eBay Goodies

Right now eBay is doing free shipping on a bunch of stuff. So, I bought five satin purple hangers for the bridesmaids dresses and my wedding gown. That will look so much better in the pictures rather than just plastic or metal hangers. They were only $6.99 with no shipping costs! They look like this:

I also ordered 10 purple paper lanterns for only $12.99 with no shipping costs! I am so excited about these purple paper lanters that I could just squeal! They will be placed at different lenghts with fishing line above the guest seating tables. We are not allowed to hang them from chandeliers or anything like that, but I will definitely figure out a way to get them hanging from the ceiling. They look like this:

Lastly, I want to say congrats to my friends for getting married this last Saturday. It was a beautiful, carnival themed wedding and so much fun! They had a candy buffet and hot dogs and cotton candy and an awesome cake! I told the bride not to be surprised if I copy some of her ideas for our wedding. Hopefully I can make things look like I actually thought of the ideas myself. Wink!

Marriage Advice?

Why is it that the only people that want to give you marraige advice are the ones whose own marriages are falling apart? Does this ever happen to you? First, I don't even ask people for marriage advice, but because they know I'm getting married in 50 days, they feel it is their duty to wax philosophical on me. It's one thing when you are giving tips on how to make your marriage work and be a success...

It's a completely different situation when you are telling me that I need to be the one that rules the marriage and that I should make all the decisions and my husband just needs to accept that and always put me first. Well, I don't really feel that way because, silly me, I feel that marriage is a union between two people and that both of those people have a say in the major decisions that will affect the couple.

Thanks for your advice, but maybe you should see someone professional if you think that's how a marriage is supposed to function. While I don't agree with you on the above mentioned "advice," I also don't think I should pretend to be June Cleaver and make sure I have my pearls and high heels on while I do housework. I believe that things like housework and major purchases are not something one person in the marriage has to be in charge of.

For better, for worse; for richer, for poorer...

To Candy Buffet or Not to Candy Buffet...

I've been thinking a lot about whether or not we should incorporate a candy buffet into the wedding reception. This has been on my mind off and on for weeks. First, I'm not even sure that our venue will allow for a candy bar since it's something we would have to pay for and bring in ourselves and they have a strict policy that no outside food can be taken in or out of the premises. Blah, blah, blah. Plus, it adds up to buy the jars and candy to display.

Here are cute ideas for candy buffets that I would love to copy.

I Will Not Stalk My Registry....

I have to chant this over and over because now that the bridal shower invites and wedding invites have been mailed and arrived at their destinations, I am anxious to see if anyone has been purchasing anything off of them. I have this fear that no one will even look at the registries and buy anything. I must not check my wedding registries because it will take the fun out of opening the gifts. I may need Kevin to say something to me about this every day until the wedding. Eeeek....

In other news, I have begun working on the wedding programs. I don't know if I like them or not. Big sigh... I always second guess my work because I'm not sure if I actually like it once I complete it and I worry that other people are going to think it looks tacky or stupid. I have all these ideas for things, but I don't want to over do it. I really need something else to take my mind off the wedding... LIKE A JOB!!

Someone please hire me.

Napkin Situation

A good friend of mine recommended stamping my own napkins instead of ordering them and paying so much money. I thought this was a great idea so I got online and ordered a customized stamp with our names and wedding date on them. The website I used was rubberstamps.net. I chose an Art Mounted stamp with the size .5" x 1", which was only $3.95. You can put up to three lines of text and choose the font you want the stamp to be. I chose a Script font. In total, with shipping, the cost of the stamp was less than $9.00.

Kevin and I purchased four packs of napkins in dark purple and light purple. They came in packages of 50 napkins and were only 1.99 each. Two days later, I received the stamp in the mail and was very excited. The ink I bought for the stamp is called Stazon and it was $7.99 at Michaels. (Use a coupon!) I chose the color black for the ink. They also had a royal purple available but I didn't purchase it because I was worried that it wouldn't show up on the darker shade of purple napkins.

