Wedding Wednesday: Bridesmaid Gift Ideas.

Before I got engaged, I always liked to see posts on gift ideas for the wedding parties. And once I got engaged, I created a "note" on my phone where I could save gift ideas as they popped in my head. My bridesmaids are getting one, kind of two, of these, but I can't spill the beans on which one(s) yet!

-Necklace or earrings to wear the day of the wedding, and after.

-Solemates to wear on their high heels for those outside weddings! 

-Monogrammed pashmina from Marley Lilly in case of a chilly evening.

-A cute clutch to keep lipgloss near by! Or your drivers license in case you get ID'ed halfway through the wedding reception like me! :)

-Any girl would love a monogrammed necklace!

-Monogrammed handkerchief to fold around the bottom of their bouquets and to keep afterwards.

-Monogrammed Tervis Tumbler, because you can never have too many tumblers!

Notice a trend? :)

For the married ladies, what did you give your bridesmaids?

For those of yall who have been bridesmaids before, what has been your favorite gift you've received?

Boinker's Birthday!

The word boink(er) is a tricky one. It has a lot of meanings.

Examples:

"What did you do today? Oh, y'know, just boinked around town."

"They totally boinked last night."

"Eww, she is being such a boinker right now."

So today, we celebrate the self-proclaimed originator of the word boinker, KATIE!

A bridesmaid. A true friend. An amazing daughter. A thoughtful and dedicated wife. A beautiful person inside and out.

And now for some pics that make me smile..

Her two dogs, Landon & Mickey, with Brady. They're best buds.

And a few throwback pics from college..

XO Senior Band Party
My then boyfriend of 3 years broke up with me a few hours before my last sorority function of college so I was obviously a mess. In true matchmaker Katie fashion, she came through and found me a date. There was no connection between us, but it turned out to be a fun night and the jerk dumping me turned out to be a blessing in disguise because now I'm engaged to a much better guy! :)

Garage party. Oh yes.

Tailgating - our favorite sport.

Wedding Wednesday: Bridesmaid Dresses.

Welcome to my first installment of Wedding Wednesday!

I'm going to try my best to not bore you with wedding details every day and keep the wedding talk to a mimum of once a week within the next 13 months. But let's be serious, what girl doesn't like to look at wedding pictures and talk about weddings? And let's be serious again, I've been waiting for my big day for 28 years so I'm most likely going to be talking about it more than once a week. Sorry I'm not sorry.

First up - bridesmaid dresses! And it's going to be a lengthy one.

 

 

As I previously mentioned, last Saturday I met up wit
h some of my bmaids and my mom and we went to a bridal shop in West Ashley to see if any bmaid dresses caught our eye. I was very pleased in the selection of dresses that Condon's had available for us to try on!

There were 3 that I liked, but one in particular really stood out to all of us.

Obviously the color is hideous, resembling clay mud, but I liked the style. Ultimately, it was "too bridesmaid-y" for me.

A close runner-up.

The winner! We loved that it looked great on the "blessed with a chest" ladies and the "not so blessed with a chest" ladies, that it's not your standard bridesmaid dress and that it was comfortable! It also comes in a WIDE selection of colors..

Which brings me to my next topic..the COLOR!

Since I've started planning the wedding (ok way before we even got engaged), I've always envisioned a soft color palette. Ivory, soft coral/pink, gold, and soft greens.

Something like this..

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That brings me to my dilemma. What color bridesmaid dresses do they wear??

This photo I saw on Pinterest REALLY has me leaning towards champagne / nude color, but I'm worried that with the wedding being in late March, and although I'm sure a lot of them will get spray tan's, they will look washed out.

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As I mentioned above (if you are still reading - thank you!), there are a WIDE variety of colors to choose from.

Here are the top contenders: (Sorry they are so small & blurry)

Palomino

Cameo

Rose

Amethyst

Celadon (least favorite)

Obviously the colors are different in person than on the website, but the teeny tiny swatches that they show you in the store don't help either. Jean's in Mt. Pleasant also carries this line of dresses, so when we go there on the 25th for me to try on dresses (!!!), I'm hoping I can see some of these colors in real life. Otherwise, I'll have to order swatches from the website.

And finally, on to my last question..how do you feel about similar mixed colors vs. all one color bridesmaid dresses?

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Sorry so long winded today! Can you tell I'm having a hard time making decisions already??

I really appreciate all of your thoughts / advice!

(Only 4 more followers to go before the giveaway!)

Oh yeah, the bridesmaid dress is by Dessy - found here. :)

Meet the Maids.

