Red and Turquoise Shoes (with a little vintage...)

I love the brightly-colored wedding shoe trend and, from the beginning, I've had my heart set on a hot pair of turquoise pumps. They ended up being almost impossible to find. After several failed internet purchases (too big, too small, too teal...) I gave up and went with red. Red shoes are classic, sexy and, most importantly, easy to find! Phew!

I found a stunning pair of towering heals at DSW for just $10 (with a $10 rewards coupon). Steal!  I added turquoise feathers and a pair of vintage earrings with a little hot glue. The earrings match the vintage bracelet I will be wearing on our wedding day.

And a close-up of the jewelry:

What do you think? I'm feeling like the turquoise feathers are a liiiiitle loud, but I kinda love them. I dunno :)

19 Day!

Photographer Meeting & Must Have Photo List

Today we are meeting with our photographer, the fabulous Jessica Miller, to discuss the day-of wedding plan. To prepare, I put together a list of photos we'd like to see from our wedding day. I took suggestions from several websites, including the Knot.

Ceremony   

•     Ushers escorting guests to their seats
•     Ushers escorting moms to their seats
•     Close-up of groom waiting for the bride
•     Bridesmaids and groomsmen walking down the aisle
•     Ring bearer entering
•     Wedding party waiting at the altar
•     Bride and Dad walking down the aisle
•     Close-up of bride just before she makes her entrance
•     Bride and groom at the altar
•     Altar from the back during ceremony
•     Wide shot of audience during ceremony, from bride and groom's point of view
•     Readers during mass
•     Parents crying/watching
•     Faces of bride and groom as they exchange vows
•     Close-up of bride's and groom's hands as they exchange rings
•     The kiss
•     Bride and groom proceeding up the aisle, guests' smiling faces at their sides
•     Bride and groom hiding so guests leave

At The Church

•     Bride and groom together
•     Bride with her parents
•     Bride with her immediate family
•     Bride and groom with her parents
•     Bride and groom with her immediate family
•     Groom with his parents
•     Groom with his immediate family
•     Groom and bride with his parents
•     Groom and bride with his immediate family
•     Bride and groom with all parents
•     Groom with groomsmen
•     Bride with bridesmaids
•     Bride and groom with groomsmen
•     Bride and groom with bridesmaids
•     Bride and groom with whole wedding party


At the Statehouse

•     Romantic & fun shots of the bride and groom
•     Formal & fun shots of the wedding party
•     Pictures of bridal party shoes
•     Picture of the bride with each bridesmaid
•     Picture of the groom with each groomsman

The Reception

•     Shot from outside reception site (to set the tone)
•     Reception details: guest book, centerpieces, decorations, favors table,  dessert buffet, photobooth
•     Bride and groom at head table
•     Parents' table
•     Guests' tables
•     Close-up of friends and family making toasts
•     Bride and groom's first dance
•     Parents dancing
•     Bride and Dad dancing
•     Groom and Mom dancing
•     Kids playing or dancing
•     Bride laughing with bridesmaids
•     Bride and groom cutting the cake
•     Bride and groom feeding each other cake

Additional Shots

•     Bridesmaids/bride bouquets
•     Groomsmen boutonnieres
•     Wedding rings
•     Bride’s hair/hair piece/jewelry
•     Shoes

Vintage Inspired Wedding Makeup

Today is my makeup trial run. Sticking with my vintage theme and feel, I've compiled an inspiration board of looks I'd like to channel the day of my wedding. I love the porcelain skin, bright eyes and even brighter lips of the 1960s, so I've included looks from Christina Hendricks and January Jones in Mad Men.

What do you think? Any favorites among them? Do they fit with my hair inspiration?

3 weeks from today, I will be getting married!

Where is the time going?

24 Days

Bridezilla Becky's Favorite Wedding Blogs

Through my year of wedding-planning, the best resources have been my fellow bloggers. They have been a constant source of ideas, wisdom and inspiration. Here are a few of my favorites:

A Practical Wedding
Meg and her team of writers, guest bloggers and readers are an amazing community. They tackle issues beyond planning a wedding... they take a huge, fearless leap into the reality of becoming and being a wife. They discuss the complex issues of modern marriage with sage advice and a great sense of humor.


