EcoWeddingWinners

OUR WEDDING DAY

2010-04-24T15:36:00.003-04:00

Thanks to the lovely folks at Marry Me Live, we were able to have a live feed of the wedding.

Kevin recited his vows in Haitian Creole as a surprise!

Hope yall enjoy!

Rando's

2010-04-20T22:30:00.005-04:00

The wedding is in less than 48 hours.

Here are some random pics of stuff that we've done:

Some hair clips I might use. I like the pink and green one best :) I got these at an antique shop in Old Town, Alexandria

The shoe clips that I wanted to use as my something old before the woman dyed my shoes coral and not pink. sigh.
Examples of what our initials will look like in the gobo.

Our runner from Stephanie from StarryNightDesigns. She was awesome. I legit ordered this from her on Monday and she's getting it to me by tomorrow! Can you say quick?!

Bachelorette Party pics.

The awesome cupcakes my linesister made me :) They're sooo cute. And they match the wedding decor....she's a girl who pays attention obvi

These group of girls made my night soooo awesome!!!!

Bridal & Groom Suites

2010-04-19T18:46:00.003-04:00

I'm going to be getting ready at the Donovan House in Downtown Washington, D.C. It has uber modern furnishings and looks very different from many other boutique hotels in DC. It's rooms are much larger than other rooms that other hotels in DC that have the audacity to to pass off as a suite. I know Andrea is going to get some awesome shots in the suite.

Here are some pics

Kevin will be at the Hilton Hotel in Old Town, Alexandria.

Mr.Eco wants to take some pics at the GW Masonic Temple as an ode to his alma mata and it's right around the corner from the hotel.

Since Mr.Eco and I love Old Town we're going to be spending a "mini-moon" in scenic Old Town walking around and enjoying the little boutiques.

Funny Moments

2010-04-19T00:51:00.001-04:00

Mr.Eco and I both had our bachelor/bachelorette parties this weekend. He was in NY and I was in DC.

So he told me he's in NY @ the Amtrack Station and this girl comes up to him

Girl: Hey are you Haitian?
Mr.Eco: Uhm...no. But I am marrying one in 5 days.
Girl: Ok good. I can trust you.

Lmao. I thought that was the funniest thing ever.

Out of Town Bags

2010-04-15T22:41:00.011-04:00

We decided at the last minute (of course) to do some out of town bags for our guests. I got the idea from reading other wedding blogs and it seemed like a very nice thing to do for those who were traveling to our wedding.

We know our wedding is a bit inconvenient for many of our out of town guests because it is on a Thursday. Many in our family have children and they're going to take their children out of school for 2-3 days in order to come to the wedding.

To show our appreciation we decided to make these bags. Now on many of the blogs I visited these women were talking about making each of these bags for $5. Uhmm....I don't know what they were putting in these bags but they are not costing $5 a bag. Then again, many of the things people suggested, I thought looked a little bootleg and one word that has never described me is bootleg.

First, we had to decide on a bag. I knew I didn't want plain paper bags. I think people should be given something they can possibly re-use.

I thought about LL bean bags

but they would have taken too long to get and monogram and all that. It seemed like it would be a pain in my bum. With 9 days at the time before the wedding, I didn't want to deal with something unnecessarily complex.

Then I went to AC Moore and found the perfect bag. It was black, white and pink. All of the wedding colors in one bag in a tasteful bag!

It came with two bags too. How perfect! The sides of the black bag were pink and white,so it was a great play on color. But because I loved them, it means that they only had one. I called every AC Moore from Baltimore to Southern Maryland. I briefly considered calling my future sister in law to ask her to look in Georgia, but I didn't want her to think I was an irrational whack job.

I also got mad at AC Moore's coupon policy so in a fit of rage, I returned the bag, wrote them an angry letter and went on my way to Pier 1 Imports, even though the bags were more expensive. I was mad because they only let use your coupon on one item. And you can only use a coupon once per day. Since I wanted to buy 12, I thought that was rather idiotic. I've been spoiled by Bed,Bath & Beyond which allows me to use as many coupons as I want on one purchase so this didn't make any sense to me. It was a coupon tease and I don't take kindly to being teased.

I forgot how much I liked Pier1 until I walked in. They randomly had these awesome masks that Mr.Eco and I were tempted to buy but we contained ourselves.

Here are the bags we're using now:

They are re-usable grocery bags that our guests can utilize over and over.

We also got some water bottles from BB&B (where we were able to use many coupons. Ok,let me stop being bitter). Many brides and grooms give people disposable bottles of water which I've always thought was a bit lame because it seemed like such a waste. It involves buying bottles of water and then replacing the labels with personal ones.

image thanks to http://ruffledblog.com/2009/04/entry-25-diy-water-bottle-labels/

^those are uber cute though but nobody will ever use them again. I actually JUST found this image while trying to find an example of what I was talking about.

I was originally going to use these from Michaels.

The pink ones are pretter however so I might return some of them and have different labels on some.

The bottles are food grade stainless steel. Maybe I just don't want people throwing stuff away with my name on it and it's just my ego kicking in but I want to give gifts that can be used often.

And they're pink and green. All of the wedding colors in one.

These candles have a damask print and we were able to find them at Michaels for relatively cheap.

Hopefully they smell nice as well.

We wanted to emphasize items that are native to Virginia/DC. We found a list online of suggestions divided by state and we used that as a basis for our OOTB. Also, it is a great way to support local industries.

We went to Total Wine where we found a wide selection of Virginia wines. That place is simply awesome and made me consider becoming a lush for a few weeks before law school.

We even picked up some highly recommended desert wine for the minimoon weekend :)

Then we got some Route 1 Potato chips

They're produced in Va and are delish! They even have Chesapeake crab seasoned chips! So DMV!

Then we got VA peanuts in different flavors like honey roasted and chocolate flavored. yum!

Mountain Dew was also created in VA and we got a few cans of that for our OOTB.

We need are MARS bars. I've never had one but the plant is in VA. We also need to find pamphlets about VA and DC but those will be free from the Tourist Board. Then we''ll create a nice note to go on the outside of the bag and leave the bags at the hotels where the guests will be staying.

