Weddingbee Blog

Photo from Twilight.

Remember when I blogged about our Neopolitan wedding? I used this picture as my inspiration for our place cards:

Source

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Choosing a photographer was a really tough process for us. There are so many photographers in Las Vegas (you know, it’s the wedding capital of the world!), but there are actually only a handful of good ones.

We had a great experience with our photographer at our engagement shoot, but they were just too far out of our price range to commit to an entire wedding. Months of searching on the internet for the perfect photographers within our budget resulted in, well, nothing. I was thisclose to having a friend bring his trusty point and shoot when it dawned on me! An “Ah-ha!” moment, if you will. “I should totally check out who the other Las Vegas brides on Weddingbee used!” By the way, if you haven’t checked them out yet, head over to the WB local boards for an insane amount of inspiration from other brides in your area.

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I’ll save the friendly banter for another post and just dive right in. Here is a simple step-by-step guide to help you with your Gocco. Dumpling is not that great at this whole thing, but the end result was pretty fantastic. If you aren’t a Gocco bride (or groom!), skip the rest of this post and just look at our reception cards!

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Like Miss Powder Puff, I needed to find a way to make chic centerpieces without going broke. She’s definitely a woman after my own heart! People always ask me, “What is your favorite flower?” Well, my favorite flower is and always will be carnations and my second favorite flower (or whatever) is baby’s breath. I know, I know, they’re cheap filler flowers you can get at a grocery store. Don’t care! I guess it makes sense though, since I kinda prefer imitation handbags over the real thing, and store brand OJ over the fancy kind from Florida.

Lately we’ve been thinking about how we can decorate our reception room, but still stay within our budget (which isn’t much). We thought about just using a few stems of pink hydrangeas in plain vases, giving a nice contrast to our white china and chocolate brown tablecloths. I did a mock-up of it and honestly, it looked kinda plain. After trying a few different combinations and looking at prices compared to what we would get in return, we weren’t having any luck. Then I remembered a picture I saw on a photography blog that always gives me inspiration (not to mention gorgeous pictures to look at!) and quickly showed it to Mr. Dumpling, who agreed that it was THE AWESOMEST.
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You read that right. We aren’t registering for gifts. Here’s the thing: We have tons of stuff. We got really lucky and stumbled into some really nice, brand-new furniture a few years ago, and don’t really need anything to be upgraded. In addition, we are pretty much in love with Craigslist. In Las Vegas, people post brand new stuff for dirt cheap prices because this town has such high turnover. People moving in, people moving out. So, anyway, we got stuff.

What about china? Well, we have that covered, too. Turns out my mom never even used the fancy china that she and my dad registered for back in the 1960’s, and over the years she has made it her life’s goal to buy every remaining piece of said china that exists in the world. She now has something like 30 place settings, and has so graciously offered to gift us with 12 settings. She must be hoping for lots of grandchildren!
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Without going into too many researchy-technical definitions, Pre-Cana is a seminar thing that you and your fiance have to go through in order to get married in a Catholic church. If you really want to learn more about it, go here. But if you want my jumbled account, keep reading. And reading.

I was very nervous before we went. You see, I wasn’t born with the “I’m a chick, let’s talk about feeeelings” gene, so the very thought of having to do just that in front of church people and strangers scared the mess out of me. I had heard horror stories about it being 2 weeks long or weekend sessions, and that you are forced to talk OUT LOUD about your money, plans for kids and intimacy. Psshhhhhttt… no thanks. Can’t do it. And definitely NOT in front of church folks. But, it was nothing like that. In fact, it wasn’t scary at all. We basically sat in a room for 8 hours with other engaged couples and only talked amongst ourselves. There were, however, some parts we kinda hated, besides the food.
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I think it’s obvious that I’m silly and not afraid to embarrass myself in public (as evidenced here, here and here), but let me share a few more things about myself to really seal the deal.

1. I’m a huge fan of cheesy pop music and cheesy teenager television shows. Gossip Girl, ANTM, Miley Cyrus, Spice Girls, NKOTB, LMNT, Hanson… yeah. All that stuff makes me happy. I’m the annoying girl next to you in traffic who has all the windows down and the sunroof open blaring MmmmBop. I also went to the New Kids concert last month and remembered the “New Kids Dance” as in “get on the floor and do the New Kids dance… oh oh OH oh Oh Hangin’ Tough” and danced in the aisles with my two left feet.

