bridesmaids-dressed.

So I knew what I wanted my maids to wear since I found my venue-seersucker.  What could SCREAM Newport in the summer more than seersucker?  Now you see, there is one company who thought of this before me and had me all excited, thread.  But Alas, my budget, and that of my friends, a student, a teacher, and a mom, could not obtain the beautiful seersucker gowns.  So I hit up the net.  Nothing.  A big blank.  I wanted navy stripes, and even preppy capitol of the world, the crew, did not have anything this year.  So I hit the outlets.  And at the last rock I turned, Ann Taylor, there she was, seersucker, halter, and oh so perfect with her empire waist and tea length....Now onto finding yellow shoes for them!

Who Knew?

Ahh, the things I never knew about before being a bride, and now really really care about for some unknown reason.
1. Chivari chairs. I didn't know what that was until my venue gushed about having them. I didn't know they were so special that other brides actually pay to rent them over their venues free-bee chairs. I guess now I am super glad that my venue has chiavari free be chairs!

2. Pomanders. I think I would have thought this was a baking or cooking term before learning that it was a beautiful ball of flowers or moss or neatly gathered tissue paper. Now I NEED to DIY pomanders for my friend's bridal shower and possibly my own wedding.

3. Letterpress and Gocco. Neither words would have brought about any sort of inkling in my non-wedding mind. Now that I am a bride to be, I need to somehow find a gocco on ebay and make my own invites, and I need to have my thank you cards letterpressed. Why? Because sites like the knot and weddingbee are too informative for their own good. Feeding the wedding industry's mega million dollar monopoly they make us crazy! And, last but not least
4. "hand cancelling" at the post office, and now I plan on forcing my local mail folks to do so, even though from what I've heard they hate doing it! How can i run an ugly stamp over all the calligraphy I plan on learning to do on the envelopes?

Anyone else becoming needy for things they didn't know existed before opening Martha Stewart Weddings or logging onto The Knot boards for the first time?

my obsession with being thrifty

So I don't really know when it started. My mom taking me to rummage sales and flea markes since I was 2? Maybe. But I used to hate it. I used to hate the smell of mothballs and all the old clothes and junk no one wanted. One day, I believe it was in college, I realized this old adage "one man's trash is another man's treasure" was really freaking genius. And treasures I did find! Brand new brand name jeans, dresses, vintage coture, faux fur coats, picture frames, books, scarves, and so much more. Salvation Army, Goodwill, Flea Markets, Church sales, and nowadays my favorites Buffalo Exchange, Second Time Around, and Flashbacks. Websites even like Posh Girl Vintage and Vintageous. They all understand this old adage. But oh, the one to top them all is Ebay! I love thrifting on ebay. Because when you thrift, you often find something amazing written after that special item you drool all over as you 'place bid' or 'buy it now'. Its "NWT". New with tags!!! Or even NWOT (new without tags). Its NEW and someone doesn't want it anymore. And that is how I found my wedding dress. You see, J Crew hates me. They love to sell out of something just as I have put all my funds aside to buy it. And they are notorious for doing this with all things, but specifically, their wedding dresses. And after googling and searching and trying to find one new in the store, I found it there, on ebay, in my size, new with(out)tags! The Celeste Ramie dress in its ivory linen goodness. For half the price the crew wanted for it! Here she is, Celeste! Perfect for our perfect day on the dock under the tent swaying to the steel drums...

photo from Jcrew.com

Not so Fancy

I must say, I am not a fancy girl. I spent most of my childhood in jeans even when my mother would rather have me wear Easter bonnets and tutus. I don't really use "product" in my hair, unless I need to, and I wear makeup only when I need to impress. My fiancee does not think I need to impress him, and so he thinks I am pretty fancy when I do wear make up. This blog is going to demonstrate my coming to terms with planning a wedding. A day that is traditionally supposed to be very fancy, and my location has golden chivari chairs and chandeliers, so my task at de-fancifying it may be pretty hard. Please enjoy!