Well, I tested the stamp on the napkins and I didn't like it. I was very disappointed in the way it looked on the napkin and it bled a lot. The reason I chose the Stazon ink is because it is waterproof and won't smear when the napkins get wet. Maybe I am stamping the napkins too hard with the ink. I stamped a whole pack of light purple napkins to see if it would look any better and I ended up throwing the whole pack of fifty napkins away. I really thought it was going to be a great idea and I was very happy that my friend recommeded it, but I guess it was not meant to be.

At this point, I am thinking about just putting blank purple napkins on the buffet and cake tables. I don't want to have to do that but in the end, the napkins will be thrown away. I always like to keep engraved wedding napkins as souvenirs, but in years' past, I have ended up putting them away somewhere and losing them. So, I am still working on the napkin situation.

Shoes, Shoes, Shoes!

Today was a great day! Two of my bridesmaids and I went to the mall and got their shoes for the wedding! Yay! First we went to Payless because that's where I ordered my Unforgettable Moments dyeable heels from. The girls looked at several pairs of silver shoes with and without heels, while I went to ask the lady at the counter if my shoes had come in yet, since it had been over two weeks since we ordered them.

My shoes

The lady said my shoes were not in yet but they were still unloading shippments. Unfortunately, the girls didn't find any shoes they liked at Payless, so we went down to Sear's just to check out other types of shoes. I didn't think we would get the shoes there at all because I don't typically shop at Sear's but this is where the girls ended up getting their shoes from!

Their shoes

They bought the exact same type of shoe in 6 1/2 and 9 1/2. It's silver with a mid heel with a rhinestone emblem on it. I told them they only had to wear them as long as the ceremony and then they could take them off. I had to tell them that I got them purple flip flops to wear so they wouldn't go out of their way to bring other shoes, flip flops, or slippers. I wanted the purple flip flops to be part of their bridesmaid gift, but it's okay.

Oh yeah, did I tell ya what color my shoes were dyed? Lilac

Wedding Brain

It's 5:30 in the morning, and there are still two months until the wedding, so why can't I fall asleep? I have "Wedding Brain." I can't stop thinking about all the stuff that still needs to be done and paid for. Sure, we have the flowers done and the favors done, but there is still a hefty balance on the venue that is due three weeks before the wedding. I also need to get more table card holders, the cake server set, the champagne flutes, the cocktail napkins, and gifts for certain people. It's really stressful to plan a wedding!

The cake server set and champagne flutes that I want are Lenox "True Love" and I just fell in love with them the moment I saw them. They are only $30 each on Amazon.com and at Bed, Bath, & Beyond. I have put them on my wedding registry, so if any of my kind and loving friends and family think about it, they would be great gifts for the bridal shower! This is what they look like:

If push comes to shove, and we don't have enough time or money, I guess Kevin and I will be heading to Wal-mart to get the cake server and flutes. In the end, I know this isn't a big thing to worry about, but I really want something like this with our names and wedding date engraved. It would be so great to have this stuff and keep it and show it to my kids someday.

As far as the cocktail napkins, everywhere I have looked is just really expensive and I'm starting to think it's not going to be worth it. There will be the favor boxes with our name and date on those that I created, so why pay close to forty dollars for paper napkins that people are gonna use as coasters and to wipe the ranch dressing off their faces with? Again, this might turn into another Wal-mart endeavor. I will settle for just plain purple and lilac napkins to put out on the buffet and cake table if I have to.

My poor mother is talking about selling furniture and my dad's telescope and our elliptical just to pay for this stuff. It makes me feel really bad and I may have had a small freak out tonight. Very small. I just got overwhelmed with the stress factor and started to feel hopeless about it all. But, as Kevin says, we will find a way....

Petals, Veils, Ceremony

In the last few days I have managed to order my veil from Amazon.com. It should be coming any day now. Squeal! I have also managed to dye about 400 rose petals purple, and I have started putting together the exact order of our wedding ceremony. It's definitely not as easy as it looks.

