The Pink Book - The DC Blog

more cocktail hour fun!

2009-01-09T19:19:00.002Z

It may seem as if I am worried that our guests will be bored during our cocktail hour. That is certainly not the case, but I keep finding adorable little thingamajigs that would be ideal for your fête.

This one from Cox & Cox is one of my faves!

Love Origami

A fabulously original little extra for your wedding. This origami fortune teller will also be considered a quirky keepsake of a memorable day. Ask your neighbour to choose a coloured heart, lift the flap and read them the romantic French phrase underneath.

{Photo courtesy of Cox & Cox}

for the cocktail hour.

2009-01-02T14:37:00.002Z

I've had this post (via The McWoods blog) bookmarked for quite some time now. I think this little card is a great idea for the cocktail hour.

As Sarah so eloquently puts it...
As the back of the card says, hopefully this will keep our guests somewhat entertained during any boring bits (and may act as an ice breaker for guests who may not know each other)

I am hoping to have some of these made up for our cocktail hour. A little something fun for the guests while we are taking pictures after the ceremony.

Whatdya think??

2009 Registry Events

2008-12-30T21:10:00.003Z

Still need to register? Local Crate & Barrel locations will be hosting quite a few registry events in 2009. Here is a list of the events at the DC location, but you can also find the dates for Maryland and Virginia locations on the website.

Spring Valley

Washington, DC

202.364.6100

Sunday, February 8th 2009

9:00 am - 11:00 am

Sunday, February 15th 2009

9:00 am - 11:00 am

Sunday, February 22nd 2009

9:00 am - 11:00 am

Sunday, March 1th 2009

9:00 am - 11:00 am

What will YOU be registering for??

When the groom takes over...

2008-12-29T23:21:00.003Z

So as you know from previous posts, I am on a budget. A pretty strict budget. So Rich Bride, Poor Bride on We TV is always pretty funny to me...

Usually it's the brides that have their hearts set on things they can't afford, or an idea they just *will not* let go of when it comes to the reception.

But on the episode I am watching right now, Owen takes the cake. ~~Bride~~Groomzilla. Wow.

The poor planner. She plays referee the entire episode.

If you need a break from the planning madness, take an hour and watch this episode.

Upcoming Air Dates:
Sunday, January 11 at 6 pm
Wednesday, January 21 at 3 pm
Sunday, January 25 at 5 pm

It really puts things into perspective. Things don't need to get so crazy...

Cans for Comments.

2008-12-29T23:14:00.002Z

Check out local wedding planner Laura's recent post!
http://www.wishspecialevents.com/blog/2008/12/cans-for-comments/#comment-2343

What a great idea! And because I have been a slacker bride-to-be when it comes to blogging on here (don't worry, I've got some fuel for the fire. a little over 4 months 'til the big day!!), I will donate TWO non-perishable items to a local DC area food bank.

So comment away...

Happy planning!!

Special Offer for Pink Book Readers!

2008-11-11T19:20:00.002Z

We have posted about Kate Aspen favors before so you may already know how adorable and unique (not to mention affordable) these favors are. We have a a special offer for our readers for the month of November...10% Off!!

Here are a few of my personal favorites below. Look around on the website and you are sure to find something that will complement your wedding or shower theme perfectly!

1. "Olive You!" Glass LOVE Oil Bottle in Signature Tuscan Box
2. “Have a Blast!” Biodegradable, Celebratory Wedding Poppers
3. "Set Sail" Frosted Glass Sailboat Tealight Holders
4. 'Mint to Be' Bride and Groom Slide Mint Tins with Heart Mints
5. “Icing on the Cake” Winter Wedding-Cake Candle
6. "Have a Ball!" Stainless-Steel Melon Baller
7. Petite Merlot Wine Glass Gel Candle with Heart Charm
8. "Love is Brewing" Teapot Timer in Classic Retro Gift Box

...always a bridesmaid

2008-10-28T00:02:00.002Z

I am getting ready to start seriously looking at bridesmaid dresses. With eleven months left, i have booked the following:

Ceremony site

Reception site

Photographer

Cake

Wedding dress

I sometimes can't help but feel like I am a little bit behind.

So I have started looking at bridesmaid dresses. But because the economy is so...uncertain...I have to seriously think about where we are going to get dresses. I will post once I have my top three!

But let me ask you gals: how much is too much for dresses these days?

Final Countdown

2008-10-23T22:10:00.003+01:00

Dear Pink Bride Community: It has been a pleasure writing for you during this adventure. I wish all brides the best of luck as your planning continues to move forward. I am so excited about getting married on Saturday -- as one of my bridesmaids put it -- "to one of the best guys in the whole world who loves you so much " -- I could not feel luckier than I do right now.

Am I upset that my maid of honor called me this morning to say she might not get on her flight to DC today? Yes. Am I upset that my sister didn't tell me she paid the DJ yesterday so I ended up paying him too? Yes. Am I ticked that it's going to be raining all day and in the low 60's? You betcha! Does any of this matter ? Not really.

As I leave this community to enter the "newly wed" or "nesters" community next, I wanted to leave a few words of wisdom like a graduating senior who thinks they've got it all figured out....Here's Pink Bride Becca's Top 10 list for getting married in D.C.

10. Accommodate your guests, not your childhood dreams. If 90% of your guest list consists of people flying in to the city, pick a venue that's in a hotel and near a metro.

9. Watch how your fiancé communicates or doesn't communicate during the wedding planning. You can learn A LOT about the person you are about to spend the rest of your life with.

8. Choose an emotionally stable maid of honor who does not have 3 children under the age of 3. I think that explains itself.

7. Force your fiancé to watch an episode of Bridezillas. He'll realize that no matter how crazy you get, you're not as bad as "them."

6. Plan to take a couple of days off of work during the week to shop for your wedding dress. Shops here are mad houses on the weekends and don't stay open late enough to accommodate us work-a-holics. Better yet, don’t shop in D.C. at all. Go to somewhere in Suburbialand where the store has more floor room for more gowns.

5. Cut back on your obligations. I thought I could take over the world and plan a wedding and work full time all at once. I'm superhuman and even I was wrong about this one.

4. Stay in touch with a wedding community. It's a good sanity check along the way. Asking your own bridal party or family comes with too much baggage. Get a stranger's opinion so you'll believe it.

3. We're in a recession, don't make your bridesmaid spend $300 on a dress they'll never wear again. (Can I get a woo-woo)

2. Find your trade secrets and stick with them. Having a beautiful tan was a big deal to me (California girl), and since pools close for the winter here (which was a totally new concept for me) I had to find the most perfect tanning solution ever. I've been using Clarins -- I use the self-tanning instant gel on my face only at night & Delicious on my body after I've exfoliated in the shower -- because it's the best. No orange. No streaks. No glittery shimmer. Just make sure you scrub your hands with a washcloth when you're done wiping this "delicious" stuff all over your body. (It really does look like a desert topping! Sex-y!)

1. Let your fiancé know you have not forgotten why you are planning a wedding - you love him. You may get caught up in the details or the stress, etc. but at some point, send him an email or take him out to dinner and tell him you haven't forgotten why you are planning this event. I also decided to tell my fiancé yesterday that I don't really like working out and being in shape and that I couldn't wait to get married so I could just sit around, eat a lot and watch TV all day.

(just kidding). That's my last note -- don't lose your sense of humor.

Cheers!
Pink Bride Becca

brides on a budget.

2008-10-20T21:23:00.003+01:00

so I don't remember where I saw this. or how long ago, for that matter. I cut-and-pasted the information into a Word document and now weeks (probably months) later I decided I should let all you DC brides know about it.

st. anthony's bridal
from their website...
"In a nutshell, we are a one-stop bridal non-profit. We are as close to a bridal co-op as one can probably get. We stay afloat through generous donations, including donations of gowns and other bridal goods."

What do we offer?
We offer FREE USE of fashionable and contemporary wedding gowns, veils, slips, bridal shoes, bridal purses and shawls.

We also offer for free use other items you may need to have an affordable church wedding or other traditional wedding celebration: bridesmaids gowns, silk flower bouquets and arrangements, centerpieces, tablecloths and table skirts, garters, flower girl baskets, ring bearer pillows, plates, silverware, glasses, serving dishes, wedding cake display, a hoopa for a Jewish celebration, and many other bridal related items.

You pay nothing to use these items and we only ask that you return them, clean, the first Saturday after your wedding between 10 am and 10:30 am for our next bride to use.

stickin' to your wedding budget.

2008-10-17T14:43:00.004+01:00

it looks like all the DC pink brides have budgets on their brains during these uncertain economic times!! but you can still stick to your budget...

a great article from the american chronicle called "keeping your wedding budget on track" has some great savings tips which are quite helpful.

and one thing to remember (even if you follow your budget to a T) is miscellaneous expenses.

from the article:
no matter how well you plan, there are always some additional expenses that must be accounted for, such as wedding rings, attendants' gifts, marriage license, welcome baskets, rehearsal dinner, gifts to each other, limousines, officiant fees and wedding favors. allow for 6% to cover these expenses. savings tip: a do-it-yourself attitude will help save money on the welcome gifts and rehearsal dinner as family members can provide the food.

while some of the items the article lists are things I have budgeted in, I do think it's important to remember that unexpected things may come up. so plan accordingly...

Wedding Recession Style

2008-10-13T22:26:00.002+01:00

For some not-so-sexy wedding blogging: we turn to Smartmoney.com. "It’s not just your portfolio that may be shrinking during these turbulent times. The spending limit on your credit card may be heading south as well."

You might want to call your credit card companies and ask if they (like AMEX) plan to reduce your credit line any time soon without telling you. Trust me -- my wedding is just two weeks away and we just got the word. I had to put a decent amount of wedding items on my credit cards and with Wall Street scaring the pants off everyone, it's better to be safe than screwed. For example, say you sign an agreement with your vendor for a $5,000 wedding flower package. Then your credit card limit lowers your line from $10,000 to $5,000. Game Over. It never hurts to ask, so I would just give them a quick call.

Just a heads up for my fellow brides!

No Blood Test Needed Fellow Brides

2008-10-08T18:20:00.000+01:00

In case this isn't already posted:

More than 200 D.C. residents tested for syphilis for no reason

By Michael Neibauer
Examiner Staff Writer 10/6/08

The D.C. Superior Court continued to require that brides and grooms-to-be turn in blood tests before obtaining a marriage license even after the D.C. Council had eliminated the test from the city’s code.

More than 200 people applied for a marriage license with the court’s Marriage Bureau Section in the last month, most obtaining a costly blood test even though the procedure was no longer required by law.

Still registery riddled

2008-10-03T04:25:00.002+01:00

So, I missed the awesome sip and scan. sigh.

On the plus side FI did purchase GREAT furniture that is soooo amazing that I can deal with missing a chance to bond with a scanner.

But this past week, after reading some message board posts, one bride to be wanted to know about whether or not to register for a Wii and a television. I initially said no because I am under the impression that you don't use your registry as a free for all. THEN I received a rather nasty email about my thoughts on the no Wii registry, so rather than fight it out, can you all tell me what you:

1) Think is appropriate to register for.

2) Whether it is ok to request CASH ONLY for wedding presents.

3) What is the most extravagant thing that you are planning to register for?

After reading this particular email, I got to thinking: maybe it is ok to just register for somethign a little out of everyone's price range and just not expect to get it. I mean, I am trying to encourage FI to go and register for things on www.themanregistry.com . Perhaps I was too quick to pull out my Emily Post etiquette handbook? I mean, times have changed, so this isn't going to look like your mother (or grandmothers!) registry.

With that said, I am going to register for a Dyson.

Less than 30 days until the wedding...

2008-10-01T22:34:00.005+01:00

With less than 30 days until the wedding, friends are now coming out of the woodwork to help me pull together last minute details. Which is great because I really had no idea how I was going to make much of this stuff happen. I would be a terrible wedding planner.

My fiance found a place for us to get our blood tests done. We found a blogger comment about this location as "wondering if I came out with diseases I didn't go in there with." It's not that bad. It's on Georgia Ave (3014 I think) in/near Columbia Heights. No bullet proof vest required. Just be sure to bring cash, as it's $40 for the two of you and you get results right away. (great news for me: I don't have syphillus. Seriously, why are we testing for this Washington? Why not also look for Consumption or Small Pox?) Or you could go to Georgetown and pay like $75. Your call. We have not been to the courthouse yet. I'll be out of town for about a week so hopefully when I return....

And as much as I've been trying to grow my hair out (Pantene products ga-lore), it's still about two inches shorter than what I was hoping for and I have to cut at least an inch this week because the ends are more split up than Brad and Jennifer. I'd rather have healthy looking hair for the honeymoon anyway. Speaking of which, Sandals sent us our "brochure" in the mail. Right, it's a leather bound notebook with tons of logistical information about our trip. Looking at pictures online of the azure waters and balmy hotel room views was inticing but reminding me to have my passport ready, along with explaining how the currency works has made this dreamy honeymoon feel even more real this week. My maid of honor helped me create a must-pack list of items. Unfortunately the Victoria's Secret tube dress I really wanted is now backordered until after I get back from the honeymoon - learn: it's never too early to start shopping for this. I also went to the Fredricks of Hollywood in Pentagon City (because VS is a little too tame for my idea of a sexy honeymoon). Turns out they have a pretty good selection of uber sexy items. Too bad they don't carry many size smalls. :(

Also on the 30-day countdown: nails and teeth. I've been using Nailtiques like crazy glue to hold my strong but flaky nails together and it's totally paid off. That #2 formula is a miracle worker. Just be sure to get a manicure on a regular basis so you don't ignore a cracking nail until it's too late. I also picked up the 7-day Crest white strips -- on sale at CVS for $30. My one friend suggested eschewing red wine until the wedding. Does that mean I have to give up coffee too? Because Becca sans red wine & coffee = bridezilla. I'd rather overdo the white strips.

Last week we met with the woman in charge of music for the ceremony. I am very excited about my musical line up: some Handel's Hornpipe trumpet in D, Ave Maria (the version before lyrics were written for it) and Pachebel's Cannon in D. I'm sure this is over -used but maybe that's because it's so beautiful?

And lastly, my 2nd to last final dress fitting happened today. I have to say, the seamstress fixed all the problems with my dress, so I'm going to stick with this one for the wedding. I am going to change for the reception, however, into the white flowy dress I bought at Nordstrom. Must dance!

Fabulous Favors!

2008-09-29T18:52:00.001+01:00

I have an exciting new website to share with you ladies today!

Kate Aspen sells wedding (and any occasion) favors that are so cute and so creative - best of all - they are extremely affordable. The prices of course are based on how many you order, but they are all less than $3.00 apiece.

A few of my favorites are below - it was very difficult to choose only a few for this collage, so check these out and then browse the website - I am willing to bet that you will find something that complements the theme of your wedding perfectly!

weddings on the cheap.

2008-09-24T17:02:00.001+01:00

thanks to a recent link on washingtonian for this article on an *amazing* wedding, on the cheap...wish I would have read something like this before I started planning (...and sending out non-refundable deposit checks!)

http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/weddings/2008/09/21/2008-09-21_the_4722_wedding_one_brooklyn_bride_prov.html

(image courtesy of Google images)

Registry Ruckus

2008-09-21T20:43:00.003+01:00

Hi Gals,

Just FYI in case you ladies didn't get the awesome email:

Get the Star Treatment at our Wedding & Gift Registry Event
Attention all Knotties!

Join Macy's Wedding & Gift Registry for an event featuring fun beverages, hors d'oeuvres, music, and fabulous registry experts to help you create your dream registry. Bring your fiancé and he can play 007 with the scan gun while you sip your drink and approve his choices. The perfect weeknight date! Also receive a pair of fabulous cocktail glasses as our gift to you.

Please email usor call 703-412-8305 to reserve a spot now!

Date: Thursday, Oct 2nd, 2008Time: 7:00pm
Macy's Pentagon City1000 South Hayes StreetArlington, VA 222023rd Floor

Hey, there is no reason not to go if you're a DC Area bride. Here is a chance to really get a head start on your registry which you know people are going to start asking for soon!

The Pink Ladies Go to the Martha Show!

2008-09-15T01:19:00.001+01:00

Our own Pink Ladies have been invited to be in the audience for Martha Stewart's show all about Blogging! PL Jessica entered our blog and Martha chose The Pink Book Bloggers to attend the show!

The show is Wednesday, September 17 at 11am Central, 10am Eastern. Be sure to tune in and see what Martha has to say about the wonderful world of Bloggers! Keep an eye on the audience, you may just see Pink Ladies!!

If you catch the show, enter here! We will send a PinkBook.com t-shirt (see below) to 5 entries, and every entry will receive a pink "I DO" window decal!

welcome gifts.

