No Peeksies!

I am one of the most impatient people I know.  I always ruin my surprises by finding things out that I later regret.  Christmas gifts, birthday surprises, etc.  I know that I will regret it, yet I ALWAYS act like a CIA agent and try to find things out. Like Brad Pitt in "Burn After Reading"...big, clumsy spy who gets myself in trouble.

My "spy-ing" ways is not a new thing. I have done it my whole life.  So I decided when it comes to my wedding, for the first time in my life I need to keep surprises.  But what surprises are in a wedding you ask?  Well, many my loyal readers, MANY.


The most important surprise in the wedding is my wedding gown, in my opinion.  I knew from day one that I did not want Eric to know what my wedding gown looked like.  That is not only a surprise, but a tradition that I really wanted us to partake in.  I really look forward to the moment he sees me for the first time in my wedding gown, all dolled up.


One thing we decided to do though so that he felt involved in the wedding gown selection process was for him to choose an image of a gown that he thought I would wear and put it in an envelope.  We decided that would be a really cute idea.  On the wedding night, I'll open the envelope and see if his idea of my perfect wedding gown is the same as my actual wedding gown.  I am really looking forward to this.  I think it makes for a cute moment we'll always remember and I cannot wait to put it in my scrapbook.


I know that most people probably don't think that's a cool idea, but this is OUR wedding and we decided to do that in lieu of many other things.  One thing we are opting out if is the ever-so-popular "First Look" session.

Those of you not involved in the wedding world, a first look is when the bride and groom see each other before the wedding ceremony.  It helps give them a moment of peace and calmness before the most important time of their life.  A lot of people absolutely love the first look.  They say it relaxes them, bonds them, and helps the groom gather himself before standing at the altar.  The amount of emotions running through a bride and groom as the bride walks down the aisle are ridiculous.  Add to that the awe a groom feels when he sees the woman he loves all dolled up can sometimes make it overwhelming, so I understand why people like the first look session.  Also, you get amazing photos like this.

They're beautiful photos and I love the emotion in the faces, but they ruin the surprise.  As much as I love these types of pictures, I really want to be a surprise to Eric when I walk down the aisle.  I am, however, worried that I am going to be a hot mess.  One solution to this problem could be to do a modified first-look session.  We could do a first look session where we don't actually see each other.  You don't understand do you?  Well, here are some examples.

I REALLY like this idea.  The photos are beautiful, you see the excitement on the faces, and it doesn't ruin the surprise of how they look on the big day.  Downside?  Knowing me, I would trip and ruin my dress and he would see how I look.  Oopsies, that would be a big poopsies.  I can't trust that I will be careful and not let him see me.  Knowing me, I would stand near a mirror and not know it and he would see everything.  Another downside, I truly don't know if this would calm me down or stress me out more not being able to see him but being able to hold his hand.  I truly don't know if I would get too anxious that way.


Regardless of whether or not we do a no-look first-look, I know we don't want to see each other before the big moment.  No looksies for us.  While a lot of our wedding may be non-traditional, we have decided that we want the whole traditional "don't see each other the day of the wedding" thing.  Will this cause extra stress and anxiety? Yeah maybe.  But it will also lead to a moment that I have always looked forward to as a kid.  

Who Thought This Would be a Good Idea?

When I first got engaged, I thought that planning a wedding in 8 months would be easy-shmeezy.  I mean come on, I LOOOVE throwing parties.  I thrive off planning events.  So when it came to throwing the biggest party of my life, I knew I had it in the bag.  Well, I was on cloud 9 planning the wedding for the first few months.  Yeah it was stressful, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I had NO clue why so many brides complained about wedding planning.  Well about two weeks ago, I got slapped in the face by reality.

The 60 day countdown began.  For any bride that is a stressful time.  60 days is when everything starts being due.  Money, forms, song requests, menu options, guest counts, and the list goes on!  UGH! That's a whole bunch of stuff that I now have to do.  However, it's completely manageable.    All I have to do is find all my paperwork from my millions of vendors and complete it.  It's really not that bad.  So what then is stressing me out so much? I planned a wedding for the week before Christmas...in only 8 months.

Bring on the stress relievers!  In the 60 days before my wedding, there is enough stuff going on to stress out even Martha Stewart.  This is already a stressful time for a bride, but then you add in these:

