Alternatives to The Wedding Cake

With each wedding I attend, I think about how mine can be different. One part of the wedding that is always unimpressive is the cake! Brides spend sometimes thousands of dollars on a dessert that is often tasteless. In addition, by the time the cake is cut, the guests are either too tired or drunk to care what it looks like or tastes like!

So....I have decided against the cake and am thinking of other ideas instead. So far, the cupcake idea is all that comes to mind. I have also found the doughnut "cake" online as well. Anyone have any other non-traditional ideas instead of the wedding cake?

Website Woes

I had this brilliant idea that my fiance' could whip up a website for our wedding since the freebies that The Knot or Brides.com give you don't provide enough space for everything we need to include for our "destination wedding". So we picked a name, bought the site, and we were off; Doc (the fiance) is really quite savvy when it comes to technology so I figured this little bitty website would be no big deal to set up. I selected a inspiration website something to model our site after, and I compiled all the information to be included such as travel & accommodations links, scheduled events, even a link to RSVP online! I handed this seemingly simple project over to Doc with high expectations. 48 hours later were at each others throats after I reviewed his idea of a "cool" website complete with bachelor colors and our names written in the Time's New Roman font! How did this happen? I gave a model site which should have eliminated all "creative" input. It looks like were opening a billiards hall! I did try to mask my disappointment and gingerly request that we change the font to something softer more wedding appropriate however, this apparently is no small task because in the world of flash there is no such thing as a small change! So now he's pissed and snapping at all my "little" changes but I can't just let it go. I feel like this website will set the tone for our wedding and it's all about the details! I hate to say it but that website template at the wedding channel.com is looking pretty good right now!

As if planning my wedding was'nt enough...

Of course my older sister would get engaged three weeks after me and make a mad dash for the alter to secure her position as the first to tie the knot! Whatever, she's the oldest so everything is as it should be:) My sister settled on August 23 as her wedding date and since it's right around the corner I figured I'd better get the ball rolling on her bridal shower. I decided to throw her a lingerie shower because she has all the crystal and china she wants and there is really nothing she needs (she's the type to see something she likes and buy it; it makes Christmas shopping difficult.) Anyway, while looking for my own wedding invitation inspiration I came across Wardrobe Stationary which offers custom stationary inspired by fashion! Wardrobe Stationery has a collection of reasonably priced high-style, fashion-inspired patterns and design elements that you customize. There design/patterns could work for any occaision and even satisfy the most couture bride. For the shower selected a sexy but tasteful stationary with a design that resembles a black lace garter on raspberry paper. It's perfect! Now all I have to do is decide on which games to play... oh and a menu...and location; I'll keep you posted!

Photos courtesy of Wardrobe Stationary

Money, Money, Money!

I'm a local gal and therefore my newspaper of choice is the Washington Post. I have a few columns and live chats that I'm quite addicted to, one of which is Michelle Singletary's personal finance column, "The Color of Money."

Michelle has a real no nonsense approach to debts, mortgages, credit cards, any personal money matter. Her advice is, IMHO, pretty rock solid (though as she often says, she is a columnist, not a financial advisor). She's authored a few books in addition to penning her regular column for the Post, and running her live chats several times a month.

My new favorite Michelle book is "Your Money and Your Man: How You and Prince Charming Can Spend Well and Live Rich." Michelle covers the many aspects of personal finance with a view to helping the reader (and her man) deal with one of the most common topics of couple disagreement: money. I've actually started making this my standard shower gifts for my close girlfriends because I found it so helpful for Mr. Fairfax and I. So, if you're looking for good advice on combining your finances this is a great read!

Pic from Amazon.com

Michelle ran a wedding related column today with some great links to articles on how to talk about your finances with your intended and what topics to cover. Check it out!

Making a List and Checking It Twice

You'd think it was Christmas from all the people who want to be on the wedding guest list. It's amazing how long-lost people who knew you when you were six months old are suddenly all excited to see you get married.

Both our families have a lot of interest in the guest list, and understandably so. They want to share details of our wedding with family and friends. But it's tough to tell excited parents to keep mum about wedding plans in order that their friends' feelings won't be hurt. Besides, word has a way of spreading around that your kid is getting married. It can't be easy to deal with people who expect to be invited but simply won't be.

So, our families want to know, do we have room for these kinds of guests?

Mom and Dad's best friends. Shouldn't parents be able to invite friends to enjoy the wedding with rather than a whole bunch of your friends?

Random cousins. If we don't invite Cousin Izzy to the wedding, it'll remind Cousin Rosabel about the time that Cousin Ethel didn't invite Izzy's aunt to her wedding, and nobody will speak in our family for years!

We were invited to their wedding and had a lovely time. They were so nice to us and went out of their way to make us feel comfortable. We want to reciprocate!

We'd like to keep the numbers down, but we'd also like to keep everybody happy. It's a delicate negotiation!

The Hunt for the Dress: The End (Seriously)

When I decided I would check out a few bridal salons, I asked a few girlfriends for salons recommendations. One of the suggestions I received was to visit Blush Gowns. Blush is a bridal consignment boutique in Newport News (similar to I Do! I Do! in Gaithersburg) owned by Holly Yaskowsky. Holly opened Blush a few years ago after she had trouble finding a consignment boutique to accept her own gown from her 2003 wedding.

Since I was headed that direction anyway to visit my mom, I made an appointment to stop and see Holly and see some of the dresses at Blush. As I mentioned in my last dress post, sometimes you just have to find the salon that is the right fit for you, and Blush was the perfect fit for me.

Blush has set policies on the types of dresses they accept, so the gowns in the shop are currently in style and in excellent condition. Many of the dresses haven't even been worn (ever hear of the two dress bride?? Blush is familiar with quite a few). According to the website, there are generally about 400+ dresses in stock in sizes ranging from 2 to 24.

Blush Boutique from www.blushgowns.com

I started off my appointment discussing with Holly my budget and style of dress I wanted. We pulled about 10 dresses off the rack in several styles, most of them in my budget, a few above and even one below! I tried on all the dresses and ended up going back to the very first one I tried. After dancing about the store a bit (yes, I knew I had found a great dress and I had to celebrate), I put the dress on hold to think it over and be sure. I called back the next day knowing I had found my perfect dress (good looking dress+great price=Miss Fairfax's perfect dress).

Inside the boutique where I did my victory dance (pic from www.blushgowns.com).

I had a great shopping experience at Blush and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a great dress at a great price, while still getting the bridal salon experience. I have not personally shopped at I Do~ Do, but if you don't want to drive down to Newport News, I would check it out. I Do~I Do also carry some retail gowns (Blush is exclusively consignment).

I plan to return to Blush after my wedding to hopefully consign my dress back. It would certainly be great to recoup some of the costs and also hopefully help out another bride!

New Song for the List of "First Dance" Possiblities

Photo by Stephanie Millner Photography & Design, http://www.stephaniemillner.com/

I was driving down 395 yesterday afternoon (yes, in the crazy storm) and I heard the most charming new song from Jason Mraz, called "I'm Yours." I'm definitely adding it to my list of "Possible First Dance Songs" and at the very least I think it will make an appearance on our play list. If you like Ingrid Michaelson's "The Way I Am" or the Bill Frisell version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" (from Finding Forrester) you will probably enjoy this song.

The Hunt for the Dress: The Trilogy is Complete (Maybe)

I'm back from the wedding this weekend! It was beautiful and I promise to recap in a few days, but first I've got to finish up my "Hunt for the Dress" tale.

When we left off in Part Dos I had come across a number of great inexpensive dresses at Macy's, Nordstrom, Nicole Miller, etc. However, I didn't want to completely discount traditional bridal salons. Even though I was 99% sure I would find my dress elsewhere, I kind of wanted the experience of going into a salon and trying on dresses (how many times in your life do you get to shop for a wedding dress anyway??). Plus, I thought it would be a really fun mother/daughter bonding activity.

I visited two salons in Northern Virginia--a friend and I kind of went on a whim, no appointments. Making an appointment is nearly always recommended though!! I also visited two salons in Southern Virginia with my mom. Both times it was a great experience. Trying dresses on turned out to be much more fun than I ever thought, especially with my mom there!

