three rhymes with squeeee!!!!

Yesterday I finished work until a week after the wedding so, today was the official start of the wedding marathon and I've been running slow and steady. I slept in just a bit, did some laundry and finished up a few DIY projects before I headed out to run my errands. And, here's the last of the projects and stuff...

Table numbers with a different love quote on each. I made these double sided so the numbers can be seen from either direction. So happy with the results:

Silver clutch - matches my reception shoes perfectly:
Sign for the guest "book" table (signature mat):

Our completed card box:

Top of the box:

And, the front:Cocktail menu for the bar - thanks to knottie kwynn for the fabulous inspiration:

Our completed chocolate favor boxes. Each guest will receive one on their plate:

Our next task (by far one of our largest) is packing up everything we need for the reception to bring to the hall....tomorrow at 2:00 pm! A daunting task but, I'm so excited to get it all out of the house and into the capable hands of our Maitre'D and Bridal Attendant. One step closer to seeing all of the work and effort realized!

THREE DAYS!!!

picking up the pace, moving it along...

#1 - Our honeymoon is booked!!! We are scheduled to fly out of NY to GREECE on Sunday, May 17th and will return on Thursday, June 4th. I could not possibly be more excited about this trip! I've dreamed of traveling to Greece my whole life. Though I am well-traveled, I hadn't had the opportunity to make it there before now. So. very. excited.

#2 - FI and I finished the RD invites on Tuesday night and sent them out yesterday. I just love how they turned out.

Chandelier detail with rhinestone accent:#3 - Another "something blue" that I hadn't gotten around to sharing yet. FIL's gave me this beautiful blue topaz ring for Christmas. I adore it and am so grateful to them!

#4 - My wedding band!!! We had it custom made at a jeweler upstate and my parents brought it to me this past weekend when they were in town for the shower. It's a perfect fit with my e-ring. I cannot wait to wear it in just 36 days...

On my hand, with my e-ring. The bands nestle together like puzzle pieces.

#5 - Tonight, FI and I have our big appointment with our reception venue to finalize the menu, cake, linens, chairs, timeline...everything! I am just about to type up a very lengthy list of questions. And, crud! I just realized I never printed a pic of the cake! Argh. Need to do that when I get in from work tonight right before we leave. Here is the inspiration photo, though we will ask for round layers:

making a list, checking it...well, all the time!

1. My ring is in!!! Mom picked it up today and is delivering it to me this weekend.
2. FI's ring is en route and should arrive tomorrow!
3. Our cake topper arrived today...love it! Crafty Eddy rocks.
4. My bridal shower is this Saturday! Woot! My sister flys in to town tomorrow night and I can't wait to see her.
5. My first fitting is next Tuesday. I ordered my corset for underneath and am hoping it shows up on time.
6. Appointment to finalize our menu and other venue stuff is next Thursday.
7. The programs are all copied and about 1/4 are assembled and finished. Hoping to get more done this weekend with a little help from my friends and family.
8. Cocktail napkins have been ordered.
9. Last night, I assembled all of the thank you notes I'll need after my shower and I have new pens standing by.

We are getting there. No where near the end of the list yet but, we're making progress little by little. I am really looking forward to this weekend and my shower but, at the same time I know that the weeks are really going to fly after that! Thank goodness this coming Monday is a holiday and I'll be able to stay home and get through a lot of thank you notes and I'd also like to get the flower girl's pomander made.

So much to do but, I'm feeling in a much better place right now and not stressing as much. I'm exercising (go Shred!), eating right and trying to really take time out each day to relax with FI and have moments where there is NO wedding talk. It's all good :-)

Now, if the last 90-something people would just send in their rsvp's...

make-up trial...

I just got home from my wedding make-up trial. The artist was so sweet and spent a lot of time working on my eyes, including individual false eyelashes, until we were both happy with the results.

The foundation was airbrushed and is supposed to last for up to 18 hours. Since my make-up was done today at approximately the same time as it will be on my wedding day, I'll be putting it to the test tonight when FI and I attend a dinner dance (at our reception venue). So far I love it...even in photos:


Update...the make-up held up ALL night and even better than expected. FI loved it, too :)

closer and closer...

When I logged onto my computer Sunday and checked my blog, I found this...

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In the back of my mind I knew it was coming up but, seeing it gave me a jolt - of excitement, joy and (I can't lie) a bit of panic. Two days later, the countdown clock read 150 days left. Holy cow! Ultimately, I think we're in a very good spot. Our major vendors are all booked and most are more than 1/2 paid for, we have made all of our decor decisions and have purchased nearly everything we need. Just lots of little details left. So, why then did I wake up at 3:00 this morning obsessed about the details of the ceremony programs? I never did fall back asleep *sigh* this might be a lonnnnng day!

