Appointment made with possible florist

I have set an appointment to meet with Regis of Flowers By Regis on Monday, April 7th at 4:30 pm to discuss floral arrangements. He had a booth at one of the Bridal shows I've been to. He has a different approach to weddings that I like. It's not all roses and roses and more roses! Check out his work.

http://www.flowersbyregis.com/index.htm

Rusty Lemon to play reception

Talked to Rusty tonight and he has agreed to play the reception!

Yeah, yeah, yeah...

We are so very excited to have Rusty and his band play the reception. He's a very talented artist and a great entertainer.

I found this video of him performing "If It's Over":


Make sure to stop by his MySpace at www.myspace.com/rustylemon

Wedding Website Up and Slightly Running

The wedding website is up and slightly running. I haven't finished putting in all the good stuff yet. Wow... so much goes into creating an informative and entertaining website.

It's amazing all the things the website has to offer and it FREE! I am excited about getting everything loaded in. Very cool.

For the bride's maids who like to have only the best of the best photos of themselves put on the net, please forward me a picture you would like me to use. If not, I will just use what I have. **insert evil laughter**

I hope to work on lots in the next few days and keep it up to date after that.

Check it out at http://www.ewedding.com/sites/ElizabethandJoseph/

Interviewing Florists this week... Cakes next week

I am planning on visiting the three florists and bakers I have narrowed the field in the next two weeks. It might be ambitious, but with Gus's already booked for a rehearsal dinner... 7 months out! I am getting nervous and would like to book all my vendors pronto!

I will post the three candidates for each category later this week. Please pass along any information you have on the candidates. Also, if you have suggestions on who to use. Post their names!!!!!

If you are interested in going to any of the interviews, please let me know I would love the company... Remember, the baker will involve a cake TASTING!

Rehearsal Dinner... NOT at Gus's

Why oh why would some other Bride want to have her rehearsal dinner at Gus' downtown on October 24th! I can't believe they're booked with another Rehearsal Dinner.

Now, I just don't know what to do! I wanted something casual and fun. Ice tea in Mason Jars, Canned Beer, Fried Chicken, Pecan Pie... everything a nervous Southern bride needs the day before her wedding!

Bridesmaids Dresses Will Always Be Bad

I found this article and thought I would pass it along...

Bridesmaids Dresses Will Always Be Bad
Though most don't know costume designer Catherine Thomas by name, they are no doubt familiar some of the iconographic cinematic looks she has created (Uma Thurman's yellow leather jumpsuit in Kill Bill; Meryl Streep's Little House-goes-Dolly Parton garb in A Prairie Home Companion). But now Thomas created a number of looks that no self-respecting person would ever want to be associated with: The ugliest, tackiest, trashiest bridesmaids dresses imaginable, part of Katherine Heigl's costumes in 27 Dresses, which opens next Friday. Thomas' favorite? A Gone With the Wind inspired frock, compete with hoop skirt, bonnet, and parasol: "I think that was a combination of both someone from the South and a huge 'Gone With the Wind' fan and Vivien Leigh fan who had this fantasy since she was a little girl to be married in that scenario." Ha! What is it about being able to force your friends into matching dresses and denying them any stake in the decision that so warps women's minds?

Though James Mischka of Badgley Mischka insists that "trends today are much kinder to the bridesmaids than they ever were before" and Mark Badgley backs him up by saying, "The look these days is much more casual," I don't believe it at all. (Seriously, have you checked out bridal "guru" Vera Wang's latest maids' concoctions? I threw up a little in my mouth just looking!) Most brides are still shoving their so-called best-friends in pastel confections that you would not wish upon your worst, ugliest enemy. Tom Nardone, the founder of Uglydress.com, points out that, in their state of nuptial-planning hysteria, "Brides will choose a dress the same way they choose the cake, the chair covers and, especially, the flowers. That's why you get necklines that match the contours of the calla lilies."

Some say, that, when it comes to bridesmaid garb, times are changing -- "Girls...want more fashion-forward looks," says Francesca Pitera, the chief designer for Jim Hjelm, a New York bridal house -- but I can't help but think this is just another version of the same problem. Ok, fine: Maybe you don't have to wear a baby blue damask silk gown which hangs at the natural waist and has crepe flowers blooming out of the shoulders, but are you really going to feel much better when you see yourself in a picture of the bridal party in 20 years time, bedecked in a burnt-orange baby doll dress? Or a royal purple bubble hem? Because while fashion will always yield cringe-inducing trends laughed at in personal snapshots and such, bridal-party wear is well-documented enough that everyone and their mother gets to have a laugh.

