We're Married!

Wow, I feel like it was forever ago that I started this planning blog as an outlet to my frustrations! Two (almost 3 months) later, we're married and happily settling in. Obviously there are some adjustments to be made when moving in together for the first time so I've compiled a list of "Do's and Don'ts" and short anecdotes of our process!

* DO communicate about the move in process. We did pretty well on this one actually. We have similar tastes in furnishings, although my opinions are probably stronger than his. A little bit of ying, a little bit of yang and we're good to go!

* DON'T forget to be understanding. The day we started moving our stuff in (before the wedding) Mike started getting all excited and offering ideas such as "bean bag chairs instead of couches" and "where can I hang my Guinness wall mirror?" I had to keep in mind that this was the first time he had his own space/place. He had lived with his parents previously, (as did I but I had a couple college apartments) and this was the first time he was being creative with his decor. I had to approach this situation with caution letting him know that while yes, honey it is both of our space, it was not nor would it ever be a bachelor pad with bar lights and bean bag chairs.

* IT'S OKAY if you don't put everything in a spot right away. We didn't find places for some things until much after the wedding. As you accumulate "stuff" you figure out storage for everything. Nothing needs to be immediate, just enjoy the time together.

* MAKE SURE to keep the TV out of the bedroom. It's for sleeping. Among other things. (Hey! We're married!)

*DON'T FEEL obligated to answer people's dumb questions about when you're going to have children. If you do feel so obliged to respond, make it quirky so that people know it's not an appropriate questions to ask. "So when are the babies!?" "So when are you going to (get a job/grow up/stop asking stupid questions/GET MARRIED?) I enjoy answering absurd questions with another question. Tip for wedding process: When people ask you if you're nervous (it seems to be a reaction of some sort for people who don't know what to talk about) simply respond "About what?" acting puzzled OR "No, if I was, I wouldn't be getting married...."

* DO write thank you notes for EVERYTHING! People appreciate them, and you're more likely to get thank you's in return. I even once wrote a thank you to my mother's cousin who came to my college graduation party and stated in front of everyone, "My family doesn't believe in giving gifts or having parties for college graduates because you should be making good money at that point." So, I wrote her a thank you card for coming to the party. Thank you's always make people feel bad if you write them correctly.

*DO buy an awesome couch. Let's face it, you spend most of your time on it. And those of you saying you don't, you're lying. It's called the living room for a reason.

*DO celebrate your first holiday as a married couple! We're so excited, we put up our little itty bitty tree that leans to the left and some decorations throughout the house. I love Christmas, so I'm glad we got married so close to the holidays that we still like each other.

*ABSOLUTELY DO go on a honeymoon. Even if it's a mini-moon. We have such fond memories of Seattle. Even though we didn't go to Fiji or Mexico (which would have been amazing!) we had so much fun spending time with just us, going with the flow, and doing whatever we wanted. *DON'T pack too many activities into your honeymoon, however. Just enjoy each other's company. Wherever you go, you'll have a great time and make the best memories, even if it's just to the hotel down the street.

*DON'T WORRY be happy.

The Wonder-ment of Hobby Lobby

Have you ever been to Hobby Lobby? I don't have one near me so all of my 23 years have been spent in the expensive aisles of Michael's or Joann Fabrics. To get my cheap fix, I've even resulted to Walmart for all of my crafting needs. Never more, never more.

My invitation guru, Lisa Arruno, suggested we hit Hobby Lobby for some design ideas. So this past Saturday after our mid-mark meeting with the hotel, we trekked out to Bolingbrook (yuck) to see the Wonderful Lobby of Hobby. We arrived (for the second time after having to make a bathroom/lunch pit stop at Panda Express....?) and I immediatly grabbed a basket. I tend to have a short attention span and get cranky, whereas Mike is darting all over the place looking at things we've looked at four times, or discovering a new corner. To my amazement, they DO have awesomet things. And everything is 50% off? What kind of place is this? A Christian store...

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Long story short we snagged some sweet booty for like $40 that is really going to add to the style and design of the wedding. Granted, I'm not really sure what style/design we're going for at this point but we're full of ideas and have the merchandise to match!

