What's up with School?

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Just to keep you up to date, I applied to two doctoral programs that would begin this fall, hence why the wedding is being planned in 6 months.  It is very hard to focus on school, when there are things like weddings to plan.  A few of you have inquired though so here's the scoop.  I actually was accepted to one of the programs, the school that I got my Masters at, I was 1/10 to be accepted and there we 900+ applicants, so it was kind of a big deal.  The issue is that during the interview it was implied that I could be kicked out of the 5-7 year program if I had children because I could lose focus.  After a long talk with CK, we decided that we could not promise that this would not happen in the next 5-7 years.  The other school only took 5 students into their program out of 900+ (probably a lot of the same students applied to both).  This school said they have no problem with children or working full time so I knew it was the one I would want to go to.  Due to the fact that they only took 5 students, they created two wait lists, A and B.  I am on A, which is good, but still not an acceptance.  I should find out by the end of July, which is still a little nerve racking.  Luckily, I have a great job and my masters degree so, this has given me more time to plan the wedding :)  And if I don't get in officially then I try next year or I start my family, either way I know whats meant to be will be. 

Have any of your career goals alter wedding plans throughout the process??

Wedding Crasher or Innocent Bystander?

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Have you ever seen the movie Wedding Crashers? If you haven't, its good for a laugh.  I think my senior year of college we have a few copies floating around our group that we'd put in the DVD player when we couldn't sleep.  Looking at this concept now as a bride, hmm, maybe it isnt that funny.  I mean weddings cost a lot of money if you are at a nice venue that you are paying per plate.  How do people even get away with this?  Anyway, anxiety aside, I actually have a reason to bring this up. 

This weekend CK and I spent the weekend at my family's jersey shore house.  Listen, this summer I feel the need to clarify...before you get any ideas there was no girls getting punched in the face or fist pumping, excessive hot tubs scenes, late night club trips, there was no Situations, or drama, etc...(source)

While we were down, we got to lay out on the beach for a little, see some family friends, and I got to go to my friend G's shower (more to come on this).  While I was away at the shower, my mother decided to take a walk on the boardwalk and stumbled upon people setting up for a beach wedding!  So, like any mother-of-a-future-bride, she stuck around to see the show.  Apparently there we other bystanders on the boardwalk admiring the ceremony, but I ask, is she considered a wedding crasher or an innocent bystander? Well, in her defense, she obviously didnt stay for food or anything, so I'd say she isnt a crasher but she did take notes like a good mom.  But interesting thought, right?  Your small little beach ceremony turns into a giant show?? Well, with that inspiration, I share some pics from a wedding in Avalon, NJ (where the shower was) and the pics before the ceremony at the Boardwalk in Ocean City, NJ. (Source for all these photos)

The boardwalk give such a playful POP of color, right?

Love how this one catches all the motion of the boardwalk, yet has the couple right in the middle, standing still in time. Like they are trying to take it all in, just the two of them, amongst everything else.

Love this one too.  Chopping the heads off the party, once again, keeps focus on the two of them, yet still includes everyone.

Just had to throw this one in.  Even if you don't love color, these blue flowers are amazing.  I'm thinking they are very similar to what my friend G's wedding will look like, and they are well, to die for :)

Soo, if you have your wedding on the beach, are you to expect "innocent bystanders"?

BM dresses picked, long and formal, yea...

"They must be long and formal if it is an evening wedding in the fall"...oh wedding rules.  Who makes these up anyway? Yes, my wedding is formal because thats what my father wanted.  Yes my wedding is October which is the fall season. Yes my wedding ceremony begins at half past 5, so it is the evening.  So, you guessed it, yes my bridesmaids dresses are long and formal.  The wedding gods are smiling.  But seriously, what would happen if I went with short, anyhow.  Probably nothing, though who knows, would I be the topic of everyones conversation?? Doubtful, at least with my friends that is.  However, there comes a time in wedding planning, were you feel like just going with the wedding rules.  Everything doesn't have to be unique and different, hmm.  However, the task of picking out BM dresses is something stressful if you are a nice bride.  I wanted something that wasn't over $200 (uggh this was hard!) and something that looked good on everyone.  I know my girls don't have money to be wasting on a dress they will only wear one time so I did research.  BRIDES RESEARCH!!! That is a major piece of advice that I can give.  I got a great discount, one that save my girls like almost $200 dollars each. 

So, guess what color??? Pink, cmon are you surrrrrpised at all? I know, no one is, I don't know why I kid myself.  I wanted a pink that had some purple tones in it because it is fall and that pink is more appropriate then like a light pink or melon.  So, check it out. (obviously the colors are not the actual colors).

Heres the dress...

