Love This Dress

You’ve got to expect something heavenly from a lingirie designer turned wedding dress designer. Claire Pettibone consistently satisfies my sweet tooth and sets me into dream-mode with her gorgeous, flowy dresses.

Check out this Seraphina design from her spring 2007 collection. I know it’s not the “newest” style of hers, but I just adore the lace, the way it highlights the back (um, this is totally a “must workout” dress) and the flow of the skirt.

How could anyone wear this down the aisle and NOT look like a vision of angelic beauty.

Want to see more Claire Pettibone beauties? Click here.

Why Not?

If I were about 40 pounds lighter and looked like Rachel Bilson, I would SO wear something like this to my bachelorette party.

RB and this dress are so friggen hot.

I am “average-ish.” I am not 5’7″ and 110 pounds. This photo is my dorky inspiration for my wedding… even though I know it’d be quite unhealthy for me to be that size, I can look at this photo before I grab a scoop of ice cream or a beer. Maybe it’ll help!

Figuring Out Wedding Flowers

studiomcc.blogspot.com anemone

Originally uploaded by KikiLaRae

I gave up on my grand illusion that I could possibly put together my wedding bouquet, as well as corsages for my mamma and the FMIL. SO…. I visited a florist.

I stepped into the shop and said, “I want something with ranunculus and French anemone” — which are the awesome white blossoms in the photo (which I borrowed from Studio MCC – go Wisconsin!)

I was dismayed to see that they didn’t have pages and pages of bouquets that they’ve personally done, but they did have some inspiration from magazines and books… enough that I could say “that’s too big,” “that’s too floufy,” “that’s too ugly.”

I think I’d better stop at a few other florists, but its refreshing to know that I won’t be spending $2000 on flowers… that’s just not my thing.

Cute, Stylish and Local

Another great stationary store nearby.

Lunalux is all shades of cute or classy and completely personalizable.

They’ve got some great samples of previous work on their site and blog, and seem to have some brilliant creative minds cooking up some beautiful things. I’m not sure what their pricerange is, but feel free to give ‘em a call and ask!

Hello Lola!

Lola front

Originally uploaded by KikiLaRae

We have gotten past the initial grief. We still miss Stella, I still sometimes think I hear her little clicking toenails on the hardwood floors. We have her ashes at home, and that’s a step in the right direction.

However, I miss the snuggle of a puppy. The warm snoring body on my chest, the billions of patient kisses that smell somewhat like puppy food but completely like love.

That’s where Lola comes in. She’s a French Bulldog, soon to be AKC registered. I’m excited to meet her on Thursday and hope that she loves us.

I’m looking forward to the Frenchie attitude — hello stubborn, as well as the snoring, spitting, burping and more.

We’re not looking for a substitute or replacement for Stella, rather a baby sister to the big (but small) sister who would be so proud, slightly bossy and so full of love.

I Heart This Photographer!

Red Apple Images

Originally uploaded by KikiLaRae

There’s this great little local studio that makes me wish we could get married twice, so we could get another photographer!

I love found Kate of Red Apple Images. I heart her personality, her great angles and shots and also her sweet prices.

She’s got a great eye for sweet, delicate, loving shots (or this couple is amazingly photogenic and hugely thrilled about their wedding day. Or both.

You can see her work on Offbeat Bride as well — that shoot is beyond cute.

As Things Change

We decided to sit down and map out where our budget is going, so we could figure out how much we had to spend on flowers, table decorations, favors and other miscellanea.

Well… that was a bad idea. It turns out that we’re ALREADY over budget. And, looking at our numbers, I don’t know how or where to cut back. I mean, I want something meaningful and wonderful, but do really really need to rent 200 chaircovers and sashes (even though they’re a steal at $550!)? Did we overspend on our photographer?

So, we’re rethinking. Do we want it at the Historic Courthouse? Do we want it in the evening? Is there anyone we can cut from our guestlist.

Sigh — this is tough business.

My Wedding Planner

My wedding planner is a shiny black accordian folder-on handles by Russel + Hazel.

I’ve got 15.5 months left to plan this wedding and I feel very confident.

Decided on decor? Check
Decided on my wardrobe? Check
Chose favors/invitations/bridesmaid dress/flower girl dress/flowers/location? Check

We still have to find a band, decide on a caterer and bakery and figure out what we want to do about liquor (hire a service or purchase the liquor ourselves), but I am already bored.

What is that most brides stress about? Why do so many women get a wedding planner?

Perhaps I am approaching this whole wedding wrong… perhaps I am too laid back, too organized, too much of a researcher. Maybe I’ll freak out later, but at this point… my biggest worry is that we’ll finish everything too soon and just have to sit in anticipation.

Chair Covers? And they’re cheap!

We tossed around the idea of chair covers… the GTB was hesistant ($1,000 for something people won’t even remember?!) but I went ahead and decided that we need to have them… the chairs at the reception hall we’ve chosen is too ugly. So I started searching… and came up frustrated, wanting so much to avoid ridiculous charges and fees.

There’s Festivities, which doesn’t list any prices online — blah.
Lasting Impressions has limited colors, though they say they can special order any color and their prices are decent, $1.95 for cover, sashes are $.95-$1.35)… so the prices aren’t too shabby.
Apres has a mind-boggling selection of linens, but the prices far exceed the meager amount I would spend. I guess I could beautifully cover the head table chairs, or maybe one chair at each table

So… I decided to give the interwebs a shot and found Urquid Linens. If you keep thinking Urquel, like Steve Urquel, you’re not alone.

Anyway, they had a special going on — each chair cover with sash was $2. Wow. So I ordered 200 (naturally) with shipping both ways, it was around $550, which is pretty spectacular.

Their customer service is pretty excellent (Tiffany responded to all emails in no time) and they sent me samples of their available fabric, which I could keep (in case we need a spare sash, I suppose).

Another Great Photographer

Check out Federer Photography — Joe Federer covers your wedding from the beginning to end, with the help of a second photographer. His style, eye for lighting and decent prices are worth checking out.