A Quiet November

November has been a slow blogging month for me. October I hit 31 posts, but the continued dedication was lacking over the last few weeks. The reasons for this have been two-fold:

1. Work has been really busy and that means my afterwork time has meant less time on the computer and more time going to bed too early.
2. Not much has occurred in my own personal wedding planning. My sister had her baby (yay!) so the wedding forces have been out of commission on the East Coast. And for me, I've just been making mental notes of all I need to get done in the next 10 months without getting too carried away with details.

I hope to get back into the swing of blog things after Thanksgiving, so stay with me :)

On another note, it turns out that TWO of my childhood friends both got engaged this weekend! One of them is the only person from my highschool I really keep in any sort of touch with. The other moved away back in fifth grade but we reconnected on Facebook. It's so exciting to see them both so happy!

Real Wedding: Laylabelle

In a wedding blog world of rustic, outdoor, country weddings Laylabelle's modern, unique, rocking wedding is a breath of fresh air. I smiled so big when I saw her photos because is shows that getting married can be FUN! I love the marquee photo and the fact that they got married on a stage. And how rockin' is that flower girl's tutu? Just check these pics out (photos are from Laylabelle's thread and photographer Balli Photography):




How are you making your wedding stand out?

Unexpected Gifts!

So today B sent me a text saying we got a package in the mail. I immediately assumed it was the super awesome gift I had ordered for him for Christmas and told him not to open it. But when I got home I saw the signature Crate and Barrel box on the dining room table. Hmm... then I knew this package wasn't from me...

I ripped it open and it was 6 Vino Wine glasses and The Joy of Cooking from B's Aunt and Uncle as a belated engagement gift!



These were totally unexpected but definitely appreciated! It saves me from having to buy a new set of wine glasses for Thanksgiving this week.

This made my whole week!

And Speaking of Shoes...

Not too long ago, JunebugWeddings posted a Real Wedding on their blog. The bride wore these awesome shoes...

Crystal d'orsay Shoes $750, Giuseppe Zanotti

I think they really show that ivory shoes can be just as awesome as the "pop of color" shoes. I commented asking where they were from, because well, I just think they are great. But because I read blogs in my Reader, sometimes I forget to follow up on comments I leave. Then I opened my email and there was a note from Junebug CoFounder/Exec. Editor, Christy, letting me know that the bride responded and provided a link to find the shoes. (In case you were wondering they are by Giuseppe Zanotti, and can be found here... www.25park.com/crystal-d-orsay.html.) Thanks Christy!

How is THAT for blog excellence? Junebug, you are the best!

A Shoe of a Different Color

You may remember my "if I had tons of money to spare, I'd wear these shoes" post last month. Well now that I've decided on a dress, I am starting to think about shoes again. I came across the Design Your Own Elke Shoe on Nina Shoes website and I am seriously considering this option.


I love the trend of using shoes for a splash of color, but then comes the decision of WHAT color to choose. It is hard to tell the exact shade (particular of the China Blue and Ivory shades). You can get a swatch book from Nina Shoes for $10, but what do you do with it after you make a selection? Has anyone gone the "Design Your Own" route? What color shoes are you wearing?

Dressing the Girls

Now that I have selected my dress, it is definitely time to start finding dresses for my bridesmaids. I have one maid of honor and four maids - ranging in age from early 20s to early 30s. I don't really have any set style in mind and I'm open to the whole one color different dresses thing. I don't even really have a color in mind - I think it will be find styles that are appropriate for my bridesmaids both in appearance and in age then choose a color. I'm not a huge fan of strapless dresses, there is always a whole lotta adjusting going on and halter styles aren't my favorite.

Here are a few dresses I've come across:

I like the three tone style of this dress in the middle from Anna Elyse. My sister MOH and I were thinking that she could wear a three tone and then the rest of the maids wear solid dresses in on of the colors. The style doesn't quite work though and I'm thinking long dresses may be better...


Then I saw these dresses from Jenny Yoo. I think they could flatter all my girls and they are complementary to my dress. My next plan is to go to a bridal shop in San Fran to try one of them and view the color swatches. I hope that they look as good in person as they do online.


I'm open for suggestions though! As long as the dresses don't look like prom dresses ... I'd love to hear where other brides have found their girls' dresses! Thoughts?

Guess who found a wedding dress...

image source

Last night I returned to the bridal shop I visited in September to try on the two dresses I haven't gotten off my mind since as well as two new dresses. I ended up being certain that "my dress" was one of the two I tried on in September. I'll probably head there in a few weeks to put the deposit down and get the gown ordered.

Now, I just need to find styles for my bridesmaids (post on that to come soon!) and put my foot down once and for all on my fiance's blue and gold scheme for the groomsmen (love ya B!).

And... I now plan to stop looking at pictures of gowns so I don't start to think another dress is better. BTW - for me, no dress is better lol.

In total I probably tried on about 30 different dresses in three visits (1 in my hometown and 2 out in California). How many dresses did it take until you settled?