IDoYouDoWeDo

Time for a little announcement! Yes, I know I promised I’d show you the invites and floor pillows and all that other good stuff. And I will, at some point! We’re down to the wire here… less than 3 months to go! We’ve been banging out projects, my wonderful bridesmaids and mother threw me a bridal shower two weekends ago (I’m working on “thank yous”, I promise), our wine is brewing (or aging, I guess),  our invitations are stamped and ready to go… but I have some other exciting news to share.

The Fiance and I are having a BABY!! That’s right, as if planning a wedding wasn’t exciting enough, we’re throwing a baby into the mix! We’re expecting our little guy (mm hmm, a BOY!) in late November… about 7 weeks after the wedding!

So, not to make excuses, but that’s where I’ve been the last couple months (sleeping mostly) and trying to plan our wedding/work/live my life while I’m awake! I’m going to make an effort to at least post photos of our progress during these last few weeks of planning!

Have a great weekend!

Hiiiiiii! I’m back! Sorry for the slight delay in programming! I’m a busy girl, I have lots of wedding stuff to share with you! Our invitations have been cut out and are awaiting printing (I’ll show you them soon), the fabric for my birdcage veil came in yesterday, my dress fabric is ordered (although my dress design has changed… more about that soon! I promise!), and a whole plethora of other things have been accomplished!

But, I wanted to show you the latest and greatest of Loor Photography! Julio has been a busy man, it is Wedding Season afterall!
He just shot a beautiful wedding at Knowlton Mansion, which is a gorgeous venue right here in Philadelphia, and apparently had a great time doing it! (That’s him, dancing with the groom and groomsmen!)
 

He took some really cute engagement photos of this couple…

And even attended/photographed his own mothers wedding at the Fleischer Art Memorial (such an amazing building, not to mention beautiful bride)!

Check out his website for more of his gorgeous work and you can even join his  group on Facebook where you’ll often get a sneak peek of what he’s got going on! Can’t wait for him to photograph our wedding! 4 months Julio! I hope you’re ready!

Holy crap! Where the heck has February gone?! While I’m definitely excited about the prospect of Spring, sooo tired of the cold,  I can’t believe I only have 7 months left of being a fiance before I become a wife!

So, if you can believe it, I finally got around to uploading a photo of the ring bearer pillow I made! The photo makes the copper ribbon (excuse the wrinkles) look way more iridescent than it does in real life, but I’m thinking about changing it out for a more matte grosgrain ribbon anyway. The fabric on the underside is burlap and I put a sweet little button in the center to keep the fabric puckered. What do you think?!

{photo by me}

I can’t believe how time is flying! We’ve just crossed the 8 month marker! I have lots of projects in full swing now; floor pillows for my low-to-the-ground kids table, fabric napkins, invites, bridesmaids dresses… and one or two that are fully completed; the ring bearer pillow, being one of those. I have some photos of the ring bearer pillow to share but my motivation to upload them has been minimal at best. Not because I don’t want to show you, I really do! The pillow turned out great! Actually, the Boy (our ring bearer, obviously) told me “I love this pillow!”, with a huge goofy grin on his face.

Fact is, I’m just… overwhelmed.

It’s Ok though, I’m coping. I just don’t have time for frivolous things like uploading photos, or blogging, or blow drying my hair on a day to day basis. The Fiance has also undertaken his own project. Which we’re both excited about but it’s another thing to distract from the wedding planning process.

Anyway, I thought I’d show you the one project that I’m not working on. My dress! As I said before, my mom is making my dress; we bought a pattern and some test fabric two weekends ago, then last weekend we went looking for the real fabric… sigh. Everything we looked at was very pretty but I think we may need to make a special trip to New York City’s garment district.

So, on to the dress, or well, dresses… as there have been multiple renditions. First, there was Oscar. I looooove this dress. The simple shape isn’t really anything spectacular, but look at the details on the skirt! It’s hard to tell but all of those flowers are hand applied/embroidered and inset with lace and buttons. I was so set on this dress. This was THE dress! Then someone said to me, it looks awfully summery. And I don’t know if it’s the context (she IS on the beach, afterall) or what, but now I agree. It’s too summery for an October wedding on a farm.

