Wedding Wednesday: TONS of stuff goin' down

Wedding Wednesday is a weekly feature created by Jamie at The Perpetual Page-Turner. She's planning her wedding, and so am I, so I'm taking part in this feature too!


Bah! I just got my invitation mock-up in the mail and it is AWESOME. It's purple with a silver backing behind the words, and it's so pretty! It's pretty much just what I wanted. (I'm not going to post a picture just because I don't want all my info to be out in plain view—not that I don't trust you all, but you never know what weirdos are lurking!)


It's a tri-fold with a pocket on the inside of the right-hand flap, where the inserts will go (you know, reception details, response cards, directions etc). We'll be ordering the save-the-dates soon too.


I also went to see a florist today to talk about my wedding flowers (obviously). I don't know if I'm going to use her, but it does help that she's right down the street from where I live. I'm going to meet another one on Friday to compare. Right now I'm really liking lisianthus and calla lilies, among others.


It's all starting to get real! So crazy. I'm almost 6 months away and have been engaged for longer than that already. People weren't kidding when they said the time would fly.


We're also in the process of booking our honeymoon in Hawaii, which is super exciting too. *squee!* We'll be there for just about two weeks! AND we get to stay in Marriotts for just about half the trip for free, since we'll be getting mucho points from the reception.


AND next week we're meeting with the officiant, my Der Hayr at my church (what we call the priest). Things are coming along!

A Late Wedding Wednesday: Bridesmaid Dresses!

Wedding Wednesday is a weekly feature created by Jamie at The Perpetual Page-Turner. She's planning her wedding, and so am I, so I'm taking part in this feature too!


Sorry I'm a day late; I completely forgot to post yesterday, since I was scrambling to get ready for my very first program (that I designed and led!) at the library. :)


Sooooo great news! We have our bridesmaid dresses!! After three shopping trips (first the one with everyone except my MOH, then just me and my MOH, then the first group again), we found it. Let me just say, the best thing I did was go just with Rachel when she came to visit me Columbus Day weekend. It was SO MUCH EASIER to find options with one person, let me tell you. What we did was pick three dresses, and then the rest of my BMs went on another trip with me to pick out of the three.


Here's what we picked, but not in this orange color (we got plum):

I am told it is also very comfortable. They won't be strapless either, we're going to put on spaghetti straps. I'm debating on whether they should have a shawl too—I'm afraid it's too much skin for a church. At least they will have the straps.


In other news, I need to call the guy I was going to use as my florist. Unfortunately he will be selling the business and might not be able to do the flowers for my wedding anymore; luckily I haven't given a deposit or anything, but I have to talk to him to see what's going on. Wish me luck!

Wedding Wednesday: House? Dresses?

Wedding Wednesday is a weekly feature created by Jamie at The Perpetual Page-Turner. She's planning her wedding, and so am I, so I'm taking part in this feature too!

I've been super busy lately. We've been seriously considering one of the houses we looked at a week ago, which is great, but there are a few things about it. First, they want more than we want to offer. Second, oh hey, they moved next door. So I'm just worried that they might not be happy with us if we do move in and don't give them the amount they want. I don't want it to lead to bad feelings. We would just have some work to do if we took the house, like replace all the windows and appliances.

We're also going to pick out bridesmaid dresses this Saturday, hooray. Finally. You might remember my maid of honor and I picked out three during Columbus Day weekend, so it should be much faster than the last shopping trip!

Anyway, that's about it. We had to reschedule our engagement photo shoot for next Friday, so I'll let you all know how that goes.

Wedding Wednesday: MOH Visit!

Wedding Wednesday is a weekly feature created by Jamie at The Perpetual Page-Turner. She's planning her wedding, and so am I, so I'm taking part in this feature too!

This weekend my maid of honor, my cousin Rachel who lives in Chicago, came for a visit to meet my fiance and go gown shopping with me! It was a lot of fun, not only because we did fun things like to to the Samuel Adams brewery (free keychain, glasses and beer!), but because it's just nice to see her. I don't get to see her that often, since she grew up in Michigan and now lives in Illinois, so this was a treat.

