16-in-1 Bridesmaid Dress

All the bridal media seems to be raving about this one bridesmaid dress company: Two Birds. Two Birds sells these dresses that are stylable in 16 different fashions. They come in two lengths, and two sizes, and 20 colors; there are a few different styles of hemline too. The top part of the dress consists of two strands of fabric that can be tied and twisted to create all these different looks.

It's a really cool idea, I agree. Ingenious from an engineering standpoint. But--and maybe it's because the company is based out of New York City and LA--no one has yet pointed out that most of these 16 styles are backless (or close enough). Several of the designs have a little comment that says "bra friendly!" and I'm thinking, What kind of bra are they talking about? Do they have some magical contraption in LA and NYC that we don't have in Detroit? Or maybe the girls in those cities are just so skinny that they don't really need more than two band-aids. Of the 16 styles, there's really only one you could wear with a regular bra, and one with a strapless bra--see for yourself.

To be honest, though, I'd like to see how they work. It should be noted that you can buy a $30 "bandeau" to make the styles a little more modest (and not backless). Maybe I'll get another bridesmaid gig soon and I can talk the bride into letting us make use of their through-the-mail try-on program.

The dresses are $270 for the tea-length styles, and $290 for the full-length. Size A fits sizes 0-14 and Size B fits sizes 16-24 and costs an additional $20.

I think it's a little pricey for a dress made of a nylon/jersey/spandex blend that you have to put together yourself, but maybe that's just me. Perhaps when the novelty wears off, they'll go down in price. Dessy makes competitors for $140 (tea-length) and $180 (full length).

Andrea's Wedding

Photos from Andrea's beautiful wedding are up! Andrea and Liam had a gorgeous wedding right in the middle of the fall colors in Hartford, Connecticut. Derek and I had a great time at the ceremony (St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Farmington, a lovely old stone church) and the reception (the Town & County Club in Hartford).

The wedding colors were red and orange, mimicking the autumn foliage in New England. Andrea's dress is made by Cymbeline USA. You can see my bridesmaid dress again at the right. Andrea's and our bouquets were made of red roses, orange callas, orange spray roses, and little red berries, created by Devars-Phillips. My favorite unique detail is that they incorporated Liam's desire for pumpkins in the decorations by using little, decorative pumpkin-shaped gourds, although I can't seem to find a picture of it.

Below is a small taste of the festivities. More photos can be viewed at the photographer's website. Victoria Souza Photography did a great job of capturing the color and movement in the day, didn't they?

Bridesmaid updos

Andrea's wedding last weekend was just beautiful, but, as a bridesmaid, I didn't have time to take pictures of the wedding! Right now, the best I can do is show you our hairstyles, by stylists from Oggi Hair Salon in West Hartford, CT.

A short hair updo: Claire has pretty short hair, which was just long enough for this updo. Her hair is held in place with two french braids and finished off with a couple stylish clips. I messed it up accidentally during a hug, but Kristy was able to easily fix it with a bobby pin or two.


Half updo: Jamie's hair was curled and then pinned out of her face.


A braided updo: My hair was french braided, then tucked under. The stylist left a few strands of hair on either side of my face and curled them. I really liked it.


Traditional updo: Kristy's hair is tucked and pinned, looking very elegant and classy.

As soon as I can get more photos of the wedding, I will post or link you to them. You're going to LOVE Andrea's dress, and the gorgeous red and orange color scheme.

Bridesmaid dress for Andrea's wedding

Hi everyone! Andrea's wedding is in 11 days! A few weeks ago I got my bridesmaid dress back from alterations, and I wanted to share with you how it turned out, which I think is pretty well.

The dress is from the Jasmine Bridal Belsoie line and cost $194, although I believe that was with the 15% discount we got because Andrea's mom ordered all the dresses through the same store in Minneapolis. The color is called "berry." Derek thinks the dress makes me look tall, which I don't often hear!

Alterations came to a total of $70, which, while it sounds expensive, I actually think is pretty reasonable (remember, at David's Bridal, my alterations came to $65, and I think these alterations were more complicated). I had the alterations done at a place called "Expert Tailoring" in Troy, Michigan on Maple Road. The reason the price is so high is that the dress has three layers of skirts, and all of them needed to be hemmed. The dress also had to be tightened in the bust and the straps needed to be shortened.

When I tried my dress on in the shop after it was done, there were a bunch of other customers there, and they all commented on how pretty I looked! I'll probably go back to that shop in the future for other alterations.

The bridesmaids are wearing black shoes--I'm wearing the same Caparros shoes I wore for Theresa's wedding. I'm finding that Caparros makes really comfortable evening shoes, and 2.5" heels is just the right balance for style and comfort.

I'm wondering if I should invest in a nice black shawl to ward off the Connecticut fall weather?

Candace's Wedding

The loveliness that was Candace's wedding, for your viewing pleasure:


Things to note:

• The wedding ceremony and reception were both held at Waters Mill, in Dahlonega, GA, an all-inclusive facility that was built with weddings in mind. The ceremony was outside, and afterward we all headed to the reception building only a few yards away. About 100 guests were in attendance.
• The bridesmaid dresses had pockets!
  
• When it was time for the bride and groom to leave, the staff at Waters Mill handed each guest a sparkler, and we held them up and lined up on the sidewalk as the newly married couple ran underneath an archway of fireworks to their get-away vehicle. What a cute idea in lieu of rice/bubbles for when it's dark out!

