Nina's Project: Wedding

Shoes That Pop!

2010-07-08T21:33:00.000-05:00

A few months ago I posted about finding the Ever After shoes and how I wanted to wear them for the wedding. Just in case you don't remember them, here they are again.

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Beautiful, huh? Well, I'm not wearing them for the wedding anymore! Now, don't get me wrong, those shoes are absolutely gorgeous and I still love them. However, they didn't quite fit so I had to come up with a back up plan.

A few weeks back, my MOH and I went shopping for shoes and jewelry for the wedding. I also wanted to find undergarments for my dress, since I have an alterations appointment coming up, but more on that later.

We both had a rough idea of what kind of shoe we wanted. She was looking for cute silver heels while I decided I wanted to walk down the aisle in fuchsia shoes. Yes, you read that right. I went from white Cinderella shoes to fuchsia heels. Don't ask, my mind can be quite a mess sometimes! Anyways, my MOH didn't have to look long for her shoes. She found the perfect pair at the second store we visited.

I didn't have quite the same luck. There was not a single pair of fuchsia shoes in the entire mall. Several shades of light pink but no fuchsia. I was very disappointed but my MOH saved the day! She suggested a certain website called Zappos [seriously, hit it up if you haven't done so already] that had hundreds of shoes and free shipping.

I was a bit skeptical at first, but after browsing their selection I found the perfect pair of shoes. I just had to have them! I have never in my entire life spent so much money on a pair of shoes before [then again, most of my shoes are under $20] but these are so worth it. I mean, just look how pretty!

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I was a little afraid that they might not go with the dress, but when I tried them on with the dress it looked absolutely fabulous! It's the perfect pop of color! I love these shoes so much I want to wear them already!

Did you change your mind about your wedding shoes? Did you choose white or a pop of color?

Anxiety

2010-07-08T07:33:00.000-05:00

You might be wondering about the title, a bit random maybe? This is my blow-off-steam and venting song from college. My song of choice when I feel like punching something [and, dare I say, maybe even someone] and I’ve been repeatedly playing it these last few days. Keep on reading to find out why.

A wedding should be cause for joy and celebration. It is only too often that we forget about the not-so-pleasant situations that accompany a wedding [and yet are left out from most wedding magazines, blogs, etc].

Our wedding planning has been mostly smooth sailing, perhaps because we’re having a small affair. However, this past week has been something else. We are nearly at our two-month mark and one memory has been screaming at me.

It was this past December, and the Mister and I had gone back home to attend a good friend’s wedding. I was sitting at my mom’s kitchen island contemplating our current family situation. The words that came out of my mouth are, still, a little unexpected – both for me and the Mister.

“Let’s just run off to Vegas and elope. It’ll be so much easier.”

Three very unexpected situations have happened in just a four-day timeframe. I can’t help but laugh at the first one. Although annoying, it was still a pretty minor thing, and easily fixable. [Yes, we can pick up my uncles and grandmother at 4:00pm on a Thursday afternoon, at the airport that’s normally 45 minutes away from us, through rush hour traffic, and still make it to our 6:00pm wedding rehearsal – right!]

The other two, well, those are a little bit bigger [although completely unfounded, 8th-grade-drama type of issues] that can be hurtful and emotionally exhausting. The most disheartening thing is that one of them came out of left field from the least expected person. [Big “Vegas” neon flashing sign, anyone? No? Just me?]

It’s seven months after my random statement at my mom’s house and I’m still not sure if the Mister thought I was serious or not. I know I was, although I’m not sure I would have followed through on it. Would it have been worth it? Such a simple question probably deserves an equally simple answer.

No, it wouldn’t have been worth it.

This is our wedding. This is our day. Yes, it is important for my family and his, but, ultimately, it is ours. It’s our choice, our decision, and our prerogative to have the wedding and marriage of our dreams.

Although selfish, and maybe a little immature, sometimes the only way to go to retain some sanity is to just say “Screw it, this is our wedding, and we’ll do whatever the hell we want!”

Has your wedding planning been smooth sailing or have the big waves of drama crashed down on you? What’s your blow-off-steam song?

Yummies in Our Tummies

2010-05-05T21:59:00.000-05:00

Today's been one of those days. You know the ones I'm talking about, where things don't seem to go right or the day just feels plain weird. I woke up late, not feeling that great today, and, even though I had planned on staying a bit later today at work, I ended up leaving later than that. Don't get me started on the drive home. However, once I got home and checked my mail, I saw the latest issue of Brides Magazine and started to feel better already.

So I sat back, enjoyed all the wedding-porn-filled-pages while sipping some Coke {a certain Puerto Rican rum may or may not have found its way into my Coke}, and just relaxed. Ah, feels so good!

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Now, let's talk about the menu. A few weekends ago, the Mister, my MOH, and I went to our tasting. Oh. My. God. This has to be one of the best parts of wedding planning. I wish we had taken pictures, but we were so involved with the food that we just forgot about it!

The food was absolutely delicious. We tasted appetizers, salads, potatoes, vegetables, entrees, and even cakes! Here's what we had:

Appetizers:

Fresh Fruit Cocktail
Minestrone Soup
Cream of Chicken with Rice Soup
Pasta with Marinara Sauce

Salads:

Fresh Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing
Chef's Tossed Salad with Creamy Cucumber
Caesar Salad
Mesclyn Mixed Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Potatoes:

Twice Baked Potato
Red Potatoes with Dill Butter
Duchess Potato

Vegetables:

Glazed Carrots
Green Beans Almondine
Stuffed Tomato with Spinach Souffle
Medley of Fresh Grilled Veggies

All this food is without even included the actual entrees. And we were supposed to pick one from each category. So many choices! We also tried three entrees: Broiled Filet Mignon, Chicken Piccata, and Chicken Kiev with Orange Sauce. We didn't like the Chicken Kiev, but the Chicken Piccata was to die for!