So here are some thoughts I have on salons:

• Just because you're on a smaller budget doesn't mean you have to avoid salons (this is what I thought at the start of my search). Different salons carry inventory in different price ranges. Some salons do carry inventory starting at $3,000, but others carry dresses beginning under $1,000! Do your research and find a salon that fits you. Price ranges are often listed on salon websites (check The Knot too). If you can't find it there, call the salon and ask!
  

• In my humble opinion, one of the top advantages of salons if having a LOT of dresses in one place. Sometimes the convenience factor can trump the cost factor.
  

• Depending on the salon, the owners or management may have the ability to drop the price a little. I fell in love with a dress at one of the NoVa salons I visited, but I knew it was out of my budget. At the end of my visit, I let the sales associate know I really liked the dress, but it was a little out of my budget. She spoke with the owner and they were able to offer me a 10% discount if I decided to come back and order the dress. I can't say if this is common, but it can't hurt to let the shop know you love the dress, it's just a little out of your reach.
  

• Don't discount sample sales (haha, just a little shopping humor). If your budget allows for the purchase of a pricier dress (say in the $3,000), a sample sale with discounts of 60% can be an excellent way to save on your gown. That'd be a $3,000 dress for $1,200! Also if you really have your heart set on a specific designer, and you've made the dress a priority in your wedding budget, sample sales can make it more do-able.
  

• Ask to see the destination wedding dresses! At one salon I visited in Richmond, I saw a wedding dress I just had to try on! It was super glamorous, lots of pleats, these gorgeous roses along the neck line. It was a dress from the destination wedding line of a very expensive designer. The price? $489! Many designers these days are making lines especially for destination weddings. The fabric usually travels a little better than say, a big taffeta ball gown, but that's the main difference. Most destination gowns I've seen are perfectly at home in a garden, a church, or a beach front resort!

Does anyone have other good tips for salon shopping?

Ok, this tale of the dress is quickly becoming quite the epic. Check back tomorrow for the final installment!

You have the ring on....now it won't come off!!

As a nearlywed with a ring that is just about a size too big, there has been much discussion about what size to get it cut down to. Its a 3 3/4 (that's what I was originally measured for) and its huge! Nola of Doubet Jewelers in Wilmington, DE (where we got the ring) recommends cutting it down to an even size 3. My concern is what to do on days that my fingers swell?? (which often happens due to humidity.) Her comment was "Well you just won't take it off that day!" Of course, I panicked, thinking what if my finger swells so much that it gets stuck and for some reason I need to take it off - like I want to work out, garden, etc. She had a great tip for this - Windex!! So, in doing a little research about what to do when a ring gets stuck, I found this great post in Wiki-How. They offer many ideas including window cleaner, dental floss, cooking shortening, among others. Have this problem too? What's your favorite solution?

Saving on Centerpieces

Recently I ran across two centerpiece ideas that I thought could be good cost savers.

The first is from the wedding of Anna and Jere as photographed by Millie Holloman

Vases such as these can be found deeply discounted at Save-On-Crafts, and Starfish, Sand Dollars, and other assorted shells can be found cheaply at sites like Sea Shell Co. and Quality Shells .


The other centerpiece was from the wedding of Vicki and Mike as photographed by Jennifer Dery

^ I have no doubt that this centerpiece was probably pricey if done through a florist, but it seems like something that would be simple to re-create as the use of actual florals is pretty minimal.

I think the key to this look is quantity....the more bowls used, the luxer the look. Your big cost will be the bowls ...but you can find similar styles at Save-on-Crafts, Ikea, and even some pretty nice (but more expensive) ones at target.

Cute but Comfy

I just got an invitation to a wedding next month that lasts from noon to 11 PM. An 11 hour wedding! Wow! If I'm going to be on my feet for that long, I think maybe stiletto heels might be a bad idea. So I picked these up this weekend:

They're not quite as comfortable as sneakers, but almost. I think I might be able to survive.

Much gratitude to Time Out's feature on comfy dress shoes.

The Perfect DC Guy's/Girl's Weekend

If part of your wedding festivities include a weekend for "just the girls" or "just the guys" then you should check out the Washingtonian lists for a Girls' Weekend in DC and a Guys' Weekend in DC.

Don't worry it's more then just monuments and museums. Each day is pretty jam packed and I think both lists will leave your out-of-town friends and locals alike with a good experience of DC. Don't be afraid to mix things up...personally I preferred most of the things on the "Guys" list to the "Girls" list!

The lists would also be good for your younger out-of-town guests looking for something to do during the rest of your wedding weekend.

Overexposed

SOTA Dzine, one of my absolute favorite D.C. photography groups has joined the blogging world. Yay! For really creative and unique photos for inspiration you have to add Overexposed to your blog reader. And apparently red balloons are quite the mini-trend now.

All photos below from the wedding of Jeremy's Brother and credited to SOTA Dzine -

Dresses, Designers, Oh My! How to Decide??

Miss Rehoboth with Mother in tow trotted all over DC to try-on dresses for the impending nuptials. We visited Georgetown's Hitched Salon where Sasha helped us through a pile of possibilities and then off to Promise...for the Savvy Bride in Bethesda where Kori catered to my every whim.

It's pretty nice being treated like a real princess, but after about 30 or so dresses I'd narrowed it to three and rank ordered them. I was more than ready to plunk down a pile of cash at Hitched on the very first dress I tried on, but Mrs. Rehoboth (aka Mom) insisted that I take some time to think things over and make the right decision.... A wise idea - or so I thought.

So, now I am left in a state of complete indecision... Help Fairy Godmother - and fellow blog readers!! Which is the right dress for me?!?!

Judd Waddell










Lela Rose









Claire Pettibone

Whirlwind Week!

Good afternoon Fellow brides & brides-to-be! Why has Miss Rehoboth been so silent? Well, outside of a debilitating summer cold, there has been wedding planning in the air! We've nailed down a date and a place! DRB & I are getting hitched on May 16, 2009 at the Lewes Yacht Club. And, I couldn't be more excited!

Adrienne at LYC is just fabulous to work with and the club is BEAUTIFUL, it totally personifies me, us and what I want our wedding to be about. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a beach setting. It has parking, great facilities (indoor & outdoor) and a fantastic staff, including their hot-shot new 24 year old chef! His menu selections look DIVINE!

Cue the Mission Impossible Theme Song...

I'm off tonight for my first recon mission...I mean wedding! wedding, since getting engaged. It's kind of a big deal because:

a) it's the marriage of two dear college friends
b) it's the first cocktail wedding reception I'll have ever attended!
c) first wedding at The College

So safe to say I'm be taking TONS of pictures, probably shedding a few tears, and taking lots of notes.

Also, a little UPDATE on my flower experiment: I purchased the flowers around 11am Sunday, had them in water around noon and they looked GREAT! when I went to work yesterday morning, but by the time I got home last night the hydrangeas were definitely done. The peonies are holding strong ( I did pick 3 brown petals of one of the blooms, but with no detriment to the arrangement) and the daisies and roses look like they are in it for the long haul. The roses blooms were about half open when I bought them Sunday, and were full on open by Tuesday evening. Full disclosure: we keep our house at 70 degrees (Mr. Fairfax is my lil' space heater).

Thanks to Gary on Picasa for the picture of Wren

Cute Bridesmaids Gifts

I have been searching the internet for some cute bridesmaids gifts that are little untraditional. Here is what I found so far:

Pretty 'n Pink Travelers Soap Sheets

Lollipop Lipgloss

Hand-Knotted Fringe Scarf

Skull Compact Mirror

Create-Your-Own LongChamp Bag

A Clash of Cultures (and Colors)

I've discovered an interesting wrinkle in planning my wedding--Mr. C-Ville is English, and English and American wedding traditions are pretty different. How different? We don't know yet; traditions are something we take for granted, so the differences are popping up as we go along.

