Working and Wedding

I realized today that I am very lucky in my work situation at the moment as it is a pretty good situation to be in and also plan a wedding. I'm a grad student, I work in a lab, I do experiments sporadically throughout the day. Some days I'm at the bench all day, some days I have no experiments to do, and I usually blog all day :)

Mondays are lab meeting days, and we all try to be on our p's and q's as far as impressing our boss. Yeah, me too, he's a great boss; sharp-minded, helpful, easy to talk to, etc...

I walked into work today, the Monday after my first trip to bridal salons, and mentioned to my coworker/bridesmaid a passing comment (I don't remember what it was about) that happened to involve the wedding dress shopping. Apparently this was the wrong thing to do. He made a comment about the wedding being all I care about from now on. I was hurt. But as I stewed about it all day, I realized something: even if I thought it was an unfair comment, I realized that the reason he made it was because I shouldn't have mentioned the wedding right before lab meeting. I take for granted the fact that he's usually cool with everything. There are, in fact, certain things that one should probably keep to themselves. Whether you work in a lax environment or a strict office environment, planning a wedding should be kept relatively quiet.

I made a comment right then and there (yeah, it was a little heated) that I would never bring it up in his presence again, but again, once I thought about it more during the day, I realized I am going to stick religiously to that comment. Number 1, there's no reason to start building animosity of any kind between you and your boss, number 2, even though I do work in a more lackadaisical environment, I still need to act professionally.

So this is me making peace with something that really did make me angry this morning. I'm not going to dwell on it, and more importantly, I am not going to make it worse. For those that do work in a more uptight environment, this probably seems obvious to you, but I have to admit, it took me all day to wrap my head around this. So for everyone out there that might be mad at their boss for being angry when they read blogs and plan all day, just try to keep in mind that they're just doing their job; making sure you do yours.

That being said, I actually had a really busy day today; I had planned to have some time to post about wedding dresses, which I would love to do, but it's now almost 10, I worked for 13 hours today, and I must go to bed. Symposium all day tomorrow, hopefully I'll be able to post tomorrow evening... For your sake as well as mine. For now I'll just say I had a blast and cannot wait to regale anyone who might want to listen about every single dress idea that's floating around in my little head!!

Irony!!

Ian Stuart may just be a genius!

While I still don't love it, he actually took Austinian fashion and moved it ahead a few decades:

I can't wear empire waists because I look pregnant... really pregnant...

But what does he call his masterpiece? which, while I still wouldn't wear it, is a huge step forward from the 19th century?


Darcy


'Nuff said

Best Post EVER!!

If by some chance, fiance has been reading my blog, PLEASE leave and do not read this one!!!




Is he gone???




I've given you ample warning... this is the first WEDDING DRESS POST!!!



My first appointments to try on wedding dresses are TOMORROW!! I'm so very very excited, and Kyle won't even be in town, so there should be no worry about him seeing anything he shouldn't. His best man, Dan (who, coincidentally, is not the best man yet because Kyle hasn't asked him!) just got back from a four month stint in Ira-- a foreign country doing IT work for some... big security agency, and his welcome home party is this weekend. Now I love Dan and I'd get to see Mia, but I had planned wedding dress shopping before I knew the date for this party PLUS, my sister is going to be home from college this weekend and this weekend only so my hands were kinda' tied. I will still make it, but I'll be late...


ANYWHO!! Let's get to dresses!

I want to start out by saying that when I was obsessed with the idea of Kyle and I getting married in Hawaii, I had the perfect idea of the dress I wanted to wear:

It's a Le Spose di Gio from Kleinfeld's. It's sexy, but not sexual, it's classy and carefree, it looks like an island dress, a destination gown, and I fell in love with the off-the-shoulder look as well.


Well, the only problem is that after the Hawaii thing didn't happen, I began to have these nagging doubts about this dress, specifically because I couldn't see it anywhere other than Hawaii. All of a sudden, it didn't feel like it would fit anywhere else!

Well, I was in love with this dress for months, it's been really hard sort of letting it go, but I also told myself I would find it one day 5-10 years down the line and have a vow-renewal like ceremony in Hawaii with Kyle just so we can have that experience.




When I decided I had my heart set on a barn wedding, I found this dress:

A Michelle Roth dress also from Kleinfeld's that I became obsessed with because it's got a dropped waist (I have a long torso, dropped waists are flattering on me, plus it makes me look like I have hips even though I don't; it's a fine line to walk, because mermaid/trumpet dresses emphasize my lack of hips), and because it reminds me of the petticoats underneath a really outlandishly over-the-top Scarlet O'Hara dress... does that make any sense?? It looks unfinished and raw, which to me equals low-maintenance, like the girl ripped off the really expensive top dress so she could go play in the mud with the boys, or go for a roll in the hay! To me this screams fun and carefree.

I feel like I would have to mind my ps and qs all night in the Le Spose di Gio dress because it's a proper lady's dress... I'm no proper lady, sorry.