The Budget Savvy Bride
I owe a huge thank you to Jess for helping me discover my fabulous photographer through a BSWOW (Budget Savvy Wedding of the Week), to guest blogger Lesley for showing me how to use Blogger to create our wedding website.

Ruffled

Amazing vintage wedding inspiration from Amanda.  I drool over every bit of this blog.

Check them out, fellow brides and friends. They are worth the read, wedding planning, or not!

25 Days

Becky's Tips for Registering

Registering for gifts was a blast. Shopping is one of my all-time-favorite hobbies and one that I consider myself to be pretty darn good at it. However, registering was slightly trickier than what I expected. What I wanted was someone to give me a scan gun and let me loose. What I needed was a significant amount of planning. Here are a few tips, tricks and questions to ask yourself before you go crazy with registering.

1.) Evaluate what you already have. Matt and I have lived together for a year and a half. We tend to buy things for our house as we want them, so we didn't necessarily need all the "typical" registry items that couples starting from scratch might need. There's no sense in replacing a perfectly good item if the money can be better spent elsewhere.
2.) Pick items to be upgraded. Some of our things are nice, but I would love to have a higher-end version. Items that we use all the time, like our toaster oven or a good coffeemaker, are always worth splurging on. Register for a few splurges - items that are a better version than what you would typically buy for yourself.
3.) Register for the basics. I don't know about you, but I buy flashy. Brightly colored pieces and seasonal decor catch my eye and I love changing things up with them. As nice as they are, it's important to have a solid foundation to build on. Most of our registry items are white or neutral colors. They are classic and I can use them for years, regardless of my color-palette of the moment. Save the bright, trendy, timely pieces for your own purchases and stick to staples that will last you much longer.
4.) Wait. I know it's hard, but wait to register until the week before any invitations are sent. I guarantee that it will save you stress and headache. As is the nature of a retail operation, items get shuffled through stores, they run out, they are discontinued, they are gone. The next thing you know, the bedding set, shower curtain or dining set that you planned the rest of your decor around is gone and you have to replace more than just the missing item. This happened to me, so I am speaking from painful experience. Ouch.

A Tiffany's Themed Bridal Shower

I am a bad blogger bride. Just a few days ago I pledged to blog each of the last 31 days until the wedding. And yesterday, just a few days into the countdown, I missed a post. 

I have a great excuse, I promise. You see, it was my BRIDAL SHOWER!  A very busy, wonderful day full of friends, family, girly games, yummy food and presents. It was lovely and I enjoyed every minute of it. 

The theme of the shower was Breakfast at Tiffany's...

...filled with pretty Tiffany blue and red decor...

...a Tiffany box cake...

...martinis and more Tiffany boxes...

...and more brightly colored cocktails!

Thank you to the best bridesmaids in the world, Courtney, Julie, Amanda & Liz....

  

...and my momma.

For a wonderful shower. I am such a lucky, lucky bride.

27 Days!!

Questions to Ask Your Videographer

Tonight we are meeting with out wedding videographer. Ok, we're having dinner with some good friends, one of whom happens to be a videographer and has kindly offered to film our wedding. Have I mentioned how talented our friends are? Photographers, graphic designers, videographers... we're truly lucky. 

Anyways, we are getting together tonight to have dinner, do a little pub trivia and talk about videography, so in preparation, here are a few good sites to check out before hiring/meeting with your own videographer:

The Knot: 12 Questions to Ask Your Videographer

Frugal Bride: Choosing Your Videographer

Wed Net: Tips for a Terrific Wedding Video

29 Days!

Using Etsy Alchemy for your Wedding

I love Etsy.

It has been a wonderful source of inspiration and hand-made goodies for the wedding. Browsing through the shops has given me ideas for my own wedding DIY projects. It has also given me the option to BUY when I give up on my wedding DIY projects (sometimes it's worth the $15 to buy the mini-bunting and save my sanity and eyes from the strain of making them myself).


Alchemy is one of the coolest tools on Etsy. It's the opportunity to describe what you want, name your own price and let the vendors and crafters come to you with bids. They come back with creative ideas and great prices. Sometimes they greatly exceed your expectations.