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Have you ever walked into a fancy boutique and felt like you didn’t belong? Maybe you felt like you weren’t dressed properly or had on trendy enough shoes to be able to be so lucky as to even set (your Steve Madden peep toe shod) foot into an expensive department store. And then, when you actually did go in, with a real purpose and mission, you were dismissed as someone who didn’t matter?

Yeah, I call that having a “Pretty Woman Moment.”

I have always drooled over the shoes celebrities wear on the red carpet and over whatever Carrie Bradshaw had on her feet. I’ve always told myself that if I ever had something super important and formal to go to, I would finally buy myself a pair of designer shoes. Can you think of a better reason than your wedding? The day you get to marry your best friend? I can’t!
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I’m a little stressed. Mr. Dumpling won’t tell me what he is planning to wear on our wedding day. We have less than 5 months to go, and I have no clue what he’s even thinking about wearing. Every time I bring it up, he says he has it under control and that “it’s going to be a surprise!” OK. I like surprises. I like to be surprised when I open my Christmas gifts. I’d like to be surprised when we open the wedding presents. I’d even like to be surprised one day as to the gender of our first child. But not so much on his style of tuxedo. I mean, if he’s even planning to wear a tux, right?!

And he’s so smooth, people. I’ll bring it up and he’ll smile and flash his pearly white teeth and adorable dimples and I’ll totally forget that we were talking about tuxes…again. How does he do that!?

He’s usually a very stylish guy. So stylish, in fact, that sometimes I actually change clothes after I see what he’s got on when we have date night. I know he’ll look great in whatever he chooses to wear, but there are so many wrong choices out there in terms of tuxedos. Let’s go through the “I hope this isn’t the surprise” file:
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How many Bees can you spot?

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And the winner is… Miss Dumpling!

“Thank you! Thank you, so much! I have a few people to thank for this award.
First of all, I want to thank you, Miss Joan, my ballet teacher when I was 6. I know you quit after my second class, but you knew bad moves when you saw them!
Second, thank you, little brother Dumpling, for always being my dance partner, even though you only did it to make fun of me. And last, but not least, thank you Mom and Dad Dumpling. Y’all have some crazy dance moves. Thanks for passing them along! (Not.)”

I’m not really looking forward to our first dance as husband and wife. I know it’s supposed to be sappy and sweet and the couple is supposed to choose a slow song and look into each other’s eyes… oy vey… I can’t even finish typing this sentence. I’m just downright nervous. I CAN’T DANCE TO SAVE MY LIFE. Unfortunately, Mr. Dumpling is a great dancer and he’s already planning our dancing debut.
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Like Miss Coconut, I love J.Crew. There are really only a handful of stores where I shop—Banana Republic, White House/Black Market, and J.Crew. The two main reasons I love these places are A) I have no personal style and they make it easy with their nicely dressed models and mannequins, and B) I know my size and I don’t have to try anything on (I HATE trying things on!).

Today I was having a lazy “me” day, so after baking some yummy Key lime pie and shortbread cookies, I did a little online window (browser?) shopping. I’ve already got our bridesmaid dress situation taken care of, but if any of you guys are still looking for a great deal, look no further!

Look what I found at J.Crew:

Sophia dress, $49.99. It also comes in green!
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Dress fittings aren’t that exciting. They pin you up, tuck your boobies in, tell you that you need bigger pads sewn in, stick you with pins on accident… you get the idea. But, this fitting was actually fun for me. We finally decided on a bustle! I love it, so I had to share it with all of you!

I don’t know if this qualifies as a French bustle, but it’s tied in three places and will lie under the beading in the back. Excuse the poor quality of the photos—they were taken with my cell phone.

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Image source

If you remember from a previous post, Mr. Dumpling is Catholic, and I am in the process of converting. One of the first things I asked our marriage coordinator at the church was about the difference between a Catholic wedding ceremony and, say, a Baptist or Methodist wedding ceremony. Being from the South, those were the sorts of weddings I attended. You know the ones—20 minutes max, I do, me too, kiss the bride. I now present…

Anyway, we decided that we wanted full Mass at our wedding. I was so shocked to find out that full Mass was an HOUR LONG. (*must not lock knees and pass out*)

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… you even make Halloween about being a bride.

This is really the only time we could have done this without looking like losers. We’re silly like that, though! Please believe we will be decorating our Christmas tree like a wedding centerpiece. I’m already having visions of bride and groom ornaments. And New Years? Just another reason to wear a tiara and practice the toasts!

Things you should know about these bride and groom pumpkins:
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