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A Woman’s Right to Shoes

  • February 26, 2010 at 11:46 pm

Yes, I may have ripped that title right from Sex and the City. (Or on second thought, was it Choos? As in Jimmy? Hmmmm.)

Anyways, a more accurate (albeit longer) title of this post could have been this: Miss Trail Mix vs J.Crew in a battle of the wedding shoes.

Witness my shoe evolution (ridiculous me bought 4 different pairs of shoes for the wedding over the course of 7 months, shhhhhh! And YES, they were all from J.Crew. I have a problem, I know.

First, way back in July, I scored the Caribe Espadrilles on sale for only $40! This was when I was envisioning yellow shoes a la Mrs Joey and more casual feel for our wedding…

First+J

(Personal Photo)

They came, arrived, fit, and looked beautiful, BUT… the mule style had the back flipping and flapping a bit, which made me nervous. I decided to keep ‘em for the rehearsal dinner and move on with my search.

A quick PSA regarding J.Crew sale items and returns: I’ve found that even though their website states that all final sale items cannot be returned, I’ve had no trouble calling customer service, playing the wedding card and having them make a note of the item on my account, allowing me to return it to a store for a refund. And if that doesn’t work, take the tag off the item, play dumb in the store and at least return it for a credit. It’s better than nothin’!

Alright, we now return to our regularly-scheduled programming…

Next up, the Joley pearlized-patent peep toes (these are still available in a number of sizes and colors for between $70-$80, plus 30% off!):

J+Crew+

(Source)

Super-pretty but missing the “snazz” factor. I considered shoe clips but still wasn’t convinced. Next!

Then I found these lovely, gold Joley patent-pumps:

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(Source)

Ah hah, getting closer. I loved these and was set on them until a month later, when J.Crew came out with a peep-toe version and it was game over. I exchanged the pump for these:

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(Personal Photo)

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(Personal Photo)

Ahhhhhh, me likes sparkly things!!!

In a series of mis-communications with J.Crew, I somehow ended up with two pairs of these babies but was able to return one pair easily (which technically brings my total number of bought shoes to five…ack!).

I’ve managed to not buy any more shoes since then, although I confess that I was seriously tempted by these gold, strappy ones but managed to restrain myself. Oh, fine, just because we all like to look at shoes, I’ll show a picture of those, too…

JCrew+G

(Source)

FYI, these are also still available in a number of colors and sizes for $100 + %30 off!

I do love my beautiful crackly, gold peep-toe shoes though, and my bridesmaids are going to wear gold shoes, too. They are definitely worth lifting up the hem of my dress to show off. Game, set, match,

And so, dear friends, at the end of this drawn out saga, I think we can safely say that in the battle of Miss Trail Mix versus J.Crew’s shoe sale section, the score is Miss Trail Mix- 1, J.Crew- 0. Success!

Did you have a long, drawn-out shoe saga or was it a quick and dirty decision?


This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

Dressing My ‘Maids (Part Uno).

  • February 26, 2010 at 9:35 pm

This has been one of the harder decisions for me to make so far. It’s not that I can’t find anything; quite the opposite! I’m finding waaaay too many gorgeous dresses for my ladies to wear!

I’m a firm believer that my bridesmaids should feel beautiful (or at least comfortable!) in their dresses like I will in mine! So my search has led me to dresses that are wearable again. Most of the dresses I’ve singled out are ones that I would love for myself!! LOL

This search has been going on for well over 4 months now, on many different websites and in several different stores. I knew from the get-go that I didn’t want anything blatantly “bridesmaid-y”. And one stipulation was that the dress had to look cute with brown cowboy boots! Sound funky?? Trust me! Look for yourself…

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SEE?! I told you so. Anywhatsits…

I also set a price point (for myself) while shopping. I want to be able to accommodate EVERY girl, no matter their financial situation. AAANNNNNNDDDDD I really don’t like intruding by asking how much they can afford. SO the limit is $100 (+ or – a few dollars). And seriously?! Why are BM dresses so expensive?! Some of the ones I really liked from Jenny Yoo and Watters cost more than MY dress! Sheesh.

