The Wedding Playlist and the Reveal of the First Dance Song

Finding the first dance song really did take forever. The length of this story doesn't begin to explain the number of hours...but it was all worth it.

My fiance loves to do this thing where he is always the first to find something. But, for the record he really is generally the first to find something. So when I find something first (especially that he likes), I like to gloat and bask in my success because it doesn't happen very often at all.

I spent the majority of my day reading forums and going on a massive google searches and listening to pretty much every song ever. I would send him funny and interesting songs most of which would get responses like "it's okaaaaaay" and that was it. Oh the frustration! One song that was definitely in the runnings was "First day of my life" by Bright Eyes. It's a great song, but it is a bit typical. There were a few others that I loved but seeing as him and I don't share all the same musical tastes, he vetoed quite a few really fast.

I decided to humor the idea of a Feist song (upon a forum suggestion) although I really didn't see that going that far. In the middle of a massive google searching spree literally taking me to the depths of the internet, I found a phrase. It was something I had never seen before and seeing as I knew the two bands quite well, I was a bit intrigued. The line said "Constantine's and Feist". I love the Constantine's and Feist is OK for me, but I definitely needed to take a listen.

I played the song and totally liked it. As I continued to listen it literally kept getting better and better and then comes this totally amazing surprise in the middle (which I will spoil below this...but you don't get to know before) that makes it even more awesome. By the end I was hooked.

For the wedding, it will need to be edited though. The beginning is kind of slow and the end is repetitive and it is about 5 minutes long (wow, there are a lot of cons). But that is ok, we will cut it to make a really good not super long song. (PS If you are going to the wedding.....feel free to not listen and surprise yourself...please?)

The funny thing about this song is that I totally love the song "Ghetto Superstar" and have had it stuck in my head for months and months. After listening to this song a few times....it is back stuck in my head and I am continually humming it! Redic.

Ok 1 song down, a ton more to go. Here is my little list of song ideas, none of which are final but I figure if any of you are trying to drum up the playlist like I am, hopefully this will be helpful at least. This is only my half of the songs as I know Ian has a ton of really good (but totally weird and obsure) songs that I love and we will definitely have to play.

Us having fun at Lizzie's wedding.

Before the ceremony: Forever by Ben Harper

Walking down the aisle: Make You Feel My Love by Adele

After Ceremony: You are the Best Thing by Ray LaMontagne

First Dance: Islands in the Stream by Constantine's and Feist (above)

Must have dance songs: Empire State of Mind by Jay Z California Love by 2pac Kanye West songs An Usher song or two Paper Planes by MIA

At some point during the wedding: First day of my life by Bright Eyes Marry Me by Train A Dashboard Confessional song....(we have to, it ties the past together so well) Skinny Love by Bon Iver Pomps & Pride - Toots & The Maytals

Don't Play list includes any really lame songs like those ones with lyrics where you dance to the lyrics. And anything by Black Eyed Peas will be banned.

As you can see, this list needs some filling out but this is a pretty good beginning . So, let's talk music! What are some fantastic wedding songs that aren't so typical? What are you guys using for your songs?

The Countdown has begun.....

One. Month. To. Go. Yep, that's right. Is it weird that as I write this I am getting a mixture of butterflies in my stomach and heart-attack symptoms? Yesterday I had "over a month" and therefore no big deal. Today I have "under a month" and well, that just seems redic. So how much do I have left? The to-do list count as of now is 81 things. Wish me luck? I'm going to need that big time.

30 days to buy everything, get everything, DIY everything. On the flippity-flip side, that means 30 days until the first look, walking down the aisle, and dancing the night away (until we get kicked out at....get this, 9:30!). Hence the two different emotions rumbling around in my little tum tums.

The wedding room seems to be taking the brunt of all the chaos. It definitely isn't looking the best right now although I did clean and organize all the piles. Good first step!

