Blush and Bashful Bride

Flower Babies

2009-07-21T20:05:00.001-07:00

I actually don't know any children the right age to be in a wedding, but two of my friends do have super adorable baby girls. And by baby, I mean 18 months old. Which means there's like a 75% chance that they will not be able to walk down the aisle. Although, as of a few months ago, they can walk! At any rate, I'm completely prepared for these little beauties to not make it down the aisle. But I still think it's possible one of 3 ways.

1) Best case scenario: The bridesmaids walk them to the end of the aisle where they are pointed toward mommy who is holding a favorite toy. They run to mommy.

2) The bridesmaids walk them out where they get shy and the Bridesmaids continue to lead them down the aisle.

3) The bridesmaids walk them down the aisle where they completely freeze up and the Bridesmaids carry them down the aisle.

4) They completely lose it before the walk out there and we text Mommy to come and retrieve them. They sit out the ceremony til they quiet down. They return to the reception where they are doted on for their cuteness.

And speaking of cuteness, their dresses will be CUTE. I put it a custom order on Etsy with TiarasTutus for one of these babies.

The dresses I've requested are a blend of light blues with a bit of sapphire blue peaking out the bottom, sapphire ribbon and yellow roses. And since asking them to toss petals seems like asking WAY too much, I've come up with these.

I'm using etsy seller, Pickmeflowers, to create two custom flower wands for my little fairies. The ones we're having made will feature blue hydrangea, sapphire ribbon-wrapped sticks and pale yellow ribbons streaming down. And my own idea--little bells that give the wands a little "jingle" to inspire carrying them around. But the bells are removable in case they're distracting during the ceremony.

I'll also be gifting the little princess with some wings to match. So what do you guys think? Are these going to be the cutest little flower babies ever?

S'more bling

2009-07-17T17:15:00.000-07:00

One part of the planning (ie buying) that I didn't think I would get that excited about was buying the bands. It's not that I have anything against them, I just hadn't thought that much about it. The engagement ring seemed exciting and pretty, the bands just seemed...practical. Even as I started out looking at bands, it wasn't that exciting. Rings for Matt were mostly super plain (he was not into bling or brushed surfaces or stuff like that) and the rings for me were just o-kay. My engagement ring is a s-u-p-e-r thin pave diamond band with a round center stone and most of the chain (read cheap) jewelry stores just didn't have anything that could work with the size. I tried a plain platinum band that was almost thin enough and thought it was beautiful, though not particularly exciting. I also tried on several diamond bands, but they didn't match my ring. Finally, I caved and went to De beers, which is where my ring came from, and tried on the matching band. It definitely looked the best on (and was exciting and okay, i loved it), but it was really pricey. Like pretty much as much as the e-ring. Which just seemed wrong.

Meanwhile, back at the ponderosa, Matt (who at that point could care less about rings) mentioned that he liked how my brother-in-law's ring had beveled edges. But he wanted the beveled edge w/o the brushed metal and he wanted it in white gold. So I did a quick internet search and found this beauty.

It was exactly what he had described! The only trouble was Blue Nile is an online-only jeweler, so we'd have to order on faith. After checking the return policy (30 days, no problem), we took a leap and ordered. And it's beautiful. So man ring = done. And we got two super cool discounts b/c I'm an internet-shopping genius.

1) I did a promo code search for Blue Nile and found that we could get $50 off if we paid with a Visa. Done.
2) I had it shipped to my friend in NJ so we wouldn't have to pay NY state sales tax. And that saved another $50. Done.
So we shaved off a cool hundo with just some clever interneting. I'm so proud of this it's embarrassing.

Now back to me. I was still struggling with the plain platinum band or the super expensive diamond band. Both were beautiful, but you only ever get one wedding ring (knock on wood), so you want to love it. And Matt was no help. His feedback was, "the diamond one looks way better, but it's so expensive." Uh, thanks. That's pretty much exactly what I've been thinking. So I stalled a bit and decided on a lark to check out the webpage of a jewelry store where a friend of mine had gotten a gorgeous vintage engagement ring. It's called Doyle and Doyle and is located in the lower east side of Manhattan. (The website is doyledoyle.com if you're interested.) I tooled around on their super cute site for awhile and found this sparkler.

Possibly perfect? It's the same width as my e-ring and is a diamond pave band and...it was about $1000 cheaper than the de Beers ring. The only issue was it was in white gold instead of platinum. So I emailed a salesperson on the site (and she got right back to me, great customer service) and asked if they could do it in platinum. She said that they could, but platinum and white gold actually look the same when they're new b/c they're both coated in Rhodium and at worst I would have to re-coat it in 10 years. Besides, the ring's design only showed the metal on the inside anyway. I was sold! So I made a trip to the store to check it out in person. Still pretty sure that it probably wouldn't work out.

Luckily, this was the greatest jewelry store ever. I mean, I was seriously in love with this place and haven't stopped singing its praises since. It's tiny and instead of jewelry cases, they put the jewelry in frames on the wall to save room. And they had the most beautiful estate pieces you've ever seen. It's definitely the place to shop for good jewelry and I'll be a fan for the rest of my life. It wasn't super cheap, but at $250-$5000, you could definitely get something for a special occasion.

The ring I had my eye on wasn't a vintage piece, however. They actually have a custom designer on staff who creates vintage inspired pieces. And I think I tried every one of them on. It was so fun. And after being seriously tempted to get a diamond and sapphire band instead, I bought the one I had originally seen. Only that picture didn't do it justice. It's GORGEOUS and matches my e-ring like it was made for it. How did that happen? Too perfect.

In fact there were two catches,

1) It takes 8-10 weeks to make a custom ring and I only had 9. But they assured me they could get it done in 8. So now it's just waiting. (But I want it noooooowwwww---Veruca Salt)

2) B/c It's an "eternity" band, meaning diamonds all the way around, it can never be resized. So I have to order it perfectly today. And never get fat hands. This actually has been making me nervous. When they measured my ring finger, they swore I should be wearing a 4. Yes, 4.0. As in a child's ring. But the 4 on the sizer was so hard to get off, if bruised my knuckle. And my e-ring is a 4.75 (although too big). Eventually we decided on a 4.5--which will probably still be a little big, but give me some room to grow in. :)

Anyway, that's the ring story. And I can't wait to see them all together!

Oh, except in my "it's so sparkly" excitement, I forgot to ask about the quality of the diamonds. Duh. My diamond-educated fiance informed me that this was a total bonehead move. So I called the store in a panic, sure that this was the reason it was so much cheaper. But they got back to me and I found out that the diamonds are the same quality as my center stone. Which is pretty unheard of for an eternity band since all the stones have to be matched. Moral of the story: it worked out this time, but I'll remember to ask the practical questions next time I'm dazzled by some "ice."

The Micromoon

2009-07-15T14:51:00.000-07:00

Because we’re planning a weeklong adventure wedding in Austin and because we already spent two weeks in South Africa getting engaged this year, we can’t really take off more work days for a long honeymoon. So goodbye fantasy of heading to the airport in my cute brunch mini dress with veil and heels. Goodbye fantasy of unwinding after all the excitement with tropical drinks on a far away beach. Le sigh.

However, we’re not going to just skip on the honeymoon altogether. We’ll be taking a belated honeymoon sometime next winter/spring (more time to save up=silver lining). And I’ve heard of other couples going this route, but taking a “mini-moon” first. Just a few days in a nearby area to unwind. We don’t have time for that either. But we don’t want to skip out altogether and would like some time with just the two of us (where we’re not constantly entertaining) before we head back to work and the real world. So we’ve decided to take just 1 night after the guests have gone for a “micromoon.”

We’ll be venturing just out of Austin to a resort called Lost Pines. It’s a Hyatt resort and is set up to be kind of like a fancy summer camp for families. Hopefully if won’t be packed full of noisy kids by late September, which means we’ll have the place to ourselves and…we’ll have the run of all the awesome kiddie activities.

And there’s tons. They offer free s’mores every night in rocking chairs. They have a lazy river, waterfall pool, mini beach and slide. And that’s in addition to a spa, fancy restaurant and the numerous outdoor activities you can sign up for. Like rafting, horseback riding and hiking. We’ll probably mostly hang out in the pool, but maybe we’ll get a massage or go horseback riding. Who knows? Anyway, it looks beautiful and I’m excited we’ll get to take a little time for ourselves before heading back to harsh reality.

I need your help!