2008-09-09T17:33:00.002+01:00

still looking for the perfect way to welcome your guests to DC for your wedding?

enter MAPTOTE.

After a trip to Europe, Rachel Rheingold (a fashion stylist) and Michael Berick (a cartographer) wanted to create something they could do together. Combining their love and passion for travel, maps, and design – MAPTOTE was born. The simple cotton totes are silkscreened with fun schematic maps of various cities featuring their neighborhoods, city icons, and landmarks.

these would be perfect filled with other DC-themed treasures, maybe a map of the area, plus something special from you and your groom-to-be as a thank you for coming into town for your nuptials.

you can order the bags online...or these two DC stores offer the line of bags as well:

Candida's World of Books - 1541 14th Street NW
Twixt - 3319A Cady's Alley NW

happy shopping! :)

More trunk shows at Hitched!

2008-09-09T14:52:00.001+01:00

Hello ladies!

Here is info that I just received from an email from Hitched.

"Hi Hitched Ladies ~

Summer is officially over, so we know what that means for our Hitched brides: time to kick your wedding planning into high gear! Let us help you check "find my wedding gown" off your to-do list by attending the trunk show of one of our most popular designers. Please join us onFriday, September 19th and Saturday, September 20th for ourModern Trousseau Trunk Show.

Australian-born designer Callie Tien is a favorite of our brides because her designs are romantic, classic ... and of course stunning! Her use of lace is truly unmatched. Callie will be on-hand to work with you to customize the gown exclusively for you!

As an added bonus, we'll be having our Modern Trousseau Mother of the Occasion trunk show on Friday, September 19th. Modern Trousseau's mother's collection is sophisticated, elegant, unfussy and anything but frumpy! Make a separate appointment for your mom or future mom-in-law, and let Callie help her find a truly stunning, sophisticated look she'll be proud to wear at your wedding!

What: Modern Trousseau Bridal and Mother of the Occasion Trunk Show

When: Friday, September 19th and Saturday, September 20th (by appointment only)

RSVP: 202-333-6162 or appointments@hitchedsalon.com

What Else:
* 10% off all Modern Trousseau gowns purchased during the trunk show
* The opportunity to discuss customization options for your gown with Callie

We are looking forward to having our favorite designers visit Hitched for the following trunk shows. Contact us at 202-333-6162 orappointments@hitchedsalon.com to schedule an appointment.

Oscar de la Renta Trunk Show
Friday and Saturday, October 24th & October 25th

Judd Waddell Trunk Show
Friday and Saturday, November 7th & 8th

Anna Maier/Ulla-Maija Trunk Show
Friday and Saturday, November 21st & 22nd

Augusta Jones Trunk Show
Friday and Saturday, December 5th & 6th

Be sure an check these out! It's a great way to get a great dress!

50 Day Countdown

2008-09-05T16:32:00.003+01:00

Does anyone know how to get pictures off a cell phone?

I went to my dress fitting on Tuesday and forgot mine. My sister went, but she doesn't own a camera (I've only seen disposables at her place. She's younger than me and she doesn't text message either --weird.) And my friend Sahar went, but she came straight from an appointment and couldn't get her camera either. So I have about 10 pictures of my dress on my cell phone. I also ordered my veil and bought my earrings. Both my sister and my friend said my dress is much improved and it "does't look that bad." Not exactly the words you want your wedding dress to evoke, but I'm so tired of dealing with this dress situation.

In my last dress posting I whined about how much I hated my wedding dress. The seamstress did her best this second time. She much-improved the fit, but I'm still not in love with it. I found a back up dress at Nicole Miller (FU003), which looks fabulous, but I couldn't bring myself to drop another $1,300 on a another dress. Mostly because it will be admitting defeat, which I've never been good at. How about we hide the problems? ....What about these gloves? Would they distract from the front of the dress?

My maid of honor in Orlando said the second fitting was much improved. I need to lose about 7 pounds though for it to hang better. I don't belong to a gym right now, so I put the Yoga for Weight Loss video on my Netflix, along with the Wedding Workout DVD. I have 50 days left to lose the weight and get everything else wrapped up before the big day.

At this point, the everything else includes taking the ribbons to the bakery so they can put them on the cake (3-tiers, should I do, blue, brown, blue? or brown, blue, brown).

Getting vases for the centerpieces. Finding someone to put together my centerpieces. And attending my bachelorette party in South Beach -- which may or may not happen, thanks to Hurricane Josephine. My bridal shower in Orlando is also up in the air since the bridesmaid who is hosting it at her house now has $50,000 in damages from Hurricane Fay- but is the news reporting from Florida at all during this hurricane season? Nope. They are drowning in flooding across the state but for some reason New Orleans and South Carolina look better on camera...and no national reporters want to go to Central Florida. SO glad I left that state to move to D.C.

This weekend my future mother-in-law is hosting a bridal shower for me in PA. Watch - the hurricane will follow me there. :)

Ironically, we are 61 days until the election and I'm not even into it. I will be on my honeymoon during the election -- and does my vote even count if I live in the District? Isn't it like 90% Democrat?

Trunk Shows! Go Go Go!

2008-09-02T16:52:00.002+01:00

Just FYI ladies who are still looking for "the dress," here are a few local area trunk shows:

1) HITCHED (Washington, DC)

Modern Trousseau Trunk Show
(Bridal and Mother of the Occasion)
Friday and Saturday, September 19th and 20th

Oscar de la Renta Trunk Show
Friday and Saturday, October 24th and October 25th

Judd Waddell Trunk Show
Friday and Saturday, November 7th and 8th

Anna Maier/Ulla-Maija Trunk Show
Friday and Saturday, November 21st and 22nd

Augusta Jones Trunk Show
Friday and Saturday, December 5th and 6th

E-mail info@hitchedsalon.com or call 202-333-6162 to make an appointment.

2) Ann's Boutique Fall 2008 Trunk Shows

Watters & Watters Bridal Fall 2008

Sep. 18 thru 21

Watters & Watters Bridesmaid Fall 2008

Oct. 3 thru 5

Alvina Valenta Bridesmaid collection

Oct. 3 thru 5

Jim Hjelm Bridals Fall 2008

Oct. 10 thru 12

Alvina Valenta Bridals Fall 2008 collection

Oct. 10 thru 12

Jim Hjelm Bridesmaid Fall 2008 collection

Oct. 31 thru Nov. 2

10% to 15% off

RSVP 703 250 3100

I specifically mention these stores because I went there and had wonderful experiences at both, especially at Hitched. I didn't get my dress there but if they had "the one," you can bet I would have been t here!

xxoo,

PBJ

Historical Hotness

2008-09-01T17:18:00.005+01:00

Hi!

I hope everyone is having a lovely labor day weekend. I am unfortunately at work today (bummer), but I wanted to share a few finds with your locals about wonderful and budget friendly venues right in your backyard!

Now, for those who are living in Fairfax County, this is a great deal. FC has some phenomenal historical properties that people have used for wedding ceremonies and/or receptions. I went to visit a few when I was looking for venues for my own wedding and wanted to share a few tidbits:

The Clark House
This is such a beautiful venue in Falls Church, VA. Now, word of warning, this is NOT for big weddings. I would say that is is ideal for about 75 guest or less. The website says cocktail reception of up to 60, but you can get really creative. The grounds are meticulous and it is such a wondrous and romantic venue. I suggest a quick driveby for you ladies interested in an early fall, late spring, early summer wedding. It is really the type of venue that is best for utilizing both the inside and outside of the space. If this is not the spot for the "big day," consider using it for a rehearsal dinner space or even a bridal shower.

Hunter House

Here is another spectacular home located in Vienna, VA. Again, this is a very lovely historical home in the suburbs of Washington D.C. It's 1) metro accessible, 2) large enough for a larger wedding, indoors or outdoors 3) great outdoor grounds. You cannot go wrong with a space that provides you with everyone that you, your caterers, and your guests a lovely space to see you begin the rest of your life as husband and wife!

My absolute fave: The Stone Mansion

This a great place. First off, LOOK AT THAT PICTURE. Can you see yourself and your bridal party being photographed there? I can! It is romantic beyond words. The interior is lovely, with spacious rooms that you can host a cocktail reception indoors and move the party to a tented outdoor reception afterwards! It is also an ideal place for both the ceremony and reception.

So there are my favorites! You can look at all the lovely historical venues that you can rent here.

Good luck!

xxoo,
PBJ

Washington Bridal Showcase

2008-08-29T16:34:00.003+01:00

Join us at the Washington Bridal Showcase! I'll be at the Dulles Expo Center show on Sunday, September 7th. There also a show on 9/14 in Bethesda and on 9/21 in Greenbelt. Check out their website for more information, to view participating vendors, and buy your discounted tickets online!

If you've never attended a show, check out our handy tips we posted before last year's show. They'll help you maximize your time there and make planning a lot easier afterwards. Jordana's tips below are great too -- be sure to check those out.

For a chance to win free tickets, post what you like best about bridal shows. Haven't been to one? Tell us what you hope to accomplish while there. I'll send you two free tickets to the Dulles show next weekend. Post your comments by Monday at 5pm and don't forget to include your email address!

A plug ...

2008-08-29T05:24:00.002+01:00

Hello all,

So, first the plug. It is bridal expo time pretty much for the next few months. Ladies, I think this is one of the BEST ways to really see what the industry has to offer. If you're a DIY Bride (like me---for some things:-P ) , then this is a really great place to get some fantastic ideas and to see what the current trends are. I had a previous post about the expo out in Dulles, VA and now there is another expo at the Omni Shorham hotel in Washington D.C. It's the Great Bridal Expo.

Be sure to take a look and consider bringing a friend! If you want to see if there is still a promo going on, you can try to enter promo code KNOT to see if that offers you the discounted (free) tickets! Good luck and see you all there!

xx,

PBJ

Live Chat @ The Washingtonian

2008-08-26T04:30:00.002+01:00

Guess who's the topic of this week's live chat at the Washingtonian? Me! I'm honored and thrilled all at the same time. I'm so excited to see their offices and answer wedding questions for an hour.

Submit your questions here and join me on Thursday from 11am-noon!

Alteration Angie

2008-08-25T20:46:00.003+01:00

So I bought my dress during the running of the brides this past summer (woo!) and I just need some adjustments to the hem ( I am so short ), the bustle (french bustle please!), and possibly, depending on my budget, a neckline alteration.

I was browsing about every blog and message board for DC ladies and I constantly saw this name: Angie Cavallero. She is apparently phenomenal and so judging by the praise she received across the board from over half a dozen websites/blogs/ message boards, I called and made an appointment. She was already incredibly wonderful over the phone, which is absolutely promising.

Here is what one person said (I apologize for not getting all the info to give this person credit, but this was on theknot.com ):

"ANGIE CAVALLERO - A+ For experience and attitude (not necesarrily for location) but for the personal service it was worth the trek to her pretty house deep in the VA burbs. I also used the famous ANGIE for alterations and she made my veil. All of our bridesmaid dresses turned out fabulous and she only charged them $40 for bust and hemline adjustments. Angie is one of those experienced veterans (18 years) who you can trust completely and is an amazing value. Blessed with a gift she is doing four of my bridesmaids and adding beading and length to my veil (which I purchased from an Ebay seller). I LOVE her. Bust and hem alteration? $40!!She was also terriffic and VERY experienced. She reshaped my Jr. bridesmaid dress for 1/2 of what the cleaners and other seamstresses quoted. RAVE RAVE for Angie, the knottie fave. Phone: (703) 830-0634"

There you go ladies! Hope this helps when alteration day comes calling!

muse.

2008-08-24T23:44:00.002+01:00

so tomorrow at 9 a.m. a redeveloped wedding community will be LIVE!

check it out!

http://www.museweddings.com

what is muse?

muse is your source for (wedding) inspiration.

muse connects you to your wedding who, what, where and how. it's a social community of vibrant people that share wedding experiences.

on muse you can find...

* find and share different ideas with people similar to you

* plan every detail for every wedding-related function

* connect and collaborate with your friends and guests

the luxe life.

2008-08-17T14:08:00.005+01:00

I love the website luxist. they always profile items that the average person would never even think to find!

like these, finger food rings, for example.

more information, from fred and friends' website:

FINGERFOOD™

ultimate party multi-tasking

how to balance your pig-in-a-blanket with your Dom Perignon...that is the question. fortunately, we’ve got the answer -— charming little plates with rings that fit right on your finger. now you can balance your glass and your hors d’ouevres, and look positively in control the whole time. genius!

this led me to search for other options for our cocktail party style reception. a few years ago, we went to a Super Bowl event and they had these plates with a little opening in one corner to slip a wine glass. and I found these...

from the added touch website:
partygoers have a free hand to mingle! great for BBQs, boating, parties, picnics, buffets! lightweight plates are ergonomically designed for balance. texturized non-slip surface & raised edge, has slot for wine glass.

there are so many options out there...and your caterer probably has the capacity to seek out many of these options to make your event fun and festive!

oh my how time flies....

2008-08-15T22:01:00.004+01:00

Hi gals,

So, it's been about three months since I have been engaged and so far all I have is a wedding dress. I feel that the summer flew by and with my classes, work, and my daughter's camp (oh, and a new puppy), I just have not been very wedding-planning productive.

I hope as September rolls around that will all change! Here is why:

The DC Area Bridal Expo!

It's on Sunday, September 7th at:

Washington Bridal Showcase
Dulles Expo Center
4368 Chantilly Shopping Ctr., Chantilly, VA

You can purchase tickets online! My advice is the following:

GO! This is a great opportunity to see the latest in wedding trends and there will be 200+ local area vendors ready to make your wedding dreams come true. If you're still shopping around for places and people, here is a chance to get them all under on roof!
Bring and empty tote bag. A HUGE ONE. There are always a ton of samples at these shows, as well as calling cards and brochures. Don't get stuck lugging around tons of stuff and trying to stuff them into a tiny purse. Go large gals!
Bring your checkbook. You never know if there is a vendor there who you love, is reasonably priced, and has your wedding date free. BOOK THEM ON THE SPOT!
Bring your MOH or Mom or anyone! You can certainly cover more ground with more people. Buy tickets for your entire bridal party and make it a weekend outing for everyone.
Be comfortable. This is no time to wear heels. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes. You need to plan on standing for a long time and walking around a large space.

I hope you DC Area ladies take advantage of this great event!

xoxo

Most Expensive Mistake I've Ever Made

2008-08-13T19:14:00.002+01:00

I wish I had good news to report. After I left my first dress fitting last night, I cried. And not out of sheer joy. I hate my wedding dress.

It's not the store's fault. They delivered exactly what I ordered (see previous post about combination of 2 dresses). I should not have ordered it. But it's too late. Bought and paid for, the seamstress worked with me for an hour, tucking, pinning and pulling to try and make the best of a bad decision. She was very sweet, but no matter what, it all boils down to the fact that I do not feel attractive in this dress.

When I had originally placed the order I asked if they could change the neckline to a sweetheart shape. They said yes. But last night when I reminded them they needed to make that change, they insisted it was a bad idea. I should leave the neckline as it is. Maybe they are right, but I don't think they understand that the current neckline does not flatter my square shoulders at all. I think they are just looking at the design of the top of the dress, which is beautiful in and of itself. Look at these pictures: this dress does not fit me. And I don't care how skinny you are, white satin makes you feel huge.

I admit that the back of this dress does look very nice. Perhaps I can walk backwards down the aisle? I don't want to trip on the train though, maybe the flower girl can carry that for me.

My sister took pictures (after asking my why on earth I bought this dress after all those other ones I tried on that looked so much better. I reminded her that she was bedridden with a rough pregnancy and could not be present at the time her vote counted the most).

This morning I sent these pictures to my girlfriends. I tried calling the email: "Train Wreck Part One". But someone insisted that was too harsh. How about "Near Death Experience"? We'll see.

For the record I contact Alfred Angelo to let them know I was very disappointed that I was not able to try on their Piccone dress. They immediately found a store within 2.5 hours of me that had one for me to try on. I'm afraid it's too late. I should have emailed them 6 months ago, but I did call them. Apparently whomever I spoke with on the phone did not know about the store that was 2.5 hours away -- they directed me to stores 7 and 14 hours away.

Overall, I'm just sad right now because a wedding dress should not be something you dread wearing. The design was a great idea. The execution of it was very bad. In the words of Heidi Klum, Jasmine Bridal "I'm sorry but...You're Out."

PS - I should have gone with the "beachy/breezy" dress I wanted even though it did not "match" the style of wedding I was having. What an expensive lesson!

what NOT to do.

2008-08-07T18:17:00.003+01:00

in case you missed it on yahoo this morning...

