"Always, always, always a bridesmaid..."

...is thankfully not true for me. I've only been in 3 weddings in my lifetime. 1st time as a flower girl for my uncle's wedding. Last year as a MOH. And this year as a BM.

Also I am very grateful to have never had to don anything similar to one of these monstrosities...

(Photos courtesy of http://www.kheigl.com/)

Yup, that's right! I went to see the sneak preview of Katherine Heigl's wedding-themed movie, "27 Dresses". Of course we laughed and laughed, empathized and rationalized the different parts of the movie. However, in effort not to spoil the whole movie for the few of you who may read this post, I will just say that there can be no way that any bridesmaid out there has had as much bad luck with BM dresses as our dear heroine of the movie. It would be fun though - to have a grown up "dress-up closet" as she does.

What would be your worst BM dress ever? I'd love to see pics!

Champagne Taste on a Beer Budget

This is one of my all-time favorite sayings that I think really sums me up. I DO have expensive taste. Yet, I am very much a bargain-hunter that can rarely stomach paying "retail". Thus, this saying also easily translates to our wedding planning.

Though there are the things I can't bargain for price and won't sacrifice for quality: the venue, the photography, the food and beverages....

(Above images from Chrissy Lambert, Signature Drinks, and The Kahala).

What I CAN bargain, skimp, or cut back on is pretty much everything else!!!

To date, we have bargained for:

1. Our scarf wedding favors (for the women) purchased in bulk on our Cambodia trip!

2. My Monique Lhuillier wedding gown from her sample sale!!! Early birds definitely catch the worms!!!

3. Additional Chivari chairs for our outdoor ceremony (to be included in our upgrade package).

Future plans of bargain hunting, negotiating, and other wheeling-dealing tactics include"

1. Airline tickets using mileage points.

2. Invitations hopefully through the savvy skills of FMIL.

3. BM dresses

4. Hawaiian luau for day after wedding celebrations if MOB can work her magic.

5. and everything else I can possibly manage!

I hope that as this wedding planning progresses, I can impart some of my acquired knowledge and secrets to other Brides-to Be! My mission is to make sure everyone gets champagne, even if all I can afford is beer!

Anyone else have good tips?

It's MY Wedding Anyways, Isn't It?

I have long read about over involved MOB's, FMIL's, and statement-making BM's. The mantra "Whose Wedding Is It Anyways" that circulates amongst brides-to-be.
YET - in my case - it seems to be the complete opposite. And it bothers me slightly (well, more than slightly at certain times).
Cases in Point:
* MOB - My mother. What to say about her. Hardworking, independent, modern-day career woman. Not quite motherly at all, yet I had hoped her first daughter getting married would spark some interest in the participating. Her only requests to date so far have been 1) "I don't want to make a speech. Don't make me get up and talk in front of everyone!", and 2) "Give me an itemized list for your budget." That's it. She didn't want to go dress shopping with me - "What do I know? You and I have different tastes." She has no interest in the details - "Pick what you want according to the budget."
* MOH - BFF. A fellow bride-to-be, with an earlier wedding date, who has yet to pick most of any of the details for her own wedding. I will be holding her hand as her MOH for the next few months and pushing her along to get things done. To no fault of her own, this lady owns her own pharmacy business and works another job on Saturday. She is just not capable of doing a lot of things most MOH's do.
* BM#1 - My SiSTeR. I love her to death. She is one of the most precious things in the world to me. However, and this is a big one, she is 8 yrs younger than me, AND a sophomore at an out-of-state university notorious for their parties. Thus, quite self-absorbed in her own life and not one to ask a lot of wedding questions or care about "duties" of a BM. I understand - she's at that point in her life.
* BM#2 - Has a plethora of drama in her life, and though quite attentive to my wedding chitter-chatter, has a lot more to talk about regarding her own issues. And I am the girl who listens and dishes out advice.
* BM#3 - A recent bride herself, she takes interest and gives advice. However, BM#3 is a victim of MAJOR FMIL interference in her wedding. Since she worked approx. 12hr days the entirety of her engagement, she basically let her FMIL plan and expedite the entire destination wedding and does not have much advice to give.
* FMIL & FSIL - Have been through their "BIG" wedding planning with FSIL's wedding several years ago. I think they are pretty much over it after that event (which I am told was approx. 400 people). Not much input except an uncomfortable discussion about our engagement rings (directed at me - pertaining to size and prices). That's an entirely other post I may write about soon.

