# 87 More Flowers..

I hate conventional roses. I hate em I hate em I hate em. Yet, they're affordable....
I LOVE the fluffiness of carnations. Yet, they're considered cheap in the eyes of convention.

# 86 Cream Cheese Cake Frosting

White Chocolate-Cream Cheese Frosting
SimplyRecipes.com

Wilton's Recipe
Bourbon Caramel Cream Cheese Icing

Stupid clipboard, won't let me access it. Well, that's what screenshots are for!

 Duong has been pressuring me to do a real trial run of the cheesecakes. I've been avoiding the issue like the plaque. Ok, well, no more, I've officially set myself to do it this Sunday and on Monday when she comes, we're going to frost it and tier it to make sure it'll stand. Geesh....

# 85 To Do List & Buy

Go Thrift Store shopping with Brandy
Buy plates at DT
make boutonnierres for Groomsmen
make hairpieces for Bridesmaids

make cake stand (find epoxy!!)
- wooden or plates
- return plastic crap at Hobby Lobby

Buys:
- (15) 120" tablecloths (1: google)(2 tableclothsforless)(3 weddingmart)
- flowers at 2GROSES.com or fiftyflowers.com
- more wine glasses
- 17 more DT plates

# 84 Ceremony Outline

Designed this while thinking about the ceremony

# 83 Free Docs: Reception & Ceremony

Wow, googling "ceremony outline" sent me to a site called docstoc.com which has all these neat word docs on planning the ceremony and reception. Sweet.

Reception: Music


Serving the Tea:
"On the wedding day, the bride serves tea (holding the teacup with both hands) to her parents at home before the groom arrives. She does this out of respect and to thank her parents for raising her. The tea at this time does not need to have the lotus seeds or dates, and the bride does not need the assistance of a “lucky woman.” She pours and serves the tea by herself without the groom.
Traditionally, after the wedding ceremony, the newlyweds serve tea (holding the teacups with both hands), inviting the groom’s elders to drink tea by addressing them by formal title, e.g. first uncle or third aunt."

# 82 Magazine Glossy Pretty Wedding

I understand the business side of weddings. I get it that the magazines pretty much show you only $30k weddings and up and they all seem to wear brand name attire, including the bridesmaids. Hello, Vera Wang BMs? BANKrupt!!!! I also see a lot of very creative sites and blogs that fight against this preconceived idea that the average wedding costs $25k and that they don't need to be "magazine perfect." While I agree that $25K is absurd, I actually WANT my wedding to look fairy-tale like. I WANT my wedding to look good enough to be in a magazine. I also WANT my wedding to not bankrupt me but include all of the above. So yeah, I'll have some posed shots with my photographer. I'll expect no less from him and I want the whole event to unfold like a fairytale via images. Ideally, I want my project to be featured in an issue of Martha Stewart weddings. Silly, I know, but I'm pretty sure it'll never fly. Not because I didn't DIY the whole event, but because I actually DID DIY the whole thing, resulting in saving funds, and not promoting any brands that support Martha's publication. Oh, silly me. I might hit up Coastal Weddings in Pensacola. I'm sure a local mag wouldn't mind a quirky, whimsical wedding!

# 81 Boutonniers DoneZO!

Yesterday was super productive. I created a banner in Flash for the first time for Thomas, went shopping with Duong for boutonniere, cake, and catering supplies, finished glazing our ceramic vases, went to an art reception, saw the musical Pippin, then banged on Wew's door at 10pm to barge in with lots of pinecones to make boutenniers. TIRED!!! But awesome. Oh, did I mention that there was Potter Boy who Duong is now enamored with? lol

# 80 Invite Pics from Ali

Just a hint at what's to come

# 79 Cake Idea again

Ok so I said I was going to make my own wedding cheesecake. Aunt Kay(Thomas' close family friend) and Vonda drove all the way down from Huntsville to help me plan my wedding. She was so incredibly helpful and organized I couldn't handle it!!! I gave her a big hug. The next day, Duong and I went to a bridal convention in Mobile. It was really nice though we went late due to my fault and partly my mom's. I got more ideas of catering looks. Pink chocolate fountain? Uhm.... It looked more like Pepto Bismol pink but my mom reeeeeeally wants it pink. wtf... I really don't like white chocolate though but we'll see. I probably won't end up eating a lot of chocolate anyway that night so I probably shouldn't care and let my mom's input influence that decision. I'll talk to Kay about that. Add a few drops of food coloring and voila, pink fountain.

Ok I saw this cake- the ribbed texture is beautiful and hides imperfections. It reminds me of tree bark- very nature like. I think I'll do this. Or I mean, have Kat do this because she demands that I not work on my wedding day. I was actually very shocked- a DIY bride not allowed to touch anything?!?! Well, it did make me feel better. Whew!! About the cake, I said I would add height with pillars but cover the pillars with fresh flowers. I think I'll use a lot of greenery because I might not have enough garden roses to go around.

