Southern hospitality

I came home today to find a beautiful floral arrangement from the owners of the store where I bought my wedding dress ( Warren Barron Bridal in Highland park)!  What a sweet gesture.  Not only do they carry the most beautiful designer dresses in Dallas, and have the best customer service but now they also send me flowers to say thank you? Amazing. There is no better place to buy a wedding dress in Dallas, period! See picture below, and came with the sweetest card!

Card reads "Thank you so much for allowing us to be a part of such an exciting time in your life. We are thrilled that you found such a fabulous dress. You're going to beautiful on your wedding day! Love Cecilia & Haley

Bridesmaid Luncheon

God has blessed me with amazing family and dear friends so I wanted to do something special to show them how much I love and appreciate them.  I decided to host a bridesmaid luncheon over memorial day weekend in Dallas. I know what your thinking, wait.. isn't the bridesmaid luncheon supposed to be the week of the wedding?  Yes, it is. I know what all the books say.. but I honestly don't care.  It is my wedding so I can do whatever I want.  I decided I wanted to host an event where I could formally ask my bridesmaids to be in my wedding.  I decided to take them to Bonnie Ruth's a great french place in Frisco.  They have an amazing brunch with unlimited mimosas (perfect for my group of friends).

My mom, Nancy and bridesmaids!

Here are the invites I sent each girl...
Inside it says..
"In honor of you who will stand by my side
You are helping to make me a happy bride
I would like to thank you in my own way
Please join me for lunch on this special day"

I wanted to give my bridesmaids something formal asking them to be my bridesmaids. After months of reading and planning, I decided to take then to lunch and give them a small gift with a personalized card formally asking them to be in my wedding. Below are some pictures!

Made by ExQuisiteInvitation on etsy.com


For the little ones in the wedding...

After our lunch we all went dress shopping..  It was a great weekend and I am so blessed to have such amazing girls by my side.  Here are a few of my favorite pics..

Bride with her bridesmaids

My flowergirl, loving my bridal shoes

XOXO,
 The Bride

An afternoon with Vera..

The last few months have flown by.. I honestly don't know where the time has gone.  I have been really busy working on my dissertation and finishing up my final classes for my doctorate, which has left little to no time for wedding planning.

 However, I did accomplish one BIG check of my checklist and that is MY WEDDING DRESS.  Let's be clear, I have been searching for the perfect dress for years ( way before I was actually engaged).  I tore out hundreds of dress and thought I had found "the one" about five times.  After becoming engaged, I waited a while before I went dress shopping.  There were a few reasons for this.. First, I wanted specific people to be able to come with me. It was really important to have my closest friends there to help me pick out the perfect dress.  Next, I was overwhelmed with emotions.  I felt really excited about the process, but started to feel nervous that I wouldn't find anything that came close to my expectations ( I mean I have been dreaming of "the dress" since I was like 3 years old).  As the whole process became real to me, I started to feel really worried and had a ton of anxiety about the whole process. What if I don't find anything I like? I am not sure how normal that is, I think most brides are just really excited.  In fact, the first time I went dress shopping I required a few mimosas to calm down. Lucky for me, I had my dearest friends by my side and they were awesome at calming me down!

Two of my bridesmaids and my little flowergirl

Once I arrived at Warren Barron Bridal in Highland Park, my entire attitude changed. The dresses in that store are amazing ( if you are getting married go there, they are so awesome) and they are so friendly.  I had a very specific idea of what I wanted and actually thought I knew which Vera Wang dress was "my dress."  To my amazement, when I tried on that dress, I hated it.  I think I almost cried at that point because I remember thinking "great, now what" ( remember I had spent years looking at dresses).  Next thing I knew the consultant pulled a fabulous dress that she said was going to my dress.  I was doubtful, until I put it on.  The moment I saw it, I knew it was "the one."  I walked out of the fitting room to get my girls approval, and my matron of honor had tears in her eyes. I was very practical about the whole thing, at that point I knew the search was over! I didn't cry, like I thought I would.. which is odd considering I cry watching "say yes to the dress" when they girls find their dress. It was a perfect day, followed by a perfect bridesmaid weekend!!!

Celebrating finding "the dress"

Planning the wedding of your dreams- the search for the perfect vendors.

