romancing the stones

the next chapter

2009-08-17T16:14:00.000-07:00

THE WEDDING

2009-07-14T11:09:00.000-07:00

all of the professional photos are posted! they are handily sorted into categories like getting ready, bride and groom, reception, photobooth, etc - easy peasey to navigate. check it out, yo. right here.

i wish josh malahy would adopt me. ps.

bridesmaid gifts

2009-07-11T09:30:00.000-07:00

early in the planning process, i fell in love with this wedding from martha stewart weddings magazine. loved everything about it. especially loved this:

the bride had clutches made for each of her bridesmaids from fabric that matched each girl's personality. FABULOUS! had to do it. except i had to do it myself. obviously. nevermind that i hadn't touched a sewing machine since i made a felt pillow for my american girl doll circa 1992. game on. so i borrowed my mother-in-law's machine, set up shop in the guest room and started trolling the interweb for patterns. and came up empty. i had a specific vision, as usual, and couldn't find a pattern in any store or any website. i did find a pattern for a big shoulder-strap purse that i liked. so, with my extensive years of seamstressy knowledge (not) i set about modifying it. from a giant shoulder-strap purse. into a clutch. by myself. so i could make 10 of them. oh and i didn't actually start until may. i told you you'd roll your eyes at me.

but it worked! after 2 prototypes, i settled on my design. then i cut out a bazillion pattern pieces of fabric and lining, like so:

and ironed interfacing onto the linings:

and accidentally burned the bejezus out of my hand when i picked up the hot iron sideways and spilled scalding steam water....

and pleated the outside fabric and sewed it all together:

and made pockets with little tags that i had made on etsy from my silhouette:

and cut and cut and ironed and ironed and sewed and sewed until my little fingers about fell off

and ta-da!

not perfect, but i think they turned out pretty decent :)

friday: bridesmaid luncheon and rehearsal dinner

2009-07-10T13:02:00.001-07:00

these events deserve separate posts. really, they do. but that would require me having pictures from the bridesmaid luncheon, which i do not. can you believe? i know. if anyone out there reading this has any, please email asap. until then, combo post it is.

so bridesmaid luncheon. hosted by aunt joanie and godmother linda, most definitely two of my favorite people on this planet. aunt joanie does things like assemble a ridiculously clever scrapbook of my then-boyfriend on his first hargrove family fun trip to the redneck riviera (ie orange beach, al) and mail it to him within the week. this is after she and mom emergency hemmed his new seersucker suit on the condo balcony the night before we returned home for a wedding, using nothing but a spool of thread and corsage pins scavenged from the grocery store across the street. then there's linda, mom's bff since the tween years, whose house is like a b&b run by martha herself, if martha were awesome instead of crazy. she also consistently wins the "christmas gift i can't wait to open" award for having awesome taste. probably the nicest, most creative ladies you could ever hope to meet.

anyway

they hosted the bridesmaid luncheon at the club, complete with mimosas, chocolate lava cake, pink tissue paper topiaries and pink & green napkins monogrammed with an S. so fab. shame i was too busy being "the bride" to take any pictures. what i do have pictures of are the gifts i made for my bridesmaids. you may recall previous mentions of ridiculous top-secret diy projects or sweat-shop style wedding slavery weekends. that was in reference to the bridesmaids gifts. which you can hear about in my next post. heh heh. until then, here's a teaser...

hint: it's not the bouquet.

so rehearsal dinner. hosted by...my in-laws, surprisingly enough. held at jarrett's restaurant. ridiculously delicious food, friendly staff, gorgeous art-gallery-style collection displayed throughout, fabulous centerpieces picked by mom stone. and lots of wine. this becomes key as the evening progresses. but first, the toasts.

someone was reading this blog. and by someone, i mean everyone. embarrassing. i know this because it was mentioned by pretty much every toast made and guest hugged that evening. but we got some sweet accessories out of it:

thanks, dad. my family has a chef hat tradition.

both daddies gave their toasts, which were sweet, funny and meaningful. for some reason, i was extremely nervous about them. i had to tap my foot the whole time to keep from passing out. i was just in a glass case of emotion all weekend, or something like that. the best man and matron of honor toasted us as well, both very well-spokenly, and i wish i had a video of them so i could remember exactly what everyone said. glass case of emotion, recall. my personal fave (maybe because i DO have a video to remember it) was a video/picture slideshow put together by my insanely talented baby brother. he made an adorable and hilarious tribute out of pictures of both me and the captain growing up, pictures of us together, pictures of us with our dogs (duh), pictures of me with the bridesmaids and video footage of me crawling around nekkid and saying my abcs and stuff. so, so super cute. i cried. maybe someday i'll figure out how to post it here for all to enjoy. or maybe i'll just get that insanely talented baby brother to do it for me. did i mention how handsome he is?

we were also toasted by the collective bridesmaids and the collective groomsmen.

the ladies took turns reading lines from a poem about my long lost loves. those of the posted-on-my-tiger-beat-tribute-wall-in-middle-school variety. then they performed the official ec4eva husband induction ceremony for the second inductee by presenting him with his own, manly version of the tiffany necklace we all bought senior year of high school as a symbol of our undying love for each other:

my favorite thing about this picture is my in-laws in the background. and here is the groom with his new bling:

and it was all downhill from there. i'd like to take this opportunity to share with you the groomsmen:

aren't they sweet? and the bridesmaids:

also sweet. deceptive. at the rehearsal, the dean of the cathedral, who was the homilist for the ceremony, made a special note to remind the groomsmen that they should behave themselves that evening and that a wedding is about being filled with the holy spirit, not a whole lotta spirits. they listened. the bishop, who performed the ceremony, stepped in to add that the bridesmaids should pay attention too. they didn't. they're obviously going to hell. exhibit a:

cute hair accessories? nope. dismantled centerpieces. exhibit b:

decorative moss stones? nope. add spoons and you have rocket launchers. which brings us to exhibit c:

and exhibit d:

which is pretty hilarious. i obviously wasn't actually getting mad at them. but this expression is pretty priceless. i think it's the only bridezillaesque moment captured on film all weekend.

perhaps my biggest regret of the weekend was that i had to go home and get some sleep after this, so i missed accompanying the bridal party to a karaokee bar for the rest of the evening. regardless, the day before my wedding was wonderful and memorable!!! much love to all involved!

thursday night: cocktails and bachelorette

2009-07-03T10:08:00.000-07:00

i'm not feeling very clever today due to a COLD in JULY (lame), so i'm just going to list the facts and share some pictures. here's what went down: thursday night, there was a cocktail party hosted by bridesmaid madge and her family at their fab house. we had a wonderful time, and i didn't get to eat because i was talking so much (this becomes a running theme).

tada, my cute dress from here and cute shoes from here (plus a random flower clip i added that i can't decide if i like or not but it's too late now huh):

my cute mama:

my matron of honor, my aunt tanya and my aunt joan aka mastermind of cute crafts/motivator extraordinare/part of the wedding decorating dream team:

a portion of the 'maids (including hostess madge, the tall one):

i hear this guy was there too (this is the only photographic evidence):

most of the crew had arrived at this point, so we followed the cocktails with a bachelorette extravaganza in the form of games, panties, cupcakes and champagne at a slumber party in my old room at my parents' house. it was super fun. definitely the best gift was a thong in the shape of an elephant. with a trunk. for the groom. that one made the whole room cry from hysterics. even mom. the giver of the gift (louise, duh) was also the winner of the "how well do you know the bride" trivia challenge. coincidence?

here we are piled on the bed:

if you've spent time in my old room before, you're probably confused. it has since been repainted and restaged for house-selling purposes, so it is a mere shadow of its former glory. i digress. here are some ladies from a different vantage point (including our farthest travellers, from california, colorado and new mexico!):

this is not the elephant, but it's pretty scandalous nonetheless, and what's a bachelorette posting without scandal?

this is me with my "panty line," which includes undies for each stage of our relationship, from the wedding to the first valentine's day to baby-making to the retirement home:

we also played with make-up, which was not photodocumented. i had the best time ever with my girls; the party was totally "me." many, many thanks to moh (matron of honor) and aob (aunt of bride) for all the thought and effort that went into planning the games, gathering supplies, personalizing champange glass favors and wrapping chocolate bars in pink paisley paper :) we had a ton of fun (and a ton of cupcakes and champange). but apparently not as much fun as the groom...

stay tuned for the next installment, "the rehearsal dinner." also known as "the night the bridesmaids were far more inappropriate than the groomsmen." you go girls.

mrs fantastic

2009-06-29T13:06:00.000-07:00

apparently, that's my new name. i won't complain.

so we got married n' stuff. it was the most fun week and a half of my entire life, and it went by far too quickly. every idea that i blogged about and obsessed over came to life in an even more fabulous way than i could have every imagined, thanks to my wonderful wonderful wonderful mom, dad, aunt joan, godmother linda, friend lucy, aunts tanya and carol, bridesmaid louise's mom, and many many others. a huge THANK YOU to those who slaved for hours making bows for topiaries and risked their lives to hang paper lanterns from a giant ladder. many thanks also to my amazing (i'm running out of superlatives here) bridesmaids, each of whom made the whole experience enjoyable in her own way, from doing my makeup to fetching my water to bustling my train to readjusting my veil to initiating a decorative-rocks-cum-rocket-launchers initiative at the rehearsal dinner (aehm) etc and so forth - too many ways to count. my only regret is that i didn't get to spend more quality time with each person. there were so many friends and loved ones, many of whom travelled great distances, and i hated that we only had a few minutes to visit with each one. but it was so wonderful to have each of them there.

but i'll let the initial teaser photos from the fabulous josh (and maribeth!) malahy do the talking. click on the pictures below to see the blog post. more deets to follow soon, pinkie promise.

the wedding and reception

the photobooth

THE BIG DAY

2009-06-20T10:05:00.000-07:00

hi. remember me? i used to blog about my wedding. that's before my wedding was t-minus a week or two away and i had to actually DO my wedding instead of TYPE my wedding.

now, it's t-minus 6 hours away. aaaaaaaaaaand i might vom.

my nails are done, my rings are sparkly clean, my hair and makeup are about to get did, and the reception decorations i dreamed up over the past 10 months are even more fabulous in reality than they ever were in my head. i've been enjoying the best week of my life with my amazing family and friends, many of whom traveled from all over the country earlier this week to help me prepare and celebrate. i don't have a picture to go with this post (since my camera cord is at the groom's house = off limits) but i would like to give a huge shout out to EVERYONE who has helped me in this process, from my parents, aunts and godmothers who have slaved over projects all week slash year to every blog reader who has ever left a comment or been entertained by a post and everyone in between. i love you all!

let's go get married!!!!

