Rehearsal Rewind: Bridal Luncheon

Whoopsidaisies!
I am a bad bride. I skipped right over the bridal luncheon that my God-mother threw for me the morning of the rehearsal... so pardon the rewind!

The restaurant at the hotel had some great private spaces, and thanks to my godmother, we claimed one of them! I also figured this was a good time to dispense the gifts for my bridesmaids and readers. Since mom and I got their first, I stuck their presents on all their chairs for them to open quietly as they like instead of shower "oohs and ahhs" style. I DIYed earrings, necklaces, and "shoes" for my girls, picture framed photos of me and the girls, and my mom sewed some beautiful fabric into shawls that matched the girls dresses. I really didn't want to give gifts at a big gathering to be reviewed by everyone present. They all appreciated the gifts, and appreciated not having to be on stage while opening.

They even made up a beautiful (shimmery!!) menu just for us.

Aren't we cute? :)

The whole gang after a very tasty and fun meal.

It was relaxing, tasty, fun, and filled with laughs. It was a great way to start the rehearsal day.

Salutations to Single Shennanigans: Part 1

Adam and I had 2 very different perspective and plans for our "last hoorahs". And I don't mean that he wanted strippers and I wasn't ok with it. I mean that he planned the bachelor parties of a few of the guys in charge of his, so there was retribution to be had. Add to that that my eldest brother also being in charge of planning and you've got on hell of a night that will probably end up in a TERRIBLE hangover and some serious bruising. Below is Adam at bachelor party of his best man, Jon. (There was even a ball and chain that they wrote his bride's name on!)That night ended with most of them kicking back food and hungover and oversleeping to the point that they were late for the rehearsal the next day. Oops. So he was all kinds of nervous. It was a full day of planned drinking for him, starting with a fishing trip in the morning. Unfortunately, we woke up to a horrendous storm. Notsomuch with the fishing trip! So they were spending the day lounging about and running a few errands.

I was at the other end of the spectrum.

The insta-storm that had brewed up meant flights were being delayed, canceled, and rerouted left and right. One of my bridesmaids was stuck in Atlanta after her red eye flight from LA. Another was still in Gainesville because the terrible weather was making driving on I-10 a bit perilous. Adam's parent's and brother were stuck on a tarmac trying to get TO atlanta, and a few cousins and friends were scattered around various airports trying to figure out how to get to PC. I was calling everyone trying to coordinate phone numbers and locations so that if need be, someone could hold up a sign for "D/Z Wedding", collect a crew and rent a car. Not the best of mornings.

That evening, a group of women from my home church (most of whom have known me since I was 3 or 4) decided to through me a LINGERIE shower. The hostess list included the headmistress from my elementary school, a couple of my friends' mothers, and the priest's wife. All I have to say is, when I need therapy, it really isn't my fault.

However, other than that, there were no plans for me. For whatever reason, getting my bridesmaids to talk was like pulling teeth. And everyone was calling me asking what I was planning. My planning? Are you kidding me? I planned the rehearsal dinner and the wedding and the reception and ALL the details to go with that. I AM DONE. I was a bit perturbed for quite a while at this. Anytime someone asked me, I really began to wonder if blood really could boil from anger. But by Thursday, I just didn't give a damn. I knew I wanted to get my nails done, and Bliss was great from the pedicure, so I offered that all the girls could join me. Some did and we had a good time, and then ran some errands and ran into the boys running errands.

It was a very rainy day in a small town... and for the most part, our moods were matching the dreary weather. Anyone else start out their party evening on a less than fun note?

Goin back to Cali

Ok. Really, it's my first time to Los Angeles (outside of LAX anyway)... but am I the only one who still gets LLCoolJ in my head?


:-) Sorry, couldn't resist.

I will be in LA for the remainder of this week, and the beginning of the next. I'll be visiting with bridesmaid *K (aka Minnie Mouse),

(Bridesmaid *K, Stitch, and Me at DW a few years ago)

house hunting, hoping to talk my way into UCLA grad program, and of course - going to Disney Land!Who would have thought LLCoolJ and Disneyland would be in the same post?

Anyway, this obviously means that blogging will PROBABLY be limited. (I saw probably because I am taking my computer and who knows?) But just for fun... look what will be coming up soon!!

My Foot, with *A's too small for my foot barefoot sandal!

I made bridesmaid *A 's barefoot sandals last weekend! And this time I took pictures so I can post a how-to DIY!!! AND....

3 of the 5 bridesmaids dresses arrived yesterday!! I go to see them in T minus 1 hour!!!! I'll take pictures and post a review of the dresses and the shop I've been dealing with.

Stay tuned!

But in the mean time.... stalk THIS blog.. I just love it!

Any LA advice or must-see's as an intro to the city? (I will be moving there this winter, so it's not imperative that I see and do it all now... but advice and suggestions always welcomed!!)

Dressin the girls Pt 3: FINALLY!

VICTORY IS MINE!!

I finally found 1 company with 2 great blues, and lots of dress choices!!! Ah the wonderful world of 1 umbrella company that has 3 dress companies within it! Dessy!!

