Wedding Watercolors!

I am swooning over the work of Anne Watkins, an artist who I discovered via Inspired Goodness. This very talented lady paints on-site watercolors of events. How amazing would it be to have her capture your wedding? A girl can dream, right?

We Did It!

I still can't really believe it but I am officially a married woman! The day couldn't have been more perfect. The sun finally came out for the first time in what seems like forever which we were so thankful for.

We went to the town hall in Sherman, CT, filled out our marriage application and got married on a lakeside beach by a wonderful Justice of the Peace as one of our favorite songs, With Me by Sum 41, played on an Ipod. It was absolutely perfect and I don't think I've ever been happier in my entire life.

And the cool thing is that we still have Wedding Part Deux on September 6th to look forward to! I feel like the luckiest girl in the world!

Makin It Official!

We're getting married tomorrow! Just me and her and a Justice of the Peace somewhere upon the shore of Candlewood Lake in CT tomorrow at 9am. I can't believe it. I've been pretty calm about it until today. And now, as of a half hour ago, I decided that I must leave work early. There's just too much to do before tomorrow including a cake tasting at 12:30 today. I don't know why I didn't just take the day off like most people would have...

Anyway, I hope you all have an absolutely wonderful weekend! I'll be a Mrs. next time you hear from me :)

Image: Ashley Garmon

Wedding Watch!

Gotta start packing for the weekend. I told Jen that it's so romantic because it's like we're eloping but she pointed out to me that everyone knows about it so that's not really the case. Oh well, I think I'm gonna hold onto my romantic notion anyway :)

I Had A Facelift!

You might notice that I've had a little tinkering done around here courtesy of the talented Ellie at Rainy Day Templates. I'm really pleased with the results and hope that you guys like it too!

Resourceful Brides Giveaway!

Wedding Paper Divas & Beau-Coup teamed up to launch a brand new wedding site for the Recessionista bride or groom looking for money-saving tips during wedding planning. Resourceful Brides will provide a wealth of information on planning a fashionable wedding celebration in the face of a rocky economy.

And now for the super exciting news! They're sponsoring a contest in which one lucky bride or groom will win $1000 to purchase invitations and favors for all their guests! All you have to do is visit the site and submit the best money-saving wedding tip to be entered to win $1,000 in gift certificates from Wedding Paper Divas and Beau-coup. The deadline for submissions is Monday, July 20 at midnight, PST and the winning idea will be posted online on Friday, July 24. Good luck!

I Need A Staycation!

Or at least a few days off from work/life to dedicate to wedding planning. Our apartment looks like a bomb went off right dead smack in the center of it. We have shower gifts, some attendant gifts and reception items scattered everywhere! We even have a stack of boxes that runs the entire height of the wall and up and over our dining room hutch. I can't think anymore. I always used to watch wedding shows and see how that happened to people but I never thought that we'd actually be those people...

It's an exciting time but there's just too much to do. We're getting married this Saturday in Connecticut and we still have to finalize our vows. Sprinkle in a few other tasks - makeup trial Thursday night, cake tasting Friday afternoon, finalizing the guest list and laundry, packing for CT and our nephews high school graduation tomorrow and there's just no time for anything else. We have to get our shower thank yous out. Where's the time for that?

It amazes me how every other girl manages to get it all done. It should be easier for us...we're two girls and we have awesome planners. I guess I just need to take a deep breath and run on adrenaline.

Image: found here

Picture Perfect

I don't know about you, but I'm the girl who wants to see everyone's pictures posted somewhere...facebook, shutterfly, anywhere! the next morning after an event. Like seriously, I obsess over it. And I'm kinda twitching over the fact that I've only seen a few pictures posted from our shower last week. BTW thanks Nat...I knew I could always count on you ;) Why does everyone wait so long? Don't they know that I want to re-live the fun of the day over and over again?

So I know I'm going to be DYING to see my guests pix at the wedding soon after the event. I came across this great idea to try to make it easy on everyone to load all of their pictures in one organzied place.

Call it the 2009 version of disposable cameras on tables. Instead of cameras on tables, you just place cards with a URL or email address for your guests, and leave it to them to upload after the event.

First, decide which photo-sharing website you want to use. Just be sure to check to see that the site you choose has plenty of storage space for the photos.

Once you've settled on the service, you need the cards so people know where to send photos. You can buy kits like this one for $25, or if you want to tie it into your theme/color scheme you can make them yourself relatively easily.

