Dance the Night Away

That's exactly what we're going to do! After a long and frustrating search I'm happy to say that Mike and I have chosen our DJ. We'll be going with Gemini Productions, based out of Wayne - right near our house. It was an interesting search to say the least, meeting with the 80s rocker guy was probably the highlight of my search. I had a leading contender for a while but unfortunately he was looked a good distance away from our house and meeting with him in person became quite difficult to schedule. On a whim I called a place right near our house (actually right next door to one of my favorite wine stores - coincidence? I think not).

I even got Mike to attend the appointment - well for a brief time anyway (he had another softball game to get to) We were very happy with the services offered and the MC himself (his name is Mike - also a good sign). He's worked at the company for a long time and is the assistant manager so he had a lot of experience. He knew The Manor well and had some suggestions for us on where to set up.

I'm also excited because we'll be getting the uplighting that I had really wanted to do - I think it will brighten up the room and give it a great look. We'll also have basic lighting included too for the dance floor.

It's great to have another item checked off on our list - One less thing to worry about!

Bridal Shop Experience

So in our attempt to look at bridesmaids dresses by the designer Saison Blanche, we randomly selected a Bridal Shop that was somewhat close to the other store we were going to be near. There was another bridal salon that I knew had been recommended but it was further away so we decided to go with the one that was closer just to see the dress.

The plan was to go try on the bridesmaid dress that my maid of honor Andrea had selected for us to wear for her wedding (I hadn't seen it yet) and then at the same time look at the dress I had seen by the same designer and we would try on each others dresses and my mom would take a picture.

We arrived at the salon and the woman was less than helpful with finding the dresses. She seemed annoyed that we did not know the style number of the dresses we were looking for. We did manage the located the two we were looking for and then were looking through the racks for some other dresses to try on. While doing this we were admiring one of the dresses on the mannequin so we inquired about to which we were told by the saleswoman, "I don't take dresses off the mannequin", so I asked "ok so do you have another one or something similar", her response - "no." You're a dress shop - how do you expect to sell dresses then if you can't try it on?

We then went on to try on our two dresses, and loved them both! We wanted my mom to take a picture of the two of us - No such luck - The woman was adamant that there are no pictures allowed. Bridal Gowns I understand this policy, you're talking about a custom thousand dollar gowns - but bridesmaids dresses that you can find in any store, a dress that cost a mere $168 that I can go to the next place and try on and take pictures of weren't allowed!

While trying on our dresses, I had on the dress for Andrea's wedding. To which the woman inquired to Andrea, well where did you purchase the gowns, Andrea told her 3x, I'm not from around here, and the woman refused to let it go until she gave her a name of a store!

The woman also couldn't be bothered to get us the color swatches for the dresses. When we asked if we could see them, she was like "oh I don't know if I have them, I'll have to go look." She seemed more attentive to her dog which was roaming around the store and standing on the pedestal than she did to Andrea and I. However when my mom was looking at dresses she was quite attentive.

It was an interesting experience, and although we love the dresses and the price was certainly good - we will NOT be going back there to order my girls bridesmaids dresses - that's for sure!!

We have a Winner

After looking through many pictures online and dresses in person - I think we've found a winner for bridesmaids dresses! I was really looking for a dress that had a v-neck so that it would have straps, I know not everyone loves strapless dresses as much as I do. But the thing that I also really wanted was a sash around the dress that went down the back. While I found tons of strapless dresses with a sash it was much harder to come across a nice v-neck and one that had a long sash, but alas we found the perfect one!

The dress is by designer Saison Blanche and features a "Stylish V-neck, floor length a-line gown with pretty sash band and bow detail in back." I absolutely love the sash part, of course we don't necessarily have to tie it a bow, we can always make a nice knot out of it. I also like that it's not floor length so the girls aren't tripping over it also night!

The dress is shown in the brown color which we also be getting and then instead of the blue sash (as shown) I was looking at the bronze color. This way it will give it a small pop of color without being too overpowering and it's not like a burnt orange color and it should fit in nicely with the rest of the color scheme and still allow me to do orange flowers for the girls, and then possibly incorporate that bronze color into the guy's tuxes.

