Bling for the Boys

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In my post last week I delved into the world of menswear, so this week I'm going to stay on-topic and talk rings....for our men. My fiancé and I are going to our jeweler this afternoon to check them out. We already have my wedding band - he gave me his grandmother's ring and then we designed my 'engagement' ring together when we first got engaged - so this trip to the jeweler will be all about him!

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I'm picturing something simple and masculine, maybe a mix of brushed and shiny silver (like the one with the oval ring above). I love picking things out, so I think the hardest part for me will be keeping my mouth shut and letting him pick the one he likes the best.  :-)

How opinionated were you in your man's ring shopping?

Groom Fashion {navy suits}

This past week my fiancé sent the suit we picked out to the groomsmen to order. We had been looking for a nice navy suit for a while with no luck. It was not the easiest color to find at rental companies, so we thought if we could find it for under $200 (not too much more than a rental), we would ask the guys to buy them. We were super excited when our friend had the idea of J.Crew's Factory store and the suits were nice and affordable. My post on the full color scheme can be found here.

Now that we have the suits picked out, it's time to think about how to pair it with shirts, ties, and shoes...

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This groom kept it classic and simple, but added some fun with the gingham shirt.

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Here we see some other colors used - purple and grey.

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This guy paired his suit with a white shirt and light blue tie. I like.

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I'm loving the brown shoes on this groom and how he added some personality with the socks!  I also love how the bride tied in the deep blue color with her earrings and heels.

I'm not really sure how to coordinate it so that my groom and his guys all go together. I also don't want the guys to have to buy any more items, so I'm thinking we could have them wear white shirts and then get different ties - they could all be similar colors and shapes, but with different patterns. Or we could have everyone wear their own different-patterned or plain blue shirts and do a simple navy tie. Option #3 would be to keep it more simple with white shirts and the same ties. For the shoes, we'll ask them all to wear their own brown leather shoes.

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What do you think? How are your men coordinating?

On another note, we are about to order the proofs for the invitations. I can't wait to see them in-person!

Veiling It

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My lovely future mother-in-law has offered to make my veil for me. She made her daughter's veil last year and it turned out great, so I trust that I'm in good hands.

Last week I went to Britex Fabrics and got some swatches so I could match them to my dress color. I can't wait to see how it turns out and get everything on!

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I want my veil to be simple and on the longer side. I'm getting married in a potentially-windy location and I've been told longer veils are actually better because they have more weight to them so they won't blow around as much. The one thing I'm concerned about is there being too much volume. My dress is somewhere between an A-line and a ballgown silhouette and I don't want it to be over-the-top. I think the last image, above, is a good example of a fuller skirt with a long veil that looks natural and tasteful.

Should I go Waltz, Floor-length, or Chapel?

White on Wood {signs}

Now that my invitation designer and I are getting closer to the final version of my invitation suite, it's got me thinking about all things signage! We are doing a lot of white text on colored backgrounds, so when I saw these "white on wood" signs, I knew they would be a great fit.

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There is a simple tutorial, here. And some ideas on where to find old wood, here.

Did you have luck finding reclaimed wood for wedding signage? If so, how did you do it?

Polish Perfection

All I can think about are pretty, polished, shiny nails this week! I love when brides go bold and pick a bright shade. It makes me think the bride is fun and laid back. And, then again, there's nothing like the perfect, classic nude to let your dress take center stage.

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While I plan to go neutral for my own nails, I'm thinking it would be really fun for my bridesmaids to do bright colors - best of both worlds!

Will you be going for a bold or nude hue for you big day?

The Evolving Color Scheme

My wedding colors from nine months ago, post here, are a little different from my wedding colors today. Over the months, with all the decisions, I realized I was gravitating towards different colors. It was sort of a natural progression when I went through picking things like flowers, wedding party attire, invitations, etc. So what better time to take a second look at the colors and make sure everything is looking just right?! The bridesmaid dresses are still going to be mix-and-matched creams and tans, just a little darker than the original off-white I had in mind. We switched it up with the suits and are going to go for navy! I like it because it's a little different and sort of a nice in-between as far as formalness goes.

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Let's see how they look together...

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I'm also throwing in some hints of a soft lavender.

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And for the tables, we'll stick with the tans and lavender, and spice it up  with some additional flower colors - other shades of purple, blue, green, some white and off-white to balance it out, along with mercury glass.

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It's hard to believe we're just four month out from the big day!

Finding Your Glass Slippers

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 Now that I have my dress, Ican't wait to pick out the heels! I love the look of a neutral color with sparkles of some kind.

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 On the other hand, a brighter color would be fun.

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Other things on my checklist are that they are comfortable, stay on my feet, not be too high, and that they aren't crazy expensive. I can't wait to find the perfect ones for me. I'm thinking I'll be ordering several contenders so that I can try them on and see how they feel on and with my dress.

Where did you shop for your wedding shoes?

Invitation Wording {it's in the details}

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A few weeks ago I decided to hire an E&I alumn to design my invitations! I remembered back when she posted about her own invitations, here, and I had to find out if she was still designing. Well, she was! And she has been the best, most helpful designer I could have asked for. Click here to visit Kimberly's website.

I wasn't sure I could do custom-designed invitations while staying within my budget. But with the few special things I wanted to incorporate on my invites, it was going to be hard to just order them through a template. So I reached out to Kim and she walked me through the process and quickly turned me from being totally overwhelmed with not knowing what to do, into being really excited about all of the options. She also helped navigate the printing process and recommend some different printers.

We are now collaborating about the design and figuring out the wording. With all the options, it can be tough to pick which direction to go in...do you want them to be silly, funny, quirky, formal, religious, simple...the list goes on. I have been leaning in the direction of making them sweet and personal. Here are some I'm liking.

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Like the wording on these - "...invite you to join them on a most spectacular day..." and "...invite you to share in their true love and marriage..."

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The one on the right is sweet - "All the Roads led to you. You're invited to celebrate the start of a new path for..."

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I like the ends of these: "dinner, dancing and revelry to follow!" and "Dancing, Drinks and fun to follow"

If you are trying to figure out the wording for your invitations, Invitation Consultants and Offbeat Bride are some great resources. The first has a TON of great ideas for different situations - eloping, destination weddings, how to include parents' names, etc. The second has some more quirky and funny ideas.

How did you pick your invitation wording?

Taming the Locks

This week I'm trying to find a hair stylist in the small town where we'll be getting married. And while looking for someone, I've been searching for a lot of inspiration. I've known from the beginning that I want to wear my hair up - but that was about as much as I had decided. Source: left, right

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It looks like I'm drawn to styles that are soft, romantic, and a little messy. :-)

Which one is your favorite? Did you know from the beginning how you wanted your hair?

Thinking Beyond the Cake

Happy almost Valentine's Day! I can't stop thinking about sweets this week. There are so many cute and creative ways to tie your favorite confections into your wedding day. From the get-go my fiance and I liked the idea of doing something different from the traditional wedding cake.

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Milk and cookies. Yum.

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I love what this couple did - instead of having a wedding cake, they had a wedding cake-shaped piñata and then did a french croquembouche for dessert - that translates to 'crunch in the mouth'!

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Macaroons are adorable and come in endless colors and flavors.

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Donuts - always a crowd-pleaser.

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And you can't go wrong with ice cream. I'm actually eating some raspberry sorbet as I type this right now :-)

Did you decide to forgo the wedding cake? What are you going to do instead?