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Last Sunday it really hit me. Not so much the “wow, we’re getting married” part…it was more a realization of how many people are going to be a part of the day. Sometimes I still get so wrapped up in the planning that I forget how cool this whole wedding thing is.

My mom, two of my bridesmaids, and I went to the Priscilla of Boston outside of Philly. The dresses were so much prettier and they had a much larger selection than where we were the previous Sunday. My mom found her dress within (max) 5 minutes, while the other two girls tried on a ton of dresses that were 10 sizes too big. We kinda started going in circles though because we pulled dresses that we liked the style of, only to find out that they didn’t come in colors that would have fit into that lighter blue category we want.

Ultimately, we came up with these dresses for my mom and the two girls who went with me:

Mom’s dress, but in capri blue instead; Bridesmaid #1 – French Blue…color is good in this picture; Bridesmaid #2 – cornflower…actual color of dress is actually much more blue than purple:

I was worried the dress wouldn’t work on my mom but she looked TOTALLY cute in it. (Doesn’t hurt that she’s 5′8″ and like 118 pounds and looks good in like everything she tries on.)

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I won’t be having a traditional bridal shower, instead we’ve requested to have a shower for the both of us together…I think it’s called a Jack and Jill shower? I’m not one to play all the shower games and I haven’t felt comfortable opening up multiple presents in front of lots of people since I was in elementary school. Having Mr. there will be a lot of fun and will help take some of the attention away from just me…and also, is it bad that I don’t want to be in a room with all his family by myself yet?

If I were to actually have a traditional bridal shower, I think this is the best idea EVER. Sarah of Blossom and Branch was featured on 100 Layer Cake for the Bodega Flowers class she teaches in the city. Sarah said, ″I thought, why not show people how to gather some bunches from the local bodega and create something charming in their home? This class teaches women how to shop for, clean/prepare and arrange flowers, using their own container.”

How AMAZING would a flower class be for any sort of shower or party! Pick up some fresh flowers from Whole Foods (maybe even ask guests to bring their favorite container or supply some for them), and hire a florist to teach an arranging class. Who wouldn’t like to know more about flower arranging?

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We’re hopefully on the cusp of booking a florist, and what sealed the deal for me was that I didn’t feel like I had to “sell” my vision to her. Unfortunately, there are not very many Flowerwilds or Saipuas in the Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania and when I try to describe that sort of look to the other florists we met with, well…it’s just good I had a lot of pictures to help explain what I was seeing. Instead, when I met with the last florist it was more of an exchanging of ideas and it really helped that she knows our venue so well. She had already done some weddings with a similar feel that we’re looking for. I’m just hoping that her price is within our budget.

One of the areas I really felt I had to sell to those other florists is in using succulents. This florist, on the other hand, encouraged me to use them! I love the look of just about every wedding I’ve seen featured using succulents. However, sometimes I feel like they are a bit too modern for what we’d like. I think what makes the difference though is the container they’re in and that the patina on these containers gives the more modern looking plants a vintage vibe.

{photos by Stephanie Williams via Green Wedding Shoes}

{photo by Jennifer Dery}

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Now that I’ve chosen my bridesmaids (finally!), this weekend I went with one of them to start looking for dresses. I wanted to go the retail route rather than the bridal store route…thought I’d find dresses that we liked better for the price. Not to mention I can’t wait 6 months for dresses to come in.

I wanted to get different dresses within the same color palette like the photo below:

{Belathee via Style Me Pretty}

We went to a retail store (that will remain unnamed), and it may have been one of the most frustrating things (aside from the guest list) so far in wedding planning. I had high hopes for the store since I love their stuff to begin with and I love the weddings I’ve seen where all the girls wear their dresses.

Well, the girl treated me like what I had in mind was the worst idea ever. She acted like I was wasting her time and she didn’t even entertain the idea. Because obviously it looks heinous in the photo above. She did say that if I was going to go with different colors/dresses that I should go with blue – one of my other thoughts.

{JAC Photographers via Green Wedding Shoes}

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I sent out the last save the date this morning!

I’m surprised they were all able to escape Nala’s teeth.

