Rants and Raves

Rave: I have some pretty amazing friends. Last night we all met up at Blu Martini for an engagement party for my friend Kristen and I. It was so refreshing to spend a couple hours with my friends on a Thursday night and not have to squeeze our chatting in during Grey’s Anatomy commercial breaks. Here is one of the “fun” pictures we took last night:

(Laura, Maria, Candice, Me, Kristen, DDD, Justine, Monica)
Rant: This week I took three of my friends dress shopping with me. Although I have two dresses that I am in love with, at this point, there is no way I will be able to decide between the two. And, I’m not appreciative of the pushy sales women that try to stick 10 veils, headpieces, and flowers into my hair at the same time.

Rave: Last night at the engagement party I asked Debbie Deb to be my Maid-of-Honor…and she happily accepted! So excited!!

Rant: I have decided that it is time for me to delegate. As much as it pains my heart, I must relinquish a LITTLE bit of control over my wedding. Baby steps right? DDD, I am entrusting you with picking out the bridesmaids’ dresses. Just make sure they are black.

Rave: My Company holiday party is tonight…which provides me with another chance to show off my bling!

Rave: One last rave, just because it’s Friday…I get to see Christopher today when he comes in to Indy from Cincinnati!

(Chris and I in Central Park this past summer)

A New Feature

Today I decided that I wanted to add a new feature to my blog...a poll!
Each poll will remain open for voting for around 5 days and I hope to post a new poll weekly.

This week's question is:
How often do you visit "Tying the Knot"?

I would really like to get a feel for how many people actually view my page and how often they visit and read what I have to say! And be honest, you won't hurt my feelings! I am so thankful for everyone who reads this page and leaves thoughtful and supportive and inspirational thoughts and ideas!

The poll is on the right column of this blog....vote now!!

{Results: 28 Votes: once a day: 19, a couple of times a week: 5, once a week: 1, occasionally: 3}

Status Update

I love to-do lists. I would create to-do lists all day and everyday if I could. Creating a "pretty" to do list using a sharpie marker and a post-it is one of my favorite past times. I almost have as much fun creating the to-do list as I have crossing the items off of the list. Lately, however, I have begun to resent to-do lists....wedding to-do lists. Each and every time I log onto The Knot our to-do list has grown and I still have not been able to cross anything off.

Take a look at our planning timeline that I created way before we were engaged:

this timeline is courtesy of miss daffodil, get the link to her timeline here
It is now almost December of 2007 and the only thing that has been accomplished is the draft of the guest list, which was only accomplished last night. As you can see above, the priest, church, hotel, reception site, and photographer were all supposed to have been booked BEFORE November. We don't even have our wedding party selected yet!
As for the tasks that were to have begun by December....only the wedding gown search and the honeymoon research have begun.
As of today there is nothing, but the guest list draft, that I can cross off the to-do list. Nothing!

But, I am getting my sharpie ready to cross off some items because here is the plan for this weekend:

• Chris and I are checking out 4 reception hall locations on Saturday and hopefully putting down a deposit sometime next week.
• We are meeting with the priest on Sunday...hopefully he will agree to marry us!
• Visiting 2 churches in Indianapolis and make a final decision on where we will have the ceremony.
• Deciding the wedding party.

The weekend of December 15th or 22 will (hopefully) be spent testing out various venues for the rehearsal dinner, determining our photographer, and deciding on a website to host our wedding information.

What were you most excited to cross off your wedding checklist?

Twiggy

This weekend my parents and I were reception hall shopping and actually came across a centerpiece idea we all loved! Three tall cases of alternating sizes were stuffed loosely with branches and a large white hydrangea sat propped up on the very bottom of the vase, amidst the twigs.

The arrangement was simple, affordable, and would add height to the tables at the reception hall. I would like to place the tall twig centerpieces at every other table and place a smaller and shorter gathering of hydrangeas at the other tables.

I found this picture on The Knot that captures some of what I am envisioning.

I would love to wrap/tie a thick plum ribbon around at least 1/2 of the vase.

