Happy Holidays!

I hope that everyone has a wonderful holiday and Happy New Year! I will be vacationing and celebrating over the next week and hope that all of you are able to do so in your own way.

Coca-Cola Santa, a complete marketing ploy, but at the same time he is so cheerful and nostalgic.

Blurb Engagement Book

Well since Christmas is almost over and we have given out two of the three books to our parents I can finally share the package I was obsessively tracking last week. It was our blurb books that we made with our engagement pictures. We gave them as gifts to our parents so that they could have copies of all the pictures but wouldn't have tons of loose pictures they didn't know what to do with.

The books turned out awesome! We decided to go with the smallest, soft cover size and they were perfect. The quality was great. We decided to go with the premium paper which was well worth it, and the color was right on. So far everyone has loved it and so do we. Here are some snapshots of how they turned out.

Front Cover

Title Page

Last Page (with a note we added)

Back Cover

Holiday Decor

If your wedding is going to be later this winter or next holiday season in the next few days there are going to be tons of great deals. Make sure to get out there and find items that can be used in ways other than their holiday purposes. Maybe a tree topper could be a cake topper, tinsel scattered around votive candles, gift tags as escort cards, the sky is the limit. Here is a centerpiece I created, that would be perfect for a winter wedding, for less than $10 at full price and that includes the cost of the vase . So think about what you could do with items from After Christmas sales.

Ring Bowl

Previously I had posted about a white ring bowl for our ring bearer to carry down the aisle instead of a traditional ring pillow. I never bought the bowl and the etsy seller for the time being isn't carrying the bowl. Additionally the bowls have become more popular and thus more expensive and as you know by now I don't see the point in spending money on some of these things. Doing a little bit of searching around I found this one instead from etsy.com. It looks a little bit crafty but I especially like the fact that it says we do.

Panicked

I am officially panicked about bridesmaid dresses or the lack there of. Originally I had been able to be picky because we had time but now we have run out of time. This weekend I have visited another bridal store that has some options but pricey options. I also have an appointment with a seamstress the first week of January. Hopefully we can get this nailed down in the next couple weeks so it is no longer hanging over my head.

Tracking

I have been obsessively tracking a purchase for days now. I can't wait for its arrival but since it is a Christmas gift I can't post about it until Christmas. Hopefully when it arrives I will be thrilled with the outcome, keep your fingers crossed!

Trying To Keep Up

I'm not quite sure how women who choose to get married during the holidays do it. I am inundated with too much as it is and can barely find five minutes to post anything. However I am sure that most of my normal holiday obligations would disappear if I was trying to pull off a wedding.

One of the fun events that has been keeping us busy this holiday season, The Ugly Christmas Sweater Party

Arrivals

This has been a week of arrivals.

First the lavender I ordered off of Bravo Bride from a woman who ordered more than she needed for her wedding arrived. Needless to say the transaction was simple and easy. I payed her through PayPal, she had the lavender shipped the next day, and in my hands just a few days later. It's exactly what I needed at a great price! I will definitely be regularly perusing this website to find other items I don't necessarily need brand spanking new or want to pay full price for.

The other arrival was the Calvin Klein dress my sister ordered as a possible bridesmaid dress. I posted about this dress a week or so ago and had high hopes for it. She came over to try it on and all I have to say is, "Hello boobs!" The front is just cut a bit too low that it would showcase any size bust big or small a bit more than what is tasteful for the church. Also while shape wasn't awful it didn't do anything either. The color was GORGEOUS but it seems it's back to the chopping block.
I am only posting a picture of the back of the dress because when I was taking pictures I caught my sister off guard so she wasn't smiling and since I didn't get her blessing to post this I don't want a phone call or email saying, "Ugh, I look awful take that picture down." This way at least you can see the color. Oh how I wish this dress had worked out!

Speaking of Jewelry

While we are on the topic of bridal jewelry I bought these earrings this weekend. Not sure yet if I will wear them with my dress but I like how sparkly they are without being too much like some chandelier earrings I have found. I went ahead and bought them because at 8 bucks they were too good to pass up and if all else fails at least I know I have these to wear.

Bridal Bracelet

Haute Bride makes these bracelets that are very in right now and I think one would go perfectly with my dress. Unfortunately spending a couple hundred on a bracelet just isn't an option so I am hoping to make a knock off. Luckily I have a little bit of know how for making jewelry and the tools, now I just need the pieces. If you happen to know where I can find a VERY affordable brooch like the one in the knock off below or like one on their website I would be much obliged!

Bravo Bride

For those of you who have been reading some of my posts you know that while I am thoroughly enjoying the process of planning the wedding I am also a bit of a cynic about many aspects also. Essentially I don't value everything the industry wants brides to buy into and why would I want to spend money on something that is going to be completely useless after the wedding.

That being said my friend Lucy who is also planning her wedding clued me into the website Bravo Bride where past brides can sell items that they didn't use or don't need after the wedding onto another bride who could use them. This is a great option for all those things that you really don't want to pay full price for or to get some cash back on those things you want to get out of the house once the wedding is over.