Decorating Using Grapevine Wreaths

With the date picked in the fall and with almost chosen colors of Brown & Coral... Grapevine wreaths could definitely be an add element in decorating not just the doors of the church but the tables at the reception.

Brandon actually suggested the idea. I wanted to use lots of items from my yard and the yards of my neighbors in the decorations. The bouquets, of course, would be done by a florist.

I wanted to use the fall theme by using fall leaves, grasses, and evergreen leaves such as Magnolia. Magnolia leaves have such a vibrant green on one side with a deep brown furry side as well. Very fall-y!

The grapevine leaves will be used a bases for the arrangements. Two stacked on top of each other with moss filling in the gaps. The centers would hold the floral arrangements. We would also purchase additional flowers to fill in, but the majority of the plant life would come from my yard and those of my neighbors.

I think that adds something special to an already special day!

Another Bride's maid dress!

I like this gown and it has sleeves... hate the pose! The gown is by the designer, Alvina Valenta. It's tea length, but you might be able to order it in a full length style. It comes in various colors.

Check him out and let me know your thoughts!

Hiring Brinks Security: Francis 1st Cake Set Purchased

What's a girl to do on a Friday when she doesn't have to work.... SHOP! Many have tried to talk me out of purchasing the Francis 1st Cake Set, but you have failed. They will be nice pieces to add to my silver set as well as reminders of the wedding. Since clearly, I am not going to get a cake topper!

Well this morning over my cup of coffee, I did it. I purchased the Francis 1st Cake Server and Cake Knife. Guess we need to hire Brinks Security to watch over them during the reception! hahaha

I don't think I will regret it.

Great Cake Making Video!

Aimee found this video on the net about making cakes! Check it out... Too cool!

Peggy Porschen Cakes

Requested: Picture of tuxedo Joseph picked out

Here it is as requested!

Joseph was very adamant about having this style of tuxedo. This style is often referred to as the "Morning Suit".

Morning = Time of Day
NOT
Mourning = Grief over the death of someone

It's typically worn for formal events during the day. The wedding is actually a little to late in the day for a Morning suit, but who cares. If he wants a Morning Suit, he should have one!

I think he will look fabulous in this style of tuxedo!

So many cakes to choose from...

With a cake like this we wouldn't have to worry with a cake topper! I love the vine theme. Not so sure about the pears... but you could go with the "The Perfect Pair" theme.

I have always like the "Tree of Life" pattern which has been used in different decorative items such as wallpaper and upholstery in the 1800's.

It's a possibility... and I can give up my search for a Cake Topper!

Now that does sound promising!

Slim Fast Cakes by Bonnie Gordon

After further research, I found the company that designed the Slim Fast cakes - Bonnie Gordon School of Cake Design. No the cake toppers are not for sale!

Quoting their website:

Of the many cakes Bonnie has designed for print ads, perhaps the most internationally famous are the ones she created for the Slim-Fast ad campaign.

This multi-award winning campaign with the caption "Need to lose a little weight before your wedding?" depicts bride and groom figures sinking into Bonnie's wedding cakes. The ads were so popular that they were picked up by Slim-Fast in Australia and Europe, and appeared on the cover of the December 2004 issue of Applied Arts Magazine.

http://bonniegordoncakes.com/pages/cakes/print_and_film.htm

Christian Louboutin is a genius!

I saw these shoes in a bridal magazine and decided I must have them. After about 2 hours of very creative Internet surfing, I finally found the name of the designer - Christian Louboutin!

Christian Louboutin's shoes typically have red soles, but he designed these specifically for the bridal market.

You just want to reach out and touch them! Oh how I want these shoes...

Anyway... the production of these shoes was stopped sometime last year due to an issue with another designer. See below. Her shoes have the signature blue soles as well. She didn't take to kindly to Louboutin creating a shoe with a blue sole which is awful because he designs better looking shoes! So at this time, it nearly impossible to get these shoes. There are so many blogs and articles written about these particular shoes you would not believe it! Well... looking at them again... maybe I can believe it. These are just great shoes... the perfect shoes for the perfect bride!