2009-07-14T21:38:00.001-07:00

Alright, I'm taking a break from reporting what I have done and I'm going back to something I haven't done yet. Decide what to do on the ceiling. If you remember, our venue is pretty spare (although pretty) and I'd like to dress it up a little with some ceiling interest. Here's what I'm thinking.

White Christmas Lights strung about?

Paper Lanterns?

Italian bulb string lights? Or Small paper lanterns?

Swags of fabric?

Other?

Alright, I'm hoping to make a decision this week. So let me know what you think!

The Cake: It's what's on the outside that counts

2009-07-13T22:45:00.001-07:00

At least it's what's on the outside that counts to most brides. My top priority was the taste. But I still wanted a pretty cake. After looking at a lot of designs, I realized that a) wedding cakes can be beautiful, b) wedding cakes can be over the top and c) most of these are done in fondant. But a priority for me was no fondant. Which actually ruled out a few bakers who will only work in fondant. But I don't like the taste and texture (like coating your cake in sweet modeling clay), so I held my ground. The upside is, for the bakers who will work with you, this usually means the cake is much cheaper b/c the labor is cut down so much. Anyway, here are a couple kinds of cake designs we looked at.

Cakes decorated with real flowers (that's gotta be easy for the baker right?) These ranged from tons of flowers to very simple.

Cakes with ribbon (again, should be easy for the baker to create)

Cakes with paper decorations (unfortunately this one is fondant)

Cakes with fur decorations (this one actually grossed me out. like it's rat-flavored or something)

And finally, the winner! I really wanted a cake with a homemade look and big fluffy icing. Because when I see one in a bakery window, I think, "I want that!" Unfortunately, homemade is not a popular look for wedding cakes. But after some digging, I actually found this beauty with fluffy icing and some flower decorations. Perfect!

Now the only question is, what flowers do we use?

A wedding of a different color

2009-07-12T21:52:00.000-07:00

Okay, if you read my flower post, you may have noticed that I was wanting a lot of yellow in the flowers. It's b/c of this post from Once Wed. http://www.oncewed.com/12037/real-weddings-blog/real-weddings/pernel-aaron-ii/

It features my aqua blue, but paired with lemon yellow and I loved it! It was so fresh and summery. Plus my friend Cristin had just been to a wedding that was so matchy-matchy, it "creeped her out." I didn't want to put that out there and I didn't want my wedding to feel like a prom. So I'm thinking still aqua blue and sapphire blue, but adding yellow as a tertiary color to mix things up and add some pop. But now that I'm looking at these pictures again, I'm noticing that the bouquets use a lot of pink. Should I throw that in too?

Where have I been?

2009-07-12T21:18:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the MIA in posting. But a lack of computer access meant no posting. But let me catch you up with what's been going on.

1) We chose a cake design.

2) We handled the rentals and the bar.

3) We chose a photographer.

4) We bought wedding bands.

5) I booked hair and makeup.

6) Our invite designer created a monogram for us.

7) I made custom etsy requests for flower baby dresses, wands, bridesmaid dresses and pocket squares for the groomsmen.

8) We hired the Austin Community College to be our florist.

Alright, we'll hit the first 7 soon, but first, the flowers. Yes I planned to do the flowers myself and yes, I think we could've done a great job. But then I read about an Austin wedding where the bride had used the community college's florist program. It seemed like a great deal, so I emailed them to see the deal. Would it be affordable b/c it would be a school project, would they be willing to work with my tiny budget? Yes and yes! Apparently they try to book as many weddings/events as possible for their students and basically work at cost. So it's like DIY without the Y. Perfect. Which means the night before the wedding, I'll just relax with friends and family and get a good night's sleep before the big day. And here's a few pics I sent for flower inspiration.

Bridal Bouquets

I love big, fluffy garden roses and decided to splurge on them for my bouquet. We're not sure they'll be in season, but I have my fingers crossed. The plan right now is ivory roses with some little blue flowers stuck in. But I'm not sure it wouldn't be nice to add some pale yellow or pink. What do you think?

For centerpieces, I told them mixed wild-looking flowers in blue mason jars.

For colors, I'm thinking the same colors that are in the stain-glass windows. Blues, purples, yellow, pink, and green. So all over the place.

For the bridesmaids, I'm all over the place. Baby blue hydrangeas? White? Yellow roses? Darker blue delphinium?

For the groomsmen, we've decided to skip bouts and gift them each a gingham yellow pocket square with monogram in blue that we found for $3 on Etsy. But for the groom, I think he should still have one. Maybe one like this, but with spray roses, b/c apparently ranunculus is out of season in September.

And for the moms, both chose wrist corsages. I saw these beauties on Martha Stewart and thought they were beautiful.

I'm thinking pale yellow flowers with an ivory ribbon b/c their dresses are (respectively) mocha and teal.

So what do you think about the flowers? What should I do about the bridesmaids? Anything else?

Surprise Wedding Reception

2009-06-04T18:39:00.000-07:00

I just saw this on Weddingbee. The performance troupe, Improv Everywhere, just did a Surprise Wedding Reception for an unsuspecting couple who eloped at City Hall. Improv Everywhere doesn't do regular improv comedy. Instead, they usually create events that invoke confusion and chaos. An example of such an event was the twin subway prank, where they got several sets of twins to dress exactly a like and filled an entire subway car with the twins sitting across from each other, mirroring each other's every move. It wasn't meant to be funny, merely to freak people out. This time they created an all-inclusive Surprise Wedding reception for two giddy elopers. Check out the video.

Cake Tasting Seconds

2009-06-04T18:00:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, my Austin stand-in-bride, Hillary, did our second cake tasting. As you remember, our first tasting, Lucy's, was a bit disappointing and our 3rd choice, Matty Cakes, was booked up while we waited. So we were really counting on Michelle's. And according to Hillary...it delivered! Hillary called it "delicious" and said that Michelle was really "nice and flexible." Perfect for the out of town bride. The only downside was that Hillary didn't get to taste the flavor combo I was most interested
in, the banana indulgence--vanilla cake filled with vanilla custard, banana slices and a thin layer of chocolate ganache. I get excited just thinking about it. The upside is, she did get to taste some other flavors that she loved. Here's what she had to say about them

Italian Wedding (usually has almonds)
"Good. This one was good. A little dryer than the rest. The frosting was delicious and I was lapping it up! Pretty good for Italian Wedding Cake."

Tres Leches (a Mexican-inspired cake soaked in 3 milks, usually with cinnamon)
"Moist. I really liked this one. It was moist and sweet. It wasn't rich, but very indulgent. Guests might want smaller pieces. Not like tres leches I've had before, but still delicious."

Chocolate with Chocolate Butter Cream (potential groom's cake flavor)
"Rich. The chocolate is very indulgent. I mixed it with the strawberries and it was incredible. It is a little rich to were I wanted a glass of milk."

Strawberries & Cream
"Delicious! The Butter Cream was creamy and not gritty or too rich. I love strawberry's and they were super fresh. Great cake that you can really sink your fork into."

I think we're most likely to go with the strawberries & cream option. I'm a huge fan, but mostly I'm excited to find out the buttercream is good. I'm really picky about my icings as a lot of NY bakeries go with a toothache-sweet icing that can actually be gritty. Michelle's policy is apparently, less sugar plus more butter equals a lighter fluffier icing. I heartily agree. I'm still interested in the Banana Indulgence, but I don't think we could go wrong here. Here are some other things I like about Michelle's:

1) They never freeze the cakes. Lots of bakeries do and this causes the cake to dry out.
2) The new and improved buttercream
3) Michelle will deliver the cake herself.
4) Most slices are $3 each.
5) She operates out of her house!

Yep, check out these pics of her in-home business. (I'm so jealous. I gotta figure out a business I could run out of my house.)

Michelle's Patisserie Home Office

Super cute pink chandelier

Michelle's showroom

Adorable baker, Michelle

And here are some examples of Michelle's work:

So what do you guys think? Should we risk going with the Banana Indulgence for a layer even though we didn't get to taste it? Can you tell I'm excited about this place? I'm still waiting on the estimates, but I'm really hoping it works out!

Mary

If I had a million dollars (part 1 of ?)

2009-05-29T11:35:00.000-07:00

If I had a million dollars
(If I had a million dollars)
I'd buy so many flowers
(I would buy so many flowers)
If I had a million dollars
(If I had a million dollars)
I'd buy us a photo-booth guestbook
(Maybe with props and fake mustaches)
And if I had a million dollars
(If I had a million dollars)
Well, I'd buy us some fireworks
(Some nice, patriotic fireworks)
If I had a million dollars I'd buy your love

Anybody know that little folk diddy? That definitely sums up wedding planning for me. I see these blogs everyday with beautiful things that, well, I don't really need. And this morning I saw the latest take my breath away thing that is probably expensive and I definitely don't need.

