My mother and sister hosted me a beautiful bridal shower this past weekend at the Peninsula in Chicago.  It was a reflection of the hostesses: classy, fashionable and personal.

My niece Lola addressed all the placecards herself with her A+ penmanship.

My sister and mother elected to use candles over flowers, keeping the mood elegant and clean.

Flower candles and glass stands from Dom itp, a Chicago-based unique gift store

{Read the rest of this entry…}

Fortunately soon after I got engaged, I lived at home in Chicago and was able to use that time scouring the city for the perfect venue, which I soon found.

I thought the rehearsal dinner search was going to be even easier, despite living a thousand miles away. My fiancé and I decided early on that we wanted it to be VERY Chicago and on the beach – b/c as many of you may not know, Chicago is truly a beach town in the summer. We immediately agreed on hosting it at Castaways, a chill rooftop bar on what looks like a shipwreck literally on the beach, with a SICK view of the city.

The future in-laws agreed but once it came down to paying the deposit, we were informed of the rain policy – use it or lose it. If it rains, you can use the deposit towards another party that summer, but obviously, that doesn’t work for a rehearsal dinner.

It truly IS our perfect venue, but the weather in Chicago in June is always unpredictable, so we just can’t take that chance…I think.

My fiance’s mother almost saved the day by offering to host it at a more formal club also on the lake and in the city, but soon learned that they were already booked five months in advance for our Thursday, June 10!

Since then, Dave and I have been trying to think of venues that personify Chicago whilst being more low-key and informal than the wedding.

We’ve narrowed it down to the following three and I’d love your input on these or any additional ideas you may have.

{Read the rest of this entry…}

Like many other brides, I thought registering would be the highlight of the wedding planning process. Contrary to popular opinion, it’s been little fun. Oh sure, at first I went all G.I. Jane with the scanning gun, shooting everything that struck my fancy. But then I began to realize, if you scan it, it will come.

Although my fiancé and I don’t have a lot of home goods, we still don’t really need them. We live in a very small one bedroom apartment with no storage, and due to our busy schedules cook only a couple of times a month – if that. Moreover, we are in the middle of many changes and are constantly moving around the country and even the world every so often for our jobs. Do I really want a melon baller, cherry pitter and apple corer or would I rather have the cash value of those three items ($50)? Do I really want 30 boxes of heavy appliances and china to use as coffee tables right now only to repackage them the next time I move?

The more I began to question all this, the more confused I became. For the last four months I’ve been literally stuck in what feels like a never-ending game of add and delete! Its become maddening. So when my sister sent out the invites to my upcoming bridal shower this week, I realized we needed to buckle down and strategize.

My fiancé and I sat down and creating some guidelines and rules. Kind of like like what brides do when they sit down analyzing their budgets – you assess what you really need, really want, could live without, want to spend money on, etc. We’ve decided to register for a few quality, high-ticket items that will stand the test of time, because that is really what we want but may never buy ourselves. This includes a Kitchenaid Mixer, Dyson vacuum, All-Clad pots/pans, Le Creuset cookware, china and crystal stemware.

Some of the high-ticket items we are interested in  clockwise from top left: Dyson Ball Vacuum, Haviland China, Kitchenaid Mixer, Le Creuset cookware, WS Dorset Crystal

Then we will upgrade just some things we use currently but at more affordable price points than the aforementioned items, so our guests have an array of prices to choose from. This includes bedding and pillows, coffee machine, silverware, and some bakeware/cooking utensils.

I grew up in a Polish culture where people usually just bring cash to weddings; registries weren’t really followed. I realize that many of our guests would prefer some guidelines on what to get us, so I do think its necessary. However its my guests’ presence, not presents, that is the greatest gift we could receive.  So any additional gift will be cherished, no doubt.

What strategy did you employ for your registry?

Having a wedding website was a must for us.  Most of our guests are in our age group and rather “fluent” with technology.  We want to keep our paper invitations simple and classy, so we decided to personalize our website with details about us and our wedding.