In a way, I am relieved you can't get them anymore. I have seen a few price quotes on these shoes - $825 to $975! That would totally destroy my budget. I might have to try painting the soles of a pair of shoes and breaking out the "Bedazzler"!

You can check out the other great stuff this bride and groom had in their wedding at:
http://insideweddings.com/real-weddings/257/down-the-aisle-in-style/5

Thanks for the inspiration Slim Fast!

Thanks Slim Fast! This is what I needed to help me get over the hump... I found a blog discussing these ads!

TRUTH #1: Women diet like mad to look their best on their wedding days. Which is kind of dumb, if you ask me, because then we spend the rest of our lives complaining we're not as thin as we were for ONE DAY because -- this is TRUTH #2 -- women always gain weight on their honeymoons.

Clearly the Blogger is a MAN! Like he would understand!

I will not be a Fat Bride!

Cake Knife and Server

Love this cake sever by Reed & Barton! It's the same pattern as the rest of my silver flatware.

Can I use that as the excuse for such an expense? I would use it in the future! I promise! Will each of you come over for cake sometime so I can drag it out... Yummmm.... Cake!


http://www.sterlingshop.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=4519

I was told that it's bad karma to give a friend a knife! It cuts the friendship. Yet another excuse for me to purchase our Cake knife and server!

I think I have talked myself into it!



http://www.adlersjewelry.com/Shop.aspx?cid=26&pid=81&scid=20

Must have Cynthia Rowley signature blue soles!

I found a picture of the perfect pair of shoes in the latest month's Bride Magazine! They had blue soles! I LOVED them! Guess I need to start saving. Probably the most expensive shoes I would ever buy.

They are by the designer, Cynthia Rowley. She is known for her blue signature sole!

Keep your eyes out for these shoes...

Miracle in a bottle... Fruta Vida?

When I started working out with the trainer, he mentioned to me this product... which of course he was selling! I was like yeah, yeah, yeah... but he was giving me such a good rate of $20 a week! Yes, $20 a week! I decided what the heck! I will try it out. The first day.. nothing.. the second day.. no real difference.. the third day.. holy cow.. yes I can tell a difference!

It really does give you a boast and it makes you no so hungry AND I am not having the "I have fallen and can't get up" problem any more.

Check it out. If you are interested, check out ebay... it's cheaper! I will post my results on Monday and see if I have lost any weight or inches. Keep your fingers crossed.

http://www.frutavida4u.com/cgi-bin/d.cgi/tutorialusa/product.html

First Dances... via YouTube!

Both videos have been viral on the Internet! I love both.. too funny! The thought of Joseph actually agreeing to either just gives me a perpetual smile. Check them out both are hysterical!

Wedding Cake Toppers... Collector's items?

So I am continuing my search for the best (not even shooting for perfect) cake topper... I just might have to put my foot down with Joseph and say "No Bride and Groom on the cake". But currently I am still trying to find something he and I will both be happy with.

Lenox First Dance Cake Topper of The Wedding Promises Collection (www.lenox.com) - Height 8 1/2 inches tall and 6 inches wide. Price tag $79.95










Brides' Village also offers another choice.

Our Elegance Figurine is the perfect depiction of love, two locked together in an eternal embrace, and will add the perfect finishing flourish to your special dessert! Complements a variety of wedding themes from classic and traditional to timeless and modern. Whatever your tastes, the only couple more handsome than the pair in this figurine will be the newlyweds! Made of Resin. Measures 5-1/2" x 3". Price tag $34.95

Of course, Joseph did say... just put Barbie on the top of the cake! Ha... Now I just need to find the GI Joe with the fake hair. Rub off the hair on the top of his head... maybe he would pass for Joseph!

Found the possible perfect invitation

http://www.theamericanwedding.com has the perfect invitation. It's the style I was wanting and the price I was needing!

The invitations are Ecru and Black! They almost look brown... It was be nice to have brown, but I think the Ecru and Black will be great!

I can get 250 invitations, reception cards, and respond cards for $500! That's about half the cost of the invitations I blogged about earlier.

These invitations will have "some assembly required".

That's kind of scary... I do love the wrap that surrounds the invitation... Hmmm...