Being a Bride on a Budget

When Mr. Palm Tree and I first decided to get married, we briefly discussed the money aspect. I say 'briefly' because it wasn't really a new topic: we essentially applied the same theory to our wedding planning that we try to apply to daily life: be as reasonable as possible because we, quite simply, do not have a lot of money.

The idea of setting a legitimate budget for a wedding has always intrigued me. I read about girls and couples who have a hard budget of insert amount here - we'll go with $25,000 for the purpose of this post. How in the freaking world do people HAVE $25,000 set aside to spend on a singular event? It makes me do the cartoon head-shake thing.

source | Fun Tidbit: The Palm Trees are totally My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic FANATICS. 

You've Gotta Fight For Your Right. . .

. . .to get maaaaaaaaarriiiiiiied! Anyone?

As I'm sure many brides-to-be before me can attest to, there are seemingly a million and five decisions to make when it comes to wedding planning. . .and at least three times that amount of influence to lean one way or the other.

I am far from an easily-influenced girl. 

source | I do what I want!

That having been said, I am a considerate person. I try to take opinions and feelings of those I care about into account when making decisionsAt the end of the day, though, there are a few things that I refuse to concede. If this makes me a (gasp!) Bridezilla, then, well. . .refer to the above video for my exact sentiments. ;)

Here are a few of my No Budgies:

The Shoes. Not everyone is pleased with my choice (which I still word as a 'recommendation' - I won't force anyone to wear/buy these shoes, but everyone knows how much it means to Mr. Palm Tree and I) of TOMS. I am an All In type of girl: if I align myself with a cause or claim to care about something, I'm 100% 'bout it 'bout it. In all fairness: sure, they aren't the most to-die-for, OMG-worthy shoes. But, in my opinion, they aren't supposed to be. The TOMS motto is One For One: you buy a pair, we craft a pair to fit the need of a shoeless child. They're supposed to be reasonable shoes. It was an easy way to support A Cause that wouldn't take over the meaning, or purpose, of our day so we went with it.   

A Few Things THIS Bride Wants HER Bridesmaids to Know

Last week, this article from TheKnot popped up in my email: "9 Things Your Bridesmaids Want You to Know". I read it, as I always do, and agreed with most of them, even if they were a little obviously stated (of COURSE they want you to stay their friend, duh). 

I know that it's likely the Bridezilla phase that caused this: brides getting too caught up in and overwhelmed by the planning and idea of their Big Day that they go all kinds of coocoo for Cocoa Puffs.

source

It really is nice to be reminded to keep others in perspective. Your bridal party is likely going all out for you and they deserve to be respected, loved, acknowledged, etc. That having been said. . .what about the things brides want their bridesmaids to know?

Our Wedding Colors

Our wedding is big on 'meaning'. There are a lot of things that are really special to us and we want to incorporate them in our Big Day. Mr. Palm Tree said it best when discussing Pad and Pie, our Flower Girls: "Our wedding is going to be so meaningful. Rev Fun officiating us and Pad and Pie being the flower girls. . .it's going to be really full of love."

I know, I know, gag you with a spoon, right?

Needless to say, though, our wedding colors would also fit with us. I know there are a lot of really pretty color themes that are 'in' right now: 

image via TheKnot | Really bright, popping colors

image via Bridal Canvas | the awesome peacock trend

image via TheKnot | Soft, pretty hues

What I'm Learning from Wedding Planning

I've been in a really reflective mood today. . .I think partially because I spent a chunk of the weekend in my hometown surrounded by people I considered my second family for most of my childhood and adolescence. BM Tiny Dancer recently graduated from college and as I imagine it goes for any Milestone Event, I got pretty reminiscey.

I digress, though. My point is that as I sat buried in a never-ending pile of crap at work (seriously, people, I'm in Professional Purgatory right now), my mind was in reflective mode. As usual, BM Y and I were e-mailing throughout the day and I was sharing most of my reflections with her.

None of these are particularly mind-blowing or stunning, mind you, just things I guess I never actively thought about so when I realized where my mind was going today I had a sort of "huh, how about that?" reaction. I wanted to share them, though, because I'm sure I can't be the only one who overthinks (understatement and a half) everything. 

Go Big or Go Home: The Epic EPic Hair Trial Conclusion

I recently shared my inspiration and deep love for big ass country singer hair and now, I'm going to share the results. I took pictures every step of the way - including immediately post-shower - so be gentle with me, here.

