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A month of being a Mrs.
2008-03-12 02:40:00
Hello everyone! It's been just over a month since I was officially married off and I must say - life as a NEWLYwed vs. a nearlywed is definitely awesome and worth all of the work and wait that it took to get here. :)We've not received our professional pictures back yet but I expect to get them either this week or next. Until then we've got some from friends and relatives...This picture is actually of the interior of the church. My uncle took it! It looks photoshopped with the colors splashed over the cross at the altar but (if you can believe it) that's actually how it really looks with the sun shining in!!! There is stained glass that goes down either side of the cross and colors stream in over it. It's most beautiful in the mid-morning and mid-afternoon (when we had our ceremony). I'm so glad that my uncle was able to get this picture. :)Here's another from my uncle. He snuck in and got this shot between the photography team and my dad. I changed the tone to sepi...
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The Age (old) Question
2008-03-10 21:07:00
(Sorry for the lack of photos. Google is giving me issues uploading.)It's been a busy few weeks with my planning trip to Destin, fiance's mom's visit from Atlanta, and then my birthday this past weekend during which my best friend /bridesmaid's visited from Atlanta as well. I've done some really fun stuff like order my dress and take a great class at Paper Source, but right now (since I can't get photos to uplaod), I want to talk about age.As a girl, I always wondered how old I would be when I got married. At 13 I thought I'd never get married. At 16 I promised myself I'd wait until I was at least 27 when my dad told me I would really have a grasp on who I was and who would compliment me best by that time. And here I am, only a few days after my twenty-third birthday, planning a wedding. This is the year I'll be married. Though I'm completely happy with that, some people tend to think I'm a bit young to be making this decision. My dad forgot the 27 rule when he met Mr...
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About Me
2008-03-10 19:54:00
Sorry, I dived right in there without introducing myself! I grew up mostly in Stone Mountain, GA, though we bounced around a bit. I was born in MD and lived there for some years. My father and family still live there, so I frequently visit the area. I did my schooling in New Orleans, where I met FH. We recently moved to the Atlanta area after finishing grad school. FH is from Gulfport, MS. I'm glad to be back here, and near family.The Engagement...FH proposed on New Year's Eve 2007, so it's been less than 3 months. We've been together for 5 happy years. I spent the holidays with my mother's side of the family and rushed back to ATL to be with FH for New Year's celebration...whatever that may have been. We had no particular plans, just wanted to be together. His parents were in town as well, so I was happy that I'd get to see them before they headed back home.FH told me to dress up and get swanky for our night out, which was also my Christmas present. When we got about a mile ...

Break A Leg?
2008-03-10 19:41:00
Last week I was thinking about wedding disasters and I thought "what would I do if I broke an ankle or leg right before the wedding?" Don't ask why I think like this...all I can say is I've always been a glass half empty type of gal.After thinking about it I concluded that it would suck but wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. It might be better then breaking an arm because your dress would cover your cast so it wouldn't really destroy the whole look, you would have a good excuse for doing the stand and sway for your first dance, and overall the day could still go on.You know how they say that the thoughts you put out in the world can sometimes manifest themselves? Well this week I ran across not one but TWO pics of brides who broke their ankles before their wedding! How random and weird is that? I think these brides still look pretty amazing even with injuries. What would you do? Would you let it ruin your day or have fun with it?^This bride totally rocked a cane. I've ne...
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Set Your DVR's!!! We're On!
2008-03-10 18:56:00
OK ladies (and lurking Gents) our first episode for Season 7 ofWhose Wedding Is It Anyway?will air TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 2008 at 10pm on the Style Network. Sundonia and Jerome's wedding was a blast! We're excited and can't wait to see how they pulled the whole event together for television. Hope you enjoy it!! Don't forget (like you could:)Tell us what you think! (and be kind!!!)