I'm happy with the way these bags are turning out. Hopefully our guests enjoy them as well.

Temperature-gate (and rando stuff)

2010-04-13T23:03:00.003-04:00

We've been wanting to have an outdoor wedding so long, we've been accused by the folks @ weather.com of 2nd degree stalking. Way back in January, I remember trying to log onto almanac sites etc. and saving pdfs with forecasts to my laptop...looking back 5 years in the past to see weather trends for the day of the marriage. Weddings can make you not be yourself and be anal-retentive about things...oh wait, that's my normal self. But I digress, pray for the heavens to shine down on our day and give us good weather. Tick tock...tick tock.

http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/20001

Good lord there are alot of shopping bags, boxes, and general crap around here. We need to get this place together.

Man, it sure was nice to have time to actually cook a meal the other day...it's been so long. I want to send a huge shout out to Filo, Vs grandma. She tries her hardest to keep me full and her family has been hooking us up in the final stretch with some great food (of which I'm chowing down on now).

Why must my arms be 33 1/2 inches. Thus, neither a 32/33 nor a 34/35 fit just right. I feel like the kid who got picked last in the school yard, but w/ dress shirts. I have to admit, V has been talking to me for a while about the fit of some of my clothes. I think I see her point. Well, at least for this 1/2 an inch.

The Circle of Life

2010-04-13T22:01:00.002-04:00

I have never liked wedding seating. Often I'm stuck behind someone in a large hat or who has the audacity to be tall (j.k). Short people like me are given the short (ha!) end of the stick. And if you are stuck in the back, you can never hear or see what is going on in the front. Often I feel disconnected, bored and sleepy if I am too far away from the action. I usually wake up in time for the obligatory clap.

I'd like to avoid such snafus at the wedding by having circular seating. When I discovered circular seating, I instantly fell in love. It seems so much more intimate and utterly romantic than regular seating arrangements. Our circle would obviously be smaller than those pictured below which would make it even more intimate.

image thanks to www.rhondapattonweddings.com

image thanks to www.rhondapattonweddings.com

image thanks to www.rhondapattonweddings.com

image thanks to http://www.sjbweddingsandeventsblog.com

Circles have had several meaning throughout history mainly "unity, wholeness, infinity, the goddess, and female power. To earth-centered religions throughout history as well as to many contemporary pagans, it represents the feminine spirit or force, the cosmos or a spiritualized Mother Earth, and a sacred space." (www.guide-to-symbols.com) It's also described as the purest, most profound and most common symbol on Earth.

Katie's husband is building us a custom platform, which I believe is circular, that we will be standing upon. I love the idea of us being enveloped by our family and friends and that when we look to the left, the right, behind and in front us, we will see the smiling and supportive faces of our loved ones.

PERSONALIZED HANGERS

2010-04-12T07:44:00.008-04:00

Yesterday while running errands in Old Town, Alexandria, I remembered seeing personalized wedding hangers on different blog sites. I like adding personal touches in simple ways to the wedding and this seemed like it would be really cute and relatively inexpensive.

The hangers are made by Lila Frances who can be found on Etsy and they run about $25 (w/o shipping which is $5). The hangers can be made into a shape, like a heart for example.

image thanks to lahmode.wordpress.com

or you can incorporate both your names

images thanks to fivealmods.worldpress.com

I am going to have mine say Mrs. (insert future last name here), like the ones below.

image thanks to www.weddingwindow.com

image thanks to meganwblog.com

I emailed her frantically last night because she has an 8-10 week production time line. I explained that I was getting married in 10 days and if there was anyway she could make me one. She was really nice and agreed and told me if I ordered ASAP she could mail it out to me on Wednesday. At 6:20am this morning, I hit send on my paypal account.

The hangers are not recommended for really heavy dresses. I am not sure if my dress is really heavy for a wedding dress. Even though it's a simple design, I think the materials used are weighty and is sure feels heavy me. But then again, I don't wear wedding dresses everyday so it might be an average weight for a wedding dress. But the dress will not be on the hanger for too long, so I'm not really worried. She also does not recommend storing your dress on the hanger either.

I think the dress will look really pretty hanging on this and it'll be something of a keepsake. I know, I can't pass it on.....or maybe I could... to my sons future wife maybe? It could be her something borrowed or something old. Well I have about 30+ years before I have to think of anything like that but in the meantime I am very happy about my last minute decision.

Party, Party, Party....

2010-04-10T22:28:00.004-04:00

...you finish the rest of the song.

My bachelorette party is next week and I am hella excited. I originally wanted it to be in Vegas but that did not work out. It will now be in DC and is being planned by my lovely friend and co-worker, AKemp.

AKemp is the perfect person to plan this because she loves the outrageous. I haven't been told too much about the party but have been teased with lawn bowling, little people, and tea. So I'm not sure how that's going to work exactly but it sounds interesting and maybe a bit terrifying at the same time.

I got two dresses for this mysterious occasion. Yes two because I wanted options and I got a great deal on them :) They're both by Sue Wong and have genuine ostrich feathers and sequins. I've always wanted a dress with feathers for some event and now I have one. For those who don't know me I have the taste of an eighty year old woman so this is right up my alley.

I have a pink dress and a green dress. I know typical :) I might wear the green one for dinner on my birthday which will fall during our honeymoon. Mr.Eco said he loved both too so that's a nice seal of approval :)

Here is the pink one...which looks FAB in person! It's very youthful and energetic and fun! I think I'll just get some chandelier earrings to top it off. My MB would work perfectly with it but I'm not willing to wear them before the wedding and risk the chance of ruining them.

^that pic isn't too clear so I took some personal ones.

and this is the green dress I will most likely wear when I turn 25 :)

At first I thought the green dress would be overkill with the sequin neckline but it's not.

In looove :)

It's Coming Together

2010-04-06T22:07:00.004-04:00

I took a pic of my shoes with a cute clutch I got from DSW for under $30. I realize that the shoes are a bit more magenta than fuschia. hmmm...still on the hunt for shoes. But I like the matching bling detail on the shoes and clutch. I was eyeing some other pink shoes but now the problem is since I have already gotten measured in the dress with these shoes, the shoes that I decide to buy must have the same heel height.

