Friday, June 12, 2009

Jewelry, Jewelry, Jewelry

I officially have my wedding jewelry! Well, it's currently being shipped from Australia, but nonetheless, it's on its way. I searched high and low for an artist on Etsy to find my jewelry, and in the end, had a custom necklace made. I looove it! I had seen a necklace similar in style at my bridal shop, but it was WAY too expensive.

I asked Lulusplendor if she could make one of her necklaces in the same style, and to add a few extra details here and there, and she did an amazing job! It's perfect! I also got some earrings from her to match, and oddly enough, the flower shape of them mimics the flower on my wedding ring. I love fun little details! Here are the photos of what's heading my way, in addition to some pretty hair clips that I won off of a contest from her blog. Yay!





Sunday, April 19, 2009

Wedding Rings: Check.

R and I went and purchased our wedding rings this weekend. Yess! I've been antsy to go, and Saturday worked out perfectly b/c our caterer canceled our appointment that we were supposed to have. That was a whole drama on its own, and we need to find a new caterer now, b/c they double booked without realizing it, and we lose out. Bummer. I think they will still be able to do our cake, though, which is good, b/c their cake is yummy!

I ended up choosing a "right hand ring" for my wedding ring. For the record, I DID try on the band that matched my engagement ring, but it was bling overload for one finger. It was a tiny band that matched the little bands on my engagement ring. It looked like I had three rings on, and the sparkle, while very pretty, was a bit much for me. Anyone who would have looked at my left hand would have been temporarily blinded, and I felt like it took away from the look of my engagement ring. I decided I will wear my engagement ring on my right hand, and my wedding ring on my left hand. I love the dainty vintage look of it which matches the vintage look of my e-ring.

Here it is, ta da!



Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Shoes. Oh my God, shoes.

I am giggling like a school girl. I just ordered my wedding shoes (or at least I plan to use them for the wedding, assuming I don't get an email saying they are out of stock. These puppies were hard to find!). They are fabulous, a bit quirky, and they'll be my "something blue". And yes, I'm a bit scared about their height and how that will balance out with my clumsiness. I just realized that dads must walk their daughters down the aisle so the bride doesn't trip and fall in her fabulous Marie Antoinette too-tall blue shoes. Sigh. I want them in pink and yellow, too...

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Mmm...candy

I haven't stopped planning my wedding. Promise. There just hasn't been a lot going on in the world of wedding planning, or maybe I've just been too lazy to write. However, R and I did go try out a caterer and a cake lady. Both were pretty good, but I don't think we'll go with the cake lady we tried. She made me feel stupid about my cake topper(she thought it was bigger than it actually is, and she panicked before asking, then made a condescending comment), and that's just not acceptable. We did like the caterer we tried, though, so we'll move on from there. Her cake was also delicious, so if we use that caterer, we'll do cake with them as well. It just makes sense.

Currently, I am waiting on some rock candy to be delivered to me in the mail. Mmm. Yummy. Remember that idea I saw a few months back with using rock candy as bling? Well, I'm going to give it a try. R and I decided to go with a branchy type centerpiece 1. Because his parents have a whole chunk of land filled with trees which equals to free centerpieces 2. Because I love trees, and love the look of the branches we got. I also don't intend to use any flowers for the wedding, so it was the perfect alternative. We're going to spray paint them black and white, but we've been trying to figure out how to decorate them. We could use poms like this(flowers in a wasabi green to match our colors)....

I've also thought about putting a couple of super small silver jingle bells on the branches(gluing or hanging) since R used a bell for the proposal. However, I'm really liking the rock candy idea. I ordered a few different colors to experiment with, so we'll see how it goes. I just love the way it looks...
We'll see how it goes. I need to see if the branches will even hold it, and how it looks. If anything, maybe I could just hang them around the vases that the branches will be in. The poms are a close second, though, and look super easy to make.

The other DIY project I need to get cracking on are the bouquets. I don't remember if I've mentioned that I plan to make crystal bouquets, but that's what I'd like to do. I found instructions on how to do it, and it's pretty simple. I just need to experiment with the cheapo crystals I got from Hobby Lobby, then order some prettier ones that I'd like to use for my bouquet, the bridesmaid bouquets, and the boutonnieres. If you'd like to participate in the bouquet making party, let me know. All you'll need is a power drill. Haha.


Something along the lines of these, sans the giant killer bows.

Friday, March 6, 2009

My Dream Cake Topper

Are you ready for this? ARE YOU READY?!? My cake topper is FINALLY finished! It was well worth the wait for it to be made, and I giggled until I cried when I saw it. I can't wait to see it in person when it's shipped to me. This is officially my favorite detail of the wedding so far, and I'm pretty sure nothing will beat it. Now I just have to pick out the perfect cake to put this baby on top of. R and I have a strange love of human/animal hybrids(R draws them quite a bit, and I just like to look at them, and wish I had horse legs or something). Giraffes are one of R's favorite animals, and most of you know the unicorn thing has just been a running silliness with me, so it suits us perfectly. Thank you Me.la.bo.!




