Weddingbee Blog

Speaking of dental cleanings, the best time for whitening procedures is supposedly after a cleaning, when the tooth surface is smooth and primed for the whitening agent.

For those of you without the budget or time to get professional bleaching (my hand is in the air), there are many popular over-the-counter whiteners available at your local drugstore. I know the classic Crest WhiteStrips might seem a little prosaic compared to all the newer stuff like the more expensive/smartly packaged GoSmile and the little WhiteLight gadget, but they seem to have the most consistent positive reviews on the web.

(Photo from http://www.drugstore.com/)

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Due for my biannual cleaning and check-up, I went to the dentist not long ago. Following the advice of bridal magazine articles, I dutifully scheduled my next appointment for a couple of weeks before the wedding day. The hygienists and receptionists at the office have watched me grow up, and I won’t say there wasn’t a little bit of shared excited giggling before I left, feeling very enthusiastic over the state of my teeth in regards to the wedding.

Back in the car and headed towards work, I reflected that, given the amount of pricks and pokes, gritty tooth polish, and stretching of mouth muscles, one can hardly be expected to get excited over a trip to the dentist. Yet here I was, grinning satisfactorily to myself because I get to go through all of the above two weeks before the big day. This bridal mindset has really messed with my head… but I figure, with my ever-growing list of “must-take” photos, my mouth muscles could probably use the exercise.

A major decision every bride must make prior to picking and choosing many of the details of her wedding is the color scheme. It might not seem like a very difficult task, but once immersed in the process, I found myself switching out colors left and right. Here’s some tips on picking the colors that best represent you!

Bringing you briefly back to elementary school: everyone remembers the primary colors…

Primaries

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To be honest, if I think long and hard about it, I cannot clearly remember the bouquets of any bride in the many weddings that I have attended. And yet, somehow, as I’ve moved past the search for the dress, flowers have suddenly become of immense importance… and all of a sudden I’m obsessed with finding the perfect bouquet. Round? Hand-tied, with a bit of stem peeking out from the ribbons? A petite-sized cascade?

Thankfully, my future mother-in-law (I love her!) works in floral, so I have a host of options and not many restraints to consider. However, for my studio photo session before the wedding, I would like to not have to spend lots of money for a “portrait” set of flowers that will die quickly and, really, have no sentimental value.

Surfing the web, I discovered Hibiscus Florals, a Canada-based company which specializes in custom, high-quality silk flowers, though their stock designs are very beautiful as well. I ordered a custom hairpiece from them for use at a party (and possibly the wedding, if I can just make up my mind as to what my hair is going to look like) and the quality of the product is very nice - definitely not the type of flowers you can DIY or that you find in a craft store. What’s more, the owners, Mark and Jackie, are pretty much the most personable salespeople I have ever dealt with over the web, and respond to each of their emails personally. Working with them is truly the most pleasant e-commerce experience possible, a valuable find for frazzled brides-to-be.

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People who take a look at my engagement ring typically give it a first glance, then do a double-take and ask, “What shape is that??”

The reason for their puzzlement is that mine is not a normal shape; in fact, many people have never heard of it before. It’s called a Galia, and is a trademarked shape cut only by Derco Diamonds (more on them to come; wonderful vendor!). At first glance, it appears to be a square princess cut, but upon further inspection, one will notice that the top facet is an octagon, like that of a round diamond. Galia is a brilliant faceted shape, a cross between a round and a princess, with the end outline having beveled corners, like an Asscher. They all are certified with Excellent symmetry and polish and have laser-inscribed serial numbers on one edge for easy ID.

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(image via bareescentuals)

I know it’s become a trend in the here and now, but I have been using Bare Escentuals mineral makeup for the past two and a half years. My best friend/maid of honor, Jasmine, has been using it for even longer. We both love this stuff to death!

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Mr. Plumeria is a huge Oakland A’s fan. He grew up with three other brothers, all of whom love sports, so he enjoys playing as well as watching sports. I, on the other hand, am admittedly not an athlete. I did figure skate for a lengthy period of time and excelled at that sport, but besides that one exception, my list of athletic feats is blank. While I grew up rooting for the A’s, I was never a diehard fan.

This past summer, though, I’ve been to more ballgames in the McAfee Stadium within one season than I’ve ever been to in my life. I’ve grown accustomed to getting up and down from my seat in excitement, smelling garlic fries, indulging in the occasional chocolate malt, and hearing peanut shells crunch beneath my feet. And I’ve learned things in the process, not only about baseball and all the jargon, but about my fiance and I.

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As a graphic designer, the details of my wedding day have definitely become one giant creative problem sitting in front of me, waiting for a solution. As I gather ideas, I’m constantly bombarded (okay, it’s my fault for buying all those magazines!) with pictures of wedding-related paraphernalia that I fall in love with, only to check the prices and faint away at the number of zeros. Once I recover from the shock, my typical resolution has been to make it myself… with a vengeance.

I’m the type of person who loves the challenge of doing things on my own, especially when it comes to artsy, crafty stuff. The problems come when the free creative half of me that thinks I can do anything clashes with the other, super-perfectionist half. If I’m going to make it myself, I don’t want to sacrifice quality or looks because of it.

Though it definitely causes internal struggles at time, this way of thinking has really helped me to whittle my DIY list of projects to a nice, realistic size. Those projects that I am pretty confident I can make as well as, if not better than, their inspirations, I take on. Those things that I know I cannot duplicate satisfactorily I buy, hopefully below MSRP.

It’s a good thing the perfectionism keeps me in check, or I probably would have tried to make my dress…

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Mr. Plumeria and I started our dancing lessons a couple of months ago - we want the moves to come naturally so we can enjoy our first dance and focus on each other, instead of struggling to remember which move comes on what count. Neither of us have done any dancing, other than a bit of ballet on my part, so we decided to forego the risk of embarrassing ourselves in front of hundreds of people and try lessons.

We have yet to decide whether the dance will be a romantic ballroom dance (a la Beauty and the Beast; when I was younger, I would swoon at the thought of a shimmery gold dress with frothy tiers of drapes and matching opera-length gloves) or a fun swing dance. I am leaning towards ballroom, not only because it’s more traditional, but because I will be able to stay in my dress for that type of dance. I can’t quite imagine trying to get all flashy-toed in a ton of heavy satin; plus, if I change, I will miss my chance to show off one of my favorite parts of my dress: the bustle.

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I got the following information off an ad on Craigslist.com (a wonderful resource for brides-to-be looking for deals, btw… just have to be discerning because of all the scam artists who peruse the site regularly, too).

As a disclaimer, I have not gone to the store personally and cannot give a review on the gowns or service there. Its website is a bit spare, but I still thought I’d pass the word on to those who might be interested! Drop me a note to let me know how it goes if you end up visiting!

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I am incredibly excited to be a part of the Weddingbee world. With so many great ideas and tips flying around this site, it’s hard not to be! And I hope I will be able to contribute, too.

A quick bit about myself — I’m a California Bay Area bride-to-be, and am loving planning so far. The diversity of the area really offers many different options for those getting married here, from gorgeous venues to numerous vendors for everything you can think of! The hard part, of course, is narrowing it down to those few actually employed for the wedding. Mine will be in May of next year, so I’m a little over six months out and things are just starting to heat up…

I’m thrilled that Weddingbee has opened to the west coast and I’m looking forward to hearing from all of the bees out here. I hope you will all be able to laugh and plan along with me, all the way up until the big day!

So much more to come.