I've also bruised my ribs and hurt my back so I guess I have a lot of time to hunt online. Hopefully, I am heeled by the time the wedding rolls around.

NCAA MEN'S NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

2010-04-06T00:04:00.004-04:00

DUKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WISH I WERE IN DURHAM NOW :)

that is my non-wedding related news:)

Invitations

2010-04-04T02:21:00.009-04:00

Here are some pics of our invitations.

I LOVE our monogram!

They were made by my co-worker Abby from Presse Janvie r. She is absolutely fab. If anyone is looking for letterpress invitations at a great value give Abby a call. She went to MICA (Maryland Institute College of Art) and majored in book binding. And she's uber nice to boot.

We got envelopes, Lokta paper which is handmade in Nepal, and black ribbon from The Paper Source in Georgetown. We thought we'd save a couple bucks by looking at Michels and other area stores but they didn't have what we needed so that was an utter waste of time. Don't do what we did. Just go to the paper source.

We did a nice velum ^ and we also decided to tie the velum to the invite with a lovely black ribbon (Mr.'s input). He was so confused at the Paper Source but got a hang of it pretty quickly.

Look how helpful he was! He was putting invitations together and everything. He did the velum and bows and I worked on the inserts and addressing (messed up on a few though so I recommend buying more then you need).

We also did a bright pink envelope with a lovely black and white insert. Too adorable.

Some of our supplies.

The red double hole puncher is a life saver! Also found at the Paper Source. My co-worker told me she didn't know these existed and had to take a ruler and measure out the holes when she was doing her invitations. The horror!

We took a green approach to our response card. Instead of putting in a reply envelope that needed to be returned to us we simply asked them to call or email us to rsvp. Most people use emails, we'd be using less paper, and it was cheaper to mail.

I def. recommend this method. However, don't think that because people can rsvp via email that they will. I guess it doesn't matter which method you give people, the art of rsvp is lost.grrrr. But look how cute she made them with the pic of the White House, pink for the Decatur House, the closest metro and the trees to symbolize Lafayette Park.

This is the back of the response card. We included a map for our guests.

We did decide to do customized stamps from zazzle but there are many other websites that do this; just make sure to go through the usps website to make sure it's legit. Mr.Eco wasn't really excited about that idea. In fact, he thought it was a waste of money and my mom didn't get it.

I will say that I was right and the personalized stamps were a HIT! They looked so cute and people really liked them.

Some even said they'd save the stamp. It's a cute way to make your invitations a bit more personal.

ADORN ME IN JEWELS

2010-04-03T15:22:00.008-04:00

I had a bridal fitting last week at Carine's. I was nervous because I had to order my shoes from Bergdorfs in NY and they had to ship them express to me. Thankfully, Mr.Eco works 10 minutes from home and was able to go home during his lunch break to check to see if the shoes had arrived (love him :) and they were there.

But that's not the point of this post.

While at Carine's I ran into another soon to be bride and we started talking about our weddings. Hers sounds like it's going to be absolutely beautiful (ceremony at Georgetown Chapel and reception at the Newseum) and very very DC.

She told me about Adorn a website where you can rent jewelery. I was immediately intrigued. Mr.Eco has already given me my wedding present (jewelery) but I am not 100% sure it will work with my dress. I like the fact that it is green amethyst and will work with the pale green of the flower girls. But I'm still a bit conflicted so adorn seems right up my alley.

Celebrities rent jewels all the time and they're bringing that same sort of service to the common man. You can get jewels for as low as $75. They send you the jewelery about two days before your event. You get a pre-paid envelope that is already insured. You have to return the jewelery within two days after your event. Everything is 100% authentic.

They're having a spring sale so if you have a special occasion you can rent pretty jewels for it!

Here are some examples of their stuff:

Engagement Photos

2010-03-30T19:52:00.011-04:00

Here are photos that Amanda from The Observatory took for our engagement photos. She is going to be our photographer for the wedding too and she is so AWESOME! She's so warm and friendly and was willing to work with us despite the DRAMATIC morning we had. I won't get into it because...I'm hoping it doesn't happen on the wedding day.

The inside shots were taken at Eatonville Restaurant off U Street which has amazing decor.

Kevin and I had to pretend that it was warm but it was actually freezing! Enjoy!

Third Times the Charm?

2010-03-29T23:04:00.003-04:00

This will be the third, yes third flowergirl dress with 3 weeks to go. Sigh. I never imagined that dresses for three little girls would take more time and effort to coordinate than my own dress and Kevin's tux combined.

We have decided to go back to the US Angels Button Satin Dress.

The first pink dress did not come Kevin's nieces size. But it worked on my sisters. Had to go. All the girls need to look cute.

The second pink dress did not work for my sisters but worked for Kevin's niece. Of course.

Hopefully, this dress will work. I pray it will work. If not.....well I don't know what I'll do but it'll be something incredibly dramatic.

We got this dress about 4 weeks ago but I didn't like the color of the US Angels pink sash. My mom loves this dress so she's doing a fist pump of joy a la Jersey Shore that we gave in and went with her choice. When the dress comes, we'll probably have to go to Joann Fabrics or something and pick out material for a sash in the correct shade of pink.

Shoe Drama

2010-03-29T01:06:00.004-04:00

Sooo... I decided that I was going to get my shoes dyed hot pink. I wanted to avoid spending a boatload of money on shoes. I was trying to be good :)

Well that was a fail. My shoes are not bright pink. They are coral. A soft pinky orange. Let's just say when I picked them up, the lady at the shop and I had the most awkward conversation. She insisted that the shoes were not dyeable. I told her that they indeed were. They not only said dyeable but they also came with fabric swatches. I don't think regular shoes come with fabric swatches. Cole Haan sells them as dyeable bridal shoes.