8 days...

2009-06-12T14:00:00.000-07:00

bridesmaid kate just pointed out that my wedding is so close, it's visible on the 10-day forecast.

sunny and 93 degrees.

i can handle a weekend of thunderstorms, if a sunshiny wedding is my reward. sweet.

probably bring one of those electric fans with a water bottle sprayer attached though.

honeymoonlighting

2009-06-10T13:10:00.000-07:00

...as a fisherwoman? perhaps not.

here is captain fantastic's friend, ben. ben is an avid flyfisherman, just like the captain. ben told the captain about this awesome place in belize that would be perfect for a honeymoon. it also happens to be perfect this:

coincidence? no.

what even is that fish? call me once it's on a plate, minus eyeballs and plus a delicious butter sauce. until then, i'll be at the spa. thanks.

.....in 11 days

(the spa, not the wedding. that's in 10.)

12 steps

2009-06-08T12:44:00.000-07:00

the first step in the my-wedding-is-in-12-days 12-step program is to admit that i have a problem. so, here goes...i am a wedding blog addict. there. i said it. phew.

the second step to recovery, i must admit, gave me a bit of a panic attack after i did it. i...deleted...style me pretty...from my google reader. yes. i did. and i'm not even going to link to it in this post. we're at the point where the decisions have all been made, the supplies and flowers have all been ordered, there's no turning back from my plan. so i had to rid myself of the dozens of fabulously inspiring posts every day. and it hurt a little. i also unsubscribed to approximately 10 of i-won't-admit-how-many-other wedding blogs. the plan is to wean myself off of them over the next few days until the only ones left are courtney's (because i actually know her in real life) and ema.leigh's (because she's a follower, and that makes me super excited, therefore i want to see her wedding this fall). oh and this guy gets to stick around too. he's my fave. but after that no. more. wedding. blogs.

in real-life wedding news, the captain had a fabulous bachelor party weekend and returned home alive, not even sunburned, though less one wallet and one sonic toothbrush. i literally spent my every waking moment laboring over wedding projects all sweatshop-style, which was actually kinda fun, and i now feel extremely much better that i've accomplished so much.

and in an exciting turn of events, whilst trying on my wedding dress for the final time on saturday, i boldly discarded the fancy veil i bought with it and decided to wear the same veil my mama wore in my parents' wedding! i'm really excited about it. i'd been feeling buyer's remorse over the dress i purchased, and this was just the thing to get me all excited again. i've posted this picture before, but here's a look at mom sporting the veil:

before you raise an eyebrow, let me explain that we are refashioning the headpiece (earmuffs?) into a small clip. no worries. so let's just go ahead and check "old" (no offense, ma) and "borrowed" off my rapidly-dwindling to-do list, shall we? sweet.

two weeks

2009-06-05T08:45:00.000-07:00

two weeks from tomorrow, i will get married. two weeks from tomorrow, ten months of dreaming and planning and crafting and sewing and gluing and cutting and shopping and crying and celebrating and learning and stressing will come to fruition as My Wedding Day. i think my feelings can best be summed up in the eloquent words of macauly culkin:

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

captain fantastic is on his way to a weekend of sun and bachelor party fun at the lake with a dozen of his buddies. i am sitting in my office, alone because everyone else is out, plotting my weekend of wedding diy slavery. but, you know, that's cool.

actually, things are falling into place really well. i can't wait to see my vision come to life. i can't wait to marry the most awesome guy in the world. i can't wait to celebrate with my family and friends. good thing i barely have to wait at all...

sweet victory

2009-06-03T10:03:00.000-07:00

today is a momentous day. it shall forever go down in history as the day i conquered photoshop. or at least the day i managed to move stuff around in photoshop without going all office-space on my laptop. tears of joy swell in my tired eyes as the drumroll builds and i present....

voila! this is going to show up somewhere awesome, but i'm not telling where.

someone please restrict my internet access

2009-06-02T08:52:00.000-07:00

...so i quit coming up with new ideas. the wedding is in 18 days, people. this is ridiculous.

but wouldn't this make the best addition to the decor? full of and surrounded by candles? as centerpieces on some of the smaller tables?

and also, this is what i was envisioning in the bridesmaids-bouquets-cum-centerpieces brainstorm:

good idea? or are you on your way to confiscate my computer? i'll be the one in the fetal position, whimpering under my desk.

new career path?

2009-05-29T08:53:00.000-07:00

perhaps not. but i don't think i did too shabby a job at crafting sample bouquets last night. exhibit a:

full-grown white and baby green hydrangeas + hypernicum berries = simple and lovely. if you ask me. which you pretty much did, seeing as how you're reading my blog and all.

here's what the whole ensemble will look like. exhibit b:

i think it's pretty neat. it's even neater in person. trust.

for my bouquet, i'm thinking i want the same thing, but with a bunch of deep pink roses interspersed. i may even nix the green hydrangea from the bridesmaids' bouquets and just go white + berries, then have white + berries + green + roses in mine. the bridesmaids have already got a lotta color going on up in here. (ps i think the plaid ribbon is FAB)

and howsabout this idea: at the reception, the bigger tables will sport the topiary centerpieces. for the smaller tables, i was thinking a glass container with a few flowers and a bunch of candles. what if...these containers held the bridesmaids' bouquets? instead of the cake table holding the bridesmaids' bouquets? like each of the small centerpieces holds, say, a single white hydrangea, and when the bridal party arrives, each girl adds her bouquet to the mix? i heart multitasking.

i am getting ready to type up and sketch out a comprehensive opus slash architectural rendering of my vision for ceremony and reception decorations. i don't think i'll share it here though. a girl has to keep a little mystery, right?

solution

2009-05-27T08:43:00.000-07:00

...to the great lantern conundrum. behold:

18" of paper mache celestial loveliness. and it just so happens to be the same as the 2" stars we got at hobby lobby for the baby's breath garland idea. which, you know, promotes unity and branding and cohesion etc and so forth. i'd like to hang some of these with the round paper lanterns that are en route to my house from an asian import company as we speak. or type and read, as the case may be.

then there is this:

which is the same thing in garland form and could be used with the baby's breath garland instead of the individual stars, which could then be strewn about the rest of the decorations. for more cohesion. and for clarification, i'm thinking more martha-stewart-meets-country-living-chic, less 14-yr-old-tie-dye-and-lava-lamp celestial here. yes?

then again, i could collect a bunch of magnolia leaves from various parks and yards and craft them into something like this

instead of the baby's breath. this could also be draped around the cake table like so

and around the candles on the mantle like such

but with less of a yuletide flair. yay or nay?

bridal shower extravaganza!

2009-05-22T16:13:00.000-07:00

if bridal showers were like actual showers, i'd be pretty clean this week.

first, three bridesmaids and their moms hosted a shower for bridesmaids + moms + female relatives at the inn at hunt phelan, which was FAB. you know i mean it, because i hardly ever use capital letters. this is me with the hostesses (and louise, she just likes to have her picture taken):

no, i don't know what possessed me to stand like that. thanks for making fun of me though.

here i am eating brunch with my future-sister-in-law. i like this picture because it is a good example of why people always tell us we look alike:

here are the prettiest flowers ever in the world of all time:

and here they are again. oh, and my godmother and mom and me too:

today, my coworkers hosted a shower for me at the office. mom & captain fantastic were invited. it was one of the best days of work ever, because i got to drink wine at noon and spend the afternoon giving everyone a facebook and blogging tutorial. no really. and i'd been planning that for weeks.

here's my boss surveying the table of delicious food prepared by his son's catering company and pretty flowers cut from his wife's garden. you probably can't see the purple shirt from here, but he's kind of a big deal. i feel like since the bishop prays over my staff meetings and bridal showers, maybe jesus doesn't mind that i sometimes skip church for two or eleven weeks in a row.

here the captain and i enjoy noontime glasses of wine with another bishop, this time in oil-painting form:

my mom gave us these cute mugs that say "i do" and "me too." the captain will probably drink coffee from his. i will definitely eat ice cream from mine.

i like this picture of us opening the awesome food processor from my coworkers because look how excited captain fantastic is. he probably thinks this will encourage my new found desire to bake, and then he'll get cookies all the time. perhaps...

i'd also like to give a shout-out to our first shower-type activity. two bridesmaids hosted a cocktail party for bridesmaids + groomsmen + parents a few days before christmas, and it was a really good time. you want to see pictures? i thought so.

here i am with the hostesses (this time louise actually belonged in the picture):

and here i am with the captain back when he had his handsome seasonal beard:

and here i am with my dad and his favorite rubber santa bolo tie (that's where i get my festiveness):

apparently, at that party i only wanted pictures of myself. there were also guests, drinks, food and prezzies.

being engaged is pretty awesome. people are always really excited for you, and friends and family make such generous showings of love and support. it's really humbling and really wonderful. thank you all so very much!

lovely ladies

2009-05-20T20:25:00.000-07:00

look what came in the maaaaaaaaaail todaaaaaaaaaay....

the briiiiiiidesmaid dreeeeeesseeeees!!! they sent all the memphis girls' dresses to my house together to save on shipping. so i immediately put one on when they arrived on my doorstep. obviously. i think they're pretty fabulous. i may or may not be secretly jealous that i don't get to wear one. is that weird?

precious

2009-05-20T13:52:00.000-07:00

this might be my favorite ring shot of all time.

via here.

maybe with a little benadryl-in-the-kibble action, i could have my very own. two versions, of course.

flora

2009-05-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

remember that time i was all "i don't really care that much about flowers...?" enter this past saturday, when three bridesmaids and their mothers hosted a fabulous bridal shower for me at the inn at hunt phelan and decorated the tables with big silver julep cups full of enormous pink peonies. now, i DO really care that much about flowers. so much that i carry my own personal favor arrangement from the shower around the house with me so that i may admire it wherever i am. (pictures of the shower forthcoming, as i haven't downloaded them from my camera yet)

cue incessant worry and hyperventilation about wedding flowers.

