Our Wedding by the Sea

I had my first dress fitting today!

I didn't want to go to David's for alterations because I have heard absolutely terrible things about their alterations department.  Yes, I know I heard terrible things about getting my dress from them too, but I wasn't going to take any chances with alterations.

So I contacted one of my close friends, whose mom is a seamstress.  I knew she did alterations from her house and that she actually made my friend's bolero from the extra fabric from her gown.  I'm fairly sure she did her alterations, too.

I went to her house today and I am beyond confident that she will do a beautiful job with my gown.  She spoke about many other weddings that she has done/is doing and really knew the lingo about sewing (my mum sews a little too, but wedding gowns aren't her forte, so she knew she knew what she was talking about).  She did some pinning and even tried out a preliminary three-point French bustle which I LOVED.

I cannot wait to go back in a month and see my dress.  There is SO much that needs to be done to it.  It needs to be hemmed, but the detail along the hem line needs to be preserved (so she needs to take it off, do the hem, and reattach it).  It needs to be taken in basically all along the bodice- down to my hips- which means all the little flowers and bead work need to be removed and then reattached.  The crinny even needs to be hemmed.

She's also hemming and taking in the bridesmaid's dress I'll be wearing in the wedding two weeks before ours.

She is charging a beyond fair price and I get to go back in a month for my next fitting.  She wants me to try on the dress before she reattaches all the little flowers to make sure it fits.  I cannot wait!  I also can't believe I'm close enough to the wedding to be starting my alterations!

I remember when I was counting backwards from 500... Ahh!!

We are down to double digits-- 99 days!  Holy moly, I can't believe we are SO close.  At this time last year I didn't even have a date solidified, and now I'm down to mostly little details and getting super nervous about paying for all of this and making sure it's going to come together smoothly.

I haven't written in a little while because things are really busy right now between work, planning our wedding, and planning the pre-wedding parties for the wedding we're both in two weeks before ours.  But lots of things are done now and there are still some things I am just itching to scratch off of our "to do" list that I'm obsessed with these days.  I literally have a copy on this website, a copy printed out in my planning binder, mini lists everywhere, and a list of weekly checks in my iPad.  Crossing something off is so satisfying.

So here's what we've recently got done...
-We got our guest book tree in the mail!  I used a free graphic I found online, added our name and wedding date in PhotoShop and bought a Groupon to have it printed on canvas.  It is SO cute and I can't wait to hang it in our future house!
-We also got the picture frame for our sand ceremony.  It's a vase/frame combination that we got online that wasn't marketed for sand ceremonies, so instead of paying $50/60 we paid $9.99 on clearance.  Love!
-Bridesmaid's dresses arrived yesterday!  They are SO pretty.  The colour is amazing!  When we ordered them, we only got to see a small swatch of the colour, so we had to use our imaginations on the rest of the dress.  It is so vibrant and lovely.  We also got the guys their ties and pocket squares in the same colours.
-I figured out my something old/new/borrowed/blue and attached a sixpence to my barefoot sandal.  My old is the promise ring my dad gave my mum when they were teenagers; my new is my new last name (Mrs. undies!), my borrowed is a lady bug brooch that a close friend carried on her own wedding day, and my blue is my crinoline.  Nice to have those little details sorted out!
-I bought serving trays for our seating card display (we're going to fill them with sand and put the seating cards inside).  I painted them white and finished them with an acrylic clear coat, so those are ready to go!
-Started working on wedding cake stuff with my mum.  I think we have our cake!!

On my list for this weekend:
-Call about rentals (so nervous to do this for some reason- probably because I know it will be expensive!)
-Harass our caterer to send us a contract.  This is killing me!
-Call to make a fitting appointment for tuxes (the shop owners were on vacation so we had to wait for this one)
-Call about alterations and set up my first fitting

Hopefully my next update finds that bottom paragraph "checked off!"  One of these days I'm going to post a giant super post with tons of pictures of all the little details that are currently hanging out around our house and at FMIL's house.  Till then, you'll just have to use your imagination <3

After months- literally- of addresing envelopes here and there, I am finally finished!  I did more than half of them this week alone.  I got tired of seeing them laying around and just banged them out.  It feels fabulous.  I still have three that will need to be done later- two of my guests are looking at places and will be moving soon, and I'm still waiting on an address for one person from my FMIL.

