New year, new details

Today commences, it appears, my initial tackle of all the pesky wedding details I have been happily avoiding. "After the holidays!" "There's so much time!" Etc. And yes, there is still plenty of time (just under five months). But the clock is ticking.

Next weekend we're traveling to the Outer Banks for a winter weekend at the beach. We'll be getting engagement photos taken. We'll be at our venue tasting to choose the menu. We'll be introducing [some of] the parents (!). But we really do need to begin picking our remaining vendors in earnest. To facilitate that process, we might have to duck into the "wedding expo" taking place that weekend. The thought of it is slightly mind-numbing and horrifying to me, but I have to admit that having all the vendors in one place will speed things along.

Given what lies ahead next weekend, I started a new spreadsheet today to track our decisions. Bear with me as I mentally organize. Five months to go, here are the timely vendor-related items we need to get a handle on soon:

• Dessert - Huge blank. We don't really want a wedding cake and are intrigued by personal-sized desserts, but that's about all we know so far. Help!
  
• Event rentals - Our reception is tented, so I need to go ahead and sign a contract with one of the two event rental companies there to secure the service, then further procrastinate on the actual details.
• Day of Coordination - We are strongly considering getting a Day of Coordinator to facilitate everything that day and help ensure that we're not all decorating tables or stringing lights an hour before the wedding starts. Since we're writing our own ceremony, we also like the idea of having someone "in charge" to help channel us through our slightly untraditional affair. Today I got quotes from a bunch of DOCs and want to sort this out in person next weekend after consulting with the venue manager.
• Cookout catering - We need to go ahead and book the bbq/shrimp catering for the wedding eve cookout. I'm thinking lunch at his place next weekend to make sure we like it.
• Hair/makeup - I need to figure out where all the ladies will get pampered. Ideally, this can happen at the spa at our venue, but I need to do some quality control first.

Here are less timely issues to work out, only some of which pertain to vendors:

• Decor- My mom is after me to find fabric for the tables asap. Will do, will do... I'm looking for one blue pattern and one red pattern. We also need to decide what we want the tables to look like and how the ceremony site should be furnished.
  
• Flowers - We have our florist booked, but haven't discussed anything yet. I'm still dreaming about dahlias and want to ask her the cost of getting them, plus show her my inspiration bouquet (right sidebar) and get going.
• Wedding apparel - We're waiting on the spring lines to come out to figure out what the groomsmen will wear. We need to get Trevor's seersucker suit tailored (it's his grandfather's). After that, flower girl dress shopping!
• Music - The f-word is in charge of the DJ, but we need to make sure we like him. We also need to figure out what kind of music we want during our ceremony, which pretty much paralyzes us when we try to think about it. We've also booked a bagpiper but he's been slightly sketchy on e-mail, so we might need to go with someone else.
• Writing - We need to buckle down and write the ceremony, our vows, the program, etc.
• Invitation suite - Decision-making with ABCD begins in earnest next week. Whoopee!
  
• Weekend this and that - Decisions to come on welcome bags for guests, favors, fun activities for the weekend, cookout planning, etc.
• Officiant - Our friend Gene is marrying us, so at some point we need to get him ordained online (!!) and double-triple-check all the legal stuff.
• Wedding bands - Fun!

The second list is definitely more fun than the first list, so that's going to have to be my incentive to get to the fun stuff. Hoping for productivity next weekend!

Ringing in 2009

It's going to be a great year!





Full of love...



















...and surprises.



















Cheers!

Celebrating with friends

Tonight we're toasting the New Year with a table full of friends. Mellow, low-key, great food and drinks, and a whole lotta laughs. The perfect combination for me, really, and fitting for this moment in time.

Over the past few months (thanks, economy!), we've found ourselves contemplating eloping on a pretty regular basis. The benefits are obvious: saving money, being impulsive, getting married now, having a crazy story to laugh about, saving money... Yet I go back to the wedding weekend we've started planning every time; it keeps speaking to me as a worthwhile endeavor.

One of our friends eloped with his wife about ten years ago, and maintains that having that moment together, just the two of them, is an image and a feeling that carries them through the tough spots, and they wouldn't change a thing. The couple in question is fantastic together, but I don't think their wedding is right for us. I definitely don't have a problem skipping over a traditional ceremony, because for me it's certainly not about being "The Bride" (heck, I don't even like people looking at me). I have no worries that I wouldn't feel like I was really married if we ran away to Vegas, either; life goes on even without a walk down the aisle, after all, into the really good stuff - the life we're going to build together, and one day, the family we'll have. So no, the reason that eloping isn't for me isn't because I'm one of those girls who has to have the whole shebang. Maybe it's because of how we began this deal together, or because of the long-distance we put ourselves through, or because we live in a city far away from most of our friends, and all of our families, to begin with. Because here's the thing: what matters most to me about our wedding is the bringing-together of both our families and all our crazy friends in one place.

