Wedding Tip Wednesday: Wedding Planners

Thank you so much for all the kind words on my engagement! I could not be more excited about marrying Mr. 3 and starting a different chapter of our lives. Mr. 3 is truly one of the "good guys" and I feel very lucky to have him in my life.

The excitement still hasn't ended for me, but I feel a eensy bit calmer, enough to get in planning mode. That said, the wedding countdown has begun. Mr. 3 would like to get married next week, but I'm hoping for next summer. We currently are running around trying to figure out the who, what, where, when for the affair. Despite writing this blog and reading/researching so many other wonderful blogs out there, I've always looked at these things more as "pretty pictures" and "cute ideas." It dawned on me (and slightly overwhelmed me) that I will now have to make decisions, including big financial decisions. That's a little scary for me and I'm hoping that I make all the right ones (well, right for me).

I'm about to get hyper organized out of necessity. I'm generally an already organized person, but I refrain from alphabetizing my spices or ironing my sheets. Not that I judge or anything if you do. In addition to planning our wedding, I've also just been assigned a project with a six month turnaround time at my 9 to 5 (projects usually run 9 months or longer in my office)...and I'm in charge. Our wedding will also be outside of the DC area, which means I'll be planning from afar and spending lots of time in the car. Yikes! I've decided that as much as I love electronics for things like guest addresses, I really need to write things down...like with pen and paper, not an ipad. So, I ran over to Barnes and Noble after work yesterday to begin my wedding research and find something that I was certain would be like the Holy Grail of wedding planners.

I started with the magazine section and I came across a GREAT magazine from the U.K. on flowers. I've decided it's easier to bring in magazine pictures to show vendors than try to print them out online. So, I shelled out the $10.99 for Wedding Flowers magazine. Not the most creative of titles, but the inside is what counts! The magazine is FILLED with great arrangements (bouquet, centerpiece, corsage, etc.). There is also a guide to the language of flowers (who new that yellow roses conveyed jealousy?) and a seasonal guide to flowers with pictures. Although, I'll be honest, I was completely sold on this magazine after I saw that they had documented the royal wedding flowers (I <3 you K. Middles for your church trees and elegant style!).

The second magazine I picked up was Brides. I chose it because I literally thought "Hey! That's me!" Also, the $5.99 price tag made it more affordable than another $11 magazine. I should have saved my money. The magazine is filled with wedding dress and honeymoon ads. Normally wouldn't have problem with the ads, but the wedding dresses looked like bad white prom dresses. The bridesmaid ads were even worse. The honeymoon information was tempting, but I'm not even close to planning that part of the events.

Finally, I headed over to the wedding planning section and started searching. I looked through many planners and found that none of them had the 100% solution I was hoping to find. Spiral bound notebooks mean that you can't hole punch magazine pictures or handouts. Heavy planners will probably throw my back out or at the very least give me an unflattering Quasi Modo hunch. There were also many planners that were bogged down with every last piece of wedding advice and knowledge...which since I have Briana, I'm pretty sure I don't need. I also came across planners that had built in folders and even an accordion file folder attached, but they added a lot of bulk to carry around. Finally, I came upon the Martha Stewart wedding planner. For $30, I can get a 3 ring binder (yay! hole punching), in a reasonable size/weight (I so dislike a hunch), and with a limited, but useful amount of wedding advice (so poor Briana can have a break). The best part about this wedding planner is that there are clear plastic pouches in the back for holding receipts, samples, and possibly my sanity. There is also another clear plastic sleeve for storing business cards (think like the ones you used to hold your baseball cards). Now, I'm not one to spend $30 if I can find it cheaper someplace else (especially since my mom wants us to have identical ones for maximum organization). So, after a quick google search I found that you can get the planners on Amazon for $19.77.

I'm excited to get started on the planning and just hoping I don't get too overwhelmed. I'll keep you posted as I go along. However, now that I have a planner picked out (my first wedding purchase!), I'm suddenly overwhelmed with the need to alphabetize my spices and iron my sheets...