There are many websites offering an easy DIY format where you insert your wedding information for about $100.  We elected to build ours on the iWeb Mac program, which allows us to personalize the website with additional details/tools than the standard format offers, but also costs about $100/annually to host.

Here is a snapshot of our “Welcome” page with our wedding logo (the passport stamp), a map of Africa in the background (the continent that brought us together), and some photos of our travels.

Here is a snapshot of “Our Story” page.  (I cut off the top of our picture b/c the screen was too long). We are avid travelers so we included a list of countries we have visited together and added a poll that allows guests to vote for our honeymoon destination.  We added our story and some background info  so our family’s guests got a better idea of who we are.

{Read the rest of this entry…}

We all value different things above others.  Some people value large homes, others value luxury vacations.  Some spend their money on Louboutins and others on good meals.  Some spend money on it all!   Therefore its only natural that your wedding also reflects your values.  Cutting costs on certain items does not mean you are cheap, but just that you’d rather spend your money on things you value more.

We are spending money on liquor, food, and our venue because in our context, that’s where we get the most bang for our buck.     For us, we believe our venue is beautiful in its own minimalist way and just needs a few unique centerpieces at the bars and tables to highlight its stark beauty.   We are not planning on spending money on flowers or cake (more on the cake in another post).

{Where dancing and drinks will be held –  The Atrium}

In addition, dinner will be served on a seperate floor from the dancing, where the ceilings are low and the tables will already feel cramped, so we didn’t huge centerpieces blocking people from seeing one another or making the room feel even smaller.

{Where dinner will be served:  The Loft}

I spent MONTHS agonizing over this and even started meeting with florists because I thought it was too big a job for me.  And after about a dozen crafty/experiment FAILS, I almost signed a contract because I was too overwhelmed… but this week I think I’ve finally nailed it (no pun intended) – see below my grapewood and grass centerpieces!

{Read the rest of this entry…}

Hi All,  Happy 2010!   Since my engagement has been on the long side (18 months) I’ve been spoiled with time and been taking it easy…but that’s all changed.  It’s less than 6 months till the big day and I am feeling the pressure to make decisions and plan, plan, plan!

I chose my 11 bridesmaids a few months ago with envelope pocket cards promising to take them into consideration when picking the dresses.  True to my word, I sent out an email last month listing three dress scenarios and asking them to vote for their preference.   I wanted to make it as easy and affordable and possible so I went with the following three choices:  1) Bride will pick a color at JCREW, and bridesmaids can choose any dress in that color  2)  Bride will pick a color, and bridesmaids can pick any dress they want  3) Bride will choose several dresses at a store (Nordstrom, White House | Black Market, etc) and bridesmaids can choose one of those dresses.  ,

To my great surprise, 9 out of the 11 bridesmaids voted for Option #1 – J. Crew!  So I set up an appointment to try on bridesmaid dresses at the Georgetown J. Crew with my bridesmaid Kate.  Going along with my “au natural” vision for the wedding, the only colors I was interested for the girls’ dresses were cream, tan, grey and gold.  However, after Kate tried on those colors, we came to the conclusion that they not only washed her out but also showed every wrinkle in the fabric and weren’t very forgiving….  I was paralyzed – I had no Plan B….but I knew I would not make the 11 girls wear a color felt uncomfortable with.  After much deliberation, we chose NAVY – a slimming color that exudes class still.  I’ve asked the girls to pick out any short,  cotton, navy dress at J. Crew and wear silver shoes (FYI, if you order the dresses from the store with a student or teacher ID, you get 15% off).   They’ll be carrying bouquets of white flowers with lots of green leaves and be escorted by groomsmen in classic tuxes with no vests.

Although my vision was thrown off and my color choices were vetoed, I am even happier with this new vision.  The new color choice also brought me too an additional decision I am excited about – the flowergirls and ringbearers outfits!  When I thought the bridesmaids were going to wear neutral, I was going to have the kids in classic white…however, now that my maids are in navy, I’ve decided to have my two flowergirls and ringbearer in Polish folk costumes!  They will add a festive pop of color and preserve my cultural heritage in pictures forever.  I am so excited!  So without further ado, here is my updated inspiration board on what my wedding party will be wearing.