For the wedding veil, I went with a two tier, elbow lenth, ivory pearl drop veil. It's got just the perfect amount of detail, and I hope it will go well enough with the dress. Here is a picture:

Thanks, Delicate Spirits! 

For the rose petals, I got on Dollar Tree's website and there was a project sheet for dying the rose petals. Super easy, but a little time consuming. Supplies included 2 bags of white rose petals from Dollar Tree, a stock pot and large spoon, liquid or powder dye, a collander, salt, and a towel. Here is the link for the project sheet: Dying Fabric Rose Petals

The rose petals came out great! The project sheet said to let them simmer for three to six hours, depending on how dark you wanted them. It also said to use two boxes of the 1 1/8 boxes of Rit dye. Well, I only had one box on hand and I just went with it. And, I only simmered mine for three and a half hours and they came out very dark. I think they will match very well. Their color does depend on what lighting they are under. In bright lighting, they look plum, and in dimmer lighting, they look closer to the color in the above picture.

Our ceremony is going to be a traditional Episcopal wedding ceremony. We are using one of the Canon Reverends from Kevin's church. We have to do a few sessions of premarital counseling, but I'm not worried about that at all. Bring it on, baby! The Rev. is a really nice guy and he is taking us to Jimmy Johns for lunch too. When he told us that, Kevin and I looked at each other and grinned real big because we both love Jimmy Johns. Slim 1 all the way!

The ceremony will start with the processional while the bridesmaids and groomsmen come in arm and arm. Kevin and the Rev. will be up there already, standing on the side. We don't really have an altar, more like just a big open space. I am seriously considering renting some kind of arch for the occasion, but that takes money!

After the bridesmaids and groomsmen walk down the aisle, our flower girls and ring bearer will walk down the aisle together and then be seated with their parents. Then, Dad and I will walk down the aisle and the Rev. will make his opening remarks. There will be a Declaration of Consent, and prayer readings as well.

We meet with the Rev. on September 15 to finalize the order of the ceremony and all the requirements. I can't wait to get everything in order on paper so that I won't feel as nervous about it. We are going to have to rehearse it a couple of times because there is lots of hand holding and positions, and standing and kneeling. I feel nervous that I will mess it up or have to ask the Rev. to repeat something. Oh well, as long as the end result is that we are married.



Wedding Funny

Got this from a friend. Lol.

Bridesmaid Gowns Continued

It's Labor Day and we're having a bar-b-que with ribs. We are also making a funfetti cake for my brother-in-law, whose birthday was late last month. No wedding projects to worry about today, thank goodness. But let's get back to the bridesmaid gown situation.

According to my last post, my Maid of Honor had tried on two styles of gowns and we knew that Lapis was not going to be the color after all. Also, apparently you have to be no more than 100 pounds with no curves to make a dress look as good as it does on the website. That's just not how reality works. My maid of honor and I are both curvy girls, so we needed to concentrate on finding a gown that was going to accentuate her curves, and not put unwanted attention on anything else.

We kept at it, and tried on some other styles. They didn't have the bridesmaid gowns in the color purple that we wanted, so she tried on other colors in the styles that we wanted to try out. Side note: since these pictures, she's lost some weight and looks awesome! I wish I could be as dedicated as she is....



Satin and Organza Gown with Beaded Inset
Style F12385



This was a really pretty dress, and I thought it was going to be the one, but my maid of honor didn't like the way it was laying on her, and my main goal was that my bridal party was going to be wearing something that they were going to be comfortable in. The wrinkles in the middle were not very appetizing either. I know that's part of the style of the dress, but again, it seems like you can't be more than a certain weight or height to pull this off.

