Where my girls at?!

I've always known I wanted to have a smaller bridal party. Just the few closest people to Gordon and I by our sides that would always be by our sides. Things seemed like they were going to work our perfectly because I have 1 sister and 1 brother and Gordon has 1 sister and 1 brother. But then Gordon mentioned that he wanted 2 of his friends to stand up. I'm fine with an uneven bridal party but 2 girls to 4 boys is a bit much. Gordon kept saying, "I cannot believe you don't have any friends that you can ask to be a bridesmaid." Its not that I don't have friends, because I do, but I didn't want to deal with the potential conflict of asking one friend and not another. Gordon said, "I cannot believe you are letting someone's potential feelings on this matter affect your wedding planning. Do what you want, they can get over it." I went back and forth over this for weeks and finally came to a decision after talking to a dear friend that is married that had a similar issue resulting in a very large bridal party. She said, "If you ask one person, then it turns into 'why didn't you ask your step sister?' and then 'what about friend X, you've known her since the 5th grade?' You gotta know who are your stronger friends that will understand your decisions and who are your friends that might be upset about it. If they get upset, that's their problem. Its your wedding do what you want, choose who you want." I thought about it some more and then made the decision. Once I told Gordon who I wanted to be my 3rd bridesmaid he was so happy. He wanted me to choose her.

Then I went on a quest to find a unique way of asking my girls to be 'my girls'. There were some cute cards at the paper store and then I thought I could make cards and put a special little note in it for each of them. Then I stumbled on this. Super cute way to ask, and a handy info sheet. Since I live in Philly and 2 of the girls are in Chicago and 1 is in Austin I figured this was the best way to get them all the info they may need in one handy little place. So I set out looking for envelopes, cards, ribbon, and stamps to put together my own version of Elise's cards.

Here is what I came up with.

I think they came out pretty good. They're a little different than the ones I found on Elise's site but that's what DIY is all about right? Finding something you like and making it your own. I gave them to each of my girls along with their bridesmaids dresses (I found great dresses at a great price... check back for that post). They all said yes!

My girls include:

MOH: my sister Katie

BM: Gordon's sister Stacey

BM: one of my best friends Maria

I love them each so much and I can't wait for them to share our special day with us.

Fancy Feet

I've noticed some trends while scrolling through all the wedding blogs that have consumed my life since getting engaged. One of those trends is colorful shoes. This is a trend I can get behind. I am totally going to have colorful shoes for my wedding! I'm having some trouble finding shoes at a reasonable price in the color I want, and has a heel height that is comfortable. I'm hoping with the change in season I will be able to find green shoes with a cute kitten heal. Fingers crossed!

(source $109.95)

Cute, definitely re-wearable, but still a little plain.

(source $84.95)

These are affordable but flat and don't have enough pop.

(source $88.00)
Super fun stripes but wrong shade of green.

(source $156.17)

These I absolutely love! But are a little pricey, almost as much as I spent on the dress.

There are other options out there like dyeables but I really wanted to find something that was already green. Something fun and funky that would look nice, be comfortable, I can wear again. and won't break the bank. The search will go on.

Making changes

I have never been one to make New Years Resolutions, but I feel like this is the year to do it, and stick to them. It's a new year, new decade, and I am about to start a new life as married woman.


My resolutions:

1. Lose 10lbs. I have never been one to care about my weight because I never had to. (sorry if you hate me for that) I'm not looking to lose the weight just because I am getting married. I want to be in better overall health. (see resolution #2)

2. Go to the gym at least 2 times a week. I have been paying for a gym membership for the last 3 years I need to actually use it otherwise its just wasted money.

3. Fix my debt. Soon I will be linked to Gordon, not only in love but also in our bank accounts. I know that money issues cause a lot of marital problems and I would like to alleviate some of that stress and future problems by getting my debt under control if not eliminated.

4. Travel outside the country. This can easily be checked off by our honeymoon. Our hope is to go to England, Scotland and Ireland.

5. Get back into soccer. I never really got out of soccer. When we moved to Philly it became harder to enjoy it because we didn't have a team. Philly has been added to MLS this year so we will have games to go to. The World Cup is also happening this year so there is an opportunity for me to get back into it. I know it's something that would make Gordon happy and that we can do together.

6. Eat out more. It's for work..... kinda, I just wish I could write it off. I need to develop my pallet more. I need to branch out and try some sea food. I need to eat more desserts. If I do this I will really have to work at resolutions 1 & 2.

7. Stress about work less. I need to learn to leave work at work. I don't have a job that I can bring my work home but I tend to bring my work stress home.

8. Stay on top of my blogging. In the past I have let my blogging lag. I need to keep up with it so that friends and family that live far away can be kept up to date on what is going on.

I think these are all things that I can accomplish or stick to. Wish me luck.

It's all about compromise

They say that marriage is all about compromise. They should also tell you that wedding planning is all about compromise.