All in all, it was a great wedding. Congratulations to Candace and Todd!

More Shoes!

Continuing with our recent theme of footwear, I wanted to share with you all Andrea's revelation. She was having trouble finding a shoe she was comfortable wearing--she wanted a heel, but not something too high; she wanted it to be closed-toe (October wedding, possibility of outdoor photos) but still cute. This morning I got an email with her solution:

Dance shoes!

Of course, we're not talking ballet slippers here (although that could be a fun option). Andrea scoured the internet looking for ballroom-style dance shoes and this is one of the pairs she found:
The advantages are obvious--they're going to be comfortable because they're made for dancing! These are made by Aris Allen as a reproduction of a 1930s dress pump and complement Andrea's dress quite well in my opinion (the dress has a vintage feel to it, with a boat neckline and a triple tiered lace skirt). They are $74.95 and available at dancestore.com, a site which specializes in swing dance shoes. They are "vegan" shoes, but neither Andrea nor I knows what that means!

Some other websites that sell dance shoes are Best Ballroom Shoes and DiscountBallroom.com, but a simple Google search will turn up many other options.

Happy Accidents

Lily, you inspired me. Admittedly, my wedding shoes are not colorful, nor detailed, but I'd had them bookmarked on Zappos.com, and I decided now was the time to buy them, because, well, I didn't want to keep reading patent law cases.
I selected these shoes from Zappos.com because they were everything I had in mind--simple, white, tall, peep-toed--for my wedding shoes. Now, I know it does not sound ideal to be buying shoes from the internet without being able to try them on. But here's the real advantage of shopping on Zappos or any online shoe retailer, which I think outweighs the risk of purchasing something without trying on--they have customer reviews!

The reviews for this shoe--Cora by Calvin Klein--were almost all from women who had bought the same shoes for their weddings. And the comfort ratings by these ladies were all positive, even though the shoes have 4.5" heels.

Alas, when I went to buy them today, they were out of my size!! Oh no!! In a panic (for God knows what reason, I mean, I've got more than nine months to go here), I Googled the designer and style name, and found a site called ShopWiki. ShopWiki lists all the online retailers with that product, including Piperlime, a retailer selling my shoe--in my size!--for $40 less! With tax (shipping was free!), the total came to about $63. What a deal! And what a happy shoe ending!

Wedding Shoes

Hello everyone!

I was doodling around today on the internet, and found this lovely pair of shoes on Zappos. They are called Roma, and made by rsvp. This pair is light blue in color (fulfilling the traditional "something blue" requirement!), but they also come in champagne and black.

Roma by r.s.v.p.

I love the beaded detailing on the heel, and think that they would make elegant wedding shoes for a wide range of wedding styles. They would add a bit of subtle romance to a minimalistic, contemporary wedding, and perfectly complement a country-style wedding. Plus they are not outrageously expensive, and could be worn for dressy summer occasions!

Let me know what you think of them!

Jesse's Wedding

Hi all! Derek and I just got back from Nebraska where we had a great time at the wedding of one of our college friends. Fortunately, a large group of our friends made it out to Omaha as well, so it was also a fun reunion for all of us.

The ceremony was lovely--a Catholic ceremony, but without Communion. The wedding as a whole was very simple. The bride's dress was a straight strapless gown, with a horizontal lace pattern overlay, similar to the one shown at the right. The bridesmaids wore knee-length black dresses and carried bouquets of lilies; the bride's bouquet contained lilies and roses. Aside from the black and white motif, there were little accents of aqua throughout the ceremony and reception--the groom and groomsmen wore aqua ties, for example, and the favors were tied with aqua ribbon. Very simple and classy.

The reception was held at a Holiday Inn in Omaha, which was very convenient for the guests--we all just stayed there for the weekend. However, I can't say I recommend the Holiday Inn, for several mishaps occurred that probably should not have. First, one of our friend's reservations for Friday night was canceled! Apparently they had overbooked. Fortunately, they gave her Saturday night for free, and the rest of us shifted around our sleeping arrangements so she had somewhere to stay Friday night. But the worst part was that in the middle of the reception, the dance floor broke apart! They had to call in some "technicians" who stomped the floor back into place, but then it happened again!

Nonetheless, everyone had a great time. We learned how to do the Lebanese Line Dance and sang along to "Jesse's Girl" and "Stacey's Mom" (the bride and groom were named Jesse and Stacey). Jesse did a great job of making time to talk to us during the reception, which we really appreciated. Something interesting that I thought was a good idea--they put white Christmas lights in layers underneath the tablecloth at the head table, so the head table "sparkled" a little bit.

All in all, it was a great wedding, and I was so glad that Derek and I were able to be there for someone who has always been a great friend.

Florists

We've selected a florist! Derek and I decided that, for our bouquets, boutonnieres, and corsages (remember, we're doing our own centerpieces), we are going to go with:

Moran's Flora, in Birmingham, MI. It's really close to my parents' house, so we don't need the flowers to be delivered--someone can just go pick them up.

• The owner, Lee, was very personable and down-to-earth. She was very concerned and understanding about the budget, and that is the main reason we are going with her. She was not judgmental about it at all.
• I realize their website looks like it's just FTD stuff, but I really got very personal service and I don't think FTD has anything to do with my flowers, which are all "original" designs.
  
