lie to you and say that my fiancé is 100% SUPER into wedding planning, but it does thrill me when I some aspect of it actually gets him excited.

For example, before we were engaged (but he was still forced to discuss weddings thanks to my employment), I once mentioned something about a couple who had a mini cake for each table at their reception.

The fiancé was instantly interested, responding immediately with, “Wait. How many cakes can you have?”

Me: I don’t know, I guess as many as you can afford.

Him: That is cool.

Or the time we did our wedding registry and discovered that instead of a standard 2-in-one-cake-platter-punch-bowl set, we could instead purchase a FIVE-in-one-cake-platter-punch-bowl-veggie-dip-and-who-knows-what-else set. He actually used the word “awesome.” Multiple times. About a cake platter. It was a proud moment for this wedding enthusiast.

To his credit, though, he does make an effort to be involved. And he’s actually had a few amazing ideas. For example, right after we got engaged (and were finally able to discuss our wedding in a non-hypothetical setting), I asked him what was the one thing he really, REALLY wanted at our wedding. His eyes lit up and he said (albeit half joking), “An air-hockey table!”

My response? “We are doing that.”

Now my favorite part of venue visits is when they ask if we have any questions, because the first words out of his mouth are, “Well, we want to rent an air-hockey table…”

Since he’s actually quite the hockey enthusiast, I’ve started trying to think of other (tasteful) ways to incorporate his favorite sport into our wedding. I’m thinking I will spray paint a few old pucks gold and use them for table numbers (similar to what Carrie Underwood and Mike Fisher did for their escort cards):

Anyone have any other ideas for a subtly sporty touch?

(Photo courtesy of People magazine)

Meet The Parents

2010-07-19T11:50:00.000-07:00

Hello, fellow brides!

Ok, so here’s a quick update while I have a free second at work. My parents are coming into town on Thursday to spend the weekend. Here’s what this means:
1. We will be picking our wedding venue and getting our official wedding date! (Yay!)
2. The fiancé’s parents are throwing a little engagement party so my parents can meet a bunch of people out here. (Yay!)
3. My parents will meet my fiancé’s parents for the first. Time. Ever. (Eep!)

I’m not actually that concerned about this. They’re all perfectly nice, relatively-easy-to-get-along-with people. It’s just weird because I don’t think they have that much in common besides the fact that their children want to spend the rest of their lives together. So, you know, there’s that.

I figure they will just spend the weekend talking about us. (Good thing his parents like me and mine are ready to adopt him, huh?)

Anyone have any wacky “meet the parents”-type stories to make me feel less anxious about the whole thing?

And now, a little music.

2010-07-15T12:43:00.000-07:00

The fiance and I don’t have a song. We never have. This bothers me, and I can’t really say why.

So anyway, here we are, presented with the perfect opportunity to pick a song. And I’ve. Got. Nothing.

To be fair, he’s more of a musical person than me. He knows more bands, more song titles. He made me a mixed CD for our six-month anniversary based entirely on songs with lyrics relevant to our current situation. (Yes, I am saying it’s all his fault. Juuuuust kidding, hon!)

It needs to be sweet (because I’m romantic) but a little rock-y too (because he’s a little bit rock’n’roll). Does anyone have any ideas?

A ridiculously grainy picture of us, but it's the only one I have of us dancing. So you know I love it!

Etiquette Life Lessons

2010-07-14T10:12:00.000-07:00

If you've ever spent any time on TheKnot.com message boards, you've undoubtedly learned three things:

1. Once you ask a girl to be your bridesmaid, there is never-ever-under-any-circumstances any excuse to un-ask her (unless you genuinely want to end the friendship). Never.
2. Money comes with strings. Always.
3. Pretty much every bride asks pretty much the same exact questions.

The benefit of being a Knot editor? Part of my job is working with our Community team, meaning I spend a lot of time working with brides and scouring the message boards for popular topics and story ideas. What I'm saying is, in terms of modern wedding etiquette, I often feel I have a leg up.