Saturday, February 21, 2009

Karaoke Blast 2009

We've decided that getting a photobooth is going to be way too much. Nuts. We have alternative ideas that we might use, but for now, actually getting one is out of our budget. However, R and I had an incredible idea over dinner last night to rent a karaoke machine for the reception. That's right. I said it. Karaoke. Machine.

I've already priced the professional type ones that you can rent, and it's pretty affordable. 1,100 songs, five books, two mics, screen, disco lights...it sounds incredible. What's even more incredible is that we have this pretty stage that we'll be using for the ceremony, but how perfect would it be for karaoke for the reception?


I think it sounds like a blast. We could mix some singing in with some dance music so we get a little of everything. I know there's enough of you out there that would be all about it to make it worthwhile. Clear your throats, ladies and gentlemen, this idea might stick.

Location, Location, Location

I haven't updated in the land of wedding in awhile. I have a few updates! It is official, we are having the ceremony AND reception at the KC Athenaeum. See photos below! The date is officially decided as well, but I'm not going to post it on here for the sake of privacy. If you haven't heard it yet, leave me a comment, and I'll tell ya.

Next up in awesomeness: centerpieces. We've got them figured out! Well, for the most part. We won't be using any flowers. I don't plan to order any for the ceremony or reception. I just hate the idea of using such beautiful flowers for one day, then having to discard them. I would have donated them to the shelter or a nursing home or something, but I've never envisioned flower center pieces or bouquets, so that issue is solved on its own. Instead, we're going to use little tree branches from R's parent's land. We'll probably try spray painting them black or white, depending on the linens we get. I'm thinking we could alternate some white tables with some black tables. Then have white branches on the black tables, and black branches on the white tables. Fun, eh?

I'm playing with ideas for decorating the branches with just a little bit of something. Maybe a few tiny little silver jingle bells to hang on them, since the proposal involved a bell. I think I might also make some little tissue paper "poms" to make it look like the branches are blossoming. See?
I think I'd also like to get a few little candles to put on the tables for some nice lighting as well. Hooray for pretty things....

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Video Guestbook!

I love, love, LOVE this idea! If I were to get the HD Camera I've been eyeing to use for videography(any of you out there want the responsibility of using my camera to take video?), I'd love to do a video guest book like this to go along with it. It's perfect, b/c no one would have to say anything, you just write things on signs, or like one couple, just make out in front of the camera, b/c that's not weird. This video was done by Hello Super 8.



Hello Guestbook from Megan Hill on Vimeo.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Wedding Nightmares

Since getting engaged, I think I can safely say that my dreams have involved weddings one way or another. It's consistently getting more and more annoying, b/c I don't want to have wedding dreams(nightmares) all of the time. I'm going to start keeping track of all the "horrible" things that happen to me in these dreams(which is strange, b/c they're all things I don't even think about or consider while awake, and certainly don't stress over).

-All of the gifts I opened were Cabbage Patch dolls, instead of registry items.
-I showed up to the wedding with no shoes
-I didn't get my bouquets made in time(I'm not doing flower bouquets, btw), so I carried a beach ball.
-R changed his mind about wanting to marry me.
-Nobody showed up to the wedding.
-Guests all left right after dinner, so I didn't get to dance at all at my own wedding.

I've stopped looking at bridal magazines as a result, and try to look at other things besides wedding ideas on the internet. Not that I was looking at massive amounts of either, but I think the wedding dreams need to be controlled a bit, especially since I never had dreams about weddings before. Hopefully they'll taper off, or they'll just go away all together. I miss my usual weird dreams.

Friday, February 6, 2009

Athenaeum, anyone?

I went by this morning on the way to work to check out the KC Athenaeum. It's a really pretty building, my only concerns going into it were about parking and the neighborhood. It's definitely an older neighborhood(for those of you familiar with KC, it's down the street from Martini Corner on Linwood, however it IS before you get to Troost, so I think that counts as safe). The man that let me in let me know that there IS a lot to park in beside the building, and that security guards would be out there watching the cars throughout the evening. That was quite the relief. He also let me know that there have never been any safety issues, and it's a pretty safe neighborhood.

Safety, check.
Parking, check.

I didn't get to talk to the wedding lady b/c she wasn't in yet, so I'll have to get some more details, but we'd get quite a bit more space with this place. One large ballroom, stage to get married on, two parlors, and the foyer. We'd also be in a prime location to go take photos anywhere we wanted in the city. I'm definitely wanting photos on the Swope Memorial. Other options would be the Liberty Memorial, Nelson Art Gallery, Plaza fountains, Loose Park, West Bottoms, etc... All pretty good locations for pretty photos. There's also a black and white mural a block or two over that has Martin Luther King and Walt Disney in it(I think it's right where Walt Disney's old studio used to be in Kansas City), which would be a fun back drop. Random.

