Brainstorming the Boutineers- on April 14th

My collection of supplies to inspire the boutineers all spread out on the table.

The adorable little pine cones I salvaged off the pine tree we cut down in the yard.

What happens when you let Jeff, Mike & Tony play with chainsaws--a tree on the garage roof.

Mike gave me the wood burned hearts I had him make for me, and the stuff I ordered online had arrived, so I could finally start to play....with one boutineer down, I gave up to the adventures of the outdoors since Jeff, Mike, and their friend Tony had a chainsaw and were cutting down trees in the back yard.  This project...to be continued...

I saved some cute little pine cones that might come in handy for wedding decor somehow. 

Dresses, Rings, & Tuxes-Oh My! on March 26th

Sneak peak of my dress as it's being left for alterations to the bustle

 
Jeff and I tackled a lot on this Monday-- from picking out a tux, getting my wedding band fixed, returning the sweaters Aly bought at Macy's in exchange for gift cards to mail back to her, dropping my wedding dress off at David's to get the horrible NC bustle dismantled/recreated, picking up Jamie's bridesmaid dress, and having dinner with the Uhlinger fam at the Cheesecake factory. Whew!

First off, Jeff and I went to see Ralph the tailor in Gloversville.  Ralph is the father of one of Jeff's groomsmen, and we were happy to keep our business local.  Jeff had already gotten a tux catalog from him and I instantly fell in love with "Chocolate Parisan."  We went in to see what we had to do to order and to look at vest combinations etc.  Much to my chagrin, it turned out that tux style had been discontinued and would not be available to rent after April 15th.  The only other brown tux in the new catalog was not as nice or the right shade and I was really bummed.  Luckily, Ralph offered to buy the sizes of the tuxes we would need for the guys so that we could rent them from him for the wedding.  We got on the phone right away to get the guys down to the shop before the cut-off date so that we could get their measurements, which included getting my mom to measure my dad and tell me over the phone what sizes he would need until he can be fitted right before the wedding.

Next, we went to Glennpeter to have them fix my wedding band.  As you may recall from the previous post, I was rattled by the lack of mil grain on the band when we picked it up on Saturday, but couldn't put my finger on what was missing until we had left the store.  When we got there, we were immediately greeted by the salesman we had been working with before and he graciously took care of the issue right away.  In fact, instead of making us drop off the ring and come back, he insisted that the jeweler add what was missing while we waited.  Within minutes he presented me with the ring I had envisioned, and I was so relieved that tears of joy sprang to my eyes as I asked him to give me a hug!  Jeff laughed and was happy to see me happy.

After killing some time at Colonie Center returning Aly's sweaters at Macy's and getting Jeff's hair cut, we met Jamie, Corey and Meaghan at David's Bridal.  The guys went and did their thing, while us girls stayed behind to tackle the massive box of dress I trudged inside with bated breath.  It took two seamstresses and two supervisors to try to figure out the mess of a bustle that the North Carolina store had put on the dress so sloppily that the ribbons and loop points were falling off in our hands.   After determining that the North Carolina store would have to refund the alterations charges so that the Albany store would get credit for redoing the work, they fitted me for a new bustle and assured me that the old one would be taken out and that the dress would be perfect.  I stood on the pedestal holding up layers of fabric as it was being pinned and I felt overwhelmed and crestfallen looking into the mirror.  I wanted to cry--there was so much stress tied up in this stupid dress now that I just wanted to start over and try on new ones I'd seen on the mannequins on the way in.  Luckily, I had Meaghan, Jamie, and cheesecake to cheer me up.  Meaghan most adorably soothed me with coos of "It's going to be okay," and hugged her tiny arms around my waist.  I knew she was right, and it would be okay.  It's just going to be a bumpy road :o)

After a long day of fixing wedding issues, I enjoyed my first ever trip to the Cheese Cake Factory with a slice of pineapple upside down cake cheesecake--YUM!

Picking up Lindsey's Bridemaid Dress-March 24, 2012

 Well, I am about a month behind with my wedding blog updates, so I decided to skip the gym on this cold April morning to catch up before I get ready for a long day at work.  These photos were taken on March 24th, when Lindsey and I spent a Saturday afternoon running to David's Bridal to pick up her bridesmaid dress from being ordered.  It was the first time I got to see the dress on someone in my color, "jade" and it was super exciting.  She was such a good sport about letting me take pictures of her, even though she knew they would end up on the internet!  :o)  Love her!! 

