Limeade

Happy 23rd Birthday to my dear friend and bridesmaid, Shannon!

Last Fling

It's my bachelorette weekend! FINALLY! I am WICKED excited and I'll be sure to post as many (appropriate) pictures as possible! Off to get Cristina soon and then to the hotel to get ready!

AND it's Matt's bachelor party as well! They're heading out to the strip clubs tonight and Foxwoods tomorrow! I hope they have fun!

Three Weeks

21 days

240 invited
165 attending
65 declined

We got one more RSVP today in the mail from my parents' neighbors, Kim and Ian.

I got my tattoo and I LOVE it! Thanks to Shannon for coming with me and being my moral support!

Shannon and I went to get our nails done after my tattoo and I loved the place, so I scheduled the appointments for the wedding there. I'm glad to have one more thing checked off my list!

Altered State

47 days

222 invited
127 attending
34 declined

RSVPs today:
-my proxy godfather, Joel, and his wife, Stephanie
-my high school friend, Missy
-my college friend, Adri, and her boyfriend, Neal
I ordered a pretty (and sexy) satin nightie for the wedding night/honeymoon from Frederick's of Hollywood last night! Here's a picture, only I ordered it in black:

I had my alterations appointment tonight! Shannon went with me to take pictures as well as have her dress altered. Mine will be about $290, including a steaming to make the tulle look better. It's about half of what I would have paid at Alfred Angelo. Here's a great picture of the two of us:

 Someone bought our panini press off our registry today! I'm wicked excited because that was one of our favorite items!!

Clothes Horse

48 days

222 invited
122 attending
34 declined

I updated our scrapbook with the hair trial and cake tasting pictures. I also updated our regular one with pictures from my former coworkers' party and Devon's Junior Districts concert.

Matt and I are going to (attempt to) start packing for the move. We want to clean a little, as well, but after the big breakfast we had it's looking a little difficult.

Tomorrow night I have my alterations! Shannon and I will be going to Ana's Bridal at 6 30 and I get to put my dress on again! I'll definitely have Shannon take pictures to post here and for my scrapbook as well.

Matt and I went to the mall yesterday and I bought a skirt for the honeymoon from American Eagle. It was $19.99 with an additional 30% plus we had another coupon for 15% off! Of course, I went to get a picture of it to put here and found another dress on their website that was on sale with the 30% off, so I bought it. Here are the pictures:

I'm so excited!! I also found a new body spray since Bath and Body Works discontinued my favorite one. I have the hand lotion and love it, so I bought Twilight Woods to wear on the wedding day (and whenever else). It's glitter spray, so I'll be sparkly for the wedding!!

Moon Money

55 days

222 invited
118 attending
33 declined

Matt got the money for the honeymoon yesterday and we deopsited it today! Once it clears (it was a $3000 check) we'll pay for the rest of the honeymoon! I'm so excited!

I called Ana Bridal the other day about my alterations next Monday (the 30th). I need to find out how much they're going to cost because they only accept cash. However, I was able to schedule Shannon's with me! I'm really excited to put my dress on again and I'll definitely have Shannon take some pictures for me!

Pain in the Tux

94 days

212 invited
40 attending
8 declined

RSVPs today:
-Jay & Donna, Matt's uncle and aunt
-Luke, Matt's cousin
-J.M., Matt's friend from college and
-Joslyn and Tom, my friend from high school and her boyfriend

Today I went to pick up Nicole's dress at Alfred Angelo and got a VERY pleasant surprise: ALL of the girls' dresses have come in! I picked them all up, except for Shannon's because she has a balance due on hers, and brought them home! They are beautiful!!

I then took Nick to get his measurements done in Cranston. Those men have no idea how to use a computer. It took almost an hour! In the end, everything was fine, but it was a ridiculously painful experience. Ugh

And, last, I found a different pair of cufflinks for Matt! They're going to be a surprise, though! Here is the original picture:

Obviously they'll have our initials and date, but I love them!

Double Digits!

99 days

207 invited
28 attending
6 declined

RSVPs today:
-Joel DeFelice, Matt's college friend
-Peggy & Alex, friends from Gap back home (declined because Peggy's brother's wedding is the same weekend)
-Brendan, my cousin (declined)
-Matt's parents
-John & Ann Madden

Jess is here for the weekend and we are going to my hair trial tomorrow morning with Shannon! I can't wait to see how it's going to look! I'm definitely bringing my camera!

Jess and I went to Michael's tonight and got the all the rest of the glass for the centerpieces except for the square vases. I came home and ordered them on Save on Crafts instead since they were drastically cheaper! I'm also ordering the black gems and then I'll be done!

I got the Vistaprint order and finished the menus tonight! They look great thanks to help from Jess! I'm so excited to have another DIY project done!

