Kristie's Shower!

Kristie's bridal shower was a few weekends ago and everything went great! I was a little worried about the weather since we were having a tent outside and although it was a little chilly, there was no rain!! I think a good time was had by all the ladies and I was pretty please one how my projects turned out. Here are a few of the things I made:

For the food table, I got a few yards of pink and green tulle to lay on top of the white table cloth. It looks super cute and since tulle isn't very expensive, I didn't feel too bad about people dripping salsa and guacamole on it...and then throwing it away afterward.

I also wrapped some green polka dot ribbon around three vases and put pink candles in them for a bit more decoration.

There are multiple projects shown in this picture. The most obvious being the "Guess Her Age" board. It featured about 20 pictures of Kristie when she was younger and we had all the shower guests guess how old she was in each picture. I used all different pink and green paper for the backgrounds and used my Cricut machine to cut out all the numbers and the letters. Thanks to Linda Jameson for the help on this one!


Another project visible in the photo above is the Wish Jar. I bought a plain glass jar from Hobby Lobby and tied a tag on it that read "Please leave your wishes for the soon to be Mrs.". The idea was to have all the guests write a little note to Kristie. I again used my Cricut to cut out tag shapes to write on and tied a piece of ribbon on to each.

You'll also notice the little baskets filled with the favors I made. I took small plastic bags purchased from Michael's and filled them with white chocolate covered pretzels. I then folded pieces of green and pink paper over the top and stapled them onto the bag to keep them closed. I only stapled the back half of the flap and glued the front so they still looked pretty. I also added a piece of ribbon, alternating colors. Here's a closer look:

It was a lot of work but since I really enjoy having projects to work on, I really didn't mind! And I think Kristie really enjoyed herself and that's all that matters!!

Leaving the House Naked

I did just that this week.

No not NAKED naked...but minus my ring. I totally FELT naked without it! Yes, I take my ring off at night...and when I shower...and when I wash my hands...and when I go to the gym...I think I'm still in that "I don't want anything to ruin how pretty it is" phase. The day after Gary proposed in Cabo, I didn't even wear it to the pool because I was afraid of what chlorine/sunscreen/sand would do to it! People at the pool that day thought I was CRAZY for not wearing it! (I also don't like to wear it when I'm blow drying my hair. The little bugger gets HOT!!)

So I left the house without it. And I almost felt ashamed all day! I found myself hiding my left hand or announcing to anyone who would listen that I forgot to put on my ring. I thought anyone who noticed I wasn't wearing it would think we were already having problems - before we even got hitched!

Silly girl, I know. But I'm hoping to never have that happen again. Unless I'm getting it cleaned. Or sized because I lost 20 lbs. Or upgraded to 3 carats...just kidding G - you know I love it just the way it is!!!

I Heart Shoes

In my reading of wedding blogs, I've found that one of the things that a lot of brides are doing these days is wearing colored shoes instead of the traditional white or ivory. I really like the idea and absolutely adore the photos you see with colored shoes peaking out from a white gown.

Maybe some purple shoes for me?

Or maybe red? Love the little rosettes on this pair!

As I thought about my dress and the theme I was going for, I decided that the colored shoe was a little too trendy for me. The look I want is classic with a bit of vintage flair. With that in mind, I thought it would be best to stick with an ivory or champagne colored shoe. And so my search began.

Side note: I am infatuated with online shipping for shoes. Sites like Zappos.com, Endless.com and Shoebuy.com make shopping for shoes a BREEZE! The selection is amazing and the free shipping and free returns makes it no more expensive than buying from a brick and mortar store.

The first shoe I fell in love with was the Electra by Nina. I'm a sucker for platforms and the bow detail on these gives them a vintage feel. Plus the ankle strap is sexy yet in a classy, not trashy, way. Aren't they super cute!?

I decided that with over a 4 inch heel, these beauties were a bit to high for me since I'll be walking around in them ALL.DAY.LONG. Plus, when I bought my dress, the store gave me some sample shoes to try on with it and if I got shoes with a 3 1/2 inch heel, I wouldn't have to have my hem altered!!

