This is dinimarie's Blue Wedding!

I can't believe its almost three months since my beautiful wedding day. Literally the day after posting my last blog entry, wedding planning kicked into high gear and I didn't have much time to update my little blog. Now that all the excitment has dissipated and I'm settled into fall, I think it's a good time to share all my wedding details in hopes that some of my ideas and choices may inspire or help one of you!

With that, I'd like to begin with sharing my wedding gown and veil. It was so perfect and exactly what I'd envisioned - traditional yet unique, elegant and sophisticated. Initially, the only thing that gave me pause was whether to wear a veil. Well, thanks to pinkylv's helpful comment, looking at photos, and really thinking about what I wanted to look like, I decided on a veil. However, instead of going with the matching Pronovias veil, I purchased a gorgeous birdcage veil attached to an ornate fascinator of feathers and Swarovski crystals on one end and a sparkly Swarovski pin on the other end. In my opinion, it was absolutely perfect.

As for my "Something Blue," I opted for a pair of blue topaz earrings (my birthstone) that my Mom gave me as a birthday present years ago. For my "Something Borrowed ," I carried my grandmother's gold vintage purse. This purse dates back to the 1950's. When she saw me carrying her purse, she was so happy and surprised that she started to cry. The purse was something that she used to wear when she'd go out with my grandfather, who passed away when he was only 44 years old.

My Daddy passed away in 2002 at the age of 55, and it was important to me to carry something of his with me. So, as my "Something Old," I placed his favorite hankerchief in my grandmother's little purse. My Dad was in my mind the entire day, and being able to hold something of his made me feel that much closer to him.

The only jewelry I wore, other than the earrings, was my engagement ring, and then wedding ring, of course, after the ceremony. My engagement ring is a 1 1/2 carat, cushion cut diamond with another 1/2 carat of diamonds surrounding it, with very detailed scrolling. It looks very vintage, almost antique. My wedding band matches the band of the engagement ring.

Here are some photographs of my finished "Bridal Look."

I just realized I wrote a post about my shoes before I showed my dress...so here it is. I pretty much knew exactly what I wanted when I went to my bridal consultation at Sullums in Olyphant, PA - lace, trumpet or mermaid, and a lace bolero. The bridal consultant pulled three dresses based upon my detailed description of what I wanted plus her ascertation of my personality. The first dress was all wrong but the second dress was all right! How lucky was I to have found the perfect dress on my second try.

I absolutely love my dress. The designer is Pronovias Barcelona and the dress name is Nerveo from the 2008 collection. It is a lace and tulle dress in champagne (which is basically ivory). I must say, I think that Pronovias creates the most beautiful dresses and the Pronovias ads are so elegant and eyecatching. My inspiration for my flowers was even taken from a Pronovias ad.

However, my only concern/question about my dress is the veil. Initially, I did not want to wear a veil at all, just the dress with bolero. I've never really envisioned myself in a veil, so I didn't even contemplate trying one on at the time I found my dress. I also thought that a veil might be too much with all the lace and beading going on. Now, I'm beginning to wonder if I will regret not wearing a veil. My first fitting is this Friday, so I may ask to try a veil on with the dress...but it is too late to change my mind? Should I stick to my original plan or go with the veil?

After months of searching both in stores and through the internet, I finally bought my wedding shoes and I am super excited about them. They are Stuart Weitzman's Bowremid in Camel Satin with a 3" heel. It's been difficult finding a pair of shoes I really love, especially since I've been trying to find shoes with a 3" heel or less. You see, I didn't want to be the same height as my fiance, who is 6'3. (I'm 5'10, so in these shoes, I will be 6'1).

I absolutely love these shoes and can't wait until they're delivered. I bought them from www.jildor.com. Jildor a fantastic shoe source; great prices, great selection, and a flat $5 shipping rate no matter how large your order. I learned about Jildor from browsing one of my favorite sites of all-time, www.shopstyle.com. Once my shoes are delivered, I will be sure to photograph them and post.

To me, our wedding day is not just about me and my fiance. Perhaps more importantly, our wedding is about family. I've been trying to think of ways to incorporate our family moments and memories into the wedding and reception in as many ways I can. For example, I've been compiling different, antique frames to hold the wedding photographs of my parents, grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. to be displayed on the place card table or cake table. Also, instead of throwing the bouquet to "all the single ladies," we are going to do a "couples' dance" where all married couples are invited to the dance floor and then gradually asked to take their seats as the song progresses and number of years married increases. At the end, the couple who has been married the longest will be left standing and my fiance and I will present the bouquet to them.

Just today, I've thought of another idea to incorporate into the family theme, but I'm thinking it may be overkill. Instead of table numbers, I was thinking of table names that would have some significance to either my family or my fiance's. Then, next to all the place cards, we can have a "key" or grid explaining the significance of each of the table names. I thought that this could be a good way for the families to learn a bit about each other's histories, but now I think it might be too much. I mean, most people go to a wedding to 1.) see the happy couple and 2.) drink and party, right? ....or no?

With only 64 days until the wedding, my fiance and I are not even close to booking our honeymoon. We've each travelled rather extensively, so I'm surprised that planning our honeymoon together has been so difficult. What adds to the difficult is timing - our trip will be in August, a peak time for hurricanes in the Carribean and gobs of tourists in Europe. Time constraints prevent us from a honeymoon in the South Pacific, which is where we really wanted to go.

Last month, I thought we'd narrowed down the location to Italy, which is my favorite country to visit, and one of the only European countries that my fiance has not visited. However, as my fiance wants to lounge on a beach while I'd rather traipse around vineyards and ancient, hilltop towns, we can't seem to decide which area of the country to target. Is it usually this difficult to plan a honeymoon?

Now I'm thinking of starting from scratch by choosing a new location altogether. I read a few articles about the Dalmatian Coast in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea as an alternative to Italy's Amalfi Coast. Apparently, Lord Byron named Dubrovnik, the major city on the Dalmatian Coast, as the "Pearl of the Adriatic." Sounds splendid...and cost effective.

Regardless of our ultimate decision, I think the two of us just need to agree upon a location, stick to it, and book the honeymoon, keeping in mind that the most important thing is that we'll be on a new adventure together.