Another Great Gift for the Groom

I am working on filling this out to give to Andrew on our wedding day. I have been having so much fun, and love the constant reminder of the many reasons I love him. I hope he will too!

Sex and Marriage

With the much anticipated release of "Sex and the City" on Friday, I found myself reminiscing....Over the years, the ladies on "Sex" came to feel like friends, so much so that I can imagine nearly every friendly foursome has discussed who would be who if they were to be characters on the show. Many who know me personally will not be surprised; both my peer groups and an Internet quiz (http://quiz.ivillage.com/astrology/tests/sexandthecity.htm) have confirmed that I am a "Charlotte". I started thinking that one could even describe her wedding day personality in terms of the "Sex and the City" crew. If you had to pick, whose wedding is yours most like?

Carrie's wedding has not happened yet (or may never happen, according to press releases/interviews about the movie), but the released photos suggest that it will be just like her sense of style-uber modern, quirky and edgy with a romantic twist. I am picturing a slightly raw urban space-(a loft perhaps?), a modern gown (shown below), a martini bar (maybe made out of carved ice) and bridesmaids and guests alike in couture. I am envisioning formality without stuffiness, class with a modern edge. My wedding is likely to be the least like Carrie's, as I am a sucker for classic designs and we opted to get married in the mountains in the country over having a city wedding in Denver. While her wedding will be gorgeous, it's just not me.

Miranda's wedding is the wedding I wish I could have. I love her practical, down-to-earth attitude and the simplicity of it all. With 40 members in my immediate family alone (including grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins) it was never likely that I would have such an intimate affair. Plus, to be honest, I am a Charlotte, you know?

Charlotte's second wedding is also a sight to behold with a more modern dress, a more intimate gathering, etc. However, her wedding still has the same over the top flair that you would expect from Charlotte and her wedding coordinator, Anthony. My favorite part of this wedding is that Charlotte realizes that the perfect marriage is more important than the perfect wedding. I hope that I can really remember this throughout the planning process and will take it to heart when issues arise on the wedding day.

I love Charlotte's first wedding to Trey. It was classic, elegant and every detail was accounted for. Her classic Tiffany solitaire seems to embody the spirit of the day. Out of all of the "Sex and the City" weddings, I believe that mine has the most in common with this one, down to the fact that my father is threatening to wear his dress kilt (Yes, he has one that he wears to Scottish Society Balls-shudder.) .

So ladies, I asked is before and I'll ask it again...Which wedding is yours most like?

On A Gift Buying Binge

I picked two of these up last week, one for a friend who will be reading in my wedding and another who will be my guestbook attendant. I wanted to get them a little something for being a part of my big day. Luckily, Victoria's Secret was having an amazing fragrance sale (7 for $35 with an 8th free), so I was able to score a lotion, shower gel and body spray for these gals, and one to add to the tote I got from my sister, also from www.preppymonogrammedgifts.com. Love them! Of course I had to pick up a few things for myself while I was there!!

Wedding Night Wow

I went into Sol in the Cherry Creek section of Denver with the intent to return and walked out with this. It is sure to wow the mister on our wedding night, as he loves the "pin up" look. I thought that the stockings were killer, so of course I bought those too. Now that I have this cute lingerie, I am getting excited about the possibility of boudoir shots. Has anyone out there done them? If so, do you have any tips, tricks or recommendations? Extra points if you know of someone good in the Denver Metro area.

Next step, getting abs like hers. On the upside, I am down 11 lbs since joining Weight Watchers. Getting close to that goal!

Personalized Jones Soda

Andrew LOVES Jones Soda. If I can afford it, when the time comes, I'd like to have personalized bottles (ala Mrs. Lemon and Ms. Candy Corn on Weddingbee) at our Welcome Party as favors to guests. How cute would that be? To order, go to www.myjones.com.

Rehearsal Dinner Update

When we started talking about the details of our wedding, one thing that Andrew really wanted was a bluegrass band. I loved the idea, as we make an event of The Telluride Bluegrass Festival every summer, but I wasnt sure that either A-guests would actually dance to bluegrass or that B-it would fit in with the overall feel of our event. So, I decided to surprise him by finding a bluegrass band to play at our rehearsal dinner. Unfortunately, he found out, but it will still be a great time!

We are hoping to hold our rehearsal dinner, which we will call a welcome party and invite all of our guests to (it is likely we will have a smaller RD after the rehearsal with just the wedding party) at The Dark Horse Bar and Grill in Boulder, CO. It basically wins for three reasons. Here I go again with the letters: A-It is inexpensive. It will cost us about $10 person to offer burgers, fries and an appetizer. We may even be able to add a keg or two in for that price. Although cheap, the food is very tasty! B-It is a great place for a live band to perform. C-Most importantly, it is within walking distance of the main hotel we plan to book for our guests. Since we are providing a shuttle to and from the wedding/reception, this means a guest could participate in all of the events without having to rent a car!

As you may or may not be able to tell, the bar is a bit of a dive. To dress it up, I will put checkered tablecloths on each table in our reserved area.

