Wedding Movie Weekend

Dear blog,

I am sorry for being a lazy blogger this weekend. My sincerest apologies are in order BUT just because I neglected my wedding blog this weekend doesn’t mean my typical amount of wedding obsessing didn’t continue. One of the main factors that has contributed to my wedding fantasies throughout my life is movies. Movies about weddings, movies with weddings in them, movies that briefly mention a wedding…all of these have played a part in creating my vision of what a wedding should be. Suffice it to say that I really like wedding movies.

Well, this weekend I watched a really cute ABC Family original movie, Revenge of the Bridesmaids. It featured tons of wedding planning and events which is exactly what I love to see. There was also a goooooorgeous southern plantation house that I was practically drueling over. If I lived somewhere in the deep south I would love to have my wedding at a venue like that. It was so picturesque.

Anyway, it’s back to daily blogging this week so here we go!

-Lindsay

Ceremony: The Unity Cross

So, have I mentioned how awesome wedding forums are yet? Because they are really awesome! I can’t even tell you how much I’ve already learned from just wandering around different wedding websites’ message boards. The grand daddy of all wedding websites I’ve found is definitely The Knot. I’ve spent hours on that site already and it’s only been a month since we got engaged! Anyway, while looking around on The Knot’s message boards today I stumbled upon something that I’m SO excited about. I’d been trying to think of alternatives to the unity candle and sand ceremonies that have become so common in weddings recently. I love the symbolism of both but just didn’t get the feeling that those were right for our wedding. Well, someone on the boards had that same thought and created a thread about it. Here’s what I found…

picture via shop.getmarried.com

This is how the website explains the meaning:

“The Unity Cross is a multi-piece sculpture that is assembled during the Unity Service of your Wedding Ceremony representing how the -Two become One. The Groom places the outer Cross in the beautiful wood base as the Pastor explains how God created man- Bold, Strong, the Defender of the Family yet how he is empty and incomplete without the woman. The Bride then places the more delicate cross inside of the Grooms cross as the Pastor explains how God created Woman- Delicate, multi-faceted, taking care of all of the little things that completes the man, and the -Two become One. The Bride and Groom then use the 3 golden pegs to lock the union(cross) together in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit as the pastor exclaims that: What God has brought together let no man take apart. Then the Unity Cross is taken home and displayed as a Daily Reminder of your Wedding Day and the Covenant that you both have made.”

It’s SO perfect! Both Ryan and I’s families are religious and would appreciate the religious meaning of this ceremony. I also love that you can keep the cross and display it in your home after the wedding is over. I just think it’s beautiful and creative and unique…did I mention that I love it?! I’m excited that I have finally found the first thing that I am DEFINITELY going to do for my wedding. I would be totally willing to buy it right now and just hold on to it until the wedding. Hmmm…maybe I will. Let’s hope I accidentally find something I love like this everyday!

-Lindsay

Bridal Belts & Sashes

After yesterday’s stomach growl-inducing post about decadent French desserts I thought it would be a good idea to avoid the topic of food for today so…let’s talk about wedding dresses! Actually, today’s topic is more along the lines of bridal accessories, but those are just as fun.

picture via lazarobridal.com

After being exposed to dress after dress after dress I have come to the conclusion that I love dresses with some form of embellishment at the waist. It’s totally figure-flattering and adds a certain sense of “expensiveness” in my mind. This beauuutiful Lazaro bridal gown is a great example of that.

picture via brides.com

So, today I was randomly looking around at the wedding-related shops on Etsy. I’ve heard so many other brides say they’ve gotten great finds there so I figured it was worth looking. Of course, I immediately found something I love. It was also something I hadn’t thought of as an option before. Here’s the big secret: you can buy amazing belts and sashes for your wedding dress SEPERATELY! Ok, this is probably not so much of a secret to a lot of people but, like I said, I had never thought of it. This is a really great option that can make your wedding dress completely your own. One of my big goals for the wedding is for everything about it to be as unique as possible and what better way to make your dress unique than by accessorizing with a customized belt? As you can tell this all really excites me! Who knows, I may find a dream dress for a reasonable price that comes with embellishment OR…maybe I’ll find a slightly more simple dress with a silhouette that I love that I can personalize with a beautiful belt like these.

