My Little Blue Book

This is my little blue book - full of wedding vendors, to do lists, and inspiration.  It has been my constant companion, even through my seasonal purse change.

My dear Aunt sent it to me shortly after my engagement and inscribed the first page with a note and a verse from the Bible.

 
You can also see all the junk that fell out of the front including a handwritten list and my makeup artist's card.

 

My aunt also tucked in this little card of advice about God being involved in your marriage and playing a role in cementing your bond as a couple.  It serves as a reminder that we're not alone and that God is there for us.

It has handy dandy tabs for appointments, ideas, to dos, books & mags, budget, and shopping.  As you can tell, the budget and shopping tabs are starting to wear a little ragged . . . Hmmmm.

This is an example of the type of item that I track in this little book.  I was scrolling through dafont.com and instead of bookmarking each of my favorites, I just jotted down the name so that I had easy access to them later if I wasn't in front of my computer.

Some things still don't quite make it into the book - like this note to call a vendor.  It did, however, make it to a sticky note which got stuck to the back of my little blue book.  So I consider that a half success. Is that optimism? or is that wedding brain disguised as optimism???

Do you keep a notebook in your purse for spontaneous wedding thoughts?  Do you use your smart phone or another electronic form? 

Behind the Veil

My master's work involved lengthy research on veiling in the Middle East. My choice to veil is much less political, and not even entirely religious. I love the look of it actually. Regardless of the symbolism, the veil appeals to me as delicious and delicate. Take at a look at these gorgeous photos by David Schwartz (a top tier local photographer): Maya and Eric.


Right. So a veil it was. Like pretty much all my other DIY endeavors, this idea started with sticker shock and was followed by a little: "I could do that." I searched around on the internet a little and found bridal illustion tulle at Save on Crafts. It was about $40 for 50 yards of it. I specifically ordered the 54" width in ivory. I figured I could completely goof at least 3 veils with some yardage to spare.

I had to enlist the help of my friend, Christine, and she was the perfect person to help fashion my veil. Christine sews a little and is very conscientious. She carefully laid out my train and arranged the tulle.

Since the tulle was so sheer, she laid colored tissue paper down to help see where she was cutting.

While she cut, I gathered the tulle at the top of my head and allowed for extra on the front end for an elbow length blusher.  After she finished cutting, we went into the hallway of my apt. building for a couple full length shots.  I hadn't seen any of my neighbors in about 3 weeks.  As soon as I walk out in a gown and veil, all three of my closest neighbors start coming in and out with groceries, garbage, and their dog.  Haha, "Hi guys."

I just gathered up my train and let them pass.  I wish the pics were better, but we couldn't get started until after work hours, so by the time we finished cutting, it was well past sunset.

One last look at the front and my chagrin at the busy hallway!

To finish the veil, I followed Mrs. Beagle's and Mrs. Perfume's tutorials to add the comb.  I ended up sewing it on and then having to do it over because I sewed the comb in backwards.  Check twice, sew once ladies!  Learn from my mistakes.  I'll show you how I finished it with a bit of ribbon around the rough edge of the comb when I try it all on together at my final fitting!

Are you contemplating making your own veil?  Which lengths do you like with your dress?

Bust Altering

The number one alteration The Melinda had to endure was in the bust area.  It had to be taken in.  Way in.  I contemplated Take Outs, built in bras, water bras, etc.  I settled for exactly what my momma gave me.  Outside of the disheartening pinning up top, the dress fitting was one of the more fun parts of wedding planning for me.

After struggling with DIYs that weren't going right, our seemingly never ending search for entertainment (more to come on this one!),  and  figuring out the final guest list, I reveled in putting my gown on.  I feel like a bride when I'm wearing her.  I feel like it will all be worth it.  I look forward to my Lamb Lover's anticipation of seeing me for the first time.  I think about dancing with Ram-Dad in the dress.  I think about the dress hanging next to Ewe Mother and Grandmewether's dresses for the next generation.

That's the sentimental and calming part of trying on the gown again.

The nitty gritty part of trying on the gown again was in separating the two pieces, fitting the underneath part, and then hemming all of the layers to the correct length. 

 

 

I won't see the dress again December for the final fitting.  I miss having her hanging in my closet.  The rest of my little studio does not miss her taking up half the apartment.

Did you enjoy the fitting process?  What kind of feelings does your dress give you?