(you can see the back of the dress and colors here)

If you click on the above link, you can see the color swatches as well.  The main dress is going the be in the color called FUCHSIA.  The sash is going to be the pale pink color called COTTON CANDY. Very excited!  We really liked the top with the detail and I think this dress will flatter all the girls.

Was picking the BM dresses a tedious task for you as well or was I just too nice of a bride?

Knock, Knock, who's there? Orange, Orange who?

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Hey, how bout them Flyers??  Alright, so can you tell I have been hanging out with CK too long with all this Philly sports stuff? Yea, I know.  However, it has been taking over our lives lately because our hockey team, the Flyers, are doing pretty well in the playoffs, in fact they came back to win the series when they were down 3-0. It was pretty awesome.  So I share with you some some wedding stuff, inspired by those Flyers, who are orange and black.

First the rings.  I'm a girl who loves color, all colors, (well we know pink the most), but especially love engagement rings that are colored because it makes them so unique...

(orange oval sapphire found here)

I heart this heart ring.....

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And then there was Halle Berry's "pumpkin diamond ring"...

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OK, now check out these boards that support the color orange...

This one is awesome with the orange and peach color combo, would be super cute for the spring weddings out there...

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And, you know how I love using letters in weddings...

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And these BM dresses are cute for spring/summer weddings too...

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Love this color combo for the guys, kinda preppy, but I'm sure it looks stunning...

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And I like this idea of a centerpiece for my wedding, since it goes with the trees and falling in love that we are going for...

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And then there were shoes, no Cinderella is complete without them...

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And one of the cutest couples ever....

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Changing your color to orange yet?

Bobblehead night is a Holiday :)

Tuesday night was Roy Halladay Bobble head night and CK was there as well as one of my besties, so I was on my own.  Work has been pretty stressful lately, packed with drama, so having a night to catch up on my blog reader and DVRed shows, was just what this bride-to-be needed.  I admit, I actually flipped back to the phillies at times, to check the score. :)  However, between flipping I found this awesome wedding that is Baseball themed and colors look very similar to that Philly team of mine.

  Style me Pretty is the best, check out the full wedding there :)

Looove these centerpieces...

And here, I love how the escort carts are tickets and how they are alphabetical, makes sense...

And they had them sign a bat and ball, very cool...

Lastly, I love these centerpieces as well.  I really like the idea of objects in a vase, that aren't flowers, as we know I'm not real into the whole flower concept. hmm...how can I use these ideas in my wedding??

Is your wedding a good catch??

The Necklace...

My necklace came in!!!! So exciting, so much, that I haven't had time to blog, I know, I know...but here's the pic, and check out Punky Jane's site for other awesome stuff.  Plus, the turn around time for it was pretty fast.  Love it?!

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Isnt it funny how a date, that before you were engaged meant nothing, now all of sudden gains all this crazy power, kinda cool??

Giving back the ring...

Whoo, don't freak out, we didn't break up, we had to give my ring back to the jeweler to get the wedding band made.  CK, walked around with a pout (picture bottom lip turned down) when we had to do this.  It actually is really sad.  You don't realize how used to wearing a ring on your finger you are, until you aren't anymore.  Plus, of course everyone wants to see your ring, and now you don't have it on.  Booo!  Also, I went BM dress shopping this week, and the shop people probably think I am a lying about getting married or something.  Not so fun.  I find myself looking at my empty left hand throughout the day and instantly pouting like CK, thinking looking aroudn guilty hoping noone saw me do that.

However, it will all be worth it, because I am going to have a beautiful wedding band to match.  See the problem is that my ring was made just for me, it's an original design.  Being the undergrad art major, I thought this was so cool.  Now, I started second guess this awesome ring because I couldn't just go to the local jewelry store and try on wedding bands until they matched, like most brides.  Of course, I was looking for more bling and not just a plain band, but I was so frustrated at one point I said, never mind just give me a white gold band, thats it, end of story.  But CK, knew I didnt really want that.  I went to a local department store just to try on a few.  I learned that since my ring has such a unique setting this would be difficult.  See below examples...

Both of these take away from the original engagement ring.  Now some brides want their wedding band to be the focal point, but for me, I wanted my wedding band to complement my engagement ring, because I love it so much.  I also wanted to make sure that the diamonds didnt take away, for the two very important diamonds on my engagement ring (my gmom and CK's gmom diamond).  SO neither of these worked.  I even thought of using pink sapphires for my wedding band....

