Absence

Is it a good or bad thing when you're absent from your own blog?

I actually have started a new job since April, and I guess I've been getting in the swing of things with that.

But here's what's new:

We've decided on a bakery - Laura's Bakery

I ordered my shoes.

My dress is being shipped to CLT as I type.

My bridesmaids and flowergirls have ordered their desses and both my mum and motherinlaw have purchased theirs!

David picked out the men's tuxes.

We more or less have a finalized guestlist.

We've met with the catering manager at the hotel.

We've booked a DJ.

We have had our engagement pictures done finally!

We've been paying on our wedding rings.

I have been designing our invitations and will be handmaking them.

We got our save the dates out!!!!! (Even with stupid Polar Bear stamps because that's the only 28 cent stamp USPS puts out :( )

I think that's about all. Keep a look out for these smiling faces in your mail!

Shoes Shoes SHOES!

So on my list of things to do, one that I can clearly work on often is finding the right shoes.

Here are my requirements:

-Low to no heel (outdoor wedding in the grass)

-Not too casual

-Not too matronly

-Not too expensive

-The perfect shade of green

Yes that's right. I'm going with the newish trend of matching my bridal shoes to one of my wedding colors. What better way to ensure you could wear the shoes again plus add a little flavor to your outfit?!

Unfortunately, finding the perfect shoes has been more difficult than I thought. All the other blogging brides out there seem to not have any trouble. I'm just hoping I can find something nice this spring when green is in...

But for now, I'll leave you with shoes to lust over...

RSVP Ivana ($89) and RSVP Lauren ($75)

Via Zappos

Colin Stuart Eyelet Peep-toe Pump ($89)

Via Victoria's Secret

Another dress down....

Since I haven't blogged about it yet, I should let you know that we've conquered bridesmaid dresses, flowergirl dresses, and now my mom's dress!

I'm so excited about how everything is working out.

For my bridesmaids, I knew I wanted them in something tea-length/knee-length, and in a color and fabric they might be able to wear again. (Doesn't every bride say that?!)

My flowergirls I wanted in something non-traditional. While the bridesmaids wear one of the two wedding colors, my girls will be in the other instead of bland white. They're going to be so sweet! Maybe they can even wear the dresses again too!

And last weekend I was in PA shopping with my mom. We found THE DRESS at The Winner. (It's a Western PA staple!) Of course it was the first we saw and the first she tried on. That's how us Winner girls are! Not fussy, but we know what we want when we want it!

So next is my mother-in-law, and then we'll worry about the boys!

I can't wait to get my dress back!!!!

I want to keep the dresses kind of a secret, so here's a tiny sneak peak:

Bling Bliiiiiiiing

I am a beautiful jewelry gal.

I am not a kitchy, trendy jewelry gal.

Don't get me wrong. I have a few pairs of funky looking earrings (that I almost never wear), but primarily, I love the silver/white gold with diamonds/stones type jewelry.

And vintage or intricate jewelry is by far my favorite style.

So in considering my jewelry for the big day, obviously I've been drawn to vintage(looking-I'm on a budget!) jewelry. That's why I have been drooling over this month's Martha Stewart Weddings magazine! Just look:

There are quite a few in there that are just darling. But need I remind you of how great MY ring is?!

Okay, now that I got that our of my system... ;)

I have been looking for jewelry to wear with my dress, but my problem is I have this thing. Maybe it's unique to me, I don't know.

I cannot stand wearing BOTH a necklace and earrings for any occassion. It's just too much going on! And stud earrings look silly on me because I have along neck. I'm a chandalier earring girl. So do I do earrings and not the necklace? And what if the necklace competes with my veil or doesn't match the beading on the dress or what if there's soooo much beading on the dress that even earrings would compete.... Or what if my 90-ft train.... ??

Okay, so some of that was to throw David off the trail when he inevitably reads this blog. But do you see my point? I have major OCD issues when it comes to wearing jewelry, and I just want it to look pretty without surrendering my comfort.

So the necklace and earings are on hold. But there is something else I absolutely love and want more than you know....

Again, from Martha, some of the most beautiful bracelets ever! I love the top one in the middle, the top one on the left, and the bottom one on the left if it weren't turquoise. For a bracelet, if I have one, I'm going big or going home. How glamorous are these?!

Finally, I've made one other decision: Hair jewelry!

I love my veil and don't want anything to detract from it, so I've decided that in my "change" from the ceremony to the reception, I'm gonna make like a rich bride. Instead of having two dresses (which I believe is ridiculous in one nite anyway), I'll have two hair pieces! My veil will be for the ceremony only. Then I'll take the veil out and add in a beautiful piece of hair jewelry to glam things up after hours!

My picks so far?

Tigerlily jewelry has some incredible pieces. I'm not totally decided, but just look at their loveliness!

And these are just the combs! Look at the headbands!

Drool....

Now, for my maids I'd love to do something like this I found via Mackenzie on Something Old, Something new.

From PenelliBelle on Etsy

I love love LOVE the side clasps! I don't know if this is something that will work with the dresses we have picked out right now, but I love these!

That's all the jewelry pron for now!

Monograms baby!

So I commissioned Jessica over at Jessica's Design Shop to do some monograms for me that I can use of programs, invitations, or even embroidery! She did a fantastic job, and with this broke bride's budget she did right by me!

I have two sneak peaks for you:

This one has been released onto our wedding website. (And if you haven't seen it yet, shame on you!)

Super cure, eh?! I told Jessica that we had decided on a fall theme, and I really liked the idea of using chocolate brown and pear green (playing on the pair idea) instead of the typical fall oranges and reds!

Number Two World Premeire:

My mother had been planning on passing the hankercheif she had at her wedding, but she couldn't find it. Instead, she's having a new one hand-tatted for me and wanted a design to use for the monogram. She's having it done with our colors and everything! Soooo thoughtful and talk about keepsake!


You'll have to wait until the wedding for her other handiworks to be revealed!

She also does really great design work for anything from invitations to labels, wedding or not! I'm thinking I'd like to have stationery made after the wedding with my new initials on it!
Check her out!

Another one bites the dust!

Another thing to cross off my "to-do" list:

We booked our DJ!

He's actually an acquaintance of David's so it wasn't much of a question of his abilities.
They've been in business 20 years, and the guy is super nice.
I present to you: Chubby's Karaoke!

(And no, we're not actually doing karaoke at the reception. They do regular DJing too!)

I am, in fact, still planning a wedding...

I know it's been quite a while since my last post.

Things have been hectic to say the least with my lack of employment, etc.

So, in hopes of catching up, I'm planning on posting several smaller blogs today to keep things neat and tidy!

First things first since I got inspired to actually post from reading another wedding blog:

I absolutely ADORE this idea from Heather of "We Met in a Bar" (The best couples do meet there after all!!)

Activity books for the kiddos!

Like Heather, I won't have that many kids at the wedding, but I think it's a very sweet and thoughtful idea. Plus I get to craft some more!

Seriously go checkout some more of her stuff....