Sunday, June 27, 2010

Cheating continued...






The Cheating on my wedding continued as I tried to stay in communication with my MOH about her quick wedding that is in less than 3 months.  I encouraged her to pick the BM dresses out ASAP as usually you need 6-8 weeks AT LEAST to get them ordered by.  So she quickly picked them and off I went to Davids Bridal to get my dress.  I would be in Candy pink and the other girls would be in pool, which is like a light blueish/green.





However, when I went to the store, after trying on the dress she picked for me, which was great by-the-way, the lady came back and looked like she was hit by a truck.  I had pre-warned her that I knew it was really close to the wedding, and that they may have to be rushed, and how we are planning this wedding last minute, so whatever she has to do to make it work, I will figure it out $$ wise.  "This dress, as well as any others that are this length, cannot come in candy pink before September" whhhaat!? My MOH has a lot going on, so apparently she forgot to check this detail.  Now, worried that I don't want her to think I am changing the dress or her chosen colors, I slightly panicked inside.  Then I pulled myself together and called her.  She didn't answer, as usual. So I called again and then I called her mother.  Luckily, while I was on the phone with her mom, she called me back.  Two and half hours later, crisis resolved, and the two of us worked together through phone picture mail to pick a new dress for me and the coordinating flower girls.  Luckily, the plans I had for the rest of the day, were nothing major, as you know how busy I am, and we could get this done.  I will now be in a shorter dress then the rest of the party, as mine will be below the knee and theirs will be mid-calve but that was the only option we really had.  And the color will be "PInk" which is a paler pink.

(personal photo of the two dresses together)

I dont know if you can tell, but my dress has little iridescent dots on it, that actually pick up blue reflections, certain ways you turn.

Here's another pic of my dress, just in a different color, but you may be able to see the dots better. Its like the new hit dress for DB so you probably have seen the advertisement for it.



So I go to check out and wouldnt you know, next crisis.  My MOH never registered so there is no name to put it under.  BRIDAL TIP: If you are getting dresses all in one location/store, the bride should pre-register so that the shop has all the dresses under one location and has the wedding date and details all in there.  Also, then if there is an issue, they have a contact person as opposed to having to call all the BMs.  Whoops, she probably didn't think about this detail either.  Do I call her back after the last 2 hour session that totally freaked her out? I didn't.  Luckily I had gone shopping there for dresses last month for my wedding, so the poor sales lady who I put through a long morning, agree to just put it under the OTHER category under my name.  I don't know what the other girls will do when they go, but I made sure, as the good MOH that I am, that their dress came in the color POOL and would be in on time, so it should be much easier and shorter visit for them.



Anyone else have a BM dress crisis while order their dress?

I've been cheating...



I have been cheating (Gasp!) on my wedding that is :) (seriously, I mean if you really thought I was cheating, you dont know me, because there is no way I would be able to pencil that into my schedule).  Continuing on, I have been cheating on my wedding, meaning that the past week, I have been more focus on the up coming weddings, especially my MOH's that I now have added in September, that I have done much for mine, hence the lack of entries.  So, before I talk about the Sept., planning a wedding in less that 3 months debacle, I share with you the story of the invites for CK's cousin's wedding in Aug. (its kinda funny)



Yesterday, CK and I had dinner with his Gmom, and of course the topics of all the family weddings came up.  We just got the invite and so we were super excited to discuss how unique it was and the arrangements.  Of course, CK hasn't book our room yet, but I am trying to put my Type A-ness aside and trust that he can take care of this small detail for me (umm, he better soon!) Ck's gmom tells us that we should pick the pork chops because she heard that was the entree that was amazing, so CK says then we shall.  I sat a little perplexed...how did she know what the entree options were? So, I ask.  She looks at me and says You lost the response card? You have to send that back, they are waiting, maybe it fell out, you'll haveta check, but you haveta find it.  The panic intern-bride in me came out.  I was sure, There was no response card, at least I am pretty sure. However, let me back track.  The invite (which CK saw when he brought in the mail) sat under junk mail for a few days before CK said, Oh I think you wanted to see this. BOOOOOYS, they are so dumb sometimes.  Um yes, I've been waiting for the invite, thanks dear, envelope ripped all destructively, like as if he opened it with his teeth, and hot sauce stuck to the corner, surely not how it was intended to look. But, no it says on the invite to RSVP on the couples website (which on a side-note totally cool idea).  I tell his Gmom that maybe she got a special card because she doesn't do the whole computer thing, but she and I both sat confused for a little, wondering.  But I went on the site today and yes everything is ok and I picked the pork for us both.  So, whether there was a RSVP card and I lost it, or not, all is ok in the world again.  I share with you the creativity of the invites with examples of the inspirations as well...


