to see or not to see

...that is the question. not one i ever thought i'd ask. but here i am. asking it.

a current trend in weddings, as couples become more laid-back/non-traditional and photography becomes more important, is the "first look." this is where the bride and groom, all dolled up and ready to get married, have a few moments together before the ceremony to drink each other in, settle nerves and get excited, then spend a while taking all those couple/bridal party photos that otherwise eat into reception partyfuntime after the ceremony. the getting-pictures-out-of-the-way early part is pretty neato, but what appeals to me these days is the nerve-settling, not-crying-on-the-walk-down-the-aisle-in-front-of-250-people-like-i-will-100%-do-otherwise part.

sweet first look shots from here

(i told my grama the other day that i'm terrified of hysterically crying on my walk down the aisle, and she was like, "why on earth would you do that? i like clifton." not that kind of crying, grama.)

i mean i can't hear a sweet song on the radio or hear the word "husband" or think about my dad or see something white and not get all emotional-like these days. and i think that spending some time with captain fantastic before the ceremony might diffuse some of that emotion so that i don't act like a complete basketcase during the most important hour of my young life. i've always been a strict no-contact-till-we-meet-at-the-altar sort of gal, and the captain is that sort of guy, but now we're not so sure. (the cathedral's wedding planner told me yesterday that we'd do it alone, in the sanctuary, so the captain's first glimpse of me would still be walking down the aisle.)

thoughts? i mean first look thoughts, not why-do-you-always-connect-sentences-with-hyphens thoughts. i realize i have a problem with that.

score!

i'm rill excited right now because i just found a place online that wholesales this:
for my bouquets and various other applications. you laugh, but it was seriously hard to find.

and no, i haven't gotten my engagement ring back, and yes, i'm still sad about it. thanks for asking.

honeymoonin'

the week following our wedding, you can find us here:


belize, baby! click the photo to visit the website of victoria house, the place we'll be staying. one of the groomsmen found us some phenomenally-priced plane tickets too...that leave at 6:30 am the day after the wedding. the captain is really excited that we'll get married and leave right away. if you think otherwise, it'd probably be best to keep that information to yourself, as the tickets are already booked. maybe we'll just hit up raifords after the reception and sleep on the plane?

me at louise's bachelorette party at raiford's last may

marley (& sterling) and me (& the captain)

we'd been trying to watch that movie for months. we actually went to the theater twice and ended up leaving because it was a madhouse. we were looking forward to it because we each have a dog (one of whom shares a name with the main character), and because on a flight to seattle last spring, we bought the book at the airport and read it together. like at the same time. i learned that captain fantastic is not so fantastically fast at reading. but somehow it worked out.

here they are helping me blog (l: sterl girl, r: marley bear)

last week, it finally arrived via netflix. we proceeded to lock the dogs in the den and force them to snuggle on the couch with us, so we could clutch them and sob into the little shed-machines at the end. and boy did we. such a good movie! if you're a dog-lover, i highly recommend it. but be sure to have some tissues handy.

here they are snuggling the captain on the futon a few months ago

on a wedding-related note, guess what i'm doing today? weddin' thangs! perhaps i'll have another exciting progress report for you tomorrow. until then, here's what we accomplished this week:

*bought a tux for captain fantastic, signed up the groomsmen for rentals
*booked honeymoon room and flight (more on that later)
*sorted out the ring conundrum

thank yall for your input on the rings! you verified the little voice in my head that kept nagging me about wearing the band alone. we went back to the jeweler yesterday and decided to simply re-size the engagement ring and order a new wedding band, kinda like this one:
i admit a smidge of impatience with google recently...none of these rings actually look like my rings, just kinda similar. whatev. anyway, many thanks! and many thanks to richard the jeweler, who promised to get my engagement ring back to me as soon as possible :)

lord of the rings

golem here is without her precious. boo.

captain fantastic and i went to the jeweler's yesterday to pick out his wedding band and to discuss options to modify the band that came with my engagement ring. after deciding what to do and determining that my engagement ring needed to be re-sized so it wouldn't fly off my hand amidst wild gesticulation, i had to surrender the precious to the jeweler...for THREE WEEKS. are you kidding me? i woke up this morning ringless, feeling like this whole getting-married thing was just a big, wonderful dream. sigh.

now. i realize that the ring is just a symbol. i am still less than 2 months away (!) from marrying the most wonderful guy on the planet. we love each other, and that's what matters. but i miss my symbol! it's pretty and spahhhkly and broadcasts my joy to the world. it also verifies that i am, in fact, not 14 years old. i appreciate that part. a lot.

i digress. i'm unsure of the changes that the jeweler suggested yesterday, and i'd like some input. the original set-up looks vaguely this:
(except the bands are thinner, there are round diamonds set in it on the outsides of the four baguettes, and the center diamond is in a 4-prong setting that makes it look kinda square...but this was the that closest google search offered)

i greatly dislike how the four baguettes line up when the rings are together. i want to replace the two baguettes on the wedding band with four round diamonds. then maybe if i'm real good, the captain might gift me a matching band for a ring guard on a future anniversary. you follow?

issue #2 is that the engagement diamond's setting is larger, so the two bands don't lie flush. solutions include a) "jogging" the band out so it curves around the diamond b) raising the main diamond's setting up so the band fits under it c) removing those two diamonds in the center so that there is a blank spot that will slide under the main diamond's setting. still with me? i don't like "jogging" bands and fear that raising the diamond would cause me to smack it on things even more than i already do, so we decided on option c. the jeweler will remove the two diamonds in the center and replace each baguette with two round diamonds, so the band will have three round diamonds on either side of a blank spot. i tried to draw a picture for you, but photoshop is my archfrigginnemesis, so you'll just have to close your eyes and imagine. is this a good idea? will i regret that the band looks funny by itself? should we have gone with raising the engagement diamond? am i overthinking this?