So, what did we pick? Our guests will enjoy

Minestrone soup
Fresh spinach salad with a choice of dressing (warm bacon dressing or Italian dressing)
Twice baked potato
Medley of fresh grilled veggies
Their choice of entree: filet mignon or chicken piccata

We are thrilled about our menu. We think our guests will love the food, just as much as we loved it during the tasting.

Have you had your tasting yet? How many different items did you try? Was it easy to choose your menu?

DJ {Date} Night

2010-04-26T22:04:00.000-05:00

Our booked DJ company Admit One DJs, hosts an event called Meet the DJ Night, where their clients can meet their DJs. It’s almost like Speed Dating, but with DJs: Speed DJing! I know, I’m a dork, anyways…

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The Mister and I went to this event last week. I have to be honest, I had no idea what to expect. All we knew is that there would be food, drinks, and DJs, and we would pick our top three choices at the end of the night Other than that, we knew nothing. I had no idea what to ask, what I should ask, or even where to start!

The Mister and I walked around the place not really knowing what to do. I have to admit, it was a little overwhelming at first, but we were pros by the end of the night. The Mister spotted one DJ we had met when we booked them in January. He was one of the DJs who spoke Spanish, which was a must for me. We chatted with him for a while, and we really liked him, a lot. He was very professional, with plenty of experience, and a lot of knowledge of the Latin rhythms I know my family will be expecting.

We knew that there was another DJ who spoke Spanish but, after searching for a while and asking one of the managers, we found out he couldn’t make it that night. The manager said we could definitely do a phone interview with the DJ if we wanted to. Although bit disappointed, we decided to talk to other DJs anyways. And so we spoke with DJ #2. And DJ #3, and DJ #4, and DJ #5. Thank God I brought my little notebook; I was jotting down names like crazy.

At some point during the night, I realized why the company does this event, and why it’s important for us, as their clients. The DJ will be an important part of your event, whether it’s a wedding or something else. You want to have someone who you feel comfortable with; you want to have someone with a personality that doesn’t clash with your own.

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I also realized that it would be okay if our DJ didn’t speak Spanish. I wouldn’t have been able to realize this if I hadn’t met and talked to the DJs. Many of them had experience in multi-cultural weddings, and their confidence of how to handle such unique weddings, even when they didn’t speak one of the languages, made me confident in their ability of making our wedding a great experience for our guests.

At the end of the night, the Mister and I picked our top three DJs and decided we didn’t need to do a phone interview. We were comfortable with the two DJs we picked that didn’t speak Spanish, and the one who did speak Spanish is our number one choice. I really hope we get him but, even if we don’t, I know any of our choices will make a great job at our wedding!

Have you ever been to a Meet the DJ Night event? How did you choose your DJ?

Love at First Sight

2010-04-22T12:39:00.000-05:00

Tonight, the Mister and I will be going to an event hosted by our hired DJ company. Which has made me realize that I have not posted about our DJ!! Well, let me fix that right up.

We decided pretty early on in our planning that hiring a DJ would be the best way for us to go. Since we come from different backgrounds, our families' taste in music varies a lot. One of the key things we were looking for was to have some merengue and salsa to dance to. A DJ with a good variety in music could easily have something to please everyone.

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Our search was extremely short. Back in July 2009, the Mister, my MOH, and I attended a Bridal Expo. We saw a lot of DJ companies back then, but only one of them blew us away. We loved them so much that, when we decided to look for a DJ last January, the Mister immediately suggested to go see them first.

We met with them in mid-January and booked them right away. Yep, you heard that right. We booked a vendor on our first meeting with them without meeting with any other vendors in their field. Trust me, I've already gone through my share of worrying about it. I'm the kind of person that needs to analyze every option, consider every pro and con, gather every bit of information possible, and make an informed decision. That's my blessing and my curse.

Why did I let us book a vendor without seeing anybody else? Well, this is something the Mister really, really wanted. And by this I mean this DJ company. He wanted this to be his splurge if you will. Did I keep worrying about it weeks after we booked them? Yes, definitely. Do I worry about it now? Not so much!

One of the things that I love about this company is that they host an event called "Meet the DJ Night". During these events, they invite their clients to come out and meet every single DJ the company has. After meeting the DJs, you select your top three DJs, which means you have two back up DJs in case anything comes up on the day of the event. Awesome, huh? I'll let you know how tonight goes!

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Oh yeah, the DJ company is Admit One DJs, in case you were wondering ;-)

Have you ever booked the first vendor you met with without shopping around? Did you worry about it? Do you over-analyze everything like me?

Giveaway!

2010-04-20T07:53:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to let you know about a cool giveaway hosted over at A Chocolate Lover's Confession. Two lucky readers will win a pair of Delicate Soles. How great would those be for dancing on your wedding??? Go on over to check it out!

Good luck!!

The Photography Chronicles

2010-04-15T19:01:00.000-05:00

We did it! We finally have a wedding photographer! Our last big-ticket item can be officially scratched off our list. Photography was one of the things we were really worry about, budget-wise, since we knew it could get pricey. How did we go about our search? Well, it was a team effort.

First, I put together a list of absolute must-haves:

1. High-resolution digital files (or digital negatives) with copyrights released to us

Okay, so not much of a list. That was my absolute requirement. Price range? Well, we were hoping no more than $1,500. A wedding album? For me, it wasn't a deal breaker. The Mister really wants one and, after talking about it, we decided that this was something we could add on later.