For example, I'm factoring the cost of RSVP cards into the invitations, but they don't send RSVP cards in the UK. Mr. C-Ville wants to put the registry information on the invitation, but I would never do such a thing. I got invited to my sister-in-law-to-be's "hen night," and I had visions of hanging out with chickens until I discovered it means "bachelorette party."

But maybe the biggest difference is that Brits just don't do wedding colors. Like Miss Rehoboth said, one of the first things people ask you once you get engaged is, "What are your colors?" Now, Mr. C-Ville and I are an egalitarian couple, and this is as much his wedding as it is mine, so I thought I'd discuss this very serious question with him. Here's how it went:

Me: So we need to think about what colors we're using for the wedding.

Mr. C: What?

Me: The colors. We should probably decide on our colors so we know what the bridesmaids will wear and what the flowers will look like and so forth.

Mr. C: That's a really American thing. I don't want to have colors. Colors are stupid.

Me: But isn't the wedding then going to look like somebody ate a box of crayons and threw up? How are we going to organize everything?

Mr. C: It'll happen naturally. I really, really, really don't want to have wedding colors. Really. Really really.

Marriage is all about compromise, right? Wedding planning is terrific compromise practice. He gets to have his no color idea, whereas I get the poolside barbecue with pork sandwiches.

But I think planning the look of the wedding without official colors isn't going to be so bad. We're getting married at Clifton Inn in Charlottesville. The setting lends itself to a definite aesthetic: (photo credit Adam Barnes Photography, via The Knot)

Clearly we're going to be going with green and white, and maybe a few touches of pink or even yellow. Or why not both? And I love the attendants wearing black cocktail dresses, so I'll probably steal that idea. But it's not like I need to create a whole new look for the venue. Clifton is what it is, so it's better, and cheaper, to work with it rather than fighting against it.

Have you had any color selection drama?

Going to The Chapel...

...because my friends J & S are getting married! Yay! I got their invitation in the mail today for their August 8th wedding in Rhode Island. It's a very unique invitation, so I wanted to share it with you. S originally thought she'd like "Paper Source It" as I like to call it, but when time and budget got down to the wire she opted to go to a printer. J & S went to The Write Place in Chantilly and worked with Jill Boddie, the owner, to create their invitations. S is supposed to give me a few more details about the design process, which I'll share when she e-mails me again...apparently she was working today, rather than wedding planning at the office. ;)

Here it is! J & S spent about 2 hours with Jill at her home studio in Chantilly to come up with the design. The Write Place has a great reputation for personal and attentive service and S seemed to be pretty pleased with this aspect of the invitation process.

The invite is actually a tri-fold (see below), which I love because it's quite original. The design, as well as the wording inside is very J & S, warm and inviting! It's a truly personal invitation.




Here's a good view of the tri-fold. The extra "page" in the invite allowed them to skip the reception card and simply add the reception information directly to the invite. What a great idea!

My sister also had her wedding invitation done at The Write Place (I might have passed along the sis's recommendation to S...). My sister and her now husband went for a much more traditional invitation. I like seeing the two invitations together though because it really shows the range of options available.

Do you plan to go the DIY route on invitations or work with a printer? I think since I have a lot of time I may investigate making my own, but I'm still day-dreaming on that, I'll let you know when I decide!

Help Me Find Some Shoes!

So in two weeks Husband and I go to Michigan for the last wedding in our season of weddings this year. I'm excited b/c it's going to be a Palestinian/Chinese/American wedding so it should be a lot of fun.

I bought the below dress to wear to the reception and now I'm trying to find some shoes. I'd love to find some really fun blue shoes that go with the dress, but as that may be hard to find I'll probably have to go with silver. I'm looking for something that is 3 inches or less, has no ankle strap (i'm short, don't want to cut my legs off), and is the $100 or less range (give or take a few) has anyone seen something lately that they think would go well?


^Maggy London Cutaway Silk Chiffon Halter Dress


For the same wedding, I got this next dress for the rehearsal party the night before (OOT guests are invited). I'm kind of stumped for shoes for this one as well. What color do you think would go well and what style?

^BCBGMaxazria Cap Sleeve Jersey Dress

I've checked all the usual online places (Zappos, Endless, Nordstrom, Piperlime etc.) but still haven't really struck gold. Or maybe I missed something great?

OOT Bags....

After my bridal shower this past weekend ( pictures will be posted soon I promise!) --I wanted to check up on my registry , make sure we still had plenty of options available for our guests. What happened when I opened our Crate & Barrel Registry "95 days to go" that is what greeted me. 95 DAYS TO GO! How did that happen? I started blogging right after FI and I got engaged back in August--I can not believe it has been 10 months, and I only have 3 little months left to go! So now I am over whelmed with wedding planning, and will probably be overwhelming you soon:) However ,with the new edition of all the awesome brides to this site--and also with the fact that My next project up is OOT bags ( out of town bags) I am curious what other brides are putting in them? I will definitely be posting about this again in the near future--because right now my OOT bags are exploding! DC is basically a destination wedding for many of our family and friends, we already have 35 rooms at our main hotel, and I am assuming we will probably have at least 50 hotel rooms--so 50 out of town bags. Not a big deal right? Well so far this is what we have going in our OOT bags

Something From Cincinnati ( where my FI is from)
--We are thinking either a packet of Skyline Seasoning or Perhaps a Graeters Candy

Something From Upstate NY (where I am from)

--We are thinking home made small jelly from a local farm in our area or local home made candy

Something from New England ( where my dad grew up and his whole family is from)

Why Salt Water Taffy of course!

Than hopefully something from Ybor City ( Tampa, fl) where my grandmother and great grandmother grew up. I have to go to Tampa for work in August ( ONE MONTH before the wedding!) So my mom and I will look than on the exact idea.

We are then of course adding
--Water ( with custom labels we make)
--Treats packaged in our own individual bag ( closed with our own custom made sticker)
--- Visitor Guides ( we are already accumulating these)
--Maps ( already accumulating these)
--Other guides ( taking these as we can :) )
--List of wedding activities
--Personalized Thank you note

We are also thinking of including a small bottle of wine/sparkling wine from williamsburg, but that might be pushing the cost too much! Am I missing something blaringly obvious? We had wanted to purchase tote bags for everyone but the cost was escalating too quickly, so I believe we are going with these bags



They are only .50 each--and with 50 plus bags we have to be economical--We are still researching though-- but for now its this bag with our monogram sticker on it, of course :)

Center-Piece Test Drive

Like Miss Mitchellville I 'm not gettin' hitched until October 2009, which by my count is um, oh, a million light years away. One part of long engagements I'm coming to appreciate though is that I can do a lot of wedding day-dreaming, and I don't have to worry about making a decision right away. However, on Sunday, just for fun, I decided to put some day dreams in action and test out putting some center-pieces together

Our reception will be a small cocktail affair, so fewer people means fewer tables. The cocktail part means I'll have a few big 5 foot rounds, but I'll also have small cafe (2-seaters) tables and some cabaret (the tall bar type) tables. All this should give me some flexibility in the number and size of arrangements I'll need. So I've told you, now it's time to show!

Here's the first one I put together. Ignore the jars for right now! And the ribbons! This is just what I had around the house! I'm just focusing on the flowers.

This is a single hydrangea stem, about $3 from Whole Foods. I tucked three little clusters of white daisies at various places in the bloom. The daisy bunch was approx $4 and had over a dozen flowers. Hydrangeas are great because they are in season April to October and a single stem is inexpensive and practically a center-piece on it's own. I'm thinking of testing out something similar for my bouquet.

This was the big surprise on Sunday since I'm not really into roses! I've been saving these Martinelli's Apple Juice bottles because they are so cute and have a little leaf pattern on the top. I put a couple of little daisies and these little pink roses in the little jar and it was just little! And cute! The roses are "filler" roses, I believe, and came in several shades. There were about 12 blooms in the package and it was only $4! PS--If I wasn't sold on my own color combo (chocolate and pale blue) I would be all about the pink and navy. The flashy pink just POPS! off the more conservative navy.

I picked up these pink peonies on a whim as well. They are not in season in the fall, but I was experimenting, right? I'm not using any tricky tricks to get the flowers in the jars, I literally just set them in there. I think keeping the color palette simple and using only 1-2 flower varieties per arrangement made it easier to make them pretty.

