Say Yes to the Dress

Since this title is used in almost every wedding bloggers' search for their dream dress, it may not seem that exciting.... but let me promise you ladies, this is an exciting post! I have been dress shopping more than a few times now and have found more than a few dresses that I love. What's been holding me back from pulling the trigger you ask? Well, knowing what I know now, I think it is fate.  About a week ago I put my application in to TLC's show "Say Yes to the Dress." Now, I was never really thinking I would make it onto the show, but I figured I wanted to visit Kleinfeld's before the end of the year and I might as well just take my chances with the application. Best decision EVER.  A few days later I got a call from TLC wanting to ask me some questions about my application. I am ashamed to admit that I might have turned into a little bit of a crazy person in the 30 minutes surrounding that little phone call.

photo via http://www.ridingtherollercoaster.com/ Awesome editing via me

That is literally the text I sent out to almost all of the contacts in my phone :) Oh, and I might have posted it on Facebook..... and Weddingbee.... and Myspace. Haha just kidding, no one uses Myspace anymore! I am guilty on all the rest.  But hey, how many times in your life do you get to go to New York and film your dress shopping experience so that you can share it with everyone and remember it forever? I'm going to guess not very often.  

Originally, I thought only Spencer would be making the trip with me, but now my mom and sister are thinking about making the trip as well. I guess they had to jump at the chance of meeting Randy :) I know that's what I'm most excited about! I know if anyone can find me the perfect dress it is Randy. He is like the fairy godmother of bridal gowns.

photo via http://www.stylelist.com/

Why yes Randy, that dress does make me look fantabulous! Hehe :) So, do any of you have dreams of Sugar Plum Randys appearing on Say Yes to the Dress? Or did you want your dress shopping experience to be kept out of the lime light?

I'm Baaaaaack!!!!

Have you all been wondering where I've been?

photo from http://dishanddelicious.com/2011/04/26/im-baaack/

Ok, So I haven't gone anywhere exciting or been kidnapped or anything like that! I've just been BUSY. Like really busy! I got a new job and when combined with school, I've literally had no time for myself.  I am now finally in a place in my life that I can get back into blogging, and I am so excited :)  So my pledge to you guys is that I will blog AT LEAST 3x a week if not more.  I have had some really amazing things going on in my life lately, both wedding related and non-wedding related. Here are some exciting posts coming up soon...

• Save the Dates created and sent out!
• Buying wedding jewelry online? Are you crazy?!
• Thrift store extravaganza :)
• Invitation creation 
• Say Yes to the Dress... Yeah you heard me, Kleinfeld's baby!

Ok, I won't give away everything to come! Be excited though, because these last few months before the wedding are getting ca-razy! I hope you all forgive me for ditching out on my blogging responsibilities and I will do my best to make it up to you guys. 

Have any of you experienced a crazy hectic time in your wedding planning process when you just had to take a step back? No? That's just me? Shoot.....

Sexy Man Suit...

I asked Spencer what he wanted this post to be titled since it's about what he'll be wearing on our big day, and this is literally the first thing that comes to his brain... Sexy man suit. Yup, that is Spence for ya lol.  So here it is love, just for you!

Since the wedding is going to have a vintage 1920's feel, I have been on the hunt for a suit that will fit the bill.  Let me tell you, it's not all that easy trying to find a vintage looking suit.  And we most definitely will not be able to rent one, that would be nearly impossible. There is just not that much variety at tux rental stores.  So, Ebay and Pinterest have been my best friends on this search.  I originally thought I wanted Spence in just a vest, but I figured he should probably wear the whole shebang since he can always take his coat off to get pictures with just the vest on.  So we decided to do the whole get up and so far, this is the style we are both loving...

photo from http://basicsofman.com/post/2883817172/basicman-mystuff-linen-blazer-h-m-vest

photo from http://www.monkeysuitvintage.com/

Wouldn't these look great with a pocket watch? I think so! While I know this may not be everyone's taste, I am still in love with this look.  I think it will look amazing on Spencer and will bring in a whole 'nother element for our theme. The hard part now is going to be getting all the groomsmen in on this.  Since most guys don't already have something like this in their closet, and you can't really rent anything like this, we are hoping most of the boys will have a few pieces they can use to create this look, and only have to buy a few other pieces to complete it.  In the end, we want it to look kind of like this...

photo from http://pinterest.com/pin/38724952/

That shouldn't be too difficult, right? What kind of style are you going for with your groom?  Modern, black tie, vintage?

OMG Shoes!

From Youtube.com

I do love me some shoes, but probably not as much as Kelly :) Oh and be forewarned that this video does contain profanities so I would suggest stopping it around the 1 min 30 second mark if you want  to hear the clean version!  Let's get some shoes!

