Flower Power!

Sorry, that was corny.

I've completely fallen in love with Ranunculus, yet another flower that I cannot have (without big cost) for my wedding. Since I'm still thinking about arranging flowers myself, I need to start reseraching what will be in season for my wedding.

My goal? Have a flower plan made and in hand for this July 4th weekend, so I can try out the options with what is really available at my local wholesaler.

Crazy? Maybe. But it will give me something really fun to do during the summer, and I like that.

So according to this and several articles I found when googling, these are the pretty flowers which bloom in the summer! (at least the ones I like)

Asters
These are pretty and have a wildflower feel to them. They'd be great for a garden wedding!

Cosmos


Another garden flower. These are very pretty and come in lots of colors.

Calla Lily


I know, I know. Brides kill for Callas. For some reason, they're not doing it for me, but they are beautiful.

Dahlias

Definitely lots of options here. They don't feel very formal, but I'm sure they can be dressed up.

Freesia


This is my first big winner! I had lots of Freesia scented things from Bath and Body Works when I was a teenager, but never knew what the flower looked like. They are beautiful and would make a great addition to a hydrangea bouquet...

Gardenia


I can't believe that I forgot these pretties when thinking of white flowers. When the family and I lived in California, we had a huge flowering gardenia bush/tree/thing along our front walkway. They're a lovely compromise between a rose and a peony.

Gladiola


A nice option for height, and I know that they are available at the wholesaler I have in mind. I worry about snapping them on the trip though.

Hydrangea


Feminine, easy to get (they grow in my parents' yard), and very wedding-y. I'm sure they'll show up in some way.

Lisanthus


Another contender. In this picture, the white are roses and the purple are Lisanthus. Evokes a similar feel of the Peony, less structured than a Gardenia.

More to come later, but for now, which do you like best?

Playing around

Here's a quick look at what everything might look like together:

I still like it!

Uh oh

This morning, I got to unwrap my new pack of post-it notes for my pop-up dispenser.

Little known fact #42: Many teachers are obsessed with office supplies

It was an exciting occasion all around. When a student needed a quick note to take home, I jotted his grade down on one of my new teal post-its with the closest pen I could find (read: the one I had stuck in my hair at the moment). And this happened.

Crap.

You see, months ago, when we were still discussing having Matty as our ring bearer, Boy brought up the subject of the color red.

I said something along the lines of "ew! Red and teal? No way!" Red and robin's egg, yes. Adorable. But red and teal? I gently explained that red was not a part of our wedding as I had envisioned it.

Crap. Crap. Crap.

I hate being wrong, in fact, we both do. We can't even play Monopoly together anymore because the first (and only) Monopoly match between the two of us ended in a shouting match. Being wrong is like losing.

So I quickly whipped up an inspiration board, substituting red for the old 2nd accent color (silver):

And quickly messaged Boy to admit my defeat.

It's pretty. It's punky. It finally has a touch of the fact that this is a July, summer fun wedding. It has the awesome ability to make me very happy and tear up at the same time.

I wonder if it's too busy... but at the same time, I don't really care.

Dye-ing to get hitched

Staring at the mirror after straightening my hair this morning, I had to face facts. I need to start dying my hair.

While other people might not notice the small colony of gray hair that has been forming by my temples, I do. And as a 24 year old, I do not appreciate it.

It took me years to be ok with my natural hair color. I had hated it growing up and kept highlights in it for the longest time. Once I decided I wanted to grow it out,the color had to go. With it, I also gave up trying to fit in. I guess that's corny, but I moved a lot when I was younger, so most of my childhood was spent trying to fit in with wherever I found myself. Giving up my obsessive hair dying was accepting the mousy brown hair I was born with.

Yeah, that's definitely cheesy. But ya'll love me anyway :).

So I want to start experimenting now...


My dream look is something like this. Hair that's still brown with a reddish tint to it.


I'd love to go all red, but I'm nervous about how it will look with my summer skin tone, which is a few shades darker than my current winter pale.


When I was in college, I went mostly blonde. No one told me how awful it looked! While I loved having blonde highlights, I feel like I've grown out of them. They are also very expensive to keep up, and I don't really have the money at the moment.



I've also thought about going really dark, but I feel like I would look sickly in the winter.

I need something that will be fun while still looking professional. It would be better, cost-wise, if said perfect color could be kept up with a box, because I do not have the funds for monthly salon visits!

What do you think?

Dream a little dream...

"You have got to be kidding me," I thought as I woke up this morning. "I can't seriously be having wedding nightmares already!"

Cut back to me waking up at 4 am this morning in a cold sweat because my entire wedding party and all of the guests went to the rehearsal dinner venue for the reception. In my dream, that left me in a pouffy wedding dress with a beautiful bouquet.... and all alone.