in the interest of not losing my mind over something i really did not anticipate losing my mind over, let's discuss. i've decided that my watermelon-dress-with-pear-sash bridesmaids should carry predominantly white flowers, with some greenery for good measure. perhaps like one of these:

the flower girls will wear halos of spray roses and hypernicum berries and carry matching pint-sized nosegays like big girls (since one flowergirl recently informed me that in an upcoming wedding she'll be wearing high heels with "bling," and how can i compete with that?) comme ca:

since i am a fan of festive accessories (not a purse or pair of shoes to my name in a sensible color like black or brown), i think my flowers should have some serious pink. maybe something like this (but with the non-white flowers being pink instead of orange & purple):

or this, but with some white interspersed:

for all of the ladies (including myself) i super love bouquets with big, fluffy bows, kinda like so:

and for the gents, simple bouts made of one or two small blooms (spray roses?) with hypernicum berries and the fly-fishing flies, arranged thusly (i realize this is not spray roses with hypernicum berries...use your imagination):

so now we move on to the question and answer portion of the program. bouts: white or pink? or pink for groomsmen and white for groom (who is likely going to have a pink tie)? and bouquets: can i use my beloved plaid ribbon, or is that too much?

and don't even get me started on centerpieces. we'll save that post for another day...

a plea + a tutorial

2009-05-13T15:51:00.000-07:00

this is a semblance of my vision for the area behind the band at the reception, if you will recall. and this is what i want to get to bring that vision to life:

the problem is, i can only find this type of star lantern at one store on the whole, wide interweb, and they have been back ordered since march and will be through july!!!! nooooooooooo!!! anybody out there know of another place where i could find these or something similar? i want plain, natural-colored paper with zero cut-outs or ad-ons or anything else ridiculous. just tasteful, plain star lanterns as featured above. and don't gimme no paperlanternstore.com, because they're the ones who are back ordered. we're in a fight.

plan b:

these irregular-ribbed natural round lanterns in various sizes. i will be happy with these. but i'd be happier with some stars! the round lanterns would also be a sad reminder to one of my bridesmaids of how her carefully-orchestrated lantern and twinkle light display dissolved in a freak thunderstorm two hours before her outdoor reception. and nobody wants that. so anybody got any juicy star lantern leads?

...which brings us to part deux of this post: a tutorial. on reply cards. specifically the ones in my wedding invitations. they read "the favor of a reply is requested by june 1st" and are otherwise blank. the idea being that my clever and creative friends and family would write or draw something clever and creative letting us know if they're coming or not. ... apparently i overestimated the cleverness and creativeness of part of the guest list, because i've been getting a lot of questions. we even got back one card completely blank. in a moment of forethought, we numbered the cards to correspond with the rsvp spreadsheet, so we know who sent it. we just don't know if they're coming or not. oops. don't let this happen to you. be like the dozens of people who wrote something sweet or funny or downright hilarious, or even the people who wrote a note to bob & lauren, not realizing that robert clifton goes by his middle name (obviously someone on the bride's side...). don't be like blankcardguy. c'mon, i know you're clever....

never fear

2009-05-08T13:59:00.000-07:00

...we decided to go with patriotism in the stamp department. my dad was all, "but this is a WEDDING and those are WEDDING rings..." and i was all, "remember how you suggested we jazz up the topiary pots with wrapping paper like the do with christmas poinsettias?" pops is the brains of the operation; let's leave the creative aspect to the ladies.

i haven't had much wedding project posting going on up in hura, mainly because the wedding project that's currently consuming me is supertopsecret. but i will share when the time is right (as in, after the wedding). and yall are going to just roll your little eyes at how ridiculous i am for coming up with and trying to complete projects like this.

apologies for being a blog slacker.

on the to-do list for the coming week:

*attend baby brother's college graduation tomorrow (awww)
*meet with organist to determine ceremony music
*meet with florist to finalize floristy things
*get together supplies for photobooth guestbook extravaganza
*design and cut out foam letters to cover with moss
*order moss for topiaries/letters
*have a supa-fab bridal shower hosted by 3 bridesmaids + moms next saturday
*bbq fest-it-up with the captain's team as time allows

finally, i have reevaluated my feelings for baby's breath. i have seen a lot of arrangements of it by itself recently, and me gusta. and i have decided that i want to do this

via here

but nix the birds and do clusters of these awesome little paper mache stars from hob-lob in the corners and the center. and hang it atop and around the big doorway leading into the reception room, which i tried to find a picture of but apparently if you don't sign in with your member information on the club's website you're not even allowed to see what the club looks like. how exclusive. anyway, garland: yes?

delish

2009-05-05T12:55:00.001-07:00

ever since captain fantastic popped the question, i've been feeling the urge to get rill domestic. from obsessively vacuuming to learning to sew to baking cookies from scratch, i channel my inner martha on a regular basis. so i'm really excited that a fabulously talented high school friend of mine launched a fabulously awesome, well-written, accessible-to-even-non-cooks food blog today! it is thebomb.com! actually, it is the bluejeangourmet.com. technically. you should go there right now and read it and love it and bookmark it and check it often and make friends with nishta before she becomes a famous author so maybe you can get her to sign a copy of her book and say you knew her when.

YUM.

wait a minute, mr. postman....

2009-05-03T15:19:00.001-07:00

my family is cursed. i'm 99% positive. here is why: nothing ever works out easily. ever. no matter what my mom/dad/brother/yours truly is trying to do, there will be some enormous pain in the a$$ setback. and with the whole crew trying to plan an enormous pain in the a$$ event (our wedding), the setbacks are even more frustrating. the current setback in andersonland is postage. (disclaimer: i realize this is not a big deal. it's just so irritating that it's even an issue. and so typically my family.)

#1 the stationers failed to mention, when we asked how much our invitations would cost to send, that the size and shape of them means they cost A DOLLAR to mail. i believe the lady who helped us said something to the effect of, "well they'll cost more than your standard letter, but they're not really expensive or anything." we were thinking 60-something cents. ooooooooh no. a dollar. wanna know what a dollar in postage looks like?

friggin zeus. cool picture, zeus, but your maroon and navy clouds don't really scream "pink & green preppy country club wedding." thankfully, my mom had a moment of financial genius today and discovered that this...
plus this...
...equals a dollar and one cent. and it takes 100 cents to make a dolla-dolla-bill yall, so the goddess of love can reign over our invitations instead of the god of fall colors and lightning bolts, for just a few extra bucks. suh-weet.

#2 our invitations are printed, the envelopes are calligraphied, everything's ready to be stuffed and stamped and put in the mail this week. hmm, you're thinking, i feel like there's something important and postal happening this week. yes friends. the postage is going up 2 cents. neat. we'll get the invitations off before the price changes next weekend...but the reply cards will be coming back for the next month, so they have to be of the four-score and four variety. so, you're thinking, no biggie, just put 44 cent stamps on them. oooooooooooooh but they don't SELL 44 cent stamps until friday. at which point the invitations would also need more postage. therefore, i am stuck with this decision: ugly patriotism:
or tacky symbolism:
which is the lesser of the evils, i ask?

grrrr.

to see or not to see

2009-04-29T13:33:00.000-07:00

...that is the question. not one i ever thought i'd ask. but here i am. asking it.

a current trend in weddings, as couples become more laid-back/non-traditional and photography becomes more important, is the "first look." this is where the bride and groom, all dolled up and ready to get married, have a few moments together before the ceremony to drink each other in, settle nerves and get excited, then spend a while taking all those couple/bridal party photos that otherwise eat into reception partyfuntime after the ceremony. the getting-pictures-out-of-the-way early part is pretty neato, but what appeals to me these days is the nerve-settling, not-crying-on-the-walk-down-the-aisle-in-front-of-250-people-like-i-will-100%-do-otherwise part.

sweet first look shots from here

(i told my grama the other day that i'm terrified of hysterically crying on my walk down the aisle, and she was like, "why on earth would you do that? i like clifton." not that kind of crying, grama.)

i mean i can't hear a sweet song on the radio or hear the word "husband" or think about my dad or see something white and not get all emotional-like these days. and i think that spending some time with captain fantastic before the ceremony might diffuse some of that emotion so that i don't act like a complete basketcase during the most important hour of my young life. i've always been a strict no-contact-till-we-meet-at-the-altar sort of gal, and the captain is that sort of guy, but now we're not so sure. (the cathedral's wedding planner told me yesterday that we'd do it alone, in the sanctuary, so the captain's first glimpse of me would still be walking down the aisle.)

thoughts? i mean first look thoughts, not why-do-you-always-connect-sentences-with-hyphens thoughts. i realize i have a problem with that.

score!

