Caption this!

Well we just got our photos from Michael and they're great! While we're going through them (there's ~1200 of them) we figures we'd post a few teasers that we really liked, and have some fun with everyone coming up with captions. As soon as we get through them all we'll send you all a link to check them all out, and purchase copies of any you want (we'll be done by the end of next week, right before we go on the cruise with V+K). The best captions will be selected by totally impartial judges Kevin and Tracie and posted on Facebook. So in the meantime here's the first photo for you all to come up with captions for :)

All wrapped up

Yesterday, I went for a cellulite reduction wrap at Glenda's Day Spa in Bel Air, MD.  One of my friends suggested such a wrap when I was complaining about the tightness of my dress, and while I think she was kind of kidding, I figured I'd try it:
1.  Out of curiosity.
2.  Maybe it will really help!
3. To be kind of funny

For the wrap, I'll give you my version of what happened, then I'll cut and paste the description from the website, which is a little more technical.

My version:
(after the getting undressed and all that)
1.  She brushed me lightly with a brush to exfoliate and stimulate my pores (I actually understood this pretty well).
2.  She smeared some kind of warm cream on me.
3.  She smeared some other kind of warm cream on me.
4.  Then, she painted me with mud.
5.  I was then wrapped in a sheet of mylar, a warming blanket, and a regular blanket, like one of those Taco Bell things that's a chalupa wrapped in a tortilla wrapped in a pizza wrapped in a pancake, or whatever.  I got toasty and drowsy and took a nap.
6.  She unwrapped me, wiped as much mud off as she could, then I showered the rest off.

Their version:  

Centerpiece

As promised (or suggested as a possibility), here is our centerpiece! My original thought was to scatter some skeleton leaves around the bottom of the mirror, but it ended up looking a little tacky, so we're going to keep it simple. Kevin, who can be seen in the reflection of the glass door, prefers it that way. :-)

Things you never knew you needed to know about centerpieces

When I read various DIY (do-it-yourself) and indie-bride blogs, I don't feel as though we're doing a lot of DIY stuff for our wedding; in fact, I feel like we could be doing more.  But, considering more closely at how much DIY we've seen at family and friends weddings, and what it FEELS like doing what we ARE doing, perhaps we ARE doing quite a lot!  Some projects are things that I found online, but for most we are just winging it.   What has been most challenging about that is knowing how much of any supply to purchase, since I haven't had a "recipe" to follow.  Though, come to think of it, I probably could have looked some of this stuff up, but who knows where to even start?

So, I wanted to post some of the "amounts" for our centerpieces we discovered through trial and error...hoping that someone who needs this same information will figure out what to Google to find it on our little blog.  Also a list of random things I never thought I needed to know, but now I do!

By the way, our centerpieces are half-gallon canning jars with candles and glass rocks inside, tied with a ribbon, and placed on a mirror.  Cute and rustic!  Maybe I'll post a picture tonight.

Best flowers in Baltimore!

We haven't been posting much lately, you know, because we have a wedding to plan (AND IT's NINE DAYS AWAY ZOMG!), but I did want to share that our florist, Local Color Flowers was named Best Green Business by the Baltimore City Paper!  Makes me feel good about our flowers.  If the work she features on her blog is any indication, our flowers should be just as beautiful as they are "green!"

Keven and Tracie's One-Month FREAK OUT!

So, yesterday marked one month until our wedding.  That means we have three more weekends.  It's crunch time!  Here's what we have accomplished:

Kevin's Ideas: The Processional Song

So Tracie has been after me to post stuff to the blog. Specifically all the "great ideas" that I have that get shot down ... Things like exchanging vows in pig latin, or addressing the reply cards to "Current Resident" ...

So the idea I came up with yesterday was for the song that they'll play while we all walk down the aisle. Tracie had a few suggestions of classical songs, but for well known classical songs (other than the Imperial Death March from star wars) I immediately thought of Arron Copeland's - Howdown from Rodeo. You probabaly know it better as the "Beef it's what's for dinner song" so not only did I think that might work well, I thought we should put instructions in the program that at the end of the song as we finish our exit, we could have everyone stand up and yell "Beef it's what's for dinner" and then go to the reception (after all we're having corned beef) Anyways needless to say that idea got shot down .... That just means I'll have to think of another one ... hmmm something with a trebuchet perhaps ...

-Kevin

Speaking of shoes...

