The Dress (Options)

I've been asked by more than a few people if I have gotten my wedding dress yet. The answer is no. Procrastination is a beautiful thing people!

But of course I have been looking into what styles I like. I refuse to spend a ton of money on a wedding dress (if you've gotten married recently you can stop laughing now). There are actually lots of options available.

I'll start with the ubiquitous David's Bridal. I won't lie, I went there with my Mom a while back and it creeped me out. It was crammed with cranky brides and their crankier families. Girls in wedding gowns stood on carpet covered platforms that marched in rows down a hallway that reminded me of a back storage room in a warehouse. It must be what Wedding Barbie feels like at the Mattel factory.

But whatever, a dress is a dress right? Here are some I liked:


Very pretty. I think it's one of those dresses you have to try on to see how you really feel about it. It's style ST9505 - no name, they're sentimental like that.


This dress appeals to me much more. I'm into the Grecian, flowy look since I'll be outside all day. I'm really digging the back. Style is SRL9499.

Moving along now, lets look at Alfred Angelo. There were a lot of his dresses I thought I liked, but getting ready to post them here I realized that they didn't do anything for me. Only one dress really did it for me:


This dress makes me swoon (do people still do that?) I might have issues with the neckline, but we'll see. This is style 755.

Now lets play the alternate universe game where if money was no object, what dress would I wear? The answer is almost anything from Manuel Mota Pronovias.


If I could design the perfect dress for me, this would be it. This is called Salem, and it gives me the angels singing and heavens opening moment. It's also around $3000.


This dress is called Selene.


This is the Silueta.


And finally, this is Sadur. *Sigh* Now I need to find a rag to wipe the drool off my keyboard...

Slap Some Candles Down and Call it a Day

First off, sorry for not posting in the past week. I'm a financial advisor, and the market has decided it wants to turn all my hair gray before I hit 30.

Anywho, lets talk centerpieces again. My thoughts on this have run the gamut from, "I'll do all these gorgeous, extravagant decorations by myself, how hard can it be?" to "Forget this nonsense, I'll just hire someone", which led to "You want HOW much?!?", which has now led me to "People sell sacks of flowers right? What if I just dump a sack of stuff on the table, slap some candles down, and call it a day".

It turns out that this last idea of mine can actually turn out looking quite pretty:



Super easy and it actually has a beach vibe too. Here is a night shot:



The only change I think I'll make is to have light blue petals instead of white.

Unsurprisingly, I got this idea (and photos) from the lovely Mrs. Lemon over at Weddingbee. The photos were inspiration for her own centerpieces:



She used plumeria blooms instead of petals, which I imagine must have smelled amazing. Does anyone know of light blue flowers that smell fantastic?

Hey Crafty Lady

The crafting bug has not just bitten me, it's clamped down with steely jaws and I'm afraid there is no escape. In one of my more and more frequent periods of wedding insanity I decided to make our wedding invitations. Yup, by myself. By hand.

Thankfully there is a lovely site called Weddingbee. More to the point, an awe inspiring blogger named Mrs. Lemon (all their bloggers are named after foods). Mrs. Lemon is a crafting goddess. Seriously, I'm convinced she has crafted her way to deity status. She has also convinced me I need an embosser. That's one of these babies:



She got hers from Wilshire Graphic Press. You can submit your personal monogram (easy to do, just see my previous post) and they will turn it into an embossing plate. Here is Mrs. Lemon's:



Here is the result:



The embossers are $49.95 each, which includes both the embosser itself and the plate that you design. The custom embossing plate is only $10 more ($59.95 total). Additional plates (I'm thinking our return address) are an additional $29.95.

Monogram Goodness

Well. Well, well, well. I'm feeling rather smug at the moment because I finally learned how to work Photoshop. I found some awesome monogram tutorials on the web, so I gave it a whirl and this is what I came up with:

I really can't take any credit since I just followed the tutorial, but I can give credit to an awesome blogger who showed me how to do this. Go check out Brianna Nichole's blog for amazingly easy instructions on how to make your own. Here are some other sites that offer monogram tutorials:

Weddingbells
myJanee

I'm going to print my monogram on blank labels and use them on the backs of my invitation envelopes.

DIY Cakestands

So I'm not exactly a crafty person. I'm woefully inept when it comes to creating things. But will I let a little thing like being devoid of artistic talent stop me? Never!

I came across the neatest project on a cool site called Design Sponge. I've been thinking about how Matt and I want cupcakes at our reception instead of the traditional tiered behemoth. This would be an awesome way to display them! This is what Kate had to say about the project:

"This diy project is inspired by one of my favorite ceramic artists, Sarah Cihat. I found most of my plates and candlesticks at goodwill. I also used some of those little vases you get when someone gives you flowers, which normally I think are ugly, but here they seem to have found a purpose! I left many of the cakestands bare because I love the original plate designs. If you aren’t happy with the plate or base you can always paint them, or give them a graphic silhouette design (instructions below)."

Kate’s Recycled Cake/Cupcake Stands

What You’ll Need:

- old plates (any size)
- old candlesticks or vases (look for anything that is wider at the bottom, with a sturdy base and a flat top)
- epoxy (from a hardware store)
- masking tape
- popsicle stick or q-tips without their fluff (something to apply the epoxy with)
- paper plate or scrap cardboard (something to mix the epoxy on that you can throw out)
- rags and cleaning solution

For the variation:

- template of silhouette (or you can free hand)
- contact paper
- scissors
- spray paint

Directions:

1. Pick out which pieces you want to put together and test it out. They should be able to balance on each other without the glue. If not, you may want to rethink your choices... is your plate too uneven or does your base have a flat enough top?

2. Clean all plates and vases/candlesticks thoroughly. Dry completely.

3. Measure the back of the plate and mark a dot in the center with a pen or marker.

4. Squeeze out a little epoxy and follow its directions for use. After it’s mixed, apply it to the top of the candlestick/vase and gently place your base upside down onto the plate, using your dot as a guide to help you center it.

5. Let it sit for a few minutes, then gently press down on it to hold it in place and get rid of any excess epoxy with a q-tip. Apply tape on four sides to anchor it while it dries.

6. Let it dry overnight.

VOILA!

Note: While these are sturdier than you would expect, they are not dishwasher safe. I recommend gently cleaning by hand.

Silhouette version:

After the cake stand is glued together and dried overnight, you can pretty much do whatever you want with it: paint, decoupage, etc. I really love Sarah Cihat’s graphic patterns so I decided to do something similar on one of my less attractive plate/vase combos.

1. Trace and cut out your pattern on contact paper. Make sure contact paper still has its paper backing on it when you do this.

2. Gently peel contact paper away from its backing and place the sticky side on your plate where you want the design to go. Press down evenly and smooth out any and all air bubbles. Make sure all edges are firmly pressed down.

3. Prime the entire plate and base with primer spray paint and let dry (you will need to flip it over a couple times, make sure the top is dry before you flip it to spray the bottom).

4. Paint it whatever color you wish. Let dry completely.

5. When dry, use an exacto to carefully lift the contact paper.

Note: This plate is not meant to have your bare food placed on it. Usually I place cupcakes or pies in their pans on cake stands. If you want to be able to put food directly on it, I recommend sealing it with a varnish or sealant.

Those Crazy Brits...

Looking around at what things cost in weddingland makes my head seriously hurt. In honor of that, I would like to share this video. I have no idea where it comes from. All I know is that they are British, and there is some naughty language in it so don't watch it at work. Unless your boss has recently gotten married, in which case invite them to pull up a chair.