Saying Yes to the Dress

Whoever said: It is more difficult to commit to the dress, than to the Groom is 100% accurate!

Dress shopping is something I had been looking forward to from as far back as I can remember. Even before I was engaged, I had been already addicted to shows like Say Yes to the Dress. Getting a lot of attention, playing dress up, and trying on things I probably can't afford are all things I love.

So many people have said to me how you never end up with the type of dress that you "think" you want. Well, I've always had an idea of the kind of dress I wanted.

If you've met me, you know I'm not really one for simplicity. I'm loud, opinionated and girly. Oh, and Hello! I'm from Long Island! That picture of the sweet, classic bride in pearls is just not me.

Sorry Kate. I love her and I really had high hopes for her wedding dress. But, thats it? Really? I think if my fiance saw me walking down the aisle in this he would yawn.

Side note: On the day of the royal wedding, he said he thought Kate's dress was too plain. I knew there was a reason I picked him!

Before you all start getting scared, I do have my limits when it comes to bling.

My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding. Awesome show. But really? A light up dress? And that amount of poof? I can't.

Anyway, I was pretty sure that I could find an amazing dress, somewhere in between Kate and the Gypsy.

I enlisted the help of my least opinionated bridesmaid (I have enough opinions to go around) and out dress shopping we went. A few things I learned:

• Wedding dresses are heavy!
• Most brides think its awkward to have another lady dress you. (thank you dance for desensitizing me to this)
• Bridal consultants need a lot of patience, and some of them don't have any. 

But the most important thing I learned was that I had known exactly the type of wedding dress I wanted.

It was difficult for me to settle, because I am a perfectionist, and I wanted to know that I had the best dress.

After going back and forth a few times, visiting a couple of different salons, trying on about 30 dresses and second guessing my every move, I finally found the perfect dress.

Sorry, no pic of this one!

I am obsessed with my dress. I look at the pictures I have at least once a day, and I've even watched a 7 minute youtube video of the dress, on more than one occasion. Isn't that what you're supposed to do?

Alright brides-to-be, how many dresses did you try on before you found "the one"?

DIY Diaries: Bridesmaid Invitations

It was time to conquer my first do-it-yourself project. Up until now, I hadn't really don't much of anything crafty. I wasn't into art in school, and I don't consider myself overly creative. I knew the first project i attempted would either give me more confidence to tackle all the other projects I had planned, or send me running to the wedding store to buy it all pre-made.


There are so many cute ways to ask your bridesmaids to be in your wedding party. I knew I wanted to do something personal, and cute. I also wanted to incorporate the theme to our wedding (I might have a slight matching obsession).

Option 1 was Bridesmaid Cookies: These are absolutely adorable. You make/order cookies in the shape of a bridesmaid dress, and its colored to be the color you want. In edible ink, "Will you be my bridesmaid" is written.











These are so cute! And I could have made them all in my colors, and added a cute little card. However, my MOH (maid of honor) and one of my bridesmaids live off of Long Island, and I was worried that the trip in the mail might have led to something melting/going bad. And even the girls that live on LI- if I wasn't able to get together with them within a few weeks, the cookies would go bad. So that was out.

I then thought about making a little box with a few things in them and a little poem, but what to do with that after you get it?

I decided to just go to Michael's and hope for some inspiration. Well after about an hour in Michael's, walking down aisles and comparing supplies, I ended up with:

• Wooden frames
• A paint brush
• White and pink paint
• Silver, purple and pink ribbons
• Blingy engagement ring stickers
• A few sheets of fancy paper

And so I decided to paint the frames, white first, to cover the wood, and then pink over it. I found this process extremely therapeutic and actually a lot of fun.

 After the paint was dry, I glued the ribbon onto the frames. This was a bit more frustrating as I am extremely particular that each piece of ribbon was laying perfectly straight. But still, it was fun.

Next was the poem. There are so many cute poem's out there for bridesmaid invitations, so I googled, found a few of my favorites, and tailored them together to work for me.

I cut the paper (good practice for the invitations), and typed the poem up on powerpoint.

I then enlisted the help of my fiancé to figure out how to print on little pieces of paper. I wanted to buy a new one for "wedding printing" but he insisted his big company printer that he was given would do the job. And after us both scratching our heads for a while and printing a few "test" sheets, we had it perfect.

The end result:

I am absolutely in LOVE with these. I kind of want to keep them for myself actually, but that wouldn't be right.

 

Wrap in purple tissue paper, and tie with matching ribbon, and you've got a perfectly cute invitation, which can double as a frame. 

 This most definitely gives me the confidence to tackle my next projects. Go me!

What DIY projects have you done that you enjoy?