2 More Vendors Down...

I kept wishing that I could stay home from work so I can do a lot of wedding planning.

Well I half got my wish. I caught the stomach bug and was home from work Thursday and Friday.

But I was so sick that I really couldn't do any planning. :(

We also had to cancel a cake tasting appointment we had on Saturday...We said we would call back and reschedule. But I don't know if I will or not because we have an appointment with a different baker tonight, and if we book them we obviously don't need to reschedule with the other one.

My first day out of the house was on Sunday for a big Bridal Show. We booked my limo photo booth at the show yesterday! YAY! :)

Now we just have that cake appointment tonight, a florist appointment on February 6th and an Invitation appointment on February 13th...

I think once we book those three we are pretty much done with vendors, right?

Unless there are some others I forgot about...

I think we are coming along nicely with our planning.

Only 208 days to go!! :)

Umbrellas & Parasols

I have been planning on paying to book an indoor photography site for us to get our photographs done in between the Ceremony & the Reception.
This way we will be all set if it rains.
There are free sites available for indoor photography...But they are first come, first serve. And I am finding that my wedding date is very popular...So I feel like if I have a booked reservation I will be much more calm and less stressed the day of. I like being able to stick to a schedule and being on time.


However, a couple of outdoor rainy pictures might be OK, too.


The girls will need cute hot pink umbrellas though:


Cute, right? ;) I thought that the heart was an appropriate wedding touch.



Or a damask umbrella:




Just pretend that umbrella has pink trim instead of red...And that it isn't made for a baby stroller...



I know they say that rain on your wedding day is good luck...But I'd prefer a sunny wedding day...Hopefully with luck, too!


So we can always do happy outdoor sunny parasol photos. :)



And the girls can each have a hot pink parasol!! :)




Of course this black & white LOVE parasol is to die for!


As is this Just Married Parasol!



According to the three (yes, THREE!) different 2010 Farmer's Almanacs that I bought...It is going to rain on my wedding day.

But really only time will tell...So we'll see what happens...

Save-The-Date...Cntd.

Here are two more Save The Date possibilities I just made:

Possible Save-The-Dates...

Here are a couple of home made Save-The-Dates...I can't decide if I want to use any of these or not.

The first 4 were created by me:

This one was made by a High School friend:

This one was made by a different High School friend:

And these two were made by my Future-Mother-In-Law:

Quick Updates

Here are a couple of quick updates:

1) As I said earlier, I always seem to win a prize at every other bridal show...Sunday's show was my 'other' which meant I should have won something.

Well, I did! :)

I won a nice autograph plate. I just don't know if I should put it out at the Engagement Party, Rehearsal Dinner, or Reception...I just don't think it is big enough for everyone at the Reception to be able to sign it.

So we'll see.

So this pattern means that I won't win anything at the HUGE Bridal Show that I am going to in two weeks. :(

Hehe

2) At Sunday's show I booked a DJ.

He seems good. So hopefully that will work out well.

3) Now that I see the real prices everything costs, my original dream of having a huge fancy Engagement Party have faded away with many of my other original dreams...

With that being said, I was going to just do away with the Engagement Party all together.

However, I think it will be nice for both of our families and both sides of the Bridal Party to meet and mingle prior to the wedding.

So I am trying to plan a small gathering that I will call our Engagement Party. That will just consist of our parents, grandparents, some aunts and uncles, cousins, and the bridal party and their significant others.

So it will be considerably smaller than the actual wedding invite list.

But I was just trying to include the most important people that should meet ahead of time.

Etiquette says the Engagement Party should be like 6months before the wedding. Which brings us to February.

Unfortunately everyone will be driving from either 2 hours to 6 hours or more to get here...And February in Central New York still means a ton of snow. And I hate to make everyone travel in the snow.

So we'll see what happens.

3) My newest Save-The-Date Love:

ADORABLE!

