Category — e's vow renewal

A little tidbit of what I’ve been working on - yes, you spy gorgeous Laura Hooper calligraphy being goccoed!

{Image courtesy of the author}

Hope your Saturday is as productive as mine has been.

E.

You may remember my giddiness at *these fabulous photos* that Jessica Claire snapped of us in California in December.  Well, she’s done it again!  She happened to be passing through Chicago on Sunday night so we had the opportunity to steal some of her time to take a walk through one of Chicago’s most fabulous neighborhoods, Bucktown, with our most-adorable-puppy-in-the-world, Charlie.

And now, the photos!  Isn’t Charlie the most adorable puppy ever?  You can tell he knows it. 

{Read the rest of this entry…}

I’ve been looking for moving (but unique) non-religious ceremony readings, and Vane (a.k.a. Brooklyn Bride) must’ve read my mind!  She posted yesterday with one that I think *might* be the one, but I want your opinion!

from A Farewell to Arms
Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)

That night at the hotel, in our room with the long empty hall outside and our shoes outside the door, a thick carpet on the floor of the room, outside the windows the rain falling and in the room light and pleasant and cheerful, then the light out and it exciting with smooth sheets ad the bed comfortable, feeling that we had come home, feeling no longer alone, walking in the night to find the other one there, and not gone away; all other things were unreal. We slept when we were tired and if we woke the other one woke too so one was not alone. Often a man wishes to be alone and a girl wishes to be alone too and if they love each other they are jealous of that in each other, but I can truly say we never felt that. We could feel alone when we were together, alone against the others. It has only happened to me like that once.

What thinks thou, my amazing readers? 

E.

Hi all - sorry for the late posting today but I’ve been en route to Atlanta for my big venue walk-through tomorrow!  I’ve been perusing for some cute easy ideas for my vendors.  I started in my favorite spot - MS!

For the caterer:

LOVE the shaped butter.  Who thinks of this?

{Read the rest of this entry…}

Miu Miu ballet flats via Barneys

What do you think?

I thought you might enjoy a little snippet of my planning status, since weekends basically consist of me and my DIY projects!

Anne and I went through my to-do list yesterday and realized that there are 44 DIY projects in total, and here is the status:

• 3 are 100% complete
• 7 have partial completion percentages

That leaves a whopping 34 TO GO (plus the 7 partials)!  And guess how many weeks I have left minus vacations and holidays, etc?  35.  After the slight freak-out (OK maybe not so slight, it’s a good thing I work well under pressure), we assigned priorities, responsibilities, and timings to each project.  We also determined that I can’t keep adding to the list, but then we broke that rule immediately, so who knows if it will be enforced. 

{Read the rest of this entry…}

I have to confess - I’ve been in a planning rut.  FOR MY OWN EVENT!  It seems that I can blog all day long and give anyone else ideas, but have had a complete block lately when it comes to myself.  So I’m *very* happy to report that today was an actual day of progress!

• A musician I want is available.  I love his song list.  He’ll learn the few other songs I need.  AND, the planner says he’s just the sweetest guy!
• The wonderful, fabulous, amazing {fill in adjective describing perfect here} Laura Hooper is going to be working her calligraphy magic on my stationery and I can’t wait.  Love. Her. 
• I’ve decided on the packaging for my favors and I finally found the right kind of paint for a project.

I really feel like things are finally taking shape.  It might sound like December is a long way away, but with so many (admittedly self-imposed) projects still to go I’m feeling a bit stressed. 

I know you all know what I’m going through.  What progress have you made on your own events recently?

E.

PS - I try to avoid non-wedding chatter here, but how great was American Idol tonight?  It doesn’t hurt that ’80s music rocks my world.  One of the guys even sang a song that will play a major role in my event (nope, not telling which)!

I just signed and faxed out three big contracts and wanted to share with all of you!

• Floral: I am so pleased to have chosen Little Sparrow Floral.  Thanks to Our Labor of Love for their recommendation!  The moment that clinched it was when I told her I was looking for a specific shade of blush - not pink, not brown, and not cream, but a mixture.  And she brought me a Sahara rose in the absolute perfect shade.  At that point, I knew I was in love.  Anyone that understands color that well is going to be a friend during this process. 
• Catering: I cannot say enough about how professional and wonderful both caterers that were in the running are.  Dennis Dean has impeccable presentation and very reasonable pricing.  Bold American = simply amazing quality and a great attention to detail.  It truly was a tough decision but in the end we decided to go with Bold American.  They are affiliated with the Fifth Group Restaurants company, therefore making my next decision relatively easy….
• Brunch: South City Kitchen.  Love love love the space.  And it’s within easy walking distance of the hotels we will be booking and of my venue.  Plus, it works with the decor that I have planned. 

Atlanta vendors have all been amazing to work with.  Of course, it doesn’t hurt that I have the cream of the crop planners working with me in Eventologie.  Kim and Julie are fantastic.  I absolutely don’t know how I would plan a long-distance wedding without a planner.  Knowing the city and the vendors is priceless. 

I’m so excited to have chosen these vendors - the planning process is really coming together nicely.  Only a little over 10 months to go now!

The salon called today - my gown is in!  Yippee!  Sorry, no sharing until after the vow renewal, but I had to share my giddiness with all of you.  :)  I can’t wait to put it on again to see if it feels as amazing as it did the first time.

Also, I am *thisclose* to picking a florist and a caterer.  That leaves very few vendor decisions left - only decor and musicians, really.  Then the true fun begins - all the small stuff!  I already have so many posts stored up for after the event to share with you - I’ll give in-depth instructions for each and every DIY project, comprehensive vendor reviews, timelines, recommendations, and even the list of things I’d do differently (which hopefully is incredibly tiny, as I’m completely disregarding rule #8).

Yay for more checkmarks (or almost checkmarks)!

So, I have approximately 11 months before THE BIG DAY.  Some people might think that’s an eternity, but I think that is no time at all.  Especially since I have already been planning for 7 months.  Anyway, a big item on the to-do list is beauty.  So today, I trekked out in the *freezing* cold to the dentist. 

I have silver fillings on two of my bottom teeth from when I was a child and you can see them when I smile.  So my dentist had graciously agreed to replace them with tooth-colored fillings.  Now, I hate the dentist.  Really can’t stand it.  She’s nice and all, it isn’t her.  It’s just the act of the dentist.  But here I am, willingly in the chair waiting for the drill.  Only planning my vow renewal could make me this crazy. 

What sacrifices are you making in the name of beauty for your wedding?