Dress Me Up

Since I'm free as a bird this week thanks to Spring Break (whoohoo!) I took the opportunity to shop for our welcome reception the night before the wedding.  For some reason, I've really been looking forward to shopping for this dress, so I've had to restrain myself from starting my search too early and made myself wait until April to start looking.  Yesterday was April 1st, so off I went!

Back in March, Mr Trail Mix and his dad went shopping for his tie for the wedding.  They returned with two ties that cost...Well, more than all of my wedding accessories combined. Ever the champion of equality between men and women, I decided that I was going to (just this once!) abandon my Loehmann-friendly, cheapo-bride ways and therefore gave myself no budget for this dress. Let the fun times roll.

I went with a girlfriend and we hit up Bloomingdale's and Anthropologie.  I also managed to remember my camera and had my friend take pics of our favorites.  I probably tried on close to 20 dresses but I won't bore you with them all. Also, please excuse the terrible quality of the photos, dressing room artificial lighting is horrendous.  And ignore my hulk-like arms in most of these pictures, they're slightly terrifying...

Ok, are you ready for some serious dress shopping pics? Here are my top contenders:

This was an unbelievably gorgeous Carmen Marc Valvo dress in Bloomingdale's.  I love to wear turquoise and white together, so I was all over this dress. Is niiiiiiiiice, Trailmix liiiiiiiikes.

This Shoshanna dress was my fave from Bloomie's.  It fit perfectly and went so well with the yellow shoes I'm trying to wear (since I bought them originally as my wedding shoes but have since moved on, I would like to feel as though I didn't buy them completely in vain.) Plus, blue and yellow are our wedding colors, bonus!

I really liked this blue and white, paper-bag waisted dress, also by Shoshanna although my friend thought it was too casual.  I think with a statement necklace and less-frizzy hair, it could totally work.

Next up was the ever-inspirational Anthropologie.  Every time I walk into that store, I sigh and say to myself "I wish my life was like an Anthro store." Seriously, my favorite place ever; I could (and do) spend hours.

I didn't get a close-up shot but the embroidery and lace on this dress were TO. DIE. FOR.  Plus, I loved the ombre orange thing goin' on.

I am standing incredibly awkwardly in this picture because I'm holding the dress in the back.  The only size left was too large for me but since it was on sale, I decided the alteration cost might be worth it.  I loved this champagne dress, the bow detail at the top and the cut waist had me swooning.

So those are my top five dresses from this excursion.  And I'll confess, I bought one of them (although I'm probably going to keep looking and hold onto the receipt, just in case there's something better out there...)

I'm going to be mean and not tell which one I bought until I've made a final decision but I would love to know which of these dress is your favorite?? Which one do you think I bought? 

Didn't See That Coming...

For as long as I've been dreaming of my wedding (and I'll be honest, it was long before I got engaged.  I was totally that girl,) I've always pictured my ceremony outside.  I based my entire venue search around that criteria.

 Nature is the only thing that inspires any sort of spirituality within me and is what moves me (sometimes to tears, although given my emotional state lately, that's not saying that much.)

So when I went to my venue walk-through with our on-site coordinator at the Tannery Pond, it was to figure out where was the best place to hold the outdoor ceremony, as well as work out logistics for the reception tent.  Just to cover all my bases, the coordinator showed me our back-up ceremony location, if there's bad weather.

And, my friends, I was shocked to realize that I kinda, sorta, maybe fell in love with it.

The Tannery is this incredible, old Shaker building with exposed wooden beams, tons of small-paned windows, long wooden benches and the smell of cedar in the air.  It's rustic without being cliche and simple but oh-so-gorgeous.

Not to mention the fact that the elements of rain or wind (fire? earth? Captain Planet? Anyone, anyone?) would become much less of a factor if we held the ceremony inside the Tannery. There's even a piano we can use for the processional and recessional music.

