Fit to be tied, with lace and ribbons.

Our invitations are a work in progress right now, our main envelopes are off at the calligrapher, response envelopes at the printer, and the final inserts being proofed and printed! While we've had our actual invitations and response cards for over a month now, I've done not a thing with them until this week. With the intention of sending out our invites by the first week of November, I have a lot of work to do here with lining and banding the invitations together. 

I have been obsessed with the idea of lace detailing for the invitation suite for ages. I pinned this picture 48 weeks ago (that probably was days after getting engaged... possibly even before.): 

Photo by Martha Stewart Weddings via Intimate Weddings

And I crazy-love the look of lace belly bands, like this gorgeous one by Hive member jp0829: 

DIY Lace Wedding Invitations 

Or something incredibly elegant like this lace wrapped beauty: 

SHANNON Lace Tied Wedding Invitation by Lavender Paperie

Or something as simple as lace over cardstock, giving the band a bit of heft: 

Lace Detailed Wedding Invitation via Paper and Thread

I've been playing around a bit with some ideas and I think I might have just found a combination I love.  

I first tried a plain lace band, but I felt it was too flimsy to be a band by itself, unless we wanted to attach it to something else.  I love the simple elegance of it, but it just wasn't enough. 

I backed the lace with a pewter grosgrain ribbon, to give it a bit more heft and I found I really loved the look.  Everything about our invitation is very classic, and I felt that this band really matched the elegance we are striving to achieve. The best part is they are super easy to make, I made 18 tonight before I ran out of ribbon in just an hour or less. I think it's worth the effort. 

And taking a page from Mrs. Elk's book, I'll give you guys just a hint of what's to come!  

(a sneak peak at the inverse of our invitations) 

I have yet to decide if I want to line the envelopes or not.  I'm leaning more towards not, but we'll see if the inspiration strikes me in the time between getting our envelopes back from the calligrapher and sending them out.

What are your thoughts on belly bands & lined envelopes? Worth the effort or a waste of time?  

100 Days as a Miss.

Well, it's about that time. I'm just hours away from being in double digits from the wedding, and I can honestly say that I have hit a full scale freak-out mode with things that need to be done. Is it possible that my to-do list grows daily, and despite feeling really accomplished with the things we've done, I feel like there is a mountain waiting to be scaled ahead of me - and 99 days isn't nearly enough time.

Keep Calm by NotablyUnique

Things that are currently making my hair fall out (no really, my hair is falling out... more on that later.):

We are bringing our envelopes to the calligrapher this weekend, our invites are being sent out in a mere 3 weeks (HOLY CRAP).  We don't have our inserts yet for the invitations, and my biggest concern - despite ordering them all from the same place - is that they will somehow look horrendous all put together.

I bought a nectar-moon voucher from LivingSocial, only to find out that our travel date was JUST outside the expiration date. Our arrival date was the date the promotion expired, so I thought that we could arrive that day, and it would cover our 4 days of rest & relaxation.  I was wrong, and thankfully, LivingSocial has a great return policy. But, with less than 100 days to go, we're looking for something a bit more traditional (like Sandals), and will probably go through a travel agent instead of Groupon or LivingSocial.  I hate to abandon my original plans, but somethings feel a lot more certain when arranged by a professional. (and I'm tired of spending HOURS searching for deals & flights!)

We have what feels like a bajillion meetings/things to do in the next few weeks: the florist, the rabbi (oh that reminds me, we STILL don't have a Ketubah), the jeweler, the hotel (do we book the penthouse for two nights? one?), a chuppah, lighting, figuring out brunch options... My mind is really imploding at this point.

I keep multiple to do lists - at home, at work, in the car, and today I looked at the list I keep at work thinking that with all the things we got done in the past week I could surely cross one of those things off.  Nope. Not ONE. *headdesk*

Not to mention the tons of DIY crafts I have want to do, bridesmaids gifts to complete, a hairstylist to book. I could list things all.day.long.

Now, when all is said and done, in 101 days, it will be over. I will be a Mrs, married to the love of my life, and (hopefully) heading off to somewhere warm with a drink waiting for me. I'm trying to do something to keep me grounded for the next 100 days, so I've embarked on a photo project. I did a 365 photo project in 2010, where I took one picture everyday, no matter what.  Some of them were pretty terrible, but it was also the year that Mr. Ly and I started dating - so the first year of our relationship is VERY well documented, and I love that I have photographs for all of those memories.  I decided to do something similar for my last 100 days as a Miss.  I will be taking a picture everyday (Instagram is the BEST!) to document my 100 days leading up to the wedding.  I realize that I can't slow time down, that stress will continue to build but if I have these photos to look back on, maybe it will be more memorable than just the whirlwind leading up to the wedding.

101.  Unwinding
 (Getting a head start! And 2 glasses were drank, chocolate was saved for a true emergency!!) 

100. Blogging
Look familiar? I took a picture of my screen while blogging.

If you are interested in following, I'm @Lyreinlove on Instagram & Twitter!

Did anyone else do anything to commemorate their transition into double digits??

Just Desserts

The desserts from my shower warrant their own post because they were nothing short of spectacular.

I don't know if I ever really explained my love of owls to you guys, but owls are my thing.  They have been since about 2005, which is about 5 years before you could really find a ton of owl items in mainstream shops.  I used to rely mostly on ebay to build my owl collection, and now that you can walk into just about any store and find something owl-y, my collections have grown considerably.  I was worried initially that my shower would be owl themed. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I was worried it would be more like a baby shower than a bridal shower - since owls are found on lots of baby items these days.  My worries were unfounded and my champagne themed shower was just the right amount of sophistication that I was hoping for.  However, there was no way that owls weren't going to make an appearance - and they did in a BIG way.

Without further ado, my shower cake.  Made by the ever-so-talented Diane Michelle:

Owls & