2011

After reading the comments and doing a little thinking, I decided to get the jeweler to buff away the "18k" and "AS" to make way for more engraving characters.

The inside of the band says "K♥N  7-15-2011" (fake date used for privacy).Nate actually suggested the ♥ because he thought it would be cute... and who can argue with a guy using the word "cute?"

To me, the most important portion of the engraving was including the full "2011" instead of "11." My mom actually wears her great-grandmother's ring and that ring used a "-90" as the date (as in 1890's). It really inspired me to include the entire "2011" in the hopes that my ring will be passed on well into the next few centuries.

*Sigh* I promised Nate that I wouldn't really wear it until we're officially married.

How did you make your ring engraving decision?

PS Yes, because the ring is handmade it's slightly imperfect (but exactly what I wanted).

Bridesmaid(s)

As I briefly mentioned last week, my bridal party pictures won't look anything like this...

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...or even this... 

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...because this is really more my style: 

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It's not about the makeup, hair, or dresses in the pictures above, it's about the simplicity. I've decided that choosing one single bridesmaid is the right one for me. I just can't seem to come up with any solid cons to going with this plan.

Pros:

1. I'll keep all of my friends. This is really my biggest fear behind having a large group. I don't want them to get mad at me for picking  the wrong dress and I don't want to get mad at them for not showing up on time. Weddings are giant life events that bring out the best and worst in people... and I'm happy with my relationships as they are now!

2. Nobody gets their feelings hurt. Well, I did ask my sister to be Maid of Honor, but who will get jealous of that?!

3. The pictures will always make sense. I won't have to look back at my wedding album and wonder, "Whatever happened to Susan? Too bad we lost touch ten years ago."

4. It will be less expensive... for everyone. They won't have to worry about hosting parties or buying clothes that they'll never wear again and I'll have fewer bouquets to order.

5. Less stress all around. My friends don't have to show up with duties and I don't have too keep tabs on them while worrying about wedding planning. Win-win!

Cons?

1. It won't be as much fun. Hmm, depends on your definition of fun! If I'm feeling any need for girls to help me get ready or do any wedding crafts, I'll be sure to give my friends a call. 

2. My friends won't feel honored. I definitely don't want this to happen. Hopefully the other wedding plans I have will help to avoid this!

What's your bridal party going to look like?

What factors influenced your decision to ask your bridesmaids?

Rue #2

So it turns out that I have this bad (?) habit of finding wedding-related things on RueLaLa then snatching them up  before the countdown timer disappears (or maybe it's a good habit since I'm getting great deals?). As you might remember, first, there was the dress and then came the invites:

I've read enough DIY wedding invite horror stories to know that I didn't want to tackle this project from scratch. When I saw that these neutral-colored, sweet-but-somewhat-formal invitations were priced at just under $2 each, I went for it.

I like that they're large. I think that presenting my guests with a more substantial invitation shows them that, although the wedding is on a Sunday morning, it's still an important, slightly formal event (...so please don't wear jeans!).

Thoughts on the invites? Do you think the bow will be too much? ...I could do a simple knot instead.

PS In case you don't read it*, I'm having a pretty great giveaway over on my main blog... be sure to enter!

*Is there anyone who only reads this blog?

Because she'll love it...

There are more than a few DIY details that I've seen on wedding blogs and thought, "you spent HOW MUCH time/ energy/ money on THAT?!" I suppose that the "will you be my bridesmaid" card just might have been one of them.

...but after I started thinking about all of the details I would like to include in my wedding, I realized this might actually be one of the more important ones because someone will actually notice, get excited by, or talk about it. I mean, who doesn't like getting surprises in the mail?!

This is what my sister will see when she opens up the card (sorta- taking pictures of this thing was hard!):

I used a paper doll theme and tried to throw her off by adding in a few fake options:

...then, I tried to make it obvious which card I wanted her to pick:

And yes, this is the only card I made. I've decided to go with one bridesmaid... post on that later!

How did you ask your bridesmaids?

PS I suppose this was a pretty thrifty project; I had all of the paper supplies on hand and just needed to pay postage.

My Shape Story

I’ve shared my confusion (and disgust) with a certain site telling me that I needed to:

"Start taking better care of yourself. Get in wedding day shape by eating right, joining a gym, and/or even hiring a personal trainer."

But I feel the need to elaborate on my feelings towards getting into “wedding shape.”

