Back to "square" one

Remember when I mentioned that I had square vases and votive holders on the way?? Well. The votive holders came in last week. I was super excited - until I opened the package. Note to self: READ THE DESCRIPTION OF THE ITEMS YOU ORDER OFF THE INTERNET. They were tiny. Teeny tiny. And the website said perfectly clear that they were 2" squares. Ok my candles are 2 inches...that doesn't leave room for ANYTHING else. DUH. So luckily the website has a generous return policy :) Those are being returned...and after playing with my centerpieces some more (see DIY post) I decided to nix the square votive holders and do round instead. I know, I know, how indecisive can I be...

So today, I ordered THESE:

This time, I measured my votive candles first, and actually read the size listed on the website :) So hopefully these will work. Since we're making our own candles, we have a bit of leeway on the height, just not the width - and I made CERTAIN that the width would work. (I say that now...) So the OCD girl is doing it - ROUND votive holders with SQUARE vases :O can you believe it?! But I think it's going to look really good!


I also ordered 12 of these:
which I will use for the candles going down the aisle. (see DIY post for picture of that) It's hard to tell from the picture but it's just a cylindrical vase, very simple. And much cheaper online than in most stores!! Both items came from save-on-crafts.



So, hopefully both of these items will work out and I won't be returning anything else...but no guarantees there.



Also - I received the square vases yesterday. I haven't even opened the package yet (it was a busy and stressful evening last night...). I will have to take a picture of it before I do, though...it is the funniest looking package you've ever seen! It's a giant bubble! Please keep your fingers crossed for me that what's inside the bubble will work for my centerpieces... I'd hate to try to wrap that package up to send back... ;)

DIY Extravaganza!

Yesterday, I made the mistake of going to Michael's on my way home from work. I went there for a hot-glue gun. I came home with a whole ton of stuff - and no hot-glue gun. Oops. Guess you could say I got a little...er...distracted... A lot of the stuff I bought will be part of my gift to my bridesmaids (so I won't be posting pics, sorry!) but I also got some supplies to finish the flower girl baskets (well, one of them...) and play around with centerpiece ideas. Of course the first thing I did when I got home was take over the kitchen table and had myself a DIY extravaganza!
First of all, the flower girl baskets:

Before

After!

You have to tilt your head for this one...sorry about that :)

I originally bought some coral silk gerberas to put on the sides (where the bows are) but I decided that was a little too much. I'm thinkin simple is better. I used up all my ribbon on this one, so I need to go back and find some more so I can finish the second one. And since I didn't do the silk flowers on it, I didn't even end up needing the hot-glue gun! :D

My next project was some centerpiece action. I found a (plastic) Ivory tablecloth to simulate what I will have at our venue (the real thing will be much prettier - and less wrinkly :) I also recently decided that I am nixing the coral runner idea, so I wanted to see how that would look. So for the flower centerpieces (which will be on half the tables), this is what I'm thinking...

For the other half of the tables, I'm just going to do a simple candle centerpiece, using the same vases as the others. This is my first mock-up:

I'm still not sure what color petals I'll use - possibly the same color as the ones I got for the flower girls (which is a pinkish coral) or just an ivory. The ones pictured came out of a box I got at Michael's, which was called coral - but it was really just 1/3 pink, 1/3 orange, and then these ivory ones with orangeish tips. The ivory/orange ones are what I used in the picture. I'm also not sure about the pillar candle - the one pictured is ivory, but I'm thinking of having Matt's mom make them in the same coral as the votives will be. Oh, and I also am pretty sure I've changed my mind and want to go with round votive holders instead of square. :) I actually received the square ones I ordered this week, but they are WAY smaller than I thought. Like tea light size. So those will be getting returned. And I've pretty much just decided that this is just a sign that I should have ordered round ones. :)

The last thing I played with was the aisle decoration. I am going to line either side of the runner with petals, and then do a pillar candle in a cylinder vase every few feet, sort of like this:

(tilt your head again. sorry, the computer doesn't like me today...) I stole this idea from another bride, but I really like it. I think it's really elegant, but I love the simplicity. So now I just need to find some cheap pillar candles and cylinder vases!!