New Orleans Comin' To Town...and Making Budget Adjustments!
2008-03-10 17:07:00
Well, FH and I bit the bullet and hired our favorite brass band from New Orleans , LA (NOLA) to come to ATL for the wedding reception entertainment!! Yes, the cost made me cringe at first---must pay for their travel expenses as well---but, I stayed up some late nights with legs folded Indian style, hair frazzled, and a handy calculator in hand crunching numbers and re-figuring our budget to allow this treat. FH's eyes lit up when I suggested we contact them. Actually, he used to go see them perform every Thursday night with his good buddy (also a GM) when we lived in NOLA. So, I just knew we had to have them. The wedding day tends to be all about the bride, I definitely wanted him to be extra excited about the plans too. Plus, I love the band too, so we're both very excited!! These guys are sooo talented! We're doing our best to keep it a secret from our guests that are connected to us from NOLA.Pic from Nola.com (photographer: Michael Democker)Anyhow, we had to let go of our drea...
More About: Town , Budget

This Is A Cake!!
2008-03-08 17:18:00
^ Seriously! The two pics above are wedding cakes!! Isn't that amazing? I found these pics on the blog of Arizona based photographer Katrina Andrew of Sedona Bride Photography (check them out!) the cake is the amazing work of Arizona cake artist Andrea Blaut of Sedona Cake Couture. Look how big and real it looks! ^ Here is another one of Andrea's more traditional cakes, but look at the incredible details of the pink flowers and the leaves. Not to mention that beautiful lace work on the cake. I'm so impressed!To see more of Andrea's work check out her website and the Sedona Bride Blog.All photos above credited to Sedona Bride Photography.

Pure Pura
2008-03-08 16:37:00
Way back in October I wrote about how much I liked Pura Lopez shoes. Well this little beauty below popped up at Nordstrom's yesterday and I luuuuv it. It's beautiful! The heel is a little high for me at 3.5 inches but at least the heel is thick so it wouldn't be too hard to walk on...I also like the wrap around part at the ankle...that assures the shoe won't go flying off during the first dance!
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Recap: Martha Stewart Weddings at Macy's
2008-03-07 16:59:00
So I dragged my sister (and MOH) along with me to the Martha Stewart Weddings event at the Macy's in Tyson's. Honestly? I was pretty bored (the sis dozed off once or twice). I did enjoy Darcy Miller's presentation (she is the tiniest thing), but virtually all of the material was a recap of various Martha Stewart Weddings issues. She did have some cute tidbits about planning her own wedding though, along with some personal pictures.There was a pretty large crowd, mostly brides-to-be and their mothers; I was pleasantly surprised to see a handful of men, although I was glad I didn't drag out FI since most of the guys had a glazed-over look in their eyes! I must admit, fondant and favors aren't too exciting to the majority of the population.Wendy Kromer also gave some pointers on the wedding cake process. Darcy was right, Wendy is much too thin for a pastry chef. I like my bakers nice and plump :)Did I learn anything new? No, not really, although I did score a free copy of t...
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Bridesmaid Dresses
2008-03-06 16:46:00
So I know you all have heard me post about this a few times, but now its getting down to crunch time...a lil more than 6 months till the wedding, I want these dresses figured out and preferably ordered by the end of March..I think that gives us a good amount of time! So like I said I have 2 MOH's so on Monday I made a PowerPoint presentation of about 25-30 dresses for the girls that I liked. Than I told the girls to pick out there "top 5" and get back to me by this Friday. Then I plan on comparing the two lists ( hopefully some will be the same) I will go and look at swatches, compare prices and see how well they fit...than hopefully we will have our dresses! I thought I would post 1st MOH's top choices--1) Mellissa Sweet^ I love this bow--since my dress has a bow too, I thought this would be a good way to incorporate it in the bridesmaid dresses!2) Dessy DressSorry For the poor Picture quality you can click here to get a better idea!3) Watters & Watters #5437^Love this dress!...
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Rosa Clara
2008-03-06 04:25:00
When I first started wedding planning I was living abroad and couldn't really go to bridal stores to try on any gowns...so I spent an inordinate amount of time looking at pics of dresses online. Aside from Romona Keveza, my favorite dresses were from Rosa Clara . Rosa Clara is a Spanish based designer and her line is similar to what you would see from the Pronovias line. What I love about her dresses is that they are very unique and unlike a lot of the typical dresses you see in the states. Her line spans the design spectrum so you will have dresses ranging from super sexy to conservative, frilly to slinky, soft and feminine to modern and linear. Sadly, I never did get to try on a Rosa Clara gown. She has boutiques in Spain, Portugal, Mexico and London and only a handful of stores in the U.S. carry her dresses. So if you can find one try one on for me! ^I love brides who wear sleeves. It's so unexpected and sophisticated. ^Many of her dresses have removable tops...this one ...

