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.