I am aware that not every bride has the luxury of planning her wedding for years like I had.  Sometimes you fall in love in world wind romance and next thing you know you are left to plan your dream wedding with no idea where to begin!  So here are some things I have learned during my 4 year wedding planning journey.
1) Collect lots of bridal magazines.
Listen I understand that maybe you feel a little silly adding "Brides" to your groceries at checkout, but trust me it pays off.  I remember several times checking out with my bridal magazine only to have the cashier say " how congratulations, when are you getting married?"  Then comes that odd moment where I had to say " Oh, I am not engaged yet" this was almost always followed by a weird facial expression from the cashier and a quick change in subject.  What I find ironic about this is that since I have been engaged I have yet to have anyone ask me when I am getting married when I buy Bridal magazines.. sometimes I just want to yell out " I am engaged and getting married, just so you know" but I resist that impulse.  Okay so back to why you should collect magazines.  First it really helps you begin to form your "wedding style." Much like your personality, your wedding style will start to take form as you see ideas you both like and hate.  I would cut out ideas I liked as well as ideas I disliked.  I wanted to be able to show potential vendors what I didn't want my wedding to look like as well as what my dream wedding would look like... It helps you start to paint the picture you already see in your head so others can bring your vision to life!!  After you cut out ideas, there are several ways you can do it from there.  Some of my friends have made "wedding inspiration boards" where they began posting things they loved.  Others just simply cut them out, and put them in a folder.  Personally, I preferred to make a binder where I could organize my ideas by specific category.  This worked well for me, but you have to find your own style.  After you are done with the magazines, donate them to another soon-to-be bride while some things may go out of style, many things remain the same and will be able to give the newly engaged girl a good starting point. ( I will be passing all mine down to my younger sister, who just recently got engaged and will be getting married six months after me)

2) Research, Research, Research- google is your best friend. Use the internet to your full advantage.  Start googling weddings in your area.  I started by look at photographers blogs ( note, photographers work will show the entire wedding and list all the vendors).  I browsed through hundreds of photographers blogs in the city I knew I would marry in.  I started to become familiar with the local vendors.  I got to the point where I could look at a wedding and know who the vendors were before reading it at the bottom of the blog.  This does a few things. First, it helps you see what is out there.  You will begin to see work you like and things you don't like.  You get to see what vendors commonly work together which can give you some hints to the price of the wedding etc.  This was a great starting point for me.  From the blog world I quickly moved into the entire internet by finding each vendors website and digging deeper.  At this point here are some tips I found helpful.
-Start by browsing the vendors website. Look at their portfolio, read the feedback left by clients, look at the general flow and professionalism of their website. I can't tell you how many times I have discarded a vendor just by their website. I mean come on, you are a videographer but you have no videography on your website??  Yeah, I am passing on that.  Vendors know often their website is the first ( and sometimes only) thing clients see, therefore how much energy they put into their website says a great deal to me. After all, this will be the same energy they are putting into your special day.
-Join theKnot.com.  Once a member, join a local community board.  Read what local brides to be are saying about vendors.  Most of the time this will be your greatest source of information.  You will be able to read reviews of brides who have used the vendor you are researching in the past and talk to them about their thoughts and concerns.  The girls are honest and helpful, in my experience at least.  Also many of them have been to their fair share of weddings and can help give you ideas maybe you hadn't thought of.