I love learning new things!

-Lindsay

Wedding Inspiration: Marie Antoinette Cake Table

It’s time for my first wedding inspiration post! I did a little looking around today for things to write about. I’ve done pleeeeeenty of research prior to starting this blog but I wanted to make sure the first inspiration post was a good one. I finally decided that would could be more fun to talk about than dessert? For a long time I thought that I would want a big candy buffet at my wedding but recently I’ve noticed how much that is done. It’s still not out of the question, but I wanted to think of a little bit more of a unique option. That’s where Marie Antoinette comes in.

pictures are from Google

As (hopefully) everyone knows, Marie Antoinette is infamous for her decadence and love of all things luxurious. That includes luxurious desserts. I haven’t mentioned it here before but one of my theme influences for the wedding is Sophia Coppola’s movie Marie Antoinette. If you haven’t seen it definitely do because it is a total feast for the eyes. One of the biggest things that caught my eye was the continuous flow of incredible dessert after even more incredible dessert. They were all totally beautiful and completely delicious looking. This got me thinking: why not have an elaborate dessert table a la Marie Antoinette instead of the candy buffet? Of course I want the traditional “main” wedding cake, but i think it would be cool to have the central wedding cake surrounded by trays, stands, and bowls of other smaller desserts. I also like the look of having smaller full cakes on the table, just to make it look that much more indulgent. They couldn’t take away from the big cake, though. They could even be “faux” cakes to save on money and such. I just think this is a sort of “higher-end” version of the candy buffet but kind of still along the same lines. It would definitely take a little more effort than the candy bar but I think it would be worth it. We shall see…in the meantime: “let them eat cake!”

-Lindsay

Skinny Bride

Happy Memorial Day!

Today is Monday and officially the third day of my “lifestyle change” diet! I don’t want to just call it a diet because it just seems so temporary. I’ve done many weight loss programs in the past and, while some worked, none have lasted. What’s exciting about starting this new lifestyle is that is the one and only thing that I can be doing officially with my wedding in mind! That is my biggest motivation and (hopefully) what will help me stick to it.

picture is from skinnygirldaily.com

So, as a way to kick-off this new diet, my mom and I started using the Skinny Girl Daily Cleanse and Restore. Typically, it’s a once a day thing but there is a five day jump start option where you take it once in the morning and once at night. It’s really just a powder that you put into a bottle of water. A cleanse really isn’t a quick way to lose weight at all, I’m just using it as a way to make me feel noticeably better right from the start. Bethenny Frankel, from the Real Housewives of New York City, created the whole Skinny Girl line and I LOVE her! Her whole philosophy about weightloss and health is very realistic and approachable. Here are a few of her tips on how to unleash your inner Skinny Girl…or, in my case, Skinny Bride!

• Downsize now. Scale down huge portions. Have a little of the good stuff and fill up on the high-volume colorful vegetables, soup, and grains.
• Pay attention. Notice when you are eating. Try not to eat while doing something else because you won’t get the satisfaction out of your food, and you’ll be more likely to overeat.
• Good for you. Do what’s right for you, what’s healthy for you, what’s good for you. If you don;t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of anything else. Build a firm foundation of good health and self-care, and you can do anything.

Those are just a few but I think they are great advice. In addition to the cleanse, I’ve been having SlimFast for two meals a day. I think I’m only going to keep that up through the end of the five day jump start. It’s been going really well so far so I’m very happy. It’s great to be doing something that is actually, in some way, working towards the wedding!

Here’s to becoming a skinny(er) girl and, one day, a skinny bride!

-Lindsay

Introductions

HI, EVERYONE!