Then she told me that as she was doing swatches she was nervous that they weren't going to turn out the color that I wanted. Isn't that the moment where you would STOP?! Wouldn't you not dye them so that you could tell me ahead of time that this shoe might be tricky? Instead I am stuck with coral shoes. Coral shoes. like those below

I specifically got those Cole Haan shoes for their
a) comfort
b) price
c) ability to customize them with my shoe brooches (another post on them later)

Oh did I mention the dye was also inconsistent? So it's blotchy in some places. It doesn't show up on my camera but to the naked eye and on fancy cameras it will surely appear uneven. So the only thing I can do now is have her dye them black. Hoorah. Another black shoe in my closet.

So after freaking out I found some shoes that could have worked. Kevin found these for me.

One was the 'Solitaire' by Stuart Weitzman

Cute. bright pink. And the little crystal is pink. Is it available? Of course not. I even went to the Stuart Weitzman store in Tysons 2 and the sales person told me that she can no longer order them.

Next: The 'Clarice' by Kate Spade

Kevin found these as well (he was really helping since I was so distraught). I didn't love them but they would have worked. Unfortunately I saw on a board somewhere that they were at Marshalls somewhere for $130 as opposed to the $300 that is listed online. Knowing that it is somewhere for so much less prevented me from paying full price.

So...I decided to go with...the Manolo Blahnik d'orsay in pink!

Yes, the shoe I feel in love with when I went to Barney's about a month ago. I didn't like them because I felt that my toes stuck out a lot. The salesperson at Tysons 2 assured me that the shoes were like that because of the desire for toe cleavage. Also, that I could just buy pads to put in the shoe if I wanted my toes higher. She also suggested I just buy a size 8 even though I am an 8.5/9.

Neimans did not buy the shoe in pink this season so I had to call Barneys in New York. Tidbit I found out--Neimans and Barneys are owned by the same company. Barneys has them and they will be sending them to me. I'll hopefully get them in time for my fitting tomorrow :)

'Breath of Fresh Air' Day !!!

2010-03-02T11:40:00.005-05:00

Brides & grooms, when you have a 24 hour day to fit your normal life, work and oh by the way, planning a wedding, it's easy to forget why you are getting married to your loved one in the first place. For this reason, you should make it a point to take time away from wedding planning and your normal life to get a break. We are calling it our 'Breath of Fresh Air' Day. It's yet unplanned (pun intended) but it will be at least an afternoon/evening where neither one of us will look at an invitation, lick a stamp (not that I would ever lick a stamp anyway), blog here, email the wedding planner, look over the menu for the 40th time, etc. etc.

We will suggest that all couples do this to avoid losing your minds and challenging one another to a duel. Maybe I'm being a bit dramatic, but you get the drift. Even if it's just a movie and dinner, mental health days are even more important when you are planning a wedding. Especially when you are on the express train like we are.

Something Blue-in Pink?

2010-02-28T00:03:00.005-05:00

They make the Manolo Blahnik "Something Blue" in pink. I cannot find a picture online from a legit store to save my life and I would have thought the pink version was a pathetic fake had I not seen it with mine own eyes in Bergdorf's. The heel is uber high. Not sure if I love this shoe. It's like I really wanted to like them because they photograph so well but in real life, I was just like....that adornment is very loud. Again, I never thought something could be too out there but I guess I found something that was.

It was cuter in pink but I felt like I was going to bust my bum walking in them

Thought I'd share for any ladies interested....

Flower Girl Dresses

2010-02-27T21:37:00.005-05:00

This has been the hardest and most complicated aspect of the wedding planning so far. Ok, so maybe I am exaggerating a bit, but I never thought it was going to be so hard. We're going to have 3 flower girls, 2 of my sisters and one of Kevin's nieces. They are aged 6, 8 and 9.

I really wanted this Melissa Sweet dress for the little girls in pink. Despite this morose looking child, the dress is really really cute.

I liked it because it would have incorporated two of the wedding colors, pink and white. It's also light and airy and I imagined the girls running around and the dress floating around them as they danced.

Unfortunately, I called Priscilla of Boston and they said it was going to take 12-16 weeks for delivery. Uhm...I've only been engaged for 12 weeks! And I'm getting married in about 8! Even if I got a rush order it wouldn't get there in time. Boo.

So then I thought about several options. My mom suggested getting someone to make the dresses. Kevin's niece is in Georgia however and the thought of the dresses being different, scared me to death if the dresses are made by two different seamstresses.

I then just tried to find a dress off the rack for the girls. But I found it HARD to find a dress for the girls that was the right color and appropriate. There are very very cute little little girl dresses but Big Girl dresses are hard. A lot of them look oddly adult. It seems that the current trend for children's clothing is to just take adult clothing and shrink it. I find that very strange. I like for children to look like children not like they got something from Forever 21 or Forever 12 or whatever they would want it to look like.

Out of desperation I ordered a dress from USAngels from Nordstrom. It essentially looked like this.

I knew I wasn't in love with it because I didn't really want them in white. White is too boring and it makes me think that they're mini brides of Christ or something. The pink looked different in real life. And the dress looked dreadfully and tragically cheap. Pity since it cost over $100. My youngest sister did love it. She kept exclaiming that she loved her petticoats. It will be returned tomorrow.

I decided to shop online again and go to Macys, Bloomingdales, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorfs, Sears, Barneys, Dillards, Children's Place, david's bridal, pinkprincess.com and other random internet storefronts, legit everywhere I could think of, Kevin could think of, my co-workers could think of.

We found a couple we like:

dress from pinkprincess.com

This Joan Calabrese dress is precious

We even thought this dress. I am not sure why. I think we were just getting desperate.

dress from pinkprincess.com

We even considering changing our color scheme to find dresses for these kids!

Then I found the perfect dress and it was on sale. It is a Blush by UsAngels dress. It is perfect!

image thanks to: http://clothing-and-accessories.become.com/girls-and-juniors-clothing/dresses

I love love love this dress! It looks childlike but it's still sophisticated and sweet. But at Nordstrom they only had it in a size 8. My sisters aren't a size 8 but I ordered it thinking we could hem it for the 6 year old and whatever extra material they have they can sew it on the 8 year olds dress. And then I got another one in case we needed to get it made or something for Kevin's niece. I wasn't really being logical. I just wanted that dress.