-Become a "social butterfly" Once you find vendors you think you might be interested in, add them on facebook, twitter etc..  The advantage here is you will get to see their real work.  You will get to read what others say about them, their work ethic, their talent etc.  One of the big things I leaned here was I got to see how long their turn around is.  For example, I was highly interested in a videographer ( can you tell I am on the hunt for a videographer right now?) however as I began to follow their work I noticed they were taking 8-9 months to complete the edited wedding videos.  I knew that was not what I wanted.  One of my favorite things about social networking is you can also kinda get to know your vendor.  For me it's important that my vendors value marriage, are loyal and trustworthy people.  I also love being able to read what Brides, grooms, mother of the brides and wedding guests say about the wedding.. what did they rave about?  Facebook is a great way to do that!
3) Pull it all together. Once you have a few possible vendors in each category and you have read every bridal magazine since 2000, then you are ready to start pulling all your dreams together.
-Make/buy a Wedding binder.  Remember the episode of "Friends" where monica is planning her wedding and pulls out this big, decorated, organized binder?  Yeah, thats the idea you are going for here.   In the process of planning my wedding I have now had 4, yes 4 wedding binders.  Let me share my rationale.  My first binder was my PLAN A.  This was my dream wedding, no matter what the cost.  It is the princess marrying the prince, all the bless and red carpet.  My second was my PLAN B.  This was a little more conservative in budget, some fancy some plain jane.  My third was my PLAN C.  This is budget friendly, for us it was eloping to Paris, France!!  And now, my fourth is my actual wedding I am planning now.  I combined things from each of my three binders into one, kinda like the greatest hits of wedding stuff to me.  I had my fourth binder personalized with my name on it because I knew once I got engaged, this baby would be going with me everywhere!  It has really been a life saver.  Whenever I book a new vendor, I make sure I get their card and add it in my binder ( as well as my iphone of course). My binder is always up to date, and had pictures all over it of inspiration.. so someone could look at it as see my wedding vision.

Love the tabs!

- Buy a good wedding planning book.   While I am not here to endorse any particular wedding planning book, I will tell you I have bought several and this is by far my favorite.  " The Wedding Book- The big book for your big Day" by Mindy Weiss.  You may know Mindy, she is the go to wedding planner for all the celebrities.  Let's just say if anyone knows wedding, it's Mindy Weiss.  Her book walks you step by step through the wedding planning process.  Give you tips, timelines, ideas.. Fabulous book!  A must have for any bride.

How adorable is this? "Talk to mom" 

Tips:
-If possible start planning early. I was able to do all my research on vendors before I was even engaged.  This was the biggest gift I could have given myself.. I didn't know it at the time, but once you get engaged it is like time speeds up really fast, days fly by, and before you know it you are months away from your wedding.  I was able ( using tips above) to narrow down my vendor search to two in each category, with an additional list of "back ups" just in case.  This way once I was engaged I knew it was a matter of making a few calls. I already knew my vendors checked out and the type of work they would produce.  My fiance commented multiple times how thankful he was that we only had to go look at once reception venue.  He was impressed that I had a Plan A, B and C.  Know what you want a head of time, trust me you will thank me later!!
-Remember the wedding is about you and your man, NOT everyone else. I think most of the time family means well, but let's be honest they can stick their nose where it doesn't belong.  Your wedding is about the two of you spending your life together.  Do what you want.  Don't look back on your wedding a wish you would have listened to your gut on something, listen now!  Surround yourself with people who love you and want you happy, not those who criticize your every choice.
-Take care of yourself.   Mentally and physically.  Weddings are stressful, make sure you are taking time for you!  Sometimes that means you need to stop doing wedding stuff and sleep, take a bubble bath, go for a long walk.. whatever you need to do to keep yourself together.  DO IT!  This should be the happiest time of your life, so if you allow outside forces to upset you, you will have a hard time enjoying this process.
-Remember no one is as into your wedding as you are.  This was a hard thing for me to fully understand, but no one cares about your wedding as much as you do.  As the bride you care about every detail and its sometimes hard to understand why your friend doesn't care if you have an ivory runner with gold trim or a gold runner with white trim.  Remember it is your day, so while their advice is helpful its really up to you.  Don't be upset if they don't want to talk about wedding stuff every time you are together.  And keep in mind this is even more the case with your already married friends.  Once their wedding is said and done, they aren't near as into talking wedding anymore.. just the fact!  Doesn't mean they don't love you, they are just past that stage in their lives.  Find people who do care and will listen as you agonize over the details.  Sometimes that is found in a mother, or a sister.  Or reach out to the brides on theKnot.com, many of them are going through the very same thing.

- Savor every moment. More than anything, remember this time in your life will pass with time.. and you will miss it.  Savor the planning, the late night researching, the endless girl chats about your dress, the shopping dates with your mom.. cherish it!!  I know I sure am!!

I get giddy for shoes and wedding photos!