Then, I looked for possible candidates. I decided to use The Knot to find photographers in our area, and came up with a lot of results. I combed through them, looking at countless portfolios and packages, and selected those that met my requirement and our price range.

I put everything together in a spreadsheet and sent it to the Mister. The Mister was to go through the list, check out portfolios, select his favorites, and make appointments. Let me say, he did a great job! He even uploaded his edited spreadsheet into Google Docs without any prompting from me. After all these months of me trying to force Google Docs on him for wedding planning, he finally did it all on his own. But I digress. Let's talk about our appointments, as we had quite an interesting experience.

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Appointment with Photography Studio #1

Our first appointment was at 11am, and we found the place easily. We were a little apprehensive of this place because of the $999 price. However, we went in with an open mind and knew that our budget wouldn't allow for a lot of fancy or extra things anyways.

Our consultant was a sweetheart! She was an absolute delight to work with and we hit it off right away! We looked at samples of their photographers' work and it was amazing. The Mister knew what he wanted with photography and, although neither of us knew the terms, she was able to narrow it down to two photographers who would be a perfect fit for us.

The package that they had to offer was extremely attractive. Some of the highlights are: ten hours of coverage, unlimited locations, high-resolution files, portable backdrop for the reception, an in-studio engagement session, and a 20-page album.

They have about ten photographers and, instead of assigning a photographer for us, we selected a photographer based on his work. Our consultant brought us two albums, each album containing the sample work of a photographer. She gave us some time so we could look through both albums and see if we liked what we saw. Let me tell you, we LOVED what we saw! We picked a photographer and we were both really excited.

However, we were not ready to sign the contract. We had another appointment that afternoon and, for my peace of mind, I needed to see what else was out there. The Mister did not want to lose the photographer that we picked, in case we did sign with this studio, so our consultant sweetened the deal. If we filled out the contract {filled out, but not signed}, she would hold the photographer for us for a week. No strings attached, if we decided to go with someone else, there would be no charge. Nothing. So we did! And then, we left for lunch.

Appointment with Photography Studio #2

After lunch, we headed off to our second appointment. We were very excited about our first appointment, but we went into this second one with an open mind. I wanted to see what they had to offer and, if they were a better fit for us, then we would have gone with them.

We were waiting out in their lobby area, just browsing at a wedding magazine, when the consultant came out to greet us. A nice and friendly greeting. We followed her to her office and it just went downhill from there.

As many of you know, when you're planning a wedding, you have to interact with a lot of vendors. We have been interacting with our fair share of vendors, and every single one of them have always been a delight to work with, whether we chose their services or not. Until now...

I'm not sure what happened, I'm not sure what was going on, but I don't think she was thrilled of having us there. She wasn't really friendly, she barely smiled, and she talked to us with a bit of a condescending manner. She wasn't very helpful at all and, when we asked her questions, she would respond almost like we were kids.

I'm not even going to bother to describe what they had to offer as she barely made an effort to sell their services to us. We just wanted to get the hell out of there.

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Impromptu Non-Appointment with Photography Studio #1

After our second appointment, we drove straight back to the first photography studio. We decided to go with them, and were hoping to close the deal that day. We met with our consultant again, and she was such a refreshing delight. Needless to say, we signed the contract and our chosen photographer is officially ours.

How did you find your photographer? Did you have a strategy? Did you have any bad experiences with a wedding vendor?

David and my Ladies: The Dress(es)

2010-04-13T07:00:00.001-05:00

After trying on a lot of dresses, my girls made their decision. Even though I told them they didn't have to wear the same dress, they ended up choosing the same one. The dress is very flattering on both of them and they look amazing in it! Which one they chose? Well, dress #1!!

My MOH, doesn't she look gorgeous?

My BM, so pretty in pink!

The dress is so flowy, you can't help but twirl in it!

After choosing the dress, they got to pick which color they wanted their dress to be. My MOH originally chose truffle, but then had second thoughts. She was curious as to how the pink would look against her skin so she held up the dress against her.

We all loved it! It looked perfect! My BM decided to wear truffle, and it looked really great! Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of her with a truffle dress, but the color looked amazing on her!

Did your bridesmaids choose the same dress? Did they find the perfect dress on their first dress-hunting trip?

*All pictures are personal pictures.

David and my Ladies: Evidence

2010-04-09T09:20:00.000-05:00

Early last month, we had an appointment at David's Bridal to look at dresses for my MOH and my BM. When we made the appointment for bridesmaids dresses, we made sure to book it with the same bridal consultant that helped me and she was great! I brought in pictures of eight dresses and she pulled seven for my girls to try. One dress was discontinued so we skipped it.

But enough explaining, let's see the goods!

Dress #1

Dress #2

Dress #3 and Dress #4

Dress #5

Dress #6

Dress #7

Don't they look lovely? At the beginning of the appointment, I told them that they didn't have to match. They could choose any dress they wanted in any of the wedding colors. After this first appointment, my girls did choose their dresses and, I must say, they look great in their dresses!!

How many dresses did your girls try on? Did they have matching dresses and colors? Did they find them at their first appointment?

*All pictures are personal pictures.

An Entrance to Remember

2010-04-08T10:04:00.000-05:00

Last summer, my lovely bridesmaid sent me a link to a wedding video with a very interesting offer:

From: Bridesmaid

To: Nina

Date: 07/24/2009 04:30 PM

Subject: Walking down the aisle

Nina, I will pay for your entire wedding if you walk down the aisle like this:

On another note, this couple has a huge wedding party.

Bridesmaid :-)

While my dearest bridesmaid will not be shelling out big bucks to pay for my wedding, this was definitely a unique wedding entrance that won't be forgotten. Who knows? Maybe I'll make the bridal party dance their way into the reception, and I certainly have three or four uncles who would do this just for the heck of it.