I also got the LAST brooch for Cristina's bouquet! I was going to finish her bouquet tonight until I realized that I needed to get more silver wiring. So...I'll be finishing it tomorrow.

I got the baskets for the programs today! They're a little small, so I've decided to not tie the fans and bubbles onto them. Instead, I'm going to get a big basket for the bubbles to leave outside and probably lay the fans in the pews, depending on if that's okay.

Mark the Occassion

110 days

Currently working on: escort card frames titles

Our mothers' corsages came in today!! They are GORGEOUS! I am so happy that I went with these instead of real flowers: they have meaning, will last forever, and they go so well with the bouquets and boutonnieres! Here is the picture:

I also bought Shannon a new hair accessory for the wedding. The headband that I originally had was for Margaret and so I went to get a flower for Shannon. All the other bridesmaids have flowers and Shannon doesn't like headbands, so it worked out well. Here's the picture:

Matt and I are going to go through the invitations tonight to see which we will hand out to guests. I'm also planning on finishing the escort card frames! And tomorrow is our meeting at the Biltmore! So excited!

Mommy Dearest

113 days

Currently working on: escort card pictures

Our mothers' jewelry came in today! It is so pretty and I know that they will love it! Here are pictures of the actual jewelry that took me forever to take:

my mom

Matt's mom

I printed the pictures for the escort card frames at work today, so I'm going to work on them and, hopefully, finish them tonight!

Tomorrow is girls' day! Shannon and I are going to my gram's to hang with my mom, gram, aunts, sisters, and Jess to eat and plan the shower!

The Grass is Always Greener

I finished Shannon's bouquet! It looks great and I love the colors of the brooches! Now I'm down to ONE! AAAAHHHH! And, of course, the picture:

You Can Quote That

114 days

Currently working on: escort card frames quotes (7/7 done)

I finished the quotes for the escort card frames since the last two frames came in today! I was going to start working on the pictures, but the printer is running low on black ink and so I'll need to print them elsewhere. (I sent it to myself to try and print at work since it's a more industrial model and has a lot more ink.) I think I'm going to do the small signs for the frames tonight, instead.

Matt also got the last addresses that we needed while I got the invitation weighed, so we can send them out! It's going to be about what I thought so we'll have to start buying them now since it'll probably total around $85.

I received the original last brooch for Shannon's bouquet so I'll be able to finish her bouquet later tonight! Another one done! Yay! Here's the brooch that I finally got in:

Hairy Flower

126 days

Currently working on: pocketfolds (112/130 done)
                                   ceremony programs (50/200 done)

Sweet relief! Pre-Cana is done and over with and we never have to go back again! I'm not going to rant about how much a I hated it (a lot) but I will say that it did absolutely nothing for me. I don't want to dwell on the boring and painful, though, so let's move on to other things.

My hair piece came in! It is GORGEOUS! I am so happy that I ordered it from Etsy since the one I got from Claire's looks like crap compared to this one! Here's a picture:

We also sent back the ring we had originally ordered Matt and ordered the new one from Jared that he wanted. Here's a picture of it:

I got another brooch in! It's for Shannon's bouquet so now I only need one more for hers and I'll be able to finish it! Another picture:

Yesterday, we got a bunch of packages in as well, but I didn't have the time or energy to write about them because of Pre-Cana. My dress for my shower from ModCloth came in! I tried it on last night before leaving and it fits! I'll need to get a slip from Gap to go under, but I love it and I'm so glad to have the return nonsense done and over with! Our dads' cufflinks and ushers' tie and cufflink sets also came in! You can see them here on our wedding website!

Just Broochy

147 days

Currently working on: pocketfolds (62/130 done)
                                  bouquet pearls (7/8 done)

I FINALLY ordered the last brooches for Jess and Shannon's bouquets! Of course, one of Shannon's won't ship until after the end of the month, but at least I ordered them and can finish those bouquets once they're in. Here are the pictures (let's pray they look this way and I don't have to order any more).

Jess

Shannon

Shannon

Also on the subject of bouquets, I finished the pearls for Juliana's bouquet! I now have only one left to finish which I'm going to do tomorrow! Then it's just the brooches left to buy and put in, then arrange the whole thing and wrap it all up!

I also cancelled my alterations appointment with Alfred Angelo this morning. I'm going to shop around and ask for some estimates before I decide where to get them done. But I'm glad I won't be paying $500 to have material cut off my dress.

Done, Done, & Done!

161 days

Currently working on: pocketfolds (26/130 done)

I went with my bridal party today to order their dresses today and it was more than a success! Shannon was able to get out of work early to come with us, so I don't have to make a different appointment! The girls love the dress and it's going to look great on them all! Olivia looked ADORABLE in the flower girl dress I picked out for her! (And she absolutely loved it!)

