Big News!

Check back tomorrow for some big news. It's had me smiling for 2 days straight!

That Bridesmaid Bree

Bridesmaid Bree and I are sisters. Except we have different moms. And different dads. But our moms are sister. And our dads are brothers. So we are basically, genetically, the same. We've never lived further than half an hour away from each other and so I have just always known her. We took bubble baths together and posed in big giant hats.

MOH Sissie making an early appearance, myself, with Bridesmaid Bree on the right.

Growing up with a double cousin who is as awesome, hot, adventurous and outrageous as Bree is something I would highly reccomend. It means that we get to see her at any and every family father. Going to the grandparents who own a dairy? Bree is there. Going to see the grandparents who are ranchers? Hey look Bree is there again. It means we got twice the memories, and twice the amount of fun together.

Seriously, MOH Sissie needs to get her own post. But I think this demonstrates how inseperable we all were. When I wasn't thinking I was too grownup to hang out with Joe and Moe, as we affectionately nicknamed them.

Bridesmaid Lova is the passionate one, but Bridesmaid Bree is the outrageous one. She will do anything and everything. I love how comfortable she is in her own skin, and her ability to bond and make friends with people is incredible. I think she can make almost anyone feel comfortable chatting with her.

If I were giving out awards, Bree would definitely win the prize for "most supportive brideslave". When I was agonizing over dress choices, she was texting me telling me that she would wear anything I chose. She has been so supportive of every decision I have made so far, and I know that I can always call her if I am ever feeling crazy and she will calm me down.


Obviously, Bridesmaid Bree and I are a good pair because we can be ourselves when we are around each other. It wouldn't be the same wedding without her.

Tomorrow this little series wraps up with MOH Sissie.

That Bridesmaid Lova

We almost didn't meet because I had labeled her and her roommates as snotty and bratty. What a mistake I was judging someone before I knew them better! Then her roomies left me a sweet note that made me rethink my previous harsh ways. After I gave her a chance I realized how wrong I had been. She has influenced my life in every way possible since that time.

Why do I call her Lova? It was her old email address. And it describes her so well. She's compassionate and sweet and probably the single nicest person I know. She also isn't afraid to be completely crazy in the spur of the moment. Seriously, Bridesmaid Lova has done some pretty crazy stuff, and most of the crazy things I did in college were done with her by my side. She gets so wrapped up in the moment sometimes, it's hard for her to do anything but let it all out and show how she is really feeling. I LOVE that about her!


Lova is also a genius. Below you will find her playing guitar and doing her math homework at the same time. And making straight A's. She won't admit to it but she is incredibly smart. And she is an amazing dancer. And she loves to play the guitar. And she loves making movies and riding bikes like I do. Whenever we watch a movie, I want to be sitting by her so that we can critique and analyze the entire thing together.


Basically, Lova is a lover or a hater. She either loves something with every fiber of her being or she absolutely despises it. She's very passionate about things. And she loves love.


Bridesmaid Lova is getting hitched herself on Tuesday! (Does this make her a Bridesmatron [she will always be a brideslave]) Getting married the same time as your best friend is a great idea because she will exist as someone who always wants to talk wedding with you. I don't even care if we talk about my wedding. Anything wedding related makes me happy.

I can't believe she is getting married already, and I will miss living with her. I know she is going to be so happy with Mr. Lova and they will make the cutest babies together.

And since I know that all of you will love looking at these as much as I did, here are some of her engagement pictures and "groomals" (Is there any other place in the world where groomals happen?) If you have never heard of them before, or you don't understand why anyone would do them, let me know and I will explain!

Please credit Mack Photography for making my best friend look so gorgeous in the photos below!

Bridesmaid Bree is up next.

P.S.-Except a whole bunch of photos from Bridesmaid Lova's wedding to go up after next weekend. I know she has some really cute stuff planned!

That Bridesmaid Maggie

Bridesmaid Maggie and I can't remember how we became friends. We were roommates for 5 years straight and during all of this time we have never been able to pin it down. I remember the first time I saw her, but beyond that it remains a fun mystery for us to reminiscence about and try to solve together.