This dilemma of indoors vs outdoors has left me lying awake in bed long past my bedtime for the last two nights.  I've always dreamed of an outdoor ceremony, that's the one constant in my long-changing wedding daydreams that started pretty much when Mr Trail Mix and I began dating.  Yet, here is this incredible indoor location staring me in the face, almost begging me to use it.  I never in a million years expected this to happen, I've been set on an outdoor ceremony since Day One of planning.

Perhaps some pictures will help me make up my mind.  Let's start with the Tannery building itself...

All pictures are courtesy of Jane Feldman, who is the director of events at the Tannery Pond as well as a local  event photographer (Brides in the Albany/Hudson Valley area, take notice! She's awesomely talented!)

Here's the best shot I have of the entire space.  Note the beautiful small-paned windows that run the entire length of both side-walls. We would do some type of floral decorations for the aisles. Possibly (fingers crossed) my florist could still do the shepherd's hooks with hanging jars of flowers like we had planned for an outdoor ceremony.

This couple chose to keep their altar very simple, in keeping with the spirit of the building.  We would have our birch chuppah, some floral decorations and possibly small, white Christmas lights as well.

The window's on the left side of the building face west, allowing all the afternoon light to pour through, which almost makes it feel like you're outdoors (and turns out some lovely pictures.)

Plus, if we use the Tannery building, I can make (or have our florist make) hanging wreaths, which I'm obsessed with.  And there's an entryway space just begging for some decorations (tissue paper flowers, hanging vintage scarves, organza flowers, oh the possibilities!)

And we could still do all our pictures outside, if the weather's decent, which means we could get shots like these...

Now before we all jump on the "Trail Mix should definitely get married inside the Tannery" bandwagon, let's look at a few pictures taken from another wedding held outdoors by the pond...

See, now I've managed to change your minds again with that series, huh? Now do you understand the tossing and turning in bed at night, trying to make this decision?

Just for fun, a few more pictures of my incredible venue...

Obviously, I can't really go wrong, since both options are breath-taking (in my humble opinion.) But I'm really torn about where to hold the ceremony.  If we choose to use the Tannery building, then the cocktail hour will be in the garden by the pond, which would also be lovely (if we use the area by the pond for the ceremony, the cocktail hour will be in the field.  Also lovely.  But not quite the same ambience, since it's a wider space.)

So, dear readers, I am interested in hearing your opinions on what you think I should do.  Will I regret doing an indoor ceremony if my dream and vision has always been an outdoor ceremony? If you had an outdoor ceremony, are you happy with that decision? Which would you choose? 

A Recipe for Disaster

Step One: Add in a healthy heaping (138, to be exact) of Trailmix's lovely, hand-cut, far-too-time-consuming directions insert for the invitation suite.

Step 2: Insert direction slip into invitation envelope, only to find that said slip is too long.

Step Three.  Turn the insert around and repeat Step Two.

Combine all three of these steps to equal one angry-faced Trailmix.

MOTHER F-------!!!!!!!!!

Tell me you've done something bone-headed like this, so I know I'm not alone... Please? Before I actually start tearing out my hair and mumbling to myself like a crazy person.  I'll check back in with y'all later because right now, I have to go to Staples for more (smaller) copies of the directions...

I'm Back...

Maybe you noticed I wasn't around much last week (or maybe you didn't.  That's cool too.)  That's because I've been travelling out in California with the Trailmix family visiting lil bro TM, who's stationed out in the rural Central Valley in California for part of his Americorps volunteer program.

As fascinating as my family vacation may be to all of you, that's not what I'm writing about.  Rather, it's about the perspective I've been able to gain while being on this vacation.  Truth be told, I've done nary a lick o' wedding planning throughout the trip.  No emails to our photographer regarding the requested day-of timeline, no honeymoon hotel booking (which, dear God, needs to get done ASAP!) no contacting the gourmet chocolate shop I'm thinking of using for our favors, part deux (I know two favors is excessive but the first ones don't really count.)  I even stopped reading wedding blogs, although I couldn't quite quit Weddingbee (but no reading the rest of 'em, fo' realz!)

