This is marta12's Blue Wedding!

Callas are one of my favorite flowers. I can't imagine carrying anything else. I want my bouquet to be stunning. I love flowers and I really want something that will take my breath away (I know...how self involved am I!).

I also want the works on my bouquet, a beautiful ribbon preferably tied in the corset style.

One thing I definitely want to incorporate are locket charms. I want to put a picture of my dad who passed away when I was in high school and a picture of my fiance in the charms. I want to keep the ribbon with the lockets as a keepsake and hopefully pass it on to my daughter when I have one.

Are you girls into your bouquets as much as I am into mine?

I'm done with finals!!!!!wooohooo lol anyway I finally started to think about our transportation needs for our wedding day. I recently saw a wedding while driving through the city and saw that the bride and groom's getaway car was a classic red mustang convertible. HOW FUN! I love classic cars! but this would be a MAJOR splurge. It costs $250 per hour (with minumum 6 hours) to get a classic Rolls Royce!

I also like the idea of a Hummer. Modern and Chic!

Who is providing transport for the wedding party to and from the wedding? I was thinking of getting a limo or the ever famous Chicago trolley!

We do have to provide transport for the wedding party from the ceremony to the reception since we'll be driving around for our pictures.

This is one thing I didn't think would be as expensive as it actually is.

I just dropped off my deposit for the ceremony, Sunday I gave the photographer a deposit, wednesday before that a deposit for the makeup artist. In December we gave a deposit for the reception which will include all of our alcohol, food, cake and other sweets.

I had time to sit down right now and tally ALL of my wedding expenses to date. I calculate everything since I want to see how much EVERYTHING will cost us when the day is over. So anything I already bought like cardstock, stamps, glue gun, samples of favors etc. are calculated as well.

I bought quite a bit of stuff the first two months when I got engaged. I got a sample of 12 Something Blue Candles, Crystals for the tables, Thank you cards for the shower (lol I know!) etc.

When I see stuff on sale I can't help but get it. I only have 2 things that I bought thus far that I still don't know if I will use but they fit my theme and were on sale so I got them. I'm curious to know is everyone spending happy or are you waiting for your purchases closer to the wedding.

If you did do some shopping, what are the things you got?

I have been debating the candy bar station for a while because I didn't know how I felt about having ONLY aqua, white and black candy. I have decided that I will line the apothecary jars with aqua, white and black tissue or cardstock paper and fill them with all the candy that we love!

I found a couple of great sites for retro candy! Yes all your (and your guests) childhood favorites! You can buy them by decades! (60s, 70s, 80s!)
Abba Zaba Minis, Bottle Caps, Boston Baked Beans, Bubble Gum Cigars, Chick O Sticks, Chuckles, Cow Tales, Fizzies, Fruit Stripe Gum, Fun Dip, Giant Smarties, Gold Mine Gum, Hot Tamales, Jawbusters, Jolly Rancher Sticks, Jujyfruits, Kits, Laffy Taffy, Licorice Pipes, Mike & Ikes, Now & Laters, Orange Heads, Pixy Stix, Pop Rocks, Razzles, Red Hots, Slap Sticks, Smith Brothers, Snaps, Sugar Daddy Pops, Sweetarts, Wax Lips, Zotz, Atomic Fireballs, Black Taffy, Candy Necklace, Bazooka, Jaw Breakers, Lemon Heads, Root Beer Barrels, Salt Water Taffy, Slo Pokes & Walnettos & more!

Get your retro candy at
www.candycrate.com
www.groovycandies.com
www.nostalgiccandy.com

Another great website for candy is candywarehouse.com. I love it because you can buy the candy in what ever color you want.
www.metrocandy.com offers a great selection. I like this one because if you get the lollipops they come with fun displays old school style!
www.bulkcandystore.com has a great variety of candy as well.

The jars are called Apothecary Jars. Check www.save-on-crafts.com, www.target.com, or ebay.

I've been pondering lately what will be good gifts for our moms. We both love the idea of giving them digital picture frames. We would be able to not only upload wedding photos but also, engagement photos, baby pictures, us through the years. All the pictures are stored in one place.