Finally, she tried on one last dress, and it happened to be "the one." It came in only seven colors, and PLUM was one of those seven. I couldn't believe it. It was perfect. THE color! And it was on sale for thirty dollars off the original price! We were jumping up and down in happiness, knowing that we had found the dress on the first trip we took. The funny thing is, all those other dresses that she had tried on did not come in PLUM at all. I asked the sales consultant why only certain dresses came in certain colors and she said she didn't know because a lot of people had loved that plum color. This was in December. It is now September 2011 and David's Bridal has updated their collections to include plum as a color for almost all their dresses! Yippee! Oh yeah, here is the winning dress:

Satin Ballgown with Side Ruching and Beaded Bodice

Style F11165

Apple Jacks and Bridesmaid Gowns

It's nearly 3:30 in the morning and I just finished eating a bowl of Apple Jacks (and of course my cat drinks the left over milk in the bowl!) and I can't sleep. I've had a lot on my mind recently about the wedding and other life changing events. But this post is mainly going to be about the attire for the bride and her maids.

My dutiful Maid of Honor came home all the way from Canada (16 hour drive!) to go to David's Bridal with me to try on gowns and be my guinea pig, as well as my honesty button. We went on a cold December day, December 27th, 2010 to be exact. This was the first time I ever tried on wedding gowns for myself. It was exciting and kind of scary because the prices were intimidating and I wasn't sure if my armpits were shaved or not. (Stubble grows back so quick!)

We first went over the side where the bridesmaids and prom gowns were. We literally had the store mostly to ourselves and the consultant we worked with was awesome, even though she had a mean cold and just found out she was pregnant. She was very helpful with me and helped me weigh the pros and cons of each dress. I wished I could have bought the dress I wanted right then and there so she could have gotten the commission on it, but I didn't have enough money, having just quit my job two months prior.

My maid of honor was a willing participant and tried several styles and colors. I was sure I wanted to use the color Lapis for the bridesmaids gowns. So the first gown my maid of honor tried on was Lapis, in this style:

Satin Empire Ball Gown with Illusion Halter

Style 81441





Be forewarned: it DEFINITELY does not look like that in the store! The color was much too blue and I was afraid people would think that navy blue was the main color for the gowns when everything else was going to be in purple! This was very disappointing because online this color was going to be perfect! In reality, it just wasn't gonna cut it.



Soft Crinkle Chiffon Halter with Draped Cascade

Style F12688

Wedding Diddies

Since Kevin and I are not getting married in a church, I thought I would take some liberties with the music I would choose to walk down the aisle to. I knew I didn't want the traditional Wedding March or the Air on G String that a lot of typical ceremonies include. No, I wanted music that I had grown up listening to and thinking "Man, that would be a great song to have at my wedding!" I got on the website Wedding Museum and started scrolling through all the possibilities. My aunt had walked down the aisle to Bryan Adams when she got married in the mid-90's and I just loved the idea of putting in my own favorites.

Here is something a little weird: Kevin doesn't listen to music. Yeah, I know. He just doesn't dig today's popular hits, or even yesteryear's popular hits. Everytime we are in the car together he has the station set to 88.7, which is like classic jazz here in Indianapolis. Basically, this is music that I just can't listen to because it puts me to sleep. Having a large musical taste (execept for classical jazz, apparently), I think I am going to dabble in several music genres to pick my ceremony songs and choose a little bit of everything for the reception. Here are some samples of songs I would really like to incorporate into the wedding ceremony and reception.

Bryan Adam - "Everything I Do, I Do it For You"

Garth Brooks - "To Make You Feel My Love"

Fleetwood Mac - "Landslide"

The Beatles - "All You Need is Love"

Jimi Hendrix - "Foxy Lady"

Van Morrison - "Crazy Love"

See if you can guess which songs I am going to use for different parts of my wedding such as the processional and recessional, as well as the traditions of cake cutting, bouquet toss, garter toss, etc.

A Denots Bride is a Happy Bride!

What is she talking about, you may ask?