2009-04-27T14:03:00.000-07:00

i'm rill excited right now because i just found a place online that wholesales this:
for my bouquets and various other applications. you laugh, but it was seriously hard to find.

and no, i haven't gotten my engagement ring back, and yes, i'm still sad about it. thanks for asking.

honeymoonin'

2009-04-25T09:20:00.000-07:00

the week following our wedding, you can find us here:

belize, baby! click the photo to visit the website of victoria house, the place we'll be staying. one of the groomsmen found us some phenomenally-priced plane tickets too...that leave at 6:30 am the day after the wedding. the captain is really excited that we'll get married and leave right away. if you think otherwise, it'd probably be best to keep that information to yourself, as the tickets are already booked. maybe we'll just hit up raifords after the reception and sleep on the plane?

me at louise's bachelorette party at raiford's last may

marley (& sterling) and me (& the captain)

2009-04-25T08:42:00.000-07:00

we'd been trying to watch that movie for months. we actually went to the theater twice and ended up leaving because it was a madhouse. we were looking forward to it because we each have a dog (one of whom shares a name with the main character), and because on a flight to seattle last spring, we bought the book at the airport and read it together. like at the same time. i learned that captain fantastic is not so fantastically fast at reading. but somehow it worked out.

here they are helping me blog (l: sterl girl, r: marley bear)

last week, it finally arrived via netflix. we proceeded to lock the dogs in the den and force them to snuggle on the couch with us, so we could clutch them and sob into the little shed-machines at the end. and boy did we. such a good movie! if you're a dog-lover, i highly recommend it. but be sure to have some tissues handy.

here they are snuggling the captain on the futon a few months ago

on a wedding-related note, guess what i'm doing today? weddin' thangs! perhaps i'll have another exciting progress report for you tomorrow. until then, here's what we accomplished this week:

*bought a tux for captain fantastic, signed up the groomsmen for rentals
*booked honeymoon room and flight (more on that later)
*sorted out the ring conundrum

thank yall for your input on the rings! you verified the little voice in my head that kept nagging me about wearing the band alone. we went back to the jeweler yesterday and decided to simply re-size the engagement ring and order a new wedding band, kinda like this one:
i admit a smidge of impatience with google recently...none of these rings actually look like my rings, just kinda similar. whatev. anyway, many thanks! and many thanks to richard the jeweler, who promised to get my engagement ring back to me as soon as possible :)

lord of the rings

2009-04-22T08:56:00.000-07:00

golem here is without her precious. boo.

captain fantastic and i went to the jeweler's yesterday to pick out his wedding band and to discuss options to modify the band that came with my engagement ring. after deciding what to do and determining that my engagement ring needed to be re-sized so it wouldn't fly off my hand amidst wild gesticulation, i had to surrender the precious to the jeweler...for THREE WEEKS. are you kidding me? i woke up this morning ringless, feeling like this whole getting-married thing was just a big, wonderful dream. sigh.

now. i realize that the ring is just a symbol. i am still less than 2 months away (!) from marrying the most wonderful guy on the planet. we love each other, and that's what matters. but i miss my symbol! it's pretty and spahhhkly and broadcasts my joy to the world. it also verifies that i am, in fact, not 14 years old. i appreciate that part. a lot.

i digress. i'm unsure of the changes that the jeweler suggested yesterday, and i'd like some input. the original set-up looks vaguely this:
(except the bands are thinner, there are round diamonds set in it on the outsides of the four baguettes, and the center diamond is in a 4-prong setting that makes it look kinda square...but this was the that closest google search offered)

i greatly dislike how the four baguettes line up when the rings are together. i want to replace the two baguettes on the wedding band with four round diamonds. then maybe if i'm real good, the captain might gift me a matching band for a ring guard on a future anniversary. you follow?

issue #2 is that the engagement diamond's setting is larger, so the two bands don't lie flush. solutions include a) "jogging" the band out so it curves around the diamond b) raising the main diamond's setting up so the band fits under it c) removing those two diamonds in the center so that there is a blank spot that will slide under the main diamond's setting. still with me? i don't like "jogging" bands and fear that raising the diamond would cause me to smack it on things even more than i already do, so we decided on option c. the jeweler will remove the two diamonds in the center and replace each baguette with two round diamonds, so the band will have three round diamonds on either side of a blank spot. i tried to draw a picture for you, but photoshop is my archfrigginnemesis, so you'll just have to close your eyes and imagine. is this a good idea? will i regret that the band looks funny by itself? should we have gone with raising the engagement diamond? am i overthinking this?

i plan to wear these rings for the rest of my life, so i'd like to be happy with them. suggestions?

sit down

2009-04-19T13:43:00.000-07:00

are you seated? ok good. because you won't believe this. i've actually worked on some wedding projects! gasp! i know.

firstly, the topiaries. on last weekend's super-productive wedding supply shopping spree, mom and i came across an assortment of these babies in various sizes for 50% off:
lovely faux ivy right? notsomuch. but wait, after a little snip-snip...
the perfect blank canvas for some hot moss action. like so:
a bunch of pins and some hot glue later, we have this:
the pink ribbon is for effect...the real deal will be white, and the small speckly green pot will be placed inside a slightly larger terra cotta pot. it ended up saving time and money to get the pre-assembled topiaries instead of a bunch of styrofoam balls and sticks and pots and moss and etcetera and so forth. so there you have it. project topiary = success.

here's a little wedding vignette we assembled, for kicks and giggles:
note the topiary, monogram, azaela blooms, candle and assortment of stones. disregard plastic bags, kitchen cabinets, blue gingham wallpaper and anderson family calendar.

BUT WAIT! I'M NOT FINISHED! behold what else i've accomplished!
i made these by tracing profile pictures on my computer, then coloring them black. still have some tweaking to do, but we're finally making some progress here people. you likey?

and the winner is...

2009-04-13T17:40:00.000-07:00

good call, matron of honor!

this:

pays homage to this:
the first annual chug-n-run, where captain fantastic and i met. it all started with one man's crazy dream to run a four-mile loop around midtown, stopping at various bars along the way for a drink. as you can see, we took it upon ourselves to dress for the occasion (along with our dear, sketchy friend) in sweatbands and aviators (mine are missing in this picture, as unlike gaines, the captain and corey hart, i do not wear my sunglasses at night). it was obviously meant to be.

ALERT THE MEDIA

2009-04-10T14:46:00.000-07:00

yaaaaaaaaay!!! engagement pictures are posted!!! yaaaaaaaaaay!!! yaaaaaaaaay!!! ...... yaaaaaaaaay!!!

you may think the exclamation points are excessive, but that's just because you haven't looked at the pictures yet.

click here to visit j. malahy photography and see the whole shebang. and just go ahead and book josh now for your wedding. finding the groom can wait.

(10 points to the first person to get the sweatband + aviator reference)

pretty in pink

2009-04-09T10:38:00.000-07:00

look what one of my fav wedding blogs posted today that i saw forever ago on martha before picking the bridesmaid dresses and totally forgot about until just now but HOW PERFECT:
like that cutie on your left? i sure hope so, because you'll be wearing it in june, ladies. well, if you're one of my exorbitant number of bridesmaids you will. otherwise you're free to wear what you will. just keep it classy, this is a family show.

this is about a zillion times better than ms. roboto on the simple silhouettes website, fo sho. so are we excited? i can't heeeear yoooooou. i said ARE WE EXCITED?!

72 days. booyah.

vogue

2009-04-06T18:23:00.000-07:00

engagement shoot = huge success! also, the best time ever. and we're even more obsessed with our photographer. josh was extremely accommodating to my enthusiastic ideas and ridiculous requests, and it was great to get used to being photographed while making out in public. fear not; i shall be stalking his blog every couple of seconds until our shots are posted, at which point i will alert the media. after i finish crying at how awesome they are, because i know they will be. (no pressure)

here's a little taste of things to come, courtesy of a camping trip last october:
that's right. one of my ridiculous requests involved using the bago as a prop. magnificent.

what you say?

2009-04-03T09:56:00.000-07:00

what was that, theknot.com? it's only 78 days until the wedding? and i still have 100 unchecked items on my checklist? oh. well then, i suppose i have some work to do. don't worry though; the eleventh hour is my time to shine. i'll probably save most of my intricate diy items for june, because that's how i roll. in attempt to spark some miracle change in personality, i have been keeping an extensive to-do list. for your reading pleasure, here are the things on my to-do list, a little what-to-expect-at-my-wedding recap, if you will:

*invitations. proofs have been finalized and envelopes are in my car. we just have to place the final order and deliver the envelopes, along with the guest list (don't even get me started on the guest list), to the calligrapher. then we just stuff and stamp. thisclose to crossing it off the list.
*monogram. i need to create it, decide what items i want to grace with it and grace them. also make something like this for the doors at the country club:

*silhouettes. captain fantastic will shed the seasonal beard after the engagement pictures this weekend, at which point i need to have a good hair day and take the pictures to make the silhouettes. then decide how to use them.
*flowergirl dresses. make a decision already.
*decorations. we have thoroughly scoured the reception venue, laid out the floor plan and decided on the decorative basics (star lanterns, candles in vases with stones, moss topiaries, hot pink azaleas). i need to accumulate samples of each, pick exact items i want, purchase and/or borrow said items. collect childhood photos of me (easy) and the captain (hard) for display.
*me. figure out hair and makeup. i know what i want, just need to decide who'll do it and how. no pictures because it's a surpriiiiiiiiiise. shhh.

*passport. nothing irks me more at this moment than the fact that my passport's 10-year lifespan expires 2 months before my honeymoon. the forms are filled out, the heinous pictures are prepared, i just have to send it. but like, how lame that i'll need a new one with a new name two months later. exasperation.

*the final and most difficult to accomplish category = things that involve the groom. tuxedos. groomsmen gifts. wedding bands. it's pretty ridiculous how many times these items have been #1 on the saturday to-do list and have been replaced by more pressing activities like "go fly-fishing" and "host fraternity-style cookout." i digress.
i hope to cross some of this off over the weekend. all you office fans out there, beer me strength.

he loves me, he loves me not?

2009-03-31T10:11:00.000-07:00

via lily pulitzer

i wish.

model for a day

2009-03-30T09:48:00.000-07:00

this saturday is the big day....engagement photo shoot! let's cross our fingers for lovely weather, bathe those big dogs, scrub down that bago and hope for the best. shockingly enough, i have been agonizing over what to wear. i'm nervous, because whatever i look like on saturday will be permanently recorded for posterity. and i'm a freak who can't make decisions. but i'm thinking i have. howsabout this ensemble:

yes? i just have to pick a hairdo and learn how to apply makeup. no biggie...? now the captain has to make his difficult wardrobe decisions...polo or lacoste? khakis or jeans? being a boy is so hard.

survey

2009-03-25T08:05:00.000-07:00

(in white)
or

with

(in pink)
or

classic

2009-03-17T14:28:00.000-07:00

from gq.

what you say?

2009-03-14T16:42:00.000-07:00

check it out, yo: photobooth + chalkboard. how hilarious are these?

from this wedding.

mom and i just finished a whirlwind day of wedding dress fitting, mom dress finding, flowergirl dress shopping and reception site decoration planning. i mean like for 9 hours. the good news is that every venture was successful, woohoo!

now i am having a glass of wine before meeting kate...for a glass of wine. i deserve it.

and in case you're keeping score, captain fantastic: dozens, arkansas trout: zero.

oh captain, my captain

2009-03-13T13:14:00.000-07:00

i'm feeling bloggy lately. perhaps because i realize i have a limited amount of time left to blog about this wedding, so i might as well make the most of it.

this survey is making the rounds in the wedding blogosphere, and since i'm a glutton for punishment, i feel like waxing poetic about how awesome captain fantastic is while he's out of town fly-fishing and i'm lonely at home. [insert melancholy violin solo]

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen?
tiger basketball or whatever documentary/tlc series i'm forcing him to watch

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?
blue cheese. but take out "salad" and insert "hot wings"

3. What's one food he doesn't like?
licorice. he likes everything else. literally.

4. You go out to eat and have a drink. What does he order?
beer. unless it's within the past two weeks, in which case, mr. bond will have a martini, thanks.

