Artsy...Craftsy...Bachelorette-sy

What more could a bride-to-be ask for than a bachelorette party that truly gets those creative juices flowing? This bachelorette party brought out the arts and crafts lover in all attendees. Starting the night with jewelry-making and ending with a cooking class--complete with matching aprons--this party was unique, inspired and fun!

To Play Or Not To Play

Now that it's time to plan the music for the big event, this bride-to-be is realizing that she's certainly not a music aficionado! That's why I'm relying on the expert advice of my musically-obsessed fiance. He'll take the reins on this one! But, what kind of a bride would I be without sharing a few of my personal song favs and shall we say...hmm...to be blunt...songs I just can't stand. Like The Beach Boy's "Kokomo"... Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline"... Or, Rick James' "Super Freak"...

Feelin' Like Cinderella

Nothing completes a bride's attire as much as what goes on underneath it all--starting with her shoes!


To that end, my mom and I took a trip to New York's My Glass Slipper and fell in the love with the hundreds of wedding-ONLY shoes at our nuptually-crazed fingertips. From Stuart Weitzman to Kate Spade...from cream to off white...from closed-toe to peep, they had us covered.


And while it was a hard decision, we made the call on these super cute Kate Spade's. Now all this Cinderella needs is to make certain she doesn't lose these glass slippers at the wedding!

Head Over Heels

When are you lucky enough to dress up a bunch of beautiful girls in the style of your selection?

No other moment comes to mind besides the one right now--when you're the bride and when you're lucky enough to have bridesmaids who will indulge every one of your bridal desires.

So take advantage of "dress up" time and go head-to-toe with these cute peep-toe heels for bridesmaids and matching flats for the flower girl.

Sending My Love

The length of the table cloths...

The color of the hydrangeas...

The shape of the chandeliers...

There are so many details that make a wedding unique.

Who knew we could add stamps to the list?

Thanks to the site, zazzle.com, we can now ponder the perfect shape, color and design of even the stamp for everything from save-the-dates, to invitations, to thank you cards!

Check out some fun designs above.

Obsessed With PD

Now that the Save-The-Dates have gone out, the hunt for the perfect wedding invites is on!

My mom and I have fallen in love with Prentiss Douthit--AKA "PD." Weird name. Clean, simple, classic, whimsical design.

The only question: which of his lovely designs do we chose?

When Life Gives You Lemons...You Have A Wedding

While there's a rainbow of colors to choose from for your wedding, perhaps none packs as much of a cheerful, yet elegant, punch as Y-E-L-L-O-W.

From yellow roses...to table cards made of real lemons...to adorable bridesmaid dresses, this sour fruit surely makes for a sweet wedding.

Junior Bridesmaid, Senior Cuteness

Thanks to our incredibly adorable junior bridesmaid, she'll look beautiful--just like the official bridesmaids--in the cute dress above.

Her cornflower blue sash perfectly matches the color of the bridesmaid dresses.

Ode To A Wedding Cake

Oh wedding cake...

Oh wedding cake...

How will we find you?

A cake with just the right frosting--fondant or buttercream?

A cake with just the right filling--vanilla or creme?

A cake with just the right design--a sugary drape or a swirled ribbon?

Check out a few cakes we love above...from ASimpleCake.Com

Bella Bridesmaid Dress!

Thanks to a great crew of bridesmaids and Maids of Honor, we found super cute, super inexpensive dresses at David's Bridal. The bridesmaids seem to love how comfy and fun they are. Plus, their favorite part of the dress? Pockets--of course!

It Is T Time

What gift can you possibly give the women who will stand by your side on the big day?

Surely, no ordinary chachka will cut it for your bridesmaids!

Weddingchicks.com has some super cute, cozy, vintage t-shirts that your bridesmaid might actually want to wear!

Just go to http://www.weddingchicks.com/shop for these ts and other fun, non-cheesy stuff.

Hair, Hair, Hair, Hair!

To be (worn up)...

Or...

Not to be (worn up)...

That is the question.

Yes, it is the ultimate question for the bride and her mom when it comes to deciding on how to wear the hair on the big day.

My mom and I fell in love with the style above that certainly qualifies as "up," but still feels natural, simple and clean.

In fact, over the next few days, we're scheduled for a few hair & make-up trials. Can't wait!