I am really excited because I just bought 2 pounds of lavender off of a previous bride. We plan on implementing a lavender toss as we exit the church. I had done previous research and found that to buy the same amount of lavender from a grower retails at about 50 bucks and once you include tax and shipping you are well past the 60 dollar point. With shipping and everything I am getting the same amount for $21.80, which is a steal! Once I get the lavender I will post a review about my experience from buying from this site.

Ornaments

I was at Bed Bath and Beyond last night and saw these in their holiday section. If you are having a winter or holiday themed wedding I thought they would be a great idea for escort cards and could double as favors!

You can find these and other holiday place card holders here.

Black and White Guestbook

We initially have been planning on using a blurb photo book with our engagement pictures as our guest book. But maybe instead we will consider using just the black and white photos secured with black photo corners in a scrapbook with black pages.

Project Anxiety

The stress and anxiety of taking on projects is starting to set in. Yes I know I have about 7 and a half months and I have lots of time to get things done. However when we got engaged I had 14 months and lots of ideas but put everything on the back burner for later. Well now is later because if I don't get a start on anything then it might not get done. Once we get through the holidays then I will start some of my projects. The projects I can think of off hand are: invitations, bridal jewelry, programs, seating chart or escort cards, ceremony decorations, cardbox, table numbers, satchels for the lavender toss, and possible cake topper. But who knows what else will pop up in between now and the wedding.

Cake Guestbook

This is an interesting guest book idea I saw on the knot. Make a faux cake and have people write messages to you on little slips of paper and pin them on the cake. Later you can compile all of these in a book.

Planning for the Marriage

Often in the wedding planning process we focus on the centerpieces, table cloths, clothing, accessories, invitation fonts and all the small details. But the whole point of the wedding it to join to people together and often people spend too much time planning the wedding and not the marriage. We are attempting to also properly plan for the marriage even though planning for the wedding can be so much fun!

Andy and I have been together for a long time, 8 years so of course we have discussed many of the big things, but you don't always discuss the little things that can have just as much impact. It has been very important for me to find premarital counseling that would address the differences between the two of us as individuals and not just problems of marriage in general. With the help of my future mother in law I believe we have found the right person who will give us each a personality test and then discuss the differences in our tests and how they will affect our marriage in the long run. I am really excited to talk to this woman the problem is I have to actually call her even though I have been sidetracked by the impending holidays and day to day life.

Dress Options

My sister found this dress at Nordstrom that we are definitely considering. Now if only we can find a store nearby that carries it so that she can try it on.

Rustic Flowers

I think these field inspired floral arrangements are beautiful for an outdoor garden event. Sometimes I surprise myself at how much I like some "country living" looks. Or maybe it's because they look like they were freshly picked from the garden which is very refreshing. We will go reason #2.

Save the Dates

Before getting engaged I was enchanted with the whole wedding process. I would flip through glossy wedding magazines thinking about my turn to partake in the wedding industry. Looking at those magazines my favorite parts to look at are the details, the centerpieces, escort cards, lighting, invitations and save the dates. However with my reality of wedding planning we have decided to forgo one of those details, save the dates. I love receiving them and getting a preview of what the wedding will be like. We have decided not to send them because we are trying to cut the extra fat out of our budget and while save the dates are a great detail they aren't necessary.

Feathers

In February I am the Maid of Honor for a vintage inspired wedding. The bride is wearing a fabulous cowl neck sheath dress and a birdcage veil with a feather accent. These shoes would go perfectly with the look she is trying to create. However I am not sure if the Christian Louboutin price is within her budget.

For more info about this wedding check it out over on snippet and ink

The Real Vanessa and Andy

Andy and I most of the time are loving, kind and caring towards each other. But at the same time we really enjoy harassing each other. Not in a mean and negative nature but in the haha, I just got you, kind. We are sarcastic with one another, tickle, poke, prod, joke, tease and play tricks on each other. Both of us trying to out do the other each time, all done lovingly of course.

Andy normally is the one to initiate these "games" and I hate to admit it he normally wins. But during our engagement pictures Andy was sitting on the bench and I was right behind him. He couldn't see me or what I was doing and it was just too easy, he was like a sitting duck. Even though these pictures were supposed to be loving and sweet I just couldn't resist the temptation to really get him. So I did it, I gave him a wet willy, yeah I know reeeaaal classy, but it was so much fun!

And of course in true fashion Andy had to try to get me back. Notice how I said TRY since he didn't go through with it. He must have decided a mouth full of makeup wouldn't taste very good, however I am sure his version is that he was just too much of a gentleman, ha. This round goes to Vanessa! I love you baby :)

Photos by Geri Ciulla

Engagement Pictures

It has taken me longer than expected to post our engagement pictures because I was having problems with blogger uploading them, but finally here they are. We are really happy with our pictures and have way too many favorties! There is no way we could post all of them so here is a sampling. Yes, there are a lot. But I just couldn't help myself and how do you pick just 2 or 3 out of 172? Yes, I said 172.

Photos taken by our fabulous photographer Geri Ciulla

Border, Corners and Swirls, Oh My!

The final ideas I have use flourish fonts to create borders, a flourish in the corners or just a swirly font placed somewhere in the invitation. At this point I need to stop thinking about all the ideas and try a few of them out to figure out what I like best.