What...I have to come up with Rehearsal Dinner invites...No f'ing way!!

This is exactly what went thru my head when it occurred to me that I had to come up with yet ANOTHER invite.  I was so f'ing invite-ed OUT after the damn wedding invites, so I totally dreaded this task.  Thinking about it made me want to stab my eyeball with a fork.  Gruesome, I know.  

However, I was pleasantly surprised at how fun, easy and super cute they turned out!

Our fabulous photographer (check her out here) did a blow your socks off job on our engagement pics that I decided to tap into the more eccentric ones and use them for our rehearsal invites. 

Supplies needed:  8x10 photo paper, Microsoft Powerpoint and some scissors....oh and a super fab photographer.  Total cost:  $20.  Can't beat it!

The one we decided to use

Second place, but still kind of my favorite

I wasn't planning on telling anyone, but you gotta give credit where credit is due, so I did find the poem online somewhere via google.  It was just too damn cute not to use!  I tweaked a few parts and here she is...

Jon popped the question and Anne said yes
All the planning is over from  the decor to the dress
Only one thing remains for this day to be great
Practice makes Perfect
April 22nd is the date

We'll practice out the ceremony
And iron out the kinks

Then it's off to the Mercantile Winery

For some dinner and some drinks

Please join the Bride & Groom to be
At 6:00 for a rehearsal
The Elms Resort

Simple, to the point but not skimping on cuteness. 

P.S.  We had a super tough job at deciding which to use and ended up going with the first one.  How we decided?  Took a household vote, the tie breaker vote being my 2 and 4 year old adorable nephews.  They said, "Annie, we like the this one because of the colors."  I'm a sucker so the decision was made. Black and white was out and the colorful one was in. 

Did we make the right choice?



To Cake Top.... or NOT to Cake Top

That is the question I've been facing these past few days.  Being a budget bride, you've got to cut here and there.  I mean, do I really need to invest in a cake topper that 0.5 people will even notice, or do I want to invest in 5 other flower displays to place around the room? 

I can't complain, there could be worse things to ponder over like....should I give my kidney to a family member who really needs it?  Or, I may have breast cancer, so should I do chemo or just get a double mastectomy?  If you know me, you know I'd say cut those puppies off.  I hate lugging around 20 lbs of breast everyday.  It's ALOT of work.

To complicate my decision even more, I'm doing a massive cupcake display...NOT a cake.  My fabulous mother in law bought this super cool display from Europe that will form the cupcakes into the shape of a cake.

She has been awesome in bringing my cupcake vision to life down to the metallic gold icing and baby peacock feathers sticking out of each cupcake.  I'm not particular or anything.... ;)

Just when I thought I had made the decision to NOT cake top....I found this......

Fucking awesome.  I know.

And then, I thought perhaps this would be fun....

My fiance is OBSESSED with the fact that his last name starts with an 'X.'  I mean seriously.  It's tattooed all over his body.  So, I know he'd love to have a massive 'X' sitting atop the cake.

So, HELP all of you (cough, cough) 3 readers out there. 

To cake top or NOT to cake top.  That is my question.

Meeting with the florist = Success

So....I totally suck and didn't take pics of our 'rough draft' bouquets, but let me just tell you.  F'ing perfect.  I brought one of the bridesmaid dresses with which was definitely a good call, because seeing the look all come together was just what I needed to see my vision come together! 

A few of the dark purple flowers I choose to make up the bouquet

Not the green part...just the pretty bloom

Then I choose a sweet little green leaf filled stem to bring the look together.  Completing the look, you ask? PEACOCK FEATHERS. I know, you're so surprised.



65 days...ish. Wow.

So, we are down to about 9 weeks and I just can't believe it!!  J and I were laughing the other day about when our countdown began, it was like 40 weeks to go!  We could've gotten knocked up and had a kid by now.  I know, my humor can be quite disturbing.  Just ask my friends.

I haven't updated much lately because I've been super busy with wedding shizzzzz and haven't had time to even think about uploading any pics to show what craftsy crap I've been dabbling with. 

Next post I'll touch on the super fun rehearsal dinner invites.  If you're anything like I was, you're thinking, "What?  We have to come up with yet another damn invitation?"  My solution--simplicity and fun.  Can't wait to show you pics soon!

An update on the wedding planning progress:  Had first dress fitting on my birthday this past week--best present to myself ever!  I was able to meet my alterations gal who wasn't taking any more brides until April, but she squeezed me in.  I used my fab sales skills to swoon her.  She fell for it.  Now, I have the best gal in town.  She eased my anxiety about the final fit and bustle and I'm more excited than EVER to wear my dream dress.  To be honest, I'd been really second guessing myself the past few months about the decision, which is totally in my nature. But slipping it on again and getting some expert advice did the trick.  It's so beautiful and so me and I just can't wait.

This weekend, surprise surprise, hoping to get a few more things checked off the to-do list including finally meeting with the florist.  Can't wait to see how she plans to bring my peacock feather theme to life.  Super stoked. 

And, while I'm on the bandwagon of my 'look'...I'm checking out some jewelry boutiques in the area to see what I can come up with.  Fallback plan if I don't find anything--I've contacted a super neat designer I found on Etsy.com.  Where has Etsy.com been all my life!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow, what has my life become.  Wedding, sleep, wine, wedding, work, wine, HDTV, wine, wedding, work, and more wedding.  Sad, but I'm lovin' every second of it.

Tootles ya'all!