My sister Aly, went through a ton of fuss to get us all these champagne colored cardigans with rhinestone buttons from Macy's and ship them to us so the girls could try them on with their dresses.  We wanted something for them to be able to wear over their shoulders since the wedding is in October.  Turns out though, that once Lindsey had it on with the dress...the sweater Aly bought didn't really work at all.  The flat woven material offset the silky fabric of the dress, the length wasn't quite right, and the fitted nature of the sweater didn't allow for it to be buttoned comfortably and would hide the rouging at the waistline of the dress anyway.  Lindsey and I felt horrible that after all Aly had done to pick them out, order Elise's, and have them shipped them to us-- we didn't like them.  Lindsey tried on a few cropped jackets at David's, but they were $50 each and had to be ordered.  That was more than half the cost of the dress itself so we left those behind.

Lindsey had fun looking through the racks of wedding dresses while we waited for them to get her bridesmaid dress for us.  She may have even found her perfect dress, so I can't post that picture here yet!

 

 Since we couldn't use the cardigans that Aly bought from Macy's, Lindsey and I took a trip there to try to return them.  Even with the receipt, that proved impossible because we didn't have Aly's original form of payment (her debit card).  We wandered the store a little disgruntled to see if there was anything Lindsey could spend her gift card on, and it turns out we ran into the sweetest Macy's Sales Associate who helped us try on scarves as shawls and find the cutest shoes.  She was our fashion consultant right there in the dressing room and helped us decide between the caramel, chocolate, or ivory colored shawls that Lindsey graciously agreed to try on with her dress after having to run back to the car to get it!  She was exhausted and tired of playing dress up, but kept a smile on her face for me--since I will be a bridesmaid in her wedding next year, I know my day will come! Haha.   

Jeff & Lindsey--my favorite twins in the whole world!

After I got home from shopping with Lindsey, Jeff and I drove out to Glennpeter Jewelers to pick up our wedding bands. We had Mike with us, because we planned on stopping in Amsterdam on our way home to meet Lindsey and Matt for dinner and a movie. I was caught off guard when we picked up the rings because I was so excited and when I slipped it on my finger my heart sank. Something was wrong but I couldn't put my finger on it. No pun intended. Jeff gave me a funny look and couldn't understand why I wasn't happy with it---it's gorgeous, let's go, he said. With Mike there, I didn't want to dwell on it and make a scene, and I didn't know what was wrong anyway--he was right--the ring was gorgeous, and we had dinner and a movie planned so I signed the paper saying we approved and picked it up and we were on our way.

Back in the car, I got on my phone and pulled up this very website to check my wedding blog from the day we ordered the rings.  Turns out, what was missing on my ring was the mil grain detail that I had wanted to make my ring match Jeff's.  I felt better once I knew what was missing and that I wasn't crazy, but panicked because I didn't know if it would be an easy fix or a fight to get it right when we went back.  The whole time Jeff rolled his eyes at me while I advocated for the fact that, when we had spent that much money on rings, and when I had to wear it the rest of my life--they better be right!  At Applebees, when Lindsey arrived I pulled her into the bathroom like an hysterical teenage girl to vent about the issues with the ring and Jeff's nonchalant attitude.  She patiently reminded me that Jeff is a man, and men don't really care about things like jewelry and that she was sure we could get it fixed.  With a better perspective, and a deep breath, I was able to enjoy the rest of my night with friends and the love of my life  (even though the movie we watched, The Grey, was horrible--lol). 

DIY Bridesmaids Kissing Ball/Pomander Bouquets

On Tuesday night, I went to Jamie's house to make the bridesmaids' bouquets. I had spent the weekend floral shopping with my aunt, and then Tuesday while I was at work the grapevine balls that I ordered from Oriental Trading Company came in the mail...so I couldn't wait to sit down and put them together.
Using wire cutters I dismantled the floral stems so that I had individual flowers and leaves with only a few inches of stem. I ran satin ribbon through the ball leaving a piece hanging from the bottom and a loop to hold onto at the top. With the "rule of threes" in mind I arranged the flower and leaf stems into the top of the grapevine balls while they were set into bowls to keep them from rolling all over the table.
Once we had the flowers arranged the way we liked, I hot glued them into place.

