DIY Weekend
Diary of a Bride to Be by Lauren Cooper
With the fiance going away this weekend, I’ve decided to tackle some of the DIY projects I’ve lined up for the wedding.
I may have mentioned that for our escort cards, I’m printing out flat cards and attaching them to skeleton keys. First plan of attack: clean and de-rust the keys. I tried cleaning the keys a couple of weeks ago with Lime Away and averaged 9 clean keys within an hour. Considering I have, oh, 200 hundred keys…this will not be an easy task. The plan is to clean them in small batches this weekend so that I’m not overwhelmed by the chemical smell. (Lime Away smells really bad)
The second project I’m working on this weekend is to create a template for the wedding programs. Martha Stewart Weddings displayed an adorable fan wedding program a while back that I’m using with Microsoft publisher. While the programs aren’t totally ready I, at the very least, want the format ready to go…and maybe I’ll try to make a sample.
Final project for this weekend: printing the invitation labels. Back in September I wrote about Blush Printables wrap around label templates; now that I have the label paper (Avery Sticker Project Paper) I’ve started printing them! And they look really great! The hard part will come when I’m cutting all of them out. 
Check, Check!
Diary of a Bride to be by Lauren Cooper
I love three day weekends. I think we should have them every week - not only did I get a significant amount of wedding things accomplished this weekend, I also had time to do nothing and watch football. Perfect.
It started on Friday when I freaked out about my dress. I made the mistake of taking a peek at some of the Spring 2012 bridal collections and nearly had a melt down. I called my sister and thought I chose the wrong dress; showed her a picture of one I found and even went as far as calling local bridal salons to see if they had it in stock. Thankfully, she talked me down off my ledge (thanks, Sis!) and I realized that I was being ridiculous. A friend, whose wedding we attended last year, also confirmed that she thought the same thing several times and that I’m not verifiably crazy. Hooray.
Saturday, FH and I bundled up and ventured about and about to look at rings and tuxedos. We found a great tuxedo shop a couple of weeks ago but wanted to check out other places before making a decision. We pretty much walked in and out of this one; since they told us to pick out of a catalog. What? No. On to the ring store!
We went to the jeweler that helped design my engagement ring since we know and trust them. FH had his ring picked out in, oh, 30 seconds. Mine, however, not so. The jeweler drew something up for me that would match my ring and then they kept my engagement ring to make a mold of it, which will ensure that the wedding band will sit flush to it. So I’ve been walking around without my engagement ring for two days and I feel SO naked. I keep going for my ring finger to adjust it and it’s not there! Thankfully, it should be returned to me this evening. Wedding bands, Check!
Finally, we went back to the original tuxedo store yesterday, where FH was able to try things on and make a decision. Let me just say that our guys will look, SO sharp. I’m so happy with what we chose and FH looks incredibly handsome. 
And, if you’re looking for great tuxedos in the New York area? Go to Coleman’s Tuxedos in Short Hills, NJ. They have fantastic service, amazing suits and will work with you even if you have out of towners in your bridal party. Tuxedos, check! Whoo!
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PS Diary of a Bride to Be has moved to Tuesday posted, so stay tuned!
Panic Moment
Diary of a Bride to be by Lauren Cooper
I had my first real panic moment about the wedding this week. I’ve been really low key (I think) and haven’t really worried about the wedding because, hey, I plan weddings for a living…nbd. Until I went to look for my string quartet’s play list. I booked the string quartet waaaaay back in June and when I went on the entertainment company’s website, the strings we booked through them were no longer listed. First stage freak out. So I went directly to the string quartet’s website which led me to second stage freak out, because the number that they listed for bookings was not the number of the entertainment company. Insert “Oh Dear God, No” moment here. Frantically, I called the number listed on the quartet website. Appoglizing profusely, I said, “I just want to make sure you have our wedding on the books…I think I may have booked the wrong quartet.” They didn’t have our wedding on the calendar. I literally felt my heart drop to the floor. At the same time, some sane part of my brain is saying, “It’s ok, it’s just music…no one will know” but the Bride brain wasn’t having it.
I quickly called the entertainment company and asked what quartet we had booked, explained my panic, and asked if they were also called another name. She assured me that the bands featured on the website frequently change, that there was nothing to worry about and we did have the quartet that we requested. I still wasn’t convinced. Luckily, the band leader for the quartet called me directly (thank goodness) and explained that they no longer used the entertainment company but that we were on their books; and were honoring contracts signed through the entertainment company before a certain date. Nice of the entertainment company to leave that detail out. So I’ll be sure to contact the band leader directly, as we get closer to the wedding. To any vendors out there, please let your clients (and other vendor friends) know if you’re changing representation, business names, etc; it’s less confusing for the bride and makes for happier people all around! Huge exhale as crisis was averted.
Garb for the Groom
Diary of a Bride to be by Lauren Cooper
This past week I’ve been thinking about tuxes for the Groom and his men. This is something that I need to get a move on with because I need to have them picked out by the middle of January. But with the holidays, it’s been impossible to drag out my future husband to try things on.