First things first: my hair, immediately post-shower. 

Clearly, the way to make the MySpace-tastic bathroom cell phone sans makeup picture okay is to make silly faces.

This was immediately after my shower - all I did here was comb it. As you can see, not much life to it. It exists, it's there, it's alive and. . .that's about it. If I were to let it dry without doing anything else, it'd look pretty much like it does right here except moistureless. 

I set to work blow-drying my hair, using the 'low' setting.

Trying to hurriedly snap the picture and figure out my front-facing camera nonsense. You may note that I have also already applied my makeup. . .I did so while my hair was wet in hopes of getting it to air-dry as much as possible because it takes freakin' forever.

Go Big or Go Home: Setting up the EPic Hair Trial

See what I did with that title? ;) I’ve already expressed my general distaste for and inability to do all things DIY. One is not likely to find a bigger Fail Whale than the aftermath of my glue gun and I spending some QT together. 

So why did I decide to do my own hair and makeup for our engagement pictures? Because I’m stubborn. And cheap. 

I originally reached out to the artist (is that the technical term?) doing hair and makeup for my girls and myself on our Wedding Day and it simply cost too much to justify. Her work is gorgeous, without a doubt, and I’m super excited to have her. . .but I just couldn’t do it for our engagement pictures. 

I had a vision of my hair in our engagement pictures. It was something kind of like this: 

 Sources, from Top Left: Faith Hill, Carrie Underwood, Julianne Hough, Faith Hill, Faith Hill and Carrie Underwood.| Sensing a pattern?

Engagement Sessions: Do's and Don'ts

I have so much to share that I barely know where to begin. As you've gathered from the theme of my last few posts, I've been obsessing over our Engagement Pictures.

Let me tell you, friends: obsession so worth it.
 

We had an absolutely fabulous time that exceeded all of our expectations. The entire evening was so much fun. Our photographers Jimmy and Kristy of Limelight-Images (clearly you should all be on a first-name basis with them as we are by now ;) ) were incredibly engaging and so much fun. It felt so comfortable and their experience and skills were so evident; they knew just how to catch the right shots of the city and just how to pose us. It was also fun to see them work together as a husband and wife team - they played off of each other so well and spoke in half-finished sentences the entire time. "Kris, could you. . .?" "Jimmy, why don't you grab that wide lens. . .?" Being a ginormous oober goober, I had what we refer to as "bursties" the entire time just witnessing them. . .and of course, staring into the eyes of my handsome other half for two hours helped as well.

I pinky promise that a reveal of our pictures is coming, but I wanted to share a few 'Do's and 'Don't's for engagement sessions. . . because you know, this being my one and only experience with them has made me an expert. ;)

Picspiration for the EPic Session

I've sung the praises of our wonderful photographers, Limelight-Images, so loudly that your ears are probably bleeding, so I'll try my hardest to refrain from doing so in this post. . .it's just so hard, when they're so awesome.

I mentioned before: I'm huge on pictures. I've already started a list of 'Must Haves' for our wedding day, including the 'jump shot' and the 'carry shot'.

via Limelight-Images | The vice-versa will also happen - I'm all for equality ;)

via Limelight-Images | Fun Fact: When we moved into our new place, I had BM Y & GM Pythagoras practice this shot with me.

As far as a list of 'Must-Haves', they focused on the city. Pittsburgh is so picture-esque, I wanted to make sure we caught the bridges, the stadiums, the river, the skyline. For the two of us, it was actually more of a list of 'Capture These Feelings With These Awesome Things In The Background'. I'm not saying I want this to be a Pittsburgh photo session with us as the props; more that I want both the city and us to be captured brilliantly, because we're both such a big part of each other. . .you know, Pittsburgh wouldn't survive without us, obviously. ;)

Spotlight On: Our Photographers

I know, I know, I'm too clever for words. ;) 

Before I share our engagement pictures, I wanted to share how we picked our photographers. 

True Confession: Photography was one of the the things I started looking into before we got engaged (Gmail tells me I sent the first e-mail December 14th. We got engaged December 22nd - but hey, to be fair, I knew it was coming). It was always one of the most important things to me (seriously, I'm a picture whore) and I knew it would be one of The Big Decisions.