And then I found this picture on The Knot and I would decorate the church like this in a heartbeat if I was going for a winter wonderland or fairytale themed wedding. The last thing that I need to do is think about changing my theme...again...

Are any of you doing anything twiggy or have some twiggy inspiration to share?!

The Interview

This coming Sunday Chris and I are meeting with the catholic priest who MIGHT preside over our wedding. I suppose this is the preliminary interview where all the uncomfortable questions are asked…or at least some of them. Do any of you have any insight as to what questions he might ask Chris and I?

Whhhhhaaatt?!?

I wanted to put together a list of "things" that have stopped me in my tracks during my 24 days of "actual and authorized" wedding planning and made me say, "Whhhhhaaatt?!?" Call me crazy, but I couldn't believe some of the "things" listed below:

• All Catholic churches in Indianapolis cost $1,000 to rent for your ceremony. Insane.
• A veil and headpiece can cost around $250. For a yard or two of tulle?! Snagging mine on eBay or perhaps borrowing one from a friend.
• The Grooms' parents are "supposed” to pay for the marriage license. Seriously? I think that Chris & I can cough up the $18 Indiana license fee ourselves.
• One reception hall wanted to charge $.30 for a small votive candle that would be placed on the tables. Ikea has 100 for $2.99 = three cents each.
• A keg of beer for $300. Now, I know that the reception places have to make their profit somewhere…but that equals out to about a $200 profit margin per keg!

Did any of you have any “Whhhhhaaattt?!? moments?

Light Bright

Now I know that in my last post I went on a little semi-serious rant about Martha Stewart.
And you can't blame me for that. I don't think that there isn't a person out there that doesn't pick up a MS magazine and stare in awe at her creations, and then resent seeing them because her perfection cannot be matched. And although I dislike her unmatchable perfection,
that doesn't mean that I can't still oogle over the projects featured in her magazines.

Check out this DIY light bright project:
Ala new piece of inspiration! I am thinking about putting one board covered in white fabric and one board covered in black fabric as a backer on various tables around my reception: escort card table, gift table, etc. I love the simplicity of the "firework" pattern and I think that it would add a little sparkle to my reception!
Go here for directions on how to make your own Light Bright!!

To be Thankful...

As Thanksgiving approaches, it is important to take time to reflect on what one is truly thankful for. Here are some of my meandering thoughts:

• To Microsoft Excel. Thank you for helping me to create a spreadsheet for everything under the sun related to wedding planning. I have only been engaged for 20 days and already I have six fully functioning spreadsheets with multiple tabs and mind boggling color coding.
• To Flickr. Before I discovered you, all of my images were hosted in one giant wedding folder on my desktop. Now, I have hosted them with you and they are nicely organized and readily available to upload to your friend, the Mosaic Maker to turn into beautiful inspiration boards. Ala, my newest plum inspiration board which will be making an appearance later this evening.
• To the Internet. How in the world did a woman plan her wedding without the Internet? I mean seriously, forget it.
• To pretty, full, white hydrangeas that are almost as pretty as peonies. Since it would cost more than a month's of my apartment rent just to SHIP over peonies from Holland for my wedding, thank you for being in season during the month of my wedding. I appreciate it.

• To My Monogram. When Erin at Lucky Me! made you for me, I was on cloud 9. You have inspired me and I am so ready to plaster you on all of my invitations, escort cards, save the dates.....
• To my Favorite Blogs. Thank you for getting me through the day, providing me with snippets of inspiration, and for allowing me to copy and paste your ideas into my wedding vision.
• Ohhhhh, and my fiance! Without him this whole wedding kind of wouldn't be possible.

However, one thing came to my mind that I am not thankful for:

• To Martha Stewart. You make me want to replicate everything in your magazines, all of which would come at a great cost to me and are therefore unaffordable and unattainable. I mean, individual monogram sponge cakes!? You just HAD to didn't you? Only kidding Martha, but your expert craftiness and perfection does get a little out of control at times. Let's work on that.
  