• Here are the prices we got:

• $125 for a bridal bouquet of dark blue hydrangea (she swears they exist), dark purple lisianthus, dark purple carnations, and yellow spray roses.
• $50 each for 5 bridesmaid bouquets of dark blue hydrangea, dark purple carnations, and dark purple lisanthus (I asked Lee to keep these under $50 each. She said she could do it, but there might be a lot of carnations, which I am fine with).
• $8 each for 10 boutonnieres of dark purple lisanthus.
• $20 each for 7 corsages of dark purple lisanthus and purple roses.

• One thing that was a little annoying: there was no formal, typewritten contract for to sign. Lee wrote down her notes and gave me a copy. I overlooked it because I didn't have to put down a deposit. Lee just said to call her back when we get closer to the date.

Other florists we looked into:

Thrifty Florist

• The wedding consultant, Fran, was very professional and I would have felt very comfortable with her. She spent a lot of time with us, and was careful about details. She looked at my ring and asked about my dress in order to determine our style. She had several suggestions for different flowers. She was very knowledgeable about what would work and what wouldn't. However, she never asked me what our budget was.
• Here are the prices we got from her (forgive me, I don't remember exactly which flowers she was going to use. I thought I was taking good notes, but I guess I didn't).

• $106 for a bridal bouquet that includes hydrangea, aster, lisanthus and yellow freesia.
• $71 each for 5 bridesmaid bouquets of lisianthus and hydrangea.
• $7 each for 9 boutonnieres, and $9 for the groom's boutonierre. They were composed of different flowers, some were yellow freesia, some were lisianthus, some delphinium.
• $20 each for 7 corsages. Again, those were all a little different, some yellow freesia and some lisianthus.

English Gardens

• This is actually a garden center-type store, with a florist inside.
  
• I really liked the guy I talked to here, and he was the least expensive. However, there were two strikes against him: the florist is only in the store Monday through Friday, 9 to 5 (so who's going to be in charge of my wedding?), and he never called me back with a sample bouquet like he said he would. I thought that was really cool--he was going to create a small sample bouquet for me to see what the flowers and colors looked like together, but it's been almost a month (he told me it would take a week) and I still haven't heard.
• The prices here were interesting. The florist didn't really seem to take into account the type of flowers when he gave me prices.

• $60-$125 for a bridal bouquet. We were thinking blue delphinium and purple lisianthus, with yellow pompon daisies (I liked the delphinium, but the other florists thought it was not worth it because you can only use the top of the bunch of flowers, since it is a long stem of flowers and I wanted a round bouquet).
• $40-$60 for the bridesmaids bouquets, purple lisianthus and blue delphinium.
• $7.99-$9.99 for boutonnieres.
• $14.99 for corsages.

We're pretty happy with Lee, although I hate saying no to anyone. I realize you have to do it, though; it's good manners and it's fair.

What a whirlwind of a wedding planning summer! I'm going back to school soon, so I'm glad I got so much done while I had a little free time. Expect the updates on Daisy's wedding to slow down for a little bit, but I'll still try to stay on top of all the trends. Derek and I are also attending three weddings this fall, so I'll have lots of ideas to comment and report on. I hope you all had great summers!

Cute idea

I found this article on the Wall Street Journal, and I thought it was an interesting idea, especially for couples with fond memories of a summer camp from their childhood or teenage years: Sleep-Away Camp Weddings

Chinese Labor Shortage

I just got this letter from the shop I bought my dress from, and I thought I should share it:

You are probably wondering how problems in China can possibly affect your wedding plans. Well, if you have ordered your gown and it's running late, YOU ARE AFFECTED. If you are waiting to order until closer to your wedding date, YOU WILL BE AFFECTED. I hate to break it to you this way - but almost ALL bridal gowns and fabrics are produced in China. The companies may be based in the US, but the gowns are not made here.

Due to a combination of factors (labor shortages, workers demanding higher pay / better working conditions and stricter scrutiny at US Customs) gowns are running behind from most manufacturers. In fact, these companies are no longer accepting RUSH orders for gowns.

If you are waiting to order until closer to your wedding, you will have longer delivery times and most importantly your gown is going to cost more. We are beginning to receive letters from our manufacturers stating the price of goods out of China are going to increase 20 - 30% as soon as August 1st.

Weddings are stressful enough . . . don't delay in ordering your gown. There is no need for you to pay more or be needlessly worried about its delivery. I've included some links to articles regarding the situation in China.

Chinese Labor Shortages, US Problems

Denying Global Slump, China Has Labor Shortage

Companies Brace for End of Cheap Made-in-China Era

If it weren't for the articles, I'd think they were trying to scam brides, but this makes sense, so if you are in the market for a dress, you may want to order it a little early.

Bridesmaid Dresses!

Hey everyone,

My sister and I came to a quick decision once she tried on the right dress. We have decided to go with Alfred Sung dresses, made by the Dessy Group. Each bridesmaid gets to choose between the following 8 dresses, in peau de soie fabric (which I have found is just a fancy name for duchess satin). The color will be daffodil.



The store we went to, Demetrios (located in Troy, MI), offered us a 15% discount if we ordered all the dresses through them, even though each bridesmaid will order a different dress. This is pretty common but not necessarily a given--I called Konja's Bridal in Berkley, MI, which also carries the Alfred Sung line, and they only offer a volume discount on dresses over $200 (which these are not). The annoying thing about Demetrios--and I should have watched out for this--was that Kaleen, the saleslady, said she could only hold the discount open for five days--I had to pay for my sister's dress in order to reserve the discount for everyone else.