I got swatches in the mail and that just sealed the deal! This is Dessy's Ocean Blue in stretch charmeuse, and Turquoise in organdy... aka - MY COLORS!!! (No, not turquoise as in the stone but more of an aqua.)Sorry for the oh-so-sorry lighting and background.

So I sent the link to my girls and after some reminding emails.... a few phone calls... a few more emails.... some texts messages.... and one more email they finally picked their dresses! (All I have to say is you wouldn't think it would be more difficult to make people happy by giving them options!! oof! Ok - enough ranting.) The dresses!



Ok, so you might be thinking a few things look odd. Well, the colors are done via their magic java coloring gadget online, so they don't look quite right. They will indeed match. The 2nd (shorten to tea length) and 4th ones will be in Ocean Blue, with the 1st and 3rd in Turquoise. Also might be thinking "huh - 4 dresses... I thought there were 5 girls." You would indeed be right! Way to go eagle eye! 2 of the girls picked the same dress (#3). ahh - all is right in the wedding world... for now. ;)

Anyone else end up being thrilled with their finds? Or less than thrilled about people's reactions?

Dressin the girls Pt 2: 2 colors, 1 company

After we decided our colors of Aqua and Ocean Blue, it was time to start looking for a company to get dresses from! I had few requirements for the company to be picked:

• Have a light AND a dark blue that I liked (and would coordinate together).
• Have several different styles of dress options for each body type because no 2 bridesmaid of mine have the same body types.
• Be reasonably priced.

You really wouldn't think it would be THAT hard!! It literally took me from JANUARY until JUNE to find the company we were going to go with. Many companies had some great blues!! But each company had a beautiful dark blue that I loved, but their light blue was baby. Or they had a great aqua-ish color, but their dark blue was blah-navy. Or - they had both and cost a small fortune!

I found this one while I was shopping for my dress and was a big fan of the fabric detailing. Unfortunately, it was a bit green, limited in styles, and the coordinating light blue was baby blah.

This one I found at the shop where I found my dress. It was fun, but only came in a few styles that were all a bit....unsupportive for anyone bigger than me.

I loved this blue from Alfred Angelo! Unfortunately, it only comes in taffeta, which only comes in 7 styles, none of which I, or any of my girls were much of a fan of.

I am a fan of Ann Taylor, so why not look into her dresses? Ahh - Because they are more of a slate blue, and less of the lighthearted colors I was going for.

Jim Hjelm has a zillion designs so there must be something for everyone... as long as you've got a large dress budget. If you do, they have some really unique designs and colors... needless to say, this is not the budget range I am aiming for.

Another pretty Jim Hjelm that is a great blue, at a grand price.

And then, through a bridal blog I stalk but can't remember at the moment, I found Lynn Lugo custom dresses.

More Lynn Lugo in beautiful blues and great styles!! I love the small details that really them a coordinating set when standing together, but still look fun individually.

I ordered Lynn Lugo samples and fell in love with ALL of her blues! I was ready right then and there to tell the girls pick any blue and design your own dress!... and then I looked at the pricing details and was crushed. It was not CRAZY expensive, but more than I'd ask anyone to pay.

At this point I was ready to give up and find one dress and let them be matchy-matchy even though I hate that. Anyone find it harder to dress the girls than the bride?

Dressin the girls

So blue is my favorite color. But I'm not really a fan of navy blue, or sky/baby blue. To me they are both just a bit blah. I love aqua's and Caribbean blues, and ocean blues. At this point, I've been through the "To color scheme or not to scheme" decision and now need to pick colors. hmm - I like blue, and blue. And Adam likes blue. Even though I plan on going for Aqua and Ocean... I have a feeling I'll be reliving this Steel Magnolia's moment at least once:

"What are your colors Shelby? - Truvy ... "Her colors are pink and pink" - M'Lynn ... "My colors are blush and bashful...I have chosen two shades of pink, one is much deeper than the other" -Shelby ... "That sanctuary looks like it's been hosed down with Pepto Bismol" - M'Lynn

While others in this day and age are moving away from color schemes... I am the daughter of an interior designer. Confused? Think about the "son of a preacher" term. Oh yeah - I like all kinds of eclectic things and I don't care if they clash. My room growing up was a tribute to anything and everything I liked.. and my mother's worst nightmare. So if I had free reign of a color palette when finding items for the wedding - it would end up a mish mash melting pot of things I liked.... which while might lend some satisfaction at my mother's expense, Adam is a little more coordinated and wouldn't like it. So thus, we are color-scheming it!

We are not, however, being matchy-matchy. I told the girls I would find one dress company with 2 blues I liked AND a wide variety of dresses and let them pick! (How much do I rock? =).

2 day's later I sent them an email saying - "I found your dresses!" Pick between one of these 2 styles... both will be in the company's "blue matrix".
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HEHEHEHEHEHEEHEH!!!!!!

To which my favorite response was

"i'm sure we'd all do anything for you love, but i have limits!"

The first time we met with the wedding planner (whom I will blog about soon) I showed her them. And she attempted to keep a straight face and wondered if maybe the slight in the leg of the first one wasn't a bit high.... and then I fell out of my chair laughing. I realize that I am NO fashionista by anyone's terms... but seriously??

Anyone else get a kick out of the extremes of fashion, or the fun of messing with someone?