No Surprises

I am not a fan of surprises.  Actually, I wouldn't know if I am or if I'm not, I've never been surprised. Well, not if it's something I am expecting. Even if I just suspect it, I figure it out.  I am a snooper (in my profession we just call it "research!")  My friends have only attempted a surprise party once, and bless their hearts they tried so hard, but I was dating a pretty poor liar at the time, and I pretty much badgered it out of him.   Mr. Lyre is a much better liar (ha!), sort of.  To be fair though, it's not lying.  He just withholds information and can keep things from me, no problem.  He will not budge no matter how hard I persist.  However, I have learned how to get around these things.  I bring up conversations that I think will lead me in the right direction, or spend hours analyzing conversations we've had to figure out things he tries to keep from (not big stuff but things I shouldn't know before they happen - stuff like presents for me, or say, my proposal).  Before his sister's friend practically told me he was going to propose (congratulating us a week too early - oops!), I already had it figured out.

Girls in Blue (and Grey!) - Part 2

Memorial Day weekend my sister was visiting from Boston, so I was able to gather 6 of my 9 bridesmaids and do a little bit of shopping for bridesmaids dresses.  I had been torn with allowing my bridesmaids to choose anything they want in an acceptable shade of blue to wanting a little more consistency with the look of the bridesmaids. I came to the conclusion that I just needed to see some dresses next to each other to be able to decide. Our first stop was to Macy's Bridal Salon at a mall centrally located for all the girls.

Upon arrival we just starting pulling every blue dress we could find, with the intention of trying them on to see what they looked like next to each other.

Here is the first round of blue:

Linda, Diane, Liz - all in navy and different lengths.  Alissa in an ice blue dress, not sure what the length was supposed to be there! 

Honeymoon Bag - breakdown

As I promised, I wanted to share the Honeymoon Bag I created for one of my bridesmaids who had her school shower recently.

I know that her regular shower is coming up, and she's going to be getting so many things she needs from her registry,  and the school she is currently working at generously got her a donation towards her honeymoon. So, sticking with the honeymoon theme, I decided for her school shower to put together a bag of goodies they can use on their trip to Antigua.  I wasn't going to spend a lot, I had only collected money from 5 teachers other than myself, so here's the total breakdown of the Honeymoon Beach Bag:

(all photos personal) 

Fake Spade

I love Kate Spade as much as the next bride (maybe a teensy bit more than most - more on that later).  However, there are times where I draw the line in how much I love her versus how much money I am willing to spend. Fake Spades are what we call knock-off Kates. When I was younger I may have purchased one or two fakes on Canal St in NYC, and sometimes, they are so good you can't even tell the difference (sometimes not so much!) But I didn't buy a Fake Spade this time, I made one!

One of my bridesmaids is getting married this summer, and as a teacher, you get a school shower along with your regular shower.  It's a little intense, but it's always a good time.  Teachers are always getting married in the summer (except me!) This week, I had 2 showers back-to-back.  These showers, like regular showers ADD UP.  I was in charge of the group gift from my school for my bridesmaids school shower (she has since moved to a different school which is why we weren't in charge of the whole shower!) I decided to put together a cute honeymoon bag for her and her husband-to-be, and LOVE the Kate Spade toiletries bag, but there was NO WAY I was going to spend $60 on a cosmetics bag, so I got creative.

The REAL Kate Spade

Who will notice?

Our wedding will be a gorgeous day, no matter what.  Our venue is SPECTACULAR. But, there is a signature element to our wedding that will not be there.  I'm wondering if we skip it... will anyone notice.  You tell me.

It's this:

Cescaphe Ballroom

vs.

Kay Lim Photography

Keeping the Faith

Mr. Ly and I come from two different religious backgrounds and are trying to incorporate elements of our faith into our wedding in a more secular sense.  It is clear though, that one faith is dominating the wedding.

We are going to sign a Ketubah before the ceremony.  It will be an interfaith Ketubah, with both the Hebrew and English text reflecting our personal beliefs.   Mr. Ly will have to take a Hebrew name, which he is more ok with than I thought he would be.  We'd like something modern and classic, and something that feels like us as it will be our first piece of artwork that we have as husband and wife.