We were what I like to think of as fast friends. Probably because I was one of her only friends. Not that she wasn't completely cool and awesome like she is now, but because she was going to school full time, working at Nordstrom, and teaching dance at 4 AM in the morning or something crazy like that. We were pretty bummed when we had to say goodbye to each other for the Summer after Freshman year was over.


Another reason I love Maggie is because of all of the fun friends she has intorduced me to throughout the years. We have one mutual friend in common who is probably the funnest person I know.


Bridesmaid Maggie loves to have her picture taken. I have been known to enjoy a good photo session or two myself, and it's nice to always have someone with you who will take lots of self portraits with you, and also isn't afraid to model while you practice your amateur photography and photoshop skills. I am willing to bet that their will be more pictures of her than any other bridesmaid. Which is okay because isn't she just hot?



By far my favorite thing about Bridesmaid Maggie is that she loves to eat healthy like I do! She works out harder than anyone I know, and she is always willing to answer fitness related questions I might have for her.



I love Bridesmaid Maggie so much and I am so grateful for the sacrifice of time and money she is making to fly up to Washington for my wedding. I know that she and I will stay close even through my move to Poland. I'm so lucky to have a friend like her.

Tomorrow you will get to meet Bridemaid Lova. A bride-to-be herself getting married on July 1st (this Tuesday, I can't believe it!)

That Bridesmaid Beni Bop

Guilty pointed out to me that this post doesn't describe how I met Bridesmaid Beni Bop and so I thought I would add on and let you know how we were introduced. My first memory of her is a funny one. I was over at a friends house with another Bridesmaid, and this frantic girl was running around yelling about her college applications. The time was probably somewhere around 9 or 10 pm and she had college applications due by midnight. We had never seen each other before, and I know she was thinking "Who is this girl hanging out with all of my friends that I have never seen before?", but it was a fun night trying to help her figure out what to write.

That Summer she lived with my roommate while I was home for the Summer, and 6 months after that she moved in next door to us with a girl who had a turtle and wore sweatshirts to church. We've lived together ever since.


Bridesmaid Beni Bop has the most infectious laugh you could possibly imagine. If I could bottle it up and sell it to those who are having a rough day, I think I could make a fortune.

Photo by Shaylene Rene'

She also has the ability to switch easily between the blondest blond and the darkest brunette looking equally gorgeous both ways.


She has let me borrow her shoes multiple times, she provided our apartment with big screen TV, and when I first bought my darling little car Abbie she went out with me to help me learn how to drive the stick shift a little better.


Due to her working schedule, she definitely puts up with the most wedding talk since we are always online at the same time. She's always gives such great advice, and she has such terrific fashion sense I know I can always go to her with some type of fashion related dilemma. I just love her!

Next up Bridesmaid Maggie.

That Bridesmaid Zu

My brideslaves should be getting something in the mail rather soon, and so I decided that it was about time to play "Meet Those Bridesmaids". It took me a while to figure out how to introduce them, as I like to have a certain order to things, and so I decided to let you meet them in reverse order of how I met them (that is, from shortest relationship to longest). After this is over you will see why I am going to have to work extra hard to look all hot on my wedding day, I am surrounding myself with some really gorgeous women!

First up is Bridesmaid Zu, my future sister-in-law.

We have only known each other for a few hours in this photo, but already we are bonding. I think our relationship started off so well because we both love food so much. That Groom has told me many stories about how that girl can eat!

I really hope that Bridesmaid Zu will be able to attend the wedding, I have already offered to write many letters to the people who give out the visas (the feds have been taking my money saliciously out of my paycheck for years, it's the least they can do), because apparently it is going to be a difficult process for her to get one. Cross your fingers for us!


I leave you with one of the greatest sets of photos ever. Bridesmaid Zu and I were playing one of the best games ever invented, the "Make the Face You Would Make" game. Have people stand in front of the camera, and the person behind the lens yells out situations. The posers then make the face they would make if that situation was to come true. Try to guess which faces correspond to the following situations: if That Groom showed up in Poland, if we saw Santa Clause standing in front of us, and if we saw a dwarf in the middle of the field.




Next up, Bridesmaid Beni Bop.

Shower Game

Etiquettely Correct is one smart girl. I love her right now.