I can't think of anything more simple, fresh and unassuming than this! A single peony in a little jar with a bright contrasting ribbon. I kept trying to tie bows around the jars, but found I actually like the simple knots better. Anyone can tie a knot!

Here's three of the different size arrangements on the kitchen table. This is what I would likely want for the couple of big tables. I'd use one small arrangements on each small table. Sorry the pic is so dark, I was having a lighting fail.

All told, I spent $20 on flowers and I have a 18 blooms left over. I had the ribbon from previous crafty stages, but if I'd had to purchase it, I would've spent around $10-$12, mostly because I used two satin ribbons. It took me under an hour, start to finish, to put everything together. We're on day two and all the flowers are still looking good.

Thoughts? Does anyone else plan to try their hand at doing their own wedding flowers?

Splurging

Like most brides, I do not have an enormous wedding budget at my disposal. Advice books all say that when you're on a budget, you've got to deploy your resources wisely by spending money on what's important to you. Or, as a dear friend once told me, "Only do the things that will add to your joy."

After talking about this with Mr. C-Ville, we decided that we really wanted to provide little touches for our guests that would allow them to have a better time. Not that we're not going to have good food (we are) and good music (bluegrass, of course), but we wanted to give people some memorable details that would make them smile. I stumbled on this idea almost by accident, but once I found it, we knew it was perfect (photo credit Charlottesville-Albemarle County Convention and Visitors Bureau):

How great is it going to be when the trolley pulls up outside the guests' hotel, honking merrily away to get people on board? As Mr. C-Ville says, "People love silly buses." Of course, this addition to the budget means I probably won't get my beloved letterpress invitations, but I do think that our guests will enjoy the trolley more. And that adds to my joy.

What are you splurging on? What's important to you?

Our First Gocco Experiance...

Hello! I'm back from my first bridal shower--and I will post about that soon, but I wanted to share with you my first gocco experience. For our engagement Party back in December my family had custom made invitations made and they were beautiful, so we ended up going with the same designer for our save the dates. Even though we LOVED our save the dates--we realized the cost of having her do our invitations would be VERY expensive, so we decided to look into making them on our own.

So far we have the actual Invitation, which we got designed and letter pressed at Paper-Source ( which I will show you later) and we are in the process of working on the inserts--However, we decided that with my first shower coming up we should work on our Thank You notes--hence the first use of Gocco!





^ There she is looking Beautiful! We decided to do a simple Thank you note on Paper Source Luxe White A6 paper--We Photo-copied one of our invitations, cut out the design and turned it into our "master", along with a Simple "Thank You".




^ There is my handsome FI lining up the Gocco Screen--although I was nervous using the gocco for the first time, he was so good about helping :)




^ Here I am making the copy, do you see the excitement in my eyes ;)




-Thar she is all inked up, ready to be printed!



The First copy!! I loved loved LOVED how they turned out! The design is identical to our invitations---and I love the incorporation in the Thank You Notes! As I have said before, wedding planning has made me a DIY person, I do not consider myself crafty! However, if I can handle a gocco and make professional looking material, I believe anybody can do it!



^ As you can see they started taking over our kitchen! It was a great first Gocco experience, I look forward to using it more. Next up: Envelope Liners.

Purple Week on EAD

It's color week again over at Elizabeth Anne Designs --color weeks are my favorite b/c there's such an overwhelming amount of inspiration it's a little bit of heaven for any bride who has those colors. I was a big fan of pink week and I don't even like pink in weddings!


So this go around, purple is the color of the week and EAD has a really unique inspiration board with purple, aqua, and chartreuse. I ran across the below image the other day on the website of German photographer Thomas Rusch.


It's not a wedding image exactly and Rusch isn't a wedding photographer at all, but remember to look in all types of places for inspiration. You never know what you might find. And this beautiful image just so happens to fit in perfectly with today's inspiration board over at EAD.

China and Crystal and...Turbo Tax ?! Oh, my!

I was REALLY excited to register when we first got engaged. The future Mister and I love to cook, we love kitchen gadgets, and have been known to refer to Sur La Table and Williams-Sonoma as “The Toy Stores.” Since we’ve maintained separate households up until recently, we’ve amassed a number of kitchen essentials already (garlic press, espresso maker, waffle iron, you know, the things no kitchen should be without…).

I also got scammed into jointly purchasing silverware and matching dishes for Mr. Fairfax’s place before a) I lived there b) we were engaged. Should I have been suspicious when he insisted that we invest in a nice set of Oneida flatware? That he could no longer take the rag tag assortment of dishes? Perhaps yes. I was blindsided by his proposal to say the least. But I digress.

The real point of this post was to say, it’s easy to be so dazzled by traditional registry items that you neglect to think about what else you might need to run your household. Dishes, silverware, and napkin rings are all very useful and necessary, but don’t forget to “think outside the kitchen.”

So suddenly you’re married, you have in-laws who want to come visit! Where to put them? Thank goodness you registered for that handy Aero Bed!

The Aero Bed is a real life-saver whether it's a college bud looking for some
place to crash or your new in-laws visiting. There are other brands of air bed out there, but I like the Aero Bed best, personally. A Bed Bath & Beyond or Target registry is probably your best bet for this. Picture via www.amazon.com.

You’re finally in your first apartment together! You’ve just hit Ikea, Crate and Barrel and hey, your wedding pictures just arrived from the photographer. Sweet! How are you going to hang all your gorgeous picture frames and pictures ledges you lovingly picked out? Why, with your new cordless power drill…Seriously, power tools are where it’s at. Start out with a cordless drill with multiple bits. It will revolutionize the way you hang pictures and assemble furniture.

Stores like Lowe's and Home Depot now allow you to create gift registries. Visit their home pages and do a search for "gift registry." Picture via www.cordlessdrilling.com.

Ah, wedded bliss! Oh, home ownership! Boo, filing your taxes jointly and itemizing for the first time. Hooray, for Turbo Tax Deluxe! My big sister is a personal finance wiz kid and she swears by Turbo Tax. Go for the deluxe version as it allows you to itemize your taxes among other neat tricks.

Target carries Turbo Tax products and
also has a gift registry function. Picture via www.static.howthingswork.com.

What are some of the items you plan to register for?

Gifts for Guy's

Earlier this month DailyCandy sent out a list of gift ideas for dads on Father's day. I found some of these gift suggestions could also work well as gifts for the groomsmen and if you're lucky the usually scruffy, beer guzzling, college buddies may arrive looking their best! Here are a few of my favorites:

The Art of Shaving: Carry on Kit

The Art of Shaving: Travel Kit

The Art of Shaving Book

How Crafty Are You, Part II

All right, so apparently I am obsessed with letterpress printing.

But are these gift cards from Sycamore Street Press not adorable?

These birch bark silver rings from Twigs and Heather would make great wedding bands, especially for men. They're simple but not boring. One of the artists told me her husband wears his as a wedding ring!

Everything at Perch Design is charming, but I thought these shake-a-leg salt and pepper shakers were especially great.

I loved these guys. Why go to Hallmark or Party Town to get your confetti when you can get it handmade to any color, shape, or specification? The nice folks at Confetti System will do it all for you--they also do hats, lanterns, garlands, or whatever you need for a party. Plus, it sounds very scientific and technical, doesn't it? "I had everything taken care of for me by Confetti System." People will know you mean business.

How Soon is too Soon?

So I feel like I am way ahead of the game, after Doc proposed at Christmas I immediately went into event planning mode and devised a plan, a spread sheet, and a to do list that will keep me busy until October 2009! We've taken engagement photos, set a date, secured a venue, and ordered save the date magnets; now all I need to do is determine how soon is too soon to get them off. I know, I know, 16 months far exceeds whats considered reasonable notice and I'm sure it would be frowned upon by the wedding etiquette gods however, I'm so excited I just want to get them out the box and into the hands of my guests! I/we, (yea right!) decided on a (2x3.5) business card size magnet from MagnetStreet so our invited guest could keep our wedding reminder on the fridge where it's large enough to notice yet small enough not to annoy. Here's the template we choose; its simple and relaxed yet with the Autumn colors we used it has some edge. Actual magnet photos to come...

