Invitation Mock Up

Tonight I decided to play around with invitation design and make a mock up of my 'ideal' invitation... with lots of enclosures! So, I went to AC Moore and got some paper and made my own pocketfold, invite and enclosures.... If we do decide to go with something like this for invitations, I will buy pocketfolds and and other materials to make it quicker!

Here's what I came up with: a light pink pocket fold with silver belly band and monogram. Inside is a sheet of pink swirled vellum over panel invitation with silver mat. Pocket holds four enclosures: Reception card, RSVP, Accommodations card, and Directions and Map card.

What do you think??

Mmmmm... Cake!

This afternoon we met with Sweet Memories Bakery in Apex. We've tasted their cakes before, so we knew it would be amazing... and it was just as good as we remembered.

Here's what we have so far for our design. It will be a very pale pink/blush colored cake with ivory/cream details. The icing will be in a lace design scattered across the cake. The tiers will have bands of fondant and there will be a simple and elegant bow on one (or two) of the tiers.

All of this progress is sooo exciting! :)

Save the Date's are OUT!

Woohoo! Save the Dates are being mailed tomorrow! They'll be arriving in everyone's mailbox early next week. Of course, our new puppy Darcy had to help us get them out.

We ordered these large magnets through Vistaprint and got silver envelopes from envelopemall.com. I also designed custom Save the Date return address labels and ordered them from Vistaprint.

It's Official: Bridesmaid Dresses!

Yay! We FINALLY made a decision about bridesmaids dresses! I went to David's Bridal today with two of my bridesmaids and my mom. We decided that the short dress that we had liked was a little bit too casual for an evening wedding and next to my dress. We really liked the long one with organza top and sash. So, we decided that it is THE one, we're getting F13625 in "Candy Pink."

Here are some pictures of the girls at David's Bridal trying on the style in a different color.

A similar DB satin dress in Candy Pink on the left and the dress style we picked for everyone on the right.

Monogram Update

Here's the latest version of our wedding monogram. I think this might be *the one!*

... Now to think about all of the fun DIY ways I can use this!

Bridesmaid Dress Update

It feels like it's been forever since I've posted! I'm busy all the time with my grad school work.

Well, last weekend, I went to look at the Dessy bridesmaid dresses I posted about. Needless to say, I was not as impressed in person as I thought I would be. I didn't have anyone with me so I just tried it on... and I hated it. I also saw the color that I had been thinking was THE ONE... but it was ugly. yuck! Soo, overall, I walked out feeling quite dejected because I tried on a billion bridesmaid dresses and none were what I'm looking for.

So, I went back to David's Bridal on Saturday. I told the consultant that I just wanted to look around and I did. I was much more successful here! I found 3 possible dresses in a color that I think I can accept. I had been hating all of the pinks out there, but I think David's Bridal 'Candy Pink' will work nicely. So, my favorite is the short cotton sateen dress in the middle. The long dress with sweetheart organza neckline and bow is #2. And then, there's always the plain-er style of long dress that we could do a sash with.

The dresses look a little bit more mauve-y in these colorized pictures than they do in person. I think that one of these is the one!! Yay for making progress! I think this will just be much easier to do at David's Bridal... plus they're cheaper!

Next step, take some bridesmaids to DB and get them to help decide which one we should do!

I might be addicted to Vistaprint

Soo, i've been taking advantage of all of vistaprint's sales recently... Yesterday I ordered:

- 100 save the date magnets for 50% off

- 10 additional save the date magnets for FREE

- 250 photoshare cards (with free upgrade to glossy!) for FREE

- 3 pens with our names/date on them for FREE

- 50 rehearsal dinner menus for FREE

** I'm testing this out to see how it will look on the oversized postcard. If it does work, I'll use these for the menus for the RD (if we don't change the menu) and maybe for different cheap menus for the reception! yay for free stuff!

All of this = AMAZING! I'm so excited to get it in the mail and see what I can do with all of the free stuff!

I definitely recommend trying vistaprint and seeing if you can use their free products creatively to add personality to your event! However, I'd recommend if you're doing magnets or anything else important, using the 10 for free initially to make sure your colors and everything are correct. Then you can wait til a huge sale and order everything and save so much!! That's what I did and I saved a total of: $105.93 haha!

Rehearsal Dinner

So, for the longest time I wanted to have our rehearsal dinner at Caffe Luna in Raleigh. Well, after evaluating the menu options and comparing with 518 West.... I think we've finally decided to go with 518 West. Hopefully we'll be sending in the contract in the next week or so. I am really excited and I know it is going to be delish!

Here's a mock up of the menu that we could use....

Bridesmaid Dress Search!

Soo, planning has been progressing nicely recently. I've ordered my dress and I'm feeling like things are coming together in my head. So, next up is finding bridesmaid dresses.