5. Where did he go to high school?
christian brothers, central and maybe somewhere else before he decided that montessori school made him too cool for that crap and got his ged to go to college early.

6. What size shoe does he wear?
8, 8.5, 9, 9.5 are all represented in his closet

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be?
first of all, it's "if he were," and second of all, expensive equipment for various hobbies - fly-fishing, rock-climbing, cooking, road-biking, camping, etcetera - and furniture his family members no longer want

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich?
he sure loves his traditional saturday afternoon blt

9. What would he eat every day if he could?
see #2

10. What is his favorite cereal?
oatmeal. if that counts as cereal.

11. What would he never wear?
any sort of sports jersey outside of the context of participating in said sport; the vera bradley tie (boo)

12. What is his favorite sports team?
GO TIGERS - memphis basketball

13. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do?
complain about my appearance, cry for "no reason" (hello, i am a girl, and there totally IS a reason)

14. What is his heritage?
AMERICA. really i think english. and part of his family were quakers.

15. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake?
he'd prefer i go get a strawberry cake from bogie's, his fav. which is a good idea, because i don't like strawberry cake, so i'd probably bake him a chocolate one.

16. Did he play sports in high school?
does skateboarding count? how about rock-climbing?

17. What could he spend hours doing?
see #7. add "working on his 1968 winnebago" and "drinking beer while grilling out"

18. What is one unique talent he has?
to be good at everything. also to be the most patient, understanding, non-judgmental person i have ever met. and finally, to be exceptionally handsome, as demonstrated here (with the help of marley and the sewanee plateau):
what a lucky girl i am!

family ties

2009-03-12T13:46:00.000-07:00

remember those personal touches i was talking about in the last post? here's one of them. my parents were married in the very same spot where we will be married, almost exactly 35 years before. their 35th anniversary is two days after our wedding. i love this coincidence. june 20th ended up being the first date between easter and forever when the stars of the cathedral's available dates, our bridal party's grad school exams, other friends' weddings and my brother's college graduation all aligned. perfect! and here they are...
adorable, i know.

something i did not know until recently is this coincidental personal touch: my mother's parents (on the right, grama's in the pink, poppie's looking handsome in his ascot) planned their 50th wedding anniversary party at chickasaw, where we are having our reception. sadly, poppie passed away two weeks before the party. i just love that our life together will begin in the place where two of my favorite people were planning to celebrate 50 years of their life together. it makes me get teary just thinking about it. even when i'm secret-renegade-blog-posting at work.

THAT's what i'm talkin about!

2009-03-12T13:30:00.000-07:00

balls of moss! i want to create these, in various sizes, slide some on a stick in a pot, let others rest on the table and intersperse them with candles, kinda like so
now, DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW TO MAKE THEM??? i'm talking ball meets moss by way of glue gun or something, none of this spend-months-growing-and-shaping-live-plants biznaz. no thanks. please advise.

i think i'll fill my candle containers with STONES too, heh. and in a few of the vases, instead of candles i'll put these:
azaleas! both captain fantastic and i grew up with gardens full of these babies, and they happen to be totally in line with the color scheme for the wedding. it is important to me to incorporate a lot of personal touches throughout the day, and this is an unexpectedly perfect one. we'll also be using them in the bouquets, because did you know you can use azaleas in bouquets? i did not. but now i do. and i shall. a bunch of them together has that "big n fluffy" look i so love...sigh.

vindication

2009-03-05T11:37:00.001-08:00

one of my favorite wedding blogs, style me pretty, posted this today. look who was ahead of the trend, hmm???

thank you. that is all.

hello, gorgeous

2009-03-03T13:37:00.001-08:00

PERFECT! in all white, with swiss dots on the alternating tiers instead of the plaid/starbursty design. and a monogram on the middle tier. obviously. from this wedding.

another decision made = the band! finally! captain fantastic & the parents & i had a dance party to their demo last night. no seriously. we even tried to recreate the jump shot in their picture (fail)...we were drinking champagne.

this week/weekend will be eaten up by our major annual event at work, but NEXT weekend, mom & i are doing some for real, intense weddin' thangs. most excitingly, we'll head to the club and figure out exactly how and where and what we'll decorate. FUN!

booths and bouts

2009-02-27T08:31:00.001-08:00

the thing that's keeping me up at night this week (well maybe not literally, but you know, figuratively) = guest book ideas. there are plenty of cute ones. filling out post cards that a trusty moh mails in batches over the next year; writing a wish on a rock or a piece of paper and putting it in a pretty vase for newlywed home display; signing a platter or a picture frame mat. all good ideas. not nearly complicated enough for me. heavens no. let's dream big. courtesy of this wedding at martha stewart dot com:
diy photobooth! yesssssssssssssssssss! real photobooths that shoot out a bunch of black & white photos on a strip are available for rent, but they're a) expensive b) too big and bulky to fit in our venue. i've seen it done with polaroids too, but have you seen how expensive that film is? bummer. so anyway, how cute would it be to hang up a sheet of fun fabric, like so
(minus the dog, because we all know they unfortunately won't be in attendance) and have our goofy guests pose for photos like so
to preserve our wedding memories foreverandalways? presh. the guest book comes into play thus: i envision a big ole book with blank pages with photo corners for inserting said photos and plenteous space next to them for the people in the photos to write sweet nothings for us to treasure. the tiny issue here is how to accomplish it. designate someone to man the camera during the reception? try to set up a self-timer on a tripod? have a photo printer present to create memories immediately? or just print them out and put them in their corresponding slots afterwards? hmmmm...ideas? anyone seen this executed in real life?

in other news, got the proof of our invitations the other day! there are some minor alterations (like how the name of the cathedral is wrong...) but they are pretty darn gorgeous anyway. and yesterday, mom & i met with the florist, which was way more fun and exciting than i ever dreamed. she was full of great ideas, sprinting about from freezer to freezer, grabbing handfuls of fabulous flowers in shades of pink and green and white and making mock-ups of bouquets....so neat!

AND i saw (and am stealing) the most fabulous idea yesterday, from a wedding i believe i saw on style me pretty (i read a shameful bounty of wedding blogs daily...) - fly-fishing boutonnieres!!!! come ca, except most definitely not orange
captain fantastic is an avid fly-fisherman. how perfect? extremely perfect. take a fly and attach it to a bout similar to the one below, in place of the second blossom

here's the best photo that was posted of the groom in the inspiration wedding
what's bad-a about this is that look, he's got a bout with a fly AND a pocket square! and i vote that it's not, as a bridesmaid quoted tim gunn as warning against, "too much look." we plan to outfit the boys with smaller flowers than this too. you dig?

lil bits

2009-02-19T16:11:00.000-08:00

flowergirls. we have two. my cousin's 6 yr old, his cousin's 4 yr old. they don't come much more precious than these either, lemme tell you. but they need something to wear. our 4 yr old did inform me that she has "the perfect flowered nightgown for the wedding," but slumber party isn't really the theme here.

here's a thing: i don't-so-much love sleeveless fancy dresses on little girls. dunno why. for some reason it looks too grown-up and reminds me of pageant-style exploitation of babes. which is notsomuch the look we're going for here. the look we are going for is a little more tea party (a la j.crew)
slash antique lace (a la strasburg)however. i know that one of said chirins already owns this dress from a previous engagementsleeveless. bummer. in ivory. bummer? not sure. i know someone else will be wearing ivory...

maybe we can work with this. here is how. cue sash, either in the same green as the 'maids or, if i'm really lucky and can find it somewhere, in my vera bradley pattern. or maybe i'll just buy those on-sale pj pants and make my own. so there.

then we will add, and this is cute so stop rolling your eyes mom, this
presh? i think yes. hold on, it gets better. behold:
but here's what's awesome: forever ago, i found a martha stewart post talking about ribbon, and one of the ideas was to tie festive ribbon around your flowergirls' shoes. like above. but with their own shoes. therefore practically free. and adorable. and i put it in my wedding file as a "must do." and now j.crew is selling them. i should totally work in the fashion industry. i know.

speaking of vera bradley, what do we think about turning these into pocket squares for the groomsmen? brilliant and fabulous? a tiny touch of the pattern i love without being unmanly? for the love of goodness, please someone tell me you like this idea. please.

progress

2009-02-18T13:12:00.003-08:00

i went ahead and bought those shoes from payless online last night. i didn't even wait to see if you liked them. it was thoughtless of me, i know, but i figured that heck, i like 'em and will wear 'em in real life even if i find new shoes for The Big Day. i also bought an accessory for after the ceremony when it's past my veil's bedtime. i can't share though, since captain fantastic reads this blog, and it's a SECRET. so shhh. hh. h.

we did a little couples online retail therapy last night as well. FINALLY found a duvet cover j'aime (and he aimes too...though slightly less vehemently), and instead of registering for it and being depressed when they sell out or no one gets it for us, we just went ahead and ordered it. and matching euro shams. and spent an obscene amount of money on a guaranteed dog-proof coverlet to coordinate with and protect said duvet from the big white bedhog. and matching standard shams. SO worth it though. so worth it. here she is (sans dog-proof accoutrements...they are the blueish color "mist," which frigginbetter go)

i digress. back to the wedding. recently i've been thinkin' ceremony decor. i need to figure out how to make inspiration boards like the big kids do so i can show you my vision...again. it's taking shape in my mind as such: monogram + topiaries + silhouette + candles + paper star lanterns + pink, green, white. imma throw in some ribbons and a few flowers for good measure. for lent this year, instead of giving up chocolate like usual (because we all know imma need it this time) i've decided to go the "take something on" route - i shall be creating something every day. there will obvi be a lot of wedding projects, but i've also been hording little craft idea gems i've found on the interweb. i'm excited. i think jesus would approve.

tickled pink (and green)