That having been said, I also knew how expensive wedding photography was in general. In my opinion, $3 - $5,000 for photography is just too much, especially when you add on all the limits: 'x' amount of hours, up to 'y' amount of total pictures, 'z' amount of proofs back. . .but for $500 more, you can add an engagement session! Ain't nobody got time (or monies) for that, am I right?

Despite my near depression, I was persistent and decided to search anyway. I definitely used The Knot for this and would open up six or seven websites at a time, only to close them out with a sigh one after one. Two factors would immediately turn me off: not listing their prices and having fancypants, formal, artsy-fartsy and/or 'serious' pictures everywhere. I mean, to each his/her own, but we aren't fancypants, formal, artsy-fartsy and/or 'serious' people, you know?

Then, I stumbled across Limelight Images.  

Courtesy of Limelight-Images | This is the first picture I saw on their website. I fell in love.

Honeymoon in my Hometown: Yinz Should Come to Pittsburgh N'at!

Mr. Rogers. Steelers. Recent movie filmings. *

all of the above from their respective linked Wikipedia pages, brought together by yours truly and MS Paint

What do all of the above have in common? I'll give you a hint: Fred Rogers and Christian Bale (. . and Batman, for that matter) are not former or current Steelers. They are all, however, things that bring Pittsburgh to mind. Now granted, maybe I took some creative liberties picking The Dark Knight Rises as the icon for 'recent movie filmings' but that's because I feel a special connection with its filming, having worked downtown throughout the summer where most of the movie was shot (I firsthand witnessed many of the scenes, which were often a result of being stuck at the sidewalk closures - but I digress).

One of the first posts I ever read over on my beloved WeddingBee was Honeymoon in my Hometown: Good ol' San Antone by Mrs. Petit Four. I remember this being the moment that I became entranced with the site, having offered an alternative but still interesting option for honeymooning. Since I started this blog, I have been collecting ideas for a Pittsburgh-themed version of HIMH (my fingers wanted to type 'HIMYM' so badly) and am really, really excited to finally share: Honeymoon in my Hometown: Yinz** Should Come to Pittsburgh N'at (as a helpful tip, here is a funny link to Pittsburghese)! 

The Proposal: Hey baby, I think I want to marry you. . .

True Confession: I knew we were going to get engaged. 

Truth be told, Mr. PT and I had been discussing wedding plans for years. I remember very early on, like the second year we were dating, I had asked Mr. PT why he didn't have any serious girlfriends before me. He replied, "Miss Palm Tree, I'm a Virgo. I waited until I found someone I could be with for the rest of my life." True Confession #2: Since about late August/early September, I had been hounding him about engagement plans. We had a very serious, in-depth, late night talk one night about growing up and moving forward, etc. I got him to confess that he would ask me before Christmas. 

"Did I really find the one girl who wants to know when she's getting engaged?" he would say. I would obnoxiously wiggle my fingers in his face, or make off-sided comments like "Gosh, this finger sure seems lonely. Doesn't it seem like it's missing something?" My favorite was when a situation required the middle finger - I'd flash my ring finger (and stick my tongue out. . .because I'm super mature like that). 

How We Met and Became a "We"

I realized kind of belatedly that I haven't really told the in-depth story of us. And I mean, who doesn't love to read ooey-gooey lovey-dovey stories? :)

I initially wrote this in third person for our Wedding Website because I figured it 'fit' better with the whole storytelling ideal - I hope you don't mind, Hive, that I've decided to keep it that way. 

personal photo | The two of us at a wedding last year.

Mr. and Miss Palm Tree first met when Miss Palm Tree's family moved across the street from Mr. PT's family. Their younger sisters were the same age and immediately became best friends. The closest kids to Miss Palm Tree's age, of course, were the neighborhood boys. . .who, of course, hated Miss Palm Tree. . .who, of course, was persistent and obnoxious enough to continue to try to hang around them, despite this hatred. Scars (literal scars!) and stories ensued. 

personal photo | See, scars?! That's my knee scar, thanks to a really brutal game of kickball.

The Story of Us: About Steph and Jon

I was going through my posts and realized I never really discussed 'us'. How we met, how we got to this point.* I think it was because when I started to blog, I was so excited to share the planning part that I forgot the background information (and also incorrectly assumed that everyone who reads this would know this stuff already).

