happy go lucky wedding

So, we’ve chatted about my makeup trial, now time to talk about the hair.   I was conflicted y’all.  I had no idea what I wanted to do.  I normally wear my hair down pretty much all the time, so naturally that’s what I thought I should do for the wedding.  But then there was chatter about how it would look more elegant if I wore it up.  Then there’s the fact that I’m hot natured, my hair is naturally curly, and Texas can be humid.  I was worried that by the end of the night I would look a little something like this:

Source (sorry Serena err…Blake, I love you, I really do)

But I still had to see what I might look like with my hair mostly down, so Erin obliged and here’s what we came up with:

Yeah, I agree, hair down was a bad choice.  I knew by the end of the night, I might not look like Serena up there but I probably wouldn’t look good. 

Then, we moved on to the updo style.  I think the reason I was scared of an updo was because I had visions of prom hair in my head.  I definitely left a hair salon crying when I only had a couple hours until my date was supposed to pick me up.  But that was the 90’s and I’m sure hairstylist have come a long way since then.  So, I was willing to give it a try.  I decided that I wanted a loose, side updo with some sideswept bangs.   At first, she did my hair in the back, and although I thought it was cute, it wasn’t what I wanted.

Then, she re-did it with a more sideswept look.  I was much happier. 

I wiggled my head to be sure it wouldn’t fall out (it didn’t until a little later and I needed a few extra bobby pins).  So, I think it’s settled.  An updo with a side swept bang.  Stay tuned though, I feel a second trial coming on…

Did your hair trial have you rethinking your original style?

So this past weekend I went to Dallas for a hair and make up trial.  From the very beginning I knew that it was important for me was to find someone that could come to us on the day of the wedding.  I know that I will be stressed out and the thought of running from hair to make up and timing everything appropriately for my 6 bridesmaids and me was making my head spin.  If I was stressing about this with more than 2 months to go, I knew the day of the wedding I would be in high panic mode and that makes me break out in hives, not a good look for the wedding day. 

I hopped on the google machine and found a few promising ladies and gents that just might fit the bill.  I ended up contacting Erin because she had the best prices and best reviews, so it was an easy pick.  Erin came over to my sister’s house at 9 am on Saturday and we got to work.  We looked at some inspiration photos to give her an idea about what I wanted and then we started with the make up.

I am not a girl that wears lots of makeup, though the eyelash extensions may have fooled you.  I typically throw on some mascara, bronzer and chapstick and I’m out the door.  My makeup regimen takes 10 minutes tops and that’s when I actually put on eyeshadow, my normal routine is about 5 minutes.  So a makeup trial although fun, can also be a little scary for me.  When I first looked in the mirror after she was done it was way too much make up for my taste (I don’t have a picture of this, sorry!).  There was a lot of eyeliner, foundation and shimmer.  But, I was honest and told her that it was way too much for me.  I felt like I was going to hit up a club, not walk down the aisle.  Thankfully Erin really listened and began taking off some of the makeup.  The next time I looked in the mirror I was much happier.  I still thought the foundation was a little heavy and the eyes a little too shimmery, but I understand that for pictures, heavier foundation is a good thing.   And I know you’re screaming at me to just show the damn picture, so here I go:

The plan for the wedding is less shimmer on the eyes and a little less foundation because I just can’t do it, even if it’s best for pictures. 

I also wore this around all day (though not the veil) to see how it would look after a few hours.  Thankfully it held up pretty well, though not the lipstick.  That was off in about 20 minutes, but I’m bad with lipstick.  I forget I’m wearing it.  Opps.   Here’s me after about several hours:

Up next, we’ll chat about my hair.  What do you think about the makeup?

So once I made the decision to assign tables, it meant that I needed to figure out what I was doing for table numbers.  I say that like it was a chore, but I was SO excited.  I’d seen so many cute ideas for table numbers and part of me was sad that I had no reason to come up with my very own idea. But thankfully all that changed.

I went back and forth about what I wanted to do for so long.  I knew that I wanted something rustic, but also vintage and I hadn’t seen anything that really encompassed both of those things.  However, as I kept looking I found a lot of inspiration from the hive.   Let me show you what I came up with and then tell you how I was inspired:

So first, I was inspired by Miss Trail Mix’s birch logs and even contacted her etsy seller.  We don’t have birch trees anywhere near me, so I couldn’t tackle this on my own. 

Then, I posted about how I wanted little metal numbers and said I couldn’t find them anywhere.  And then Weddingbee reader KMSull pm’d me and told me she had exactly what I was looking for.  Best of all, she let me borrow them and then I’ll just send them back to her after the wedding so she can use them.  SO sweet!

And the final piece is the random white animal.  I’ve been collecting these from Goodwill and have 7 of them so far.  I knew I wanted something vintage to add to the table numbers and they were the perfect touch! 