Every girl dreams of her wedding, the dress, all the details.. However, most girls didn't look for a top notch photographer for two years before her wedding.  Welcome to my world.  For me, a photographer is the most important vendor. Pictures are what allow you to tell your story over and over again on a daily basis when the wedding is over.  I love pictures that tell a story.  I have been to so many weddings that were beautiful with so many fine details that deserved to be captured only to see the couples wedding pictures and frown. No picture of the table scape, forget the invites, no pictures of the reactions of the guest during the couples first dance.

You can ask anyone, I am crazy in love with wedding pictures.  Every now and then on my search for a wedding photographer, I would find someone I thought I liked.  I would of course, follow their work only to later be disappointed by one of their weddings.  There are a ton of people who call themselves photographers out there, so brides beware!!  Just because you have a camera and think you know how to use photoshop does NOT mean you have talent.  Then there are those who have talent, know they have talent, and while their pictures look pretty awesome, they don't always listen to what their clients want..so the result is just okay.

Many of you know, my sister is a photographer.  She is wonderful, pure talent... sometimes she is so good she doesn't even see it. She will be taking some of our engagement pictures, which I can't wait for but when it comes to my wedding day I need her to be my sister.  She grounds me and keeps me focused, which will be much needed on my wedding day ( I also want her in wedding pictures).   

For my wedding I was looking for someone with pure talent, education specifically in photography, someone who is fun and will listen to what I see for my wedding pictures.  For two years, I have been watching Edmonson upload wedding after wedding and every time I look at their pictures I feel giddy. You know that feeling you get when you see a fabulous pair of shoes in the window? Yeah, just like that.  I knew early on, they were the only choice for me when it came to my wedding pictures, to the point I would have changed my wedding date if I had to so I could have them photograph my wedding. This week we booked them as our photographer and I couldn't be happier. They are so nice and fun!  Our pictures are going to be amazing!!  Prepare yourself. 

http://www.edmonsonweddings.com/    Photo Credit: David & Luke Edmonson ( all photos below)

VEGAS BABY

So in case you didn't know I have the best friend in the world, who happens to be my matron of honor!!  Last weekend I was lucky enough to be able to take a few days off from studying to head down to Houston to see her and her adorable little family!  It had actually been a few months since I had since her so it was a real treat for both of us.  Also, I hadn't been able to show her my RING yet so that was an added plus.  Of course we talked wedding stuff, like we always do.. and she told me about some planning she had been doing.  VEGAS baby!  I am so excited for my bachelorette party!!  She is planning everything down to the smallest detail, it's sure to be an amazing weekend.  I have been blessed in my life to have amazing girlfriends and I can't wait for us all to take a weekend off our crazy busy lives to be together and celebrate life, love and wonderful friendships.  So now when I lay down to sleep, I am dreaming of Vegas!!  Give it a few days, I am sure the wedding dreams will come back to me soon..

Let them eat CAKE!

I think one of the high points of being a guest at a wedding is getting to eat the wonderful wedding cake.  For us girls, we enjoy other things about weddings of course. I know I have never been to a wedding where I didn't cry during the ceremony. To be perfectly honest, I cry even when I watch weddings on TV, even in a move when I know it's not real.  Yeah, I am a big sap. So I think most brides have a very clear idea of their dream wedding cake, I do not.  I have never really cared much about the wedding cake.  Of course I care how it tastes... and want it to look nice, but I am not one of those brides who has a dream cake.  I feel like I have so many other things, like my designer shoes, that I dream about when I think of our wedding rather than the cake.  Here is what I do know. I am very traditional about most things, like getting married in a church, music, my dress being white etc.. but when it comes to cake I think we will mix things up a bit.  We hate white cake, boring.  We love chocolate for sure.  So while I am not sure what flavor we will pick I can promise you it won't be white wedding cake.  The last few days I have been working on a wedding budget ( thanks Dad) and in the process looking up vendors.  I did find a cake that I think is rather fabulous.  I like this look, what do you think? ( Minus the pink of course)

Wedding Traditions

Here are some fun facts about the history of wedding traditions!