Love this look, from Ketubah Graphia located in Brooklyn. 

 We will be having our ceremony under a Chuppah, lead by a rabbi**, and concluding with us stepping on the glass.  There will be one reading from the bible, "Love is patient, love is kind" (1 Corinthians 13:4- 8a) read by his uncle, which has been done at all of his siblings weddings.  I am glad we can keep that tradition. 

Girls in Blue

I know mismatched bridesmaid dresses can be construed as something trendy these days, but ever since I was little, it was what I envisioned bridesmaids dresses to be. My mom had mismatched bridesmaids for her wedding, and those are the first pictures that formed my vision of what a wedding looks like. The only wedding I attended as a child was my aunt's, in 1984, and the dresses were pink and poofy - you can imagine the horror! With those two images of what bridesmaids look like juxtaposed in my head, you can clearly see why I was drawn to mismatched, individual styles.

As a bridesmaid (3 times thus far, my 4th time will be in August), I have always hated wearing the same dress as everyone else.  Even if I love the dress, there's nothing like wearing the exact same dress as girls who are built differently than me (in my case I've always been the biggest bridesmaid) and feeling like people are comparing me to the other girls. It's hard not to when you're wearing the exact same thing.

What's wrong with this picture?

(or how we solved yet another problem with our save the dates!)

What's my Type?

Or why I refuse to be Type-cast. 

Type A:

The theory describes a Type A individual as ambitious, rigidly organized, highly status conscious, can be sensitive, care for other people, are truthful, impatient, always try to help others, take on more than they can handle, want other people to get to the point, proactive, and obsessed with time management. People with Type A personalities are often high-achieving "workaholics" who multi-task, push themselves with deadlines, and hate both delays and ambivalence. Under Psychodynamic theory (derived from Freudian Psychology), Type A personality is related to constipation.

Type B: 

The theory describes Type B individuals as perfect contrast to those with Type A personalities. People with Type B personalities are generally apathetic, patient, relaxed, easy-going, no sense of time schedule, having poor organization skills, and at times lacking an overriding sense of urgency. These individuals tend to be sensitive of other people's feelings

(definitions: Wikipedia)

I've never really defined myself as a Type A or a Type B type person. (If you type the word type too many times, it looks really WRONG.) Anyway, I don't think I ever really thought about it until recently I heard/read/came across something about brides who are really into planning and organizing their wedding are mostly type A people. (I can't not remember where, some where in the muck of the internet, it was surely not a scientific study of personality traits of brides planning their wedding juxtaposed with a control group published in an academic journal)   Um, sure.  We're also all really constipated too, apparently. Maybe it's just me, but I am just not the type (that word again!) to pigeon hole myself or anyone else into a category that only has two choices.  (although wikipedia does have a Type C personality too, I have never heard of anyone describe themselves as Type C though. Maybe because it's the most depressing definition I've ever read, seriously... check it out.) 

No Kids Allowed.

Mr. Ly and I decided pretty early on that our wedding would be a child-free event.

Image created by Miss Lyre

Save Our Date - Revealed - Part 2

Now that you've seen the base of our Save the Dates, heard the misfortune of not triple checking your proofs, and pondered how we solved our problem... I won't keep you waiting a moment longer.

Well, I turned to the Bee of course, and looked at other Save the Dates, and realized the solution was small.  Mini, even.  Have you guessed yet?  No? How about a joke then,

E: Knock, Knock.
Hive: Who's there?
E: Interrupting Cow.
Hive: Interrupting co---

E:

MOO! 

Save Our Date - Revealed - Part 1

After searching trying to find a Save the Date that was just right for "us" and not finding something that worked really well in its entirety, we decided to piece together a bunch of Save the Dates that we liked, and make it just right for what we envisioned.

First we decided on the actual images for the Save the Dates.  I came across this while searching for inspiration for our engagement shoot (which should give you a clue what the theme to our engagement pictures will be!)

Wedding Chicks

Finalizing our Photographer

When we last talked photographers, I couldn't choose between two, Mike Landis and Cliff Mautner.