Check out this Alice in Wonderland tablescape from Project Wedding. It's just too, too cute. And too girly for a wedding, but wouldn't it make the dreamiest Bridal Shower ever?

There are also some tips on how to pull this look off yourself at http://www.projectwedding.com/wiki/show/diy-decor-alice-in-wonderland

Okay, yes, so its over the top. But doesn't it just make you wanna have a Mad Hatter's Tea Party? And if you're behind on time, you could run around shouting, "I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date!"

Deals and Steals in NYC

2009-05-26T13:16:00.000-07:00

Just in case we have some NYC brides (or brides visiting NYC, or just shoppers in general) following the blog, I thought I would mention a few great deals I found over the weekend.

1) Calypso Outlet (the awesome outlet branch of Calypso Celle) is selling the Butter by Nadia signature convertible dress in satin for $90!!!! They have teal, pale gold and maybe a green remaining. Call or stop by for details. I actually checked this one out for my girls b/c it's such a good idea, but in the end, I knew they preferred the jersey and the color wasn't quite right.

2) Check out this adorable lace vintage dress I spotted in a vintage store window on Grand street in Williamsburg. This dress was beautiful and a steal at $45. Perfect for anyone looking for a vintage, short wedding dress. I would've snapped it up myself, but weirdly, the armholes were tiny! Did people have smaller arms in the 50s? It's also pretty small in general and would best fit someone size 2 or smaller (this is me in the dress, but not zipped up. Shhhhh,) Also, in case you can't tell, the dress is white lace with a pale blue liner. And it's super adorable! I think the store is Flores Vintage Clothing and they had tons of great stuff. Especially if you're planning a 70s prom party anytime soon.

(try to ignore the makeup-less face)

Yep, the flowers still look pretty when I do them

2009-05-18T21:32:00.000-07:00

Like I said last time, flowers are already pretty so I should be able to do them myself right? Well, on the way home from work tonight I stopped by a deli and decided to do some DIY flower trials. I bought 5 bouquets for $28. For that $28, I got 2 stems blue hydrangea, 2 stems white hydrangea, a bunch of (what I'm calling) pink delphinium, a bunch of blue hyacinths and one dozen small yellow roses. Here's what I was able to make with that.

The Pink Delphinium Bunches

A single stem of Blue Hydrangea--wouldn't these be lovely nosegays for the mothers or bridesmaids?

4 stems of hydrangea bouquet--forgive the Cruella D'ville 2-tone. I didn't know which color I wanted, so I went with both.

The white hydrangea centerpiece

Yellow Rose Bouquet (1 dozen roses)

Yellow Rose Centerpiece

White Hydrangea and Yellow Rose Centerpiece

Blue Hydrangea, Yellow Rose, Pink Delphinium

White Hydrangea, Yellow Rose, Pink Delphinium

My first idea for escort card--single bloom in a mini vase (baby food jar)

Escort Card with piece of a Hydrangea

Another idea would be to replace the single bloom with one of these tissue paper carnations. Probably cheaper and definitely greener.

Similarly, here are some blooms made from paper. We could make these from pages of old books.

So what do you guys think? Can I do DIY flowers? Do they look too DIY? Should I look into different flowers? What about the paper flowers? Cheesy or a cool alternative?

Or should I scrap the whole DIY thing and just buy these pre-made centerpieces? They come to about $15 each.

But flowers are already pretty, right?

2009-05-18T20:46:00.000-07:00

Alright, despite hearing over and over again, "arranging flowers is a lot harder than it looks," I've decided to keep moving forward with the project. I mean, flowers start out pretty, right? How far off could I go? The trouble, it seems, is figuring out what to order. I would like kind of a messy, wildflower look (which everyone assures me is the most difficult to pull off), but I have no idea what flowers to order. My colors are blue and blue, but in an all-white reception hall, I'm worried monochrome would look too boring (or worse, too prom.) Anyway, here are a few examples of some centerpieces I like

On the other hand, here are some cool centerpieces that don't use any flowers at all.

Stay tuned for my first attempts at DIY flowers.

First the Bridesmaid, Then the Bride

2009-05-11T12:09:00.001-07:00

I'm sure most of you guys know this, but next month I'll be taking my very first ever turn as a Bridesmaid and will be taking the honor of Maid of Honor to boot. (How's that for jumping to the top?) Yup, I'll be the MOH at my sister's wedding on June 12th. And as I spent a lot of this weekend thinking about that wedding, I thought I would share with you my bridesmaid style and approved my my sister, the Bride.

First up the Dress:
My sister generously let each bridesmaid choose her own dress, provided it matched the red she chose. As fate would have it, I stumbled across an Amsale sample sale and found this dress on the sales rack for $75 from $400!

It was actually a sample they sent the stylists for the Kate Hudson movie, My Best Friend's Girl. They eventually chose a different dress for Kate and sent mine back to it's bargain bin destiny.

Here's a pic of the one they chose for Kate in the color I'll be wearing as a bridesmaid.

Next up: The shoes
Because of the long, flowy, grecian nature of this dress, I decided gold, flat sandals would be the perfect completion to this look. I'd been eyeing these at J Crew for months now and would love to make them my summer sandals after the wedding.

They are marked down, right now, from $99 to $59 so it seemed like the perfect time to pounce. But when I got there, I found these other gold, flat t-strap sandals that I fell in love with also on sale for $60 and I took them home instead. They've mysteriously disappeared from the website since then, but they're simple, thin t-strap sandals in a very shiny, soft gold leather. However, I'm still torn b/t the decision. Ultimately the t-straps seemed more delicate and therefore more appropriate for the wedding, but will I miss the gladiators later?

Finally: the hair
I think, in keeping with the Grecian inspiration, I want to go with a loose, romantic updo. Much like Michelle Williams' gorgeous Oscar do. (But I think I'll trade the red lips for a nude gloss.)

And I'm thinking about adding this little jeweled ribbon headband from Anthropologie. (It's an ivory ribbon, bedazzled with clear glass bead, circled in gold.

So what do you guys think? Should I go for the gladiators or stick with the t-straps? Can I pull off the messy up-do or will I look like I rode to the wedding with Thelma and Louise? And should I spring for this dream clutch from Lauren Merkin?

Shopping for the Mister

2009-05-11T11:04:00.000-07:00

Oh to be a boy. While I had a nightmare of a time dress shopping, my mister couldn't have gotten off easier. He decided early on that he wanted a suit from Brooks Brothers as he felt it had a bit of cache w/o being crazy expensive. And, except for the fact that I forced him to try on a suit at J Crew so he could compare, he really only needed one shopping trip to make this happen. Last weekend we stopped by the Brooks Brothers flagship store near Grand Central to learn about suits. 5th floor is the suits and tux floor and it's such a boys club, they even have a pool table up there! I wish I had thought to bring my camera, but I'll try next time when we go for the fitting. There we met Gabe, our fashionisto salesman. He knew everything there was to know about suits and proceeded to educate us about different materials, weights, designs and options. He pulled several suits to try and we went back to dressing rooms as fancy as those at Kleinfeld's to see what was what. Matt tried on suits from $600 to $3000 and while we could definitely tell the difference in the $3000 suits, they were quickly eliminated from consideration. It basically came down to a made to measure suit where he could pick everything from the lapels to the vents (the split in the back of the jacket for those not in the know) or the fancier (better material) 1818 Fitzgerald 2-butto. In the end, we went for the nicer Fitzgerald. But, b/c they were running a Friends and Family discount, we got it for 30% off or the cost of the cheaper suit!

Here's the Fitzgerald in Navy:

And trust me, my guy looks way cooler in it than this stiff. Also, fun fact, it's called the "Fitzgerald" after JFK who had similar suits custom-designed for himself from Brooks Brothers. And this is what BB has to say about the style:

"Inspired by our archives, the 1818 Fitzgerald suit is distinguished by narrow lapels, higher armholes and trimmer fitting plain-front trousers. It is truly a statement of elegance and refinement. Tailored from pure wool woven in Italy. 2-button. Center vent. Made in the USA."