In an effort to cut cost I'm taking on my first DIY project affixing the magnets to postcards using mini envelopes I found at EnvelopeMall (They have ton's envelopes all colors and sizes). I will keep you posted on how that turns out but in the interim I've got to figure out how much notice is too much notice? Since ALL of our guest are traveling were treating this like a destination wedding with a weekend of events to show guest DC beyond our wedding. Guest will have to travel across the nation to attend and I feel like I should provide ample time to plan. Feedback would be appreciated at this point, I've read all the books and there is no way I can sit on these until six months before the wedding! Is one year to early for the preview to the invitation?

How Crafty Are You?

I have a weakness for flea markets and craft fairs anyway, but now that I have a wedding to plan for, it's twice as much fun to go. The Renegade Craft Fair is being held this weekend in Brooklyn, NY (if you're in the neighborhood on Sunday, June 15, it's at the McCarren Park Pool) and it was so much fun to see the cool stuff that people had made. I am more a craft appreciator than a craftswoman myself, but I love supporting local artisans. How much cooler is it to have someone who lives down the street from you make your invitations as opposed to having them made in some nameless factory somewhere?

I was so excited to see the booth of one of my favorite Etsy sellers, Pistachio Press. Rachael Hetzel does beautiful letterpress invitations. I love the red and white cards here.

I thought these cards from Bow and Arrow were lovely. I love how Julie's going against the minimalist trend in a really stylish way. And she does custom printing. More letterpress to drool over!

I'll have more of my adventures at the craft fair coming in Part II!

Rustic Elegance On Sale

If you liked the natural rustic elegance look of the wedding of Maria and Michael (as photographed by Chenin Boutwell)


And as featured in the wedding of Alexandra and Jeremy (as photographed by Woodward and Rick Photographers via the Southern Wedding Style Blog)




Then you need to get yourself over to the Crate and Barrel Summer Sale and pick up the Savannah Candelabra. It's been marked down from $119.00 to $49.95. Talk about making an impact, and it costs less then the price of most centerpieces.

Sleek Slideshows

Presenting a slideshow of favorite pics is a pretty popular and common thing at many weddings. We didn't do it at ours cause the whole "multi-media extravaganza/keep your guests entertained" thing isn't really my style. We just wanted to have a nice dinner and some dancing, but having sat through a number of slideshows I think it's important to keep them short and of course keep them interesting.

I was browsing the films over at Mason Jar Films and I saw that, in addition to their creative wedding videos, they also make slideshows for weddings.

Yes, of course, you can do a slideshow yourself, and I really have no idea how much it would cost for someone to do it for you, but if you had the money to spare I just love the below slideshow that Mason Jar Films put together for Morgan and Eric. It's a 3-d slideshow made with 2 dimensional images. Have no idea what that would look like? Check it out --



Cute no? If I was a guest I'd be totally entertained.

Untraditional Bouquets

I'm kind of loving these non-traditional bouquets from Sandy and Josh's wedding, featured on Offbeat Bride.

The bride's bouquet is made out of Christmas ornaments, and the maids have paper flowers.

Here's a closeup of the paper flowers. Gorgeous, and you can keep them forever.

Rules of Engagement: What You Need to Know

Who would have thought that getting engaged was something that you had to put on full protective gear for! It's somewhat combative in nature due to the barrage of questions fired at you by everyone from your mother to complete strangers in the elevator. So, take it from me - be prepared!

1. Know who's on the short list - who you are going to call in the 10 minutes after it happens. In fact, outside of the parents, I'd recommend sending a text to siblings, other family members and close friends.

2. Turn your phone off! Seriously, your phone will exploded with all the well-wishes, which are awesome, but...spend some quality time with your fiance basking in the excitement of the commitment.

3. Know the date - its the first question and everyone wants an answer right away. So, don't be vague (my response was maybe May, June, or September of next year) - that doesn't satisfy people's curiosity and encourages unsolicited advice. If you don't have a date - make one up. Really.

4. Know where you are going to get married - This should be an easy answer, but if for some reason its not been settled between you and your soon-to-be spouse, pick a place. Any place. People will want to know, trust me.

5. Have pictures taken. Why? Well for one you'll want to remember the occasion, but also because your parents will want to submit the announcement to the local newspaper right away and a picture is a necessity. You also want to have a general sense of what you plan to say, particularly if you have divorced/remarried parents, etc.

6. Know who you want in your wedding - and don't ask them. Not yet anyway. Even if you do know - don't ask anyone to be in the wedding in the midst of your excitement. Let things calm down and then reconsider. There are so many well-wishers and people you care about, its easy to get caught up in the moment, run your mouth and oops! you've now got 14 bridesmaids!! So stay mum on these arrangements!!

6 1/2. And the special bonus prize? Know what your wedding colors are going to be. Who would think that would be a questioned asked in the first week after getting engaged, but it sure is! I still have no sense of what colors I want, but people keep asking! I'm inclined to start saying in "pink and green" just to see the priceless expressions I'll get in reaction. Hee hee heee.

But, seriously, these are a few of the things that I wish I had known to expect. I'd typically say - lesson learned for the next time, but I don't plan on a next time!

I Love Green

I love the color green and have been thinking about ways to incorporate it into my wedding.

Some choose to go for the bold kelly green as Miss Capitol Hill posted about last month. And some choose lighter, paler greens. And then there is a lime green. And hunter green. And then all the greens in between!!! Also, what should I pair with green? Should I keep it simple and use white? What about yellow? I am having a May wedding. There is also the trendy pink + green themed wedding. Yikes! Here are a few of my favorite green wedding pics I have found that are inspiring me...Good thing I still have 11 months to plan.

Taking it to a whole new level

Hello Nearlywed crew!!! It's been a while since my last posting warning you of this one. I've been so busy with enjoying being a newlywed, finishing out the school year, staying home for an early doctor's ordered maternity leave, and... having Baby Bowie FINALLY!!!!

Just wanted to post this as my farewell so that you can "meet" her after all I've (we've?) been through here on the blog and with my wedding planning.

This is my favorite picture of her taken (with my camera phone) in the hospital when she was not even a day old yet:

Her name is Amelia and she was born on June 10 at 9:11PM after a VERY long day of hard labor and she weighed 7lbs 4oz and measured 19.5 inches long. Mr. Bowie and I are thrilled and in love with her and she will no doubt end up being the ultimate culmination of our first year as newlyweds - even with it only having just started just months ago!

Thank you so much for having me here as a DCNearlywed. Take care, everyone and enjoy your wedding planning adventures while they last.

All the best,

The "Bowies"

A whirlwind past couple of weeks--

Hello Everyone! Sorry for the mini-hiatus! I see we have some new brides on here, that is so exciting! Welcome to the new brides :) I have had an INSANE past couple of weeks! I was in Vegas for work for a week ( not as fun as it sounds, working 14+ days does not leave much room for the "fun side" of the Vegas)-- I took a red-eye flight on Friday night to get into Sandusky , OH on Saturday morning, just in time to see one of my best friends get married! I calculated and I went 45 hours without sleep---Probably a reason why I haven't been feeling to well :) It was definitly worth it though, it was a BEAUTIFUL wedding. This was the first wedding I attended since becoming engaged ( not the last have 5 more this summer!)--but I definitly appreciated all the little details A LOT more than I use to. The menus weren't something I discarded, it was something I took a picture of ---my name tag wasn't thrown on the floor ( it is currently in my purse)--I definitly had a different perspective! I will post pictures from this wedding next week!

I returned to DC on Monday--after missing actually being AT work for a week and not being at work on Monday--the last two days were crazy, and I am leaving today , in about 2 hours for my First Bridal shower in Ohio! So it's pretty crazy--I just wanted to let you know that I hadn't forgotten about you!

