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!

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!

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...

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.

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.!

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....