This is fabulousmrsklein's Pink Wedding!

Play this... Johnny & Penny... this is the dance I would like us to be doing for our 1st dance. Be sure to turn off the volume on the music player!

Great soundtrack... this is one of most favorite movies ever. Kevin says "if you want to, I will try" lol Ok so I am def. going to have to lose a few lbs. for heavy lifting, but it will all be worth it in the end right? ;)

I have been collecting pink "stuff" for awhile now. Some I buy and most I just LUST after!

There are also some pink wedding decorations that I thought might help a few pink brides out. I know, I know... its a sh*t ton of pink ;)

The Sites:
All Juicy Couture from Nordstom.com
All Garters from the eBay store Kristi's Charmed Life (she also does the sports garters)
All Heels from Zappos.com
Ice cube molds from PerpetualKid.com
All Parasols, Lanterns & Votive holders from LunaBazaar.com
Vase from Save-on-Crafts.com
B & BW= bathandbodyworks.com
Rock Candy from CandyDirect.com
Last *8* photos from VictoriasSecret.com
?all garters and decor comes in MANY different colors if you want to check the sites out for your color!

Pink (and more) Dyed Crinolines/Slips
Another thing I wanted to add. The Rit Dye (ritdye.com) site can give you instructions on how to mix their dyes to come up with different colors... you can get a "shocking pink", a "coral", you could even make a "tiffany blue".

Happy shopping, I hope you can find something you like!

PS. Victorias Secret is having the semi-annual sale right now and alomst everything I have up and more is on clearance!

I am sure many of us have seen the episode of Bridezilla where the self proclaimed "trailer fabulous" bride shocks her guests with a red wedding gown.

Is it fabulous and original? Brides doing what fits them the best? Or do you think it is just plain tacky?

In China most brides wear red, it is said to bring good luck. I have seen many Indian weddings and those brides wear a red dress tradtionally also, but seeing as how some of them have many events they get to wear many FABULOUS colors!

Would you wear a bright blue dress if you LOVED it? Do you think white is always right? Do any of you believe that only a "pure" bride should be wearing white anyway? From what I have read white has only been "in" as the color for wedding dresses since the 1800's.

?Here is an old wedding poem?

“Married in white, you will have chosen all right. Married in grey , you will go far away. Married in black, you will wish yourself back. Married in red, you’ll wish yourself dead. Married in blue, you will always be true. Married in pearl, you’ll live in a whirl. Married in green, ashamed to be seen, Married in yellow, ashamed of the fellow. Married in brown, you’ll live out of town. Married in pink, your spirits will sink.”

Does that pink slip mean I am going to sink??? Uh-oh :)

Colored Wedding Dresses... Do or Don't?

Found them at Jim's Formal Wear (jimsformalwear.com) they have locations all over the country!

So here they are... just picture them with a hot pink rose.
Charcoal gray suits with black shirts and (probably) black ties.

I am so excited to have these picked out. I have been looking at different styles, colors, shirts, ties, vest & shoes for so long I really don't think I ever want to see another tux again.I almost got to the point where I was going to have them pretend we were on the beach... throw on some cargo shorts, flip-flops, a polo and call it a day!

They will be happy because I know that they have feared I was going to put them in pink, a range of pink! So now that they will not look like a side-show freak, an MC for gay pride week or a bottle of Pepto-Bismol they should all love me :)

Well some about me....

Whooooo Hooooooo!
I am soooooo excited to have this done! I should have had it done a month ago but I was unsure if I was even going to send out Save the Dates. I got a coupon code to get them done for next to nothing and so I decided to go for it!

So I snagged the image and designed the STD's. I ordered them from VistaPrint.com for only $15 (for 100)!! They are post cards and that helps to cut the cost (to have them made & for postage).

We are only sending them to out of town guests. Are you guys giving them to everyone you are inviting?

Here they are... Ta-Da! lol

1st off I have way WAY too much time on my hands as a lot of you know ;) I have made mini inspiration boards to email to vendors. I am just posting them up as I email them out :)

I made this board to give the florist and wedding coordinator to show the look I am going for.
I am going to do the carnation centerpieces like the top right (change out white for hot pink).
The table linens will be like the bottom left and the same colors all over, but the linen will be in SILVER DAMASK (of course, damask lol).
The other two pictures set the mood, it will dim because it is a cocktail reception. Candles will be around the flowers like the picture top right. I am buying 300 votives/holders to do the job! The pink will stand out but there will not be any black...
PiNK, White, Silver & Bling ;)
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ps. this site has been screwing with me ALL day so I just hope this posts... nothing has so far!

