I want to go with a tulle dress since mine’s 100% silk tulle; however, I want to stay away from the mosquito net wedding party theme. What else would look good? Chiffon? Organza? I want to to be whimsical and romantic, but I haven’t come across “the dress” for the girls yet that’s also within budget. Hence, the dress I have here … an absolutely GORGEOUS creation by Sarah Seven Shop in robin’s egg blue. An example of my struggles: the perfect style, the perfect fabric … not the perfect color or price ($385).

What’s a girl to do? I’ve found a satin stunner by 57 Grand and a gorgeous organza number by Alfred Angelo … but satin for Spring? Organza with a huge bow? Decisions = terrible sometimes. I need a personal assistant!

Fingers crossed for some luck in the next month!

I can’t wait to see the rest of her wedding pictures, but this will do for now. Things I know: she wore Vera, she has a studly hockey player for a husband, and she rocks that hairdo.

This is honestly what I’ve kind of been picturing for myself for wedding hair … but is it scary? Too risky? With my 20+ years as a dancer, this reminds me of a pretty ballerina with an edge. Imagine this, with a jeweled pin stuck in the front or side, with the long, ethereal vail pinned underneath the back?

Yay or nay? Give me your thoughts!

PS: Thank you to Andy for alerting me to this juicy celebrity gossip. He loves the tux … and so do I!

I’ve grown to slightly despise the innocent phrase, “So, what are your colors?”

I wish I had a better answer than, “Well, I’m not really choosing specific colors; rather, I’m going more for a blushy, rosey, peachy feel with hints of greenery and gold.”

The good news, though, is that I might have stumbled across my inspiration! Thank the Lord for Martha Stewart Weddings! My girlfriends bought me a subscription to Brides magazine, (which, I love, thank you!:)  and I’ve flipped through a few InStyle Weddings, but so far, nothing’s compared to the ideas and styling in Martha.

Thanks to the “Opalescent Weddings” feature in last month’s magazine, I’ve semi-decided that our wedding colors will be a combination of terracotta peach, blushy pink, and darkish lavender (from the bouquet photo above!). Ok—I admit it. That’s not much better. But I feel better about it … so that’s all that matters … right?

What’s been the hardest part(s) of planning your wedding?

Next mission to tackle: bridesmaid dresses. Eek!

Lucky enough for me, our lovely wedding photographer (one half of Kristen Lynn Photographie) is also a talented graphic designer and has offered her precious time to create some save the date proofs for us. I have a feeling that after this is all said and done, I will be eternally grateful to the Barkers. After long days in “corporate America,” it’s people like Kristen that restore my faith in human beings completely.

I sometimes hate it when people ask me how wedding planning is going, because I always want to reply with “terribly,” but instead, anxiety takes over my entire body and reply, “Oh … it’s going okay.” I envy people like my friend Val from the dance team (who also just got engaged to Josh a few months ago!), because she is an event planner in her profession and for her, wedding planning is a breeze. I think, more than anything, I just need to take things one step at a time and try not to get ahead of myself.

The wedding stress leads to nuptial nightmares … of which Andy and I both frequently have! Another post for another date …

I’m pretty excited about the final design of the cake: this thing’s going to be huge. Huge, beautiful, and architectural—just like The Temple where we’ll be having our reception!  We’ll have six flavors, of which we’ve decided on: almond, double chocolate ganache, chocolate marble, red velvet, carrot with cream cheese filling, and strawberry with fresh fruit and whipped frosting. Heaven! Can you guess which is which from the photo below!?