Bridesmaids

I love my bridesmaids - I truly do - I mean, that's why I asked them to be a part of my wedding.  In addition to that, I didn't want to be the one to pick out the dress that made one or all of them look bad because it just wasn't flattering to their figure.  So I let them do it themselves.

I feel like J Crew was the pioneer of modern bridesmaids dresses. 

http://www.jcrew.com/wedding.jsp

They have multiple styles, substrates and many colors to choose from.  And without being too cliche, they really are dresses you can wear again!  First, I picked the fabric, Silk Chiffon.  Next, I picked the color, Matisse Blue.  Finally, I picked 5 styles that I liked and told the girls to have at it.  It made me happy and I think it made them happy, too.  I told them all to pick out some nude colored shoes and call it a day.  Don't they look happy?? :) 

The next challenge I had was ties for the guys.  My husband didn't want the plain silk ties that J. Crew offered so I did a quick internet search and actually found some websites that boast the fact that their ties match back to these colors.  All you do is select the color of the dresses and you'll be shown the tie options they have that coordinate - easy peasy!  I was quite pleased with the result.

Here's one: http://www.bows-n-ties.com/wedding-ties-matching-bridesmaids-dresses.php

After the fact, of course, I found that there were some other unexpected places that one could find bridesmaid dresses, like Target.com...search women's, then dresses, then filter by occaison and select bridesmaids - they've got multiple colors and styles to choose from, at that Target price point we all know and love!

http://www.target.com/c/dresses-clothing-women/-/N-5xtcg#navigation=true&viewType=medium&sortBy=newest&minPrice=from&maxPrice=to&isleaf=true&navigationPath=5xtcg&parentCategoryId=9975766&facetedValue=/-/N-5xtcgZ57qso&RatingFacet=0&categoryId=4638

Of couse, you can always try the bridal shops and they are more than willing to help you out with some great options to choose from, but with all my bridesmaids being far away, this was the easiest way for me to get it done.  Plus, ordering the ties online was one less argument for my husband and I. 

"Do these look good to you?" *squints eyes*
"Yes, they're fine."

Weddding Invitations - Save the Date cards

Save the Date cards are a great way to give a little heads up to those that you'll be inviting to the wedding.  These are especially helpful if you have a lot of people that will be coming in from out of town.  Even though the invitations probably won't be sent until 2-3 months prior, sending a Save the Date card 6-8 months prior can give out of town folks a chance to arrange travel (looking for cheap flights, booking hotel rooms, etc) to be sure they make it to your big day as economically as possible. 

Having some type of wedding website is also extremely helpful in keeping people up to date on your plans.  You can easily include the web address on your Save the Date so that people can keep track of things happening all the way up to receiving the invitations.

There are all kinds of websites out there that make it really easy to create a wedding website.  There are multiple templates to choose from and they are easy to create, even if you're not tech savvy.  I personally prefer the free ones.  I used The Knot to help in my wedding planning.  They included my free website as well as budget planning tools and checklists to keep me on track.  There are a ton of resources out there if you just look for them.

Some free wedding website options are noted below:
The Knot
Wedding Window
Wedding Paper Divas
eWedding
mywedding
Wedding Wire

There are many options and vendors to choose from when considering physical Save the Date cards.  Heck, you can even just send an email out to all those you want to include just to give them a heads up!

Wedding Paper Divas carries Save the Date Cards, Magnets and Postcards as well as a Premium selection of Save the Date cards for those of you that are a little fancier. 

Note: They also have an option on their website to save favorite styles and then you can also get a limited number of samples sent to you for free.  This is good to do, especially for invitations - they don't always look the same in person as on the computer screen.

We went with a postcard to save on paper and on postage.  WPD was easy to work with and they were quick.  I would definitely recommend them.

Minted. also carries a nice selection.  They have cards, postcards, Yearline cards and Minibook cards.

Another option for Save the Date cards is Vistaprint.  Check them out - they give a ton of discounts (even up to 100 postcards for FREE - you just pay shipping) and have a lot of available designs to look through.  Plus, if you're the artistic type, you can upload your own design!

These are the main ones that I came up with.  Please let know if you have had good experience with another vendor!

Calendar Save the Date cards from Wedding Paper Divas

Introduction

Hi.  My name is Carli.  That's my fiance - isn't he cute? :)

As of today, I am getting married in a little over 9 weeks.  I know it probably sounds silly for me to say it like that, like it's an unborn child, but 67 days didn't make me nearly as nervous as 9 weeks, for some reason. 

Anyhow, my fiance and I got engaged in December and I've pretty much been on the planning train ever since (roughly 7.5 months).  Did anyone tell you that planning a wedding is stressful?  My fiance and I are both planners that like order and lists and it's still a little bit of a nightmare.  I really didn't think it would be that bad.  Sometimes the Internet doesn't help things.

Do you ever see pictures and think, 'hey, I want a picture that looks like that for my wedding!'  You wonder where they got their dresses and what the colors are called and how much they are but you don't want to spend your whole day trying to figure it out?  Well, call me crazy, but I think that sounds fun, so I want to help you! 

So, what I want to focus on, is to feature some popular photos that are trending and I'll do my best to tell you the easiest way to get everything and what you can expect as far as an investment.  Also, I'd love to help with other things, like invitations and flowers and hotel blocks and what to ask and not to ask, because I'm doing it now and I feel like maybe I can help a few folks. 

I'll be starting with my journey and my wedding as a jumping off point, since I'm intimately involved.  Stay tuned over the next 9 weeks while I make mine happen and hopefully long after that - next post, Invitations!