Boston Deal

I got an email today about the current Boston Living Social deal. It's $10 for $20 at Gourmet Boutique in Copley. I apparently walk past Gourmet Boutique quite frequently (I have a shopping "lifestyle"), but never go in. The picture of the chocolates is very tempting but since I have never been in the store, I'm not quite ready to commit to buying $20 worth of stuff, even if it is only costing me $10. However, I thought I would share in case any of our Boston readers were interested! Let me know your opinions on Gourmet Boutique and if you think this Living Social deal is worth it!

Wedding Channel Store Sale

If any of y'all are searching for some good bargains on items for your reception or a bridal shower, look no further! The Wedding Channel Store has a long list of personalized items on sale.

For example, these luncheon napkins can be customized for a bridal luncheon or shower. They are currently priced at $22 for 100 napkins.

These bubbles are $4 for 24 - buying approximately 100 will cost you $16 and you can make them prettier by wrapping each one with a little square of tulle and ribbon.

Trousseau Tuesday: Patent Leather Pumps

Back in June, I noticed that my favorite pair of pointy toed black patent leather stilettos were tearing on the sides! I was absolutely devastated by this discovery as they are my only pair that fit such a tight description. Is there any other type of shoe that is more versatile than a pair of patent leather pumps? I can't come up with anything and I am a true shoe fanatic. You can wear the pumps to work, to church, on dates, out dancing, to the movies, just to name a few places. Black patent leather is appropriate for all seasons, which makes this type of shoe even more adaptable. 

As I am very picky about my shoes, I have not found a suitable replacement yet. And it is not for the lack of trying! J promised (i.e. bribed) me a pair of shoes if I got a job in Boston. We thought we might take advantage of Boston's tax free weekend (up to $2,500 for any item) by going to Neimans and Saks since it seems that I should have a paid, full time job soon. However, I could not find anything that I liked! I have too thin calves, so I avoided anything with too much of a platform in the front; I want to avoid looking like a scrawny newborn foal!

I tried on these Louboutins at Saks, but in patent leather.Unfortunately, my foot is too wide up front for the right size so my heels kept slipping out the back. Normally, foot pads solve this issue by keeping your foot from sliding forward. However, since the foot pads made the shoe too tight on my toes and still didn't keep my heel in the shoe, I decided to keep looking.

I found this pair in Neiman Marcus. I really like them since they are slightly different with the Mary Jane strap, but still appropriate for work. I can rarely wear shoes with a strap across the top of my foot, though. This strap gaped, as I predicted. So sad! 

I still have not found a pair that works! Any suggestions of where I should look? What is your go to shoe?

Exciting Announcement!

Last week, like every week, Melinda and I started dividing up this week's scheduled posts. I offered to do the Munchie Monday post, but Melinda insisted that she would do it this week since she was vacationing with Mr. 3 and family. I, however, knew she would not be baking or cooking. I knew this because I was in on a secret. Oh, how I love secrets!


A few months back, Mr. 3 approached me regarding rings. While finding the best choices for him, I found out a bit of info as well. (Multitasking was very easy as Melinda and I had spent countless hours pouring over estate rings so I pretty much knew which rings to suggest.) Mr. 3 shared that he wanted to propose when he and Melinda were on vacation with both of their parents so that Melinda could be with her mother right after. He does not remember telling me this, but he did and I have chat records to prove it.


Anyway, I am thrilled to announce that Melinda is engaged!!! She was so very surprised (I never gave her any indication at all - this being a surprise in itself) and is very very very happy! I totally knew what was up this weekend despite Mr. 3 trying to throw me off the trail. I made sure to have a back up Munchie Monday recipe available and to keep my phone on me at all times so that I would not miss Melinda's call. I'm pretty sure the phone only got through half of the first ring before I answered it.

I am so excited for her and Mr. 3! They make an amazing couple and are such great and loving people. They will have very pretty blonde babies who will keep the spray tan industry in business. I am also excited for myself because now Melinda and I can change our "Let's plan a wedding" game to "We are totally planning YOUR wedding, Melinda!" game.

Stay tuned for pictures!