(cue the psycho music and zoom shots)

Last week I had a dream that there was a mix up and all of my bridesmaids showed up in hot pink moo-moos.

With over a year left to go.... I really hope that these dreams don't continue!

Happy Spring!

I have a confession to make.

I'm cheating on my color palate.

Maybe it's the spring air. Maybe it's the idea of change. Maybe it's the freshness of it all. But I can't help it. I love a white wedding.

So clean. So fresh. So graphic.

I love the black and white. I do. I don't want to agonize over eggshell, platinum, cream (which is NOT white), and all crazy shades of nothingness.

But it is fun.

Love the bridesmaid's dress. LOVE. If it came in black I would buy six of them right now.

...more to come later.

Wedding drool: letterpress

I admit it, I'm a paper snob. When I think of my wedding invitations, I think of luxury. I think of traditional, heavy papers.

I dream... of letterpress.

It is crisp, perfect, and yes, traditional. But many letterpress shops are doing great new things with it!

The White Aisle has some beautiful stuff! I love the way they combine classic elements and big, bold graphics. Seems like just what Boy and I are looking for! Even their thank you cards are adorable!


Pretty pretty.

Of course, no chat about letterpress is complete without the georgeousness of Hello! Lucky. You can read their exploits occasionally over on WeddingBee Pro. They have an urban vintage style with lots of cute touches. Their stuff is to die for!





Positively yummy.

Parklife Press is my front runner right now. Their prices are resonable, and they work with each couple to design one-of-a-kind invitations. I'm not one of those "my wedding must be unique" people, but I love the idea of custom designing our invitations. I've been fantasizing about barely noticable letterpressed pawprints on the envelope flap and a georgeous monogram designed by our talented friend.


They're the perfect match between classic and funky, no? Check out the rest of their stuff here, and drool along with me!

OMG, when did you get Engaged?!

By now, most of the people I know well enough to talk to have heard the story of Boy and I's engagement. But for some reason, there are still a few people who need to get the memo.

When they do finally come across me and have sufficiently oogled the precious, they seem to be reading questions off an imaginary list. This list is full of "polite" questions to ask acquaintances who recently became engaged. The funny thing is that I've noticed that most people don't really care about the answers to said questions, they're merely trying to be polite and seem interested. So I think that next time, I'd like to answer them in a silly way.

1. Wow, so when did he propose?
New Year's Eve, on horseback. We were in formal wear, and he had ripped a hole in his tuxedo pants.

2. So have you guys set a date?
Nope, we're going to send out emails about a week before or so, and just see who shows up. We were thinking about doing it next weekend, actually.

3. That seems like fun. What are your colors?
Fuchia and mauve. I think they look so great together! We'll probably use tangerine as an accent color, like for the top hats and parasols.

4. Sounds great. Did you pick a wedding party?
Yup. I was in a sorority, so I'm going to have all of the surviving members in my wedding party. Boy doesn't really have any friends, so his best man is going to be our dog.

5. Haha, yeah sororites are so kitch. Any ideas about the honeymoon?
We want to go somewhere warm and relaxing, so we're thinking Russia. I've always wanted to see the Eifel tower!

Oh you guys are just too cute. You'll have so much fun. My sister went to Barbados for her honeymoon and just loved it. I'll give you the number of her travel agent
Oh, great! Thanks! (groan)

Just for funsies

I whipped up this little inspiration board in a flash, but I think it is so much fun!

I never thought about putting these colors together before- I love it! Also, I think that a cute yorkie in a tux totally replaces the need for groomsmen.


Venue: Artesano Iron Works Gallery, Manayunk

Menu: Incredibly hip and cook fusion cuisine that I can't even imagine. With yummy cocktails.

First Dance: "Love will come through" by Travis

Hip and whimsical. I really like this combo!

Winter's on the wing

As spring approaches (quickly, I hope), I can't help but imagine a spring wedding.

Sure, it's nearly impossible for me to actually have. That doesn't stop me from planning it anyway!

Location: Knowlton Mansion, outside of Philadelphia


Menu: Chicken with a light glaze. Roasted Potatoes. Fresh baby greens salad with raspberry vinaigrette.

First dance: Follow Through, by Gavin DeGraw

I love the soft colors and atmosphere of this wedding. There is no set color pallet, only "spring." The centerpieces could be incredibly simple: grasses, tulips, garden finds. It would be an outdoor, afternoon ceremony with a relaxed tone, preferably in a garden, or a small chapel.

It's all rather calming, isn't it?

Entertainment wedding inspiration

Those of you who know me (or have been following for a while) know that my love of pop culture is no secret. I heart tv and movies.

So where better to draw inspiration for our big day?



Here are Lily and Marshall from How I Met Your Mother. Their wedding was simple, somewhat intimate, and very much them. I hope that Boy and I can pull off a similar mood :). Many more pictures on their wedding website, lol. Also, ahem... chandelier (and boom mic?). Just sayin.