And, I plan to contact our fabulous florist, Boulder Blooms, to see about adding a sunflower centerpiece to each table for some additional flair.

What do you think? If you were a guest, would you come to our welcome party?

Also, if you are a native/local, do you know of any good bluegrass bands in Colorado?

Chair Sashes on the Cheap

Picture this....as guests walk up to the venue, they will be greeted by a gurgling fountain, dotted with pink and white Gerber Daisies...Just past the fountain will be a sign (ala Mrs. Petunia of Wedding Bee fame) that says "This way to the wedding" in our colors. As guests arrive at the ceremony site, they will find a table with 3 baskets arranged in ascending order, one containing sunscreen, another containing bubbles and another containing pink and brown fans. Next to these baskets will be a framed sign that says "Please help yourself" in our wedding font/colors to match our stationery. As guests face the aisle, the backs of the last row of chairs will be tied with the brown organza ribbon pictured above. 54 sashes were a steal at $77 total with shipping (rounded). Yes, that is $1.42 a piece! I got them at http://www.bbcrafts.com/. On either side of the aisle will be pink stock flowers in large galvanized pails. Walking up the aisle, guests will see small pails of pink Gerber Daisies arranged loosely in miniature galvanized pails, hanging from the chairs by brown satin bows. An arch decorated with pink flowers will mark the altar. Guests will find a program (more on that later) and personalized water (more later on that too) at each seat. I hope it will look as lovely as I picture it in my mind. How are you decorating your ceremony site?

List Mania!

When I first started planning our wedding, it seemed like there were so many details and items I was unsure of. After all, I have never done this before and the budget, guest list and choices were more than overwhelming. Thankfully, my friend Dana has recently been married, and she has many good ideas. One of them was The Knot's Book of Lists. This book has been a lifesaver on many occasions and offers things to look for when meeting with vendors, checklists of topics to cover and items that you should ask about/look for in your contract with them. I would highly recommend it to any bride-to-be. It's less than $15 with shipping on http://www.amazon.com/.

I'm So Excited....

and I just can't hide it! My cake topper finally came in the mail. I love it! I got it from www.topperswithglitz.com. The very talented (and very local) Sari from Toppers with Glitz did not disappoint. Our topper looks similar to this one, only in a "T" and with pink, brown and clear crystals. I will do my best to actually keep a promise and to post a real, live picture soon. The posted photo is from Sari's site, www.topperswithglitz.com.

On another spectacular note, I tried on my wedding dress again when my Dad was in town (for his benefit, of course) and it was too big! Hurrah!

Chocolatey Goodness

To say that I am obsessed with all things sweet would be a complete and total understatement. Since the beginning of our courtship, I have even managed to get my otherwise health-nut fiance on my sweet toothed bandwagon. After dinner, it is not uncommon for him to ask "What's for dessert?" I am confident that this would never have happened four years ago, and I find it simply endearing. So, when we planned our wedding, I had no doubt in my mind that we would have an extra sweet treat in addition to our lovely wedding cake. I love the idea of a candy buffet, but the idea of scouring Costco and the Internet, transporting the candy and having it set up to meet my....ahem...overly perfectionist (Yes, I admitted it!) standards did not appeal to me. The idea of personalized cookies is cute, but I find that some of the cookies that look the best are often the least tasty. I even contemplated a stand from Coldstone (and still may add it if budget allows), but in the end, I went with a chocolate fountain. I ADORE all things chocolate, and thought it might be a fun touch and a way to get people mingling. Now the question of the hour is, what flavor of chocolate? Dark chocolate is definitely out. Too bitter for me. I think the majority of people I know are not dark chocolate fans. That, and why would I want anything bitter on my wedding day (he he!). Next up is a chocolate blend. The pros? It's the best of all worlds-a blend of dark, milk and white chocolate. Sounds delish, is traditional and is bound to be popular. The cons, most of our cake (the largest layer) is chocolate. Finally, is white chocolate. The pros? Unique, won't be as conspicuous on the dress if I *happen* to spill and it is FI's and my FAVORITE chocolate. The cons? Probably not as popular with the masses. What do you think? Chocolate blend or white chocolate? Please vote and help me to decide!

Creature Comforts

When I originally dreamt of my wedding ceremony, I wanted to print our program on fans. However, after many emails with Annie, our invitation designer, I decided to go another route. Annie makes gorgeous, traditional programs, which I thought would be a fun keepsake to have, as well as offer me the opportunity to include a blurb about each BM.

Instead, I ordered 100 of these (50 in pink and 50 in brown) from www.idealfavors.com. They are on sale for $0.99 each right now! When guests arrive at the ceremony site, there will be a basket of these waiting for them next to a silver framed sign that says "Please Help Yourself!" in our wedding font. Next to this basket, will be an identical one holding sunscreen packets, a la Martha Stewart Weddings, Spring 2007. I have loved this idea since I first saw it in Martha's magazine! This image came from the Faye and Greer blog www.fayeandgreer.blogspot.com.

If you are having an outdoor wedding ceremony, are you doing anything special to accommodate your guests?