1. Halloween - not necessarily stressful, but spending money on a costume, thinking of the perfect theme, decorating, going to parties...yeah takes up a lot of time and money
2. Bachelorette party - a frickin awesome time...but requires money again.  And even though it's my party, I'm still stressing out about the plans and how it goes and how to wear my hair, how to do my makeup, what to wear, wondering if my shoes will match my outfit, thinking about whether or not I should bring a camera....LOTS of little things that normally aren't stressful
3. Gettin muh hurr did - Normally I love getting my hair done.  However, the stylist I have gone to for 6 years is moving away. What does that mean? That means I have to get my hair done in early November.  Which means it may not look all that glamorous on my wedding day.  However, going to a new stylist before my wedding is really not an option.  It took me forever to get my hair the way I have it now and I am not risking my hair getting ruined.
4. Thanksgiving - not stressful, but HALLOOOOO! I gotta wear the most important dress of my life less than three weeks after Thanksgiving.  I can't stuff my face like I usually do. That's a sad day for me
5. Rehearsal dinner - I need a final guest count, I need to make sure that the venue is booked, and I need to make sure I have enough dinero for it.  Oh...and I have to be SURE the dress I ordered fits.  
6. The Wedding - AAAAAAAAAAH SSSSSSSSTRESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!
7. Christmas - So I LOVE Christmas.  It truly is the most wonderful time of the year.  However, normally by September I have my Christmas shopping done.  However, due to other things taking precedence, I only have two people done.  Two people out of about 25 people.  That is NOT ok.  
8. Honeymoon - I have absolutely nothing to wear yet for my honeymoon.  I don't own a single pair of shorts, I have swim suits but I would like to get ones I don't mind being seen in public wearing, and I don't own any "hiking through the forest" types of shoes.  Oh...and I am not at my honeymoon weight or honeymoon tan.
9. Moving - Am I moving? Am I not?  This is a big stressor on me right now.

All of those things normally don't stress me out TOO much (ok, I lie, I stress about what color to paint my toes so OF COURSE these things stress me out) but usually the stress I incur is a fun kind of stress.  Not a "will I get this all done and will I be able to do it without selling a kidney" stress.  I know at the end of this year I am going to look back and think about how wonderful everything was.  I'll have pictures to remind me of everything that I did in 2011 and I will have a husband.  But right now, it's hard to not live in the moment and think about everything I still have to do.  So can someone please tell me why nobody told me that this would be a bad idea?

Hello? Is Anybody Out There?

HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOO!  I'm back.  Where have I been you ask? Sick :( No, my fingers did not fall off.  I COULD have written a blog. However I had no inspiration while I was sick.  All I wanted to do was sit on my couch watching TV or hanging out with my family.  Made for little inspiration or motivation.  However, I am BACK! YAHOO!  Hopefully my posts will be frequent and good. It's crunch time.  We have less than two months until my wedding, Christmas is coming up, it's Halloween time, and it's almost New Years! Holy cow that's a lot of stuff going on!!

I am so excited for everything coming up.  Means I'll be super busy, but I LOVE being busy.  Sorry to all my loyal followers (all two of you) for being MIA but you can count on me being back and ready to entertain you!

Shoe Dilemma

I tend to be a little overly obsessed with shoes.  I personally think owning 75 pairs of shoes is normal, but I have been told that my shoe collection is excessive.  I don't see why needing a pair of shoes in every color/style is ridiculous. It makes sense to me. I have a hard time figuring out what shoes to wear to work, so when it came to picking out my wedding shoes, I knew it would be difficult.  I KNEW I would be buying a pair.  Wearing a pair of shoes I already owned was completely out of the question.  

I am absolutely obsessed with the whole "bridal shoe" photo.  You know what I am talking about, right? The bride, in her dress, showing her shoes? Nope, still clueless? Ok, THESE!

BEAUTIFUL! I absolutely LOVE these types of photos! I know for sure I want a shoe shot.  Here in lies the conundrum... what type of shoes do I buy? Do I go with white/ivory since that's more classic?  But how I do love the pop of color that dyed shoes give.  If I dye my petticoat, I could get white/ivory shoes that way it's not TOO much.  But what if I get a white petticoat, then should I go with colored shoes? UGH! So many decisions.  CRUCIAL decisions.  If I don't choose a pair of shoes, the wedding will surely not go as planned and i am sure zombies will come in and kill all my guests if I do not make the right decision.

Since I don't want my guests to get their brains eaten, I really need to make a decision regarding shoes.  A decision I thought I already made.  Here are some amazing shoes in white/ivory that I am in love with.  They are what I consider classic bridal shoes.  Mmmm...shoes.

They're the prettiest things I have seen in my entire life. I love them all. I will buy them all!  Oh, no I shan't.  They are WAY too expensive and I can't justify setting aside $2000 in our budget for shoes.  I would have to tell Eric he doesn't get a tux, or a gift, or food, or a cake.  I don't think he would be happy about that.  


Let's see if teal shoes are cheaper.  I really like the look of colored shoes, as I stated before (that must mean I REALLY like it.)  Thankfully for my peacock theme, I can even do peacock feather type shoes.  That's pretty frickin fantastic.  Gorgeous dress then BAM! Feather.  So here are some teal/peacock shoes that I thought were pretty and I could picture with my wedding gown.