I can't stress enough how helpful this wedding planning hiatus was for my mental health.  I've actually been able to sleep past 5:30 am without waking up in a panic about some latent detail and my life has not been ruled by wedding emails and to-do's.  I think the best cure for a case of wedding-planning burnout is to just get away, even if it's only for a weekend.  Gather a few belongings, grab your fiance and go somewhere, just to relax and think about other things than your wedding.  Trust me, it does a body good.

And if you really need proof that travelling can give you a new perspective, check out this picture below:

(Personal Photo)

That's Brother Trail Mix and I in front of one of the largest trees in the world up in the Seqouia National Forest.  That tree has been around since 1,500 BC, making it about oh, 3,500 years old.  For some reason, just thinking about a tree being that old gives me comfort.  My wedding's just a blip in that tree's massive lifespan.  It has stood for a long time beforehand and (God willing) it will be standing for a long time after, no matter if my invitation colors match my program colors or the food is only mediocre at my wedding or if it pours cats and dogs on the big day.  Ya see where I'm going with this? It's convoluted, for sure, but it makes me breathe a happy sigh and lets that wedding stress melt away. 

What has helped to give you a better perspective when it comes to wedding stress?

Happy Engage-aversary!

Before I talk about the really fun and awesome night Mr Trail Mix surprised me with for our engage-aversary, I have to reveal our dirty little secret...Neither one of us can remember the actual date of the proposal! *blush.  He thought it was one of two dates while I thought it was a completely different date.  So for anyone out there reading this, I highly recommend making a note somewhere of the damn date you got engaged!


Anyways, like I mentioned before, Mr Trail Mix surprised me by planning a whole evening for us to spend together.  I walked into the apartment to flowers and an anniversary card...

He only got me one flower because I'm leaving tomorrow to go on vacation for 10 days.  How thoughtful (and cost-effective.)

The card may or may not have involved flatulence...

Flowers and fart jokes? Gee, Mr Trail Mix, guess you know me pretty well after all :)  But it didn't stop there; he had made reservations at an Italian restaurant for dinner and then splurged on two tickets to a comedy show at Caroline's, a famous NYC comedy club.  Well-played, Mr Trail Mix, well-played indeed.  We had a great night and laughed our patooties off at the show (John Mulvaney, a writer for SNL, was the headliner.  HE. LARI. YOOOS!)

I also have to say that this is not customary behavior for Mons. Mix.  For example, on our 5-year dating anniversary back in November, he suggested we go watch the Miami Dolphin's football game at Dive Bar (yes, that is the name of the bar.  We're classy like that.) When he suggested that, I laughed to myself, thinking 'What a lame cover for the real fabulous anniversary day you have planned for us, I better play along so as not to ruin the surprise,' and agreed.

Um, can you guess where this story is going? Turns out, that was his real plan.  Let's just say it weren't pretty...

So mad props, Mr TM, for going all out on our engage-aversary! To many more fun anniversary nights out in our future!

What's best thing your man's done for you on an anniversary? This one is pretty high up on my list, I'll have to admit!

Project(itas)

I've been working a few mini-projects (btw, adding '-ita' to the end of a word to signify 'little' is my favorite Spanglish idiom :) that aren't really own-post worthy but I still wanted to share.  None are very complicated and most made using materials I already had around the house.

First, my "Thank You" sign.  I'm hoping I'll remember to actually use this at some point during the bride and groom portraits (note to self: appoint one of the bridesmaids with the task of remembering it!) since I think it will make for a very sweet thank you note picture.  This ridiculously easy project came to me via our dear Martha Stewart.  You can get several different templates of the letters here and then just print 'em, cut 'em, hole punch 'em and thread 'em with some ribbon.  Add hot glue for reinforcement and snap, crackle, pop! A thank-you sign is born...

(Personal Photo)

Next up- After-party invites. I wanted to include an insert in our wedding invitations about the after-party for the young adults attending.  I created a Word document with all the pertinent information, printed everything out on white cardstock and then matted each one with leftover program paper scraps (cardstock in Pool from Paper Source.)  Some specialty scissors finished off the look...