For one weekend, and one weekend only, I imagine, I'll be able to talk about a mutual favorite book with my oldest girlfriend and one of my newest at the same time; I'll be able to introduce my dear friend who'll marry us to my college girl who grew up nearby him; I'll be able to watch T's Wall Street friends figure out what to make of my lefty intellectual crowd; I'll watch our Dallas friends find random things in common with my hometown crew, or my college crew, or Trevor's college crew; I'll watch all the amazing folks in my life who've heard all the stories and shared all the twists and turns that got us here make fun of me all at once; I'll watch them make fun of Trevor, too; I'll watch them smile at us, and grin at how happy we are. Our wedding will be a fantastic jumble of crazy people who love us for entirely different reasons, and I will never again be able to orchestrate such a circus.

Some people do it for The Dress. Some people do it for The First Dance. Some people do it for The Tradition. Me? I think I'm doing it for The Circus.

So to the wonderful world of friendship - gathering tonight over champagne, tomorrow morning to gossip over breakfast about what happened tonight, tomorrow afternoon lounging together in front of football, and in May in honor two weirdos who found each other in dark corners and ended up being the lightest, brightest duo to ever make them roll their eyes... Cheers.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Look what's new: Lela Rose bridesmaids!

My airplane reading on Friday included two timely, guilty pleasures: Martha Stewart Weddings and InStyle Weddings. Featured in both magazines was a new line of bridesmaid dresses from the lovely Lela Rose (most recently fawned over in Not My Dress). We first heard about Lela Rose getting into the bridesmaid game with Jenna Bush's wedding, of course... one I will swallow my politics right now and admit that I loved: her casual hair, her flowy Oscar de la Renta gown, the outdoor setting, and of course, unique Lela Rose gowns on all the girls in the colors of Texas wildflowers.

Lela Rose's new bridesmaid line, it turns out, is managed by The Dessy Group, which also covers Dessy, After Six, and Alfred Sung... none of which come to my mind when I think high-design bridesmaid lines. My interest peaked, I found the dresses online that charmed me in the magazines... and they are without question, undeniably charming. I'm curious about the pricepoint of these dresses and how well-made they are. The word is, they're available next month. Report back if you see them in person... I'd love to hear how they look and feel. Some of my favorites:









Clockwise from left: LR109, LR105, LR100, LR102

Not My Dress: Lela Rose

I confess to having a major crush on Lela Rose's gowns. Her designs are so fresh and modern (not a pouf in sight!), her materials are beautiful, her attention to detail is amazing, yet her designs are Not My Dress. Let's ooh and aah anyway!

Does it get any better than hand-cut and appliqued flowers on the skirts of these gowns? I think not. Bring on a garden wedding and fresh spring breezes!

















The clean lines, the architectural pleats and folds on the back of both gowns? Heaven for an indoor wedding where the smallest of details can be appreciated.

















I must go back to Lela Rose's flowers, because she does them better than anyone. The gorgeous simple shape and embroidered skirt of this first dress, and the breezy floral beauty of the second dress are just to die for.

















[Thanks for playing along, everyone! I admit, Not My Dress is one of my favorite blog games. :-) ]

Handmade gifts of '08

Many of my favorite gifts I gave this year were handmade. Some of the best:

Ilee Letterpress and Silkscreen Calendar
I just adore this calendar, and gave one to many of my favorite gals this year in hopes that it might make them sigh over its prettiness every day, too. This calendar is flat-out gorgeous, and each month it features such beautiful artwork that I imagine the regret over flipping to the next month will only barely be outweighed by excitement over a new monthly design. This calendar is perfect for the work desk where your corporate-ordered furniture is lacking in the inspiration department, or where you wish you were producing something more creative for eight hours a day. (Autobiographical much?) Or maybe you're already full of inspiration, and this calendar would look perfect sitting near a window in your perfectly outfitted home office where you're brilliantly combining work and play in the most creative of ways. In that case, I am jealous of you, but you still need this calendar anyway.







Night Owl Paper Goods Wooden Desktop Calendar
It was a calendar kind of year. This calendar was for my mom, and I ordered it for her about ten seconds after coming across it, because it was so undeniably something she had to have, it was pointless delaying the purchase. Printed on birch with a built-in stand, each month of this calendar is so whimsical, warm, and folksy all at once, that it reeks of home no matter where you place it. For someone who works too much and deserves lots of prettiness to look at during the day (that's you, Mom!), it's hard to beat this Night Owl Paper Goods delight. Beware of intrusive coworkers wanting to ooh and aah over your unique handmade wooden calendar!