Here are the prices we got, for your reference:

Style # D434--originally $175, with 15% off is $148.75
Style # D435--originally $180, with 15% off is $153.00
Style # D436--originally $180, with 15% off is $153.00
Style # D437--originally $185, with 15% off is $157.25
Style # D438--originally $185, with 15% off is $157.25
Style # D439--originally $185, with 15% off is $157.25
Style # D440--originally $190, with 15% off is $161.50
Style # D441--originally $190, with 15% off is $161.50

Feedback from my ladies has been pretty positive, although one has mentioned that she had to make appointments at five stores to try on all the dresses, which I didn't anticipate. Hopefully the benefits of having so many choices outweigh the disadvantages.

Holiday Inn-oying

Has it ever taken you a half hour to make a hotel reservation? Jesse's wedding is coming up this August, and he and his fiancee blocked a group of rooms for their guests at a Holiday Inn, where their reception is. I think that's great--it will be so nice for out-of-town guests like me to just go upstairs after the reception. No one has to worry about drinking too much. No one has to worry about getting lost in a strange city.

However, the phone number Holiday Inn says to call to make reservations (1-800-465-4329) is, I am pretty sure, a call center in India.

I'm ok with that. Usually it does not make a difference to me. But they must have trained these people to keep you on the phone as long as possible. The lady I talked to insisted on reading me the details of the hotel and signing me up for their Rewards Points program (it was free), and after I booked the reservation, I got tricked into listening to a promotion for a $199 vacation at Disney World.

The real problem was that, since the wedding group rate was only available for the night of the wedding, they had me book two separate reservations--one for each night. It was absurd. I don't want to worry about having to change rooms and I want to have to re-check-in. Plus, they had the non-wedding group rate at $119/night. Online, it's $87. I pointed this out, and the lady dropped it down to $99/night. I agreed to that at the time, because I was in a hurry to get somewhere.

This morning, though, I decided to call the actual hotel in Nebraska, cancel my reservations, and redo it online. I pressed the button "2" to be connected with reservations and...it sent me back to India. This time I explained how frustrated I was, and said I wanted to redo my reservations. The guy I spoke to said that the $87 was the "nonrefundable advance purchase rate," meaning they would charge my credit card now (instead of after we checked out) and I can't back out and get a refund. I said that was fine, and he canceled the Friday night reservation and edited my previous reservation to cover both nights at the $87/night rate.

Lesson learned? I don't know. I think you want to try to book with the group rate if you can, because I think the bride and groom get some kind of deal if enough people book with them. And, as my friend Claire points out, if you're in the wedding block, you sometimes get event info and a welcome package in your room.

But I'm not sure how to avoid getting transferred away from the actual hotel's phone line. Maybe I should have called the actual hotel, and pressed "0" instead of "2" for reservations. There are so many, many benefits to having a wedding at a major hotel chain, particularly for out-of-town guests like me. But do all major hotel chains outsource their reservations?

Photographer = booked!

Yay! After much searching, Derek and I decided on:

Events to Remember.

• The owner, Aaron, is so personable that we talked for two hours. I felt like I was his only customer.
  
• And, he has no problem communicating through email! I had no idea how nice I would find this, but it's great.
  
• He was able to create our own special "package": $2950 for 9 hours of coverage, a 30-page album, a high-res dvd of all of our pictures, an engagement session, 2 parent albums, and a proofbook. From what I'm seeing, that's a pretty good deal.

Here are the other photographers we looked at:

Birch Photographers

• Met with Nicole, she seemed very nice.
• Package pricing can be found here.
• If you go with Birch Photographers and President Tuxedo, you get a $300 discount on the photography.
• Their standard albums weren't leather-bound; they had a photo cover. It was cool, but I like leather-bound better.
  
• Here's what bothered me about them: they contacted me after I entered a contest to win a package from them. Then, they kept calling me about tuxes afterward. That was annoying.
• I didn't get the personal feel from them that I got from Aaron. The lady I met with was a manager--I didn't meet with the photographer. I would have gotten to choose from 6 photographers, but it just felt so impersonal. There were too many gimmicks--for example, if I booked by June 30th, I would get a second photographer thrown in for FREE. Well, it's July now, and they still have that promotion going on...with the deadline being a month later.

Precious Memories Photography

• We didn't actually meet with anyone from here, but they looked reasonable in price and they got an award from theknot.com.
• I didn't like them because I found a picture on there of a groom pretending to smack his new wife's butt. That just turned me off right away.

Grant Isaac Studio

• He was expensive (started around $4000 for packages with an album), but he was Derek's friend and we would have considered him. However, it turns out that he and his wife might be moving to North Carolina!

Fotografz Wedding Photography

• I liked this guy because he had a lot of experience in Birmingham, but he was just too expensive (starting at about $4000 for packages with an album covering 8 hours).

So there's the scoop on photography. Now, on to the florist drama! And boy, is there drama. You just wait until you hear the issues that I never knew existed. Also coming soon: bridesmaid dress shopping. Stay tuned.

Love Love Love...

Swedish Crown Princess Victoria's on-the-shoulder wedding gown. Simple, elegant, grown-up.





I hope this style catches on.

Photo from CNN.com

The centerpieces for my June 4, 2011 wedding unveiled!