Speaking of shoes, Broke Ass Bride has a tutorial on how to DIY these fabulous Louboutin sandals.















I might totally try this (in ivory, though), if I didn't think I would die in those heels.  I did consider trying to DIY these shoes by Irregular Choice (their shoes are so fun; I just want them all) :

but was unable to find a suitable "base" shoe.  By the way, this particular pair is currently on sale at Ma Petite Shoe in Hampden.

Since our wedding is outdoors, I want to stay away from a pointy heel, lest I sink into the grass.  Also, I never wear pointy heels, and the day of my life when people are going to be scrutinizing me most closely is probably not a good time to start. 

Many of my friends have advised me to not worry about the shoes; who's going to see them, anyway?  I get that, I really do.  I just have this thing about being coordinated (although it doesn't always show!) and I just want to know that I have the perfect (or as close to perfect as I can get) shoes to go with the dress.  I was truly ready to buy these:

I mean, how perfect are they?  They are totally Tracie-shoes, have a little bit of a thicker heel, and they are even billed as "comfort shoes!"  The problem?  Of course, no one in the internet-world, including the company that makes them (Born) has my size left.  I guess many women with average-sized feet thought they were perfect, too!

So, I think that these shoes from Aldo are going to be it:

I love the little ruffles, but what sold me was that the store will custom stretch the shoes to fit my wide feet, so they should (fingers crossed) end up fitting perfectly.  I get my dress this weekend, so I just hope that these are "ivory" enough.

Shoes!

What about these bad boys for wedding shoes?

Just to be clear, that IS rainbow glitter on there.

Fun!  These are available at Modcloth.com.  Me?  I plan on going with something a *little* more traditional...but have still yet to confirm.  :-)

Wait, there are going to be people at this wedding?

Over vacation, while avoiding the cancerous rays of the mid-day sun (Kevin's idea), instead of reading or completing a puzzle as we usually do, we DIY'd 96 wedding invitations. They went to the post office in Corolla, NC before we left on Friday, and should be arriving any day now! Kind of fun that they'll be postmarked from the Outer Banks. I'll take a few pictures and upload them later if anyone's interested in the handiwork or would like to steal our idea. :)

Does this wedding make me look fat?

I'm pretty much fine with my shape and size. I wouldn't describe myself as fat, I think I'm cute most of the time, I have a fiance who thinks I'm hot, and construction workers will still holla at me now and then. It also comes down to that I don't want to be thinner enough to change my diet and lifestyle to do so.  So, whatever.

The moment I changed my Facebook status from "In a Relationship" to "Engaged," one of many ads that appeared on the right side of my screen, in addition to wedding photography and $99 dresses, was ads for “wedding diets.”  What in the world is a “wedding diet?”  They are also featured prominently on wedding website in both ads and discussion boards.

Why do we suddenly feel compelled to go on a diet just because we’re getting married?  If anything, we should be feeling our most confident.  Our men find us beautiful, and love us with our round hips and belly pudge – not even *in spite* of these things; they think they’re “cute” or “hot,” even.

But, even though I haven’t really dieted or exercised in like, two years, I’m working out 4-5 times a week and watching what I eat.  I know it’s better for me and I should’ve been doing it all along, but it annoys me that I feel compelled to because I’m getting married.  For me, it’s because when they stuffed and laced me up into those beautiful corseted dresses, they squeezed my belly fat into an attractive hour-glass, but I still have these giggly sausage arms flopping around on top of that sleek silhouette.

So, maybe this wedding *does* make me look fat? But maybe it will end up making me look thinner. Maybe healthier, too.

Engagement Photos

We opted to not bother with "engagement photos."  Frankly, this sounds a bit of a wedding industry scam to me.  It's not like there was a photographer there when we got engaged to capture the moment.  I mean, that would've been kind of cool, but it definitely would've given me a heads-up that something was about to happen ("um...Kevin...why is there a man with a camera in my living room?").  I don't think we looked any different after we got engaged, and we have a million pictures from before then, and I'm sure will have a million (or two or five) more.

I do get it, though.  Who doesn't want a professional photo shoot?  And it's great to have lovely professional photos of yourself.  With the wedding coming so fast, we didn't think it was worth it.  By the time they got turned around and printed, it would have been long past the time when we would've done anything practical with them like include them on a save the date.  And, we're getting beautiful lovely photos taken of us...on our wedding day.