Sealing The Envelope

Thank you to the folks at Arrow Stationary in New Jersey for spending what I am sure were several exhausting hours with us as we determined the right colors, font type, spacing, wording, and so on and so on of the Save-The-Dates!

We finally sealed the deal (or shall we say the envelope!) of our Save-The-Dates! Check out the cute tri-fold design that has a perforated edge at the bottom so guests can tear off their very own calendar and maybe even put on their fridge!

The above images don't do the card justice (and they're in the wrong color), but provide a bit of an idea.

Save Us...From Save The Dates!

For any wedding-obsessed (or shall we say it a bit more gently, wedding-involved?) bride-to-be and her mother, the Save-The-Date card is a big bridal deal.

It is the first, official time that the bride and her mom are making a statement to the world about the look, tone, feel and mood of the upcoming nuptials.

In true "Will You Marry Me...And My Mom?" fashion, my mom and I have been searching for the perfect Save-The-Date. That's where WeddingPaperDivas.Com came in very handy. Check them out: www.weddingpaperdivas.com.

Not only is their site a breeze to navigate, but they send you samples of their invites, so you can get a sense of the paper quality and colors. Check out some samples that came right to our front door!

All The (Wedding) News That's Fit To Print

No wedding obsession would be complete without the hunt for the perfect Save-The-Date cards. Along with this obsessive quest comes a flurry of questions: how can the cards be whimsical, but not childish? How can they be informative, but not cold? How can they give a sense of the wedding theme and color palette?

And with time ticking towards wedding day, the pressure is on!

Here are a few Save-The-Date options that fit our wedding's color palette.

Do Be Square!

The expression, "Don't be square," is officially out-of-date! Check out these super cute table settings that defy wedding tradition. Opting for a rectangle...a square...or a box...whatever it takes to make the center of the table look modern, clean and simple.

So, do be square with your table settings!

A Bride's Guilty Pleasure - Say Yes To The Dress TV Show

My mom and I are 100%, no holds barred, completely, insanely obsessed with TLC's "Say Yes To The Dress." Seriously, as sad as this sounds, there is nothing I'd rather do on a Friday night than watch at least two episodes in a row of this bridal bonanza.

When my fiance really wants to get on my good side, he actually DVR's all of the re-runs from the week and provides me with the best Friday night a girl could ask for: three or more hours of unadulterated wedding dress bliss!

The show documents the trial, tribulations, taffeta and sometimes tackiness of THE infamous wedding dress hunt at the quintessential wedding dress store, Manhattan's Kleinfeld's.

This Friday night's episode made our jaws drop even lower than normal when we met Jessica. While she may surely be a very nice person, her taste in bridal gowns is far from nice. Vampy. Trampy. Tacky are more like it.

But that's the fun of the show--you see the best, the worst, the ugliest and the prettiest that this bridal-obsessed world has to offer.

Here's to hoping that no one has this kind of reaction when they see my dress!

Make It Visual For Your Florist

My mom and I had our first official visit with a florist last week. And boy were we "newbies!" Sure, my mom (who I would call an expert wedding planner on the side) has met with tons of florists before. But somehow we didn't quite know what to do or what to ask.

Eventually, we made it through our appointment unharmed and with smiles on our faces, eager to see the proposal that our florist brings back to us.

But in looking back, my advice is to bring tons of pictures, scraps, color swatches, like the ones pictured above. The more visual and sensory the better. The less words the better. I think that artistic folks, like florists, respond best when they can truly see your vision...know what you mean when you say "rustic" and picture what the heck you have going on in that bridal head of yours!

Say Cheese Without The Cheese: Wedding Photographer

For some reason, it has always seemed to me that an event...or a party...or a moment...just doesn't seem real unless it is captured in a photo.

(This may be a short-term memory lapse. Or it could be the fact that I just love looking at pictures. Or maybe it is because my dad was once an amateur photographer and I wish I had his "eye.").

Regardless of the reason, it was crucial for me to find just the right photographer for my wedding. And rule #1: cheese is simply not allowed. No poses. No fakeness. No rehearsal.

Simply unstaged. Unrehearsed. Simply those moments that are happening even when you don't realize they're happening. I didn't have to look far to find the photographer for me, Zlatko Batistich. He is based really close to my hometown in New Jersey.

Check out some of his beautiful work: http://www.zlatkobatistich.com/