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My wedding, having a vintage glam theme, is a mix of both the movie influence of the 30’s and the glam that came with it (chandeliers, red carpet, etc.). I’ve always dreamt of having individual chandeliers at each table at my wedding. It would be so luxurious, but for several reasons, it’s not possible. First off, I’m not allowed to hang things from the ceiling of my reception hall, not to mention that having a chandelier at each table would be too expensive.
Image courtesy of Brides.com
Weddings with Joy:
Olympia, Washington
This was a cute little store in Olympia where I was living. The prices are very reasonable and the owner is very willing to negotiate. The only downside is that their sample sizes vary a lot. Many of the dresses I wanted to try were in very small sizes. Also, I didn’t feel the owner really listened to what I wanted and instead tried to impose what she thought would look best. Some of her options weren’t bad, but in a way, I felt like she was making a round peg fit into a square hole, since there wasn’t a lot of selection.
In light of my last post, I figured I’d write kind of a how-to follow up for people who maybe haven’t had the big money talk with their families yet. It can be a really hard thing to talk about, especially because there’s kind of this general idea floating around that the love and happiness of your big day shouldn’t be tainted with talk of dollars and cents, but really, when it comes down to it, the bottom line can be a really big deal and one of the first things you should deal with when planning so that it doesn’t cost you a huge amount of grief later.
So my tips for “The Talk”.
1. Be united – Before you go in to talking to either set of parents, talk things out with your partner to make sure you’re on the same page. Work out the things you might need help with and then, when you go into the talk, have the person whose parents you are talking to take the lead in terms of navigating the conversation. There is nothing more awkward or unfair than forcing your honey to hit up your parents for cash.
I mentioned LaRaine’s when I wrote about my dress hunt, and I have to say - my love for this shop continues to grow!
Sunday afternoon I packed up my dress, my crinoline, my shoes, and a strapless bra (of course I forgot my camera…), and I headed over to LaRaine’s for my first fitting. Everything went well — I was happy to see that my dress is still a little big for me and needs to be taken in an inch or two. In addition, Topher (the alterations guru) is going to remake the neckline for me. While it’s currently straight across, he’s going to make it into a sweetheart neckline. He’s putting in a three-point bustle, and that’s about it. No hemming necessary!
And now for the really good news… LaRaine’s is relocating! They’ve outgrown their current store on St. Charles Avenue (across the street from Neighbor’s), and they’ve bought a building about two blocks down. For those Atlanta brides familiar with Virginia-Highland, they’re moving to the building that used to house Harvest restaurant, right next to the CVS on North Highland Avenue. They hope to move the week of Thanksgiving, just in time to be ready for all of the new brides-to-be that get engaged over the holidays. Hey, I was one! Mr. Magnolia and I got engaged on December 1st of last year!
Featured on Weddingbee
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
“Make an elegant invitation statement without the fuss. Stylish invitation sets with matching envelopes, reception and response cards included.”
This past weekend, a bunch of friends surprised me with a Ghosts of Greenwich Village Scavenger Hunt for my birthday! Armed with a flashlight and a map, we scoured the city deciphering clues and facing off against other teams to get the most answers correct. We actually tied for first place! It was so much fun learning all this spooky trivia about my very own neighborhood.
this puggle came prepared with a flashlight strapped to her back
So before we boarded the wedding planning train, I knew I didn’t want poof, or tulle, or sparkle. However, when I tried on my dress, the very helpful ladies at the dress shop pinned a brooch to the back of the bustle. And it looked fabulous, even though I am typically not much of a fan of such bling.
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
Before I start spilling the beans about my dress, I thought I would give some details about all the other stuff. To start off, let’s talk about shoes.
I wanted a peep toe satin heel shoe, but I debated lots on whether I should get a colored shoe, and a low or high heel. What it came down to it, was I getting the shoes for beauty or comfort? Well, ladies and gentlemen, I went for beauty. I will probably take them off half way though the reception, but what’s a wedding if you don’t dance bare foot… right?
These are my gorgeous shoes! I absolutely love them. I even try them on once a week and walk around the house with them… isn’t that pathetic? I found them at ZARA for $79 Canadian. Even though they make my feet extra pretty, I felt they were missing a little glamour to them, so I bought some rhinestone shoe clips off eBay.
I’m sure many of you are already DailyCandy fiends (if you aren’t, you have to sign up!).
I just discovered the link to Jack Cards in my Inbox this morning. What a genius idea! It’s a free membership site where you can save important dates like birthdays and anniversaries of your friends and family… and the coolest part? They’ll send you reminders near the time of the event/milestone. You can even select a card from their menu and they’ll address, stamp, and mail it for you. Amazing!
I love buying cards, but often forget to mail them in time. This would be perfect. 
They also have a huge selection of cards arranged by occasion from some of my favorite print shops.
It’s funny how a little bit of time can change things. When I originally wrote my post about my parents and my financial situation surrounding our wedding, it was not too long after we’d gotten engaged and I think my parents, even though they were happy for Mr. Hummingbird and myself, were kind of weirded out about the idea of me, their only child, getting married.
After we made our announcement, as if it was almost a reflex, the first words out of my mother’s mouth were “We’re not paying for it,” even though I hadn’t expected or asked my parents to. I’m not sure exactly which emotion motivated the reaction. Maybe it was surprise at our big news. Maybe it was confusion because I once announced as a teenager that I would never get married. Maybe it was fear after seeing the increasingly elaborate and expensive wedding plans being staged by her friend’s daughter. I don’t know. All I knew was I made my announcement, my mom said no and I immediately figured that was the end of it.
My brother presented Mr. Onion and I with a number of Adagio Tea’s sample tins and a tea pot for two last holiday season. We quickly fell in love with their teas. Our favorite is called Foxtrot, which is an herbal tea with a mix of chamomile, South African Rooibos and fresh peppermint leaves — YUM! It’s so calm and fresh.
Cancun has certainly been my vacation destination of choice. I’ve been there… let me count…7 times!
Because I have been fortunate enough to stay at many great hotels in Cancun, I already have an idea of what it would be like to have my wedding there.
First off, it is helpful to point out that Cancun, Mexico is shaped like the number 7.
click to enlarge
(via cancun-map.com)
Lately there’s been some talk about how to involve your parents in the wedding decision making. This is especially tricky with big decisions, like how many guests parents can invite to the wedding.
One rule I’ve seen mentioned a few times is the money rule. If you’re paying for most of your wedding, you get to make most of the decisions. If your parents are paying for most of it, they make most of the decisions.
All this talk has got me wondering: who is paying for your wedding - you and your FI, or your parents? And if your parents are contributing, are you finding that they’re making more decisions than if you paid for the wedding yourself?
Mr Peony and I were at a Barnes & Noble over the weekend and saw a display of Christmas cards (is it me or does Christmas seem to start earlier and earlier each year?). Immediately I was reminded of our very first fight…
Mr Peony and I hardly ever fight. We bicker over little things and constantly tease each other, but we’ve had very few actual fights in the course of our relationship.
Two years into our relationship, I suggested that we send our Christmas cards together that year. We had already been living together for a year, and everyone knew we were in a serious relationship, so I just figured that this would be the logical choice. Many other couples we knew were doing it when they had been together for shorter periods.
However, Mr Peony was vehemently against it. He believes that Christmas cards should only be sent together after marriage. He thinks that sending out Christmas cards together is a tradition that should be shared between family, not boyfriend-girlfriend relationships.
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