A few weekends ago, Derek and I decided to do a little experiment. I'm a big fan of potted flowers; I used to work at a garden store and I really don't like seeing cut flowers die. Derek is a big fan of not wasting money. So what to do for centerpieces? On May 15th, we bought some pots from Meijer--Derek wanted this dish style as opposed to a deeper pot, because he was adamant that the guests be able to see over the centerpieces to talk to each other. The pots are made by PSW Pots and made out of recycled material. The bigger one is shown in the color beige and is 10" in diameter; that pot was $3.99 at Meijer. The smaller one is in the color dark charcoal and is 8" in diameter for $2.99. I like the look of the dark pot better, so I think we'll go with that shade for the wedding, but Derek and I decided to do a mix of sizes.

We filled the pots with Miracle-Gro Potting Mix from Meijer.

We bought a flat of petunias from Bordine's Nursery, which was $15/flat on May 15th (remember they go down in price as Memorial Day passes). We mixed the colors called Deep Blue and (I think, but I'm not sure) Baby Duck Yellow, which is pretty close to our wedding colors. The 10" pot has eleven seedlings in it, and the 8" pot had seven.

I think they look great, don't you? Here's the "before" picture, so you can compare:



A few notes:

• We grew these from May 15th to June 4th in Michigan, so we had our fair share of both crappy weather, and really good weather
• These pots have no drainage holes. That is what we wanted--we didn't like the idea of dirt spilling through to the tablecloths at the wedding--but just remember that, if you do this, to watch the pots when it rains. If there is sitting water on top of the soil, gently tilt them so it can drain out.
• If you like the idea of the "Sky Blue" petunias that are out there, they aren't really that blue. They are more of a lavender. These Deep Blue petunias look bluer in the photos here than they really are--they are really a dark purple.
• Petunias need full sun, so keep them outside until the wedding
  

Peter Pan Inspiration Board

For those of you who are new to the blog, we like to "design" wedding schemes, called "Inspiration Boards." It's a compilation of ideas we think would make a cool wedding aesthetic. This one isn't for my own wedding, it's just for fun.

I've been meaning to do this one for a long time! Here are my ideas for a Peter Pan inspired wedding--a Tiger Lily bouquet, a pirate ship centerpiece, and skipping the white dress in favor of a frock in the hue of Wendy's signature nightgown. Another idea that I couldn't fit in here would be an invitation with a night time photo of Big Ben on it.

Top Row: color scheme from the Brides.com Color Studio, Tiger Lily bouquet off Flickr, Starry Night by Van Gogh, "Tinker Bell" dress by B2 Style # B3091 in honey dew
Bottom Row: Image from Brilliant Sunshine, "Wedding" gown by Belsoie Style # L3009 in powder blue, Pirate ship from piratemerch.com, John's top hat from Hats in the Belfry

Wedding band = booked!

Hey everyone! Derek and I had such an exciting weekend, and I'm gonna tell you all about it!

About a month ago, my mom started to get nervous about the wedding band. I was in those final few weeks before law school exams, so I couldn't really do anything, so my mom started calling around. It seems like the best way to do this, by the way, is by referral. Turns out she was right to be nervous. The first band she called (the band that played at my brother's friend's sister's wedding), happened to be booked more than 13 months in advance of the date! So this made my mom more nervous. But she eventually found a few more that were available June 4, 2011, and we decided to go listen to Chateau, which, incidentally, just won an award from theknot.

We emailed/talked on the phone back and forth with the director/manager Sid, and he said we could come watch them at a wedding at the Cherry Creek Golf Club in Shelby Twp., MI, as long as we were quiet and unobtrusive and dressed appropriately. So Derek and I headed off to "crash" our first wedding! (We get life points for that, right?)

Derek was worried that any band that wasn't a swing band would only play 2000s pop music, but when we walked in, they were playing "Sweet Caroline." Then they played "Build Me Up Buttercup," and I think Derek was sold. The band seemed to really keep party going very well, and they played a good variety of songs.

This little old couple struck up a conversation with us, too. I think they were a little tipsy because the husband mentioned four or five times that he had seen the band play before. They tried to get us to have a drink, but, being polite music-spies, we refused.

Anyway, Derek said "Yes" to the band (for the record, I like them too. I was more worried about Derek because he's kind of particular about his music), so I talked to Sid the next day. He said they were totally willing to learn "Little Surfer Girl" for me and my dad. He said he thought they could learn "Teach Your Children Well" for Derek and his mom, but he was wary of it because it's more of an acoustic guitar song, and the last time they learned a Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young song, it took them a very long time and no one ever requested the song again. But he said he'd try, since they have a year. And if they can't, they can play it on CD--apparently this is common (they have a DJ to play during the breaks).

The basic package, then, is $4650 for a 6 piece band, which, from calling around, is a GREAT deal--I haven't seen anything else under $6000 (see below for some other packages we found--prices are never posted online, and it's frustrating, and I want to give readers an idea of what they're looking at if they want a live band).
You get four hours of band time (the DJ plays during breaks), and up to one hour before the music starts, they will handle all the introductions and MC stuff. Sid said we could add more time, but usually this is enough. He also said we could add a saxophone for $450, but it's really not necessary.

Derek and I talked about it, then talked to my parents (they have graciously offered to pay for the band). Everyone said yes, so I let Sid know ASAP, and we're set!

* The wedding we spied on was at Cherry Creek Golf Club in Shelby Twp., MI. It's a beautiful facility--the reception hall opens onto these beautiful rolling green hills. The older gentleman we talked to, who liked to express his amazement at the cost of weddings these days, said that he heard the food was around $100/plate. Major downside: TWO weddings going on at the SAME TIME! And they weren't even on opposite sides of the building--they were right next door to each other. I would die!