Photo from flickr

In her own words:

So my idea is - what if the host of the bridal shower asked everyone to bring their wedding album and they were displayed at the shower? Or perhaps, everyone could bring their favorite wedding picture to the host, the host could display those and then the guests could guess whose wedding it was? It wouldn't necessarily have to be a picture of the bride or couple. It could be their flowers, their favorite wedding detail, their bridesmaid's dresses . . . If a guest isn't married, they could bring a favorite wedding thing that they have seen recently.

How is this not done at every bridal shower? It's such a fantastic idea, and I LOVE the idea of seeing the weddings of all the ladies who will most likely come to my shower. I can't get enough wedding. It's a hunger I can never satiate. Maybe seeings some sweet 50's style and some awesome 80's fashion will do the trick! I already sent an email to my "bridal shower coordinator". We'll see if she takes me up on the idea!

Suiting Up

It took me a few months, around 6 stores, and a couple dozen dresses to find a dress that I love. That Groom only needed 2 stores and 2 hours to find his suit. Such is life.

We decided that buying a suit would be better than renting a tux, as we are regular church goers and he would be able to wear it weekly if he so desired. Even if he doesn't ever wear it to church, he will still be able to wear it to the corporate functions he has every once in awhile.

When I realized that the Nordstrom men's sale was coming up, I knew that this was my chance to get him into suit shopping mode. I think the entire planning process feels a little early to him (after all, we have had many conversations revolving around why a wedding can't be planned in one day, because he apparently thinks this is possible), but I emphasized that this sale only happens twice a year and he agreed to go after checking out the selection online.


Looking for ideas online was a really good choice because he walked into the store with some idea of what he liked. We zeroed in on anything black, pinstripe, with 2-buttons. We made the mistake of going to Nordstrom before we went to any other stores, big mistake because once you experience their customer service it is hard to want to shop anywhere else. We didn't want to make our decision too quickly and we we decided to look throughout the rest of the mall for other options.

Our only other choice was Macy's, and since it was the day before Father's Day we had a whole lot of options on sale. This was the first suit he tried on, and we both thought "Meh." It was a nothing suit. I think it would have been around $250 with the pants, but it was so dull.

bleh
We went back and forth, half-heartedly about the suit below for a few minutes. Both of us knowing how much money we would save, both of us hating it compared to the Nordstrom option. It was just....ok. It would work, but it would probably just hang in the closet for a few years until he doesn't fit into it any longer.

This tie taught me I want something darker. With gold overtones.


Enter the doors of Nordstrom. "Hello, how are you, how may we help you?" Smile. Breath a sigh of relief.

We tracked down our salesmen friend and told him we were back and ready to try it on one last time before we made the big purchase. I can't believe how great it fits him right off the rack.

Doesn't he just look so sexy in this picture? Well, as sexy as a headless man can look.



I'm relieved that this is behind us. Now I just have to be getting on him to go back in and get the alterations done.

What is everyone else doing? Suit or Tux? Where did you buy it? I'm thinking pocket squares instead of boutonnieres......

Spreading the STD's

So in my circle of friends, along with the bride buying the bridesmaid dress, we also don't do this whole Save The Date thing. I think it's because normally mormons don't have very long engagements (some as little as 4-6 weeks!), and since the ceremony is usually limited to about 30 people, not a lot of people fly all over the country just to attend a 2 hour reception. In fact, the soiree I am planning is quite the extravagant affair in terms of what people are used to. So, to get to the point, an STD really wasn't something I was planning on passing around, as it was an extra cost and not something I had seen done before.

Apparently this whole "planning a wedding without being engaged" thing is really throwing people off, because I can have an entire conversation with someone, talking about things like the dress and the hotel and the food, and they will still ask me if we are still planning on getting married on October 11th.

The answer, if you didn't know, is yes.

So, I sent these out. Nothing fancy, whipped up in photoshop rather quickly, but they look a lot like engagement photos, which should do the trick very nicely.



The reaction so far has been great, and I think everyone got the message. I hope the confusion is a thing of the past.

Great Shot Puman Bean!

I am loving this shot by Punam Bean. Doesn't it perfectly capture the feeling of swimming through your dress and emerging on the other side? The way the anticipation begins to build as you make your way through. I love the moment when I emerge and the dress is zipped up and I just feel...... pretty.

