Bridesmaids' Dress

Went out and picked them today!

Our Wedding Cake

Centerpieces - Alternatives

Even with the bare minimum, our floral budget way too high. So, we are looking into flowerless centerpieces. Just by cutting out centerpieces we save over $1000.00. Some ideas we have liked are:

Round glass bowls with pillar candles inside surrounded by a few votive candles


Tall hurricane type lamps with candles inside


From the Martha Stewart Weddings website, one large basket of fruit works as a centerpiece (maybe pomegranates?), and small baskets of cherries at each place setting serve as guest favors


Also from the Martha Stewart website, the favors themselves could serve as a centerpiece



On a separate note, the place where we are thinking of having the wedding has these big wooden barrels sitting outside and I found this picture online. Not sure I like the look, but something to think about...

Lanterns for the Reception

Available from www.weddingstyle.ca, $12.95 each

Another Wedding Bouquet I Love

Flowers

I love the casual, sweet, rustic look of these flowers for reception and ceremony decor. This picture was scanned from the December (?) issue of Bride's magazine.

Some Invitations We Are Considering

From Invitation Consultants:




From Wedding Paper Divas:

Shoes

I ordered possible wedding shoes. I got them from Zappos.com for $77.95. No tax and free overnight shipping. And, 8% cash back from the Lucky Rewards Club. Great deal overall. I hope they fit and are comfortable. I guess I'll know tomorrow. I went with these because the wedding ceremony will most likely be held outdoors, but I need a heel because I am five feet tall while K is 6'1". So this wedge will add height without sinking into the ground while I walk down the aisle.

I love the shoes. They're not designer or anything but let's face it, I'm on a budget. We'll see how they fit.

Bridesmaid Cookies

My maid of honor lives in New York. I've known her for over ten years. She's a busy busy girl and makes it down here maybe once a year. I have yet to go visit her in New York, partly due to monetary issues, but mostly due to my fear of flying. I want to ask her to be my maid of honor, but I don't want to do it via email or text message which is our usual method of keeping in touch. I don't want to wait until she comes down here for Christmas either. So this is what I've come up with:


These cute cookies are available from Weddingish.com for $6.50 plus S&H.

Our Engagement

K proposed on a weekend trip to Key West, FL. He surprised me with the weekend getaway, but it didn't strike me as suspicious for two reasons. First, we had just finished moving that week and we needed the getaway after all that packing and dealing with movers, etc. Second, K is always pulling romantic stunts like this, one of the innumerable reasons why I love him.

The drive down to the Keys took two hours. During the ride down we kept each other entertained with our usual banter. We laughed at the different Key names: Vaca Key, Jewfish Key...I fed him Baked Lays while he drove. We sang along with the radio and finally tuned it to the classical station when we couldn't take our tone deaf singing anymore. K had brought some fruit rollups and we tried to dye our tongues different colors by holding the fruit rollups in our mouths as long as possible.


Finally, we reached our hotel, the Southernmost Hotel on the Beach. It was beautiful! We had a view of the beach and the ocean and a private balcony. We threw our stuff in the room and immediately ran downstairs and rented bikes. We rode our bikes up and down Duval Street and then locked up our bikes and went into Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville for lunch. K had a cheeseburger, because he insisted on eating a "cheeseburger in paradise".

After lunch we biked over to the Conch Train Depot and took the Conch Train Tour. The tour was nice and relaxing. At one point the tour guide began talking about how the Keys was the "Conch Republic" and the local high school cheerleaders were called the "Conchettes". Except over the loudspeaker it sounded more like "cock" than "conch" so K and I were overcome with a fit of the giggles.


Eventually, we abandoned the tour group and rode our bikes back to the hotel. When we got back to the hotel, they were setting up for a wedding on the beach. I was immediately absorbed in the wedding, and we sat out on our balcony eating fudge and watching the wedding preparations. K suggested we go down to the pier and watch the sunset. I reluctantly agreed. We went out to the end of the pier and sat wrapped in each other's arms. But I was impatient and antsy. I wanted to see the wedding. So K obliged and we stood by and watched the wedding procession. Appeased, I agreed to go back to the pier, but now it was thronged with people so K suggested going back to the room and watching the sunset from our balcony.

As soon as we got in the room K surprised me with a big bear hug. Then he pulled back and asked me how much I loved him. I answered honestly that I loved him more than I had words to express. He smiled and asked if I wanted to know how much he loved me. I said yes. So he went down on one knee and pulled a small box out of his pocket and asked, "Will you marry me?"

I know it's a cliche, but I started to cry. I immediately shouted, "Yes K, I'll marry you!" And then collapsed in a fit of happy giggles and we hugged and hugged. Tomorrow it will be one week since we got engaged. I've been smiling ever since.

Wedding Gown Decisions

I'm torn. I'm 90% sure about my wedding gown but am worried about depriving myself of the big bridal gown shopout experience with my mom. On the one hand, the mere thought of having to sort through rack after rack of white tulle and lace exhausts me. But on the other hand, I don't want to miss out on any crucial wedding experiences and then regret it later.

Ever since my fiance K and I began talking about the possibility of tying the knot I have had my eye on the following dress from J.Crew.


The problem is, I can't try it on. They only sell it online or through their catalog, hence my dilemma. I suppose I could always return it if I don't like it. And you can't beat the price. It's currently on sale for $225! It's simple and pretty and no-fuss which I love. Buying my dress online spares me the trauma of trying on dress after dress in front of some snooty sales clerk. Always a plus. But I don't get to see my mom get all weepy as I model dresses for her. It's a thinker...

Some other options which I found online are this gown from Winnie Couture.


Pretty, but more than twice the price of the J.Crew dress and I would have to hunt it down.

The if-I-had-an-unlimited-wedding-budget award goes to the following gown from Agusta Jones.


It's beautiful, but I don't see myself plunking down over $1500 for a dress. It's just not me.

As for the veil, I'm not sure I'll wear one. But if I do, I'm in love with the idea of a matte, opaque silk chiffon elbow-length like Charlotte from Sex & the City wore. Except hers is worn a bit high on the head for my taste.



But I'd have to see the dress before making any veil decisions. Fortunately, writing out my thoughts has helped me reach a decision. I'm off to order the J.Crew dress!

Bridal Bouquet

I'm thinking pink peonies for my bridal bouquet. Maybe four or five, no more. I'm five feet tall and weigh 102 lbs. I don't want to be outdone by my own bouquet.

I love peonies. They look messy and wild yet elegant all the same. I love these Sarah Bernhardt peonies (taken from marthastwart.com) because they are vibrant and pink and happy, sort of like I will be when I carry them down the aisle. (Cheese alert!)

Here's some other pictures of what I have in mind. These are taken from theknot.com.