Straight From The Oyster's Mouth

I have officially started working on the pearl bouquets and boutonnieres! Matt and I bought pearl beads at Michael's today and had gotten the wire yesterday. (I also ordered the glass beads that I'm going to use in the bouquets, too.) All in all I had about 250 beads, give or take a little, and 1 yard of silver wire. Here is how far I got:

Impressive, I know. So I have ordered a bulk bag of 8mm pearls (about 700 beads) and 15 yards of silver wiring from some random website. I'm super excited to have all the supplies and eventually finish the bouquets (hopefully in time for the wedding)! (I have also decided that this bouquet will be mine because there are various sized pearls. We'll also make Matt's boutonniere out of these as well.)
In the meantime, stay tuned for updates on the bouquets!

Please Join Us...

I ordered some of our invitations a couple weeks ago and they have arrived! (We're getting them from Vistaprint and I have LivingSocial/Groupon deals that expire in December that I'm using for them, so we ordered early.) They are BEAUTIFUL! I'm so excited to have them here in my hands! Only one problem: the envelopes that they sent with the invitations are half the width. So now I have to find new envelopes for the invitiations, as well as pocket folds, which is proving incredibly difficult (and expensive). There seem to be NO 6x9 pocket folds that don't cost an arm and a leg.
If anyone has any helpful hints, please share!!

The invitations

Extreme Frame Makeover

So Matt and I went to Ikea on Tuesday and bought, among other things, frames to use for the wedding reception tables. They're called Tolsby frames and are hugely popular among brides right now, especially being only 99¢ a piece! They are double-sided, so you can put two pictures (or whatever else) in them. We're using them for our table numbers and have decided to put the number in one side and one of our engagement pictures on the other side.
The only downside to the frame is that they're white plastic. They're not super cheap-looking, but I had originally wanted black frames. Therefore, Matt and I decided to spray paint them. We found metallic silver spray paint at Michael's for $6 and we'll be testing it out today on one of the frames. (We used the one for our table first so that if it's messed up, it'll be on our own table.)
Here are the pictures:

Before

After

In the Valley

Matt and I went to the Shoppes at Blackstone Valley in Millbury today to meet with a potential videographer. While there, we ran a couple of other errands (this shopping center has everything).
First, we met Jesse of SureShot Videography with the hopes of hiring him for the wedding. Matt and I really only want the ceremony and important parts of the reception taped. We don't need three hours of dancing and honestly can't afford it. We have decided that we'd love to have Jesse as our videographer especially since our package will only cost $600!
Second, we stopped in Joseph A. Bank to see if the colors of the vests we wanted matched the colors of the dresses I had picked. They did! So now we are OFFICIALLY using them for the men's formal wear!
Third, I dragged Matt into Claire's to look at a pair of earrings that I had seen online. They are small hoops with rhinestones and are exactly what I wanted for the wedding. They were only $10 (they were one pair in a set of three) and will be perfect!
And last, we picked up some of the stuff from Michael's for the pearl bouquets and boutonierres. (I got the silver wire, silver, black, and pink ribbon.)

The tuxedos that Matt built online with the correct colored vests and ties. (Jean Yves Tango vests with striped Windsor ties)

 Bali Silver

 Ferrari Red

 Bali Peach

 Capri Buttercup

 Emerald Green

 Royal Blue

 Eggplant

 Bright Pink

 Black

The ushers will wear the same black as our dads, but will have striped ties that we're buying them as thank you gifts.

My earrings

Even Better Than The First

I got (another) package yesterday that was for the wedding! They're my SHOES!! I had bought the other pair from AMI and didn't end up liking them for the wedding. So I found these on ebay for $25! They fit really well, although I will have to break them in. There's a picture in this post!

Decisions, Decisions

Speaking of them, Matt and I have finalized some things for the wedding. (Of course this means that I have made other decisions that I have to make.) However, here is what we have decided:

Flowers
The bouquets and boutonnieres will be made out of pearls instead of doing real flowers. They are absolutely beautiful and we'll be able to save them without adding an extra cost. Here's a link on how to make them (it's super easy)!
For our mothers' corsages, we're going to hopefully use scraps from their dresses and have them made by this seller on Etsy. (If we can't use the scraps, we'll have them made with new material in a color that matches the dresses.)
*See pictures below!

Tuxedos
We have settled on Joseph A. Bank to rent the groomsmen's tuxedos from. They are highly recommended and have all of the colors for vests that we will need.

I actually think that's all that we have decided on so far. On another note, we have an appointment with a potential videographer this Thursday. We will also be publishing the third newsletter at the end of the week, so I'll be sure to post it here.

Bouquets 

Boutonnieres

Corsgages

And Another

I got yet another package today that was for the wedding! I had ordered the bubbles that we're going to use after the ceremony and Olivia's (my little sister and flower girl) pomander. They're all great and I'm so excited to have yet another crossed off my list!

See my post from September 16 for pictures!