I also decided to send invites to the Obama's, Mickey & Minnie Mouse, and JK Rowling.  I know that the first two send regrets, but I'm kind of taking a chance with JK Rowling.  I don't know that she responds at all to wedding invites or fan mail.

So I just realized I never posted pictures of my flowers.  So I've finally posted them below.  I also ordered a locket for my bouquet, which I'll be adding a picture of my Nana on her wedding day to.  I'm considering the locket my "something new," even though a lot of my stuff is new haha.

So somehow 500-something days turned into 4 months and 1 week!!  Where the hell did the time go!?  Starting to get overwhelmed and worried that it's not all going to come together.  I HAVE to call on Thursday about rentals and NEED to nail down details with the caterer.

But at least I have my flowers!  They came on Saturday and are absolutely, 100% PERFECT.  They are so much better than I was expecting and I am so excited.  I love them.  I can't wait to carry my bouquet down the aisle and I can't wait for everyone to see how beautiful they are in general.

We are under 140 days.  I can't believe it.  Things are really starting to come together and now it's mostly small details.  On that note, I've decided I need to seriously start thinking about the table situation.  The way I see it, we have the following tables to think about:

-Guest tables
-Sweetheart table
-Cocktail hour/dance floor tables (will be in the tent with the bar and DJ)
-Appetizer tables
-Bartender's table
-DJ's table
-Gift table
-Guest book table
-Seating card table
-Cake table

Since we haven't sorted out rentals yet (this week!  I swear!) I don't really know what size tables I'll be using for any of these things, so this is all hypothetical.  And for now I'm only thinking about the guest & sweetheart tables... I'll go over the others in a later post :p

Guest Tables
This is where the guests will sit for dinner and toasts and will be located inside the WCC.  We believe we'll need about 9 tables that seat 9, but this is all dependent on how many people give us a positive RSVP.

Chris and I were at a wedding last July that had long oval tables and we really liked those, so that's what we've been planning for for guest tables.

This is what I'm thinking...
-Ivory polyester table cloths and linen napkins (still haven't decided on napkin presentation)

-White resin folding chairs (will be moved from ceremony on the beach to the reception hall)

-Centerpieces will be 3 cylinder vases of varying heights.  The tallest will have 2 plum-coloured calla lilies and an ivory floating candle.  The others will also have ivory floating candles, but we haven't decided what we'll be putting inside them.  We think we're going to do grass in one and maybe petals in another?.  We also bought 144 votives (ivory and light blue) and votive holders to scatter around the tables.

-Bread, butter, salt, and pepper (naturally)
-Basic white dinnerware, simple silverware, simple water and wine glasses.  Nothing special :)
-Seating cards will be on the table after guests come into the room and will add some colour to the room as well.  I'm going to make either the "towels" different patterns OR the umbrellas will be different colours (might be easier that way) based on what entree the guest has chosen to make life easier for the servers.

-We'll be having constellation table numbers, but aren't 100% sure how we're going to be displaying them yet, so stay tuned :)

Sweetheart Table
-We're thinking a half-round table for our sweetheart table, with the two of us sitting on the "flat" side and the "round" side facing our guests.
-An ivory table cloth
-I'll put my bouquet in a vase in the front center of the table, then lay my girls' bouquets around the front of the table as well.