My name is Lindsay and I am the resident bride-to-be. Just so you have some idea of who’s writing this blog you’re reading, I am a 22 year old recent graduate of the Florida State University. I have a degree in music education and will (hopefully) be a real-life music teacher by the time Fall 2011 rolls around. I love lots of things like theme parks, shopping, watching movies, fashion, reading…the list goes on and on. This blog, though, isn’t really about those things. This blog is about my current, all-encompassing, obsession: my wedding!

Will you marry me?

THE PROPOSAL

Now, I guess to have a wedding you need a groom. Mine’s name is Ryan and he is awesome. He willingly listens to my frequent wedding-related   ramblings and even offers his own opinions sometimes! We met at Florida State and have been together for around 3.5 years. He actually proposed on our 3 and a half year anniversary. I was in Tallahassee for my graduation after a semester-long internship. He gathered up a good sized group of our closest friends from school and had them waiting at a famous fountain on campus singing The Hymn to the Garnet and Gold (a beloved traditional school song). Don’t worry, our friends are all musically inclined so it sounded great! He walked me up to the fountain with my eyes closed, then got on one knee and told me to open them. Then he proposed! After that everyone headed to a classy local bar to celebrate.The whole thing was so sweet and I loved having so many close friends there to witness it!

We're engaged!

WHY WAIT?

So, as someone who has now experience getting engaged, I can tell you what the very first thing everyone will say to you following congratulations is. That would be, “So, when’s the date?!” To which my and Ryan’s responses were “ummmmmmm.” Why anyone asks that question so soon I have no idea. It is one of the very first things you need to figure out about your wedding, though. After talking to my lovely parents and thinking about dates we like we’ve decided on October 25th, 2013. I know, I know. That seems about a million years away. To me especially, trust me! Here’s the reasoning. First of all, October 25th is already our anniversary and it falls at the perfect time of year. It works out that my birthday is October 14th, then our anniversary is October 25th, and then comes Ryan’s birthday on November 19th. It makes for a very fun Fall that leads right into Thanksgiving and the holidays! How could we give that up? Here’s the part I know you’re wondering about, though. Why wait two and a half years?! The main reason is that, as long as I can remember I have dreamed about my wedding and how amazing it would be…and my mom knows that! In order for us to have that most perfect wedding, I have to let my parents save up! We’re both also only 22 so it’s not like we are in any position to be rushing things. We could have only waited two years but we needed to wait a little longer to have the wedding on our perfect anniversary date.

At first the thought of waiting this long before my wedding seemed crazy but when I stopped to really think about it, it made perfect sense. Seeing as I just graduated from college and Ryan will at the end of the Fall, we are in a very transitional period right now which doens’t seem to me to be the best time to plan a wedding. Actually, since Ryan is still in school we aren’t going to even be living together until the beginning of 2012. Now, from my research I know that a normal amount of time to plan a wedding is a year to a year and a half. Sure, there are people who do it in less time but that is totally not me. Here’s a little timeline that shows what will be going on up until about a year and a half before our wedding:

April 2011:
◦THE PROPOSAL!

May – August 2011:
◦I look for and hopefully get my first teaching job.
◦Ryan completes his summer semester at FSU.

August – December 2011:
◦I start and get adjusted to my first job.
◦Ryan finishes last semester and graduates from FSU.

January – April 2011:
◦Ryan and I find an apartment and move in together.
◦Ryan gets a job and I finish out my first year of teaching.

May 2011
◦Exactly a year and a half before our wedding date!

As you can see, we’ve got a lot going on up until we can start planning so this works out perfectly BUT…what am I to do in the meantime?! That’s where this blog comes in. I am the type of person who really enjoys planning things and can’t have some big event coming up in my life without planning it. I keep very detailed planners and love researching and planning for vacations. Seeing as we are still very far out from our wedding date, we can’t really officially plan anything so I am using this time to do extensive research on all thing weddings and get inspiration. Those are the things I will talk about in this blog. Hopefully, if I keep up with it, I can even use this as a reference for when I get to begin officially making plans. We’ll see how it goes!

-Lindsay