And I can't help but wonder what will happen when this is all over. Will I be sad? Doubt it, at least at first. And then I will probably wish I could do it all over all.

What will change when we become a "married couple"? I guess that is something to look forward to at the end of all of this. what will come next.

In the mean time, here is a not so great photo of our invites. This is only part 1 of like 100 but here is a little taste. More photos will come out after the wedding.

Flower Girl Fitting

Cutest flower girl ever. This was her first  flower girl "fitting". She loved it for a second, then definitely did not. In this picture she is awfully distressed saying, "off". Either way, she is the CUTEST flower girl ever...and the most polite little girl ever. I just need to teach her about fashion over function!

Shoes For The Big Day

I don't have a specific direction for my shoes, although you can sort of see a pattern for what I am looking for with these selections below. Basically I can pick any color I want, and I want something punchy. These are some of the selections I have picked out so far. Some have their pros and cons, but basically all are in the running. The top left one is a Valentino love of mine, and the one next to it is a Fendi really-close-to-the-love-of-mine look....with a price tag of about $200 cheaper. (Still coming in at the $400 range though.) Those two slingbacks are totally fun and totally cute. The leader of the pack right is probably the bottom right Kate Spade slingback. I am not normally a fan of this backing but I'll allow it. The heels look super short but it turns out they are still about 5 inches. That's a good thing. I hate low heels.

And if you are wondering why I am cheating on the love of my life, those pink patent leather Louboutins, well, basically I would like to not spend about $1,000 on shoes. Enough said.

And just for kicks I added this Valentino $1,500 pair of shoes at the bottom. I could have a lot of fun with these wild babes.

Check it out

There's S'More?

Just over a month until the big day arrives and I can't help but thinking how much I want this to be over with! Ok not in a bad way, but srsly, this is what people must feel like when they are 8 months pregs and just want it to be over and move onto the next step. I am so ready for the wedding day and to go to Australia. So so ready. I plan on getting every single aspect done by April 1 then maybe I will have a moment to breathe and of course time to catch up on last minute affairs.

Ok onto the juicy stuff! I am super excited about the s'more bar! I know that I probably won't eat anything, but I am still excited about all the people around the firepit roasting s'mores. It always seems to be a really fun activity for everyone. This is a totally extra little thing for people to look forward to, on top of the regular favors and cake. I'm basically fattening everyone up at this wedding! :)

Source: Project Wedding, Caroline Tran, Third

Tablescape Testing

My totally amazing planner, Shannon Leahy, came over to my house yesterday. I took her into the wedding room to show off anything and everything I have. It was great to go through the space with an idea of what is going where and giving her a chance to look at it all. Turns out she loved all my new furniture as much as I do (thanks to some wonderful Bay Area antique stores and some even more wonderful deals!) and thinks we should bring some of those pieces for the wedding as well. Yes please.

Next up we actually put together the tablescape. We measured, got plates, table runners, centerpieces and everything else to actually see what it looks like. You would think this meeting would have added things to my to-do list, but on the contrary, it took a bunch of stuff off it. I guess I thought 30 inch tables had endless amounts of space between the two plates because I had ideas of adding all these things down the center of the table that I now realize just won't fit. Turns out 6 inches isn't all that much space. I had to change some of the ideas I have had in place since the beginning, but at the end of the day, it looked totally incredible. The rain ended up cutting off our day of fun, but at least we got to see it all together.

I posted a sneak peek photo of the finished table on my facebook page.

We even used the flowers that Ian got me for Valentine's Day and loved the color palette that was thrown together with some week-old blooms.

Oh and guess what, THE INVITES WENT OUT! Yes, I know, I can't believe it either. After being seriously ridiculously late, I finally finished adding twine around way way too many invites (you think it would take 5 mins, but OMG it takes so long.) While working out the carriage house floor plan with Shannon I was tying away trying to finish up the rest of these bad boys.