# 78 Plates and Glasses

My boo and I looked at the cost of renting versus buying. We didn't want disposable ware because it's just too darn wasteful; tasteful looking ones cost almost as much as buying the real thing so we opted for buying 120 white stoneware dishes that have this elegant white beading around the edges for wholesale. As for the drinking glasses, I think it'd be neat to buy out all of the thrift stores' wine glasses. This mix and matching allows for an eclectic mix of cute stemware. Why I opted to do this? Because I didn't want plastic champagne/wine glasses with real stoneware. Plus I really really want a nice & pretty table setting. Desperately. Part show/part lower expense. Since all of the tables will look the same in terms of having the same plates, table cloths, centerpieces, etc., one element could change it up but still consistent with the look since all of the glasses will be clear with no ornamental sign.

- Bought 37 white plates so far: need 83 more (89.23) spent 39.78
- Bought new mailbox at Goodwill for $4.23
- Postage .44 x 120 = $52.80
- Postcard Stampas.28 x 100 = $28.00
TOTAL SPENT TODAY: 124.81

# 77 Invites. DONEZO!

The whole invitation fiasco was such a mess, I nearly broke down several times because I spent an entire month worrying about them. NOW?! Thanks to the help of a bridesmaid and groomsmen(yes, men), I got almost all of my invites printed, perforated, wrapped, and stuffed into envelopes where Melissa and I made envelope liners. Whew. To be honest, I was worried they were going to look way cheesy and not formal enough but I think we kicked arse. 53 invitations were sent out today!!! All that's left is my mom & dad's family and Thomas' dad's family & friends. I'll post pictures of the sweet 'vites and the sweatshop factory I had going on later when everyone's gotten theirs. Let's just say I'm quite pleased :)

They are 100% different from the invites I designed in the summer. More nature inspired and cute.

NOW R.S.V.P.! I even put a stamp on the RSVP postcard!

# 76 Groomsmen Suits

Buy Vs. Renting. Well, buying = love, DUH!! Plus, for men, they actually will have to wear them again. Sick, huh? Most of the guys don't own suits anyway and this will be an excuse for them to have an investment. The following options are only from Overstock.com. I'm sure there are other nice stores online that have sweet suits.

OPTION 1: Ferrecci Men's Three-button Shadow Stripe Suit $85.99

OPTION 2: Ferrecci Men's Elegant Black Pinstripe Suit $79.99

I'm actually a huge fan of this one- who doesn't love pinstripes?! Thomas' suit has subtle stripes down it so I'm not sure which of the 3 suits match the most to his.

OPTION 3: Ferrecci Men's Blue/ Grey Three-button Suit $79.99

Linda's Research

Suits are going to have to be pre-ordered ahead of time. Whatever color the guys choose, just let me know, and I'll choose the same color dress

there are these two places where the prices aren't so bad:



***Reins Formal Wear ( located on brent lane )
(850)478-6533
Grey attire- $57
Navy blue attire- $90


***Julie Annes Bridal and Formal ( located on E.Fairfield )
---No grey attire
---Dark blue attire: $89-$139

# 75 Bridesmaid Shawls

If you read in my previous post, I was going to make 7, freaking individualized capelets. Unfortunately, it would be overkill and most importantly, I didn't have time. Like I was trying too hard. I've been avoiding the wrap issue for awhile but have got to set my foot down. Terry & Duong suggested shawls... at least they can use them again as opposed to those god awful Clover satin boleros that can be used only once... AND look frumpy. Ok, so for my girls, I had them wear very cohesive dresses in 2 different styles, the sweetheart chiffon and the empress one, both flowy, long, strapless, and Clover green.

Off topic- I found these shawls at Nimli.com and I might just go ahead and purchase them. I went to bed crying, then stayed up to address the problem- get some flippin sleep but first get my angst and confusion out of the way by fixing it!!
Nimli they pick the color if on sale... wtf?
Buy 8.95 but black

# 74 Fifty Flowers

I've heard pretty good reviews about FiftyFlowers.com. I really wanted peonies but they were just too darn expensive and I couldn't just order 5 stems at $5 a piece. So, I found a nice alternative: the garden rose light pink Miranda! It has the same fluffy feel to it but currently half the price. I might go ahead and order them in the next week or so. I wasn't deadset on peonies in the first place, I just wanted something pink, fluffy, and feminine and felt that grocery store florals wouldn't be able to provide that variety(except for the pink carnations). Plus, a sweet 5% coupon code which saves me $10. Sah-WEEE!!!!

2GROSES.com

# 73 Lovely Jane

This incredibly stylish girl has over 10,000 hits a day on her wardrobe blog and get this- she's only 16. Reading her interview, she seems to be very cultured, well-educated, and artisitic, using terms such as juxtaposition to describe the urban decay and deconstruction of Tokyo, Japan's style. I love it. Meet Jane.