Can I Brag About My Photographer for a Minute?

(photo credit Sara Cramer)

I cannot wait for Cramer to shoot my wedding.  Every wedding she does is so freaking gorgeous.  I'm very excited.

Reasonable Letterpress? No. Way!

Yes way!

I was despairing for a while because I rilly rilly wanted letterpressed invites and the fiance rilly rilly didn't like the hit they took on the budget.  It was tense, I was sulky, he was stubborn, it was a mess.

We wanted to design our own invites because we're both typography geeks and we'd seen the movie Helvetica, which yes, is about the Helvetica font.  Helvetica is one of the most common fonts you'll see--it's the font in which the American Airlines logo is written as well as the New York subway signs.

(photo credit: andy in nyc)

We both thought that if designed correctly, and without a lot of frills and furbelows, a Helvetica invitation would look beautiful and unique.

When the design was finished, I knew that if the invites were letterpressed, it would elevate them to another level.  So, using the twin powers of Google and Etsy, I found a letterpress printer who would print a custom design at a very reasonable price. Enter Lucky Duck Letterpress.

(photo credit Lucky Duck Letterpress)

Because he keeps his jobs small and his designs very simple, he can do a letterpress job quickly and reasonably.  If you want a lot of flowers and swirlies or whatever, it probably won't work for you.  But for simple, text-based designs, he's definitely worth checking out.  And of course, I'll show you my invitations when they're finished!

Dream flowers

We nailed down our florist. It was quite simple really. I found her via craigslist because really, it's such a great resource for vendors (especially affordable ones).

She runs her shop out of her home to cut overhead costs. She's located up in Maryland so her and I met in Bethesda a couple Fridays ago (and I dragged my fiance. Just for giggles. He got made fun of by coworkers) and discussed the options.

Ladies, I'm having my dream flowers. All of our flowers for less than $1,000 (my goal).

Tulips. My September wedding will have tulips.


Five pink and five white tulips will be our centerpieces in a small round vase. Exactly what I wanted. My bouquet will be a combination of mums, hydrangeas, tulips and daisies. The girls will have spider mums and spray mums.

I am...beyond thrilled not just because I'm getting my favorite flower, but also because I won't have to do it myself which I was nervous about given my lack of DIY-craftiness. Not to mention, it's another thing checked off the list which is a relief given that our wedding is in 3 and a half months. It's all going by so quickly! The dates are planned for my bridal shower as well as my bachelorette...EEK!

Freakout Mode

I told my freelance client that I was officially in freakout mode now. I am. It's under four months, and I feel like we have nothing done. Up until now I've been very non-challant about everything - just kind of going about things cause "oh we still have X number of months." I guess when you're at 3 months and change, you can't really go off that anymore can you?

Tonight, I'm meeting with a potential florist. Last night we booked the rehearsal dinner at one of our favorite restaurants just around the corner from our church. The bridesmaids dresses were ordered this week, the shower date is picked, the bachelorette party date is set, I'm going shopping with my mother next week in Vermont for the MOB dress as well as my veil and undergarments for the dress. When I get back from my week excursion up north, I have to print out the invitations, do the tasting so we can pick out the menu, and get my fittings.

We also still need to figure out what we're doing for a cake, dj, and transportation.

It's certainly coming along but every day I realize there are so many decisions that still need to be made and I'm more overwhelmed.

Eeep! It's coming so soon though!!

When did you start to feel stressed out and overwhelmed?

TA DA! My something Blue!

I know you have read about 3 million posts about bridal shoes.....and guess what, here is 3,000,001. I am IN LOVE with my shoes. I knew I wanted a color...I mean, even in my everyday dress, I where colored shoes. Its my thing!
A friend of Mr. CP's is starting a new hand-made shoe business and asked if she could design my wedding shoes...as if I had to think about that one! She charged me the cost of the shoes, as long as I took a few pictures at the wedding that she could use on her website. Um, DEAL. The process involved multiple sketches and going back and forth to get the shoes exactly how I wanted them. I took some pictures of them below. Prepare to be woo-ed! I had them dyed to match the bridesmaid dresses, exactly. The Swarovski crystals are green, yellow and clear, to match the flowers. She also put the date and our inititals on the soles. There is a tiny bee sewn in, but you can't see them. Brittaney can be emailed directly from her website, which is about to go live, http://www.lovehershoes.com/. ENJOY and tell her Miss CP sent you, if your interested!
(Notice I got artistic with my ring! hahaha)

What color are your bridal shoes?

To all the newly engaged ladies...

Hello Ladies! Sorry its been a while. I have 12 days until my big day and have lots to do! I found myself very stressed and overwhelmed with not just tasks, but also looking how I want to. I found something that really helped me manage both, and my only regret is that I didnt find it sooner!


Bikram Yoga. For those of you who are unfamiliar, its hot yoga, literally. Its 105 degrees. Its hot. Like really hot. You do 2 sets each of 26 poses and 2 breathing exercises. The poses are not terribly difficult, but the heat makes it seem almost impossible.

source

I love the way Bikram yoga can clear my mind, my skin and make me sweat! Its 90 minutes, and not the most pleasant. I am going to go asmuch as I can over the next 2 weeks. I can feel my arms getting toned!

I highly recommend www.dcbikramyoga.com in Tenleytown. Its inexpensive to start. Give it a try!

Just Say No to Bridal Shoes

(photo credit Cole Haan)

I am not the sort of blogger who will tell you what to do.  If you have your heart set on white satin bridal shoes, by all means go for it.

This weekend I had my first wedding gown fitting, which meant I had to go pick up my shoes.  I had my eye on the Cole Haan Air Bridal collection.  Even though I adore high heels, years of podiatric abuse have left me unable to wear them for very long.  So the idea of Nike Air soles hidden inside high heels sounded awesome.

I went to the Cole Haan store to try the shoes on and I fell in love with the rather pricey pair you see above.  Well, it's my wedding day, I reasoned, so I decided to give them a go.  And they were miserable.  They were uncomfortable, cheaply made, and just shoddy.  It was obvious you were only supposed to wear them once.

Manufacturers think that they can slap any old thing together, call it "bridal" and women will line up to pay a premium for it.  And the thing is, they're not wrong.  

I say we brides should rebel.  Why would you pay $425 for a pair of cheap shoes when for $100 more you could get a pair of gorgeous, well-made Jimmy Choos?  Not that I'm telling you to run out and spend that kind of money, but I'm trying to put the ridiculous price into perspective.  Are white satin shoes really that important?  

I did end up getting a pair of Cole Haan Airs, which I can't recommend enough.  They are incredibly comfortable and I stood on them for ages with no problem at all.  But, they're not "wedding shoes."  Here they are:

They're not white satin, but they're gorgeous and look fantastic with my wedding dress.  And I can stand on them all night without a problem.  And they're significantly cheaper--and better made--than the bridal range.  So I'm over the moon.

Daring to Dress Differently

(photo credit: Martha Stewart Weddings)

Sometimes a decision made for convenience turns out to be a really gorgeous option.  I love my bridesmaids, who are two terrific ladies.  One is tall and brunette and statuesque, and the other is blonde and petite and spunky.  They are both lovely, but finding a dress to fit them both would be a major headache.  So I told them to wear whatever long black dress they like.

It turns out that I really love the look of bridesmaids wearing similar, yet different dresses.  It looks fresh and new.  Here's another picture from Martha:

(photo credit: Martha Stewart Weddings)

The effect is casual, but elegant.  I'm so glad that I didn't listen to my doubts and pick out a dress for the girls.  I know they're going to look gorgeous in a way that totally suits them.

Thinking about flowers

I found a great florist. Thank you to Craigslist, I was looking for a DJ, and stumbled upon affordable flowers and since well, I'm still looking for a florist to do the bouquets at the very least, I found one who may be able to do it all. Like. All of it - centerpieces, the works. For less than $1,000.

I didn't even know that was possible!

So I had to send her some of my inspiration - in her initial estimate she included orchids which, while a very pretty flower...isn't really my style. I'm going for preppy and simple. Orchids kind of scream to me - asian fusion, no offense if that's your style but it's not really mine.

What am I looking for?

via With this ring



All images via With This Ring (that centerpiece directly above was DIY - incredible!!)

I'm still undecided about the centerpieces - it could save us a lot of money, and I'm definitely not ruling out the prospect of DIY. I don't want roses. I don't want expensive flowers - I adore mums, daisies, belles of Ireland, and hydrangeas. Hopefully I'll be able to meet with her this week to get everything finalized - one more thing off the list! Four months from next week!

What are you doing for flowers? DIY or florist?