And then there is the GROOM. My Groom. The one who has been putting in crazy hours at work the past few months as people have been laid-off and he is picking up additional files. The one who is uber laid back, a total guys-guy. Only firm condition from him is "My guys and I WON'T wear PINK.". Anything else, he lets me choose and decide. "Whatever you want beautiful."

Although this complaint list may seem unfounded - I feel like I am all alone in this process. No one else seems to really care about any of the details. For my very practical family - a ring, a minister, any white dress, uncles with cameras, and some phone call invites would suffice.

Is it strange that I would want some more people to be a tad bit over-involved? Maybe because of other weddingbee posts that show that all this "over-involvement" is just proof of love and care? But on the other hand, I fear the old saying, "Be careful what you wish for." and try to make peace with who I have.

Paper Heaven

Okay - I admit. I did not want to do any of the wedding stationery myself. Not only do I not have the time, nor patience. Most of all - I do not have the space.

BUT, (and this is a big one)

I found the Paper Source store near me [at South Coast Plaza - Crystal Court] last week. And um.... yeah. I am now the proud owner of the Marvy Uchida Embossing Heat Tool Model 2500. As the sales associate informed me - it is an investment! For some reason, my sales pitch about this wonderful invention ceased to impress the FH as much as I was at the store.

Nevertheless, armed with a bag full of goodies, pamphlets, and a considerably lighter wallet, I walked out of the store armed with stationery ammunition!

I am NOT going to do the invitation suite myself. For that, I will leave it to the professionals for my sanity's sake. However, I am planning to make my own Save-the-Date cards.



[Insert FH's joke here]

FH: You know how to make God laugh?

Moi: No - how?

FH: Make plans. [chuckle, chuckle]



Back to the topic at hand. To mildly prepare myself, I decided to make about a dozen holiday cards for my coworkers to practice on. Set up our brand new printer and figured out how to print on the cards. Yes - it's been a mighty long time since I've used a home printer.



Step 1: Found the greeting at http://www.hp.com/ that matched with my snoflake theme.

Step 2: Printed cards and envelopes.

Step 3: Stamped and embossed galore (stamps, cardstock, envelopes, Color Source Ink pads, clear and glitter embossing powder from Paper Source).

Step 4: Stuff cards into envelopes. Ta-Da! I'm not that impressed with my own work. With all the DIY projects I've seen on Weddingbee, make me long for special envelope liners and maybe some wax to seal them closed.



Perhaps it is a work in progress. At this rate my STD cards may not be in the mail until....

Silver, Plates, and Sheets... Oh My!

I have REGISTRY on my mind. Fanciful dreams of falling onto lush beds doused in Pratesi and Frette. Swirls of patterns on fine China from Vera, Versace, Calvin, and other people who only need to go by one name. My palms sensitive to the cool touch of sterling silver and eyes glistening from the stainless steel and crystal galore. Christofle, Baccarat, Tuttle, Crate and Barrel, Kitchen Aid, Le Creuset, Calphalon, Shun, Williams-Sonoma, the list goes on and on like the scrolls of Santa's "wish list".
It doesn't help that I get distracted from Christmas shopping by popping into stores to get more info on products. "What's the difference between folded steel edges [on a knife]?" "What's better, ceramic or bone china and why?" "Teflon coated or cast iron? Pros and cons?"
I wake up feeling very exhilarated by my nocturnal shopping spree, yet very guilty. Registry is NOT the reason for getting married. I should embody the mentality that these "items", these "things" are just practical, every-day use household items. Not things to be coveted or lusted after in my sleep. Seriously - I dreamt of finding a bargain set of KNIVES last night that would be a great wedding gift for a couple I know. Yet I was so tempted to keep them for myself. Warped. My brain is warped. Who dreams of such things? Only a serious shopaholic bride-to-be such as myself. I don't deny it. I must be slightly crazy. But at least I can call it temporary insanity, and hope it is cured after the wedding. :)

All photos from bloomingdales.com