However, I do have a question for everyone.  So you see I posted a picture of both a letter and a number.  I can’t decide which I should use.  I could use the letters to spell something, or I could just go the traditional route and use the numbers.  So what do you think??

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Now sing that title along to the tune of the Apprentice, because that’s what I did when I wrote it.  OK, time to get to the point of this post- combining finances.  Mr. Fro Yo and I talked about this several times, but it always seemed so far off that we didn’t think we really needed to make a decision.  Then, things got closer and closer and now we are less than 80 days until the big day.  It is time to get serious. 

So on one of our daily walks with the dogs when we like to reconnect and talk about our day, I brought up the issue of combining finances.  I said issue, but it’s not really, it’s more of an ordeal.  Not to say that I’m old by any means, but I’ve been building a little nest egg of my own for a while now; I have checking, savings, timed accounts, retirement accounts, 401K, direct deposits, etc and Mr. Fro Yo has the same.  The thought of combining finances was really overwhelming, but at the same time, we write each other checks every month to even out our expenses and that’s really silly. 

After much consideration, we decided that we would each keep our own accounts, but then open a new, joint one.  Each month we would transfer in a percentage of our paychecks to the joint account and keep a percentage for ourselves for “fun” money in our own accounts.  This “fun” money wouldn’t need to be discussed before we spent it because it would be ours to do what we want with it.  I think for us, this is a great solution because I like to be an independent lady and if I had to call to ask if I could use the joint account to go to lunch or dinner with my friends, I might go crazy.  Who knows though, we haven’t done this yet, we might find a solution that works better for us once we’ve actually tried it.

For the married ladies, what advice do you have about combining finances?  If you’re not married, have you and your fiance discussed combining finances?  What did you decide?

It was a mad crafting weekend at the Fro Yo house.  I gathered dowels, ribbons, scissors and glue guns and I was off and running.  Mr. Fro Yo even got in on the fun and helped me cut some ribbon, though he refused to attach them to the dowels. 

I’m a little worried that my ribbon wands look like a kindergartener’s craft project, but to be honest I don’t even care that much.  I’m proud of how they turned out and I think they’ll look super cute as our guests are waving them for the send off.  And best of all, this project cost me a whopping $5.   Ok, so I’ve only made about 1/3 of what I need to make, so the price will increase to about $15 for the entire project, but that’s not bad at all, and much less than I would have spent had I outsourced this little project of mine.

So you ready to see them? 

Ok, be honest, are they like a child’s craft project?  Would you wave them for the send off? 

For those of you interested in how I did this, it was super simple.  I cut ribbon to the length I thought they should be.  No measuring, I just eyeballed it (like Rachel Ray would say). 

Then, I tied the ribbon around the end of the dowel , but before tying it all the way on, I squeezed a little glue right underneath where they would lay. 

I tried it without the glue first, and the ribbon slipped right off.  I envisioned our guests waving the wands madly as we ran through, and ribbons falling off the ends of it, which would not make for very good pictures.

Then, I did a double knot and placed them in their container to dry.  That’s it!

Are you making ribbon wands?  What’s your advice for the next set I make?

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This wedding budget thing is hard.  And what I mean by that is that I am constantly bombarded by things I think I need to make my wedding perfect.  Although logically I know this isn’t true, it’s still hard not to long for all these things.  See, Mr. Fro Yo and I are paying for the wedding ourselves, which means that some of the “fluff” stuff we don’t get to have because it just didn’t make the cut.

One major example is a gift for Mr. Fro Yo.  Like many brides before me, I thought about taking boudoir photos.  I’ve never done anything like that, and if I’m going to do it at any time in my life, why not as a gift for my brand new husband!  But, damn they’re expensive.  I then considered a few other gift options, but none of them sounded as good or as special as the boudoir photos.  I also didn’t want to get just any gift for the sake of having a gift for him on the day of our wedding.  

Another thing that I recently considered cutting was doing anything for the send off.  I really wanted to do ribbon wands, but again, expensive for what they are.  I was at the point that I was about to say, ”F it, I don’t need anything for the send off.”   But then a wise bride before me said she really regretted not doing anything for her send off.  At that point  I changed my mind and figured that I could throw some ribbon on some dowels and call it a day.  So stay tuned for that Fro Yo crafting project.  It should be interesting. 

Basically I just wanted to say that for the brides out there making difficult budget decisions, I’m with you.  And your wedding will be special regardless of that small thing you’re not going to have.  Or at least that’s what I’m telling myself.  As for the boudoir photos, we have lots of birthdays and anniversaries to celebrate over the years, I’m sure I’ll revisit that gift at another time.

What difficult budget cuts did you have to make?