A lot of the frames can be customized with a cover. Mom's can either have a slideshow of all the photos playing over and over or stop the slideshow at a particular picture and exchange photos as they like. I've seen them cost 100+



What is everyone else doing for parent gifts?

I had my trial with Ms. Sonia today. LOVED HER. LOVED everything about her! She was very cool and nice and definitely knew her stuff.

My inspiration is vintage glamour with a little modern touch a la Ms. Dita Von Teese.

The only thing we didn't really do full on was the airbrush foundation since it was the end of the day and I was already wearing bare minerals when I got to her.

I will be paying for the girls to get their makeup done by Sonia as well.

Following on my previous post, I have a make up trial with Sonia Roselli next week. Sonia is one of the most known wedding makeup artists in Chicago. She's a little pricey but since the dress I chose is cheaper than what I had in the budget I don't feel so bad. Sonia is truly in artist in her profession and she books super fast. I emailed her and she said she just booked the weekend before mine. I'm so excited, I have read only good things about her.

http://soniaroselli.com

Sonia has her own makeup line Sonia Roselli Cosmetics but she also uses cosmetics from Smashbox , Nars, Mac, Cinema Secrets.

The photographer I've been looking at is booked for my date which is a major bummer! So I had to go back to my excel spreadsheet and narrow down my other favorites and the ones that have been recommended by the wedding coordinator.

All of their work is beautiful. I was looking for more of a photojournalistic approach, I want to own my own proofs and copyrights, I want two photographers and at least 10 hours of coverage.

Here are some of my faves, they are priced about the same (all have what I want).

http://www.johnandrewsphotography.com
http://www.briankinyon.com/
http://www.michaelcarrphoto.com/
http://mishamedia.comte
http://www.beckyhillphotography.com/
http://www.jeremylawsonphotography.com

UPDATE: We've decided to go with Becky Hill. We are meeting with her Sunday, the 4th of May. So excited. She'll be doing our engagement pictures as well!!!! UPDATE 2: COntract signed! E-pics in September.

I'm so happy to cross this off my list. I picked a church, called, and set our date. This was one of the things I was putting off. I've had some reservations about a Catholic ceremony because my fiance is not Catholic. But my man is such a trooper. He's totally on board, especially since he knows this is something my mom really wanted.

I will be getting married in the church I attend (when I do) and where I had my confirmation. Its within walking distance from where I currently live (but we're buying a house and it might not be in this area, but that's ok). This is a more liberal Catholic church because they have Latinos, Italians, Philipinos, Polish and Ukranian members so they are not AS strict as some Catholic churches about being a member and interfaith ceremony.

I'm just happy to have the ceremony location set! The church's wedding coordinator was really nice and I talked to one of the priests about my fiances proof of baptism.

We will have to do an interview with two relatives each and attend a pre-cana class. The fee is 550 +175 for the organist. But they have work with their own florist for ceremony decor that's included in the 550.

After my visit to the house of brides and trying out two new styles I haven't considered before I went back online to find more dresses in those styles and I came upon a Sophia Tolli gown (how did I miss it before????) that I think is THE one. Of course I will have to try it on but as soon as I saw it I actually saw myself wearing it. Did anyone else have that happen to them? Did you just know you would look great in a dress you saw before you tried it on? Or did you think that, tried it on and it was a total mess?

I present to you: Skye

I ordered these fans from the www.weddingchannelstore.com last week. After a little bit of a order mixup I received all my fans today. They are absolutely adorable. The color is a great Tiffany Blue match. The wooden finish is so smooth and the silk is good quality. Each fan comes in a individual white paper box.

I have to give props to the wedding channel store. I ordered 15 fans (when they were on sale for .99c) and received 5. I called them immediately and they reset my entire order sending me 15 at no additional costs. So now I have 20.

I plan to give them to the bridesmaids and who ever else might be getting ready with us or needs a cool down at the church or limo or whereever. Even with the AC, with emotions running high some people might get hot.