But I say all this to introduce this awesome site featured on one of the wedding blogs I've been reading:

Awkward Engagement Photos

Glad that wasn't us!

A Slow Boat to China

So, I haven't been able to update this wedding blog as much as I have wanted.  I am going to try to be better!  I guess I shouldn't be surprised that planning a wedding is more stressful than anticipated.  I plan events for a living, you know?  I plan and host two sessions of New Student Orientation that have over 400 attendees apiece, with coordinated workshops, activities and meals.  I though a wedding would be a snap!  :-)


But the thing that's been stressful lately, that I didn't anticipate, has not been picking out a caterer, photographer, or officiant (more on some of those, later), but getting items onto our gift registries so people have things to get us.  At first it was fun.  Kevin and I have had some ideas of appliances and other kitchen upgrades that we wanted.  We had maybe a dozen ideas.  Then, we learn that a rule of thumb for registries is to have twice as many gifts on your registry as you expect guests at the wedding.  This is to account for multiple bridal showers, and also the fact that wedding guests often put a number of low-cost items together s a package.  So, we need to register for something like 250 items!  Do we really need 250 new things?

(We may want to consider adding some charitable donations to an organization we care about as a gift choice.)

What made this even more difficult is that Kevin and I are planning on building or buying a new house within the next year.  This is a good thing, because there's no way all that loot is going to fit in our current townhome. What has been extremely challenging has been trying to envision what our new place will look like, what decor we want for each of the rooms, so we can request things that will go with the new house once we have it.  So, in addition to planning a wedding, I am also planning an entire house decor, which is a project unto itself!

Last night, we finally picked our china pattern.  I never imagined myself as someone who would pick a china pattern!  We obviously have plates, but they are dated and very country (the recently retired Heartland from Pfaltzgraff), so we wanted to upgrade to something a little more modern and timeless (does that make sense???).  I cannot explain how stressful choosing plates has been!  Kevin and I have very different tastes - he likes sleek, modern, and simple, whereas I like designs that are more unique, bright, and fun.  If I didn't have to share these plates with someone else for the rest of my life, I could have picked something easily.  Instead, I've spent probably 15 hours over the past week and a half exploring every dinnerware pattern known to man.  And then there's Kevin's concerns (always practical) - are they sturdy?  will they chip?  can we put them in the dishwasher?  what's the most durable?

So - single ladies - if you want plates with girly, flowery patterns, get them NOW!  Don't wait until you have to compromise with a man!  He will not want your flower patterns!

Although, I guess a lot of girls just pick out the dishes and don't worry about what their partner thinks.

But anyway, we went with something sleek and white, with kind of an interesting border.  I see it as a blank palette that I can use all sorts of interesting accessories and serving items with.  And they're timeless, so we shouldn't have to pick out new ones, and I can just swap out the fun accessories.

If you care about such things, we went with Mikasa's Antique White.  They got OUTSTANDING reviews on Amazon.

 Now on to finding those fun accessories!

Yes to the Dress

After trying on no fewer than 25 dresses in 5 different shops and having about 18 "favorites," I finally selected a dress Saturday afternoon.

As I mentioned before, I suspected that I am not a person who would "fall in love" with a dress.  And I didn't.  I noticed a pattern emerging - the last dress that I tried at any particular store that I actually liked became my new favorite.  And I would go back and look at the photos later, and think, "eh, that dress wasn't so great, after all."  Because of this, I knew that I would have to go back and look at all of the photos of all of the "favorites" to come to my decision.

More About Dresses

Last Friday, while my parents were in town, my mom accompanied me and my entourage on another dress shopping expedition.  I suspected it from the beginning, but am now convinced that I am not the type of woman to find the ONE dress.  I think I've tried on around 15 dresses so far, and almost all of them I like well enough, but I haven't had one that made me think "wow!"  I think I've come to terms with that.  I plan to go to a few more places this weekend with my best friend, and will make a decision before she leaves.  Who knows, I may still fall in love with a dress this weekend, but I'm not going to despair if I don't.

So, last week, we went to Juliet's Bridal in Parkville, MD.  It's definitely one of those places that you are not likely to just happen upon.  I saw online that they were having a sale, so I wanted to check it out.  They didn't have a huge selection of sale wedding gowns in my size, but the woman found several beautiful ones within my price range.  The woman was very nice, and I appreciated that she immediately realized that an ivory gown would be more flattering to my complexion than a white gown.  I have a viable option at that store, but considering that almost all of the gowns I'm interested in are off-the-rack, it may or may not still be there if I decide to go back for it.

