Flower Power

Hello all!  Sorry for the blog hiatus and brevity of today's post.  Eric and I had an absolutely amazing time in Ireland, and now I am playing catch up at work for taking those two weeks off!  If anyone is thinking of a vacation to Ireland, but you are on the fence about it, I strongly recommend you get off the fence right now and get your ass to a travel agent to book the trip.  It's one of the most beautiful places in the world, and it is so fun.  And if you're like me, and you love bread, meat, potatoes and beer....well then it's basically heaven on earth.  :)

<3 this boy.

And now that we are back, it's back to wedding planning!  I took a look at our to-do list of 135 things a couple days ago, and I'm proud to report that we are 34/135 done.  Which doesn't seem like much, but most of the to-do items are like 1 week before the wedding.  There isn't anything that is in the "9 months before" category that isn't done, so I don't feel behind!  Right?  Right?  I SAID.  I DON'T.  FEEL.  BEHIND.

One of the things I'm working on right now and have a couple upcoming appointments for is the flowers.  I'm very excited about flowers, but I'm not excited about how long they last or how much they cost.  I read a lot of wedding websites and watch a lot of wedding shows, and I find people fall into one of two camps:  they either love flowers, insist they must be real for a wedding, and spend a huge chunk of their budget on them, OR they hate flowers and the fact that they die so fast, don't care if they are silk or plastic, and spend barely nothing on them. 

 

Soooo yeah.  Those look natural.

I hate silk flowers.  Like a lot.  What's the point?  You're not fooling anyone.  They don't look like real flowers, as much as some brides like to think they do.  Some brides are like “But if they are silk, they will last forever! And we can use them for other events!  Frugality and sensibility rule!” But honestly, who wants that? Who wants to store a bunch of tall silk centerpieces that will get dusty and smushed and then haul them out again 8 years later for your cousin’s wedding. No thanks.  But while I do prefer real flowers, but I don't want to break the bank.  I see no reason to have big elaborate sprays and huge flowered centerpieces and flowers hanging on every chair and crevice in the place.  But I do appreciate beautiful flowers, and I wanted to share some of my ideas with you!

The first aspect of the flowers is the bouquets and the boutonnieres. I want them to be subtle and complement the wedding party, and not draw too much attention away from my lovely ladies and handsome men.  Since our wedding "color" (if you can call it that) is purple, that limits our choices of flowers.  I do love me the purple calla lily though.  It's dark, dramatic, elegant and gorgeous. 

 

Something like that for the ladies...

...and I like these for the men!  But that will be up to Eric.  :)

As for my bouquet, I definitely want it to be white, no color at all.  And without giving away too many details, I want the bouquet to match my dress.  The dress I chose is a little more fashion forward, more couture looking, and a bit more unique than your average shiny white satin bridal gown.  So I want a unique bouquet as well!  Something that I really love for the bridal bouquet is feathers!  Not too many, but just a little fluff to add some texture.  I also love the little blingy inserts that go into bouquets.  Bling it on.

 

 

 

Love these bouquets!  So floaty and romantic.

 

 

 

 

I could do without the orange roses, but I love that little sparkle!

 

 

As for the centerpieces and other floral decorations, I am hoping to find a florist that will just do everything.  I have learned from all these appointments that the fewer vendors I have to deal with, the better.  I even found a girl that does reception décor, lighting, invitations and stationery!  4 in 1!  When she told me all she offers, I wanted to hug her right then and there.  So I'm hoping our florist will also bring centerpiece vases and all that other stuff, and also bring the vases and flowers from the ceremony space to the reception space and just basically be awesome.

 

 

Love the idea of lilies in a tall vase...

 

 

I'm also hoping to find a florist that can do this at the ceremony space, instead of us having an aisle runner:

 

 

 

LOVE THIS.  So gorgeous and romantic!

 



 

 

And since my blogs aren't complete without just a hint of snark, here are some wedding flowers I'm not such a fan of!

 

 

 

Baby's breath and red roses.  Just no.  Unless it's 1989.

 

 

 

Weirdo mangled stick centerpieces.  I don't get it!  It reminds me of the dead of winter.

 

 

 

Big old hipster flowered head wreaths.  Why.  Just why.

 

 

 

 

Brooch bouquets.  Ew.  And I hate the word "brooch". 

 

 

 

And that's all for today folks! 

 

 

Happy Wedding Wednesday!!!

 

 

 

~M

 

Deco Disaster

I have been working on the decorations for the venue and ceremony space as my next wedding task, and I've been finding this one a little more difficult than everything I've encountered so far.  With the venue, ceremony space, photographer, videographer, and dress decision, it's pretty cut and dry.  You like it, you buy it.  You don't, you keep looking.

But with decorations, it's becoming a month long process now with no end in sight.  Research different deco ideas online.  Contact a few different decoration providers.  Wait five days for anyone to get back to you.  Receive form letter response email with standard pricing and few details.  Email back asking for more specifics.  Wait five days for anyone to get back to you.  Receive another response with vague information, mostly focusing on how they can't accommodate your requests but they do partner with this other business that you should contact to get half your services from, and they will provide the rest.  ARGH!  I just want some decorations!  I'm just like...