Getting the Word Out
2008-03-05 03:57:00
Wedding websites are pretty much standard now and are an excellent way to get information out to your guests. One question I see a lot, though, is "how do I let people know about my website." Etiquette is evolving and it's generally considered acceptable to put the website on your save-the-dates but still frowned upon to put it on the actual invite (rsvp card or info card insert is o.k.).I really wanted people to visit our website mainly because there's a lot of info on there and I wanted them to go there first instead of calling and asking me, so when we sent out our save-the-dates we included our website on Moo minicards, and threw them in the same envelope.The original Moo cards allow you to put a picture on the front and a few lines of text on the back. You can put any image you want that isn't copyrighted...so you can put your engagement pics on there, or your dog's pic, or your "monogram" or "motif" or whatever it is you have going on with your wedding.Fiance and I chose t...
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Martha Stewart Wedding Event!!!!!
2008-03-04 20:38:00
I am so excited for this!! Darcy Miller and Wendy Kromer, gurus of all things Martha , will both be there and I'm especially looking forward to the goody bags :o) I'll be sure to provide a full re-cap for those who can't make it.
More About: Event , Martha Stewart , Wedding , Stewart

Modern Day Design Floral Inspiration
2008-03-03 22:49:00
As is often the case in the blogging world you follow a link to a link to a link and somehow you end up some place fabulous and you don't even know how you got there. Well I'm glad I ended up on the site of California based floral artist Camille Panzarello of Modern Day Design . Her portfolio is GORGEOUS! With over a dozen weddings to drool over this will surely keep you from getting back to work for while. The below bouquets should be saved and sent to your D.C. florist immediately!All below floral art the creation of Camille Panzarello of Modern Day Design.
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Making It Legal - Dude.
2008-03-03 20:37:00
Forgoing the traditional priest/preacher route and having a friend or family member preside over your ceremony has been a growing trend for some time now. I don't know all the legalities, but it usually involves some online ordination and authorization by your state government. So if you're going that route, why don't you go just one step further and have your officiant ordained in the "slowest growing religion" in the world? That's right- Dude ism.A good friend turned me on to this growing faith and now you too can instantly be ordained as a Dudeist priest---complete with certificate! A mix between the tenants of Taoism and the philosophies espoused in the movie "The Big Lebowski," Dudeism is for the truly laid back at heart. My advice for you if you go this route is to go all the way, and you know what that means ---White Russians as your signature drink!
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Wedding Bands..
2008-03-03 00:39:00
Sorry for being absent last week, I was out of town, and am leaving again this weekend, times are crazy :) But I do have a lot to post about!!! As you can see from the subject, FI and I got our wedding bands!!! We also have gone to two cake testings, and I believe found our Honeymoon destination, but I will write about all of that on later posts, right now its ring time!We bought our rings from Washington Diamond . Right away I knew I loved them, they had a great feeling about them. Very Knowledgeable, listened to us, I felt at home right away. We were lucky to work with Tom Daube --- If you get to specify who you want to work with, I highly recommend him. He was aware of our budget constrictions, and he never tried to "push us" to get a "better" ( i.e more expensive) ring, like an experience I had at a different store. He listened to what we were saying, he helped us find the perfect rings! Without further ado, let me introduce you to my wedding band :^ Instead of the eternity Band...
More About: Wedding , Bands

