Thursday, January 8, 2009

This is probably just the beginning...

but I'm thinking that this blog is shortly going to turn into a wedding blog. It seems that is the only thing I'm thinking about much lately (go figure!). The biggest decisions I need to make at this point are:
  1. who will my bridesmaids be? My sister will be my Maid of Honor. And then there are two slots up for grabs. I let Mike determine how many couple would stand up with. I know that I have quite a few friends that I could choose. I have totally underestimated how difficult it is to narrow it down. My Aunt Ruth suggested that I put all of their names in a hat & draw them out ;-)
  2. what kind of dress do I want? In the brief discussion that we had with Pastor Jeff about him officiating & having the wedding at the church it was mentioned that strapless was out. That is fine by me b/c I am not a lover of strapless. The problem is that 98% of all wedding dresses seem to be strapless or halter tops (which should only ever be worn on the beach, in my opinion). Plus, I am not a big fan of the lace 'sleeves' that they like to attach to modify the dress so that it is no longer truly strapless. I'm just not a fan. And I think I already mentioned in a previous post that I don't like the big full skirts. I wonder if I can go shopping with a list of things that I don't like & be successful in finding a wonderful dress?
  3. what colors do I want to choose? My favorite color is red. And frankly, that is the only color I ever thought I would use in my wedding. However, Mike does not like red (he assures me he really doesn't care, but I don't want to use a color he doesn't like!). Plus, our church carpet is kind of a teal color. So red just won't do. I really like blue, but I've been in 10 weddings & I wore blue in 6 of them. Because I am crazy, I really don't like the idea of using blue. So I've been thinking, what about a lilac color accented with a light green? I spent some serious time on the David*s Bridal website today trying out that color combo. I like the lilac idea b/c it will look nice in the church. Also, the first roses that Mike ever bought me were lavender. Mike & his brother got me 25 lavender roses for my 25th birthday. Even though we weren't dating then, it's still a super sweet memory for me. I was really surprised & just loved those roses. Let me know what you guys think of that color combo. I was trying super hard to copy & paste a pic of the dresses & the colors but the computer just wouldn't cooperate. I also chose this font color b/c it's kind of lavendar & my blog is green - I didn't want you to assume it was just a happy coincidence ;-)
  4. What music do I use? How much music do I use? We're going for the short & sweet ceremony version. I think we will just have Mike's sister, Gwen sing. What about a reading of some sort?

And just in case you think I've got nothing decided, here's what I've settled on:

  1. My wonderful friend Abby is going to do the flowers.
  2. We have a location & a pastor.
  3. My Aunt Ruth is going to play her flute.
  4. Joyce is going to play the piano.
  5. I have an appointment to dress shop this Saturday with my sister & my mom.
  6. My parent's & I have had the "this is how much we're willing to kick in" conversation. They are being much more generous than I had thought possible.
  7. I know that I'm going for a semi-formal vibe. Early afternoon, knee length bridesmaid dresses, suits vs. tuxes.

And that's about it. Gotta keep scheming! In between jobs today I'm making a quick stop to buy a planner - gotta have a home for my massive to-do lists!

10 comments:

Karis said...

Sounds like your thoughts are organized and once you get your planner, you can write them down and then clear your mind for the next things to hit that need written down.

Steph said...

I'm enjoying the wedding info! I like the lilac/green combo. In fact, I have an engagement present for you (I've been waiting til I can give it to you in person) and it is those colors (well maybe a little more purple) - maybe it's a sign!:) I'm sure the bridesmaid thing is hard to decide, but I'm sure everyone will understand. Just pick two, and don't worry - the hat thing may be a good idea! :) I hope you can enjoy the planning and not stress too much. It's a once in a lifetime experience!

When can we get together??

Adele said...

Maybe you can think of other "positions" you could use ladies for. There's always the guest book, programs, gift table, and even an attendant to help you get ready. Sometimes that provides a nice way to involve other friends w/o having ten bridesmaids! :)

The colors sound nice! My friend had a sage green wedding and it was very pretty. You could always paint your nails red. :)

I had a planner that had a pocket for each section. It was great for receipts, pictures of ideas, samples, etc.

Sounds like things are coming together nicely!

Steph said...

Another idea I heard from someone sometime - they had "honorary bridesmaids" listed in their program and a special spot for them all to sit together in the ceremony - just a thought!

Adele said...

Someone mentioned a web site to me that sells modest formal wear etc. I couldn't remember the exact name, but I did come across this web site - www.beautifullymodest.com. I haven't looked at all the dresses, but they definitely do look modest, but not stuffy. You might want to check it out!

carissa said...

CONGRATULATIONS!!! I'm so happy for you. Happy new year and thanks for the idea of cheese with the celery on Al's blog :)well, I should be cleaning the kitchen, but I'm checking blogs :) take care and happy training. I'm proud of you. I wish I could run like that....but, I'd die!

Michele said...

I had a friend use those colors. They were beautiful. Consider this moment in your life "boot camp" for the rest of your life. I have four kids who are involved in various sports. My husband works full time, as do I. As a teacher, my job requires me to work in the evening. Trying to juggle, my husband's job, my job, cleaning my 2700 sq. ft. house, the laundry for six people, the homework, running the kids to various sports, activities, grading papers (I'm and English teacher, Yikes!) A planner? Ha! Welcome to my world! I have planners, calendars, Post-Its everywhere (they were given by the good Lord himself to help busy people. But, I love it. It's wonderful. It's joyous. My cup runneth over. ...I'm still trying to clean up the mess! LOL

Joe & Sarah McDaniel said...

Hey Mary Ann - I was just reading your blog, and since you asked for suggestions, here are a few that may help -

1. for your bridesmaids dresses - I would suggest deciding on the people before the dresses - that way you can try to pick something that will be flattering on all of them. Also, if you haven't looked other places already, you don't have to get bridesmaids dresses from a bridal shop or even, necessarily, the "formal" section of a department store. Mine were from Chadwicks and there are other places where you can find nice, simple dresses that could be dressed up w/ jewelry and flowers and that they might actually want to wear again.
2. For invitations, etc., try vistaprint.com - they are excellent, flexible for creativity and have very good prices.

This is such an exciting time - praying for you as you plan your special day!

Erin said...

It looks like you've made some fun progress. Just keep having fun with it.

Heidi said...

It sounds like you're coming right along with the planning. I like the color combo and suits vs. tuxes. Having the bridesmaids wear knee length dresses is good because they can wear them again. Long formal dresses usually get left in the back of the closet for years.

Having a short and sweet ceremony is one thing I wished I had done differently. I had way too many songs sung during the ceremony, plus I had the lighting of the unity candle during which a song was sung. I remember Brent and I standing there looking at each other during the unity candle song; it was just too long.

I know whatever you choose to do will be great. Happy planning!