We went to La Reine again for bridesmaids dresses, and it was just the two of us and my mom. It's just so much easier to go with a few people—not quite so many opinions to worry about. We picked out three dresses for my other maids to choose from, so hopefully I'll have my bridesmaids' dresses finished with on October 22.

In other news, Steve and I looked at a house today that we liked very much. Stay tuned to see how that turns out!

Wedding Wednesday: I found my gown!

Wedding Wednesday is a creation by Jamie at The Perpetual Page-Turner, who is getting married next August. She decided she wanted to share her wedding excitement on her blog, and I really liked that idea so I'm copying her. :)

This post is exciting for me. I finally found my gown! After a couple of months of searching, I went with my mom to a place called La Reine Bridal in Waltham. The girl who helped me was fantastic; she asked me what I wanted and went and found so many gowns that could have worked for me. I couldn't believe it. I've been having so much trouble finding what I want, but not here. Hooray!

Next up: Bridesmaid gowns. I hope this will be as easy to figure out at La Reine as my gown was. I'm super excited!

A special thanks to my friend Nina, who suggested the place to me. She got married in June and told me where she got hers. Fate!

For those of you who are interested, by the way, I started a tumblr for all things wedding and house hunting. It's at tahleen.tumblr.com.

Wedding Wednesday: The House Hunt

Jamie of The Perpetual Page-Turner started this once-a-week feature on her blog, since she's getting married next summer, and as I'm also getting married in the near future (May), I'm piggy-backing off of her idea!

Sorry for the long absence folks. It's been a busy couple of weeks. Would you like to know why?

Steve and I are looking for a house.

Yes, that's right, we're on the house hunt. It's been very educational too, I might add. I never knew how many things could be wrong with a house. Like a tree being on top of one, for example. That actually happened; we went to see a house in Westford and when we got there, surprise! A tree must have come down in the hurricane. I don't think there was much if any damage, but still, not a great way to sell a house. Also, the house itself was a hideous shade of mint green and there were eight (eight!) computer monitors in the garage.

We saw some nice ones, but we haven't found "the one" yet. But we continue to look. For the record, we're looking in Westford and Chelmsford, MA, if any of you are familiar with that area. There are beaches in Westford! Who knew? Not me, but I'll take it.

Our realtor is very nice, too. She doesn't try to sugarcoat anything or diminish flaws, and we really like that about her.

I'm also learning a lot about what heating systems are most efficient, architectural types of houses, and measurements. I'm especially keen on getting a nice kitchen, but we'll see what happens.

Wedding Wednesday: My Wedding Weekend in Pittsburgh

Jamie of The Perpetual Page-Turner has decided to chronicle her wedding planning and stuff about weddings in weekly blog posts, and since I'm also planning a wedding I thought I'd join in on her idea!

This week I'm going to take a break talking about my own wedding and share my wedding experience from this past weekend. Last Thursday Steve and I went to Pittsburgh for a wedding, as one of Steve's good friends from college was getting married. It was a much different kind of wedding than any I had ever been to, but it was really nice.

The ceremony and party were in the couple's back yard, which had just been finished that week. Their house was still not finished yet, we and many other people worked on it the week or so before the wedding, but they did a great job at cleaning it up for the roughly 80-90 people who came.

All eight (yes, eight) of their parents gave them marital advice (they were surprised and skeptical when their children asked them to do this, since all but one have been divorced), and following this the couple exchanged their own vows. Then they exchanged rings and all of their families pronounced them husband and wife, and their siblings all said a toast. And that was the ceremony! Short, simple, sweet. (They did get officially married at the justice of the peace beforehand, but no one is sure exactly when this happened.)

We all mingled in their beautiful backyard, looking at a photography project the groom completed that ended up chronicling his first year with his new wife, eating delicious food and drinking wine and beer. Steve got to spend a lot of time with people he hasn't seen in years, which was great, and I got to meet all his friends from college, which was fantastic.