I get an email from Nordstrom 10 minutes later telling me they are sending me 1 not 3 dresses. They didn't have three dresses. Yikes! What to do? I IM Nordstrom several times asking for the product name and number and they were like we can't really help, we don't have the dress. Essentially, they said "Chick do a google search and let us be." After I got the email that I was only getting one dress, I go back online and it says the dress is sold out. Womp. Womp.

I googled all night. Got my fiance to look. Got my co-worker to look. Nothing. I finally randomly found a store that could make the dress but for $170. Mind you that did not include expedited costs.

I decided to IM Nordstrom one more time to ask for the product number and a wonderful lady named Keshia told me that they did indeed have this dress. I was soo happy and like jumped up and down. But then because I didn't trust it, I showed her a pic and asked her how it was possible since everyone else said they didn't have the dress. She was like "I checked other stores inventory." I was pissed because I'd specifically asked the other Nordstrom clerks to check other inventories but I guess when I asked them to check they just didn't. Whatever because Keshia found the dresses for me in all the sizes I needed, a 7, 10, & 12. Yippee! so I have four dresses from 7-12 on the way. Oh and for the price of $68.40 per dress as opposed to the $133 they originally were. Yay!!!!!!!!!

The drama of the flower girl dress is over. Onto the next....

Engagement PhotoShoot Revisited

2010-02-24T21:56:00.004-05:00

Soooo confession. I HATE my engagement photo shoot dress. I know I loved it like 5 weeks ago. Well now I don't like it. The description said it will fit a small to a medium. Well I don't know what the seller considers a small or medium but it is HUGE. Unfortunately, because I got it on Etsy, I cannot return it. Why not just get it tailored? Because I don't want to put so much work into it really. So I'm out of money on a dress that I will most likely never ever wear. I guess I'll chalk it up to a wedding casualty.

So to avoid the possibility of not being able to return another dress, I started searching on department stores. And I found this pretty dress on Nordstrom.com.

image courtesy of http://thedcladies.blogspot.com/2010/01/ringing-in-2010-womens-fashion-trends.html

I love love love the color. It is the pink we are going with for the wedding. And I like the cut and I think it is vintage-y enough. Ordered two dresses just in case and it fits well. yay!

I am considering going with a few headpieces from LoBoheme...another seller on Etsy. I know, I know. But a headpiece is not the same as a dress.

This is the Tina

image courtesy of LoBoheme

I really like this one as well

image from LoBoheme

It's called the Bridgette. It's described as " made from a reconstructed organza flower from the 1940's, ostrich and goose feathers, stripped coque feathers, a Weiss rhinestone earring from the 1950's, and the most delicate light pink and AB swarovski crystal veil from 1950's France! To die for!" Unfortunately, I cannot get this on time for the engagement photo shoot but I might order one for my Matron of Honor (my mommy!) I need it to be smaller because it looks like it might be a bit overwhelming. But the pink blusher I think is abfab. My mom might protest but I'll try to talk her into it lol

So that's what I have so far....hopefully the other pieces come together and the beau and I can look lovely on Sunday. Wish us well :)

Ceci

2010-02-17T22:58:00.004-05:00

I got my wedding shoes today. I know a few days ago I blogged about getting a pair of colored shoes and I am still leaning in that direction. However, during my usual online shopping escapades, I found these very cute shoes by Cole Haan called the "Ceci".

image thanks to polyvore.com

We attended the 2nd Annual DC Couture Wedding Consortium at the Decatur House (our reception venue) and it was abfab! We got to meet with many of our wedding vendors and we were also able to see where our ceremony will be held.

But while there we walked for about an hour or two and my lower back started to hurt. Mind you I was in wedges :/

So when I saw these on sale I scooped them up!

1. They are Cole Haan and good quality shoes and have a reasonable 3.5 inch heel
2. They have Nike Airflex technology which = comfort and pain free or rather less painful feet
3. They are dye-able so I could technically leave them white and then dye them before or after the wedding.
4. They were on sale at Neiman Marcus. Retail for $298. On sale for $135-ish. Yay!

Unfortunately, I could not pick them at the store nor would NM send them directly to the sale so that I could circumvent the shipping charge. I did speak to a NM rep and she told me she wore them to her wedding and they were very comfortable.

I was also thinking that if I wanted to, I could add a brooch to the shoe. I didn't even know this existed until I saw someone blog about it on weddzilla. Here is an example of what I was thinking. I found these on etsy from seller cmitrou.

If I were adventerous I could probably even try to make these myself. Or maybe get a blue brooch and that could be my something blue :)

Bouquets & Sobriquets

2010-02-16T23:29:00.008-05:00

Our wedding colors are black, white, pink and hints of green. Aren't these the prettiest flowers? I have never seen flowers like this and they immediately caught my eye and I HAD to blog about them.

I asked Katie if they looked morbid and she said "flowers can never look morbid." So that was a green light :) I just think these look soo chic and understated and unique.

And I think they would look amazing against Kevin's lapel.

image courtesy of marthastewart.com

Martha Stewart describes them as "A tailored yet poetic bouquet of anemones, with their true-black centers and white sweet peas, is cinched with a wide black-velvet band and narrow dotted ribbon."

I found both pics while looking for flower girl dresses on districtweddings.com. They had this feature on what they think what POTUS & FLOTUS's wedding would look like now and I love the crisp look of the ribbon around this bouquet.

This one is traditional, lovely, feminine, and incredibly sweet. I would add some crystals or something.

image thanks to marthastewart.com

This is bright and epitomizes a springtime wedding. Kevin found this and really likes them. Gotta love a man who pays attention to detail :)

image thanks to chatterberries.com

Engagement PhotoShoot Inspiration

2010-02-16T22:17:00.003-05:00

Here are some pics from a shoot Zoe Saldana did for Vanity Fair that is serving as the inspiration for our engagement shoot. We are hella excited. More details to come. For now, enjoy the pics :)

Dress up time for Kevy

2010-02-12T00:13:00.002-05:00

So far you've seen all the wonderful options that V has going through her pretty lil' head. I on the other hand have been quietly reviewing the many options for my tux. I went perusing the stores a few days back and wanted to post a few options and my thoughts. I won't be all cynical about the absurd unbalance in choices out there (oh wait, I just did it). Christiana was taking pics and giving me great advice on what fit best and which styles were better choices.