Then there was Heather … I don’t know that this dress was really ever on the table, there are a few details that I dont even like; the pick-ups on the skirt, the clasp across the neck and the collar, specifically, but there’s something about it. As a whole I think it’s completely gorgeous! I love the bow and lace and color! I think it looks too wintery and too fancy for a farm wedding though.

Then and I saw this dress on Snippet&Ink, just tucked into an Inspiration board. It was in a Town&Country magazine last year in a feature about designer Zac Posen and how he only designs wedding dresses for his close friends. So, of course, this dress is not even available for purchase!  But THIS is my dress. I don’t necessarily love the ruffles up the sleeves, or well, even the sleeves themselves. But that skirt is incredible! The series of pleats are so architectural and the ruffled hem gives it just enough girly… sigh… I want to wear it right now!

Happy 2009! I hope your holidays were lovely! Now that we’re in this new year I think things are going to get exciting… and seeing as we’re already a week into January, leaving just about 9 months left until I say “I do”, like any bride-to-be, I’m also getting a little anxious!

I have to admit though things have recently been coming together nicely…

• -Over the weekend, the fiancé and I went to an estate sale where we picked up 12 dozen mason jars to use for beer/beverage glasses at the wedding for 35$ (!!), which works out to about 24 cents a jar! Score!
• -Last week, I made my way to the local IKEA for some of these to use as water bottles for our dinner tables (though, since the fiancé thinks he’s going to use them for home-brew beer we may have an tussle on our hands).
• -We’ve gotten over our guest-list-hacking anxiety, and as a result the final list is on the horizon.
• -I’ve started several (and completed one, more about that later) of the sewing projects that will need to be completed before October 3rd.
• -Since my mom is making my dress I’ve been gathering photos of dresses I really like for the last several months. I weeded through those photos and narrowed it down to 3 dresses that I LOVE! Start sewing, Mom!

So, all in all a productive start to my year. There is however the small matter of the groomsmen suits… What’s that you say? You thought I decided on brown suits?

Well, I did!

Originally, I wanted the guys to wear navy suits. But, the fiancé thought that navy suits and navy dresses was just too much blue! So, after weeks of debate and several respectable outside opinions he had me convinced that brown groomsmen suits and navy bridesmaid dresses were the way to go. I was happy to report that my Groom and his guys would be sporting brown suits! It was after all this decision that sparked inspiration for the flower girl’s dress color and the ring bearer’s suit color! Apparently, however, my darling fiancé did not pull the wool so far down over his groomsmens eyes as he did mine. Apparently, a rebellion was building. On Christmas Day, the fiancés brother instated Operation Any-Color-but-Brown Suits.

As far as I can tell, the argument is that if the groomsmen are buying their own suits, they’d like to be able to wear them again. Totally reasonable. I agree. So, what’s wrong with Brown? Brown is in style! It can be as formal or as casual as you need it to be and it looks good! I need some input before I either rally the troops or raise my white flag in defeat.

{Blue suit from here, Brown suit from here}

…to us! One year ago today The Fiance asked me to be his wife! So, I thought for a change of pace, we’d get his side of the story today. Here’s the Fiance’s take on getting engaged and a photo of my ring!

What a long strange trip it’s been. Crazy to think that it was 365 days ago that I signed up to spend the rest of my days with the Mrs. Alright, technically speaking I asked her if she would spend her days with me, but I digress. AJ asked for the man’s take on getting hitched and it is along that journey that we will be concentrating our attention. As the male authority here at IDYDWD I will share this; thus far, getting engaged was the hardest part.

I’m certain that little bit of intel won’t be a surprise to most of you. In the whole of the marriage process, this piece falls entirely on the man’s shoulders. There is a lot of pressure to get it right. Fortunately, we’re able to turn to the wonder that is the internet for ideas. In reality, this is a blessing and a curse as regards the act of getting engaged. On the plus side, there are a lot more ideas out there for you to steal. On the downside, she’s seen them. Every one of them. Which means that the bar has been raised. This is the very reason why I chose a bar as the location of our engagement.

