Bling-Bling Bride

I am probably the most excited about my mother making my jewelry (besides getting married to the love of my life of course!). I have been bugging my mother about making jewelry for me pretty much since middle school (WELL over 12 years), but she has yet to make any (though she has showered me with tons of the pre-made stuff). As a result I nominated her to do my bridal jewelry as well as jewelry for my maid of honor. So here are the ideas I came up with (as you can see I am an Etsy addict.



I think I may do just white crystals for me with some accents of purple and teal. As you can see I LOOOOOOVE the v-neck because it will perfectly line the neckline of my dress:

theKACZcollection

seDuCe

candybead

 

Then here are some ideas for the maid of honor's jewelry which will probably use teal and purple (though I think it may have to be one or the other so that she can wear it again):

 

  

beauxbijouxboutique

  

morganmcgeehandesign

  

Even if my mother is unable to recreate this wonderful designs or make her own version, I will be more than willing to support the Etsy artist.

Dress Shopping - Bride & Bridesmaid

We didn't officially go dress shopping today, but simply perused the racks. My aunt wanted me to try on a couple of dresses, but I was freaked out because it was a Saturday (I read that this is the absolute WORST time to possible try on a dress because this is when most people go), because the place was swarming with people, and because––prep your self for TMI––I hadn't shaved my armpits recently (I know, gross girly move, but can't I get a break? It's winter!).

We mostly glanced around for the the sale prices and the styles that were available. I was very pleased to find that most of the prices were under $600, which was a huge relief considering my budget is only about $300 or so. It was also great to see some dresses in person––looking online and at catalogs just doesn't cut it as far as the detailing. One thing that would have been really useful while looking, would have been tags with a picture of what the dress actually looks like on a bride. Like with many clothes, it's hard to really envision the shape of a dress if it just looks like a big white blob on a hanger.

I was open to having ivory, I found that it was simply too dark. While I don't want a stark white dress, I think something in between ivory and white would be great. I also don't want a train since our ceremony is going to be so small––no need for a lot of extra unnecessary material if I am not planning a grandeur entrance.

I surprised myself by seeing a couple of dresses with tulle––yes I said tulle, the very wedding-y fabric I have been trying to avoid. I am very adamant about not getting the "typical" wedding dress, or extra ruffles, ribbons, lace, and bows that would be ultra girly-girl. I want something that is elegant and chic, not something I could have very easily worn in the 80s or in a princess-Cinderella fairy tale.

I again surprised myself by seeing a couple of all lace dresses, another fabric I was opposed to. I guess it depends on the type of lace and the style of the dress. I think I really like it when the style is more antique, something that I'd like to hint in my wedding (we are both old heads. Even his parents once called us old familiar souls).

I was also happy to see plenty of bigger sizes, though I may not have to try on as big of a size as I thought (18+), but we'll see. I hear the fitting can be tricky.

The only downside to David's Bridal is that while that have many different selections, they don't really have the old-timey dresses that I have seen. Check out this Michael Nolte Candace dress:

I LOVE the front and the back. She is actually wearing a jacket that gives it the key hole backing, hence why I am thinking that if I want a specific look, I may have to opt for the jacket. If I'm not absolutely sold on David's dresses, I will definitely look else where and may even go up to New York to some of the districts they have there.


Bridesmaid Breaking News
If you remember my collages from earlier this week, a black bridesmaid dress was a definite choice for me. After my aunt picked out almost the exact dress that I desired, I cringed. The dress was nice, but didn't "pop" like I thought it would. It looked dull and dead on the hanger. This is FABULOUS news to my maid of honor who said "you're going to have me in black––okay cuz" in a text message after I sent her the collages. The funny thing is that I would have never considered a black dress in the first place had I not seen some beautiful Knot wedding pictures with bridesmaids in black.

I thought it would be a great compliment to the guy's black tuxes, but it looks as though the teal (or "oasis" as defined by David Bridals) would be the better contrast. I am still debating or whether or not the contrast between the teal of the maid of honor and best man, will look okay with me and FH being in purple accents. I think if I stick with the deep purple, I'll be okay.