(personal photo)

Other inspirations with this type of invite....

This program-








And lastly my friend G was in love with this idea too and created her own...


I just love how these invites tell the story of the couple.  Of course, I also love the different fonts and icons on them due to my artsiness.




Sharing with the guests how the couple met is something extra special or unnecessary? (I LOVE THE IDEA, personally!)

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

putting your return address on things...



So, you haven't heard from me for a little because I am in the process of designing the invitations.  (I know this should be done already, but I got distracted with the being a maid-of-honor for a wedding in less than 3 months).  Anyway, so while choosing options, which let me tell you there are so many decisions to be made, I just got stuck on one thing, I'm just not sure how I feel about.

The return address for the RSVPs.  Do I put me so I can see what friends of mine can't come? ( I'm not saying this to being pessimistic, just a realist, because my friend G's wedding is 2 weeks before mine, and maybe people won't want to travel twice in a short period of time.) Or do I put my parents' address, let them keep track of the cards and just fill me in? (my type-A personality cringes at this option) What if they get lost in the mail? who's house is safer to send it to? Will my father begining texting me with everyone's yes or no throughout the day while I'm at work, since hes the mail getter? But should it be sent to their house because he will want to know the exact number count, as I know it, and his bank account knows it? ahh, see what I mean.  Techinically, my parents are hosting the party, so then they should get it? I'm going to have to do some investigative work on this issue.  Just means more decisions for me to do since CK lacks an opinion. But I share with you an idea I've been tossing around and my BM, FB, sent them too...

How cool are these though? I wouldn't have to write all of them...




Cute, just how I would write it, yet dont have to take the time to over-analyze everything!





Anyone's RSVPs addresses different than your return addresses?

Saturday, June 19, 2010

My dream company (why didn't I do this?!)

So in case I haven't said this enough, wedding planning has made me realize how much I miss incorporating my artistic talents in my life.  A few weeks ago I found a photo of this place in NY and I just can't keep my mind off it.  It is so cool and I wish I had thought of something like it, though I wonder if he makes a profit or not.  The colored walls are to-die-for.  I share with you the photos now as they are an inspiration to me to be creative.  Oh, by the way, in case you didn't know, the knew trend is unique flowers for weddings, such as paper flowers.  Though this doesn't really go with my concept, you will see below how creatively awesome it is and I just had to share....The shop is called The (purely paper) Flower Shoppe by Davis Stark (you can check out this photos and more at his site which he called his "sketchbook")...







What inspires you to do DIY tasks?

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Maid of honor, scratch that, Matron of honor...


Remember when I talked about "my team" as CK referred to it?  Well, its been a little crazy these days with my team.  The team leader, the Maid of honor, got a great deal at a local venue, and saw how much fun I was having planning my wedding (sarcasm) that she caught onto the wedding bug and is getting married...wait for it...on labor day weekend (THIS YEAR), as in less than 3 months.  YIKES! and some of you thought I was crazy planning a wedding in 6 months!  So many things went through my head, dress-going to have to be rush ordered, BM dresses too, invitations need to go out in like a two weeks, the list goes on. 

And then there's me.  It's one thing to be a Bridesmaid, it's another thing to be her maid-of-honor while simultaneously planning my wedding too.  Though there is something fun about getting married at the same time as your BFF.  However, I'm going to need to pull together a shower and bachlorette party like ASAP and due to my festivities, we don't have many weekends left, as this is the duty of the MOH.  Me? Stressed? nooo.  Umm yes. very.  But luckily, things are coming together faster than you would think! 

But, let's me honest, secretly I'm even more excited, this just means more blog material for me :)

GAME PLAN:  plan a beach style wedding for 140 guests in less than 3 months.  She just picked her colors and they will be baby blue and light pink.  ( I will get to wear pink and the others will wear blue) What can I say, my girl knows me well!  Here's a few inspirations on this color scheme....