She’s like a ninja! I was trying to take an “in-the-process” shot and she just hopped up with a swipe of her paw. What a pup!

Although the design is old news, I did want to share one little thing that I did that made my life easier. Might be pretty common sense, but hey, if it helps make another bride’s life easier than it’s worth it, right?

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I’m about to send out my Save the Dates and am totally not looking forward to using the polar bear postcard stamps. So, I hunted down the 2010 USPS stamps and I think I may be giving up my dream of using vintage stamps for our wedding. It was just turning out to be such a headache to find the right ones and now that I’ve seen what’s in store I’m about to give in to just going the easy route for our invitations.

My top 2 wedding favorites:

2010 Love Stamp – Pansies in a Basket, 2010 Butterfly Stamp – for oversized mailings

There are other stamps coming out too.  Here are some more of my favorites that could totally be used with the right wedding:

Country wedding anyone? The Winslow Homer stamp is for you.  Or how about an old Hollywood wedding with Katharine Hepburn?

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Whew! To say that I’ve been overwhelmed recently is a bit of an understatement. A quick update of the last month:

• I’m a week overdue of sending out our Save the Dates…waiting for FMIL to send me addresses for her guest list
• On the same note, had a bit of a falling out with FMIL about the guest list…
• I asked 2 out of 4 of my bridal party
• Scheduled appointments with potential hair/makeup artists
• Scheduled appointments with potential florists
• Sent several emails to our potential Day-of Coordinator…only a few of them she actually responded to
• (Finally) Scheduled an appointment with our Day-of Coordinator

But the biggest reason for being away from the blog world for a while…

-We got a puppy!

Our Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy, Nala, at 3 months!

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Remember how I found the CK monogram in that book of vintage monograms?

Well, I asked my mom to play with it (as you may recall, she drew the orange tree for our Save the Dates too) and here’s what she created:

Which I then sent over to UPrinting to have made into stickers!

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Regis, can I use a lifeline? I’m debating whether or not I should “phone a friend”.  OK, maybe not a friend but a professional, someone who knows more about this wedding stuff than I as a bride do.

Now I’m not saying that I want to have someone completely style my wedding (although have you seen the latest Inspiration-to-Reality photo shoot from Style Me Pretty?).

{photos by Millie Holloman Photography via Style Me Pretty}

But I saw this post on Grey Likes Weddings and it totally hit home for me:

“I’m hoping I’m not alone… but I’m starting to feel really fed up! I can’t seem to make a decision, I think because I want it all to be so perfect… and scared I could get it soooo wrong! I can’t make a decision.

With so many wonderful wedding resources, magazines, and blogs out there, finding wedding inspiration has never been easier. Making decisions, on the other hand, has never been more difficult. Every day, we’re lured into a state of absolute indecision by another real wedding, inspiration board or fabulous vendor feature. How is one to decide when there’s just too much good stuff out there???”

Amen, sistah. I just have so many ideas I’m nervous our wedding will look like a hot mess of all of them and not one cohesive idea.

So then Summer suggests to hire an expert. My first thought was “HA! Where on earth can we fit that into the budget?”. But then again, what if we find someone who offers a design consultation? Would the money we spend on a consultant be worth saving my own (and Mr.’s) sanity in trying to make all of the decisions and the frustration of it not turning out like we had hoped? I definitely have a favorite list of designers, so it can’t hurt to just ask, right?

Does anyone out there feel the same? Or has anyone worked with a designer just to do a consultation? How did it work for you?

It is taking all my energy right now to not run around school and just giggle and dance (I’m currently subbing for high school in-school suspension…don’t really think that’d be appropriate?) Tell me that these photos do not make you want to do the same!!!

{ photos by Punam Bean }

You MUST click on these photos to enlarge them. As long as you have a drool cloth ready, that is.

After we chose our venue and date, hiring our photographer was the first thing we did. I’m so glad to have gotten that out of the way, and I’m SO excited that Punam will be a part of our day!!

If only we had somewhere exotic like the secret gardens of a french chateau to celebrate our wedding… Anyone have one of those that we can borrow? :)