It’s the wedding industry telling me that I need and have to get into a certain shape for my wedding that really gets me. They even don’t take into account the possibility that a bride might like her current shape... or that they might not be ready for that type of commitment. You see, I don’t have any issues with using a big event, such as a wedding, as a motivator to get into shape. The truth is that I was actually motivated to get into shape by a big life event…

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It all started with Forever 21 (yes, the store in the mall). I’m not kidding. It was the summer before my 21^st birthday and I began to think about the deep, deep meaning behind the store’s name.  Specifically, why would someone want to be 21 forever? It’s not usual to hear *ahem* older women talk about their twenties with a certain yearning… for the energy level, the freedom, the lack of responsibilities, and of course, the body! The “body of a 21-year-old” might be on one or two Real Housewives’ wish lists...

So there I was, almost 21, and nowhere near the shape I’d like to be in forever. I realized that something needed to change! After cutting back on the junk foods and exercising my butt off for the next month I had lost ten pounds. It was really fun being able to do my birthday shopping a size smaller, but that was nothing compared to the big gift I gave myself that day. I realized that I loved the “in shape” me; that the healthy lifestyle led to more energy and a higher self-worth. I'm proud to say that I lost an additional twenty pounds over the next year or so and have kept it off consistently since then. While my 21-year-old shape was amazing, my 22, 23, 24, 25, and 26-year-old shapes haven’t been all that bad either. In my case, a one-time event change led to a lifestyle.             

To sum things up:

1.       No one should ever tell you that your shape isn’t good enough. Whether it’s “graduation shape,” “birthday shape,” or “wedding shape,” it’s your shape to own and appreciate.

2.       Getting into better shape is a great thing... especially if you can keep it up!

3.       I’m a total lame-o who was inspired to change her life based off of the name of a trendy mall store (which you might still find me shopping in at age 26…).

How has Forever 21 changed your life?

What motivates you to stay or get into shape?

Engraving: What would you do?

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I received a call from the jeweler today. I was expecting to receive a call about the number of characters that would fit on my half pave band (you can't engrave under the diamonds), but I wasn't expecting to have a tough decision on my hands. Basically, I have two choices:

1. Keep the ring as it is and have room to add five characters of engraving.

This would mean I could do a simple N+K or NM+KM (m=middle initial)

2. Buff away the 18k and Anne Sportun symbols then have 15 characters for engraving.

This would really open up my options. I could add both of our full names or add our initials and wedding date.

The most important thing to me is that I can leave a personalized mark on the ring, but I'm not sure if it's worth changing the original markings to free up additional space.

Would you buff away the ring's markings to have more space for engraving or just work with the small space available?

My Ring!

While the bridal expo was a big bust, I did accomplish another wedding task this weekend!

Meet my wedding band:

It's a half pave band by Anne Sportun.

You might remember when I tried it on last month.

When I found out that Eliza Page, a local jewelry store, took the American Cancer Society holiday shopping card, I knew it was time to swoop up my ring. After making a $50 donation, I was able to use my pass to take 20% off of the price of the ring!

As you might remember, I like to call myself "thrifty" on occasion... so why did I end up with an obviously more-expensive-than-it-needed-to-be ring (considering how little I might have paid for a simple chain store ring)?

*Having a family engagement ring (which I love) made room in the budget for free reign over wedding bands.

*I wanted to buy my ring through a local business.

*I wanted something with unique artistic design; something that will be passed down in my family... and this baby was made by hand.

*I just fell in love with this one! I think it has the right amount of sparkle and the perfect proportions for my finger. Plus, it's half pave so I'll have room to add engraving.

And because I'm all about the $$$ details:

Sticker price: $1,584 (including sizing/ engraving) or $1,714.68 after taxes

Shopping card discount: $316.80

Total cost of ring after taxes: $1,371.74

American Cancer Society donation: $50

Total savings with taxes/ minus ACS donation: $292.94

I'm 100% sure about my decision to buy this ring (I'll post better pictures once it comes back from sizing), but I'm not sure where to put it in the budget Excel sheet.

Do you count wedding bands in the main wedding budget?

just call me "the bride"

Guess where I found myself yesterday?

Bridal expo, anyone?

The TV told me that there was a free bridal expo in my city and I needed to be in the area anyways so I figured it was worth checking out. While I'm not sure I accomplished anything more than sampling some delicious cake, I did learn a few things from my last first bridal expo experience:

1. I'm farther along in the planning stages than I thought I'd be. I might not have all of my vendors booked, but I do have an idea of what I'm looking for. This made walking through the expo a quick process; I could rule out most vendors on the spot. While seeing the dozens of venue, floral, and photography booths wasn't very helpful to me, I can see how an expo would be a great starting point for a bride who is just beginning her planning.

