Wedding Bands Are In!

Last weekend J. and I picked up our wedding bands!  I'll admit, I am obsessively in love them.  His is a more modern, simple, brushed white gold, whereas mine was custom made to work with my engagement ring, and has a vintage vibe.

True story:  we went to pick up our rings, at I had a very strange reaction.  First, I thought, "wow, I love my ring!"  Then I tried it on and I totally freaked out thought, "wow, its kind of too huge on my hand."  I might be the only girl in the world who prefers delicate to large when it comes to jewelery.  And I wasn't sure if I liked it or not- this very ring that I myself had custom designed and sketched for the jeweler, who took a month to make it.  I started to panic.



I asked the ladies who worked there what they thought.  It didn't help.  They all wore huge jewelery (and it looked nice on them, but I don't think we shared the same taste) and they started saying (in their North Jersey accents), "oh its wonderful, you just need to getcha nails done," "oh honey, you need to get used to big jewels," and so forth.  Nevermind that my nails were actually done, with my favorite Essie Madamoiselle polish and all- they just weren't artificial, and I didn't see getting artificial nails as the solution to this problem.   Meanwhile, poor J. was as white as a sheet, totally unsure of what to say or do.  And I felt bad for putting him through it, but I didn't want to leave the store unsure!!



So I found another jewelery store customer- one who looked normal and who seemed like the kind of person who shared my taste.  She reassured me that it just felt big because I wasn't used to it, and that she had experienced the same thing.  She whispered that I should go home and try it on without the distractions, to see if I really did like it- and if not, to bring it back.



To the kind, nameless stranger, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your wisdom.  We took the rings home.  And guess what- after sleeping on it, I realized that in fact, I do love my ring, and it is exactly what I wanted!  I guess I just needed to be sure... I feel that my wedding ring is THE most important symbol of our wedding day, and I don't want to have to make changes to it after the wedding.  I want to wear it my whole life as-is.  And so I think I had put some pressure on myself to have this "ah ha" moment, and instead caused myself to have a panic attack.  But the truth is, I do love it.  So much!  And to celebrate, I decided to take the rings on a little photo shoot!

[caption id="attachment_996" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="all is well that ends well!"][/caption]

Did you have any irrational panic attacks during the course of your own wedding planning?

Wedding Invitations Are Out!

I have been ITCHING to write this post for a long time.  And now I finally can because our wedding invitations *should* all have arrived at their destinations by now.  That's right, we sent our invitations out last Friday!

[caption id="attachment_880" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Chloe helps me get the invitations ready to go."][/caption]

I hear people say how much they love paper all the time, and because of this fact, I've kind of started to internally roll my eyes every time someone says how much they love paper.  I know its hypocritical because I've said it too, but I've slowly come to realize that everyone - or at least everyone I know - loves paper.  It is such a luxury, its like loving flowers on Valentine's day or like loving a great pair of Manolos!  Duh, everyone loves them!  But then, when I look at these invitations, guess what I think about?  How much I too love paper!  In fact, it pained me to put redactions on these photos, that is how much I loved our invitations.  So I hereby promise to stop rolling my eyes at all you paper lovers out there!

[caption id="attachment_881" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The full suite!"][/caption]

We had an itty bitty invitation budget because J. is not quite so enamored with paper as I am, and we had to prioritize.  I'm not kidding, it was seriously itty bitty.  Try to imagine the cheapest bridal store you know of, and then think about the fact that I probably couldn't afford their invitations.  I am in no way saying that our budget was not adequate (I welcomed the challenge!), but I had a real champagne taste-beer budget problem.  That is when I found My Gatsby.  Their website really doesn't help their cause (the invites don't look as appealing online as in-person), but when I logged on, I found cute invitations with monograms that I thoght might work for us.  And when I ordered samples, they literally sent me a huge batch of swatches with every single kind of paper they work with.  I was floored by the reasonableness of the prices and the quality of the products.  The thermography had a nice feel, and the paper quality, while not super thick, was quite nice considering how affordable they were.  We had to make some concessions for paper weight, but for something people will throw away, we decided it was worth it.

Closeup, with and without the belly band.

One of the ways we saved money with My Gatsby was to design our invitation ourselves (i.e., myself).  Its a little risky if you are typo-prone like I am, but they have an online preview tool- so as long as you can recruit your 25 favorite spell-checking lawyerly friends to read it like I did, you can rest assured your invitations will read ok.  And you can also pay a little extra to have My Gatsby help you with that!  I also saved money by skipping the inner envelope (I also like that this saves paper, yay earth)!  Instead, I ordered sheets of cardstock to match my gold envelopes, cut those sheets into one-inch strips, and turned them into belly bands.  The belly bands took some time and some folding patience (using a bone folder and grid-guide) but they really added some polish to the suite.

[caption id="attachment_884" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Maps and hotel info!"][/caption]

Another way we saved money was by getting creative with enclosure cards.  We splurged with a two-color invitation and reception card, but for our response card we limited the printing to one color.  We figured that since people would mail them back to us, nobody would notice or care if they were printed in all-green, and that helped our bottom line.  I also made the maps with hotel information on Vista Print (see previous blog post on this topic here).  One enclosure card in two colors ran about $60 for 100, whereas Vista Print cards ran about $6, so I saved more than $50 on this step.