So I was making a rough-draft of one of those for Jon & I...I thought we could use real pictures of us from the dates listed instead of those clip-art pictures.

The only problem is that our lives aren't really interesting...I don't think we have many dates to list.

I came up with the date we got matched on Match.com, the day we met in person, the day we officially started dating, the day we first said "I Love You", & the day we got engaged.

Not the most exciting time line. Heh

I just thought that would be cute and different...And it can probably be done on a magnet depending on the size of the document, and if we want to be cheaper we can always just put it on nice paper without a magnet.

Last Night's Bridal Show...

I went to a Bridal Show with my Mother and Grandmother last night...I didn't win anything, but I didn't expect to because the pattern has been that I win at every other Bridal Show and this was my off one...So to continue said pattern, I am due to win something at the next show. Hahaha

Anyway, I thought that going to a Bridal Show again after not having any to go to since November, would get me excited to be back in my element (wedding-related things!) But instead it got me really stressed.

First of all, apparently August 21, 2010 is like an uber popular date to get married...Lots of brides-to-be that were there last night had that date. :(

Second of all, most of the vendors were already booked for that date too...And they continuously told me how very behind I am. Maybe they were just saying that so I would book them, but it stressed me out!

How did that happen?! I mean, I have been planning my wedding for 24 years...How did I get so far behind?! :(


So I went up to the bar and bought myself a glass of White Zin, sat down for a few minutes, and calmed down.

I then marched on up to the table with one of my favorite photographers (I saw him at a lot of past bridal shows and always liked him) and fired off a million questions.
Finally I handed him over a check for $400 and boom! We now have our Photographer & Videographer booked.
*Phew*

He was a bit pricey...But I feel like photographs and videos are sooooo important. I mean, when the day is over, all you have left are memories and photos, right? So I think that I would much rather pay more to ensure that all of that is perfect, and then just skimp elsewhere if need be.

And what's good about me hiring the photographer and videographer from the same company is that they work together...And they will know how not to be in each other's way. As opposed to hiring two separate companies that will be competing for photos.

Like he showed us sample videos and photographs where they can tell the bride and groom to turn and look at the camera...And get a video and snapshot done at once.

So I am pretty excited about that.

We didn't decide on an exact package yet...But they said we have plenty of time to choose that.

Mostly the difference between the packages have to do with what kind of album you want. ie Matted, flush mounted, 12 pages, 40 pages, etc.

Also, we get the exclusive rights to our photographs, so we can take them anywhere to get re-prints and more albums done later.


Their website has sample photos and videos if anyone is interested in checking it out.



Now the next really important thing that I need to book is the DJ!

I feel that the DJ really makes or breaks the reception. If the DJ sucks and no one is dancing, that also screws up the DVD that the Videographer is taking...Because without dancing, that will make for a boring video! Not to mention a very boring party for the guests!

I tried booking some DJs a while ago, and the ones that I liked the best are all booked! :(

The ones that were at the show last night were not booked, but I also really did not like.
So, this is a biggie I am getting nervous about.

I have another Bridal Show to go to tomorrow afternoon...So hopefully there will be other DJs there that I will like, and who are not booked yet! :)

Also at the show last night were 2 bakers who were not at any prior shows I have been to. I tasted their cakes, and they were both very good. And one cake had fondant with a similar black pattern to what I want. My Mom, Gramma, and I all said that the fondant really didn't taste that bad. So I got hopeful. But then I got uber upset, because I looked down at all of our plates when we were done, and we had all ate the cake and left the fondant...
Which has been a big fear of mine.
Of course, we all really were quite full when we were tasting the cake...So I don't know how much more of it we would have eaten if we weren't so full.

*Sighs* Just more for me to worry about.

I am going to go try to find the number of the baker I have been talking about for a few months now, and try to set up a cake and fondant tasting appointment with him ASAP!