We went back this weekend (stopped by J Crew for the obligatory try-on) and selected the 1818 Fitzgerald and I gotta say, my man looked hot in a suit! Normally you pick a suit and then the on-site tailors take your measurements and mark the suit right there, but when the tailors got a look at Matt, they insisted that he order an unusual size to accommodate for his "large chest and shoulders." That's right. I'm marrying Superman. So he didn't get to do his tailoring this weekend, but we have the suit ordered and it should come in soon. Then we went downstairs and bought a nice, slim-cut dress shirt with the discount. (If you're interested, definitely try on their slim fit shirts before springing for a custom-made number. Depending on your build, you may not need it.) All in all, I'm a pretty big fan of BB and am really excited to see the fiance in his wedding finery!

Other fun moments at Brooks Brothers:
1) Dutch guy yelling at the tailor b/c the sleeves made his gray 1800s style tails tuxedo look "ridiculous!". Um, no. The tails do. You look like you're trying out for a Jane Austen movie on PBS.
2) Mother demanding to know why the pants for her full-grown son "bulged in the crotch." Awk-ward.

And for those interested, the 30% off sale runs through the 15th of this month and you just need to mention it to get the discount.

Devil's Got a Blue Dress On

2009-05-08T08:31:00.000-07:00

This just in from Kathryn the Dress designer!
NOT FOR MATT

What do you guys think? Do you like the blue peeking out? Do you miss the lace on the bottom? Could we have both? Do you like more lace on top?

Let's hear it!

The first Official Cake Tasting--Lucy's Cakes

2009-05-07T15:56:00.000-07:00

Today we embarked on the the part of wedding planning I've always dreamed of--the cake tasting. Unfortunately, we were not there. Obviously, we couldn't go to Austin for a cake tasting, so I got a pinch cake taster to go instead. (And believe me, there were plenty volunteers. First up, Lucy's Cakes of Austin, Texas. Lucy's came highly recommended by the other two married people I know in Austin, particularly the chocolate groom's cake. Lucy's is reasonably priced, has good designs on the website and was pre-tasting, the one to beat. Yes, pre-tasting. Unfortunately, Lucy's did not live up their reputation. My pinch taster said, all the cakes with the exception of the Italian Cream were very dry. Boooo Lucy's.

Of course, she didn't just say that. She marked it down on the cake tasting score card. Yes, there's a score card. B/c I couldn't be there for the tasting and am very particular about my desserts, I wanted to know how the cakes scored on various parameters. Something my pinch taster, Hillary, found hilarious enough to build a score card and proceed to Simon Cowell Lucy's Cakes.

I know, I know. Totally bridezilla. But there's some good information in here. For example, cakes were tasted on 5 things: sweetness, color, texture, moisture and stability. (some of which i hadn't even thought of. Great job, Hillary!) The white/standard cake scored an average 3.4 out of 5, the famous devil's food got a 3.0 with 2s in both moisture and texture (on a scale of melts in your mouth to 5 days old), and the Italian Cream managed at 3.8 but got it's highest score in the color category and I'm not even sure what that means. The icings also managed middling scores, but the big disappointment of the night was the Strawberry filling which scored a depressing 2 on sweetness.

Oh well. Hopefully Michelle's Patisserie will fare better. We (Hillary) will be hitting them next week, and hopefully with pictures. Stay tuned!

Dress Update

2009-05-07T15:25:00.000-07:00

Alright, now that Kathryn (the dress designer) and I are on the same page as far as the design goes, she has begun sourcing materials to make the dress with (and the official cost estimate.) She apparently had in stock some silky ivory satin for the main part of the dress and has been diligently shopping for the rest. Because we decided on lace for the parts of the dress, she has been lace shopping. And I have, by proxy, been getting a lace education. She has decided that Alencon lace (pronounced al-an-sawn, it's French) would be best. Through some google searches, I have learned that Alencon lace is "is a needle lace that originated in Alençon, France. It is sometimes called the 'Queen of lace.'" I have also learned that "Alencon lace is Chantilly Lace which has been re-embroidered with a very fine rayon cord" and that Kathryn only uses hand-made lace. Yes. Hand made. As in there are some French ladies making it by hand at some Chateau right now. Okay, not right now, b/c apparently it takes a year to make hand-made lace which is what makes is so fancy. This might be the most fancy, fussy, over the top thing about the wedding so far. It's so fancy sounding, it almost makes me uncomfortable. But Kathryn says, "there is so much lace out there but the good stuff is rare, hand-made and usually made wider for entire dresses. It also comes and goes quickly especially now during high wedding season. It takes aprox one year for the hand-made lace to be made.....it is a very specialized industry." Whew! Anyway, we believe we have found some lace that may work and I'm posting it here.

*Warning: apparently it's only yellowed in the picture. Kathryn assures me in real life it's light ivory and matches the satin. Before I decide for sure, I'm going to check out the lace on my mom's veil again to see if we can't get a close match.

But Kathryn hasn't just been doing lace shopping. She's also been shopping for the Tiffany Blue sash I may or may not wear with the dress. She's mailing me samples and I have pics as well.

I think I actually found the perfect ribbon at Kate's Paperie a few weeks ago, so when the sample comes in, I may go by, pick some up and compare.

Finally, Kathryn has been coming up with even more ideas for the dress. Today she sent me this brilliance:

"There are lots of things that can be done with the edging of the gown. For example you could have lace set in place at the edge of the gown, and you could have aqua tulle set into your petticoat that peaked out slightly when you walked or danced."

Umm, awesome? I asked her if she thought it would be too much with the sash and she assured me it wouldn't as long as it was subtle. She also mention doing the sash in reversible white and aqua blue. What do you guys think? Is the reversible sash necessary? What about the blue tulle peeking out from under the ground? Awesome or childish? She said we could make these decisions at the end, but i'm curious about what you guys think. And, just for fun, she sent me a new and improved dress sketch.

NOT FOR MATT'S EYES

So what do you think? Should I push back for more lace on the bottom? Wait to see how it turns out? And isn't this thing getting awesome?

Perfect Palette Giveaway

2009-05-07T13:33:00.000-07:00

Today, I checked my email to find out a fellow wedding blogger left me a comment and suggested I check out the giveaway she's doing on her blog. I did and it's pretty cool. Perfect Palette (http://theperfectpalette.blogspot.com/) is giving away a $25 gift certificate to Garnish!--a online seller of boxes and bags. Now, usually a $25 gift certificate is just to get you to buy more stuff. But it could actually go a long way with Garnish!. If I win, I'll be getting the lunch sacks and glassine bags and make some nifty Out of Town bags or favor bags or tossing petal bags or whatever. If you're interested, just head over to http://www.thinkgarnish.com/store/Scripts/default.asp and then leave a comment at Perfect Palette saying what you would use the gift certificate for. Here, courtesy of Perfect Palette are a few cute things from Garnish!.

It's a hit!

2009-05-06T14:29:00.000-07:00

I got an email this morning from Kathryn over at www.snippetandink.blogspot.com--one of my favorite wedding blogs. She says our Save the Dates are "awesome" and would like to include them in her blog post this Friday! I'm so excited that something from my wedding will be featured at one of the top wedding blogs. And it's so flattering to hear the style I've chosen is "awesome." (Although to be fair, most of the credit has to go to Cristin, the designer.) She told me she's about to move to Austin and wanted the low down on cool places to go, so I obliged and promptly sent her to our wedding website for recommendations--which she also said was "awesome." Yay, us!
Then, right after that, I got a second email from another big blogger (who'll remain nameless for right now) who called the save the dates, "positively beautiful" and also asked to post them. Unfortunately, after I explained to her that they were going to be featured at Snippet and Ink, she decided it would be best not to post them on her blog as well. Instead, she asked me to be a guest blogger on her site after the wedding for a week! Cool! So far, I feel totally validated in my wedding planning abilities and feel capable of knocking out some more big, awesome tasks this month. :)

In other news, check out this image of the bridesmaid dress we picked from the "Weddings: The Creative Process" event.

Image from http://carrieroseman.blogspot.com/

I love the sparkly brooch! What do you think? Should I add some bling to my 'maids or maybe a silk flower in a contrasting color? Or keep it simple? Let me know!

The Save the Dates have been Delivered!