• Rain on your wedding day is actually considered good luck, according to Hindu tradition. So if it rains, pray it pours!  One can never have too much luck.
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• Middle Eastern brides paint henna on their hands and feet.  This ornate art is believed to protect the bride from the evil.
•  In the US, most brides have four bridesmaids, including the maid of honor.
• Legend says single women will dream of their future husbands if they sleep with a slice of the groom’s cake under their pillows.   So single gals- ask for a slice to go!
•  Viva Las Vegas!  If Elvis and neon lights are the keys to your dream wedding, don’t plan your Vegas “I Do’s” on Valentine’s Day or New Year’s Day.  These two holidays are the two busiest days for weddings in Las Vegas.
• A traditional Jewish wedding ceremony takes place under a chupah, which symbolizes that the bride and groom are creating a home together.  This tradition stems from the Biblical wedding of Abraham and Sarah.
• Hello sunshine! In Ireland, a sunny wedding day means good luck for the couple.
•  Engagement and wedding rings are worn on the fourth finger of the left hand because it was once thought that a vein in that finger led directly to the heart.  Awww!
• Why something old, something new, something barrowed, something blue?  Something old is meant to represent and link the bride with her family and their past. Something new is good luck and represents success and the bride’s hopes for a bright future in her new role as a wife. The wedding gown is often chosen as the “new”.  Something borrowed represents to the bride that friends and family will be there for her not only on her special day, but also in the future when help is needed.  Something blue refers back to ancient times.  Blue was a symbol of faithfulness, purity and loyalty.
•  The term “best man” dates back to the times when Scotsmen kidnapped their brides to be. The friend of the groom who had excelled at the abduction was given the title “best man”.

Bridal Shows

Has anyone ever been to a bridal show? Well, I was super excited to attend one this past weekend.  I had never been to one but figured this was a great place to jump start my planning, see great local vendors, and win some free stuff! After all one of my bridesmaids won a free photo booth for her wedding by attending one, so I was sold.  So I called my friend Tiffany, who is fabulous and just as in love with weddings as I am, and off we went.  If I grading this bridal show like I grade graduate students papers all week long, this show would get a C-.
Here is what I did like: You got to see local vendors (we will talk about this in a moment), I was there with great company ( tiffany made me laugh really hard) and there was WINE!! Oh and I got some cute pink stuff, thanks to Tiff's catching skills!

Dislikes:  First of all we walk in and there are no signs to direct us to where the bridal show actually is. Yes, I knew I was in the correct hotel but which ball room is this thing in?  Lucky for us, Tiff and I are pretty smart and we were able to figure it out.  We walk in, speed past everyone ( I pre-registred because thats how we roll) and I enter for all the free drawings.  Of course they didn't tell you then that to win anything you had to say until 4:00pm so a ton of brides left.  We walk into a rather small ballroom ( this is Dallas, I thought we went BIG on everything?) and start walking around to the vendors.  Right away I looked at Tiff and said "WTF."  I kinda felt like I was back in the 90's looking at some of the vendor displays.  Everything looked cheap, basically it was a room full of all my dislikes posted in a previous blog..  Okay people, disclaimer... I am all about saving money for your wedding.  It is a little crazy to spend 50K on your grand affair, I get that however just because you are saving money doesn't mean your wedding has to look cheap. Trust me you can have a very nice wedding on a small budget.  One of my favorite parts of the entire day was when I would walk up and ask these vendors questions, here is a recap for ya.  Vendor: " Hi, how are you."  me " great how are you."  Vendor: " we have this beautiful old farm venue ( points at picture of something that sort of looks like a barn, maybe)"  me: " Oh, ok."  Vendor " do you have a location booked yet?"  Me: " Yes we have booked at the Adolphus Hotel, downtown in the French Room. Vendor: " oh, wow okay have a nice day." Me " you too."
The first time this happened, I looked at my friend, who was laughing really hard.  I asked her "what the heck was that"  I think you had to be there to see their faces.. this trend continued a dozen times.  When I asked other vendors like DJs " Have you ever done a wedding at the Adolphus before, I am concerned about the acoustics in the room" few of them had.  I think I realized a few things about Bridal shows, or at least this bridal show.  1) It all depends on your perspective, we were there to have fun so we had fun.. laughing at really aggressive, odd, bad driving brides because we didn't take this all too seriously. While other people were clearly there to  "book their entire wedding in one afternoon."  2) you can win some free stuff. At this show they didn't give away a photobooth ( the thing I wanted) but they did give a way a free honeymoon!!!  Which I would have taken with open arms, although we still would be going to Italy on our real honeymoon and using that one for something else ( so I am glad someone who needed it more than I do got it).  3) I think Bridal shows target a specific type of bride.  I just don't think I am her, that's all I think I need to say!!
So after we walked around Tiffany and I got our glasses of wine and sat front row for their Bridal Fashion Show.  Now before you start picturing New York Fashion week, just wait... these girls weren't real models ( although they thought they were) and the dresses were....well...how do I say this? Not my style at all.

