Ode to the Blue Ring

Mr. had a hard time with the fact that I did NOT want a diamond. He thought I was only trying to be nice and "settling" for an aquamarine since a diamond was too expensive. Not at all. I completely trusted his judgment on what he wanted to spend. Even if I could have any ring in the world, regardless of price, I would *still* choose an aqua. Aside from the fact that I love the color, I love having something a little bit different, and it means a lot to me that my aunt has an aqua engagement ring as well. Finally I was able to convince him and I'm so happy with the final product!

{ photo by me }

It's certainly not traditional, but it seems like it's not as unusual as I had originally thought. Ever since we got engaged, I have noticed blue engagement rings all over the place!

Liz Taylor and Princess Diana had one? According to Issue 10 of Wedding Style Guide...




{ photos by Janine Kaye Photography }

I love the color of fellow EAD poster, Rachel's, ring:

{ Image via Duttson Rocks website}

How GORGEOUS is this ring???

{ photo by Punam Bean Photography }

Love this Tiffany Blue-inspired board:

{ board by Snippet & Ink, Top row from left: blue and white Christmas tree from Cottage Living; Tiffany jingle bell, Oscar de la Renta dress and centerpiece (with table number by May-Bell) all from Martha Stewart Weddings. Row 2: ranunculus styled by Lucyina Moodie via Decorology, cupcakes from Cannelle et Vanille, ring pillow from Martha Stewart Weddings, numbered table runner. Row 3: photo from Country Living via Design Editor, monogram neckties from Martha Stewart, bouquet by Mindy Rice from InStyle, aquamarine ring from Twist. Row 4: knit shell from J.Crew, ornaments via Lily G, invitation via Once Wed, cheese buffet from Martha Stewart Weddings }

Anyone else out there have/had their heart set on a colored stone engagement ring? What are the reactions that you get from it?

Church Decor

With all the ideas I have for our reception, I am left pretty blank on inspiration for the church. There are FAR fewer photos of churches in all the inspirational blogs and so it hasn't really been on the top of my list to think about. So what exactly do people do?

Off the top of my head, the only things I can think about are altar decorations, pew decorations, and maybe something on the doors.

Let's talk pews. Honestly, there are some seriously HIDEOUS pew decorations out there. Sorry to say, but just search "pew decorations" on etsy and...wow. It made searching such a drag.

Anyway, I was still able to find a couple pictures. You all know my love of ribbons!!



{ image via Modern Day Design }



{ image via snippet & ink }

Our church has a little hole in the top of every other pew...seems like you might be able to stick something in there like a hook or something to secure whatever you want to hang from it.

I loved this when I first saw it in Martha Stewart's Weddings book, not as much now, but still I think it is pretty:



{ image via Martha Stewart }

I'm just not that in love with it to spend the money to get fresh flowers. On the other hand, I just found poms as pew decor!



{ photo by lauren cekim via weddingbee }

Moving on...Door decor?



{ image via Martha Stewart }



{ photo by Jennifer Brum }



{ image via Martha Stewart Weddings }



{ photo by Sara France }



{ photo by Patricia Lyons }

What else has everyone seen or done with their pews, doors, and altar? I just haven't seen anything pretty and original in a while...

Love these mugs!

{ mugs by Jessica Rust Design }

How cute are these! Rust Designs carries all sorts of personalizable items that aren't tacky (you know what I'm talking about...think the kiosk at the mall that engraves made-in-china frames).

Mobiles?

Always on the lookout for what to hang from the ceiling of our venue, a friend sent along a link (thanks Queenie!) to Frazier and Wing. How beautiful are these!! I can see them hanging above and around the bride and groom during the ceremony, and then scattered around the reception venue.

{ all images via Frazier and Wing }













What do you think? How else could you see these used?

My Party Dress

I kinda wish I had seen this before I started this whole escapade of a dress hunt:

"You get to a point where there's not much you can do but put on your fancy party dress, a pair of fabulous shoes and grab a bottle of cheap champagne to swig with your girls on the way to meet your groom." - Cyd...via A Practical Wedding who adds on, "Once you start thinking of it as your party dress, the whole thing gets so much simpler. And better."



{ dresses by etsy seller ILuvUTutuMuch }

Cause isn't that really what it is, a party dress? That's what I wanted at least.

I went to a total of 10 dress shops and probably tried on around 60ish dresses until finally I found THE dress! I'm not posting a picture of what it looks like because a) I still have a fear that somehow Mr. might find it, and b) no pictures exist of my dress (wasn't allowed to take any there and there are no pictures online yet.)

Did I have that ohmygodthisistheone moment as soon as I put it on just how every bride imagines it'll happen? No, and I'm ok with that. Actually, I feel better that I didn't have that. I'm a thinker and I don't like making decisions based on an emotional first impression (an impulse buyer I'm deinitely not). It was when I had been in it for an hour and STILL would not take it off ("I'm not ready to change yet, is that ok? Just a couple more minutes? Can I just you know...like...walk around in it a little more?" "I just wanna do another sit test" "I can totally see a photo like this: (insert bridal pose here)") that I knew I had found THE party dress!



Wouldn't you just love to twirl around in this? { dress by etsy seller ILuvUTutuMuch }

So, I have to wait until April for when it comes in (good thing, or else I might be tempted to try it on...every day...) and maybe I'll post a picture then from the fittings. SPEAKING OF WHICH...

Um, ok, how much did your alterations cost???? What would be a reasonable cost? I'm just so nervous that "you get what you pay for" goes for alterations too...Anyone know any really good, reasonable places who do wedding dress alterations in NJ/eastern PA?

Pom Pom Vines

Eternally on my search for what (if anything) to hang from the ceiling at our venue, I saw this on Once Wed this morning:






















{ Photos and project created by Anna Bond of Rifle Design }

Best part about it? Anna says that approximate time for each vine is 20 minutes!!

I'd love to use a lighter green for the leaves and different colored pastel poms and then string them as garlands from the beams.

Check out the tutorial here. What do you think?

Where for art thou, wedding dress?

For reals. Where are ya?

I'm getting to the point where this whole dress hunt thing (almost) isn't fun anymore. Trying on a bunch of pretty dresses IS still fun, it just feels like it's time to find "the one" ya know? I've been to 8 bridal shops and still haven't found a dress in my price range that I know is the one that I'd like to wear on our wedding day and that I'd love to look back at in pictures. Sigh.

I thought I didn't want a big dress... The one thing I AM sure of is that I don't want a strapless dress, and THAT is where I'm running into problems since it seems like that's what everyone wants these days! Now, I'm not going to share a picture of the dresses I've been liking (just in case Mr. reads my blog one day) but I think it'd be fabulous to be the bride in this photo:


{ photo by Amy and Stuart Photography, via What Junebug Loves }

More appointments this week... here's hoping that I find one soon!