2009-05-04T11:47:00.000-07:00

If you're reading this blog, you've probably already received your Save the Date, but I'm so excited and proud of how these turned out. My good friend, Cristin Burton designed these. Cristin is a very talented designer working here in New York and
has actually studied the music poster genre in grad school. So she's obviously the perfect choice for this project. We started out with a meeting over brunch where she brought a book of vintage music posters for inspiration. We bounced around a lot of ideas, paid the check and went on about our Saturday. A week later, Cristin emails us several options--all too awesome to make a decision. We hemmed and hawed and Frankensteined some posters together and Cristin came up with these two beauties. And we liked them both so much, we couldn't decide which to send. So we printed 40 of each and randomly sent them out to our guests. So some got white and some got blue. Hopefully when they saw the other color at their friends house it was like, "Cool! Mine is different!" and not, "What?! Why didn't I get blue? :(" But so far they've been a big hit with our families and friends. We think they set the tone for the wedding and introduce our website where we've been getting loads of traffic. More on that to come!

***NOTE: If you're interested in having a Save the Date or any other part of your invitation suite created by Cristin Burton, she can be reached at cristinburton@gmail.com.

Sketches from the Dress Designer

2009-04-29T11:23:00.000-07:00

Okay, after sending some inspiration dresses and determining that I'd like a satin dress with lace on the top and bottom in a mermaid shape, here are the sketches the Kathryn, the dress designer came up with. So what do you guys think? Do you have a favorite? Is it anal to request not to have those seams in the fronts? What do you think? What feedback should I send her?

Please, please, please send me ideas soon. Thanks!
NOT FOR MATT'S EYES

This one is an example of a dress she's made in the past. Similar to the Melissa Sweet Lia dress.

Looking "Haute" in Couture

2009-04-24T08:27:00.000-07:00

Okay, like I said last time, I've had it with dress shopping and am looking into having someone make my simple dream dress. After doing some research, I found Kathryn Conover in New York magazine. She started out in fashion with a line of evening wear at Bergdorf's, then had a lower end line at Dillard's and now solely does custom bridal. She also specializes in lace and does pretty nice work. It can be seen at kathrynconover.net. I called her up and she sounded great. She buys her materials from the same places at Vera and Monique and makes a muslin copy of the dress before she tackles the real one to get the shape perfect. I sent her my inspiration dresses and told her I liked: mermaid shapes, scoop, strapless necklines, lace, covered buttons and colored sashes. I did not like: empire waists, rouching, beading, sheath or ballgown shapes, asymmetry. After looking at my ideas, she said she could definitely do a dress under budget and made some suggestions of her own. Like adding some flower detailing. Here are my inspiration dresses. (NOT FOR MATT'S EYES.)

So what do you guys think? Should I go with an all-lace or some satin? I was thinking of a satin dress with lace at the top and bottom. Would a colored sash work with that or be too much? Should I add the flowers like she suggested? Let me know ASAP so I can share with Kathryn!

Dress shopping in hell

2009-04-24T08:13:00.000-07:00

Alright, last weekend I gave dress shopping one last try. I hit up the Kleinfeld Sample Sale (yes, the famous Kleinfeld from Say Yes to the Dress), visited RK Bridal one more time and visited a new place called Designer Loft. It was a disaster.
Okay, disaster is an exaggeration. There were no fires, explosions and Will Smith didn't have to save the day, but it did not go well. First was Kleinfeld's which is a beautiful store. It's easy to see how people get sucked into spending 1000s of dollars on a dress in this luxe environment. There are crystal chandeliers, silk couches and unbelievably beautiful dresses. Unfortunately, none of them were on the end of the sale rack that I could afford. I've discovered that if you want a sale dress, you have to go with a ballgown shape, b/c that's all there is. Big, fussy dresses with bows and sequins. So even though our salesperson was very nice (offered to knock a few dollars off the price), there were no winners at Kleinfeld's.
Next up was RK Bridal part deaux. We'd already been there and like last time, it was a mad house. We had to wait an hour for a dressing room and I was rushed through every dress. Also told multiple times that this dress was too dressy for an outdoor wedding. Excuse me? How can a bride look too dressy? Am I supposed to wear overalls b/c I'm getting married outside? Every bridal magazine I've ever seen has done a beautiful spread of dresses outdoors. So I'll decide what's too dressy thank you very much. Also, she even took away the dresses I'd been considering. Then a screaming match broke out b/t the staff and a mother and I'd had enough.
Next was Designer Loft. The experience was totally different and the best so far. The shop was tiny and calm and cute. They only see two people at a time and we were the only ones there for our appointment. They have a unique selection too, although many were out of our price range. (They also have a sample sale every day, but again, every dress was ballgown.) The salesperson was very friendly (and an Arkansan!) and she and the girls almost talked me into buying this flowy Grecian type ballgown. It was beautiful, but I felt it just wasn't me. (which is weird b/c one of my girls specifically said, "it's so you." very confusing.) Anyway, even though I liked the place a lot, no winners.
So at this point, I've decided I've had it with dress shopping and called a custom dress designer. More on that next.

You're invited. Now pick a number.

2009-04-14T08:30:00.000-07:00

For whoever didn't know, I'm the maid of honor in my sister's June wedding and I'm planning her bachelorette party for next weekend. Since she finally received her invite in the mail, I decided I'd post about and show you the invite. For the invite, I made a "cootie catcher" or "fortune teller" like we used to do in grade school. But instead of telling you which boy at school you would marry and whether you'd live in a mansion or a shack, it reveals stuff like what to bring to the party and when it is. I found a template online so I could print everything out in Powerpoint. In case you want to make your own, here's where I found it:
http://vintageglamblog.com/2008/09/freebie-fridays-cootie-catcher-menu-template/

And here's how it turned out.

And to complete the invite, I placed it in a box stuffed with fishnet stockings (which are on the "What to Bring" list.)

And not to toot my own horn or anything, but I think she loved it. :)

With this ring

2009-04-14T08:21:00.000-07:00

This month I celebrated a birthday and for my birthday, my future mother-in-law gifted me a super cute ring bowl from Paloma's nest on Etsy. Paloma's Nest handmakes these little bowls in Austin, TX and customizes them to say whatever you'd like. Mine says, "With this Ring" and "09.18.09" (the wedding date). Until (and after) the wedding, I'll be using this little beauty to hold my ring when I'm doing something where I can't wear my ring. (Like putting on self-tanner or rock climbing or chopping firewood). And at the wedding, one of the groomsmen will carry it down the aisle with our rings. Ooh, and at Christmas, we can hang it on our tree! Anyway, it came in the other day in the cutest packaging.

And here's what the bowl looks like. (Sorry you can't really read it, but I just snapped a pic with the ole phone.)

Wedding dresses, wedding dresses everywhere

2009-04-14T07:54:00.000-07:00

I don't know if it's a spring thing or what, but I'm seeing wedding dresses made out of random objects in store windows all over town. Here are a few I thought to snap up with the iPhone.

Dress made of wedding china at Bed, Bath and Beyond

Dress made of wedding china at Bed, Bath and Beyond

Dress made of Tile at a Bathroom studio

Dress made of paper at Kate's Paperie

Dress made of paper at Kate's Paperie

How to leave feedback

2009-03-30T15:02:00.000-07:00

I've had a lot of people asking how to leave comments back on the actual page, so I thought I would just lay it out on the blog itself. It's pretty simple.

Just scroll to the bottom of the post you want to comment on.
Click "Comments" (it probably says "0 Comments" or "2 Comments")
That should open a box where you can leave your own comment.

If this still isn't working for someone, just let me know. And please, comment on the posts! It makes me feel like someone out there is actually reading these!

Mary

The Magic Bridesmaid dress

2009-03-30T14:50:00.000-07:00

Finding bridesmaid dresses was pretty tough for me. I didn't want anything that looked like a bridesmaid dress (or really was a bridesmaid dress.) So no taffeta or satin or bows. Like at all. Originally I just wanted to ask them to pick any blue dress of their choice. But eventually, it turned out that this was more stressful for the bridesmaids who (very sweetly) actually wanted some guidance. But what could I do short of just picking dresses and then having that matchy look that I'm so not into? Enter Butter by Nadia. Nadia (whomever that is) makes these great wrap dresses that can be worn in at least a dozen different ways. And they're one size fits all. Really. So I just pick one dress and everyone can still customize their own look. Genius right? And I've read reviews swearing that they really are flattering on every figure and several styles are bra-friendly. The only downside I could see was the price. These babies run about $250! I felt like that was way too much to ask my friends to pay. (even though they can definitely wear it again. for those that wear dresses.) Luckily, (I'm truly bridally blessed) bridesmaid Kristen stepped in and volunteered her mom to make the dresses for us at cost! Yay! Awesome magical bridesmaid dresses back on! She's in the process of making a sample dress now, and if that works out, the only thing left is finding the material and figuring out how to convince her to make me one too! Check out below to see some of the many, many styles this dress can be worn in.