Here are a few other common lessons that are taught and re-taught (and re-taught, and re-taught, and re-taught…) on the boards:

1. One day, your future mother-in-law (FMIL) is going to be your mother-in-law (MIL). Forever. Play nice.

2. If you have an adults-only reception, someone will be angry about it.

3. There will always be a guest who RSVPs for extra people than you invited.

4. It's your fiance's job to defend you to his family. If he doesn't, then you have bigger problems than your MIL shooting down all your wedding ideas.

5. Did they get a save-the-date? Then they get a wedding invitation. No exceptions.

6. Don't stress out about the potential for "drama" at your wedding. You will be busy on your wedding day. If your future sister-in-law gets in a fight with her boyfriend of the moment, you probably won't even know it happened.

In other wedding news, we've narrowed down our top two reception venues! My parents get into town (from the glorious Midwest!) on the 22nd, and we're hoping to have the venue/date picked that Saturday. (Eep!) Plus my mom, the fiance's mom, the fiance's sister, I are going WEDDING DRESS SHOPPING that Monday. I literally cannot think about it without getting butterflies. (Douple eep!) Wish me luck!

Flora Faux Pas

2010-07-12T09:25:00.000-07:00

Let’s get one thing straight: I like flowers. I do. I think they’re really pretty, and I think it’s super fun to get them. (The fiancé once sent me a bunch at work for our 6-month anniversary and I was a goofy grins-a-lot for the rest of the week.)

But even though I really like flowers, they have just never been one of my wedding priorities. Meaning, I just can’t bring myself to spend a gagillion dollars on something that is going to wilt and die within a day or so.

Which isn’t to say I don’t think you should! Last summer we had an intern who was one of the most petal-crazed girls I’ve ever met. She was willing to dedicate a substantial percentage of her budget to her wedding, and I say more power to her. It’s your wedding day -- your money should go toward what you love. For me, that’s photographs and food, but for you it could be paper goods, linens, music, or, of course, really lovely flowers.

That being said, I do still want SOME flowers. Just inexpensive ones. Which is why for the bulk of my flowers I plan on using baby’s breath and carnations -- stay with me.

I know there are probably high-brow flower connoisseurs out there who think I just named a couple of weeds, but I actually like the look of these blooms when they’re grouped together. I like the natural, soft shape they take on. Who cares what the price tag says if I like the look, right? Which is why it’s especially thrilling when I find something like this on one of the wedding blogs I follow:

(See the full shoot here!)

Dreamy, right?

Anyone else prioritizing their wedding budget? Or does anyone have any other inexpensive flower suggestions for me?

Color Me Happy

2010-07-08T11:40:00.000-07:00

Speaking of inspiration overload, realized that I never told you guys what my original wedding inspiration was. (And before you ask, yes, I knew this long before I was actually engaged -- another curse of working at The Knot!)

It started with this inspiration board:

I mean, I think my jaw literally dropped when I saw it. Seaglass green-blue and gold? Yum. It’s a little frilly, though, so I knew I wanted to toughen the look up with gray or chocolate brown. Like you can see here:

Inspiration boards courtesy of Delight by Design and The Perfect Palette

Wedding Inspiration Overload

2010-07-07T12:21:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the other editors and I talk about the "curse" of working at The Knot – namely, we are constantly surrounded with amazing wedding ideas, so those of us that are married want a do-over, and those of us who aren't are sometimes just plain overwhelmed. (Don't believe me? Check out editor Anja Winikka and photo editor Rebecca Crumley's Wedding Obsessions Blog. Brace yourself for awesomeness.)

Case in point? These three brilliant ideas I found while editing and uploading the latest batch of Real Weddings:

1. Mini Donut Wedding Snacks
I mean, come on. Part of my job at The Knot is working the catering beat (yeah, it's rough), which means I see a bunch of fantastic wedding chow ideas, but these little pastries stopped me dead in my tracks. Mini donuts displayed over milk shooters? Talk about giving a girl a Dunkin craving.