My sister (MOH) has told me that she and my bridesmaids scheduled my shower date for January 17th. Although a couple of my girls were disappointed that it would not be a surprise, my sister knew that I would want to know the date (I'm not a big fan of being surprised by a large group of people) - thanks, sis! All I know of the details is that it will take place at one of my favorite restaurants. I'm sure it will be fun but, mostly I'm just looking forward to spending the weekend with my sister who will be flying in for the weekend!

So, what else is new? Two of my bridesmaids chose their dresses:

They both look terrific and are comfortable. Just reaffirms my decision let let them all choose their own styles. And, a little addition to my attire - my mom bought this Bride hoodie for me when she was visiting a couple of weeks ago. I plan to wear it as I am getting ready the morning of the wedding. I know it's a frivolous thing but, I'm only planning on doing this once so, why not?

weekend checks (part 2)...

On Saturday night, we hosted a dinner in our home for my mom and FI's parents. We had great food and a really nice time together. Before we served dessert, FI and I decided to do a centerpiece trial to show them what we had decided on. And, this is it:

The silver leaf charger is 12.5" diameter and the glass is about 11" high. Around the glass, we are using a clear and colored glass pieces and a mix of large and small acrylic gems to refract the light. Here's a close up: We turned the lights down low to see how it would look and were happy with it on the wood table so, I think we'll be thrilled with the final result when they are sitting on the white linens with green runners. Just a few more bags of crystals to purchase and we'll be good to go! CHECK!!!

Then, last night FI and I had an appointment with another D.J. company. After our last one bailed out on us, we were cautiously optimistic (mainly due to all positive knottie reviews). We ended up hitting it off with them right away and booked them. CHECK!!! We have music and lighting!!!

And, because I hadn't quite done enough this week (ha!), I went on an internet search for a brooch for the back of my dress. I entered a low bid on e-bay for one that I thought might work and...I won! So, we'll see what I think of it when it arrives. If it's not quite right, it only cost a little over $12 including shipping and I'll find another use for it (maybe as cake jewelry?). No harm and a possible CHECK!!!

To top it all off, my sister (MOH) called me last night to tell me that she and my bridesmaids have scheduled a date for my shower - January 17th, exactly six weeks before the wedding! I'm so honored and excited!

weekend checks!!! (part 1)

My mom came to town for the weekend to help with several wedding related things, as well as shopping for her MOB dress. We ended up getting a LOT taken care of - so excited!!!

We started Friday at the florist. I loved the florist we met with - he understood exactly the look we're going for and, we're getting more than I thought we could for our budget. While I was looking through the flowers when we arrived, I nearly fell over when I saw they carry chartreuse roses! A few of these beauties will be in my bouquet, along with ivory roses, green hydrangea, green berries and white stephanotis with crystal centers - all hand tied with white ribbon. The girls will carry small hand tied bunches of ivory roses. FI will have a white stephanotis and green berry bout and the rest of the guys will wear green berries. We also decided to have a large, elevated arrangement on the place card table (one of the first things people will see when they walk into the venue), a large arrangement for the bar and pew bows with two small pew arrangements at the ends of the center aisle. CHECK!!!

Then, it was off to search for the perfect earrings. I had been looking all over online and just couldn't find something that I loved. A knottie on my local board (danigirl715) recommended a boutique a few towns over from me. It turned out to be just two blocks from the florist so, that was our next stop! As soon as I tried on these art deco beauties, I knew they were it! They sparkle like crazy in the light, are the right length and are comfortable. CHECK!!!
On Saturday, we went back to the bridal shop. I was having some second thoughts on my gown and needed to see it again, talk it over with my mom and reassure myself. In the end, I do know it's the one and that I chose it for a reason so - that's that. I had already decided to make a modification to the back by adding a sash in the same color/material as my dress so, we ordered that. CHECK!!! The back will look similar to this pic (photo is not my dress) but, it will be sewn into the side seams, rather than wrapped around the front. I'm still looking for a brooch to attach to the knot for some detail. Any suggestions?
While we were there, I found my shoes! Relief. Finding white comfortable flats has been near impossible. But, these are perfect and I couldn't believe how good they felt (walked around the store in them for about 15 minutes). CHECK!!!
If that wasn't enough, after trying on over 20 dresses, my mom found hers at Lord & Taylor. She looks absolutely beautiful and is thrilled with her choice...yay Mom! CHECK!!!

And, yes, there's more...I'll be posting pics of our DIY centerpiece trial tomorrow!