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Weddingbee Blog
Back in August, Mr. Magnolia and I attended the Athens, GA wedding of some of our very good friends. Just the other day, the fabulous bride (now wife!) sent me a few pictures that her photographers (the wonderful ZoomWorks) captured of Mr. Magnolia and me at the reception.
Even though I clearly needed to spend a little bit more time on my hair that day, I love the emotion that her photographers captured in these shots!
Mr. and Miss Magnolia chatting… and no, I don’t think he’s mad at me!
*Mr. Magnolia, this post is not for you to see!
On Sunday, I snagged a couple of girlfriends and headed over to LaRaine’s Boutique for my second dress fitting. At my first fitting, Topher the Super-Fab Tailor did a few things: He took some measurements to take in the dress a little bit, he checked out how best to add a simple bustle, and he measured and planned the re-make of the gown’s bodice. This was the part I was most excited about, because I truly feel like we’re personalizing my gown.
The Magnolia invitations were sent out on Monday!
You may recall that we had a small glitch about a week and a half ago that delayed our mail date — but honestly, it didn’t delay us too much! My mom received the revised invitations on Friday morning, and on Saturday she completed the calligraphy and invited some friends over for a “stuffing session.” First thing Monday morning, she was at the post office to send them on their merry way.
Thanks a million to Mama Magnolia, who was an amazing help to me through this process! She’s the best!
And now, here’s a sneak peek of what our wedding guests will be receiving over the next week or so…
(Don’t worry, I’ll post more pictures and a glowing vendor review after I know our guests have received them!)
Although it hasn’t exactly been a priority, I have been keeping in the back of my mind the idea that in addition to my fabulous wedding dress, I’m going to also need a rockin’ dress for the night before.
Nordstrom.com has become my favorite place to check out fabulous cocktail dresses, and several weeks ago, this one by Maggy London caught my eye:
And by the way, I felt like I was really savvy and trendy when that same dress was featured on Something Old, Something New roughly two weeks after I flagged it for myself!
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.”
As a busy bride-to-be, I hate to admit it, but the first thing to go from my crazy schedule is my daily workout. I have a trainer, but since we moved into our new house, it’s become more difficult for me to get over to the gym, so I’ve cancelled… several appointments. (I know, I know!)
If we hadn’t just switched back over to Standard time I would be okay, because I love to run outside after work. However, it gets dark way too early now, and I don’t feel safe doing so. Running in the mornings is an option, but I’m not really a morning person, so the idea of getting out of my nice warm bed to run 3-4 miles doesn’t exactly sound appealing to me.
Here’s the thing – the wedding is less than two months away, and I’d like to tone a bit before then. What to do, what to do?
The other day, I had a brilliant idea – the On Demand service offered by my cable provider! They have a module titled “Exercise TV,” which includes workouts and fitness programs any time you want to access them! So, this morning I got up and went out to the living to browse through some of the offerings. I settled on two segments: a thirty-minute Carmen Electra Cardio Striptease, and a ten-minute butt and thighs blast.
I was out of town all last week for work, and coming home on Friday, I had a lot of things to look forward to:
1. Sleeping in my own bed
2. UGA taking on Auburn on Saturday
3. Checking out Mr. Magnolia’s home improvement projects (he painted our living room!)
4. Picking up our invitations!!!!
Friday afternoon, I stopped by our invitation designer’s home and was absolutely thrilled by what I saw. 150 perfectly done invitations, reply cards, and directions/accommodations inserts neatly packaged just for me! (The envelopes had already been sent to my mom, who is sweet enough to be doing the calligraphy for me.)
I met up with Mr. Magnolia and some friends of ours for lunch, and they all loved the invitation. I braved the late Friday afternoon crowds at the post office to buy postcard stamps for the reply cards, and I headed home to diligently apply all 150 and prepare the invites for the drop-off at my parents’ house. I was absolutely giddy!
And then I noticed something… and my heart sank.
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
Mr. Magnolia and I had a shower on Saturday morning… a tailgate shower. We’re football season-ticket holders for the University of Georgia, so we really don’t have “free weekends” during the fall… and neither do most of our friends! My fabulous bridesmaids decided that the best way to get everyone together in celebration of the Magnolias was to bring the party to us! We set up at our typical tailgate spot on the beautiful UGA North Campus, and they took care of everything else!
They sent out a terrific invitation incorporating one of our engagement pictures…
Monday night, Mr. Magnolia and I headed over to his cousin’s house for dinner… and a hair styling session. See, Cousin’s wife used to be a stylist, and she maintains a small side business doing wedding and prom hair. I love the idea of keeping wedding day beauty “all in the family” (as I mentioned before, my cousin will be doing my makeup), so I asked her if she would be willing to do my updo and that of any bridesmaids who want their hair up.