Are you planning a unique entrance for your wedding? Or do you prefer the more traditional walk-down-the-aisle entrance like me?

Video Source

Our {Cake} Crown Jewel

2010-04-06T08:08:00.000-05:00

Our cake topper dilemma is no more!

The Mister did warm up to the idea of the crown topper after my initial trip to Hobby Lobby last week and gave me the green light to proceed. Since I had already checked my nearest Hobby Lobby, the mister went with me to another Hobby Lobby. A much bigger Hobby Lobby, an I-wish-I-could-trade-with-my-nearest-Hobby-Lobby Hobby Lobby {making you crazy yet?}.

We visited the store armed with last week's 40% off coupon and with a back up plan {me to the Mister: "If they don't have the topper, we'll just buy two sets of three pillar candles for our centerpieces"}. After grabbing a set of pillar candles {What? You thought I was kidding?} we went to the bridal section, scanning the aisle for the crown.

And I'm proud to say, we found it! Along with its $24.99 price tag... and two pearls had fallen off. I was ready to put it right back where I found it, but the Mister insisted otherwise. "I can glue them, it's not big deal," he insisted, so off to the register we went.

After using my coupon, I paid $15 for it, plus tax. Not bad! And the Mister was right, the fallen pearls were quickly fixed by a hot glue gun. However, since I wanted pictures, I glued them instead of the Mister. Please excuse the bad quality of the picture, I'll definitely have the Mister be the official photographer for this blog {and everything else!}.

Have you gone to multiple locations of the same store searching for a particular item? Are store coupons part of your arsenal? How much fun is it to say 'back up plan'?

David and my Ladies: Inspiration

2010-04-05T12:56:00.001-05:00

Since we had set up an appointment at David's Bridal to look for bridesmaids dresses, I decided to revisit the My Favorites section at their website. I had looked at every bridesmaid dress in their website a month or two before we actually set up the appointment and had saved my favorite dresses to my account. Since it had been helpful to bring my top dresses to my bridal appointment, I wanted to bring examples of bridesmaids dresses that reflected the style I was looking for.

I wanted my girls to have options to choose from, so I found eight different dresses that I thought could work.

All images from the David's Bridal website

I couldn't wait to see my girls try the dresses on. I wanted them to find their own perfect dress! At our appointment, I think they tried on about four or five of these dresses, and I have the pictures to prove it ;-)

How many dresses did you look at for your bridal party? How far in advance did you start researching?

Fit for a Cake

2010-03-31T09:06:00.001-05:00

I remember a wedding-related conversation I had a long time ago with my MOH. I was just beginning to explore all the details that go into wedding planning and I said, "I don't want one of those bride-and-groom cake topper figurines." As any good MOH would do, she agreed with me, "Absolutely, that is so dated."

Of course, back then, I thought that cake toppers only looked like this

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It's amazing all the things that I've learned about weddings since then, including cake toppers. I'm still not 100% into having the bride and groom on top of the cake, even if it's with something as cute as this

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I'm sure you must be rolling your eyes at me, asking, "Nina, then, what the heck do you want??"

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I want a crown fit for ~~a queen~~ a cake. Since I saw that picture, I've been obsessed with the idea of having a crown for a cake topper. Me being, well, me, went into research mode to find that exact crown that you see above. I did find the crown, along with its price. A whooping $625 - that's more than what my wedding dress cost!

I haven't given up on having a crown cake topper, even if the Mister looks at me like I'm crazy. He isn't completely on board with the idea, in fact, he didn't really care for the idea at all. I've been continuing my hunt for cute crown toppers, but haven't found too many. I just found these two yesterday.

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I showed them to the Mister, to see if I could warm him up to the idea a bit more, and he seemed to like these better than the first one. In particular, he really liked the third one.

During my research, I was also looking for tutorials on how to make a wire crown. Yes, I am indeed crazy, I have been considering making the crown myself. Mind you, I have no experience making jewelry and using wire, let alone constructing a crown! I haven't completely given up on the idea, and I got some wire at home to play around with.

I visited my local Hobby Lobby yesterday (yay for having one a mere 10 minutes away from home and on the way home from work!) and as luck would have it, I found that third crown in the bridal section of the store. It was the last one left and the price was $24.99, much more reasonable than the $600+ price tag. I didn't buy it because it looked a bit banged up, and the Mister hasn't confirmed he wants to go with the crown topper. I'm also still considering giving DIY a try, even if it's just to see if I can (or can't) do it.

What do you guys think? Should I just go ahead and buy this topper, if I find it in better conditions at another Hobby Lobby store? Should I still attempt to DIY, just to appease my 'what if's'?

Dresses for my Ladies: Inspiration

2010-03-30T22:04:00.000-05:00

When I first started thinking about dresses for my lovely ladies, I knew from the beginning I didn't want to choose a dress and a color for them. I didn't want to force them into a particular dress or just because I'm the bride. No, I wanted them to be able to choose a dress that they'd feel comfortable and beautiful in. Unlike Alice Cullen, I don't really enjoy playing dress-up with other people.

Instead, I wanted to give them an overall idea of what my vision for them was, and let them choose a dress that fit within that vision. And what is my vision, you ask? Well, something elegant, simple, and with a vintage feel to it (detecting a pattern here?). Definitely a full-length dress, maybe a tea-length dress. As for the colors, it could be any color within our wedding colors.

For more inspiration, I turned to the interwebs. I wanted to see what was out there that could fit within the wedding's theme. I came across The Dessy Group website, where I found a lot of inspiration!