I REALLY like the idea of colored shoes.  However, my mother did say that she thinks they're tacky and not traditional enough.  Well hmph.  I REALLY wanted to go with colored shoes.  But apparently if I do, my mom will throw them away and then I'll have to go barefoot to my wedding.


So after TONS of searching (like ten minutes) I came across a pair of shoes I became IMMEDIATELY obsessed with.  More obsessed than I usually get over shoes.  They were everything I wanted. Tall, blinged out, wintery, and whitish.  BAM! Found them cheap at an online store and got them.  BOO YAH! Bestest shoes ever.

LOVE! No seriously...LOOOOOOOOVE! They were amazing. Look at the crystals! They're little snowflakes! That goes perfectly with my winter wedding.  These shoes were meant to be.  When I got them in, I tried them on right away. Just as I expected, they hurt beyond belief! PERFECT! The prettier the heel, the more they hurt right? Check.  I know I would only need to wear them for a little because I intended on switching shoes for the reception. Beauty is pain, so these shoes are gorgeous.  I swooned over them for months while waiting for my dress to come in.  When I finally got the call that my dress was ready, I got so excited to wear the shoes with the gown.  At the salon I put the shoes on and got the dress on, and they were the PERFECT height. I didn't have to get the gown hemmed at all. They were PERFECT! Then...it happened.  My Alanis Morissette moment. My death row pardon two minutes too late.  The shoes did NOT match the dress.  Can you see the shoes when I am walking? Nope, sure can't.  But my bridal shoe shot...yeah that's RUINED if I wear these suckers.  So now...what's a girl to do? Without the perfect shoes remember what will happen? Here's a hint.

So...HELP ME! I have ALWAYS wanted that gorgeous shoe shot. And although my shoes are AMAZING, the color is NOT right with my dress and would ruin the whole picture. :( Do I go with my shoes? Do I get a different pair of ivory heels?  Do I go crazy and get teal shoes? What should I do??  

THANK YOU USPS!

I mailed my invitations!  After months of swooning over my design, then weeks of addressing them and stuffing them, I finally mailed out the masterpieces!  It was one of the most exciting days, yet at the same time made me sad.  I was actually kinda sad to mail them since I spent so much time conceptualizing the final product.  I went with one of my MOH to the post office and she supported me as I handed them to the clerk.  When I asked that they be hand canceled and set aside my envelopes to Mexico, the clerk in the line next to me told me that I am going to make an amazing wife and mother because I am so organized.  THANKS GUY! You made me feel special!  It's not everyday that a random postal worker complements you on being a crazy woman.  What some see as crazy, he saw as organized. YAY!  So here is a picture of my invitations leaving me but going to better homes.  And look! A hand cancel memo!

I am so happy they got sent out and I am already getting RSVP back in!  I was sad to see them go but I love getting my RSVP back and getting to check people off on the wedding guest list!

Cakespiration

So it's no surprise to anyone that my wedding is peacock themed.  There is just something about that animal that I love.  And considering that the first gown I ever bought for a formal high school dance was "peacock" colored, I guess having a peacock themed wedding was destined to happen.  

My lovely sister Molly in the dress I wore as a junior in high school

Apparently it was in the stars to have a teal/blue/green wedding.  And the fact that we decided to have a winter wedding just confirmed that these dark colors would be perfect.  While I love the peacock theme, I did not want to go TOO overboard with the theme and make it look like a peacock threw up all over my wedding.  So when it came to my cake, I knew I wanted a 4-5 on the peacock scale.  Here are some of my inspiration pictures that I brought to my vendors.

The only thing I knew for certain was that I wanted the cake to be white.  I liked the idea of having designs on the cake, but I wanted the icing itself to be white and then maybe the detail in other colors.  As of when I did my initial research, the top two photos were my favorites.  I did, however, like certain aspects of the others.


There was a whopping list of two things I did NOT want on my wedding cake.  Fondant and "mad hatter" style.  Other than that, I was open to the designer suggestions.  I just knew I wanted a yummy cake that matched my theme without being "matchy matchy".  Here were some "Hecks-to-the-no's" that I am sure are great for other people, but not me.

Some of those cakes are beautiful and I am sure took a lot of time and talent to make, they're just not me.  I don't want my guests to have green mouths from eating the cake.  That would not make for pretty pictures.

My theme is peacock feather, Christmas, and fun. So I needed to make sure my cake matched that. With all the options out there it sure is easy to get overwhelmed.  My recommendation is to stick true to yourself.  Yes, a different cake may be gorgeous! But as a bride it's your responsibility to stick true to the style of wedding you want.  If I was to do a HUGE elaborate cake, it really wouldn't have matched the rest of the decor in my wedding and would have stuck out like a sore thumb.  

I cannot wait to see the finished design of our cake. I am very confident in the vendor we selected and after looking at about 100 peacock cakes, I feel like the simpler, the better.  The feathers are accessories to the main item, THE CAKE! NOM NOM NOM!