Bridal shoes that is.  I am not going to lie, I have a shoe addiction.  I have a whole pinboard on Pinterest dedicated solely to glorious shoes.  They say you can never have too many shoes, but there can be too many shoes out there for you to decide on just one pair.  I think the hardest part about picking your wedding day shoes is trying to find a pair that is stylish and comfortable. After all, I am going to be parading around the french quarter in these heels and I sure as hell don't want this to be my look as I make my way down the aisle...

photo from http://media.onsugar.com/files/2010/02/07/1/258/2589280/25fab3ac8d865b46_agy.jpg

Anyways, I am heading to Vegas in 2 weeks for my bachelorette party (keep your eye out for that upcoming post cause it is sure to be a good one!) and while in Vegas I will be on the quest for amazing shoes!  I'm not talking Louboutins (although I wish I was) but I am sure I will find some fabulous options just the same.  I know I do not want white shoes, it's just not my personality.  I want over the top, platform, sexy heels!  And so, without further ado, I bring to you all my fabulous shoe porn collection.  Here's to hoping one of these beauties will be the one :)

All photos from http://pinterest.com/natbug21/omg-shoes/

So, what sort of bridal shoes are you all looking for?

The biggest decision of my life... aka - the venue part II

Okay, so last week I shared the first step on my journey to finding the venue, narrowing it down to the type of venue I wanted.  This week I will share with you the awesome trip I got to take back to New Orleans with my maid of honor, sister and best friend, Shannon!

Getting to take my big sis to New Orleans was so much fun! Not only did we meet some great vendors, but I got to show her how amazing the city is and why we chose to have the wedding there.  When we tell people where we are getting married, I get a lot of weird faces and looks like, "Why the heck are you getting married there?"  It's hard to explain the draw of the Big Easy and the absolute magic of the city.  Anyways, back to the trip.  When we arrived to New Orleans we got settled at our hotel in the french quarter, the Dauphine Orleans.

photo from http://www.dauphineorleans.com/photos.html#

Isn't that picture gorgeous? I thought this is where we would be staying, but little did I know there is actually two parts to this hotel and this lovely green courtyard was on the other side of the street from where we were staying. If you plan on staying at this hotel make sure you get a room in the courtyard. We walked through them and they were SO much nicer than the rooms on the other side where we were.  Overall, it wasn't a bad stay and the staff were helpful.

Since we didn't have any appointments the first afternoon we ended up just kind of exploring the french quarter.  We walked through Royal Street and all the amazing shops they have there.  It is really such a beautiful street and there are so many cute shops to explore, you can't get bored.  We walked over to Jackson Square and admired the cathedral and all the street artists surrounding the square.  We headed over to the Gazebo Cafe for some shrimp po' boys and yummy ice cream daiquiris!

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Wait, aren't we supposed to be searching for venues here? Oh yes that's right, fast forward to the next day!  When I first started looking at venues I thought for sure I would be going with Broussard's.  Broussard's is an amazing old fashioned restaurant in the heart of the french quarter with a gorgeous courtyard.  We went in for a tasting and the food was fantastic, but I was given a bit of bad news while there.  The courtyard would need a $10,000 minimum for my Friday night 40 person wedding. WHAT?! That was most definitely not happening seeing as $10,000 is almost all of my budget.  I wish someone would have mentioned that before I got my hopes up, but I wasn't too heart broken as we had many more places to check out.  But, just so you all can see how pretty the courtyard is, here is a picture :)

photo from http://www.broussards.com/gallery_new.html

We continued to check out numerous places but none of them really piqued my interests.  They were all beautiful but they just weren't giving me that feeling, ya know?  I wasn't standing there imagining my decor or the wonderful festivities that were going to be taking place.  I had a theme in mind and I just hadn't found the perfect place to accommodate that  theme.  We looked at the Maison Dupuy...

photo from http://www.maisondupuy.com/photo_tour.html

Okay, I know this sounds dumb but this place was just too perfect.  I wanted something with a little more character, something you could look at and see the history of it.  So we headed to another venue, Brennan's.

photo from http://travel.webshots.com/photo/1169925205044689800QsPwgr

I really loved this place.  It had character, it looked like a lush tropical garden, the food is world renowned, what more could I need?  Their menu prices were even really reasonable compared to other quotes I had gotten.  Why then, you ask, did I not choose this venue?  Open bar prices were outrageous! They had no open bar rates, instead it was $10 a drink! $10 a drink! My dad alone would drink me broke! Not to mention all of his work buddies.  Even though Spencer's side of the family doesn't drink, my family would more than make up for their side lol.  So, not being able to deal with the drink prices, we moved on to our last hope... and I'm so glad we did!  

We headed on over to the Hermann-Grima Historic House and Courtyard.  Yes, you heard me, this is a museum and a courtyard! The best of both worlds put together to make one amazing venue.  As soon as we walked into the courtyard I was hooked.  I immediately started drawing out the layout and trying to picture where everything would go.  The layout is a little odd, but cozy.  Also, during March, their trees and walls are covered in little white blooms. Free decor, I'll take it!  There are 2 seperate courtyards, which is nice because I can divide up the dinner part of the reception and the party part of the reception :) Okay, so here are some of the pictures we took while there.

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They were setting up for a wedding ceremony for that day so excuse the chairs and people running around building stuff :) Also, they have this really great outdoor kitchen from the 1800's.  It's the only working outdoor kitchen in New Orleans and we get to serve barbecued shrimp and grits from it!

