Thursday, March 27, 2008

Feature- Rexcraft

As I mentioned a few days ago, I am now going to begin featuring some of my favorite blogs/websites to give inspiration to the bride-to-be. As a bit of a "thank you" to the site where I found our invitations, I would first like to feature Rexcraft.

With an assortment of beautiful invitations, you cannot go wrong by shopping at Rexcraft. They have whatever you may be looking for from classic- or tradition-style invitations to invites with decorative ribbons or photographs. The image to the left is actually one of Rexcraft's monogrammed invitations, which helps you add an even more personal touch. Not only that, but Rexcraft has extremely affordable prices. If you find several possibilities, Rexcraft will send you sample invitations free of charge (!) so that you are able to make one of the most important decisions for your wedding without a feeling of regret.

Is it taking some time to find that perfect ring bearer's pillow or favor? Look no further than Rexcraft's accessories. Rexcraft has so many
perfect accessories from unity candles to flower girl baskets and even ring boxes--it's hard to choose! They even have stationary to create your own programs and thank-you notes. For all you DIY brides out there, Rexcraft also has a section dedicated to you carrying their own charms and paper products.

Stop by their website and order your free catalog to begin shopping at Rexcraft. Have fun!

[all images courtesy of Rexcraft.com]

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Josh and I finally ordered our beautiful invitations yesterday, and as soon as they arrive, we'll be sending them to our guests!

Mom has been contacting several DJs in the area, and I think she found a good few. Hopefully Josh and I will be able to meet with our potential DJs in the near future so that we can really get the ball rolling.

Friday, March 21, 2008

New "feature"

I'm going to start something new on my blog to keep it a bit more interesting. I plan to start featuring! Other blogs (wedding related, of course), photographers, shops, etc--all to help you in the decisions you're making for your wedding day... So be prepared. :] While you wait, please take a look at my previous post, though, and leave a few comments on what you think about my cake. :]

Thursday, March 20, 2008

I had my first fitting today. After hemming, tapering, bustling, a running stitch, and bra cups... I ended up paying $273! They had to hem the dress up quite a bit, even with my 4" heels, because I am not exactly tall. I have to go in for my next fitting on May 7, so hopefully everything works out. We also exchanged my sister's dress because, as it turned out, the size 2 was slightly too small.

On a very good note, I won a $25 Target gift card from The Pink Book Blog!

Okay, now on to more plans. I haven't discussed many things lately; I feel as if the planning is at a bit of a halt, however, I do have a few things already planned that I haven't mentioned. What might that be, you ask? Well, the cake, of course.

Josh and I are pretty big on symbolism, so we decided on a three-tier cake (symbolizing the past, present, and future), and we wanted round tiers. Not only that, but I wanted red flowers to match the color scheme of the wedding. White browsing theknot.com one day, I was trying to find inspiration for what was, in my mind, the perfect cake. Well, I found it!

This cake is so gorgeous, and I feel that it fits our criteria perfectly. The ribbons on the cake are actually edible. Josh's mom has a friend who is going to make our cake, and I'm hoping she can make something similar to this beauty.

We haven't decided the type of cake we'll be having, but hopefully we can figure that out within the next few weeks.

My parents have been helping quite a bit as well. Mom called several DJs the other day asking for their rates; she also called asking about tables and chairs. Everything will be coming together shortly, and the stress is finally beginning to disappear.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

We've only just begun...

I apologize; it's been days. I've been slightly busy. All weekend, I worked, but yesterday, I went along with my parents and siblings to shop. First, Dad bought Josh and I a new television for the living room as an early wedding gift. Next, we went on a search for the perfect prom dress for my sister. Finally, after helping her pick out several dresses, she found the one. Mom also found the dress she plans on wearing to my wedding. :] Not only did she find the perfect dress, but she found some beautiful shoes to go along with it. I must say, my sister has some wonderful taste in shoes, but I think I helped her out a bit with these beauties:

The best part: They were only $30. Too bad her feet are a couple sizes bigger than mine. I'd totally steal them.