Well, that's all of my DIY adventures for this week. What do you think?? I think I'm getting there. I'm not 100% happy with everything, yet, but I know that is mostly because everything is sort of half-done. When I have the real flowers, on the real tablecloth, with the real candles, etc., I think it will look great. At least I'm hoping!!

In other news - the invitations are almost done!! Woo hoo!! I should be finished with the design next week and ready to order those bad boys!! Once they're all sent out and everything I'll post pics.

Well, happy Friday! Here's to hoping I get some more wedding stuff checked off the list this weekend! :)

Impulse Buy

So these may not end up being "the ones" but I found these shoes on eBay (ok, actually a realie found them for me...) and fell in love. Not to mention they were CHEAP. Like Mama T. cheap. So I caved and bought them. There is a good chance they will be too small (they are a 7.5, I usually wear an 8) or that I won't love them as much in person, but oh well!

As of right now I'm in love, and for the time being THESE are my wedding shoes:

Aren't they FAB?! I may have to add some bling to them, but I guess I should see if they fit first once they come in. :)

In other news, Matt booked us a hotel for the wedding night yesterday, YAY! We'll be staying on the Plaza, at the Sheraton. I know, the Plaza is nowhere near Paola, but we thought it was a good choice for a couple reasons- 1: we want a limo/towncar/something to wisk us away after the reception, and why pay them for an hour if they only had to drive us 5 min to the Best Western? 2: we aren't leaving for the honeymoon until Monday. So now, we can go to lunch and spend some quality hubby and wifey time together at the Plaza on Sunday. 3: I don't have any more reasons, but I'm excited either way! Next on the list is figuring out the transportation that will get us there. :)

Making (some) progress...

Well well. It's been a while since I've given an update hasn't it... (other than my bridezilla freak out moment from last week :) I can't say I have a whole lot to update on, but I'll give ya what I got...

Matt's Ring

We looked at Helzberg over the weekend, and Matt picked out one that he liked. It is made of Tungsten, which we're told is scratch resistant and very durable (a MUST for him). I couldn't find a picture of his exact choice, but this is pretty close:

It's very simple, but i like it!

Centerpieces

I still haven't received all of my vases and votive holders, but thought I'd post the pics from the website since I never did that.

There are 12 of these bad boys on the way (which will hopefully match the 4 that I currently have...) coming from this website

And 72 (yes SEVENTY TWO) of these. coming from this website.

Inspiration

I will soon be receiving an awesome Inspiration Board from The Blissful Bride, and this is the preview of my color palate that she sent:

Not that you didn't know what my colors were (I know, I'm slightly obsessed...) but I thought it was a good teaser :) I can't wait to see what she creates!

Flower Girls

Baskets- still in the works. I am almost done spray painting them, they just need one final coat. It started raining when I was doing them, so I couldn't finish. After that I'll just need to dig out my hot-glue gun and put the finishing touches on them. I'll be sure to post pics when I (finally) get them done!

Dresses- I got a call from Jen last week...the dresses are in! I'm anxiously awaiting pictures of the girls trying them on. Once I have them you bet I'll post!

Passports

On the way!! I took Friday afternoon off so that Matt and I could get our pictures done and turn in our applications at the post office (which only does passports until 3pm...crazy isn't it?!). Now we just have to wait for either a call saying we did something wrong :) or the real thing in our mailbox! The guy at the post office said they're currently only taking 2-3 weeks, so shouldn't be long!

Shoes

:( Nothing to report. Matt is the trooper of all fiances and went shoe shopping with me on Friday, but we left empty handed. I'm running out of places to look. Who knew that a hot pink glamorous shoe with a 2" or less heal would be so hard to find?! I'm not giving up just yet though...

Hair

I made our appointments for the wedding day! EEK! And I have a trial on July 8th. another EEK!

Whew. Seems like a lot, but the to-do list is still way too long for my liking. I haven't quite finished up March's items, but hopefully this week I will. Then I'll have a whole 4 days to get April's stuff done! YIKES. Time is flying. As of Saturday, we are 3 MONTHS AWAY. That seems like nothing! It has always seemed so far away until now... it's right around the corner! I'm super excited and totally freaked out all at the same time. I think that's how I'm supposed to feel though...right?!?!