2009-02-16T09:17:00.000-08:00

behold, i have a fan. and i am EXCITED about it. never in my wildest dreams did i think anyone other than my mom would actually read this blog, but apparently another person does. crazytown. guess i'd better step it up with the posting then huh.

i would like to take this opportunity to share the blog-love right back. all you throngs of loyal readers may recall how embarrassingly obsessed i am with our wedding photographer. like that time he managed to see into my soul and suggest that our photo shoot be reminiscent of a j.crew catalog? oh em gee. what you may not know is that i've also managed to become embarrassingly obsessed with his adorable family, via his wife's blog. it is not only filled with precious pictures of their kiddos, but also all sorts of crafty projects that she somehow manages to complete while overseeing the upbringing and daily needs of three small children. i can't wait till she starts bottling that and selling it on etsy. see her post about yours truly that had me squealing with delight yesterday, right here.

i'd also like to take this opportunity to recognize my sister-cousin slash matron of honor as the brains behind captain fantastic's ego-inflating nickname. early in the course of our relationship, she asked me how "captain fantastic" was doing, and i ran with it. apparently cleverness is genetic.

invitation status update: envelopes have been ordered and the calligrapher has been charged with creating the invite, response card + envelope and a shcmancy monogram with myriad uses (thank yous, napkins, decorations, etc). i finally accepted that i do not know how to do calligraphy and should just leave it to the professionals, so no diy wedding logo over here. whatevs. it'll be much nicer this way.

and also, look what iiiiiii foooooound:
at payless for $24.99 at that. whaddawe think?

solicitation

2009-02-10T11:29:00.000-08:00

i need help tracking down two things:

a) captain fantastic and i are thinking we'd like to have the wedding videotaped for posterity. we're obviously not going to pop it in every night after dinner, but it'd be nice to have. my parents have about 5 minutes of 8mm film of their bridal party walking down the aisle, and it is so fabulous. we'd like to share footage of our big day with our little pebbles in the future. my request is this: know any good videographers? can't find. need help. thanks much.

b) what's the difference between nuptials on the beach and a wedding in a cathedral celebrated by the bishop? shoes. as in, i have to wear some. i'm digging the current trend of colored shoes that coordinate with the bridal party, so i've decided to think pink. satin is probably the most appropriate material. i want something adorable and festive on the toe, like a big bow or flower. enter problem: said shoes cannot exceed 2" in heel height. i don't want to spend my wedding day hobbling around all uncomfy-like. so here is my second request: find me some shoes that look like these:
mated with the hybrid offspring of these:
and these:
and inherited the heel-height of their patent-leather grandma. merci. my other option is to just get plain ballet flats and add some diy embellishment. and nobody wants to see that.

invitetations remix

2009-02-04T11:34:00.000-08:00

behold, a decision has been made. shocking, i know. my mom & i met with our invitation go-to lady recently and picked what i want to do. i'm commissioning a calligrapher to write the text of the invitation, which will then be printed en masse. they will look similar to this:

...but a bit less fancypants and a bit more legible. the monogram/silhouette/etc-on-top idea got the oust because a) we're going to include reception information on the bottom and it just won't fit b) a little bird named mom not-so-covertly suggested that the silhouette idea was tacky. boo. never fear, there will be silhouettes somewhere...just not in invitation or cookie form.

on friday, this lady shall lunch with her current and soon-to-be mothers to finalize guest lists and choose calligraphy. per invitation go-to lady, these babies must hit mailboxes the last week of april. eek! it's getting close! only about four and a half months now!!

let's talk flowers

2009-01-16T13:02:00.001-08:00

shall we? bouquets aren't the #1 most pressing issue at this moment, but they are the #1 thing i feel like talking about today.

flowers i like include peonies, hydrangeas, garden roses, ranunculus, anemones, dahlias...basically the big, fluffy ones. i'm also digging green hypernicum berries as an accent. i'm thinking that since the bridesmaids are wearing pink with green sashes, white flowers w/green accents would be good. i don't know though, because is that too boring? they'll totally be tied with some adorable pink & green ribbon (paisley? plaid? preppy stripes?) if that helps.

an even bigger conundrum is how i can't decide if i want to carry all-white myself, or if i want some pink in there. decisions, decisions. we all know they're not my strong suit. what is my strong suit is procrastination, so i'll do that right now by showing you some examples of bouquets j'adore. behold:
big and fluffy and cute ribbon? yes, please.
bigger and fluffier? that too. i'll take the boobs to fill out that gorgeous sweetheart neckline also. too bad they don't sell those wholesale.
i dislike the colors here, but i like the concept of filler-hydrangea.
pretty! i even like these tulips, and i don't-so-much love tulips.
i super love this - all in white or with some color. maybe some pink ranunculus and green roses?
here's an example of pink flowers for the bridesmaids (hold the gerber daisies). i just can't decide if that's too much pink or if white would be too boring. life is so hard.

what do we think?

i rilly love...

2009-01-06T13:20:00.001-08:00

paper products. a lot. i'm not a big flower girl. don't get me wrong, flowers are gorgeous, but bouquets and boutonnieres will likely be the extent of the flora at my wedding. i'm really digging creative paper items as decoration. for example:
i want to do something like this with some type of lanterns somewhere at the reception. i'm thinking behind the band, who will be up on a stage in front of big windows looking out onto the golf course. note to self: decide on band. or maybe these lanterns would make a fab backdrop for my ipod?
i think this is a really cool centerpiece, with tissue paper pomanders a la martha instead of floral ones. we don't really need such a tall, dramatic centerpiece anywhere, but this inspires me nonetheless. perhaps on a smaller scale, clustered on tables? or not.
i saw a similar centerpiece of sticks adorned with the above paper flowers, made by rolling up paper. how cute is that paper flower? very. and also easy to make. even for the uncraftiest of bridesmaids, so don't get an ideas about getting out of it.
these are just plain adorable. dunno what i'd use them for, but whatever it may be, it would be super cute. if that makes sense.

and finally, the creme de la creme of paper art, the coolest thing eva:
i mean, A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. i forgot the name of the artist who makes these (it's been a long day), but i will figure it out and stalk her. also i could TOTALLY make something relatively as cool, as evidenced by the paper project in my college sculpture class being the only project my jerky professor gave me an A on all semester. apparently, paper is my medium.

any other cool paper products slash projects out there? do share.

and the winner is...

2008-12-23T08:09:00.001-08:00

simple silhouettes "aster" in watermelon with a pear sash. ta-da!!!

this ended up being by far the cutest in person, and it was adorable and flattering on all three of the maids who accompanied me (though we did not try out the above pose). the pleated neckline is a cute detail that will allow my ladies to avoid the hassles of strapless bras and dress-adjusting fidgetyness. prepare to dance-party like it's 2009 with wild abandon and no wardrobe concerns! AND ALSO, it is super precious with my beloved sash (cue adorable picture we'll be taking), and everyone seems to be excited about it. FABULOUS!

many thanks to catherine, victoria and masey (as well as my mama and godmother) for taking a 6-hour-round-trip drive with me yesterday in pursuit of this dress. i had a fabulous time and very much appreciate your attendance and willingness to let me dress you multiple times and look you up and down (and sideways and backwards) for several hours. much love!!!

you can check this mamma-jamma off my to-do list. praise baby jesus in the manger (on thursday).

and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

in the future...

2008-12-15T14:25:00.000-08:00

look! it's us! we're trying on dresses at the awesome bridesmaid store in nashville next monday! aw, we're so cute.

rooooooooad triiiiiiiiip! it's official: noon on monday, dec 22nd. not to be confused with noon monday today, like the lady from the store did when she called me at 12:15 to see if i was coming. i wasn't.

all bridesmaids are invited. bring some tunes and be sure to wear deodorant, cuz it's gonna be a long ride.

my colors are blush and bashful (if bashful is green)

2008-12-04T14:06:00.000-08:00

this blog is in need of some pictures. so, here are some to remind you of what i want my wedding to look like. to recap:

you'll receive an invitation that is reminiscent of this awesome calligraphy design
slash this layout
you will look something like this, but with better flowers (you have such a pretty smile)
and be preceded by the two cutest girls in the whole world (who just happen to be related to me), looking something like this adorable picture from my photographer's blog
then i'll get married to the most fantastic guy eva, but he's not so fantastic as to have decided what he wants his groomsmen to wear (other than a tux), so no picture to illustrate what we'll find at the end of the aisle.

afterwards here's how we'll all look together, walking across the golf course at the country club to the reception (victoria just told a funny joke and kate's laughing and madge is admiring me and mandy's rill blonde)
there will be pretty lighting
and lush greenery
and lovely flowers
and things that look like this

and tasty cake, which we'll cut in the very spot that this couple i don't know but found on a photographer's website and had their reception at chickasaw did (and i may steal their candles-on-the-mantle idea)
and captain fantastic will probably make me drive off in his '68 winnebago, at which time we'll embark on a fabulous honeymoon to some gorgeous beach and return to be the cutest, littlest, most dog-obsessed married couple you know. sound good?

i think so.

behold

2008-12-03T14:06:00.001-08:00

it has arrived. the dress. delivered to my office by the ups man just moments ago.

fabulous.

"i can’t wait to see you in it! i wish i could see you just for a bit and then forget completely," says captain fantastic.

taking stock

2008-11-25T11:10:00.000-08:00

things we have accomplished:
* secured wedding site & celebrant
* secured reception venue, which includes all tables/chairs/silverware/etc and food
* secured bridal party
* secured cake lady
* secured wedding gown - which, might i add, will arrive via mail in my hot little hands NEXT WEEK! eeeeeekkkkkk!!!!!
* secured bridesmaids gifts (because on occasion, i surprise even myself with planning ahead)

things we have yet to do:
* secure band
* secure bridal party attire (you might be naked, but you'll have a great gift!)
* secure flowers
* choose menu
* finalize guest list
* register
* begin planning honeymoon
* everything else....

yikes. maybe it's time to do those things. at least SOMETHING. i've been at a standstill for several weeks. i'm hoping that the impending (as in mere hours from now) arrival of matron of honor slash cousin with husband, puppy, and parents (including craftiest of crafty aunt joanie, score) for the thanksgiving holidays will breathe new life into this shindig.

since i need to add a pretty picture to this post, how's this:
new style of coren moore bridesmaid dress! i realize this picture is not-so-awesome. click here to see it's full splendor. i think since it's named after my mom and grandma, it's a shoe-in. a trip to nashville is in the works for sometime in the next few weeks....

i'm an inconsistent blogger

2008-11-13T13:39:00.000-08:00

apologies.

wedding-related things that have happened quasi-recently:

* my super-fab godmother visited the bridesmaid dress store in nashville that carries the designers i like and acted as my crash test dummy for in-person fabric and fit. she voted for the christy style from lula kate. i was excited, because that was my fav. then i looked at the "real weddings" section of their website and found this
yikes. methinks i need to make a trek to nashville and reevaluate. anybody up for a roadtrip? anyone? perhaps in person the collars are less...intense. if not, i may cry. and pick another style.

