Engagement Pics

We got our engagement pictures back from the photographer. We were photographed at the Glenview Mansion in Rockville, MD in early November.  It was a gorgeous place... but a little cold and windy.  After seeing the pics Scott and I learned that we need to relax a bit more in front of the camera and angle ourselves a bit better as well.  We also have to learn how not to be so "cheesy" and do something rather than just look at the camera and smile! We got 80 pictures back, but out of those we really only have about 15 that are our favorites.  Here are a couple taken from the day:

I said "Yes To The Dress"

Well I told myself that November was going to be my dress month... and I made my goal...with a day to spare!  Today I said YES to my dress!   I absolutely LOVE it.  It's perfect for a June wedding!

I went to the bridal shop with my mother to browse earlier this month. I must have tried on 15 dresses or so.  There were some that I was able to walk out of the dressing room, then right back in because I knew it just wasn't THE dress...  but there were also a few in my "maybe yes" pile.  One particular dress really stood out to me, but I thought I'd sleep on it before making the decision.  Well I went back a few weeks later, and tried that one particular dress on again tonight and still LOVED it so the purchase was made!

I'm NOT going to post a picture of MY dress on here (big day viewing only!)... but here are a few of the dresses that DID NOT make the cut:

Bridesmaid Dresses Revisited

So the BM dresses that I was originally debating on ended up not working out... the dresses were just not the same in person as they seemed in the photos.  So I am back to square one on that planning.  
Below are my other top two choices.  They are both from Alfred Angelo.  I stopped by there to check them out and they look great.  I'll continue my search, but these are the top contenders so far.  Just imagine them in the color NAVY...

Kim's Wedding

My sister Kim got married on October 23rd.  She and Dave wanted something low key, simple, and stress free. They basically planned everything in less than 2 weeks... amazing!  There were 14 people in attendance (just immediate family) and the ceremony was held in the gardens at the Gramercy Mansion in Maryland.  It was a gorgeous fall day and a very lighthearted afternoon.  Afterwards we all went to a restaurant and had a nice dinner.   In early spring, Kim and Dave will be taking a 2 week honeymoon around Italy!

Bridal party attire

So my goal by the end of November is to finalize what my beautiful bridesmaids and handsome groomsmen will be wearing..... oh and I need to start my dress shopping too.
Below are some contenders for bridesmaid dresses. These were great suggestions from my girlfriends:

We're going for a navy color and a v-neck style.  We figure that would be flattering on all body types.  These dresses were found on JCrew and Nordstrom sites so there wouldnt be a question on quality.  My girlfriends are smoking hot, so I know whichever we choose together they will look fabulous in them!

As for the guys... I'd like to go with a grey tux with navy vest/tie... but I'm not sure how that would look.  Another option would be a navy tux...

 As for my dress... I've been procrastinating.  I hate shopping, so I think that's the reason why I've been putting it off so much.  Back in August I was like "this will be the month that I start looking"... then that came and went and I said "September will be the dress shopping month"... well now here we are at the end of October and I still have yet to start the hunt.
November is THE month.  No if ands or buts.

Cake Toppers

I'm not even sure what my cake would even look like yet... but I adore these little cake topper figures:




the colors/styles (for hair, eyes, flowers, clothing) are customizable too.  I think they are awesome!

Invites

We're way ahead of the game on this one... While browsing around a store we saw these "print at home" invite kits and immediately we were sold.  They are simple, classic, and just what I was looking for.

What the invite would look like closed (rush job with a piece of ribbon I just had lying around):

Opening the invite:

Here's an example that was inside the box so you see what it would look like printed:

And boy do I love ebay... after I came home with the box of invites I hopped online to see if I would be able to find the invitation kit cheaper.... and I did! I was able to find them for less than half the price I paid at the retail store! So I ended up buying (3) boxes of the invites from ebay and returned my original purchase to the store.

The printing of the inserts, ribbon tying, and addressing won't start until February/March-ish though.  Just glad I got this decision out of the way!

Guest Book

Just browsing around some sites and thought these were cute ideas for guest books. 

When I think of traditional guest books, I wonder what people do with them after the wedding is over? At most of the weddings I've been to, it seems like the guests just sign there name rather than write a message.  I personally don't want 2 pages of a book filled with signatures... but do want to have some kind of memory/record of all those people that traveled near and far to come celebrate the wedding day.  In comes Guest Book Trees.  I think it's a creative and unique approach to the guest book and something that I would love to hang up on my wall afterwards.

Fingerprint Tree. 

Folks would place their fingerprint along the branches and sign their name underneath.  With about 100 fingerprints it would look like a full spring/summer tree.  Of course there would have to be wet naps for people to clean their fingertip afterwards.

  Leaf Tree.

This is another example that would not have to deal with ink pads.  In this case people would put their name inside the leaf:

Just brainstorming... 

Colors

So after jumping around from yellow and green.... to purple and green.... we have now settled on Navy Blue and Summer Green for the color scheme of the wedding!  To give you an idea of what that looks like here are some photos of that color combo.  Now I won't be executing any of the images, but at least it give you an idea of what the colors will look like!

Keep Dancing

Old Navy was having a sale on flip flops since summer is coming to an end... so I headed over there to take advantage on the clearance prices!   I plan on having a little basket of flip flops for guests to use in case their tootsies need a rest from their high heels.  These are examples of what the basket may look like.... I'll have it placed in the corner of the dance floor with a cute little sign inviting the ladies to pick up a pair if they need them!

I just know from experience how much my feet ache after a couple of hours in heels.  I'd like for the guests to feel comfortable and to have no excuse to not continuing to dance :)   

I got a variety of sizes in the colors of my wedding scheme, and with them being so cheap... it really didn't hurt the budget what so ever!  I plan on tying a little label and ribbon on each pair so it will be easy for folks to find their size!