10 Things to Never Do at a Wedding

The day two people exchange vows may not be your special day, but it's someone's special day, so be on your best behavior -- all the way from the I -do's to the obligatory Gloria Gaynor dance marathon...

Don't Be Fashionably Late
As the song says, get to the church on time! Allow enough time to get to there 15 minutes early or more no matter what weather, traffic, or other acts of divine intervention pop up. Print out directions to both the ceremony and the reception (if it's at a different location). Many a wedding has been hampered by guests who got lost and showed up an hour late.

Don't Produce Sound Effects
While at a wedding and reception, turn off your Blackberries and cell phones, put them on vibrate, or better yet, don't even take them!

Don't Talk Trash
It may sound obvious, but it happens all the time. No matter how big or how loud a wedding is, things get overheard. So, be on your best and most polite behavior. No gossip about any of the other guests. No complaining out loud about anything -- whether it's the food or the long line at the ladies' room. And no comparisons to other weddings! As far as the bride and groom are concerned, this is a perfect day, and so it should be!

Don't Come Bearing Gifts
Whether you're planning on gifting the happy couple a Cuisinart or cold hard cash, do them a huge favor and don't bring it on the wedding day. If you do, they have to keep track of it and haul it home at the end of the night. Send the gift ahead of time, or after the actual ceremony -- at a time when they can really relax and enjoy it.

Don't Dress Down
Whatever you choose to wear, make the effort to look your best for the bride and groom. They'll appreciate that you got dolled or duded up for the occasion. If the invitation doesn't specify dress code, put in a friendly email or call to the bride, groom, their parents, or attendants to get more info. Black Tie means you've got to dust off that long silk dress or rent a tux. If it's an outdoor affair, there may be more leeway, but get details on the location, so you can come prepared (because it's isn't fun to be traipsing around in the sand in your stilettos!).

Don't Bring Mr. or Ms. Random
If you're single, choose your date carefully. If it's someone you've only been out with once, it may not be the best idea (could be awkward for you, your date, and the newlyweds). Same if it's someone you recently "sort of" broke up with. Weddings are intimate affairs and bringing in a stranger should be done with thought. Let the bride or groom know if you decide to come alone so they can seat you with other fun "ones!" And as much as you may love your kiddos, don't take them if children aren't invited.

Don't Steal the Show
Wedding ceremonies take all forms -- from religious to poetic, musical, or humorous. Whatever the vibe, let the bride and groom set the tone and follow their lead. If you're normally a loud, life-of-the-party type, bring it down a notch and let the wedding couple stand out. If you're a weeper, bring tissues and sit where you can sob without disturbing the I Do's. If the ceremony includes religious rituals, find out what you should do (or not do) ahead of time.

Don't Pig Out
If food is serve-yourself, avoid the buffet line stampede and wait until the crowd dies down. Also, avoid going back for thirds. Take a break and save room for cake! Seconds might be okay, once you've seen that everyone has eaten. If the food is served sit-down, eat what is served without requesting substitutions or omissions, unless you have a food allergy. Otherwise, pick delicately or chow down, but don't gripe that you "don't like fish." Worse comes to worst, you can hit Burger King on the way home!

Don't Drag Out Skeletons
If the bride blushes, it should be from pride, joy, or sheer love. Not because someone just stood up and told a humiliating story about the loser she dated in high school! Ingratiate yourself to the lady and her groom by avoiding any potentially embarrassing or juvenile behavior -- no bawdy jokes, no tales about their dating habits or exploits, no overdrinking, and no overly sexy dancing. Have fun, but don't have it at anyone else's expense.

Don't Stockpile Party Favors
At the end of the night, as you're saying your thank-yous and farewells, avoid the urge to hog all the super-cool (or yummy) party favors! You don't need to take some for people who weren't able to attend. You don't need extras. Take one for yourself, unless someone in the wedding party urges you to do otherwise.

any other tips on what NOT to do at a wedding?

TEAM JORZILLA RUNS AND WINS!

2008-08-04T15:46:00.003+01:00

Hello DC!

Just a quick recap from this weekend. First off I participated in the "Running of the Brides" at the Mazza Gallerie Filene's Basement. Here is a quick play by play:

430 a.m. Arrive in line. Little Sis is tired from a night of staying out partying in DC in an attempt to not be late arriving at my house so we can get downtown. She chats for a bit and then promptly passes out on the pavement.

5-7 a.m. Proceed to meet people, make friends, and find out that everyone was a size 4 or 6. Met Sammy from Hot 99.5, took about 5 donuts that were being passed out for free and started to get anxious.

7-7:45 a.m. We were told to put away all lawn chairs, blankets, etc. They instructed us to all start getting line. The first 50 people in line we brought in through one entrance. The rest of us waited impatiently. I was mainly miffed because the bathrooms were not working but the iced coffee I had worked right through me. I spent the last hour scouring Wisconsin Ave. for a bathroom.

8 a.m. RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN! By the time we got in the store hardly any dresses were on the racks so I grabbed a few and ran to the nearest mirror where my team met me. The first dress I tried on was a purple and ivory creation that was definitely not "the one"

8 a.m.-10:30 a.m. I spent this time voicing my disapproval of the rudeness and the b.o. I shunned away dress after dress and to be honest was incredibly discouraged and was ready to drive to Gaithersburg to purchase the dress that I was certain was "the one." But by some miracle or because my sister could no longer hold her bladder, I found it. Little Sis saw an ivory dress laying on the ground and liked the beading. We pulled it out of the bag and it was nothing like what I had wanted. It was an A-line ballgown and I was looking originally for a more fit and flare or modified mermaid look. But wow, when i tried on this dress it 1) fit perfectly across the top and on the waist 2) the dress was in perfect condition, there was one teeny thread sticking up around the hem 3) I felt ready to get married.

It was such an amazing experience, but I do have some pointers for those of you who are planning on running next year or at any of the other ROTB events this year:

DO go and try one a ton of gowns before you do this event. Even the day before. It is really an advantage to have an idea of what you look like in all styles.
DON'T assume that just because there are 1500 gowns there that you will find "the one." There may be a lot of gowns to try on, but that doesnt mean your perfect dress is necessarily hanging on those racks.
DO bring a team, even if it's just one other person. It helps to have your friends bring you gowns to try on so you can focus on seeing what looks good on you.
DON'T be rude. I found that it was a much better and less stressful experience when I shared dresses to try on rather than hoard dresses.
DO have fun. Try on a ton of dresses, even the pouffy ones or the too tight ones. Remember that this is an experience that should be fun, at times funny, and hopefully worth it.

So here is a collage of some of our pics:

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

for the guys.

2008-07-29T21:32:00.005+01:00

there are more and more websites devoted to the groom-to-be, and they are pretty funny. the latest one I stumbled upon...groom groove.

with a tongue-in-cheek approach to wedding planning from the male's perspective, this website has some great ideas for the guys.

the post I found funny...
what the hell is a wedding registry?

my fave part of this post.

there are two main purposes for a wedding:
• to get married and set things up to live happily ever after; and
• to acquire all your dishes, silverware, small appliances and other home furnishings for free.

HA!

also, for the groom-to-be who has never encountered "formal" wear...TUXEDO BOOTCAMP!

brides-to-be, pass this along to your groom and at least some of the questions will subside.

Orange Crush//Running Wild

2008-07-28T05:21:00.006+01:00

I am about two weeks away from visiting my future mother - in - law and looking at possible venues for my wedding. As I begin to imagine the place where I will be getting married, I have started to consider a few colors.

I plan on (cross your fingers) to be married in the Fall of 2009. I would love an outdoor wedding but would be happy with the crisp fall weather and some gorgeous foliage. So for my wedding colors I am currently leaning towards an orange/navy/royal blue palette. I love the color orange so I want that incorporated into as many things as possible.

So here is a very vague idea of what I want with the exact colors that I want:

I am hoping that I can make that all a reality. I love love love love the pomander balls. I am also thinking that since it is a mid-fall wedding in the evening the long dresses will be completely appropriate.

So there is my vision. I am hoping to keep it on budget and perfect.

In other news, I will be at the "Running of the Brides" this Friday at Filene's Basement over at Mazza Gallerie. I hope to see some of you there! It should be fun and I am looking forward to the entire experience. Let's cross our fingers that there is a dress purchased that day or else I am back to mulling over magazines!

wedding ≠ tacky.

2008-07-27T20:10:00.006+01:00

a wedding is supposed to be elegant, exquisite and classy.

this certainly does not fit the bill.

upon further searching for a good laugh to relieve some of the stress of looking for block of hotel rooms, I came across a blog named Godawful Wedding Crap. Riona seeks out "...The worst of the gougables hawked by the wedding industry. Seriously, there's nothing so godawful out there that they won't slap a couple of doves on it and shove it up on The Knot."

a few of my favorite images from her extensive internet searches.

and this one takes the cake, literally.

the back story...Chidi Ogbuta of Allen, Texas had a wedding cake made to look exactly like herself.

enjoy the laughs!

{images courtesy of plungees.com/ and godawfulweddingcrap.blogspot.com}

Beauty Bomb

2008-07-26T16:19:00.004+01:00

As I plan my wedding, I am not only planning a day for me, but I have to remember that it has to be a day that is special for everyone. One aspect that I always thought about was picking my bridesmaids. I have picked 6: My daughter (who will be my MOH), my little sister, my two best friends from high school, my FI's little sister, and a friend who I have become very close with in the past year and a half. I sent them all lovely note cards that asked them to each be my bridesmaid. I thought this was a nice touch because sometimes a lovely handwritten note becomes very sentimental.

So I have yet to think about bridesmaids dressed, but I have started to think about what gifts to give each and every one of my wonderful girls to thank them for everything that they will do for me.

Imagine my surprise when I ran across this article.

Now, I have no right to dictate to others what constitutes a proper bridesmaids gift. Traditionally this is jewelry or a nice memento to thank the girls for their love and help. I was thinking that if I were a bridesmaid and the bride told me that we were all heading out for a spa day I would be absolutely thrilled. Now, if in addition to that spa day we were also told that we were getting botox in order to look "perfect" in wedding pictures, I don't really know how I would react!

Here is what really got to me about the article:

"A bride’s request that you whiten your grayish teeth can strain a relationship. Samantha Goldberg, a wedding planner in Chester, N.J., recalled a bride who asked her attendants to get professionally spray-tanned for a Hawaiian-theme reception.

Alas, two women were claustrophobic and couldn’t bear standing in a tanning capsule. “They asked the bride if they could use regular tanning cream from a salon,” Ms. Goldberg said. The bride refused; she wanted everyone to be the same shade. The women ultimately declined to be bridesmaids. “Friendships of 20-plus years gone over a spray tan?” Ms. Goldberg said. “Sad!”

Sad indeed! Now, it is your wedding, but ladies, shouldn't we be mindful of our attendants and remember that it may not be the most tactful thing to tell someone to have some cosmetic thing done, be it teeth whitening or spray tanning or botox? While we expect our bridesmaids to help us and to be there for us, let's not get lost in ourselves and think that we can demand anything. Regardless of how old a bride and her wedding party are, a little thought into what you give your girls can go a long way. Perhaps jewelry isn't the best thing, but that doesn't mean you have to give your girls all the same thing! Why give each girl something unique that represents who they are on the inside and out. Don't ruin a friendship in hopes that your wedding party looks younger!

Remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder but not always in the botox.

photographer.

2008-07-25T19:06:00.005+01:00

well, it's official. we picked a photographer!!

kate headley photography
{http://kateheadleyphotography.com/}

from her website:
kate headley offers boutique photography for off the beaten path brides. her photography is a mix of photojournalism and fine art. she's passionate about providing a collection of photographs that are classic, but unique...and that last a life time.

and based on my meeting with her, this short paragraph could not more perfectly describe her style. classic, but unique...

just what I was looking for.

a few of my favorites.

{images courtesy of kate headley photography}

Hello!

2008-07-25T16:04:00.004+01:00

Hi everyone! I just wanted to introduce myself:

My name is Jordana and I am getting married next September 2009! I am in the middle of a the beginning of my planning stages and I have never been more excited to plan an event. My job at the moment involves some event planning, but nothing that is quite like a wedding.

Now, I am getting married in Charleston, WV, however, don't fret DC ladies--I am buying and planning everything in the DC Metro area and have frequented many places from Gaithersburg to Georgetown, Old Town to Occoquan, so I will have plenty of must go and must not places for all your bridals needs (and wants!).

I suppose I should start from the very beginning of this whole wedding adventure. My FI and I had been dating for about 2 years. He's finishing law school and working so marriage was something we never really talked about. If we did, it was all hypothetical. I was in school as well (still am) and we were both just so busy that while we watched friends get married, we never really discussed it. I was firmly convinced that he was not ready for that type of commitment and that I was going to let him finish school before we had the "where is this going?" talk. Little did I know I was in for the biggest surprise of my life!

We had planned a cruise in May. When May rolled around I had absolutely no idea that for the past year and half he had been researching anything and everything there was to know about diamonds and engagement rings. I was already overwhelmed when we got on the boat and I still had no clue of what was to come. On our second night on the boat, which happened to be the first formal night on the ship, we had a wonderful dinner and stuffed ourselves silly. FI suggested we take a walk on the top deck and I was all for it because it just sounded like a good way to walk off the two desserts that I downed at dinner. As we were walking I remember complaining about how my hair was sticking to my lips because it was windy. I was still yammering on and on about some ridiculous thing, probably about my lip gloss, while FI was busy telling me about how much he loved me and how happy he was with me. As I finally turned to pay attention and listen he was holding a beautiful princess cut solitaire ring that sparkled under the stars. I cried and cried for about 5 minutes and the first words out of my mouth were, "shut up." I think I repeated that over and over again until I was shouting "YES!" Let's just say that was the best vacation of my life. How did we celebrate? We ordered room service (i'm an emotional eater):

I know that like all of you to-be brides and have-been-brides, it is such an indescribable feeling to have that much love for someone and to know that you are going to spend your life with your best friend. I know that I cannot imagine anything else. So here I am now getting ready to plan an event that will celebrate the love FI and I have for each other and our family.

So, I am new to this whole wedding world. I have seen many friends go through their wonderful days. Having always been a spectator, even when I was in the wedding party or knew some intimate details of the affair, I never quite understood just how tiring, expensive, and time consuming the whole process of getting married can be---and I AM LOVING EVERY MINUTE OF IT.

I have so far accomplished the following on my very modest wedding budget:

I picked my bridesmaids. Now, I know my wedding is not until September 2009, but half of my wedding party is comprised of veteran bridesmaids with an armada of dresses that would rival Katherine Heigl's. I needed to secure them before they were commissioned to be part of another wedding.
I had the budget talk. I don't think its premature, like some people have told me. Better know now what there is to work with and make it spectacular without breaking the bank!
I settled the, "I don't want to talk about wedding stuff," argument with the FI. Every month he gets a task. He will get one task a month until we get closer to the date and then his tasks will increase. This way he gets to stay involved and part of the whole process without having to flip through every bridal website/magazine with me. I have my girls for that!
I found photographers in the area who will do our engagement photos for free. One thing that I have noticed is that wedding photographers know that they are needed and in high demand, which they then use this knowledge to justify the costs of a wedding package. My primary problem was that I need a photographer in Charleston (still working on it) and someone in the DC Metro region to take our engagement photos since we plan on incorporating some D.C. monuments and memorials into the shoot. Ladies (and gentlemen)---do some research! If you have some free time at night or during your lunch hour, or even ask your friends to help, pour through craigslist or other message boards. There are many experienced photographers who are now trying to get into the wedding business so they may offer to take free pictures in exchange for permission to use your image on their website and/or portfolio.

That is what I have done so far. 15 more months of hopefully accomplishing just as much. My July is filled with trying on dresses! I'll update on how that all goes!

xoxo

How to Donate Your Wedding Dress

2008-07-24T22:35:00.002+01:00

When I was running all over D.C. looking for a wedding dress, I saw a large banner on the side of a hotel in Tyson's Corner that said "Wedding Gown Sale" and something or other about cancer research. One of the hotel ballrooms was crammed with racks of wedding dresses hung in order of size -- except for the couture gowns which were in a separate section.

This was a Brides Against Breast Cancer event and I really wish I had been able to find "the one" there because the discounted used gowns are in great shape and go for $79 to $900 for designer dresses. They also had accessories like gloves, ring bearer pillows and veils. Not to mention a fake wedding aisle set up, complete with an aisle runner and flowered archway. They even through in a fake bouquet and "here comes the bride" not-so-subtly playing in the background. Talk about a hard sell.

Volunteers were on hand to help you in and out of finding the type of gown of your dreams. It's not the pampering yourself experience you'll get at something like Hitched, but you're helping put dollars toward something that affects at least one of your family members. Their 2008/ 2009 schedule doesn't have a D.C. event listed, but if you don't have a dress yet, you might want to sign up for their email notices.

