Coy Li'l Devil

Oh weather report, you coy thing, you. The latest prediction is for "Plenty of Sun" and "Clear" with a high of 70 and a low of 50. Let's keep things going in that direction, yes?

In other news, I sometimes regret that we didn't get any engagement portraits. But y'know what? We can get some nice portraits taken of us sometime after the wedding. Maybe 1st Anniversary portraits or something.

I say this largely because I'm in love with the engagement portraits I second shot last weekend for a lovely couple, Sandra and Andrew.

Eaaaghhh!

I really ought to stop reading the forecast for our wedding day. A) I can't do anything about it B) It's not nearly close enough yet to actually be accurate and C) It's freakin' me out.

Well, actually, I'm totally chill about most everything right now, even the weather planning to be all poopy 'n' stuff. But still. Eaaaaghhh!

Today's October 10th prediction saaaays:
High of 66. Feels like 62.
Rain.

Evening low: 47!!! Feels like 43!!
Occasional evening rain; otherwise, considerable cloudiness

Uh, what, early October in Texas? What are you doing, weather? This is nonsense.

So um. Folks coming in from out of town.. consider packing a jacket. Unless you're from the great white north where 43 is ideal for walking to school uphill both ways or something.

Update of a Random Sort

Weather update: Still predicting rain, though now it says "Colder with rain", whatever that means, despite the fact that the high is still 68 and the low has moved up to 53. Boohisssss rain. Get off my forecast!

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At this point, we only have about 12 unreported RSVPs. We're currently sitting at about our ideal number even if everyone who hasn't responded ends up coming. We have, however, had about 50 "no" responses. We absolutely understand in the vast majority of these cases, but it is a little bit sad nonetheless. There's a part of me that would love to extend invitations to more of my coworkers (I'm close now with so many people that weren't even employed there yet when we made our guest list!) or more of our childhood friends. I know our parents have lists of friends they wish could've been invited. C'est la guerre. I think sending out more invitations (particularly uh.. 12 days before the wedding) would only cause way more problems than it would solve.

Like I said, we're sitting right around our ideal number, from a budgetary and logistical standpoint. From a purely cold and rational sense, I'm very happy with our expected turnout.

But sooo many of the "no" responses come from my family, which, considering the percentage of the guest list they make up (not to mention how many of them live out-of-state), that makes sense. Also, my family has been hammered with hardships left and right lately, as previously mentioned. I'm overjoyed that so many family members are still able to join us for the wedding, but I'd be lying if I said it's not a little disheartening to look down my spreadsheet and see so many "no" ticks next to my family members' names. I guess I've always pictured the wedding doubling as a kind of family reunion. Ah well. About a quarter of the guest list will still be my family!

In other unrelated news, here's a mockup of our centerpieces:

Yay, simplicity. Amazingly wonderful-smelling simplicity. My momma hemmed the green table square you see there, along with the rest of 'em for all the other tables. Thanks mom!

The Weather Stalking Commences

We're 13 days out from the wedding now! 13 is my favorite number, so that strikes me as significant somehow. Woooooooooo! Today, Opie and I were gushing over the fact that we get to call each other "wife" and "husband" soon. I started listing off potential points of conversation where I could drop in the phrase, "my husband." Ee hee hee. Makes me giddy like no other. Calling him "my fiance" is already super-fancy and awesome, particularly when guys are hitting on me at work. "My husband" is approximately 550% even cooler. Fyi.

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In other news, we're now within the timeframe that "Accuweather" predicts the weather. Of course, I don't put any stock in the accuracy of a 15 day weather prediction, but I can't help but stalk it anyway. Today, they're predicting rain, a high of 68 and a low of 51 on our wedding day. Nevermind that yesterday, it said "afternoon showers" with a high in the 70s and a similar low. But yes.. I'm definitely hoping for more sun than predicted, and little less chill in the air would be nice. [crosses fingers]

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Hair Tribulations Jubilation!

Woohoo! Hair success!

Eeeeeee! Love it love it love it. Aaaaand it looks totally smashing with my veil and fascinator. Yesssssss. As someone who has basically had stick-straight hair my whole life, curly wavy hair is like.. the coolest thang evarrrrr. Maybe I should get a perm sometime?