Design and print out your message onto business card-size paper, then place in a festive box or display on each table.

Love the idea! Now I just have to figure out a way to get my guests to load them up in a speedy fashion :)

Image: found here

It's Friday I'm In Love!

Image: found here

Happy Friday lovelies! Hope you all have a great weekend. We're jam packed with more festivities this weekend. It's our flower girls birthday party tomorrow & then we're having a BBQ at my sister's house on Sunday to celebrate Father's Day.

Eeeeek and I can't believe we're only one week away from making it official. I still have to find a dress for that!

Enjoy everyone!

Dilemma No. 452 -To Bag Or Not To Bag

My latest thing I've been obsessing over is whether or not to carry a bag on the big day. Do brides really use/need one? I'm definitely going to want to have my lipgloss and a few other things with me but I remember last year at my sisters wedding I used a clutch but I never really had it with me.

I found this amazing chiffon and organza rosette one from Mary Norton. It's to die for! And she also has coordinating shoes! They're just swoon worthy, right?!

Ok but I'm definitely not switching the shoes. I'm moving forward and sticking with my original choice. So back to the topic. What do you guys think? Should I bag it or not?

Cute Cookie Alternative

Here's another option for our favors that I found on Two Brunettes. Much less icing than I was originally thinking but this could work...

Image: found here via Mer Mag

One Day....

I will have a desk as beautiful and neat & organized as Frou Frou Fashionistas. A girl can dream, right?

How Adorable Are These???

How adorable are these shoes? I saw these and immediately thought they'd be perfect for our flower girl. They'd match my shoes pretty well, right?


But then I saw the price...$125?!?! For a child's shoe?!?! Ok I'm over it now....

J'Adore!

I knew these would be a big hit! I came across these awesome pix on Lucky Me! How adorable are they?

Speaking of Petals...my Louboutin lookalikes came in yesterday but I haven't had a chance to pick up the box. I'll let you know how they are tomorrow.

Images: Cinematic by David M

Shower Surprise!

So yesterday we had our bridal shower! We were really surprised...we thought that we were going to a birthday party celebration on a boat but instead we were led inside a restaurant chock full of our dearest friends and family. What a day! We had an amazing time and we were really touched by how many people came out to celebrate with us. We know we're such a lucky couple to have such wonderful people in our lives.

A lot of the party is a blur...everything happened so fast! I'm just hoping that pictures come flowing in from everyone that was flashing away during the party. Our cameras didn't come out until the post bridal shower shenanigans. I'm pretty sure our shower ended up turning into a bachelorette party of sorts! :)

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Happy Friday!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! We have a busy one on tap. Jen's hair trial is tomorrow and then we have a friends birthday party at a beer garden. Then on Sunday we have birthday party celebration on board a day cruise off of Long Island. It all should be fun. I'm just praying that the sun comes out after a week of dreary weather. We need to dry out!

Oh and we finally got some good news about our computer. It's back and all intact and we didn't loose any data! Now I can finally get back on track with regular posts and also catching up on my blog roll. It's been pretty impossible to stay on top of that with limited computer access and it's really been killing me. I've missed keeping up with everyone but I'm excited that I'll get to see you all soon.

Lastly, I'm so excited to tell you that I'll be featuring my first giveaway later in the week so be sure to check back. I'll see you next week!

Image: found here

The Excitement Keeps Building!

The past 24 hours have been so exciting for me! It started off with my lunch shoe shopping excursion yesterday. I headed over to Cole Haan and tried on the Ceci Air Rose Sling. It was pretty comfortable but not as comfy as I was expecting considering it's NIKE AIR technology. And to top it off, it only came in white so I'd have to dye it to match my dress. I eventually decided to pass on them.

Then...now here's the exciting news...I headed on over to Jimmy Choo and low and behold I found them! The Champagne Glitter Mary Janes! I fell in love when I saw them on the shelf but once I tried them on!...I was more excited than when I found my dress! What do you guys think?

I still have the Martinez Valeros on the way but I think I'm really sold on the Jimmys. Besides being gorgeous and versatile, i'll definitely wear them after the wedding, they're super unbelievably comfortable!

To top off all the excitement yesterday, we ended up booking our legal ceremony in Connecticut. It's all set for June 27th, only 16 days from now! I can't believe that I'm going to be a married woman so soon! We don't want to take anything away from the big day on Septemeber 6th so we decided to keep it simple and low key. Just the two of us and a Justice of the Peace most likely under some gazebo somewhere in CT. I just can't believe that after 23 years of being together that we're finally going to be legally married! It's so hard to believe that it's all really happening. I feel like the luckiest girl alive :)

Next up...cake tasting!

