Frustrated with blogspot....packing up and moving

I've had so many issues lately with the hosting site blogspot that i've decided to move my blog to wordpress....

Find me here..

Memphisbellebride.wordpress.com

Effective immediately

Smooches!

And the RSVP's start to slowly creep in...

Invitations went out this week!! How exciting!

I was able to get a GREAT deal on the invitations and here's how:

I ordered a custom design from a vendor on etsy (which is a great site for inspiration and all things wedding chic). The designer was able to turn around my thoughts in a beautiful design in about 24 hrs. I purchased the design from her as a pdf file and took that file to my local FedEx Office (formerly Kinko's) and had them print and cut the invitations. That took less than an hour!

The next part was a little harder to get what I wanted, but I compromised. The search for envelopes! I visited a local paper supply shop here in Memphis (I won't name them as the service was not great) to purchase envelopes. The had several different colors that matched to my colors of my wedding, but not enough of one particular color. When asking the salesman about ordering, he reluctantly said that there was another store across town that I could check (not that he would check for me). The next day, which was a Saturday, I trekked across town to the sister store of the paper supply place....only to find that they are closed on the weekend. Something the previous store failed to mention.

So I was at a standstill on envelopes for the weekend. Not a happy bride, but it gave me time to fall in love with my invitations and get the address labels ready for these envelopes.

The following Monday, I was on a mission!! I visited 3 different stores only to return to the first paper supply store completely frustrated. I decided to purchase white envelopes in hopes that they would at least have white ones. They didn't have enough of one particular style of white, so I purchased what they had in two different styles. Who would know that one envelope looked different from the other? Which of my guests would seriously ask the other ones, "what did your envelope look like?" None!!! Why was I stressing over this? Because I'm a bride and that's what brides do. Sigh....

Anyway...I purchased the envelopes, stamps and when I got home that evening, the stuffing of envelopes began!!! I managed to get 150 invitations stuffed, stamped and addressed in about an hour and the next day, I dropped them in the mail.

Surprisingly, the following day, I received a text from a friend that said the following:

"i just got your wedding invite!!!!!!! (smiling and jumping) :))))))) love you!"

This made me giggle and extremely happy. I can't wait for the day and to spend it with so many people that I care about and care about me.

49 days and counting!!

Now if I can get people to RSVP...

Lots and lots of updates....

So...a lot has happened since my last posting.


About 2 hours after my last posting, my fiance surprised me with my engagement ring. Now, I know what you may be thinking....how have you been planning this wedding and you haven't received your engagement ring? My answer? One has nothing to do with the other :)

Moving back to the surprise. He totally caught me off guard with the ring. I was sure that it wasn't coming for another couple of weeks and that I would know when it was going to happen (I hate surprises). I was wrong. It was the most romantic and thoughtful ring presentation that I could've imagined.

Back to wedding planning.


A friend and I went to a bridal show a couple of weeks ago. I'd like to say that I got a ton of information and so many ideas that I couldn't possibly use them all...but sadly, I didn't. It was a complete disappointment(especially at $12 per person). There were about 20 vendors at the show; photographers, party rental companies, tuxedo rentals, a few decorators and only one florist. The only booth that caught my eye was A Posh Party. Her booth was so visually stimulating and she was extremely nice and very down to earth. She was so nice, in fact, that I came back to get more information from her.

As far as my checklist of things to do? I'm doing well. There's still a lot to do, but I've made good progress.

I've completed my Wish box. It's a new take on a wedding guest book.

I've got my invitations completed, cut and waiting to go in envelopes. They'll hopefully hit the mail on Tuesday or Wednesday of this coming week.

Oooh...back to the invitations. Through another friend, I was able to find someone on etsy.com to design my invitation for me, send me the digital file and then take them to FedEx Office (formerly Kinko's) and get them printed and cut for me. And thanks to my darling fiance, we got a 30% discount at FedEx office! We were able to get 200 invitations for roughly $0.26 a piece!!

I found my wedding shoes!! FINALLY!!!! It took a chance of me being in Macy's and the shoe caught my eye. Me being the pessimist that I am, I knew that they wouldn't have them in my size. Was I wrong!! They did and when I tried them on, they were perfect.

I also met with the florist. She was enthusiastic and worked with my minimal budget and I really believe that the flowers will be gorgeous.

What's still left to do? Tuxes need to be selected (this is not one of my tasks....and through strict mind control, I believe that this will be done this week). I need to pick up the linens and centerpiece vases from my friend who was recently married and is letting me borrow them (free of charge). I need to order the rest of the decorations for the centerpieces. I also need to narrow down the food for the reception....yeah....I know.....big to-do item. Oh yeah....and order the cake...sheesh...there's a lot to do this week.

Oh yeah....sorry for all the oh yeah's (my A.D.D. has been acting up lately). I've also hired a wedding coordinator. My good friend Stephanie of Tres Luxe Creatives out of Nashville, TN will be my point person for the day of the wedding. I know that without a doubt, she will be able to carry out my vision as if it were her own wedding day. I just pray that I don't drive her crazy!