(Personal Photo)

(Personal Photo)

And finally, my favorite project of the bunch...Table number assignment cards! Otherwise known as escort cards, I suppose.  Either way, I think these came out super-cute.  Remember my colorful table numbers?

Here's a reminder...

(Personal Photo)

Each table number is made from a different patterned paper.  In addition to making the numbers with these, I also used a Martha Stewart craft punch to cut out 12 scalloped circles from each paper.  I ordered blank linen cardstock business cards, some glue dots and went to town.  

(Personal Photo)

(Personal Photo)

(Personal Photo)

So each person's table assignment card will match the table number paper.  Get it?

 Not gonna lie, I was pretty proud of myself for coming up with this idea.  I'm just going to hand-write the names and table numbers with a black calligraphy pen once the seating chart is done closer to the wedding.

I'm hoping to pin them with mini-clothespins onto strung-up twine.  Here's the look I'm going for...

(Source)

Mine probably won't be hung against an old wooden wall but I think they'll still look very pretty all strung up like that.  

And that's all folks.  Whooooof, I think that's enough crafting to last me for a few weeks! But I must admit, I'm starting to get excited about the way everything's coming together.  This thing is really going to happen, yo!

What project-itas are you working on? 

Vintage Family Wedding Photos

I love the idea of displaying photographs of our parents' and grandparents' matrimonies at our wedding.  I think it's a really sweet way to honor the two families coming together and to give a face to those who can only be with us in spirit.

I'm in the process of tracking down the pictures from each of our grandparents' wedding day as well as both of our parents'.  I'm not sure if I'll be able to get all six but I'm going to try my hardest.  My FMIL emailed me the scanned versions of two out of the three I had requested and she is still on the hunt for the third (Mr Trail Mix's paternal grandparents' pic seems to have gone AWOL.)

Here's the two she sent me:

The top photo is Mr Trail Mix's maternal grandparents' wedding photo and the bottom is of his parents.  Look closely, notice anything similar about the two dresses? Well, they are one and the same.  FMIL Trail Mix wore her mother's dress for her wedding, how lovely (and cost-effective) is that?

I'm also particularly digging Maternal Grandmother's colossal tiara (would that be called a crown then? Whatever you call it, it's massive!)

I'm hoping, after the wedding, to take these two pictures, along with the third one that is still missing, and frame all three along with a picture of the family from the Trail Mix wedding.  A nice, symbolic way to honor the many weddings throughout the generations of the family, don't you think? And of course, I'll do the same for my family as well (although we're not sure if we can find a wedding pic of my paternal grandparents, research is still being done on that one...) I'm picturing a long, rectangular matte with all four pictures, from oldest to newest set portrait-style.

Will you be displaying family wedding photos at your wedding?

The Longest Run is Done

Yesterday, in spite of gale-force winds and driving rain (I think anyone in the northeast knows what I am talking about!) I completed the longest run of my training program.  The weather was pretty much horrendous but it had to be done so I donned my best water-resistant running wear and set off with the goal of 21 miles. Two hours and forty minutes, five blisters, 16 ounces of Cytomax and many a tear later, I was finished.  And damn, I felt proud of myself, although I very closely resembled this cat afterwards...

(Source)

Seriously, I was SOAKED!

Even though I didn't want to go, I forced myself to do the run anyways, for several reasons.  One, it might be similar conditions for the actual marathon so it's better to train in all weather conditions just in case.  Two, running in that kind of weather makes one mentally tough, which is another good trait to have when training for a marathon. And three, if I didn't go on that day, I would have any other time to do the run, so I pretty much had to go.

I'm not going to lie, running 21 miles pretty much sucks.  Running 21 miles in the pouring rain and crazy 30-mph wind sucks even more. BUT...it's done and now I have exactly five weeks to taper my training before the big race.  And I have to say, marathon-prep has done wonders for my body (abs o' steel, yo!) Hopefully I will continue to train after the race so I still look good for my wedding almost two months later.