Tomorrow, I'm picking my sister up (along with my dress) to bring them back to my house. Thursday, we are going to David's Bridal to begin my alterations.

Yesterday was exactly three months until the wedding. Stress has only just begun, it seems!

Thursday, March 13, 2008

The Perfect Pair

After reading the most recent post on The Pink Book's blog, I realized something: I get so caught up in talking about what we need to plan that I haven't discussed what I already have planned thus far. Mainly shoes. ;]

It really didn't take long at all to find the "perfect" shoes. After trying on my dress at David's Bridal and buying it, I decided I wanted to look elsewhere for shoes. Josh took me to the mall one night, and we went into several shoe stores, and I found some of the cutest pairs! However, I just couldn't see myself spending $150+ on a pair of shoes I would only wear once. I was then becoming discouraged, until I saw Bakers. After a short period of time, I found the ones I wanted to try on. The lady brought me two different sizes just in case, and I ended up buying the size 7.5 shoes. What shoes did I buy? Well, none other than...


The heel makes a noticeable difference in my height, which is what I needed. Josh and his brother (the best man) are both at least a foot taller than I am; my sister (the maid-of-honor) is about seven or eight inches taller than I, so I needed something to make me look "normal" in the wedding pictures. Not only that, but my dress has a lot of beading on the bottom, and it's going to have to be hemmed; without the heel, it would look terrible.

The perfect shoes come with a price, though. Mine ended up being $70 (they are now on sale at Bakers for $50, though! Darn it.), so I didn't know if I would be willing to pay that much for shoes. I used to wear heels quite often, but now, I just don't... I could sell them after the wedding, though! Of course, after looking at them for some time, I sort of fell in love, so I couldn't bring myself to thinking about ever getting rid of them (that's kind of how it went with Josh, too. Haha!); I may end up keeping them after the wedding because, who knows? someday, I may need a pair of white heels with a certain outfit, and where might those heels be?! In the back of my very own closet, waiting for their day in the limelight once again.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Interruption - The Pink Book

I just found another wedding website that some of you may not have heard of, so I thought I'd give you the heads up. The ladies at the Pink Book have made it their duty to help you (the bride) in planning the wedding you have always dreamed of. They also have a blog giving you little tidbits of advice--go on, add it to your blogroll.

Oh! Yesterday, Josh and I took a trip over to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to add some more things to our registry. After watching License to Wed, I just had to know: do they really have those little gun-scanner things?! Yep, they do. So, after getting acquainted to one of those, we browsed the store (spending most of our time in the kitchen) in search of all the items we'll need. We'll probably go back another day after debating on certain things (what colors should our bathroom be decorated in? and duvet vs. comforter) to finish things up.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Officially June 17 (again)

Okay, okay. I am ready to post once again! Sorry for such an odd absence. Back to planning!

The main reason I even stopped the planning in the first place was because we had no idea when the wedding would be; without that detail, it was really hard to focus on anything. However, after thinking it through (Josh had told me it was up to me), I decided on keeping it on Tuesday, June 17, 2008. Why? I mean, Saturday would be so much easier for everyone! Well, one reason (though she didn't want to be the deciding factor) is because my aunt wouldn't be able to make it if it were Saturday. This aunt (her name is Amber) has always been like a big sister to me (she is only eight years older); I mean, she took me to my first R-rated movie, and she took me to an *NSYNC concert when I was about ten. :] She has been one of my best friends throughout my life, and I wanted her to be at my wedding. Another reason was the fact that we have such a "thing" with the number seventeen, and I just really wanted it on the seventeenth, even if that means it is on a Tuesday. So, June 17th it is!

Whew. Now that we have that out of the way: invitations. As I mentioned before, we received the samples from Rexcraft, and let me tell you, they were so not cheap-looking! As I breathed a huge sigh of relief, I found myself in another sticky situation: which to choose? I sat them all out on the table in front of me, and as I browsed the Internet throughout the day, I kept glancing back at the invitations thinking, which ones say "Megan & Josh"? It didn't take much time to find the winner. However, I still had to wait on Josh's opinion, and eventually, he agreed. BUT! I asked him to take the samples to my future mother-in-law (Kris) to get her opinion as well. (I realized I haven't been including her much, and it made me feel bad, so I wanted to see what she thought.) Well, she agreed with what Josh and I had chosen. And the winner is...


