IDoYouDoWeDo

Now that the bridesmaids dresses are underway I can think about the little girls!! I love flower girl dresses!

When I was 4 I was the flower girl in my cousins’ wedding… the dress I wore was a fluffy pink frock, with puffy shoulders, a big bow around the waist and tiny little rose buds on the skirt. I know! It sounds like some horrible 80’s prom dress… well, it was the 80’s! But the dress was awesome! It was a princess dress and for years after the wedding it was used for playing dress-up!

We’re having two little flower girls in the wedding and while they will definitely not being wearing pink (it won’t exactly fit into my color scheme (they won’t be white either… can’t you just see little white dresses on a farm? I’m thinking they won’t be white for long)) that doesn’t mean their dresses will be any less girly. Little girls love to dance and spin… which made me think of tutu’s! I’ll have the little girls wear ballerina tutu’s for my wedding! They’ll be so cute on the dance floor twirling in their tutu’s. Apparently, however, someone else had the same thought and Flower Girl Tutu’s have become all the rage! Google them, you’ll see what I mean.

So, I bought this pattern, for a dollar (yep, making the flower girl dresses too) and thought I’d do some kind of tutu/dress combination. Maybe make the top like a regular dress and make the bottom out of tulle, so it’d be a fluffy, full dress but not a ballerina tutu per say. Otherwise, I’ll make the whole thing out of corduroy. What do you think?

 Men, is this really how you feel?

{image from here}

Ahh, J. Crew, how do I love thee…

I love this dress! The box pleats, the full skirt, the pockets on the seams… This is the dress that my bridesmaids will be wearing (in Navy, of course) when they preceed me down the aisle. It’s the  Lorelei dress, with a catch… we won’t be paying 215$ a piece for them.

We won’t pay 200$ or 150$, not even 100$, 75$ or most likely even 50$ for each dress, because I’m making them.

This past Saturday, when I was supposed to be dress shopping for myself (more about that soon), my mom and I went to the fabric store to look for a similar pattern for this dress. I thought, why have my girls pay over 200$ (in this economy) for such an simple frock. Not only did we find a pattern, but it’s the same pattern, EXACTLY. And, it only cost $3.99!!

I think I might even make one for myself! Maybe, after the wedding…

Woo Hoo! Look at this! I entered a giveaway drawing on Style Me Pretty for one of the  Paloma’s Nest ring bowls (which I’ve been admiring from afar for soo, soo long) and I won! 

Our rings are going to look so “sweet” in this lovely little bowl!

Thank you Abby and Paloma’s Nest!

So here it is, Friday, and I know what you’re thinking… she hasn’t written all week! Well, I’m sorry. I have no excuses. It’s been a cold, cold week in Philadelphia and I’ve spent my evenings snuggled with my husband to be. But I wanted to tell you about the Unbridaled Event I went to over the weekend…

My bridesmaids and I spent a couple hours on Saturday morning at the Crane Arts Building basking in a room full of unpushy, nontraditional, really, genuinely nice wedding industry people. Since we got there early, and were some of the only people wandering around, we really got to talk to the vendors instead of just peeking at their tables and moving on.

When we first walked in we were greeted by one of the co-owners of the Memphis Taproom who promptly offered us a choice of beers, at 10am no less, which was unexpected and really appreciated. Next door, the other co-owner, Ken Correll, was hosting the booth for his latest endeavor Diverse Catering. Ken, previously with Shakamaxon Catering, was going to cater for us when we were planning our wedding at Bartram’s Garden and he could not be a nicer guy… seriously, if you’re looking for a down-to-earth caterer who is going to do what it takes to make your event great, go with Ken. Though we decided to go with a much simpler approach and have family friends cook for us, I really can’t say enough good things about Ken, email me if you want to know more.

I got to meet Carina, of love me do, the mastermind photographer behind this lovely wedding that Emily recently featured over on OnceWed. Love her work! had a great time talking with Jacklyn of JAGstudios, she’s so full of energy and really loves her job, not to mention, her photos are AMAZING! (Check out the sexy shots!) Jacklyn told me she often works with Leah, of WaxWorksPhoto, who can take an original photo and turn it into a work of art using some beeswax and mixed media painting process. The end result is simply incredible! You have to check out the website, though the photos don’t really compare to the in-person experience. So beautiful!