Kind of like my buddio Allison:

Her hair aaaactually looks like this (as seen in her bridal portrait I shot last year).

But sometimes she rocks ridiculously adorable innocent-looking curls.

Hmmmmmm.

I don't know if I can do innocent. :P

Hair Trials and Tribulations

I had my first hair trial shortly after my bridal shower on Saturday. I met my absolute sweetheart of a hair stylist, Kirsten, at the salon where Opie's aunt works. As you might recall, she's very generously "taking care" of me having my hair done at her salon.

This is one of the inspirational photos I brought for my hairstyle. Finger waves, yessss. She was excited to do 'em, and various other folks popped in to see what we were doing, I suppose particularly because our appointment was starting right as the salon was closing for the day. One woman in particular got very excited about my hairstyle of choice, and waxed poetic about a book she has of old movie starlets, many of whom sported this look. It was cute. ;)

Kirsten was quick to point out that this trial was largely a test - a test to see how large to do the alternating pin curls, a test to see how long I need to go under the heat, etc. I should've taken a photo of my hair midway through. It was very.. fancy looking with little curls pinned to my head all over the place!

Weeeeell, the test didn't go so well, after all. When she first took it down, my hair was looking fairly fingerwavy, but by the time it was brushed out at all, it went quite limp. Next time, we need loooooooots more mousse, and I need a good length of time under the heat. She's going to practice on a mannequin a few times, and then call me back in sometime next week to give it another go at no charge.

Post-hair trial...

Sadly limp and non-wavy.

This was a cute little mini-bun when I left the salon, but 5 minutes of sitting in the car undid it.

I'm thinking I might want to cut off that excess length that needed to be tied back in some manner. It's not really meshing with my vision of fingerwaves (and sugar plum fairies).

While we were pretty well totally unsuccessful this go-around, I have faith that we shall prevail. I guess if worse comes to worst, and my fine hair just won't hold a wave, we could go for the wet set fingerwave look:

When done well, it can still look sweet and romantic. I just don't want to end up with my head looking.. goopy. Or like a helmet.

Best Ladies

My maid of honor and bridesmaid both got their dresses within the last couple days! Woohoo. Allow me to cross another thing off of my list of things that've been nagging at the back of my mind.

Bridesmaid Kelsey got this hot li'l number from JC Penney:

Jones Wear Satin Inset Waist Dress

Sister of Honor Jessie also got hers at JC Penney a few days ago. I haven't seen a photo of the specific dress she got, but there are several nice options for brown dresses at Penney's.

Jones Wear Charmeuse Tie-Dress - Hazelnut


Bisou Bisou Pleated Surplice Dress with Beaded Trim


Puff Sleeve Pintuck Dress


Tea Length Cummerbund Dress Brown/Champagne

I know Kelsey and I saw some more cute brown dresses in store that I don't see online.

Jessie was asking me what sort of shoes to get to go with the dress and I realized that was something I hadn't considered at all. So uhh.. brown shoes, I guess? Allow me to do a little pre-shopping for my girls for inexpensive cute brown shoes. I'm a pump-aholic when it comes to shoes for dress-up events, but strappy heels or whatever else is fine, truly.

Payless - Judy Round Toe Pump $19.99

Payless - Kimberley Mary Jane Pump $19.99

Target - Paulina Gladiator Sandal $26.99

Target - Mossimo Verity Platform Pump $14.98

Target - Mossimo Vanya Pump $24.99

Target - Xhilaration Susan Pumps $22.99

Target - Xhilaration Saida T-Strap Pumps $19.99

Hmm. Those are really the only stores where I've found brown heels for less than $30. DSW has a few in the $30-$50 range, as does Zappos, if there's time for them to ship.

Bridal Showers & Rain Showers

I had my Bridal Shower today! It was a lot of fun getting together with all the local ladies in my family (both my life-long family, and the family I've gained through Opie) and my friends. Opie's Aunt Katherine and his grandmother Kathy hosted the event at Katherine's house, and it was beautiful, delicious and 100% lacking those awkward embarrassing shower games I really dislike. Score! They're truly gracious hostesses and I'm so fortunate to have been welcomed into their family with such open arms.