Stay tuned, hopefully lots of updates this week!

Too much to do!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not sure what it is about today, but I'm having a panic attack of sorts about the wedding. I busted out my comprehensive TO DO list (which I created in February, a month by month list of what I should be getting done - only 5 pages long...) and freaked out. I haven't even finished 1/2 of the stuff listed for March! So my lunch break today has been a wedding planning bonanza. I'm sending emails left and right just trying to get something accomplished. I need to kick it into high gear, I reeeeally don't want to be rushing around at the last minute trying to get everything done.

One thing I did accomplish in full today was some online ordering - always fun. :) I ordered the silk petals for the FG baskets (from Petal Garden, only $2.99 for a bag of 100!). This sounds like an easy task, but of course there are like 200 colors to choose from (I think it's actually more like 72. But that's close to 200, right?!). They do offer FREE samples (which is AMAZING) so I had some of those mailed to me and spent a good week or so debating which color to go with. They had one called Coral, but it was pretty much pastel pink. The one I ended up going with is called Mauve...but it matches the flowers I'm putting on the baskets pretty well so I'm content with the decision. :) I also got my votive candle holders ordered. Another trying decision for me - square or round?! I went with square. Consistency. Hopefully they are what I'm imagining when they arrive, the picture online was pretty tiny. Oh, and I ordered them from candles4less.

Now I just have another 10 or so items from March to finish up so I can move on to April...maybe I'll get to it before the month is freaking OVER.

Well, now that I've blogged about my overwhelming to do list, I feel a little better. Off to add to the "Things to do this week" list...

And the winner is...

First of all, I have to say- I have the awesomest bridesmaids EVER. No really. These girls are fantastic. Especially when it comes to shopping. :) As I mentioned, we met at DSW yesterday so they could all pick out their shoes. I told them they could choose whichever pair of shoes they like, just as long as they are brown. They all wanted me to go shopping with them, just to be sure I approved of their choices. Fine by me, I'll never turn down a chance to go shoe shopping! Anyway, after we got there and chit chatted for a bit, we started the search. I'm telling you, not 5 minutes later, all the girls are huddled around one pair of shoes, each one of them has it on, and they all look at eachother and agree "this is the one!" I couldn't believe it!! One store, about 10 minutes, and they all come out with the same pair of shoes which was available in all the right sizes, and not too expensive! SWEET! So here is their choice...









Only imagine it in brown. (or if your reeeally curious, click here to see it on the website in brown :)


Now that all the girls have their shoes picked out, I am feeling even more pressure to find mine. I actually bought a pair from Target yesterday...

I was absolutely in love with these...that is until I got them home and tried them on. Not only are they super-uncomfortable, but they make me a good 3 inches. if not more, taller than Matt. That's not exactly the look I was going for.


But seriously, aren't they fabulous? They're coral! And super cute! And they were only 30 bucks! But the stupid heel is too tall. Bummer. I guess the search shall continue...


P.S. Happy Easter!!
(check out some Easter-themed photos on my photography blog...click here)

Shoe Inspiration

The bridesmaid dresses came at the PERFECT time, because we have a shoe-shopping trip planned for tomorrow! In light of that, I decided to check out DSW's Website for some inspiration... I am letting the girls each pick out their own shoes, the only requirement is that they're brown... Just thought it would be fun to post some shoes that I would pick, and we'll see what the girls actually come home with tomorrow. :D

I realize that these aren't all brown, but according to the website they all come in brown. So what do you think?? I think any of these would look great with the long dresses... we'll see if the bridesmaids agree with me!!

SURPRISE!!!!

What an awesome surpise I got tonight. It's about 4:30, I just got home from work, and there's a knock at the door. Matt answers it, and it's the UPS guy. I knew it was for me, and I knew it was wedding related, but I really had no idea what it was. Then I saw the box, and I REALLY had no idea what it was. The only 2 things I can think of that are on the way are vases (12 of them, at 14" tall a piece) and the bridesmaid dresses (although they are set to ship on April 27). The box looked way too small to be either one of those, so I was really puzzeled. It was like Christmas! Opening this box, no idea what's inside, but knowing it's for me... and what was inside...