[caption id="attachment_886" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="And the address labels in action (and yes, we did send one to the President)!"][/caption]

And a further way I saved money was by skipping calligraphy (you may recall my love of calligraphy from the past).  I really, really, really wanted calligraphy, but at $1-$3 per invitation, it was not going to work for us.  Instead, I had my friend Sarah at Belletristics make custom address labels for our invites.  Yes, I slaved over these, between putting the addresses on the computer, cutting out the labels, using the bone folder, and then adhering them to evelopes without making them crooked.  It was a labor of love.  But I asbolutely loved how they turned out!!  Even J., paper curmudgeon that he is, was impressed and excited to send them out!

[caption id="attachment_1100" align="aligncenter" width="200" caption="Love these!"][/caption]

And of course, we used our king and queen of hearts stamps too- they worked perfectly because we needed exactly $.88 postage- so each envelope received both a king and a queen- it was meant to be!

I was a little bit sad to let these guys go, but I am so thrilled that our invitation- the first true impression of our wedding that our guests will receive- is everything I'd hoped it would be!

Kitty Couture for Your Bridesmaids?

I've heard of dogs in weddings before, but cats?  Seems like a REALLY bad idea.  The nervousness, the hiding, the scratching, the meowing.  Top that off with trying to get them into some cutesy outfit that will inevitably result in endless mockery by your friends for the next 15 years?  Ok, I'm officially talked out of it.

But nonetheless, a special shoutout to Modern Cat Blog for their great feature of Kitty Couture (which, by the way, they featured NOT thinking about bridesmaids dresses like some of us wedding obsessed folk who live in crazy land)!  If you happen to own one of those "I don't care about anything" cats, this might be just the thing to make your wedding the most memorable ever!  As for me, I can't even get my fur babies to wear Santa hats for Christmas cards, but if I could I'd definitely put Forest in the print and Chloe in the black!  And no, I wouldn't mind that Forest is a boy, 'cuz I'm open minded like that!

[caption id="attachment_947" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Mad Men meets Banana Republic?"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_948" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Brings new meaning to the term "LBD"!"][/caption]

Couture images courtesy of Modern Cat Blog;

Chloe and Forest images courtesy of me :)

Accessorizing Our Flower Girl

I may have mentioned once or twice (or 100 times) how cute I think our flower girl A. is.  So I'm especially excited that her mother and I have chosen some fun accessories for her wedding outfit!

The Dress!

First, we're chosen ivory tights for the ensemble.  My dress is ivory, as are the roses in the bouquets, so it made sense.

[caption id="attachment_1084" align="aligncenter" width="280" caption="not sure if we'll go solid or cable-knit yet..."][/caption]



A. will also be rocking a pair of ivory wrist-length gloves.  If I was a little girl, I know I'd be loving these!

[caption id="attachment_1083" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="I may or may not actually steal these and start wearing them myself"][/caption]

But the best details of all are her shoes and coat- gold sparkly and white furry.  Makes me wish I too was in kindergarten so I could wear such wonderful finds!  I'm looking forward to getting a photo of the two of us ladies rocking our furs (remember mine?)!

[caption id="attachment_1086" align="aligncenter" width="236" caption="try not to be jealous; its hard, I know..."][/caption]

perfect, right?

 And finally, a gratuitous reminder of the cutie pie who will be wearing it all, little Miss A. (pictured here on the first day of school)!

[caption id="attachment_1087" align="aligncenter" width="423" caption="As you can see, the good genes run in our family."][/caption]

All images in this post link to their source where applicable

iWedding! The Best Wedding Apps for iPhone and iPod Touch!

Here at The One! we're feeling techie.  And its Wednesday!  I know, I know, I slacked last Wednesday, but the "favorites" feature is back!  So this week, I'm featuring some of the super  most coolest iphone apps I could find, to help with wedding planning!

(As an aside, is it just me, or is it crazy cool that we have this sort of technology?  Its like the procrastination gods are smiling upon me!)

image source

iWedding
From guest list planning to budgeting, this is a perfect way to stay organized on-the-go!

Wedding Wire's iPhone App
An iphone version of WeddingWire’s site that will sync with your account on the planning platform’s site. Once you log-in to the app with your WeddingWire account, you can keep track of to-do items in your planning list, access your customized budget tool, and find local wedding vendors and reviews.

The Knot's App
For anyone who's hooked on all the Knot goodies, this app's for you!

iBridal Gown
Helps you keep track of which wedding gowns you like best during your search!

Gotta Etsy
Self explanatory.  You know you need this.

Dream Day Wedding: Married in Manhattan
What to do when you just can't take the day-to-day wedding stress anymore?  Play a game of course!  This one looked like a lot of fun to me, because it allows you to plan a wedding for "Rachel and Nate."  Let your inner planning goddess shine!