TJ Maxx and I are like *this*

My name is Miss "Impulse Buyer" Lamb.  I've got the shopping gene and it's a strong one passed down by grandmewether to Ewe Mother to me.  TJ Maxx, Ross, DSW, Marshalls, Home Goods . . . I imagine a piece of heaven to be similar stores where you find a bargain every time you walk in. 

Thankfully for my overtaxed personal budget, the wedding budget has allowed me to satisfy some impulse buying without any guilt.  For example, I was wandering around TJ Maxx at the Janaf Center (a tad on the sketchy side, but they have surprisingly good stuff) and happened to spot these little guys:

I had candle holders on my list of wedding items to buy.  I like lace.  I like vintage.  Black is in my color palette.  I held my breath and checked the bottoms for prices.  Clearance! Cha-ching!  I grabbed the trio and walked out that night with about $10 less in my pocket and these beauts swinging in a bag from my arm. 

Can't you picture them on my guest book table?  Or maybe by the seating chart?  I can't wait to see the candles in them and how the lace looks with the warm glow!

Are you keeping your eyes out for wedding items at your regular haunts?  Have you had any success stories at a discount store?

Tossing Tradition

 I've been the single girl, hoping to catch the bouquet, enough times to know I don't want to partake in the tossing tradition at our reception.

Source

Instead, I'm tossing tradition and considering some the Martha Stewart suggested alternatives:

1. Save your bridal bouquet and throw a special "fortune bouquet" composed of a dozen or so small clusters of flowers bound together with a ribbon that you untie before you throw. Each mini bouquet is bundled with a different romantic fortune.
2. If you prefer, toss out the toss and try this custom popular in Finland instead: The bride is blindfolded, and the unmarried women form a circle around her. While music plays, the bride slowly turns in place in one direction and the women walk, arms linked, the other way. Everyone stops when the music ends, and the bride walks forward to hand off her flowers to the person directly in front of her.

Another idea, inspired by Miss Bruschetta, is to gather all of the guests on the dance floor and have both the Lambster and I shower our guests with gift cards or scratch offs.  The Opera House has a great balcony on the third floor that overlooks the dance floor.

Since I would have to make/buy another bouquet and garter for the toss, I think it'd be more fun for everyone if I spent the money on something more useful for the recipients. 

Is my practical side getting the better of me?  Will people miss the traditional toss, or will they be glad the tradition was tossed?

The Magic of Macy's

At times our registry experience was magical, at other times it was not.  I had visions of us happily flitting about the store, my wooly counterpart delighted to be holding the clicker, and after a full day of registering, we would eat junk food in the mall food court with smiles on our faces.  Seriously.  Where do I come up with this crap?

Our real experience went something like this:
After a long morning at my outdoor graduation, we went to the Greenbriar Mall Macy's.  We waited for 15 minutes for a representative to show up in the china department.  It took about 45 minutes to set up the registry.  This also included the time to open a Macy's credit card account so we could take advantage of the Star Rewards system.  We didn't think too hard about this and learned the hard way - do not open a credit card (even at a dept. store!) when your loan request for a mortgage is being processed.  We finally got the clicker and walked aimlessly around because we had no idea what to register for when we didn't know where we would be living.  After registering for a roaster and some mixing bowls (and wasting another 30 minutes), we gladly handed the clicker back and vowed never to come to that Macy's again.  It's small and definitely not worth registering at because their selection is quite limited.

*both images sourced from Macys.com

I have been using the online system exclusively since then.  There is a big draw back however.  I have repeatedly run into the problem of the registry site, which is run through Wedding Channel, not matching the Macy's website.  I'll find something I like, I'll try to register for it, and it will not be available to assign to my registry.  Leave it to me to find the 10 things that you can't register for, but it's definitely annoying.

The reason I keep the registry open is twofold.  The first part is that it's the only brick and mortar store where we registered.  The second is that when items are purchased online, Macy's makes a donation to the charity of our choice (Special Olympics in our case)

Have you been happy with your registries?  Did you have a smooth experience?

DIY Cake Plate

Back when I pitched this idea, many of you were worried that if I didn't permanently glue to the plates to the candlesticks that we would end up with cake on the table and the floors - or basically anywhere opposite of the place we want the cake (in our tummehs!).  I considered the options and while I still like the idea of being able to take them apart and reuse the pieces separately, I decided to test the gluing option.

I had a tube of E-6000 and decided to just go for it.  I'm pretty happy with the results, so I decided to show you how it turned out and how I plan to make 13 more cake plates for our tables.