So I've decided to officially share our stories and how, eventually, it became one story - The Story of Us. We can title this chapter 'About Steph and Jon'.

one of Jon's personal MSPaint drawings, circa. . .2005? | One day, this will hopefully be edited to read "Miss Fairy n' (insert Jon's undisclosed nickname here)"

The Honeymoon Contenders

One of the (seemingly 900) reasons we were so excited for our trip to Jamaica with The Y’s last year was using it as a test run for our Honeymoon. 

Believe it or not, we have not settled on an idea for our Honeymoon. We have an overall, admittedly typical, vision and lists of 'musts': all-inclusive, tropical, drinks, relaxation, beach. But there are so many options to consider, even as a Bride (/Couple) on a Budget, especially with websites like LivingSocial and Groupon. 

In fact, our Jamaica trip came from LivingSocial. GM Y came to me LAST November regarding BM Y’s Christmas gift. He wanted to do something “big” and special for her, since he was planning to propose later in the year. He sent me potential excursions – I know one was Mexico, one was a ski-resort in Colorado and one was Jamaica. We were pro-and-con’ing each when he dropped, “you and Jon should come!” I dismissed it at first with a, “oh, we’d LOVE to but (insert something standard here).” He kept pursuing it, stating that she’d be even more surprised and it’d mean even more to her, we’d have so much fun, it wouldn’t be the same. . . and I caved. It took a little bit of convincing for Jon (he is totally and completely the level-headed, financially responsible half of this duo) but eventually we decided we could and would do it. For the record, GM Y was totally right: BM Y said she didn’t cry until she realized we were going, too (granted, it could have been tears of laughter at the poorly illustrated palm tree and ‘ocean’ I drew in the ‘I.O.U’ I gave her at Christmastime, but still, tears happened). 

We purchased the trip before Jon proposed (even though I knew it was coming. . .), so once the engagement was official, we decided to look at this trip as a trial. If we liked Jamaica enough, as I am pretty sure we will, we’d go there for our Honeymoon. I liked that it would have meaning, considering we’re embarking on this trip exactly one year prior to our wedding, and it would be our first “Big Trip” as an engaged couple. We both liked that it was fairly budget-friendly – after all, if we could do it now for seemingly no reason other than to accompany our friends and enjoy some tropical fun, then why not for a big celebration and treat to us as a married couple? In the meantime, though, we’ve been tossing around other ideas just in case. 

A much less painful taming of the Hairy, Scary Monster (TMI Again!)

Parts one and two of the Hairy, Scary Monster story focused on my incredible anxiety as well as my less-than-comfortable results post-taming. 

I am beyond elated to share the details of my follow-up waxing, specifically the one that goes a little like this: IT WAS SO MUCH BETTER!!! 

I actually went for the Bikini Wax this time instead of the Brazilian. Although I was initially going to go Brazilian again, they didn't have a time slot available that would work for me and I half-chickened out, half-took it as a sign. The girl on the phone offered, "we could do a bikini instead?" Hmmm. . .bikini, you say? Cheaper, you say? Less land mass to be irritated and swollen, you say? 

What I Cannot WAIT To Do

I went to a Happy Hour recently with some of my co-workers and friends, including Bridesmaid Blackout, Groomsman Y, Mr. Palm Tree and a couple who just got married. They were leaving for their honeymoon in Mexico the next morning. The new Mrs. was joking with me and telling me how insane I'm going to be once invitations go out, because you're so dependent on other people. I told her that her Groom often jokes with me that during the last few months of our planning, Mr. PT is welcome to stay at their place, to ensure the sanity of all involved (har-dee-har-har). 

At some point or another during the conversation I exclaimed, "oh, there is so much I wish I could do right NOW!" Her eyes widened and she laughed at me, asking what I could possibly be excited about since a lot of the big ticket items (shoes, dress, venue - just a few examples) are locked and loaded.

Musings and Observations: Relationship Behaviors

This post was inspired by Miss Treasure, who wrote a post about “secret single behavior” that stemmed from this article in the New York Times. 

I have always been an advocate of your significant other being your best friend, your one person that you can be 110% yourself with no matter what. I recently learned that I need to be stop being so WTF’y about the differences among couples and their interactions. I’ve also realized that I need to stop feeling bad when I do have these ‘wtf’ thoughts; because I’m not judgmental or holding it against anyone – you do what you have to do, whatever makes you happy – but I do have opinions. And if they’re negative, then that’s alright, I’m entitled to them – so long as they don’t make me mean or rude. 

