Save the Dates - CHECK!

I am thrilled to say that my save the dates are officially stuffed, sealed, labeled, stamped and have been dropped off at the post office!!! Can you say AHHHHHH? I can, one more thing off my plate!
The other big to-do this week: PRE-CANA, dun dun dunnnnnnnnnn...
We have got to get that thing booked and a date set in stone or this bride who has always dreamed of getting married in her hometown church will be heading to city hall and will be WAY over dressed!

It Happened Again...

FH (Future Husband) is virtually invisible to vendors. He is tasked with the rehearsal dinner. I just got an email from the hotel where it will be and they flat out said - Tom let us know that you guys would like us to draw up a contract, is this correct?
What? Do they think he is trying to sabotage things? Is his money not good enough? it is really so STRANGE! I mean, it took an effort to not respond directly to him, dig up my email and find me? Why not just reply to him????? BELIEVE ME I WANT TO DELEGATE THIS!!!!

Tagged? What's this? I am flattered! I think?

Ok, so I am a total newbie to the blogosphere but one of my favorite brides to be - Atlanta Bride had "tagged" me! I think its like a giant game of Internet tag. I've been meaning to respond since last week but just kept getting sidetracked. I am honored to have even have been thought of! (People read this thing?!) This whole virtual world of wedding bloggers that I have thrust myself into is still a little out there for me, its like Second Life for divas.
First I have to answer:
5 Reasons Why You Love Your State:
1. Where I met people that changed my life. (Translation: college friends and FH!)
2. DC - I live about 4 miles from DC, a city that I really love.
3. The history - did you know that more U.S. presidents are from Virginia than any other state?
4. Landscape- we have mountains, beaches, and everything else in between (including a ton of man made lakes which are wierd to this beach gal)
5. Diversity! Not sure about other parts but Northern Virginia is extremley diverse and a cross section for various cultures, I love it!
NOW:
Link back to the meme creator: Caz
Link to the person who tagged you: An Atlanta Bride
Link back to the originator of the positive SA movement (as this is how this all started): Cheap Thrills
Tag at least five people - Since this is really a modern day chain letter I am going to end my link here. Fun- yes, but I don't think I am cool enough to ask someone else to do it. Nor do I have very many cyber friends!

The rehearsal dress that will never be...

So, I am completely in love with this dress from J. Crew. I think it would be absolutely perfect for the rehearsal dinner. The problem - it is on sale. Whaaaaaa? how is that a problem, you ask? Well, it is still $199 (a bargain since the starting price was $395) but because it is on sale and on clearance, there are no returns or exchanges! I actually thought about buying the same dress in the new not on sale version (it is in a floral print that I don't really care for), ordering two of those in different sizes, review the neckline to make sure the cleavage was not inappropriate - return the dresses, and if I love them, buy this on sale one. Crazy? Um, yeah. When I thought about it, the chances of this dress still being available in my size and the shipping costs and well, the effort, were a little much for a simple dress. It's not that I am hunting for a rehearsal dress right now either, I just saw this dress and fell in love with it and tried to come up with a place to wear it! Maybe I will check out their outlet and see if it shows up there. If you kept up with that little rant for nothing, thank you, I just had to tell someone my love for a dress I will never have :)

How Cool is this Wedding?

I only dream of being so cool...

Read more about this hipster couple on Offbeat Bride, a favorite site of mine for a little inspiration. Even though I am as pretty darn mainstream as it gets, its nice to get a little flavor of (as FH would say) "what the cool kids are up to these days."

Fancy Find #4: Photographer Yun Gen Yang

(Not necessarily a fancy item but a vendor I am currently stalking and I think he's fancy)

So yesterday during my Sunday evening Internet surfing (I do this while FH watches football) I came across a photographers website that held me captive for a good hour. His name is Yun Gen Yang and his website can be found here: Yang Photography.

He's based in NYC and looks like he covers most of the Tri-state area. Now, I found and am thrilled about the photog I chose (Matthew Sowa) but I cannot deny that this made me question my research- how did I miss this guy? He has an obvious love for the sky:



and just overall color and beauty. I put together a two little collages of my favorite photos; one from his wedding collection and one from the lifestyle/personal collection on his site. Check them out and check out his blog as well!

Who knew...

I could be inspirational enough to inspire a whole post ? - LOL -
Last week Practical Wedding (one of my favorite blogs that keeps me grounded) posted this amazing real wedding with get this - NO VENDORS. The pictures are amazing and I was just in love with the whole concept and commented. Practical Wedding just started a whole post based on my comment asking people what they remember most about weddings they have been to or their own, and no, its not the bustle of the dress or the programs that first come to mind.
Check it out...




(Photo from Practical Wedding, Courtesy of Jessamyn Harris)

Its his wedding too!

Grooms get no respect, why???
So, I am not sure why this is and whether or not I find it funny or frustrating.

On more than a few occasions I have delegated duties to dear FH and each time, it seems, the contact will search high and low to get to me and bypass FH as if his opinion has no bearing on the situation at all.

Believe me, I want FH involved and when he is willing to take the ball on something, I am more than willing to hand it off to him! He's a great party planner and really good at logistics - he even has an eye for aesthetics - in short, I really value his opinions and decisions on this stuff!