Right now, I'm loving this one:

It's Dessy 2733. I'm thinking maybe in 'Rose' with a 'Frost' sash tied in the back...

What do you think about this style/color combo?

Updated To-do List!

Yay! We're making progress with all of the planning!

We've officially:

* Finally decided on my wedding dress! ;)

* Sent deposit/contract to florist

* Finished design for Save the Date magnets

* Booked Arioso Strings for string trio cermony music

What's up next?

* Bridesmaids dresses

* Finalizing guest list

* Hotel blocks

* Cake consultation

* Meeting with officiant

Dress Search Update

Sooooo... it seems we have it narrowed down to THREE... yes, three. Ugh, I was really hoping to get relief this weekend and discover that the paloma blanca was THE ONE, but instead I added two more fabulous gowns to the mix.

So, here are the ones I'm considering:

Paloma Blanca - 3953

This is a stunning gown. It's a lovely 'champagne' (more of an off white really) silk dupioni with unique alencon lace appliques at the bust and hemline. I love the covered buttons that go all the way down the back of the gown. It has a sweep train which is perfect for me, because I don't want anything really cumbersome. I love the scoop neckline, which is really quite pretty, and different from the straight across strapless or sometimes-too-revealing sweetheart necklines. And of course, another great feature is the simple satin bow at the empire waist. I love ribbons and bows, and this one just looks like me.

Couture Bridal by Elma Reis - 1915

I fell in love with this gown when I tried it on this weekend. I was not expecting to like it as much as I did, because it has a much larger skirt, more of a princess cut or A-line. It is made out of amazing duchess satin with pretty alencon lace appliques at the bust and hemline. I like the dropped waist and slight sweetheart neckline. This dress also has covered buttons all

the way down the back. I felt like a princess walking around in this dress. It is the most expensive of the dresses, and wow, I think it shows when you see it in person. In the picture, it is shown with a gold sash, I tried it on with an ivory organza sash that tied in the back and really liked it.

Augusta Jones - Sterling

This gown was sooo sparkly and had tons of alencon lace which we really liked. I loved how all of the beading and crystals sparkled in the light as I walked. The dress is satin with an alencon lace and crystal beading overlay. It has a fit and flare silhouette and chapel train. I also loved this one with an ivory sash. In some of the pictures on her website, it's shown with a bolero, but I much prefer it without. This is another definite contender. BTW, I think it looks so much prettier in person!

So, what do you think? Which one would you chose?

Clover Green and Purple Inspiration Board

Here's another inspiration board that I made for another knottie.

Her colors are clover green and various shades of light and dark purples.

Red, Black, and White!

Woohoo, these are my favorite colors... and ALMOST our wedding colors! We decided to go with pink and silver after deciding that the red and black wasn't as springy as we'd like.

I made this inspiration board for Knottie wlfpkbride.... Can you tell she's getting married at the NCSU Alumni Center- The State Club(same as me)!! So her colors are just perfect for that location!

Garnet, Gold, Orange Inspiration Board

I made this inspiration board for knottie tarheels1.

She requested a board with colors of garnet, gold and hints of orange.

Light Blue and Silver Inspiration Board

This is an inspiration board that I made for Knottie barrieinlove. Light blue and silver are such a gorgeous combination! The muted tones make it feel so elegant and wintery. The silver sparkles, making it feel so warm and inviting, even if it is a winter wedding!

Dress Shopping.

So, I'm going dress shopping again later this week/weekend.

I have seen so many beautiful gowns... ahh I don't know what to do. I'm still SO in LOVE with the Paloma Blanca 3953...

I'll be sure to update when I get done!

My Inspiration Boards

Here are a couple of the inspiration boards that I've created on Style Circle.

'Midnight Blue and Canary'

'Lime~Teal~Blue'

'Rasberry~ Lemon~Slate'

'Pure Romance'

'Going Green'

More peonies...

I'm obsessing over SMP's Style Circle.

Here's another one of my Inspiration Boards... look for more in the near future!

Wooohoo! New Planning Resource!

Yay! Attention brides, a new social networking and wedding planning site has been created! And let me tell you, from what I've seen so far, it is awesome! Check it out: http://circle.stylemepretty.com

So yes, I realize that there are tons of these out there. But what sets this one apart is the awesome Inspiration Board feature. Simply select your favorite images and drag them into the board to create one! So simple, yet elegant with the crisp white lines ;)

Here's one of the ones that I created:

Bridal Attire: Part I

This week I am going to focus on identifying my bridal attire look/inspiration. I have a lot of ideas and love so many gowns, I'm having a hard time deciding! Here are a few of the gowns that have caught my eye:

Paloma Blanca # 3953

(ps. this looks so much better in person!)

Pronovias Halifax

(pic from Knottie jcrawford76)

WTOO Rosalyn

Watters 9046B

I would probably wear a sash with an all lace dress like this.