Bridal Showers!

The first time I mentioned my Bridal Shower was when we were still planning on Honeymooning in Hawaii. So obviously my theme changed from a Hawaiian luau to more of just a tropical beach paradise. I first considered a Mexico theme, but wasn't feeling sombreros and donkeys. Plus, that's not the part of Mexico we are honeymooning in anyway.

So, like I said in that first post, my Mom wanted the whole Bridal Shower to be a surprise.

So we tried to compromise...It is half a surprise. LOL

I mean, I know the date and location and time of the shower. (My Mom didn't want me to know when and where it was, but I said I HAD to know so I can get my nails and hair done and wear a cute dress.)

I also let them know the kind of food I wanted at the shower...And the theme that I wanted.

But I actually don't know anything else about it.

My Bridesmaids and my Mom are taking care of everything else. My Mom won't even let me see the guest list! Well, I know who was invited, but she isn't letting me know who has RSVPed as a 'Yes' or a 'No'. So that way when I get there the guests will at least be a surprise to me.

The funny thing is, that despite the invitations for the shower having my mom's number to call and RSVP to, a lot of girls have been RSVPing to me.

Most of my family is scattered all around the US in various states, so I don't really expect any far away person to travel for the shower and then again for the wedding. So I am really only expecting local people to show up. Of course, we kind of lack local people. Haha

I am really excited to see if any of my best friends who are like 6 hours away are going to come or not...Their RSVPs are still a surprise to me!

So my only job for this shower is to look cute and show up!

But that is actually not so easy...

I have an appointment for a pedicure and for acrylic tips...And I have an appointment for my hair to be colored and highlighted...

But I am having the HARDEST time finding a dress I want to wear to the shower!!

Originally I was looking for a cute flowery sun dress to go with the luau theme. But with the change of plans, I decided I still wanted a cute flowery dress, but maybe slightly more formal than just a sun dress.

Either way, I have been trying dresses on for monthhhsssss and I have yet to find a dress I'm in love with.

Actually, the few that I found that I'm in LOVE with are anywhere between $150-$300...Which is just ridiculous.

And I actually need two dresses. Because I am actually having two Bridal Showers!

The one on June 5th is being thrown by my Mom and my Bridesmaids.

The one on July 24th is being thrown by my Future Mother-In-Law and her sister. :)

Jon's family lives a few hours away...So it was just easier to have one shower close to where they live, to keep people from having to travel.

That shower is a complete surprise to me...Besides the date and time. I have no idea what the place looks like, what will be served, or even who will be there!

I love surprises...But I am just impatient! Haha

But I am glad to have some stuff be a surprise.

And something that I have definitely noticed that throughout this entire wedding planning process: I am a control freak and I have issues relinquishing control.

So like as stressful as it is to do most of this alone, I really would prefer it that way.

So anyway, I have 16 days left until my first Bridal Shower and 65 days left until my second Bridal Shower.

I am stressing a little over not getting a dress I love in time. But I am trying not to, because that is such a silly thing to stress over.

This & That

I decided I am stressing so much that wedding planning is no longer fun. So I am going to go back to just looking up cute random wedding things, like back in the day when this was still stress-free and fun.

I am pretty positive that I need to order that garter set!!

That one is cute too because the 'B' in the photo can be customized to an 'H' in my case...Or 'August 21, 2010' or something. So that's cute and I like the personalization.

Another cute set. I am very specific about the pattern being black with a white background...There are a lot with black background and white pattern.

Of course I can always forget the damask theme and just go with black and pink.

Or I can always try to find one that is just solid hot pink.

More random cute stuff:

How cute is this luggage tag? Hehe

Oh, also, I went to 552 different stores over the weekend to look for bridal shoes. And I think I found the ones I want:

I am pretty much in Love. :)

Permission to FREAK OUT!

I know I wrote a while back about the hard time I was having finding a flower girl dress. The ones I loved the most were like over $150...And who is going to spend that on a 2 year old that will only be wearing the dress for a few hours?!

Sooooo I did some research and found some sites that offer discounted knock-off dresses. I finally found a website that makes replicas in China, at half the price.

The only complaints I could find about the site was that some people didn't realize they were ordering replicas and not straight from the real manufacturer. And like two people complained about the quality being a little cheaply made.

I figured I would take the chance and order the flower girl dress from there. Because she is only going to run around in it for a few hours, so who cares if it is not the greatest quality, right?

So I contacted the company in China about two months ago and found out the color they recommended that would be closest to David's Bridal's Watermelon.

And I went ahead and placed the order.

That is the dress I ordered. Only I ordered the white dress to be in Watermelon and the tan sash to be in black. It looks just like a miniature version of my bridesmaid's dresses...And I purposely made it the opposite colors of theirs, which is black dress with Watermelon sash.

So the dress should have cost like $150+ but by ordering the replica from China it only cost $70 including shipping and tax and everything! I thought that was a good deal. And I knew I was taking a gamble, but I went ahead with it anyway.

So yesterday the dress came in. And, well, the quality is great! So I don't know what people were complaining about.

But then I took out the bridesmaid's sashes and held it up to the dress...And OMG I FREAKED OUT!! The color is soooo wrong! It is way too light of a pink.