2. Adorable Favor Boxes
Ok, I don't even like jelly beans and I am ga-ga for these favors. I think it's the cutesy catch phrase. Note to self: Favors should be clever and cool. Duly noted.

3. "Yay!" Wedding Banners
I literally cannot stop thinking about (and planning how to accomplish) this detail. I'm for sure passing out "yay!" flags to my guests. So cute!

So, yeah, we have a lot of crazy cool ideas floating around. Here's hoping I can get narrowed down which ones I want by the time my own wedding rolls around.

What about you? What online inspiration has you a-twitter these days?

This wedding looks familiar...

2010-07-06T11:03:00.000-07:00

We’ve started looking at reception venues!

Since my parents live in another state, we’re trying to get it narrowed down to two places before they visit at the end of the month. Then we’ll make the final decision together (and finally have our wedding date!).

In our area, people tend to get married in a lot of the same places, so my fiancé and/or his parents have usually been to at least one wedding in every place we visit. This is good because they have an idea what the food is like, how the site looks set up, and whether or not the place was enjoyable as a guest, but it does make me a little nervous.

I guess I feel a little extra pressure to make my wedding this fantastic, totally unique event because I work at The Knot. (Or at least, that’s what I feel like my friends are expecting.) I know, I know, in the end all that matters is that I marry the man I love and people have a decent time, but it’s hard to completely shake off everyone’s expectations. Especially if over half the people invited have already been to one or more receptions at our venue.

Any other brides feeling the pressure to live up to wedding hype? What are you doing to make your wedding stand out?

photo courtesy of Sassy Bella Melange

We Make Mistakes Too

2010-07-02T07:34:00.000-07:00

Well, I had my first “d’oh!” moment of wedding planning. (Yup, turns out being a big fancy Knot editor doesn’t entirely protect you from those…)

So you know how we registered last Sunday. Well, exactly TWO days later I was helping our tech team figure out a bug with our Gift Registry 360 tool, when they started telling me that the products I was saying were on the list were not there. Baffled, I quickly checked the store’s registry, only to discover that about ten items were no longer available. In a two-day span.

I was livid.

After ranting to Joe for a bit, we just decided to re-register for those products at a store that doesn’t change over its inventory quite as often. So, in the end, it all worked out. (But I’m still holding a tiny grudge…)

Someone please tell me that I’m not the only one to make this mistake!

Put A Ring On It

2010-06-30T11:39:00.000-07:00

Have I mentioned how much I love my engagement ring? I mean, I know pretty much every newly engaged girl spends a majority of her free time staring at her ring (what, no? That’s just me? Awkward…), but I really, really love it. It’s exactly what I wanted, which is really good because I’m one of those people who just CAN’T lie when I don’t like your haircut, outfit, or the engagement ring you just handed me.

I was especially concerned about getting a ring I didn’t like because I’m not one of those girls who can just hand her man a picture of the ring and be like, "Buy that for me. K, thanks!"

Fortunately, working at the Knot makes it a little easier to hint (because, yes, Joe, sometimes I was hinting :)).

For example, there was one week when I had to write FOUR articles about engagement rings. FOUR. Try to write four articles about engagement rings and then have a conversation with your (still fairly newish) boyfriend about work without it getting uncomfortable. Just try.

But on the bright side, it did create a no-pressure zone to say things like, "One of the rings we’re featuring has a halo setting. It’s pretty, but not really my style, you know? I feel like it’s too much. I like simple." And BAM. He knows not to get me something dripping with jewels. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that if it’s what you like!)

Joe actually picked my ring based on a picture used on one of my engagement ring articles. I’ll say one thing for him: The man pays attention.

So what about you? Did you hint? Or did you get stuck with something you wish you could change?

Occupational Hazards

2010-06-29T09:11:00.000-07:00

Did you guys take this quiz The Knot tweeted last week? (Find it here!)

It's all about planning your wedding at work (come on, we've all done it!) and how your work life meshes with your engaged life.

I have to admit, I don't think I'm the quiz's standard sample. For example, at one point the quiz asks, "Is your boss aware that you are engaged?"