Wedding planning is in FULL DRIVE now, and I am proud to announce I DID MY FIRST GOCCO PROJECT LAST NIGHT!!! It took 2 1/2 hours ( some of this was watching tutorials on You tube--I recommend This one and Part 2---Even though it is outdated, it's very simple to follow, FI and i appreciated it! We now have our thank you cards :)

I don't have the pictures uploaded yet. We finished at midnight last night and had to be at work early so I can leave early---but I promise I will post them all, along with pictures of my envelopes AND invitations when i get back on Monday! I will also be posting much more frequently, as we are getting close to the 3 month mark and the wedding planning is kicking in, in full force.

Until than ciao and have an amazing weekend :)

Oh Orchids!

O.K., as much as I loved the look of classic callas for my own wedding, the next time I plan a wedding I think the below orchid bouquet would be pretty amazing. The stark simplicity is just breathtaking.

All photos below from the wedding of Malia and Jeff as captured by photographer W. Scott Chester.



As you can see the bride was perfectly accessorized with a great pair of earrings and a simple veil. And I just loved her mom's look too...the vibrant dress and sexy shoes are mom appropriate but not old lady. And how cute is that flower in her hair?

Oh My Goodness, I'm Planning a Wedding

I'm yet another of the new kids on the block! I am planning a wedding for September 2009, in Charlottesville, Virginia, in my hometown and what I think is the most beautiful spot in the world. It'll be a destination wedding on my own home turf; everyone is going to come from either Washington, New York, or London (my fiance is British). That's not going to be too logistically difficult, right? Naaaah. Breathe, breathe, breathe.

Like all the other brides, I am thrilled to be part of this community. Planning a wedding is exciting but also quite overwhelming. What needs to be done first? How do I pick out a photographer? When do I need to send the save-the-dates? When am I going to find the time to see the bands? It's so good to know that we're not alone in this Great Wedding Adventure!

Purrfect Purple

I'm totally digging this fab bout (and awesome tie) from the wedding of Sean & Kate as photographed by Blue Nalu. The peacock feather is the perfect accent.

And Kate's bouquet ain't too shabby either!

Best Wedding Toast Ever

I am sure many of you have seen this YouTube video by now but if not, be sure to click on this link and watch! This is the best wedding toast ever and might even make you tear up a bit for this lucky bride.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oy1uWAm4SnI

Miss Rehoboth Gets Engaged!

Dear DCNearlyweds Readers,

Yes it's true - he asked and I said yes. Well, that's not exactly how it went, but that was the end result. He popped the question in the middle of the ferry ride between Lewes, DE & Cape May, NJ. While I was gazing out at the wide waters of the Delaware Bay, he humbly sunk to one knee and opened that little green box...I turned and exclaimed (thinking this wasn't going to happen before September '08) "OMG! You're not really going to do this right now, are you?" Probably not the response he expected, but when he confirmed it was the real deal, I said "Of course!" and he breathed a sigh of relief. We then had a fabulous weekend in Victorian Cape May, NJ at the sweetest little historic B&B.

Now that you know my story, a bit of background about myself might be nice to share. I am a Rehoboth Beach native, although I went to school in Wilmington, DE. My now-fiance was my high school BF, college comrade, and post-college buddy. We were originally introduced by my older sister at the ripe old age of 15. A year after college, I moved to Philly, ultimately ending up here in DC, and we lost touch. Last summer, the fiance (who I'll refer to from now on as DRB) ran into my brother, who reconnected us. Our first date was in Rehoboth at the cutest outdoor bistro, Cafe Sole - he took the ferry over from the Jersey shore to have lunch with me. In keeping with my true nature (read: no filter between my thoughts and what comes out of my mouth as evidenced above), one of my first declarations that August afternoon was to inform him that "I did not want a boyfriend." Luckily, he was not deterred. And, the rest is history.

Looking forward to sharing my wedding planning trials and tribulations with the dear readers of DC Nearlyweds. Please feel free to leave feedback - I definitely welcome thoughts and guidance through this process.

Greetings NearlyWeds!

Let me begin by introducing myself I am the new kid on the blog and have been dubbed Miss Mitchellville since I will be getting married at the romantic Newton White Mansion located in Mitchellville, Maryland. Before I dive in to the whirl wind that has become my life since becoming engaged on Christmas 2007 I’d like to tell you a little bit about us. I’m an interior designer from Los Angeles living with my fiancé in Chevy Chase, Maryland and working anywhere the job takes me. My fiancé (we’ll call him Doc) is a 1st year resident also from Los Angeles whose idea of the perfect wedding involves heading down to the justice of the peace tomorrow for a cheap quickie. Although he is not thrilled about the estimated 30,000 dollars to be spent on our nuptials he has taken comfort in the fact that my idea of the perfect wedding while not at the court house is not the “platinum wedding” we’ve seen on TV (sometimes more isn’t better it’s just more; more on that later…) We’ve set our wedding date for October, 2009; since neither of us got to experience Autumn before moving to the east coast from California it's become our favorite season, boasting beautiful colors and perfect weather, we hope! I look forward to swapping ideas, sharing my experiences with DIY projects, tastings, dresses, and getting much needed feedback and support from other DC brides to be!

The Hunt for the Dress: Part Dos

**Ok, blogger and I made up. See the pictures below!**

My first stop on my Non-Bridal Salon Bridal Gown Search was my perennial source for all formal dress needs: Macy's!

The great thing about department stores is that most actually HAVE a bridal shop, so you can hunt through there and then you've still got the whole evening gown section to peruse. Some sites, Nordstrom comes to mind, will even allow you to search by color so you can really zero in on what you're looking for. As Miss Westend noted in her post below, there are quite a few lovely and inexpensive white dresses out there in Department Store Land.

Check this one out from Macy's, the light champagne color is really flattering. I can totally see myself in this at an intimate, candle-lit evening ceremony.

From the Macy's website I progressed to Nordstrom (tons of great finds!), I even checked out my favorite department store down home where my mama lives, Dillards. I EVEN checked Sears and JC Penney. Hey, my mama mail-ordered her dress from Penney's in 1981 for $300, how awesome would it be if I did the same? I'm an equal opportunity shopper. I discriminate against no deal.

One shoulder gowns are quite the thing right now, I've seen this
element pop on more than one bridal gown trend list.

And what's this? Does Tia Mowrey shop at Dillards?!
(From InStyle Weddings)

While I was perusing the department store websites, I was also clicking on every "How to Save Money on Your Wedding Dress" and "Brides On A Budget" article the internets had to offer. One name I kept seeing over and over in reference to inexpensive dresses was Nicole Miller. I must confess, I'm only familiar with Nicole Miller because my favorite Lilly Store over in Old Town (Hey there, Tickled Pink) carries a few of her pieces.

Boy, was I blown away the first time I went to the Nicole Miller website! I mean, just gorgeous [sigh]. Some of the dresses are pricey, but there are a several reasonable options. There's a Nicole Miller store in the Tysons Galleria.

I was really loving on this one for awhile
(from www.nicolemiller.com via partypop.com)

Some other makers that are worth checking our for lower cost white dresses are BCBG and Jessica McClintock. BCBG has quite a few unique white gowns out right now and they have outlet locations in Williamsburg, Leesburg, and Rehobeth. There is a Jessica McClintock shop in Tysons Mall and it's absolutely worth a look if you're looking for something with a lot of glamor or more of a ball-gown style dress.
BCBG

BCBG


Jessica McClintock

Jessica McClintock

Oh, and to leave no stone unturned, I checked out Target too. I'm very thorough, what can I say.

So I had all these gorgeous white dresses whirring around in my head, occupying my dreams at night and totally preventing me from being productive at work (shhh, don't tell my boss!), but I wasn't done yet. I had a few more avenues to traverse before I would meet the one. :)

Any Love for the Groom?

To the DC brides out there...has your groom been especially good to you during this stressful time of wedding planning? Has he mediated arguments between mother and future mother-in-law? Has he begrudgingly licked all of those save-the-date envelopes? Well, it would be nice to reward him with something special too! Or at least let him know about these great gifts for his best man and groomsmen. I thought these were some cute ideas....

The Brew Master
Pajamas For Men

Poker Set

99 Red Balloons Go By...

Mental Note...for next wedding be sure to include red balloons. And vintage looking bicycle. And old-timey car. And streets of Poland. And totally untraditional wedding gown.