2. An expo can be a great place to score a deal... if you do your research first! I wouldn't hire a vendor based off of an expo special, but I would go to an expo if it meant receiving an advertised discount off of one of my favorite vendors. Thrifty tip: You probably don't have to attend an expo to receive a special. Just ask the vendor if they would honor the special (they'll probably value the business enough to knock down the price).

3. The free cake samples are worth it... as long as they're free. I know it's fun to go to these types of things in a group, but I just can't imagine feeling okay about someone spending $10 on entry. If you can't find an online discount, I'd suggest going alone. 

4. The vendors really aren't as pushy as you'd think they'd be. Especially when you smile and say, "thanks anyways" ...or walk by quickly without making eye contact (I'm talking to you, creepy DJ with the blaring 80's rock music).

5. When your name tag says, "bride" your name will be "the bride." Don't bother introducing yourself. 

(see pink sticker above)

They had a stage set up for a fashion show, but I decided watching it might just end up compromising my latest vow :).

Overall, I think I'm just too much of an online shopper to get anything out of the bridal show experience. The truth is that I would rather narrow down my choices to a select few vendors before having face-to-face meetings... where I run the risk of getting talked into a contract. 

Have you ever been to a bridal expo? Did it help you in your planning process? 

Back to the Rack

The super inexpensive and equally cute Nordstrom Rack dress went back yesterday. After reading your comments (you guys rock!) and seeing the results of the poll, I went for the Nicole Miller dress with the 70% majority vote.

Inspired by actual events:

I know that my faces were a little sour in the last post, but I promise that had no reflection on my feelings about this dress. It was more about the problems I was having running back to the corner before the timer on my camera went off.

What it all really came down to was that no one said anything about the price difference between the dresses. The $150 difference didn't mean much to you and I'm not going to let it mean much to me either. This dress feels like a wedding dress and I have no doubts that I'm wearing it down the aisle. Seeing that a very low percentage of people voted for me to keep looking (and I see that as more of a matter of taste) validated my decision even more.

With that, I vow to stop buying dresses.

 

Oh, and it looks like I'm going to drop the whole belting idea. I thought it would accentuate my waist more, but I hear you on the "cutting the body in two" thing. You better believe that I'm coming back to you all for more honest opinions when it comes to deciding on other flatter-factors (accessories, hair, make-up, etc.)!

So, while we're on "the look," what type of veil/ hair piece do you see going with this style of dress?

Which dress?

This is probably the most important thing you'll be voting for today (or not).

I could use a little help with this dress decision thing. To recap: I bought #1 online for a steal (new $1100 Nicole Miller for $300). I loved it but became conflicted when I found #2, an even less expensive dress ($150), at Nordstrom Rack. I have about a week until my return policy runs out on #2 so I need to make some decisions!

And now for the dresses!
*I had to take these myself with a timer... sorry for the sour faces. Also, I plan on buying shapewear once I decide which dress to go with.

Dress #1

I thought this one might look nice with a belt: 

Back of #1: 

Dress #1

PROS

*I love the back!

*It feels like a wedding dress (more expensive fabric, better lining, etc).

*I've never seen pictures of another bride in this dress.

* I've already paid for it... and won't have to worry about reselling it.

*It's in my $500 budget even with alterations.

CONS

*It needs a good bit of alterations (length, straps, chest) and alterations mean more money!

*Maybe too "evening" in look and feel?

*It cost more to begin with.

Dress #2

Back of #2: 

Dress #1

PROS

*No alterations needed; no extra costs!

*It's waaaay under budget- $151 after tax.

*I love the flowy fabric and the stripes (they're hard to see in the pictures).

*I think it feels very brunch.

CONS

*If I pick this, I'll have to deal with getting rid of #1.

*It's not as special of a dress (BCBG original $400) I have other dresses at this level of quality (found on sale of course!).

*It might have the falling down issue that I'm trying to avoid by not going with strapless.

I've added a poll to the right of this post if you're not the commenting type.

Remember, I'm have a Sunday brunch wedding at a beautiful old Texas hall in July so a big sparkly dress wouldn't make too much sense for me. I'd call my personal style "feminine-classic" or "Gap meets Anthropologie" so hopefully one or both of these dresses say that? While it would be nice to spend as little as possible, I'd really rather focus on a flattering fit. I want Nate to get excited seeing me go down the aisle and I'd like to look back at my pictures knowing my dress was totally "me." Now, knowing all of that, which dress should I wear to my wedding?