i plan to wear these rings for the rest of my life, so i'd like to be happy with them. suggestions?

sit down

are you seated? ok good. because you won't believe this. i've actually worked on some wedding projects! gasp! i know.

firstly, the topiaries. on last weekend's super-productive wedding supply shopping spree, mom and i came across an assortment of these babies in various sizes for 50% off:
lovely faux ivy right? notsomuch. but wait, after a little snip-snip...
the perfect blank canvas for some hot moss action. like so:
a bunch of pins and some hot glue later, we have this:
the pink ribbon is for effect...the real deal will be white, and the small speckly green pot will be placed inside a slightly larger terra cotta pot. it ended up saving time and money to get the pre-assembled topiaries instead of a bunch of styrofoam balls and sticks and pots and moss and etcetera and so forth. so there you have it. project topiary = success.

here's a little wedding vignette we assembled, for kicks and giggles:
note the topiary, monogram, azaela blooms, candle and assortment of stones. disregard plastic bags, kitchen cabinets, blue gingham wallpaper and anderson family calendar.

BUT WAIT! I'M NOT FINISHED! behold what else i've accomplished!
i made these by tracing profile pictures on my computer, then coloring them black. still have some tweaking to do, but we're finally making some progress here people. you likey?

and the winner is...

good call, matron of honor!

this:

pays homage to this:
the first annual chug-n-run, where captain fantastic and i met. it all started with one man's crazy dream to run a four-mile loop around midtown, stopping at various bars along the way for a drink. as you can see, we took it upon ourselves to dress for the occasion (along with our dear, sketchy friend) in sweatbands and aviators (mine are missing in this picture, as unlike gaines, the captain and corey hart, i do not wear my sunglasses at night). it was obviously meant to be.

ALERT THE MEDIA

yaaaaaaaaay!!! engagement pictures are posted!!! yaaaaaaaaaay!!! yaaaaaaaaay!!! ...... yaaaaaaaaay!!!

you may think the exclamation points are excessive, but that's just because you haven't looked at the pictures yet.

click here to visit j. malahy photography and see the whole shebang. and just go ahead and book josh now for your wedding. finding the groom can wait.

(10 points to the first person to get the sweatband + aviator reference)

pretty in pink

look what one of my fav wedding blogs posted today that i saw forever ago on martha before picking the bridesmaid dresses and totally forgot about until just now but HOW PERFECT:
like that cutie on your left? i sure hope so, because you'll be wearing it in june, ladies. well, if you're one of my exorbitant number of bridesmaids you will. otherwise you're free to wear what you will. just keep it classy, this is a family show.

this is about a zillion times better than ms. roboto on the simple silhouettes website, fo sho. so are we excited? i can't heeeear yoooooou. i said ARE WE EXCITED?!

72 days. booyah.

vogue

engagement shoot = huge success! also, the best time ever. and we're even more obsessed with our photographer. josh was extremely accommodating to my enthusiastic ideas and ridiculous requests, and it was great to get used to being photographed while making out in public. fear not; i shall be stalking his blog every couple of seconds until our shots are posted, at which point i will alert the media. after i finish crying at how awesome they are, because i know they will be. (no pressure)

here's a little taste of things to come, courtesy of a camping trip last october:
that's right. one of my ridiculous requests involved using the bago as a prop. magnificent.

what you say?

what was that, theknot.com? it's only 78 days until the wedding? and i still have 100 unchecked items on my checklist? oh. well then, i suppose i have some work to do. don't worry though; the eleventh hour is my time to shine. i'll probably save most of my intricate diy items for june, because that's how i roll. in attempt to spark some miracle change in personality, i have been keeping an extensive to-do list. for your reading pleasure, here are the things on my to-do list, a little what-to-expect-at-my-wedding recap, if you will:

*invitations. proofs have been finalized and envelopes are in my car. we just have to place the final order and deliver the envelopes, along with the guest list (don't even get me started on the guest list), to the calligrapher. then we just stuff and stamp. thisclose to crossing it off the list.
*monogram. i need to create it, decide what items i want to grace with it and grace them. also make something like this for the doors at the country club:

*silhouettes. captain fantastic will shed the seasonal beard after the engagement pictures this weekend, at which point i need to have a good hair day and take the pictures to make the silhouettes. then decide how to use them.
*flowergirl dresses. make a decision already.
*decorations. we have thoroughly scoured the reception venue, laid out the floor plan and decided on the decorative basics (star lanterns, candles in vases with stones, moss topiaries, hot pink azaleas). i need to accumulate samples of each, pick exact items i want, purchase and/or borrow said items. collect childhood photos of me (easy) and the captain (hard) for display.
*me. figure out hair and makeup. i know what i want, just need to decide who'll do it and how. no pictures because it's a surpriiiiiiiiiise. shhh.

*passport. nothing irks me more at this moment than the fact that my passport's 10-year lifespan expires 2 months before my honeymoon. the forms are filled out, the heinous pictures are prepared, i just have to send it. but like, how lame that i'll need a new one with a new name two months later. exasperation.

*the final and most difficult to accomplish category = things that involve the groom. tuxedos. groomsmen gifts. wedding bands. it's pretty ridiculous how many times these items have been #1 on the saturday to-do list and have been replaced by more pressing activities like "go fly-fishing" and "host fraternity-style cookout." i digress.
i hope to cross some of this off over the weekend. all you office fans out there, beer me strength.