#339: yes. like this.

via blu sky designs

#338: the jewel family.

dear ikea:

you've always been a great resource for budget-friendly stuff. thanks for selling the felicia cushion cover in such lovely colors. if i end up having an outdoor wedding, i'll be sure to pick up a few of each.

love, tto.

#337: update to post #332.

i finally heard back from my contact earlier this week and as they say, all's well that ends well.

but there's also no harm in telling you what happened, right? so here it is from the beginning.

• "the venue" is a privately owned residence with an amazing backyard; the owners want to start renting it out (very slowly...) for events and parties.

• "my contact" (let's call her Ella) is a wedding planner who 1) knows the owners personally and 2) is associated with a catering company that has catered several events at the property.

Ella, with her experience of working the property and knowing the owners, responded to my questions (cost? availability? layout?) and helped arrange my initial visit to the property. she was responsive and never left me hanging. not once.

after i met the property owners, toured the grounds, and expressed my delight (i think i might have even squealed, actually), Ella said "Let's chat a bit tomorrow so I can get a better idea of your vision and how we can make your money stretch for the things most important to you."

love, right?

and we did just that. we spoke for 45 minutes after which i emailed a rather lengthy list of follow-up questions as i'd promised i would.

and that's when she disappeared.

perhaps i'm just really demanding (who me? demanding? what?). or maybe it was Ella's responsiveness up until her disappearance that forced me to try to make sense of what didn't make sense (where the eff did she go?) by writing about it.

many commenters suggested that i don't wait around for an email/call from Ella after 2 weeks of silencio and to contact 'the vendor' or 'the caterer'. unfortunately, therein was my problem...the fact that there was no vendor or caterer to contact. Ella was my contact and my contact was Ella. period. she wasn't representing the catering company; she was representing herself as a wedding planner with personal ties to the property owners. i didn't want to contact the catering company because i hadn't decided to use them and they didn't have an exclusive contract with the property owners (yet, anyways). and lastly, there was NO WAY i was going to contact the property owners directly (not at all professional, in my opinion).

so after i vented some of the frustration (see post #332), i did what i thought was right. which was to simply wait it out. truth be told, Ella was great...and i figured i owed her at least the benefit of the doubt. well...that and i'm also a huge believer of 'what's meant to be will be' (especially when it keeps me from having a major freakout, know what i mean?).

i was more than a little bummed when the weeks started adding up and Ella was nowhere to be found. luckily, and as you know, i had 'real work' to distract me. and what do you know. when i came back, i had an email from Ella describing a family emergency situation (which is now contained) and another email answering all of the questions i had posed to her a few weeks back.

so. all this means is that the venue is back on my list of possibilities. which makes me quite happy, to say the least.

and i'm stashing away any red flags i might have waved around earlier. for now.

#336: my big-ticket summer buys.

what's a good purchase if i can't share them with you, right?


tory burch alexis gladiator sandals
i bought these shoes back in april or may and promised myself i'd wear them enough to justify how much they cost ($275. i know i knowwww!). i can't say i NEVER regret the purchase while walking past cute gladiators that are much cheaper in another store...but those feelings don't really stick around for long and i do feel quite HAWT when the glads are decorating my feet.


jill stuart gemma heel
i JUST bought these lovely shoes. they're from the spring 08 collection and they were on sale for $250. i asked the fiance to do some detective work on his bberry to see if they were cheaper online but he couldn't find any sellers. so i bought them in the store. and when we came back home, both of us searched and searched online...and came up with nothing. i guess they didn't make too many of this model...which makes me all the more happy to have snagged a pair.

#335: spicing it up.

via jcrew

i shared wedding dress pics i've saved up over the past year with my itty bitty cousins who are 18 and 19 years old. when they saw a dress like the one pictured above, their (rather strong) reaction was what i'd describe as a mix of disgust and horror.

"nooooooo! it's wayyyy too casual! you could make your bridesmaids wear something like this in a different color! but not you! you need something GLAMOROUS! don't do it! pleeeease!..." etc.

oh reeeeally. what do YOU know about wedding dresses, you itty bitties?!

but i could see their point. personally, i don't NEED an over-the-top wedding dress (besides, if the venue we want works out, it'll be an outdoor event and warrant a somewhat casual vibe)...but i definitely WANT to bowl over the future hubs in whatever i walk down the aisle in. (side note: not to say he won't be bowled over by the mere fact that i'm walking down the aisle to become his wife for forever and ever and everrrr...ahhhhh!) and i think the itty bitties were trying to say the same thing...in a tactless way (gotta give it to family and youth for keeping it real - and i heart them for it).

and it got me thinking.

what could i do to successfully walk that fine line between casual and STUNNING?

and here's what i came up with. so if i were to use the jcrew dress as a template...

1) PHATTY brooch at the middle/bottom part of the V neckline
2) french veil
3) have a seamstress add a small train to the back
4) tennis bracelet

what would you add, if anything?

update: came across an appropriate post on weddingbee.com which featured this dreamy accessory.

#334: hello.

found these via brooklyn bride .

these placecards are about a buck a piece.

or...you could load another DIY onto your list and use these at about $0.04 each.

#333: back in full effect.

between work and my personal life, i've spent a lot of time in airports the past few months. and it's funny. i would wander over to the wedding magazines while picking up a bottled water and immediately turn my heels in disgust. i didn't want to think, see, feel, hear, or smell anything that had to do with weddings. kind of weird for someone who has a blog dedicated to...um...weddings.

and the past couple of weeks, i've been out of town, without any access to the blog or to my emails. and...i wasn't entirely worried about being away from it all.

but this morning, i read through the blog, saw your comments, responded to some kick ass emails (hi katie!), clicked to this lovely story...and now i'm feeling alllllllllll amped up to talk about weddings again.

so i'm glad to be back, both physically and emotionally. and i hope to find some good juice for TTO (and for my own wedding!) today as i pore over and catch up on everything i've missed. :)

xo

#332: when in doubt...get out?

june 28 - saw a venue. kind of sort of fell in love with it. blabbed about the place with my entire family and fiance and got everyone excited
july 1 - had quite a long chat with the venue's coordinator and emailed a list of what we envision for the day so she could get back to me with an estimate
july 11 - sent a follow up email

TODAY - still haven't heard from her.

what do you think. i'm thinking...maybe she's no longer interested in my business (she knows i have this blog and my $$$ expectations). and that makes me saddeth.

i'm considering just crossing this place off my list and starting my search anew. that's what i'm thinking. but would that make me reckless? does it normally take a while to pull an estimate together? like over 2 weeks?

hm. if it does, then i'll re-title this post as a 'newbie mistake'.

if not...

#331: as seen on oprah.

calypso dress on sale for $135

how much are you budgeting for your maids? i'm actually planning to pay for their dresses myself so given my 'budget', these calypso dresses are out of my league.

but.

i've noticed around the blogosphere that the $150 range seems to be the going rate for bridesmaids dresses, particularly if they're going to be asked to purchase their own dresses.

this dress is amazing. it's gorgeous, flattering, light, fun, timeless and...re-wearable. plus it comes in a smattering of cute spring-y shades. many of the sizes and colors are out of stock because of the sale (from $195 to $135) but not completely depleted.

work it!

#330: the jiggly bits.

i once wore a strapless gown as a bridesmaid. though it was somewhat loose and extremely comfortable (think grecian...), the goblets under my arms still managed to spill over. jiggly bits...fish lens...not so pretty.

that said, only toned arms could really pull a dress like this off. but considering the way it looks, how much it costs...maybe it'd be worth the trouble.


$228 at nordstrom

p.s. can you tell that i really really really want to go shopping these days?

#329: going homemade.

$500 on etsy.

with a name like miss bombshell, you can't really go wrong, right?

#327: proof that simple works.

from the brides cafe.

i dig the all-white palette with a splash of color. i also dig the understated candle placement. can't really see it...until the sun goes down.



see what i mean.