All of that having been said, I am so frustrated with all of these articles suggesting that you can’t be yourself in front of your significant other. It’s not just this one in the Times (to be fair, the one in the Times isn’t just about significant others; it’s about roommates in general), but articles like this one in Cosmo absolutely infuriate me. I went on a for real Facebook rant about it. 

personal photo | Forgive me for my MSPaint editing skills.

Hair Love: What gives a girl power and punch?

. . .is it charm, is it poise? No, it's Hairspray. 

source | Mmm, my husband can serenade me any day. What, you didn't know we're married? ;) 

A more apt title for this post could have been 'Hairspiration' but this song just kept popping in my head so I decided to try and be clever. ;) 

(P.S. I know Mrs. Potion had a really similar title to one of her hair posts - I promise I'm not copy catting, this was written prior to being a Bee and I just love the song, the title, etc. so much that I didn't want to change it.) 

I am always on the lookout for hair and makeup inspiration pictures (to pin to my 'Wedding - EEE!' board on Pinterest, ahem). At this point, I haven't nailed down exactly what I want my makeup to be like, but I know - and honestly, have always known - what I want my hair to be like.

Mr. Palm Tree and I both share a 'wtf' sentiment at this new craze that has had girls wearing their hair down and straight, like every day life, for special events. I have absolutely no clue where this came from, but it makes no sense to me. We both much prefer Princess Giselle's look in every day life than the ridiculousness that was her 'elegant' look for the ball (I must have my hubby James Marsden on the brain, after looking at those pictures I YouTube'd 'True Love's Kiss'. Not ashamed, folks, not ashamed).

Our First Event as an Engaged Couple

When Jon and I attended our first event as an engaged couple, I was reminded of when Miss Wizard wrote about their First Event experience on WeddingBee. It made me realize that I could write about ours, too! 

So naturally, I went into the wedding with this mindset. I would excitedly tell Bridesmaid Y, who was also at the wedding with Groomsman Y, "I can't wait to write about ____ on the blog!" 

personal photo | Schrends Do A Wedding

The Taming of the Hairy Scary Monster (Potential TMI again!)

After heavily weighing the pros and cons of waxing 'down there', I decided to grab Bridesmaid Y and go on a trial run. 

Both of us were pretty terrified. Being the pro-Googler that I am, I had read TONS of horror stories. Skin getting ripped off? Bacteria? I was hoping that, at the very least, I'd scream here and there and be done with it. 

First and foremost: we knew that - despite all information telling us otherwise - we had to find courage in liquid form. 

source | Mad Mex's "Big Azz" margarita: 22 ounces of liquid courage

Seriously, you haven't lived (and by lived, I essentially mean died a terrible morning after death) if you haven't had one of Mad Mex's legendary margaritas.

Down to the nitty gritty we go, folks: 

If anyone ever tells you that it doesn't hurt, he/she is either a superhero or a liar. Just like the people who say that tattoos don't hurt (I'm here to tell you: I have three, all of which killed in their own unique ways), people who say Hairy Scary Monster waxing doesn't hurt deserve to be seriously interrogated. Of course, I cannot speak for everyone - but I can speak for myself.

The Hairy Scary Monster: Part Uno (Potential TMI!)

You know that episode of Full House where Stephanie tries to scare Michelle by referring to the haaaaairy scaaaaaary monster? You know, the one that scares the Cookie Monster?

source | This has nothing to do with anything, except that it came up on a  Google search and made me laugh.

Well. . .I'm not talking about him.

I am talking about the one that lies, often (well. . .hopefully often. . .) hidden on all of us. You know, the hairy scary monster that lives *whispers* down there (insert suggestive eyebrow and knowing look here). 

Here's the deal, friends. I'm not going to pretend to know how all lady bits work OR the preferences of every said lady who reads this blog. I am, however, going to venture into potential TMI territory that every bride thinks about at least one hundred thousand times once. Fair warning.

Transportation: The Journey

Alternative Title: 'Do I just have to, like, wish myself there or something?'

It was about four months into planning when I realized that I wasn't thinking about a pretty key fact: transportation.

image via Molly's Trolleys Pittsburgh 

Through my research, I haven't discovered much related to transportation on the big day. I mean, I think of movies and it's always the couple driving away with 'Just Married 'on the back.

image via Martha Stewart Weddings | But these won't make any noise! 