Um…my boss made me the subject of the Wedding Obsessions blog and started the first day of work after my engagement with a "meeting" about my wedding plans. (Yeah, it's pretty sweet to work here.)

In general, I think it's ok to do a little planning in between your real work – provided it doesn't interfere with your job. We even have tips for doing it right on TheKnot.com!

I think the flexibility of mixing planning with business is one of the biggest differences between a Knot editor bride and a regular Knot bride. After all, if the average bride gets caught clicking through photographer blogs at the office, she might get a reprimand. Me? It's called "research."

Hey, I might not get a free wedding, but that doesn't mean there aren't any perks to this job.

So what about you? Have you ever been caught Knotting at work?

Photo courtesy of madprime

"So we just 'bloop' each thing?"

2010-06-28T09:29:00.000-07:00

So Joe and I registered yesterday. Registering sort of reminds me of choosing a major in college. You're effectively deciding how you want to live for the rest of your life. In a couple of hours. Picking neutral colors is like being “undecided” or majoring in business.

We opted to register at Target, Crate & Barrel, and Bed Bath & Beyond since we have wedding guests in all corners of the country (literally: Seattle, California, Florida, and New York…with a host of states in between). We did most of our Target registering in-store, did a quick pass through BB&B before they closed, and then did all our updates and C&B registering online.

There are a few major difference between registering in-store and online. For example:

In-Store Wedding Registering
Pros: You can see/touch the product and get a feel for how they operate/how big they are, you can see the actual color of your towels/bed sheets/mixer, you get to use the scan gun and “bloop” things (in the immortal words of my fiancé).
Cons: I find big stores full of stuff a little overwhelming to shop in.

Online Wedding Registering
Pros: Everything is laid out neatly, making comparison shopping simple; you can see ALL of the options available at the retailer, instead of just what's in stock; editing and deleting items of your list is much easier and instantaneous.
Cons: It lacks the pros of in-store shopping.

This probably won't come as a surprise to people who know me, but I prefer online registering. The simplicity really wins me over – though I'm glad we experienced the scan gun. How else would I have gotten this:

Yup, I'm going to marry him :)

What about you? Where did you register and why? Did you go in-store, or stick to the world wide web?

We're A Lot Like You

2010-06-25T09:05:00.000-07:00

There seems to be this misconception running around that Knot editors get their weddings for free.

As much as I would love that, I'm afraid I'm about to burst a few bubbles here: While we might be able to snag a few random freebies (today I grabbed a fancy vegetable peeler off the free table – score!), I am by no means being handed a reception hall. (Of course, I'm always open to the offer! Eh? Ehhh?)

But even though I still have to pay for my venues, flowers, attire, stationery, favors, entertainment, transportation, (*gasps for breath*), bridal party gifts, accessories, formalwear, and everything else you need for one of these shindigs, I'm still incredibly excited. Because the biggest perk of working at TheKnot.com is that we are literally surrounded by the best and most creative wedding ideas out there. All. Day. Long.

Which means my head is swimming with ideas – from budget-savvy tips to gorgeous décor inspiration – all of which I plan to share with you as I navigate the (at times) crazy world of planning my own.

Here's what you need to know:

I currently live in Long Island, NY, but I spent most of my formative years in Des Moines, IA. (Woo, Midwest!) The Fiancé and I are planning a wedding for April or May of 2011 (Side note: You can watch our proposal video below!). We're on a pretty tight budget considering our area, but I like to look at it as an opportunity to stretch those Knot-trained economizing muscles I've garnered.

What I'm saying is, I may work for the top wedding website, but I'll deal with a lot of the same issues and concerns as any other bride. Check back often for my tips, ideas, inspiration, and updates on my own wedding planning, and feel free to leave your own advice, grievances, and thoughts in the comments section! I'd love to hear from you.

Oh! I just thought of another thing I got for free from work: the book "1,001 Ways to Save Money…and Still Have a Dazzling Wedding." Let's get started!

Justine & Joey Get Engaged from Justine Blanchard on Vimeo.