I really love the idea of a sleek gray tux but I’m worried about if it’s too casual. My wedding planner says it would look really great but this is one of those things where I just have to see it on someone…like FH. So I keep going back and forth between gray tux and traditional tux with bow tie. We’ve said our wedding is Black Tie Optional, so I feel like the guys in the wedding party should set a standard of formality. I also think they should stand out a little bit from the rest of the gentlemen at the wedding…but at the same time, the ceremony is outside…in summer…and I don’t want to be cruel. See my dilemma? The more I think about it, the more I want to go tux shopping right now, but it’s the week of Christmas and the chances of that happening are about the same as a 70 degree day in December…in Vermont. So in the meantime, here are a couple looks I like…this week at least.
Tasting Troubles
Diary of a Bride to be by Lauren Cooper
I got an email on Friday from the Coordinator at our venue just to check in and see where our plans were. Because I have all the big things out of the way, I asked if we could go ahead and schedule our tasting before my calendar filled up with fittings and invite stuffing parties. She obliged and sent me instructions for how to choose our tasting menu. So Sunday night, FH and I sat down and tried to decided what we wanted to taste. Sounds simple, really not so much.
When we first started the planning process, FH and I really wanted heavy hors d’oeuvre served throughout the night: a cocktail style reception. Unfortunately, this was going to be over our food budget by a considerable amount. Then our catering coordinator suggested stations which would turn over every hour into something different. FH loves the idea. Me, ehhh. The more I think about it, the more I lean towards traditional sit down. There’s a formula to weddings, and it works; so why not stick with it and mix it up where we can? Anyway…
Choosing food is difficult. FH wanted to try steak and fish to be served table-side, and crab cake. To which I said “No, what about the people with shellfish allergies, or who don’t like red meat? Then they’re stuck with fish, which they may not like.” I know plenty of people who just don’t like seafood in general. He didn’t like that so much. After about 20 minutes of back and forth, we settled on tasting the steak, chicken and crab cake. Keep in mind this isn’t even our final menu…this is what we’re going to taste and decide from there. I can only imagine how finalizing the menu will be. Ow, my head.
Gingerbread Favors
Clever Crafts by Private Receptions
Winter weddings lend themselves perfectly to all sorts of fun themes and DIY projects. Take this gingerbread favor for example! What better way to send off your guests than with a delicious holiday treat! Here’s the how to:
You’ll Need:
kraft paper
one bundle of greens (they used oregonia)
waxed string or baker’s twine
homemade gingerbread cookies
round Avery labels
Wedding Maps
Diary of a Bride to Be by Lauren Cooper
There’s a recent trend that I’ve really taken a liking to: Wedding Maps. I first saw the wedding map in Martha Stewart Weddings magazine and I fell in love with the idea. It’s such a creative and fresh take on direction cards! Fortunately, there are tons of stationers on sites like Etsy that can create a wedding map for you…however, it can be a bit pricey. So I took matters into my own hands and drew up our map myself!
I’m a fan of DIY-ing but, as I’ve mentioned before, I don’t really want to overwhelm myself since all of my wedding helpers are a few hours away. Keeping that in mind, I thought drawing a map and sending it to whatever stationer I chose would be a simple and fun project. And I was right. I went to Google maps, looked up where our wedding is being held and searched for locations nearby that pertain to our wedding weekend. Clicked print and viola! A simple template. I carefully traced the streets that I needed and added in the locations. Then I drew little symbols that went along with each destination. For example, there’s a golf course nearby that people can visit, so I drew a tiny golf bag. Finally, I very carefully hand printed the names of the streets and destinations. And it looks pretty! I’m scanning it in to the computer today so that I can pass on to the stationer when I’m ready. (Yes, I still have to choose invites. Yes, I have a week left to do so. I know, I know!) Pictures to come soon!
Bridal Nightmares
Diary of a Bride to Be by Lauren Cooper
I’ve heard about brides having nightmares about their wedding and I’ve even written about how to avoid them, so I was not prepared when I had my first truly vivid bridal nightmare last week.
I’m blaming it on the Say Yes to the Dress marathon I was watching while my fiance was out of town. I went to bed feeling calm, relaxed and secure in my dress selection but this dream shook that up. It started out with my Mom and I going to the final fitting for my dress. Final. Dress. Fitting. They showed me the dress and my heart started to sink. Not saying anything to my mother or the bridal consultant, I proceeded to try the dress on. Standing in front of the mirror, I realized that I was in the WRONG DRESS. Not wrong as in: the store made a mistake, here’s your real dress. Wrong as in, I picked and ordered a dress that I now hated. (Sob!) So I was standing there, trying to be brave and offer suggestions to the tailor to make it the way I wanted it to be and it just wasn’t working. I burst into tears and sobbed to my mother that I couldn’t wear that dress. And then I woke up.
Annnd now I’m paranoid that this nightmare will become real and my dress hasn’t even come in yet! Note to brides that have found your wedding dress: Stop watching Say Yes to the Dress before bed. Immediately.
Adorable Cocktail Stirrers
Fashionable Foodie by Markia Raveau-Violette
I came across this collage of cocktail swizzle sticks and fell in love! They are absolutely adorable and you can choose ones that are personalized to your day. Stick them in your custom cocktails and you’re all set! To see how to make these cuties, click here!
Amazing Engagements: Aaron & Tamara
Amazing Engagements by Markia Raveau-Violette
Check out Aaron’s creative street art proposal to Tamara!