And that's all fine and dandy - but how in the heck do you get from Point A to Point B? The hotel/wherever you're getting ready to the ceremony site? Ceremony to picture site? Perhaps the most important (definitely in our case), from the reception back to the hotel? 

Does the bride drive herself? Does a bridesmaid drive? What about the dresses? Does the groom drive? What if everyone doesn't fit in one car? Does the hotel (if applicable) provide transportation? I mean, these are serious questions.

The Wedding Shoes: Part Two!

When we last left off, I had begun the hunt for My Wedding Shoes. Although one may think it would have been tough, considering all of my restrictions, it really wasn’t. It was one of my Bridal Lightbulb moments, for sure.

can you believe there aren't any pictures of a lightbulb with a veil on it? I Googled for at least 10 solid minutes. Mer. 

One of my closest friends, and also my Day-of-Coordinator (more on that, I promise!), was a Campus representative for TOMS shoes during our time together in college. Before her, all I knew about TOMS was that Britney Spears (one of my all-time favorite human beings, ever) was a celebrity endorser. . .which honestly, despite the wealth of knowledge I had telling me that I fell prey to propaganda techniques, was enough for me. However, as was the case multiple times in college, my dear friend’s dedication and passion lit a flame of a similar sort under me as well.

source | Britney is my homegirl. Sidenote: Twitter has for real been around since 2009?!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with TOMS: TOMS was founded in 2006 by Blake Mycoskie, who simply went to visit Argentina and discovered that children often went without shoes. Being that it is an underdeveloped country, this meant that these children could walk miles for clean water without shoes, spend days in fields without shoes, perform hard labor without shoes; some schools even require shoes as part of a uniform, and without shoes, these children are denied educational opportunities. I don’t want to get too preachy on you, so that’s the gist of it (if you’re interested, please please please, I encourage you to check it out): Blake started TOMS after his experience, with the One for One promise. For every pair of TOMS purchased, a pair of shoes is given to a child in need. The pair of donated shoes is not just your average pair of sneakers, they are hand-crafted to fit the child’s need (perhaps the child who walks for miles every day will have a thicker sole; the child that works in the field among humidity and moisture will have ‘breathable’ fabric. . .I do not pretend to be a cobbler, these are just examples).

The Wedding Shoes: Part One

One of the things I'm most excited about are The Wedding Shoes. This was actually a really easy decision for me. It was something I had tossed around in my head for a long time and after a few encouraging discussions with Bridesmaid Y, I went for it. 

Let me start by clarifying: there was no way in h-e-double hockey sticks that I would be wearing anything close to heels for my wedding. Period. Number one: I'm tall. I'm 5'9". Mr. Palm Tree, on the other hand, is like 5'11" ("and three quarters!" he would add). Number two: I am clumsy. As in, I can barely walk barefoot without tripping, falling, stumbling, etc. Number three: I have a bunch of ankle/foot/back issues, most of which stem from a combination of my completely flat feet and my weak ankles that required me to wear high tops until I was 10 (no joke, hive, no joke). Number four: They. Are. Not. Comfortable. Period. All of the above combined meant that I was very clearly going to be rockin' flats from the get-go. 

I wasn't upset about this fact. I've been joking about it for years. "Well, I'll be in ballet slippers anyway," was my standard comment. I would also follow it up with, "No one's going to see my shoes anyway, who cares?" 

The Lulls of a Long Engagement

I have been harping about the advantages of early planning - so much so that I'm sure even the mention of the word 'planning' causes an eye or two to automatically roll.

Well, I'm here to tell you, readers (all 6 or so of you. . .ahem) that there is in fact a con to every pro, what goes up must come down, a gray cloud for every silver lining. . .

I know, that sounds ridiculously negative and very 'say whaaaaat?!' inspiring. I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer, really. . . but the truth is: planning a wedding in advance can cause some pretty steep downfalls.

In my experience (I know this won't be the case for everyone, it all depends on the situation and the individuals), it was kind of hard having such a 'long' engagement. Almost exactly one and a half years. It was so exciting to be able to get things DONE early. Let's make decisions! Let's book venues and vendors!

After those first few big steps, though, it really starts to feel like not much cannot be done for a very, very, what I classify in my mind as: verrrrrrrrrrry-verrrrrrrrrrry-freaking-far-awayyyyyyyy long time. I mean, we had to wait for our engagement pictures, wait to buy gifts for the wedding party, wait to get excited about the bridal shower - I started to feel like everything required a waiting period. For someone who is already incredibly impatient, this was infuriating.