All images from The Dessy Group website

The problem? Well, the website doesn't really give you the price tag of each dress, but it does let you find a store near you that carries their dresses. Although I decided not to pursue these particular dresses unless we really had to (read: David's Bridal didn't have anything that we liked), finding them really helped me form a clearer vision for my girls.

How did you begin the dress search for your bridal party? Did you choose a dress and/or color, or did you let them choose it?

Wedding Muse

2010-03-26T15:30:00.000-05:00

Since I first got engaged, over a year ago, I've been browsing countless magazines, websites, blogs, and forums to find inspiration and ideas for our wedding. I've also looked at many inspiration boards put together by other brides to reflect their wedding vision, and saved a few favorite ones.

When our color scheme changed, it was one of these inspiration boards that helped me decide on a new color scheme (and also reassured the Mister that I would not be using hot pink in our wedding).

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I loved how the soft pink and gold went together. It just feels elegant and romantic, with a touch of vintage. Even though I have numerous images collected, links bookmarked, and online documents collecting ideas (Google Docs rocks, just ask my lovely bridesmaid), I never created my own inspiration board. I wanted to, but didn't know how to begin. I tried using Polyvore and Style Me Pretty, but it wasn't fun... until now.

I'm proud to present to you my very own inspiration board! Isn't it lovely?

While our wedding is not going to be a themed wedding, I do want it to have a certain feel. I think I was able to capture it with this inspiration board: romantic, elegant, simple, and vintage. As a side note, I love the idea of having a candy buffet, but the Mister vetoed it right away. Doesn't it look lovely though? Isn't that chocolate brown a lovely accent color? Oh, and that colorful, little rectangle on the top left corner is our color scheme.

Have you created your own inspiration board? What is your vision for your wedding?

Image Credits: Sunday Suppers, Silpada, Green Wedding Shoes, Style Me Pretty, Johanna Hehir, Sarah Beth Designs, Wedding Art, Country Living, A Field Journal, Always A Blogsmaid

The Fairy Tale Shoes

2010-03-25T11:09:00.000-05:00

I was never the girl who had her whole wedding planned out. No floating fairies showering me and my prince with pixie dust as we kissed for the first time as prince and princess. However, I did dream of one thing: the dress. I know, I know. I recently shared with you my beautiful wedding dress, but there was one dress that had been my dream dress for over a decade. The one dress I knew I couldn't have.

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I first laid my eyes on it back in 1998, and have found myself looking at it periodically through out the years. You see, one of my very favorite movies is Ever After. Ever since I first saw it at the movie theater, I was captivated by refreshing take on such a classic fairy tale. A wonderful Cinderella that needs no Prince Charming to rescue her! The costumes designed for the movie were gorgeous, and I was in love with one of them.

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The "Just Breathe" dress. Isn't it breath-taking? It's the gown that Danielle de Barbarac (played by Drew Barrymore) wears when she goes to the ball, risking everything to tell Prince Henry the truth about herself.

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When I first got engaged, I started researching the possibility of having it made for me. It was not meant to be. I simply could not afford it and had to let the dress go. It is still my dream to own one like it one day, even if I have to make it myself!

In the last few weeks, my thoughts have returned to the movie and the dress, and something occurred to me. While I won't be walking down the aisle in this gown, I still need shoes to walk in. I thought that I could maybe find Danielle's slipper.

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I began to search, and didn't have to go too far before striking gold. I found these:

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Aren't they amazing?? After a quick chat with my bridesmaid, I placed an order for a pair of these shoes. I know there are some risks about buying shoes online. As with clothes, sizes and fit may vary by style, which is why I reviewed their return policy prior to making a decision. But, I have to say, I absolutely love the way they look and hope they fit! If they fit but for some reason don't go well with my dress, I still plan on keeping them. I can already see myself wearing these beauties to the Bristol Renaissance Faire.

Have you had to let go of an item or idea you had dreamed of for your wedding? Were you able to incorporate a piece of it somehow?

Color Confusion

2010-03-24T10:20:00.003-05:00

Mister, if you're reading this post and haven't changed your mind about seeing my wedding dress before the wedding, I suggest you hit the back button of the browser!

As I mentioned before, during my appointment at David's Bridal, I was told that the dress I ended up purchasing only came in ivory. I didn't want to let the color prevent me from choosing my dream dress, after all, ivory is close enough to white (or, at least, that's what I kept telling myself the day after my purchase).

For some still-unknown-to-me reason, on Monday morning I really wanted to look at my dress again. So, I went to David's Bridal website and searched for it. And then, I saw it..

Is that... white??? (Source)

No, it couldn't be... could it? Could the dress that I had ordered in ivory two days before be available in white? I quickly scanned the description and, well, see for yourself:

Source

After seeing this, I quickly texted my MOH and she confirmed what I thought, the bridal consultant had told us that the dress only came in ivory. I have to admit, this has been the first time (and only one to date) that I felt like I was going to turn into bridezilla. However, I took a minute to relax, it was probably a misunderstanding. I would just call the store to find out whether or not the dress came in white.

However, one little memory crept to my mind: when purchasing the dress, I was told all sales were final. I hesitated. If all sales were final, what were the chances that they'd change the order if it did come in white? I seriously spent about ten minutes deciding whether or not to call the store. I ended up calling and, boy, am I glad I did!

When I called, I explained to the lady on the line what we had been told at the store, how I ordered the dress in ivory, and how I had just seen in their website that it came in white. The lady was very helpful and patient, she asked a few questions and asked me to hold. When she came back she explained that they had been very busy that Saturday (which was true) and there was some confusion. The dress did come in white, and she offered to change the order from ivory to white for both the dress and the veil. The veil! I hadn't even thought about the veil! But, thankfully, she did and prevented me from ending up with a slightly mismatched dress and veil.