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I just like how simple and elegant they are. We plan on keeping the black ribbon and using "claret" ink. Now, all we have to do is order them (:groan: spending money!).

On my days off from blogging, I've constantly been thinking about wedding things, of course, and something else came to mind (that I was trying to keep filed away for a little while): music! I need a song to walk down the aisle to (Dad insists that we play the instrumental version of Vitamin C's "Graduation Song (Friends Forever)," but I'm still doing some debating...); we need a bride-groom song (we have several of "our songs" in mind); and of course, a father-daughter dance (it's so hard finding a song that describes how much I admire my dad). So, after reading weddingbee today, Miss Hummingbird gave an idea of a place to make playlists! Finetune! So, of course, I created a profile (it's free!) and I began searching through the music. It's much harder than it may sound, though. There are songs that we love, but they aren't really songs that you can dance to. I'm still on the lookout, but you can take a look at what I have found so far.

Next, I need to make an appointment (for sometime next month) to have the alterations on my dress done. Also, we have to meet with the florist again; she's making a few sample bouquets for me to choose from. (Oh yeah, I've decided to have someone else make my bouquet... it'll be a little less stressful on me.) We also have to figure out a few things about the cake... and there are several other things we must do, but I'll save that for another post.

P.S. Here is a sneak peak at our registry. It isn't completed, and we are actually adding and deleting items as we find other items that match better... But I just thought I'd give you a little look. :] I spent hours last night browsing through the different things!

Saturday, March 8, 2008

100 days to go...

I haven't felt like writing the past couple/few days. I'm trying so hard to give my mind some much-needed time off from wedding plans... It's a difficult task! I'm becoming slightly more than stressed (it's making me feel sick), and though I am incredibly excited about marrying my love, I must take a short breather.

I would like to mention, however, that it has officially hit the "100 days" mark until our wedding (that is, if we still decide to have the wedding on June 17 rather than June 14... That has remained undecided at the moment).

Thursday, March 6, 2008

:sigh of relief:

At least something good can come out of today! I received my sample invitations in the mail, and I believe I've decided on a favorite. Of course, we won't be able to order the invitations until we finalize the date (again!). Josh and I will have to discuss it later, but hopefully we will be able to check another item off our list. :] I'll let you know.

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

I apologize for the following post being sort of "all over the place." My thoughts are scrambled at the moment.

We're having some major issues with the wedding plans. Our wedding is going to be on a Tuesday, and everyone thought that was a bit odd. Josh and I picked the date of June 17 quite some time ago, not even realizing what day it was on... because we have a weird thing with the number seventeen. Yesterday, he said something about it being on a Tuesday and how his family will have little time to ready themselves for the wedding because of work. I thought about it hard last night, practically all night long--when I did fall asleep, I even dreamt about it--and we may be changing the date to Saturday, June 14, 2008.

The reason I say, "we may..." is because my entire family (aside from parents and siblings) are coming from out-of-state, and most of them have already asked off for June 17. I have to contact each of them, and if they can all change their ask off date to June 14, then we'll be set (thank goodness we haven't ordered invitations yet!). My parents agree that the 14th would be a better day, with it being on a Saturday, and Dad said that we could still have it at five because that is 1700 hours military time (so we could keep 17 incorporated somehow--seventeen was both of our lucky numbers growing up). Now, I am just awaiting replies from some family members before making the change-of-date final.

I'm becoming more and more stressed as each day passes. The wedding colors are red (apple) and white, and I would love it if JJ (Josh's brother; the best man) would wear a red tie or
something to match my sister's dress, but Josh thinks it would look tacky (or "like a clown," as he says)... I just want my "dream wedding" to become a reality, but with all of the sudden changes, I might just have to settle.