And here's a video demonstrating how to wear one of the styles:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja_6tafFbMA

The Rehearsal Dinner

2009-03-30T14:14:00.001-07:00

One of the aspects of the wedding weekend that I'm really excited about and not at all stressed about is the rehearsal dinner. It is being hosted by the future in-laws and...is already totally planned! Done. Yay! When Matt and I first started talking about doing the Austin wedding, we talked about trying to work in as many of our favorite places as possible. One stand out choice was Guero's Taco Bar. Guero's is a landmark in Austin. It's a favorite of President Clinton--who purportedly loves the El Presidente plate and they swear he eats the whole thing. It's also been in a couple of movies, most recently in Tarantino's Grindhouse. It's just a great taco bar (with free salsa bar!) and a great place to relax. It also features live music and is within walking distance to our hotel. So perfect right?

Unfortunately, when we looked at their website they specifically said, no rehearsal dinners. Really. Literally spelled it out. So we were super bummed and started looking into a replacement. I put out a Facebook message to all my Austin peeps asking for a recommendation and a former teacher of mine from UT replied. He had some feedback on other places, but also said he's old friends with the manager from Guero's! He said he'd see what he could and....wait for it...he actually did it! He emailed me the next day to say that the manager was willing to work with us! It took a bit longer to get the manager on the horn b/c he was vacationing, but he told us that as long as we didn't do it too late, he could seat our whole party together and we could hang on the patio and listen to free live music while we wait.

So that's done! The place already has a great decor, so no worries on that. The menu is already set. So that's done. I guess I could make rehearsal dinner invites if I have time, but that's it. So yay! Check it off the list and get hungry for some tacos!

The patio and live music venue.

The front porch.

Tarantino filming Grindhouse.

Pound for Pound challenge

2009-03-30T13:55:00.000-07:00

Because I'm getting married and my sister's getting married and my fiance's sister is getting married, pretty much everyone I know is trying to lose weight right now. (Also, bikini season! I know, I know. That was mean.) Anyway, while doing my favorite workout--watching Biggest Loser--I heard about a great motivation for losing weight.

Kraft and The Biggest Loser are sponsoring the Pound for Pound challenge. They're asking for people across America to pledge to lose weight this spring and for every pound lost, they will donate the equivalent of 1 pound of groceries to a local food bank. You need to report your weight loss between April 1st and May 5th, but so far more than 2.5 million pounds have been pledged! There's also recipes, workout tips and videos from the Biggest Loser trainers to help. But I say, don't think of this as more pressure to look better, think of it as great motivation to help others by helping yourself. It's a great cause and hopefully will talk you out of that second dessert after dinner!

Check out details at www.pfpchallenge.com.

Pingg without the Pong

2009-03-25T09:20:00.001-07:00

I just found a new email invite service that I LOVE. Pingg.com is such an awesome service. There you can create email invites using images from professional artists, photographers and event stylists like Martha Stewart. Or you can upload your own image to make a custom invite. Almost all the designs are free (custom designs are always free) and the emails take you to a customized web page that manages all your rsvp's. You can also add pictures from your desktop or from a flickr feed, videos from youtube, links from anywhere and there's a message center for guests to mention how excited they are to come. (or how sad they are they can't come.) The designs are organized by theme such as baby shower, wedding, bachelorette party, March Madness, birthday, girl's night out, etc. But probably the coolest part of the service is all the ways they can contact people for you. Obviously they can reach people through email. But they'll also post a shareable invite on Facebook, Myspace or about a dozen other social networking sites. And they'll text message your guests...for free! Yup, they'll text for the first invite, to remind slackers to rsvp and to get people excited the day of. And they'll send an email thank you to everyone who rsvp's yes the day after the event. So civilized!

Here are some of my favorite free designs.

But what really, really sold me on Pingg and the reason I went with them for my sister's bachelorette party and bridal shower (2 events, not a weird combo), is that they will print, address and mail real invites for you too! Yes, they really do everything. Now, you do have to pay for the print versions and right now they only come in a postcard version, but at $1.25 each where you don't have to do anything but put in the info, not bad! And if you type in "print20" at checkout, you get an extra 20% off printing.

Anyway, here is a look at the custom Pingg invite I designed for my sister's bridal shower.

All the info will be printed on the back and has already been mailed out to our peeps. And here's the accompanying web site:
http://www.pingg.com/rsvp/mzynt4d45b84qcjdk

So what do you think? Will any of you be using Pingg soon?

The Bridal Garden

2009-03-23T12:04:00.000-07:00

On Sunday this weekend, I visited the Bridal Garden and RK Bridal in New York. The Bridal Garden is a great non-profit organization where designers donate sample dresses and the proceeds go to a music program at a Brooklyn elementary school. So I had high hopes for this place. And while they did have some nice things, I didn't find a winner for me. There was one very nice dress though by Mon Cheri that a mother there assured me was "the one" and when I decided to leave it behind, another mother snagged it for her daughter. (they should hire me to wear these dresses around the store and increase their sales.) I actually tried on several w/o taking pictures. Including one with a slinky silk skirt that I was informed could not be worn with underwear. Really? No underwear at all? How much of a charade is wearing white if you go to the alter a la commando? Anyway, here's the close but no cigar dress.

After The Bridal Garden, we went to RK Bridal which is kind of a New York equivalent of David's Bridal--except they carry mid-price gowns from other designers instead of their own. So it's kind of a big warehouse with a LOT of dresses (like an intimidating amount) and a LOT of brides. You have to sign a waiting list and wait for an available salesperson and dressing room. I think we waited, oh about...an hour. Seriously. Eventually we just sat on the floor (no chairs) and watched other brides try on dresses and quietly gave American Idol like commentary. "Whoa, that skinny girl needs to be on the hamburger diet." "Ugh, that is not the dress for that butt." "hmm, doesn't look the dress type as much as the comfortable shoes and cargo pants type. I wonder who she's marrying." When we fi-na-lly got a dressing room, I was assigned to Olga. An adorably tiny old lady who's probably been doing this for forty years. She got me into each dress and then stayed in the dressing room and ate and apple while I checked it out in the mirror. (the dressing room, btw, looked like a retirement home. Complete with rocking chair and pics of brides/grandkids." Anyway, out of the 5 emerged 2 possibilities. Since we weren't allowed to take pictures, I can only post the pics of the dresses I could find online.

This is the first dress by Watters. It has a sweetheart neckline and the lace goes to tea length. I would wear it with a satin blue sash and a lace mantilla veil.

Here are several pics of dress #2. It's all satin, no lace or beading. But the design is very glamorous and probably more formal. I would wear this also with a lace mantilla veil and hopefully blue shoes.

So which do you like better? I have to decide like immediately b/c apparently it takes 6 months to order a new dress (although I could get the 2nd one used which would save a ton of time and money.) Should I go with the classic, romantic lace and a pop of color? Or the form fitting, glamorous all-satin number? Please let me know what you think.

Pronovias Sample Sale

2009-03-23T11:35:00.000-07:00

Last week while I was checking out Facebook instead of working, I saw an ad for the Annual Pronovias Sample Sale. (imagine trumpets and acrobats and a big ta-dah.) Pronovias is a Spanish designer who about a year ago opened their flagship US office in New York. I've heard raves about them so I signed up via Facebook for an appointment. When I got there it was a bit ridiculous. I arrived at 10:20 for my 10:30 appointment and was greeted by a doorman who checked to see if I was on the list. (Yes, exactly like at an exclusive nightclub.) When I was finally let in, I had to re-check in at the front desk with a woman who is clearly not a people person. (How did she get the front desk job?) After she told me to head upstairs (and snipped at me to get upstairs after asking about my friend who was meeting me), I ascended the spiral staircase to find a room of white dresses and girls scrambling to score one. I tried on 3 dresses there, but didn't find much b/c most of their dresses are pretty elaborate and too fussy for my taste. But if you like beading and pouf, it's definitely worth checking out. There were even several dresses for $500 that I'm sure people went home very happy with. Anyway, no winners, but here are the ones I tried on.