* my parents, aforementioned godparents, captain fantastic and i went to hear a potential wedding band. the drummer ended up being the husband of my former coworker and father of one of mom's students. small world. they also ended up being super white and singing songs like "build me up buttercup" and michael jackson covers circa 1986. don't get me wrong, i like that stuff as much as the next guy. we are just torn because we always pictured having some stax classics motown band at the wedding. but dad really likes them, so we may have a winner.

* an engagement photoshoot slot opened up for next saturday, yay! but captain fantastic has a guided fly-fishing tour of the little red river already booked and paid for, boo. back to square one.

* we have had two premarital counseling sessions that have been inspiring and exciting, and now we're even more pumped to get married. good news!

* i got an online coupon for this place, which will make the silhouettes i crave for realz with scissors and paper and a profile photo. goodbye frustrating photoshop! hello legit artwork to hang in our house after the wedding!
(and don't worry, i've nixed the cookie idea. you people were pretty adamant about that.)

* i've gotten tired of planning. don't want to plan, just want to do. i just want it to be june 20. i want all of yall to be here, i want the cake to be made and the flowers to be arranged, i want to be drinking champagne and wearing pretty dresses and staking my claim on c-dawg with a big ole platinum band. i'm temporarily over it. it being wedding planning. i'm hoping that i'll get my second wind soon....

more invite-tations

2008-11-07T12:15:00.001-08:00

mkay so i keep returning to my favorite aspect of the wedding planning process thus far: invitations. i INSIST on designing them myself. insist. i have decided, and i shan't be swayed. i think this is one area where i really, truly can d.i.myself and it will turn out great. so i'm determined. maybe i can't print.i.y, but i can as least design.i.y.

this invitation exhibits the type of thing i'd really like to get to do with my life.
i also think it's a great invitation that's part current trend and part traditional. it's not too crazy, but just different enough. it could be done a little toned-down and in b/w to make it more traditional, yes? i like the map too. not that we'll need a map, but you know...

i also super love these:
again, in b/w it would lean more to the traditional side and less to the super-trendy. if you ask me. which, you know, you kinda did, reading my blog and all. i just can't get enough of calligraphic flourishes around lettering. yum.

i saw this on a blog the other day too. (i'm so bad at remembering where...i just grab pictures and put them in my "weddin thangs" folder for inspiration...i hope the internet fairy doesn't get me for not properly attributing my photos...) anyway, it incorporates the silhouettes i've come to adore, and i think it's super neat. this is definitely untraditional, but i think it's neat inspiration.
i love this reply card! to go with my theme, i think marley & sterling would be quite handsome in silhouette on the reply cards. you laugh (not you marie, you understand), but you also know that our dogs are like our children (we have definitely become those people) and i can think of few things more "us" than...uh, them. if we were getting married in someone's backyard, they would be accompanying our adorable flower girls down the aisle. alas, we're not. sigh.
while we're talking reply cards here, i have a few ideas. 1) postcard replies - save paper and moola by not necessitating envelopes 2) reply cards with cute options like "wouldn't miss it for the world" or "be there in spirit" are cute. too cute? maybe.

finally, i'm totally digging these invites:
for some reason i just really like the line across the page, kinda like the white-on-black calligraphy envelope in my previous post. i'm working on my handwriting as we speak. before you nay-say that i can't include monograms, silhouettes and fancily-written names in one wedding invitation, please revisit the above inspirations and notice all the different elements. i think i can make it work. do you?

engagement peektures

2008-11-04T12:45:00.000-08:00

of all the millions of things that need be arranged for a wedding, the top priority on my list was photography. if i'm going to spend all the time and money to plan a big blowout, have all my friends and family come in town, labor over flowers and dresses and cake etc and so forth, you bet imma capture those memories in beautiful photographs to keep and treasure forever and always. i am an artsy type. i appreciate a good photograph. i cannot take a good photograph to save my life, but boy i do love pretty wedding pictures. so immediately after we got engaged, i began my quest. many hours of trolling the internet and setting up meetings and picking my jaw up off the floor after reading price lists later, captain fantastic and i met our wedding photography match: j.malahy photography. exactly the kind of pictures i'd been dreaming of, exactly the package i wanted, exactly the nice, comfortable kind of photographer i envisioned. jackpot.

bonus: engagement pictures. i'd never thought about engagement pictures before. just like i'd never thought about a lot of wedding-related things before...because i was never getting married before...but anyway, i thought about engagement pictures after i saw a bunch of them all over the internet. before anyone (ie mom) faints at the prospect of opening the morning paper to find a picture of me and my betrothed leaning against a tree in a warm embrace, never fear: we plan to go the traditional southern route with our announcement (me, alone, plain backdrop, b/w). however, i think it'll be pretty neato to have a fancy photo shoot in regular clothes, probably frolicking in the outdoors somewhere with the dogs. oh yes, the dogs will be making an appearance. they're absolutely verboten to participate in any part of the wedding or reception, but we have to involve them somehow! so finally, the point of this post: to end up with engagement pictures, we have to physically go somewhere on some day and have some pictures taken. the question: when? where? what on earth to wear?

do we have them sometime soon in the lovely fall weather with cute sweaters and colorful leaves and comfy socks? the wedding is in june, so it could be cool to have pictures in a different season, which just happens to be our favorite season (ie fall). then there's captain fantastic's Seasonal Beard to consider: some people don't like beards or think they're too scruffy and casual for professional photography, but i happen to love his fall/winter beard. and he does have it for half the year, so it's just as much "him" as his summertime babyface, which he'll be sporting at the wedding. plus these are engagement pictures and our engagement happened quasi-recently, so shouldn't the pictures be made close to the event for which they are named?

here's where the only myers-briggs personality trait this INFJ doesn't possess rears it's ugly head: gotta make a decision...having trouble...please help...

ps sorry no pretty pictures in this post. go look at josh-the-photographer's blog for your pretty picture fix :)

you're invited...

2008-10-30T09:55:00.001-07:00

...to help me. surely someone who loves me dearly can write like this
or this
or this
or this
yes? anyone? k great. imma need you to write out our invitation text, to be printed a la these, with our monogram and/or silhouettes at the top:

and also our return address, to be made into a stamp and stamped on our invitations a la this:
aaaaaaand of course the individual addresses on the envelopes. that'd be super. the good news is we aren't having a seated dinner, so we won't have escort cards or any such foolishness. and also, you're off the hook for buying us this, or something equally awesome that will be on our registry (whenever we get around to actually making one...)

luminous luminaries

2008-10-30T09:48:00.000-07:00

i sure hope the club allows burning candles, because we're going to need some at the reception. or a lot. look how adorable this diy project is - dip water balloons in melted wax to create tealight luminaries! love. there's nothing prettier than a delicate flame dancing behind a thin wall of wax.

black & white & adorable all over

2008-10-23T14:07:00.000-07:00

my second favorite personalized wedding embellishment (after the requisite monogram) is: the silhouette. i think they're super chic, super pretty and super neato. guess what i've discovered? they're also super easy to make! woohoo! thank you photoshop. now to make an actual, good silhouette, you have to take a picture, in profile, in front of a white wall. since i keep forgetting to pin down my enfianced for this venture and therefore do not have proper photos, i played around with a few photos i already had, just for funsies. both pictures (from lou & j's wedding) had dark backgrounds, so the outline didn't come out so crisp, but i think they're pretty cute anyway. these are not the actual silhouettes i want to use, but you get the idea.

how festive and party-like is this?
i hate this picture because my neck resembles that of jabba the hut, but the pose is adorable, and i think captain fantastic looks pretty handsome
don't you just wanna kiss him? i do.

here are some things we could do with them:

programs...with the monogram, of course
coasters...i could diy these puppies with some silk-screening supplies and some chipboard coasters from a craft store on the cheap. for some reason i really love personalized wedding coasters - one of those completely unnecessary touches that just makes me clap my hands with glee. i'm thinking three different patterns: me, captain fantastic, our monogram.

how cute are these cookies? probably a little labor-intensive, but adorable nonetheless.
so one of these days, i'm going to get my camera, camp out in front of a section of white wall, and take a few dozen headshots to get this ball rolling for real. any other ideas of items just begging to bear an outline of my face?

lovely letters

2008-10-21T08:56:00.001-07:00

i found these on etsy.com a while ago, and they spell how i feel about them. i'm thinking monogram. like the flower-covered-ribbon-hanging monogram or the middle-of-a-wreath monogram from the last decorations post. how hard could this be to make? anyone good with wire?

NEED.

2008-10-20T12:06:00.000-07:00

things i must learn to do:

sew better (to make/modify/hem my own clothes)
make jewelry
generate hand-designed stationary en masse
needlepoint
bake from scratch

i wish i could do EVERYTHING myself. i have so many good ideas. sigh.

of course this presupposes that i have the follow-through to complete the aforementioned projects once i learn how to do them. let's add that to the list...

finish what i start

dekorashuns

2008-10-17T13:14:00.000-07:00

so the wedding's not for 8 months, but i can plan details like decorative accents already, right? good. here are a few things i've found in my interweb wanderings that have struck my fancy.

* things that are round. topiaries, pomanders, balls of vines, whathaveyou. i like them.
i was thinking something like this in miniature form could be cute for tables. what is more country club that topiaries? topiaries IN an actual country club WITH black & white marble tile floors (in the entryway). perfect.
these pomanders are actually made of tissue paper! wowza. (see martha tutorial below)
topiary pomanders = best of both worlds. these are hanging from a tent's ceiling. they could also be arranged amongst vases with single candles/flowers on tables.
these are balls made of vines and christmas lights. i think they are very expensive. seriously though, how hard could it be to recreate with a pre-made vine ball and a string of lights? don't answer that.