I looked through all the dresses at stores like Forever21, Anthropologie, and J.Crew. Since nothing there really struck my fancy, I started searching lesser known stores, mostly online. In the midst of this, I read a blog post about a store called Ruche. They have the CUTEST clothes! Seriously. And they are super affordable! Here’s what I found that could work:




The top two are really my inner hippie coming out… I absolutely adore them and would wear them on any given occasion. But I’m not sure any of my friends would like them. My sister says I have a “weird fashion sense”. Whatev.

The last dress would be totally perfect! But, there are one or two snags. First off, it’s sold out!! I could probably wait for it to come back. The second one may just be me overthinking (my favorite new pastime), but I really don’t want the brown in the dress to “clash” with the brown boots… Since everyone is picking their own, I really have no idea what shades they will be. What if it looks funky with two shades of brown??? I don’t know if anyone would even notice this other than me, but it would bug the CRAP out of me… ALL DAY.

So, what did I do? I kept looking…

Am I over-analyzing the brown-on-brown thing? Was it this hard for anyone else to find the right bridesmaid’s dress?


This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

You Can’t Resist the Artichoke

  • February 25, 2010 at 11:51 pm

Yes, more artichoke. If you commented on the previous post, do it again here.

I know some of you were doubters about my beloved artichoke—Miss Rainbow, I am talking to you. Let me quickly show you how it played out.

My sister and I Goccoed the invitations a few months ago, and I present to you, Artichoke Invitation Suite:

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Becoming a better photographer is next on my list after becoming Gocco god.

And here is the suite in pieces:

Main invitation

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Schedule of Events

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RSVP card

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While I like RSVP cards that are extremely simple, the hotel needed to know in advance how many guests would be eating which dish, or else they were going to charge us, like, a million dollars. Also, we needed a head count for the other weekend events for planning purposes.

So are they perfect? Not quite. Could I have just sent this image to an invitation designer/printer and been on my merry way? Well yes, I guess so—but despite the effort of this DIY project, for some reason it meant a lot to me to make my own invitations. Maybe because I’m not crafty in any other aspect, I thought that this would be a great opportunity to give a personal touch to a very important aspect of the wedding.

My DIY skills are now officially spent.

Were you happy with the way your invitations turned out? If you made them yourself, was it worth it?


This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

#463: Robin’s Egg Blue

  • February 24, 2010 at 8:52 am

Well, it took me long enough, but here’s today’s inspiration board! Robin’s egg blue for a sophisticate Spring wedding. Creamy white and outdoor garden green keep it fresh and sophisticated, as does using mostly white flowers for bouquets, with ribbons in blue. And for anyone who has the original issue of Martha Stewart Weddings that has the blue cake in it, you’ll be able to see that the pale blue frosting is flecked with vanilla beans, making it look just like a robin’s egg!

Mood: sophisticated spring garden
Palette: robin’s egg blue, spring green, cream

{click image to enlarge}

Top row from left: hydrangea bouquet with blue moire ribbon and pussy willow nest both from Martha Stewart, blue flower girl dress from Flora and Henri
Row 2: bouquet with lace by The Green Vase, robin’s egg blue cake from Martha Stewart Weddings
Row 3: plantation house photo by Caleb Chancey, nests under cloches from Williams-Sonoma, bay leaf chair garlands photo by Meg Smith
Row 4: Modern Day Design muscari boutonnieres photo by Jose Villa, rice packets from Martha Stewart Weddings, Marie-Chantal ring bearer outfit from Brides UK, blue and white favors from Martha Stewart Weddings

This article was originally posted onSnippet & Ink.

Pressing Decisions: Part One

  • February 22, 2010 at 7:01 pm

letter2

We’re doing letterpress invitations, a fact that I’m pretty freaking excited about. I thought letterpress was going to be way out of our price range, but thanks to my beloved Boxcar Press, and the quote they gave Ribs, I found out that letterpress was 100% doable for us. She told me to stop whining, get a quote, and, well, I did.

We’re having…

  • 80 A7 Invites
  • 80 A7 Reception Cards
  • 80 4-bar RSVP Cards
  • 240 Envelopes (Inner, Outer, RSVP)

…pressed in 1-color for around $600. My custom design, which is what I was planning to do in the first place, but again, I thought it was way out of our range.

Now, insert some neuroses.