Cookie Time!

So way back when we came up with the brilliant idea of cookie favors. Now I know this isn't a unique idea or anything but there's a bigger story here. I mentioned a while back that we're known amongst our friends and family as being the "Christmas Cookie Experts" because we make and decorate sugar cookies every year so there was no way that we could just buy ready made cookies.

Every year we have a cookie decorating party with friends during the holidays and we make and decorate cookies with our niece and nephews every Christmas Eve. And we're really serious about the decorating. No simple sprinkling of sugar. We're all about the details. It usually takes hours and hours for just a few batches of cookies because we're so meticulous about them.

Well we struggled with the idea for a long time wondering how on earth would we be able to take on such a huge task right before the wedding. Unfortuntaely I won't have that much time off before the wedding so it really seemed like an impossible idea and I was just about ready to give up on it altogether. But then I came across this Wedding Cake Cookie Cutter Texture Set and my hopes were restored.

You can get the beautiful texture detail pretty effortlessly. You simply ice the cookie with a thick, smooth layer of buttercream. Once the icing crusts you place the mat on top of the cookie and press. Et voila!

Still the thought of making 175 cookies right before the wedding is a pretty daunting task but we're lucky enough to have amazing friends who have offered to help us out with this project. Love you girls! Cookie trials are coming soon!

The Shoe Situation

My lofty aspirations of going shoe shopping on my lunch break today were washed away by the torrential downpours we're experiencing so I decided to turn to the web instead. And what do you know, I found a great alternative to the Louboutin Petal shoe I've been lusting over for months. It's soooo cheap and a lower heel which is a good thing aaaand it comes in ivory satin which fits into my palette much better than the blush Louboutin shade! I ordered them this morning so I'll have to wait for about a week to see if I really like them.

Martinez Valero Corrine - $130

Inspiration - Louboutin Petal Shoe - $995

In the meantime I'm planning to go shopping tomorrow to Jimmy Choo and Cole Haan during lunch. Cole Haan just came out with a bridal collection and the great thing about this collection is that each shoe has NIKE Air technology in the heel and forepart for maximum comfort and cushion which is exactly what every bride needs, right? I have my eye on this one right now. Fashion & comfort in one. Sounds good to me!

Cole Haan Ceci Air Rose Sling $428

Which one do you guys think I should go with?

Martini Mondays

I just found this over at Beauty News NYC and I am way tempted to brush off the gym today and head on over for a watermelon martini & pedi! What a great idea! The thought of it instantly puts me in the summer spirit.

Eve's new seasonal treatment, the Watermelon Pedicure, includes a soak in a scrumptious watermelon bath, a scrub with watermelon sugar (which smells like the epitome of summer), followed by a leg and foot massage with a luxurious watermelon lotion. You can choose from a selection of fruity colors for this pedicure or there’s the option to get some fun watermelon-inspired nail art. The pedicure is available any day of the week, but if you stop in for one on Mondays you get a complimentary refreshing Watermelon Martini!

Eve Spa
55 West 8th Street (East of 6th avenue)
212.807.8054

I totally love this idea and could use one right now but I think I'm gonna wait until next week since a) I just got a pedi Saturday night so my toes are still lookin shiny and b) I'm determinted to get to the gym tonight!

T-Minus 3 Months!

Wow what a weekend! We had some amazing weather here and had a ton of fun dining al fresco and celebrating Nat's bday and my cousin's bridal luncheon. And on top of all the fun we even managed to accomplish a few wedding tasks.

Saturday was my hair trial and I was thrilled with the results! Sarah, my amazing stylist over at Parlor, created the exact look I was envisioning. I actually started to well up! I was so happy!!! I didn't even do that when I tried on my dress a few weeks ago...is that a bad sign about the dress??? I'm thinking that maybe I should try to recreate the look before I go for my fitting in July so I can see hair & dress together to get a more accurate picture of what it will look like on the big day. I'm sure I'll love my dress with the right hair. Finger's crossed....

It's still TBD how my hair will be clipped back because I didn't have the chiffon flowers yet. I ordered them from Oh My Deer this weekend. I can't wait to get them!