Otherwise I need to go with plan B of my wedding cake...And really have no damask in the reception at all. And I don't know how I feel about no damask. :(

Junior Bridesmaid

I am having a Junior Bridesmaid (and her twin brother is going to be a Junior Groomsmen) and I haven't picked out her dress yet.

I want her dress to be solid Watermelon...Possibly with a black sash.
Unless I see a dress that I love that is solid black. In solid black she would look more uniform to the other girls, and still stand out since she would have a different style dress...And at 12 years old, she would be obviously younger and stand out anyway.
However, I figured since she is so much younger, I can get at least one person in my bridal party to have solid pink! :)

So I am consulting David's Bridals' website to see what Junior Bridesmaid dresses they have available in Watermelon. Because I still want some kind of uniformity...If I just have her get a dress from any store with a pink that doesn't match, I feel like that will stick out like a sore thumb too much.
I might have the Flower Girl be a hot pink that is not David's Bridals' Watermelon, but I haven't decided that yet.

Anyway, the website shows a dress for Juniors that looks very similar to my Bridesmaid's dress...But it does not come in Watermelon or Black...It only comes in Apple, Champagne, Peridot, & Truffle. :(
I guess I could go with Champagne for a Black & White wedding...But I probably won't, because even though it would match, it is not my color...
But here it is anyway:


Sucks, because it matches the other girls style so well!!



So now here are every single floor-length Junior dress that comes in Watermelon:



I like this dress a lot.






I am not too crazy about this dress...But it comes in Watermelon, so I could always have her just try it on anyway.







I like this dress a lot...It doesn't come in Watermelon, but obviously comes in Black, if I wanted to go that route...And maybe see about adding a Watermelon sash, like the older girls will have.



Never mind, for some reason the site has this dress on two different pages...And here it does come in Watermelon:



YAY! :)




I know I want her in a floor-length gown, so I won't even bother posting pictures of the short dresses they have in Watermelon.

BRIDESMAID DRESSES!!

So it just occurred to me that I never posted any pictures of my Bridesmaids' Dresses!

My girls are all different sizes...So I was having a hard time trying to find a dress that would be flattering for everyone.

All dresses are modeled by my Bridesmaid and friend, Nina :)

My favorite for a while was this dress by Alfred Angelo:



Of course I wanted the dress in black and the sash in hot pink.
The dress was flowy, and I thought it would be a good idea. Plus the girls said it was comfortable to wear...And light fabric, which is good for a Summer wedding.


I realllllyyy loved this next elegant dress:
(Ignore the appearance I make in this picture)



I wanted my Maid of Honor to have it in the colors shown, but the other girls to have the white be pink.


Dress #3:


I really loved the silver brooch!
I wanted the light purple to be black, and the dark purple to be hot pink.



Dress # 4:


I wanted the dark purple as black, and the light purple as hot pink.


This next dress is modeled by my Bridesmaid and cousin, Karen:



This dress was HORRIBLE...But they had the color combination that I wanted.
I am just throwing it in for a color visual. :)


AND THE WINNER IS....

TAH~DAH!! :)

Of course the dresses are black with pink sashes...It was just a coincidence that the dresses they had available in each of the girls' sizes to try on all happened to be the same color.

So the girls will have black dresses with pink sashes...And my Maid of Honor will have the black dress with a white sash.


And now for the problem...As I have mentioned in prior posts, David's Bridal does not have hot pink.

My sister is showing the black dress with the closest pink colors they had available:




I had to choose from Azalea (the top color) and Watermelon (the bottom color).
In this picture Azalea looks more fuchsia, but in person it really looked more purple...So I chose Watermelon.
Hopefully the color pops like I want it to...Even though it isn't fuchsia.
So now I have to plan my wedding to have watermelon accents and not hot pink accents.
Hopefully it will still look amazing!

Here is my sister modeling the final choice in Watermelon (even though she will have white):




The dress doesn't look wonderful here, because it was actually a little bit big on her...And she isn't wearing the crinoline thingy that goes under the dress to make it look fuller and less droopy.