How does it work?

1.) Come up with a hand-made goody you want, but can't find for sale already in one of Etsy's many, many shops.
2.) Go to the Etsy Alchemy site, choose public alchemy request and then add new request.
3.) Describe what you want in detail, name your price and post!
4.) Wait for the offers to roll in.
5.) Once the offers are in... and I'd give it a couple days.... close your posting and read through the responses. Decline the obvious 'Nos' and respond to possible 'Yeses' with more details and questions to clarify expectations on both sides.
6.) Accept an offer! Be prepared to pay anywhere from a small deposit to the full priced agreed upon when you accept the offer.
7.) Enjoy your new, custom-made item!

I have placed several orders through Alchemy and I will happily report back soon with the results... after the wedding ;)

For more details on using Alchemy, check out Etsy's How Alchemy Works page. 

30 Days!!

Vintage Inspired Bridal Hair Styles

In honor of the "Final Countdown" to our wedding, I am going to attempt to post every day for the month leading up to the wedding. That's right, I'm adding to my work-load voluntarily. Everyone make a note. If I lose it in the next month, it is entirely my own fault for setting my goals high and adding unnecessary work to my plate. Good lord....

My hair trial is one week from today and I just sent off an inspiration board to my hair stylist. I am hoping to channel a vintage 1920s or 30s look, without the formality and glossiness of their finger waves. I want something lighter and looser but with a vintage feel. Here are the styles I like from across the internet:

What do you think? Do you have a favorite. I'll be wearing a large hairpiece but NO veil. I'll be sharing the hairpiece soon. It's still in-progress and I am super excited to see how it comes together.

31 days!

I am getting quite antsy.

There are just 32 days until our wedding.

YIKES!

I have a long to-do list of last minute details that is driving me NUTS!  We have dancing lessons, final meetings with priests, caterers, photographers, make-up artists and hair stylists plus trying to maintain a workout schedule. I am trying to be as productive as possible with my evenings and weekends, while still giving myself time to relax. However, the time I spend "relaxing" is really just forcing myself to sit on the couch doing nothing wedding related, except stressing and obsessing about the fact that I am doing NOTHING wedding related.

That's it. I can no longer relax. Relaxing just causes more stress. Ugh!

Last week my Vice President asked how wedding planning was going now that "everything should be about done, right?" I explained to him that the last month is crunch time and I am VERY busy. I tried not to give him the evil eye while answering, but I may not have succeeded. Oops! I am very bad at hiding my true feelings these days. Oh well....

One nice distraction this past weekend: Our first niece born! Welcome to other world, Alexandria Rose!

Our Travel Themed Wedding Invitations

Now that invitations have been mailed and RSVPs are rolling in, I can finally reveal one of the biggest DIY wedding projects we tackled: invitations! A friend of ours is a graphic designer who is working to build a portfolio. He very kindly offered to design our invitations for free - woohoo!! I gave him our theme, vintage travel, our colors, red and teal/turquoise, and a few examples of invitations I liked, mostly modern, graphic invitations. The resulting design was perfect. We couldn't be happier.

Without any further ado, here are our wedding invitations!

 TA-DA!!! Aren't they adorable!?

RSVP Front

And back:

We went with postcard RSVPs to save on postage and instead of printing tons of "information cards," which would have added significantly to our total costs, we printed inexpensive business cards using Vistaprint. We put all the information about where to stay, what to do and where to buy us presents on our wedding website.

We put them all together with a teal belly-band stamped with red international mail stamps we picked up at Michael's.

Paper and envelopes were ordered online from Paper Source.


Final Cost Breakdown:
$71.96 for Paper/Envelopes
$82.36 for printing the invitation and RSVP cards from Got Print
$27.76 for business cards and return address labels from Vistaprint
$73.44 for 102 stamps (1st class and post card)

 Total Cost: $2.51 per invite including postage! Not bad at all :)

We are thrilled with how they turned out and have received tons of compliments. They're modern, quirky, whimsical and fun. They set the tone for our wedding just perfectly. Thank you, Mike!!