My favorite movie is "The Princess Bride," and I make absolutely no apologies for that fact. Buttercup's wedding day look is a common inspiration for brides who want to go the princess route. I'm not a fan of the tiara, but I love the soft look of her curls.


While I know that Ross's wedding to Emily ended up being quite the dramatic affair, I have never forgotten the absolutely beautiful set work for this episode. The Christmas lights and candles set a perfect romantic scene for Ross's proclamation of love... for Rachel.


I, a 24 year old young woman, watch a soap opera. I share House's affinity for General Hospital, and have since I was in middle school (LL2 Forever!!). Since I have been watching for so many years, I have seen more than my fair share of GH weddings, many of them between the same people. Fashion icon Kate Howard's wedding to mobster Sonny Corinthos never happened (Kate was, of course, shot at the altar), but you can't deny that her dress is to die for.



Doctors Robin Scorpio and Patrick Drake may have married (for the second time) just before a biotoxin was released in the hospital they both work at, but the shine of their simple wedding has lasted through the crisis and Robin's tragic battle with post-partum depression. I'm not a fan of edged veils, but this sweet number looks adorable on Kimberly (the actress who plays Robin). The use of red for this just-after-Christmas wedding was perfect.

There are of course many, many more lovely movie and tv weddings. Which are your favorites?

I believe in a thing called love

I'm not so solid on everything else, but the ceremony is one of those things that is oddly important to me.

Boy and I have been clear on a couple of things since before we were officially engaged, but most of all we knew that we wanted our ceremony to be personal and meaningful. For both of us, that meant having someone we knew officiate.

We did not want some random minister joining us together for life. I was raised Catholic, but I don't feel obligated to do the whole church thing, and I sure as all heck was not up for Pre-Cana (the pre-marriage counseling required by 99.9% of Catholic churches. They frown upon the whole "living in sin" thing). At the same time, I want our ceremony to have a spiritual (if not distincly religious) feel to it, so I did not want just anyone doing the deed.

It did not take Boy and I much brainstorming to come up with the answer to our officiant question. The night we were offically engaged, one of Boy's first calls was to his older brother. Ry is Boy's only older brother, and he's what I refer to as a "grown up," which means a person about three years older than me. No matter how old I am.

Ry is the most spiritually connected person I know. He has gone on several mission trips since finding his faith and turning his life around for the better. I am not a very religious person, but I can get behind anything that creates positive change in your life.

Thankfully, Ry was not only agreeable, he seemed touched that we thought of him. He is currently studying from his pastor to be ordained.

For those of you who have been thinking about going the same road, you should know that in our great state of Pennsylvania, those handy online certificates do not hold up as legal. The person who marries you must be connected to a parish that has parishoners (people that go to it). That seemed like a hurdle for us at first, but thankfully Ry is willing to take the next step. :)

What about you? What is/was the most important part of your ceremony?

Light up my life

One of the first "wedding things" that I fell in love with was the paper lantern.


I found picture after picture of pretty, soft lighting.


I checked out tutorials on how to make them grow with LED throwies, and how to rig up a flameless candle to do the same thing on the cheap and easy.


I longed for them.



And I still do.

The problem? Well, I'm not doing the tent-wedding thing that these lanterns seem to be popular for.

We are in a very large, very basic room. We will get tulling though.... so I think it might be possible to have a group of lanterns at the spots where the tulle connects. It would almost be like a chandelier... :)

Updates: crafting, bridesmaids, and overall awesomeness

According to my awesome bridesmaids, I need to update this here blog a bit more often.

I solemnly swear that I will do my darn best! I have pictures to show you about how the bridesmaid pressies turned out, as well as my crafting of a bridal fitness inspiration poster that is now hanging on our fridge. (The better to warn me about the consequences of my afternoon snackie.)

All that and more to come when Boy fixes our home computer so that our internet is playing nice again.

This weekend was loverly, mostly because of a yummy lunch with most of my awesome bridesmaids! (BM MissDel could not make it b/c of short notice and chaperoning responsibilities, but sent much love.)

After I got stuck in truly awful traffic, I met the girlies at the KOP mall, shopping Mecca of the Philly burbs. We had a short wait for our table at the Cheesecake Factory, and then sat down to much chatting, pressie opening, and delicious omnivore and vegan friendly goodies.

Yum does not quite cover it.

I was very excited to get the girlies togetther for some pre-wedding bonding. Our acutal date is vury vury far away, but in my mind that means we have all the more time to plan and get to know each other vury vury well :).

I have to say that I was tres impressed with all of the girls. Everyone looked great, first off. Some had recent new hairdos, others had lost weight, and everyone really looked her best! We all had great stories, and each girl added something different (although not always appropriate, lol) to the convorsation.

What can I say? I heart my bridesmaids.