Tuxedo Deal!

I found this online, seems like a pretty great deal. Travis and I are going to work on the tuxedo/suit situation after he finishes the GRE next week. We looked at Men's Warehouse and weren't too thrilled about their selection - and not to mention the fact that you can't try it on! That's nuts!

Here's a list of locations in Southern California:

shoes!

Well, at this point I have most of my accessories figured out for the day...bracelet (christmas gift!), necklace borrowed from my mom (something borrowed!), earrings (I know what I want but haven't found them yet, hmmm...), and my hair piece.

Other than undergarments, to be tackled at a later date and probably in private, I am yet to find my SHOES!

For my dress, since I'm somewhat normal height, I need to find 3" to 3.5" heels - 3.5" preferably. This way I don't have to have my dress hemmed.

Here are some I've seen so far in the SAVE and SPLURGE versions. Just like your dress, you don't need to spend a small fortune for something you're going to wear once. Look amazing in an almost replica without the brand name for less than half the price. LESS THAN HALF! That's just crazyness...Nina at Zappos - reasonably priced - $99.95

Splurge version - Badgley Mischka from Piperlime - $215
RSPVP also at Zappos - only $89


Bagdley Mischka at Piperlime - $215! Do they not look almost EXACTLY the same?!?
Another Nina at Zappos - $89
Kate Spade - Nordstroms - $285

I will find more...to come in another post...I'm determined...

flowers

My mom and I are making a trip to San Clemente sometime this week (tomorrow hopefully!) to meet with our florist, among other things. The florist we're heading towards is Downtown Flowers, a local San Clemente florist. I've seen her (Krista) featured on Style Me Pretty, and think she does beautiful work. I'm so excited to see her ideas - and she fits within our budget! Score!

Here are some ideas I L-O-V-E...

These obviously aren't my colors, but I love the idea. It looks very vintage chic! Love the succulents, different shades of roses, and I am swooning over those deep purple flowers thrown in there.

One of my favorites is hydrangeas. I've always dreamed of having lots and lots of hydrangeas at my wedding - and did you know they're beautiful dry also? Love these classic white, and the greens.
I'm not sure what these are called (anyone?), but I've been seeing more and more of them in bouquets lately. Pretty cool!

Succulents! They add such a unique, almost rough, feel to a pretty-pretty bouquet. I think it's a great way to add greens without being so cliche. Beautiful!

shoes!

I just may need these...

jewelry giveaway!

Woah!

Another fabulous giveaway - this time from Pre-Owned Wedding Dresses. They're giving away a jewelry rental with Adorn Brides worth $2,500!

Click here!

fingerprint jewelry

What a cool idea - personalized fingerprint jewelry. I found this on What Junebug Loves (browsing wedding blogs again...surprise, surprise) and thought it would be a great wedding gift for your future spouse or accessory you could just buy yourself!!



The idea is to have the fingerprint of your husband/wife engraved on the jewelry instead of traditional initials, I heart you, etc. These are made by Chris Parry and can be purchased on his etsy shop.


I love the heart necklace with the fingerprint. It's probably too casual to use as an accessory for my wedding day, but just might have to convince Travis to get it for me one for Valentine's Day with his print...

dresses!

The dress is definitely the one thing I'm most excited about when it comes to the wedding. Isn't it everyones? This is why I LOVE the show "Say Yes to the Dress" - just some kind of joy watching girls try on wedding dresses. I could be one of those girls who works at the dress shop, watching happy people all day getting ready for their most exciting day, trying on beautiful gowns.

Okay...so my adventure trying on dresses started on our annual reunion trip to Seattle (here we are above). They say cardinal rule #1 for trying on wedding dresses is to NEVER try on dresses out of your price range, but I think that's bull. Here's why...

I tried on CRAZY expensive dresses (well, crazy expensive for me) at this beautiful boutique with my best friends (all my b.maids) which was so special for me. It was amazing wearing these designer dresses that made you look sooo good...which I could never afford. The positive thing in trying these dresses on was seeing what I liked - and having an idea in my head as to what I wanted for my own dress. Well, I fell in love with this Jenny Lee gown...couldn't stop thinking about it, didn't want to take it off, etc. I was convinced that was THE dress and I couldn't find anything like it.

When I started looking around at dresses actually in my price range, I started feeling really down. I was mad at myself for trying on this dress that was WAY too expensive for me. I started searching online to find a used dress (which apparently a lot of people do), even emailed the designer (no joke - I got a response from "Jenny") to try and buy a sample.

I talked to Trav and my mom and they talked some sense into me - that you wear a dress for ONE day, and it's not worth throwing all your savings away to wear this one great dress. They were RIGHT (and I don't like admitting that)!

I found a dress that I really liked, very similar to the Jenny Lee gown for a FRACTION of the price at a great boutique, Marry Me Bridal in Orange, CA. They were very helpful, and the gal there was wonderful. Here's the dress I thought was the one...Maggie

It's a beautiful dress, and compulsive me wanted to get it right away, but my mom convinced me to keep looking because there were a few things here and there that I didn't like.

Just the other day I went to another shop in Orange County, Mariposa Boutique in Anaheim, and found THE dress. It is JUST like the Jenny Lee gown, but literally a fifth the price. I'm not going to post pictures - I have to keep some secrets (especially if Travis reads this) but it is beautiful. I was even able to share the dress with Terissa, another b.maid and Travis' twin sister, and she approved :)

Moral of the story: try on the expensive ones! It may cause some heartache at first, but then you'll be SO excited to find one that's in your price range, and so similar! I'm now convinced nobody should ever pay tons and tons of money on a wedding gown. You don't need to!