The Newlywed Nine

The DJ has played his last song...

The Mai-Tai-infused honeymoon has ended...

The thank you notes have been laboriously written and postmarked...

Now that the wedding is officially over, we're settling into our new life as a real married couple. Not much has changed, if you ask this still-excited-to-be-married wife. There are, however, a few things that come along with life AFTER the wedding. For example:

• The "Newlywed Nine": While not quite as vicious as the Freshman Fifteen, it is surely as shocking. Now that daily trips to the gym and salad-only dinners have been replaced with gym absenteeism and ordering pizza every night, this happily married lady sure ain't so happy about packing on a few.
• The "What Do I Do With Myself Now?": Having spent nearly every moment of the past eleven months planning everything from tablecloth colors to cake toppers, this married matron keeps asking herself, "What do I do with myself now?" "What can I plan?" "What can I obsess over?" Sure, reorganizing her closet and cooking Food & Wine recipes pass the time, but they're not quite as fun as planning a wedding.
• The "Baby Bug": No question packs more post-wedding-power punch as "So, when are you having a baby?" And, to be honest, this potential mommy-to-be (someday) is starting to ask herself the same question.

Have A Drink...Then Take A Seat

For this bride-to-be and her MOB, no ordinary place cards would do! Our fun fix was to collect as many beautiful bottles of Saratoga bottled spring water as humanly possible and then attach place cards to the neck of each bottle.

So guests could find their seats and then have a drink.

Cheers!

A Wedding Thank You!

The serene ceremony, thanks to Botanica Floral Studio and Traci Romano in Westport, CT

The can't-stop-eating-it-because-it-is-so-good cake from La Promenade in Tenafly, NJ

The heavenly hydrangeas from Botanica Floral Studio in Westport, CT

The cheerful "cheers" staws and lemonade from Traci Romano in Westport, CT

The dress fit fantastically.

The flowers bloomed beautifully.

The food was phenomenal.

Family and friends smiled and surrounded you.

Nothing could have been more perfect.

The only two words left for this bridal blogger to say are "Thank You" to everyone--most importantly--her mother for making every moment of this wedding so magnificent.

Thank you, Mom!

New York, New York, It's A Wonderful Town...And Gift Bag

Searching for a fun way to personalize your gift bags for guests spending the night?

For this New York B2B, the choice was simple--a New York themed bag 'o goodies.

What's inside the subway decorated gift bag? Everything quintessentially New York:
-A big apple, of course!
-A black and white cookie
-Dr. Brown's cream soda
-Peanuts
-A New York City postcard

If this bag can make it to the hotel, it can make it anywhere!

May I Have This Dance?

For the low maintenance bride who doesn't want to spend 30 hours in a dance studio practicing her first dance--or who doesn't want to subject her future husband to such torture--try I DO WEDDING DANCES.

Here's how it works:
-Step 1: Pick your song (that's the hard part!)
-Step 2: Send it to Helene, who runs I DO WEDDING DANCES
-Step 3: Come to Helene's apartment, where she teaches you and your fiance your personalized routine
-Step 4: Watch yourself on video (Helene sends you a video tape of your dance)
-Step 5: Practice

It is that simple. Just remember not to step on each other's toes!

It Is Tux Time

The winning tux

The runner up

The other runner up

Think searching for a brides' dress is a challenge?

Well then you haven't met today's groom!

Just like the bride, today's hubbie-to-be is just as involved and, shall we say, particular!?!

In this bride's case, her future husband landed on the above Hugo Boss Aikin Hollo, after having tried on the Hugo Boss Hugo Carey Grant and Tommy Hillfiger.

Tote This!

Dearest Bridesmaid,

What gift can I possible give you to thank you for it all?

All of the trips to the wedding dress store...
All 10,000 of the bridesmaid dresses you tried on...
All of the gifts you helped me unwrap at my shower...
All of the things you did that made me--the bride--feel happy and at ease...

Perhaps a cute tote from Longchamp will do? Perhaps the Le Pliage bag? Perhaps in a cute color that suits your fancy, like Ocean or Rosalie?

I hope this small tote can hold all of my gratitude!

Love,
Your Bride

Sunny With A Chance of "Showers"

Delicious crepes...

Beautiful clothes...

Lovely towers named Eiffel...

The French sure do know how to do it right. Even when it comes to bridal showers.

That was surely the case, thanks to this bride's MOB and MOHs. In fact, a beautiful time was had by all at a very lovely and very French shower!

What else can a bride say beside, Merci!

The Top 10 Rules For Your Wedding Dress Fitting

10. Bring a friend you trust--someone who will tell you the truth, but also knows how to sugarcoat it, as needed.

9. Eat breakfast that day. Even if you're trying to fit into that slinky dress, you don't want to pass out in the dressing room!

8. Don't forget your shoes. It is key to try on the dress with your shoes so that the seamstress knows how short to make the gown.

7. Try on your veil. It vital to see how it looks with your dress.

6. Don't be afraid to take a picture--after all, you'll want to remember that moment when you walk out of the dressing room for the first time and everyone somehow manages to say "awwww" in unison!

5. Try to bustle the gown with a bridesmaid there with you. That way, your bridesmaid can practice for the big day.

4. Ask a lot of questions, even if they seem uber obvious, like "Will this wrinkle come out?" or "Will I be able to actually walk?"

3. Don't try it on too many times, you don't want the white to get less white.

2. Bring your mom--she'll tell it like it is.

1. Smile. Big.

Cool Honeymoon Idea

Thanks to the several honeymoon registry sites, such as HoneymoonWishes.Com and HoneyFund.Com, brides-to-be and their future hubbies can now register for anything and everything to make their honeymoon special.

From flight upgrades to drinks for two at the bar to kayaking, this is a really fun way to make your registry creative and distinct.

Hawaii, Here We Come

Nothing quite says "honeymoon" quite like Hawaii!

This bride and her groom-to-be have made it official and are heading to the island of Kauai.

Now all that separates us from rest and relaxation is our 13-hour flight to get there!

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.