-We won't have a centerpiece like our guests' because I think the bouquets will be enough, but we will have some votive candles spread around
-I'll make "Mr." and "Mrs." banners for the backs of our chairs

-We're going to keep with the theme of constellation table names, but since we're the sweetheart table I'm considering going a different direction with it: We could either pick a meaningful constellation OR we could put our initials in the stars in a similar way to this invitation:

We had our tux appointment this week and confirmed suits.  The guys will all be wearing "Windsor" by Perry Ellis, in the colour latte.  They will be wearing aquamarine ties & pocket squares from Dessy, in the same material as the bridesmaids dresses (I ordered them with the girls' dresses back in March and they should be here in the first week of July).  Fi decided that he will wear brown shoes as well for the reception, and that the ushers will rent brown ties from the tux place.  His suit/shoes are free because he has 5 people renting suits, so that's awesome.  He's also considering wearing an ivory tie instead of an aquamarine one.

I also received my wedding shoes early this week and I LOVE them.  They are SO cute, super comfy, and exactly what I was looking for.  I am so happy with them and beyond thrilled that I found them.

I got my wedding and engagement rings back today from being re-sized.  I also had my e-ring re-dipped.  It looks brand new!  And fits so much better now as well.  I ordered a fake set to wear for the honeymoon and have been wearing that e-ring for the past week and a half or so, and it feels SO good to have my real stuff back!  I missed my e-ring haha.

Today I went to A.C. Moore and picked up three archive quality pens for our guest book tree, as well as the brown and ivory scrapbook paper I'll be using to make our "Mr." and "Mrs." chair back signs for the reception.  I also placed my order for my guest book tree canvas.  I got the digital file for free from Style Unveiled and printed it on a 16x20 wrap-around canvas that's 1.5" deep on the sides with a sweet Groupon that saved me $79.00!!  I can't wait to get it in.  I sent an email to an Etsy seller who prints her trees on canvas to see if she'll just sell me two ink pads, since I can't find the colours I want and don't know what brand to use.  Hopefully she'll come through for me!

We're in the process of booking the caterer we met with last week.  We just want to make sure they'll be communicative (that's been our number one problem with them so far) and want to iron out some small details.  Hopefully we'll be able to check that off our list, since it was on my list of things to get done before September 2011 and STILL isn't checked off!  To anyone getting married down the Jersey shore, make sure you do this FIRST because everyone closes for the winter and you won't be able to get anything done in those months!!

Lastly, we only have one thing left on our to do list for April 22 to May 21!!  We just need to book our stupid rentals!  That's the last big vendor that *we* need to hire.  I only work thirty hours this week, so I'll have time to call during the day on Thursday or Friday to talk to someone and get our stuff sorted out.  Hopefully we'll have everything checked off our list by the end of this week!  Then I can really start working on next month's list :)

140 days left!  We're getting closer and closer... ahhh!  I can't believe how fast time is flying now!

Fi and I are going to Country Bride & Gents to hopefully find the tuxes tomorrow.  Country Bride is where I went for my first appointment, where Veronica got her dress, where we went for our BM's dresses, and where they're getting the tuxes for their weddings.  Chris found a tux he really likes when he was there for their appointment.  So hopefully that still works and we can check tuxes off of our list!

I also just ordered my reception shoes, and I'm really hoping they work out.  I'd previously ordered ivory satin flip flops from Dessy, but when they came they weren't the quality I was expecting.  They just seemed a little cheap to me, so I'm sending them back.  I ordered a pair of flats this time around and they are SO stinkin' cute.  I am known in my circle of friends as the "queen of flats," so had to uphold the name.  Hopefully they come soon so I can make sure they'll work :)

We finally met with the restaurant that will potentially be catering at our wedding.

The food was delicious.  We tasted the prime rib, stuffed chicken, grilled chicken breast with red pepper and spinach, and the cheese ravioli with lobster cream sauce.  The sides we tried were sauteed veggies and tri-colour potatoes, as well as Caesar salad with their own homemade dressing.  The food was delicious and if we go with them, we'll probably do the Caesar salad (as opposed to a garden salad).  We really liked the prime rib and the cheese ravioli with lobster cream sauce for the entree choices, and the tri-colour potatoes for the side.

We loved everything and the chef (owner) was super nice and very helpful.  The only thing that makes me nervous is that the person in charge of catering is not very good at communicating and I have a hard time getting her to respond to emails and phone calls.  I'm going to express my concern to her and hopefully we can resolve it so we can book them.  The last thing I want is to be worried a week before my wedding because I'm not sure what's going on with our food.

On another (very exciting) note, I tried on my wedding dress this morning.  We were at my fiance's parent's house (where my dress currently lives) and I couldn't resist.  It's too big!  I can hold a solid fist full of fabric behind me!  All my hard work is paying off- it's super fabulous and I feel fantastic!

Everything is really coming together.  The last big checks we have are catering, rentals, and tuxes.  After that, it's basically just small stuff.  A huuuuuge weight will be off my shoulders soon!!

Good thing, too, because we're creeping ever closer to the Big Day (or Doomsday, as I lovingly refer to it sometimes haha)- only 146 days left!  I can't believe that I was once counting

First thing's first.  We *still* have no caterer.  5 months out and still no food.  Can we say STRESSED!?  However, I've been talking to the catering manager at a restaurant in Ocean City (just north of Stone Harbor) and it looks like we'll probably go with them.  We're trying to schedule a tasting with them- hopefully for this Sunday- and really really hoping it works out so we can sign a contract and let out a HUGE sigh of relief.  Keep your eyes open for more info on that!

Second line of business: Tuxes.  We ordered ties & pocket squares back in March when I ordered the bridesmaid's dresses.  Since my dresses are Alfred Sung (and therefore part of Dessy), ties were available in the exact same colour & fabric as the dresses, so we just ordered at the same time.  However, we have yet to book suit/tux rentals.  Chris and I are both looking for the same thing, so thank goodness we don't have to argue about it.  Honestly though, if he wanted to wear something other than the idea I have in my head, I'd be cool with it.  As it is, we're hoping for tan coloured suits/tuxes.  We have an appointment this coming Tuesday at the first store I went to to try on dresses.  Chris and I are both in a wedding 2 weeks before our own, and the bride got her dress there.  The groom and groomsmen are also getting their tuxes there, so Chris has already interacted with their sales team and stuff when he went to get fitted for that wedding.  He said he found a suit there that he liked for our wedding, so hopefully that will be "the one" and we can sort out tuxes, too.  Then it's just a matter of having the groomsmen & ushers fitted, and Chris' will be free!  Luckily, his best man is the groom from the wedding we're in before ours, so the store already has HIS measurements AND we share a common groomsman who currently lives in Texas, so they have his measurements already, too.  We just need to have the other groomsman (currently living in Georgia) get measured, and have Chris' brothers (our ushers) get measured as well.  We need to find the two of them ties, too.  But at least there's an end in sight!

Finally, invitations.  I have really begun the assembly line.  About 15 envelopes are addressed.  It's labor-intensive and takes a long time, but I'm slowly working through them.  I ordered an address stamper from Vistaprint for the return address, so at least that's going quickly haha.  I'm pretty sure I'll be printing the return address on the RSVP envelopes though.  All of the invitation mats are marked so I know where to mount the invites.  The panel pockets are also nearly all marked so I can mount the mats onto them.  I'll probably start actually gluing the mats to the pockets this weekend.  I haven't printed the invitations yet because a) our printer keeps freezing in the middle of the page every single time I try to print them and b) we want to wait until we have a caterer booked so we can put meal choices on the RSVPs.  Fun fun.  But at least I'm making progress and getting finished with what I can.

Last (but not least), we have confirmed centerpieces!  I don't have my wedding jump drive so I can't post the inspiration picture right now, but I'll post it when I get home from work tonight.  It's going to be 3 cylinder vases with floating candles, the tallest of which will have 1-2 submerged purple calla lilies.  We're going to put either marbles or sand on the bottom of the vases.  I ordered the flowers (30 real touch callas) from Save-On-Crafts yesterday, as well as 36 cylinder vases, 144 votive holders, 36 ivory floating candles, 72 ivory votives, and 72 light blue votives.  They should be here Monday already so I can make some mockups and make sure that the colour on the flowers isn't going to bleed.

149 days to go!  Ahhhh!!!