Ooooh come closer

Two out of three showers are done and they were beyond my expectations. My family, friends, and my family's friends really do love me.

I had my bachelorette party and it was tame. Which is how I preferred it.
The lovely sisters and cousins of Josh made up my crew along with the coolest friend I could ask for, Emily.

I picked up the bridesmaids dresses so my ladies wouldn't be naked on the big day.


My makeup trial went well but I'm not 100% sold. Tomorrow is my hair trial. I feel like I should make that Law and Order noise when I say "hair trial". Dun dun.

A combo of Jessica's bouffant/volume....


With the bangs/part of Kelly...

And the beachy waves of this new 90210 chick and you have my ideal hairstyle.
My mantilla is going to look fabulous but I need some jawdropping hair underneath it.


These last three photos were some of my favorite finds lately.

These fans are from a kickbutt bride featured on my favorite bride blog, Brooklyn Bride. I want to do the little heads SO bad in our ceremony programs.

This style of bouquet and the color is a huge inspiration for my bouquet.

Besides that fact that this is THE mantilla of my dreams, I find this photo so sweet.

It's decision time

As the days before the wedding dwindle, we're tackling little projects one by one. The ceremony program is the one I'm most befuddled with.

These are the options I've narrowed it down to:

The ever popular fan

The accordian style



Or the simple booklet


Whatever we choose, it'll include this tree diagram on the inside from Martha Stewart. Very appropriate since we will be getting married underneath a tree.



And it'll be nestled in a cozy pocket that will hang from the back of the chairs!


Final decisions made:
Our place cards. Our menu. My bridal bouquet.


We've slowly been collecting Legos on ebay to make our place cards. An extra gift for our deserving guests!

My lovely neighbor Beth is going to make a cuff for my bouquet. I will be collecting mini bouquets as I walk up the aisle from people that have been important in my life so the cuff will hold them together when I finally stand next to Josh!

This is exactly how I want the menu cards to look. Funky fonts, cool paper, and little trivia about each course!

My first shower is this weekend! I'm so excited!

Ta DAH!

Our invites came!! My photography is that of a fourth grader so the pics are blurry but you get the idea right? RIGHT??

Wood invites printed on Birdseye Maple and stamped with copper foil!

My rinky-dink attempt at a pirate map for our guests. I give it a 2 out of 10. But A for effort?

The lodging and driving directions arrrrrgh on the back matey.

Our RSVP postcards I designed and Josh reformatted to fit postcard size.

(picture from geckoam on flickr)

We make a great team!

(picture from AnthonyCarlucci on Flickr)

And we're wheelie excited for the wedding!

Jack o' Luminaries

I love the look of lumanaries and since we're getting married close to Halloweenie, what better way to light the pathway leading out of the vineyard than with pumpkins! 

Our guests will be able to see the road as they leave and I'll get to carve pumpkins early!

I love the idea of using baskets from the apple orchard for the out of town guest gifts.

Maybe we'll throw in something from the bakery and some cider?

Oh, and our invites are almost on their way out...

This post brought to you by Alyssa, a dentist's best friend.

I had the strangest dream that I was eating a huge marshmallow and now my pillow is gone...

The Rehearsal Dinner

Tentative menu includes:

Flavor injected/deep fried turkeys

Some sort of delicious salad like this avocado, smoked salmon, buttermilk ranch & bibb lettuce beauty *drool*

Sour cream/Buttermilk/Cheddar biscuits

Sweet Potato Fries

Caramel apple cupcakes

Glorious scoops of Watermelon

Pies...even strange ones like this Peach & Cornmeal upside down pie

Lavender lemonade and Arnold Palmer's

A clothesline with photos of us and blank apparel to let guests air their "dirty laundry" and funny stories about us.

Cootie catchers for either the rehearsal dinner or reception.

And my latest idea...late night snacks for the reception!

Lots of cute little itsy-bitsy sliders and cones of sweet potato fries (again).

And mini donuts...or cones of mini chocolate chips a la Sweet Martha's...or funnel cakes...

Maybe I need a cold shower so I stop daydreaming about sugary treats!

Must have slow songs

1. "I'm Yours" - Jason Mraz

2. "Angel" - Jack Johnson

3. "All I Want Is You" - Barry Louis Polisar (from Juno)



4. "I Will Follow You Into The Dark" - Death Cab for Cutie (possible last song?)

Unda da tree, unda da tree, since life is sweet here, we got the beat here naturally...

I forgot to upload these pictures of our last visit to our wedding venue. We got to check out the tent and visit "our tree".

I can't wait to see it in the fall!

I've been searching photographer's blogs to get inspiration for the style of photos I would like on our day. These were a few of my favorites:

Isn't the aged/antique effect in this one stunning?

Love this quirky, urban engagement shot. All dressed up and nowhere to go...except for graffiti central.

The lighting, juxtaposition, and sweet emotion of this shot make it one of my favorites.

I hope I look half as gorgeous as she does when I make googly eyes at Josh.