So excited about the progress that I am making. Maybe I'll be bold enough to make dress fitting on Monday evening if they have an appointment available?

Wedding Color Scheme - Purple and Teal Part 2

After a intensive obsessed six hour session at my aunt's apartment (instead of going to Michael's as originally planned) I came up with a more detailed color scheme and coordination for my wedding party. Here goes:

My general idea for my dress:

 

Bridal accessories:

 

And finally my maid of honor stuff.

 

 I really LOVE the vivid colors and I hope everything pans out the way that I plan, or at least pretty close to it. I didn't do a reception collage because I am still not sure what types of decorations could be available. I am thinking of using teal chair covers and linens with splashes of purple. I will also incorporate metallics and silvers as well. I am SO excited.

Now to start this dress shopping thing. I hope to go to my first bridal show this weekend and start dress shopping this week. In the next month or so, I also hope to hit NYC for the dress hunt as well. My dress find will determine which dress my maid of honor receives. I can't wait!

Wedding Color Scheme - Purple and Teal

So since me and the Future Hubby (FH) decide to move our date up to May/June, I have been feeling queasy about the color scheme that I chose. Originally were going to marry in the fall because we both love the fall colors, fell in love in the fall, and it reflects the colors of my ring. The last few days I have had to mourn the idea of having our first reception in the fall (hopefully we can do our larger reception a couple of years from now in October/November) and thus mourning the death of my original color scheme shown below:

RIP fall colors. This goes to show that you should never get so caught up in a decision during wedding planning that you can't change it when something major changes (like the date and season!)

So I was up last night into the wee hours of the morning compiling a totally different color scheme. I also had ideas about the wedding invitations so I came used the color scheme to come up with an idea for those as well. See my musings below:

For the invites I tried them with three different colored envelopes and I also tried two types of the envelope backs. As you see, the actual invite will be layered according to the upper left hand corner of the picture. The circular thing on the top of the invite is supposed to be a rhinestone ribbon slider/buckle. Last night I was up late trying to price these––they will that least cost $20 which already blows my entire budget if I try to stick around only $20, and almost half my budget if I try to stick under $50. So I am deciding that maybe I should just go for colored card stock and get the textured look for adding mini purple and teal flower sliders with rhinestones that I will create by hand (after all I only have to create 25 invitations at the most).  Here is one example of a fabric flower i found on etsy:

I would like a rhinestone to it like in this pic:

 

And I would like the flower layered and sized like this in this pic:

I also perused the net last night trying to find teal satin or ribbed/textured paper. I didn't even find anything close. I am now thinking about perhaps going to Home Depot or Lowe's to seek out textured wall papers if those exist. I will of course check paper specialty stores and the scrapbooking sections of the crafts stores as well. I am going to check out Michael's today to see what I can find :-)

What Makes Us Not-So-Average?

Why did we start this blog? Because we feel as though not-so-average brides are often left out of the "main-stream" wedding planning, as they are in most aspects of "main-stream" life. 

By not-so-average we mean brides who aren't apt to go after the latest trends, vegan brides, tree-hugger brides, eco-friendly brides--basically all of the women out there who don't want to allow their wedding to consume them and want simplicity and a rustic elegance. Those who dare to be unique and cater their big day to themselves and their partners; not aiming to please everyone else.

Join us on this journey of sticking to the basics, and planning your unity of love.

While we will focus a lot on local Philly businesses, including our own, we believe that a lot of the information provided could benefit any bride living any where. The Body Buffet emphasizes getting back to the basics: handmade, local ingredients, natural ingredients, and eco-friendly packaging. You don't have to be a tree-hugger, vegan, or anything else to go back to the basics. We believe in taking one step at a time and choosing how you want to either change or maintain a healthier, greener life.

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Photo credit: http://ristovski.com.au/baby/images/clipart_bride.bmp