And now, we're trying to figure out if the boys with wear tan or light grey? (to continue with the beach style she wants)....

Tan:


Or Grey...





Funny, how no one seems to be doing black anymore, right?  Remember I said we are doing a dark charcoal, and I think my BM, B, is doing grey, and I'm not sure what my friend G is doing but I think it maybe grey because thats what her girls are wearing, and CK's cousin's boys will be in navy. Hmm..no black?? Is this a new trend ladies?

Needless to say, good thing I didn't print the programs for my wedding yet, because my maid-of-honor, will now have to be referred to as Matron-of-Honor as she is getting married a month before me now :) Something sounds kinda old when you have to say Matron, true?



Does Matron of honor not sound as fabulous as Maid-of-honor?

is she digging for gold?


For those of you who don't know Kayne West is a singer/rap/soapbox talker who has strong opinions on certain topics.  He has a song talking about gold-diggers (women who try and leave their husband and take all his money) and half way through the song they chant out WE WANT PRENUP.  After talking to a BFF of mine in a questionable similar situation around this, I decided to research this a little further. 


A prenuptial (or “prenup”) agreement – also called a premarital agreement – is simply a contract between two parties before they get married. The prenup is designed to allow each party to lay out certain conditions and/or distinguish personal property (assets acquired before the marriage) from community property (assets acquired after the marriage). Prenups can also allow couples to provide for children from a previous marriage and protect assets in the event of death or divorce. (taken from this site)



OK, so if a prenup is an agreement between two parties, bride and groom, then you would think that each has a say in what goes into the prenup, right?  Does that mean you get two lawyers?  And what if the couple has a child prior to the marriage? Can there be anything in there about custody or future financial education obligations?

The same above site states the following:

3.3 Child Custody
Child custody can never be addressed in a prenuptial agreement – at least not in a manner which will be upheld by any court. The court will always retain jurisdiction to make custody and visitation decisions based upon the best interests of the child.

3.4 Child Support

Similarly, child support cannot be established via a prenup. The support of the child must be based upon the needs of the child at the time of the child support judgment and not at the time of the prenup. A judge will use appropriate guidelines and calculations at the time of the divorce to set a child support obligation.

Good to know, right?


But, in all seriousness, prenups can be scary but I can see also how they are necessary in some situations. I think its something that should just be left on the kitchen table or on someones purse, but as a contract that two people discuss throughout the process. Does that seem unreasonable?  It's hard though, you are basically discussing what happens when you get divorced, before you are even married?  And if there are children involved that an even bigger issue.  Basically, you need to protect yourself from a lot these days, which is, well, a total wedding buzz-kill.



If we had a prenup, I would def. have to put a clause in there that I would get to keep everything pink. Hmm, but I'm thinking there wouldn't be any protest against that :)




Did anyone go through this prenup issue while planning their wedding?  If so, ever hear anything about child custody getting roped into it?



Tuesday, June 15, 2010

My dream job...

After the past two-long-pulling your hair out type of-weeks at work, I have now decided that if I could just blog all day long and share my ideas with other brides, mother of the brides, etc. I would be happily ever after. It's a dream, thats unrealistic, however some of you have emailed me asking for tips or photos about wedding stuff.  Maybe theres a way to use my art and psych degrees in the wedding world??  Hmmm... On a side note, I share with you this...

The wedding channel has its own awards just for wedding blogs!  There are different sections for different types of blogs, like budget weddings or DIY weddings.  Though my blog is kinda a mix of everything the category I would be under would be REAL BRIDE, I think, because I am, like I said earlier, not doing this for my job or anything like that, YEEEEET. 

If you think I'm fabulous, here's your chance to nominate me  :)

Nominate me for the WeddingChannel.com Bridal Blog Awards!

P.S. If you love my blog, you will probably love my friend G's blog, Cross Country Wed, who is my college friend who was my inspiration for all of this blog nonsense.  Check her blog out and nominate her too !!!



Sunday, June 13, 2010

I *heart* his hair (but don't tell him that)

Hair. You wouldn't think its that big of a deal but when it comes to events that require lots of pictures, it is.  Ck is notoooorious for shaving his head the day before school pictures or before a homecoming dance.  I have a long talk with him the night before picture day (remember we've been together since we were 14) and we discuss what he is going to wear and practice showing his pearly whites and then he makes some comment about how I'm making a bigger deal then needed.