I’m going for a loose curly updo… kind of a challenge with my stick straight hair, which is very resistant to holding any type of curl. (Seriously, I got a perm when I was ten, and I woke up the next morning with straight hair. It was ridiculous.)
Here’s one of the pictures I gave her for inspiration:
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!
Mr. Magnolia and I love to spend our Sundays poring over the newspaper. By mid-afternoon, it’s inevitable that the various sections will be strewn about the living room in complete disarray.
This Sunday, after we both devoured everything we could about a particular football victory, I moved on to the advertisements. Pre-wedding, I always went straight for Target, Best Buy, Cost Plus World Market, and the much-anticipated seasonal Ikea booklet. I still browse those weekly circulars, but now I’ve added craft stores like JoAnn’s and Michael’s to the mix.
About halfway through the Michael’s ad was the following picture:
I fell in love with the products offered by the Macbeth Collection back in June, when Mrs. Strawberry blogged about them. Just a little while ago, I got this (very welcome) email in my inbox!
First of all, they’re offering new fall/winter designs! Check them out here.
Second, you can use the coupon code NOTEP8D at checkout to get a free small notepad when you purchase a clipboard and two notepads (one of these must be small).
Like Miss Peony, I have to apologize for not blogging lately. Mr. Magnolia and I just sold my condo and bought a house (forthcoming: a very exciting blog about purchasing a home in the middle of a mortgage crisis!), and we’ve been moving, unpacking, organizing, and making multiple trips to Home Depot. Add to that a recent promotion at work (yay! 
) and some futile attempts on my part to focus on wedding planning, and….well, things have been nuts.
But I do have topic to address today…weather!
This was the scene in Atlanta this morning:
(photo courtesy ajc.com)
Last weekend, my mom and I took care of all kinds of wedding-related activities, including posting an engagement announcement in my hometown paper, ordering a veil, ordering a crinoline, and….buying shoes!
I’m 5’9″, and Mr. Magnolia is 5’10″. He absolutely does not care whether I wear flats or 4″ heels, but for our wedding day (and yes, the sake of the pictures) I want to be my actual height.
(image courtesy of people.com. Seriously, y’all? She’s totally squatting in this picture.)
Yesterday, I headed over to our reception venue for the long-awaited meeting between my venue’s coordinator, my florist, and most importantly — my mom! I knew these ladies would all hit it off famously, and I was absolutely right. We spent far too long wandering from room to room, deciding which tables would go where, which centerpieces would look right in which room, on which table, with which linens…and also, figuring out how to get it all to fit within my budget!
I adore my florist, Bettina. She came very highly recommended by several people that I work with, and she did not disappoint. Seriously, I kind of want her to be my new best friend. (That is, in addition to the other best friends who just sent out an adorable shower invitation for me and Mr. Magnolia, but that’s another story!) She’s fun and engaging, creative and talented. And I can’t wait to see what she does for the flowers at our wedding.
Well, the parties have started, and the gifts are arriving. You know, they really weren’t kidding when they decided to call them showers, were they? After my first bridal shower on Saturday afternoon, I’m completely overwhelmed by the generosity of our friends and family. This is just unreal!
Oh, and I will post pictures from the shower later this week. Mr. Magnolia and I are in the process of purchasing/moving into our new house (!!!), so the computer isn’t hooked up for me to upload my pictures to!
Anyway, Mr. Magnolia and I registered last spring at Crate & Barrel and Bloomingdale’s. We chose those two stores because they both happened to be having Registry 101 events on the same day, and we liked the items that they offered. Easy enough, right? It works for our friends and Mr. Mag’s family in Atlanta, it works for my extended family in New York/New England, and it works for our friends who are internet-savvy. But you know who it doesn’t work so well for? Our friends and family in Greenville, SC — where my parents live. Greenville doesn’t have a Bloomingdale’s OR a Crate & Barrel.
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Miss Magnolia, Atlanta Age and Occupation: 28, Public Affairs and Government Relations Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Lobbyist Engagement Date: December 1, 2006 Wedding Date: January, 2008 Blogging Since: September 6, 2007 Venue: catherdral ceremony/private club reception About Me: Mr. Magnolia and I are thrilled to be planning an evening, winter wedding for 200 people in Atlanta. We both work in politics and share a love of University of Georgia football, pop culture, and good food! I'm a runner who adores wedding magazines, bad reality television, and a good glass of wine. Most of the time I like to think I'm pretty organized, but between wedding planning, house hunting, and a full-time job, I'm being put to the test!
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