Wedding Maniacs!

This weekend was a huge success! My mom and I were wedding maniacs! We got so much accomplished! I already shared about my centerpiece mock-up, but I have a little update. Two days after I made the centerpiece, I went to take it apart and throw the limes out. I started by pulling the flowers out--and to my surprise!--the vase looks awesome with just limes in it all the way to the top, and nothing else! Not only will this save money, I won't have to track down 90 stems of silk purple hydrangeas :) I am going to experiment with one more idea though. They make submersible LED lights, much like the fake votive candles you can buy, but they come in many colors and can go under water. So I am going to buy some purple ones and see what the vases look like with a purple light shining through the bottom! Also, someone recommended I use a thicker ribbon and simply wrap it around the vase--no bow. And I loved the idea! I think it will look much classier! Since I'm sure I am going to use some version of this centerpiece mock-up, we went and bought all of the vases that Dollar Tree had in stock and now I'm going to hunt down 12 more at another Dollar Tree. What a deal!

Also, with the help of my lovely mother and little sister, I have officially scored and folded all 240 of my pocketfolds. Next step-cut, score, and attack the flap to the pocket.

Today, we started two big checks. We went to HyVee to talk to them both about catering and flowers. It sounds like they will be able to work with my budget on both items and we'll get a deal if we use them for both. I have an appointment next Monday morning to discuss our flower options more. We will also be meeting with the lady in charge of the italian catering as we are doing a pasta bar! Yummmm-our favorite!

Finally, my mom and I went to visit my bridal gown :) Yayyy! Oh how I've missed it! It's still not time to alter it yet, and I can't wait for the day that we can. I bought my gown for an amazing $199--it was a discontinued sample. However, it was about 6 size too big, so we've got some major alteration work to do. Nonetheless, the wonderful ladies at the store pinned me up as much as possible and we got some pictures and tried on some accessories.

The front of my dress. All of the bridal stores "full" crinolines were out at weddings this weekend, so the skirt will be fuller than it looks here.

I absolutely loved this cathedral length veil. My mom, on the other hand, absolutely hated it. She thought it covered the detail of the back of the dress too much.

The bodice of my dress. Gotta find a cute necklace to match now! I tried on a single strand of pearls and I really liked it!

My favorite hairpiece.

And finally finally (didn't realize I already said that once!), I decided to try on a couple bridesmaid dresses while we were there. Much to my surprise, I found out the store is having a bridesmaid sale in November. If we order the dresses then, they all get 15% off. Yayyy! Here were my top two favorites. Both by Mori Lee. However, I personally like the style of the pink dress better. They are very similar, but the green dress flared out more and I felt like it made you appear larger. We'll see what the girls think!

Did I mention both these dresses have pockets?? Looove it!

Too big, but you get the idea.

That's all for now! All the best,

Ainslee