We may also be moving the reception location to a bigger place so that we can, in fact, dance! Honestly, what is a wedding
without dancing? I've always wanted my reception to be a big, dancing party.

In my dream last night, however, I could only remember walking down the aisle toward Josh... I didn't remember any of the decorations or flower colors or the date... I just remembered seeing Josh's smiling face at the end of the aisle--my destination--and my dad walking me toward him. I guess sometimes, brides get so caught up in the planning that they forget the true meaning of it all.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Size 2 small? Hopefully not.

My sister's dress came in today along with the bra I'll be wearing with my dress (now I'll be able to have my alterations done!). I headed over to David's to pick the items up. Several weeks ago, when my sister tried on the dress, she told them that she would need a two to try on. They brought her several dresses, and we fell in love with the one she got immediately, and it fit perfectly. However, though my sister is small, she is still slightly bigger than me, and my dress ended up being a four. I'm worried that she tried on a four (the one that fit so perfectly), but they ordered her a two. Of course, that's probably just me being a worried bride.

Today, when I picked up the dress, I double-checked to make s
ure the dress was, in fact, a two. It was. Tomorrow, I'm taking it to my parents' house so that she can re-try it on. If it doesn't fit, I don't know what we'll do.

It's such a great dress... And my sister looked beautiful when she tried it on. I even got it on sale!

I'm anxious for her to try it on tomorrow.

In other news, I'm still awaiting the sample invitations' arrival to our mailbox. They should be by tomorrow... Or maybe even Thursday. Not only that, but I'm continuing my search for the perfect flowers to make the bouquets/flower arrangements. I was looking through other blogs written by soon-to-be brides like myself, and I found one who inspired me a bit. She's using beautiful vases for her flower arrangements!

(image from Classic Bride)

Monday, March 3, 2008

Mom & I went to Michael's today in search of items to create a beautiful bouquet. Unless I become completely frustrated, I've decided to make my bouquet by myself!

After looking for quite some time, I didn't really find any flowers I liked (that matched the color theme). With a sigh, we left Michael's and searched the mall. Again, nothing. Literally. Our last resort: Walmart. Nothing. I am not discouraged, however. I'll continue to browse...

Nonetheless, it was great spending time with Mom. We don't get to do that often.

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Oh, more samples.

I just ordered three more samples of invitations. I've gone mad! :] My mom pointed me in the direction of rexcraft.com the other day, and I skimmed through the invitations without really looking. Tonight, I began to browse the invitations once again, and I decided I will not settle for something that I think it cheaply made... Thus my reason for ordering more samples. A plus: David's Bridal charges to order samples, but Rexcraft does not! :]


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[click image to view larger]

The best thing about these invitations: I can change the ribbons (and the ink, of course) to match the color theme of our wedding!

I'm hoping that one of these sets are our invitations. As long as they aren't made cheaply, I'll be happy because they all look very elegant. I may actually have a hard time choosing between the three! :]

I feel slightly more relieved about invitations. Next, I must decide on favors. Hopefully. I will also continue to think about ceremony decorations... And there are several other things popping up as each day passes. Wish me luck!

Megan

P.S. Thank you to those who have commented and/or voted on the polls (so far); all comments and votes are greatly appreciated! Please continue to do both. :]
To begin: I've added another poll. :]

I didn't post yesterday because I took a break from thinking about wedding plans. Okay, not really. I still thought about so many different possibilities, but I had to work all night, so I decided not to post anything. It's impossible not to think about wedding plans at this point.

Yesterday, I received the sample invitations I ordered. I'm still slightly disappointed. They're nice... But I want something more. Will I ever be satisfied without having to spend a fortune? Should I try to make my invitations on my own, or is it too late for that option? I really want my invitations to be beautiful, but I don't want to have to spend every last penny I have.

The invitations I have been looking at are all approximately $100 for 100 invitations (not including envelopes). I've really only looked seriously at David's Bridal, though I have browsed through some other websites. Does anyone have any suggestions for me?

Another scary thing: it's now March. I'm down to the wire, it seems.