Sentimental Things
August 7th, 2008 @ 3:35 pm by Mrs. Sundae
This photo is of my parents on their wedding day, over 40 years ago. This is one of my very favorite pictures of them not only because they’re adorable, but because it says so much. My Mom is beautiful in her short lace dress and my Dad, in a final act of defiance, has his pants tucked into his boots.
Cracks me up! My Mom and Grandma really wanted him to wear his uniform despite his protests, so he did it in his own way. Classic. But the point to all of this is to show you that my Mom recently cleaned her dress and cut a panel of the lace off of it for me:
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Getaway Decor
August 6th, 2008 @ 6:48 pm by Mrs. Sundae
Remember our getaway boat? Well, seeing as how I am not one to let an opportunity to decorate pass me by, I wanted a “Just Married” sign to hang off the back of the boat. When I saw the idea to use these letters in Modern Bride, I knew they would fit the bill - cute, made of wallpaper so slightly waterproof, and soft so they won’t scratch the boat:
For Me??
July 31st, 2008 @ 3:05 pm by Mrs. Sundae
It’s been a whirlwind of wedding activity these days. I feel like as soon as we hit the 3 month mark someone pressed “fast forward,” and I’ve been flying by the seat of my pants ever since! Part of the activity included a most lovely shower two weeks ago. I don’t have all the pictures from the hostesses quite yet (cough* get on with it! *cough) but in the meantime, I can share the most well planned present in the history of presents.
Whoo-hoo!
July 29th, 2008 @ 1:35 pm by Mrs. Sundae
I am so happy and relieved to say that, less than two months before the wedding, we finally have a band! I really don’t think there are words to describe what a relief this is. When our original band canceled, I started madly contacting whoever I could find and almost everyone was booked. Panic ensued and then some decisions had to be made. When we first started planning we decided that the three most important things to us (and therefore where we would spend the majority of our budget) were a great venue, a photographer, and a band. And there we were without one of the “big three.”
Being this close to the wedding, our budget is pretty much set in stone. All of our vendors are booked, contracts have been signed, so there is really not much room to cut things out or scale back to free up more money. But when we started scrambling to find a new band, we were hard pressed to find one at all, let alone find someone who was both available and in our price range.
So here is where I dispense some more of my sage advice (stop laughing). Seriously… listen carefully… lean in close… everything is negotiable!!
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Something Else Goes Right!
July 24th, 2008 @ 7:14 pm by Mrs. Sundae
After some minor sizing snafus, I am happy to say that the flower girl dresses are here and I’ve seen pictures of both the little muffins in them…they’re going to be so cute! I was really hoping to find something that wasn’t white or ivory, and after a kind soul sent me the link to this dress, I ordered it immediately.
Bye, Babies…
July 22nd, 2008 @ 3:09 pm by Mrs. Sundae
As of approximately 8:11 this morning, the invitations are in the mail. I’ve worked so long and hard on those things, I feel like I’ve given birth to them! I packed them up as carefully as possible last night and then handed them over this morning to a perfect stranger who is sure to mangle and otherwise attempt to destroy those beautiful little pieces of paper. I had lofty ideals about having them hand cancelled, but trying to get that done in the city of Chicago makes the phrase “uphill battle” an understatement. I had done my research; I knew that I could probably get them hand cancelled if I tried hard enough, but that in the end they’ll go through sorting machines anyway. So when I went in this morning armed with my beautiful boxes of correspondence, the conversation went something like this:
Me: Gooooood Morning!
(Nothing but an evil glance from Grumpy McGrumperson post office worker. I quickly decide that the cheeriness is going to get me nowhere, tone it down a notch)
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Admitting Defeat
July 18th, 2008 @ 11:01 am by Mrs. Sundae
Well, I’ve done it. I’ve admitted wedding planning defeat. (Yes, I am being a little dramatic) I sent the most pathetic email to our day of coordinator yesterday, swallowing my pride and confessing that I can’t make it through the next two months without her help. It takes a lot for me to admit I can’t handle something myself but with the last few weeks of rehearsal venue changes, broken contracts, bands who can’t keep it together, and all around unresponsiveness from vendors I am going to (I’ll say this as delicately as possible) lose my sh*t.
Vendors - 1 Miss Sundae - 0
Our coordinator is so affordable and truly so wonderful, this was a no brainer for me. I make her copies of all our contracts and hand it all over. She’ll take care of confirming with everyone, setting up a schedule for the day, telling the vendors when they need to be set up, making sure they are where they’re supposed to be, etc. I feel like there actually is a price for peace of mind, and I wrote a check for it this morning.
Sigh.
Happy Day!
July 16th, 2008 @ 3:49 pm by Mrs. Sundae
I arrived home to a package last week…our envelopes are back from the calligrapher! As you all know, the past few weeks haven’t been the easiest in terms of wedding plans, so having the envelopes in my hot little hands was better than Christmas.
The Lady Parts
July 15th, 2008 @ 5:25 pm by Mrs. Sundae
I had my first fitting on Saturday and of Wednesday afternoon, I still didn’t have any undergarments to wear with my dress. I am someone who requires, shall we say, a lot of support up top so I knew that I needed to seek out a professional. In all honesty, I had been avoiding it. I have had so many bad experiences searching for the perfect strapless bra or alternative garment… the last time I went to a really large department store for help, I am certain that the saleswoman got to first base. It’s definitely an exercise that calls for little modesty.
Anyway, I was to the point where it had to be done. No more denial and avoidance. I had heard of Intimacy before because they claim to be the “Bra Fit Specialists” but I also knew they were pricey, so I had avoided it until now. But on the big day the ladies need to be in their proper places and I also plan on some relatively serious dancing (you know, assuming we DO actually find a band), so they need to stay contained in their designated areas. If now is not a good time to drop some cash on a great bra, when is?
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More Makeup Talk
July 11th, 2008 @ 12:35 pm by Mrs. Sundae
A few people have asked for details on the makeup used in my last trial, and I honestly don’t have much information. I’ll definitely find out more about what was used, but in the meantime I can tell you about two of the products that were so great I bought them on the spot (I am such a sucker for beauty products!)
When I told Marla that I almost always wear a little liner but still wanted my eyes to look relatively bright (I always wind up looking like a raccoon with darker eye shadows) she brought out Trish McEvoy Base Essentials:
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