Well, let's just say I concentrate better as a Denots bride. Example of concentration taking place: I got my escort cards done today. They're pretty delicious looking, if I may say so. Also, I FINALLY was able to get more itty bitty purple bows at Michaels. The last THREE times I went, they didn't have any. The sales clerks could literally see my dismay when I left Michaels empty-handed. They're so used to seeing me buy something! They kinda look like this, but they have a little pearl on them.

With a new pack of bows, I could finish gluing them to the tops of the little lilac favor boxes. Now I just need to print out one more sheet of favor labels and cut them to size so I can also glue them to the front centers of the favor boxes. This was another of my DIY projects because I realized that the only way I was going to be able to pass out favors for my guests was to buy stuff real cheap and make my own. Granted, we only have 65 or fewer guests coming, I think (hope) guests think it's a cute gester of creativity.

The favors are just lilac boxes that came flat. Kevin ordered them off of Oriental Trading Company. You know who I'm talking about, ladies! Buy one product off the website, and you're getting monthly catalogs every month for the rest of your life. They were $3.99 for 24 boxes. We ordered three boxes of 24. The total was $15.99 and that included shipping! I got them in the mail fairly quickly and it took me less than half an hour to fold 72 boxes into actual boxes.

Then I decided how I was gonna decorate them. I wanted a thin piece of purple ribbobn to go around the width of the box, and some kind of accent on top. I decided on the itty bitty purple bows to adorn the tops of the boxes. Amazingly, they were very comparable to the color of the ribbon I chose. I hot glued the ribbon on and hot glued the itty bitty purple bows on the top. The bows were $3.99 for 60, so we got two bags of those. Right now, our favor budget was looking pretty sweet!

So I decided that we would order those little M & M's with our names and our wedding date in purple and lilac. We haven't ordered them yet because we want them to be super fresh when they are put in the boxes. But I got a coupon for ordering online so it's gonna be awesome because they will be cheaper with the online discount. I thought to myself that I didn't want to just fill the favor boxes with the M & M's because I was afraid that they would melt with all the candles at the tables. (I know, I think of everything!) So, Kevin and I went to Walmart and got some little baking cups that would fit in the 2'' x 2'' sized favor boxes. Perfect! And they were made by Wilton, which is a very reliable brand of baking stuff!

I put the little cups in the bottoms of each of the favor boxes and that way the M & M's will be sitting in the paper cups all night. Whoo! The final step was to design and print a favor label for the boxes. I opened up a blank Word document and I just drew a text box and gave it a purple border. I typed our name and wedding date in the same font that I used for our invitations and escort cards.

I found a little rose on Google and copy and pasted it onto the square label I had created. This little rose has become the motif of the whole wedding. The stationery has roses, the flowers are purple roses, our programs and address labels have the rose on them. It's a great rose. 

Card Box Ideas and Inspirations

After scrolling through other wedding blogs, I came across Chelsea Gets Married. This woman is really creative and I decided that I wanted to do amateur versions of her creations for my wedding. Mainly, I fell in love with the card box she designed. I also Googled other homemade card boxes. Here are some inspirations:

I've decided to go with a square three tier box set instead of round because our wedding cake is going to be round and I just wanted to make sure people wouldn't think it was related to the cake. Kevin and I gathered together the dark and light purple cardstock that we are using for all the stationery and we went to Lowe's to look at paint chips to match them up. We did our best and gave them to the paint guy to have them mixed with those little sample cans that Olympic sells for like $2.50 or something.

                                                 Grape Arbor                Plush Purple

We also got a sample of white paint and it ended up costing less than $9 for the three sample cans of paint. We got foam brushes to paint the square paper mache boxes with. I bought the boxes from JoAnn Fabrics for 9.99, but as always I used my 40% coupon that I diligently cut out of the Sunday Indianapolis Star. I sat at the front table painting the boxes the above colors. I was hoping they would match the cardstock Kevin and I had been buying at Hobby Lobby for all the invitations, escort cards, table number cards, and other things I could think of to use it with.