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The problem of the high setting of my engagement ring became an issue again.  Plus, the pink was hard to match and it was taking away from the engagement ring again.  So what's a girl to do, that wants more bling??  Finally, after kinda freaking out the jeweler with my ambivalence, I called my mom and we quickly searched and then good old google helped us find exactly what I was looking for.  I wanted bling.  CK said he thought it would be cool if we got two wedding bands, one for the top and one for the bottom of my engagement ring.  Really, two rings?  He thought it was kinda old fashion, like he is, and so we went on a search.  Here's what we found and I think it is just want we were looking for!

Ok, so this would be the view from like the top...(it would be the two wedding bands and my 3 stoned engagement ring in the middle)...

and this would the wedding bands when they are separated from the engagement ring

So do you get it? The bling will wrap around each diamond.  In case you forget, this is what my ring looks like...notice how the setting is so high, that was the issue...

So, picture the center stone pink in this last picture of the example of the three rings all together...

(source for all ring design pics)

So, it will be bling, but it will complement the engagement ring, and it will look kinda vintage.  Very unique and I am so excited!  Now if only my left hand didn't look so sad...and yes, even my computer is pink :)

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Do you feel naked without your ring(s) on? Also, how hard was it to pick out your wedding band or were you lucky enough that your ring came with a matching band?

Playing Dress Up was more fun when you were younger

Last night by BM, "FB" and I, went out on our first search for fabulous BM dresses.  Please dont gasp or yell, I know, I know, I need to get this done ASAP but there has been a lot of other happy distractions. This week, however, is about staying focused and getting this picked out, otherwise my girls will be walking down naked! (Which might not go with the formal idea of the wedding :) Soo, we started out at a local bridal store chain to start to get a concept.  We figured we wouldn't find anything but that we could get a general idea, right?  Turns out they didnt have the right shade of pink or silver that I was looking for anyway, surprise, surprise...but wait til you see some of these ridiculous dresses, poor FB, playing dress up for me.  Luckily, I'm not one of those brides who says it looks good when it doesnt.  I mean if you are going to ask someone who you really care about in your wedding to spend a lot of money on a dress, you would hope you could find something that looks somewhat nice.  Also, this whole concept of maybe being able to wear it again, I think was made up by the dress shop commission gods because really? You are going to wear a formal gown again, really? c'mon, lets not kid ourselves.  Luckily, FB has a good fashion inner critic so we were on the same page with a lot of stuff.  K, so check out the pics, (obviously dont pay attention to the colors, its just what they had in the style-not the actual color we'd pick)..

Not formal enough, No.

Not the right material, no.

Like the trumpet shape, but not the separates look, NO.

Underwear lines, noo.

We kinda liked this one, but nope not right.

This one I think is not so bad, but I dont know about the belt, ehh, No.

This one was probably my favorite, but still, not exactly what I was thinking...

So off we go to another shop tomorrow, with the other BMs texting me checking in on how the search is going, and I'm crossing my fingers on this shop because I know they carry some dresses in the colors I like. I'm sure it gets old going to a lot of different shops, plus we're busy girls, so I'm so lucky that she cares enough to do this with me, and I owe her bigggg time :)

How did you pick your BM  dresses??

J + B forever (other brides to be)...

So there are many people that are engaged right now in my life and I think it's super awesome to be able to share this experience with all of them.  (Thankfully, for my sanity, I'm not a bride who's bothered by it because I have heard horror stories about this.) Out of all the couples, CK and I have been together the longest, so it was no surprise to the other brides that we would have a shorter engagement.  Some of them decided to wait some wanted to do it right away.  Two of the brides-to-be that I was around have the same couple initials J and B.  (I actually just realized this when I was creating this entry).

The first J and B (J is Ck's cousin) are getting married very sooooon in Aug.  This is the wedding that CK is so excited about because it's at Penn State (yay!) Last Sunday we celebrated with J at her wedding shower.  She got lots of exciting gifts and the theme was super cute "tying the knot" think shells, a lifesave, and other nautical things.  I even incorporated the theme in one of my gifts to her, check it out,cute right? Notice the sign says j + b, awww. haha.

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here's some inspirations for other Knot theme stuff..

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And then my BM, who I referenced as P, is actually B and her groom is J.  So they are a J and B also!  This weekend I spent the day, avoiding bridesmaids dress shopping, and went looking for a wedding dress with P and her family.  She looked amazing in everything so it will probably be a tough choice but she's lucky because no matter what she will look fabulous.  She's not getting married for a little over a year, but boy, she probably has more planned than me.  Very impressive! I gave her a fun engagement basket to officially celebrate her engagement, filled with fun things like magazines, blue nail polish for her something blue, rock candy for her big rock, awesome wedding books for references, bride and groom rubber duckies, and other silly things like that. I think it turned out pretty cool. you can tell I love the letters right?

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So here's to the happy couples of Js and Bs.

Do you know any J's and B's?