I wracked my brains for months trying to figure out how I was gonna pop the question. I went through all sorts of ideas, from stopping up traffic on Market street to cornering her in Washington Square park and presenting her with a boccie ball case full of mozzarella. The latter stemmed from a dream I had after a hard night of drinking, which likely came about because I was stressed about the engagement. Vicious cycle, I tell you. At any rate, most of what I came up with required good timing, the right weather and a multitude of other factors that I’d have no control over. Which meant they were all out. I didn’t want stress. I didn’t want to coordinate a strike force to bring about the most epic engagement of all time. I wanted to get engaged with comfort and expediency with nothing left to chance.

The pressure was mounting. It was days before Christmas and my bonus had just come through. I had promised her that we were going to be engaged before the end of the year. The Mrs. had forbade me from popping the question on a holiday, so that meant 4 of the next 11 days were off limits. I finally had the key that would allow me to ask that most important of questions. I didn’t want to wait any longer. But where should I do it? How should I do it? What would make it right for us?

Then it hit me. There was a cozy little bar/restaurant around the corner from us. Up scale, but not posh. The owner was an old acquaintance of mine. We’d been trying to go there for years, but never managed to. Now would be the perfect opportunity. So it was on December 22nd, 2007 I walked into Southwark at 4th and Bainbridge with my girlfriend. A few hours later I walked out with my fiance.

{Image by me. I have to say, I have a new found respect for photographers who photograph rings. That shot was the best I could come up with in regards to lighting and clarity! Any tips on photographing your ring so it sparkles like it does in person? Not that I make a habit of photographing my ring or anything…}

AAAAAH! I can’t believe there are only ten short months until I become a Mrs.! Scary (because of all the planning left to be done) and exciting (because we’ll be married!) all at the same time.

Last night, the fiance actually sat down and went through his part of the guest list, which I’m sure was inspired by yesterdays post. I also poked through mine… a smidge.

I have this question though: How do you decide whether or not someone gets the old heave ho? I can understand not inviting that guy you were “best” friends with in 5th grade and haven’t seen since grade school, or even someone you shared hours with in the studio at college but have been out of touch with since graduation. But, hypothetically speaking, what about those second cousins on your dads side whose first name you’re not even sure of but who were invited to your sisters wedding last year? Or, again, completely hypothetical, that girl who you haven’t seen in 8 years who invited you to her wedding?

I’m stumped! I don’t know how to make the cut without hurting some feelings (mostly those of the fiance) but I can’t afford to host everyone we’ve ever met at my wedding, nor do I want to.

I put it to you dear readers, how did you (or how do you plan to) widdle down the guest list in a reasonable and sane way? A rousing round of Rock, paper, scissors is the best I can come up with! 

{image from flickr}

So, that’s it… only 11 more months until we say ’I Do’!

Sorry, I’ve been slacker blogger lately. We’ve had a whirlwind couple days between Halloween, Pumpkin Chunkin’ and helping a groomsman move, but I promise I’ll have a real post for you tomorrow (or maybe later today… we’ll see how my day goes). Until then, have a great Tuesday!

Do you know what that number represents? 365? That deceptively large number just so happens to be the quantity of days that stands between me, my fiance and wedded bliss. 365! One Year! On this very day next year I will put on my white dress, march down the aisle and be magically transformed from a ms. to a mrs.

WOO HOO!

For the next 365 days I’ll be posting about our journey to the alter and the  many projects (did I say many, I meant, tons), trials, celebrations, and all out insanity we encounter on the way. I have high hopes that I’ll be able  to wrangle the fiance, as well as some recent (and soon to be) bride friends of mine, into making guest appearances. I’ll share with you the hunt for our perfect venue (which we’re currently lacking, still, maybe), our quest for a do-it-yourself reception and our search for the ultimate (yet, budget friendly) photographer!

Stay tuned… so much more to come!