My take away from this experience? Always ask, don't be afraid to ask, no matter what you might have been told. And be kind, calm, and patient. Yes, it's your wedding day. Yes, you want everything to be perfect, but people will be more willing to help you if you're nice and understanding. Trust me, this is true for basically every situation in life, whether it is personal or work-related.

Has there been misunderstandings or confusion with any of your wedding vendors? How did you approach it and how was it solved?

Spring, Are You Here Yet?

2010-03-23T11:00:00.000-05:00

Oh, hi there. Remember me? I know I've been away for a few days, but I needed a small break. Kinda like the break the beautiful weather took last Saturday. After two days of wonderful blue skies and bright sun, I woke up Saturday to a blanket of snow, plus an all-day snowfall. But now that the snow melted (again), so did the boring, white background of the blog! Like the new look? The lovely pink does remind me of spring! Spring, are you here yet?

Let's get on with some wedding goodness, shall we? During the last few days, we have tackled a few items (which I'll be posting about individually soon):

Wedding Dress - I've shown you the lovely dress that I picked, but what you don't know is my dress has arrived! A week ago actually! A mere two weeks after ordering it and changing the original order two days after placing it!
Bridesmaids Dresses - My awesome girls picked out their dresses and, may I say, they look gorgeous in them!
Music - While we selected a DJ company back in January, we finally have a date for their Meet the DJ Night. During this event, we can meet their 17 DJs and select our top three.
Tasting - The mister set up an appointment with our venue for the tasting. The other night we went through the food options and made our selections for the tasting. I really can't wait for this! Not to mention, we want to get a glimpse at their wedding cake binder.
Save the Dates - I'm still working on these, but we've made a lot of progress. I'm loving the way they're coming out. The mister has been helping me, and I can't wait to share them with you.

While we have kept busy, we also need to keep working with our to do list. To keep me honest (and motivated!), I'm sharing our big-ticket items with you.

Our (Big-Ticket Items) To Do List

Find (and hire) photographer
Research hotel accommodations for our out-of-town guests
Book hotel+flight for honeymoon

So, enough about us, how have you been? Have you tackled many wedding-related items from your list? What are your big-ticket items to do this month?

Almost Spring

2010-03-12T09:50:00.000-06:00

Happy Friday everyone! The week is almost over and the weekend's about to start! We're quickly nearing mid-March and I'm just in awe at how fast time is going by. It's still a bit winterish here in the Midwest, but temperatures are definitely going up. Spring is near!

Source

I really hoped this week to be productive, wedding-projects wise, but it wasn't. I started getting a little sick, so my evenings were spent laying down instead of finishing our STDs. But, we did find dresses for my MOH and BM on Sunday (more on those later) so I feel happy to check something off my list.

As for this weekend, we'll be celebrating the mister's 29^th birthday. His last birthday as a single man and, with six months to go, I hope he isn't getting cold feet on me! I'm planning on taking him to dinner tonight to our favorite sushi restaurant, Kawa. Then, for dessert, we'll be going to Chili's for some Molten Chocolate Cake goodness (boy, am I grateful I didn't give up chocolate for lent!). On Saturday, his actual birthday, he wants to go with his buddies for some go-karts racing action.

In between the festivities, I plan to work on the STDs and our wedding website, and maybe try my hand at making a tissue-paper pomander.

Has the week flown by for you as well? Any special plans for the weekend?

A Tale of Two Dresses

2010-03-11T08:55:00.002-06:00

WARNING: Mister, if you are looking at my blog, do NOT look at this post. I'm serious, move it along!

After trying on four dresses, I was between the Vintage Romance (aka Dress #1) and the Royal Engagement (aka Dress #3).

Dress #1 and Dress #3

I loved the Vintage Romance dress, it had lace, it had sparkle, and definitely felt vintage. However, it only came in ivory (I really wanted a white dress) and it comes with a train (really don't want a train). I also loved the Royal Engagement. It had lots of sparkle, it was white, and it could be ordered without a train. It had a somewhat-vintage feel to it, but it weighted a lot! Not to mention the many layers and underskirt.

When I had Dress #3 on, J (the bridal consultant that was helping me), came with a ribbon and pin to add to the dress, to see if I liked it. And when we found out it could be ordered without a train, my awesome BM tucked the train in and took a picture, so we could visualize what it might look without the train. Too bad we couldn't simulate how much less it would have weighted without it, too!

After trying on Dress #4, I decided to go back into the dressing room and try on Dress #1 again. It was just so light and timeless. J knew I didn't want a train, so she wanted to show me something. She quickly grabbed the train and put it up in a bustle (we had no idea what that was until she showed us!).

I loved how it looked! I had no idea which one to choose! Either vintage and ivory, or white and heavy. It was then when my MOH told me, "Close your eyes and tell me which one you see yourself walking down the aisle with." So I did and I chose...

...Dress #1 - Vintage Romance!

Although Dress #3 was beautiful, it was just too heavy. I could barely sit on it and needed help getting up! It was kinda funny, but definitely not convenient for the reception. Dress #1 was just a dream come true. It had exactly all I was looking for, except for it being ivory, and I could sit and get up without help!!

Did you have a hard time choosing between two dresses? How did you choose?

*Note: All the pictures in the post are personal pictures, and were taken by my girls.

T Minus Six Months

2010-03-10T08:27:00.001-06:00

This morning, I open up Gmail for a quick scan of my inbox and there it was...

Hi Nina!

You've got 6 months to go!

Search Wedding Flower Photos
Choose Your Accessories
Order Your Invitations

Because I'm not starting to feel the pressure enough on my own, I get friendly reminders in my inbox about things I'm supposed to be doing for that extra dose of stress.