With this in mind, I began to really warm up to the idea of ruffles (but not overly girly ruffles) and exposed tulle, things that looked out of place and unfinished. I also discovered a love of all things asymmetrical. Here are just a few examples... trust me, I have many many more to spare:

I love Ian Stuart and Maggie Sottero. Why?! Drama Drama Drama!!! Everything looks so over-the-top and at the same time just so creative and not like anything else! I also love that they have shape and volume and are by no means boring... Just like me XD!!

My other favorite designers are Demetrios (the first 4) and Pronovias (all the rest) and everything that follows is just the reasons why:

 

 

 


I am so in love!!! I can hardly figure out what to do with myself between now and then!! For now, we can use these as reference, these are my favorite styles and designers. *Sigh* tomorrow's going to be awesome!!

Just call me Elizabeth!

So this is a funny post because it was going to start out as a post about the song list... Just for fun, we'll address it quickly:

When Kyle and I fall for musicians, we fall hard, we don't just like 'that song' on the radio by 'that band.' We have few favorite bands/musicians that we want to be playing at our wedding, so where does that leave us?... With 20 songs each from about 4 musicians. Haha, needless to say, we'd love it, it'd be like every concert we've ever been to together... which is around 10-ish, but we've seen several of them multiple times. It would look something like this:

Several Imogen Heap songs in a row, followed by several Incubus songs in a row, followed by several Depeche Mode songs in a row, followed by Florence + the Machine (because he loves me all the time even if he doesn't always love my music), followed by several Pearl Jam songs. Then we'd be done, because we wouldn't want to hear anything else. Ha!

He surprised me yet again twice the other night by suggesting several great songs for the key moments at the reception... sorry all, but they're going to remain a surprise; let's just say, the taking off of the garter is going to be about the funniest thing anyone will ever see... narrowly beating the bouquet toss. Secondly, he said he wanted to take dance lessons and do, you know, a real dance as our first dance. I was so blown away I had to check to see how much he'd had to drink that night, but he was serious! Now, I'm not sure when these dance lessons will be fit in, but if he actually suggested it, I'll be damned if I don't do what I can to make it happen.

Maybe it'll even look something like this:

OK, so the point is that while looking at old iTunes playlists to try to find good ceremony and cocktail hour music, I stumbled across my buried Pride and Prejudice soundtrack.

Ugh, and I died, now that I'm engaged, the whole story is coming around full circle. It's not just the falling hopelessly in love thing, I've bewitched him body and soul! "And I love, I love, I love you." He never wishes to be parted with me from this day forth!! Ha! That movie makes me so warm and fuzzy inside, and I can't believe it's been so long since I've thought about it. Not only does it have wonderful piano and violin pieces throughout, but it also has the look that I wanted originally for this wedding, and now I remember where I got my hair-brained ideas from!!

Take a look (these are all random google image search images btw):

Could you die? I must find this bench! We must be just like this!! Is it too much to ask for Kyle to wear this on the wedding day?:

Yes please! But no, because then I would have to dress like this:

But wouldn't mind this:

I had lots more fun google imaging, but the point is I wish I liked what the ladies wore back then... I don't, but I sure do love everything else:

Will it be too much to ask my bridesmaids to indulge me???

Most importantly, Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen did such a great job of looking so in love... and Kyle and I actually are in love, so can we do this or better???:

Elizabeth personifies what I like to think of myself as; carefree and whimsical, silly and yet passionate, cynical but hopelessly romantic. And of course Kyle has always been my Mr. Darcy: dark, brooding, quiet, and calculating at first, but then once you get to know him, just the most romantic, passionate, intense and of course sexiest, guy I've ever met... Yum!

Just one more piece of eye candy:

*Sigh* what a life I lead. On that note, I am going to go home and wait for that man so I can give him lots of kisses and forehead touches!

Autmnal Aurora? Say that five times fast

You can blame Inspired Bride for all my crazy ideas about color. I saw this board a few days after I decided plum, teal, and orange would go together!!

While I still stand by my initial gut feeling about this combination, I do think our classic, rustic color scheme appeals to my eyes more, it makes me smile, those colors look good no matter what the fabric. Most importantly, it really lights the way for my IVORY dress. I can't wait to go dress shopping with my two grandmothers and get into fights over not wearing white.

Just a quick one for now, busy day at work today!

As promised... MORE on color

Hello again, soooo, I glued fabric swatches onto a nice thick piece of watercolor paper and organized it all nice and it scanned funny... you couldn't see the off-white anymore and the quality was crap. I looked at the one I posted yesterday and it wasn't all that bad.