We tasted cakes from Baked and Ciao Bella Cakes and though we’re having a friend make us cupcakes, for a moment I was sucked in… Baked fed us mini vanilla cupcakes with a vanilla /lemon cream cheese frosting, or something, it doesn’t matter, it was so scrumptious I wanted to slap down a bundle of money and have them make me several tiers of the stuff.

Jon and Tom from Hi Society Entertainment were awesome. If we were hiring DJ’s for the wedding I’d hire those guys. Any DJ who refuses to play the Chicken Dance (!), Electric Slide (!!) and It’s Raining Men (!!!) is a’ok by me (bonus if they can do it without talking all night long. Side note to DJ’s: I don’t get that… I’m paying you, let’s say, 700$ to play 5 hours of music at my wedding/party/event, why on earth do you feel the need to let us know who’s on the dance floor/tell the couples who’ve been married for 5 minutes/years/decades to sit down/ask if everyone’s having a good time? I’m paying for music! Step away from the microphone!)

The ‘maids and I also got to try out the flip book booth from Festive Photobooths. Have to say, really awkward experience, but the results are awesome! They stick you in front of a video camera and say “GO”! You’re then supposed to act ridiculous for 7 seconds, in front of a whole slew of onlookers, to create the images for the flip book! Ours turned out really funny!

That’s all I can remember, I knew I should have written this sooner! But, you can see a list of the rest of the vendors here , and my sister took some photos while we were there, so maybe someday I’ll get them posted!

My mother and I are going hunting for dress fabrics and patterns tomorrow… wish me luck! Have a great weekend!

{images: bride and groom sparkler exit, Jacklyn @ JAGStudios; back of the dress, WaxWorksPhoto}

Did you hear about this? The Fiance told me this story and I just couldn’t believe it! Apparently, it’s true, the BBC says so!

On New Years Day, a German couple was foiled in their attempts at eloping in Africa. The (incredibly) young bride to be, Anna Lena, five, and her would be six year old groom, Mika, were apparently “very much in love” and decided a destination wedding in Africa “where it’s warm” was exactly what they wanted!

With Anna Lena’s seven year old sister in tow (as an official witness) the kids walked over half a mile to a bus station, where they hopped a bus to the Hanover Train Station, with every intention of catching a train to the airport! They had packed sunscreen, swim suits and sunglasses and were all set for a wedding and honeymoon, when a guard noticed this unsupervised group of mini travelers and contacted the police, who intervened. Apparently, they were given away by all of their summer gear.

When two officers questioned the the young lovers about their travel plans Mika answered, “We wanted to take the train to the airport, and then catch a plane, then we would unpack, and get married once we arrived. Then we wanted to go for a little holiday.” Anna Lena added, “We wanted to get married there and enjoy ourselves.”

The officers gently persuaded the children to cancel their plans, since they’d be hard pressed to make it to Africa with no money, passports, or plane tickets (not to mention parental consent)! The almost newlyweds were disappointed, but to help console them, the kids were given a special tour of the police headquarters before their relieved parents picked them up from the station.

I know kids are growing up fast these days but SHEESH!

{Photo from here}

Well, I don’t know quite how to follow up yesterday’s post seeing as it was such a hot topic of conversation. But, I wanted to let you know about the 2nd Annual Unbridaled Expo that will be taking place in Philadelphia this weekend!

Unbridaled is a wedding expo that steers away from the traditional and focuses on local, handmade, environmentally responsible and alternative solutions to planning a wedding. Realizing that mainstream wedding shows are not appealing to all, this expo intends for everyone to participate no matter what their religion, race, preference, or income. This event redefines an industry dominated by commercial products and empowers people to think creatively.

With over 60 vendors, including local designers, photographers, wedding planners as well as boutiques, microbakeries, and jewelry designers, the expo will surely have something for everyone. I didn’t go to last years expo, obviously since I’ve never planned a wedding prior to my own, but I’m excited to say the Fiance and I will be in attendance with a bridesmaid or two. Maybe we’ll see you there!

Unbridaled Expo will be held at the Crane Arts Building this Saturday, January 10th from 10am til 4pm.

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}