Sterling Silver "Shirt Stiffeners"
Reading Chris Parry's etsy description made three things immediately clear: I have a crush on him, I'm a sucker for British humor and charm, and my f-word had to have some. Personalized by me with an appropriately cheeky saying, these collar stays (excuse me, "shirt stiffeners") are as fun as they are practical. Plus, it's fun to give guys gifts in small jewelry boxes; they never quite know what to expect. Bonus: Does this pair of perfect sterling silver collar stays mean that we'll no longer have dozens of plastic collar stays littering the laundry room?









Luxe Acorn and Indian Apostrophe Earrings
These earrings are so gorgeous, and again, so my mom, that I had to jump on both pairs. Earrings make perfect stocking stuffers, as we all know.










To come... One of my favorite etsy finds is from a brilliant artist with a fantastic pop culture sensibility. We haven't mailed the gift in question out yet (ahem, pesky couple living in Europe for hockey season...), so I don't want to spoil the surprise for our reader from Linz. But trust me, it's a goodie.

What were your favorite handmade finds of the holiday season?

Christmas cheer

From the perfect Christmas cocktail...




My mom's "Jingle Juice"

















To the perfect Christmas elf...





My niece - and future flower girl! - Taylor













To the perfect Christmas card...





xoxo from T











To the perfect Christmas shoes...





Seersucker Louboutins could only be from my f-word...











To the perfect other shoes...



My sister's having a boy!!!!!















It was a merry, merry Christmas indeed. On to 2009!

Friday eye candy

Hotness, via Style Me Pretty's Little Black Book.

Engagement photos

Breaking: we're getting engagement photos taken the weekend of January 10. Our photographer includes them in her package, otherwise we'd probably skip them. Neither of us like the way we photograph, and we chose Julie because of how great her candid photos are at weddings - we think candid is the only way we look normal on film. In other words, January 10 could be a challenge.

We were going to be in the Outer Banks that weekend anyway to do a menu tasting at the Sanderling and select our food (fun!!!). Given how relatively difficult it is to get to the Outer Banks (which is also one of the reasons I love it so much), we might not make it back there before the wedding. So our one shot at engagement photos means a winter morning on the beach. At first, I wasn't thrilled about this. I'd imagined some sort of leggy, playful photo series (if one happened at all) that involved the two of us splashing around in the ocean on a warm day. Instead, the day will likely be freezing, gray, and we'll be all bundled up. But c'mon, scarves and rosy cheeks can be cute too, right? And let's face it, I live in jeans and sweaters, so why not document that?

To get in the spirit, I looked around for engagement photos shot outdoors in the winter. We're meeting at 10 in the morning on the Kitty Hawk Pier, and I want ideas before we get there! There really is some great inspiration out there... anyone have any more for me?




Original: Kate Headley

Our version: Hanging out on the dock near the shops in downtown Duck?


















Original: Joy Marie Photography

Our version: Look, the two of us know how to make out under a pier. Consider this shot stolen.
















Original: Anna Kuperberg

Our version: Closeups of sweaters, sand on our backs? Totally doable. What a great twist on a winter beach shot.






Original: w. scott chester

Our version: Color! I love how brightly their clothes pop outdoors. I thinks this means I will be forced to wear my adorable red wool coat.








Original: Anna Kuperberg

Our version: This photo could be taken anywhere, at any time. And I just adore it. Obnoxious stares and making each other laugh is totally us.






Original: Jenna Walker Photography

Our version: Gorgeous winter sun? Fingers crossed!

The economy and my dress [order]

My f-word has been half-jokingly predicting for a couple of months that Saks Fifth Avenue is going out of business. His job is to notice little things like stock prices, and they've been looking pretty dismal. Why is this a cause for concern, you ask? Well, Sak's is where I ordered my dress. The Dress. So we began thinking: if Sak's goes under, what happens to my dress order? Would the manufacturer just take over the order? Would Sak's rush all existing orders to finish them early? Would the orders be canceled with refunds? Those questions, of course, led me to wonder what I might do were I faced with having to order another dress. Would I pick the same one? Would I use Not My Dress as a shopping guide?

Yesterday I received a letter in the mail from, uh oh, Sak's Fifth Avenue. A long letter. With business cards attached. Double uh oh.

After a longwinded intro about how happy Sak's is that I've chosen them to be part of my "special day," they dropped the bomb. Turns out, Sak's has decided to close all of their bridal salons except for New York and Beverly Hills. So my local spot, with the incredible Mogda (one of the only nice people I met in the entire local Industrial Wedding Complex), will be no more. They say all existing dress orders are safe, protected, guaranteed for the same services/fittings/alterations they always were, they just won't continue selling gowns in 2009.

But... hmmm.... it still feels kind of weird, right?