I had a mini freak-out about the fact that I was going to be designing for the ever-exalted letterpress. That was pretty silly, given that I have such a strong graphic design background, as well as the fact that I have extensive experience with doing intaglio printmaking. I totally psyched myself out. I couldn’t think in 1-color. Everything I kept sketching out was either too elaborate, not suited for letterpress, or just not my design aesthetic. Thankfully, some of my lovely fellow bees calmed me the hell down, and I took a step back. I could do this, right?

I closed and deleted all of my failed attempts, and started with a blank slate, some of my favorite fonts, and a clear head. (Said fonts are Gotham, an old standby, and Carousel, which was referred to me by dear Ribbons, who shares my love for fabulous type). I started with the main invitations, and then moved onto the reception cards.

working

WORKING01

I, of course, wasn’t a total fan at first, but was soon reassured by e’erybody. I think I like them now, which is saying a lot for me.

For our invitation suite, I wanted to use traditional wording, for a few reasons.

  1. I’m going a slightly funkier route as far as the invitation design goes, and given that it’s a more formal wedding, I thought that it would set the correct tone for our wedding.
  2. I’m a sucker for mixing tradition into our wedding.
  3. My sanity. Less decisions to make? Yes, please.

Now, I know you’re probably thinking, “Um, black and white? I thought you loved color?!” Yes, yes I do, but that is another whole story, dears. You’ll have to stay tuned to see what wondrous things I have up my sleeve as far as color goes!

How did you decide on your invitation-printing-method? Did you freak out when beginning the design process for your invites? What do you guys think about these puppies?


This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

Board #462: Pansies and Blush

  • February 22, 2010 at 11:30 am

I don’t know about you, but Spring cannot come soon enough. But since we can’t rush nature, I thought I’d put together an inspiration board based on one of the sweetest Spring flowers – pansies. Though they’re not the best flowers for bouquets – they’re awfully delicate and tend to wilt out of water, plus they have short stems that make them tricky to bundle up – it can be done if you really have your heart set on it. They also make delightful potted decorations, or even potted individually as favors or attendant gifts (here is a beautiful example using mercury glass votives and African violets). Though this is certainly a feminine color scheme, I think the richness of the purple and the hints of sage green keep it from being overly sweet.

Mood: sweet spring
Palette: palest blush pink, rich purple, a touch of faded sage

{click image to enlarge}

Top row from left: violet and pansy nosegay by Matthew Robbins for Martha Stewart Weddings, vintage dress and African violets both from Martha Stewart
Row 2: sugared chocolate truffles and embossed scallop-edged card both from Martha Stewart Weddings
Row 3: calligraphy cake from Martha Stewart Weddings, Leone Pastilles photo from flickr, pale periwinkle bridesmaid dresses from Brides

This article was originally posted onSnippet & Ink.

Chewing the Cud + Elizabeth Messina

  • February 17, 2010 at 4:30 pm

Any day that chewing the cud cozies up with Elizabeth Messina is a really good day in my book. These two ladies are what I consider to be THE most talented artists in our industry…with Viola designing the most beautiful wedding invitations and paper goods, and Elizabeth photographing in the most romantic, ethereal, gorgeous way possible. So to see their latest adventure come into my inbox, well…swoon central.

elizabeth messina and chewing the cud

chewing the cud

The shoot was based around Viola’s new product line including those fabulous eco-chic gift wrap pieces and her adorable collection of invitations, announcements and greeting cards. I have one of the wraps and when I tell you that it’s insanely gorgeous, not to mention a super chic alternative to paper wrap, I am hardly doing it justice. The design work, the color palettes, the textures…everything is gorgeous. And for those of you that can’t hold off any longer, all of these little goodies can be found at her online shop right here.

Thank you so much to Elizabeth Messina and Viola at chewing the cud for sending us this little tidbit of inspiration. I am trying to hold back from gushing about just how great I think the two of you are, so I’ll just say this. Love, love, love both of you.

chewing the cud is a member of our Little Black Book. For more information on how members are chosen, click here.

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This article was originally posted onStyle Me Pretty.

Something Red

  • February 13, 2010 at 11:15 pm

I would give my left arm (really, left and right arms) to own these shoes in red (Thank you to the wonderful photographer, Clary Pfeiffer for the photo):

5

Source

I was on the hunt for the perfect red shoe to wear with my gown. I found a few contenders, but I wasn’t loving them:

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I just could not find anything that really fit what I was looking for. BUT, if I knew that if I could own those blue shoes in red, the search would be over.