Listen, someone told me a long time ago, that you should treat life as if it was a runway -Ck will never understand this.  (though I must confess sometimes I go grocery shopping in my sweatpants on Sundays-but I'm working on that.)  Anyway, we have this discussion about how he is going to act in his photo, rolling eyes and all, and then he takes me home.  When I picked him up in the morning for school, his head is shaved.  Devastation sets in.  Ok, dramatics aside, he looks cute to me no matter what his hair looks like, but I absolutely love his hair long.  It's been years, years, I tell you since it's been like this. 

A year and half ago it was getting long and I played it cool like I didn't care if he shaved it or not (ohh the tricks we have to play) and it worked.  He kept it growing.  Then his GMom said "I love your hair like this.  When you get married this is how you should have your hair".   I kid you not the boy shaved his head that freakin night! Ugggh

However, now that he is getting married and has his two favorite ladies pushing for the long, crazy, Italian curls, he almost doesn't really have a choice.  Remember when I talked about his uncle's wedding we went to last weekend?  Well this was the first time we have seen a lot of his family members and the first time they have seen his long hair.  Most of the women smiled as the couldn't help but put their fingers through it and the men just laughed, shaking their heads.  Ck claims he is getting made fun of at work for his hair.  I questioned if it were men or women, because most women aren't really complaining!!! 

Ck search for hair inspirations  of "other fools who have no choice on their hair" and came across this character from one of his favorite movie series that he dragged me to every year...



And then I got a little concerned that he would flip out when his google search lead him to a character of one of my favorite movie series that I dragged him to every year...


Oh man, he does kinda have the Edward thing going on, and I swear, I never thought of that before!  (you should know the CK hates anything that is trendy or cool, so he would think this is very uncool if someone compared them together so I assured him they looked nothing alike :) ).

Oh yea and on that note, don't tell him he looks like a Gotti boy either, or he will def. shave his head.


But at last here is a sneak peak at his current hair status from his Uncle's wedding last weekend.  It's getting pretty long.  I know he is going to have to trim it because its pretty long.  Now, just so you know, if I do something he hates, I am threatened with "I don't give a sh*t, I will shave my head if you...." buy another thing pink (is usually the end of that sentence) hahah. (p.s.- notice the pink on us-yay!)


(personal photo)




Anyone have hair restrictions on themselves or the groom's head for their wedding?

The necklaces, my favorite part...


K, readers, flashback to when I shared my inspiration for my bridesmaids, I still love this look....remember it?  Ok, well style me pretty (my favorite blog) just shared a photo link to a shoot of two BFF brides which is awesome since a lot of my friends, including my MOH, are getting married soon (more of that for another day).  Here's the pick of the two brides, notice the necklaces (yes, my favorite detail of my wedding-to-be)...




Totally love the one on the right, right? Ok, well I'm on the track to creating these awesome necklaces for my girls (spoiler alert for the BMs reading this-sorry!)  I'm sure they already knew that thou. 

The colors are going to look awesome.  Since their dresses are fuchsia (yay!) with a pale pink sash, the necklace is sure to include the fabulous pale pink pearl.  All photos are sourced from Michael's  (could spend hourrrrs and a weeks worth of pay in that place.)

Then twisted in will be the original pearl color because we are doing the vintage vibe, remember...

The next color to be twisted, is the dark greyish colored pearl.  I love this accented color because it will match the boys who will be in their charcoal 3-piece-suit (opps, I will share that later too). I think this added touch will be awesome to bring cohesion to the bridal party , CK's team with my team

and then a little twist of the hot pink glass beads, just to throw a little of hot-pink in there for me, because well, life is better with a little bit of hot pink...



And then there will be a splash of glitz and glam, with these crystal beads, because after all that was a key part of vintage necklaces back in the day.


Lastly, they will be clasped with a pale pink bow, kinda like this look...(nothing that takes away from the actual necklace.)


If you are worried about if I can pull this off, well then you don't know me.  Its, ok, I wouldn't trust that I could do this either, if I didn't know me.  But dont' worry, They will look fabulous and a perfect part of my vintage-fall-glam wedding.  Can you picture it now??



DIY,(do-it-yourself), craziness or fabulousness?