Hotel- FH did a great job negotiating a rate and getting a block set up. He's been in touch with them and even had a discount rate extended. I have no idea how they even got my contact information - I think it was somehow through my mom! - but they tracked me down yesterday to ask me a question and get my email so they could send us the latest rooming manifest. Why not just send it to FH? Why not ask him? Please, I have enough I am working on!

Rehearsal Dinner-FH contacted the hotel catering and cc'd me on an email to them. Well, after he was pretty far down the road, they cut him out completely and would just email and call me! Every time I would get an email I would just forward it on to him, he'd respond to the caterer and then she would email ME back. LOL, that takes an actual effort!

Now the funniest one! His MOM! We're at the point where we have to make some cuts to the guest list before the save the dates go out. The list just grew waaaaay to big and caused the implosion of the budget. So, we all had to cut a couple of people. FH called his parents and asked them to cut. She said she would talk to him last night and come up with a few people. I was in yoga last night, come out of class and have 6 missed calls from the in-laws. I check my message and it is to tell me who was going to be on the chopping block. Why not just call FH? Let him know?

I love that people think I am the authority but man, there are quite a few things where I would be happy to - I WANT to- I NEED to- give the reigns to FH and let him handle from start to finish.

Whatever makes you happy...

Waffle House Wedding;
From the Gwinnett Daily Post.

Funny thing is, I find the photography in this slide show to be awesome!
Well, I think one of the hardest things about wedding planning is making it unique and personal, this couple really outdid themselves...

Update:
For those of you that read the story, all I keep thinking about is "who is the jerk that wouldn't cover the groom's shift on his wedding day!"
Nice friends! Either way, it definitely turned out unique and something to talk about!

Hair jewelry

So, I have been on the lookout for hair jewelry. I am not a tiara girl but I need some sort of somethin' to make the day special. This is wear I wish I worked by my mom in the garment district of NYC. There are showrooms with this stuff everywhere. The thing is, I think I want to get a few things and try them on, right?

Here are some of my faves, some are realistic, some are just avant garde.

From White Aisle (an amazing site for paper, favors, jewelry and more)
*Note the coolest part- everything below (and for the most part their entire collection is under $20! The highest I saw was $39.99 but it contains freshwater pearls




Tigerlilly also has some gorgeous pieces, these are the more avant garde looks and well, more expensive ones. They seem very editorial to me but I would love to go to a wedding with a bride sporting one of these - I'm too boring to pull one od these guys off!




There are a ton of options out there and the costs are extreme also. The trick is finding the perfect one!

Bridal Bootcamp

New wedding reality ALERT: Bridal Bootcamp is set to air in the Spring of 2009 (a little too late for me!)

But... along with my gals from the neighborhood we are now part of a Tuesday night bootcamp club run by trainer extraordinaire, Lisa Reed. Lisa is fantastic and EXTREMELY motivating. She trains a ton of brides, check out the Bride to Be Fit section of her website, she will customize your workouts based on your body type, fitness level and the style of your dress! I imagine most brides, like me, are looking for the toned arms and shoulders and a flat belly! (easy, right?) Back to the "If I had a million dollars", well, I would totally do the three days a week program with her but it is just not in the financial cards for me. I am so happy doing the group boot camp sessions with her, I just hope we find a way to do it once it gets cold outside - I need the motivation.

I know I wanted to "Chill" on my honeymoon but...

this is NOT what I was talking about!

According to People.Com Singer KT Tunstall is heading on a honeymoon in Greenland. Ok, I get that it is a statement and its all for the environment but brrrrrrrrr.....

Newlywed KT Tunstall to Sail to Greenland

The article states:
The newlyweds, who exchanged vows on the northern tip of Scotland's remote Isle of Skye on Saturday, have signed up to help climate change awareness charity Cape Farewell, according to a rep for the organization.

Good for them, I'll be sipping coladas and getting massages, oh yeah, and I will be warm!

Home and garden for inspiration

So, I never would have thought about looking at Better Homes and Gardens magazine for inspirational wedding ideas. But during my Internet navigation of all things weddings, I came across the most beautiful flower ideas and photos.

They have a number of slide shows for wedding ideas.
Here's some that have held me captive:

Reception Centerpiece Arrangements
Editor's Pick: 30 Best Bouquets
Wedding Centerpiece Ideas

I am all about fresh flowers being beautiful for what they are. I am not looking for really structured pieces, I am getting married in the heart of May, I may as well embrace the abundance of gorgeous flowers that will be in full bloom.

Here are some of the pictures I love from BHG:

The Eco-Friendly Wedding Planner

Check out this article from AboutMyPlanet.Com...
The Eco-Friendly Wedding Planner

I guess I should have read this article before I got this far down the road with planning. Wedding's really are a practice in gluttony and superabundance. Why not try and combat that with some eco-friendly practices?