And here is how my Maid of Honor will stand out from my other Bridesmaids:




Sooooooo...What do you think?
Did I choose a good dress that eludes elegance, class, beauty, flattery, and my awesome color combination?! :)

I sure hope so!!

Wedding Nightmares

Are wedding nightmares normal for a Bride-To-Be?

Lately, I have legit been having several random nightmares every night about my wedding.

In no particular order, here are some of the ones that I can remember:

1. My Engagement Ring was stolen. The End.
2. My Engagement Ring was stolen, but this time I got it back...And all but the center diamond (which is the largest out of all of the diamonds) were missing...And the ring looked like someone tried to weld it or something so you couldn't tell that 2 big diamonds and 8 little diamonds were missing from it. (Why didn't the thief take the biggest diamond, too? LOL)
3. My Mom and I checked out the Reception Hall the morning of the wedding (which looked nothing like my real-life reception hall) and the paint was falling off the walls and it just looked like total crap.
4. My reception centerpieces were all wrong.
5. My color scheme at the reception somehow became red and black instead of pink and black. (I know red is close to pink...But still not what I want!)
6. I am about to walk down the aisle when I realize I forgot to get my hair done. (LMAO!)
7. The dream started at the reception and no one could find Jon. The ceremony wasn't shown in my dream, but everyone kept saying that they hadn't seen him since our "I Dos". (Which when you think about it, it means we DID get married...So he didn't stand me up or anything! In real life, he keeps saying "Just give me the date and time and I'll be at the Church" So, maybe he thought his part of the wedding was done at that point? Haha) But as the dream progressed we couldn't find him for 3 days...(And then I woke up, so I don't know what ended up happening.)
8. I am really, really FAT at my wedding...I look bad and so does my dress!! (Ugh! Talk about a nightmare!)

I know I have had a lot more wedding disaster dreams...I just can't think of any others right now.

Jon says I just keep thinking about what I have been worrying about and stressing over.

All I know is that we are 227 days away from the wedding, and I reallyyyy have a ton left to do! No exaggeration!!

I am going to a Bridal Show Friday Night and another Bridal Show Sunday Afternoon...So hopefully those will help me out.

However, I have been to so many shows, I have probably seen pretty much every vendor out there...So now I just have to pick who I like the best, and compare their prices as well.

AHHHHHH!!! SO MUCH TO DO!!

Wedding planning was way more fun and way less stressful before I was officially engaged! Ha

Current Wedding Stressers!

Everyone knows how I want my wedding theme to be the black and white damask pattern.

The biggest places I was going to display said pattern was on my wedding cake and on my table runners.

However in order for the pattern to be on the wedding cake that I designed, it will probably need to have fondant. So I will need to go for a cake and fondant tasting. Because if it is not going to taste good, I am not going to buy a cake that looks good but tastes like crap...And then no one will want to eat it and it will just get thrown out.
If that is the case, then I need to design a new wedding cake...I have an idea in mind, but it would be without the damask design.


And as far as my table runners go, I haven't bought enough fabric yet...And I haven't actually started making any runners yet.


If I don't have my damask on my cake or on my table runners then my wedding is just going to be black and pink...Very Sweet 16...And less wedding-elegant.


Oh and I never actually got around to posting about all of my other updates...Including my Bridesmaid Dresses.

They are solid black gorgeous gowns with what should be fuchsia sashes. However, David's Bridal doesn't have any hot pink colors. Only Watermelon or Azalea...And that Azalea is being discontinued soon.
So after a long debate I chose Watermelon. So already my dream color scheme is getting screwed up and forced to be changed from what I want.

Not to mention how very very behind I have become on my wedding planning.
I became very focused on the Holidays and less focused on my wedding.

But I am back to trying to plan this wedding now.


I typed up a 4-page list in Word of the majority of what I have left to do...

I am soooo stressed right now!!