It was so interesting to hear all of your responses to the question I posed concerning who buys the bridesmaid dress. In my "circle", whether that be my religious circle or my regional circle I can't decide, the bride buys the dresses for the bridesmaids.

When I brought the idea of changing things around up to my Mom she was not happy with the idea of asking the girls to buy their own. This is the one planning aspect where exposure to the outside world has had a negative effect on me. It's difficult to look at my wedding budget and see how much money I will be spending on dresses that I just like, don't love, all because I can't afford to get anything better. It's hard to spend X amount on a dress, when I really want to spend that money on other fun gifts and things I would like to give to my girls.

The good news is, I think we found something that will work.

I have been searching for bridesmaid dresses like mad. Combing the internet over for anything that might work. I ordered 7 dresses from Target and 2 from Charlotte Russe that I thought might work, and after a fun round of dress modeling for That Groom and some confirmation from the bridesmaids, I think we have found something that will work.

I love the ivory dress. Yes I know that some brides would gasp at the idea of having other people in "white" on their wedding day. That is a silly idea. I am going to look the best on my wedding day. No $50 dress from Target is going to outshine my $$$$ Watters dream of a dress. I like that this one "breaks the rules" a little bit. I am not sure if the neckline is too wide (any thoughts from those who are endowed?) Gold shoes would complete the look.

As you can tell, I love the pockets on the black dress. It's simple and cute and it's something I know the girls will wear over and over. The neckline is just a little bit unique, and I anticipate it being flattering on every body. At $35, it's hard to pass up. A gold belt to replace the black one, and gold/black shoes to make things all sexy and such.
(Any readers from Royal High School think it is strange that I am dressing my bridesmaids in our high school colors?)

Any votes? I actually think we have a decision already, but I love hearing everyone's feedback! (oh and the pink shoes were a possibility for a wedding I will be starring participating in the first week of July, sadly they have to be returned due to an annoying clicking sound produced whenever I take a step)

Impatient.

My ring is sized and ready to go. Apparently it is really made of platinum, not white gold. So we paid $ for a ring worth $$. It's a nice feeling. I think it might be kind of big. Oops. Apparently my fingers lost some weight as well.

It looks so beautiful. I'm not posting photos of it until you can really see it on my finger (meaning I am engaged).

That Groom thinks it's funny to fake me out (Jim Halpert style, faking out Pam on The Office all season), and he really enjoys getting down on one knee as often as he can. I back away from him and yell at him to stop. I know some think it is romantic, but I don't want to be proposed to when I am wearing my sweats doing the dishes.


This is getting ridiculous.

Crazy For Craigslist

In my last post, I taught you how to use Google Reader to create feeds, and in this one I am going to teach you how to combine the power of feeds with the power of Craigslist. Using a site called crazedlist.org, you can "search craigslist like a madman".

On the homepage, enter in the description of the item you would like. For our purposes today we are going to be searching for my wedding dress, the "Watters 9055B". Unless you are searching for an exact item try to be a little bit specific, a little bit general. You may have to try a few different searches to find the right description. Select the sale/wanted category, set a price range (if you would like to keep from finding $10,000 used wedding dresses you can't afford), and check the "pics" box if you only want search results with pictures (I highly recommend this option).

Then scroll down and check all of the different areas you would like to search in. That is why this website is so fantastic, you can search the entire United States for something very specific if you would like. I am going to select every region available, and try my luck in finding a seller who would be willing to ship the dress to me.

After you have checked all of the area boxes hit "search". You will be able to scroll through all of the results in the different regions you checked earlier, but this isn't even the best part! Click on the orange button, "Get RSS Feeds". Right click on the blue underlined "this link" and choose to "save link as". Go down to the file name, and change the letters "cgi" to "opml". I save each of these to my desktop, and then delete them later.

Now open up Google Reader and click on "Settings" in the top righthand corner. Choose "Import/Export", click browse, and find the file you just saved on your computer. After you hit "upload" Google Reader will load it into your reader. Now, any time a wedding dress listed as Watter 9055B is listed on craigslist anywhere in the country, I will know about it automatically any time I open up Google Reader to read my newest updated feeds.

I have so many feeds set up for all kinds of things on Craigslist. I hope this works out as well for you as it has for me!