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These next pictures are from the other courtyard which is right next to this one but separated by a beautiful brick wall.  It's on the side of the house instead of behind it, and it has a much more open feel which will be great for dancing and lounge furniture.

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I absolutely love these huge double doors! I wish someone were standing next to them so you could tell how tall and impressive they really are.  I just love that those doors were used to bring carriages through.  It's like a carriage garage :)  

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There is also a huge magnolia tree which covers the entire area.  I can't even explain how happy I am that I get to have my very own magnolia tree for the reception, and the flowers should be in bloom in March!  

I am so glad we found this place and it was just what we were looking for.  It so perfectly fits the feel I want for my wedding and I think my guests will really enjoy the history of it all.  I will also be offering guided tours through the museum for the guests.  Oh, and the coordinator there, Aimee, is absolutely amazing.  She is super sweet and actually had her own wedding here so she is very helpful.

Well, after we found the venue of my dreams all we had left to do was PARTY!  Oops, I meant relax ;) On the morning we were leaving we made sure to stop by for our last plate of beignets and then headed to the airport.  It was a bittersweet day, but I am so excited to get to go back and have my wedding in such an amazing city! 

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So, how many venues did you all have to search through before you found the one?  Did you get that feeling like you were meant to have your wedding there?

P.S. Sorry for the not so great photos.  I've been taking some photography lessons from my sister at Shannon Kaeding Photography, so I promise to do better next time!

The biggest decision of my life... aka - the venue

Ok, so maybe it's not the biggest decision! I might have exaggerated just a tad.  I'm not going to lie though, this decision is giving me the most stress.  There are so many beautiful venues in New Orleans that it's almost impossible to choose.  There are beautiful ballrooms....

photo from http://www.bourbonorleans.com/french-quarter-hotel-photos.php

historic museums....

photo from http://dellafiora.com/blog/?p=5585

and of course, my favorite, the lush courtyards!

photo from http://ashinteriors.net/?p=262

Ok, so I'm guessing you all can tell what "type" of venue I went with :) The courtyard, of course!  They are just so gorgeous and give off such a great New Orleans vibe that I had to choose a courtyard.  The only problem is there are a TON of beautiful courtyards in New Orleans.  Like, seriously, a friggin' TON.  And me being as indecisive as I am, well, let's just say it has not been easy finding a venue.  I don't want to give away the venue just yet, we'll save the big reveal for another post.  Plus, I have some fun stories that go along with the search :)

So what kind of venue are you all going with?

The Proposal

No, not the Sandra Bullock/Ryan Renolds movie!  I figured it was time to tell the story of how we got engaged.  Although we had talked about getting engaged and had even gone ring looking, I had absolutely no idea WHEN we were getting engaged.  I always figured it would be a year or two from now when we had graduated and had steady jobs, but I guess Spencer just couldn't wait that long ;)

In October 2010, Spence and I decided on a whim to take a trip to New Orleans.  We had both always wanted to go there, so when we had some extra money we immediately put it down on a package travel deal.  We were there for 5 days and let me tell you it was the best five days of my life!  We had so many amazing activities planned and we didn't even get to half of them because we were so enamored with just walking around and observing the city.  If you've never been to New Orleans then you can't understand how gorgeous it is. The architecture, culture, history, food... it is impossible to not LOVE this city. Here are a few pics of the city...

The view from our balcony on Royal St.

Look at those iron lace balconies!

Looking down Royal St.

I think half the time we were there it was spent on Royal St. and then Bourbon St. at night ;) Royal St. has the  best shopping and street musicians while Bourbon has the best hand grenades! I'm about as plastered as they come in this next picture :)

Yeah I know, this is not a good look lol. 

Spencer @ Pat O'Briens

So after 4 days of fun, I was left feeling a little sad on our last night.  I didn't want it to end!  Spence told me to get dressed up and he would take me out for one last amazing night on the town.  So, I got ready and we headed out.  We ended up walking to Jackson Square, admiring the beautiful St. Louis Cathedral and just talking about the highlights of our trip.  Then, all of a sudden, Spencer started getting really serious.  If you asked me for one word that DID NOT describe Spencer, I would say serious.  Needless to say I was like, "What the freak is up with Spence?!" Now that I look back on it, I feel kinda bad.  He was trying so hard to be serious and romantic and I just kept asking, "Why are you acting so weird?" lol.  So finally he just got down on one knee and asked if I would marry him.  Believe it or not my first response was, "what?!"  I kept asking him if he was joking and if he had asked my dad :)  Finally, after I figured out he wasn't kidding, I said YES! It was the best night of my life and I wouldn't of had it any other way.  After that I spent the night on our balcony calling my entire family!  Everyone was so excited for me, it was awesome :)  And now for some pics...

Yes, this is where we got engaged. No, this is not a Disney fairytale castle :)

Yay bling! Sorry for the crappy picture!

Well. that concludes the story of how we got engaged. What kind of interesting proposal stories do you guys have?