How about a buying some carbon credits to offset your traveling guests?
Carbon Fund has an awesome calculator which allows you to see how many tons of CO2 your guests will be emitting and what you need to do to offset that:


Other ideas include using a caterer that specializes in local & organic food, having invitations made from recyclable or plantable materials or not even having printed invitations - do them all by email! there are eco-friendly materials for dresses, and the list goes on. I'm the first to admit I am not the most eco-friendly but I am getting MUCH better and am going to try and do at least one or two things for the wedding. One - we are definitely going to do a donation for our invite (OK, not necessarily eco-friendly but it is socially conscious) and Two - I am planning to use reusable grocery bags for our out of town guests welcome package - cheap and enviro-friendly)

Here are some other sites and articles for ideas on eco-friendly weddings:
World Wildlife Foundation - Wedding Tips
Eco-Wedding.org
Saving the Earth, one vow at a time - San Francisco Chronicle
Suite101.com

Fancy Find #3

If I had a million dollars - or a very small wedding - I think I would have to get invitations as gorgeous as these.



I found them while doing my lunchtime wedding Internet search, they are made by Alia Designs and they are just gorgeous. There are quite a few designs on there that I heart.

Here's another great one:


I do have a secret weapon though, one of my close friends and style goddess is helping to design my invites!!! Once I get more I will share. In the meantime I will surf the net for ideas for the invitation suite and covet things like this that are totally out of my price range (I just looked and their minimum order is $2000!)

What's Better the Wedding or the Honeymoon?

We are booked! I cannot tell you how incredibly excited I am that we have our honeymoon booked. We may still try and change some things as far as our flight goes but for the most part we are DONE! 7 nights in St. Lucia, one in Miami!

I really wanted to go to Spain and tour the coast but it just was not working out. Multiple factors like the piddly value of the dollar, the long flight, etc. I had clear instructions that if we were going to go somewhere in Europe it would not be for a sightseeing, backpacking trip, it was going to be on some European beach where we could relax. Marbella! Have you heard of this place? Its part of the Costa Del Sol in southern Spain and it is where the wealthy play. And...there is a Marriott there where I could use my points!

Well, like I said, things were just not lining up in our favor and even the planning part was exhausting. And we decided if there was one thing we wanted out of the honeymoon it was RELAXATION.

FH and I are total Caribophiles (yes, I made that word up but you get the idea). In our years of dating we have visited the Carribbean about 6 times together and have a great routine, I soak up the sun and drink frozen drinks, FH reads approximately 3 books a day, we meet up for lunch, then again in the late afternoon and figure out what we are going to do for dinner. We also love to find something active to do a few of the days like kayak, hike, something to not be total mushes.

For some reason when it came to honeymoon planning, the Carribbean just sounded too easy and cliche but the more I thought about it, well, there are reasons so many people honeymoon there:
1. It is GORGEOUS
2. Relaxing
3. Easy to get to (relatively, certainly easier than a small beach in Spain!)

So- why was I fighting it!?

In the end we decided on St. Lucia.
Yes, that's probably the most cliche of them all! But, we decided to stray from the pack heading to Sandals and rent a small bungalow in the East Winds Resort.



Not so bad, right? I can't wait!!!

Fancy Finds #2

OK, here's something else I thought there was no point in getting until I stumbled across this gorgeous card box from Estilo Weddings - they have some really fantastic but pretty pricey things.



Isn't it ab-fab? Totally matches nothing in my wedding so I am not going to get it, but its another one of those things I came by and thought - oh shoot - do I NEED one of those? In the Northeast everyone gives cards with money, it is RARE to receive an actual gift. We will have a safe in our bridal suite. Do I need a card box too? Hmm. Not sure. There is something about having a receptical for your money that is tacky but at the same time I don't want to be handed someone's very generous gift and just toss it next to my cake - that seems tackier! I'll be thinking on this one. Surely I can make something at Michaels, right? LOL- So many past brides warned me about this, I had all of these ambitious ideas of things I was going to make myself and yet have not conquered one DIY yet, and I really don't see too many in my future. Maybe this will be my one task.

Fancy Find

So, for some reason when thinking of some details, I kind of get bored. Like- a guest book. Do people actually read them? Do you save them somewhere? So much dust, so little space in our condo. That was, until I found these fun ones on the GuestBookStore. I love 'em!!

Here are what the pages look like:




Here is the cover that I like the best but there are so many!

Unproductive but tan

So I spent the weekend on Long Island, FH came with. I thought for sure we would knock some stuff out this weekend but we got NOTHING done. FH said- we came here to spend the weekend at the beach not to visit vendors. It was hard to argue since we had 2 great days and one day that wasn't a beach day but we did a lot of exercise (In a way this is wedding prep, right?)

I did visit the hair salon while I was there and had a bridal consultation. one of the things I learned is that with the hair style I am thinking about, I need a veil that lays flat when the blusher is pulled down. The consultant explained this to me 4 times and I still do not know if I understood her completely. Either way, I know I need a metal comb, and the veil sewn with a straight line. Who knew?

One more dilemma. I have not been able to get in to see my hair colorist - our schedules were just not meeting up. So I went when I was back home and I LOVE the way my color came out. I can't seriously go to NY every time I want my hair colored! But now, I may have this girl color my hair a few weeks before the big day, I am sure I will have to be up in LI running errands anyway.