Our -1 Anniversary!

Lol. My mom came up with that term to mark today's date-which is one year from our wedding date. So the countdown begins!

3-6-5. I'm not too excited because it sounds far away. Maybe I'll be more excited at the 100 day mark.

And come to think of it, with this new -1 anniversary thing, does that mean next year on June 12th marks our zero? LOL. I'm a nerd.

I guess I'll say something noteworthy in this blog. My mom and I have been scoping out the weather so we can estimate what it would be like next year. It will be hot (I mean, this is Arizona) but the evenings are nice. And we didn't realize that the sun sets so late-yesterday it set at around 7:30 p.m. So since I wanted a sunset ceremony I'll have to backtrack on a 6:30 p.m. starting time.

Things like this make me glad I had 1 year+ to plan the wedding.

Updates!

So, this post will be a little scatter-brained but will feature some note-worthy updates I think you all should know.

1) Remember the post where I stated I won't do a father-daughter dance? Well, forget the statement. I underestimated my dad's willingness and have found out to my surprise and excitement that he would love to do the dance! And so Chrisette Michele's "Your Joy" it is.

2) I will not be using the Lauryn Hill song "Tell Him" to walk down the aisle to. After some discussion with my mother, we thought it might not set the right tone. Instead, we're opting for my first choice, "No One Else" by Amel Larrieuex. I'm happy about the decision because it was my first choice, and the words really relate to my FH and I.

3) I started a wedding website! Yay! I'm so happy because it matches our invitations and I think will be an important aspect for our guests. I'm not giving the adress out to anyone yet because I want to finish the basics. But I love it!

And tomorrow marks the year countdown to our wedding! Thanks for keeping up with my blog! That's all, folks!

Bridesmaid's Dress Numero Uno

As you know, all of my bridesmaids are based in different states. Not only that, but my bridal party of 5 (and then 3 flower girls) are all wonderfully diverse in size, shape, and color. So, how could we ever possibly decide on one dress, in one color? The task seemed impossible to me. I loved the growing trend of letting bridesmaids pick their own dress, as long as it met a few guidelines.

My guidelines? Black, and around knee length. And tada! Above you see the very first bridesmaid dress that has been chosen for my wedding. My bridesmaid Ivy found it yesterday while we were in Macy's in black. She also found another dress that was a viable option for the wedding, and since it was only $40 she decided to get both! Isn't the dress b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l?

The whole dress thing was on a spur of the moment. Ivy, my friend I met in high school, is in town for two weeks before she's back to being super-researcher-college student. So I wanted to spend time and catch up with one of my lovelies. We went to go get facials at the Macy's where my future MIL works at. On a whim, we went up to the second level to look at dresses. I actually had JUST told Ivy about my idea for the bridesmaids dresses, and I'll admit I was a little worried what she might think. I mean in theory, the idea could sound sketchy of letting everyone pick their own dress. But, being the supportive bridesmaid she is, she said it sounded good. And then she fell in love with two dresses and I think she is further sold on the idea, as am I.

It was a surprise to me that she made the purchase yesterday, but it made perfect sense. She just opened up a Macy's card and could get good use off of the 15 reward they offer for the first two days after you open a card.

She decided she liked the first dress better (pictured above) for the wedding and I agreed. She can use the other dress she bought for other special occasions.

The cashier was nice enough to print out a list of stores carrying them and the design number which I will be passing along to my other bridesmaids for inspiration. Hopefully their dress shopping is as successful! Who would have thought my bridesmaid would end up with two dresses she would love to wear again out of the deal?

Cutting Costs (on Paper)

For you savvy pursuers of blogs, you may have noticed I added some new things to my blog, namely the Cutting Costs Lists and a Check off List. And a super cool countdown widget. We'll be a year away in a few days!