Overall, it was a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon which would otherwise be used to study or write reports.  I had such a wonderful time with Tiffany and I am so thankful she agreed to go with me.  I know few people in the world who think like I do about weddings and she is one of them, so we made a perfect match!!

bridesmaid dresses

Needless to say, I have been looking at bridesmaids dresses since the Spring 2009 lines came out ( told you I have been planning this wedding for a long time).  Those of you who know me know how much I really hate bridesmaid dresses.  The whole concept to me is silly... "Hi, I am the bride so I would like for you to go out and buy yourself this ugly, $500 dress that you will surely never wear again." I have been a bridesmaid in so many weddings I have lost count. I have worn some fabulous dresses, ones that I will still never wear again, and I have worn some very ugly dresses that I wouldn't have ever put on my body if it wasn't for the bride "thinking the dress was perfect." I remember one dress in particular which some of us actually burned ( yes it was that bad).  And what makes this whole situation worse was I ( as the bridesmaid) had to actually pay for that dress I hated!  So while I was the bridesmaid all these years I never said this but now as the bride I can say it... No, if I as the bride expect my bridesmaids to all dress alike then I need to pay for the dresses, period.  And why would I want them wearing something they didn't love? Or why would I want to pay $500 for a dress that they will clearly never wear again? Having said all this, as I look at the new spring 2011 bridesmaid collections my heart seems to belong to Jenny Yoo.

 So as I add up the cost of these dresses for my six beautiful bridesmaids I hear my dad saying "budget, budget, budget" ( which we have already blown by the way). My father is another post. He is so practical. He always says things to me like "think about where you are spending your money."  If it was up to me, I would clearly have all things fabulous without even thinking of the price. However, I am on a budget for this wedding so I do have to think about where I spend my money!
So last night, after playing in the sand with kids for five hours doing therapy, I come home and start doing some wedding stuff while BCS is doing baseball stuff.  I decide to start looking at new arrivals from all the new collections for Spring 2011 to get a jump start on outfits for engagement pictures.  I quickly go to a site I have used a few times to get fabulous designer dresses.  I instantly had an idea....Rent the Runway (Renttherunway.com) has just launched a bridesmaid collection. Basically, you rent designer dresses for a fraction of the cost.  We are talking badgley mischka, catherine malandrino, Nicole Miller, Robert Rodriguez and so many others!! Dresses that are normally over $1,000 rent for $75!
What I love about this idea:
-my girls get to wear a fab designer gown, within my price range
-I can spend the money on something else ( like a fab honeymoon photoshoot in Italy)
-I get my own personal stylist to help me find the perfect dresses for the girls!
-you can reserve the dresses up to six months in advance
-You get a free in home fitting, where the dresses are sent, you decide on your size ( they send multiple sizes) then you send them back.. all I pay is shipping!
-Since it's for a wedding, we get an 8 day rental.
Whats not to love?  Here are some dresses I love.  What do you think?