Something that was very important to me was in the wedding planning process was to make my wedding dress. It's something that I really felt like I could do and the only way I would get what I really wanted in a dress. Some of my friends thought I was crazy, and some of them thought it was an awesome idea. I'm pretty crafty, craftier than the average bear. I've been sewing for years. I don't have much experience sewing garments but I felt that given enough time I could practice a few dresses before making THE dress. I found a blog that showed another bride making her dress. If she could do it, I could do it.

I spent a lot of time looking for the perfect dress pattern. I found one that I totally fell in love with. It was a vintage pattern that unfortunately wasn't my size. I bought it anyway. I asked my friend Liz if there was a way to 'make it work'. Liz use to be a pattern maker for a designer before she moved to Philly, so she's got a little bit of experience making clothes for different sizes. She gave me some kind of equation using my measurements in relation to the measurements of the dress. It was totally confusing. Then I found an easier explanation along with pictures here . So, I'm gonna do this. I'm going to make my wedding dress. My mom keeps telling me I'm nuts and that I have no idea how much stress this is going to add to the wedding planning. I don't care what she says, I'm gonna do this.

My sister was going to be in town for a visit and I decided we should go dress 'shopping'. I feel that you only get to be a bride once why not take advantage of getting to try on as many wedding dresses as you want. My friend Liz came with us and we went to David's Bridal. The goal of the trip was to try on dresses and find aspects of dresses that I liked that I could incorporate into the dress that I was going to make. Things like color, neck line, and lace were all things I wanted to make decisions about. I tried on some nice dresses, some ridiculous ones, and one amazing dress. Then sales woman put the veil on me. Katie and Liz had the same reaction at the same time. "Oh my goodness, Sarah........". Now what do I do?!?!? The I got dressed and started talking to the girls. They both went on and on about how beautiful the dress was and how wonderful I was in it and that it made me really look like a bride. But I want to make my dress. This dress was nothing like the dress I wanted to make. Vintage feel, great cut, and beautiful fabric but not the dress I had my heart set on for the last 2 months. I started to cry. The sales woman said that she could give me a price cut on the dress if I wanted to buy it.... she didn't know about the home made dress idea. She gave me the price and my jaw hit the ground. How much? Really, that's your sale price? Yikes! I can't afford that. She told me I had a couple weeks to think about it and then the sale would be over. We talked about it on the car ride home and came to the decision that I would think about it. That, yes, it would be easier to buy a dress but its expensive and its not what I really want.

A week went by and a day before my sister was to leave town we decided to go to one more place to see what else was out there and maybe push me in one direction or the other. We went to the Bridal Salon at Macy's. They were over booked and short a sales person. The only sales girl in the place gave me a room and told me to help myself to the dresses. Katie helped me get them on and Liz took pictures. Every once in a while the sales girl would come by and ask how we were doing or comment on what I had on. I tried some sale dresses, some just for the hell of it, and some bridesmaids dresses. Something interesting happens when a dress is for a bridesmaid vs a bride.....the comma disappears and the numbers get smaller. One of the bridesmaids dresses was very similar to the dress pattern that I had planned to make. It had a lot of the same elements that originally drew me to the dress pattern. It was lacking in a few places but those can easily be fixed with accessories and the dress could be ordered in ivory so that it looked more like a wedding dress instead of a bridesmaid dress. I tried on a few accessories pulled from other dresses to get the full effect. This is it. This is my dress. I can make the things that needed to be added to the dress. The big scale tipper in deciding on buying vs making my dress was that this bridesmaid dress was under $200. Fabric for making a dress would easily cost that much if not more. I looked at the girls and said, "I'm gonna buy this dress!". Then we ordered it and while I was waiting for the sales girl to write everything up I text Gordon and my mom that I had just bought my wedding dress. They were both shocked and happy for me. Yay! This was the first 'its really happening' moment I had in the planning process. I can't wait for it to come in and I can try it on again.

I still feel bad about not making my dress. I checked back in with the bride that was making her own dress and found that she too went with another dress that was already made. I don't feel so bad anymore. I think I will make the dress pattern that I bought and wear it for some other wedding related occasion.

My colors are blush and bashful

....Her colors are pink and pink.

Writing my post the other day made me want to watch Steel Magnolias again. I love the beginning of the movie when the ladies are all getting their hair done and Shelby tells them about her wedding. Just watch!!

Anyway. My colors are not Blush and Bashful. I actually really dislike the color pink. It works great for other people. Just not me. And honestly, could you see Gordon wearing a pink tie? Our colors are Green and Navy. When I say green I don't mean apple green, lime, hunter, sage, olive, chartreuse, or mint. I mean green green. Like grass, shamrocks, trees, you know.... green. For some reason the idea of having to explain what shade of green to people seems so silly. I like green. Its may favorite color and it always has been. Navy seemed like a natural choice to go with that shade of green.