Fresh Flower Girld Dresses from JCrew
2008-03-01 18:42:00
I'm loving the modern fresh looks for flower girl outfits from JCrew. I'm not loving the prices...especially for a little girl's dress she can't wear 6 months from now, but I love that everyone is moving away from the "mini-wedding dress" look that flower girl dresses of the past have had.^The flower details around the bottom of the Flora Dress are really beautiful. Also available in white for you purists. - $168 ^Mod Abigail Dress - $98^Jeweled Grace Dress. Also available in Bright Berry. $248.00 ^These Jeweled Ballet Flats look like something mom could wear too. Also available in clover. $118 (hey that how much I'd pay for adult shoes!).
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Nobody Told Me I Had To Get A Cake...
2008-02-29 22:05:00
Due to uncontrollable circumstances our reception site is no longer able to provide our cake. What I thought was a checked box and a done deal suddenly became a new line on my "to do" list. They gave us two choices a) give us a credit for the price of the cake and let us bring in an outside cake vendor or b) serve our guests a plated dessert instead of cake.We made up and are going with choice C) serve our guests a plated dessert and have a mini cake made for Fiance and I to cut. I'm actually pretty excited about this because our guests can have something that tastes waaaay better then a slice of cake, but Fiance and I still get the pomp and circumstance of the cake cutting.The only problem is, I haven't done any cake research. I'm a major research addict and love information of all kinds. All of my vendors were researched to the N-th degree. I hate making snap decisions without all the info, but this late in the game, I knew I had to find someone fast. Even worse, we did...
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i gorman wedding event!
2008-02-27 20:13:00
since i work in a building on the same street as i. gorman, i pass it nearly every day on the way to lunch or the metro. i stopped in for the first time today during lunch to try on wedding bands (even though we have another seven months) :)nicole was awesome! she cleaned my ring for me and offered up a variety of bands to try on. the selection at this store is very well-edited and the customer service is outstanding--obvious from the various regulars that stopped in while i was there (must be why Miss Capitol Hill went back!). anyhow, i'm going to have to bring FI back but nicole told me about their upcoming wedding event.all of i.gorman's designers will be giving trunk shows at the store on March 21 & 22; there'll be food, drinks and most importantly, 10% off on your purchase that weekend!!!!
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A Tale of Two Veils and Two Shops
2008-02-26 22:39:00
From the beginning of my wedding planning, I was pretty sure I wanted to wear a drop veil like the one pictured below. ^Photo credited to the super talented D.C. photographer Chris Baltazar. To see more of the beautiful bride check out the wedding of Heather and Moses on his blog!I wanted my veil to be very sheer and simple, and I knew that I would not spend big bucks on a veil. Many of the veils I tried on at the shop ranged from $300-700. I had heard good things about Occansey Design and Veil Shop so I looked at both for a cheap drop veil. They both had them, but Veil Shop allows returns and Occansey Design does not, so I ordered two different lengths from Veil Shop. Overall it took about two weeks to get the veils in.Unfortunately, it seems I'm just not a drop veil type of girl. I was swimming in fabric, it was unwieldy, and it just looked messy on me. Maybe I wasn't putting it on right, I don't know, but I knew I'd be fussing with it all day if I kept it for the wedding...
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Bella Designs - Alexandria Jewelry
2008-02-26 01:13:00
Apparently it's going to be a Bella type of week for me. My hair salon first turned me on to Bella Designs a few months ago, and the Alexandria based owner, Melissa, has some really lovely things, especially for a bride or a bridesmaid. More importantly, a lot of it is very reasonably priced. You can shop online, or if you prefer the hands on experience there is going to be a jewelry party at Periwinkle in Alexandria, next Thursday March 6th from 6 to 8 p.m. ^These earrings are my favorite. The Lindsay chandelier earrings look so delicate and are very art deco chic. $32. ^The Elizabeth Bracelet. $110. ^Lacy Necklace. $65. ^Thea Necklace. $135.
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Sample Sale at Hannelore's
2008-02-25 22:03:00
Check out Hannelore's website for a listing of their current sample sale gowns! They list designers, style names and prices. You could snag a great deal on your dream Monique Lhuillier or Reem Acra dress...
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Bella Bella Beautiful!
2008-02-23 18:38:00
In a couple of weeks we'll be sending out our invitations. I really liked an idea I saw in a back issue of Martha Stewart to use wrap-around labels for the invitations. Your name/address are pre-printed on the back so you don't have to write it out over and over again. It was cute. Cheaper then calligraphy, and Martha even provided an online template, so you didn't have to worry about font, spacing etc. All I had to do was run the printout through my STICKER MACHINE, crease it with my BONE FOLDER, cut it out with my UTILITY KNIFE, and trim the edges with my PINKING SHEARS. Sure Martha....whatever. I have no doubt that many a crafty bride out there already owns these things. But I'm not a crafty bride. I'm a full time job bride who doesn't make her own anything and by the time I went out and bought all these things (that I'd never use again) I could have just paid someone to do this for me.Thus began the search on how to do the wraparound labels without actually doing ...
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Southern Comfort for the Southern Bride
2008-02-22 20:58:00
Not that type of “comfort” (although there are probably be plenty of times when you’ll need a drink or two during your wedding planning process). I’m talking about the kind of comfort that only a comprehensive site like atlantabridal.com can offer. This is a great starting point for any bride taking on the arduous task of planning a wedding. The site is very detailed, and very easy to navigate. They offer loads of information on cakes, catering, DJ’s, health/beauty, photographers, reception sites, fashion, online store, bridal events, flowers, gifts, destination weddings, budgeting, jewelry, wedding books, honeymoons, dance lessons, transportation and much, much more!Web site: http://www.atlantabridal.com/
More About: Bride , Southern , Southern Comfort , Comfort