Destination Wedding Cake Tasting

2009-03-19T09:59:00.000-07:00

We've recently discovered the biggest drawback to a destination wedding. It's not that the planning is harder or that people don't want to come. It's that there's no cake tasting. I was super bummed about this b/c I've always looked forward to this part (and all events involving eating cake). So, earlier this week we hosted a fake cake tasting. No, we didn't taste any fake cakes. But we did do a kind of fake cake tasting to figure out what to do about the cake. Since we can't fly down to Austin just to try cakes (really? we can't? but I want too!), we have to figure out some way to decide what kind of cake to serve. I emailed a few bakers up here to see if we can just try some different flavor combinations and learn about different kinds of frosting and it was not met warmly. I even offered to pay for the tasting! One guy wanted $100 for a tasting, another wanted $25 per flavor. Are they serious? For essentially the equivalent of a slice of cake? Who am I, the Sultan of Brunei? Anyway, these options were promptly denied. Moving on. I still wanted to do some kind of cake tasting and I'm not sure what to do about cake flavors so I kept looking and had an idea. New York is basically the World Capital of Cupcakes. Seriously people are cupcake crazy here. Like if they had to choose b/t eating a cupcake and rescuing a baby from a careening pedicab, that baby would be toast. Anyway, we have tons and tons of cupcakeries in the city and isn't that basically like a cake tasting? Mini cakes in different flavors? Duh. So I went to my nearest cupcakery, Billy's Bakery in Chelsea and got a small sample of all their flavors. I got a yellow cupcake with vanilla buttercream, a chocolate cupcake with vanilla buttercream, a red velvet cupcake with cream cheese icing, a slice of banana cake with banana puree filler and vanilla icing and a slice of yellow cake with coconut filler and meringue icing.

Yellow cake with coconut filler and Meringue icing

Banana cake with banana filler and Vanilla Icing

Red velvet with cream cheese icing

Here's what we thought:

1) Yellow cake with vanilla buttercream: Classic combo, but the buttercream was give-you-a-toothache sweet and not as creamy as I like. (this is very common with New York buttercream. I don't get it, but then again, I prefer Duncan Hines)
2) Chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream: Ditto on the icing and I think we'll leave chocolate to the groom's cake (for those of you Yankees who don't know about groom's cakes, please contact me immediately)
3) Red velvet with cream cheese icing: I'm not opposed to red velvet wedding cake, but I'm not completely sold either. The cream cheese icing, however, was my favorite of what we tried. It was really, really creamy and just the right amount of sweet. But you could definitely taste that cream cheese tang. Would that be good with other flavor combos? What about fillers?
4) Banana cake with banana filler and vanilla icing: This non-buttercream icing was pretty good and not too sweet although not as pretty. And the cake was kind of...awesome. It was basically a lighter (in density, not calories) banana bread. I also really liked the banana filler. But is banana too weird for a wedding cake? I'm not especially a banana person. What about just banana filler? Would people be into that?
5) Coconut cake with meringue icing: Now, I love coconut cake, but I'm worried it will be too polarizing at the wedding. Don't some people really not like it? The coconut filler with the yellow cake was great and the meringue icing was better than most, but not my favorite, so not a wedding contender.

Now the best part of this tasting option is that we can just keep doing it! More cake, yay! Here are some flavors I've seen from the Austin bakeries that sound interesting: mexican vanilla, yellow cake with banana filler and chocolate ganache, yellow cake with chocolate mouse or vanilla custard fillings. What do you think? What's your favorite kind of cake? What's the best you've had at a wedding? Are banana or coconut too polarizing? Should we reserve any chocolate for the groom's cake? Does cream cheese icing work with everything? Should I stick with buttercream icing (I'm definitely not doing fondant) even though if made incorrectly, I really don't like it? Whew, that's a lot of questions. Anyway, let me know!

Austin in the News

2009-03-19T08:55:00.000-07:00

Austin was just named the #1 travel location for 2009 by Budget Travel magazine! Check out what they have to say about why Austin is the place to be!

AUSTIN

Why in 2009: For years, the capital of down-home cool (and Texas) has been working to become the nation's capital of pop culture—at least among cities of a similar size. This city of 1.6 million residents has succeeded in its mission, especially as a venue for indie rock, bluegrass, and country music. Its largest music festival is South by Southwest, a multi-day, 1,700-band extravaganza that draws serious music fans nationwide (sxsw.com, Mar. 18–22, 2009). Austin's economy, meanwhile, is well diversified between public and private sectors, which means that Austin is poised to weather the economic downturn reasonably well, says University of Texas at Austin economy professor Daniel S. Hamermesh. So it should be full speed ahead on spending for free and affordable cultural events. A bonus: In the past year, discounter JetBlue has added flights to Austin. Rival airlines are feeling the pressure to keep airfares low.

Main events: Thousands of music fans converge on the city each year for two festivals: South by Southwest (mentioned above) and the Austin City Limits Music Festival (aclfestival.com, Oct. 2–4). Art lovers come for the Texas Biennial (texasbiennial.com, Mar. 6–Apr. 11) and the open-air Art City Austin (artallianceaustin.org, Apr. 25-26). Even if you're not in town for a big event, keep in mind that Austin has pretty weather for eight months of the year (summer's the sweltering exception). With its extensive Greenbelt park as well as 10 miles of waterfront paths, it's easy to get outside and enjoy a little nature.
Memorable moment: Chill out on the terrace bar of the Inter-Continental Stephen F. Austin hotel, overlooking downtown. Order a Stephen F. Top Shelf, the house margarita, tip your hat to the mounted longhorn on the wall, and watch the Texas Capitol turn pink as the last rays of the sun hit it. 701 Congress Ave., 888/424-6835, austin.intercontinental.com, margaritas from $10.

Price check: Round-trip tickets between Austin and Chicago recently started at $210, a 9 percent drop from a year earlier, says Farecast. Affordable lodging isn't hard to come by. Hotel rates should average a modest $104 a night, says a forecast by PKF Hospitality Research. We like the stylish Austin Motel, starting at $70. 1220 S. Congress Ave., 512/441-1157, austinmotel.com.

Beautiful Southern Wedding Idea

2009-03-12T11:39:00.000-07:00

(pictures courtesy of Flickr)

My sister is planning a very southern wedding for this June in the Victorian Village neighborhood in Memphis, TN. Her wedding will be held on the lawn of a Victorian mansion/museum and the reception will be inside. This is the perfect wedding to add one of my favorite Southern wedding accessories--the parasol. Her plan is for each of the bridesmaids to carry ribbon bedecked parasols in lieu of a bouquet. Love this. Not only is it cost effective ( a favorite) and unique (another favorite), it also adds a great visual element to the posed pictures--(which are often super boring).

Anyway, I did some digging around on the internet and found some unbelievable lace parasols that ooze Scarlet O'Hara. (her style, not offensively racist lifestyle). These are from www.lace-parasols.com. The detail is awesome and they come in a couple colors. I think it would be beautiful for the bridesmaids to carry white ones and for my sister to carry the red one in her white dress at her red and white wedding. They are a bit expensive, but I also found them on ebay for more like $25 plus shipping.

I also think it would be beautiful to use these paper thin parasols as light fixtures/ceiling decor. I've seen it in store windows here in New York and here's a picture of some on the ceiling of the Wynn hotel in Las Vegas.

(courtesy of Flickr)

So what do you think? Do you love parasols or are they too old-fashioned and fussy? If you like them, should I get one for the pictures? A white one?

Actual Budget Invitations

2009-03-11T10:56:00.000-07:00

I recently read a post on another blog about so-called budget invitations. They started at $2000. $2000? Seriously? For some brides that's the entire budget! $2000 is a budget for a used car or an incredible vacation or I don't know, a boob job (not that I would recommend anything called a "budget" boob job). $2000 is not, however, "budget" for pieces of paper. Yes, I know the invite sets the tone for the wedding and yes, they're very special. But they'll probably be mostly thrown away by guests and no matter what, they're still just paper. So, no $2000 is not a good choice for "budget" brides. Today though, in the mass of bridal blogs I obsessively read when work is slow, I found an actual idea for budget brides. Printablepress.com is a new site by a couple of (very talented) graphic designers. They have several designs online, you email them the text you want on your invites and they email you back the files formatting for your printer. Then you either print them out yourself or take them to a printer like Kinko's. Invite designs are $60 plus $15 if you want custom sizes or colors. This is basically the best deal I've ever heard of and if I didn't have a super talented graphic designer friend, this is exactly how I would do my invites. Here are a few examples of my favorites from the site although they have many more options and even do custom work.