I'd like to introduce you to my bridesmaids today! You've probably heard about each of them before, but it's time to put faces with names and hear why they're special to me. :)

Maid of Honor - Stephanie

My Seester. No matter how much I pick on her, she knows how much I love her. I know she'd do anything for me, and vice versa. I can't wait to spend my big day with her standing by my side. :)

Matron of Honor - Emily

The BFF in WWW. Emily & I met when we pledged Chi Omega our freshman year. I can tell her anything, literally ANYTHING. She's been there through all of my heartbreaks, with me on multiple road trips and not to mention, she has a great wardrobe that I get to play in quite often. :)

Caroline

Friends since before I can remember. Our mom's were bridesmaids in each other's weddings, too! She is very laid back, much like myself and I think that's one of the reasons we get along so well.

Katie

Met when we pledged Chi Omega together my freshman year, her sophomore year, and were close friends all throughout college. Lived with her for 3 years before I moved in with Cameron. She has the sweetest and most upbeat personality of anyone I've met. She would do anything for her friends and family.

Jenny

Jenny and I also met when we pledged Chi Omega our freshman year. She was the yankee from Connecticut with no car so we'd ride everywhere together in the Stanz. Now, you'd have no idea she was a northener because she dated and is now married to a true southerner and her accent is thicker than molasses. :)

Sam

Cameron's sister & a fellow Gamecock lover. So excited to gain more siblings! I remember after about a year of dating her brother, she told me he must really like me because he never brought girls around his family. :)

Leslie

Leslie and I have been friends since 1st grade. We lived in the same neighborhood growing up. Since we were butt buddies, we always participated in the same activities - karate, cheerleading & horseback riding, just to name a few.

Asking the Maids.

Before I even got engaged, I knew exactly how I wanted to ask my bridesmaids to be a part of our big day (anyone surprised?). Little did I know that this "little" project would take for.ev.er to make. Oh well, they loved them and they turned out super cute so it was worth it!

I originally came across this idea from a post on Once Wed. Her's are obviously much cuter than mine, but I worked with what I had. Once I found the idea, I attempted to draw my own doll. Didn't turn out so hot. So then I Googled a template and came across Heather's blog. She was kind enough to send me a template of the paper doll. Huge help! From there, I looked on Etsy to find the actual cards since I am not Publisher savvy. I saved money by printing them off on my own, rather than having them sent to me. I sketched the dresses and hair by hand.

In order to see how fun this project was, here are some numbers: 
28 paper dolls (21 dolls attached in two's, 7 singles)
+ 49 dresses  
 + 49 pieces of hair (customized by hair length and color) 
= a LOT of cutting and hand cramps.

Here the are, start to finish.

I'll be introducing the recipients of these cards next week! :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Bridesmaid Hair Debate.

For Katie's wedding this weekend, I'm leaving it up to the professionals to make my hair look like a celeb's as I walk down the aisle. As always, I am really bad at making decisions so I need yall's help picking out a 'do!

As a reminder, here is the dress I'll be wearing..

pretty obsessed. i'm going to get it cut above my knee after the wedding so i can wear again.

In this color...

Here are some choices that I've printed out to bring to the salon. Keep in mind that I have very fine hair that won't hold a curl longer than 5 minutes. I've also got a side part and bangs that usually stay tucked behind my ears. Hate having hair in my face. Don't like it too poofy. I sound like so much fun to work with, huh?!?

#1

#2

#3

Now that I look at them all side-by-side, they kind of all look the same. Haha! I'm leaning towards #2 (LC) though..a little relaxed, not too "perfect."

I'd love to hear what yall think!

The road to 27 dresses..

Saturday as I was leaving the grocery store, I got a very exciting text from my good friend, Jenny, saying "I'm ENGAGED!!!!" I was beyond excited because Jenny and Dan have been dating since our freshman year of college - that's 8 years!! Jenny and I have also been friends since freshman year of college, when we pledged the same sorority. She was from out of state and didn't have a car at school so I'd pick her up for football games in my POS car..good times, good times.

Now for the story: Jenny was at their house when Dan came home with a bunch of new toys and treats for Presley (their "son"). She didn't think much of it, as this dog is very spoiled. She was either about to get in the shower or had just gotten out of the shower (can't remember) when she noticed Presley had a new collar on. When she called Presley to get an up-close look, this is what she saw...

Yes, the date is one day off, but that's not the point! Jenny walked down stairs and Dan was on one knee. Isn't that such a cute story?!?! I can't wait to be a part of their big day next year! 

The happy couple

Most likely the Best Man or Ring Bearer haha

 And now..a trip down memory lane and my road to 27 Dresses...

Uncle Daryl & Aunt Cheryl (no pic..pre-digital camera days) June 2000

Leslie & Tyler - May 2008

Becca & Ryan - May 2009

Alyssa & Chris - April 2010

Emily & David - July 2010

And I will add 2 more bridesmaid dresses to my closet in 2011! Katie & Henry in May, Jenny & Dan most likely in August. 

Is this normal for my age?? How many weddings have you been in?