Feed Your Blog Hunger With Google Reader

I am sure that most readers are already using some type of system to get their daily dose of blog goodness, but if you are still clicking on individual links to check your favorite blogs every day let me introduce you to your new best friend: Google Reader.

For those who are new to the concept, the idea of a feed reader can be a little bit difficult to understand, but once you get the hang of it, I promise you will never go back! Whenever you are on a blog or website that you like, look up in the top righthand corner of the address bar (the place where you enter in the web address) and you should see a little orange symbol. Click on it.

A frame will load above your webpage asking you to select which service you would like to use to read the "feed" you are subscribing to. I am a google fanatic, so of course I would suggest using Google Reader! The next screen will ask you to confirm that you would like to add the specified feed to your reader.

The next screen you see will looks something like this:



Now, whenever the site you subscribed to updates with a new post, you will automatically know about it. As you become more and more familiar with the site, you will learn little tips and tricks that will help you to manage your time (and maybe even be able to squeeze the reading of more blogs into your schedule!) If you have any questions about this, please let me know by commenting below!

We're Falling in Love to Half Time

The first dance photos that I see phtoographers posting are always some of my favorite. I know that some couples walk away from the experience saying it was awkward and stressful, but there is still a part of me that wants to try to experience that magical moment when everything melts away and it is just the two of you.

So after weeks of bringing it up, I finally was able to convince That Groom to take some dancing lessons with me. I left messages on the Dallas boards of both theknot.com and weddingbee but I wasn't having any luck finding any suggestions other than Arthur Murray Dance studio (which forces you to sign up for lesson packages that run somewhere around $110/hour for 5 lessons minimum). With That Groom's hectic work schedule, and my limited time left in Dallas, we don't have time to take more than 2 or 3 lessons. I finally turned to google local and stumbled on the website of Beata Howe. I emailed her, and she got right back in touch with me and was willin to go back and forth with me a few times to find a time that worked for both of us.

We were both a little bit nervous because I couldn't find any ratings or anything that talked about her. She could have been completely crazy and had no idea what she was doing. This, however, was not anything close to what she was really like.

Dancing with giant blob head man is so romantic....

Beata was patient and clear and nothing short of wonderful. That Groom was feeling really stressed about his work that day, but I think by the end of the lesson he was even enjoying himself a little bit. He even assured her right then and there that we would be back for another lesson!

We won't be having any type of choreographed dance, but these lessons are helping us feel more comfortable moving together and we won't have to do the 8th grade sway for the big first dance. We will most likely be doing the foxtrot, unless we fall in love with a song with a waltz tempo. A few spins, a dip to finish things off.... I think it's going to be a real crowd pleaser!

What song are you doing your first dance to? Any suggestions for songs we should use for ours?

Cory Parris is here for You, Seattle Brides

I subscribe to every single photographer feed I can find. This has meant that I need to divide my photographer feeds into folders, the first being photographer daily, and the second being the master file which I browse through whenever I have some extra time on my hands to look for inspiration (brides, I assure you, looking at other weddings is the absolute best way to get ideas, Martha can always make it look fantastic in the wedding, but how can it be executed in the real world?)



Cory Parris just got moved to my daily feed list due to his newest endeavor to document the event spaces available in Seattle. His website, Seattle Weddings Online, has so much great information, I am not even sure where to begin.


Here is the post that tipped me off to what he is doing, with a link list to 21 different weddings he has shot. He uses these posts to really show what the venue looked like at each wedding. Hotel 1000 isn't on here, but many of the places I was seriously considering before I booked are shown.


He is also creating a website called Seattle Wedding Guide which has all of the venue photos, plus vendors that his brides have recommended.


I think that Cory seems like a vendor who really cares about his brides, and I appreciate the time and effort he is putting into making wedding planning a little bit easier. Cory also happens to be a really great photographer, if you are a Seattle bride, take a look at his blog here.

Bride and Groom Cakes

Photos by Mike Briggs.

These cakes should be cheesy but they are not. Maybe it's the photography that keeps them from going over the top?

Fantastically executed by knottie pwallyholly.

Think Geek

Wii sure are.

See more geeky invitations here (one of the weddingbee invitations even made it on this page!)

I think if I want to have a dinner/wii party, I can send out invitations like this. If I am getting married and making a lifetime commitment, I want to do something I know I won't regret. Maybe these couples won't.