Anyway, here are some photos. It's officially between the Screenland Loft(sans the theatre ceremony, I guess) or the KC Athenaeum for both the ceremony and reception. Comments welcomed.

Foyer

Parlor 1

Ballroom

Ballroom

Ballroom Stage

Ballroom

Stage up close

Stage lights

Ballroom entrance/Balcony

Parlor 2

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

This is starting to get ridiculous...

Well, I think we're losing the battle for the theatre ceremony. My mom seems to be so against it, which is frustrating, b/c I think it'd be a really intimate and pretty place....and convenient. While doing some research for work today, I came across a few other places on accident. Let's take a look at number one.

Thomas H. Swope Memorial: This place is in the middle of Swope Park, near the golf course. I haven't seen it in person, and to be honest, had absolutely no idea it existed. It's gorgeous, it's insanely inexpensive, and a dead man is buried underneath. How romantic. Just kidding. But it does kind of compromise my earlier thoughts on getting married at the pretty historic chapel at Elmood Historic Cemetery in KC. I just never pictured myself getting married ON a grave stone. The drawbacks...it's gonna be August, people. We all know that it's going to be hot, unless we're graced with some freakish Missouri weather, which does happen from time to time. We'd definitely have to set up a water/lemonade refreshment area, give the guests some fans, and possibly look into battery operated fans to blow on the guests. I might have to nix my crystal bouquet idea, and go for pretty feather fans instead of bouquets for the girls. Thoughts?





On to option number 2...

Kansas City Athenaeum: I haven't been here, either. R has seen it before, though. This would probably be a wedding/reception combo. It actually is priced decently, also. This would mean giving up the Screenland space, but it is pretty. I've inquired for fun. We could still have the stage wedding ceremony, and everyone could be seated at their tables or something. We'd have to figure that part out. Not really any cons that I know of yet, other than having to hire a security guard. Here are some photos...





Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Semi-Late Night Insanity

After listening to 99 Red Balloons about...99 times...I had an epiphany. An insane one, but an epiphany all the same. Bridesmaids walking down the aisle holding red balloons instead of a bouquet, while 99 Red Balloons plays. I'm giggling just thinking about it. Ladies, that's about 16 and a half balloons each. Can you handle that?

I swear I'm taking my wedding seriously...

Holy Super 8mm!

I love, love, LOVE the way these videos look! Unfortunately, this form of filming and converting to DVD is SO expensive. But I have a possible backup plan. I just need an HD camcorder, and someone to operate it, the rest would be taken care of. Watch the clips on the Layer Cake Films site! WATCH THEM!

Friday, January 30, 2009

Let's Go to the Movies!

I think R and I have FINALLY found a place for our reception(and hopefully ceremony). We've decided on the Screenland Theatre on Armour Rd in North Kansas City. It's awesome, it's ten minutes max from the city, and I believe it will be convenient for R's family coming from Richmond. They will even put our names on the marquee that night, which is lots of fun.

As for the ceremony, they do have a beautiful theatre there to rent. R and I are completely sold on the idea for multiple reasons. Here are the pros:

-Beautiful cushy red seats.
-One row of seats are recliner seats(not that any of you will be reclining at my wedding).
-If we make a slideshow or movie, they will totally play it on the screen for us. R had joked that we could re-enact our favorite movie moments, and we could play it while everyone is waiting for the ceremony to begin. Or we could piece together clips of us(we better get filming), to have playing at some point.
-Beautiful red curtain that covers the screen, and the giant robot man that moves to open said curtain.
-R and I have wanted a wedding on some kind of stage from the beginning. We're not opposed to a church wedding, but the stage/movie thing is more "us".
-It's right in the same location as the reception. Hello convenient!

The only cons are:

-There's no REAL aisle. There's the entrance to the theatre, but no one would see me coming in until I was towards the front of the theatre. However, I could close of the aisle of recliners(b/c it's wider), and walk down that, and then turn and walk to the front and meet R on the stage. Or, I could come in from the front side door, and everyone would see me come out that way.The non-real aisle doesn't exactly bother me, b/c to be honest, walking down a big long aisle with everyone looking at me freaks me out. You can't tell me that's not intimidating.
-My mom is SO not sold on this idea, so we have some convincing to do.

I took some photos of the loft space and the theatre. You'll have to excuse their crappiness, as I took them with my iPhone.








Saturday, January 24, 2009

The Bridesmaid Dress Search is Over!

Today the girls and I decided on a bridesmaid dress. They will be black, not purple. I think everyone is going to look beautiful(and don't call me crazy for picking out a long dress for August, they all decided on the long dress, but at least it's light. We'll all suffer together in the heat.) Ta da!