P.S. I'm encouraging my friend to start her own business like this so if you or anyone you know would like a custom design, let me know and I'll put you in touch. I'll be posting her design for my invites as soon as they're printed to give an idea of just how talented she is.

Dress Search Part 1: Warning! More pics of Mary in white dresses

2009-03-11T08:35:00.000-07:00

I thought since I posted the bonus dresses, I would go ahead and post the other dresses I've tried on. Most were too expensive but I was just trying to figure out what type of dress to go with. So please let me know which are your favorites and I'll keep you posted as the dress search continues. These dresses were either found at sample sales, David's bridal (the princess dress) or Proposals boutique in Arkansas.

P.S. Try to ignore all the goofy faces I'm making in the pictures. I felt weird having strangers take pictures of me in a big white dress. I guess I should get used to it.

P.P.S. The ones not worn by me are the ones I tried on at Macy's where they stingily don't allow pictures. The first two are the same gown, but look drastically different from the model to the bride. When I tried it on, it look more like it does on the bride, but I guess it all comes down to the fitting. Note: I do NOT like the way it fits the model. The super tight, 80s look is a no. I like the more romantic look on the bride.

Help me decide! (Matt warning: Mary in white dresses post)

2009-03-11T07:36:00.000-07:00

Because I secretly love short wedding dresses, I would like to wear a cute white mini dress to either the rehearsal dinner or a farewell brunch or something else during the wedding weekend. My fave is the following dress by Watters and Watters. Unfortunately it retails for $900, so it's not really an option for a bonus dress.

Since I can't afford to go that route, I've been on the lookout for an alternative. I recently found this dress at BCBG. It retails for $198, but there was a special this week for $100 off. I was going back and forth on buying the dress when I found out that there was only one left in my size in the country and it was in New York. So I bought it last night and I'm still going back and forth. What do you guys think? It's made of a very soft cotton material and even has pockets--which I love. I'm also into how simple it is, how low the back is and the classic shape. I'm not sure I love the (ruffles?) on the neckline. What do you guys think? Here's a pic with the model and a few pics of me wearing it I took with my phone in the mirror last night.

An Arkansas Wedding

2009-03-10T14:38:00.000-07:00

I've been alerted that a girl from my high school also had a Steel Magnolia/Armadillo groom's cake. But they went for the post-road kill version and for some reason the armadillo was drinking a beer. So I guess he had it coming. But despite the spurious choice for a groom's cake and the rather really half-assed job of decorating the getaway car (I'm guessing the groomsmen were put in charge of this), it really was a pretty Southern wedding.

The Vittles

2009-03-10T11:20:00.000-07:00

After deciding on Austin and figuring out that our venue allowed any caterer, picking a caterer was pretty easy. When people from out of town visit Austin, they want to eat three things.

1. Tacos
2. Steak
3. Barbecue

The fiance felt like tacos weren't fancy enough and steak was too expensive so that made it easy to pick barbecue as our fun party food. And once we decided on barbecue, it was an even more obvious choice as to what barbecue. Despite the fact that there are several delicious bbq places in Austin, our favorite is Salt Lick BBQ. In fact, we even considered hosting the wedding at the Salt Lick Pavilion, but the minimum fee was too high for our smallish/medium size wedding. The other thing we like about the Salt Lick is that it is $13/pp for all you can sausage, ribs and brisket and all the fixins'--including wait staff, set up, tables, tablecloths and clean-up. This is the same price as in the restaurant. Which seems reasonable to me b/c it's prepared in mass at the restaurant just like for catering (a limited, but delicious menu). They also said we could create our own appetizers which they would make at cost plus labor. No weird charges for going off the menu. This may sound like basic stuff for those not planning a wedding, but it's definitely not the standard. We also priced the Oasis, a beautiful lakefront restaurant in Austin. But their prices for a wedding reception were double the price in the restaurant! Shouldn't it be the other way? Shouldn't it be cheaper b/c we're buying a whole lotta one thing? But apparently they add the "wedding tax" and I couldn't swallow it. Which just made me happier about the Salt Lick policies. So the only thing left to decide is what to serve the vegetarians, how to display the handi-wipes and what kind of bib I'll need to eat ribs in a wedding dress.

And here are some pics of the delish bbq we'll be serving at our wedding.

A gratuitous plate of meats.

A sample of side dishes. Beans, potato salad and cole slaw are standard.

Where our meats will be 'cued.

Sorry, I couldn't find any pics of a Salt Lick wedding buffet. Obviously all the guests were too busy devouring the delicious bbq to stop and take pictures of it. It also seems to be a trend at the restaurant. In general, I believe this is a good sign. Also, we can change the side dishes and create which appetizers we want for the cocktail hour. Any suggestions? And what should the veggie-lovers eat?

The Venue

2009-03-09T15:26:00.000-07:00

As soon as we got engaged, everyone wanted to know where we were getting married. And it was a good question. We live in New York but I grew up in Arkansas and Matt grew up in Illinois. Obviously no matter where we got married, it would be a destination wedding for almost every guest. So we picked a city that's fun to mini-vacation, affordable and driving distance for many. Austin, TX. It's also where we met while going to grad school so we know it pretty well. Then we got pretty excited about an Austin wedding b/c it was the perfect chance to show off one of our favorite cities to our friends.

The next question was more specifically where. After researching, contacting and pricing out literally every venue in Austin, TX, we settled on Mercury Hall as our venue. The decision was based on the following factors:

1) It's pretty.
2) It allows for an outdoor ceremony--a prereq
3) It allows for an indoor ceremony if it rains
4) It allows for an air conditioned reception.
5) It's not too far from downtown.
6) They let you bring in your own vendors. Even if you want to cater yourself.
7) It's one of the most affordable venues in Austin.

Also, we think the history of Mercury Hall is pretty cool. It was built in 1904 in Mercury, Texas. The 105 year-old Texas church was moved to Austin in 1997 to be used in the Richard Linklater film, Waking Life and has since been restored as a beautiful event hall. The hall itself has a beautiful, vintage feel with hardwood floors, white washed walls and stain glass windows. I also love that we're getting married outside and then having the reception in a church. B/c it's fun to be backwards. Here are some pics of Mercury Hall.

(the 4 acre lawn where we will be married)

(through the glass entrance of the hall)

(the main reception room)

(Inside the hall)

(roses growing on the hall)

(an evening wedding at Mercury Hall)

(hopefully this will be me at my wedding)

So that's it. My big question now is how to design that big white space into a reception. Anybody got any ideas?

The Engagement

2009-03-09T15:09:00.000-07:00

In January, Matt and I traveled to South Africa with the rest of his family to visit his sister who lives there as a missionary. We spent the first week going on safari, riding elephants and ziplining through the wild and then headed to Cape Town for our second week. Our third day in Cape Town was spent on the beautiful Clifton beach and we'd planned to have dinner that night via picnic in the botanical gardens where an outdoor concert was happening. I was worried there wouldn't be enough time to explore the gardens, but Matt insisted we do the picnic anyway. As soon as we got there, I forgot all about not wanting to go b/c it's probably the most beautiful place I've ever been. It's like a cross b/t the sets of Jurassic Park and Lost. At the foot of Table Mountain, it's just one breath-taking view after another. And it's completely landscaped with vibrant indigenous flowers you've never seen before. We spent most of our time there wandering through the gardens and gaping at how beautiful it was. And Matt was having me take pictures of everything. I mean, everything. Take a picture of this bush. Now take a picture of it from this angle. After a zillion pictures, we came upon a secluded bench under a shady tree. Matt suggested we take a break on the bench before moving on. I put the backpack on the bench and when I turned around, he was on one knee in front of me. He pulled a ring out of his pocket (which he'd been carrying on his person for days now) and asked me to marry him. I said yes.

Blush and Bashful

2009-03-09T14:43:00.000-07:00

In case any of you haven't seen the movie, the title of this blog is taken from Steel Magnolias. Julia Roberts' character is asked what her wedding colors will be. She drawls, "My colors are Blush and Bashful." And her mother rolls her eyes and adds, "Her colors are pink and pink. It looks like GD Pepto-Bismal." In that spirit, this blog is dedicated to decadent, traditional Southern weddings and making fun of them. Along the way, I'll be blogging about planning my own Southern wedding in hopes that it can be as memorable as the Steel Magnolia classic. But for very different reasons.

And here's another piece of Steel Magnolia memorabilia and Southern wedding tradition, the groom's cake. The Steel Magnolia's groom's cake, of course, was in the shape of an armadillo and when cut, the red velvet cake gave the impression of road kill.