Driving to the Shower. In the shower.

The weather today was um.. a little less than pleasant? I mean, I enjoy a good Texas thunderstorm, but prefer them when I'm cozied up in my house with a good book to days like today when I'm running around all day and trying to look cute while doing so. Let's just hope the weather gets this whole raining thing out of its system this month. We've had rain, rain, rain for several days running, with the same forecast for the foreseeable future.

Mmm.. Petit Fours.

I showed up a little early to the shower to try to offer a hand with setup and such, but I should've known better. Katherine & Grandma basically had everything already ready to go, and they wouldn't let me help anyway.

They decorated for the shower with our wedding colors, which I thought was sweet. Even the petit fours featured green and brown!

Sweet picture of my mommy and me. :) I'm about to dig into a petit four, and she's enjoying a mimosa.

My sister-in-law Melissa, and my cousin Kathy.

Me, my momma, and my friends Flo & Mandii.


Future Mother-in-Law Andrea, and Opie's Aunt Katherine.

If my mental count is correct, we had about 12 or 13 folks at the shower, which was just perfect. It seemed like everyone found folks to chat with, and like most everyone talked to everyone else. Without the forced awkward games created with the sole purpose of embarrassing the bride-to-be, we were all free to chat 'n' mingle until it was time to get down to business with presents.

And presents are serious business.

To provide a proper sense of scale for this pile o' swag, here's a photo of my cousin Mary with that white bag on the right side of the pile:

Uh. Yeah.

Opening gifts next to FMIL Andrea and Bridesmaid Kelsey.

And so present opening commenced. Let's just say I made out like a bandit. Every gift was wonderful and thoughtful and perfect, whether from our registry or not. My friends and family know me. :)

In going through the photos of me opening gifts, I saw a funny trend emerge. See, I handed my point 'n' shoot camera off to Cousin Mary for bridal shower documentation. She did a wonderful job documenting everything, including completely ridiculous candid shots while I was opening presents. I was pleased by all of my gifts, so I honestly can't explain why I'm making 90% of the following faces:

...Yikes.
Also, when did I develop a triple chin?

And that, kids, is why the lovely Jenna Cole is shooting my wedding, however much I may love Cousin Mary. :P

Jenna makes me look slightly more.. composed, yes?

That being said, Jenna hasn't had the joy of shooting candid photos of me yet. With these gems in mind, good luck Jenna!

The Infamous Registry Stalker

Y'know what's one of my favorite things about online registries? I can constantly, obsessively stalk what our guests have bought for us! Bwahahaha. I haven't figured out a way to tell who has purchased items, so we still have that fun element of surprise.

We (eventually, finally) registered at 4 stores: Bed, Bath & Beyond, Target, Macy's, and R.E.I.

At Bed, Bath & Beyond, we registered for new dishes, flatware, everyday glasses, and miscellaneous home/kitchen goods.

Colorwave Graphite Rim 4-Piece Place Setting

We already love our matte black dishes that Opie owned before we got together, but we only have 8 place settings. These dishes are sort of a natural progression of our aesthetic. They still have the matte black finish to the rim/outside, but a glossy white center. Bold, graphic, and they go with just about anything.

Meridian/Glacier 20-Piece Set

Our new flatware. 3/4 of it has already been purchased! [dances] Much like our dishes, we already have 8 place settings of flatware that we like. We stayed with something in a similar vein, but these are far nicer than our preexisting stuff. They have the satin finish we love (water spots begone!) but a much greater heft and prettier, more unique design. These were a nice compromise between weird quirks we both have about silverware. I don't like 3 pronged forks. I don't know why. I just don't. Opie likes fairly modern (though still simple) flatware designs, and the spoons and knives have an unusual shape that we both dig.

Breville Cafe-Roma Espresso/ Cappuccino Machine

By no means the fanciest espresso machine on the market, but it gets very good reviews considering the pricepoint, and it's purty and and and oh-em-gee, an espresso machine at hooooooooooooome! This was actually the first thing bought off our registry! Exciiiiting. Nevermind that I can't consume caffeine anymore.. I can stock up on some decaf, and also make some kickass hot chocolate and steamers and such. And maybe, maaaybe, I can cut down some on Opie's Starbucks addiction.