  

A Royal Monogram

Imagine my delight when I took some time this afternoon to browse my favorite blogs and came across a monogram designed especially for me at Lucky Me!



It is everything that I could have hoped for, and more! My jaw is still on the ground. I am putting this monogram on everything that I possibly can.
-Save the dates
-At the top of the invitation
-On the seal of the invitation
-Perhaps stamping it on the back of the outer envelope
-On the escort cards, if I can get away with it
-On the front of the programs

Am I forgetting anything?!

PS: Lucky Designs just branched out a little bit into Lucky Baby!
What a cute idea and a great little blog! Check it out at Lucky Baby!

Thanks again Lucky Me! ....I owe you big time for the latest piece of inspiration you have shared with me!

Escort Me!

Needless to say the best part of the wedding, for the guests at least, is the reception! When guests walk into your reception the first detail they see is normally some sort of escort card. The escort card will inform your guest(s) of the table that they will be sitting at for the reception. Take a look at some of these amazing escort cards:

(all pictures from The Knot)

1. I love the idea of hanging escort cards from ribbon when having the reception outdoors. And you can bring in a hint of your color palette by using ribbons that match your scheme.

2. There is nothing I love more than something that is neatly arranged and packaged. Written on the outside of the envelope is the name of the guest and assigned table number. Inside the envelope you could even leave a personal message to each guest!

3. These postcard escort cards are so creative!!

4. The sand dollars sitting in sand is a favorite of mine for sure...almost makes me want to have a beach wedding!

5. These escort cards each hang from bamboo stalk and they double as favors that every guest can take home and grow!

6. My friend Kristen is collecting wine corks to serve as escort card/place card holders...love it!

7. I had to throw this one in here for my old theme ....which I still love.

8. From Mrs. Anayisnins' bio . Check it out if you haven't already. What a wonderful winter wedding.

Happy escorting! And have a great weekend! I am going out with the girls tonight, trying on my top 5 dresses for my parents tomorrow, and then heading to Cincinnati to go to the Bengals game with Christopher and our friends! Back to posting Sunday-ish.

For the Pews & Chairs

Adding a little "bling" to the ends of pews or chairs at your wedding venue will have all of your guests taking note. Forget the standard draped tulle and make a statement with something different... (all pictures taken from The Knot)
1. Words cannot express how much I love this pew decor (but perhaps you could sense my love for it because of how often I have posted the picture on my blog)! How elegant, fresh, and classy!

2. Pomanders are all the rage. I love them for flower girls and for the end of the aisle. These flowers can even do double duty and have a place in the reception!

3. And now we're taking the pomanders outside and putting them on shepherd's hooks...love it.

4. The simplicity of this pew/chair decor is what I love. It works perfectly with the outdoor venue.

5. The alternating flowers are refreshing to see. I love how the ribbon is blowing in the wind and catching the eye.

6. Tin buckets on the side of the pew/chair are affordable and unique and can also work into the reception decor!

And I still love the candle-lit ceremony idea...it's what my parents did!

Dear Wedding Fairies,
What have I done to you?! Seriously. I mean, I try to be a good little bride-to-be...really I do! I blog almost everyday, except some weekends since I am with Christopher. I even started "pre-planning" a good two months before the proposal!

So you would think that you, the wedding fairies, would look down on me with favor and shower me with wedding planning luck. Wedding planning luck, however, is not what I am having.

Today you informed me that all three of my potential catholic churches for the big day would cost $1,000 to rent for a mere two hours. ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS!!! And that doesn't even include the priest, organist, etc. Seriously, one thousand dollars!? I thought this wedding was occurring in Indianapolis, not NYC. Absurd.

Today you also informed me that peonies, the flower I have been dreaming of for my bouquet, is only available during the months of May and June. At any other time of the year the peony would have to be imported from Holland. I am sad to say that my September wedding will therefore not be graced with the presence of peonies.

Today you also informed me that the date that Chris and I have picked is in the middle of the NFL season opener weekend. Thus, if the Colts are at home I'm sure that downtown will be nothing less than a migraine.

One day...you had to tell me all of this on one day!? Thank God for family, friends, and Christopher that have talked me out of my impulse to jet off to an exotic island and get married with no hassles attached. Please tell me what I can to do get back in your good graces oh wedding fairies!!
xo,
jessica lynn
(PS please excuse the lack of pict with this post. I am without inspiration at the moment.)

Application

I wanted to share the news that last night I sent in my application to

to become a part of the "hive!" For those of you that are not brides-to-be and are not familiar with weddingbee (or for those of you that ARE brides-to-be and are living under a rock and are therefore not familiar with weddingbee), allow me to explain a little bit about the website.

weddingbee is a place where 20 brides-to-be, called "bees," blog everyday about their journey to the alter. The bees post about everything from DIY projects to how they found THE dress. I have found the site so helpful and full of inspiration during both my "pre-planning" stage and my current stage of planning. Hopefully I can become part of the hive! Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Peonies?!

In envisioning my wedding with my previous theme in mind, I thought I would carry a green bouquet. Now, with this new theme of "A Black & White Soiree" I am liking the idea of a bouquet of white peonies like the ones on the first row below:

(all images via The Knot)

My bridesmaids will be wearing black dresses and I am now toying with what color of bouquets I will have them carry. I am in love with the light pink and raspberry peony bouquets above in the second row, but my accent color will be plum, not pink.

So it's back to the picture galleries for the bridesmaids' bouquets, but I think I'm set on the white peonies for my beautiful bouquet. Any thoughts on plum bridesmaids bouquets?

I also love the idea of wrapping the bouquet in a pretty white ribbon and affixing a broach or a locket as a special touch!

Friends & Family

Over the past two years of our relationship, Chris and I have been supported by our wonderful friends and family. I thought it was only appropriate to dedicate a post to them:

My friend Angie gets a special mention in this post. Now I consider the fact that Chris and I met at a Rascal Flatts concert fate, but Angie swears up and down that she brought the two of us together since she approached Chris's group of friends. Either way, thanks for taking a chance with me and going to the concert AJ...not only did we have an amazing time but I got a fiance out of it!

Angie and I, the night of the Rascal Flatts concert

Later that night AJ took a pict of Chris & I dancing...I already knew I had a keeper!

My best friends are the ones that I met in college and mostly consist of my sorority sisters. I consider the five of you the sisters that I never had and I love you all. Thank you for the times that we have spent over the past 6 (yikes, we're getting old!) years. And I'm glad that you all approve of Chris, you're kinda stuck with him now!!

My crazy sorority sisters and I on one of the crazy nights they joined me in Cinci minus JSto

I assume that none of Chris's friends read this blog, but I wanted to give them and especially his roommates, a shout-out for putting up with me as the seventh roommate for the past 2 years. You're pretty much like the brothers that I never had. But I would like to thank my parents for never having a boy, because they do smell at times. Sick.

Mike, Chris, & Nick...the other 3 roommates are elsewhere....

Most importantly, our families. My parents love Chris just as much if not more than they love me and from day one they have been supportive of us (no matter how many thousands of miles we racked up traveling to see each other) and that has meant the world to us. Chris's family has welcomed me with open arms and I am so excited to enter their HUGE family.

Weather Underground

Is your wedding or reception going to be outside and you're already agonizing over the weather forecast for your special day? Do you want to be extra sure that it won't rain on your wedding day...even though you wouldn't mind taking pictures with a cute umbrella or parasol?

photo by Michael Barber

Check out Weather Underground!

