Operation 26 Days and Counting: Misson 2, Get Permission from the State

I think Miss Fairfax and I are living dual lives. Mr. Glen Echo and I have completed Mission 2 of Operation Countdown: Get Permission from the State!

(YAY! Half way there!)

As I learned in Family Law last summer, marriage is a contract between three parties: 2 people who love one another and the state. The state in some circumstances is the most important party of the contract in that it determines how, when, where and what benefits are given to those who chose to enter into this agreement (because as much as we want to always think of weddings, there are civil benefits and responsibilities that must always be considered when one gets married).

Being proponents of equal rights, Mr. Glen Echo and I are beyond ecstatic that we will share in this grant of state approval with all couples, regardless of how or who they love. We are waiting for the day that Maryland allows marriage as a complete civil right, but will take the fact that the Attorney General has declared recognition of gay marriages performed in other jurisdictions in this state. This is a huge step forward.

YAY for us! Now all we need is a ceremony and cake!

Operation 31 Days and Counting: Mission 1, Out of Town Bags

So it is officially ON! Today marks 31 days before our wedding and I am pumped! (Ok, not really...this is just what I need to tell myself in order to attack the ridiculous amount of projects I need to get done...wah, wah, waaahhh). So, today, I am officially naming the rest of my engaged time "Operation 31 Days and Counting." Call me General Miss Glen Echo!

Mission 1: Out of Town Bags

(such a lovely NY out of town...NY is so easy...found here)

As Miss Fairfax pointed out, it should be easy to figure out DMV themed out of town favors, however, at least for me, my pool of creativity has been drained over the last 18 months. There are a few items that I knew from the beginning I wanted to include, but other than those few items I had no idea what else I should include. I decided to just google "Maryland out of town bags" for some ideas and I think I have come up with a decent bag of goodies for our out of town guests.

1) Rock Creek Soda

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According to Wiki Answers, the Rock Creek Soda Company is located in Landover MD. For those from the DC area, you know that an order of wings and mambo sauce is not complete unless you have a pineapple Rock Creek Soda to go with it! This is a truly DC favor and one of the few items I came with all on my own.

2) Crab Flavored Utz Chips

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Another item that I came up with all on my own. I am not into the idea of giving Old Bay Seasoning or a crab mallet. I want something in the bags that our guests could immediately enjoy. What is more Maryland than crabs and snacks, hence, crab potato chips. Perfect!

3) Goetze Caramel Creams

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Manufactured in Baltimore since 1895, these have been one of my favorite candies since I can remember. Not specifically a "DMV" favor, Baltimore has a place in my heart because I go to school there and honestly, who would not want to have a few of these after a long ride. Check out their website for more info.

4) DMV Visitor Info

This will include a metro map, a welcome brochure from us with places to eat and visit while in the area and maybe a Washington Post (although I think the guests might get those for free in the hotel room...).

My plan is to keep the design simple, probably a brown craft bag with our monogramed stamp and some tissue paper. It will look a lot like the image below.

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So what do you guys think? Aside from going into a fatty-sugar coma from the soda, chips and candy, would you be excited to see get a welcome package like this? What are you putting in your out of town bags?

Showered with Love!

Everthing is so real now! We have 34 days until the big show and yesterday I had my first experience feeling all bride-y. I attended my shower which took place in Mechanicsville, Va and it was fantastic! Here are a few highlights:

My cousins and bride's attendants from home did an awesome job setting everything up. It was so classy and elegant. They used some of our wedding colors and really took my personality into consideration.

We played some really fun games that made all of the guests get up and mingle. The first game really set the tone. The guests were asked to walk around and find someone that they do not know that has attributes listed on their checklist. It allowed the guest to meet one another in a cool way. We also played the "make a wedding dress out of toliet paper" game, my absolute bridal shower favorite:-D

As you can see, Mr. President made a special appearance. He loves our family and pops up at all of our functions (Thanksgiving, showers, etc...)...hmm...wonder if he will make a special appearance at the wedding...

At the end, I got to open all of my presents (Aw Yeah!)

Give me cupcakes and gifts and I am one happy girl!

We got mini-us' as gifts from my other set of bride's attendants. They are absolutly awesome and the cutest things ever! Great time, great friends and mini-me's...what a lucky girl I am!

