Soaking up the sun in ???

Jacob decided on our honeymoon destination! He is booking our flights this week. For those of you who didn't know, we decided early on in the wedding planning process that the destination would be kept a secret from me; a surprise to look forward to during the insanity that is wedding planning.

Having a fiancé who is willingly, and lovingly, taking the reins and getting this dream vacation planned for me is divine. I love that he wants to surprise me with this. I literally do not want to know where we are going until we are on the plane on September 19. It is kind of nice not having to worry about this, as I am up to my eyes in other details.

Seriously, I cannot tell you how excited I am about this trip. I could not tell you the last time I took a serious vacation...aside from the weekend roadtrips with friends. Getting away from it all and starting our marriage off on a beautiful getaway sounds absolutely perfect to me. Best of all, we plan to attack the pile of boxes already at Jacob's (my belongings) and get situated prior to the wedding so we can fly home and just "be" before diving head first back into work (and legally changing my name, and those other fun post-wedding projects).

The one thing I do know about the destination is that it is a tropical locale. (Don't worry, insurance and other precautions will be taken should a sudden September hurricane arise!) So come September 19, we will be soaking up the sun on an exlusive beach somewhere, margaritas in hand. Oh and wishing my new brother-in-law a very Happy Birthday! :)

DIYing my way to the alter

I love making things. Have ever since I was a little girl. Pretty sure that comes from my Mom who has always been dubbed as crafty. Seriously. You could give the woman a sock, glitter and a mason jar and she could turn out something really cool. (A female version of MacGyver, my mom!)

Since I like that sort of thing, and to add extra flair to our wedding, I am working through an extensive list of DIY projects that I created. Over the MLK day weekend, I got a few projects finished (wreaths for the church doors, decor for the reception site front door, etc.), a few projects started (large cardstock signs that say "Thank" and "You" for a special picture, etc.) and even had time to contemplate more.

For instance: I really like the idea of using bouquet charms in the bridesmaids' bouquets (and mine of course!). However, I was having a hard time coming up with how this would be feasible (without spending money on kits I came across online). After pondering on this for a few days, I may have come across a way that could potentially work:

I will use flat bottom marbles, pin backs and some glue...

...to create custom, one-of-a-kind bouquet charms for the wedding day bouquets.

My plan is to cut tiny round images, glue them to heavy white card stock and glue the flat sided marble to the front of the image. I have seen similar projects just like this for the creation of magnets, push pins, etc. Instead of affixing the marble to a magnet or push pin, I will glue the marble to a pin back, as long as I can find pin backs in the appropriate size.

If not, I will have to play with other ideas, like maybe two marbles per pin, etc. Instead of being a true bouquet charm (they typically hang by a ribbon from the bouquet), these will have the ability to clip to the ribbon holding the bouquet together. And after the wedding, long after the bouquets wilt, the charms will be able to clip to another surface!

Not sure that this project will work, but I want to at least try it!

What images will I use for these you ask? I think I would make each one different to represent my friendship with each girl. For instance, with Erin, I could use a tiny image of a Skyline Cheese Coney (because we LOVE Skyline Chili!). This could be fun. So many things could work! As for my bouquet, I may see if there is a way to shrink an image from my Mom's parents' wedding to use for my charm.

I plan to gather the supplies for a first attempt this weekend. Will definitely keep you posted on how they turn out!

Planning for Post-Honeymoon Life

The average amount of time it takes to plan a wedding is between 12 and 18 months. How much time do these couples actually put into planning the rest of their life together? I was told that it is much less (somewhere on the total other end of the spectrum). Maybe that is a factor in the huge divorce rate of this country?

To get married at our church (Southland Christian Church), couples have to go through a four week pre-marriage class with other engaged couples. It is led by two couples, both have been married for several years. Topics discussed range from marriage expectations and communication to finances and intimacy. These classes are supposed to spark conversation amongst engaged couples and give people the tools they need for a good start to their marriage.

Our classes began earlier this month. For four Wednesday nights in a row, we are meeting in the atrium at Southland to talk, laugh and grow. I have already learned some really pertinent things (last night's "fighting fair" session was particularly useful!).

I think this class (and the topics learned) is extremely important in our growth as a couple. To continue this growth, we have several things in mind for the remainder of our engagement, including us reading"The Five Love Languages" together. (Great book for all couples!)

Yes, planning a wedding is time consuming, but planning for the rest of your life together is so much more important. Who cares how lavish and finely planned your wedding is if it is planned without contemplating what happens after the honeymoon?

It is what it is

Now that the major items have been secured, it is time to do the fun part of the wedding planning...creating minor details and those little touches that will make the wedding uniquely ours.


For this part of the planning process, I am dubbing it "It is as it is." This is something I hear around work ALL the time and it is a great quote. And so applicable to many instances of life.

I love that our wedding is taking place in the gorgeous Bluegrass region of Kentucky at the start of fall. There are so many beautiful things we can use that are already all around us. I have so many little ideas in mind that I am creatively trying to mesh into a single day. Some are zany and different while others are not. But in all, I think everything will fall into place as it should.

I will be sure to fill you in on some of these details over the course of the next several months.

One such idea that has been finalized is our guest book. Instead of the typical run-of-the-mill guest book that is fluffy and white with embellishments on it that people write in with a huge feathered pen (no offense if this was the case at your wedding!), Jacob and I decided to do something different. I have seen where couples have people write on the matte of a large photo, or where people sign a platter that will be displayed, etc. Those are all cute ideas.