Now that they are done and sent, I will be taking photos of these and posting them up here. Let's just say that I have heard more than once so far that these are the best invitations the person has ever seen. (but I don't want to hype it up or anything.)

8 Weeks And Counting

How many weeks do I have left? Today is officially the 8 week mark. The wedding is coming, whether I am ready or not! One tip I have for any and every bride out there, is to start early. I know people say that and you think about it, but in reality there is so much time that it doesn't really matter as much. I know myself as someone who puts everything off until the last minute. I work fast and well under pressure, but it is definitely not pleasant and I wouldn't recommend it.

The invites are slowly but surely going into the mail. These little things take FOREVER. After most get sent out I will conduct a mini photo shoot with them so I can post them here along with the amazing site Ian created. It's one of my favorites yet.

Every time I create inspiration boards for the wedding, it changes a little bit. I could feel like I am constantly changing my mind, but really I am just honing in on what I really want. It takes a lot of fishing through all the ideas you see until you find that ones that will stick through the end. This definitely isn't a bad thing despite how frustrated some vendors might get. Until the finalized deadline that is set, you can change your mind all you want. Ok I don't want to go speaking for all the vendors right now, but in my opinion I am allowed to create something that I love, even if it takes a little time and wading through bad ideas.

Balancing work and weddings is definitely not easy. I have the fortunate and unfortunate position of working for myself. So I can easily get pulled of on wedding planning, phone calls, etc. etc. all day long and come to realize I put in basically no work time in a day.

The logistics are getting to me but thankfully I have a batch of BMs that are ready and willing to help, if only I had things for them to do!

Wedding Update: 2 Months To Go

I feel like I haven't written about my wedding in a long long time! Well, I have many many good things to report as of now. Things are getting down to the wire and decisions are starting to get made. I'm super excited about the ideas that came about from my daily inspiration posts. I have honed in on a color palette (FINALLY) and have practically every part of the space designed and ready to go. I am just making some final decisions to top it off the plans and then I get to focus on actually going out and buying all the supplies I need and making everything!

The elements that I have decided to hone in on are books, lace, burlap, wild flowers, organic tones with pops of color, and even a few birdcages. I'm loving the direction the plans are going, and in a few short months, you guys will get the chance to see exactly what I have been working on this whole time.

The invitations are practically done. We printed and addressed all the invitations. I am waiting for the RSVP card to get done so I can send those babies off, then feature them here. I am totally in love with them and I know you will be too!

I just realized. This is almost over. :( What am I going to do?? Of course when it is over that means that I am married :). I guess there is an upside to everything! How are your plans coming along??? Srsly, I want to hear all about the logistics today. PS: A little insight on the "wedding room". Luckily I have an extra bedroom which has officially been taken over by all things wedding.

PS: This isn't totally related but I have an epic recipe suggestion for all of you who want to go off diet and really make it count :) Every time Ian's brother comes over he always wants dessert which leaves me in the kitchen putting together something from the bare baking section of my kitchen. I found this recipe in the new Bon Appetite magazine for brownies and it turns out I had everything I needed. These brownies were absolutely incredible. I'm telling you, it was totally worth the stick and a half of butter and everything.

Brownie Recipe.

Red Heads and Hairdo's

What to do with my hair for the wedding day....It's the age old question. Essentially I want to die it, highlight it, and curl it. I have been growing it out for SO long for this day, so luckily I will be able to have the long curls that I love. I love this read head look (which is basically my color already) and of course, I am loving the curls. I was thinking of putting my hair in a sort of side pony tail like those below. Love this look.

Floral Inspiration

I talked a little bit about some exciting news coming your way on Monday. Well, due to the fact that I picked up and trotted all the way down to San Diego for a photoshoot (about 8 hours). More fun details on the who, what, when, where soon enough. All I will say is that I'll be able to hold these photos!) So I'll give you all a great bit of floral inspiration derived from my wedding plans! I love this look for the florals and can't wait to scatter these lovely bunch of wild flowers all over the place!