Quickies: True Story

As I was getting ready for work one morning I asked the Little Bit, "Do I look pretty?"

He looked at my hair, my raggedy sweat pants, and the busted tank top I was wearing and said in all seriousness, "Not yet."

Dressperation? The DRESS Unplugged? Eff It. . . This Post is About my Plans for the Procurement of a Wedding Dress

It ain't cute but it gets the job done.

So . . . wedding dresses.  They can cost the Earth, even at a classy establishment like David's Bridal.  I don't particularly relish the idea of repeating my dress shopping experience and I have a sneaking suspicion that what I want exists in my size only in my head.  What's a girl to do?

Well . . . if she's somewhat handy with a sewing machine she could consider doing it herself.  Which is what I'm going to do.

So what does this dream of mine look like?  Feast your eyes on this little number.

1, 2, 3, 4

My wedding dress inspiration.

Number one is a short pale yellow silk with an attractively poofy skirt that illustrates the length I want.  Number two is the one that I have dirty, dirty dreams about.  Pockets, a sweetheart neckline and some cumberbundy action around the waist that I find oddly attractive.  Three is a sleeve option I like if I punk out and want to cover it up some.  Four is a color story I'm particularly in love with.  Also, I have a deep appreciation for the use of what looks like eyelet.

To summarize, I want short, poofy, clean lines and very, very pale pink.  My plan is to Frankenstein a couple of patterns together and play with them until I get the look I want.

What do you think?

Budget Planning: When It's Cheaper to Pay Shipping

I got busy spending some moolah, some scrilla, some samolians today, 

I had two glorious weekend days off in a row and rather than spend them cooped up in a car, I let my fingers do the walking and ordered this.

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The Paper-Source Swatchbook. 

Now, I am not what you would call a big internet shopper and there is a Paper Source in Atlanta which is only about an hour or so away from our digs.  With our two glorious days of freedom we could have easily made the drive.  Shipping costs nearly as much as the product itself.   So why order it online?

In this case, my dears, I find seven bucks worth of shipping a small price to pay.  Seven dollars is less than the gas money such a trip would use up.  Espcecially since it's unlikely I would make up my mind about invitation colors and whatnot after just one trip.  Seven dollars is also a reasonable price to pay for a satisfyingly lazy weekend.  No road trip.  No traffic.  And I love myself a nice swatchbook.  I find it a cost-effective solution to an internet shopping problem

What's not to like?

Now of course, I'll be counting the days until my pretty gets here.  And yes. . . this means we are finally getting around to starting invitation production!

Wedding Inspiration: Colors? How About All of Them?!

Look at this!

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Doesn't that make you just want to siiiiiiiiiigh.  So pretty.

I don't think I've ever mentioned my slight obsession with all things Rainbow Brite.  I love color and I think that's one reason I gravitate toward white and neutrals as backdrops so often.  Neutrals make colors really pop.

As a member of the Offbeat Bride Tribe and as a longtime lurker on that site, I am not unfamiliar with rainbow weddings, rainbow dresses or rainbow brides.  Something about this wedding, originally posted on Love and Lavender, really spoke to me and I think that it is the underlying earthiness of it all and how well the brights tie into that.

Also, rainbow cake.  I totally had a moment with that one.

I just love this for a lot of reasons but one big one is that rainbows are a symbolic way, if you so choose, to express your feelings about marriage equality.  A lot of brides who want to support gay marriage do so by including notes in programs or including words in their ceremonies.  I think those are wonderful, brave, supportive, and loving things to do.  What I like about incorporating rainbows into weddings, with all their symbolism, is how joyous, beautiful, seamless and right it can be.

A Plus for the Busty

Check this out.

Source

I bought this bra (in white, not leopard) because I was anticipating needing a strapless bra for the whole wedding dress shopping ordeal and did not think David's Bridal would have anything in my size.  They did provide a strapless, rib crushing thing for me to put on to try dresses on-but every second of it was torturous.

I did finally get around to trying it on though and surprisingly enough . . . . I love, love, love it.  It's comfortable, there aren't any straps to dig into my shoulders and it supports me surprisingly well.  I do feel a little jiggly on top but I found that when I put on a dress or top that jiggly feeling goes away and my profile looks about the same as when I wear a regular bra.

Just to illustrate how awesome I find it, I can actually bend over in this and the boobage stays where it's supposed to be.  Amazing.

It's too cold to get wild and crazy with strapless tops and dresses and whatnot right now but this summer?

Brace yourselves.

You Want to Get Married Where Now?

This is beautiful.

Watson Mill Bridge State Park-all pictures by Me

This . . . not so much.

Group Shelter, Watson Mill Bridge State Park

That's what we will be working with come wedding day.

The mill pond, the falls, and the river shoals are gorgeous.  The group shelter where the reception will take place is . . . pleasantly nostalgically campy.  It brings back fond memories of Girl Scout camp and bug juice.

We aren't really going for campy but . . . campy means s'mores of which I am inordinately fond thus making it fit into our subtheme of "S$&% We  Like" . . . . so probably we will just roll with it.  The pluses: It is a somewhat secluded building that has air conditioning, a full kitchen, a private bathroom, there are tables and chairs included, and there is a covered fire pit in the back. 

We picked the state park itself for two reasons.  One, it's one of our favorite places to go.  You can wade in the shoals, it's peaceful and beautiful, and listening to the falls is incredibly relaxing.  Two, it is, drumroll please, AFFORDABLE!  Any bride who is getting married in the Athens area could probably give you chapter and verse about what venues cost.  On our budget it just wasn't happening.  The cost of reserving the venue for the day plus paying for parking for our potential guests would still come out to about one fourth of what just time in another venue in the city would cost.

By the time the big day rolls around there will be plenty of green and if we do the ceremony bit by the water we won't need much in the way of ceremony decorations.  The interior is going to require a little bit of TLC.

The Kitchen Area and Restroom

 

There are concrete floors, those really super attractive huge grey trash cans, the kitchen is open to the rest of the space . . . and yeah.  The interior will need some work to make it look like anything other than what it is.

Can it be done? Well, we'll see.

Post Scheduling

I try to schedule new posts to show up by 9:00 AM on a pretty consistent basis.  Apparently Blogger sometimes has other ideas. 

I will soldier on regardless.