The second pair of shoes I fell in love with are the ones that I bought and will be wearing on the big day. They are also by Nina, and the style is Kyleen. I love them, they still have a vintage feel, and the heel height is perfect at 3 1/2 inches.

I was a bit nervous about the color (powder sand) but when they arrived via the nice UPS man, they color is perfect! AND they are actually comfortable! AND I bought them from Shoebuy.com which I had a 20% off coupon plus I got a new member discount for ordering from them! The Electra would have cost me $89...but the Kyleen's only cost me $48! That is WAY under my budget for shoes! WAHOOO!!!

*A tip for anyone else purchasing Nina shoes, order a half size up. I usually where a 7 1/2 and the 8 fit perfectly. My bridesmaid Kristie is wearing Nina shoes on her wedding day and she also had to go a half size up.

Dressin' Up the Maids

OK so I'll just admit this now...I am a HUGE nerd. When it came to picking out dresses for my maids, I developed a PowerPoint presentation with a page for each dress designer featuring the dresses that I liked and in what colors. I then sent it off to all of them for their opinions. I thought it was quite an efficient way of going about it...there were about 15 dresses that I liked!!

A sample of my PowerPoint...

When my mom and I went dress shopping for me, we thought we'd take a quick peak at bridesmaid dresses too. Armed with my PowerPoint and voting results, I went in pretty open minded (which can be disastrous for an indecisve person like me!) However, I found that the decision on which designer AND colors to go with was made super easy the second I saw Alfred Angelo's line. The colors are what really hooked me...they offer the most PERFECT deep red, burnt orange, and dark purple. So how was I to decide between the three? Well, I didn't actually. I thought since all of these are so perfect, why not do one of each? My sister (and MOH)in Claret, bridesmaid Amanda in Eggplant, and bridesmaid Kristie in Burnt Orange. Variety is a good thing, right? :)

As for the dress itself, I tried on about 6 of the different Alfred Angelo dresses they had at the store to see what they looked like on a real person with real hips and curves. Some that I had originally liked online were AWFUL in person. But I did have some success and came away with two styles that I really liked.

I took Amanda and Kristie in to try on both dresses to see which one they were more comfortable in. It was unanimous...so here is the dress!!

It's got a sweetheart neckline which is adorable and laces up the back. The fabric also sort of "gathers" on one side which is very forgiving in the stomach area. My maids will be able to eat that extra piece of cake at the reception and not have to worry about their tummies bulging!

Another item checked off the planning list!!

A little less than perfect

Where I last left off on our search for our reception venue, we had found Fox Hills and were pretty certain that it would perfect for us. Not wanting to book the first (and only) place we had looked at, we continued to search.

One of the girls Gary works with is getting married this summer and apparently she and I have similar tastes because she's having her wedding at the Blue Dress Barn that I also mentioned in a previous post (Can you say JEALOUS!!!) Anyway, she told us about a similar place in Ann Arbor. Ann Arbor! That's close enough! We could probably swing that! So we decided to check it out. It's called Cobblestone Farm and it is pretty much perfect.

I called on a whim thinking there was no way they would have our date available...but it was open!! Could it be a sign?? Check out the photos below...

I love the moss letters they hung on the barn doors!

You can even have your ceremony there? Probably not a good idea for November...

Look at all of those rafters! And with the Japanese lanterns hanging from them too? *SWOON*

A view from the balcony...

In the end, we decided against Cobblestone. Why you ask? Since on the surface it seemed so perfect? A few reasons:

1. Although Ann Arbor wasn't too far, I didn't feel comfortable having guests travel to an area that I'm really not that familiar with
2. There is a home U of M football game which could cause head aches with traffic and booked up hotels
3. With an outside caterer, we'd also have to rent linens, glasses, serving dishes, etc. which means more $$$
4. We can only serve beer and wine...and I didn't really want to leave out our friends vodka, rum, and whiskey. Plus I know a few of Gary's buddies wouldn't be too happy about that.
   