The Bridesmaids Dresses Revealed! (photo-heavy)

After I said yes to my dress, hugged the store manager AND my attendant and paraded around a bit, it was time to choose the bridesmaids dresses.

A lot of people expressed surprise when I mentioned we were aiming to get both my dress and their dresses chosen in one day. Honestly, it wasn't any additional stress and it was necessary for us. At that time, we were pretty much scattered: Rev. Fun hailed from Atlanta, BM Badonk lived an hour away, BM Tiny Dancer was in college about three hours away and BM Blackout and MOH Mem worked in the healthcare field and had to schedule days off two months in advance - if we had a weekend where we were all together, we were going to take full advantage and get sh-t done, for real.

Again, I had a pretty strict set of ideas in my head: no strapless, I wanted MOH Mem to be in a different color, I wanted them to be all the same style and I wanted them long. Even though I had what I wanted picked out (I won’t shove the DB Dress Your Wedding image in your faces again, but I will tell you that you can find it here), I had sent an e-mail to my girls telling them I was open to their opinions and ideas. I assured them that I would not pull a Topanga, but I also let them know that they didn’t have to like the dress in terms of style - they just had to be comfortable and able to dance.

source | "Those. are. the most BEAUTIFUL dresses I have EVER seen."

My main goal was finding one dress that fit everyone. When you have a variety of heights (I’m talking from 5’4” to right around 6’), weights, shapes, booties, bazoombas and not to mention a variety of skin and hair colors, it seems next to impossible, but I was confident that I had chosen quite a few dresses (including backups, of course) that would fit and flatter everyone.

My Bride Moment: I Said Yes To The Dress!

Early in my planning, I kept forgetting I was a Bride. I mean, obviously I was doing bride-esque things, like booking our venue and failing at favors, but it was a weird combination of having been thinking about doing this for so long and diving into doing it head first that kept me somewhat detatched.

Bridesmaid Y and I went to a bridal show in the first month of my engagement (I'm telling you, folks, I wasn't messing around) and I definitely experienced some sort of overwhelming, awe-inducing, 'whoa this is real' feelings. But - and I'm willing to bet many brides and/or brides-to-be would say similar - nothing, nothing, NOTHING compares to picking a dress. 

I have so much to say about this day. I'll save the suspense and tell you all now: we were able to leave with not only my dress chosen, but also the dresses that my bridal party will be wearing - which was very important to me, because having everyone together is a rare occurrence.

We went to a local David's Bridal for our dresses. Being the lunatic stalker thorough person that I am, I scoured reviews, ideas, hints, any and everything related to this type of experience beforehand. Unfortunately, I encountered numerous negative reviews - even from Wedding Bee - and I began to freak out inwardly. Of course, I know enough about the internet to know that often only the extreme cases warrant reviews, but I still started to have mini anxiety attacks. What if they don't know what they're doing? What if I get a complete bitch and end up snapping? What if they won't let me use the appointment for both me and my girls? What if all of the dresses look hideous on me? What if MY dress, my dream dress, fails everywhere like the favors did? I was sincerely, legitimately concerned.

Here's the thing: every single thing that I worried about went flawlessly, every single thing that I thought I wanted didn't work. Yup, you read that right. It was a day of 'no way! Really?'

A slice of humble pie: observations about other relationships

I've been writing this post in my head for a while now. I wanted to write it in a way that was honest, but not too mushy-gushy; accurate, but didn't throw other people under the bus. Forgive me for the length - I promise it's worth it for tons of 'about us' goodies. ;) 

Then I realized, the problem was me - well, specifically my super opinionated nature. Whoopsies. 

Jon has been my best friend since we started dating back in 2004. Even during the Year From Hell (also referred to as The Year of Bad Decisions and The Necessary Evil Year - just depends on the mood), we talked daily and spent time together. He is without a doubt one of the truest and best people I have ever encountered. We laugh together, we cry together (seriously, we can't even talk about Toy Story 3 without tears filling our eyes) and we do everything else in between.

personal photo | You may remember that this is also the night we met our DJ. . .

I'm pretty much a what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of girl. In fact, the Best Man in our wedding once told me, "you get all of Steph within ten minutes of meeting you. . .good or bad, it's all there." To this day, I don't know if I've ever heard a more accurate statement.

