When I was 15 I wanted a black wedding dress...

Some dresses that I've been checking out...

of course, now that I've found

catchthebouquet.com.au

out of Australia, it's highly likely that I'll have whatever look I decide on custom-made by them!

Designed by Henry Roth for Kleinfeld

Designed by Alita Graham ::SWOON::

A dangerous online-only Chinese dress factory.... lightinthebox.com

And lilywedding.com

Addict!

I MUST get off this snippet & ink kick, this is horrible!

But alas, more inspiration I HAD to put all in one place for future reference.

First, herb centerpieces. Grown by the Bride & Groom and sent home with the guest for planting. Simplistic, lovely smelling, inspired!

Instead of a traiditional guest book, a bouquet of branches in a lovely vase, with tags and ribbon/yarn/string attached. Guest hang their wishes on the 'tree'. The branck motif can be carried on to the centerpieces, in simplictic (and cost effective!) arrangements.

Black, white, and yellow. Fresh, elegant, interesting. I ADORE the onyx earrings in the second row, I think I must have them. . . and the black and white floral print clutch from Etsy, as well.

I love the potted plant favors, and the necklace.

Elegant and warm- chocalote and marigold. I'm really not leaning anywhere near any kind of yellow, washes me out too much, but I can't help but be drawn to the contrast here. And I love love love the dress Leighton Meester is wearing!

I was really just inspired to see black and white borught into an outdoor, daytime garden setting. So crisp! I love just about every panel here. . .

Cupcake Phenomenon

Everyone seems to all over cupcakes these days. And who can blame them? They're fabulous little personal cakes, no cutting involved, and so many cute decoarating possibilites.

They also make for a good DIY alternative to an elaborate wedding cake AND they can double as favors with a cute cake box for guest to take they cake with them.

Check out this article from Cupcakes Take the Cake for tips on how to freeze cupcakes. You can cook ahead of time and save the decorating for a a few dys before the reception.

Reception with a Twist

An interesting alternative to a classic sit down dinner reception....

a champagne and hors d'ouevres at 8 pm (care of Snippet & Ink)

Hmmmm....... a very different road then we'd been considering but I find it appealing...

Another idea? Brunch! also an idea from Snippet & Ink (I warned you I was hooked!)

Think:

*mimosas with various juices instead of just classic orange, and Bloody Mary's (would work so well with our burgundy and black color scheme, although we may have to soften black to chocolate brown for the stark light of day)

*fruit centerpieces (Fall is perfect red apple time!)

*Bundt cake with fruit topping OR cupcakes-to-go as favors

The problem with a a lot of time to plan? Too much time to change your mind.

Float Away

MonCheri Bridal, strapless chiffon over charmeuse informal wedding dress with lace trimmed sweetheart neckline, beaded lace bust line with twist detail and Empire waistline, double layered skirt with ruffled front hem and sweep train.

Charmeuse? Eh. Chiffon? Swoon, so beachy and floaty. And forgiving. I love so many things about this dress.

V is for Vegetable

{rity bee} , a fab new find for me, has the cutest idea on their Details: a- z page today:

Veggies as decoration!

Its weird in that chic kinda way weird things can be fabulous. Would be great for a fall wedding.

Into the wind

Every hairstyle I've considered has had a backup plan for inclement weather. To heck with it. THIS is going to be Wedding Hair.

Flowers? check

Veil? check

Beach casual? check

Announcements

We opted to do a formal engagement announcement since we're running off for the actual wedding AND since I'm unwillfully estranged from much of my family- had to get the word out somehow!

Did them through VistaPrint.com, got them printed on a heavy linen paper, and got an amazing deal! Totally they way to go.

We also included a Costco greeting card with our engagement photo.

And God bless Grandma Flower, she actually framed it- that is the sweetest thing she could of done and it meant THE WORLD to me, especially because my parents aren't willingly participating here.

We mailed out most of them on the 21st, but I still have a few stragglers I've been carrying around in my purse... I need to get to the post office, dangit.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

So much of life has been "going through the motions" as of late. Wake up, go to work, go to see Dad, go home and make futile attempt to relax, sleep, repeat.

Dad's doing well; therapy is hard on him and the assisted living facility leaves a lot to be desired. Every single day there's a new issue there. And so few people to share the burden. A non-issue if there weren't so many who SHOULD be taking some weight.

Wedding planning is rolling along. So many things have fallen perfectly into place that they feel meant to be. The date is officially October 3, 2009. We were originally set on November 24th '09 (our 6 year anniversary).... but the added stress of securing vacation time the week of Thanksgiving seemed like a silly thing to take on. Ocotber 3rd came about because it's a full moon, which will hopefully translate to some pretty night-beach pictures.

The condo in Ma'alea we want is available the days we want it.

The hair and makeup stylists I want are available... check out my hair-spiration...

Still waiting for the ring to get back from the designer- since we had a very specific idea of what we wanted for our center stone, we purchased it on its own (perfect, gorgoeus, everything I ever wanted- rectangular radiant cut, .78ct). That meant that any setting we chose would have to be augmented to hold that specific stone.

Well, we found the PERFECT setting,

but the way that the center stone is set, the whole ring had to be re-crafted to fit. The process started on September 6th and the jeweler estimated it would be back in and ready to set on October 2nd.... new date of estimation is October 21st....

I'm trying to enjoy the suspense, you only get to do it (hopefully) once.

But...

I feel strongly about a year-long engagment, its a propriety thing, and (though this is no good reason) it'll be one less thing for my family to mutter about behind my back.

So engagement announcements are still going out, ring or no ring. The intention hasn't changed.

Photo shoot is on Tuesday- I've always wanted my cousin Kristen to shoot our engagement photos but at the moment she is very pregnant and I don't want to add another chore onto days that already feel longer than they should. A friend from work is filling in, fingers crossed..... depending on the outcome I may still ask my poor, pregnant, ever-loving cousin to step in, but I hate to ask favors of her right now.