After the hair trial we went on over to VeKa, a bridal shop in Nolita, and bought Jen her hairpiece. I don't have a picture of it to post right now but I will soon. Her hair trial is this coming Saturday so I'll post some pix next Monday.

Overall it feels like we're making some more progress. We decided today to start Operation "This is SERIOUS 52" aka wedding boot camp. Jen coined the term and came up with the idea. Basically we have 13 weeks left until the big day so we need to get 52 workouts in before then, 4 times a week. We really super determined now. My sister gave me her Perfect Pushup yesterday (she used if before her wedding and the girl had GUNS!) and Nat sent on over the Women's Health Belly Off Club Workout today. Loving everyone for all the support and great ideas!

So here's what we have on tap for this week...

• Sign off on the final proof for the invitations which we're expecting sometime today or tomorrow
• Jen's hair trial Saturday
• Make an appointment for a cake tasting...yummm! A little cake won't kill us, right? :)
• And I have to get on over to M&J and some other stores the finally solve the shoe problem.
• Oh and we still don't have a computer...it's at Apple for repair. I fear that the hard drive is corrupted which is an absolute disaster. I have a ton of wedding stuff on there that wasn't backed up and worst of all I think there are pictures of Antoinette that we don't have anywhere else. I'm praying that someone can recover that at least!

Hope you all had a great weekend and have a happy Monday!

DVF Sample Sale Finds

So I braved the rain and the crowds today and headed on over to the DVF Sample Sale. I have to say overall it wasn't too bad. We got there right before noon and walked right in...no lines! Of course, right after the crowds came and it was a little difficult to get around the racks but not horrible. They have some really beautiful pieces at great prices. At one point I had five things I totally needed to have but I showed amazing restraint and only purchased two. I'm happy that I was able to score a few good finds.

The Heronette Lace-Up dress normally goes for $365 and I got it for $100. I thought it was a cute option for some upcoming parties & showers.


And then I got this beautiful teal wrap top for $60.

Dresses are going for $100, skirts, blouses & sweaters are $60 and swimsuits are $40. Great deals and there's still time to get there. It's open till 5:30pm today and then tomorrow 9am - 3pm. If you have a chance you should totally stop by. Good luck!

Happy Weekend!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I have a fun weekend on tap.

Tomorrow I go for my first hair trial. I'm really excited to see what she comes up with! Hopefully she'll create exactly what I'm looking for. I'll be sure to take lots of pix.

Then I'm off to celebrate my friends bday Saturday night. And Sunday I have my cousin's bridal shower. Should be fun...we'll be having a private wine tasting!

Enjoy everyone!

Image: found here

DVF Sample Sale Alert!

Calling all NYC fashionistas! The legendary DVF is having a sample sale this week!

What: Diane von Furstenberg Sample Sale

Why: Up to 75% off vintage, spring & one-of-a kind dresses, swim & accessories. And new merchandise will be arriving throughout the week!

Where: 260 Fifth Ave, between 28th & 29th Streets, NYC (212-725-5400)

When: Thurs., 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Fri., 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; Sat., 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

If you're feeling brave enough to fight the crowds, be sure to check out the Eight Commandments of the DVF Sample Sale first. Happy Shopping!!!

I Am Loving!

This amazing engagement shoot I saw over at The Wedding Cabaret! Mara always finds the greatest pix. Don't they look so cute and in love. I'm so inspired to book our shoot now even though our cityscape will look nothing like these.

Images: Wirken Photography via The Wedding Cabaret

Back & On Track!

Hi everyone! Hope you all had a great week or so. I meant to check in earlier but between vacation and our computer breaking I've had some issues...sorry!

Well I'm happy to say that I'm back! Our vacation was fanatastic! It was exactly what we needed before wedding planning starts to go into overdrive.

First on the list...get back into shape! There's only three more months left and we kinda let ourselves indulge a bit on vacay...we figured why not, go for it, it's the last hoorah. But now we're super determined since dress fittings are only a month away...oooh boy!

Our invitation proofs came while we were away and we're really happy with them. We're making a few minor tweaks but overall they look great. I can't wait to get them. We should have them in a little less than a month.

Next on the schedule...hair trials. Mine is this Saturday and Jen's is the following Sat. We have to reschedule the engagement shoot and also schedule a cake tasting. Oh and I still have to get shoes. It's a thorn in my side but I'm gonna do it. Maybe this weekend I'll tackle some of my creative ideas I had before vacation.

Well I'm really glad to be back and into wedding world again. Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Image: found here