I got my diamond confetti in the mail today! Bling Bling! It looks GREAT. The diamonds reflect the light better then I could capture in a picture!

The first picture is of the packages it comes in. The first is the 2 carat the second the 4 carat (I put it on my laptop so you could get an idea of the size). The diamonds in my hand are the 4 carat. I got 2 of each but I am thinking I might need a few more, I am going to have trial run at the centerpieces 1st.

The site:
yourweddingcompany.com
(I found the site on the blog of tiffbride)

I have most of the ones pictured and they are good quality and range in price from $12-$36. The 3rd picture is actually the site picture for the flowers I bought for the rehearsal dinner.

I LOVE the makeup I LOVE the hair I LOVE the tatts :)

Here are some of the great sites I use for hair flowers and other vintage stuff!

pinuphair.net
pinupgirlclothing.com
flowerclip.com

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This is the board I made for the for the bouquet style. Mine will be all hot pink styled like the bottom left and the bridesmaids will be smaller versions with mixed pinks.

Well I have ordered the Rehearsal dinner dress and its a little more conservative then some of the dresses I was looking at, but I wanted the perfect black dress... for me this is it!

These are the shoes (sky high)


These are the flowers for my hair (hot pink!!) I tried to get good lighting for this pic but they look a little more then they really are.


Overall look I LoVe! Make-up for both days :)


I am still looking for the perfect hot pink clutch, I have found some but I will keep looking for awhile longer!

This has been a VERY stressful wedding week for me! I am sure most of you have had one like it!

I have changed the colors and overall look of the wedding back to my original colors & ideas. When I started planning I picked Hot Pink, Silver & White to be the reception colors because they were my favorite colors and best fit my personality. Over the past couple of months I started changing towards a Marie Antoinette style wedding (even though I never, EVER liked gold in the past, I was using this as a main color!). I do still think what I came up with is beautiful but I want the wedding to reflect my personality and taste more. I am still keeping some elments of Marie Antoinette, but this way it is all me all the way. A "Constance" themed wedding. Oh yes and Kevin of course (who by the way is not left out b/c I am crazy, but because he really does not give a **** about wedding decor!) :) haha

Most things remain the same, except the table linens, centerpieces & then cake! I went back to the original cake I picked out (the lace with the bow silver and white).

Here is a slide show of the changes (some just inspiration) and old but new color scheme. I wish I had stuck with this from the begining!

LADIES, at the moment the sidebars here cannot hold too much HTML, so keep it semi-simple for now and WBC said they would make it so we could add more :) Until then the sidebar will go haywire and even disappear if you put too much HTML in it!

Ok no chat box for now. Hopefully I will be able to put it in the sidebar again soon. Even if its not for everyone, I had fun with it for the little while I got to have it before the site went screwy :)

My Flower Girl, Lily. One of a Kind :)
She is growing up to be some kinda wonderful!

The pictures shown to the left are of the dress and wings (inspiration) and actual wings (there is no blue tint in real life). I will keep the flower girl dress in the pink shown but it comes in about 20 different colors if you like it!

I like the pictures of flowergirls dressed up as fairies with fairy wings, but I think this suits my wedding better. Perfect for a little girl who likes to dress up. She was a walking Christmas tree for Halloween! As well as being a budding socialite, and up and coming rockstar and a model/actress I am positive she will be smart enough to just skip the first couple grades.

I buy A LOT from VS. I am not talking too much underwear but clothes, some dresses, VS PInk lounge wear and SHOES!

I have been browsing the bridal stuff and they have it all hooked up for us future brides. I have put some pix of a few things I have ordered and some that I just think is fun!

♥

The chat is now forever in the sidebar so hopefully we can get some good chats going! Thanks to everyone who has already stopped by to chat... you might need to hang out for awhile until we get a few ladies going :)

This is my fresh dyed slip. My fiance did the first dye job and did NOT submerge it all the way but we did again and it turned out perfect. What a FaBuLoUs man to dye everything PINK for me :) YAY for Kevin! He ROCKS!

Well it has been switched up!

I am happy to go with the pink all the way!