I used two different sizes of ivory rose flowers, green hydrangea, leaves from the rose stems, as well as green button mums and sprigs of maidenhair fern.

We decorated a grapevine basket to mimic the bridesmaids bouquets so that the flower girl will match. It is my hope that they will reflect the centerpieces' fresh flowers and everything will be tied together with a rustic shabby chic elegance.
Thanks to Jamie for her patience and ingenuity as we assembled these! I couldn't have done it without you!

My Dress is Here!!! March 10, 2012

On Saturday, March 10th, I met my Aunt Claudia for lunch at the Cracker Barrel in Clifton Park and then we did a marathon craft store shopping afternoon--hitting up Michaels, Hobby Lobby and then A.C. Moore to find silk florals for my homemade pomander bouquets. We had the most luck finding realistic flowers at Hobby Lobby and the stems were on sale 50% off! I found the rest of what I needed at the Joann Fabrics where I work and used my discount. We had an awesome afternoon together, and it was so nice to have her help picking out the flowers for this project. On my way home Jeff texted me that my wedding dress had arrived through FedEx from the North Carolina David's Bridal where I had ordered it when visiting my mom and my sisters. I could hardly contain my excitement when I got home!
Luckily, Jeff's sister Lindsey (one of my bridesmaids) and her fiance Matt were coming over for dinner and had already arrived when I got home--so I swept Lindsey upstairs in my excitement and she photographed me as I peeled the tape back from the massive box that contained my dress.


Within the box was the dress bag, and in the bag is the dress you can't see yet. It was prettier than I remembered but just as fluffy! Between all the layers Lindsey and I discovered the bustle points were not tacked on very well and several had already come undone---so when I take it for my next fitting they will have to re-secure them. Oh David's Bridal...sooner or later we will get this dress right! I'm sure it will be beautiful on my big day!

Bridesmaid Dress Shopping Round Two

Today Jamie and Lindsey came out to try on the bridesmaid dresses we had settled on before with my sisters. It would seem that after rack fulls of dresses, just nothing could quite compare to this strapless dress with pockets that didn't require alterations for either of them. After getting the $20 discount for me having purchased my wedding dress at David's Bridal, their dresses only came to $85. Whoohoo! Now the shawl/cardigan and shoes shopping and we will be all set. I will be making their jewelry as part of their bridesmaids gift.
Jenna found her flower girl dress too! (See previous post)
Here are the girls lined up to place their orders and pay for their dresses. Jenna smiles with her elephant, Ellie, and mom, Nicole. We were excited to be headed to lunch next, where I treated the girls to Olive Garden's soup, salad, and bread sticks. We lucked out and only had to wait a few minutes for a table and I had plenty of time to spare to make it back to Amsterdam for work at Joann Fabrics for the evening. It was a great day!

Meet Jenna, My Flower Girl

Jenna is my adorable 3 year old niece-to-be. She accompanied me, my friend Jamie, and my future sister-in-laws Lindsey and Nicole to David's Bridal today to do some dress shopping with the big girls. The place was an absolute zoo today, being a Saturday morning and dozens of girls in prom dress shopping--so I was overwhelmed--and so was Jenna!! The first dress she tried on, I could only get a shot of her in the dressing room. It was a pretty ivory dress with beading towards the top and reminded me alot of my own wedding dress.
Dress number two was a cute little halter dress Aunt Lindsey picked for her to try on. She strayed away from mom (Nicole) for this photo, but didn't keep the dress on long.
I finally got a smile out of her in this one, dress #3. She didn't want to take this one off and kept it on almost the whole time Lindsey and Jamie tried on dresses. I even got a few shots of her in this one with a tiara! She "said yes" to this dress! It was her favorite, so much so, that she had no interest in trying on the few others we had picked out for her to put on. Works for me! I'm glad she picked it out and loves it and she has room to grow into it before she needs to wear it in October.
Here's Aunt Tabitha's princess! I am so happy that she got to be part of our girls' day out! It will be just a cute to see her brother, Justin, our ring bearer, trying on tuxes with the guys in a few months. It means to much to have them part of our big day, and to share these experiences with them leading up to it.