Just as a refresher, here are some shots from Cliff at our venue:

Photo via Cliff Mautner Photography 

Photo via Cliff Mautner Photography 

And a few from Mike Landis:

Photo via Mike Landis Photographer

Image via Mike Landis Photographer

Let Them Eat Cake!

Warning: Copious amounts of cake porn ahead. Dieters, cake fanatics, and sugar lovers beware.

I will not be having a cake tasting in the traditional sense. My wedding cake is being provided by my super talented MOH, who has created amazing masterpieces such as this:

Diane Michelle Cakes

Confession of a Hoard-a-holic

Extreme couponer, sales hunter, stock-piler, hoarder... whatever you want to call me.  I BUY things when they are extremely cheap and hoard them for when I will later need them.  I don't really think of myself as an extreme couponer (not like on the tv show at least) as I do an extreme saver.  My most recent save was from Old Navy where I walked out of the store with a pair of jeans, 2 pairs of work pants, a dress, 2 pairs of lounge-y/yoga pants, a sweater, and a pair of work out pants for $22.  There was not one thing in that purchase that originally cost less than I what I spent on all of that TOTAL.  Do I need these clothes? Probably not. Mr. Ly may have at one point suggested that I like buying more clothing to avoid doing laundry, I can neither confirm or deny this.

But what it comes down to is this - I can not pass up a bargain.  If it's a good deal, I'll buy it. If it's an amazing deal, I will clear out the entire inventory. Whether I need it or not.  I starting hoarding items for my wedding a good year before we got engaged.

Shedding for the Wedding.

Losing weight for the wedding.  For me this is my number one frustration thus far in wedding planning, and the hardest thing for me to share publicly.  I am a plus-sized bride. Which it's not like you can't tell by looking at me, but for me I've always had a hard time just admitting my weight issues.  The problem is, I feel like I've been trying to lose weight my entire adult life.  I can not remember a time when I wasn't on a diet.  Or actively trying to lose weight.  Sometimes I wonder what life would be like to not be on a diet, or constantly thinking about how horribly i just ate and I how I really need to get back on my diet.  I can not escape it, it's always there.

I've always been overweight.  It's something that I've dealt with my whole life, and from one failed diet to the next, I don't know if I will ever be NOT overweight.  But that doesn't stop me from trying crazy fad diets or trying to cut out entire food groups. You name it, I've tried it.  I can do it, for a week or two, lose a bunch of weight, then get sidetracked and fall off the wagon, only to start immediately thinking about the next weight loss fad I could try instead of whatever one didn't work.  

Photographer Phanatics

Maybe it's the Phillies Phan in me, but I think you can add a Ph to any word that begins with an "F".

Philadelphia is home to amazing photographers, that can make choosing just one a very difficult process.  I follow many photographers work on their blogs, facebook, and twitter. Pictures are my passion.  I am a hobbyist photographer, my friends lovingly refer to me as the paparazzi.  To me, this is the most important aspect of our wedding.  MORE important than our venue, more important than food, music, video, flowers combined.  There was no compromise, and no budget set for our photographer.  We would just find what we loved.

I'm not denying that I've been secretly stalking who would photograph our wedding since before we got engaged. Wedding photography is so accessible and passionate, it's a snippet of the most memorable day of a person's life.  If done correctly, it should stir emotion and awe. But as much as I have a lot that I love about wedding photography, I also had a long list of don'ts. I don't like over processed pictures, or unnaturally lit pictures, and the vintage wash and distortion in pictures are not for me.  If the photographs on a photographers website didn't look clean, naturally lit, and organically created, they were not the photographer for us. 

The Divine Nine

Nine is my favorite number. Always has been. So I feel that is completely appropriate to have nine bridesmaids.

My nine bridesmaids are made up of my sister,  Mr. Ly's sisters, and my nearest and dearest friends that range from elementary school best friends through my closest friend at my current job. At first I didn't love the idea of such a big bridal party.  But I can't imagine my day without any one of these ladies, so nine it is.

Something Blue

Choosing my something blue for the wedding was an easy choice, in that I didn't actually chose it as much as it was chosen for me.

This is the story of my ring.

Personal Photo