Invitations and BM Dresses are a MUST DO this weekend!

On most of the wedding checklists I’ve seen, I was suppose to have my invitations and the BM dresses ordered this month.  Well, here it is January 21st and I still have not decided on a BM dress and have been playing around with making my own invitations.  I NEED TO MAKE A DECISION!!!

Friday, my mom and I are heading to  An Affair to Remember to look at wedding invitations.  I met the owner at the Villa Borghese Bridal Show and I got  good vibes from her.  When I called to schedule an appointment, she remembered me since I asked specifically for the metallic navy blue pockets.  She said she didn’t have them but she could order them elsewhere.

I’ve been  playing around with the idea of creating my own.  A friend of mine made hers and they came out so cute.  She sent me a bunch of websites on how other people made them.  I believe I’m more than capable of making them and have a lot of support from people who would help put them together.  But, I am just petrified I will get way overwhelmed and frustrated and end up losing my mind.. So.. we’ll see what tomorrow brings.

Saturday, a bunch of the girls are meeting me at Lady Gray in Beacon to try on this potential BM dress,

in this color:

I HOPE AND PRAY TO GOD this dress is a hit and it looks fabulous on them!  I’ll have all eight of the the girls in it, including Jess and Amber.  I originally wanted them to have something different so they are recognized as the MOH’s.  But, we’re figure out a little something different to do with them so they stand out… Suggestions?

Wedding Updates:

1. We booked our rehearsal dinner site!   When we started this whole process, we were looking at restaurants like Cosimos, Aroma, and Blue Fountain.  The one problem we kept running into was that these places were too small to hold a large party like us.  Obviously we need a place that is a handicap accessible and Cosimo’s party room is located upstairs.  So scratch that idea.  Andrew used his DJ connections and contacted  Terri, the manager at the Links at Union Vale, which is a place he absolutely loves to work at.  It is located on a golf course.  Andrew scheduled an appointment for his parents and us to visit this past Saturday. The place has amazing views and offers a package that wasn’t too over the top, An Upscale BBQ!  I envisioned something a bit low-key since the wedding is the next day and how perfect is a BBQ?!  Weather permitting, we can have it outside! I love it!

2. We booked the transportation for the wedding.  We are using Settembre Limousine.  I met the owner a few times at Bridal Shows and he always said he’d take care of us when we were ready to book.  I gave him a call and we are all set with the Princess which will take my parents and I to the Church.

The bridesmaids will roll-up in the church in this bad boy.. PARTY BUS!!

haha! Andrew and I wanted to make sure the bridal party was as comfortable they could be.  So, the party bus can accommodate up to 30 people.  Our bridal party consists of 18, including us.  So, I think we’ll have more than enough room!

Well, I believe that’s all the updates for now.  Wish me luck this weekend!!

Dress.. Check.. Flowers… Check!!

Even though I haven’t updated this in three months, I only have two updates….

1. MY GOWN IS ORDERED!

I finally picked out my gown and it should be in March 1st.  It’s a Maggie Sottero gown and it’s called Victoriana.   I talked about it in a previous post.  I had the gown on and a Michael Buble’ song was on in the store… Yah.. that gown!    My Mom and I went to CT to two dress stores  that my cousin Sherida recommended.  The first store had the major wedding designer gowns.. I tried on gowns that were like $3,000 – $10,000!  INSANE!!  The second place was a waste of time..  On our way back I said, let’s go to Bella Couture just to see what’s there.  I tried Victoriana on… again…. and my mom started crying, AGAIN.  That is when I knew FOR SURE that was my gown.. The girl who was helping us told me, “Heather, I’ve never seen a girl come in here so many times to try on this one dress.. Can you please just buy the dress already!?”  Yahh.. I felt a bit embarrassed but.. heyyy… I just had to make sure!

2.  I’m in love with our Florist!!

Not to worry, Andrew is the love of my life!  But our florist is amazing!!!!    Flowers by David Anthony is our florist.  I first came across him at a Bridal Show a year back and loved him then.  I went to two other florists and they were so NOT helpful.  They couldn’t really do anything unless I had the BM dresses or my own gown picked out.    When my mom and I met with David Anthony I had already ordered my gown but that wasn’t the first thing he asked.  He asked some questions about what I like, don’t like.  He showed me pictures, I showed him some pictures, he even showed me some real flowers too! He was the first florist who actually worked with me and designed everything without making me feel as if I’m a ditz who is totally clueless about flowers.