We picked up a large glass jar for the "Candy Bar." We will actually be borrowing four penny candy jars from Lisa that she used for her son's birthday party. Best.Mom.Ever! Also for the "Bar" we picked up some little easels and chalkboards to write directions and the candy types. We will be doing a mock-up closer to the wedding! Now we just have to decide on the candy types but I found a fabulous website of Old Fashioned Penny Candy that is reasonable so I'm very excited! We plan on purchasing Chinese takeout containers and putting our monogramed stickers on them and VOILA: favors! So exciting!

We also picked up some decorations for our head table that will be cute as decorations in our home as well....when we get one.... :)

Until next time!

xoxo

100 days! Scatter-brained....

No lies, this is the diary of a scatter-brained bride. For whatever reason I cannot seem to concentrate on one task at a time. I guess I don't feel THAT bad about thinking I'm behind on the wedding stuff because I talked to the friend who does my hair; her wedding is August 6th and she is at the same point we are! One small victory at a time, Kelly....

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That brings me to my topic of the week - 100 day countdown! Remember in grade school when the teacher would announce the 100th day of class and you would do things that had to do with the number 100. Both educational and fun, right? Well there's nothing educational about wedding planning except the fact that Mike and I might be able to start a business with all the planning knowledge we have behind us at this point.

The 100th day countdown to the wedding can only mean one thing - tomorrow we're in double digits! Which only makes me lose it just a little bit. It doesn't help that this is the busiest time at work and I'm sick in the middle of summer but to say I'm stressed would be an understatement. I bought some candles, aromatherepy, and got a facial to deal with the stress but I feel like it's still here...underlying stress....

So just for kicks I thought I'd go over what's left for us. It really isn't anything too terrible that we can't handle but just to get my bearings...

1) Find a ceremony musician. (The church provides one, of course my mom wants to find someone to play the "actual organ".)

2) Tuxes. I think I'm going to have to step in on this one because Mike and the groomsmen went out to Bdubs to get together a couple weeks ago and only talked about shoes, went shopping for Silly Bands, and watched my brother eat 9 of the hottest wings. No, they're not 16. (Well, Marc is 15...) but their median age is 22. If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself...?

3) Bridesmaid dresses - some have ordered. Some have not.

4) Florist - need one. Cheap one.

5) Table decs - we're doing these ourselves but we keep going back and forth about what we want....

6) Invites - have been ordered but we'll need to be stuffing and sending these soon.

7) Honeymoon - still can't decide.

8) Finalize menu with the Hyatt

9) Make church decorations - more info to follow on those!

10) Make flower girl's gift

11) Bridal party gifts (we know what we're getting we just haven't gotten them yet!)

12) Transportation?! - *silent scream*

13) Complete Pre-Cana. We're signed up, just have to make sure we show up and get the certificate! :) (And learn something!)

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I'm sure I'm missing things but, as I said before, scatterbrained bride cannot seem to think of what these are! A lot of things are on our completed list however!

1) Venue booked

2) Ceremony booked (Church)

3) Dj Booked

4) Photographer booked

5) Invites ordered (pics to follow)

6) Save the Dates sent

7) Makeup artist picked (trial to follow)

8) Ceremony singer booked

9) Bridal Dress and Veil purchased (fittings and alterations to follow) shoes purchased too!

10) Shower booked! (August 7th!)

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So most of the HUGE BIG things are done. Just little things to do. Hopefully that makes us feel a little better. Mike's coming over tonight for pizza and we're going to go over everything wedding! We're going to check our lists twice! Updates to hopefully follow :)

xoxo,

Scatterbrained Bride

Details, Details DETAILS!

One of the most important aspects in planning my wedding (besides the music!) is the littlest details. It's the smaller things in life that make pictures, moments, and life. While, true, one could care less about the font on the menu cards, I believe the details MAKE a wedding. Why else do we go out of our way to order flowers and arrange tables? Why else do we make sure the dress, shoes, hair, makeup are perfect? Because when details come together, they make memories.

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While I don't want to give away all of the intimate details of the wedding, because I'm sure you'd prefer to see them for yourself, I do want to share a couple of ideas that we will be encorporating into our special day!

We have been throwing around ideas for our card table for months! It has been such a topic of concern, mostly because when people will walk into the reception/cocktail area it will be the first thing they see. Therefore, it really sets the stage for the entire wedding. *MINOR FREAK-OUT* There are two ideas we are currently considering - branches vs. keys.

Because we're going for a really romantic feel, we love the idea of branches. In fact, the branches will most likely make up the majority of centerpiece decorations.

We love that the place cards are hanging and guests will have to locate their names. However, our concern is that if the branches are not sturdy enough, that people will be pulling on the branches and they will break. Also, if all the cards start turning like Christmas ornaments, it may be difficult to locate one's name.

Our second idea is keys. I love the symbolic meaning of an old key, however my concern is that the look and feel is not as romantic as the branches. We would have to find 150+ vintage keys and tie the escort cards to them. The symbol of a key is pretty romantic in my mind and it definitely goes along with my love for the Tiffany key collection. :) We will be going with one of these ideas but I'm going to keep it a surprise!

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We will most likely be doing the branches for centerpieces. HOW we do them is still up in the air. We still have not found a florist but we're working on it!

I love the branches with hanging votives but I know the higher quality, sturdy branches will be more expensive. But I do think this goes along with our "Romantic" theme very nicely don't you?

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In other news: Makeup! I have found my makeup counterpart in Linda Camacho. She is an independent licensed esthetician and makeup artist that was highly recommended to me by a stylist friend who is using her in her August wedding. She has a facial package for brides and I just did my first facial this week! I LOVE LOVE LOVE facials and she uses Bioelement products which I am familiar with. 4 days later, my skin looks absolutely beautiful. I want to make sure my skin is perfect in 4 months so I'll be going once a month, with the last facial being the week of the wedding!

I have not even done a trial with Linda yet, but I know she's the esthetician for me! I will be doing a trial with her within the next couple of months. The look I'm going for is flawless skin, eyes that pop with black liner and lashes, and a pretty pink lip. I LOVE Carrie Underwood's makeup here....

I love her hair in this picture too. I have described my bride styles as "Romantic" along with the theme of the wedding. My dress is in a soft ivory tone with lots of lace and beaded accents. I am wearing my hair down in soft curls, and want everything to be synchronized with the low candlelight - very soft. Side note: it's particularly hard to find celebrity makeup pictures who have the same skin tone as me. Probably the closest would be Julianne Moore! But she often does a red lip that would look hideous on me!

I am MOST excited to do my hair and makeup trials and have everything finally come together and transform me into a bride! :) And don't forget, it's all in the details.

Yes, I Googled.

I'll be the first to admit it: I am a Google fiend. If someone went through and checked my daily "googles" I'm sure there would be many, and they would be obscure.

Because sometimes I'm just sitting here at work and think of something I would like to know the answer to. And away I click and type.

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Today's topic of googling was "Changing Name After Wedding" because I'm clueless! Part of the reason I have a wedding planner is because I've never been in a wedding, my mom never had a wedding so I have no immediate experience or help! So, I felt pretty silly after googling this topic, however I also found it very insightful. Because as we start getting closer to the big day, I am realizing how many things and different documentation I am going to have to change.

And while I'm on the topic, I know that not everyone changes to their husbands name after the wedding. Yes, I thought about keeping my name but that's what I have brothers for! And besides, I'm keeping the same initials and my new last name is very similar. Plus, bonus points for how cute "Kelly Connolly" sounds! :)

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But my goodness! what a process it is! From my understanding, the first step is to actually get married (ha!) and order a couple copies of the marriage certificate. From there, you must fill out paperwork requesting a new Social Security card. Then, hit up the DMV for a new driver's license. Next, gotta order checks, credit cards, business cards etc. with the new name. Car registration and car insurance will also need to know of your new married name. The post office wants to know, but that will go along with us moving. But I think the biggest hassle of all will be changing everything at work. Do I change my email because it is firstinitiallastname@generic.com? It only makes sense right? But what about all the people who know my old email? I think I'll keep the email the same and perhaps just add my new last name next to my old one in my signature. And for payment purposes, I'll have to submit my new S.S. card to my employer. So there's a process and it all seems to begin and end with Social Security. Go figure.

Of course I'm excited to change to my new name, but I hope I'm still recognizable as...well, myself.

4 Month Mark!

Ahh! Four months already? It seems like minutes ago that Mike and I started dating! But no, 5 years ago! Wow, I'm old!

We have so many exciting wedding related things coming up this week; the most exciting of all that is not even related to our wedding! (We will be doing invitations on Sunday, and some craft projects in between! Will update later!)

Saturday, June 12, 2010 we're attending the wedding of our good friends, Brandon and Herminia.

Photography by Nick Gerber

I met Herminia through my roommate from freshman year at NIU. We pretty much clicked immediatly when we found out common ground - We were both engaged! After being at a couple mutual parties and seeing each other multiple times we figured out everything else we had in common; English majors, love for writing, passion for fashion, larger (ahem) busoms. It was friendship at first site.

More recently, we've been making our boys go on double dates with us but it's not very difficult because Brandon and Mike get along swimmingly. Brandon and Herminia are just great people, great friends, that we are so lucky to have in our lives.

Throughout this whirlwind of wedding planning, Herminia and I have shared notes. We've taken ideas from each other, gone registering together, and share our wedding coordinator and DJ! I attended her bachelorette party a few weeks back and met all of her bridal party and friends. Herminia's sisters and friends are such a great group of girls! I cannot wait to see them at the wedding!!

I am beyond excited to see how all of their ideas have come together for their wedding. I'm sure she's stressing out like no other, but I know everything will be beautiful!

Of course both Mike and I are running around trying to get our outfits together, make sure we have a card, and work on transportation for Saturday but hopefully I will have pictures to post soon.

B & H: We are sooo excited! You guys are such the perfect couple and I am honored to share in your nuptuals! I can't wait to see how beautiful you look Herminia, but I'm sure Brandon is the most anxious of all! See you Saturday, love you!

The Lovely Ladies

This past Sunday, we had scheduled time for the bridal party and I to hit up a David's Bridal and try on some dresses! My original plan was that each bridesmaid would choose her own dress, complimentary to the other choices, in black. This idea supported the fact that all of my bridesmaids are different; different body styles, different personalities etc. And I did not want to be one of those brides who makes everyone wear some hideous dress because I like it!

For example, when Laura and I were shopping for my dress, we browsed the bridesmaid dresses quickly and I grabbed a long halter number and said, "This is really cute!" Laura said, "Yes, that'd be cute on you but you don't have to wear it." Which is why I wanted the bridesmaids to be in charge of their own dress destiny.

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Upon arrival, we immediatly went through all of the racks, pulling probably 30 dresses for 4 girls! (Only Vicky, Megan, Molly, and Rosie were able to attend) As everyone tried on their selections, I played assistant and zipped them in with flare. Molly had chosen two shorter, very slim numbers. Both very fitted and stylish but one looked a lot better than the other. We thought we had made her decision. Rosie was having a tougher time, trying on long flowy dresses that just did not look right. Megan tried on some really cute ones, but had issues with the bust fit (as I do!). And Vicky tried on about 5 dresses that all looked fantastic. Our favorite for Vicky was a long pleated bust dress but because Molly had chosen a short dress, we had the sales consultant bring out the same pleated dress in a shorter version. Success! The dress was gorgeous!

After a bunch more dresses and making the girls go back and forth between them, we finally had Molly put on the same dress Vicky had been wearing. (The shorter pleated number) So cute!! We all pondered the idea of same dresses and Rosie said something weird about "the sisterhood of the traveling dress..." awkward. So we had Megan and Rosie try on the same dress style as well. (Mind you the pleated short dress came in a variety of colors. The black sample happened to be a size 2 so no one actually tried on the black! We had dark blue, lilac, orange, and green!)

Voila! The dress looked good on everyone! Every body type! The girls commented that it was comfortable! And wait for.....drum roll please ..... it has POCKETS! Yes, the skirt is pleated which allowed hidden pockets to be placed within the pleats! Doesn't everyone complain about not having enough room in their small evening clutch? Well, now you have pockets! So cute!

(Davids Bridal Style # 83312)

Laura and Krista still have to try it on of course before we start ordering the dresses but I really think that this will be the dress everyone will agree upon. The material is actually a sateen cotton which is nice because regardless of the early October wedding, it will work. After all, you can always put more clothes on but you can only take so much off! ;)

The girls will pair this dress with black or silver shoes of their choice and jewelry of their choice as well. (Because I have not yet decided what their gift will be. A lot of times brides give jewelry for the day of, but I think it's a little more individualized if everyone wears their own. Perhaps I can get them all different jewelry that shows their individual style.)

I will also be making or purchasing shawls for the the girls to wear, especially in church, and later if the weather is cooler.

***The most exciting fact of 4 out of 6 bridesmaids choosing this dress, is that the pleating on the top EXACTLY matches and mirrors the bodice pleating in my dress! (Unfortunatly my dress is no longer on Demitrios website and I would rather not post it anyway if Mike is reading this! :) )

Conclusion of dress shopping: very exciting and fun! We ended the day with Olive Garden, despite the suggestions for pie and tea from my mother. hehe! I can't wait to spend the next couple of months planning things with these girls! I'm going to put them to work on all my little projects - Megan has already seen the mental breakdown regarding our Save the Dates and address label making! Grr! haha Love you Megan!

Until next time....

Black White and Red all over! (Well, minimal red!)

The most important part of the wedding is the color scheme/theme. We're going for romantic elegance with Black and White and hints of red. I made a Dessy Style Board for inspiration:

Mark your calendars!

One of the projects we've been working on (actually our first major wedding project besides booking vendors!) is our Save The Dates. We wanted to wait until we had our engagement shoot with the previously mentioned Cristina G.

After obtaining the "good" copies of the pictures we could not live without (featured in blog) we "made" and ordered our Save The Dates through Vista Print.

Side note: We stole the idea for a postcard Save The Date from our good friends Brandon and Herminia who are getting married next weekend, June 12! Since our weddings were so close, we have been sharing different ideas and tricks of the trade with our wedding buddies. For example, after we booked Shannon Helmig as our wedding coordinator, B & H booked her as well to be the Day-of-Coordinator at their wedding. We also have the same DJ, Toast and Jam, also previously mentioned, so we'll get to preview their stuff in about a week! Just wanted to make it known that the postcards are ADORABLE but not our brainwork! :)

Since I have a day job :sigh: my sisters typically text message me updates and questions, about life in general. Molly just texted me saying a box had come for me and I could not for the life of me think what it could be. Then I realized it's probably our Save The Dates that we ordered a week ago! Mike and I still have some work to do with addresses and labels but they WILL be out by this weekend because that is our goal! I know you're interested so here is a preview!

And the backside:

Very simple and easy to do! I would recommend Vista Print to anyone, despite their annoying ads on the website trying to convince me to put this picture on a tshirt!

Toodles!

Friends that turn into Family, and Family that become Friends!

Mike and I are so very blessed to have many people that make our lives special. Probably the best part about planning and having a wedding along with wedding related events is seeing people that you love. Some of these people you don't get to see all of the time; some of them you see every single day, but it doesn't make any person more special than the next.

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We are so fortunate to have a GREAT group of friends who are always supportive, not to mention a good time! Now that I am down to only one job, I have a lot more free time on the weekends to spend with these people near and dear to my heart. Sooo fun!

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We had such an easy time choosing our bridal party because of how much these people mean to us! I would like to formally introduce you to our bridal party!

My sisters Rosie (above left) and Molly (above middle) are my Maids of Honor. I chose them because they're both my sisters and I just couldn't pick one over the other! Rosie is nearing 18 and will be a senior at Mount Assisi Academy in the fall. She loves music and going to concerts but mostly loves shopping with me! Molly just graduated 8th grade and is 13 years old. She'll be attending Mount Assisi along with Rosie in the fall. I'm going to have them have different dresses or flowers or something to make them stand out as Maids of Honor. They will both walk down the aisle with the best man.

Our best man is Mike's best friend, Joe Sceerey and boyfriend of one of my bridesmaids Laura Kilbride. The story of how Mike and Joe officially met involves lots of liquor in the dorms my freshman year in college. But basiscally, their brothers from another mother.

My cousin Megan McGovern (above right with my sister Molly) is a bridesmaid as well! She just graduated from Montini High School and is going to Loras College in the fall to study Special Education. Not only is Megan family, but she's one of my closest friends!

This cute couple represents a bridesmaid and a groomsmen! Vicky and I went to high school together (MAA 05!) and Kevin is her boyfriend. Kevin and Mike have become really good friends over the past couple of years and they are one of our favorite couples! Vicky just graduated from Lewis University with a degree in English with a teacher certification. She'll be teaching summer school at Mount Assisi in a couple of weeks! Kevin is currently attending Lewis.

Laura Kilbride (yes, Joe Sceerey's gf) and I met in the dorms freshman year at NIU. We lived together Sophomore and Senior year and she is an '09 graduate in Sociology. She currently works in Accounts Recieveable at Stonewall Inc. Laura is a bridesmaid!

Krista is also a college friend from NIU, also lived on the same floor freshman year and I lived with her and Laura sophomore and senior year! Krista is a '10 graduate with an Elementary Education degree who, despite graduating, still enjoys long walks on the beach and a stiff drink. (Just kidding Krista!) Krista is also a bridesmaid in our October wedding!

My brother Jim will be joining the groomsmen. He just finished freshman year at Marquette University where he is involved in a radio show called "Marquette Metal."

My youngest brother Marc (lovingly referred to as "Choodles") is also going to be joining the groomsmen. Marc is 14 and will be sophomore at Mount Carmel High School in the fall. Marc enjoys playing lacrosse, xbox, and humoring me by joining me in board game fun.

Tim Wolf is also one our friends from my freshman year at NIU. However, much to my dismay he didn't actually attend NIU, just hung out there every weekend. Not dismay, delight! Above picture is Tim trying to steal someone's car at Dark Lord Day '10 which he attended with groomsmen Jim and Joe, as well as my father and Mike. Tim currently works at a green house in Hampshire, Il.

Finally, Tim M. is a friend from college as well. Him and Mike have bonded over many things including but not limited to good beer, computers, and sweet cars. Fun Fact: Tim actually went to high school with bridesmaid Laura. We're just all connected in the circle of life!

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And there you have it people! Thank you for allowing me to share some of my favorite people with you! We cannot hardly contain our constant excitment for the night of 10.10.10 because Mike and I know that chaos and fun will ensue. One last picture just for fun, because my family makes up over half of the bridal party. We're loud and crazy, there's 5 of us and we wouldn't have it any other way! As we get older, our personalities are more and more apparent as featured in this picture.

From left: Marc "The Chill Dude", Rosie "Giggles", Jim "I support this Picture", Kelly "The Diva" and Molly "Mini Diva".

The Girl with the Flowers

Having been a flower girl myself when I was 3, I know that it is a very exciting time in a little girl's life to be asked to be a flower girl in a wedding. There is something so perfect and innocent about a young girl wearing a white dress, flowers in her hair, carrying the tell-tale basket. As whimsical as it all may seem, there is actually an art to choosing and becoming a flower girl.

In choosing my flower girl, I wanted to have a little girl who was of a substantial age, who would take the position with maturity and excitement. I think if the flower girl is too young (I have seen flower girls as young as 6months old being pulled in a wagon down the aisle!) there is a chance of tears and "not wanting" to do the task at hand.

I also wanted a little girl who is very dear to my heart and my family. Typically, a bride chooses a niece, but since I am the oldest I thankfully do not have any nieces or nephews yet!

The very first little girl who came to mind is not a blood relative, although we lovingly refer to her parents as "Aunt Sandy" and "Uncle Pukey". (Naturally, there is a story behind the "Puke-y" party. And naturally it involves me. And it is just way more fun than "Uncle Kevin"!)

Her name is Drew and she is probably the smartest 6 year old I know! She actually reminds me of myself at her age - very talkative, smart, and full of spunk! Not to mention she's adorable, but that goes without saying!

Because the little lady lives in MA, I won't have much contact time with her leading up to the wedding. However, I did send her a card asking her to be the flower girl and she responded with a homemade card accepting and she even drew a picture of a bride for me!

I hope Drew is just as excited as Mike and I are to have her in the wedding party! I'm sure dress shopping in the upcoming months will be very exciting for her. Because she lives on the East Coast, I will be having her and her mother pick out her dress for the wedding. Probably the only requirement I have is that it be Ivory, to match my dress! (My dress is no longer shown on the shop's website for me to send to anyone :(! )

Although, I do LOVE this look.....Ivory Flower Girl Dress.

A beautiful UN-VEILING!

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a bride? After the white dress, one typical pictures a beautiful bridal veil. I was a flower girl when I was three in my Aunt Mary's wedding where I had the cutest little white dress. A couple Halloweens later I was still wearing said dress and my mom had made me a lace veil transforming me into....TADA! A bride!

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Veils have come a long way, even in the past 10 years or so. Just for fun, I decided to look for pictures of veils from brides of the past.

This bride from the 1920's is wearing a Cathedral Veil, the longest and most dramatic of all bridal veils. Notice that the veil is longer than the dress.

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The style of the 1950's was a lot more modern in the form of a shorter shoulder lenght veil.

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Although the styles and lengths have varied throughout the years and for all different brides, the significance of the veil stays pretty much the same. Of course a bridal veil has religious significance as a head covering to enter the church. And naturally, we all know the significance of the white colored dress! ;) The wedding veil is intended to show honor to the church, a young woman's parents, and her future husband.

Now, a veil has become more of an accessory for a bride. Every bride is in search of something new and different for their wedding veil; and it must match the dress!

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I chose to order my veil from a vendor on Etsy, whom was recommended to me by my wedding coordinator, Shannon of Shannon Gail Weddings and Events. Cindy of FascinatingCreations had a sample of a "poof veil" on her Etsy page that I fell in love with. It's definitely something dramatic and "over the top" but I am all of the above! It just shipped today and I am SO excited to recieve it and even more excited to try it on with my dress. (Which unfortunatly will not be until August-ish!) But I will still try it on, wear it around the house, wear it to brunch, the usual. (Have I told you about "Tiara Tuesdays"? I should blog about that! haha)

Here is a sneak preview of the sample of my veil. Of course, mine is custom made so it will be a little bit different. I'm all about surprises and our wedding is full of them! ;)

Here is a "poof veil":

Mine however, will not be Cathedral style as my dress has a lovely train on it that I do not wish to cover....

Here is Cindy's version: (All copyrights to Cindy of Fascinating Creations)

Sigh. I cannot wait to wear my veil! :)

 

Pictures!! Cristina of Cristina G Photography

I need to preface this by saying I absolutely adore our photographer. We found her on a whim through Facebook (oh FB!) and met with her at a Starbucks one snowy evening. She was a chance find, but Mike and I knew from the first sample photos she showed us, that Cristina of Cristina G Photography was our photographer. Not only did we spend a good two hours chatting about pictures, Coach, Tiffany's (obviously my favorite topics) but we were instantly attracted her to fun personality and beautiful work.

A couple weeks ago we decided to do our Engagement Pictures photo shoot with Cristina. We wanted something different than just outdoor shots, which we had previously done with a friend. We chose to go to Architectural Artifacts Museum and Gallery on the recommendation of our good friends Brandon and Herminia who had done their engagement pictures there over the summer.

The engagement shoot is a pretty good preview of what your Wedding pics will look like and we are so exicted to have Cristina shoot our wedding day! Here are some of my favorites! (Black and white of course!) :)

Thank you to Cristina of Cristina G Photography!

She does all kinds of photos - family, baby, maternity, wedding, senior pictures. Check her out!

"I'm a dancing machine"- quoted bride.

I feel like most of you should already know this. I don't know why I am going to try to explain because I think you actually have to witness it to understand.

I. AM. A. DANCING. MACHINE.

I danced in high school, I danced at a studio, I danced at parties, I dance on tables, I dance on Wednesdays, I break dance, I clog dance, I Irish jig dance, I ballet dance, I belly dance, I give guiDANCE. (Literally, I am an Advisor! haha)

Basically, if you're shocked, you don't know me very well. But it should come as no surprise that the MOST important wedding aspect to me is the music.

Music is essential to a party. And I don't take very kindly to people who try to undermine me when it comes to music. For example.....

We had a party on Fotis when I was in college. All of our parties were themed; this party was near the end of the year and it was "Cleaning out the Booze closet." Typical college town, some randoms showed up at our townhouse. And we don't take lightly to randoms because we had a purse stolen in the beginning of the year. Rewind: basically at all of our parties I controlled the music as I have killer speakers and an iPod with generally every genre. Then, Jesus showed up. Well, a guy who had a Jesus beard, loafers, and a love for Lil' Wayne.

I generally make appropriate playlists and just let them roll as the party goes on. If there are specific requests, I try to honor them and I also take note of my audience.

Jesus wanted to play Lil' Wayne so he decided to climb up to where I had put the speakers and my iPod (out of reach mind you!) and hooked up his own ipod. I realized this and kindly informed him that, no, this was not okay party behavior. I told him he could play 2 songs and then he was done.

Long story short, we got in a fight and I kicked him out of the party because he would not stop after the 2 songs, was touching my iPod, and my expensive speakers and I flipped.

DO. NOT. MESS. WITH. MY. MUSIC.

Mine and Mike's love of music is why and how we stumbled upon Toast and Jam DJ's. Upon reading their reviews on Yelp, we knew they were the dj's for us. They have a no frills, no cheese policy. Read: no electric slide (although I am a fan....embarrasingly) no terrible strobe lights, just good music.

We met with Kate and Rachel who will be our DJ's on October 10. They ROCK! They co-host Kate and Rachel's Old Style Show in Chicago. They really listened to our style and what kind of music we like. When talking with them I said, "Okay see the thing is, I'm a dancing machine" and Rachel immediatly wrote the quote down and put next to it "bride said this." Ha! They have no idea who they're messing with but I WILL NOT be leaving the dance floor until it's time to go home!

ROCK ON!

Let's start at the very beginning....

Since I was about 9 years old, I dreamed of my wedding day. White dresses, sparkles, flowers, all eyes on you. What more could a girl ask for!?

Now that we are less than 5 months away from the big day, I've started to freak out slightly. Which is why I decided I needed an outlet of some sort and since I'm a natural born writer - BOOM! Hello blogs!

We have most of the larger details figured out. Fall wedding, black and white formal affair, perfect date (10/10/10)!

Mike and I have been dating since 2005. No, seriously! We met in 2004, while still in high school and wound up reconnecting when I was at NIU. (Mike went to UTI.) And the rest is history; it really is! The next 80 years with the same person? And you're only 23? Dumb questions if you ask me. To us, this is it. Once you find love, you never turn back.

Our special day will begin with an afternoon ceremony at St. Patrick's Church in Lemont, IL. I recieved all of my sacraments at St. Pat's and attended grade school there from 5th-8th grade.

I really think it is a beautiful church, just blocks from my home and we're so excited to have a brand new priest, Fr. Kurt Boras, marry us! Next on our list is Pre-Cana which I'm sure will be an interested day!

Because our reception (at the Hyatt Lisle) is literally steps away from the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, we will venture there for pictures following the ceremony. I am OBSESSED with our photographer, Cristina of Cristina G Photo (www.cristinagphoto.com) so naturally I cannot wait for the picture portion of the day. (More on Cristina later!)

The Hyatt Lisle is a beautiful setting for our wedding reception. Very elegant

As beautiful as everything *hopes* to be, I am about ready to rip my hair out! It's a mix of anxiety, nerves, and expectations! Luckily we have the amazing Shannon Helmig of ShannonGail Weddings and Events on our side! She has been awesome through all of my "mini crisises" and very calm which I am sure she will be on the day of!

Stay tuned, I will have plenty more updates throughout the next 5 months! Honestly, as nervous and anxious as I am, I cannot wait to share this day with friends and family and most importantly, the love of my life, Michael Connolly!