The Flushing Bride!
2008-02-22 16:22:00
At-home and secluded outdoor weddings can be wonderful ways for any couple to say “I Do.” Something tells me, however, that one concern often overlooked by many brides is the restroom. Royal Restrooms has the perfect solution for such a problem . . . portable bathrooms. Now these are not your average port-a-potties. These are stylish, spacious mobile restroom trailers that are ideal for outdoor and at-home weddings/receptions/parties.Standard amenities include: flushing porcelain toilets, sinks and running water, interior & exterior lighting, premium paper products, vanities, hand soap, heat/AC, rugs, pictures, flowers and mints!Web site: http://www.royalrestrooms.com/Phone: 404-841-2225
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Linens: Luxury or Low Cost option?
2007-11-09 18:54:00
The key element for my reception will be aubergine/eggplant table linens. I'd really like it to be the main color and focus for my overall design. Therefore, I can use more cost effective flower arrangements, versus spending tons of money on out of season dark purple flower arrangements. Instead, I can choose cheaper florals in ivory with a few purple accents to tie them in.I started my linen search with Cloth Connection, the provider of the linens I first fell in love with in Bride&Bloom Magazine. That's when I learned the difference between lamours, satins and duponi silks. They all have a sheen, but they are of different weights and thicknesses. The linen I had seen in particular was called aubergine lamour. Once I found that out, I searched other websites for something similar. BBJ Linen offered an eggplant lamour and Mosaic carried a polyester in eggplant.Once I had the three options, I decided to start doing some pricing. I wanted to use long rectangular tables versus ...
More About: Luxury , Cost , Linens , Low cost

Shop it To Me
2007-11-09 00:21:00
So I may be the last person on earth to discover Shop It To Me, but just in case I'm not let me tell you about it! Shop It To Me sends you e-mails when there are sales on items from the stores/designers you like and that are in your size. I've been on the look-out for nice wedding shoes at a good price so I signed up (it's free!) and let them know some of the designers I was interested in (Anne Klein, Jimmy Choo, Kate Spade, etc.) and what shoe size I wear (7-7.5). Now every morning I get an email with all the size 7-7.5 shoes from these designers that are on sale in various stores. There are thousands of stores/designers to chose from...everything from Banana Republic to Valentio and you can specify if you are only looking for dresses, accessories, skirts, etc. Is it sad that I get just a little excited every morning as I open my Shop It To Me email? It's like Christmas and you aren't sure what's inside the box!

Hair it is - Part Two
2007-11-08 21:51:00
As it turns out, I will not be wearing my hair all down like I had previously considered. Why? Because the other night I was finally able to get through some of the moving mess that was standing between me and the box packed with my dress and veil and things and I tried everything on with my hair down and... well... my face looked huge with my hair down and the veil on.I know how weird this sounds but it's true. Normally long hair that frames the face can be slimming to someone's face. Perhaps it was because my hair was flat and I needed more volume at the crown, perhaps I actually need to lose more weight than I was aiming for (and that was originally just a hope not really a plan). Whatever the case, I'm likely going to be wearing my hair all up. Luckily (!), I've found inspiration and an actual picture for my plan B - very cool since I've actually been looking for a picture for months and have been unsucessful.One of my favorite shows on the Bravo channel was "Shear Ge...
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New Season Bridesmaid: The Rest
2007-11-08 02:36:00
Finally, here are a few other dresses from assorted designers that I liked. All photos from Brides. ^Vineyard Collection^Amsale ^Lazaro Jim Hjelm
More About: Season , Rest , Bridesmaid

New Season Bridesmaid - Alvina Valenta
2007-11-08 02:23:00
Next up on my favorite's list are the designs from Alvin a Valenta. I really love how she's moving away from the same ol' same ol' strapless dress.
More About: Season , Bridesmaid , Lent