Miss Glen Echo, Bridal Hoarder

I am not as bad as Lindsey Lohan or the folks you see on Hoarders, but the closer and closer this wedding gets, I am starting to relate to the feeling of being surrounded by one's own stuff.

Its not so much a problem that I don't like to throw things away, but over the 18 months we have been engaged, all of the on-line deals and "must have" purchases have definitely began to accumulate.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the evidence, uncensored...

(that pink bag in the back is my first gown, packaged and ready to be sold very soon)

Packed away, within the abyss that is our closet, is my little brother's grooms attendant suit. Here is a sneak preview of what the men in our wedding will be wearing. I love the combo of the gray and purple. I wish I could have convinced Mr. Glen Echo to have the guys do purple shirts for a monochromatic look...but alas...he vetoed it :(

Are any of you ladies swimming in your own "stuff"?

Happy Merry Superbowl!

I have been quite MIA for a while...moot court + school + work + a wedding next month = very busy Miss Glen Echo. I do promise to update you all on the status of everything as soon as the snow...er...smoke clears. For now, I will leave you well wishes on our unofficial official national holiday: Super Bowl Sunday!

Mr. Glen Echo, a very proud, nacho eating, Superbowl watching American!

2010, Here We Come!

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2009 was a very interesting year and as much as I hate to leave my 20's, I am looking forward with great anticipation to 2010. Here is a look at all of the wedding trends us wedding blog junkies loved in 2009.

Happy New Year! See you guys in 2010!

Yes, I am a Vender Stalker...

I came across this post on Weddingbee and realized that it has been a while since I cyber-stalked my venues. I am a mad-lady at stalking my photographer and band, but its been a while since I have googled, "Glen Echo Park" and"wedding." I found the greatest photos of recent weddings on-line last night that I thought I would share with you all. Looking at them just makes me fall in love with our venues all over again. (All three above taken by Michelle Lindsey Photography)

The couple below also used our ceremony venue. I am so in awe and envy of the decor and professional design of this wedding. THIS is how you do the Bumper Car Pavilion.

(Photos taken by Kristen Leigh)

Although we will not be using the carousel, I love it dearly...I am so sad that it will be closed for our wedding.

(Blink Photography)

No matter what, however, I am just happy to have found this place. I mean, come on, who could resist pictures like this...

(Documentary Associates)

So, what about you guys? Vendor or venue stalking?

100 DAYS!!!!

Yes, that is right! We have only 100 days left before our wedding and I am suprisingly pretty calm. Being ahead of the game and being engaged for so long has allowed me to do all of my planning ahead of time. The great thing is that the mental space most brides reserve for freaking out at the 3 month mark, I have reserved for stressing out about my job and working with my moot court team.

Although, I basically have everything done, there are a few projects I do need to work on in the next few weeks to make sure I STAY ahead of the game. I always refer back to my favorite checklist from Real Simple to make sure I am up to date on what should be done during this time. Here is what they suggest:

Three Months Before
Finalize the menu and flowers. You’ll want to wait until now to see what will be available, since food and flowers are affected by season.

-Send florist an email just the other day...see, I am TOTALLY on top of things ;-D

-The menu has been finalized for a while now, but I should follow up with the caterer regarding booze...

Order favors, if desired. Some safe bets: monogrammed cookies or a treat that represents your city or region. If you’re planning to have welcome baskets for out-of-town guests, plan those now too.

-out of town baskets...OH CRAP! *adding to Google calender "work on out of town baskets*

Make a list of the people giving toasts. Which loved ones would you like to have speak at the reception? Ask them now.

-Done...but I should remind them

Finalize the readings. Determine what you would like to have read at the ceremony—and whom you wish to do the readings.

-Done! She just mentioned that she is working on that right now

Purchase your undergarments. And schedule your second fitting.

-Done! First fitting with Angie is scheduled for Jan. 8th (Woo Hoo!)

-I got THE BEST undergarment in the world to hold in my three stomachs, lol, check it out!

Finalize the order of the ceremony and the reception.

-Semi-done...the programs are done and there is a tentative draft for the reception timeline, but that depends on the band and their breaks, which I have not confirmed with them yet...so this remains open...