This first look was a Hugo Boss tux with a vest which was a nice look. I loved the vest look that went with this tux but wasn't 100% sold on it in person. Something just wasn't quite right for me.

Now the best tux I tried on had to be this one by Canali. This thing felt like I was back in the womb (in a good way). I mean I've never felt any jacket that just felt like it worked on me without alterations that well. It was remarkable. I just wish it wasn't more expensive than my mortgage...before tax...or alterations to the pants. Sigh.

I won't lie, the one that was closest to my style and something I would where, tux or not, would be this Calvin Klein tux. I loved the high line of the jacket since it was three buttons. The cut is something different that you don't see everyday. This is where Christiana helped a bunch. She reminded me that even though it's great now, it's not the most classic look and can become a dated looking tux within a few years. Sigh again...

...and the hunt continues for Kevy's tux. I think I have a clue on what I like and the look and feel. Hopefully now that the snow has stopped falling for 20 secs I can continue my search.

Key to my Sole: Hunt for Bridal Shoes

2010-02-11T18:11:00.002-05:00

Next Step in the Bridal Arsenal: Shoes!

I've never been a very big shoe girl but for my wedding I figured I should change my MO. And I wanted to splurge on some really pretty shoes.

I've seen lots of brides in Manolo Blahnik's "Something Blue" shoe a la Carrie Brashaw in Sex in the city

image thanks to ourweddingplus.com

a close up:

Very cute, no? These shoes are high on the list since the bling detail would complement my dress pretty well. However, I'm a bit worried about this being a bit overdone. And I think the heel is higher than I would like. I'm not interested in wearing 4" heels for six hours. Not.Gonna.Work.

Apparently you can get heels lowered but I read on makeupalley that cobblers can only lower shoes 1/4" to 1/2" and they can affect the stability of the shoe. So, I also don't want to fall on my butt dancing..

I am also considering pink shoes!

I love d'Orsay pumps. They're cute and look comfy. And again, crystal detail :) Although it's a bit more purple than I would like.

Image thanks to www.fashionfuss.com

Here they are in white: Don't they just say bridal?

image thanks to www.christianlouboutinboutique.com

I really like these shoes, but they're only in gold :( As much as I love gold, it's not one of our colors. I should have worked harder on negotiating that I guess. I know I would wear these shoes all the time.

images thanks to nordstrom.com

These shoes are the "Eavan" by Madgley Mischka. Uber cute. And it comes in many different colors.

image thanks www.bluemooncharleston.com

This is a lovely closed toe option by Stuart Weitzman

image thanks to www.polyvore.com

I have also been thinking about flats, since I'm lazy and I don't want my feet to hurt.

While I haven't found the perfect flats these Vera Wang ones are kind of cute. A bit ostentatious though. Dare I say it? Too much bling?

image thanks to www.polyvore.com

The search for shoes continues......

Best Travel Tip I Heard Today

2010-02-11T01:22:00.002-05:00

Pack 1/2 of your clothing in his luggage and vise versa in case one set of luggage goes missing. Brilliant!

Said Yes to My Dress!

2010-02-10T12:56:00.011-05:00

So two weeks ago I found MY.DRESS :)

Before we won the contest, I was passively going to sample sales just because. I wanted to see what was out there. Thankfully, I fit into most sample sale sizes. The place where I found a dress that I loved was Carine's Bridal Atelier in Georgetown. She had a sample sale in November or so and I saw a lovely dress but I thought "I don't have to feel pressure to buy this dress now, I'm not getting married for at least a year to a year and a half from now."

ONE.WEEK.LATER. we won the contest and realized we were getting married in 5 months! And I'm thinking "Crap! Why did I not buy that dress?!"

So, even though Carine said she wasn't going to have another sample sale, she did! (does happy dance) So I went back with Robin and we got my dress. My parents were lovely enough to buy my dress for me as their gift to me. It's a lovely Platinum Collection by Priscilla of Boston dress. I knew I had made the right choice when I showed it to my parents and I saw my dads face when he saw me in my dress :)

Since I obviously will not put pictures of my dress, I will show pictures of other dresses I tried on. Carine is nice enough to allow you to take pictures while at her show. Many others don't, which I find a bit obnoxious. I need to get my dress altered since I've lost a bit of weight and it needs to be cleaned. It costs about $400 to get a wedding dress cleaned! Ahhh!!!

This is the dress my friend Rochee loved!

This is the front view of the dress. I believe it is Priscilla of Boston gown as well.

This was my mothers favorite dress. This is from the Priscilla of Boston store in Tyson's Corner. We decided to go there since I liked the dresses I tried on at Carine's. My mom is not a big fan of bling (we differ a lot on that lol) and she thought this one was stunning. It had a neat basketweaving technique at the hem and the bust. I loved it from the back but the bust was not flattering and I didn't feel any particular desire to get it fitted to me.

This dress I believe is Rosa Clara. I tried on a Rosa Clara dress at Hannelore's in Old Town Alexandria. It was the first dress I tried on and I loved it but I'm very happy I didn't buy it. It really was not me. This dress I really liked because it made me look skinny. But there were too many things to alter. I wanted to change the neckline, the flower on the asymmetrical hem, and some bling. It was just too much.

This is the back view.

My friend Dietra told me to try on anything so I tried this on. If I was 5 months pregnant or getting married on a beach, I would definitely wear this. I kinda liked it actually. It just doesn't go with our theme.

This dress was a bit too ornate for me. And I'm not sure if I wanted the pressure of having my entire back out. That's a lot of time I'd have to spend on the rowing machine and working my trapz. Not worth it.