Weather Underground allows you to enter the location of your outdoor event and will give you the results from the past 20 years of the weather on that day for the area you inquire about. From the chance of cloud cover to the chance of precipitation on your big day...you'll have every little statistic you ever wanted! (Info from Modern Brides magazine)

The A List of Indy's Photographers

The Indy Channel has recently released "The A List" of Indy's Best Local Businesses, as voted upon by Indy residents. Categories range from Cheap Eats to Auto to WEDDINGS! And thanks to my wonderful friend Kristen, I was able to spend a good two hours tonight browsing over top rated Indianapolis vendors! I bee-lined it right to the photography section.
I am not surprised that Jessica Strickland is among the top photographers in Indianapolis. Love love love her work:

Now for those of you that can't benefit from the A-List, since you don't live in Indy, I wouldn't want this post to leave you empty handed! Here are some other inspiring images from Indianapolis based photographers:

LOVE this photo from Brand Photo & Design even though it's so blatantly posed:

This picture by Bobbi + Mike has to be one of my favorite pictures of all time:And talk about a picture captured by Turtle Pond Photography on a whim that turned out to be such an adorable picture!

In Search of Inspiration

I only have a moment to post tonight, so I thought I would share the links to some blogs that I have discovered/frequented recently:

• The Bride's Cafe is a new blog about "all things wedding and all things inspirational" I love these pew decorations. I would stick to big, white, puffy hydrangeas and black or plum ribbon.

• Kim Vallee's blog is filled with tips for hosting parties in your home and has many party planning tips and tools. Her blog led me to these "foliage lights" that could be scattered around the cake table or gift table:

• Groombug is a blog/website for the groom-to-be, offering little wedding tips for him, honeymoon ideas, and general info all grooms will need to know. Perhaps Chris will make it a daily read!!
• The Bride's Guide by Darci Miller posts quaint little snippets of advice and inspiration for brides-to-be.

Later today I will post on my spreadsheet skillz!!

Rants and Raves

Rave: As I mentioned in my last post, I got to spend some time this weekend with my parents. Tonight, I sent them the link to this blog. I hope they read it and I hope they like it! Cross your fingers!

Rant: I want to buy all of the pottery barn holiday decorations.

However, my money needs to be saved for a certain event next September and perhaps buying a house. Annnd my lease is up in May and there is no way that I want to have to move one more trinket into another apartment or house.

Rave: This weekend we decided to go forward with the black, white, and plum color scheme. Yay! Our first decision! I have officially named it: "A Black & White Soiree"

image via hostess blog. substitute in the color plum for green
Rant: I have a giant SpongeBob box sitting in my living room and I lack the effort to move it into the storage closet outside. Perhaps I'm becoming a little attached to the yellow guy!

Rave: I love spreadsheets. I love creating them, using them, formatting them...I would almost say I love Bill Gates for creating Microsoft Office. Perhaps my love for spreadsheets explains why I'm an accountant. Anyways, I am quite proud of myself for thus far having fully-functioning spreadsheets in the works for our guest list, church, hotel for guests, and wedding websites. Works of art I tell you.

Rant: It's only supposed to get up to a high of 40 degrees tomorrow...what happened to fall!?

Rave: I love the curly branches that are coming out of this centerpiece. And, if you can see them, the white (iridescent) stars hanging off the branches are such a cute detail!

Leigh Miller Photography

Wedding Bells

This weekend was a big weekend for Chris and I! We spent time planning, visiting with my parents, catching up with my co-workers, walking along the canal, and visiting cathedrals for our wedding.

Saint Mary's Cathedral:

This cathedral had beautiful stained glass windows that let in SO much light. The pews and the marble columns were gorgeous and ornate and the space itself was breathtaking! There was even a courtyard out back!
Saints Peter & Paul Cathedral:
This space was just as beautiful, but in a different way. The pews were replaced with actual seats and there was a basin of holy water at the center of the entry way in the back of the church.

Next weekend we will be finding a church in Cincinnati to attend regularly, inquiring about marriage counseling, and perhaps finding a priest to preside over our ceremony!

The To-Do List

I would like to introduce my, I mean our, planning timeline:

this image is hosted on flickr here if you would like to view a larger image

this timeline is courtesy of miss daffodil, get the link to her timeline at the bottom of this post

As you can see, before November we need to:

• book a photographer
• book a church & reception hall
• book a hotel for our guests
• draft a guest list
• and select our wedding party

Progress made thus far:

• chosen a photographer ...crossing my fingers about her
• looking at 2 churches that are available on Sunday with Chris & waiting to hear back from 2 more
• no progress on the reception hall or a hotel for our guests
• a guest list will hopefully be in the works after meeting with my parents this weekend
• wedding party is in the works!!