We then went to Amanda Ritchey in Fallston, MD.  We had a great first impression of this place - the space is beautiful and pink, with cutesy antique settees and tables.  I thought for a moment that I had found the ONE hanging on the wall, but it didn't live up to its promise once I put it on.  I also ended up being a little turned off by the sales person, as she tried to talk my budget up, then wouldn't tell me how much the dresses cost before I tried them on.  I specifically asked, "How much is this dress?"  and she answered, "Well, it's on sale, and wait to see how much you're going to save!"  I sort of resent being manipulated in that way.  There were two dresses there that I really liked, both out of my real price range. 

She redeemed herself a few days ago, though.  She emailed me to let me know that the designer of one of the dresses I really liked had recently gone out of business, so she would be able to give me the dress for $500, putting it in my price range.  I'm going to take my BF there this weekend to see what she thinks, because I'm not going to let a grudge get in the way of what might be my best option for a dress.

One thing that I've discovered is that late June and early July seem to be ideal times to go wedding dress shopping.  Many of the shops are clearing out the "2010 models" for the "2011 models," just like cars.  And who can tell the difference between the 2010 and 2011-style dresses?  It's not like they're trying to pawn off dresses from 1988 or anything.  Whatever!  I'm happy to benefit!

So, today we go to the Columbia Bridal Boutique, then tomorrow we're going to hit up Poor Little Rich Girl again (since I realized that all of their samples are 50% off, that puts some dresses in my range that I initially thought were not), back to Amanda Ritchey, then up to K&B Bridal in Bel Air. 

If I end up with nothing, I'm considering ordering a custom dress from Ieie's Dress Boutique online.  Some of her stuff is really beautiful!

Wedding Dresses, Take One

As I mentioned, I am interested in making our wedding as eco and socially responsible as possible, without sacrificing a beautiful wedding or breaking the budget.  As such, when looking for a dress, my preference would be to find a consignment dress, or a dress that is either American-made or of eco-friendly materials, or, at least, a dress from a local boutique, not  wedding mega-chain. I began my search last night at Poor Little Rich Girl in Perry Hall,  MD.

I have driven past the Poor Little Rich Girl for the past couple of years, completely assuming that it was a consignment shop.  With a name like Poor Little Rich Girl?  How could it not be?  So, I was surprised when I called about their hours the other day to find out that they are actually NOT a consignment shop, at all.  But, they were having a huge moving sale, so I decided to give them a try, anyway.  I at least wanted to get an idea of what styles of gowns might suit me, so if I decide to try craigslist or Recycled Bride, I would at least be able to narrow my search a little.

I found Poor Little Rich Girl to be quite reasonably priced, even more so with their moving sale.  I found a dress that I would be happy getting, and the price on the tag was within my budget, then come to find out - it's an off-the-rack, so it would be an extra 50% off!  SWOON!  It's difficult for me to resist a bargain, but I really feel like I want to look at a few more places before buying.  I am a little nervous about that dress disappearing if I don't find anything I like more, so I may go this Friday when my parents are down, rather than waiting until the following weekend when my BF visits, like I wanted to initially.

Oh Nom Nom Nom

You know, I was thinking of a classy, DIY card box that looked like a cake or something, but this guy, featured on Offbeat Bride, is pretty cool!

What would be other creative ideas for a card box?

Wedding Blog?

Why keep a wedding blog?  One, because we are really excited about this process and eager to share what is going on.  I think some people will care - I hope they do!  We want to get people excited about our big day.  I also hope that, through recording our planning process, we can help other couples who are getting married:

1.  On a short timetable,
2.  on a budget,
3.  while trying to be at least a little socially/eco-conscious.

If those couples are in the Baltimore metro area, then that's a bonus!   I hope that we can provide some resources and helpful discussion - we'll also continue to update our favorite wedding links and blogs on the left navigation.

Warning:  There may also be some philosophizing about the nature of weddings, relationships, traditions, etc.   So, these may not all be seemingly-vapid posts about flowers, bows, and butterflies!

We hope you enjoy reading about our journey to our big day, and that we offer something helpful and maybe even thought-provoking.  :-)