How incredibly charming (no I didn't use the banned phrase) and enchanting are these photos from amazing Poland based photographer Marta Potoczek? The world can have its chivari chairs and uplighting and globos and martini bars...this is my type of wedding.

This bride totally qualifies as a Bada$$ bride

Another Something Blue!

Does anyone else around here just love The Preppy Wedding as much as I do? I love her inspiration boards and I REALLY love when she features a vendor (because there's usually a pretty sweet deal attached!).

I was surfing about all my wedding web spots this afternoon, it was just too hot to even feel bad about sitting in the house, and I saw these gorgeous dress tags linked to via The Preppy Wedding.

from www.exclusivelysew.com

I mean is this just the most precious thing or what? I've seen the dress tags around, but this is a "Reflection Tag" from Exclusively Sew. Your wedding day is obviously a big milestone in your life, and I like the way this little detail ties together your past, and the future you're about to walk down the aisle to. Anyhoo, before I get too sentimental on you, The Preppy Wedding has a special discount code listed for 50% off dress tags, as well as bouquet ribbons (pictured below). This is definitely the best price I've seen for dress tags recently.

from www.exclusivelysew.com

Has anyone purchased a dress tag yet? I love the idea, but I also plan to consign my gown after our wedding, so I'm not 100% sure I'll have a tag embroidered for me. On the other hand, since I don't intend to keep my dress, the dress tag would be a a lovely wedding memento to pass down to a daughter or niece one day. Thoughts?

The Hunt for the Dress: Part 1

In one of the comment sections in a previous post, I mentioned that I had a somewhat "alternative" dress search. I was NOT looking forward to dress shopping AT ALL. I imagined it to be some evil spawn hatched when bathing suit shopping and jeans shopping got together and procreated. Boo.

+ = :(

It didn't really help my attitude when I started reading (aka obsessing) over wedding magazines and dress maker websites and realized what the wedding industry thought they could get me to pay for a wedding dress. Well, much like Meg over at A Practical Wedding, I don't much care for being told what to do.

Like any bride, I wanted a beautiful dress, I wanted to feel like a bride, but I realized, if I was going to stick to the firm budget I set, I'd have to get a little creative. Has anyone told you yet, that the minute you tell a vendor you're searching for a wedding [insert anything here: dress, venue, cake, three-ring circus...anything!] the price doubles? I'm sure you have because I've hear it upteem times, and I've only been engaged 6 months with 16 to go. Thinking on this little tidbit, I started investigating where I could look for a white dress outside of your typical bridal salon.

To be continued...

photos via oldnavy.com and johnlewis.com

Bargain Wedding Dresses

I ordered a wedding dress from the internet. I did it. Who knows if I will like it or if it will even fit but there is always the return option!

I have always loved the classic style of Calvin Klein but figured their wedding dress prices would be at the same level of those from Monique Lhuillier or Reem Acra. I did a Google Search for "Calvin Klein + Wedding" and was quite surprised when the Nordstrom website popped up with many options for bargain wedding dresses, not only from Calvin Klein, but also BCBG, ABS, Tadashi, Sue Wong and others - all for under $1000, many much less than $1000. These dresses are a great option for an outdoor wedding or a more casual wedding, but some would be great for a formal affair as well. Take a look at some of the options:

BCBG - $570

ABS - $378

Sean Collection - $346

BCBG - $360

Aidan Mattox - $388

Calvin Klein - $178

Calvin Klein - $228

Toasting Flutes

A couple of weeks ago, while browsing, or stalking, wedding websites, I came across these toasting flutes on a website called Exclusively Weddings. They cost $325 which is a ridiculous amount of money for 2 glasses. I would never think to buy them for myself.

However, when my fiance and I went to register at Bloomingdale's, the Swarovski toasting flutes were there! For $390! Even more expensive. The registry consultant told us that she had them at her wedding and they looked beautiful in wedding photographs, especially when the light bounced off of the stems in just the right way. I fell in love. We decided to register for them, hoping that someone would spend the money on these beautiful flutes. It's a little selfish to register for such an unnecessary, expensive item, I know...but it is my wedding day!

Hitched Salon Sample Sale

I signed up for e-mails from Hitched Salon in Georgetown when I first started looking for my wedding dress. The post about the sale at Carine's reminded me that I had an e-mail in my inbox from the Hitched gals about their sample sale!

This coming Thursday, June 12, from 5pm to 8pm, Hitched will be offering a selection of sample gowns at a discount. No appointments are needed, but they do recommend arriving early!

Hitched
Bridal Couture+Creative Planning Salon
1523 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20007
202-333-6162

There are photos on the Hitched Website (click on Sample Sale) of some of the dresses available, but I've posted two of my favorites below.

I really love the pleated bodice on this dress. I've noticed this
use of fabric to create unique details on quite a few dresses lately.
I think it's a nice alternative to lots of beading or sparkles.

I'm a big fan of all-over lace dresses too!
And how often to do you see a non-strapless wedding gown?

Oh, and can't forget the shoes!!

Imagine these lil' cuties in baby blue with white stitching.
I tried these on the last time I was at Hitched and
they are adorable, nice low heel and comfy too.

In fact the sales lady told me that Cynthia Rowley made
the blue version specifically for Hitched.
All you brides looking for something blue, be sure to check out the sale.

All photos from www.hitchedsalon.com

Pleased to Make Your Acquaintance!

Hi Ya'll! Just making a quick post to introduce myself as I'm one of the new ladies around the blog. I'm Miss Fairfax and I've been an avid DC NearlyWeds reader since discovering it earlier this spring. I've found wedding blogs (this one especially!) tremendously helpful in the wedding planning process because you get to read about REAL experiences that REAL brides have had. I was pretty excited to see the post the other day asking for new bloggers and, well, here I am!

My fiance and I became engaged this winter (yay!), and having dabbled in event planning, I was rarin' to get to work planning our day. We set the date not too long ago--it's October 24, 2009 in case you're wondering--and while I can't wait for THE DAY to be here, I'm trying to savor every moment of our engagement and enjoy putting our wedding together.

So it goes without saying that I'm thrilled to join the "Nearly-Wed Band of Brides." I'm looking forward to (hopefully) making some useful contributions on the blog here and sharing the wedding planning process with you!

boooooring

Miss Westend's (welcome!) post got me to thinking about my registry. FI and I will be starting from scratch in our new place together, so we really need most of the registry basics. Here's what we have so far...



Except for the spots of red, all I see is BOOOORING! Especially after seeing Miss Westend's bright and cheery Haviland set. What's a girl to do? We've only registered at Bed Bath and Beyond so far...we'll probably set up another one at Crate and Barrel and amazon.com. There are definitely some non-traditional registries that would help inject some individuality, but I don't know if they'd be the right choice for our friends and family...

Sample Sale at Carine's Bridal

The summer sample sale season has begun! Carine's Bridal Atelier in Georgetown is having a huge sale with some pretty great deals on top-of-the-line designer dresses.

Here are some of my favs:











All prices and many more dresses are available on her website. Take a look!

Carine's Bridal Atelier
1726 Wisconsin Ave NW
(202) 965-4696

Dior-able!

It's not often that we mere mortals get the opportunity to own a piece of design history but thanks to Yoox.com some tiny girl with a lot of money to spare can own an actual 1940's era, silk, Christian Dior gown from the master's own hand. The cost: $10,000. The size: 4.

Yoox is selling off a select number or pieces from Dior and this is one of the shining stars. Most of the other items are already sold out.

I could never have spent that much on a wedding gown but I know there are many girls who drop that much cash and more. Personally, I'd rather have a Dior over a Vera any day.

So Adorable!

I know I am super cheesy but I have been looking for a piece of jewelry that I can monogram with my dog's name on it. She is two years old and is the cutest thing ever! Obviously, I am a proud parent. But she represents more than just a cute dog...my fiance and I adopted her from a shelter about two years ago when we moved in together. She represents our budding relationship and a very big commitment! All of our friends joke that she is practice for our future children - nauseating, I know!