Print menu cards, if you like, as well as programs. No need to go to a printer, if that’s not in your budget: You can easily create these on your computer.

-Done with the programs! I plan to do this for the menu (so cute!)

Purchase the rings. This will give you time for resizing and engraving.

-Well...we have my ring...Mr. Glen Echo cannot decide on what type of ring he wants. Hopefully, tomorrow evening when we go ring shopping for him, we will have that all figured out and I can get this also checked off our list.

Send your event schedule to the vendors. Giving them a first draft now allows ample time for tweaks and feedback.

-Ok...this is a big one! In a few days, my plan is to draft a final vendor list that will give me all my vendors in one place. At that point, I will just go down the list and check off which each one as I contact them and confirm times. That seems to me to be the easiest way to do it. Does anyone have any other suggestions on this?

In addition to all of the items listed above that I need to work on, I am also working my escort cards and a few other DIY projects. I found this lovely idea that I plan to do during "FUN FUN DIY DAY" with my bridal attendants in January. I also am using this idea for my escort cards. They are mini-envelopes that you make beforehand and then just add an insert with the table number once you have the seat placements all figured out. TOTAL GENIUS! This means that I can do the escort cards BEFORE I have my RSVP info :-O

Are you ladies ahead or behind the game? Any tips for getting getting through the next 3 months?

Our Luuuvvv Session

It's rainy and cold and miserable outside, but I am happy! Why? Because I finished my paper (YAY!) and tomorrow is my last day of work before my long four day weekend (OH YEAH!).

So, I figured, since I am feeling quite amorous with life right now, I thought I would share the love and show you guys a few photos from our "Luv Session." Taken by the fantastic photographer and generally nice person Kate Headley during this past Cherry Blossom festival, these were so much fun to do...although the wind was not too forgiving on my hair. They still turned out great nonetheless. These are my two favorite shots from the day.

All photographs take by Kate Headley (check her out!)

I hope you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving, a great day or wonderful set of days off work, and that you share all the LUV you got to give!

A Pocket Full of Poseys...

(Source) Or rather, a bouquet full of roses is what I'm talking about! Our lovely florists, Atelier Floral Design, put up some photos on their Facebook fanpage from a wedding they did at Glen Echo Park over the summer and I started squealing! It made me SO excited about my wedding. The pictures totally inspired me to share with you guys what I am hoping to see in March.

(Courtesy of Steve O'Toole Photography)

When planning this wedding, the ONE thing (out of many...tee hee) that I HAD to have was real flowers. Not trying to knock anyone that uses silk or other fake flowers, but it's just not my thing. Soon after discovering wedding blogs, I stumbled across Saipua and was floored by Sara's ability to make flowers look wild and put together at the same time. Her blog, along with a huge list of others, have fed my total obsession with all things floral.

Below are a few ideas for my bouquet. We are using garden roses, anemones and berries in hues of peach, ivory, green and white. I want the look of peonies, but cannot afford them. Rachel and Jennifer will use large peach garden roses to give the look of peonies, but without the cost (SCORE!).

(Source)(Source)

For the bride's attendants, I have asked for purple bouquets. The flowers will be similar to those within my bouquet, but using a mix of lavender and deep purple hues.
(Source) For the centerpieces, there will be a mixture of tall arrangements resembling the second photo above with mini tea light holders hanging from the branches. We will also have clusters of ball jars with green, peach and lavender arrangements. Our third centerpiece will be books with a flower arrangement on top or surrounding them.

(Courtesy of a lovely bride whose image I saved and did not write down the location of this picture for, please comment of this is your image and I will properly credit you)(Source)

Rachel and Jennifer will also hang paper lanterns for us inside of the bumper car pavilion. A sprig of lavender at each place setting will add a little extra piece of loveliness to the overall table decor.

These two are truly awesome. I emailed them WWWAAAYYY before one even thinks about hiring a florist (in actuality, when Mr. Glen Echo and I met with them, another florist actually turned down my request to meet with her because she said it was too early for me to think about flowers...too bad for her, oops I booked someone else). They were so nice in answering all of my premptive/budget planning questions. When we met in January (yes, they were booked in January, over a year before my wedding) they did not question or hesitate considering my wedding was so far away. In general, they are such nice people, considerate of time (and budget) and did a fantastic job at one of my best friend's wedding this summer. I cannot wait until March when I get to see everything in person! Just 4 months and 2 weeks away!