* things that are made of paper or tissue paper. these are kewl because they are pretty, inexpensive and handmade - all components of my ideal wedding decor. i think all of the following examples are from martha stewart.
these are made of paper bags. paper bags! genius.
here is the aforementioned tutorial for tissue paper balls.

i envision a congregation of hanging balls of some sort behnd the band, which will be set up in front of a bunch of windows overlooking the golf course. pretty?

* things that involve monograms. duh.
love this. need this. will have this in some form or fashion.
this could be one fashion, which i like for hanging on double doors. like those of, say, a church. of course if i hang them on the door of my downtown memphis church they will a) not be seen by my guests since most people enter from the side door off the parking lot b) instead be seen gracing the shopping cart of one of the myriad neighborhood homeless people. notsomuch.

*things that involve candles. what's more gorgeous than flickering candles, i ask?
these are wine glasses with candles inside and little paper shades on top. too cute!
this may be the coolest thing eva: these are tin cans! with holes poked in them! and candles inside!
of course you can't go wrong with your standard paper lantern. i like these ones with the uneven ribs. they come in lots of des colores, but i think i like the natural ones best.

these are just a few of the ideas swimming around in my head right now. questions? comments? concerns? suggestions? the floor is now open.

bridesmaids, take three

2008-10-10T12:18:00.001-07:00

ok. bridesmaid dresses again. this blog is thus far bridesmaid-dress-heavy, but that's kinda the point. bear with me. first of all i would like to thank kate's workplace for making an ad for a bridal magazine, thus necessitating kate's spending the afternoon perusing magazines for "inspiration" and helping me revisit some sites i had forgotten. i wish i were kate's assistant.

so here are a few other dresses i'd seen before, liked, then forgotten about come blog-post time. same color rules apply (ie bright-yet-tasteful shade of pink with a green or white sash). click on the pictures to visit the websites and see the full dresses and color swatches if you'd like.

there's this one, which is similar to the one i love that mom doesn't love:
and this one, which has a more structured-pleaty neckline (technical fashion term):

aaaaaand these ones, which have a variety of necklines and a cool style of skirt:
you can check out all of the silhouettes on that last website; they're all pretty neat. that could be an option for an everyone-picking-their-own-style-in-the-same-color deal.

so, some more options to mull over. i've requested fabric swatches from all of the above sites and have received swatches for the first strapless dress and the lilly dress from the first post. i know i've put a lot of energy into this, and it's really not the end-all-be-all of the world, but i want yall to a) be happy b) look cute c) fit in with my big vision....and we all know i can't make decisions to save my life. so there you have it.

oh and sashes are still a go. i think sashes will work with any of the options i've presented. i think we'll have to have a vote soon. or in 2-3 weeks when my swatches arrive...

and now, for something completely different, i am off to load up in this monstrosity
excuse me, amazing vintage vehicle, with captain fantastic and the pups for a camping & fishing weekend with mr. and mrs. biedenharn. i am taking long johns & a sweatshirt, what with it being october and all, and hope i'll have occasion to use them. yay fall!

dessert before dinner...typical

2008-10-09T11:34:00.000-07:00

one of the more prominent effects of wedding planning that i'm currently suffering is an extreme craving for cake. nevermind the fact that for two weeks i've only been able to eat pretzels and toast (thanks to a digestive system that hates me) - i get daily, overwhemling urges to stuff my face with fondant and buttercream and orange-champagne filled devil's food and the like. yum. good thing muddy's bake shop is not on my drive home, or i'd have to do as the bishop suggested and put expandable panels in my wedding gown.

first i must confess that i love fondant. everyone knows it looks amazing, but i actually happen to love the taste and texture of it too. call me a freak. i have gazed longingly at fondant-covered cake art for years, and couldn't wait until the day when i could commission my very own. that day has come, folks. yesterday, mom told me that she's finally tracked down THE Cake Lady of memphis, and she is available for our wedding. woohoo! cue wedding cake blog post.

the first cake i ever fell in love with was this one:
love the flowers, love the colors, love it all. iffy on the shape though. i haven't decided whether i'm a round gal or a square gal yet. i'm leaning round. but definitely not octagon.

then there's this cake, which is simple and sweet and "me," minus the color scheme, which can obviously be corrected:
maybe with some flowers on top? i think it goes without saying that a monogram will be involved...even though i just said it. and no crystal-encrusted metal letters on top either. ew. gimmie something tasteful, un-sparkly and on the side of the cake itself, please.

of course i also drool over fabulous, intricate details like these (especially the blue & white one, gah):
and PAISLEY:
...but fabulous intricate details are expruhnsive. and then they get eaten.

so what about a combo of the first two cakes? something like this:
maybe with more swiss dots and less flowers?

i'm hongry.

bridesmaids reprise

2008-10-06T11:13:00.000-07:00

i found this today and had to post it. sashes that i want + cause that is good = perfect. they don't come in apple green, or any shade of green, but they do come in white, which i'm starting to think i like better anyway? but seriously look how cute - with one of those rosettes attached, come on!
the website is www.whiteaisle.com - they print invitations, sell bridal jewelry and sell these cambodian silk sashes. you can click the picture to see the page on their site. what do we think?

also, mom says my beloved lilly dress from friday's post is "too casual" for a wedding in a cathedral. but they're made of silk shantung! nothing made of silk shantung to too casual! i refuse to believe that this dress is more casual than the strapless one, which is apparently acceptable. maybe if we did as i suggested in the last post and had a couple of different styles? i have fabric samples on their way to me in the mail, so we'll see if i'm satisfied with the color choices, then maybe we'll do a favorite-style-survey.

bridesmaids aka dressing my best friends

2008-10-03T11:21:00.000-07:00

this is the picture that started it all, folks. i have no idea the photographer who took it or where it was or anything - i stumbled upon it in one of those embarrassing facebook stalking episodes many moons ago. at any rate, it shall be recreated at my wedding, no question. pretty much the one mandatory photograph i will hand to my fabulous photographer, josh malahy. love him. this photo also spawned my sash-obsession, because i think it pretty much necessitates sashes. they add to the effect.
so, glad that's out of the way. maybe start working on that shoulder tone, ladies, because if i have my way, this will be framed and displayed in the stone household until the end of time.

long before captain fantastic popped the question, but long after i knew he was The One, i had decided on my wedding color scheme. pink & green with accents of white. perfectly preppy. the more i stalked other people's weddings online, the more firmly i decided that i am allergic to both pastels and satin. bright colors and swirly patterns, though, i cannot live without. the inspiration for my wedding was thence dubbed vera bradley's pink pinwheel pattern. love. not exactly paisley, but close.
one of my most triumphant moments was when i found out that vera bradley makes TIES, and i almost had a heart attack from awesome at the prospect of the groomsmen smartly arrayed in these babies.

captain fantastic, however, in one of his unfantastic moments, crushed my dreams when he refused. le sigh.

so my original thinking for bridesmaid dresses was to do something like one of these dresses in a bright raspberry/fuschia silk dupioni with a bright apple/kelly green sash (tied in a big bow in the back, obvi) and white bouquets:
from aria bridesmaids
from charsa designs

then came my love affair with all things trimmed in ruffles and pleats. you can do a ruffly neckline and a sash, right? i think yes. my current obsession is this little number, in the same color scheme as above:
from coren moore (you can see the whole dress here)

HOW CUTE IS THAT?! come to think of it, the white sash is cute too, maybe with predominantly green flowers? hmmmm....

as far as bridesmaid accessories, i'm not going to force everyone to have the same hairdo or wear the same necklace or buy the same shoes , so don't worry (though this is extremely adorable)
i've also grown to kinda like the idea of bridesmaids in different dresses. the problems with that are a) usually you get a discount for ordering multiple dresses at a time, and i don't want to bankrupt my maids b) see above mandatory portrait with matching sashes c) i am somewhat obsessive compulsive, and it may drive me insane to have two girls in one dress and 8 in another. i'd probably try to make a certain number of people get each dress and then arrange everyone alternating for pictures...and no one wants that.

i actually like a lot of the dresses on the coren moore site. perhaps we could work out a style ratio agreement between the lilly, the julie, and the brooke? what do we think, ladies?

taking the plunge...into the blogosphere

2008-10-02T11:06:00.000-07:00

i did it. i started a blog. about wedding planning. i am excited.

for some reason it took me approximately two weeks to work up the courage and pick the name. because i am a nerd, one with a tendency to stew and an allergy to decisions. there were many suggestions involving the dog's names, my favorite colors and patterns, my soon-to-be-mrs. moniker, etc. my betrothed made the following suggestion: "i have a good one! how about 'lauren gets stoned' - get it! you marry me, my last name is stone, your last name changes to…..never mind." i had to pass on that one though, as i'm only a dash of hippie; the kind of dash that comes from liking the outdoors, wanting to be more eco-friendly and still carrying traces of my sophomore year of college.

this blog came about when, after spending hours perusing wedding blogs, i realized that i, too, could have my very own, and it just might be a genius tool for keeping my slightly-ginormous bridal party abreast of my planning. because i know yall wait with bated breath for my next installment of wedding inspiration :) but just because this blog is for my nearest and dearest doesn't mean i can't do fun blog things, like only refer to my fiancé by a nickname. i'm thinking i'll use the one that my cousin created and likes to use, because it's cute and it makes me feel like i'm marrying a superhero (which i just might be) - captain fantastic. fabulous. he may prefer that i refer to him by his trail crew nickname, c-murda, or some other, manlier slash sketchier name, but too bad. my blog, my rules.

and so, without further ado, my first wedding blog post. today's topic: monograms. love them. need one. made one. i couldn't find my artsy paper and had to use a notebook, and my photographic skills last night were obviously lacking, but you get the point. it's a rough draft.

so that's the pre-marital monogram, for invitations, programs, etcetera. the post-marital monogram, for whatever i decide needs embellishment at the reception, shall contain a better-looking slash designed version of this:

i think i need a new camera. anyhoo, there you have it. what do we think - badass, yes?