I cannot wait just wear the jewelry! :)
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OK I am WARNING ALL BRIDE-TO-BE's:
This project takes FooooooooooREVER!
I started working on this a month ago and of course I got burnt out... let me tell you it is tedious!!
This is NO WHERE near the final product but I thought I would give everyone a peak at what I am working on.

To top it all off I am not even sure if I want one of these on the top of my cake anymore! I guess I can always put it on the card box/cage if I don't use it on the cake.

OR better yet... I throw a chain on it and wear it around my neck! BLING BLING... I will be cooler then Flavor Flav!

Ok it is getting closer to my wedding day and I since I have a strange situation, I am going to have some wedding dresses brought to the house for me to try on. I may have to just order the dress in my normal size and get it tailored before the wedding.

SO here are the dresses that I LOVE LOVE LOVE and a few I am on the fence about. I am not going to say right now which I LOVE b/c hey I have blogged a LOT here and I think some of you might get my personal style a little bit (we'll see lol). :)

I cannot have all the dresses I like brought to me so please tell me the ones you like the best.

MY BODY!! Keep in mind that in dresses I am usually a size 12 (not a small girl!!), not top or bottom heavy (although I plan on adding some extra up top on the big day if you know what I mean haha) and I like a mix of GLAMOUR AND FUN... above all FABULOUSITY ;)

♥Thank-you for participating in yet another vote!♥

also PS. I might add straps so maybe think about this :)

I have been waiting to see the table linens in action and I finally got a picture. They look fabulous!

I also got the skinny on the lighting and we are going for soft amber (the area the reception is in is WHITE WHITE WHITE) so the lights will hopefully bring on that romance!

Of course we live and the Chicago area... and because the Cubs are fabulous and you can't love baseball without loving Wrigley Field.

I know there are many brides doing this, so it is nothing new and exciting lol. We are both Cubs fans but he is a HUGE fan. He played baseball all his life through college. Since my wedding is BEYOND girly... this my little something for him :)

I got it today...finally... so there it is... isn't it fabulous ;)

Oh and BY THE WAY... This is our year... I feel a World Series win coming on!

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The Cubs are SEXY ;)

I have sent the baker the picture of this cake. After much TOO much deliberation I decided this would look the best with all the other decor. I am having the flowers on the cake in blush and hot pink with gold accents.

Hotstuff does not like fruit flavor or filling of any kind (I am not the biggest fan either). I see so many people on these wedding shows chosing lemon cake (eeeew! lol). The cake will be buttercream (the baker only does this) and the filling will be chocolate buttercream.

Let them eat cake ;)
...and me, I LOVE cake!

Here is the newsletter for this month. I have swtiched up the style to go with the wedding style more. I am glad that my wedding is soon! Marie Antoinette is just a style that I am inspired by for the wedding, but it is not a theme and I can't wait for you guys to see how I am making it my own! All the pieces are coming together!

I only know one person (around my age) that did not live with her fiance before they got married. For most people I believe it is not only to see how things are before you get married but also for convenience. So many people have children coming into the marriage & some have been married more then once before. The times where living 'in sin" was frowned upon seem to fading fast!

I have a very crazy personal situation and I have received absolution for living with Kevin before marriage but in all honesty no matter what the situation was I would have probably ended up living with Kevin before the BIG day. I think that now it is unreasonable for some people to live apart until the BIG day. I have seen on here and I know some people that have been dating or engaged to someone for 5 years or more before they walk down the aisle! I love every day I get to spend with Kevin and the past year we have been working on our house together and making it our own has been fabulous. There is something that would be wonderful about spending your first night in same house (your house) together for the first time after you are husband and wife.

So ladies, what are you doing? Do you live with your spouse to be? Does your family object? Is this your first marriage or have you been down this road before?

When I asked all of the ladies to be in my wedding I also asked them to fill out a little survey asking their favorite colors, foods, snacks, drinks, love song, theme song and some other questions. I am going to be using the answers for a bunch of things I am going to do for them and in their gifts.