Bibhu Mohapatra 

Diane Von Frstenberg

The Adolphus Hotel, a Dallas classic

 For those of you who don't know I have been mildly crazy about this hotel since moving to Dallas 4 years ago to start graduate school.  Brett Colby and I were walking downtown one afternoon and I saw this hotel and said " wow look how pretty that is" around that time a bride all dressed in white walked out from the tall glass doors and I thought to myself  how neat it would be to be married there.  A few years later, I was placed at a practicum site that was actually attached to the hotel.  On a particularly bad day ( after seeing a very difficult client) I decided to take a walk, I ended up at the Adolphus hotel.. sitting in the lobby.  I think I must have sat there for almost an hour, thinking and crying.  I kept thinking if I had what it took to finish graduate school, will I be an effective psychologist etc..  Right about when I was a complete mess and little old women walked up to me.  She was the vision of an older Dallas women.  Adorned in pearls and big texas hair.  She sat down next to me and asked if I was okay.  I told her I was, just had a bad day.  She told me she had married her husband 30 years ago in this hotel.  She beamed up when telling me their love story.  She said "there will be good days and bad, and in the end all there is is LOVE."  A few minutes later, her husband came down, took her by the hand and off they went.  I remember praying in that moment that I would always have a love like that, one that stood the test of time!
So there ya go, thats why I love this hotel.. classic, traditional, lovely. Now for all you history buffs here is more information on this fabulous place where I will become Mrs. Stephens!
This baroque masterpiece has been a legend among America's historic hotels since 1912, when Missouri beer baron Adolphus Busch was approached by city founders to erect a luxury palace worthy of the Lone Star State and one of his most lucrative markets. Fame, fortune, and flamboyance came together in 21 stories of unabashed beaux arts splendor that critics have called “the most beautiful building west of Venice.” Throughout its history, luminaries such as Babe Ruth, the Vanderbilts, U2, Oscar de la Renta, Donald Trump, and Queen Elizabeth II have chosen The Adolphus as their Dallas pied-a-terre. Add a touch of European charm and sophistication to your own Lone Star visit. You will feel right at home at The Adolphus, where magnificent architecture, first-class service and a dynamic downtown location set the stage for a truly regal experience.

some midnight inspiration

I am awake, when I should be studying for one of the biggest tests of my doctoral life.  Go figure. Anyway, all I can think about is wedding stuff. I dream about it, wake up, write down ideas, I basically am eating, thinking, breathing weddings right now!  Those of you who know me know that I have been planning this wedding, rather not secretly, for like 2 years!  My ideas have changed so many times.  I went from wanting an all pink wedding ( even me wearing a pink gown) to a black and white classic theme to now... classic champagne, gold and ivory!  I guess my style has evolved.  I was asked this week to describe our wedding, in a heart beat I said " Oh classic, traditional, with trendy infusion."  Who am I?
Oh I like this too....

I am not sure where my obsession with baby's breath came from.  Hydrangeas have always been my first love, and will for sure be my bridal flowers.  Maybe this too shall pass?  Who knows.. Tonight, at midnight on a sunday before the week of my doctoral comprehensive exams that I must pass.. I like this. Night all, I shall dream of ways to make lovely baby's breath centerpieces.

Snow days= wedding planning!!

We have a meeting with our first venue Feb 15th.  I have dreamed about having my reception at this hotel since I moved to Dallas four years ago!  I wish we didn't have to wait two weeks for an appointment but I am going out of the country tomorrow for a week with my mom and sisters!  Ready for some sunshine.. Dallas has seen record lows this week, 5 snow days in a row!!  Brett and I were up late last night watching movies and at 4am we noticed it had snowed more than we thought outside.  So naturally, we went out side to play in it!!  I have enjoyed this week being snowed in with him.  It's nice sometimes to just shut the world out.  We enjoyed good conversation and of course some wedding planning.  He told me last night he likes it when I start doing "wedding stuff" because that means he can do "baseball card stuff."  Did I mention he has an obsession with everything baseball?  Yep that's my man!

things I like and don't...

I like..
- white and gold, its classic and traditional
-traditional vows, the words my parents said to eachother 30 years ago still ring true
-big dresses, think Sex in the city!
-designer shoes, need I say more?
-french inspirations
-classic, timeless styles
- lace on invitations

I don't like...

-kids screaming during the ceremony

-animals as part of wedding party, trust me I love my dog more than most and Im still not a fan!

-white table cloths yucky.

-fake flowers

-pick ups on wedding gowns

-cheap fabric

-matchy matchy hair for bridesmaids 

-hearts all over the place 

welcome to our wedding blog

I, the bride, am not much of a blogger.  As a doctoral student the last thing I really want to do is to write when I am done writing for the day. However, it's really important to me to be able to look back on the whole wedding planning experience and be able to remember all the small details during this planning process.  When I was little I would spend hours writing in my pretty pink journals about my days. I want to be able to savor these next few months of wedding planning and have something to look back on. Some of the best advice I have been given from my married friends is to cherish every moment because it goes by so fast.. so my hope is that this blog will help me do that and give me a journal to always look back on!

The bride