It feels good to make it this far in my training, somehow (miraculously) un-injured (knock on wood, knock on wood!) and still enthusiastic about running.  I've ran, I've strength-trained, I've stretched and I've mentally prepared, so bring it on, Boston Marathon, I'm ready for ya!

Anyone else training for a race a month or two before your wedding?

Happy Happy Joy Joy!

I have to admit, there have been very few pleasant surprises during this wild ride of wedding planning, particularly when it comes to the cost.  Most unexpected discoveries have been along the lines of

"Oh, crap/dangit/fudge/other stronger expletive that I'm too chicken to use on Weddingbee, that event insurance I thought cost $50 is actually $350."

Or

"We need to rent a golf cart so our guests can use the bathroom? And that costs how much?"

Or

"After adding up the cost of decorating my OOT bags, I realize that it was officially double what I budgeted."

So you can truly understand my delight when I received an email from our bananas-cool photog (Kelly Griffin of Closed Circle Photography) in response to my inquiry about hiring a second shooter for the day.  In the email, she said that if we decide to book the second shooter, she would include all the trimmings for a photobooth setup, include a backdrop, lights and a manned camera station!!

Excuse me while I do a little spastic happy dance...

A photobooth was one of those things I really wanted to have at our wedding but crossed it off the list way back when due to budget constraints.  I know many creative Bee's have gone the Fauxto-booth route but I am not techno-savvy enough to pull that off, nor did I have any of the equipment necessart.

But now the wedding gods are clearly smiling upon me by dropping this delightful surprise into my lap on a day where I was starting to despair that the wedding might actually be the cause of my untimely death due to my brain imploding.  But no, I have been pulled back from the deep abyss by the promise of funny, awesome photos like these:

(Source)

(Source)

(Source)

(Source)

Can I just get a hoo-rah for a photobooth?!?!? I'm so excited, I was literally smiling about this for the rest of the day.  Is that sad? On second thought, don't answer that question.  Anyways, I have officially jumped on the photo booth train and I am pumped!

Did you have any pleasant planning surprises?

OOT Bags, Part Two: Success and a Tutorial

Alright, now that I've shared the saga of just how annoying these bags were to make, I'm happy to share how I made them and the final result!

My materials included white paper shopping bags ordered from Paper Mart, yellow grosgrain ribbon, a basic hole punch, a custom stamp worth more than it's weight in gold, the only light blue 6" stamp pad in the entire world and most of my patience and sanity.

(Personal Photo)

The giant, aqua stamp pad that I ended up using for the majority of the bags is not shown here because it had not yet arrived when I decided to give these a go...

First, I stamped. Here's a close-up of my custom stamp that was ridonky-donk over-priced (yes, I'm still bitter, can you tell?) But I do like the design and the flower matches nicely with the image on our invitations.

(Personal Photo)

Even though the majority of my stamping efforts were unsuccessful, I managed to get a picture of the one of the few that did...

(Personal Photo)

(Personal Photo)

These two did not come out very well but I wanted to show you the light blue color too.

Then I punched two holes in the top of the bag, threaded the ribbon through and spent many minutes tying and re-tying a bow, trying to get it straight.  Tying bows is a crafting mystery to me; about half of the bows I tie come out crooked and I am forced to re-tie and re-tie until somehow, it's straight. 

As good a bow as I can manage...

(Personal Photo)

(Personal Photo)

Hmmmm, that bow looks pretty bad, I guess I did get better after oh, about 50 or so.

Anyways, a few shots of the finished product...

(Personal Photo)

(Personal Photo)

And that's all, folks! See, it seems simple in the tutorial but don't be fooled, there was much crying, gnashing of teeth and pulling of hair to make these.  Oh well, they are quite pretty though and they will get the job done.

And as for what I'm going to put in them? Puh-leeease, I have not gotten there yet.  I'm still too busy tying and re-tying bows and using more Wite-Out to deal with that little detail. But be assured, there will nothing personalized, cute, homemade or handmade involved because at this point, I just don't have it in me to deal with the stress of another DIY project.

What's been your most stressful project thus far?