This cake plate was as easy as pie cake.  You need the following supplies:
1. Candlestick (mine is a pressed glass one from the thrift store)
2. Plate (mine is a pressed glass one from the thrift store)
3. Tube of E-6000 glue (I bought mine at either Michael's or JoAnn's)

Once you've gathered your supplies, follow these simple steps:
1. Squirt the glue onto the top of the candlestick where it is the flattest.
2. Looking through the plate, align the candlestick with the middle of the plate and gently set it in place. (If you goof, you'll have time to reposition it.)
3. Leave the plate to rest on the candlestick overnight. (Seriously, don't try to test the strength of the glue while it's still wet.  Just let it do its adhesive magic overnight.)

You can see the glue a little bit where I'm pointing.  This is no big deal.  Why? Because it's going to be covered in cake.  That's why.

Here's a look at the finished product:

Would you like to know the grand total for the project?  Raise your hand if you like a bargain like me!

Candlestick: $0.56
Plate: $2.38
Total: $2.94

Yeah . . . I'll let you catch the breath that you lost in wonder of my mad skills (both bargaining and glue-wise).  I'm going to finish the rest a week or so before the wedding because they're easier to store separately for the moment.  I'm also really excited to pass these along after the wedding, but I may just keep the showstopper above!

What projects have you've been working on recently? Have they involved the incredible E-6000 glue?

Pulling it together

If you saw this picture from this post:

And was wondering how I would make these into some kind of sense for a centerpiece, you weren't the only one.  I decided to mock up a table since I had unwrapped all this stuff from newspaper.  After washing my hands for 9 hours to remove the newsprint, I came up with this line up:

I included a cake plate, a large candle holder, a medium candle holder and two small tea light holders.  I'm digging the vintage eclectic.  Here's the view from the back side:

I may stagger these a little bit more, instead of being such a straight line, and I'm also considering maybe some fresh greenery to lay on the table.  Since the long tables won't be very wide, I think with the china settings, the favors, salt/pepper shakers, and the serving platters for family style serving will fill the table. 

The tablecloth won't be so "I'm Damask Baby!" on the tables either.  We're going with a crushed ivory tablecloth that I think will help keep the focus on the sparkle of the glassware.  You'll be seeing this damask again though!  Start looking forward to it.

Are you obsessed with mocking things up first?  How many trials did you do before settling on a centerpiece?

Invitation Imagination Part 2

I received the sample invitations in the mail!  As you read in the previous installment of Invitation Imagination, I liked quite a few invitation sets from eInvite.com. 

The invite set that won my heart did not have the option to order a sample for $1.50.  I thought that was a nice, measly price for a sample, but was disappointed that I wouldn't be able to see the exact invite I had chosen.  Miss Lamb Planner, my coordinator, even called them to see if it was possible, and they said, "No."  Probably as nicely as they could have said it.

My heart was set on these invites though and I saw a way around the sample.  I scoured the site for an invitation that was the same paper weight and lettering type of my heart's desire.  I received the sample in the mail and knew that my invitation decision was right!  Take a peek at the sample below:





I was really impressed with the quality of the paper.  I also realized that I couldn't tell the difference between the thermography and engraving.  If they were side by side, I could probably tell the difference.  Or if I'd seen hundreds of both kind.  But I'm betting our guests haven't seen them side by side hundreds at a time, so I think we're okay taking the cheapy shortcut here. 

I can't wait to show you what I actually chose!  Did you order a sample before you bought?  Did it seal the deal or break the deal?

Gettin' yo 'maid mojo on!

The cute wrapping paper above (holding delightful pieces of snail mail for the Lambaids) was a piece of swag from the fanciest bat mitzvah one which I'd ever laid eyes. I helped my cousin's design firm by directing the guests to the custom Converse sneaker spray painters. I also helped hand out the swag bags that included sweatshirts, pins, t-shirts, and ball caps. I got this cool, heavy, and oh-so-customized wrapping paper. And if one of my Lambaids got the design that says, "Life with Lex" - hahahaha, yeah, that's the 13-year-old who got her bat mitzvah at the Ritz Carleton in DC.

Anymaid, inside the "Life with Lex" wrapping paper, there was a little something that related to coordinating bridesmaid dresses. I made a booklet with rules and guidelines for choosing their own dresses.

Now before you go saying, "Excuse me? How is choosing your own dress compatible with a booklet of rules and guidelines? You really are a bridezilla!", just consider that some of the Lambaids asked me for more structure. What you are about to witness is a book that gives both structure and freedom. Prepare to be awed.