MY STYLE CONSULTATION

2010-01-20T21:00:00.005-05:00

As part of the wedding package that we won, we received a session from Robin Fisher from Polished Image & Style (clickable link) You can also check out her blog here.

Robin is an individual style consultant who helps women and men refine and define their personal style. When I first read about the style consultation, I admit that I wrinkled my nose and said to myself "I don't need that. I know how to dress myself perfectly well."

Oh how wrong I was. ROBIN IS A LIFE CHANGER!

I took a style personality test beforehand and I received a Personal Style & Image Report from Robin when we met in person. A report that I'll use forever. According to the report she generated for me I am: 20% Artistic, 40% Dramatic & 40% Romantic. There are other categories that she has but I did not fall into those.

The Dramatic Beauty is full of clothes of many different styles many of them impulse buys :) Which is true. I like to dabble in different trends.

The Romantic Doll likes floral and feminine details. I do! I love bows, lace, ruffles and dainty and diaphanous clothing that I can layer. A star style icon is Charlize Theron.

The Artistic One of a Kind Lady has clothing in her closet from many different sources, vintage, high fashion and one of kind items. A star style icon is Rihanna. She dresses like a whacko sometimes but it works for her :) I guess every once in awhile I have a whacko moment as well.

But that's not the most important thing Robin taught me. I learned about my body type, my body silhouette, the type of pants and skirts I should wear, my bone structure, what types of patterns, the texture of my eyes, hair and skin, scale of my bone structure, scale, etc etc. IT WAS AMAZING!!!!

She also took 300 swatches of color against my skin to tell me which colors best complimented my coloring. And created color swatches for me that I can carry in my purse whenever I go shopping. It was actually awesome! She even told me the best shade of pink we should use in the wedding. And apparently purple is my color. My father says this is the worst thing that could have happened to me because now I'm going to want to go shopping all the time, lol.

Kevin got one too. He is 60% Natural which means he values comfort most in fashion and 40% romantic which means he likes a crisp and neat appearance.

I highly recommend every woman get this done. It's something that you will undoubtedly use for the rest of your life. Especially for your wedding. You want to glow and you want to use the best colors that not only look best on you but around you.

HONEYMOON IN HAITI

2010-01-19T21:10:00.006-05:00

HONEYMOON IN HAITI
Seems like the least relaxing thing to ever do. When people think of a honeymoon they think of a newly married couple enjoying idyllic settings and enjoying their still fresh marriage.

Well the SO and I think that we want to spend our first few weeks together volunteering and helping to rebuild Haiti. We had been mulling over places to visit; the oft-done and cliche Paris & Hawaii were mentioned as well as Bali and some other places. Yet, we could not decide where we wanted to go.

He suggested last night if we should both go to Haiti since we both want to help as much as possible. Simply sending money and goods is not enough for me, for us. Ever since the earthquake, I've had the urge to go home. To stand next to my countrymen. To stand on the same ground my forefather stood on. To help. I don't think I can explain the utter helplessness I have felt. And to know that Kevin not only understands without me saying anything at all is pretty remarkable.

I was born in Port-au-Prince on my mothers birthday in 1985 and lived there until I was four years old. My childhood in Haiti was amazing. Most of my family is in PaP. My grandmother is from Jacmel/Jakmel. These are all areas that have been virtually destroyed by the earthquake. While all the members of my family are miraculously safe, I personally know too many people who have not been so fortunate. We have been blessed and I hope to help those who have had to bury their family.

It should also serve as an ad hoc family reunion as well as I have not seen my relatives in such a long time. My dads family originates from Okay which is removed from the city and much more peaceful and did not suffer any damages from the earthquake. I hope that we will be able to visit them because there are a few historical monuments in Okay.

I emailed my godfather who is still in Haiti to let me know which organizations we can volunteer with while we're there.

If anyone else knows anyone in the area with any NGOs please leave us a message. Hopefully the SO can use his IT background for some good while there.

I'm looking forward to returning & falling in love the land of my ancestors. I left a child and will return a married woman with my husband by my side. Ayiti Cherie je retourne.

Habitat for humanity in Haiti

2010-01-17T21:25:00.001-05:00

Please help contribute to habitat for humanity for the rebuilding of Haiti in the wake of the recent earthquake.

99 days and counting...EEEKKK!!!

2010-01-13T22:23:00.004-05:00

OMG we are only 99 days away from the wedding day...(Insert beating heart here). So we have so many things are swirling around in our lil' heads. Invitations, colors, outfits, flowers, honeymoon, invitees, what to blog...I mean we are freaking out a bit. I think tonight calls for a sip of wine to calm down.

(25 mins later)

Man, that was good. So onto the googling, and other random investigating into the details that will be our fast approaching wedding.

ENGAGEMENT PHOTOS

2010-01-11T21:29:00.002-05:00

I am one of those girls that never really saw the point of engagement photos, which is kind of weird because I love everything wedding. I always thought "regular photos were fine. My mother disagreed and judged what she thought was my lack of class. Everyone else agreed with her. It's just that I don't really remember people taking engagement photos in the past, but then again I'm 24; there are a lot of things I do not remember. I figured instead of engagement photos, I would look through our old photos together and find the ones I liked the best.

Since winning, Katie and Michelle said that we would have to have an engagement photo shoot. And since somebody already offered to do my makeup for me, I was like ok. A bit nonchalant about it really. It was just whatever.

Well no more!!! I am soo excited about this entire process. I CANNOT wait. I love a production and have decided that the engagement photo shoot will be no different. Most people take pretty casual photos but Future Hubby (FH for now) and I decided that we wanted something totally glam. Along with Robin from Polished Image & Style (who is a godsend! She'll get her own post later) we crafted an image for our engagement photos.

I'm not going to give a lot away but it will hopefully involve:

a) Bohemian Caverns on U Street
b) Lincoln Theatre on U Street
and
c) MY DRESS!!!

Isn't she beautiful? Sigh. She makes my toes curl and my knees weak. Almost felt like smoking a cigarette and jumping up and down when I saw her. Robin found her for me on Etsy.com. How, I have no idea because etsy is more confusing to me than ebay. But like the marvelous and knowledgeable stylist that she is she was able to dig up this vintage beauty. And since Robin told me purple is one of my colors (I had no idea) this is like a purple dream.

