Pretty picture for the paper!

McDorman Photography

Rehearsal Dinner

Our rehearsal dinner was held at Foothills Brewing, Winston- Salem's local brewery. It was the perfect setting for a relaxed dinner where people could mingle and meet each other. We had the entire upstairs balcony to ourselves where they set up one long table for 40 people. Mom and brought candles and the centerpieces that I made with vintage blue jars I bought from crazy Ebay lady. In all the hub-bub I didn't get a good picture of them, but here you can see one in the background. I thought they turned out really cute.



I didn't get a picture of the cupcakes with the banners in them, because everyone ate them up so quickly! They were seriously the BEST cupcakes, ever. I highly recommend Mrs. Pumpkins Bakery in Winston. I wish I had asked them to do the wedding cake. (The crazy cake lady story is coming, I promise)

The food was delicious, too, even though I could barely eat any of it. After dinner some of our friends joined us and we hung out for a few hours. It was a really fun night and I think it set the tone for the weekend.

WE DID IT!

So much to say about the whole amazing event! Right now, Im soo tired and too busy scratching the 60 (seriously, 60) mosquito bites I accrued in Cancun.

Check out the amazing McDorman Photography blog for a sneak peak of some amazing photos.

LOVE YOU ALL!

Stress Monster!

Well, I seriously had no idea how stressful this last week before the wedding was going to be. I have lost 5lbs in 6 days and brushed out about half my hair. I thought I was super organized and on top of everything, but in the end its all the small details that add up and push you over the edge! (Not to mention crazy cake ladies. Thats an entire post for another time!) I am so greatly looking forward to tonight when I've done everything I can do, and then I can let our Planner take over. We're having Eric and his family and my bridesmaids over for BBQ tonight and I am going to chow down! Then maybe I'll actually be able to get more than 5 hours of sleep. I cant wait for Sunday when I'll be napping on the beach of Cancun!

Rain Plan :-(

So while Thursday and Friday look to be sunny and warm, Saturday looks to be cold and wet. Of course. That means we'll probably have to go into rain plan mode. Not a good mode! The back up ceremony location is another room at the reception site. Its nice but no stunner. Needless to say I will be bummed. But, I thought the bridal party could maybe go take some cool pictures under the covered bridge at Old Salem.



Make lemonade, right?

10 day count down!

Just a heads up that posting will be light over the next two weeks as we are only 10 days away from our Wedding! (Insert Kevin-esque scream a la Home Alone) Then we are of to sunny Cancun! Oh yeah, baby. So please keep us in your thoughts and send us all your good energy as we wrap up last minute details and then make it official!

Blue Jars!

Just bought a group of vintage blue mason jars on Ebay, to use on the tables at the rehearsal dinner.



Remember my inspiration?

Cupcake Banners

Here is a little DIY project I've been working on for our rehearsal dinner: Cupcake banners! The dinner is being held at a brewery, so the atmosphere will be very laid back. Still, I wanted to add some special details to dress up our dessert!



First, since E and I live here in NYC, I used an MTA map as paper! It comes in a very large fold out size, so I cut out four 8.5 x 11 sections and just fed them through the printer. Easy peasy. Then I designed some personalized banners on Illustrator. I chose colors to compliment the map, and also cute phrases to feature. For example: "E & M", "10-10-09", "Amore" and my personal favorite "Sweet Love." I cut them all out, hot glued a crystal bead on the top of the tooth pick, glued and folded! So easy, and since I already had all the supplies and MTA maps are free, this project cost me NADA!

One Hand, One Heart

I will be walking the isle to "One Hand, One Heart" from West Side Story.



Lyrics to "One Hand, One Heart"
from West Side Story

Make of our hands one hand,
Make of our hearts one heart,
Make of our vows one last vow:
Only death will part us now.
Make of our lives one life,
Day after day, one life.
Now it begins, now we start
One hand, one heart;
Even death won't part us now.

-Music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

An amazing weekend!

We're back from an amazing weekend upstate! The ladies took me to dinner for a little bridal shower and I got some great gifts! The location was amazing and the food was soooo delicious!