I will probably donate my dress when I'm done with my wedding and hope that some other girl thinks I have good taste and a heart for a good cause.

Instructions on how to donate your dress or other items:
http://bridesagainstbreastcancer.org/#donategown

Bridal Shower Travel Planning

2008-07-16T23:09:00.003+01:00

You know that sinking feeling you get right after you just realized you hit the "send" button or the "submit" button and it dawns on you that you've made a huge mistake? That moment where you wish you could reaching your hands in through your computer monitor and take back the last five seconds of activity?

I had that moment today. I went on to Expedia.com to book my flight to Orlando, FL. (No, I am not having a Disney bridal shower. People actually live in this city who are not tourists.) Two of my 5 bridesmaids live in Orlando. One of them is hosting my bridal shower, the other is hosting my bachelorette party. They told me to book my flight so I arrive Thursday morning and leave the following Monday. That's about all they are going to tell me. I know we are going to South Florida for the weekend. That's about it.

I have friends here in D.C. whom I would like to invite down for the festivities. Is it rude if I just suggest they come down to South Florida for the weekend and skip the bridal shower?

As I found the cheapest round trip ticket for $156 (leaving from Baltimore), I chose the flight that arrived in Orlando at 9:55 AM and the flight that returned to D.C. around 10 pm the following Monday. Only it did not say 9:55 AM. It said 9:55 PM.

I didn't notice it until I got the email confirmation. I called Expedia 2 hours later and they said the only other flight they had access to in the AM would cost $400 to change. I explained that there was a bridal shower taking place in Orlando at 7 pm or so that night and that I was the bride. The very nice lady put me on hold for a long time and came back with glowing news. Air Tran was going to put me on an earlier non stop flight -- a mere $30 fee was all that I was going to be charged. Whew!

Why is it that my multi-tasking abilities only fail me when it is the most expensive? Thankfully, considering all the crud the airline industry is going through, AirTran still understood the importance of helping out a patient client. Let that be a lesson to all multi-tasking brides out there. S-l-o-w d-o-w-n when booking wedding travel plans.

possible wedding site.

2008-07-16T18:25:00.004+01:00

I'm not sure what I signed up for...but someone, somewhere in the wedding industry found my information and I have to be careful opening my mailbox due to the massive amounts of postcards and mailers I've been receiving on a daily basis.

I usually just toss most of the crap. but one postcard caught my eye today...one from Foxchase Manor in Manassas, VA.

I checked out their website...looks like a gorgeous place to have a wedding. and if you would like to check it out, they have Bridal Open Houses every Saturday & Sunday from 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

A Guest Favor You've Never Seen Before

2008-07-15T02:16:00.002+01:00

We've all seen those beautiful photos of the bride's shoes as she's getting ready for her walk down the aisle. Maybe they're propped up on a sofa, sitting on a window sill, or just cast aside on the floor. Any way you put it, bridal shoes sure are beautiful!

While you may spend weeks or months hunting for the perfect pair of bridal shoes, have you thought about shoes for your guests? Most female guests will likely be wearing fancy heels too and of course anyone who's renting a tux has to manage with those terrible rental shoes. That means when it's time for dancing, everyone will kick off their uncomfortable shoes!Sandals 4 Events! is a company that provides personalized sandals. These are not your typical $3 Old Navy flip flops and are absolutely better than the personalized foam things that pop out of a single sheet (like the ones nail salons give you after a pedicure). They are, in fact, very high quality and sturdy sandals that just happen to have your name and wedding date printed on the interior heel. They feature quality components like full grain leather, Swarovski Crystals, kid suede, and are packaged in individual satin drawstring bags.There is a minimum order of only 12 pairs so this would be a great gift for bridesmaids, parents, and other special guests as a special 'thank you.' I'm sure the rest of your guests would love them too!

first dance.

2008-07-15T01:20:00.005+01:00

tlc's rock the reception is taking the trend of crazy, quirky, outlandish first dances to a whole new level. I was unaware they were still casting, though. thanks to a tip on ritzybee...I now know that they are still accepting applications.

so if you are looking for a fun way to spice up your first dance as husband and wife (...and your 15 minutes of fame!) then read on!!

Want Your 'First Dance' To Be On TV?

We're looking for engaged couples to team up with TOP NOTCH CHOREOGRAPHERS who will turn their first dance into an unforgettable production number!

If you want to surprise your guests with an awesome performance that will make your wedding truly memorable, contact us with the following information:

A PICTURE of the Bride & Groom

Bride's Name, Age & Contact Info

Groom's Name, Age & Contact Info

The DATE of your wedding

The CITY you live in

The CITY your reception will be in

How many people will be in the BRIDAL PARTY?

What's your ideal first dance SONG and WHY?Briefly describe yourselves & tell us WHY we should pick you for this amazing experience...

SEND ALL INFORMATION TO CASTING@BNENT.COM

(image courtesy of http://whiteboxweddings.squarespace.com/whiteboxblog/)

A Time for Appointments

2008-07-10T21:00:00.004+01:00

Three and a half months to go.

I'm in the middle of:

finalizing invitations
need to order parts for my centerpieces
(pretty sure) rehearsal dinner was booked today
groom has finalized his guest list; I have not
I keep forgetting to call DaVinci florist and they have not returned my email from last week
Booked the tasting at the Hilton Alexandria Old Town for July 25.
Scheduled the next pre-marital counseling session for end of July.
1 bridesmaid dress down, 4 to go.
Sent bridal shower guest list to the host
Need to get airplane tickets for bachelorette party.
Pretty much done with wedding registry at Bed, Bath & Beyond, Williams-Sonoma, and Crate & Barrel.
Bridals by Elena just called 2 seconds after I posted this. My wedding dress arrived today (July 10). The soonest I can come in for a fitting is August 12 (again, nobody books wedding stuff on the weekends?). Let the diet games begin!

bridal bouquet.

2008-07-10T15:09:00.003+01:00

you may be thinking this post is going to be about flowers. wrong.

the bridal bouquet at the red door spa is a full day of beauty and relaxation for brides-to-be. take a day off from planning and turn an ordinary day into an extraordinary one!

here's what you'll get:
Classic Massage (50 minutes)
Warm Cream Pedicure (40 minutes)
Warm Cream Manicure (25 minutes)

Bikini Wax
Haircut, Blowdry and Finish
Makeup Application

Spa Lunch

this would be a great opportunity to schedule a day for your and your MOH to relax and think about...nothing.

Unique Rehearsal Dinner in DC?

2008-07-09T02:50:00.003+01:00

Looking for a great unique DC find to hold your rehearsal dinner? Or your meet-the-parents meal? I just turned off the Food Network after watching Bobby Flay "throwdown" with one of DCs hottest and most interesting spots: Dr. Granville Moore's. Located in on H street NE in the Atlas District, this Belgian "Gastropub" serves up an interesting dish: Moules and Frites, or Mussels and Fries.

The food looked amazingly delicious and the atmosphere is casual, fun and full of personality. I am always on the lookout for a unique spot to dine or bring visitors from out of town, and I definitely will be hitting up Granville Moore's for my next outing.

photos by inked78

Looking for a great place to have an intimate and casual party? Or is your groom looking to entertain his boys when they come into town for a tux fitting? They will definitely drool over this food... and of course the Belgian beer!

If you want to see it in action, you can catch the replay episode tonight at midnight or this Saturday (July 12) at 4 pm on the Food Network.

Hitched has Cupcakes!

2008-07-08T20:19:00.002+01:00

We all know and love Hitched, our local couture bridal salon. Owners Julie and Carin have teamed up with The Baltimore Cupcake Company to offer cupcakes through their store! Just pop in during their regular retail hours (T-Th 12-8, F 11-6, Sat 9-5) and grab a 2-pack or a 6-pack to go. You can also call ahead and order bigger quantities with 48 hours notice.They're offering these fabulous cupcakes starting tomorrow. You can pick from toasted marshmallow, key lime, classic vanilla, chocolate, or a Hitched exclusive flavor called Coconut Framboise. YUM!

a quick question.

2008-07-08T01:07:00.006+01:00

hello DC brides-to-be!

over on real simple's nearly wed blog, today's guest blogger liz poses an important question on all our minds as we all prepare for the big day.

what's in your big bridal-day bag? her answer: And me? With less than three weeks to go, I've already started to think I should just toss all the items I have to bring to the wedding site with me into one bag as I think of them—so that I am not running around on the morning of my wedding, trying to remember to bring the safety pins, the breath mints, the Spanx, the poems and place cards, and the other 20 or so small (but ever-so vital) items on my list.

so ladies, what are you going to pack in your bag as your wedding day draws closer?

more wedding dress madness.

2008-07-07T20:26:00.004+01:00

it's that time of year! filene's basement once-a-year bridal extravaganza is coming to the District on August 1 this year. the sale is held in selected filene’s stores once a year, and news reports so often compare it to the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain. so the event is now officially called the "Running of the Brides" and you'll do just that.

if you check out the website, there is a whole Q&A section with frequently asked questions for the "Running of the Brides" event. here are a few you might be thinking as you read this...

Do I need to make an appointment? What are the hours of the sale?

No appointments needed—we’re not that formal. Brides-to-be are welcome any time during store hours. Doors open at 8:00am, but brides-to-be start arriving much earlier. In fact, some brides arrive the day before and bring lawn chairs, sleeping bags, and even pop-up tents. Most brides arrive between 7:00am and 8:00am. The sale continues all day until store closing (which varies by store).

Do you have any tips for finding the perfect dress at this event?

Yes, we have a compilation of tips from brides-to-be who found their wedding gown at this sale. E-mail Pat.boudrot@filenesbasement.com to request the “Secrets of Success—finding your dream dress at Filene’s Basement’s Running of the Brides.”

can you handle it?! ;)

bridal road trip.

2008-07-04T15:58:00.004+01:00

courtesy of theknot.com newsletter that arrived in my Inbox yesterday...if you are still looking for THE dress for your big day, consider taking a road trip with your girlfriends up to PA next weekend for a Kleinfeld trunk show! that's right...Kleinfeld!! the NYC bridal boutique extraordinaire!

Kleinfeld Manhattan comes to J&B Bridals in Chambersburg, PA

J&B Bridals is proud to announce that Kleinfeld Manhattan, the world's famous bridal salon, will now be offering its most successful exclusive designer bridal collection, Alita Graham, at J&B Bridals in Chambersburg, PA.

The Alita Graham for Kleinfeld Kollection
Premiere Trunk Show is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, July 11-12, 2008 at J&B Bridals
By appointment only

Come meet the Kleinfeld owners who are featured on TLC's Say Yes to the Dress, Mara Urshel and Ronnie Rothstein.

Call J&B Bridals at (800) 301-1935 to schedule your appointment!
Friday, July 11th - 12:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, July 12th - 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

J&B Bridals
136 S Main St.
Chambersburg, PA

Gift Idea for Bridesmaids

2008-07-03T17:04:00.005+01:00

Deep down, I am a sentimental person. No, really, I am. That's why when it comes to giving my bridesmaids a gift, I want to think long and hard about it. I've read about giving them jewelry to match their bridesmaids dresses, but since I still have no idea what they are wearing, that makes it a little difficult. (hint: I like this dress)

Another thing that makes this decision tricky is that I want this gift to be long lasting. In our pre-marital counseling, our pastor told us that she is going to specifically call on our bridesmaids and groomsmen (and later/also the attendees), to really hold Gary and I accountable for the vows that we are about to exchange. That means when I call up one of these girls and start to complain and moan and doubt, it is not only their job as girlfriends to be there for me and let me cry on their shoulder, it is also their responsibility to hold me accountable for the promises I made to him on our wedding day. Wow. That's probably not a popular idea these days.

Historically this has gone down negative roads -- meaning that in the 1950's I'm sure some women were told by their girlfriends to stay in an abusive marriage because they swore before God to do so. Well, it's not like that now. What I am referring to are the times when ten years from now, Gary may find himself unable to express his love for me because of stress at work, business with kids, whatever. It is my bridesmaids' obligation to remind me that he does love me and to just hang in there until the storm clouds clear. Everything's gonna be alright.

It is the job of these girls not to judge me, not to judge Gary, but to love both of us unconditionally through any circumstance to help us stay together. Who knew that being a bridesmaid had anything more to do with paying too much money for a dress they'll never wear again? Who knew it carried this much of a lifetime obligation??

And, for the record, Gary's groomsmen are obligated to the same promise. With the rate of infidelity being what it is (or what these surveys say it's at, like 60-70% I've read somewhere), they have the biggest obligation of all -- to remind Gary that he promised to be faithful. It seems like a pie in the sky task, to ask this of any guy. Nonetheless, it should be asked. Can you imagine the look on their faces when the pastor turns to them and asks each of them to keep Gary accountable for the rest of their lives? Um, yeah. Awkward.

I've been trying to think of a symbol of an unending promise between myself and my bridesmaids, a gift of unconditional love. I think I am going to give them each a plain band, with an inscription unique as they are. (thank you, Raylier.com for the image)

I think a ring will also serve as a reminder that you don't have to be engaged to know that someone loves you unconditionally. I think it's important to know that your identity is not always tied to how a man feels about you. It took me some years to comes to terms with this, but I had to love myself even if my father/my first/my husband did not. I think a band between bridesmaids symbolizes this -- a friendship that never changes.

A Redskins Wedding?

2008-07-03T04:51:00.005+01:00

Now, I know that you all have been thinking about how you can coordinate your groom's favorite local sports team in with your perfect white wedding... here's a perfect example of how to do it!

Your bridesmaids won't worry about buying a dress they'll never wear again, because you KNOW they will be wearing that Clinton Portis jersey in the fall!

Personally, I am so so glad that I didn't find this before my wedding last August. Because I know my Redskins obsessed DH would have wanted to do it... and our wedding plans would have ended there. Ha!

What do you guys think about this sports loving wedding intro?

dresses.

2008-07-02T17:01:00.005+01:00

according to my Facebook "Wedding Book" application, as of today we have 304 days until the BIG DAY! seems like a lot of time...but I know that it's not. so during my "free time" I have been browsing for dresses via the internet, printing out images and planning (read: keep hitting snooze on my Outlook calendar) to make an appointment at a dress shop ASAP.

for those of you who are looking for a dress on a budget, a great website called Once Wed might be the perfect place to find a designer gown (think Vera Wang) for less (how does $8,000 down to $2,500 sound??) so if you don't mind a dress that has been once worn, take a peek. you may even find a dress that hasn't been worn. some gowns are purchased and then either the wedding gets called off or the bride says she chose another gown. her loss is your gain!

what are you waiting for...go!!

all images courtesy of oncewed.com

Win a FREE Cooking Bridal Shower!

2008-07-02T12:53:00.000+01:00

(via The Dandelion Patch's Bits & Buds Newsletter)

Planning a bridal shower for someone else? Does your maid of honor need a little bit of hinting to get things done?

Stop by The Dandelion Patch or McCormick & Schmick's restaurant in Reston Town Center to register for a free bridal shower! The Dandelion Patch will take care of invitations and favors while McCormick & Schmicks will cover the food and entertainment. Imagine spending an afternoon learning how to cook from one of the area's top chefs!Registration is open from July 15th to the 31st and no purchase is necessary to win. Stop by either the store or restaurant for more details and to sign up!

Flowers, Invites and Naked Bridesmaids

2008-07-01T17:54:00.008+01:00

Flowers?

Happy to have a bridal bouquet design that I love, I am now trying to lock in a florist.

I am in touch with 3 already and plan to reach out to a fourth. A friend of mine suggested Philippa Tarrant (http://philippatarrant.com). I love the floral designs, but I'll be breaking my budget if I still want any flowers at the church. I think they have the best bridesmaids bouquets to match the bridal bouquet. (http://www.philippatarrant.com/gallery.html?gallery=Weddings). Is it unethical to take an image of one florist's design to another florist? It probably doesn't matter since the prices will come out around the same, huh?

It would help if I could get appointments on Saturdays. Working in Maryland and wedding in Virginia, does not make for easy wedding planning.

Invites?

Again, I can't thank the woman at Write For You (202-686-7060) enough at this point. We are only in the early stages on finalizing my invites, but I really can't say enough about how detail oriented they are being. They don't have a web site and that doesn't surpise me. This is a tactile business and they practice what they preach. I've read reviews about them being snobby, but they were very helpful. Confidence can sometimes be misunderstood for arrogance -- and sometimes you get both in one person. If they were arrogant, they probably would have turned down my business. I am not an easy customer. They are being fantastic with me. Pish posh to their other reviews.