Pump Me Up

So after seeing the shoes that I posted about yesterday and thinking, I realized that I didn't like them for the ceremony. So I bought a new pair (picture below) off of ebay for $25! I like them a lot better, but Matt had a great idea for the other pair: use them for our after party! What a genius my love is!

Somehow I forgot to mention my receptions shoes! Even though I LOVE heels, I love dancing more. I don't want my feet to fall off, so I bought the flip flops below from Old Navy to match my bridal party reception flip flops!



Hey Mr. Postman

I got a package on Monday, yesterday, and today that all had something for the wedding! Monday I got the last of my bridesmaids' clutches in...finally! It was shipped from the same company as the blue one for Matt's sister so it came from Hong Kong. It's for my sister, Hannah, and is purple and quite simple (she's not a girly girl, so it needed to lack the frills of the others).
Yesterday I got the bags from Current Catalog that I had ordered for our welcome bags for out-of-town guests! They're simple, in various colors of the rainbow, but we'll be glueing our welcome letter to the front of them.
And today I got my shoes for the ceremony! I had found a pair in the store that I really liked but they were $75. These I found on AMI for only $15 and the same basic style (peeptoe pumps) as the originals. They're really cute and, since they're only for the ceremony and pictures, I'm happy that I saved money on them.

Hannah's clutch 

Out-of-town welcome bags 

Ceremony shoes

Fancy Fathers

Matt and I were originally going to get both of our dads cufflinks that would match the colors of our moms' dresses. Instead, the other day, I found Marine Corps cufflinks that I thought would be great for my dad. He was in the Marines straight out of high school and stayed in for several years before he was honorably discharged.

I thought that we should do something similar for Matt's dad; getting him cufflinks that meant something to him. Matt's dad is Irish so we found Celtic Triqueta cufflinks that are silver and will match anything!

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Jess sent me a disk with all of our engagement photos on it, but here are a couple that she put up on Facebook and her website. They're amazing!

Yummy

When we booked the Biltmore, the catering manager there (they have onsite catering) gave us a list of their menu options. First, we decided that we wanted to do a plated dinner rather than stations or a buffet, especially because they provide a huge flambé presentation with a plated dinner. Second, after looking it over, we narrowed down the options (see the list below). However, we won't make our final decisions until after the tasting that the Biltmore hosts in February.

Cocktail Hour (6 of the following)

• Natural scallops roasted in crisp bacon
• Coconut chicken with lemon grass plum sauce
• Wild mushroom phyllo cups with white truffle oil
• Mushroom, caramelized onion, and goat cheese thin crust pizza
• Crispy spring rolls with duck sauce
• Southern whiskey pork on sweet potato gaufrette
• Blue cheese and pear filo star
• Rosemary lamb chops
• Chilled jumbo shrimp cocktail with Citron Bloody Mary cocktail sauce
• Crabmeat stuffed mushrooms
• Maine crab cakes with smoked bacon and minced boiled egg easter tartar sauce

Starters (2 of the following)

• Rhode Island lobster chowder
• Wild mushroom bisque with truffle oil
• The Biltmore Caesar: fresh romaine hearts with garlic and romano croutons
• Mixed baby greens with praline pecans, blue cheese crumble, mandarin oranges, and raspberry vinaigarette dressing

Entrées (2 of the following)

• Grilled petit filet with roasted or stuffed shrimp with a porcini mushroom demi glaze
• Classic chicken francaise with grilled shrimp, tarragon, and lemon sauce
• Mixed Grill: sliced roasted sirloin, crab stuffed shrimp, and chicken fiore
• Pan seared salmon filet with a roasted tomato beurre blanc or a honey soyglaze
• Wild mushroom ravioli with sautéed roasted spinach, tomato, and white wine sauce

Sides (1 starch and 1 vegetable of  the following)

• Roasted garlic and parmesan mashed potatoes
• Vanilla-scented whipped sweet potatoes
• Seasonal vegetables

Dessert (1 of the following flambé flavors)

• Strawberry
• Mixed berry
• Cherry

Gracias

One last thing for tonight, just to write it before I forget it. We got some of our thank yous last week, just in time to be used for our engagement party gifts! Here's a picture of the beautiful stationery that matches our invitations!

My Bubbles!

Just ordered the bubbles that we're going to use for the ceremony! The pictures of the different colors are below! I also ordered the pomander for my flower girl, all of which came from Oriental Trading. I'm so excited!

One Down...

I finally received the blue clutch that I ordered! It took a while, but it was shipped from Hong Kong, so it was okay. I only need the purple one (that I ordered from the same company) and I will be done with my bridesmaids' gifts COMPLETELY! So excited!

On another note, Matt and I have decided on our honeymoon, although we'll still have to book it. We're going to a Sandals resort in St. Lucia. We thought that all-inclusive would be the best idea since we wouldn't have to worry about paying for anything the entire week. And there are better things we can spend our wedding money on.

That's all for now.

Party Pictures

Here are the engagement party pictures, courtesy of my amazing mom!