**Other bands we talked to:
Intrigue
8 piece band @ $6500
11 piece band @7500
Based on 4 hours with full band, 2 twenty minute breaks with DJ service, Introductions, First Dance, & cake cutting

The Dan Rafferty Band
$6500 for the "jazz group" which is either a 5 piece band with keyboards, sax, bass, guitar & drum or a 3 piece with keyboards, sax, and bass.
This is for 6 hours with the jazz group, DJ and full band.
Willing to learn any new songs.

Hey all,
Haven't updated in a while, Lily and I got busy, and we apologize. However, we expect to pick it up soon, with more interesting research and articles about our experiences with weddings! I've got one wedding to attend this summer, and two in the fall, so you can bet I'll have a lot to say.

As far as my wedding goes, nothing much has happened since we bought my dress last month. It looks like we're going to check out some bands in the next coming weeks--one is already booked for June 4, 2011! I don't think we should panic yet, though. This one we're going to see next week, Chateau, sounds like it'll be pretty good.

Here's a wedding predicament for you to think about. My cousin booked her venue at an outdoor location for this coming September, only now, the Catholic priest who was going to do the wedding has told her that Catholics generally can't get married outside. I knew that was the case, but I assumed the priest knew and just agreed to do it outside anyway--plus, some dioceses are more liberal than others. I know my Catholic aunt was allowed to marry my Jewish uncle in a hotel, and Father Burke presided, saying anything was better than losing a Catholic.

So what do you do in this situation? Should they stick with the venue (Waters Mill, in Dahlonega, GA) and get a Methodist or Episcopal minister (the groom is not Catholic; my cousin is), or move the wedding to a church?

Wedding Dress Sketches

Hello all,

I was just sitting in my Social Justice class where we were discussing women and marriage. If you know me, you know that I think best by drawing through things, and so, my pen began wandering across the page. The next thing you know, I had a collection of wedding gowns!

The veils at the top and bottom turned out rather poorly, but hey, this is a doodle!

Enjoy the art!

Dresses

It happens all the time in movies. Or at least trashy romance novels. Girl swears she will never have anything to do with Guy. Girl meets Guy, argues with Guy...but then realizes she has fallen in love. Eventually she admits it, and everyone lives happily ever after.
I fell in love with a strapless A-line ballgown. It didn't want to, I swear. It just happened. But you have to admit when you're wrong.
I was wrong. Not in that strapless wedding dresses are overdone--they still are. But I was wrong to care about that. The only thing that matters (other than your budget) is how you feel in that dress. And if it's the most bridal wedding dress that has ever existed, like mine, so be it. I will no longer condemn brides for their choices in wedding attire, though I will still praise those who take the road less traveled (just WAIT until you see Andrea's dress).
I still think that brides should be open-minded about different kinds of straps and silhouettes. It doesn't have to be strapless to be special. It just has to be yours.

My dress is made of white taffeta and is A-line in shape. The bodice is corset-style, with pleats across the bust and a straight neckline. The skirt has a basque waistline, with box pleats in the back that I am WILD about. Because Derek reads this from time to time, I won't post the pictures of me in the dress up here, but they are available upon request.

I do think I'm going to add spaghetti straps to my dress, and take out the tulle underneath the skirt to make it less full, however, my sentiment about the strapless A-line dresses remains the same.

The chicken or the egg?

My wedding dress hunt has come down to two options. I do like one better, but only barely. The issue is whether to choose that dress, or choose the second dress because it fits in more with the time of year and style of the wedding (do not be alarmed--it is only a very close second place; I feel like a princess just as much in Dress #2, notwithstanding my long-held belief that "Princess comes from the inside").

Naturally, I conferred with my friends and bridesmaids, who, on the whole, seemed astounded that I would consider choosing Dress #2. To them, The Dress comes before the wedding, and the whole wedding should be designed to accommodate The Dress.

I loved Dress #1, but it really called for a Victorian-style wedding with its soft style and ornate beading. I can't see that kind of wedding being representative of "Me and Derek." Dress #2 fits in much more with what I had in mind, its clean lines and simplicity aligning with my idea of a summery, fresh affair.

What do you think? Which comes first: The Dress, or your Wedding Style? Or is it personal preference?

More Bridal Shop Reviews

1. Bella Bridal. Date: March 13, 2010. Shopping for: wedding gowns. Location: West Bloomfield, MI.
Wonderful store. The staff was so nice and patient, particularly Sonia and Ellen. I wanted to buy my dress there just because I liked them so much.
But I was disappointed with the trunk show. There wasn't anything to it: they just had an extra rack of dresses, ostensibly from Mon Cheri's latest line. But they didn't even have all of the gowns in the Spring 2010 collection--the one Mon Cheri uses in a lot of advertisements that I've seen, Keegan, wasn't even there. In any event, I didn't find the dress of my dreams (although I think my grandma did).

2. The Wedding Shoppe. Date: March 13, 2010. Shopping for: wedding gowns. Location: Berkley, MI.
This is a nice store. It's a little crowded, and the seamstress had to fill in for my designated consultant for a while because it was so busy, but I did get attention. I found at least four gorgeous dresses. I can't show you, because, according to the consultant, The Wedding Shoppe only uses private collections, so none of them are advertised publicly "because the designers want to spend their money focusing on quality." I know, it sounds like baloney. I did ask the consultant for the designers' names, and the designers do have websites, but the particular dresses aren't on there. Hopefully they're not scamming customers by tricking them into believing their buying a designer dress when they aren't. Next time I will ask for the specific name of the style. It's possible that the designers really do have "private collections" or, as my friend Andrea pointed out to me, those particular styles are just old.
In any event, I loved their selection, and their dresses make up my top two. And readers, I give you fair warning...I may have been wrong about the whole strapless dress thing...but I suppose it's good to admit when you were wrong, right? But let's just say I may end up with the plainest, most-bridal bridal gown of all time...and I might love it. More on that when a purchase is made, I'm going to wait for Bridal Fashion Week this April to see if anything better catches my eye.