I showed the dress to all of the girls today and I'm so excited that all of them seem to love it as much as I do. I really think it will look good on all of the girls and be comfortable to wear all day especially since you don't have to wear a strapless bra. Of course we have PLENTY of time before we even have to think about ordering them, but I'm glad that I found something early that all of the girls love :-) Now I just have to stop around for the best price!

It's Ordered

It's official MY wedding dress is on it's way to being produced. Yesterday I placed the order for my wedding gown. My Mom came to NJ to see the dress and it got the Mom seal of approval. Thankfully she didn't have two hours of traffic getting to NJ this time.

It was actually kind of nice that I had two weeks in between finding the dress and actually ordering it. I got the same feeling when I put it back on yesterday and as my mom would attest to I was absolutely glowing. They pinned me into the sample and it was perfect. I love all the details and when it's my dress it will be everything I want it to be. It's so simple and traditional which I think suits me quite well. I can't wait to see it when it's all done and altered to my shape.

I walked around in the dress and my mom took what felt like 50 pictures, I think it was actually, but it's good practice for the big day in wearing my dress. I can't wait for that moment!

I'm very excited that I got to see the dress again and I have some pictures to remember it for the next 9 months. It will actually be in pretty early since I'm still like 13 months out from the wedding. Now I get to pick all the other fun details like shoes, my veil and jewelry and other fun things like that - And did I mention - I'm so excited - I have my wedding dress!!!

Black Bears

So totally random and very un-wedding related but just thought I'd share - that a BLACK BEAR just went by our house! Mike was working from his desk in the basement and while on a conference call noticed the black bear run by, he came running upstairs - and I mean running - and went out on the deck to see him, and there he was walking behind the house. We went down the hill to the left and then we lost sight of him. We did go to the front of the house to see if we could see him there but nothing.

We went back to our work and then no more than 15 minutes later he went by the house again this time going up to the right. This time I was quicker in getting my camera ready. We ran out to the deck upstairs and actually caught him on film. By this point several of the neighbors had noticed him as well and were outside on their deck to take in the sight as well.

Here's a glimpse of our neighborhood black bear. Look for him in the trees!

Something Blue

In daydreaming about my 'something blue' for the wedding I was intrigued about the idea of wearing almost the same shoes that Carrie Bradshaw wore for her wedding in the movie Sex and the City. An absolute favorite movie of mine (if not my number one favorite) it's more than just a movie to me, it's also about my best friends, the countless hours we spent watching the show together, over Chinese food and sometimes even day dreaming and looking at Bridal Magazines way back before we had even found our price charmings!

While the actual Manolo Blahnik's are way out of my price range (although ever girl should probably experience getting a pair of them at some point her life - now is not my point) There is a beautiful pair very similar to those made by designer Martinez Valero for a much more affordable price! Although I can't actually see myself wearing the beautiful blue 4-inch heels like Carrie's, it is fun to day dream about. If blue fit into my color scheme perhaps I would contemplate it even a little bit more but alas it does not go with all my autumn colors. But there is an ivory color :-)

Inspiration Board

So I have lots of fall ideas and I've collected a bunch of pictures. This photo montage reprsents some of my ideas and themes for the wedding

An Irish Wedding

Last weekend we traveled up to Connecticut to attend our friends Liam & Maura tie the knot in a Big Irish Wedding. Irish Eyes were certainly smiling on them as they tied the knot! From the moment we arrived we were greeted by two Irish Bagpipers playing on the lawn in front of the church dressed in their kilts. It was the perfect arrival.

During the ceremony I thought it was great how they incorporated different elements into their ceremony. They had the exchange of the Irish Wedding Coin - "The coin symbolizes Liam's desire to share all he has with Maura. It's kept as a family heirloom and passed down from Mother to Son on his wedding day."