Anyway, I had been searching all the websites that specialize in monogrammed jewelry when I stumbled upon Alli's Originals. Alli posts her story on her own blog- she is a stay at home mom who hand makes original jewelry.


On this website, you can find the Princess Charming necklaces, which have all different shapes and styles to choose from. You choose the chain, the shapes and charms, and then the monogramming. The Classy Mommy website boasts that these necklaces are great to have your husband's and children's names monogrammed on the cute necklaces.


So after thinking for a while about how cheesy I really wanted to get, I went for it and ordered a necklace with three "darling discs" - one with a heart, one with my dog's name, and one with my fiance's name! I told my fiance about this necklace that will be coming in the mail and he almost died! It will probably stay under my shirt for a while but at least it will be close to my heart.

The Other Side of Yellow

If you've been planning your wedding anytime in the last year then you are surely familiar with the bio of knottie SpringChic. Hers was the wedding that launched a thousand yellow & black themed nuptials throughout the country. And it was featured in pretty much every wedding blog...over...and over...and over again. Brides everywhere have copied her entire wedding wholesale.

And with good reason....it was fun, it was fresh, it was simple, it was modern....it's pretty much the perfect wedding. But the other day I ran across the below images from the wedding of Ellen and Caro on the Next Exit photography blog and thought it was a great example of what two different brides can do with the same space to create a different vibe.

Obviously both celebrations took place at at the Viceroy in Palm Springs. And the one thing both brides did right was work with their venue and not against it. Yellow is a key component of the design charm at the Viceroy and if they had tried to ignore it or work around it, it would have been expensive and probably unsuccessful.

Springchic used black and white as accent colors which really made the yellow vibrant and alive. Ellen and Caro used brown as an accent color which I think added a warmth to the wedding. Springchic had two gowns...both beautiful and structured which created a modern vibe while Ellen had a beautiful, unstructured, yellow Jenny Yoo gown which gave a soft and casual feel to the wedding.

I know when I was planning I loved seeing what other brides did with my venue...though none of them had the same look I was going for it was great to see how one bride's vision could transform the same space.

All photos below credited to Next Exit Photography

I am Fed up with Fine China!

Ok, so I am new to this blog... A big HELLO to all the DC brides out there!

I am getting married in a little less than a year from now- on May 24th, 2009. I thought that a year is quite a long time to plan for a wedding. Well apparently not! I am dizzy with the thought of booking the perfect photographer, booking the band that will get everyone out of their seats and dancing, ordering food that the guests will be talking about for months, buying a wedding dress that doesn't make me look like I drowned in a sea of white ruffles, and on top of all that, dealing with two very involved mothers that live 1,000 miles away from each other.

However, during the past couple of weeks, I have only been obsessing over china...like I have time for that! My fiance and I went to Bloomingdales to begin our registry. The registry consultant asked us to describe our personal styles and at the same time my fiance uttered "modern," I blurted out "classic!" Then, I quickly said we liked angles while my fiance stated that we liked solid white. I think that the consultant was confused. We also stated emphatically that we did NOT want to register for china! Who needs china? We are in our 20's! Casual, everyday dinnerware would do just fine!

Guess what? We left registered for fine china, and lots of it! But....since we had told the consultant about our modern, classic, white, angled style????, she subsequently recommended Fusion White by Bernardaud. The registry consultant had persuaded us into registering for china, telling us that we would have it for the rest of our lives and someday, at some point in our lives, we would want to entertain. We conceded.

However, I have been pondering, no obsessing, over this fine china for the past few weeks. I have been studying pictures of china on our online registry site. If we are going to register for fine china, why should it be plain, white and boring?? I decided I need some color in my life. That is when I secretly deleted our white plates and registered for Laque de Chine Gold by Haviland. The plates and other pieces come in all sorts of fun, funky colors and you can mix and match! It took me a while to decide on colors but I ended up registering for the pistachio and chocolate combination, but I love the azure and mandarin combo as well! I am absolutely giddy. There is one problem- I have not told my fiance I changed this on our registry. Hopefully, he won't mind our dinner parties where I serve a steak on pistachio-colored plates and a salad on chocolate-colored ones! Who cares? I love it!

Finding Inspiration

Yesterday I ran across the blog of make-up artist Maria Chang of Professional Makeup Artistry (thanks Jennifer Skog).

If you're like most brides you probably always have your eye out for hair and makeup inspiration and if you are like me you are probably tired of seeing then ten or so photos that everyone has in their knot.com bios.

Like all things good related to weddings Maria is unfortunately located in California but I think her blog is really inspirational, because she posts the after shots of her trial sesssions so you will have a steady stream of new and different styles to look forward to.

Here are just a few of my favorite hair and makeup inspiration shots from her blog.

My Wedding Bracelet

Still waiting on pro-pics of course but I thought I'd share with you one of my favorite wedding day accessories...my bracelet.

Originally I didn't think I was going to be a "pearl" bride, but I ended up finding a necklace I liked that happened to be made of pearls so then I started looking for other jewelry to compliment it.

I knew I wanted something that was more then just a plain pearl bracelet, but I still wanted something kind of subtle since I don't wear a lot of jewelry in general. My other problem was that I have very small wrists and a lot of bracelets "off the rack" don't fit me, so I needed to find something that would work without having to take it to a jeweler. Oh yeah, and did I mention I didn't want to pay a lot of money? I know bracelets like those from Haute Bride are all the rage, but I couldn't stomach paying the $250 + price tag and inevitably a few months after the wedding I always see things like this up for sale in someone's bio.

I kept my eye out for months, but I ended up finding the bracelet at Bloomingdales only about a week before my wedding. It fit perfectly, and even though when I bought it I had an "eh, this will do" feeling about it, I actually ended up totally loving it and I'm really happy I went for it.


^White Pearl and Crystal Bow Bracelet from Carolee

And the best part was the price...only $50...which I felt was pretty reasonable for a bracelet.

I wish I had known about the Carolee website before I got married. If you are looking for affordable wedding bracelets, earrings, necklaces, pins, and hair accessories then this site is ideal. And now you can get 15% off your next purchase if you sign up for their e-mail newsletter (you can always unsubscribe later). Doesn't get much better then that.

Once Upon A Time In Mexico

Not only are the details of Demi & Frederick's Mexico wedding amazing, the photography from Parker J Pfister is simply breathtaking. I can't wait for his new site to be up and running.


^Although they look nothing alike I can't think of a bride that more resembles Grace Kelly then Demi does in this moment. Look at her elegantly gloved hands.


^Her dress was a classic


^Beautiful shot


^Don't think your bouquet has to be large to make an impact. The small size was the perfect compliment to her outfit and the bouquet brooch is amazing.

^Don't forget the bridesmaids. They all looked so elegant...and the bride's dress choice really did compliment all their figures.

^They each carried these simple yet elegant bouquets.

^Love that pop of blue. Very fitting with the Mexican location, but the white keeps it toned down and tasteful

Any Brides Out There??

The DC Nearlyweds are getting married!! That means we need brides-to-be to fill in upcoming slots. If you are reading this then you are already addicted. The awards don't lie and neither do the readers who frequent the site from all over the world. It's HOT!

We are accepting area brides NOW! So if you are getting married anywhere near the DC Metro area (Baltimore is cool too, we don't discriminate:) in 2009, you have GOT to let us in on all your planning!! DC Nearlyweds is the perfect outlet to post your frustrations, solicit help, get a referral, recommend a great vendor, and ultimately celebrate the best day of your life!

Enjoy access to one of the country's coolest wedding planner's (blush) for assistance as you plan the wedding of your dreams. Mrs. Nearlywed is there with you every step of the way. Our brides have even been featured on the Style Network's hit show Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?

Be the first to hear about the hottest sample sales, great deals and discounts and have other brides to help you make those all important decisions.

Send us a short email to Blogwithus dcnearlyweds com about you and your fiance, and about your wedding planning to date. Don't forget your wedding date! We are dying to hear from you!!!

BR Wedding Clutch

With the right dress this clutch would be a great wedding purse. 30% off at Banana Republic...marked down from $98 to $68.