I've been dying to get tix to the Oprah show for Monday since my all time favorite singer Mariah Carey will be on! Well Oprah's people called my sister today and we got the tix.

I'm so psyched! I know I know Not wedding related!

UPDATE: Oprah was great. With my sister's fast thinking we got to sit in the front section. (As we were getting ready to make our way to the back, a lady asked if it was just the two of us, my sister said yes, and we're super fans so can we sit upfront? And of course she was like YES I've been looking for those.) Mariah looked amazing. Oprah was funny (she was sick and I think might have had too much medicine). It was a great show.

I've been DYING to share these! Which one or two do you like the best ladies? Please let me have your vote. I created 19 (all by myself) and now I'm having a hard time chosing.

I made these using MS Publisher 2007. I made custom pages of 2" by 2" and then just added the graphic and text. I downloded the font from a website I got from Ms. Nikki a.k.a. theultimatediyer. The website is http://www.dafont.com. I didn't use any templates. I looked at the monograms I liked and tried to recreate them or give them my own spin. If needed I can take some screenshots and email them to anyone who is interested in my process.

Let me have your favorites! Which row? Column?

Thank you!

After seeing a couple of brides (greatfulbride,
alybrand, kellydave4ever) do a newsletter I decided it might be a great way to communicate with not only the bridal party but also those that are closely connected to the planning process.

I'm pretty happy with it. This first issue is pretty general. A lot of photos and breakdown of bridal party attire, duties etc.

I redacted the text on pages 2 and 3 to post on this board since I haven't asked my bridal party about posting their names on the internet. I basically wrote about what I would need from them and what they will be wearing etc.

I also redacted the vendor info. This is a pretty security-less site. I don't need anyone calling up my vendors to cancel or change things (as it has been known to happen on theknot by classless brides).

You can see the full size pages by clicking on the photos on the left hand side of the blog or click on the tinyurl links below.

http://tinyurl.com/2kzk2y

http://tinyurl.com/339e8q

http://tinyurl.com/2rwt8t

The fun facts game on the back reads
Fun Facts and 6 Degrees of Separation from “Endless Love”
Endless Love was originally recorded by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie
Diana Ross appeared on Diva’s Live featuring Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey sang tribute to Michael Jordan at an All-Star Game in 2003
Michael Jordan is a partial owner of the OneSixty Blue restaurant
OneSixty Blue is next door to HOOPS the Gym, basketball courts
Marta and Dwayne met at HOOPS the Gym


So what do you girls think? Should I add more information?

I'm in love... with these placecards. I am adding this to what seems like my never ending do it yourself list. But how can I not. These place cards are EXACTLY me. Chic and fabulous!

White cardstock. Black lace. Tiffany Ribbon. Rhinestone accents.

I am going to start on these ASAP!

This is my favorite DIY! Its soooo pretty.

Continuing on Sonya gratefulbride's bathroom basket post I am posting my entire list since as much as I LOVE replying to all the email requests this will be just much easier. Also the 4 poems I have.

I probably won't be including every single thing. This is compiled from like 10 lists that I saw online. But its good to have a comprehensive list, some might like certain items more than others. If you got a lot of singles coming to your wedding, condoms might be a good idea HA HA.

Bathroom baskets:
Breath mints and breath strips
Mouth wash (scope)
Individually wrapped toothpicks
Small Band-aids
Tablet antacids like Tums
Safety pins
Individual packets of an OTC pain reliever like Advil or Excedrin
Pocket-packs of tissues
Travel bottle of hand sanitizer
Shout wipes or other stain-remover wipes
A few new AA batteries
A small pair of scissors
Floss
Deodorant in aerosol can
Static Guard
Contact lens solution
Nail files/ Emery boards
Nail Clippers
Clear nail polish
Double stick tape
Cough drops
Chapstick
Small first aid kid
Pens
Notepads
Air freshener
Lint brush
Unscented hand lotion (Johnson & Johnson)
Q-tips
Hair brush
Comb
Small sewing kit (with scissors)
Gum
Hard Candy/ Lollipops
Matches
Lighter
Krazy glue

Additionally, in the ladies' basket:
Hair spray
Bobby pins
A couple of emery boards
A packet of replacement earring backs
2 pair nude pantyhose
2 pair black pantyhose
Variety pack tampons
Panty liners
Regular size pads
Elastic hair ties
Sample size perfume
Nail glue
Facial Blotting paper

Additionally, in the men’s basket:
2 pairs of black socks
1 pair of white socks
Hair gel
Sample size cologne
Condoms?

Poem #1
Here is a basket for all of our guests,
To make sure everyone feels their best!
The hairspray will help hold your hair in place,
The bobby pins to keep your hair out of your face.
If you break a nail, don’t worry! There’s a file and some glue,
It can also fix a broken heel on a shoe!
The polish will stop that darn run in your hose,
Use the tissues to stop a runny nose!
We hope that you’ll find what you’re looking for.
Take a mint and now go hit the dance floor!

Poem #2
So happy you’re here to share in our special day!!!
But should something happen to go astray,
Please help yourself to the contents within,
Hair spray (or Wet wipe), hand lotion, gum and even aspirin,
Use only what you need and leave the rest,
It may be useful to another guest.
So repair the damage that may have been done,
Then hurry on back and join the fun!!!
Compliments of the Newlyweds

Poem #3
Compliments of the newlyweds,
To help you feel your best!
Just use a little...freshen up,
And leave for other guests!

Poem #4
If your skin feels dry, your hair out of place,
Your throat is parched, or whatever the case.
We've put this together to help you along,
Now get yourself out there before the next song!

After our meeting with the wedding planner, today was my first time ever visit to the Michael's Craft Store. I have to say I was mesmerized by all the paper, wood, stamps, stickers oh my. I wanted to go to see what they have and price a few things but I ended up buying a couple of items.

I bought the I Do letters for the cake table. I need to buy some paint in aqua to paint them. I will paint them and then do some damask stamping in corners.

A stamp pad...yeah not so exciting.

Small glue gun and glue sticks for all my crafts.

I also bought a styrofoam ball, 5" and 50 white silk carnations.

I decided to try and make one of the pomanders that I've been drooling over to see if the silk flowers look good.

So here it is, my very first DIY, a silk carnation pomander.

I must say I'm very proud of myself.

One of the lovely brides did these out of different flowers. They look great http://www.weddingbycolor.com/brandyntravi/milestones/9767

So this is all the stuff I've been ordering the last couple of days.

Aqua notecards for bridal party thank yous I will be making.

The corner punch stamp is for favor tags and other little things.

Damask Cardstock is for menus and table numbers.

Damask Letter Stickers, well those were just too cute to pass up.

Damask Pink Rub-ons are for bridesmaid compacts.

Damask Stamps are for all paper goods.

Monogram Stickers are for centerpieces.

Purse stickers are for bridesmaid cards.

Curly Rhinestone stickers are for table numbers.

White cardstock for table numbers.

The last photo is of a damask scrapbook album that I'm thinking about getting for the guestbook. What do you girls think!?

I can't wait to get started on these!

UGH I accidentally deleted my post! Thank God for the back button!

So I get home from going shopping, I didn't buy anything but dessert for Easter. This little store with wedding/shower supplies CLOSED DOWN!!!! and that's where I wanted to look for stuff, so sad, but my Damask cardstock that I got on ebay arrived!!! I love it!

I'm so in love with this paper. I will be using it for my menus and table numbers. The paper comes in 12"x12" size so I will have to cut it. I have more arriving and I ordered some more. It was .70 per sheet. EEK.

The paper is double sided. One side black with white design and the other white with black design. Its pretty sturdy.

I'm so excited to start working on my projects.

The paper is from Teresa Collins Designs. I looked up her site and I'm obsessed with it I'm posting two of her designs using the paper.
Here is the website http://teresacollinsdesigns.com/

Teresa will be in Chicago July 18-19. I'm hoping I can make the convention to see what she has to offer and maybe grab some free goodies.

Long story short I was in the Coach store on Michigan Ave this afternoon and they had bouquets of these pink flowers all around the store. I fell madly in love with them and have decided to change the roses I was going to use for bridesmaids for these flowers. They kind of look like roses and peonies put together.

What kind of flower is this? Anyone has any more pictures? I was able to find one picture googling pink flowers but without a name I don't know how to find them.

Thanks in advance girls!!!!!

Tiffany Blue and Damask...I LOVE THAT COMBINATION! My sister (MOH)is a graphic designer and she's creating our monogram. I wanted to show her some sample monograms to come up with something that will suit us and the theme of our wedding. Here are some pictures I saved before.

I want two or three monograms that I can put on our invites, stationery and a simpler one on other items like the aisle runner etc.

Which ones are your fave? Or do you have any websites with monograms that will give me some more sample ideas?

The second and last design ideas I got from one of our own talented bloggers. If you are looking for monogram ideas please check out her page and monogram blog. Her prices are also very cheap compared to other monogram sites. Check out Miss Kelly kellydave4ever

So I've been deciding on my centerpieces as I'm meeting again with the florist and I kept going back to the white tulip centepiece I have in one of my blogs below.

Then I came upon this pink tulip beauty that I fell in love with.

Here is where I need you to use your imagination. The cylinder will have a Tiffany Satin ribbon band around it as shown on the second photo and then a slimmer black lace band over the satin band to give the illusion of damask as in the picture with the dishes. Around will be 3 smaller cylinders with floating candles and then votive holders all around with faux diamonds a la my blog below.

Can you imagine this or is it only nice in theory. I think if done properly this could be the perfectly chic centerpiece I've been looking for.

I'm so excited about this. Although it might freak my florist a little since I originally wanted full flower centerpieces.

So I've been having babies on my mind lately. I'll be 27 this year so I have plenty of time but with all the wedding stuff I've been thinking about our future family.

Dwayne has two older children who will be 15 and 14 when we get married and he's an amazing father. His children adore him and I can't wait for him to be like that with our little one.

I've always wanted a girl...I'm very girly and would love a little girl to shop for, do her hair and have fun with.

We've talked about children before and we want to be married at least for a little while before we have one but will that change once we're Mr. and Mrs.?

So do any of you have had babies on their minds on top of the wedding? I see that some of you already have little ones. Do you think you will have more?

Anyone not planning to not have any?

I've been looking for this tape and ziplog bags all over. Aren't they fabulous!!! They are sold out everywhere. I need it...I want it....I gotta have it.

This would be so perfect for my Tiffany Blue and Black damask wedding!!!!

This would be a VERY inexpensive way to add some fabulosity!

A little past present and....well at least past and present.

We love our man don't we ladies.

Whether he watches ESPN for 10 hours straight, plays basketball for 2 extra hours, brings sausage pizza for dinner (I DON'T EAT SAUSAGE), hugs the covers, picks me up late from school, snores, whines, thinks paying $200 for Jordans is OK, drives with the music so loud my ears are about to bleed....

I love my man just the way he is and what's even more amazing is that he loves ME FLAWS AND ALL.

I'm a train wreck in the morning
I'm a bitch in the afternoon
Every now and then without warning
I can be really mean towards you
I'm a puzzle yes in deed
Ever complex in every way
And all the pieces aren't even in the box
And yet, you see the picture clear as day.

I don't know why you love me
And that's why I love you
You catch me when I fall
Accept me flaws and all
And that's why I love you [3x]

I neglect you when I'm working
When I need attention I tend to nag
I'm a host of imperfection
And you see past all that
I'm a peasant by some standards
But in your eyes I'm a queen
You see potential in all my flaws
and that's exactly what I need.

I know that my jewelry will depend on the dress and hairstyle but that hasn't stopped me from eyeing some pieces that I think suit me and my fashion sense.

I love long earrings and drop neckleces, cuff bracelets and vintage brooches.

I don't plan on spending a lot of money on my wedding day jewelry. I do want something new and sparkly for the big day.

Most of these are from http://emitations.com/ and some are from http://whiteaisle.com/ Emitations makes beautiful jewelry for a fraction of the cost what the real deal would cost. Sometimes they get pricey but most of the items are well worth the price.