I have already taken their favorite love songs and their theme songs and put them all on a CD together. These will be a little part of the gift :)

The Survey I sent to my BM's to fill out... So I can tailor gifts, games & events that fit them perfectly! (or better then before at least) ;)

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Hey Ladies,
I am sure this is going to be one of many emails. I just a few things from you guys (ok maybe just a little bit more then a few) ;). Some stuff I need to know just to make sure I got it right, and some I am just being nosey.
1. Address-
2. Phone number-
3. Full name-
4. Birthday-
5. Shoe size-
6. Favorite Color-
7. Favorite Candy-
8. Favorite Movie-
9. Favorite Food-
10. Favorite Quote-
11. 3 words to describe yourself (if you need more words... go ahead, I could never narrow it down to just 3 haha)-
12. Hobbies (not just shopping & music please... elaborate, a few details to make my nosey butt happy)-
13. Favorite Love Song-
14. Your theme song (right now or all the time)-

Thank-you guys so much... You know you're fabulous!
Mahalo, LOVE YOU
Constance

Until I started planning my own wedding (even though I have been in other peoples) I never knew what was usually expected from a bridesmaid. I was watching a "Bridezilla" scream and cry her eyes out because her BM's were not giving her enough ATTENTION and another on that wanted them to set-up her reception. I was embarassed for them!

from theknot.com

Bridesmaids: 10 Ways to Lend a Hand

There's more to being a bridesmaid than parading down the aisle in pink taffeta. Celebrate your friend and her groom by helping her out and adding some extra fun to this often stressful, but very special time. Here are some of our best ideas, to inspire you to go above and beyond your attendant duties.

Take responsibility for the gift baskets or bags for out-of-town guests' hotel rooms. Include a welcome letter, maps, relevant phone numbers, snacks, postcards, city souvenirs, and suggestions for fun activities.

Ask the bride when she expects the invitations to be ready and plan an informal gathering. Ask each bridesmaid to bring something to eat, turn on the stereo, and divide the duties of writing addresses, stuffing envelopes, and putting on stamps. Not only will you have fun, but you'll also be helping the bride finish a very tedious job!

Offer to supply favors or place cards for the rehearsal dinner. If it's a more casual affair, offer to make simple centerpieces.

Ward off prewedding jitters by creating a distraction -- get tickets to a play or dance performance, one that you know she'd be dying to see if she weren't so busy planning the wedding.

Ask what she's drinking at the reception and keep her cup full. Brides seldom make it through the crowd to the bar (just be sure her cup doesn't run over).

Collect disposable reception-table cameras at the end of the night and get them developed.

Offer to be the end-of-the-party, final once-over girl -- collect the cake topper and toasting flutes, make sure Grandma is escorted to her car, etc.

Take her gown to the cleaners after the wedding. It'll be pressed and preserved for when she returns.

Pack a traveler's "in case you forget" bag: Include a disposable camera, sunscreen, sunglasses, moisturizer, saline, and other toiletries a harried bride might forget to pack.

Stock the couple's kitchen with food for their return. The worst trip is the one to the grocery store the night you return from paradise. Help them avoid reality for just one more day.



I have to ask... What do YOU expect from your ladies and from your MOH??

I noticed that at the ball they went to in the movie people where wearing masquerade masks. I think thats those shots were so beautiful I am getting some for myself and the bridal party.

I am not even going to try and get all the guests to wear these, but I am buying enough so that if you want to, you can :)

I hope they will add a little whimsy to the wedding.
The KEY words for the reception are turning out to be:

ROMANTIC
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WHIMSICAL
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DECADENT

I am not going to wear a dress that looks straight out of 1785, or powder my hair white and poof it up 10 inches (for those of you that may have been frightened it was coming to this). Even though I have to admit I think its Sexy, STILL ;).




Chapel Royal in Versailles (France)





Marie Antointtes home when not at the palace

The Gardens in Versailles

I recently got the estimate on my flowers (just over $2000)!! I have a budget that is EVER expanding but I know that most of the money is going to go towards the premium open bar & food, because..well... we and everyone we know is a lush ;)

I was planning on having roses and ONLY roses. I wanted to have maybe different colored/size vases with flowers in the the center of the tables. I have actually been on the search for a cheaper flower to use in the centerpieces that still looks romantic. I have found some pictures of a flower I thought I would NEVER use, carnations.

The pictures are of carnations packed tight and they look very romantic. I would like to use white and maybe also blush (very pale pink). I will still have roses everywhere else, but this will save alot of money and I think it can look just as beautiful. I will have candles all around the flowers but with a little gold sparkle and of course, pink ;)

My fiance has 3 nephews and I want them all to be a part of the wedding. I have seen these banners on other girls blogs as well as many wedding sites, but I could not remember where to look.

So I dug around and found the site Herecomesyourbride.com.