Several Bridal Shop Reviews

I forgot that part of why we started this blog was to review the wedding planning experience! So here are a few shops I've been to recently:

1. Demetrios. Date: early January 2010. Shopping for: wedding gowns. Location: Troy, MI (although they have several other stores around the country)
Demetrios was not too bad. The staff was very attentive, and great at suggesting gowns that I didn't think I'd like, but turned out to be great. I would go again if they had had THE dress, but for the most part my mom and I found Demetrios dresses to be too gaudy, particularly for a summer wedding.

2. Alan Ray Bridal. Date: January 30, 2010. Shopping for: wedding gowns. Location: Columbus, OH.
Very good store, the saleslady was very patient with me, and very attentive. She also let me and Theresa roam the store to pick out whatever we wanted for me to try on. They didn't have a huge selection, but Theresa and I did like the gowns they had, particularly the Maggie Sottero ones (I don't think it's just me--Maggie Sottero makes great gowns that seem to make every girl happy). They take very good care of their store--you are asked to take your shoes off when you enter the bridal salon.

3. Aria Bridesmaid Try-On Program. Date: March 6, 2010. Shopping for: bridesmaid dresses. Location: Lititz, PA (but it could be anywhere--read on an I'll explain).
This is a great program. Aria only has retail stores in DC, Boston, and LA. Since it is difficult for some to get out there to try on their beautiful, well-made gowns, Aria has a program where they send a potential customer dresses to try on at $15 each. You get to keep the dress for a few days and then you have to mail it back. Andrea ordered a bigger size so all of the bridesmaids would fit in it (so we didn't have to order two dresses for each girl), and we used potato chip bag clips to hold the smaller girls in. Unfortunately, neither style that we tried on was well-loved, but it's good to know that this program is out there.

4. Enchanted Evening. Date: March 6, 2010. Shopping for: bridesmaid dresses. Location: Lebanon, PA.
Great store! They are very careful with their merchandise; for example, I was not allowed to hold the gown until I had to put it on--the saleslady held it outside the dressing room and then passed it to me through the curtain once I was undressed. This makes sense--as the saleslady explained, when many people try on a dress, it can get snagged or ripped.
Additionally, Enchanted Evening offered a 20% discount if 5 or more bridesmaids ordered from them! On a $200 dress, that's a lot! (For those of you who are interested, Andrea ended up choosing this dress from Avalon Bridal for her bridesmaids, which we really do all love. It will be in dark red, with the sash being the same color).

5. Alfred Angelo. Date: March 6, 2010. Shopping for: wedding gowns and bridesmaid dresses. Location: Lancaster, PA (although Alfred Angelo has several stores around the country).
I wish I had more good things to say about this store. My appointment started almost a half hour late (admittedly, it was a Saturday, and I understand they were busy) and the sales lady was particularly pushy. She kept pushing me to name one dress "THE dress", when, to be honest, none of them were even close. The wedding gowns felt cheaply made; none of them felt right.
The bridesmaid dresses were not too bad, though. No sales lady was needed for my girls to try them on, so I think they had fun, and we found some good dresses. Although--another demerit for our saleslady--we asked her what fabric one dress was made of, and she said chiffon. We didn't believe her, so we looked it up in the catalog, and it was crepe (good job Kristy, sticking to your guns!).
So overall, the Alfred Angelo store did not leave a great impression on me. I liked their bridesmaid dresses,* but their wedding gowns and salespeople were below par.

That's all for now, but there's more to come! I'm headed to the Mon Cheri Trunk Show at Bella Bridal this weekend in West Bloomfield, MI and then I have an appointment at The Wedding Shoppe in Berkley, MI. I'm having so much fun planning this wedding (and helping in all my friends' weddings), and I hope you all enjoy reading the blog and following along.


*I may still end up with Alfred Angelo dresses for my bridesmaids--my sister likes their designs, but she is in Argentina on study abroad right now, and I don't want to make any decisions until she can try something on.

Wedding Dress Exhibit

For any readers near Detroit, the Somerset Mall is currently showcasing more than 20 dresses from movies set in several time periods; it's a really fascinating exhibit. For example, I learned that these are pagoda sleeves:

The exhibit has all the wedding dresses from the movies made from Jane Austen's novels, my favorite dress being Emma's:

This is the long-awaited post on using veggies for a wedding theme! I settled on tomato and basil as the central combination, which sets the theme for both the decorations and the menu. To accent the red and green, I chose a rich wine color. Enjoy!