If you've never been on emitations I have to warn you: its addicting. I'm almost positive I will splurge on the Damask Bracelet. I'm hoping they will have it on sale one of these days. Or I find a coupon for some % off.

Which ones do you like?

Finally I mobilized myself to take some pictures of my ring (since I'm home sick with a cold). The store picture does not do it justice.

I tried to be a little creative with my Tiffany blue ribbon :)

Look at this lovely thing.

Music is VERY important at our wedding. We both are music buffs. We have a somewhat eclectic taste ranging from Jay-Z to Josh Groban (with a little Frank Sinatra on the side)

We've put together a very LONG list of songs we want played at the wedding. Its very important to us for people to have a good time and DANCE! We're terrific dancers!


ugh that bear is f-ing everything up! KEEP UP!

Some musts include:
Mariah: Vision of Love, Fantasy..and probably a few more

Jay-Z: Bonnie and Clyde, Dirt off your shoulder
Stevie Wonder: My Cherie Amore, Knocks me off my feet
Barry White: You're my first my last my everything
Beyonce: Baby Boy
Jackson 5: Dancing Machine, Shake your body
Eurythimics: Sweet Dreams

New Edition, 112, Michael Jackson, Whitney, R. Kelly, Usher, lots of Reggae, Tina Turner, Bee Gees, Donna Summer, Outcast, Kanye, UB40 etc etc.



P.S. If you don't get the title look up Leif Garrett!

I have to admit, I pushed for a further away wedding date because I didn't think I could plan it in any shorter amount of time.

Law school is kicking my butt every semester and work is busier than ever so I'm incredibly glad for all the time I have to plan our vision, dream and unforgettable day.

I'm getting quite a few things done on the weekend and time is flying by but today I looked at my wedding countdown and was shocked to see 459 days to wedding...

Me and D have been together for almost a decade! It was a mutual agreement to wait until my career took off and then I got more settled in as a law school student. But man it seems like our day is so far away.

I'm ready to be a wifey...

Since our reception is in the evening I've been thinking that some cool lighting could really set the mood.

Lighing options are pretty pricey so I need to really research this before we decide on it.

Is anyone having any special lighting at their reception? Did you hire a service or just rent the pieces?

I really like the way uplighting looks. I also like the monogram floor or wall idea.

Maybe just lots and lots of candles?

Thoughts?

This might be impossible to accomplish for the reception with that many guests but I am loving the idea of diamond ice at least for my shower and bachelorette party!

Ice cubes trays that are in shapes of bling. http://Spoonsister.com/ $9.50
Thanks to FabulousMrsKlein also check out http://amazon.com/ for these beauties.

How cute is this?

After not much deliberation we decided on our first dance song....

ENDLESS LOVE by Mariah Carey and Luther Vandross

I'm a huge Mariah fan and always have been and couldn't be more excited about our choice. I wasn't going to push a Mariah song but he thought it would be so "US"....and that is why I love my man.

The lyrics are also very well suited.

I definitely want the head table to be the center of attention. However I don't want to over do it on the decor for it to appear cluttered and take focus away from well me and fiance.

I'm using shorter centerpieces for the guest tables and really like the idea of tall dramatic centerpieces for the head table. I think tall simple callas would be gorgeous.

I also came upon this pomander type decor and since I'm in love with the whole pomander idea I really want to use this somewhere. Maybe on the guestbook table or the bar?

I still want to incorporate the flower monogram on the head table....

Maybe a row of candles and just tall callas and I can incorporate other things elsewhere? I don't want too much going on.

Thoughts?

I accidentally ran across the red monogram letters and I liked the idea. I did some searching and althought I haven't been able to come up with too many photos the green S is absolutely stunning. I like the ones that are made out of the same color and same flowers.

A whole name is too much but I like them individually.

I will probably use white, coral pink or dark pink carnations but I want at least one of these somewhere.

Maybe in front of the head table? Thoughts?

Update: One of the talented bloggers created one of these from silk flowers and it looks FABULOUS. Check out Haley's aka Soontobe flower monogram