Take a gander at these beauties:

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I am now the proud new owner of those GORGEOUS red satin Kate Spades. A wonderful friend of mine surprised me with a link to those shoes in red.

These shoes were a definite impulse buy (I mean, I was going to order them anyway). You see, I met Argyle BM Kate and her mom at my dress shop to try on THE DRESS one more time before I ordered it. While we were there, not only did I fall in love with the dress ALL OVER AGAIN, but I knew that I needed those Kate Spades. Literally the second I arrived home from the appointment, I ordered the shoes. And, lucky for me, Zappos upgraded my shipping for free.

Anyway, long story short, Zappos sent me some dude’s soccer shoes from Washington rather than those gorgeous Kate Spades. And, my Kate Spades went to some dude in Washington. Zappos could not ship them directly from WA to me; they had to go back to the warehouse. I feared someone would order them faster than a fat kid eats cake, so I re-ordered my shoes in the next size up.

And, luckily for me again, Zappos upgraded my shipping for free and actually shipped me the correct shoes this time around. I had them shipped to my office so I could immediately put them on (yes, I walked around in them in the office to show to the girls – it’s carpeted, don’t worry).

And, for your viewing pleasure:

Shoes

Are you a red shoe bride? What do your shoes look like?


This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

Nailing My Style Down, Part II: a Healthy Canvas

  • February 12, 2010 at 3:11 pm

Because I’ll be wearing a new and special piece of jewelry and otherwise covering my hands with ornate designs, I think my hands will be getting a lot more attention than they are used to. I’m addressing that in part by prettying up my nails with polish, but I want to make sure that the nails themselves are healthy. For most of my life, my nails have been pretty strong and healthy (most of the time), so a simple manicure usually does the trick. But lately they’ve become really brittle and split all the time, even when I keep them really short. I don’t want fake nails (just not my thing), so I’ve been hunting for some home solutions for brittle nails, and thought I’d share the three major tips I found to treat cracking nails with the hive.

(source)


1. HYDRATE!!! No matter where I looked, the ENTIRE INTERNET told me I have to hydrate my nails if I want them not to crack. Soak your nails in tepid water, then apply moisturizers to seal the water in. Some sites recommended petroleum jelly (Vaseline), but I like to avoid petroleum products and will probably just use my coconut lotion. Re-moisturize after using detergents, washing hands, etc.

2. Massage. I read that massaging olive or vegetable oil to the nail (on top and underneath) a few times a day also helps with both increasing moisture and increasing circulation to the nail, and that this helps strengthen nails. You can also tell your partner and see if you can help foster the misinterpretation that, perhaps, a back massage will make your nails grow better. ;) It’s worth a try, no?

3. Don’t use nail polish remover. Acetone strips nails of necessary moisture, and it’s recommended to use it no more than once per week. This will be hard for me, since my hands are always in and out of a backpack and it chips my polish a lot, causing me to redo my nails often. But I’ll give it my best shot!

Do you have any tips for strong, healthy nails to share?


This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

Brides ‘shouldn’t worry’ about choosing fashionable wedding flowers

  • February 12, 2010 at 11:53 am

For many brides, choosing a beautiful bunch of wedding flowers may be one of their priorities as they accessorise their dress.

However, according to one publication, they should not worry too much about what is in fashion and instead, should just pick what they like.

According to thestar.com, people are giving too much thought to their blooms instead of going with their instincts.

Similarly, they are also over-thinking the practicality of their flowers, especially when it comes to bouquets that may get crushed when they are greeted or hugged by relatives.

"But, like so much about planning a wedding, that is but a needless worry. Ruined by embraces? What a lovely way to go." the news provider states.

It adds that the wedding flowers should be used as a way to enhance the occasion with fragrance, as this "makes memories better than anything else".

One thing women may not struggle to decide on for their wedding is how they are going to wear their hair, as creative director at the Mark Hill Salon Jules Holland said that 1940s-style waves are very in vogue this year.

Whatever colour scheme or style of wedding you choose, be sure to find a matching flower in the hitched.co.uk wedding flowers section


This article was originally posted onHitched.