Okay, so I may not show that I'm feeling the pressure, I may seem like a relaxed bride, but my natural need to have every detail planned plagues me to no end (I absolutely hate to play it by ear, the mister is wonderful at this!).

Last night I was supposed to be relaxing. I've been feeling a little under the weather and decided to just rest (read: get home, take shower, crash on couch, eventually move to bed). When I finally moved to my bed to go to sleep for the night, I couldn't fall asleep. Thoughts of not having picked photographer yet haunted me and dollar signs for the dress alterations floated around in my head like the winged keys in Harry Potter (The Sorcerer's Stone? Anyone? No?).

Source

It's difficult not to get stressed out and very easy to lose sight of the big picture. And it's really got me thinking about what's really important: the mister and I, taking a big step in our lives, surrounded by family and friends. As time continues to tick by (and still having big items on our list to complete), I can only hope not to get caught up in the stressful whirlwind of wedding planning and pause long enough to enjoy the ride with the mister.

To the mister, happy six-months-to-go!

David and Me

2010-03-09T14:34:00.002-06:00

WARNING: The following post is not appropriate for the Mister's eyes. Mister, if you do not want to see my wedding dress, LEAVE NOW!

As you may know, I was a complete procrastinator when it came to searching for a wedding dress. I knew I had to start my search soon since I had (at the time) seven months to go before the wedding. Still, in complete putting-it-off fashion, I didn't set foot in a bridal store until the end of February.

My girls and I went to David's Bridal to begin my dress search. I armed myself with pictures of the dresses I loved from their website (sneak peek) to give to my bridal consultant. The appointment was supposed to last 90 minutes but I do believe we took a bit longer than that.

Before I start with the dresses, I have to say that I had a wonderful experience. I was very apprehensive about this particular part of the wedding planning, and I am so glad I finally pushed through and did it. I had a wonderful bridal consultant, whom I'll call J, that helped me a lot, even though she was working with another bride at the same time. She looked for different veils and head pieces to match every dress that I tried on and, before my MOH could ask for anything, she'd already have it! So J, thank you very much for all your help and attention!

Okay, on with the goods!

Dress #1 - Vintage Romance*

This was the first dress that I tried out. We're not sure if it was because this was the very first dress I tried on, but both my MOH and myself were a little misty-eyed. It was light, simple, and had a vintage look to it. I absolutely loved the lace and the beaded ribbon at the waist. I loved its lack of poofiness, as I do not want to change for the reception. The one thing that I was apprehensive about was its open back. I love it for the reception, but I'm more of a conservative when it comes to dressing for church (thus my lack of desire for a strapless dress).

Dress #2 - Renaissance Affair

I. Loved. This. Dress. This dress was absolutely gorgeous. This dress was my favorite one from their site and wanted to try it on. I love the halter top, the beading, and how it opens in an inverted V. It had that renaissance feel to it (those who know me know that I'm a ren-faire girl!). The girls and I were pretty sure this one was the one, but it was not meant to be. The dress was discontinued.

Dress #3 - Royal Engagement

With a slightly-broken heart, we moved on to dress #3. I originally did not want any strapless dresses, but this one changed my mind. It had lace all over it, giving it a hint of vintage, and the dress was very flattering. If I wanted, I could also add cap-sleeves to it (and it would no longer be considered strapless). I also loved how the lace was trimmed at the edge of the skirt and train. The dress did not have a full-blown poof, which I completely want to stay away from. However, it was very heavy. I could feel the dress pull me down every time my MOH would rearrange the train. I couldn't imagine going through the entire reception wearing this dress.

Dress #4 - Modern Lace

This was the last dress I tried on. It was also strapless but with much less poofiness than the third one. It had lace and beautiful beading on the top, but I just wasn't feeling it. It was pretty, but it didn't wow me like the first three had done.

Since my Renaissance Affair dress (aka Dress #2) was, unfortunately, out of the running, I was torn between my Vintage Romance (Dress #1) and a Royal Engagement (Dress #3). I felt absolutely beautiful in both dresses, and I saw myself walking down the aisle in both. Price wasn't an issue, since both were under my dress budget. And, although both of them had trains (something I definitely don't want), both can be fixed up to be without the train.

So, which one did I choose? You'll have to ask my Fairy Wedding Dress Godmother for that one, or wait for the big reveal ;-)

My Fairy Wedding Dress Godmother
(aka my wonderful BM)

How was your wedding dress shopping experience? Did you put it off only to discover how much fun it really was?

*Note: All the pictures in the post are personal pictures, and were taken by my girls. The dresses' names are completely made up by me and do not refer to their official style numbers provided by David's Bridal.

Ceremony Compromise

2010-03-05T15:38:00.000-06:00

I talked about the search for our venue, but never really touched on our ceremony venue. Even though I think getting married on a beach or a boat is extremely romantic, I always knew that I wanted a church wedding.

When the mister proposed, I immediately thought of getting married at my parish church, but the mister was not overly excited about the prospect. He's more open to the idea of an outside ceremony than I am. I've always wanted a Catholic wedding, which means we have to get married in a church. The reason why I wanted to get married at my parish, and not a random Catholic church, is because it means a lot to me.

See, when I first moved to Illinois, one of the things I wanted to do was find a Catholic church and (finally) get confirmed. In my first month here, I found St. Gilbert Parish. The wonderful people there immediately made me feel welcomed and I found a great sense of community, something that really helped me through the first few months of moving away from home. I felt like I belonged. I also really wanted the parish pastor to marry us, especially since he confirmed me a little less than a year ago.