Barn Bacheloretting: The Fun!!

As you may recall, my bachelorette party was held at a gorgeous converted historic barn, and we seriously had an amazing time!  When I arrived, bridesmaids C., R. and T. had food and wine waiting for me, along with a scrumptious chocolate cake (which had the added bonus of looking like a part of the female anatomy, thereby resulting in us giggling like 13 year-olds).





The ladies also purchased for me the all-important "bride" veil and garter set, which I am modeling below.



Of course, everyone was mega jealous of my bridal tiara, so I let the girls each have a moment with the veil.



The next morning, we all awoke to mostly-mild headaches, and this gorgeous backyard view!



I made friends with the sheep and donkeys who lived out back.  Fred and Fiona, the donkeys, were loud, proud, and loved to eat sugar cubes.  The sheep had less personality, but they were super-cute too.  Especially the one who was missing an ear (and had stitches on his face- apparently the poor little guy keeps getting his face stuck in the fence)!  Fred gave me kisses, which helped me miss J. a little less.

Sadly, some of the previous visitors of the barn had stolen (yes, stolen) the barn coffee maker, and so we made a trip into Frenchtown for some coffee.  Beware the bride who hasn't had her coffee.  The girls made me wear the tiara around Frenchtown, obviously.   But for some reason, the people who worked in the coffee shop were not amused.  Not even a congratulations!  Maybe they hadn't had their coffee yet either...

Once in Frenchtown, we decided to take our coffee and the veil for a walk.  On the way, a lot of inanimate objects asked us if they could wear the veil- and of course, we obliged. 

After we were sufficiently caffeinated, we returned home to get ready for our day (a spa surprise for me)!  Pictured below is bridesmaid C. pretending to be in an LL Bean catalog.  I know this photo was taken as a joke, but its actually my favorite of the entire weekend!  With her is the owners' sweetheart dog.  We called him Budd, but we have no idea what his real name was. 

Next, we went to a spa nearby!  It was a lovely space in a gorgeous location, and had the added bonus of becoming a surprisingly hilarious activity.  The spa had prepared snacks for our group, and I got to get my massage first!  So while I was blissfully being massaged, I was unaware of the spa-drama unfolding nearby.  The owner of the spa was giving bridesmaid T. a hard time for considering canceling her appointment (T. was feeling quite sick) and so MOH and sister B. stepped in and said some appropriately passive aggressive things to said spa owner.  Meanwhile, super slow mani-pedi lady is talking smack about spa owner to R. and C. in the mani-pedi room.  Fortunately for me, all I had to do was sit there and giggle and enjoy my fully relaxed state of being.

Since we didn't get any photos of this hilarity, I have taken the liberty of recreating our spa time through dramatic pictures:

After the spa time, I returned to the barn to get ready for dinner, while bridesmaids C. and R. drove quite a distance to pick up much loved friend A.!!  Unfortunately, my car's navigator decided to take them the long route, so it took them a long time.  And that's just one more reason why I appreciate my girls!

We all went out to dinner that night at a wonderful restaurant called Marsha Brown, which is located in a converted church.  They made menus just for us, and gave us our own private room in which to eat.  The food was, of course, outstanding and perfectly cooked.  C. and R. chose a delicious wine to accompany the meal.  And we all (except for B.) ordered steak for dinner, because we are such delicate flowers.

As you can see, the decor was stunning...

And as dinner progressed, we got sillier and started sharing the veil again.  C. and R. also decided to play paparazzi, in a hilarious game of photographing half-faces and partial-tables.

For dessert, we were served creme brulee and carrot cake- my two absolute favorite desserts!  And yes, I ate it all, and yes, my stomach hurt for two days after because of it.  But it was SO worth it!

You can see in the photo below, all of us showing off our resulting "food babies."

After dinner, we returned home, where one final surprise from my bridesmaids remained...

My bridesmaids gave me a huge box of "emergency goodies" that included a back massager, an eye pillow, chocolate and prosecco, candles, a few things that might not have been appropriate to give at the shower (followed by more giggling), and The Psychology of Romantic Love, which I'm currently reading now- I'm a sucker for armchair psychology, and this book is a good one!

All in all, I had an amazing weekend, and the next day at the shower, I was again overjoyed by the generosity and thoughtfulness of everyone who has helped make this time so special!!

Powerpuff girl images free, courtesy of vector junkie

Woah, I Just Turned 30

Well, it happened.  This weekend I turned 30!  And guess what?  It was great!  J. surprised me with dancing lessons for our wedding, and we were actually pretty good at it! I also got some thoughtful presents and ate some delicious food (which is why I'm now back on the white dress diet...).  All in all, turning 30 was not nearly as painful as I expected.  Nope, it was fun!

[caption id="attachment_916" align="aligncenter" width="271" caption="baby Sarah loved wearing crazy hats"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_917" align="aligncenter" width="285" caption="30 year old Sarah isn't much different!"][/caption]

Today I'm going to milk the birthday excuse and keep this short and sweet.

But I'll be back tomorrow with more!  :)