I am still having my hot pink wedding, but I think everything covered in Hot Pink would look like a sweet sixteen party, which is NOT what I have in mind for my wedding day!

I have chosen the table linen in Gold Damask. There will be about 10 candles on each table with ivory & blush flowers. I have tried it out and it looks GORGEOUS and fits well into the Marie Antoinette style. It seems soooooooooooooo close!

As you all know I am crazy planning my wedding right and waiting for a huge surgery. I am also helping to plan my family reunion which is happening in just over 2 months!!!

It is a HAWAIIAN LUAU... which is going to be SOOOOO much fun, my idea since I was born in Hawaii.

I need party and decor ideas, online shops to buy supplies since I can't go out shopping right now!! Everyone suggests oriental trading company, but I am looking for more!!

Please Help ME!! :) Any ideas and cool suggestions wanted and appriciated!

I bought the paper for the invites and cut them 6x6. I am going to print out the invite on vellum paper and attach with a hot pink ribbon. The evelopes were purchased online (actionenvelope.com) they have TONS of different colors and sizes. I cut the place cards myself and I will use clear labels and a fancy script to print out everyones name.

The rehearsal dinner is going to be in the hotel that the wedding guests are staying at (as well as myself the night before the wedding). It will be Italian in their private garden room with an open bar.

???

I ordered this ostrich plume pen for guests to sign the guest book with. I am painting the wood with an antique gold. The first picture is of my actual pen (not the greatest picture) and the second is from the site. It is FABULOUS in person.

My Uncle Cliff plays (saxaphone) in a band here in the Chicago area, the Chicago Express, and is going to play At Last by Etta James at my wedding while my Aunt Tonia sings. My Aunt is a gospel singer (with a record deal and all that jazz). It is going to be beautiful!! The wedding party and I will walk to it :)

All the details are coming together :)

I am getting the hang of monogram making and I made this one tonight that my fiance and I both love. I am going to keep working and I might come up with a few more I like... but so far I am happy :)

The one we agreed with is the major picture and #3 in the line-up.

?Does anyone know where you can get them printed on labels or other things for the wedding?


the website that helped me (via avastdevice):
http://www.favorideas.com/video/monograms/monogram-ppt.html

and a great font site (via Marta):
dafont.com

Only SIX months away and SOOOO much left to do!

I am starting to stress. Not just because of the wedding but because of something I have yet to write about.

I am waiting for a Lung Transplant.

I got diagnosed with PLCH when I was 21 and in my junior year of college. The PLCH is a rare lung disease that has also caused me to have Pulmonary Hypertension. I have been on the transplant list for three months now and I am currently #1 in my blood type.

After the transplant if everything goes right I will need 3 months to recover. I am starting to get worried now. Since I was at the top of the list they thought I would get called soon with lungs but time is ticking by and I still have not had any good offers (offers of matching healthy lungs).

I raise money for my illness and do a whole other blog about being young & sick (disabled) so I am not shy about sharing my story. By just looking at me no one would ever know and until the past few months I was living a somewhat normal life and being home all the time now waiting on the call has given me lots of time to blog. I am getting closer to my wedding date and I am spending more and more time on here and trying to do as much as possible for the big day so I thought I would share it with you guys. This is my reason for not yet trying on dresses or doing other things that I should be getting done right about now! :)

My fiance is fabulous and he has stuck by me from the moment we started dating (we were friends for a couple years before we started dating). He has seen me through chemotherapy to now getting a transplant (which is beyond your wildest imagination huge and extremely difficult) so if we make it to our wedding day it is going to be the biggest celebration we could ever dream of.

Thank-you for taking the time to read my blogs :) You might never know it, but sometimes there have been comments or blogs on here that have put a smile on my face when I needed one.

I sent this email to my future sister-in-law :)

Kari, I wanted to let you know how much I love you, so I found some special dresses just for you... I will let you pick #1 or #2... let me know asap!

This might be common knowledge for some, but not me!!

I downloaded some fonts to use for the rehearsal dinner invites (I am DIY-ing them) but I do not know how to get them into the program to use them. I would like to use them in both word and photoshop.... but how do I get them there??

I have been venturing lately into a whole world of computer programs and things I never had any reason to pay attention to until now... its like being in school all over again!

I am lost...

I would greatful for ANY help :)

I have been on a HUNT for invitations that I like for months now. Finally I have found them!! I am so excited to have something else checked off my CRAZY long list!!