And the dress looks HUGE! I have no idea how a two year old is going to fit in it and not trip down the aisle! I know I am short (only 5 feet) but when I held the dress up to me, it went down to my knees! AND the bottom of the dress is a balloon hem, so I don't know if it can be shortened or not. And it probably can be taken apart and put back together by a professional seamstress...But won't that cost like $100? And doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of going with a discounted dress?

So yeah, I admit, I had a panic attack and cried...Quite a bit of crying, actually.

But then after a few hours of thinking about it, I started to get a little more positive. I thought about the good things about the dress:

1) It really is a similar style to the bridesmaids, so she'll match very nicely as far as that goes.

2) The quality of the dress is not at all crappy

3) It came in a week earlier than they said it would

4) My bridesmaid's dresses are NOT solid pink...Only their sashes are. So if you don't hold the sash up to the dress (like I did) then maybe no one will notice how different the colors are?

I don't know...I know I will always be able to tell how the colors are not the same. But I am trying to look on the bright side. Like I said, if my girl's dresses were solid Watermelon, then the flower girl dress would stick out like a sore thumb. But I am hoping it won't be so noticeable.

Now I just have to worry about the length of the dress. Maybe she'll grow in the next 3 months. LOL

Later I will take a picture of the dress and the sash to show the comparison. I couldn't bring myself to do it last night.

But for now I will post the pictures my sister took with her camera phone yesterday...I was at work when the dress came and she opened it and took pictures and sent them to me.

Here is the front of the dress on my bed:

Here is my Grandmother holding up the front of the dress:

Here is my Grandmother holding up the back of the dress:

OK I need to stop looking at these pictures...Because the more I look at them, I am starting to freak out again at how HUGE it looks...

:-\

Ring Pillow & Flower Basket

Back in November I purchased a lot of black and white damask fabric. I was planning on making many projects with the fabric. That was 6 months ago, and I have yet to make anything.

One of the projects I was going to make was an aisle runner. That so is no longer happening. I don't even think that I am having an aisle runner at all anymore. I don't think my church supplies one, and I just don't have the money to buy or make one. How necessary are they, anyway?

So another project I was excited about was using the damask fabric to make the ring bearer's pillow and the flower girl's basket.

I was going to make something like those.

However, to make my life easier, my Mom bought me these this weekend:

So they aren't damask at all. But they are cute. I do love the sparkly heart rhinestone.

And also, now I have one less project to worry about. Even though I like to do crafts. Oh well.

I appreciate the help.

Just means no damask at the ceremony.

However, I think I remember David Tutera saying that your ceremony and reception should have separate themes. So, there 'ya go.

Of course I now have extra damask fabric.

*~*~*100 MORE DAYS*~*~*

Today marks exactly 100 days left until I get to marry my Best Friend!! :)

It occurred to me today that back at the beginning of the engagement (exactly 7 Months & 3 days ago) I was all about the DYI projects and doing everything I can to save money. And now, I am still all about trying to save money, but a little less DYI and a little more just wanting to pay someone to get it all done.

I am still going to have friends and family help make me the reception table squares, instead of just ordering them on Etsy or somewhere. But there are a few other things here and there that I was all about wanting to make myself, that now I just want it done and it will be easier to pay someone else to do it for me.

I mean, depending on the particular project...Because I LOVE crafts! So if it is something that I will sit and have fun making, then I'll do it. But if it just going to stress me out, I really need to start taking care of myself better...So if paying someone to make my ceremony programs (for example) so I don't have to stress out doing it, I might just go ahead and spend the extra money to calm down and know that it is taken care of and one less thing for me to worry about.

We are now 102 days away from the wedding. And needless to say, I am in panic mode.

Yes, I am very excited.

Our invitations came in on Friday, and they rock! I want to post pictures of them here, but I also don't want to spoil the surprise for everyone who will be receiving one in the mail.

There are a lot of little details that are still left to take care of.

And some of them are things I thought I had taken care of a long time ago...Like even before we were officially engaged.

Such as how I want to wear my hair. Or what shoes I will want to wear. Or what kind of flowers I want the baker to make out of gum-paste to top off our wedding cake with.

Now I am starting to freak out that I cannot make any decisions.

And I have been stressing myself and running myself down so much that I keep getting sick.

At least we are pretty situated with out new house. We are moved in, just have a bit of unpacking and organizing left to do. But at least that is one huge thing that I can stop worrying about right now.

Shoes

So as we all know, I have been dying to wear hot pink shoes for my wedding. However, I am having the HARDEST time finding any shoes that I like. I have gone to a lot of stores and have spent countless hours searching online.

So I am starting to wonder if I should just go back traditional white.

It is hard to find the perfect shoe for me.
A few things to consider:
1) I have very weak ankles, so I can't wear stiletto heels, I am best with thick heels or wedges. 2) 2) On flat feet Jon is only like 3 or 4 inches taller than me, so I don't want to get heels that as so big that I'm taller than him.
3) My dress is pretty damn near impossible to shorten, due to all of the details throughout the entire dress. Also, the dress is actually a petite size, so if I get a shoe with around a 3 inch or so heel, the dress won't need to be shorted. (I have to double check on the exact measurement)


Some shoes I just came across:



Bling!




More Bling!