5. Since we would bring in our own booze, I didn't want to have to worry about running out in the middle of our reception
   

So we've decided to go with Fox Hills. I really do love it and it's much less of a pain for planning which I'm all about with less than six months until the wedding!!

My Lovely Maids!

Gary and I decided who was going to be standing up for us while we were in Mexico. It gets a little tricky when the two of you have a different number of people that you want to be involved. I know it's not a TOTAL no-no to have uneven numbers but what can I say...my pain in the arse perfectionist side says uneven is lopsided. Plus with a small wedding, we wanted to keep the wedding party small too. No need to have half your guests standing up with you :)

I had three ladies (and a little lady) in mind that are of the utmost importance to me. While they are all pretty much obvious choices, the most obvious of them all is my big sister Andrea. Although I never call her that, I've never known her as anything but Ange. Supposedly I started that nick name too. Ange will be standing up next to me on our big day as our Matron of Honor. I was a little too young to have the responsibility when she got married but I'm glad that we will at least get to have the experience together when I get married.

Here we are at about age 4 and 9 I'd say. I'm still jealous of how well her hair can hold curls.

My next lady has been a great friend of mine since second grade. We've probably done just about everything together. When anyone from home sees one of us without the other, the question was inevitable "Where's Kate?" "Where's Amanda?" They knew better that someone must be sick or dying if we were not together. We tried to live a year apart, me at MSU and her at WMU, but that didn't last very long. I ended up transferring :) Now we live about 10 minutes from each other in Detroit.

Here we are playing on the monkey bars in Grand Haven circa second grade. Showing a little tummy...she was scandalous even back then :)

My third lady best friends from college. They say the people you meet in college will be your friends forever...and I know that is the truth with Kristie and I. We are very alike in some ways but very different in others. I think our personalities compliment each other well. I also have the pleasure of standing up as Maid of Honor in her wedding in July. We've had so much fun planning her big day, I can't believe it's right around the corner!!

Kristie and I at Curwood, the annual festival in her home town. It was a tradition for a while but sadly I missed it this year :(

And last but not least, my little lady. She's too old to be a flower girl so I've asked Gary's niece Emily to be my junior bridesmaid. Not that I don't ADORE my nephews, but I am so excited to be gaining a niece!! I'm hoping to be a good role model for her as she enters her teens in a few years.

Here is Gary with his brother and Emily in California while Gary lived there about 4 years ago. She's grow up a bit since then!

And there you have it! Gary hasn't asked all of his men yet so I'll save that for another post!

It's Our One Month Engage-iversary!

I can't believe we've already been engaged for a month! On one hand it seems like it's been forever that I've been sporting this gorgeous diamond ring on my finger...but on the other it feels like just yesterday! I still look at my ring every day and think, wow, that is freakin' beautiful!

I've also realized that I haven't even shared a picture with ya'll! I'm not the type of girl that is going to post her ring on Facebook, but I'll at least put one up for all of you who follow my blog :)

Don't mind my wrinkly knuckles...at least I had just gotten a manicure!!

Search For the Perfect Venue Part II

In my previous post about our search for the perfect venue, I pointed out some of the issues we were stumbling upon. Another issue we keep running into is guest minimums. Most of the reception venues in town require a 150-200 person minimum in order to reserve it on a Saturday night. There is no way I have that many people that I want to invite to my wedding. Nothing against those that are planning large weddings, I just prefer a smaller more intimate wedding with only the people who truly matter the most in our lives.

Keeping in mind the rustic theme we are going for and ruling out those places with a high minimum guest count, we decided to take a look at Fox Hills Golf Club in Plymouth, MI. Although I originally all but refused to have the reception at a golf course, this one was different. Fox Hills actually has two different club houses, the Golden Fox and the Classic Fox. The Classic Fox clubhouse is actually the original log cabin clubhouse which dates back to 1927. Of course the interior has been remodeled and it is now a great place to have a wedding reception!

I L-O-V-E this picture! Look at that moon!!

