Shoes

So, my beautiful shoes got dyed last week. They look amazing! I can't wait to bedazzle them! I have all the Swarovski crystals and the glue, I am just working through how I want to design them.

Here they are with no crystals.


I am searching the internet for some design ideas, but it seems like most shoes just have the entire heel covered in crystals. I am not sure I want to go that route.


Photo found here

Or this one

Photo found here

I am leaning more towards something like the second one, since I don't really want to cover the entire heel. Not that it looks bad, but since my shoes are bright yellow, I was thinking something more subtle.

Wedding Rings Test

So I went to the mall tonight to try on some rings to get a feel for what looks good with my engagement ring. It was VERY helpful. So, it looks like round stones in a prong setting look the best....oddly enough.

There's one at Bailey Banks and Biddle that I like.

But it was in platinum and cost nearly $7k! I asked if it could be made it white gold and she wasn't sure. Too bad...that's too much.

Then I checked out some at Zales and actually really like the Celebration Diamond band that goes with my ring. It's only $1900!

Wedding Cakes

Here are some pics of what I am thinking


I love this one! It looks really vintage and romantic!


This one is great...simple and already in the right colors.


Again, another vintage one...it's beautiful. Except with yellow!

Entrance

This is priceless!

More Ceremony Music

What about this for the girls:



Or this for the recessional!


Or this one!


This one is somberly romantic

Bridesmaid Processional

I don't even know if that is the right term for it, but for the girls walk down the aisle before me...

Here is what I am thinking. I really wanted to be able to incorporate this song somehow because I absolutely love it...I think it's romantic and beautiful and moving. Sooooo....I thought because it has a violin melody, it would be perfect for the girls! Here is an almost-instrumental version of it. I couldn't find one without any words, but it's a karaoke version so the lyrics are lowered and you really hear the music behind it. (and you can see the lyrics on the crappy Youtube version I found, so you can see how sweet of a song it is!)

New Stuff

I've been doing a lot of searching lately...looking for interesting things to add to the wedding or my outfit or whatever. I am becoming an Etsy addict!

I found this amazing, romantic garter set in Mollusa's shop, so I asked her to make it for me in my colors. The result is amazing and perfect!


By Mollusa

It is so perfect and romantic and quirky and unique...I just love it. And it cost me less than $40! How perfect.

Then I began looking for jewelry. I've been looking for a (1) hair clip, (2) cuff bracelet, and (3) earrings that are all very vintage, sparkley, and romantic. I just couldn't find anything online...I even checked HSN and found a few things, but nothing perfect. And a lot of the things I did like were super expensive.

Then I stumbled upon the shop of Lulusplendor. OMG. Everything is amazing, and I'm sure she will be able to make me something amazing. I found this hair clip that was pretty close to what I want.



I asked if she could make it in silver instead of the antique...and also told her to make it unique however she thinks best.

And this cuff:


I asked her if she could make this design but wider all the way around. I really want a wide cuff, so here's hoping! I also asked her to make a pair of dramatic, dangly earrings to match. I'm excited to hear from her and I'll be sure to post pics once I get them!

I also booked a room at the Crowne Plaza for the night before the wedding and the wedding day, so the girls and I have somewhere to get ready. I offered to have Kim and Heaven stay with me that night, so we'll see what they say.

Joe and I are getting ready to book our honeymoon and buy our rings, so things are moving along. I think we will end up buying my ring off Blue Nile, since they have awesome rings, great prices, and a 30-day return policy (since it's online shopping). I can't wait!

AND I found out that no shop in Melbourne will store my dress....so it looks like it's coming home with me. The benefit is that I will have it there to try on whenever I need (or want), but I just hope it doesn't get ruined!

Father Daughter Song

My daddy sent me a text this last weekend suggesting that we add "Because You Love Me" by Celine Dion to our short, but distinguished list of potential father-daughter dance songs.

Ideas Come Together

On my trip home to Florida this weekend, Joe and I met the florist at the reception site to talk through some ideas and figure out where everything was gonna go. We think we've nailed down a location for the cocktail hour, although we have to evaluate some logistical stuff before we can say for sure.

She is going to do some amazing stuff with the fabric draping, so that it covers up clocks and signs and whatnot. We are also doing a cool draping/lighting combo behind the head table where J and I will be sitting. It all makes it so real! Even Joe felt like it's all coming together into something real now, so that's exciting.

I had to email the caterer though because I wanted to let them know our head count may be going up. And I also wanted to make sure we get enough linens for all the specialty tables...and they said they would do the layout for all the tables. I worked up a really funny one in powerpoint, which I should post just for laughs.

Slow Season

So, as the summer winds down and we near the 8 months out mark, I am kind of at a standstill with things to do to prepare for this wedding. I had heard before that there is a sort of reverse bell curve for wedding planning...busy in the beginning and the end and slow in the middle. And I'm definitely noticing that trend. My calendars, budgets, checklists are all pretty sparse right now, until about February of next year.

I am looking to book my hotel room for the night before the wedding. I think it's totally romantic to not spend the night before together. Plus I'd like a place for me and the girls to hang out, get ready, etc... I'm going to book a nice room at the Crowne Plaza, so that should be great.

I'm also looking to book the appointments for our hair and makeup at Essentials, but I need to find out who wants to get what done. Joe told me today that our friend April is going to school to learn how to do makeup, so she said something about doing my makeup. This would be great because she is already good at doing makeup, I think...plus salons always make you look weird.

Still pining over the music selection, and wishing I could see my dress. I miss it. Part of me thinks they should send it to FL sooner than I had planned, but I don't want it to get damaged. I need to find out if one of the local bridal shops will store it for me and do the alterations, even though I didn't buy it from them. I'll email them right now.