As the night continued on there were many other Irish elements incorporated. One of my favorites was the card box. Which the brides mother had made herself. It was an adorable little Irish Cottage with their name written over the door. The name cards also had a little claddagh decoration on them.

Everything was tastefully done and not over the top. They had beautiful flowers, the food was delicious and the dancing was a lot of fun. I loved the flowers, I envision myself picking something similar a low simple centerpiece with some votive candles surrounding.

Good times were had celebrating the union of the two Irish clans :-)

No Easy Listening

Finding a DJ has been anything but easy. I've met with DJs that ranged from a 80s rock band left over, to a woman working with her ex husband and ordering him around & she went on all about her personal life to just plain expensive. You would think it would be easier to find someone to play music for the evening but it has not been.

My request is simple no dressing the guests with sombrero's, maraca's, glow sticks, neon sunglasses or any other items such as those. And no playing of any line dances such as the electric slide, chicken dance, YMCA, cha cha slide or any other version.

One would think it would be easier to find a good DJ.... But the search goes on.....

I said YES

Just when I had started to get a bit discouraged about finding the perfect dress, I found it!!! After trying on probably at least 50 dresses, I finally found MY dress. I shopped at everywhere from Kleinfelds to David's Bridal to dress salons on Long Island and New Jersey to find my special dress. I knew exactly what I was looking for and had the perfect picture stuck in my head. I found some great dresses along the way and of course the ones I knew right away weren't for me.

While it was great trying on all the beautiful gowns and so many of them looked great, they just weren't my gown, which was hard to reject such beautiful gowns for no reason other than 'not it.' There were some very pretty fitted lace dresses that I tried on but they weren't for me. There were some dresses with a lot of embellishment on the top and the train but also wasn't me.

As soon as I tried on the gown I knew it was for me. It was perfect, simple, classic & elegant. It is not overstated or overdone, one might even say it is somewhat simple, but in this case I think the statement less is more applies. The hardest part was imagining it with the changes I wanted made. The dress I tried on was a halter although she pined that down pretty well. So the top will be changed to a strapless with a slight curvature, I don't need too much there. I didn't want a deep sweetheart. I am also going to add on beading underneath the breast area and then I am potentially thinking of doing a balloon hem on the bottom but that will be decided during the alteration process.

With those changes it will be everything I was looking for! I absolutely love the material, I knew I wanted satin from the moment I tried on the first dress. And I really love the back of the dress. I keep thinking of how it will look walking down the aisle and up on the alter. Plus it will look great bustled up for dancing. I'm def doing a french bustle (so it will show off the beautiful bead work on the back of the dress).

The worst part of the day was that my mom couldn't be there for picking the dress. She tried to get to NJ but getting there from LI is no small feat = obscene amounts of traffic. I was lucky that my future Mother-in-Law came with me and was wonderful. So I will just have to go back with mom to show her my choice. I'm very excited with my choice and can't wait to go back and see it again - and I especially can't wait to wear it on our wedding day :-)

My Newest Random Idea

So while enjoying a lovely day off from work (and the start of 4-day weekend) I have not been doing anything overly productive with my day (and loving it). One of my favorite activities is of course looking for wedding ideas. Well today I have stumbled upon the idea of Wedding Pomander Balls!

From what I've been seeing they are a very inexpensive way to decorate the church and can be hung off the pews in the aisle to dress things up a bit. These could be done in place of any kind of ribbons or flowers that may be more traditional. I haven't decided yet if I want to do any type of aisle decorations since the church is so beautiful and traditional it doesn't need much more. But it is a good option to consider in place of flowers which can be much more expensive!

Now these are supposedly 'easy' to make on your own as a nice little DIY project but of course you can also buy them for a small fee. They do look somewhat easy to make, although I'm sure they'd be a little bit time consuming especially if you are making something like 20 of them. You just buy a foam ball and make tissue paper flowers - I have PLENTY of tissue paper experience dating back to my high school days of making tissue paper floats for Homecoming!

So something to add to my list of ideas for the time being.

Here's some pics of what they look like: