So... I changed my mind (you can go ahead and act surprised now)

The original plan was to go with mismatched bridesmaid dresses in shades of pink and peach, taking those shades into the rest of the decor. Well... I decided instead to go with shades of mint and robin's egg blue. I went back and forth and forth and back and finally I pulled the trigger (after consulting with my lovely family) and here we are!

So I thought about sending them all cards in the mail that are in different shades of mint and blue and then they can go on a scavenger hunt to find a dress as close to that color as possible. However, whenever I went shopping with my future sister-in-law last weekend to try to find her dress, it was... challenging. We found sweaters, button down shirts, leggings, jeans, tank tops, scarves, and everything else EXCEPT dresses that were in any of the right colors. So, while that is definitely still an option for whoever wants to go shopping, I also went out and found a bunch of dresses online to get them started. 

Basically the only rules are, solid colors only (no patterns/prints), keep it somewhere around knee length (not too long, not too short), no strapless, and no high-low/waterfall hems. Other than that, wear what you like!

The dresses I picked can be found here. I feel really good about this color scheme and about how everything is coming together! I can't wait to see it all in April!

The Wedding Dress Situation.

So, the first time I went wedding dress shopping it was just my mom and I, and I fell in love with a dress. A gorgeous, expensive dress. A dress that made me look like a million bucks and might as well have been made out of dollar bills. So we walked away empty handed. Shortly thereafter I found out that my future mother-in-law used to MAKE wedding dresses. As in from nothing but a couple yards of tulle and satin she (through some form of magic I'm not yet familiar with) created miracles.

A little bit later while strolling through Salado, TX - my mom convinces me to go into this little wedding dress consignment shop she had recently discovered. And there - among the racks of taffeta, lace, polyester, satin, and tulle dating all the way back to the 1950's - was something wonderful. The dress as a whole was dated... VERY dated. But I looked past that and I saw its potential. The train is about three feet long, the skirt very full, and nearly every inch covered in the most magnificent lace I've ever laid my eyes on. I paid the woman $300 and walked out with it in my hands.

I'm going to show y'all me in the dress if you promise not to judge it too harshly. The idea is that it will look absolutely nothing like it does now when Evan's mom is done with it. But here it is, in all its glory.

 

 

So yeah, that'll be the bones of my actual dress - which should end up looking something like this one.

 

 

There will be a few differences, for example, I don't like the one-shoulder thing, so it would be strapless, and I also don't want to loose the awesome trim from the original so that would definitely still be the trim on the final dress. Other than that I guess you'll all just have to wait until the wedding to see how amazing my dress is!

So, it's been awhile...

I know, I know, it's been awhile since I updated everyone... I promise I have a good excuse. I'm back in training - and I'm moving to Montana. And yes - both of those are "I" statements.

My training started in June and will last until mid-September. From there I am PCSing (being re-stationed for all my non-military folks) to Malmstrom, AFB, MT. Evan's contract with the Army doesn't end until April - so I'm making this move on my own and Evan and I will be a country apart from each other until our wedding day.

I'm totally not stressed about that.
I'm totally not stressed about that.
I'm totally not stressed about that.

Who am I kidding. I'm stressed out of my mind. Not only am I in Canada while Evan is in Mexico, but I'm also so far removed from our wedding venue that everything from this point on will have to be coordinated via phone or Skype. Because planning a wedding isn't hard enough, right?

Having said that - Evan has been amazing through this whole ordeal, and my parents have been beyond helpful and supportive as well. I honestly feel like I couldn't do this without them.

Thanks so much guys!

We have a date! (oh and a place)

So, Evan and I finally decided (although the decision was basically already made ages ago) and we booked Peaceable Kingdom for the last weekend in April. We are getting married April 27, 2014. Eeee!

I'm so excited I can barely contain it. I swear I'm single-handedly keeping Michael's, Hobby Lobby, and the couponing industry in business.

In related news - here's a quick list of some of the details we've decided to DIY for the wedding (and that I'm currently working on simultaneously).

Save the Dates

These were only 40¢ a piece once you factor in the cost of tools and materials, AND they're magnets.

Drink/Food station signs

These were 29¢ a piece!

Pearl necklaces for the bridesmaids

After adding up all the materials, these were $4 a piece!

I still can't get over how stinking cute the magnetic bow clasp is!

Low-ball glasses for the groomsmen

These were $1.20 a piece and I used etching creme and stencils I already had.

We are also making our own invitations, cigar boxes for the groomsmen, and dreamcatchers
for the whole wedding party. I'll make sure to update as those get finished up!

Bridesmaid and flower girl gift bags

So, I started putting together the beginnings of my bridesmaids' gift bags. I figure since I have a whole year to plan this thing, I'll use it to my advantage. I have vowed that I will not buy anything (and I mean anything) for the wedding that isn't on sale, or just super cheap to begin with.

*Sidenote: feel free to skip to the bottom if you don't want to go through my whole decision-making process*

These totes were originally $24 on The Knot's wedding shop. And that was just for the bag, it was another $7.75 to put an initial on it. I bought them for $5.99 each with free personalization. 

The matching cosmetic bags were originally $9.95. I got those for $5.99 as well. I chose to get the bag sets in mismatched colors though. "Hot Pink" for half the totes and "Mocha" for the other half. I then reversed those for the cosmetic bags. Basically each girl will get a set of one pink bag and one brown bag, and all the monograms are pink with a brown outline. 

Additionally, I bought the last set of totes for the two flower girls we will have. I got them both in pink with each girl's name on it. Again, these were originally $14.99 each. I bought them for $7.99 each.

These combined with some white eyelet paper lanterns brought my total high enough to get free shipping. Plus, I pulled a 15% off coupon from Retailmenot.com. Needless to say, I'm pretty happy with myself.

I'm also planning on putting the following items into the bridesmaid bags:

A mini tissue pack, tic tacs, Asprin, a mini bottle of lotion, a nail file, chapstick, a compact mirror a heart key chain, and a travel coffee mug.

Silver Rose Mirror Compacts: 89¢ each

Travel mugs: $1 each

My goal is to be able to do all that for $10 a piece, putting the total for each bag at under $22! I know it sounds like it's not a lot of money, but it is a lot of quality, personalized items - and the total worth of each bag, had I paid full price is actually closer to $75. ( $24 for the tote, $7.75 personalization, $10 for the cosmetic bag, $15 for the compact based on theknot.com, $5 for the coffee mug based on BB&B, and $10 for the other items) Yay savings!

I'm just going to put some lipgloss, a compact, and fingernail polish into the flowergirl bags. 

Bridesmaid Bag Breakdown

$6.00 Totes (Theknot.com)

$8.00 Cosmetic bags (Theknot.com)

$1.00 Coffee mugs (Dollar Tree)

$0.89 Compacts (wrapwithus.com)

$0.89 Key Chains (wrapwithus.com)

$0.49 Asprin (Base Exchange)

$0.49 Hand lotion (Base Exchange)

$0.57 Glitter nail file (Base Exchange)

$0.80 Tic-tacs (Base Exchange)

$0.83 Chapstick (Base Exchange)

$0.33 Hand sanitizer (Dollar Tree)

____________________________

$20.29

I'm also making them all pearl necklaces with the cutest magnetic bow clasps, the pictures for those will be in my next post. All the materials for that came out to $4.14 a piece for each completed necklace (bought at Hobby Lobby). AND I'm making dreamcatchers for the whole wedding party. They will have their own post at a later date as well. 

I'm still stumped about what something extra I want to get my sister AKA my maid of honor. Any ideas?

Bridesmaids' Dresses

So for the bridesmaids' dresses I'm going with a mismatched and pretty casual theme in muted shades of pink and beige.

Because my bridesmaids are all over the country (thanks for that girls) I put together this list for them to go through and find some dresses they might like. All the dresses in the list below are <$50. I got the idea for this after seeing a bride post on weddingbee.com that she did this for her girls.

1. Forever 21 – Pearlescent Embellished Shift Dress 

2. Forever 21 – Pleated Textured Lace Dress

3.  Forever 21 – Lace Surplice Back Dress w/ Belt

4. Forever 21 – Sleeveless Chiffon Dress

5. Forever 21 – Lace Back Dress

6. Forever 21 – Flounced A-line Dress

7. Forever 21 – Lace A-line Dress

8. Forever 21 – Ruffle Trimmed Blouson Dress

9. Charlotte Russe – Belted Ruffle Shirt Dress

10. Charlotte Russe – T-back Hammered Satin A-line Dress

11. Charlotte Russe – Lace & Solid Skater Dress

12. Wet Seal - Sweetheart Keyhole Lace Dress

13. Wet Seal – Chunky Lace Skater Dress

14. Target – Satin Sleeveless Lace Bodice Dress

15. Target – Fit and Flare Jaquard Cap Sleeve Dress

16. Target – Sateen Cutout Neck Dress

There is going to be another list for $50+, I just haven't gotten to it yet. :) We're still quite a ways off, I just can't stop planning for it.

The results are in... almost

So we went to all the possible reception venues last weekend and two of them were quickly eliminated (the vineyards and Cathedral Oaks). Kindred Oaks was beautiful, but they would only let us have the venue for 5 hours including cleanup. We plan on having the wedding and the reception at the same place. So that would leave an hour for the ceremony, an hour for pictures, two and a half for the reception, and 30 minutes for cleanup. It also means we're paying them $1000 an hour. Sorry - no place is that awesome.

So that leaves Peaceable Kingdom. Peaceable Kingdom was incredible and everything we want and it was perfect - except. There's no spot to actually get married at. At least not my spot. My spot is a clearing in the woods under a hundred year old southern oak tree. But here's the deal - they are charging us the same price as the other venues, but letting us rent the entire camp from Thursday night through Monday morning AND they are about to undergo some major landscaping renovations. With a few minor tweeks, there could definitely be a the spot. I'm calling the director tomorrow to have a contract drawn up and then we'll decide for sure then. But it looks like the decision might be made.

I'm starting to get very excited. :)

More details about Peaceable Kingdom to follow!

First things first

So we figured out really quickly that the first thing you have to get nailed down (after a budget of course) is a venue. The venue determines the date, the number of people we can host, the decor, the catering... etc. Evan and I decided we want an outdoor wedding and reception, so that helped narrow down the search. From there we started thinking about the best way to host our guests. Nearly all of his and my family and our wedding parties are coming in from out of state. So we had to start thinking about airports and hotels and venues to host 200. (Yes. Two. Hundred.) Since we currently live in a pretty small town, an hour from the nearest major city, we had to get creative.

My parents, Evan, and I spent our Christmas break scouring the internet for some venues. The following is the pared-down list we came up with:

Kindred Oaks: www.kindredoaks.com

Cathedral Oaks: www.cathedral-oaks.com

The Vineyard at Florence: www.thevinyardatflorence.com

Peaceable Kingdom Retreat for Children: www.peaceablekingdomretreat.com

As you can tell, there's quite a variety of ideas on the table right now, from a vineyard to a children's camp.  Actually, Peaceable Kingdom is my favorite option right now. It would be able to house most of our out-of-town guests for the weekend and it would offer a family reunion/families uniting type feel - plus there's a high ropes course and horses to ride. Who doesn't love horses?

We're going to check out all the venues this weekend. I'll keep this updated with what we decide upon. 

*Sidenote: All the pictures of the locations were taken from the websites provided. I'm not 100% sure if that's legal - but here's hoping.

So... hi?

I suppose everyone has to go through the obligatory "hello world" post in order to get to the good stuff later on. Here's mine. I will confess (gasp! a confession this early in the story?!) that this is not my first blog. My first blog was a blog called Craft Your College. It maintained a steady following of about 20 readers. Then I graduated college. So here we are. While I have had quite a few big milestones since then, this, my engagement, is the first one I've felt blog-worthy. So sit back readers of the webiverse. Prepare to be amazed by the catastrophic awesomeness that is sure to my wedding planning as I attempt to DIY my way my fairytale.