If you let your 'maids choose their own dresses, how much structure and freedom did you give? Did you choose a few styles and then let them choose? Or did you just let them any dress they felt like (regardless of color, cut, etc.)?

Guest Book Trial

After seeing this gorgeous AND practical AND sentimental AND fun guest book idea:

at Vintage Glam and then a million other places, my Lambalicious Planner convinced me that we could make this work at my more-early-20th-century vibed reception.

I wasn't completely convinced though. I had to do a trial run. I thought perhaps the tree would look dead with black and silver leaves. I thought perhaps it wouldn't fit into the decor of our house after the wedding. Then the light bulb went off! What if I paired it with a lovely black and white photograph from the big day? As soon as I had this thought, I decided I wanted to make this work.

In about 5 minutes, I whipped up this mini prototype. With Crayola markers and black stamp pad, I sloppily wrote our names and then pressed on a few leaves. My Lamb Lover looked on, his chief concern being the ease with which the ink would wash from my thumb.

Good news: The ink washed away with soap and water. I think that a box of baby wipes by the table will be the ticket on the big day though.

One last staged look at my handiwork:

For the actual print that we'll be using, I think I'll be using my bamboo brushes and india ink on water color paper. I just have to dig it up from somewhere at the house in Durham. Right . . . Some day I will live in one place for longer than 18 months so that I avoid hassles like this.

Are you opting for a non-traditional guest book?

Reconsidering China

I outlined my reasons and my China choices back here. I even went so far as to choose the lovely Royal Daulton Countess (the hive mostly guessed my taste right!) pattern and started to shop around for the best price.

Source
But as you know, the story of my wedding's life is that nothing can ever be as easy as making a decision. As soon as I started pricing, I realized that Macy's doesn't allow you to register for this pattern on-line. The closest store that carries it is over two hours away. Royal Daulton does not sell it on their website. Finally, I found the pattern on-line through Boscov's (or was in it Bonton?), only to find it on sale as a closeout. I decided I didn't like the pattern enough to track down whether it was being discontinued and which stores were still carrying it.

I went back to the drawing board to look at my other options. None of them were singing to me. I couldn't justify the expense as readily this go around. Then one day as I was surfing Craigslist (a daily must), I found a listing for China.

*lightbulb* *ding-ding-ding* *heavens opening up and a lovely "ahhhhhhh" chorus*

Instead of registering for China, I would instead buy a set off of Craigslist after the wedding. This solved a few dilemmas for me. I wanted to be green and not necessarily buy newly manufactured materials. I love vintage/classic looks anyways, and this was the perfect way to collect some actual vintage pieces. This was a much cheaper option to acquire a full set of China.

Here's a sampling of what's currently listed to show you why I so readily changed my mind:
Noritake Ivory China

Belle Fleur China

New Mikasa Cameo Platinum Set

*All images sourced from the listings*

I'm keeping my eyes peeled on the Washington, DC, Raleigh, and Norfolk lists - it definitely helps to have three cities to search!

Am I crazy to want to buy used China?

Fancy Shoes for Cheap

Cheap is my favorite adjective for a price. For any of you soon to be brides, or for anyone who going to attend any sort of party, or for anyone who wants to have a killer pair of shoes for a party they may get invited to, pay attention. I'm going to tell you how I landed my pretty shoes.

Step 1: Buy a lovely, but plain pair of shoes for cheap. You can scout Ebay (where I found mine), Etsy, discount stores, etc. Here are some finds that I dug up in about 30 seconds:

Anne Klein White Satin Pumps

Silver Satin Peep Toes

Red Satin Peep Toes

Step 2: Scout for a pair of shoe clips or clip on earrings at Etsy (where I found mine), Ebay, estate sales, thrift stores, etc. These are some darling ones I've favorited on Etsy:

Vintage Shoe Clips from Fanny b Creations

Aquamarine Rhinestone Fur or Shoe Clips by Uncommon Vintage

Tiptoe Rectangular Clips by Smelly Shoes Vintage

Step 3: Clip the clips on your shoes. Seriously. It was THAT easy.

My shoes went from "eh . . ." to "whoa momma!" in 3.2 seconds. One of my favorite parts about going this route is that I can keep my shoe clips and add on the sparklies to any of my other shoes, just as often as I fancy. Vintage shoe clips, they're a good thing.

Are you adding some DIY flare to your bridal shoes?

*All images sourced from their listings.*