Credits:

Bridesmaid dress:

http://www.dessy.com/dresses/bridesmaid/2748/?color=bordeaux&colorid=6

Margherita pizza:

http-https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQRcjdTewFEoYlWC5LSSh0c5jcuiZDQCfSIiAEGWIcpycy6NArEY_3wxEUV_Otk3hntGJZb61Qiy1jc-y4KSzDTfX3ALrwhNSqCTOxnJ5WRzA_pfClA6OMcwHnRw0UDo9M6ZPZekPkJg7R/s1600/lucali-margherita-brooklyn-nyt

Basket of tomatoes and basil:

http-//nadiaknowsgardens.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/tomato-and-basil-2008

Wedding dress:

http://www.maggiesottero.com/dress.aspx?style=AD3395

Rings:

http://www.greenlakejewelry.com/n_gallery3.asp

Calla lily bouquet:

http://www.southernbouquets.com/50.html?sm=14519

Boutonniere:

http-//media.theknot.com/ImageStage/Objects/0003/0049499/large_image

Invitations:

http-//www.weddingpaperdivas.com/product/5180/signature_white_wedding_invitations_vintage_vines.html#color/03

Seed Packets:

http-//www.naturehills.com/product_images/thumbnails/Tomato_pole_brandywine

http-//www.gardensnob.com/pictures/51Qq719F1aL._SL500_AA280_

Basil Plant:

http-//www.nandyala.org/mahanandi/images/basilspinachpasta/basilimagecopyrighted1

Tomato Plant:

http://nami-nami.blogspot.com/2007/09/just-food-photo-cherry-tomatoes.html

Things

Things I do not like:
1. People who use the U-Scan and then pay with a personal check
2. Radio stations that play car horn and siren sounds while I'm driving
3. STRAPLESS A-LINE WEDDING GOWNS!!!!

I love my cousin. And she picked out a beautiful dress. But while beautiful, it is also strapless and A-Line, and consequently, looks like EVERY OTHER WEDDING DRESS I'VE EVER SEEN.
Here it is:

Like I said, beautiful dress. But I'd like to reiterate my agreement with Lily's post from last year. Since starting this blog, Lily and I have come to think of ourselves as wedding critics, and that sometimes entails pointing out things we don't like. Choosing a strapless A-Line dress is like choosing white bread toast for breakfast.

Yes, there was a time when I would have been sucked into this. My friend Claire is probably going to call me out after reading this, because sometime in college we all picked out wedding dresses that we liked best, and I am pretty sure mine was a strapless, A-Line lace thing. Claire saved pictures of the ones we picked.

But I have seen the light. My wedding dress will at least have spaghetti straps, or maybe an off-the-shoulder neckline. Here is one I have tried on and liked:


My friends are probably surprised by this. I really was one of those girls who wanted that princess ballgown. I, too, thought something like this would be more my style:


But when Theresa and I went to a shop to try it on, it turned out to be just too poofy. Maybe it's because I'm rather short, but the A-line skirt just didn't do it for me. It was difficult to move around in, and I didn't like the feel of the stiff filler material under the dress that gives the skirt that body.

My current favorite designer is Mon Cheri. I'll be heading to a trunk show next month, and you can be sure I'll blog about the experience. I'll probably write a short article on my experience at the Demetrios store as well. Stay tuned!

Winter Olympics

Fruitastic Centerpieces

One of the ways I deal with long, cold, midwestern winter is by dreaming about everything summer. Lily and I LOVE the idea of bowls of fruit or vegetables as centerpieces. They're tasty, and seasonal, and inexpensive.
If I was using red in my color scheme, bowls of tomatoes would certainly adorn my tables; my dad has grown them in his garden since before I was born.
And what says summer more than citrus?

The best part is, fruits and vegetables can go with any time of year, as long as you pick a seasonal fruit. How about some crisp McIntosh apples from a local orchard for an October wedding? Or pears in the winter?

Edible centerpieces don't end with produce. Gingerbread houses at Christmas time? Or, if you're opting for cupcakes instead of a traditional cake, how about buying or making small cupcake stands, and having your dessert double as your centerpiece?

Keep an eye out for Lily's next post...she's taken the tomato idea and ran with it!

Wedding glasses

With the advent of contact lenses, few women I know would wear glasses in their wedding. This issue recently came up on the Martha Stewart Weddings blog, but I can't think of any reason for a bride to wear glasses. Why would you disguise your eyes, and obstruct the pictures?
What do you think, readers? Maybe some of you out there could find an example of wedding-appropriate glasses, but I'm not sold. Let me know what you find!

Winter weddings

One of the best things about studying here is Saturday, when they have back-to-back weddings at the Basilica on campus. Today I was walking across the main part of campus, and saw a happy newlywed couple taking pictures. So, being a dedicated amateur wedding blogger, I walked way out of my way to see the couple up close.

The bride looked beautiful, in an ivory gown that had a lacy pattern to it, a lace wrap with a fur stole over it (foot and a half of snow on the ground here!), and a veil to the elbows. Her bouquet was a round arrangement of cream roses with greenery. The groom was wearing a tux, without tails, which went well with his bright red hair!

They were very cute, but I think if I were arranging a winter wedding in a snowy locale, I would opt for a bright white dress. This would match the snow! Plus, since this bride's stole was bright white, it must be hard to find important winter accessories in ivory.

In addition to the ways which Daisy enumerated in the poll, a winter wedding would be especially beautiful because of the simplicity of the snowy landscape. Dark bare trees, bright white snow, and winterberry bushes! The perfect color combination for a very sophisticated looking wedding.

Winter weddings poll

The best thing about having your wedding in the winter is...
--pretty icicles and newly fallen snow
--the savings realized by selecting an off-season for venues
--the opportunity to get away to a tropical destination wedding
--coinciding a wedding with Valentine's Day is just so romantic

What are your favorite things about winter weddings?