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!

Another Dress Chosen!

I can go into the Thanksgiving holiday breathing easy...another dress has been decided!

This morning, I was informed that Hilary has chosen the dress she wants to wear in the wedding. Instead of going with the one she orignally wanted, she has chosen the strapless little number you see here (left). Super cute and looked excellent on her, this dress will be a great compliment to the other dresses chosen to date.

So as of right now, we have five dresses chosen and three to go. So excited! Once all of the girls choose their dress, I will have to post them all together on here so we can examine what they will all look like together.

Now I should start taking inventory on the other things I want to get squared away before the holidays are upon us...things like hotel rooms, flowers and cake!

One final thought regarding bridesmaid attire...

The battle of the shoes:

As I mentioned before, I am trying to decide what color of shoes will go best with an emerald green dress. I have narrowed my choices to silver or nude.

Here two pictures I took on Sunday to get an idea of which shoe color looks best. The emerald dress in the photo is not exact, but it is pretty close to the dress color I chose. What color looks best to you? (Silver on left and nude on right)...

My way of thinking: the guys will be in gray, thus the silver shoes on the girls would match and provide an extra bit of pizzazz!

The nude shoes provide a more muted color scheme...and I like that it blends pretty well with skin (thus would not stick out too much), but I am not sure that nude would look better than silver.

I guess it honestly just depends on the theme I am trying to create for the day. Thoughts?? Suggestions??

Wedding party: 8+8=16

Sixteen. Jacob and I are going to have a total of 16 attendants standing by us when we exchange vows next September. I know, it sounds pretty overwhelming, but that is just how it is going to be. The more I think about it, the more excited I am to have eight of my closest friends by my side. On top of that, pictures will be symmetrical…four on each side (and eight on each side for the whole wedding party). Symmetry is definitely key.

So who are my beloved bridesmaids? Well, I have Trish, my maid of honor. And then there are my sisters, Katie and Kimberly. And Jacob’s sister, Rachel. And there are Hilary and Crystal, girls I grew up with in school. And of course Erin and Anna, girls I grew up with in church. Each of my bridesmaids represents a part of who I am and how I got to where I am today. I love each of them very much!

My girls are wearing dresses in the most gorgeous shade of emerald green. I chose a line (Forever Yours) and am letting each of them choose the dress that best suits their personalities. (The girls are all VERY different – by personality, look and shape and I felt that different dresses would allow for each of them to shine through!) I am pretty excited about their dresses. I am in the process of helping each of them try dresses on and figure out what they like. Goal is to have these dresses ordered by mid-January.

I think the toughest part of having eight bridesmaids, with differing interests, will be when it comes to choose the thank you gifts. I have already been toying with a few ideas…but I am going to keep those a secret so they don’t find out!

Jacob’s guys are just as diverse…I think that will create a very fun (and unique) wedding party! His guys include (in no particular order): his brother Seth; close friends Clayton, Kyle, Grant, Len, Justin and Brian; and cousin Chad. I am trying to talk Jacob into letting them wear gray tuxedos (or suits…just something GRAY). I think the gray and emerald would look beautiful together. If we do go with gray, I don’t know that I would want them in emerald vests…too prom-like for my taste.

Well that is the wedding party…