Another item off the list!

Being fortunate enough to work for a company that gives us the week between Christmas and New Year's off means that I have plenty of time to get a handle on some wedding-related tasks that need to be done.

On today's agenda: choose guys' attire for the wedding. This was really the simplest task I have encountered to date! Seriously. We literally walked into Geno's Formal Affair on Southland Drive and within 15 minutes, we had everything chosen. If only every detail could be so simple!

Jacob and I both fell in love with this tux (right). He and his eight groomsmen will wear this exact ensemble, yet the gray tie will exchanged for emerald green. Love it! Oh and Jacob picked a pair of black shiny shoes to complete the look. I think this color will look stunning with the emerald green bridesmaid dresses. The only question we need to determine: will the guys wear pocket squares (these are essentially handkerchiefs) or boutonnieres? It is considerably less expensive to go with the pocket square route...but would the guys look silly without the flower?

The Dads (and grandfather) will wear this gray color as well...except they will have a gray tie instead of a green tie.

And seriously, we just have to give the guys a deadline to get fitted and when they go pick up their stuff, they pay. How easy is that?! It is really too bad that girls' wedding attire is not this simple!

Oh and on top of today's progress, Jacob and I met with Stephen Hein (of Stephen Hein Florist) for a consultation (estimate) of wedding flowers. Very nice guy. Will hear back from him within the next day or two and hopefully by the end of the week/this weekend, I will know which florist we are going with! Stay tuned!

Say YES to the Dress!

I ordered my wedding gown yesterday! The wedding, though nine months out, is starting to feel so official.

Sadly, I will not be able to put a picture of the dress on here because I do not want Jacob to see it prior to our wedding day. However, I can tell you to be prepared to be amazed!

With my mum's fabulous connections with Ruth's Bridal here in Lexington, I ended up scoring the dress of my dreams for $100 less than the same dress at the shop in Cincy AND I was given an extra discount on top of that!! In all, I easily saved $175. That rocks! Oh and the best thing of all, the dress may not need any alterations once it makes it in (mid-May). Seriously good news!

When placing my order, I went ahead and added the charge to have the dress preserved after the wedding. This is a very interesting concept to me...you pay $160 or so to have your dress cleaned, pressed and put into a box that you will ultimately store in your attic. Not knowing what else I would do with the dress, this seemed like a good plan to me.

I think my next stop with the wedding attire will include shoes, the undergarments, the veil and headpiece. I have ideas swirling in my head for each of these. Most importantly, if anyone sees cute kitten heel shoes, preferably in green, please let me know!

Seven down...MOH to go

Yesterday, I took a drive to Cincinnati with my mum; youngest sister Kimberly; soon to be mother-in-law, Debbie; and sister-in-law, Rachel. What a good trip! Not only did we have a blast, but both of the girls chose their dresses to wear in the wedding. Success!!

Kimberly will be wearing this dress (right). I really like this dress! It will look stunning on her. And Rachel will be wearing this dress (left). Another super cute dress. Cannot wait to see it in emerald green! Both of these dresses were classic choices that can be traced back to the original dress shopping trip. I love both of them!

So then there was one. Seven of the girls now have bridesmaid dresses. So much fun! That leaves one. Trish, my MOH (Maid of Honor) is planning a trip to Lexington New Year's weekend so we can do a little shopping. I would love to make her dress look a little different in some way. I wonder what it would look like, if she chooses a dress with a sash or something, if the sash was a different color than the typical emerald green of the rest of the dress. Opinions? I guess it will really just come down to which dress she chooses. More on that later!

Once Trish has chosen her dress, I will lay each of the dresses out so we can look at them as a group. I think they will be the best looking (and best dressed) wedding party of 2010!

PS, I have decided that silver shoes are the best option. I think a silver satin shoe will do the trick. Hilary has found lots of cute ones out in Hamburg...planning an outing with her to take a look! (Note: girls can wear whatever shoes they are most comfortable in...they just need to be open toe/strappy and satin.)

Oh! One other update: I have officially chosen my wedding gown! Love it!! Tried it on for the group yesterday and it was a smash. Mom made an appointment for me tomorrow so I can go ahead and order it. Wow. Ordering my wedding gown. What a surreal feeling!

Coming soon: consultations with florists...ideas...opinions...thoughts... Big decision to be made in the next few weeks.

A fistful of flowers

My first floral consultation is tomorrow...

I love flowers. And I would have fresh flowers in the house year round if possible However, I cannot fathom spending an arm and a leg on flowers for the wedding. Primarily because they will die within a few short days, but also, I would much rather have more money toward other aspects of the wedding, like in catering, or my dress/hair/makeup/etc.

That in mind (and strict budget in hand), I made my first consultation appointment with a popular (she already has numerous weddings booked for 2010) florist through the Kroger network, Kim over at Chinoe. Kim worked with my sister, Katie, on her wedding flowers and did a nice job. Like Katie, I want to keep it simple. Yes, I know having 16 people in our wedding party does not quite constitute simple, but I am sure going to try!

Going into this meeting, I know that I want orange flowers. Bright pops of color and soothing greenery are my idea of floral beauty. Jacob and I both love lilies, so we are thinking orange lilies may be the way to go.

I have found several photos of bridesmaid bouquets made of orange calla lilies that I absolutely love! Wouldn't these look great next to emerald green dresses?? And if we kept to the calla lily theme for all attendants, these boutonnieres are super cute! For my bouquet, I love the idea of using lilies, just not calla lilies, just to be different. And to match, Jacob's boutonniere can match whatever flowers make up my bouquet.

Also, another thought that occurred to me for the bridesmaids' bouquets: bouquet charms. This could be a really fun DIY project! And would be an outlet for a little personality and fun.

These are just initial thoughts. Once I sit down and meet with Kim tomorrow, I will see what is possible within my budget and begin to firm up what I really want. Stay tuned!

Operation Cake: Ordered

We placed the order for our wedding cake this morning!

We decided on a four layer round cake from Brown's Bakery in Lexington. The bottom layer will be German Chocolate cake (a Brown's specialty and our favorite flavor), the next layer will be yellow, the third layer will be white and the top layer will be chocolate. And, of course, the entire cake will be smothered in a yummy chocolate frosting!! Tasty!

The design/texture on the cake will look something like this cake (on right). We have not decided on the cake topper at this point, but I am going to look into flowers or a monogrammed "K." I wonder what kind of flowers would look best on a chocolate iced cake?

Not only will we get to enjoy the deliciousness and decadence of a Brown's cake on our wedding day, but we are having it made by our dear old friend, James Brown. To make it even more sweet, James gave us a discount on the cake! So exciting!