But our idea is something personal, yet functional. We bought a coffee table book chock full of panoramic photos from Kentucky. The photographer, Jeff Rogers, is based right here in Lexington. We fell in love with this book when Erin (one of our bridesmaids!) first showed it to us. Our plan is to have people write in the margins or over some of the photos. Not only will this book be a great memento of our Bluegrass wedding, but it will actually be used!! (We are both huge coffee table book people...) Also: huge thanks to Mom for the Joseph Beth gift card that helped make this book possible!

I think that next we will begin determining the components of our wedding ceremony...from music (and musicians) to readings and ceremony flow, there is a lot that goes into those 30 minutes. Stay tuned for updates as things are finalized and decided!

Party like it's 1999...or 2010!

The last major component of my wedding planning included hiring a DJ. And it can now be checked off my list! Yesterday, at the Kentucky Bride Bridal Show, I met and booked Bluegrass Beat. What is funny is that this business is owned by Evan Morris, who Debbie and Jerry initially recommended to Jacob and I.

I went into yesterday's event planning to book an entirely different DJ, but once I met the guys with Bluegrass Beat, my mind changed completely. Evan's youngest brother, Blake, will be our DJ in September.

With mine and Jacob's taste in music on completely different ends of the spectrum (he loves rap, country and R&B, and I am more into classic rock, oldies, etc.), we will definitely need to set up a meeting once the date gets a little closer to figure some things out. Also, I have big ideas for introduction music, cake cutting, exit music, etc. Those details will not be spilled though, you will just have to wait until September 18!

Toss the bouquet!

We officially have a florist! After researching our options, we have decided to sign with Stephen Hein, who is seriously one of the city's best florists. His work is absolutely gorgeous. And the best part: I never would have been able to afford him had I not won the gift certificate at the July 2009 Bridal Show. This gift certificate is saving us $500 worth of flowers/greenery.

We have not placed our final order quite yet, but our quote includes:

• Bridal bouquet (orange lilies, white stephanotis flowers, greenery: wanted a fresh-picked kind of look);
• Toss bouquet (not sure if I am going to do the traditional bouquet toss or not, but regardless, this bouquet will be a smaller version of my bouquet);
• Eight bridesmaids' bouquets (orange lilies, bear grass and seeded eucalyptus);
• Groom's boutonniere (three white stephanotis flowers, seeded eucalyptus);
• Boutonnieres for seven groomsmen/four ushers/Todd Tyler/two fathers/one grandfather (two white stephanotis flowers, seeded eucalyptus);
• Nosegay bouquets for two moms (white orchids);
• Pin-on corsage for one grandmother (white rose);
• Greenery for three candelabras at the church;
• Cake topper (orange lilies) and greenery for base of cake;
• Three medium eiffel vases of orange lilies/greenery (decoration at reception); and
• Three short eiffel vases of orange lilies/greenery (decoration at reception).

We are setting another meeting for next week to add additional corsages and boutonnieres for our honor attendants (readers, guest book attendant, program person, etc.), delivery options and discuss the option of pew decorations. Stephen has some great ideas of using greenery to decorate every third or fourth pew. Hopefully it is something we can do and still remain in budget!

Next on the list: find and book a DJ!

Happy Bridesmaids = Happy Bride

A wise man once said, “A happy bridesmaid makes a happy bride.” I think he knew what he was talking about. After being in numerous weddings myself, I decided early on that I wanted to make my wedding as easy as possible for those I wanted to share it with me...namely my bridesmaids.

Meaning: letting each girl choose her own dress, have the option to do her own hair/makeup/nails, choose her own jewlery/shoes, etc. I figure that these things would add up to a happy bridesmaid.

When I made the decision to have each of the girls wearing different dresses, I did not realize the extra job I was taking on. Add to that the fact that no bridal shop in Lexington carries the complete line I chose (Forever Yours) and you have a sticky situation.

Luckily, Ruth's Bridal in Lexington (where my gown was ordered) has been very easy to work with on this (as they are ordering the dresses). Since mid-August, I have been shuttling groups of my girls back and forth to Cincinnati to the mecca that is Bridal and Formal. And one by one, each girl chose the dress she wanted to wear.

My last such trip took place over the weekend with my Maid of Honor, Trish. (Anna joined us and we had a fabulous time BTW!)

The dress Trish chose is called a "crumb catcher" and I think it looks absolutely gorgeous on her! To be completely honest, I fell in love with this dress the first time I saw it. And practically every one of the girls has tried it on. But for one reason or another, other dresses were chosen. And on Saturday, Trisha tried it on...and loved it too!

To make her stand out a bit, we are thinking about the possibility of incorporating a brooch to her dress in some way...if we can find a suitable option. Keep your eyes peeled for something vintage that screams old Hollywood!


Here is the final dress line up:

What do you think? Keep in mind that all dresses will be in emerald green (even sashes) and the longer two dresses in this image will be hemmed to a shorter length to match the other dresses.

All in all, I think these dresses will make for beautiful bridesmaids.

Now to schedule fittings and get the final cost of these dresses...

If the shoe fits...

Today is exactly nine months since Jacob asked me to marry him. That is so hard to believe! (Which means that we are only nine months and 15 days away from walking down the aisle).

To walk down the aisle in style, I found (and fell in love with) a pair of shoes that I am seriously contemplating for the wedding day.

They are nothing like I was envisioning - they are silver and have lots of jewels on them. And they are not kitten heel shoes - they are probably a solid three inches in height.

I found these shoes on New Year's Eve at Off Broadway Shoes in Hamburg. The best part: they were on clearance! Scooped up these beauties for only $48.

Barring any unforeseen problem, I believe these will be the shoes I wear (to the ceremony at least). I feel that these shoes easily fit into my image of old Hollywood. What do you think of these?

Later this week: Jacob and I will make a final decision regarding florist (and flowers) and look more into our two DJ options. Stay tuned!