Dress Drama - Part 2

Ok, so if you remember last time, I decided to get rid of the original dress and start over with shopping.

Last Wednesday, my mom & I went to the shop in Dallas where my sister bought her wedding dress.  We explained the WHOLE situation to them & the consultant was really understanding.  When I told her that I wanted the dress to be white (rather than Ivory), she got it in her mind that I needed lace.

Dress Drama - Part 1

So, back in January (a whole 4 days after getting engaged), I went dress shopping.  I found a dress I kinda liked and the consultant pushed and pushed and I bought it that day.  That night, after realizing what had happened, I got really stressed & started crying about it! When I thought back to it, she had pushed us not only into the dress, but also into a veil I had never seen, a headpiece I didn't even see on me, an underskirt that was the wrong style & just chose a dress size for me! Well that really upset me & I had a HUGE breakdown!

Sampling the Cake

A while back, I posted about cake ideas I had and hinted that we would be tasting a cake soon! Well, we did have our tasting (a very different experience than other people have told me about), and I'm kinda excited to share about it!

One Stressed Out Bride!

Warning: This is just a rant post to explain/get out some of my feelings. (Yes, I know, by the pattern today should be a non wedding related post, but I don't have anything else to post right now!)
I am getting married on May 25th, 2013 (yes, just over 10 months away), but I am already super stressed. Reasons why:

1. Looking at wedding sites makes me feel like I need to get everything done NOW (which I really don't, just feel like it).

2. I am trying to DIY a lot of things to save money. DIY means putting time into it. Which is alright sometimes, but I cannot make place cards until I know who is coming, and I will not know who is coming until I get RSVPs and I will not get RSVPs until I send out invites and I cannot send out invites until the proper time (6-8 weeks is the given "proper" time, but I am sending them earlier - March-ish) - see how this all created stress?

3. I've already been engaged for over 6 months!! At this point, most people are either 1. at their wedding or 2. halfway there. I, on the other hand, still have 10 months left! Maybe its stressing me out because we haven't celebrated being engaged (just jumped into wedding planning), but mom is finally planning something for later this fall (better late than never I guess).

4. I am anticipating being SUPER busy these last two semesters and don't know if I will have any wedding planning time (plus, I have another event to throw in late April/early May). Reasons why I will be super busy: Finishing off a teaching degree requires a full time commitment 3 days a week fall and 5 days a week spring semester. I have the honor of serving as President of my sorority for this next year (reason I am throwing the event).  I will continue to work this fall. AND I have to find time for projects/homework/certification exams/a relationship with my fiance. PLUS any leftover wedding things I don't finish this summer... I makes me want to take a nap just thinking about it...

So, how do you deal with your busy schedule?

Votive Candleholders

If you remember in my post a little while back about centerpieces, I am planning on using votive candle holders for part of my table decor.  Although my centerpieces weren't going to cost a lot, I found a way to save even more! My sister for some reason (I think left from her wedding) had a bunch of votive candle holders in her garage.  She offered me as many as I needed and I grabbed a bunch and took them home. I didn't want them to be just plan clear glass, so I stopped by hobby lobby, grabbed some glass paint, and got to work.

This is the glass paint I recommend

Hole Punch Letter

I had a BUNCH of paint chips sitting around (not really sure why but I've been collecting paint chips but I have) and searched the internet (pinterest) for a use for them when I found this. An awesome letter made from paint chip hole punches!!! I immediately jumped in with a ton of zeal and got started!

Favors?

When we started planning our wedding, wedding favors were one of the first things Ryan & I decided on, but being me, I obviously have to change my mind about it like ten million times, so now we are down to 2 ideas (I think, well for today just 2).  One idea my mom loves & one we love. (See my dilemma?)

I swore I'd never do it again...

but I'm moving again.  If you remember last summer I moved into an awesome big apartment & decorated it all beautiful! Well, it has turned out to be a horrible experience! (I'll explain how later) So, when they offered to let me stay only if I started paying more a month, I decided it was time to move again!

Save the Dates

We have had a bit of an adventure with our Save the Dates, but we are FINALLY ready with them! I know what you're going to say: "Maddie, your wedding is 11 months away, isn't it a bit early to send out save the dates?" And I would obviously respond: "Well, according to traditional times, you would send them 6-8 months before the wedding.  However, a lot of our guests (read: pretty much all) will have to travel to be able to come to our wedding, so we want to give them as much time as possible to make those arrangements.  Also, our wedding will be Memorial Day weekend, and we don't want people to make other plans.  (But love that our guests get an extra day off after our wedding!) Finally, we decided that we might as well send them out earlier since we have such a long engagement!"

Hair Flowers

Earlier this summer, our sorority board had a leadership retreat.  It was a ton of fun! Since I was in charge of planning it, I wanted to have a craft for us to do! Our adviser helped me find this blog with instructions on how to make a no-sew hair flower! They were super cute, but the instructions weren't the best, so I will write my own for you! :)

Groom Duties

In planning this wedding, something that has been very important to me from the beginning was that Ryan be involved in the planning process.  He has been a great sport so far and this is truly turning out to be "our" wedding (not just Maddie's wedding that Ryan shows up to when he's told).  I know a lot of other brides who do it that way, and I'm sure it works for them, but we are taking this opportunity as a blessing to learn more about each other and learn to communicate with each other.

3 Simple Crafts

So, in finding all the old posts that I meant to write, but never did, I found pictures from when I created 3 really fast & easy crafts and figured that I would throw them all into one post for you! So sit back, relax, and enjoy the crafts!