At Target, we registered for some appliances we're still missing in the kitchen like a mixer, toaster, electric griddle, and then more random home/kitchen goods.

Sunbeam Stand Mixer - Red

[gasp] Not a Kitchenaid Mixer! Blasphemy, I know. I mean, sure, I can covet the aesthetics and craftsmanship of a Kitchenaid Mixer along with every other bride, but honestly, I don't do much baking. Certainly not enough to warrant keeping a mixer out on the counter all the time, no matter how beautiful. And not enough to warrant buying a $300 appliance. But I mean, this mixer is still totally cute, yes? It's a much more manageable size and weight (while still heavy enough to not walk across the counter), and gets pretty darn good reviews. Also, the company's customer service gets stellar reviews, so if I ever have any problems with this mixer, I have good faith that they'd resolve it.

Bordeaux 3-Bottle Wine Rack

Yay. Cute li'l wine rack I can put on the counter where a monstrous mixer would've gone instead! This one has also already been purchased.

At Macy's, we just registered for crystal.

Marquis by Waterford "Summer Breeze"

Puuurty. We chose not to register for any silver or china. Growing up, the only time we ever pulled out the silver was basically when we had too many people for the number of place settings we had of flatware. China? It basically just made an appearance for Christmas brunch. Crystal, though, was (and is) used multiple times a week by parents for wine and the like. I swear wine and other spirits just taste better out of crystal.

At R.E.I, we're registered for a camping stuff, mostly.

Kelty Yellowstone 6 Tent

Like a tent! Very exciting stuff. So far, no one has bought us any of our camping stuff, but maybe (hopefully) that'll change as time goes on. I know it's not your usual wedding gift shtuff, but we'd love to camp, and currently have zero supplies with which to do so.

Obviously, we have a bazillion other items on our registries than the ones we highlighted here, but this gives a nice idea of the things found there.



Oh, also, I'd like to celebrate the fact that our wedding is in exactly 1 month, and we are now within the 30 day period during which we can get our marriage license! Woohoo!

I do

Considering I have the Cold of Doom right now, I stayed up way too late last night working on our ceremony. Oh well. I slept in, at least until Gus-Puppy starting bawling because he needed to go outside noooooooooooooow, now now now nooow!

The ceremony I wrote (/stole from various sources) is probably at least 6 times longer than the one initially provided by our officiant, but I don't think it's excessively long by any means. I'm not good at judging length, but I'd be surprised if it's any longer than 20 minutes.

I mainly pulled things together from 3 sources:

Peonies & Polaroids
Mrs. Cherry Pie
IndieBride Sample Ceremony Repository

I rewrote things and added my own shtuff as well, coming up with something that I think is perfect for our ceremony, and that would still make any college professor scream, "PLAGIARISM!!!" while frantically running about in circles. Most folks just use the standard canned (and still lovely) religious ceremonies, so I don't think there's anything wrong with nabbing our vows from other less traditional couples who have gone before us.

I've actually also included the traditional questions to which we answer, "I do." That's just something I've always pictured as part of my wedding ceremony, and I'm not sure I'd feel like it was official and real without us actually saying "I do." The being said, we're loving and cherishing, because I sure as hell am not promising to love, honor, and obey, thankyouverymuch.

Tuxedo Junction

Opie and I picked out the tuxedos tonight. The boys'll be in brown tuxes with a few different shades of vests & ties. If you recall, my bridesmaids will also be in brown dresses, so while it's a lot of brown, I think it will still look nice. It'll be something along these lines:

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Just imagine it without junior bridesmaids, with only 1 flower girl, with 1 less guy, and with some sage green accents.

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This is actually the exact outfit Opie will be wearing, except with a standard 2 button jacket, and minus the hat. Also, Opie is Very White.

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The groomsmen will wear "latte" vests and solid "latte" ties (not bow ties, mind you).

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My attendant, Michael, will have a "truffle" vest and a solid "sage" tie. I have some gifts for my bridesmaids that are a similar shade of green, so between that and Michael's boutonneire being similar to their bouquets, I think it'll tie him in well with the bridesmaids. Or he could still just get a dress. ; )