Ready, Waiting and Rescheduled

In 15 minutes I was supposed to go to my final dress fitting with Heart to Heart Bridal. I was all prepared, too. Earlier this week I wrote a long list of items to bring with me. I'm all about lists! Want to see?

• Camera
• Gold shoes (both pairs)
• Veils (my two-tier beaded masterpiece and my to-be-finished birdcage)
• Tape measure (to get the length just right for my two-tier veil)
• Pins (to mark appropriate veil length)
• Necklace
• Earrings
• Spanx-like undergarments
• Make-up to retouch and amp up my work look for pics
• Contacts (again reminder to amp up my normal work look)
• Bridesmaids' wraps and ushers' ties (to double check the color match between these and the ties we picked for the groomsmen and dads)

Whew! See, I was all ready. Sadly, I got a call last night that changed my plans. It seems my seamstress is about to be a grandma again (her daughter was having contractions last night) and the shop owner had a family illness that was going to leave her out of the office. So, the shop kindly called me to suggest we reschedule for another time.

While I'm disappointed that I don't get to see my "pretty" today, I'm glad the shop made the call. I definitely want the best possible experience trying on the dress again after the alterations, and I'd be all nervous if the seamstress wasn't available "just in case."

So, for now my appointment is rescheduled for NEXT Friday afternoon. In the meantime, I'll try to blog about some of the items on that long list up there.

Any of your plans get post-poned or delayed recently? Did you go with the flow?

Rice? Birdseed? Not us.

If you've been following along with my posts, you'll remember that our ceremony and our reception are all in the same place. Since our guest are staying put, they won't be positioned outside the church steps for the traditional birdseed toss at the bride and groom. This is one of many wedding rituals we're doing "our way." (Okay, really my way, though Erik does pop in for a decision now and then.)

When you think about it, birdseed isn't really the tradition anyway. Before the myth that rice is harmful to birds (I looked it up. It's baloney.), rice was the seed of choice. Depending on what culture you're looking at, it was a symbol of good wishes, fruitfulness, fertility, warding off evil, etc. Today, the "toss" has turned into more of a celebratory gesture like throwing a graduation cap into the air. I've seen wheat, those champagne-bottle firework poppers, bubbles, pennants (to wave not throw) and bio-degradable confetti.

So back to what WE'RE doing. Without the change of location, our guests will likely perform the toss as we walk back down the aisle as husband and wife. This means whatever they toss will bounce off of us and land on the newly refinished wood floor in the historical landmark that is our venue--and of course will need to be picked up before our dancing begins. So, confetti was out (scratches the floor), petals would have worked, but they'd likely get crushed under foot and be a little difficult to clean up. 

My solution? Yarn pom-poms! Think I'm nuts? I think it's perfect, myself. It allows me to incorporate my love of knitting, will be much nicer than being pelted by hard seeds ( I can just imagine them going down the front and back of my dress.) and will just look really cool. Don't believe me. Here, let me help you picture it. Look at my inspiration for the whole thing:

How sweet is that! Source

I've started making my own with yarn I had in my stash and have solicited some local friends to help me amass the large amount I need. We're going to get started on this in early March. That gives us almost three months before the big day.

I'm thinking everyone needs at least three (a nice little handful). Multiply that by 150 guest . . . .150 x 3 = 450 little fluffy pom-poms. I think we'll stick to purples, blacks and golds. Wish us luck!

Did you (or are you planning to) incorporate your crafty talents into your wedding planning? Did you start early enough to avoid a rush of DIY projects the week of your wedding?

Classy Ring Holders

As much as I love my ring, I have to confess it doesn't stay on my finger 24/7. Given its high setting, I take it off before I step into the shower (so it doesn't get snagged while I wash my hair), when I'm working with anything particularly dirty in the kitchen, or when I go to yoga (jewelry tends to get in the way in some poses). 

Now, down the road I expect I'll get all blasé about the ring and wear it all the time without thinking. But until then, I decided I needed a safe place to keep it when it's not on my finger. I had this in mind when I went to last summer's What Cheer Flea Market. This, by the way, is the flea market to end all flea markets. Filling the entire fair grounds, it takes all day to see everything once. I knew I'd be able to find what I was looking for. In fact, I found two:

Aren't they pretty?! I have one of these depression glass hands by my kitchen sink and one in our bathroom.

And here's a shot of one of the hands with my engagement ring, my garnet ring (also from Erik) and my watch. Sorry for the mediocre photo. I've got some glamour shots scheduled for my e-ring. I'll be sure to show it to it's best advantage soon.

Where do you keep your ring, or does it never leave your finger?

Michael's Score!

So, my number one rule during all this wedding planning has been simple: Only buy something if you have room in the budget and it's part of the plan. BUT Friday, I had a 50% off coupon for Michael's Craft Store burning a hole in my wallet, and I needed some ribbon for a project. 

Half an hour later, I walked out of the store spending 10 times what I expected --  of course I expected to spend $3.00. All in all, I'm pretty proud of my haul. Check it out:

See those gold frames? I picked up a dozen at $1 each. They're going to showcase descriptions of our fabulous hors d'oeuvres and yummy cake flavors (definitely the subject of another post). Picture them typed in vintage typewriter font. 