How do you feel about couples who do let their personalities show in (what some consider) a very informal way?

Losing Things

Update: Photographer issue resolved. Florist issue seems to be close. Mind is found. Life is good.

I have a new computer. She's called "Hot Tamale".

I lost my dream photographer. ($4000 budget, any suggestions?)

I lost my florist. (Looking for someone creative and funky who will think outside the box.)

I'm losing my mind.



Please note: Regularly scheduled posts should resume shortly. This post is not a pity party. Merely an update.

Guy Style Advice-What to Wear To A Wedding

Is copying and pasting an entire article into your blog a huge fashion faux pas? I did not write this article. Some smart guy named Daniel Billett did. I will be saving it for future reference.

Summer Wedding
Certainly avoid black and other dark colors. You will also want to avoid wool and other heavy fabrics typically worn in fall and winter. Choose a lighter colored suit in cotton, linen or seersucker. Many designers continue to come out with suits in fabrics other than wool. Also, a cotton or linen suit with a bit of stretch added with help retain its shape and give it a slightly more polished look. If it is an evening wedding, black would be acceptable, but go for cotton as I have mentioned.

Winter Wedding
Obviously dark colors are appropriate as well as wool. Suits and blazers with nice trousers, or perhaps a cashmere v-neck sweater with a shirt and tie underneath would all be nice choices. A dress shirt, tie and dress pants are acceptable on their own if that’s all you have, but dress them up with a sweater or blazer if you can.

Evening Wedding
A dark suit is always appropriate and a tuxedo is the only thing to wear if you know it is a formal affair, but remember tuxedos are not to be worn before 5:00pm. If you know it will casual or semi-formal, you can always wear a blazer and slacks with a tie, but try not to look like you’ve just come from the office. Opt for a tie, shirt or both that look more stylish than your usual office attire.

To Be Avoided at All Costs (and I have had the misfortune of witnessing all of the following first hand)

• Too casual of a pant such as cargo pants or worse, jeans
• Birkenstocks
• Out-dressing the wedding party
• Un-ironed clothes and unpolished shoes
• Wild colors and prints

Disclaimer
The above rules don't exactly apply if you have been invited to a beach, Vegas, or some other out-of-the-ordinary wedding. In those cases, unless otherwise directed by the wedding party, anything goes. Yikes!

Birkenstocks, chacos, tevas, flip flops. They should all be outlawed. I hope my guests have the sense to stay away from them. I hope I can keep one of our groomsmen from wearing his. It is an October wedding after all.

What is the biggest wedding fashion faux pas you have ever seen? Are you any worried about what some of your guests might wear?

Advice from That Bride

Double Triple check dates with your vendors. I just lost one due to date miscommunication. I'm sad.

Ding Dong Dead

My laptop died. I'm in mourning. Posting will be light as I am required to sneak it at work. As I am doing right this second. Maybe That Groom will want to get me an early wedding present?

Like this pretty baby?

Makeshift Photo Booth

Many of you said in your comments that you would like to have a photo booth but it isn't a cost effective option. I think that Thoughtful Day proves quite nicely that it doesn't have to be anything on a grand scale to capture your guests in a variety of different lights. Shots like this just require a blank space behind the subject, a tripod, and a person with the ability to manipulate the setting on their camera well enough to make guests look soft and pretty. Dare I say I could do this with my little baby, the Pia II?

I love that the photos are natural, clean, and simple. The mothers look absolutely gorgeous. I know that my Mom doesn't have pretty pictures of herself taken very often, she spends too much time behind the camera. I hope that we can capture some shots like this of her throughout the day.

Bartosz Jastal

Hey Sarah, you rock for pointing this out to me.

I don't know how to say his name, but it's quite possible that it means "Totally Awesome Photographer in Poland". See here:

Is anyone else loving her funky bouquet like I am?

When That Groom and I kiss, sometimes he sticks his bum out just little bit like this. It's what has to happen when the guy is an entire foot taller than you are.

It's tough to do the black & white/colored effect like this without making it look cheesy.

Check out my favorite post of his here.


That Groom asked if he should find out how much it would cost to fly him over from Poland. Haha. I don't know if I like him that much. If we were having our wedding in Poland though....