The very first dress I added to my favorites list when searching for *the gown* had a dramatic back. One that, as you walked down the aisle, guests would be surprised (in a nice way). It’s a great statement to make, especially if you are not afraid to be bold.
This particular dress is not one I tried one, but the back really caught my eye. It is a gorgeous gown to begin with, but the open back really gives it a touch of sexy.
Image courtesy of studio 3z
I opened up the latest issue of The Knot magazine when I got home the other night, to find that one of the top 6 wedding dress trends for this year are pleats.
I’m not trying to give anything away here, but I’d like to say that I was ahead of the game on this trend, considering I bought my gown back in October 2009.
That’s the only detail you get until I try my gown on in February. But even then, you’ll still be itching for more (in other words, you won’t get to see the entire dress until after the wedding – hate to be the bearer of bad news). I want to keep it a surprise for my guests.
Image courtesy of my crappy Blackberry camera.
Aren’t they gorgeous? Tell me I am not the only one that loves this flower?
Image courtesy of krissy davis photography
If only you were available in the fall. But, alas, I have the gorgeous ranuncula to turn to.
What flower makes you totally swoon?
In a few short weeks, the Pilot and I will begin registering for items for the wedding. We have been putting it off for a number of reasons, mostly because we wanted to wait until after the holidays. We had a feeling some of our family members would buy us wedding gifts for the holidays, so we opted to hold off. Plus, we felt it was still a bit early.
At any rate, I have been making a list of things we already have, things we want to replace and things we do not have, which we want. Now, I’ll tell ya, there are a few items that just seemed unnecessary. Included on this list was an olive pitter. You see, I like olives. A lot. So much so in fact, when I was a little girl I used to put black olives on each of my fingers and then eat them off (you can ask my mother about this). LOVE black olives.
The other night, the Pilot came up with this recipe on his own (kudos for him for getting kitchen creative, since that’s always my job). He wanted chicken breast, a mixture of olives and tomato sauce. Easy enough. So, we set out to the grocery store to get the items we did not have – olives and tomato sauce. The idea being we would get some really good olives. Luckily, one of our local grocery stores, has a great little antipasti/olive bar – which made finding really good olives, really easy. Never mind the fact that I forgot these olives need to be pitted.
So, in true landlocked couple style, I started cooking dinner while the Pilot found something else to do. I asked him how he wanted his olives, and he said sliced, so back to the kitchen I went. I grabbed one of our knives and was about to slice away, when BAM, the knife wouldn’t go through. Damn It! The olives needed to be pitted. So, I spent a good ten or so minutes trying to cut as much olive off of the pit without slicing my fingers off. There were a good 30 olives, mind you, all of which were in some sort of olive oil marinade. Olive oil = Slippery. Slipper + Knife = Not Safe. Luckily, no cuts. BUT it made me immediately add olive pitter to our list of items to register for.
Image courtesy of Williams-Sonoma
(Yes, I realize there are cherries in this photo, but it’s a duel purpose tool).
And, that my friends, is why you need an olive pitter.
I heart shoes. No, I big puffy heart shoes. I seriously made the Pilot spend nearly an hour in Aldo the other day on my mission to find a perfect pair of black platform pumps. Of course, I couldn’t decide on one, so I left the store empty-handed (sad trombone, I know).
I came home on Sunday, browsing through my Google Reader, and stumbled upon these beauties. Those are the perfect black pumps. And, I have a serious thing for ruffles (see: engagement photos). Best part about this photo (other than the fact that those shoes are gorgeous, and that dog is adorable), is that I happen to know that bride-to-be (a sorority sister from college). Which means I can find out who the designer is. Score.
Image courtesy of Under Grace Photo
Last week, while surfing around on the web, I found this.
Image courtesy of With This Ring via Adventures in Wedding Planning
In case you are wondering, that little beauty is a dog collar. Now, before you go roll your eyes at me, let me explain something. I have the most adorable dog (trust me, and if you don’t believe me, just hold on a second). And, because we are not having children at our wedding, we do not have a flower girl or ring bearer. For that reason, I have been contemplating having our dog go down the aisle as our “flower dog” (again with the eye rolling, you can stop). Our ceremony venue does not allow for pets, BUT I have been told on many occasions by wedding planners and couples that they have brought their dog into the venue. You see, no one is actually at the Jewel Box monitoring it while weddings are happening (or so I’ve been told). Thus, my reasoning for thinking about it.
Don’t worry, I would not dress her in a frilly outfit or bride costume. The plan was to have her wear a cute color or ribbon, so for all obvious reasons, I love this pearl collar, which was originally featured in an issue of Martha Stewart Weddings. But, the Pilot and I decided to not have her be our “flower dog” for a few reasons. Mostly, we don’t want to put anyone in charge of her on the wedding day, nor do we want to put her through that.
And, as promised, a picture of the cutest dog ever.*
Recently, a local woman was gifted a wedding, and her story seriously touched everyone that heard about. And, with the success of her wedding, many other wedding professionals in town have reached out to the founder of The Gifted Wedding to express their interest in donating their services to help the next couple in St. Louis.
Image courtesy of The Gifted Wedding
Some background: The Gifted Wedding is an organization which is dedicated to giving couples who have a terminal illness, disability, or a unique financial situation, the wedding or vow renewal of their dreams.
Let me explain. Anna Jimenez married her husband nearly 15 years ago in a small courthouse ceremony. A few years ago, she was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease (also known as ALS), and had expressed to her friends and family how she wished she could have had a bigger wedding with their family and friends. A friend of hers, and bridesmaid contacted several vendors in the area to see if they would be willing to donate their venues or services. She was amazed with the response that she received. It was then that Dawn Thornton founded The Gifted Wedding.
Image courtesy of Under Grace Photo
I wanted to share this with all of you, so you can begin to spread the word. Spread the word to professionals, and spread the word to family and friends who you feel may benefit from this. They are looking for their next couple. But, they also need support. Support from local vendors and support from anyone and everyone.
Visit The Gifted Wedding website to find out more information and to donate.
It’s still Winter; it’s still pretty cold. And, although all of our six inches of snow from last week melted away because of our recent “heat wave” (it was 45, don’t worry), I know it’s still a bit colder and snowy-er (yes, technical term) up North.
Zeidler Photography, a St. Paul/Minneapolis photographer, recently blogged an engagement session she shot, with some of the images indoors and others out in the snow. I couldn’t resist not sharing with you. Many brides-to-be are none to thrilled to have a winter engagement session, but you can really have some fun with it. I urge more couples to go the Winter route!
I appreciate that they used an older sled. There are too many of those plastic ones out there (I know, you can go fast on them, I get it). Something about the vintage-y sled just gives those pictures character.
I LOVE hot chocolate, so of course I think those shots are adorable!
Images courtesy of Zeidler Photography