The BM bouquets will consists of cymbidium orchids with hot pink roses..  The guys will have these as their boutonniere and our moms and grandmothers will have them as wrist corsages. The fathers and ring bearer will have a dendrobium orchid boutonniere.

Cymbidium Orchids:

Dendrobium Orchid:

Andrew’s boutonniere is a hot pink calla lily and he is the only one who will have one.. My bouquet will have pink callas in it too.. So we’ll match

My bouquet will consist of pink calla lilies, garden roses, peonies, and white cymbidium orchids.

Peonies:

Garden Roses: they are softer looking and more fluffier

We are having both tall and small centerpieces.  They will consist of green hydrangea, roses, stock, snapdragon with hot pink dendrobium orchids in shades of white, pinks, and hot pinks..

Green Hydrangea:                                                                                                                           

Purplish flower

Snapdragon

hot pink dendrobiums

Out of the three florists I went to David Anthony was the only one who includes a trial before the actual wedding.  The others said if I reminded them, they could create the centerpiece or bouquet and bring it to a bridal show.  I thought that was okay but what if they didn’t bring it to a bridal show?  How can you not see what you’re getting and pay for it?  What happens if you absolutely hate everything?!  That certainly won’t be me!  David Anthony will create my centerpieces so i can see what they’ll look like…Obviously if I don’t like it, he’ll change it and make me looove it!

So sorry for the delay!

My goodness its been a while since the last time I posted something…. Just a few new things to inform you all about..

Engagement Photos:

Andrew and I finally had our engagement photos taken Tues., Aug. 25th.  Let’s first talk about the outfit..  Andrew will tell you I was a wreck the night before, trying on outfit after outfit… I went out the weekend before the shoot and bought two dresses and two shirts.. I was not happy with any of my choices.. I got so worked up I cried myself to sleep the night before the shoot because I was so frustruated..

The day of the shoot I ventured out to the mall, AGAIN, to find the “it” outfit.  After trying on another 15 outfits, and no, I’m not lying.. It was around 15..  I finally found, “It”.     An empire-waist, halter dress in purple..  Very simple, but chic!  I knew exactly what shirt Andrew could wear with it to!

Our photographer Ricky scheduled the engagement shoot around 3:30ish in Beacon.. As you know, Ricky loves the urban meets countryish look so he figured Beacon would be perfect to get the best of both worlds.

We finally arrived in Beacon with Jake and Lincoln in tow and Ricky totally forgot we were bringing the pups!!  Originally we plan to do the shoot with the pups first and then have someone babysit  them while Ricky shoots just Andrew and I..The location we were at wasn’t puppy friendly so thank goodness Andrew’s parents met us there  and were able to take them for the two hours Ricky shot Andrew and I.

The whole shoot took 2.5 hours and even though it was a beautiful day, it was a hot one!  My gosh, i was sweating like a beast!  So embarrassing..  I was so glad I didn’t straighten my hair because it would have curled and did it’s own thing!

Without futher-ado, here are the pictures we like that Ricky posted on his blog.  I will get into the one’s that aren’t soo… flattering..

This is one of our favs.

You’re going to love this one!!

So yes, these were just a few Ricky posted on his blog.. The other ones where Andrew and I looked a bit more serious were not flattering..  Let’s just say it looks like I could seriously kill someone with my “stare”…

Ricky and his assistant took over 700 pictures during the shoot.  Then then sorted through them and created 275 picture gallery for Andrew and I to look through.  We have to chose 10 pictures out of the 275.. THERE ARE SO MANY NICE ONES!!!!!!!!!  We are still in the process of picking the ones we love..

If you want to view the gallery, contact me.. Don’t want everyone in cyberspace to see us..lol…

Our plans with the engagement photos are to use one or more of them for our “save the date” magnet/card.   Def. incorporate them into that scrapbook idea I had in a previous post.. Or I may even create a guest book on Snapfish.com.. A friend of ours did that for their guest book and it was an awesome idea!  We may also use the pictures for our table numbers at the reception.. Not 100% sure yet.. Decisions, decisions….

Popcorn Bar?.

A co-worker of mine went to a wedding this past weekend where there was a candy bar, a popcorn bar, and a Italian Ice bar set up as favors.. I’ve seen the candy bar before which is cute… The Italian Ice bar is funny.. I just think it could get messy, especially in June.. But this popcorn bar.. It is growing on me..  Imagine this..