 

I'm pretty sure this is why people hire a wedding planner.  The thought of bringing all these different moving pieces together to form a seamless presentation to the guests on the wedding day is starting to feel super overwhelming.  So I'm at home on the computer thinking about how I am ever going to make sure that Centerpiece Rental Business A arrives before Florist B both of which have to arrive after Deco Company C but stay out of the way of Lighting Man D so he can set up the cake spotlight for Cake Lady E who also happens to be the MOB who will be dealing with Relatives F, G, H and I who Printing Company J needs the correct spelling of names for the seating plan which we can't finalize until we receive RSVPs for the invites that Invitation Printer K hasn't started yet, because I want those to match the decoration theme but I want quotes from Deco Company L and M first before going with Deco Company C. 

And I'm all...

 

And meanwhile my cat is flomped beside me thinking...

I've also found that each business that deals in some way with providing wedding services has their selling strategy down pat.  This involves one key point and that is, "make the bride feel like her wedding is going to be a crappy piece of shit ugly horrible event unless she buys the most expensive package".  And I'm like....

Case in point, Eric and I decided that some uplighting would look nice at the Millennium Centre.  You know, create some ambience, tie in the color scheme, all that jazz.  I'm looking at all these great photos on Pinterest of uplit rooms and I'm all...

 

 

 

 

So then after the aforementioned runaround I get from the deco company that says they don't do lights but they partner with this other light guy, I contact him and he sends me this pricing structure (paraphrased from actual pricing structure):

 

 

Package 1:  $295

Includes:  Don't even bother asking.  If you're looking at this package, you should just forget about the whole thing.

 

Package 2:  $595

Includes:  Okay I guess I'll talk to you, even though I don't need your business or your measly 600 bucks.  You'll get a couple lights, but all your guests will leave early because your wedding will suck.  Also I'll be turning them off and taking them home at 9:30 pm.  And I won't shower before I come and do that.

 

Package 3:  $1,095

Includes:  10 wall lights (keep in mind this isn't enough to make an impact on the room, but it's your wedding), Custom monogram display of your initials (obviously this is a MUST so do not even THINK about saying you don't need one), a cake spotlight (but judging by how much you're considering spending on lighting I don't even want to imagine what your cake looks like so maybe you shouldn't put a spotlight on it) and set up (showering) fees.

 

PACKAGE 4!  BEST DEAL!  EXTREME SAVINGS!  $2,495

Includes:  40 amazing lights that change color throughout the night!  3 intelligent moving spotlights that follow the bride throughout the night and only shine on her good side!  Wall texture lights!  Dance floor lights!  Ceiling and draping lights!  Custom made monogram and family crest lights!  Lighting controller!  Lightning technician!  No, those are not the same thing!   We will work with you and design the most beautifully lit space your mind could ever imagine!  After all, it's your wedding day!  You're worth it, beautiful!

 

 

And that can pretty much be applied to any wedding service there is. I read it, and I'm all...

 

 

But, I'm not going to let this get me down.  I'm determined that I can find gorgeous decorations and lighting that will fit my budget and all my guests will be all...

And I'll be like...

Happy Wedding Wednesday!!!

~M

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Color Me Indecisive

I have been thinking about the color palette of the wedding almost since the day we got engaged.  To me, this is a “bride” detail – you know, the details that you think are a huge deal and therefore everyone else will think are a huge deal but really nobody else cares.  Tons of brides everywhere put so much thought into their color palette.  This is why when a bride is asked what the colors are for her wedding, she doesn’t reply with a standard one-syllable color.  In fact, bridal colors MUST be at least a two to four word phrase.  It’s not blue, it’s “robin’s egg blue”.  It’s not green, it’s “slightly greyed jade”.  And if you're going to ask about the palette, you had better know that there is a huge difference between lilac, lavender, light plum, fig, fuchsia, violet, amethyst, indigo, and eggplant.  Especially if you are the groom.

 

Rainbow Brite:  You’re doing it wrong.

 

When I really break it down, nobody at the wedding is going to give a hoot whether the tablecloths are carnation pink or cerulean blue or burnt sienna or granny smith apple (oh Crayola).  But for some reason, I can’t stop obsessing about the colors.  And not just the plain old colors, but shades, schemes, brightness, and accents, and also where to put the colors and to what degree.  Flowers?  Bridesmaid dresses?  Centerpieces?  Napkins?  Invitations?  The possibilities are really endless.  And how do I incorporate the bling factor I love so much?  The last thing I want is for my wedding to look like a tacky, fluorescent, glittery mess.  AKA:  Ke$ha.

 

I found my bridesmaids’ outfits!

When thinking about colors it is easy to pick ones that look nice or that go well together or are simply your faves.  But for a wedding, it’s more complicated than that.  Sure, I love baby pink and peach, but is that really “us”?  Probably not.  I also love black and red, but for a wedding?  Bor-ring.  I also like yellow, but imagine that conversation with the bridesmaids.  “And our wedding colors are.....YELLOW!  You’re going to be wearing a yellow dress!!!  Yayyyyy!”  Cue fake smiles and nervous laughter.  So for me, it’s a big decision.  After a lot of thought, I pitched two palettes to Eric.

Pink, peach and purple pastels, with champagne and gold accents:

 

 

Royal purple, black and damask, with diamond accents:

 

 

 

And so, like I teased in my theme post, we are going to go with option 2, because we both like it and feel it is more “urban chic” which represents us well.  It's dramatic and will go well with our venue, and it's not an offensive bridesmaid dress color either.  Plus, I really want a color palette that I can incorporate diamond accents into because, well, I have a sparkle.  And I’m not going to let anyone take away my sparkle.

 

 

Yes.  That just happened.

 

Happy Wedding Wednesday!!!

 

~M

 

PS:  I reserve the right to change my mind 80 more times...