The black ribbon is what I originally went in the store for. I'm using it on a project for my bridesmaids, so mum's the word on that. I found some other little gifts for them as well, which will have to wait for a description AFTER the wedding. 

Last, I found a Crayola color-in-the-lines poster. You can't tell, but it's a poster with jungle leaves and butterflies. I thought I'd designate one of our tables a "kids table" with this poster, some crayons and a few other games. We don't have many children on the guest list, but it will be fun to include them, and it's an easy project.

So, these are my latest wedding buys. They're really starting to pile up. You should see our second bedroom and the two bookshelves in our basement and the dining table downstairs. Eeek!

My hair icons

Warning for any guys who happen to stumble onto this blog: this is a girly post! That said, to achieve my Old Hollywood look, we definitely have to spend some time talking about hair, right?

First, let's talk about the stylist. I scouted around for local salons that offered both a space for my girls and I to get ready together and and didn't charge an arm and a leg. No dice. Then, I lit on Plan B: a family friend (Trish) who's been behind the scenes at multiple family weddings, she's done my hair before, her prices are very reasonable, etc. I though, why not ask if she's willing to trapse up to Iowa for my wedding? The worst she can do is say "no." But, I think you know where this is going. She actually said "yes" and will be helping my group get ready in our cozy hotel suite on our big day!

Second, let's look at what we have to work with. Most of my life, I have had long, thick, naturally wavy hair. And at special events, I often convinced someone to tame it into an updo, like Trish did when my sister got married.  But, three or four years ago, I finally drummed up the courage to go short. With the wedding on the horizon, though I've spent the better part of the year slowly growing it out so, I can emulate my glamourous Old Hollywood icons. In chronological order:

And, the goal? Channel one of these movie sirens in a down-do (Maureen O'Hara and Lauren Becall). My hair's just about Lauren's length now.

And of course, I've scouted out some options for my bridesmaids. Check out Elizabeth Taylor, Katherine Hepburn and Grace Kelly:

I admit, I had an ulterier motive for looking up these short pictures. If I don't think my hair is long enough by May or if I just can't live with the growing out stage, I figure I can always chop it and go back to short hair. 

What do you think? Should I strive for medium or short hair on my wedding day? If you come across a glamourous hair picture I need to see, let me know!

Help us build our playlist!

If our wedding style is "vintage," then our dance theme is "retro." What's your favorite tune from the 50's, 60's, 70's 80's or 90's? Our super cool DJ service has an online music request system. That means you can add your favorite tune to our dance playlist. Just visit A Fine Affair DJ at http://www.gigbuilder.com/cal/ia/afineaffairdj.nsf/guestlogin.html.

Simply input our wedding date (May 29, 2010) and the following case-sensetive password: SaraErikGuest

Note: As bride and groom, we reserve the right to veto anything we don't like. I'd avoid any current rap or country songs, if I were you. I'll leave you with some photos for inspiration:

 

January blizzards, May flowers?

Yesterday, I worked from home because we had yet another snow storm here in Iowa (and 52 cars in the ditch on my route to work convinced me that was a very smart move). On this cold inhospitable day, my florist or "flower lady," as I like to call her, e-mailed me to shore up the details of our wedding flowers!

So, since I haven't shared these with you yet, let me open with my inspiration photos for our wedding color scheme:

This first picture with the black cocktail dresses and the dark purple tulips. Don't those tulips look so lux?!

And then the combo of purple and white flowers in the second photo has me sold on my second flower color.

Tulips will be the main flower in our wedding, but I love peonies too much to ignore them on my big day. (My sister featured pink and fushia peonies in her wedding and it was gorgeous!) I'm putting my own spin on them and using white peonies to keep in my color scheme. In fact, I'll likely call on my aunts and grandmas gardens to provide some of these beauties.

My bouquet: I want something like this picture only with all purple tulips. I’ve got something in mind for a ribbon on this bouquet. If it doesn’t pan out, a shimmery gold ribbon would be fine.

Bridesmaid bouquets: I’m picturing these with white tulips and purple filler. They can be much less structured than mine (no banana leaves), and the gold ribbon will work with them also.

Altar arrangements: These can be similar to the bridesmaid dresses. I’ll leave the design up to my florist to somehow incorporate all of the wedding flowers from the purple tulips and filler to the white peonies and tulips.

Cake flowers: We’re actually having several round cakes as more of a desert buffet, and a mini two-tier cake for us to cut. The mini-cake will be 8” on the bottom and 6” on the top. I’m picturing purple and white tulips on top and maybe a few blooms on the sides like this picture.

DIY Centerpieces: I’m planning to types of centerpieces to be placed on alternating round tables. Since we last spoke I’ve been busy collecting vintage vases and pedestal candy dishes (see pics).

Centerpiece #1: I’m picturing two purple tulips and one white one in all of my tall arrangements very simply placed in my vases.

Centerpiece #2: My low arrangements are going to be white peony heads floating in the candy dishes. We’ll need about 10 of these as well.

I have 20 vases or candy dishes now and will likely pick up a few more before the wedding, so I don’t think I’ll need to rent any vases.I think this should be simple enough for my wedding party/family to do as long as my flower lady delivers the flowers. Does this seem practical?

I'm very excited about all of this, and can't wait to see it all come together. But I'm trying hard to make it super simple so we can just plunk these down on the tables the morning of the wedding and be golden!