Kyle and I talked more about color, and he, of course, agreed with my mom about making the groomsmen ties the same color as the bridesmaid dresses. Well fine then! See, I don't disagree, I just thought maybe it would be too matchy matchy. Also, then where does the blue go?! Because I still really like the blue. Kyle suggested blue napkins, and then I said ooook, but where did that come from? People will walk into the reception hall and say 'Hey! why are there all of a sudden BLUE NAPKINS?! Where did those come from?!' That's what they'll say, yes siree! Then won't I feel dumb. However, if the groomsmen ties AND the napkins are blue, then we'll have more of a tie in (umm, no pun intended... really) while still not just throwing a blue sash on the bridesmaids to try to make the blue fit in... which would be hilarious and so '80s. There are situations where the colors could work without blue, check out this inspiration board:

But I like the idea of the men with blue ties, especially my man, with his pretty blue eyes! I hope no one is confused, because I know, I just threw a bunch of words out there and some of those pieces are coming from individual conversations between me and my mom and me and Kyle.

Here it is:

but try to imagine it with an off-white shirt underneath, and I don't like that shade of blue... This is why I'm doing this, because no one else can! You do a google image search for 'brown suit, blue tie' and see how much crap comes up! It's ridiculous, that's why I'm happy with the ideas that are rattlin' around in my head.

That being said, I am still not above stealing a few choice ideas here and there, like this one!
But I thought I'd be a little more creative and actually use the name of the wine as the table name! A little sign secured to the bottle somehow will act as an enlarged name tag for that table!
I'm officially going to start attaching linked photos, from now on for all my ideas (the ones that don't just pop out of my brilliant mind!) so that you all can follow along and so that I can remember these ideas 14 months from now... let's just say it took me an hour to find the wine bottle image! No more of that.

Of course, my mind is always open to other suggestions!

Riverdale Visit and Color, REvisited

SOOoooooOO, Kyle and I went to Riverdale Manor this weekend and met with Maureen. Kyle thought she was nicer than most of the other wedding coordinators and felt the place had the most promise. I completely agree with him and am very happy he is happy with the decision. I'd also rather not have to kiss $800 of my parents money goodbye!

We also talked about the menu whilst there, and we have a tentative menu set up:

Display Hors D'ouerves:
Crab and Artichoke Fondue (mmmmmm)
Fruit, Veggie, and Cheese Display (standard)
Butlered Hors D'ouerves:
Ham-stuffed cheddar scones
Brie and Pear Quesadillas
Bruschetta

Salad: Apple Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette
Entree: Choose between Filet of Beef and Chicken Chesapeake
Vegetarian option: Roasted Baby Acorn Squash stuffed with roasted veggies
Children's option: TBA, but there will be one
Sides: Roasted veggies and Potatoes Au Gratin

Dessert:
Our wedding cake and an ice cream bar

Be excited!!! Now, it's still very early so this whole menu is subject to change. But it's exciting because things are happening!! I've been reading a million blogs, writing down all my ideas, and generally having more fun thinking about it than should be allowed. I'm maybe supposed to be feeling overwhelmed?? But I'm not, but I'm sure the whole, 14 months to wait is helping with that. I still have a lot of time to think about what needs to get done; what vendors I need and what I plan to DIY.

I wanted to provide an update on color though!! I talked to Kyle and he had pretty strong ideas about color. He hated the teal and normally I would have demanded more explanation from him but again, any little bit that he wants to help, I'm totally open to it. And he has so few objections that I don't mind accommodating the ones he does have; if Kyle hates to look at teal, why would I want to force him to stare at teal-colored stuff all night?! I wouldn't!! If I was at all decent!!

He likes a light blue, and originally, I was against it because it's the same color as the sky, but again, I have to keep telling myself, 'Even if you manage to be able to do the ceremony outside in late November, the ceremony is only 30  minutes long!! The blue is for adding a splash of color to the reception!' So Light blue it is, I refuse to call it baby blue, and I've chosen a shade that looks almost steely blue, as opposed to say, a cornflower blue. When teal went out the window, orange had to go with it, especially because burnt orange is too garish next to light blue... I think. When you mix the deep wine/plum/whatever-you-call-it color I love so much with the chocolate brown that I would like the groomsmen to wear, orange has no place anymore either. So the whole color scheme is slightly revised, but I believe it's completely for the better. The whole thing has been elevated to a muted, rustic, comfortable feel, and I think that suits Kyle and I better. To let you in on what I'm thinking, I am scanning in the color pallet chart I threw together yesterday before visiting Maureen (in case she wanted to see a color scheme... which she DID!! Which I HAD!! Which I SHOWED HER!! Which she LOVED!!! so she said...) But I am going to rescan it when I have had a chance to make it prettier. I just felt it would be cruel to go on and one talking about it and not show it to you!!

So, quick explanation then, the yarn is my initial inspiration, found at a cute little yarn shop in Philly, on the right is the groom's party colors: brown suits, off-white linen shirts, blue ties. Bridal party: bordeaux dresses... that's as far as I've gone, it's just next to the brown to see if it matches.
Also pictured, two shades of blue (try to figure out which is my favorite and which is Kyle's!!) and two shades of the deep purple.
Lastly in the middle, is the tan color I think I want for tablecloths.

MORE LATER!!!