It turns out the first design I submitted to them would have cost me an arm and a leg because of how the narrow font laid on top of a big blue box. I decided to remove the blue box and just make the white font blue. We are keeping the design (brown) because I love it and I think this new idea will allow it to stand out more. (thank you for your design work Kate!!)This image is actually black because when it goes to the printer, they fill in the color. I know most people do these at home, but I don't have the right printer, or time...

My envelopes have not arrived yet (above in brown), but the good news is that my mom is still planning to do the calligraphy. She did have a heart attack when I ask her to use a silver or white pen on the chocolate brown envelope. She thinks black will be fine. At this point, I don't see how much of a choice I have unless I want to pay someone else to do it.

Naked Bridesmaids?

I gave my 5 girls the liberty of each choosing their own bridesmaid dress because because of the horror stories I've heard about "you can totally wear it again (not)." My only requirements are that it be chocolate brown (some are called espresso) and floor length. (I love this Bari Jay dress that would probably only look good on Vanessa).

I know there are some places where you can walk in and buy this dress off the rack. If the planets align and the dress happens to be the right size, color, length and price, yes, your work is done immediately. If your odds are that good, I suggest buying a lottery ticket on the way home cuz you are one lucky little girl!

From what I've read and heard in the bridal stores, real bridesmaids dresses come in limited sizes in the stores and take around four months to order. Yesterday I sent an email to my bridesmaids. Since none of them have any idea what they are going to wear. My fear is that they wind up like that girl in the Bluefly.com commercials, so I sent them a friendly reminder to order their dress ASAP. (I hate cracking the whip). With less than four months until the wedding, dress manufacturers have successfully conditioned me to panic.

Last-Minute Video Special

2008-06-30T15:10:00.001+01:00

Todd at Big Day Studios is offering a fantastic special for any July 2008 brides. Are you planning your wedding this month and changed your mind about wanting a video? Todd is offering $500 off of his top package which takes it from $1999 to $1499! It includes...

* Up to 10 hours of coverage
* Two cameras for your ceremony
* 5 copies of the DVD with chapters
* 3-minute montage posted online within 24 hours
* 20-minute highlight on each DVD
* Two 'enhancing options' (select from extra hours, photo montages, highlights video for your iPod, honeymoon montage, and many more)

photo courtesy of A Britton Photography

Check out their website for more details or email Todd directly. You can learn more about Big Day Studios here and even watch a sample video.

centerpieces on the cheap.

2008-06-30T15:09:00.004+01:00

following the budget theme, I was perusing dc nearlyweds and came across a great post from a few weeks ago called Saving on Centerpieces.

here are a few other ideas for centerpieces that won't break the bank...

(all images courtesy of marthastewart.com)

budget weddings.

2008-06-28T15:46:00.005+01:00

during these days of rising fuel costs and a week's worth of groceries doubling in price, more and more brides-to-be are getting creative when it comes to various aspects of the wedding. it's tough to justify spending $1,000+ on flowers and centerpieces...especially if you are saving for a down payment for say, a house. (something that will last a lot longer than one day...)

A recent article on CNN.com, She had a fabulous wedding on a budget, offers up some great tips for brides looking to "cut corners" on certain aspects of the wedding. why not rent a cake?? it's cheaper for you to serve sheet cake to your guests...but you can still have a big, elegant cake for your guests to ooh and ahh over. and the list goes on. take a look.

by Jen Haley, CNN
Michelle Cottle, 38, of Westchester, New York, always dreamed of an elegant wedding.

"I envisioned a large wedding, 200 guests... a big band sound, with the trumpets and a singer...the Frank Sinatra thing," she says.

But then Michelle pauses and laughs. "And then I started to find out how much that would cost."

Michelle and her fiancé, Jason Cohen, quickly realized that they had to make a choice: a down payment on a house or a dream wedding. For them, it was a no-brainer. The couple decided to keep their wedding budget to around $20,000.

That's no easy feat, especially considering the cost of a wedding in the New York City area is about $46,000 according to a survey by The Knot Wedding Network. More broadly, the cost of an average wedding -- not including the honeymoon -- is about $28,000.

But you can walk down the aisle without declaring bankruptcy. To rein in your bridal budget, consider your timing.

Instead of having a Saturday night wedding, Michelle and Jason opted for a Saturday afternoon barbeque at a local mansion.

There were red bandana napkins and burlap tablecloths. Guests ate pulled duck, barbeque chicken, hot dogs, crab cakes, baked beans and corn bread. The highlight of the evening: the ice cream sundae bar.

"I didn't want the wedding factory," says Michelle. "We wanted personal feelings and elegance without it costing too much."

Target where to save, where to splurge
You can save around 20 percent a person if you choose a Friday night, a Saturday afternoon or a Sunday wedding according to Divine Events Catering in Atlanta.

The most expensive part of a wedding is the reception. It's at least a third of your budget according to Michelle Preli, editor in chief of Brides.com, a bridal resource Web site. It's all about your priorities.

One of the biggest mistakes couples make in planning a wedding is not having a clear vision of their budget. That's the best way to prioritize what you'll spend money on, and where you can trim costs. There are options in every category, whether its invitations or flowers, says Preli. Spend less money and attention on things that aren't very important to you.

Michelle and Jason knew exactly where they would loosen the purse strings: photography. "That was one area we didn't want to scrimp on," says Michelle.

To make sure you're staying within your budget, check out the budget advisor at http://www.brides.com/. You'll get an itemized breakdown of expenses for your wedding. And that will help you prioritize what's most important.

If you want the wedding to be more about dancing and energy, and not so much about sitting down and having a great meal, put more money toward the cocktail reception says Daniel Briones, president of the National Association of Catering Executives, a catering association. You don't need a four-course meal he says. You can get rid of the appetizer or just have a salad.

Alcohol is another wallet-drainer. But you can keep costs under control by offering a limited bar with beer and wine says Christa Vagnozzi, senior editor of theWeddingchannel.com. In addition to beer and wine, you can also serve a signature cocktail she says.

And skip the champagne toast says Briones.

"Most of your guests will already have a glass of wine in front of them," he says. If you have a wedding with 200 guests and you're serving a $50 bottle of champagne, you would save $2,000 right off the bat.

Rent the showy cake
A wedding cake can also cause sticker shock. On average, a cake costs about $700 according to The Knot survey. But you can cut this price in half without your guests even knowing.

Rent-a-Cake in Atlanta will rent you a tiered Styrofoam cake with icing on the outside, so it looks like the real thing. It'll cost you about $145 to rent the cake including set-up. There's a secret compartment in the back of the cake where you can hide a slice of angel food cake so guests think you're cutting into the real thing. Then you serve your guests a less expensive sheet cake that's hidden in the kitchen.

Check out other online cake rentals like cake.rental.com. But if staying local is what you want to do, ask your baker to create a fake layer or two in your cake.

And while it may seem insignificant, flowers alone can eat up 8 percent of your budget according to The Knot. To stay within your budget, stick with flowers that are in season and make sure you tell your florist what you can spend. It's not like you're going into a store and picking something off a shelf, says Preli. You're creating a relationship with a vendor.

That strategy worked for Michelle, who settled on Gerber Daisies for her wedding.

"When I went to the florist I said, 'look we're not mansion dwellers, we're apartment dwellers,'" says Michelle. "The florist really worked with me and steered me to less expensive flowers that were still elegant."

You may also consider getting your flowers from the wholesale market. Ask for recommendations from other brides on virtual message boards at www.brides.com or www.theweddingchannel.com. And do your homework. Check out the company with the Better Business Bureau and ask a lot of questions. You don't want to be unhappy when these flowers show up at your door says Vagnozzi.

On sale or for rent
Most brides dream about that perfect wedding gown. In fact, one in five brides say finding the perfect dress is the top priority, according to a survey by Conde Nast Bridal Media.

And you can find bargains if you know where to look. Save money at sample sales. Most sales take place in April/May for fall and winter dresses and October/November for spring and summer dresses, according to The Knot. Even department stores have discounted wedding dresses. Michelle got her dress at a 70 percent off sale at Filene's Basement.

"I had to commit to the dress early and it needed about $200 worth of work and $150 cleaning, but it was beautiful," she says.

And make sure you look at Web sites like eBay, www.PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com or www.WoreItOnce.com for gently used wedding dresses. If you want a designer handbag or jewelry for your big day, consider renting them at http://www.bagborroworsteal.com/.

Even getting the word out about your wedding can be expensive. Cut costs on your invitations by leaving out all the extras like engraving or decorative linings. Decrease the number of enclosures you have. You can ask guests to e-mail you their replies. Check out online invitation outlets or create your own invites. Your local arts and crafts store will likely have a selection to choose from.

And although it took Michelle an entire year of planning, negotiating and tailoring her wedding dream, she says it was worth it. Despite the fact the couple came in at their budget, Michelle realized that all her work was worth something even more valuable.

"It helped me mature as a woman to come from the idea I had as a girl and as a young woman...to grow that idea up and accept certain limitations and embrace what WAS possible," she says.

The guests at her wedding said it was the best wedding they had ever been to. "They said it had a lot of us in it," Michelle says.

"At the end of the day, the thing that matters the most is that 'I do moment,'" says Preli. "That's what your guests will remember. That's what you can't pay for."

Something Funny for Friday

2008-06-27T22:24:00.000+01:00

A little something to make you laugh:
http://www.uglydress.com/
My fav: "Married in a Whorehouse"

Learn to Love the Experts

2008-06-27T01:28:00.002+01:00

Hello, my name is Becca and I'm a bridal ignoramous. I have no idea about proper American wedding customs, probably because I never really wanted to know. Today, I learned a few lessons.

Thanks to the unplanned journey I took into a store called Write for You, I am now on the path to acquiring customary and yet unique wedding invitations. As much as I liked to be a DIY person/bride, there are times when it is more important to seek the wisdom of those in the biz than try to pass of individualism displayed with ignorance. Now, I'm not talking about supplanting creativity. Design to your hearts desire. Then I highly suggest taking your creation to someone like Noreen (sp?) at Write for You and subjecting yourself to a lesson in courtesy.

The cool thing about learning traditions is learning the reasons behind them (or maybe I'm just a nerd). For example, did you know that if your wedding is being held in a church and you have the phrase "request the honour of your presence" that the word honor should be spelled with a "u"? At first, I really didn't care. I thought that people were lucky I wasn't text messaging them my wedding invitations, so who cares about a non-functioning English letter?

Flash forward to the recipient of my invitation -- not all of whom will be 14 year old girls with cell phones. My groom's parents and their siblings will be opening these "thought this day would never come" envelopes and they want to feel "honoured," not "stoked."

Brushing aside my neglect for customary obligations, I now want to invest every cent I spend on these invites on making the receiver realize how important they are invidually. Each person we are inviting (save some unidentifiable names on his parent's list) has had an impact, however short or adversly, on our lives, helping to create the people we are today. And that end result is the person I fell in love with, the person I thank my lucky stars for every night. With that much importance riding on this union, how could every single letter NOT be important?

just for laughs.

2008-06-26T16:15:00.003+01:00

since this week seems to be dragging on and on and on...here's a story that will brighten your day! in case you have an extra $2.2 million you are looking to spend.

Coming soon: Weddings in space
More news for the June bride--June 2011, that is. Get married in space. Well, some 62 miles up there, to be precise, on the Rocketplane XP suborbital spaceplane.

The one-hour flight-plus-ceremony will cost $2.2 million, but it's actually a bargain because the price includes the wedding dress. The price also includes a telecast for guests, but it appears that reception food and drink is still on you.

I don't know about you, but 4 days of rehearsal?? that's the deal-breaker for me...

Planning wedding photos by monuments? Beware!

2008-06-25T20:52:00.001+01:00

Did you know that if you want to have your wedding pictures taken in front of one of the local monuments that you have to get a PERMIT and pay between $50 and $250 to the National Park Service?

As a photographer myself, this really irks me. I mean, do we really need one more line to separate the have's from the have not's? Do the costs of a wedding not already reach sky high? The intentions behind this rule clearly target commercial photography that requires a big to-do. Sure, you should file for a permit if you need to go about setting up equipment, clearing the space around the monument, etc. But there really is no need for a permit when a person with a camera has to walk up, snap some pictures of 10-12 people in fancy clothing, and walk away. For the love of Pete, Washington, you're taking the free out of freedom. (note: until recently these permits were free, but this has changed on May 15, 2006.)

The fees are as follows:

1-10 people–$50/day
11-30 people–$150/day
Over 30 people–$250/day

If I had more time, I would email the contact (Lee_Dickinson@nps.gov) that this is a grievous wrong against local brides -- a group, I hear, that you really don't want to tick off. Am I right? I wish we could post a bunch of bridezillas on the mall to chase down any park ranger trying to enforce this rule on some poor bridal party. But as my loving fiancé reminds me, this is all done through politics and funding. Since the District of Columbia itself doesn't have the power to change its own socks, we'd have to appeal to a national advocate and I personally don't have any of those in my pockets.

Do other areas protected by the National Park Service require a permit with fees? Yes, some random place called Clinton Castle states on their web site that members of the media must pay $50 for a permit to shoot there. Hovenweep, which is located along the border between southeast Utah and southwest Colorado, just north and west of Cortez, Colorado, also requires a permit for professional filming.

However, it states:

Permits are not generally required for:

Visitors engaged in filming/photography intended for their personal use and enjoyment

Sounds a lot like wedding photography, doesn't it Mr. Lee Dickinson?

I'm probably putting a bullseye on my forehead, but I plan to have my wedding pictures taken at one of the monuments before the reception. I refuse to file for a permit. (Here's where Gary rolls his eyes.) If I fail to stride through the ballroom doors at 7 p.m. at the Hilton on October 25 when the bridal party is announced, somebody should probably call the park police.

P.S. All these photos were taken by me sans permit.

vera wang.

2008-06-25T15:44:00.007+01:00

synonymous with weddings, right? well, for those of you patiently waiting for her much-blogged-about website...good news. IT'S LIVE!!!

http://www.verawangonweddings.com/
there are still a few sections on the site that you must wait for...but in the meantime, you can (window??) shop for a gown or dresses for your maids.

and you can take the Couple's Quiz:
http://www.verawangonweddings.com/registry/CouplesQuiz.aspx

what kind of couple are you and your fiancé?? find out here before you start shootin' that registry gun.

UPDATE: over on brides.com, vera is a guest blogger this week and she gives a great explanation about her new website...

I developed verawangonweddings.com as a very special, bride-centric and lifestyle-centric Web site. My ultimate goal is to offer you a uniquely intimate guide through the wedding process. It is my way of being there with you to help make the decisions and choices that will affect your lives.

verawangonweddings.com is designed to replicate a bridal boutique experience with an online bridal registry, unique content, gown and maid's gallery, and interactive wedding planning. It's not only about product; it's about style and a unique modern sense of romance and fashion.

how to welcome your out-of-town guests.

2008-06-24T15:09:00.007+01:00

So out of about 150 people on the guest list, less than 10 are from the DC metro area. Essentially, we are having a destination wedding...in our nation's capital! :)

Welcome baskets in the hotel rooms are a great way to make your guests feel at home, plus bring a little of you and your future hubby's personalities out. There are many companies in DC that will make baskets for you, including items that are iconic Washington DC.

Bundles of Cookies in Bethesda creates a one-of-a-kind bouquet of cookies with the US Capitol and the White House for $43.25 - this would really W-O-W your guests when they check-in at the hotel!

Elite Occasions in Georgetown creates amazing baskets (note: these are not for brides-on-a-budget) like the Washingtonian, which includes a DC chocolate bar, red white and blue popcorn and a tin of Virginia peanuts for $100.

Myfavoritecity.com also has some great gift baskets, including the Washington DC Welcome Basket which comes stocked with a Washington DC chocolate bar, Washington DC mints and a gift card for for $19.95.

Local Cakes

2008-06-24T14:59:00.000+01:00

We all know about Sylvia Weinstock, Lovin Sullivan, Ron Ben Israel, and Gail Watson. Heck, we even know about Sprinkles Cupcakes! Unfortunately none of the celebrity cake bakers live here in DC. The closest we've got is Chef Duff Goldman from Charm City Cakes but those guys are so popular that you'd probably need to book a year in advance and pay some hefty delivery fees. Plus, unless you want something spinning or exploding, they're probably not interested.

So, who do we turn to? DC surprisingly has a lot of wedding cake talent if you know where to look. Since I get to eat it most every weekend, I'd consider myself an expert on the subject. Here are my top picks in the DC area for the best wedding cake bakers:

* Rocio at A Piece of Cake:Leslie at Fancy Cakes by Leslie:
Debbie at Cakes by Design:Lucia at Cakes in Style:Have you hired your baker yet?

How To Help Your Groom with the Rehearsal Dinner

2008-06-23T20:37:00.000+01:00

I am a lucky bride. My groom has been so helpful with so much of this planning. That's why I feel badly for the subterfuge surrounding the rehearsal dinner planning. Similar to the honeymoon, the tradition puts planning the rehearsal dinner on the groom's lap. Where it will sit like a warm kitten, purring and comfortable until I slam the door shut and the cat hits the ceiling, claws extracted.Since so many of our rehearsal dinner guests are coming in from out of town (as far away as London), we need to get this done soon.

Gary really wanted to head this up so I let him have it (no pun intended).I've noticed a scary thing happen. I've become passive-aggressive. A trait I normally do not carry. A famous actor once said how disgruntled movie directors are -- but he didn't know if the process did that to them or if they started out that way. I'm wondering if the same can be said for Bridezillas. You take a sane, mild mannered woman, give her a full-time job, a mortgage, a few extracurricular activities, and a wedding to plan and BOOM! Insta-psycho. ("Where did my fun-loving girlfriend go?" says the groom.)

A couple months ago we were at the Georgetown waterfront celebrating a friend's birthday. She absolutely loves this place called Agraria, so much so that she gave us a personal tour of the place like she built it herself. She's charming. The dimly lit, modernly furnished rooms evoke the sense of being in someone's dining room -- well, someone with several million to spend on fine wood furnishings and incandescent lighting. I pulled Gary through the areas where I thought we could seat the entire bridal party, plus family. He agreed. I picked up a business card from the hostess stand and slipped it into his pants pocket. I'm so bad.

A month later, I received a brochure in the mail from one of the reception locations we looked into, but decided against: Capital Yacht Charters. Another unique idea for the dinner I wasn't responsible for planning! I "accidentally" left the brochure in his pile of mail on the foyer table. He still hasn't mentioned it. Note to self: do not mail Gary anything urgent.Last weekend, we attended my friend's rehearsal dinner at Indique Heights in Chevy Chase (I wasn't in the wedding; I was the wedding photographer, which is why I was invited).

They had a nice little room to seat 30-35 of us comfortably with an exotic little fountain in the middle of the room. "Hey, this would be a great place for our rehearsal dinner," he said as I fell out of my chair. Finally! I couldn't help expressing how it was about time he got around to it. He even emailed his dad to ask if Indian food would be okay with his family. I was so elated that I failed to follow up. I didn't have to."Did you ask my mom to bug me about the rehearsal dinner?" he asked me yesterday. "No," I said and then had to wrack my brain for validation of my answer.

Apparently she had called him, bugging him to move forward with it already. Thus far I have not pulled the "Trish, can I ask you a favor" card. But now that I know it exists, I will keep it in my pocket for future reference.(As of this posting, he has yet to make reservations anywhere.) Maybe if I post an entire blog about it....he, he, he.

Forget Wedding Coordinator, I need a Pschyologist

2008-06-20T18:01:00.000+01:00

Does anyone have any suggestions for getting the guest list from parents who aren't speaking to you?

My wedding invitations need to be addressed before the end of July so they can go out around the beginning of August (is that right if my wedding is Oct. 25?). My fiance and his parents have provided me with their names and addresses (minus a few of our local friends here). We still missing about 20 people's addresses from my parent's list. They gave me the names back in March, along with the e-mail addresses -- and 4 mailing address (2 belonging to distant family members and 2 belonging to close family members). The rest were names of neighbors, friends and family -- all emails only.

Now, supposedly, everyone we had an email address for received a PDF of our Save the Date card back in March. Which is why I was surprised to hear that my uncle never received his. Then my best friend from college said she never got one either. I asked my fiancé, who emailed these out, if he ever went back into that email account to see if any emails had bounced back undeliverable. Nope, he said on June 10th. The thought had never occurred to him. Rock on my beloved. (grrr)

My whole ingenious plan was to email all 130 people on the guest list with a PDF of the Save the Date card - being environmentally friendly and all. Those who did not live and die by email were supposed to be mailed a hard copy. On the PDF it said: Please reply to this email with your name and mailing address to receive an invitation. How many people do you think emailed us back with a mailing address?

If you guessed 2, you were right. So much for my brilliant plan.

Now that I have selected my wedding invitations (still need to actually place the order though), I am ready to put an excel spreadsheet together and sent it to my mom, who had promised to do the calligraphy.

In summary, last weekend, I did something to upset my parents and now they are emailing one word answers only. They won't send me the mailing addresses for their guests because they say they've already sent them to me. I have the organizational skills of a field mouse, so they might be right.

I'm wondering if I should assume I will also need to hire a calligrapher at this point as well.

This is just so much fun, I'm not really sure I want to share it -- just keep all this joy to myself. Any ideas?

diy - flowers

2008-06-19T18:43:00.000+01:00

so I need to find places to cut due to budget constraints...but I don't want it to *look* like I made cuts. one of the places I am certain I can cut is FLOWERS.

with the wedding so close to Easter, I am hoping I won't have to do anything in terms of flowers for the ceremony. awesome!

my mother recently went to a wedding, and the groom and all his men walked down the aisle sans flowers. and my mother said she didn't even notice. seems like a good place to cut to me!

our reception will have high-top tables...six of them...and I was thinking of just doing very simple decorations. this past weekend someone even told me to have empty vases on the tables, and then when the bridal party gets there, they can just plop their bouquets in the empty vases. double-duty for those flowers. works for me!

my dilemma is HOW to go about making these bouquets...without making them look diy. (translation: cheap) but thanks to theknot.com, the article below has calmed my fears on a diy bouquet, and I think I could even do it with calla lillies!! (which I love but figured would look stupid if I tried to do it myself.)

so without further ado, the article...

Homemade Bouquets: Calla Lily Sheaf
This DIY is easy and elegant. Does it get any better? Here's how to make your own contemporary sheaf of calla lilies in just 4 easy steps.

Thinking of making your own bridal bouquet? Instead of ribbon, this contemporary calla lily bouquet is wrapped with a sheaf of variegated leaves taken from exotic ginger plants. The yellowish variegation of the leaf wrapping coordinates beautifully with yellow calla lilies and enhances the bouquet's dignified appearance. But if a bride prefers something other than yellow, miniature callas offer a multitude of color choices, many of which would be complemented by the ginger leaves.Why it's so great? It's regal enough for the bride and easy enough to be made in multiples for attendants, this sleek sheaf-like creation has an air of formality that dictates its use at grand summertime events.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
* Miniature calla lilies
* Oasis waterproof tape
* Tack 2000 spray adhesive
* Variegated ginger leaves

STEP 1: Prepare the Leaves
* Take two or three ginger leaves and make them more pliable by cutting away some of the apexes. (Save for later.)

STEP 2: Pick the Lilies
* Select your calla lilies.
* Arrange them to your liking.
* Surround the blossoms with vertically placed ginger leaves.

STEP 3: Bind It Together
* Bind the stems and leaves with waterproof tape.

STEP 4: Wrap It Up!
* Spray the backsides of the more pliable leaves with adhesive.
* Starting just below the blossoms, wrap the design with the leaves.

Excerpted from Florists' Review: 101 Wedding Bouquets. To order a copy of the book, call (800) 367-4708.

now, does anyone have any ideas of where to get wholesale flowers in the DC metro area? :)

Literally Tried On 100 Dresses

2008-06-18T20:36:00.000+01:00

I have to start of by saying that this story does have a happy ending. My search for a wedding dress took several years off my life. In summary, I went searching for something simple in a season of complicated, thus coming home, empty handed and frustrated.

I would like to direct this blog to the wedding dress industry: WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

I understand the reasons for having sample sizes only in all local stores. If a girl who is a size 12 wants to try on dress A and the store only has it in a size 8, she won't be able to get into it to get an idea of what it may look like. Well, the sad truth is, if I'm a size 2 and dress A at the store is only in a size 8 or 10 -- guess what, I still have no idea what this clipped up, rouched, folding wrap of white cloth may look like.Additionally, if I am getting married in six or seven months and would like to try on a dress that is not in the store, but can be sent by the manufacturer, why do I have to wait four months to try it on? Is there really only one version of this dress in the United States that is being shipped around like the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants?

It is very disappointing to fall in love with a dress in a magazine only to find out that you have to drive for 14 hours to try it on -- in a version twice your size. I would almost advise my fellow brides to only look at magazine pages to get an IDEA of what you like. Then take that page into a local store and ask "Do you have anything similar to this?" before getting your heart set on one thing.I admit my drama was mostly my fault. I didn't really know exactly what I wanted when I started looking in February. My pregnant sister and one of my bridesmaids went with me to David's Bridal. I started out wanting something with color, but those types only came in A-line, which my sister and friend quickly ruled out for me (along with 3 women I didn't know who were just watching from the sidelines).

They suggested staying away from the ball gowns because I had a nice body and should not hide it under all that material. Alrighty.My best friend, Vanessa, has been my most reliable fashion consultant for years. The girl's got style. So when she called me absolutely thrilled that she had found the perfect dress for me, I was elated.This stunning Piccione dress is from Alfred Angelo. Vanessa lives in Orlando and found it at the new store in Altamonte Springs. I called and asked if there was a store near DC that carried that line. Nope. Nearest Alfred Angelo stores is in Delaware -- and that location does not carry the Piccione line. Sweet.

My mother-in-law to be called the store in Pennsylvania where she lives. They had it in a size 10 -- that would be a four-hour drive for me. No thanks. Grrr.I went to seven or eight other bridal stores in the DC Metro area. I tried on about 5 or 6 in each location, from the very high end to the bargain stores. Nothing screamed "This is the one," as I had heard so many other brides tell of. I envied them for that moment they stepped in front of the mirror and fell head over heels. Kinda like the girls in college who had year-long relationships with great, good looking guys who were in love with them. They looked so happy, so comfortable with each other. So not fair. Moving right along, I went through a series of dresses that had a similar shape to the one Vanessa loved. Each one had something majorly wrong with it when I put it on.

This looks great from the side if I'm leaning against a ledge. But standing straight forward looking into a mirror, I looked like I was ready to offer the next couple who walked in the door Spanish Samba lessons. Olay!

This one had all the right elements going for it, AND it fit perfectly in the store. As I caught a glance at myself in the three-way mirror it gave me flashbacks to senior prom. Suddenly, all the lights in the store went out and I was dancing by myself to Eric Clapton's "You Look Wonderful Tonight," alone...again.

I cannot tell you how close I came to buying this dress. The women at the Demetrios Bridal store inside the Tyson's Macy's were so incredibly lovely, I wanted to invite them all to my wedding. They offered clear, honest feedback on each dress I tried on. I must have tried on every dress in this store. They had the best collection around and were open later during the week, which was great because dress shopping on Saturdays is like being stuck on a Jack Gyllenhaal fan bus. Not my idea of a good time. One of my problems with this dress is that the store only had it in ivory, which I didn't want. It was very hard to "imagine" it in white. And I have a pretty stellar imagination. The second thing was the asymmetrical line on the skirt. I was pretty sure I was looking for something symmetrical. I cannot say why.

One, two, skip a few, 99, 100. Yep, I tried on about 100 dresses. Granted, I tried on most of them by myself. Like I said, Vanessa is in Orlando and the stores don't let you take pictures so your personal fashion consultant can vote on them. I understand they do it to protect the designers, but I wonder if they realize they are losing sales. My sister, by this time, was too near baby-delivery time to be too far from a hospital. And my friend Amy is a lawyer and I could only take up so much of her time. (For the record, she rearranged her schedule several times for me anyway.)

Those friendly little email reminders kept prodding me to order my bridal gown because I was only six months away from my wedding date. Every store I visited warned not to order your dress less than six months from the date. Again, why-oh-why does it require so much time? I know they said it would likely arrive in four months, not six, but that we had to allow time for alterations. Bills get through Congress faster than a white dress can show up at my doorstep. Is it just me or is something very wrong with that?

Finally, I did what I should have done all along. I grabbed my friend Kate (the graphic designer) and drove about an hour outside of town to Annapolis. I found a store online that offered the Jasmine collection. I called first to make sure they had dress T147. They did.

I had tried dress F106 on in a store in Vienna and thought the front of it had potential but I hated the back. (note: this dress comes in all white, without the black part on top.)When I tried on dress T147, I loved the back, but hated the front. The nice women at Elena's Bridal saw that I was near an emotional collapse. They got on the phone with the dress manufacturer and asked if the front of one dress could be paired with the back of another one. Of course, they said. And that's the story of how Jasmine Bridal saved the day. The moral of the story is, if you date around and can't find the right guy -- make one up.**Since I'm still not 100% happy with the front of dress F106, the seamstress at Elena's is going to order more material and reshape the top to be more of a sweetheart neckline -- the squareness of my broad swimmer's shoulders do not work with the straight line as the neckline shows in the picture. Those women are awesome and I am very excited to work with them when the dress arrives in August.

***One month after I put a deposit down on my dress, the fall line premiered with tons of dresses without the embroidery and rouching I disliked from Spring 2007/2008 lines. Dope!

it's the little things.

2008-06-18T15:31:00.001+01:00

Planning a wedding is stressful. There are days you just want to rip your hair out. Or worse...you get in silly, pointless fights over the dumbest of things. At the first meeting with our priest, he reminded us that he is preparing us for MARRIAGE, not for a WEDDING. And he assured us that we would get in fights over the next year...planning and making decisions and trying to keep everyone happy. But he said at the end of the day...we will be married, and that is what is most important. (point being...try to keep the fights to a minimum because it's not worth it.)

Redbook had a great article earlier this year on creative ways to show your special someone you care...and during this wedding planning peroid, when things are crazy and nuts and you may even wonder why you are getting married, these little actions will remind you both that you truly love each other and that when all is said and done...you will live happily ever after.

21 Ways to Say "I Love You" (Without Saying a Word)

By Sara Anderson

You already know it's important for you and your guy to tell each other "I love you" — as often as possible. But you shouldn't depend on those three little words to let your one-and-only know what's in your heart. In fact, nonverbal displays of affection are often a better way to get through to the man in your life. "Guys tend to be action-oriented, so they feel less comfortable using words to express emotions," says REDBOOK Love Network expert and psychiatrist Scott Haltzman, M.D., author of The Secrets of Happily Married Men. "They've seen enough Tom Hanks movies to know they're supposed to always say 'I love you,' but they're not sure that words alone convey how they feel."

Ready to let what you do speak louder than what you say? We asked REDBOOK readers and the men in their lives to share some sweet ideas. Plus, we added in some expert tips on how to give your love a boost without uttering a word.

"Sometimes I 'write' a love message on my husband's breakfast toast. Using cookie cutters, especially my Valentine's Day set of hearts, I press one lightly into a slice of bread, just hard enough to imprint it, then I toast it. It never fails to bring a smile to his face." —Anita Crehan, Mason, NH

ROMANCE, REVISITED

"Every now and then I leave a card saying how much I love and appreciate him under his pillow for him to find before he goes to sleep." —Cim Collins, Springfield, IL

"My wife, Leigh Anne, sometimes has to travel for work, and when she gets home, I give her a small gift for every day she has been gone. I'll set them on the kitchen table and wait for her to notice them — things like her favorite perfume, fresh flowers, or a cool piece of handmade jewelry. I love to spoil her!" —John Montgomery, Birmingham, AL

"I place special little love notes, cartoons, jokes, or small articles — sometimes racy ones — in her underwear drawer. She never knows what to expect next. She gets a big kick out of them and knows it is my way of saying I love her." —Joe Cirillo Jr., Englewood, FL

"When I take a shower at night, I write messages on the fogged-up mirrors so they appear when he takes a shower in the morning before he goes to work." —Jackie Peirce, Oley, PA

MAKE LIFE A LITTLE EASIER

"My husband puts toothpaste on my toothbrush and leaves it lying on the sink for me every night before bed. He is the sweetest husband ever!" —Lisa Wilkes-North, Heath, TX

"I scour the TV listings for his favorite movies or a sporting event that I know he'd love to watch. I TiVo it without telling him, then surprise him with it on Saturday morning. Bonus: While he's on the couch, I've just bought myself some me-time. Manicure, pedicure, here I come!" —Cindy Panowicz, Grand Island, NE

"Before my husband leaves for work, he sets the table for my breakfast. He lays out a bowl for cereal, a cup for orange juice, strawberries, a napkin, and a spoon. For a big, manly union guy, this is a really major step!" —Patricia Armstrong, Danvers, MA

"I love that my husband gets up every morning when I do. His job doesn't start till 9, so he could easily sleep later than me, but he doesn't. While I get ready, he gets our three kids dressed and loads them into the van with their backpacks. To me, this is one of the best ways he can say he loves us all." —Jeanette Dominguez, El Paso, TX

SHOW YOUR APPRECIATION

"We brag about each other when we're out with our friends — even if it's about something little, like, 'Oh, Barry had the best idea the other day' or 'Barry fixed the whatsit that's been leaking!'" —Jennifer Starr, Columbus, OH

"For Christmas, I bought a dictionary and went through it, highlighting all the definitions that describe him or remind me of him." —Jaynee Germond, Roseburg, OR

"Every morning before I get up, he leaves two folded towels in the bathroom for me for when I take a shower — one big towel for my body and a smaller towel for my head." —Amy Rossi-Espagnet, Atlanta

EXPERT CHALLENGE: SHOW HIM YOUR GRATITUDE WITH A BEAR HUG

"The number one complaint I hear from guys is they feel like they don't get rewarded for the things they do, only told what they didn't do. Next time your man takes out the trash without being asked or starts the coffee pot for you in the morning, reward him with a 30-second full-body hug. Guys are so physical — it's easy and teasy." —Toni Coleman

"In the wintertime I start my husband's car in the morning so it will be toasty warm for him on his way to work." —Autumn Griffin, Canton, OH

HIGH-SPEED SIGNS OF DEVOTION

"I changed the banner on his cell phone to read 'I Love You' when he wasn't looking!" —Becky White, Newton, AL

"My husband and I send each other short e-mails to say what we are thinking about at that very moment. Once, he wrote me, 'The new Brad Paisley song makes me think of you.' Now every time I hear it on the radio, I'm reminded how much my husband loves me." —Michelle Magnetti, Colorado Springs, CO

"My husband gets up at 5:30 a.m., but he pulls his dresser drawers open the night before so the noise of them opening and closing won't disturb me. Now, that's love!" —Connie Maynord, Bastrop, TX

SEND A SECRET MESSAGE

EXPERT CHALLENGE: POINT THE WAY

"Here's a suggestive sign he can't miss: Leave a trail of Post-it notes in the hallway with arrows on them leading all the way to the bedroom." —Joyce Morley-Ball, Atlanta psychotherapist and author of Seeds for the Harvest of a Lifetime.

"Every time we kiss, we do it three times, which stands for 'I love you.' When my husband pulls out of the driveway in the morning, I stand at the door while he sets off the emergency light on his truck, also three times for 'I love you.'" —Peggy Clayton, Dubuque, IA

EXPERT CHALLENGE: DRAW HIM A MAP

"Use your eyeliner to give yourself a temporary tattoo — an arrow that starts at your navel and points down. Remember: Men are very visual!" —Scott Haltzman, M.D.

Wedding Planning 101: Trial and Error

2008-06-17T18:32:00.000+01:00

Have you ever heard the phrase, "a funny thing happened on the way to the store?" It's an old school way to start a lie about how you got distracted and/or lost the money you were supposed to use to buy milk, etc.Well, a funny thing happened en route to planning my wedding. When I attended a few of those overwhelming bridal showcases earlier this year, I had planned on using my friend (who taught me wedding photography, www.fortinphotography.com) to take my pictures, my friend (who married my sister's best friend) to be my DJ, and my other friend (Kimberly, the most multi-talented female I've ever met) to help with detail coordination. All of them have fallen through -- the last one being solely my fault.

So, at six months to wedding date, I had to start all over again. And, of course, I didn't keep/collect any of the vendor information from those showcases because I didn't need them....ooops.Snap My PictureStaving off a mental breakdown, I quickly turned to major bridal web sites with a list of "vendors in your area." My penchant for talent lead me to contact the top 10 to 15 photographers in town, minus the ones out of my price range. They were all booked. I Googled wedding photography in D.C. and clicked my way through the ones with images not in line with my style. Finally I landed on HyonSmithphotography.com -- very nice work. I love the combination of documentary style shots with candid moments. But this guy has a real knack for making a bride look like she's a model in a magazine -- now who doesn't want that?

We negotiated a deal over coffee and small talk about surfing and photojournalism. Hyon is not only talented, he's super cool to hang with. (Footnote here that he is not personally scheduled to shoot my wedding; his 2nd shooter is, but the style/caliber is the same).Let Them Eat...My parents, who live in Orlando, were in town vising my sister and her family. Gary and I joined them one evening for dinner and my dad had picked up these gi-normous cupcakes. "Where did you get these?" I asked my dad, more out of curiosity of how a non-local came across such a splendid local bakery (I could see that the box was not your typical Safeway fare). "Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe," he said. Two weeks later, Gary and I were having drinks with some friends at our favorite happy hour spot (Mio on Vermont).

When the subject of a wedding cake came up, they suggested we use Heidelberg. Gary turned to me and said flatly (which means I'm about to be hit with sarcasm), "think we should wait for a third sign, just to be sure?" After our cake tasting, we fell in love with Heidelberg. I think I might "lose" my notes on which flavors we want just so I can go back and do another sampling. So crazy yummy. Chocolate + Grand Marnier + Marzipan = Heaven.Dance, DanceThe inside scoop from my friend who is a DJ but is already booked on our wedding date is this: don't pay too much and don't pay too little. Somewhere in the range of $600 to $900 is a healthy starting point when seeking a music master.

Since I want a ton of 80's music at my reception, I wanted to find someone old enough to remember what was popular then -- not just what has been reborn now. I looked for pictures of the DJs because I'm shallow like that and would like someone who meets appearances. DZ Entertainment gave me a great deal on an experienced DJ and they were polite about follow up phone calls without falling into the stalker category.Did Basket Mean Call Him or Don't Call Him?There's a skill to vendors knowing how often to follow up with you versus leaving you out in the cold. (If you didn't catch the movie line reference to Singles, you probably caught its meaning anyway.) If any vendors are reading this, think of it like dating someone new: you don't want to seem desperate, but you don't want to come off like a player either.My Poor Friend Kimberly, Alas...Several months ago I had my sights set on holding the reception at an art gallery. First, I looked at the Katzen Arts Center on American University's campus. Gary didn't like it. I loved it. Didn't matter in the end because they won't let you reserve the place for October until May something due to the school getting first preference. I sought Kimberly's wisdom on the matter since this is what she does. Her patience is astounding. I moved forward with the Torpedo Factory -- a blank slate and a good cause, supporting local artists. Awesome. (Little did Rebecca know that her whole family hated the idea and so did her fiance.)

My parents paid the $1,500 deposit and I scheduled a meeting with Kimberly on site to brainstorm decorating ideas. Screaming kids, spilled milk, and pouring down rain -- not exactly how I wanted this meeting to go. My mom wanted to help my bedridden pregnant sister and get her two kids out of the house, plus see this reception locale so she could help with the decor. I should have said no to my mom about bringing the kids, but again, Kimberly was ridiculously patient. I, however, was not. I left the meeting with fleeting thoughts of elopement.Based on what Kimberly and I discussed, Gary and I wrote up some estimates. We were way, way over our budget. I'm not sure how we got to this point, but if I wanted to feed my guests anything other than Powerbars and Capri Sun, we were going to have to reassess.

I'm skipping over many details, tearful conversations, and a few shouting matches to bring you swiftly to the conclusion that we canceled with the Torpedo Factory and went with the Hilton in Old Town, Alexandria. (As you can see in the pictures, they have a lovely foyer and ballroom.) I lost our deposit (unless someone else books Oct. 18th, any takers? please?), but even still, we are coming out thousands of dollars ahead of where we were before. More importantly, I was able to salvage my friendship with Kimberly. (Thank you for still speaking to me.)We still need to book the rehearsal dinner (why can I never spell rehearsal correctly??), but that's Gary gig.

I'm leaving it in his capable hands. Sometimes, the only thing that keeps me going is the thought of our 10-day honeymoon in St. Lucia. I downloaded the screen saver from the Ti Kaye Village Resort (www.tikaye.com) where we are staying the first three nights -- 156 days to go!

Help! Is There a Planner in the House?

2008-06-17T03:52:00.000+01:00

Hello! My name is Laura and I am a wedding addict. Seriously. It's true. Fortunately, I own a wedding planning company and get my daily fix by planning other people's weddings!

As a quick overview, Soiree Special Events was started by me just over three years ago. Since then, we've grown to 12 coordinators across Washington DC, Charlottesville VA, and Los Angeles! We are hoping to include San Diego later this year. We take about 50 weddings a year and love to live vicariously through our brides. You can read a little more about the company by visiting our website or this interview.

I have lived in the Northern Virginia suburbs my whole life so I planned my big day in DC too. Chris and I just passed our second anniversary. Here's a photo of me and the hubs in Old Town Alexandria after our afternoon wedding at the Newton White Mansion:::trivia:: Can you figure out which restaurant we're standing in front of? Be the first to leave a comment with the correct answer and I'll send you a $5 iTunes card!

I'm happy to answer questions, offer advice, recommend vendors, or just be supportive! If you have an issue you'd like me address on the blog, shoot me an email and I'll post my response. Consider me your in-house wedding pro!

You Know You're an Anti-Bride If …

2008-06-16T19:31:00.000+01:00

A great article over on MSN.com today…and I think part of me might just be an anti-bride.

I can sympathize with Jessica on some of the items she mentions. While I was ecstatic to get engaged…and I do want to have a wedding…the actual thought of PLANNING the entire event is overwhelming. If I was doing it for someone else, I would be 100% gung-ho…but I think for me the thought of making so many decisions just makes my head spin. This past weekend I looked at a few dresses…it may take me awhile to pull the trigger on which one I want to wear in May 2009. (And ultimately look at in pictures for years to come.)

Jessica says, “Anti-brides are not anti-marriage. They're not anti-wedding. And they're certainly not anti-groom. They're not even necessarily anti-white dress – though they are probably, on the whole, more open to a wedding dress in color or period costume. Anti-brides would simply like to opt out – if not entirely, then at least in part – of the mad frenzy and expense of the beast that is the American wedding industry.”

And I agree…I am not anti-marriage. I am not anti-wedding. I am not anti-groom. I would simply like to “opt out” of some of the madness that has become a wedding. It’s no longer a day with family and close friends to celebrate your love. Weddings have become blow-out events, each one bigger than the next…pushing more and more newlyweds into debt. And for what?? A fancy dinner and some over-the-top decoration?? No thank you.

Here are a few of the items I most identified with in Jessica’s article…

You don't believe that the wedding is “all about the bride.” It's amazing how often a bride-to-be will hear this phrase. However, the anti-bride is typically uncomfortable with this notion because to you it's all about the groom – and the vows the two of you will make.

Check. Essentially my wedding is a destination wedding. Aside from one cousin on my side of the family and one cousin on Mr. P’s side of the family…all 150 guests will be traveling to the District for the big day. I want them to come and have fun and party.

You let your bridal party decide what to wear. Many of us have bridesmaid dresses gathering dust in our closets. As an anti-bride, you'd rather have your friends wear a dress that they like, that they feel beautiful in and that they can wear and feel beautiful in again. You may not even have a bridal party at all. You may simply have your sister stand by your side.

Check. As I search online and scour racks upon racks of (ugly) dresses…I keep coming back to the idea of letting my maids choose a black cocktail dress they feel comfortable in. Something they can wear again…and something that looks good on them, individually. And something that doesn’t cost $300 for one day…essentially only 5 hours of that one day.

Save the dates. What save the dates? Party favors. What party favors? You don't sweat the small stuff. You forget to wear something borrowed, something blue...

Check. Richard Carlson is a smart, smart man…Don’t sweat the small stuff…and it’s all small stuff.

So all-in-all, I think I lean towards the anti-bride side. That is not to say I am not excited about my wedding day. I am head-over-heels to walk down the aisle and get married…but the idea of an “Americanized” wedding just does not appeal to me.

Any thoughts?

DIY: Wedding Invitations

2008-06-13T18:04:00.000+01:00

Decisions, decisions. Here are the wedding invitations designed by my friend Kate (ka@clarity-creative.com). My wedding colors are chocolate brown and slate blue. There will be a mix of copper and gold accents scattered about and white dress and cake. I debated going with a gold invite to add richness to the feel of it since the paper quality isn't as heavy as I would like it to be (too expensive since I'm not printing these at home).

I'm not a fan of this traditional wording. "Requesting the honor of your presence" reminds me too much of my father's sarcasm when calling me to the dinner table when I was young. But Gary didn't like the phrase I originally had, which was "thrilled to invite you to the marriage ceremony of..." Ironically, he thought that sounded sarcastic.

Since marriage is about compromise, we are going with the traditional wording, but the design is modern -- as you can see even the font is a mix of traditional and modern.

I love the all-blue invite she did but would want to get blue paper that naturally had the vertical pattern in it. I'd be too worried that the printer would mess that up. I don't have much faith in most printers. Especially on short runs like this one. It's just really hard to get 150 perfect prints and it's not cost effective for them to only do that many. I've supervised many magazine and newsletter print runs and it takes at least 100 run through before it starts to look right.

I heard there is a store in Vienna that will print these, but I have not had time to go visit them and ask. My schedule is so full right now, if I can't do something via the web it is just not going to get done. If I could plan this whole wedding without stepping foot in a florist shop or bakery I would do it. Does that make me too Gen Y?

I need to choose which design I want soon, so please post a comment about which one you like. My deadline is June 25th to place the order! Thanks!

Wedding Check List: Thank You Email Reminders

2008-06-12T22:37:00.001+01:00

If it weren't for regularly scheduled emails from reminding me which items I'm supposed to be taking care of, I would wake up one morning in October in sheer panic.Wedding Web sites have a clear list of "to do" items and allow you to add your own customized tasks, which is great. I'm trained to operate based on deadlines, so no deadline, no task completion. And yes, I often wait until the night before.This weekend my wedding will be 5 months away (or 157 days to go, thank you).

Taking stock I have completed 50 to dos and have 184 remaining. (flashbacks to writing a thesis anyone??)
Engagement Ring Insured - check
Pick a gown - check (this BTW, is worth its own blog entry)
Create Wedding Guest List - check
Choose bridal party - check
Book church and reception sites - check
Begin pre-marital counseling - check
Hire photographer and DJ - check (the DJ, is through DZ Entertainment and while I have not met with them in person, they were very professional via phone and email, which is all i have time for)
Book honeymoon - check
Register - (this requires another blog)

In a sweet, subtle way, these reminders provide hot pink exclamation points next to my overdue items. "Choose Your Florist," it says. "Order Your Invitations." Gosh - if only it were that simple.More than two months ago I made an appointment with a florist, we'll call them Florist A, to get a proposal. When we arrived, the door was locked and we were made to wait more than half an hour while an earlier appointment ran late (I was warned this might happen). The woman was super nice and very personable. She seemed open to sticking within my budget since I wasn't super picky about what type of flowers and arrangements I wanted.

Easter came and went and I still had not received a proposal, though they did call and say they were delayed and she was sick, etc, and were very nice about it. Knowing I was going to need another proposal to do a cost comparison, I made an appointment with Florist B.Florist B was very nice as well. They saw me right away and seemed to be on the same page as far as the "look" I was thinking about. I also appreciated how candid they were about pricing -- letting me know what I could do myself for the centerpieces and save myself some dough. By this time, I had done some research on flowers and found a "unique" bouquet of white orchids. I loved it and had never seen anything like it. Florist B liked it as well and suggest a way to tie it back in with my dress. They wrote up a proposal on the spot that beat out the proposal I received around this same time from Florist A.Now, in all fairness, I thought I should go back to Florist A with the same bridal bouquet picture to get a fairer estimate for comparison. A side by side look at the two proposals are within $100 of each other.

Should I:
A. Pick a florist based on gut feeling
B. Avoid Florist A because of how long it takes them to respond and how many excuses theyseem to have?
C. Pick Florist A because they keep in constant communication and are a little more personable?D. There's not enough info here to get help with my decision

In the meantime, "Order Your Invitations." Well, if I were not designing them myself, with the help of a talented friend, yes, I would order them. But why take the simple route when you can make things way more complicated than they really should be?Forgive me, I've gotten ahead of myself. Backing up to sources of inspiration for the theme/look of the wedding...Gary and I love to picnic in Rock Creek Park, especially in fall/spring, which are completely new experiences for me. (I honestly don't ever remember seeing tulips like the ones I've seen around here --they almost look like something edible from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).

Rock Creek is great because in a few short moments, you can bury yourself in non-city landscaping -- a healthy exercise for the imagination. All the laws of time, task and toil seem to dissolve with each crunch of a leaf underfoot.And that's when it hit me. I would like my reception to feel like a Robert Frost poem, except without the miles to go before I sleep. My wedding colors are chocolate brown and slate blue, although electric blue looks better it just reminds me of Debbie Gibson. I found an inspiring web site (www.nettletonhollow.com) that has the branches I'll need for my tall centerpieces. And I found some LED lights at Save-on-Crafts.com (the ones with the imitation looking flame are less cheesy than the submergable white ones). My bridesmaids were told to pick out a chocolate brown, floor length gown of their own choosing. Each of the 5 girls has a beautiful figure, but totally different style. I felt better knowing that they were going to feel great in whatever they wore more so than shoehorning them into what I wanted.Now things are starting to get exciting. I scoured the Internet for invitation ideas. Having worked with Marc Freidland, who designed John Travolta's birthday invites and Oprah's Black and White party, (www.creativeintelligence.com) in L.A., my standards are pretty high, but my budget is low. Gucci taste on a Gap budget and all. I found an envelope that I thought Marc might have approved of and got to work. I ordered samples of invitations because not all web sites disclose the weight of the paper stock they show in the pictures. There is a huge difference between 70 lbs and 110 lbs when it comes to paper.

Less is sometimes better; it just depends on what you're trying to do.What I'm trying to do is buy these brown envelopes as is, then have my friend design the 6 x 6 invite that will lay inside, then have someone print that and match the RSVP card, Directions card, Reception card that go inside the little pocketflap. I went to all the web sites advertising in all the bridal magazines and not one of them was able to print our invite and match it with the other cards. I didn't need the other cards designed, I would buy whatever they had in stock that matched, but this was not to be. (Footnote here about printing these invites at Kinko's -- that's how we did our 5 x7 Save the Date cards, which was fine because it didn't matter how crookedly the sides were cut.)A saving grace: I came across this company in Chicago that spoke my language (www.styleonabudget.com).

They are going to give me a quote on printing our design and finding pocket cards to match. Yay! If there is a company in D.C. that would do the same thing, I would like to know. Now, all I have to decide is between using a sepia toned image of Gary and me or going with something simple that incorporates the blue, brown and white wedding colors. Thoughts? Hint: Gary and I are using a sepia photo of us on the cover of the music CD we put together for our guests. Hmm. To match or not to match....Regardless, I need to order the envelopes soon. My mom has offered to address the envelopes in her beautiful calligraphy work. Since she's traveling a ton over the next month she needed to start on them like yesterday. Yes, mom, I know, one hot pink exclamation point coming your way!

Wedding Details: How A Monster Was Created

2008-06-11T19:36:00.000+01:00

I am not the girl who has dreamed about her wedding ceremony since she was 12. I would prefer to wear whatever I feel like in the morning and not lay out my outfit the night before. I don't even own an iron, much less an ironing board. (Isn't that what a de-wrinkle cycle is for?) So when it came to ironing out the details of my wedding, I was less than enthused.

I think Mariah Carey had the right idea -- and you'll never hear me say that again. Beach, white flowy dress, orchids, close friends, champagne, done. Where I'm from, there are two seasons: hurricane season and not hurricane season. So in January 2008, the day after the proposal, a late summer wedding sounded perfect. And it may have been....in 2009.

Quickly letting go of my easy/breezy beautiful summer wedding, this fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants girl found where to draw the line between East Coasters and West Coasters. Planning in advance. WAY in advance. As I called around to book a reception venue, I was literally laughed at when I gave them a late summer 2008 wedding date. Apparently, couples here live for their jobs -- to the point where they get married based on when it's mutually convenient around elections, security screenings and fiscal quarters. Fine.

After re-doing my vision of my wedding day, Gary and I settled on October 25th. Everyone in Florida thinks that's a long time. Everyone here thinks it's rushing it. To each his own. I am now a fall bride. No biggie. I can fake-tan with the best of them.Every article about wedding planning starts with mentioning a budget. Having a wedding budget is kind of like having a "type" of guy you like to date. You're more than welcome to start there, but you're more likely to end up with something completely different.

With some help from both our parents, we're going to attempt to walk the tightrope of a D.C. wedding with...drumroll please...US$20,000 for about 100 guests. I now feel like the parable of the talents. If I don't invest wisely, I may not go to heaven.Luckily, we found a very nice hotel in Old Town with a minimum price tag of $13,000 (always ask for a minimum price since their pretty brochures of $95/head does not disclose this information). What was just as important as the clean, spacious facility was the fact that the coordinator at the hotel was one of the most accommodating people I'd ever met.

From here I used two facts about my new non-summer wedding reality: October is fall and the ballroom at this Hilton has brown, gold, hunter green and beige in the carpet, decor and entry way. It also has intriguing gold petal lighting on the ceiling and sconces. Working with and not against my environment will serve me well in my planning.

As one of my bridesmaids asked, drawing on her experience as a psychologist, "what do you want people to remember about your wedding?" Aka - what impression do you want to make on Gary's family and friends? (My family and friends already know me well enough that something too formal would not be my style.) "I want my wedding to be elegant, but not stuffy," I told her. "I want people to feel special for being a part of it, but I want to keep things simple." And of course, she wouldn't let me get away with anything less than "unique." It's a great word that my friends and family have come to use when referencing me in place of the word "strange."

Armed with my budget, my date, my color palette and my adjectives, I began to plan the rest of the details. The most important thing at this stage is to be open to inspiration because it can come from anything anywhere.

celebrity inspiration.

2008-06-11T19:00:00.000+01:00

InStyle Weddings is currently showcasing "The Best of Celebrity Weddings" on their website. While I may not have a Tori Spelling or Christina Aguilera budget...I think I could pull some ideas for my own nuptials. I think the decor ideas below for both the ceremony and the reception will add just the right amount of style and elegance to May 2.

Calla lilies, hydrangeas, lily grass and philodendron leaves adorned the aisle seats Ana Ortiz and Noah Lebenzon's destination wedding in Rincon, Puerto Rico.

"Cool earthy colors - lime- and apple-greens - were our foundation," says florist Alwyn Burger of Okasie who created the centerpieces for Kara Janx & Sharone Sohayegh's South Africa weddings. He removed the stems from Annemarie roses and hydrangeas, and piled the blooms in low bowls.

For her post-ceremony fete planned by L.A. pro Jo Gartin, Tori Spelling asked guests to write notes and hang them on a "wish tree" made of willow branches and cymbidium orchids in a vase filled with shells she and McDermott had collected in Fiji.

(I love this...such a non-traditional idea for a guest book. Although, what do you do with it AFTER the wedding??)

inspiration for the big day.

2008-06-11T01:52:00.000+01:00

I am trying to plan the big day around these shoes.

our venue is a very mod space, with pinks and oranges and purples...so I think hot pink will tie things together nicely. plus, I think hot pink will add some great POP to our wedding. we are planning on having a small wedding (about 150 people on the list at this point) and it will be hors d'voures/cocktail party style. ideally, I would like everything to be streamlined...formal...very black-and-white. so the pink...whatdya think??

shoe photo courtesy of j. crew

other photos courtesy of weddingpaperdiva.com, myjeanm.com, teleflora.com, brides.com, theamericanwedding.com

THE Most Important Part of Wedding Planning

2008-06-10T18:33:00.000+01:00

Part of the requirements for getting married at St. Paul's includes pre-marital counseling. The pastor who will be marrying us in October meets with us about four times prior to the rehearsal (which requires a dinner afterwards...Gary).

During our recent meeting the pastor reviewed the 38-page, multiple choice test. Since G and I were not allowed to share answers, this was the first time I was hearing how he felt about me, my parents, the government, religion, kids, etc. The pastor quickly scanned the pages, searching for some sign of potential conflict between our answers. I marked that I enjoyed outdoor recreational activities, so did G. I said that I was willing to clean the dishes if G was willing to cook. G wrote the same on his version. The pastor looked terrified that this was going to be the most boring counseling session ever.

I think the biggest discrepancy is that I would like to have 2 children and G would like to have 2 sons. The pastor tried to explain to him that this is not a drive-thru; you cannot place a gender order. sigh.

It turns out that G and I have had many "in depth" (that was a category, the other one was "shallow") conversations about many things: his childhood, my future plans, his college friends, my future plans, and even how we feel about money. I attribute this to long car rides to/from his parent's house. I think the point of this test was to root out any conflicts and analyze them. G and I agree on almost everything. To save us from being totally boring, we do disagree on fun things like who should be President and why Catholicism may or may not be the "one true faith."

We have had arguments to be sure. But after the argument was over (either several hours or a day later) I took it upon myself to bring up the situation (ATTN BRIDES, you'll want to read this as it is just as important as all the glitzy stuff you're doing for your wedding which lasts ONE DAY.) "So, do you remember when we were driving around and you were upset with me?" I asked him. "Yes," he replied. "You were driving me a little nuts." He was being kind. "Why specifically was I driving you nuts?"

Asking him this was like scrapping my own nails down a chalkboard. It is so unromantic to rehash a fight. But I know from experience that if you let these moments pass by without both of you being consciously aware of why you did what you did and why you said what you said, it causes bigger problems later. I wouldn't do this every time we argued but since this rarely happens, I felt led to bring it up.

"Because you didn't know where you were going or where we were supposed to be meeting your friend and there's no parking and I was hungry and we were running late." Not that he didn't already know this, but I was compelled to tell him I spend about 90% of my life not knowing where I'm going and/or running late. Despite my best efforts, I didn't see that changing post-vows. I winced as I asked the next question, "Are you sure there wasn't something I did earlier in the day that upset you and it just came out through our searching for parking/running late?" I've found that anytime I didn't want to know the answer to something, I didn't ask the question. Clearly, because I didn't want to know. How many times has THAT come back to haunt me? Tons.

There was, in fact, something I did earlier in the day that set him off. And rightly so. It was too small and tedious to go into, but I did something truly annoying. Something, according to my sister, that I tend to do a lot. Rats. "I'm sorry," I told him. "Not for running late when we were meeting my friend, but for being annoying earlier. I'll try to work on that because I know that it's something that I tend to do." Ugh. I didn't need a marriage test to show me that I'm not perfect. I just needed G to acknowledge that he would love me anyway.

One word of caution when reviewing these arguments: do so sparingly. Only when you're really baffled by a disagreement. I also avoid phrases like "honey, we need to talk about something," and "something you said really bothered me, but we'll talk about it later." Both considered psychological affronts in Manland.

One thing that seemed to be missing from this test was a large section on finances. Since money tends to be the number one reason for divorce, I would think that "in depth" questions about how we see the funds would have gotten more play. Next time, the pastor said. Awesome. Onto the fun stuff....

how it happened. (part 2)

2008-06-05T21:52:00.000+01:00

so we left the gardens, and mr. p's cousin and her husband had a room reserved for us at the latham hotel in georgetown. turns out mr. p had discussed the engagement a day earlier, when we met them and their boys for the parade (it was the end of the cherry blossom festival here in DC...big parade...but back to more important things) we ended up getting stuck in (awful) traffic, and I got out of the car with the boys so we could go to a bakery. mr. p told mitch about his plans for the next day, and mitch asked him what the plans were after he popped the question. mr. p didn't have any...

so as an engagement gift, mr. p's cousin and husband arranged for the room at the hotel. ironically, this is the hotel my parents stayed at last week when they were out here visiting. never would have known it was even there...

so we got to the room, and a chilled bottle of wine was waiting for us. mr. p still had to call his dad, so he made that call, and then we decided it was time to get some food. so we walked about georgetown for a bit...nothing was really jumping out at us. we walked past a place advertising FRIED PB&J AND BANANA SANDWICHES!!! I was all for it, but mr. p said that wasn't very romantic! ha

we settled on papa.razzi, an italian restaurant. we walk in and the maître d' says something along the lines of "I hope you are having a great day" and I of course blurt out, "we are, we just got engaged!!" (I was still wanting to shout it from the rooftop!!) the maître d' was so excited, and told the hostess to sit us at a "special table" because we were celebrating. we sit, our waitress comes over, we order drinks, she brings them to the table. at which point, the maître d' comes over and tells our waitress (marisa, by the way...we became friends) we are celebrating. she asks what, exactly, we are celebrating...and you know I couldn't resist telling someone else!! :)

she squealed (girls get much more excited than boys about this kind of thing) and said she wanted to hug us. turns out, she was having a crappy sunday, so she was glad we were sitting in her section. we chatted in between her serving her (much less exciting) tables, and she ended up bringing us tiramisu, and the maître d' brought us some champagne. (I could get used to this!!)

all in all, it was a great night...and we are so happy!!

let the planning begin!!!

how it happened. (part 1)

2008-06-05T21:48:00.000+01:00

so mr. p wanted to go to dumbarton oaks (http://www.doaks.org/gardens/) in the afternoon. usually I am the one dragging us from monument to event to tourist trap on the weekends, so when he suggested going for the afternoon, I was all for it.

we went to target and trader joe's in the morning for groceries, then we came back and ate lunch. I had to run to macy's to return something, and mr. p said he would take the dogs out while I was gone. when I got home, though, he still hadn't taken them. (I was a little annoyed, since it was starting to drizzle and I didn't want to go to a garden in the rain.) so I took the dogs on a walk. when I got back, I went to brush my teeth before we left (mr. p will tell you this is weird...I didn't think it was weird.) and I couldn't find my toothbrush. I asked where it was, and he said he didn't know. (right.)

so we get in the car, and head over to georgetown. the gardens are beautiful, and you take a self-guided tour through the various parts of the (massive) estate. we walked past a bench, and mr. p said we should sit down for a minute. so we were just sitting there, looking out over the expanse of land, and mr. p kind of shifted his weight. the next thing I knew, he was down on one knee...the rest is kind of a blur...I know the words "will you marry me" came out of this mouth at some point, but I don't really remember what else he said. I said yes, and put the (gorgeous, perfectly-sized) ring on my finger. I was in total shock...

so we started onto the next portion of the tour, and then I started crying. I was so happy, and so in shock...I didn't know what to do with myself. as we continued walking, there were a coupld of guys walking up the hill behind us. the one guy said something to the effect of "your hair is beautiful...it made my day" to which I turned around and blurted out "thanks...I just got engaged. that made my day" to which he started crying. they took a few pictures of us and we stood and talked to them for a few minutes. I was obviously willing to tell anyone and everyone that I was engaged! ;)

I called my dad, who knew this was going to be happening because mr. p listened to my hints and asked my dad before he asked me. thank goodness my dad can keep a secret! with little sister's wedding in november, it's not looking like he will get his corvette for a few more years...

then I called my mom, who was on her way back from a bridal shower. she was freaking out, and had to pull over the car to avoid an accident. she wanted details, and I think she is still in shock...

I finally got in touch with my sister after that. we can now plan together!! :)

The Engagement Story

2008-06-04T03:43:00.001+01:00

The mall is always packed. And by "mall" I refer to the large rectangular span of lawn between the Capitol Building (often confused by tourists for the White House) and the Washington Monument. On the night of January 26, 2008, however, we were completely alone under a clear sky between the two icons of freedom – not exactly my idea of the most romantic setting.

But this engagement story is more about him than her. The mall is my fiancé’s favorite location in all of D.C. I think it's part of why he wanted to be a lawyer here – to be a part of something bigger than himself and to be reminded of his place in the world by running around such giant architectural reminders three days a week.

I am not a lawyer. Or a runner for that matter. I came to D.C. in 2006 to be near my sister and her kids. I'm a creative surfer girl from Florida/California who finds herself to be a fish out of water in this city. My sister's friends kindly took me in as their friend, and I have made a few of my own. I truly miss the sunny weather, but am determined to make it as a writer/photographer regardless of where I am based -- as long as I am surrounded by a group of people I love.

This group of people now includes a young, sophisticated and witty athlete whom I met through mutual friends 15 months ago at a historic landmark known as Brass Monkey. I remember thinking after my first date with Gary that we were not compatible because he had an Economics degree from Johns Hopkins and I virtually finger painted painted my way through school in San Diego.

As we crossed the middle of the lawn, having left the Sculpture Garden where we had been ice skating and heading to where he parked the car, he stopped me to ask how I would photograph the Washington Monument at that moment. Strange, I thought. I wonder if he's trying to find out if I've used the tripod he bought me for Christmas.

As I humored him with a reply, I turned back around to find a large turquoise box in his hand and a large smile on his face. "Yes!" I exclaimed, so excited that he had successfully chosen the right platinum tension setting for the diamond I unwittingly selected over a month prior. "Wait! I have to ask you the question," he laughed. I told him to ask me in the car because I was freezing.

He proceeded to tell me that the box barely fit in his pocket and that's why he had not held my hand while we were ice skating. The last thing he wanted was to see it fly out of his pocket and slide across the rink. As he went to remove the box when we were standing on the mall, he ripped a hole in his jacket pocket. Now, he says, every time he loses his car keys in his jacket lining, he remembers the day he proposed to me.

Welcome to the DC Area Pink Book Blog!

2008-05-30T15:22:00.001+01:00

Hello DC Brides!

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