Excuses to Shop...

Hello, my name is Miss Glen Echo; and I am a shop-a-holic.

Being engaged has allowed me to indulge my addiction with total inhabition (to the dismay of Mr. Glen Echo). For example, recently, there has been a lot of talk about my bridal shower in Feburary. A trip to pick up a birthday gift for a friend resulted in me irrationally justifying purchasing a shower ensemble...mmm...4 months in advance. At least this time, my indulgence resulted in purchasing something really cute and interesting that was also ON SALE!

This is my bridal shower dress...LOVE IT! I got it at Antrhopologie for $50 on sale (SCORE!) I figure...Feburary, Valentine's Day, Red, Loveliness! And...IT HAS POCKETS!

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I already have a light grey cardigan I got at the J Crew factory store at Arundel Mills. It looks a bit like this one, but it has two little light and dark grey flowers near the neck line. I think it will go well with the dress.

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So now I am searching for shoes...this is where I need your help Ladies. I cannot decide between:


1) Grey Pumps: Urban Outfitters, $48













2) Red, White and Blue Pumps : Nine West, $89















3) Purple Flats: Piperlime, $49.99













So, help me choose Ladies...
Which one do you think will go best with what I have so far? Accessories will be picked based on the shoe choice. I know the choices are not at all similar to one another...so if you think something else would look better, please give me a link...especially if its a good deal.

Deep Thoughts by Miss Glen Echo...

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What is a bridezilla? Am I a bridezilla? Several events have occurred lately has me self-reflecting on this...and I am a little concerned...

A "Bridezilla" is defined as follows: "Webster's Definition: Bridezilla\ bride-zil-a n 1 Horrific, bulging-eyed bride prone to screaming spells and spontaneous fits of hysterical rage. Bridezillas are known to drop blows over seating charts, get bug-eyed at the mere mention of carnations and view hurling champagne at their wedding planners as a form of hazing." Actually, this is the definition from Bridezilla.com...although Webster should just go ahead and adopt it.

I am not quite there...yet...but I feel the rage coming. I am going through some issues with the woman that is doing our invitations. I have been emailing her since June...it is now October and she has finally finished our invitations. She sent me some paper samples and I picked a nice green color that went well with our overall color scheme. I was SO excited about the prospect of 1) seeing my wedding inviations and 2) finally being done with this whole process. She gauranteed them to me, by today, last week. She emailed me about them and said they should be arriving this week...that's all.

Yesterday, I got an email saying that they did not have the paper I picked and she went ahead and had them printed on white paper and that they looked nice. She had the nerve to include a "YAY" in the email! I do not think I have ever been that mad over the color of paper before in my life. My main complaint is that she did not even ask me if that was what I wanted. She indicated that they ran out of the green paper I wanted and SHE made the decision to put them on white, but that if I did not like them on white, she would re-print them on the green. Which leads me to think that she should have asked me if I was willing to wait the extra time for the green paper instead of sticking it on the white paper that I specifically did not want.

Mr. Glen Echo helped me calm down, because I was ready to flip out via email. He suggested waiting to see what arrived and then going from there. So, I am now calm...but I swear if that deliver does not come today!!!! This might be me... (source)

I tried to step back and reflect...because in the back of my mind, the idea of losing my 'ish over paper was borderline, if not full on, bridezilla. But, why? I mean, if you spent $150 on a couch, wouldn't you be upset if the wrong wrong was delivered? Or, if you purchased a dress, wouldn't you return it if it was in the wrong color or just didn't fit right?

Then, why is my reaction of displeasure about the color of my invitation paper making me so paranoid? For some reason, being upset about anything associated with your wedding means you are a "zilla" or at least that label immediately comes to mind. Is this fair? Of course I want to be a laid back bride that takes in the "moment" when the day comes instead of crying over every little detail that does not go right. But, right now, I am thinking about the money I am spending to get to that point and that I am paying for a service that should be done right.

Anyone else concerned about potential Bridezilla-ish tendencies?