How has your vision for the day changed along the way?

Out of my 11 bridesmaids, 6 are married and 3 have already given birth to one child.  Another one is currently pregnant with her first due in February, and I just found out today, that another is pregnant with her 2nd due……the week of my wedding.

What to do?  What to do?  Naturally, given the demographics of my bridesmaids, I understood early on that at this point in our lives (circa 29-30 years old), we all have our own family lives and demands that make it hard to plan around.  I understand that my bridesmaid due in June may not be able to make the wedding or fit into a matching dress.   However, I don’t want to NOT have her because of that.  Just because she may not be able to participate in the “big day” I still consider her as I do the other 10, vital important people that have contributed to making my life special throughout my various walks of life.  I’ve told her that I would love for her to be considered a bridesmaid and participate in whatever she can.  Obviously, everyone understands that a 9 month pregnant woman may not be able to commit, however, I still want her included in my roster of special people.

Have any of you been a pregnant bridesmaid or have pregnant bridesmaids?  How would you feel and what would you do?

Last you heard, I was making the tough decision of deciding how many bridesmaids I should have, 2 or 11.  Well, we (my fiance and I) decided on all 11, and we’re sticking to it and very happy with our decision.

I wanted to ask my bridesmaids in a special way, and found so much inspiration on wedding blogs  it was hard to choose.   But when I stumbled upon a fantastic post about Elise’s Envelope Pockets, I knew I wanted to do the same, but different :).  Again, I am so thankful that I don’t have to re-invent the wheel but rather just refurbish it to suit my own taste.  Thank goodness for wedding blogs!

The front of the Envelope Pockets.  It looks like I have a pretty equal showing of blondes and brunettes!

{Read the rest of this entry…}

Love the above cards from Stinkerpants.

I’ve been having a battle with both me vs myself and me vs my mom, over the number of bridesmaids I plan on inviting to be part of the wedding.  I’ll spare you the details because it simply comes down to this, it’s either 2 or 11.  I either have only a matron of honor (sister) and maid of honor (friend) or I have them both plus by 9 dearest friends, none of who I can spare or cut.

My mom cannot swallow the idea of 11 maids and thinks it may be tacky.   However, I cannot swallow the idea of not having my best friends involved in my wedding day, regardless that it may look a little out of control to outsiders.

I know what you are going to say, “Go with your gut.”  And that’s what I plan on doing.  It’s just sooooooo hard to go against your mother, a woman who is helping finance the very wedding you are battling over.

How do you handle situations like the one above?

On a separate note, the save the date postcards from printsmadeeasy.com (#100 for only $28) look INCREDIBLE!  So professional, delivery was so quick, quality is outstanding – highly recommended.

So it must be Save the Date week at EAD, I believe I am the third blogger this week to present hers!

I toyed with the idea of magnets, CDs and finally settled on postcards b/c honestly, it was easy.  I’ve been working like crazy lately and traveling nearly every weekend to visit my fiance in Texas (I am in DC), so I’ve had very little time to brainstorm.  But last weekend, I went to my faithful google reader and searched “save the date” ideas in the months worth of entries I had starred.  I came across a STD that I adored – totally urban, artistic, minimalistic and chic – precisely the vibe I was going for (and I am now hitting myself in the head as I can’t find my inspiration and I totally owe credit to it, so when I find it again, I will post it).   So I took my original inspiration but altered it and added personal elements and our fabulous photo from our engagement session with Missy in photoshop to suit our needs, and voila, this is what I came up with.   There was just no time to re-invent the wheel this late in the game.

Front:

Back:

I then ordered 100 postcards for ONLY $28 at www.printsmadeasy.com.  Unbelievable value.  I should get them by Friday so hopefully they turn out great!