Guest book alternative

I just found this while browsing on Etsy and I love it! 

Lovli Day created this family tree to use instead of a guest book!  It's so personal and unique.  I love the thumbprints!  It would also look nice if you used fall colors for the "leaves."

I will not be naked at my wedding!!!

I got my dress!!!  I only tried on about 10 dresses, but it was obvious this was the one.  I went to Wedding Belles in Barrington, and it was a great experience.  It's an old house with a few of the bedrooms set up as dressing rooms and some full of dresses.  I told them my budget was under $1000, and they told me that their dresses run between $500 and $2000, so I'd be counting some out, but that it was doable.  We only pulled dresses that were under $1000 and there were quite a few.  I was open to most styles, so that helped when it came to trying things on.  If you're pickier you'd probably have a much smaller selection.  

Two ladies from the store help you get in and out of the dresses, so beware.  My underwear wasn't the most appropriate but I figure they are probably used to it.  In the dressing room there is a three way mirror and a pedestal so you can see yourself very nicely.  If you love a dress, you head down to the main floor to stand at a larger mirror and they give you some earrings and other accessories (veils, too) so that you can get more into the look.  I think they sell veils also but I don't plan on wearing one so I'm not positive.  

Overall, this was a great experience, though I have no others to compare it to.  It was that easy.  :)  I ended up spending $700 on the dress plus $50 in tax (they're on the Lake county side of Lake-Cook Rd, so you only pay 7% tax instead of 10%!).  A tip if you plan on going there: check out the dresses in the dressing rooms.  They have some hung in the closets.  I actually found my dress that way--it was in the room that we were all in and I thought I'd add it to the pile.  I'm so glad I did!!!  I can't wait to wear the dress at my wedding!

More color questions

(source: The Bride's Guide)

  

So, these are the colors that I want in my wedding.  Aren't those flowers in the middle gorgeous?  And I love that pink tie.  The pattern is different, and I love how it incorporates different shades of the same color.

Navy dresses, and flowers in these colors, plus maybe lime green hydrangeas.  So in order to avoid the Halloween look, what color ties should the guys wear?  Orange is out (sadly).  If they were black or charcoal suits, maybe a navy blue tie?  That would certainly make this decision a whole lot easier.  Plum?  Lime green?  I'm still on the fence about the green, though.  The board above just looks so great the with the colors as is.

 

Is orange too much?

source: Brides.com

This picture is the inspiration for my flowers and accent colors.  I have always had a thing for orange, and I love the contrast with the dark purple and bright pink.  I also saw a bouquet at a flower shop that had lime green hydrangeas and I thought that might add that in for an extra pop of color.  Not that it really needs it....

But now I'm in a quandary.  What is my accent color?  I am planning on putting floral centerpieces on half of the tables and a non-floral centerpiece on the other half.  I want to add color to the non-floral centerpieces, but I'm not sure which color to use!  And also, the guys will need to wear colored ties.  And the invitations.  And lots more!

I don't want to do bright pink.  I love it, but I have a few friends using that color next year, so I want something different.  I am leaning towards orange, but I do not want the wedding to have a fall, or worse--Halloween--theme.  I love the look of fall decorations, but I don't want my wedding to have a seasonal theme.  For some reason I'm just not into that.  Not sure why.  I think it's really cute whenever I see pictures. 

Enough rambling and back to my first thought: is orange too much?

I've got my list and I'm checking it twice

How is it that the number of people in your life seems so small until you have to actually list each person?  We went into our wedding planning blitz with a rough list of about 180 people...about 100 of which were my family and friends.  But now that we have already made a decision of where to have our celebration, we've firmed up the list.  We're now around 230 invites.  I know everyone says that 20% won't be able to make it, but is that realisitc when the majority of the people live within 20 miles?  

That said, I'm not too concerned about having gone up so much in number.  The maximum number of people that can fit in the reception hall is 230, so we're ok.  For now.  Unfortunately the chapel will only fit 150 people.  Has any one else encountered this problem? 

Bridesmaid dresses!

I am so excited about my bridesmaid dresses!  I found them on sale at JCrew and snatched them up immediately.  I wanted all three girls to try them on before we settled on them just to make sure that they were all comfortable in them and that they were as cute in person as they were online.  With a few alterations, I think they're going to be perfect!  And for only $90 each!  (They're now marked down even lower, but I didn't want to wait, since JCrew often sells out of sizes very quickly)

I knew I wanted navy blue, but I didn't have a specific style in mind.  I think they'll wear thin black belts like the model, but I think black patent leather shoes.  It's a more casual look, but I think the girls will be comfortable and will hopefully wear the dresses again.  Though, my sister Terri tells me that she absolutely will not wear it again because there will be too many pictures of her in the dress.  She's nuts....