Back on the checklist grind! Talk to yall soon!

70 days to go....

Wow...time really flies! I feel like I've got so much more to do, but so much that I've accomplished. I've been blessed with such a wonderful support structure in my friends, I couldn't have done so much without them.



My bouquet is almost complete. That's probably one of the things that I'm most excited about. It's something that I've worked really hard on and it will be so unique for our wedding day.



Those are the two attempts at the bouquet. I finally got the technique down and will hopefully have it completed by the end of the weekend. So many people gave me or let me borrow brooches for my bouquet. I'm so thankful for them.


I also had another recent bride donate her table linens, chair covers and vases that she used for her wedding! She saved me over $1000!!!


What's next? I have an appt with a local florist next week to discuss what I need. Good thing is, I don't need a lot of flowers. The wedding is outside and its with an amazing view that I don't want to take away from that.


I've already booked an AMAZING photographer. He just so happens to be a great friend and a fraternity brother of my fiance. You can find him here Justinvision Photography .


I've gotten quotes from different party rental places for tables, chairs and a tent (the largest cost for the entire wedding). It's amazing how different companies can charge such varying prices for the exact same thing. One tip is to make sure you ask to see photos of other events that they've done as well as if they offer discounts for specific organziations (University of Memphis Alumni, etc..). You'd be surprised at the discounts you can get.


I've still got to get the darling fiance to finish up the rest of his addresses for the invitations.



There's still a lot left to do, but I don't feel overwhelmed yet :)


Hitting up a wedding show tomorrow with some of my girlfriends for some inspiration. I'll let you know what I find.


Stay funky ya'll!!

Building my brooch bouquet

I finally started putting together my brooch bouquet. Let me start off saying that I'm no where near the number of brooches that I'll need for the final product, but my ADD was getting to me and I needed to start doing something.

So first, you'll need a brooch (obviously):

I found this one at JC Penney for $7.00 You'll need some florist wire and some needle nose pliers to pull and twist the wire to make it secure

Slide the wire through the back of the pin....you may need the needle nose pliers to pull the end of the wire through

Once you pull the wire through, wrap the wire around itself to make it sturdy. It should be tight enough so that if you hold the wire, the brooch stays flat and doesn't fall over to one side or the other

Continue wrapping the wire around itself all the way down the stem of the wire.

Once its wrapped and sturdy, begin wrapping the floral tape tightly around the wire. Pull the tape tight so it sticks well to itself. It should look like the completed one on the right.

I've only completed 8 or 9 so far...got a long way to go!! Here's the first glimpse of my brooch bouquet!! I can't wait to complete it.

This process of building my bouquet is extremely rewarding and a creative distraction from all the wedding planning stress. I love looking at different stores for pins and rings that I can use for my bouquet.

Back to my bouquet...talk to you soon!

Dealing with Debbie Downer

So you're all excited that you're getting married. You've got the magazines, the planner, the sticky notes, different color pens, bookmarked websites and the whole shebang. Plenty of people come to you asking different questions about the wedding. What flowers have you picked out? What are your colors? Have you decided on favors? People even randomly give you suggestions and recommendations on things to look at or try out.

But inevitably, there's one person who could really care less about your upcoming wedding. We'll call her Debbie Downer.

Debbie is mildly interested in your wedding. She'll half listen when you tell her about wedding venues and pricing. She'll briefly look at samples and pictures that you find on different websites and simply give a "that's nice" to anything you show her. After a while, she won't have an opinion at all about any ideas that you bring to her and usually offer up "it's your wedding...you should pick what you like".

Several things may be going on that are reasons why Debbie is the way she is. She could be disappointed that things aren't going well in her own relationship and thus cannot share in your happiness. She could think that you're being extremely frivolous and may not agree in spending money on weddings and think you're going overboard with the planning process. She could be jealous that you're getting married.

Whatever the reason is, recognize who your Debbie Downer is and limit the conversations concerning your wedding with her. By continuing to discuss your plans with someone that does not genuinely have your best interest at heart, it could discourage you from living out the wedding of your dreams.

Surround yourself with people that care about you and that can tell you the honest truth and want nothing more than for you to be happy.

Replace Debbie Downer with Susie Sunshine and keep planning that big day!

What are your colors?

This is probably one of the first questions a planner, coordinator, decorator, etc...will ask you.

There are numerous websites that you can go to to get inspiration about colors. My first thought was that I like pink. Matter of fact, I love pink. Pink is my signature color! (please read that as Julia Roberts playing Shelby in Steel Magnolias)

Anyway...so I knew I wanted pink in there, but didn't know what other colors. I consulted a few friends and family and decided on pink and chocolate. I was happy until I realized that my wedding would be in late summer and those colors really seemed like a late fall color combination. So the search began!

I scoured over color combinations for weeks. I came up with so many different combinations that I began to not like anything. Then I went to Florida for vacation. As I was walking on the beach looking at the clear blue ocean, it hit me. Coral, blue, khaki and some sort of pink-ish color. Now to find what I want.

Listed below are different samples that I've come up with. I'll narrow down my decision this week.

Feel free to comment!