For us, Irene was a blessing in disguise. Our flight on Sunday was canceled, and though it seemed like a huge pain at first, we got to spend more time in the city with his friends and more time away from home and the pressures that go with it.

We were talking about how we were a little jealous of the newly married couple; we can't have a small, simple wedding because of how large our families are and our parents' expectations. I don't think I would want to get married in my backyard without an officiant, but part of me wishes it all didn't have to be such a production. (Another part of me is excited by that, but it is exhausting.)

We're going to be spending a lot more time planning, and we're going to spend money on things we probably wouldn't have spent as much on 15 years ago, but I know in the end I will remember my wedding day with only happiness and joy, and that's what counts.

Wedding Wednesday: Magazines

Jamie over at The Perpetual Page-Turner started this little feature for her own wedding, and since I'm planning mine at the same time (we're getting married three months apart almost to the day!), I figured I'd piggy-back on the idea. :)

No news on the wedding front yet, except I've set up all the hotel room blocks for our guests. (Hooray!) What I'm going to talk about today is the number of magazines out there for brides and wedding stuff.

The one that may come to mind first is The Knot, which not only has a national issue that comes out quarterly, but a regional issue as well. I'm really digging all things The Knot so far, especially their website—it's super helpful to have a timeline of things that need to get done, even if you don't necessarily do all the things on the list. Plus it's nice to just get the ideas in the magazine! I started to plan out the bouquets after this past Boston issue because there was so much in there about them and I got excited.

Then there's Real Simple Weddings, which isn't so much a magazine as a special issue of their magazine that costs around the price of a book. BUT my favorite part about this one is that I got a FREE subscription to Real Simple Magazine with the purchase! And I've discovered I'm a little bit in love with Real Simple Magazine. Oh, and there are great ideas in the wedding issue too.

And finally, Bride's magazine rounds out my mag experience. This is a monthly publication, which is great because there are so many more ideas and articles I can look at on a monthly basis. And I can get them out of the library! Well, not my library, but one nearby. Lots of fantastic little ideas for the details are in this one, as well as TONS of pictures of wedding gowns, which is great for inspiration. (Side note—having lots of trouble finding one of those for me. Been to three places with no dice.)

Anyway, that's my Wedding Wednesday! Check out Jamie's too! She's talking about her venue today.

Wedding Wednesday: "The Bride's Survival Guide" and looking for a stationer

Over at The Perpetual Page-Turner, Jamie has started to write posts every Wednesday about her upcoming wedding one year from tomorrow (!). As luck would have it, I'm also planning my wedding at this time! I'll be getting married May 19, 2012, right here in the Boston area, so I'm going to take this opportunity to talk about wedding stuff with Jamie. Sorry for all of you who are not interested about my personal life, but I just can't pass this up!

For this first Wedding Wednesday, I'm going to highlight a book that has proven to be pretty helpful to me. It's called The Bride's Survival Guide, written by Sharon Naylor, and it's got a ton of information and helpful hints about planning your big day. I was really glad to get something like this, since I had absolutely no clue what I was doing to begin with. Who'd have thought to ask about renovations your possible reception venue might be undergoing at the time of your wedding? I need to go back to it for a refresher soon.

As far as other plans so far, I've got my venues (both church and reception), I've got a band, a photographer, and working on finding a stationer for invitations. I've been talking to two people and I think the end result will be based on cost. But look at their websites!

Today I went for a consultation at Smudge Ink, a stationer in Charlestown, MA. Deb there is super nice, and I love their designs and the letter-press printing they do. It can be formal, but with a little bit of funk.

My other choice is Phillips Street Stationers out of Wayland, MA. Their invitations are very elegant and formal, and I love the pocket invite idea. Shirra there has been very helpful and has created a few PDFs for me to take a look at what she would be able to do! I hope to go see her in person soon.

That's all for now, folks! Hope I haven't bored you too much!