THE BRIDESMAID DRESSES!!

Holy crap! Almost an entire month early! I was jumping up and down I was so excited. Matt didn't understand. (Men. They just don't get it.) So I immediately started taking them all out, and admiring their amazingness. And then I tried one on. I know, I know, not my dress, I'm not even the one who will be wearing it in the wedding, but what's a girl supposed to do when 6 (yes SIX) dresses are sitting in her living room! Duh! Try one on! So sorry to the bridesmaid who is closest in size to me...your dress has been tried on. Deal with it. :) I put it back on the hanger and in it's plastic just like it was, so you'll never know.

Now for some pictures!!

Close up of the detail on the waistline...

Aren't they FABULOUS!! I am in love. Even more so than when we picked them out. Good choice girls :D

We passed!

Ok, so they didn't really grade us, but still. Jessica and I made it through the 5 week calligraphy class! Last night was our last class. We don't by any means feel like "pros" yet, but I'd have to say we are certainly better than when we started...that's somethin, right?? We still have a month or so of practice time, so hopefully in that time we CAN become pros!!

Check out this sweet certificate we got at the end of class:

As I'm sure you could tell, we got to put our name and date on our certificate ourselves. Not too shabby for a beginner, eh? You better believe this bad boy is hanging on my fridge right now. :) And I can guarantee you that Jessica's is too... we're cool like that.

Playa del Carmen: HERE WE COME!

In case you hadn't guessed it... my big announcement is that WE BOOKED OUR HONEYMOON!! And if you can't tell, I'm a little excited about it... :)

We will be leaving the Monday after our wedding (at 5:30am! Yikes!) and heading to The Royal resort in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. (click the link to check out their website) We will enjoy 7 days of all inclusive luxury in our ocean view room only a walk from the beach. I couldn't be more excited.

We booked our honeymoon through Shari at Pathfinder Travel & Cruises in Olathe. She is fantastic. We spent a good 2 hours with her yesterday making our final decision, and she helped us to find some great deals and ensured us our vacation will be amazing.

Just have to get our passports now, and then we're good to go. Let the countdown begin: 3 1/2 months until I am sitting on the beach, with my hubby next to me and a big drink in my hand. :D Ahh... paradise...

Napkins

The other day (Tuesday I think it was...) I got home from work to find a FedEx tag on our door, saying that we had a package. I was annoyed at first, because it is always a pain to hunt those packages down once the delivery guy discovers you aren't home. BUT, much to my surprise I found a note on the tag saying that he left the package (of all places) behind our recycling bin! I honestly wasn't sure what was in the package, but I knew it could be one of many wedding items I've ordered off the internet recently. :) And I was right! It was my personalized cocktail napkins:
And here are pictures of each of them individually:

Yes, that's a John Lennon quote. :) It was originally going to be on the invites, but I decided to make them more formal so I stuck the quote on our napkins instead!

And of course I had to do some with our names...

I really debated on whether or not to even order personalized napkins. To me, most of the ones out there are rather...cheesy. Not to mention they cost an arm and a leg!! Every time I would find them cheap, they wouldn't have a single design that I liked. And every time I found a design that I liked, they were super expensive! I was about to give up, when I discovered this website. The American Wedding had all sorts of designs to choose from (including the PERFECT daisy :) and great prices! So my hope was restored and we are now having our own special napkins at the wedding. Some will go on the bar, and some at the cake table.

I also received another part of the bridesmaid's gifts in the mail that same day...but of course I won't be posting pictures of those. Just know that they are super cool, and hand-made. :)

Oh, and by the way...tomorrow *should* be a BIG day in wedding planning world...hopefully I have some really exciting news to report!! :D

So stinkin' CUTE!

How freaking adorable is THIS: It's a DIY Envelope liner...and yes that is CORAL and BROWN you see!! I think I have just assigned another DIY project to myself. :D

P.S. I discovered this AWESOMENESS on this post from Lucky Designs' blog. On there you can find the link to the website where there are a bunch more awesome liners available for download.

If you couldn't tell I'm bored at work today. Too bad I don't have my pictures uploaded to this computer...I have several updates to blog about!! Guess you'll just have to stay tuned!