I went on a hunt of inspiration boards and stuff in those colors. Two normal colors that look well together. I had a tough time finding stuff.


This one looks fun. Not really the green and blue look I was going for but nice green gardeny ideas. I love the mustaches though! I'm trying to think of a way we can do beards to make photos fun. I'm keeping my eyes out for ideas.

This is cute. I am going to have 3 bridesmaids. My sister is going to be my maid of honor and I think I am going to have her wear green and have the other girls wear navy. These dresses look fun would flatter their figures. The necklaces are awesome and very similar to the ones my friend Kathryn gave her bridesmaids. Very cute, and the girls all looked beautiful.

This one seems to be the best representation. It's clean, green, navy, and mod but with a garden touch. The cake is a bit much, beautiful but way more than I would ever want. However, I could make it for the right price.

At the movies

In the weeks following our engagement I totally turned into 'that girl that's getting married'. A recently married friend of mine passed on all of her wedding magazines. I started bookmarking pages and looking for all kinds of ideas. The next thing I did was add a whole slew of wedding blogs to my Google Reader. Finally, I had a wedding movie marathon.

Wedding movies are always fun. I wanted to watch some of my favorite movies but I also wanted to watch some that I had not seen. I went on a search and set up my netflix cue to be full of wedding movie classics and some that I had never seen before.

I watched:
Steel Magnolias
When Harry Met Sally (I love the stories from all the old couples)
My Best Friends Wedding
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Love Actually (best version of 'All you need is Love')
The Wedding Singer
Muppets Take Manhattan (Miss Piggy and Kermit get married at the end)
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
In and Out
Mamma Mia!
Maid of Honor
The Wedding Date
The Bachelor
Because I Said So (mother/daughter issues)
How to Deal
Betsy's Wedding (one of my ALL TIME favs!)
Bride Wars
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
License to Wed
Ira and Abby
27 Dresses
He's Just Not That Into You (there are 2 weddings, but this movie has a whole other blog in the works)
Moonstruck (no wedding, but a few proposals)
Father of the Bride
Sixteen Candles
Sweet Home Alabama
The Proposal
Three Men and a Little Lady
Wedding Planner

Movies that may not have a wedding but are about marriage:
P.S. I Love You
Forget Paris

I think there are a few more movies but I didn't write them all down. I like to watch movies, a lot... its a problem. What's your favorite wedding movie?

It's a date!

I have been planning this day for what feels like forever, even before he asked me to marry him. When you've been together as long as we have and have been to as many weddings as we have you start to get an idea of what you want.

We had discussed wedding dates. I wanted Memorial Day weekend 2010. It's the weekend after our 10th anniversary. I thought it would be romantic. It would also be easier on our out of town guests because it would be a long weekend and there wouldn't be a rush to get back to work. When we looked at a calendar it kinda freaked Gordon out. May was only 8 months away. We weren't financially ready to get married that quickly. We went back and forth about it. I did not want a long engagement. We settled on Labor Day weekend 2010. It was still less than a year but it was in a more doable time frame.

I spent 2 months looking at venues on line. There were a lot of really awesome places but they wouldn't have worked out because they couldn't hold enough people, were too far away, were way too expensive, or were already booked. Some of the venues at the top of our list included:

A New Leaf
Byron Colby Barn
The Redfield Estate
Salvage One
Cafe Brauer

While we were home for Christmas we looked at three possible venues.

• The first was the Cheney Mansion. It was great. It had a homey feel. We could have the ceremony on the lawn and it was close to the city but still in the burbs. There were a lot of positives to this space. The negatives were that our guests would be spread out over a few different rooms for dinner and dancing would be on the 3rd floor. Unfortunately, the only way up to the 3rd floor is by stairs which would be difficult for some of our older guests.
• The second place was Prairie Production. My friend Kathryn had been interested in this space but it wasn't large enough. The space was great. Big, open, blank canvas with a nice court yard with a view of the sky line and free parking (always a plus in the city). The problem was that it was a big empty space and it would take a lot to decorate it. There was also an Adult store right on the corner.
• The third place was Gallery 1028. I found it by sending an email to someone about another space. She wrote back saying that they didn't manage that space anymore and to check out this space. I love it. Its a loft space like Prairie Production but it has a much warmer feel. Its in the middle of the city with easy access to the highway and free parking and they take care of all of the rentals (big plus since I'm far away and it eases the stress of long distance planning). Down side is they have an exclusive caterer so they are a little expensive.

We decided to go with Gallery 1028. I am hoping that they can work with us on the expense of the catering. I'm going to be doing a lot of things myself to try and save some money. When we made that decision it really hit Gordon that this was actually happening. Not that it wouldn't but now there is a space and a date. Yay!

So kids, we are getting married Labor Day weekend 2010! We talked about Save the Dates today. Hopefully we will have them out by the end of the month so that all of our guests from out of state can start planning.