I'm Back!

I took a mini vacation with the Mr. and our puppies, but now I'm back and even more inspired than ever! We went to my hometown for a family birthday party and got to visit a couple wedding sites as well. We still haven't decided where we want to get married, but it was wonderful to be home again and there are some beautiful areas in town.

I mentioned before that I've been thinking a lot about engagement photos, and this afternoon I came across exactly the style I'm looking for. I found these on The Brides Cafe and they are absolutely perfect! The engagement photos of event designer Beka Nave and her fiance Jesse Rendell are by the supremely talented Marie Labbancz.

Midsummer Glamour

One of my earliest memories growing up is of attending a wedding reception in a beautiful white ranch house with acres of rolling grass and a string quartet playing in the courtyard. Talking to my mother the other day, she guessed that I must have only been two or three at the time, but apparently it made quite an impression because I've always felt that string quartets and garden receptions are the height of elegance and sophistication. Fast forward twenty-something years and I have the opportunity to book that same venue. I think an evening cocktail reception in the courtyard and dancing to a jazz orchestra in the large main room would be perfect. Butter yellow and gray have a sophisticated, yet whimsical quality that's perfect for a garden scattered with candlelight... Throw in a few vintage touches and I think we might have a wedding that is uniquely us.


Photo credits: Style Me Pretty, The Lettered Olive, Martha Stewart Weddings, Style Me Pretty, Martha Stewart Weddings, Arriella Chezar tables, After Six dress, monogram cake(???)

Picture Time!!!

I've been thinking a lot about our engagement pictures lately... Probably because we really don't have many good pictures of us as a couple, and it seems like everything from save the dates to program covers look better with a couples' witty, intelligent and obviously in love e-pictures. Besides, I have a little shopping craving and would love an excuse to find new outfits.


So this is us...

Disneyland has a special place in our hearts!




I love this picture because it was such an intimate moment in the midst of a chaotic day... Kinda like a wedding!




Us goofing off at his best friend's Las Vegas wedding.




To be continued just as soon as I find a new outfit!

If There's One Thing I've Noticed...

If there's one thing I've noticed, it's that brides change their minds A LOT. I feel so much better knowing that I'm not the only person who has changed their color scheme or decided that the "perfect venue" has unacceptably ugly carpet... But lately I seem to be flip flopping between two totally and completely different weddings; two weddings where the only constants are the Mr. and me.

We live in Las Vegas. Although we both don't really like the city and plan on moving very soon to start our family, there's a certain allure to The Kitschy Vegas Wedding. My dress is fun and retro enough that I can picture Elvis and a little white chapel, and I've always held the belief that if you take your marriage seriously, your wedding can be as crazy as you want it to be. Like I've said before, we're both nerds; we enjoy swing dancing together and he has enough fedoras to make Sinatra jealous, so having an old school 1950's chapel wedding might be very us...

Photo credits: Stephanie James Couture, Graceland Wedding Chapel, Wedding Paper Divas, black and white dance floor (please let me know where it's from), Style Me Pretty wedding of Kacie and Brandon, Lawry's The Prime Rib




BUT, and this is a big but... It's not my dream wedding. Being the anglophile that I am, my dream wedding is something out of The Wedding Date--a weekend long Pimm's Cup and gin and tonic fueled extravaganza complete with English manor and groomsmen in morning suits.

Photo credits: Peppers, Knowlton Court, Make Be Leaves topiary, Hello!Lucky invitation, Better Homes and Gardens Wedding Reception, drinks from Style Me Pretty, Coat of Arms ring pillow Gayle Warwick

Now do you see my dilemma?

My Flower Girl and Ring Bearer

If their Boston can do it, so can mine!!!



Pictures of Pixel, from Lisa and Nick's wedding found on Snippet & Ink.

I'm thinking of a white organza polka dot bow for Sidney and a bow tie to match the groomsmen for Murph. They really are my four-legged children!

I Want It! I Need It!! I Have to Have It!!!

I love being organized. The feeling I get after completing a super feat of organization--like my shoe closet or the kitchen pantry-- is pretty darn addicting. My favorite part is just sitting back and admiring my work... over and over and over again! You shold have seen the look of pure joy when my good friend, and fellow parter in nerdiness, gave me a fantastic label maker a few years ago. What can I say, I love organizing. And I can only imagine that the ongoing list of wedding details combined with our extra long engagement is going to be just what the doctor ordered.

This is probably old news for most people, but I absolutely fell in love with Shelly George's Wedding Bag when I came across it at Blushalicious.



Classically structured and well organized, it has the added benefit of loudly proclaiming "I'm the Bride!" quicker than a diamond solitaire.

And just in case the Mr. is reading this... I'm adding this to my birthday wishlist, along with the Kindle and Kate Spade note cards. I love you Sugar!