The real planning begins this weekend! I'll post next on Sunday with what we have checked off our to-do list! And maybe I can even get Chris to post something!!

The Planning Stage Begins...

I would like to take this opportunity to say goodbye to the "pre-planning" stage of my wedding planning. It's been fun, but its time to move on. Its time to create guestlists, budgets, and seating charts. Its time to sign contracts, try on dresses, and begin to turn inspiration into a beautiful wedding.

I should mention that I broke the news to Chris about this lovely blog of mine. Surprisingly, it didn't seem to phase him...yet....until he realizes how intense my blogging has been. I'm going to try to ease him into this gently, instead of unleashing my wrath upon him and presenting him with color swatches and floral arrangements, invitation and wedding website options, and the layouts of various reception halls. And by easing him in gently I mean giving him the link to this blog today, inquiring as to his decision on a theme tomorrow, and visiting two catholic churches Sunday morning. Just kidding....sort of. I love you Chris!!

Trick or Treat!!

I was sitting on my couch last night, on Halloween, "pre-researching" florists and catholic churches in Indianapolis, when a trick-or-treater knocked on the door. I was in sweatpants and was too focused on my pre-planning research to get up so my roommate finally answered the door armed with a bowl of candy. Begrudgingly, I followed, because I do love Halloween and I wanted to see the kid’s costume. But it wasn’t a kid at the door. It was a full grown man in a head-to-toe SpongeBob Squarepants costume.
So after giving him four miniature candy bars, SpongeBob still wouldn’t go away. As we were closing the door on him, he held up a finger, motioning for us to wait. And SpongeBob said, “Happy Anniversary!” I started laughing at his cute surprise and thinking about how sweet it was that he had made the two hour drive up to Indianapolis just to surprise me for our two year anniversary (which is actually on Halloween). Note: I should mention that SpongeBob does hold a special place in our hearts. Often times, on Saturday mornings we find ourselves cuddled up together, laughing at SpongeBob’s antics, and sharing a relaxing and carefree moment before we start our day.
I went outside to help him out of his costume and I noticed the door slam shut behind me. I looked down into Chris’s trick-or-treat bag (which was a giant SpongeBob gift bag) and spotted a bottle of champagne and the stuffed animal, Rawry, which Chris had bought for me on our one-year anniversary. It was then that I saw the anxious/scared/excited look in his eyes as he pulled Rawry out of the bag, held him out towards me, and said, “Rawry and I would like to know if you would watch SpongeBob with us every Saturday for the rest of our lives…” And as I gasped in surprise he pulled out THE most beautiful ring, dropped to his knee and asked me to marry him.
Of course, I said yes and jumped into his arms! The initial shock still hasn’t worn off, and we spent the rest of the night drinking champagne, making phone calls, and being in complete happiness. I love re-telling the story and letting everyone know that Chris caught me completely by surprise, which was his goal. Anyone that has talked to me about the possibility of an engagement within the last month or two knows that I have had an outfit planned and strategy set out for why this was THE weekend he would propose and how he would do it. The fact that he caught me by surprise and how he thoughtfully did it isn’t the only things that I love about his proposal. Later that night, we watched a series of short video clips he made while going through the process of making the SpongeBob costume, asking my father for permission, and coming to my doorstep. In the videos, he expressed his excitement to become my fiancé, how much he loved me, and how he was ready to begin the rest of our lives together. I know that I will treasure those videos, and the perfect proposal, for years to come.

Have I mentioned that I love Halloween!?

after the proposal I made him get back into his costume to snag this picture....how great is this costume!? Did I mention that he got himself into size 10 women's yellow terrycloth sweatpants to complete the look!? He's quite proud of that...

More to Come....

Have I mentioned that Halloween is my fav-o-rite time of the year?

photo via martha stewart

I'll blog more later tonight about the reasons why...
Let's just say that I had a very special trick-or-treater come to my door last night.....