Source - St. Gilbert Church

While the mister was open to a church ceremony, he wasn't thrilled with my church of choice. See, St. Gilbert's architecture is modern, and the mister really loves cathedral-style churches. He loves the stained-glass windows and beautiful marble arches and columns.

He suggested several Catholic churches, but they were too far away. I'm going to have family flying in and the last thing we need is for any of them to get lost while going from the ceremony to the reception. St. Gilbert was the top choice, being so close to my place and to our reception venue of choice.

As luck would have it, St. Gilbert doesn't only have a church, but also a small, cozy chapel. When I first walked in there, it was for one of the sessions I was attending for my confirmation. It was beautiful. I loved it! I mentioned it to the mister and he eagerly agreed! I was surprised to say the least. After all, wasn't he pushing for a cathedral? It turns out, not only does he love cathedrals, but he also loves small, cozy chapels. Who would have thought?

Source - St. Gilbert Chapel

I know the picture is not the best but it's all I could find. I promise to take some nice shots of the chapel to share with you!

Where do you want to get married? Did you and your mister compromise on a ceremony location?

Breaking News: Packages Held Captive Rescued

2010-03-04T08:36:00.000-06:00

We interrupt our regular wedding programing to bring this breaking news. After being held captive for three days, two precious members of the Mister and Nina Wedding's family were heroically rescued by Mister.

The ordeal began Monday afternoon, when the mister found a ransom note about attempting to deliver two packages. Knowing she'd be at work when the second contact attempt would take place, Nina began running through her options in her head. She could try to contact them by phone or face them directly. She decided to wait, in case the proper authorities wanted to follow a different course of action.

Ransom Note

Upon returning from work on Tuesday afternoon, she found another ransom note left for her, indicating a second contact attempt. The threat escalated at that point, with a final delivery attempt scheduled for the following day and, if it failed, both packages would be sent to meet their maker. Nina immediately made phone contact, but after two grueling hours, one of the captors let it slip that the packages "could not be found." Had they tried to escape on their own?

The following afternoon, the mister bravely took the ransom note and drove to a (not so) secluded location, about 40 minutes away, to meet them face to face. Upon trying to rescue the packages, the captors demanded a written statement signed by Nina. Fearing retaliation against her precious packages, Nina quickly faxed them a statement. It was the longest 15 minutes for Nina and the mister, as they waited for the success (or possible failure) of meeting such a demand.

To everyone's relief, the fax came in and the captors accepted such ransom and the mister was able to bring the packages home. The Wedding family was reunited later that evening.

Safe at Home

The Dress Experience: Lessons Learned

2010-03-02T09:24:00.002-06:00

Last weekend, my girls and I went to David's Bridal for my first wedding dress shopping experience. Despite all my previous hesitations, I was so glad I did it. I had so much fun, and I'm pretty sure my girls did too! Before I talk about my experience in trying on such beautiful dresses, I wanted to share with you some of my Lessons Learned from last Saturday.

1. Bring someone - But not a full entourage. Whatever you do, don't go alone, especially if it's your first time. Bring a few girls that you want to share this experience with. Not only will they provide you with emotional support but for practical reasons: taking notes, taking pictures, helping you in and out of dresses, etc. In my case, since it was a Saturday (and quite busy) my wedding consultant was helping two brides at a time. My MOH came into the dressing room with me and helped me put on (and take off) multiple gowns.

2. Don't wear make-up - Although this one is not truly a lessons learned, I think it's still a good tip. The morning of the appointment, I was tempted to put on make-up but, trust me, you won't want to. You'll be, most likely, maneuvering in a dressing room with another person, figuring out the best way to put on a particular dress. Smearing lipstick on your face (or the dress) is not something you should be worrying about while trying to find your dream dress.

Source

3. Bring a notepad and pen/pencil - You will try on many, many dresses. There will be things you'll love and hate about them. Have someone with you taking notes, they might come in handy - especially if you want to take some time to decide which dress to choose or if you have multiple appointments.

4. Bring a camera - I know some places don't let you take pictures of the dresses you try on, but David's Bridal does. If the store you go to allows you to take pictures, go ahead and bring your camera. Trust me, you will want to document this experience! It will also help you make a decision on a dress, since you can go back and look at all the dresses you tried on from a different perspective.

Source

5. Do your homework in advance - Check out the store's website and bring your favorite dresses with you. This will save a lot of time and will make it easier for you and your bridal consultant. It will give her an idea of what you're looking for and gives you the chance to try on the dresses you loved. You won't be able to try on every single one (time flies!) but it will definitely narrow down your search for your top ones!

6. Double-check everything - This is my single most important lesson learned of all: Ask questions, even if you have already asked them. If I had done this, it would have saved me a mini-heart attack two days after ordering the dress. We are all human, including bridal consultants, we all make mistakes. Confusion can happen, especially on a busy morning at the store. If you try on a dress you love twice, and the first time you asked if it came without a train and they said no, ask again the second time you try it on. Trust me, it won't hurt to double-check.

Source

7. Don't be afraid to ask - The worst that can happen is that they say no. Although it sounds similar to #6, this is in a completely different context. When I was ordering my dress, and prior to me signing the receipt, they told me that "all sales are final." Two days later, I found out there was an option in the color of the dress although I was told at the time that it only came in one color. Despite what they had told me before ordering the dress, I called the store to find out if the dress did come in a second color and, if so, could I please change the dress to that second color. Don't let whatever they tell you at the store stop you from asking! Trust me, I sat at my desk for 10 or 15 minutes deciding whether to call or not. I almost didn't call, and, if I hadn't, I would have missed out in having my absolutely dream gown.

What are some of your lessons learned from your own dress shopping experience?