Autumnal Inspiration

I know that it's only August, and in Las Vegas it's still a horrid 106 degrees! But something in me is programmed to start thinking about fall, and everything that comes with it, long before it actually arrives. Call it the school girl in me, but I get all nostalgic over sharpened pencils, plaid skirts, new book bags (or purses now that I'm no longer twelve), and most of all the refreshing, crisp morning air that just calls for a cup of carmel apple cider. So in honor of autumn and the fact that I would rather be anywhere cool and beautiful right now, I've made an Autumnal Inspiration Board. Even though it's not the wedding I'm planning, I love it! It's gorgeous, rich, and definitely reminds me of my childhood. What nostalgia!



Photo credits: dress, Monique Lhuillier, oncewed.com; wine rack, uncork29.com; girl in cardigan, Martha Stewart Weddings; boutonniere and pumpkin, oncewed.com; hot air balloons, renoballoon.com; flowers, customeventgroup.com

Registries and Other Delicious Things

I'm baking a cake tonight to celebrate the Mr. and me having a night off together. The whole house smells like baking chocolate and I've got a furry baby snuggled up next to me; what could be better? I'm also doing a bit of online drooling, since we've been very budget consciously saving (go us!!!).

This is my latest obsession... A little traditional and a little tongue-in-cheek. I love Kate Spade


I've also been looking at registries online. I suppose it would be a good idea to start working on ours, but I have to decide where to register first. I would love to have Williams Sonoma for all of their cookware, but it's a bit pricey for most of our guests. My other thoughts were the standard Bed Bath and Beyond and Target (who doesn't love Target?) Plus BB &B now has the Monique Lhuillier for Royal Doulton collection. I think I am in love!


Just look at this detail!

Non-Wedding Fashion

I think I have a new addiction... it involves cutting and pasting every single picture that I come across. This probably doesn't come as a suprise to anyone who really knows me. In fact, when I was a little girl I used to cut out pictures from InStyle and Town and Country of all the fashions and makeup that I liked (I still have several manilla envelopes filled with images circa 1993). I also carried around a two pound, yellowed copy of Miss Manner's and prided myself on knowing the formal and proper etiquette for every situation. Like I said, I am a huge nerd.

So now here I am, throwing what will probably be the most formal and sophisticated even of my life... and here come the clippings!! But for now, in lieu of the dream wedding board which I am currently working on, I give you the women who have influenced me most.



Jackie Kennedy--I love everything about her, from her 1950s engagement photos to her later work as an editor. Let's hear it for tall, graceful, intelligent women!!!





Audrey Hepburn--I loved Sabrina. The idea of a plain girl going away to paris and coming back a sophisticate. I've had a weakness for boat neck, cinched waist dresses ever since.





And last but not least, my modern day favorite, Kate Middleton. As a twenty six year old obsessed with pearls and other classic pieces, it's great to see another young person looking like a lady.

Inspiration is in the details

Today's inspiration board


Photo credits: Top row: ???, Ulta ad, www.beau-coup.com, Style Me Pretty; Middle: Wedding Receptions from Better Homes and Gardens, Martha Stewart, Thread Designs; Bottom: Martha Stewart Weddings, Martha Stewart Weddings, BHaG.


I love the green and blush combination. It's so vibrant and spring-y, and much less preppy than bright pink and green. It also has some of my favorite ideas. I love the monogrammed handkerchief and the linen overlays on the reception tables--it would be gorgeous with Irish linen and add a little cultural flair.

Hello!

I have to admit that this is my first attempt at blogging. In a frenzy of wedding planning excitement I have become absolutely addicted to wedding blogs, and who am I to turn down a good idea? I am the last of my close frieds to get married, which means that every BM has already been through this at least once, and I guarantee that no one but my mother really cares about my thoughts on themes, color schemes, and flower arrangements. With that said, I think that the more places a bride-to-be can express her thoughts and worries without driving her future husband nuts, the better.

My FI and I live in Las Vegas with our two boston terriers, Sidney and Murphy. We have been engaged for a year and a half, although we never set a date or involved many people in our wedding plans because we've been saving up to pay for everything ourselves. Now it seems like 2010 might be the ticket--enough time to save up for a house AND a wedding!!! Although it seems like quite a long time to plan, it gives me the time to work on some budget friendly DIY ideas and will also give me a head start for when I go back to school in the Spring.

Just one more thing... in a flurry of just engaged bliss I bought my perfect dress, and it has been burning a hole in my closet ever since. So here it is...











Please forgive the suspense, it's just to keep the Mr. from peeking.
















I said no peeking Mr.!!!


















I mean it!














My beautiful Michelle Roth polka dot dress!!

I have so many themes and ideas floating around in my head, not to mention pictures stored on my laptop... Flowers, polka dots, English gardens, boston terriers with festive bows, groom's cakes, favors, and the list goes on and on... Just you wait :)