Matt's mom and my mom were looking through the catalog and the separates that they had for mothers and they BOTH found a dress they liked! So they both ordered their dresses today, which was totally unexpected! My mom got a dark purple chiffon top and skirt that looks great on her and Matt's mom got a dark blue satin dress and jacket that will look great, too! I love the colors they picked because it also matches their daughters in the wedding. (My mom's matches the older of my two younger sisters, Hannah, since pink isn't something she would wear.) I definitely have to get a picture of the four of them together at the wedding!

my mom's dress

This morning I had my hair appointment (I go every two months) after which I scheduled all of my bridal party's hair and makeup appointments! I also scheduled my hair trial for the same date as my next trim; March 10! I got so much done in one day!

Do You Have an Appointment?

So I FINALLY remembered to call Alfred Angelo about the bridesmaids' dress appointments in two weeks! I had to add my first dress fitting to the appointment! I'm so excited to do something with my dress again! It's been sitting in my closet for six months and I've only taken it out once!

That same day, I'm getting my hair cut (my usual 2 month appointment) but I'm also scheduling my wedding party's beauty appointments! The night before the wedding, I'm taking the girls to get their nails done (except for my two sisters). Then the morning of, we're getting our hair done and some are getting their makeup done as well. That means that I'll get to schedule my hair trial as well! It's so exciting to be getting things done again!

Jackpot!

197 days

First of all, I received four packages in the mail today, two of which were at least somewhat wedding related. The first was from Vistaprint, who must be filling a million and one orders for them to have taken this long. It contained (for the wedding) some fo the RSVP cards, the photoshare cards, the cards for our guestbook, stickers for the invitations, as well as our Christmas cards. The other wedding related package was from Lia Sophia. Most of the jewelry ordered at my party came in (there's a holiday lag so some is on backorder) including the earrings I bought for the wedding!! They are even more gorgeous in person (compared to the catalog) and I absolutely love them! (The other two packages were more Lia Sophia jewelry and the books I ordered from Barnes & Noble; the sequel to The Giver and the first Hunger Games book!)

Second, Matt and I went to Michael's to get new ribbon for my bouquet. I got this beautiful white ribbon with silver glitter designs on it. (I just realized I'm not sure how the rainbow ribbon will look with it, but we'll see.) I also bought another scrapbook for the stationery from the wedding since it won't all fit in with the pictures in the other scrapbook as well as more silver wire for the bouquets (which will hopefully allow me to finish them).

Third, I also received two more brooches in the mail! I got another orange one for Jess's bouquet and a green one for Shannon's.

I'm going to try to finish my bouquet tonight, but will probably post pictures tomorrow!

The Brooches and the Bride

I ordered more brooches today and I also received some of the ones that I ordered in the mail!

I got the brooches from this post in the mail, with the exception of the first one (it shipped from a different seller). However, the one that looks orange in the picture is somewhere in between orange and red and won't look right with either bouquet, so I'm not going to use it. (I like it, so maybe I'll wear it but not for the wedding.)

As for the ones that I ordered, here are the pictures:

Jess

(to replace the one that wasn't really orange)

Jess

Shannon 

Hannah

Yesterday I hosted my Lia Sophia starter party (I'm going to start selling the jewelry) and I found earrings that I really want to wear for the wedding. I like the ones that I have, but these are prettier and I love the necklace that matches them. (That means I'll wear them after the wedding.)

Another note: Matt and I were looking at the rings that we had picked out months ago online and they no longer have them. They have replaced them with the exact same thing that is way more expensive. So we went searching for similar ones closer to the price of the originals and found some at Kay! They are only about $10 more than the first ones and are the same thing we were looking at! Now we just need to order them before they disappear too!

mine

Matt's

I also have another addiction: Pinterest. It took me a while to get on the bandwagon, but now I can't stop pinning things! I have gotten some great ideas looking through others' wedding boards, though!

This brings me to my last item: while looking through ModCloth for dresses to pin to my Fashionista board, I found this beautiful off white dress. I think I may buy this as my little white dress for the after party. It's not really clubwear, but it's so simple and I could definitely wear it afterwards (even after Labor Day). I found some amazing orange pumps from Alloy, too, that I think I'll get to go with it!

I think that about wraps up my ridiculously long post for now!

Bountiful Brooches

I bought more brooches today off of ebay and I received the other 5 that I had already ordered! They are all beautiful! Click here for pictures of the ones that I received and here are the pictures of the ones that I bought today; the last two for my bouquet, one for Jess, and the last one for Nicole's.

mine

mine

Jess

Nicole

I also finished the pearls for Shannon's bouquet last night. I now have three of the brooches that I'm going to add in and it's almost done! Yay!

Brooch Heaven

I got two more in the mail: the green one for Shannon's bouquet and the purple one for Hannah's. Now I just need to get more silver wiring so that I can finish these bad boys up.