Again, the idea is growing on me.. I mentioned it to Andrew via text and i got an “LOL”  so, who knows what that means..haha..  Just a little story to share about the love of my life.. He always told me my ring(enagement ring) would be inside a cracker jack box.. and I could have sworn when he was going to propose, he was going to make me open up a box of cracker jacks.. but.. to my surprise- that didn’t happen..Michael Buble’ is way better than cracker jacks!

Ideas just keep coming and coming!

Within the past couple of days, I have been coming up with so many ideas for the wedding!  I think this is because I really haven’t done anything wedding related recently because I was on vacation.  So, hold on to your hats(as my dad would say, corny, i know!) and here we go!!

IDEA # 1: Handbag+Flower=Bouquet?

While I was taking a shower last night, I thought of this idea for either the BM’s or the FG(flower girl), Eva.

As many of you know, I have a bit of a fetish for handbags. So.. I thought to myself… “Hmmmm… what if the girls carried a handbag with flowers on it or something instead of a bouquet of flowers?”

This came from the comment that Jessie(Maid of honor) made while we were looking at flowers at Flowers by Reni flower shop a few months back.  She showed me a picture of a MOB(Mother of the bride) holding a clutch with a flower on it.  Instead of the MOB wearing a wrist corsage, she had a flower pinned on her handbag..

So I decided to google “handbag bouquets, wedding handbag bouquets, wedding purses, etc.” and here are some of the images I found..

DIY BAG (do it yourself)

Bridal party modeling the bags

Imagine this pink instead of red.

Maybe the purse could even be a navy blue clutch and then somehow fasten the fuchsia flowers!

Sooo.. comments, thoughts, concerns?  It’s growing on me more and more.  My only concern would be that I don’t want the handbag bouquet to take away from the dresses..

Idea # 2:  Scrapbook/Guest book

In a previous post entitled, “My Hero,” I talked about this girl who carried out many DIY projects for her wedding.  I mentioned the scrapbook she created briefly.    In case you didn’t have a chance to check out the link, I’m going to give you a rundown of what Thao (the creator) made.

Thao created a scrapbook that incorporated the significant events throughout the proposal..the actual proposal, shower, Bach. parties, etc.  Then she created a guestbook section.. So, check out the pic. below.

Guests would write a wish, advice, etc. on the back of one of these cards(below)

and then insert the cards into the slot!  I think this is such a great idea.  It is so much more personal and meaningful instead of just signing a guest book.  Think about this.. Where else do you just sign your name for attending an event?  AT A FUNERAL!! No no no no no.. My wedding is not going to incorporate something that is done at funerals!!

So, if anyone feels craft, let me know.. I’m going to need all the help I can get with this project!!

Idea # 3: My Something Blue

Originally, I was thinking about wearing blue shoes for my something blue.  I got that idea from a photo our photographer recently took of one of his brides.

BUTTTTTT, then I saw Thao’s crinoline’s/slip creation and fell in love with that too!!  Check out the pic. below..

The girl bought it in white on ebay and then dyed it in her basement.  Now, just so you can see… Standing up, you CANNOT see it.

So, I’m in love with that idea.. Now, I just don’t know what color to dye the crinoline.. I’m thinking the navy because the fuchsia might be way too overpowering..  But then can I wear my navy shoes?  Should I rock  fuchsia shoes or be plain jane?  lol.. I guess I should just focus on finding my wedding dress first.. then worry about the fun little stuff after!  LOL..

Idea # 4: Photo Cardbox

Again, this idea came from Thao.  She created a cardbox for the wedding out of 4, 8×10 picture frames.  I’m not sure if I’m def. going to do this but again, i like the idea.

Believe it or not, I’m all out of ideas.. But I’m certainly open for more from all of you.. let me know your thoughts!  thanks for reading.. love ya’s!

Are Games Aloud during dinner?

I know I shared this link with a few of you. However, I came across it again and wanted to get everyone’s opinion. Check out the link and let me know what you think.  I def. think it can be fun.

Game

My Hero

I stumbled across this website a few months ago and have been following this girl’s journey to the aisle. All I can say is “WOW” and “I WISH”!

http://adorkable.so-uneek.com/

Check it out. Be sure to look at the “DIY” section. I’m thinking about taking her scrapbook guestbook idea. Let me know you’re thoughts.. ALSO, the bachelorette/bachelor party looked like fun. I LOVED how they had theme nights.