Anyway. I must say, I'm pretty proud of the ways we are deciding to save money. Some things didn't take much thought. Actually, most things didn't. I love paper products (stationery, journals, etc.) but it seems that paper is where we're skimping the most. For instance:

We won't have Save the Dates. All 20 or less of my family members that would attend the wedding know the wedding date because I have personally told them. I also have access to communicating with them over the internet to remind them. My fiance does not feel the desire to send save the dates to his side of the family (he even said he'd resort to phone calls if he really had to. I laughed). So, since he doesn't want to send them, and I don't need to send them, I honestly don't feel compelled to stress out over sending save the dates to people that are going to come anyway. He's the first of the "grandkids" of his enormous family to have a wedding, so I'm sure they'll show up anyway. They all live in Arizona or California, so transportation would be simple. Plus, what are invitations for, anyway?

Another thing we've decided to forego (well, I did- I doubt he really knows they exist) is programs. As much as I would love them, I know no one is really going to be interested in reading them. I don't feel like going through the headache. We're having a simple ceremony. I will probably make one as a keepsake for my scrapbook, though.

Menues. Again, maybe I'll make one for my scrapbook. But we're not having servers. The food will be buffet style, you can see it right in front of your face. No menu. Easy as that.

No Guest Book. My fiance went to his uncle's wedding two weeks ago and said NO ONE signed the guest book. That means they probably won't feel compelled to sign ours. I may leave some pretty paper out for people to write well wishes and drop them in the card-box, but no guest book for us.

Maybe hearing some of our reasoning behind cutting costs will help you re-consider or reaffirm some of your own decisions on what to include in your wedding.

In Lieu of Table Numbers...

These little beauties were purchased at the $1 section at Michael's. They are notecards, and I totally bought them on a whim.

I LOVE the idea of table numbers, but considering our informal but formal wedding, they just didn't make sense for us. I don't feel like assigning grown ass people seats.

When I saw these notecards, I thought they would be cute to adorn the tables with, as both my fiance's first name and mine starts with "N." $1 for a pack of 8 cards, so there's more than enough to go on every table.

Floral Decoration Idea

I've made a lot of purchases for the wedding already. The $1 section at Michael's and Dollar Tree have become my best friends, lol. I'll post them as we go along. Pictured here is a little beauty made from love. I really want to hang things and I saw this in the window of a floral shop and decided to recreate it.

It's a foam block with the heads of fake flowers in our wedding colors cut off and stuck inside. I also made holes to put the ribbon through. We will hang them using the ribbon by tying a knot, and I strung the ribbon through the bottom for a hanging streamer effect.

My camera doesn't do it justice, the colors are much more vibrant in person. I plan on making a few to hang amongst a sea of white lanterns for the reception. I'm excited! The whole piece cost around $4.

Some tips if you decide to make it is find a good way to secure the flowers. I would use a hot glue gun or cut the stems long enough to securely stick them in the foam. And make sure you arrange properly to avoid gaps between the flowers!

Horse & Carriage

A business in the area of our venue offers horse-drawn carriages for special occasions. Pictured above is a bride and groom who actually used the service on their wedding day. I think the idea is SO cute.

If we were to use it, I would have to figure out how to time it. The ceremony and reception are in the same place, so where would we travel to? I could use it riding up to the ceremony, but that would mean I would get ready in the bride's dressing room, attempt to sneak out of the back and into the carriage and ride around to the front to make my entrance. The problem with that is the guests seating has a perfect view of the door I would sneak out of. Awkward. Lol.

Maybe we'll use it at night, after the reception, to go away. I just thought it might look better to have a daylight backdrop for the picture of us in a horse carriage. It sure would make me feel Cinderella-ish.

I checked out the prices, and there are only two categories for pricing. Weddings which cost $300 and Birthdays which cost $150. Lame! My birthday is five days before my wedding, so if I DO use the service, I'll be damned if I'm charged the $300, lol.

On a side note, I'm even MORE glad that I decided to order my dress online instead of going with David's Bridal. I instantly recognized the dress of the bride in the picture above from the catalog AND in-store. Not knocking any ladies who do go with David's Bridal, because it makes sense, but it really seems to be the go-to place for Arizona brides (especially in the west valley).