Feathers, bling, maybe a sequin or two, a visit to a haberdasher/milliner and more vintage pieces to come :)

My Bridal Trousseau

2010-01-03T22:39:00.002-05:00

Jan 3, 2010

I thought this weekend was a great time to start creating a trousseau. It was a holiday weekend and I was a bit bored. I used to read a lot of romance novels when I was younger [much to the disappointment of my parents] and of course the Victorian/Romantic Era brides would also carefully and painstakingly assemble their trousseau. So I always fancied myself creating one, minus the whole bringing sheets thing to my future husband thing.

More history:

Throughout history, single young women all over the world have prepared for their change in marital status by accumulating a trousseau. A traditional trousseau -- stored in a hope chest -- included bridal accessories, jewelry, lingerie, toiletries and makeup, plus bed linens and bath towels for her new home.

From Victorian times till today, the trousseau also has consisted of brand-new outfits to see a woman through her wedding, honeymoon, and newlywed days.

Oftentimes the garments in a trousseau were hand-sewn by a a mother, aunt, grandmother, or the girl herself, if skilled with a needle. Wealthier families procured the skills of a professional seamstress to outfit the bride-to-be. [courtesy of about.com]

Since I am nobodies skilled seamstress and have no intention of becoming one, my AMEX will have to replace my non-skilled sewing fingers. They are however skilled at swiping :)

So I decided to head to Victoria's Secret during their semi-annual sale.

Mistake #1: Tyson's on a Saturday night. very very bad idea. There was a line to go down the escalator! The escalator! Everybody and their mother were literally at the mall.

After wandering around, we found the Victoria Secret store. We first wandered into the PINK store which promptly made me feel old as I was surrounded by tweens who were trying to be grown ups. Oh..did I mention Kevin went with me?

Mistake #2: Bringing Kevin along. But he was a good sport. A pouty sport after waiting for an hour. But a good one none the less.

Mistake #3: Going to Victoria's Secret. I felt like I was a lion on the hunt for prey. And the prey were 34b bras and coordinating underwear and beautiful lingerie. The amount of women in there was astounding! Ladies love a good deal. It took me an HOUR to find some lingerie.

image courtesy of http://cassandrasdailythought.blogspot.com/

Kevin examined some of my choices, wrinkled his nose and told me they looked cheap. Since he was not as enamored nor a willing participant of the bridal trousseau, his opinions were not necessarily desirable. He kind of put a downer on the outing. But I still put them back since he is the main audience. He doesn't see the point of lingerie since "It's just going to come off anyway."

So...I got some stuff which I am not satisfied with. Their bridal line wasn't in the store. This is what I was thinking

images courtesy of victoriasecret.com

Lesson learned: Order online next time and save myself the time and hassle. My trip was a bust. I did get some VerySexy conditioner which I've heard good things about though :)

Alas, my trousseau is far from complete...... :(

Be safe as you ring in the New Year

2009-12-31T11:03:00.008-05:00

Everyone wants to have a good time on New Year's Eve. Please be safe out there and don't drink and drive. It's not worth it, spend the money on a cab. Better yet, DC is offering a free cab ride home as part of a program called Soberride ...so you have no excuse people.

Safety first :)

Hair Do.....and Don't

2009-12-29T21:21:00.007-05:00

Today I was able to get in contact with Giselle Chreky who is the owner of Elegant Hair by Giselle. I am soooo excited to work with her since her work seems absolutely fantastic. She's worked with Nordstrom & Bloomingdales and was voted best for updo's by Washingtonian magazine. I've also seen her work on several blogs and I am always impressed.

Now I am very very particular about my hair. My fiance might say a bit obsessed. I would say he's wrong and prefer particular :) I don't get my hair professionally done often because I am in general a pretty impatient person and rarely feel like wasting five hours at a shop. But I have no fear with Giselle especially since we get to do a dry run before the real deal.

I have no idea how I want my hair on my wedding day. I am thinking I want it up. But I might change my mind and want it down (did I mention I can be a bit indecisive?) lol. I might do a chemical treatment beforehand or I might go with a good ole' fashioned press 'n curl and pray that DC humidity does not decide to rear its ugly head prematurely in April. I'm open and willing to most hairstyles however there are some that are def. DONT'S for me

DON'T:

braids/twists in the front. I have a big forehead and unless I plan on looking like Tyra Banks long lost sister, I can't do this. Although if I had to pick an older richer long lost sister, Tyra wouldn't be a bad choice.

An excessive amount of curls. the key word is exessive. Unless Caesar Milan is a guest there is no reason for me to have a poodle on my head.

Anything that looks too hard or like it would survive a nuclear attack is a DON'T.

Anything by youtube sensation Seaborn or that Dog the Bounty Hunter and his family would love.

This gives a new meaning to "I've got my eye on you."

Although he did look like might have a "bump'it" or something in there.

HAIR DO's

Architectural yet so soft looking. I also really like her sublte highlights

This is such a lovely and elegant take on a classic pony

I like her headband and her makeup.

So I'll be updating after Giselle and I have our appointment in about a month or so. Stay tuned.....

2009-12-29T20:45:00.003-05:00

So, it's been about 3 weeks since we found out we won the DC green wedding contest. And since then I don't think my feet have touched the ground. I've never been an extraordinarily lucky person but for someone who's never really won anything before, I think this is a great start :) Hopefully this luck extends into law school acceptances too.

The things that have gone through my mind since we won have been:

1. AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
2. OMG I'M GOING TO BE MARRIED IN 4 MONTHS!!!!
3. MAN I NEED TO GET IN SHAPE!!!!
4. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

shake. repeat. and serve.

Thankfully we have a team of wonderful experts, managed by Katie & Michelle who are going to help us plan a magnificently chic and green wedding.

I'm exhausted and a bit intimidated by the process. Hopefully this blog will help others who want to celebrate and be environmentally sound at the same time :)