Then on Sunday was the big party! The weather was beautiful and the setting was spectacular. We were right on lake Ontario. Barb totally out did herself for us! The decor was beautiful and the trifle bar was a huge hit. Everyone there was so loving and excited for us! My mom met all of E's family (and there are quite a few of them). I was so happy to have her there with me. It was a perfect weekend and really got us pumped for our really big day next month!





Thank you so much to everyone who came out and made us feel so loved! We hope you had as much fun as we did! You can see the rest of my pictures here.

"Pre- ception!"

Tomorrow morning we're off to catch a bus to Rochester! Eric's parents are hosting a "pre-ception" in honor of our fast approaching wedding. A lot of his older family members and family friends wont be able to make the trip down to NC for the big day, so the Peck's graciously offered to host this party to give everyone a chance to love on us! I know Barb has put a lot of planning and effort into making this a special weekend, and we are really looking forward to it.


White House Lodge


I cant wait to see everyone, especially our little niece and nephew. Also, my Mom is making the trip up to NY for the occasion. Can you believe after six years together our families have never met? I'm so glad she'll be there for me to hug and smile with. Anyways, we'll be back on Monday, so I hope you all enjoy your Labor Day weekend!

Trust' em Custom!

Oh my goodness! I went by the jeweler who is making our wedding bands today to try on my custom ring before they did the finishing touches. Even in its rough, un-plated, un-polished, un-blinged state.. it was PERFECT! I sooo can't wait to wear it (in 40 days)! Eric's isn't a cutom design so we knew what it would look like, but he was happy that he still felt the same about it as he did a few months ago when we picked it. I'm so happy that I went with my gut and trusted this guy to make my dream ring. I can't wait to show you guys the finished product!

Fulfilled!

So I just popped by one of our registries this morning to see that a couple of items are already marked as "fulfilled"!!! So exciting! Here is the thing about registries; I think that a lot of people are under the misconception that giving a gift from a registry is impersonal or boring. Let me respectfully disagree. I can assure you that brides (and some grooms) spend hours upon hours handpicking each and every item listed. They are items we need, dream about, and will actually use! I have a teapot that my dear friend Julie gave me and every time I see it and use it I'm reminded of her and what a sweet gal she is! Wouldn't you rather remind a bride of what a sweet gal (or guy) you are than remind her of having to make that extra trek into the city to return the fifth spatula or colander she received? Now don't get me wrong, I'm not totally knocking the giving of a unique gift. I would just recommend really thinking about the couple's needs, interests, personality and taste. Thinking out side the box is always welcome in my house, but thinking inside the padded cell? Not so much.

Stick with what ya know

I have realized that the new McCall's pattern I got looks a lot like the dress I wore to my Fiesta Bridal Shower. (Darn, it was hot that day! Right, girls? Shoo.)




Oh well! It's going to look totally different and hey- if you like something, who cares, right? The shape works well for my bod so I'm sticking with it. I hope the pattern arrives soon so I can go fabric shipping!

Wedding Announcement

So I had NO idea how expensive a wedding announcement in the Winston- Salem Journal would be. Size D is what I would want, but $220? Really? Seems like they're taking advantage if you ask me. And although I don't know why anyone would need an entire page announcement, that would run you $2,500!



The same size add in the Rochester's Democrat and Chronicle is about half the price. Crazy!

Rehearsal Dinner dress

I just bought this McCall's 5804 pattern on Ebay for $7.76! I'm going to make view A for my Rehearsal Dinner dress. I'm thinking about using a metallic linen. We'll see.




Yes, it's another Hillary Duff style, but I really liked the last one I made, so I figured I'd try another. I'll probably add a bit in the length because these tend to be quite short, and I'll want a 2" hem rather than a rolled hem. I think the key to keeping it looking too juvenile will be the fabric choice.

Clay Anemone!

Just saw this awesome clay Anemone hairpin by Etsy seller DK Designs on SW Mag. It's so perfect for the big day so I snapped it up! Only 7 weeks away!

Rehearsal Dinner Florals

Because we're having our rehearsal dinner at a brewery, I thought something like this would be nice on each table.

I will cut a b*#$h

How I spent my day yesterday: cutting out and corner punching all my invitations, response cards and inserts!

Wedding Map

Check out the wedding map I made on Adobe Illustrator!



I plan to put one in each hotel room.