Here's a glimpse of the interior. Thank you to this lovely couple for starring in my post.

And here's a look at the addition onto the original log cabin. A bit more modern but still a little rustic feel to it.

I absolutely LOVED the log cabin look yet it still had all the modern conveniences that we need! Plus when we sat down to discuss numbers with Chris from the events team, we were pleasantly surprised by the price too! And if that wasn't good enough, she also told us that since November is technically the start of the off season, they would throw in an extra incentive for us! How about a bar upgrade? Or maybe some late night snacks? FREE!!!! Gosh I love that word.

Gary and I left feeling great about Fox Hills. But, we were a little concerned that it was the first place we'd looked at and their might be something else even better out there! Chris was nice enough to put our date "on hold" for us with no money down.

So the search continues but I have a good feeling about this one...

Where to Have a "Non-Church" Wedding in November

Since Gary and I have different religions backgrounds (I'm Protestant and he is Catholic) we knew right off the bat that we didn't want to get married in a traditional church setting. I guess you could say we wanted to get married on neutral ground. I didn't think it was fair to get married in a Protestant church just because I'm the bride...and I don't think the Catholic church would even LET us get married there if I wasn't planning on converting.

The problem with a non-church wedding in November is that pretty much all outdoor ceremony sites are immediately ruled out. (Remember this is Michigan people, it's not exactly warm here in November)

So now what? I didn't really want to have the ceremony in a banquet hall, that just seemed boring to me. And I also didn't really want to have to pay a ton of money for the actual ceremony site when we'd already be dishing out a lot of dough for the reception.

Last summer we visited Greenfield Village which has an adorable little chapel that would be absolutely perfect for a wedding. I was completely in love. Until I got engaged and checked on the rental price...$1,500 just to rent it for the afternoon? Ouch. That was a little more than we wanted to spend.

And then my brilliant fiance had an idea. What about the historic chapel at the Mill Race Village in Northville? It had the same exact look and feel as the Greenfield Village chapel, it was about a mile down the road from our condo, and the price was right where we wanted it to be. I love the idea that we will be married in the actual city we live in. The city where we have so many memories together. The city we moved into our first place together. The city we both love so much. So we booked! I'm so excited about it and I'm so grateful to Gary for coming up with the idea. He says he's finished contributing to the planning now...he's done his part.

Here are a few photos of the chapel. Ain't she cute??

And check out these grounds!! What a beautiful backdrop for photos!

Kristie's Bachelorette Party Invites!

My bridesmaid Kristie's bachelorette party is coming up in a little over a month and a half from now. I figured it was about time I got working on some invitations! I had already decided that I was going to go with a hot pink, black, and zebra theme a while back so at least I had some sort of direction. Once I got started, I was pleasantly surprised on how quickly I got them done! Started and finished in less than a week! I know, you're impressed aren't you?

Here's what you'll need

Gluestick
Bonefolder
Hole puncher
Cardstock (Black, Hot Pink, and Zebra)
Envelopes
Ribbon (Zebra)
Envelope liner templates

And here's the step-by-steps

1. I used 8 1/2" x 11" hot pink cardstock so I could run them through my home printer. I formatted the document in Microsoft Word to be just under 5"x 7" so I could glue it on to a 5" x 7" black card and be able to actually see it behind the pink.


2. Trim the black cardstock to 5" x 7" and also trim your printed cardstock to the correct size. Glue the printed sheets onto the black cardstock


3. Punch two holes at the top of the card and thread your ribbon through them. I looped the ribbon through both holes instead of tying a bow. I thought a bow was a little to "cute" for a bachelorette party invite
   
4. Then I used my Paper Source envelope liner templates to cut out some zebra paper to line the envelopes. Place the liners inside the envelopes and fold the flap down. Use your bonefolder to make it fold nice. Place glue around the outer edges in a triangle shape and unfold to that it sticks to the envelope flap.
5. I also used Microsoft Word and my home printer to print address and return address labels on the same hot pink paper. I used my trusty Xyron to attach them to the envelopes.

Here's the finished project!