So, needless to say, all of the people in my life - and specifically, our wedding party - knows me ridiculously well. Jon, though, knows me in a very intimate, almost intimidating way. I know, I know, it's so cliche to say "he knows me better than I know myself," or even, "we're soulmates." But I'm going to go ahead and jump on board that wagon because for us, it really and truly is the truth. 

Now I know that all couples do not co-exist like this. I know that it is incredibly strange that we (TMI alert!!) have absolutely zero qualms about one of us brushing our teeth while the other is using the bathroom (warned ya). I know that not every girl is super comfortable with her guy sitting on top of her and, well, tooting (. . .or vice versa. Totally guilty). I know that wrestling and de-pantsing in the middle of the living room is not totally kosher (as a side note, MOH Mem is also our roommate and girlfriend deserves major props because she is completely unbothered by all of our shenanigans. She often just cries with tears of laughter and pulls a random quote from our ridiculousness and puts it on Twitter). Truthfully, I cherish how different and ridiculous we are.

Flower Power! Introducing our flower girls.

In January of 2010 (whoa), I started babysitting two absolutely terrific, fabulous girls. 

In keeping with the theme of giving everyone nicknames (even though I’ll be posting pictures throughout this blog, so it’s totally more for fun than identity-saving. . .whatevs), I shall refer to them as Pad (the oldest, currently 6 - 7 this summer, which makes me want to vomit) and Pie (the youngest; now FIVE. Freaking five). These are pretty close to their actual nicknames, and I would put money down on a bet stating that should their mom choose to read this to them, they will be furious that I didn’t give them ‘prettier’ names or use their real names.

Their mom and I consistently talk about this (in hour-plus long conversations at the dining room table long after the girlies are asleep), but I’m a firm believer that we are a part of each other’s lives for a reason. First and foremost, we found each other on Craigs List. I know, I know, you're thinking: REALLY? Childcare on CRAIGSLIST?!  But it worked. I needed a job that wasn't too demanding but would put money in my pocket as I was interning at a local TV station and she needed a trustworthy, dependable adult who wasn't afraid to be a kid with her wonderful but slightly off-the-wall kids. I arrived for an interview that we didn't call an interview and fell in love. I fell in love with their house, their stinkypants dog Bodhi, with the girls, with all of it. It started off as an every Thursday event, while Mom PadPie (Lol) ran errands, went to meetings, whatever. It stemmed into other nights, as needed, and these girls - and Mom - wormed their way right the f into my heart. I'm getting ridiculously teary-eyed as I even type this, thinking about the first time Pie brought me over a piece of paper on which she had painstakingly written 'I love you Stephanie,' and the first time Pad cried when I was leaving. Granted, since then there's been a lot of 'YOU DON'T EVEN CARE ABOUT ME!'s, tantrums and time outs, but I figure that's how you know you've made it into a kid's life - when they don't mind standing in the middle of the hallway naked screaming at you. 

My First DIY Adventure: Puzzle Piece Fail Whale

I started out with a theme idea, and it was put to bed. I started out with a favor idea after I accepted a new theme idea (or lack thereof, really), and it was slowly but surely dying as well. I was beginning to wonder if I should just set out bags of Jordan almonds and call it a day. . .

After my fairly melodramatic e-mail to Bridesmaid Y, she responded (like a true BM should, in my opinion) with: “Don’t let the idea die yet!” As the day went on, amidst our normal gossip and such (you wouldn’t think two people who talk 984907834098 times a day and see each other at least once a week would still have things to say to each other, but we really don't ever stop), we would bounce ideas back and forth off of one another, but nothing would stick. 

On my lunch, I was multi-tasking, like I do best, by shoving food in my mouth and plowing through wedding websites. I returned to Google and found the originally discarded puzzle pieces again, so I went to that website for a second look. I noticed, perhaps a tiny bit ashamedly, for the first time, the two arrows and ‘6 of 8’ caught my eye. 

image via Hobby Lobby website | The 'DUH, self' editing all me, thanks to MSPaint. Just to clarify. 

I furiously clicked the arrow and VOILA (for real this time)!

image via Hobby Lobby website | FREAKING. WOODEN. PUZZLE. PIECES. I found them! 

There aren't really appropriate words, just a lot of !!!!!!!!!!!!! I immediately e-mailed Bridesmaid Y, completely in caps, about these puzzle pieces and my idea to stick a magnet on the back. Hello, place card setting favor, I have been searching for you for ohsolong.