Monday, August 29, 2011

And They're Off!!!



After 4 unsuccessful hours of trying to do an Excel-to-Word mail merge, purchasing label software, and botching several peoples' names, the Save the Dates (or STDs...lol...immature, i know) are all mailed off. This was our pre-Hurricane Irene task. Shout out to the best fiance in the world for helping me assemble them at 1am so that we could make it to the post office the next morning.

One task down, 1,345,094 more to go!

Monday, August 22, 2011

Golden Girls

So here's how the mismatched metallics will break down: 2 ladies in silver, 2 in gold, and 2 in copper/bronze. Here's some inspiration for the girls who will be wearing copper/bronze in the wedding: And here's a little somethin' somethin' for my silver belles:
And finally a little something for my golden girls:

Whatcha think?


Friday, August 19, 2011

The Big Bridesmaid Decision


So my sister came to visit last week. She's the first in my family to come see me since the proposal. We're pretty tight-knit; we're just not good with travel. Anyway, the weekend was filled with fun and laughter and poor food choices (I'm back on track now! Well, sorta.). The weekend was also filled with some big wedding plan changes. I've changed my colors and the whole look of the wedding!!!

In addition to having my sister here, another bridesmaid was in town, too. My sister and I picked her up from the airport last Friday, and with the realization that we were about 10 minutes from the bridal boutique we were supposed to attend on Saturday, we decided to take a sneak peak. We were looking for bridesmaids dresses. I found my dress months ago on a whim (A future blog post to give all the details is in the works.). Thank goodness. The visit was GODAWFUL!!! If you're in the market for bridal goods, skip Katherine's in Alexandria, VA. They were rude and extremely unfriendly. Unfriendly like, "Why don't you all just look up the dresses your interested in and come back another day" as we stood at the racks and explained that we wanted to scout dresses that day to make our visit with the bulk of the bridal party less stressful. I could speculate for days as to why we were mistreated (Hmph...I hate pulling that card, but it's so hard not to), but why waste energy on them?

I knew I couldn't bring the rest of the bridal party there the next day. Not only were they rude, but the space was CRAMPED. The dresses were tightly packed on racks that were way too small. While my sister and one of my girls tried on dresses (They are one of the few places that carry the full Jim Hjelm line. We made a pact to try and not to buy from them.), I looked for another shop that carried the line. The heavens opened, and we were led to Hannelore's in Old Town Alexandria, VA:

The ladies at Hannelore's were AMAZING!! They were kind, courteous, and quick to let us know that the ladies at Katherine's are known for being "trashy" (Ha! Love that little bit of messiness!). While there, one of my bridesmaids found her dress, and we agreed to bring the rest of the bridal party the next day.

For the rest of the afternoon and evening, we shopped and then went back to the house where the bridal party discussion continued. While my sister thought the navy looked good, she got me to thinking. Ain't nothin' like family. She reminded me that: (1) I am not a "traditional bride" and (2) I never planned to have 7 bridesmaids and (3) I could break the rules if I wanted. This motivated me to rethink my thinking. I was getting caught up in the WIC (wedding industrial complex, as I've seen it called on these here internetS). I was already going to let my ladies pick their own dresses. Once we saw the picture below, it was ON:

After some hemming and hawing and prodding from my sister, I've decided to do something similar in a metallic color palette. Here's my inspiration board:


I am in love with the new palette. I'm excited about the day. Each bridesmaid can bring her own personality to her look. I've told them that I want them to look like their best selves, and I really, really mean it. I'll be back with more inspiration posts in a few. This mismatched bridesmaids thing is really taking off in the bridal world. We can't go wrong with metallics. Until next time...

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Yup...It's going down!

I can't believe it's happening. I'm jumping the broom!!! For those unfamiliar with jumping the broom, it's a Black American tradition. From what I've learned, Black people were not allowed to legally marry during slavery, so as a symbol of love, fidelity, and commitment, they recognized their nuptials by jumping over a broom. I've also been told that jumping the broom symbolizes the sweeping away of the old in preparation for the new life that the couple will build with each other.

So...I'm jumping the broom. Metaphorically anyway; the verdict is still out on whether we'll actually incorporate it in our ceremony. I'm still wrapping my mind around having a forreal, forreal wedding. Never really desired one. I've always liked weddings and wedding blogs, just never thought I'd end up participating in the wedding madness myself. My fiance' convinced me by using the following: "This is really our last chance to get all of the people that we love in the same room at the same time. Let's go for it!" So I went from a cool dinner party at a swanky restaurant vision of a wedding to a 7 bridesmaids, downtown DC, 100+ guest event. Pray for me. I'm already feeling anxious about being the center of all of that attention. And while the future hubby is exciting about celebrating our big day, he slowly learned that the day is really about the bride. We just returned from a wedding (Whew! That's a story for another day.), and let's just say that the groom was a nice accessory because, honey, the day was all about her.

A little about us. I'm a former high school teacher turned full-time doctoral student who is planning a wedding while simultaneously writing a dissertation. The future hubby is an assistant principal. Yup, two educators. We keep our "shop talk" to a minimum (conversation have gotten UGLY in the past, but I've started swaying him my way :-)). We met on an online dating site during my first year of graduate school (That's another story for another day as well). We like to have lots of fun. And though he claims to be a homebody, he always finds something for us to get into. Whether we're zip-lining in Costa Rica or having burgers at Red Robin, it's always an adventure. He has been my rock, and I have been his. I'm looking forward to the journey of marriage and hoping to survive the journey of wedding planning.


Costa Rican rainforest zip-lining, July 2010

Enough about us (for today anyway). While I'm excited about my "big day," this blog won't just be about my wedding. It will be about life and trying to hold all the pieces together. It will be about the profound and the shallow. It will be a space to release. So many things in my life are changing (new mate, new home, finishing school, new career), and I'd like to look back and see what I saw in the moment once I'm over the hump (and facing the next one). So strap in, and let's enjoy this ride.