Bridesmaid Brunch

So back in December I had a brunch for my bridesmaids. I wanted to give them all a chance to meet. Not to mention our mothers haven't even met yet. So I figured this would be a good chance and best part of all was my sister was home from college so everyone would be able to make it. Everything went well except for when the power in almost the whole city went our a few days prior to the brunch. Our original place had to be switched since they still didn't have power! All and all it went well. You an see the girls posing with their afghans that my grandma made. I picked out the colors for each girl based on their personalities and favorite colors. Here are some pictures.


This is my sister giving a speech and the really pretty scrap book pictures she mounted and framed for me. And my mom gave me a Eiffel tower vase.

Shoe Signing

I think I want to try a turkish tradition with my maids. Its actually a who-will-marry-next tradition that Turkish brides have been practicing for generations. Before you start down the aisle, have your single bridesmaids (or any female friends or relatives who’ve yet to marry) autograph the sole of your bridal shoe. After you’ve danced the night away (and tossed your bouquet), legend has it that the person whose name has faded the most will be the next to marry. Good old Martha Stewart had this info!

Just being helpful

Not that I am a control freak or anything like that. But I do know what will drive me nuts. So I went ahead and had a solid plan do's and don't that I gave to my bridesmaids and both mothers. Hey I figured that way nobody would have any hurt feelings come wedding day. And I don't have to go all bridezilla on anyone. Can you think of anything that I left off?
Wedding day dos and don’ts.
Do be ready to have a lot of fun!!!
Do show up on time. I will get you a wedding day/day before schedule long before the time arrives. Please let me know of any schedule conflicts.
Do feel free to give me any suggestions. I may not use them but they are appreciated.
Do buy a good strapless bra & neutral colored thong. I don’t want anything to sag and everyone will be looking at you butt so pantie lines are a no-no.
Do wear make-up that you are comfortable with. If you would like to get your make-up done with me at Nordstrom let me know. If not, all I ask is that your make-up is tasteful and in natural colors (no rainbow faces).
Do let me know if you are not comfortable with something. If it’s the dress, the shoes or who you are walking down the aisle with. Whatever it is let me know ASAP that way we can avoid any problems on the day.
Do eat something. I will be having a sleepover for my final night at my parent’s house. Bridesmaids are welcome to come if not make sure you eat something that morning.
Don’t wear a lot of jewelry on the day of the wedding. Two rings per hand and small diamond or pearl studs in your ear. No bracelets and no necklaces.
Don’t forget to paint your nails. If you all agree on wearing open toes shoes please please please take the time out to paint your toe nails. Remember its is summer so keep the colors bright and pretty. I will be getting a Mani-pedi before the rehearsal dinner and I would love for all my girls to join me but I know some people may have to work so don’t feel bad if you cannot make it.
Don’t have some crazy hairdo. See below for some examples of how I would like your hair to look. Half up and half down. Simple and romantic. With no accessories in your hair (no flowers and no sparkles). I will be getting my hair done please let me know if you want an appointment by March 1st.

So many shoes and only two feet

Yes that really is my moto. Well actually it was the moto my dad said should be my moto and it just kinds stuck with me. Now on one of the biggest days of my life I get to pick out new shoes! There are so many web sites to look at that it makes my heart palpitate.
www.bellissimabridalshoes.com
www.zappos.com
www.eluxury.com
Now even though I love shoes I will not spend over $100 on my bridal shoes. And luckily I dont think I will have to. The groom and I are the same height so he semi requested without really asking for me to avoid my normal sky high heels and get something a little closer to his level. Keep a eye out for some of my shoe choices!

Like a kid in a candy shop...

We have long decided that we rather spend our money that would normally go to candy favors, we would donate money in memory of our two uncles that are no longer with us. But if we were doing favors I would love to have Dylan's candy bar to shop in. We don't have one here yet but her site alone just looks amazing. Candy galore! I am a serious chocolate freak so I would be in heaven there! http://www.dylanscandybar.com

Sports widow

I recently saw a segment on TV about sports widows. And I sure could relate to these women. My wonderful fiancé loves and I mean LOVES sports. Football and basketball are the main two. I never imagined that I would have to compete with sweaty men for his attention. But I do. And I normally do it willingly. Since I already have my frilly under things picked out, now I have moved my attention to the world of garters. As I looked through various sites and stores I have found that like wedding cakes the sky is the limit to what you can do with your garter. So far my front runner is a sports themed garter with our college alma mater as the theme. What do you think? Also do you like the idea of a gater or you think they are just a waste of money?

Bootylicious

That is right my booty is bootylicious! Well at least that is what I tell myself. So I need something to cover my bootylicious butt on the wedding day. Since my dress has a fuller skirt I can pretty much wear any thing under my dress on the lower half. Now you may remember in my earlier post about wedding colors. The groom veto'd any color of pink. But like Elle Woods in Legally blond, pink is my signature color. I have been a card carrying member of the pink is my color club since I was 4. So I had to sneak it in somewhere. So why not under my dress. Honeydew makes these totally cute frilly panties! Love them!

How Steel Magnolias Inspired Me

One of my favorite movies is Steel Magnolias. If you haven’t seen it, then I will not ruin the ending. But in it there is a wedding being planned Julia Roberts character Shelby has a divine southern wedding planned with her colors of blush and bashful. Which in reality are two shades of pink. One scene has the characters discussing the groom’s cake. Shelby aunt has offered to make a devils food cake in the shape of an armadillo! A lot of southern traditions don’t get used here in Seattle but I just casually mentioned to the groom what he would think about a groom’s cake. He thought it would be OK only when I said we could do something fun with it. Like something with our college Alma mater. But then I saw this online and he loved the idea.


We haven’t really officially decided if this will even be done, basically we still need to see if it would be a pointless waist of money. But his enthusiasm over it was so funny to me.

Smile! Your on candid camera!

Ok maybe I am crazy and was under a rock when this was announced but did you know they have one time use video cameras? I wasn’t really digging the idea of putting a camera on tables for candid moments but candid video moments is way more my taste

Its mine all mine!!!!

Yeah we booked our honeymoon! As I just blogged about last week we had decided to go to the Virgin Islands but we wanted to keep an eye on prices. Well the prices went down so we pounced. This is actually the second cheapest holiday I have ever taken. The cheapest was Brazil. We will be spending a wonderful week relaxing and enjoying the spa, ocean and island hopping. I checked on my favorite web site that I don’t travel without tripadvisor.com and our hotel had really good reviews. Now I do take the reviews on the site with a grain of salt but it is always good to know what the general impression of the hotels are. Just look at how pretty it is!