Picture Perfect Place!

Last Thursday, Andrew and I went to check out the Vanderbilt Mansion as a potential wedding picture site.  I loooooved it!  The 367 acre estate is absolutely breathtaking!  We walked in the gardens and I kept finding awesome places that i know our photographer would go gaga over!

I always said I wanted to go to Vanderbilt for wedding pictures even before I met Andrew..lol.. I saw wedding pictures from my volleyball coach’s wedding in HS at VB and I thought they were beautiful.  So that’s where I came up with the whole idea of wanting to get them taken there.

I love the place so much I even went there on Sat. for a run and then Lisa (a bridesmaid) met me there and we walked around for about an hour.

In order to take pictures at the mansion, I have to fill out an application.  My only concern is that they put a 20 person limit and we’ll have well over 20.. Don’t know what I should do.. Maybe fudge it or just tell the people we have 20..

I would like to get all of the girls together for a picnic at the Mansion sometime soon.  I know our schedules are all crazy because of vacation and all.  But, I will contact you all soon to see what day would work.  I think this would be awesome!  Friends, food, wine, and sun!  Sounds perfect to me!!

Here’s a picture of the garden at VB.  Not a flattering picture.  You’ll just have to come in person to check it out

Possible BM Dress Alert!!

I may have found BM dresses!!!!!! woohoo!!!!

Jeanna and I went out on Friday to Bella Couture and Lady Gray to see if they received any new dresses.  Bella Couture didn’t have any WOW BM dresses which was a bit disappointing.  They have so many awesome wedding gowns but very little BM dresses.  Anyway, we then ventured out to Beacon to check out Lady Gray’s BM dress selection.  For the New Yorker’s reading this, we had a HUGE storm on Friday and Jeanna and I just made it to the store before it hit!

Jeanna was an awesome bridesmaid and tried on like 8 dresses!  She tried on this one and we fell in love with the sash and the loop-tie-thing in the back..lol

When I told Tina(owner of Lady Gray) I liked this dress and told her my whole idea about having six girls in the navy and two in the fuschia she suggested changing it up a bit.  She suggested having all the girls in navy blue dresses with the fuschia sash then Amber and Jessie will have the embroidered sash so they stand out just a bit.  I thought that was a different and took it into consideration!

On Saturday Amber and I were dress shopping for dresses to wear at my cousin’s wedding on the 4th of July.  After having no luck at Macy’s we stopped in Brides Fantasy because I remembered they carried the Bill Levkoff line.  Amber tried on a bunch of dresses and then she tried on the dress with the embroidered sash and I tried on this one

Amber and I stood next to each other and the dresses looked awesome together!!  I asked to see the color swatches and the navy blue swatch is right next to the fuchsia and OMG- they looked  hot next to each other!!

The only thing I may want to have done is get them shortened.  This a T-length dress but I feel like it’s much longer than T.

Sooooo… this is a dress I am definately considering for the girls.. Thoughts?!

Btw- these pictures of the dresses are not very flattering.  They look better in person.

Flowers will be the death of me

Well, I guess you can probably tell by the title of this entry my first floral experience did not go so well..lol..

My mom, Andrew’s mom(Peggy) and Jess(Matron of Honor/sister-in-law) went to Flowers by Reni in Fishkill.  Andrew’s parents suggested taking a look at this florist because Andrew’s dad works for the owner of the shop.  So, I figured it couldn’t hurt!

The shop was your typical flower shop.  Lots of cutesie knick-knacks and stuff.. We  were brought  into a back  room with a round table with numerous books and magazines.  We sat down and the FD,floral designer, (don’t know if that’s her exact title) came in and said, “You don’t really have an idea what you’re looking for, right?”  Ummm.. i said, “not really, I’m here just to get some ideas and to ask some questions.”  She said, “Well, I can’t really help you unless you know what you want…. take a look at these books and magazines(flower books and bridal magazines) and mark down what you like.  I’ll come back if you have any questions..”   At that point, I had a few questions.

Q: Are there any albums/portfolios of the arrangements you have done?

A: “No, the only pictures we have are the ones people send us.” I found this very odd.  How do you not take pictures of the work you do?! Plus, I feel like they are not creative since all their designs are based out of a floral book.

Q: Are calla lilies in season in June?