OMG, Jillian Michaels, or JM as I like to call her, you are kicking my butt! 

So I went through quite a few different exercise programs- P 90X, Yoga, Pilates and now the 30 Day Shred.  While each is good for different reasons, my favorite is the Shred.   I feel like I’m working really hard, but I don’t have to commit too much time.  Also, in addition to JM making me work hard, my dog also steps in to act as my own personal trainer:

However, as much as I think this is a great workout, I’m developing a little bit of a love/hate relationship with the Shred. 

Wow, I’m done after just 20 minutes of a work out  (love it).  Oh crap it’s only 20 minutes which means that I don’t have an excuse for why I can’t do it (hate it).  My ass is so sore, I’m walking like I’m 80 (hate it).  But wait…are those more defined muscles on my arms??? (love it). 

 Then, after about a week of doing level 1, I’m not hyperventilating when I do jumping jacks and I think I might be ready for level 2 (love it).   Oh wait, level 2 wins.  I suck at this (hate it).  I’m dripping sweat and my legs feel like jello, but this must mean I’m getting skinner, right? (love it)

I really just want to come home from work and have a glass of wine, but JM’s picture on the box is staring at me and making me feel guilty (hate it).  I think I might be ready for level 3 (love it!). 

So verdict?  The Shred is the way to go.  I HIGHLY recommend it.  What’s your favorite work out?

Ugh.  I have gone back and forth over this for so long and cannot make a decision.  So I need your advice.  See, I have this vision in my head of a beautiful cake on top of a pedestal cake stand.  Only, I picked a cake that looks like this:

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See that square bottom?  Apparently they do not make many pedestal cake stands in a square shape in the size that I need.  I talked to my cake lady about this, and she offered me two solutions:

1. Switch to all round layers and have my beloved pedestal cake stand, but this would mean 10-12 fewer slices of cake. 
2. Use a traditional square silver cake stand that is elegant, but not really vintage, which is the look I’m going for. 

I’ve gone over my guest list and am trying to determine just how many people will come so that I can see if it will matter much if I lose the 10-12 additional pieces.  But there are so many unknowns!  This person might come and this other person might not, but I really won’t know until my RSVPs are due (and those of you that are married are laughing at me thinking “Yeah right people will respond to you by the RSVP date.”  I know, I know, but a girl can dream).  So, see this is a huge dilemma and one that I still don’t have a solution for. 

And there is another problem too. Miss French Fries posted a picture of the most beautiful cake I’ve ever seen in my life and now it’s all that I can think about.

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So moving to the round layers is fine with me.  I’m just worried about losing pieces of cake. 

And then there’s this.  I just keep dreaming about these beauties:

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So, what should I do?

Option A: Use the pedestal cake stand and hope that the lost pieces of cake won’t matter.  I mean, hey, we’ll have a groom’s cake too.

Option B: Suck it up and use a silver cake stand.  And get a pedestal cake stand for my home so I stop crying about it.

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See that title up there?  It was an exact quote from a girl who was supposed to help one of my bridesmaids find a dress.  But I’m getting ahead of myself, let me start from the beginning.  See, at the beginning of my planning I went through quite a few colors and ideas for what I wanted the bridesmaids to wear.  Then suddenly it hit me.  Grey!  All of this was before I found the wonderful world of wedding blogs, including Weddingbee, so I didn’t realize just how popular that choice was.  I thought I’d stumbled onto something unique and different. 

 I was excited about what I thought was a unique color for my bridesmaids’ dresses, but I was a little worried about it.  I mean, usually the dress colors are bright and cheery, and only recently had I seen people warming up to the idea of black dresses.  So there we were scouting out what regular stores might have for dresses in the lovely shade of grey.   Now, usually I’m not one to ask for help; I like to browse the stores on my own, but this time I felt different.  I was a bride, excited about my first weddingish outing.  I wanted to share my excitement with the people around me. 

So I asked a girl at the store if she could help us find some grey dresses.  Said girl asked me what the dresses were for, and I told her that they were bridesmaid dresses.  And she said, “She’s making you wear grey”??  Now, I didn’t say for my wedding, but she still might assume that I was at the very least really good friends with the bride, which would be the reason I was shopping for a BRIDESMAID dress, but apparently that thought didn’t cross her mind.  I was so shocked by her comment though that I sheepishly said yes.  Thankfully though, my bridesmaid spoke up and said, “Yes, grey, and she’s the bride.  I think grey will look really great.”  At that point sales girl was really embarrassed and pointed us in the direction of where the horrid grey dresses might be located. 

After this shopping incident, I momentarily considered changing my grey dress idea, but then I realized that I was being silly.  There was no need to change my dress color because some uninformed sales lady made a comment.  Did anyone else experience comments based on their bridesmaid dress choices?