A: “Yes they are!  Only the orange/peach calla’s are more pricey in the fall since they are in high demand.”  This was good news.  Last I heard, they were not in season and it would cost $$ to have them.
After my two questions, the ladies and I decided to start looking through the books to get some ideas.  Now, the only thing I know is that I want bright/bold colors for the girls bouquets.  I know that doesn’t really narrow it down, but that’s what I envision.

Here are some pictures of the things that caught my eye.  I’m going strictly by the color combination and the actual arrangement, not by the type of  flowers.

Such a gorgeous calla lily bouquet!  How awesome would that look against a navy blue dress?!!  OoOOOOoOOo!!!

Took a picture of this since there were so many bright colors!  The picture on the top right is a ring bearer pillow… I’m not going to lie, it def. looks like a four-legged spider..lol.. Andrew’s mom pointed that out to me!

I know this may be difficult to see, but I thought these were interesting.  It’s almost like its a two-tier bouquet. Very different!

I have to say this is my favorite picture!  The arrangement on the left is a boutonniere and the one on the right is a wrist corsage.  I absolutely LOVED the color combination and the rose!  Again, imagine those colors with navy blue!! AHHHHH… i think it will look awesome! The colors will pop!!

After looking at these books/magazines for over an hour, I had enough.  I was experiencing a bunch of different emotions.  I was a little overwhelmed, angry, annoyed and upset.  Overwhelmed because I still had no idea what flowers I liked or want.  Angry, annoyed & upset that the Floral Designer made me feel like an idiot walking in there without having a clue of what I want.

When the FD came back to see how we made out, I said, “I found a few things that caught my eye. But I guess I can’t do anything unless I have my exact dress colors and at least an idea of what i want.”  I then showed her the rose boutonniere and wrist corsage picture.  I told her I like these color combinations.  She said,  “I guess it’s safe to say you’re going for more of a modern touch rather than formal.”  I agreed and thought that was the only thing she actually helped me with!!
The FD reassured me that I have so much time to look and come up with ideas.  I said, “Yah, a little over a year.  But, don’t you book up?” She said, “No, we never turn anyone away.”  Wrong answer if you ask me.  Let me explain.  So, you mean to tell me this place may have three or four weddings in one day and every arrangement, every flower, and every petal will look ABSOLUTELY perfect!?!?!!?!? (That may be a bit of a bridezilla statement.. haha)  I reallly really find that hard to believe. It made me feel like they focus on quanity, not quality.  So, that actually was a huge turn-off for me.

So, it sum everything up.  I guess I have A LOT more to do before I consider seriously looking at flowers.  I’m going to call two other places, Floral Bliss and Flowers by David Anthony.  Peggy recommended Floral Bliss since they did the flowers for Danielle’s(Andrew’s sister) wedding.  Flowers by David Anthony is a company my cousin Katelyn is using for her wedding and had nothing but great things to say about him.  Lisa, Paris and I met him and fell in love with him and his designs.  David and I have been trying to schedule an appointment but our schedules are not working in our favor!  I’ll keep everyone posted and let me know what you think about the pics! 

Andrew loves….

Well.. besides me , he fell in love with this idea for a centerpiece for the wedding.  He was at the Grandview this past weekend and he sent me a text saying, “The room looks gorgeous.. I WANT these for centerpieces” and he sent me this picture.

Three tall vases with orchids(i think) with a the clear crystal stones and a floating candle on top.  The orchids were fake, however you can certainly put whatever flower in there.  The bride got this idea from theknot.com because I found it on their.. It’s even a Knot Pick! She just put a twist on it for having two other vases with different sizes-smart girl!

Andrew said besides the room looking stunning, he liked this type of centerpieces because

• A. the guests were able to take something home that wasn’t going to die in a few days

• B. Guests could see the people sitting across from them verses the tall flower centerpieces

I told him that I like the concept.. So, I’m searching for some pictures to  “Heatherize” the idea..lol

All I can say about this next picture is, OMG.. Honestly!  I found this on Flickr.com and this wedding was absolutely out of control.. Take a look at the pics. for yourself..

This picture reminds me of the centerpiece Lisa, Heather(Paris) and I saw at one of the Bridal Expo’s.  Ahhh… It’s so prettttyyyyyy

After I’m done with my summer class, June 18th, I will start making appointments with florists.. If you’re interested in coming- let me know!!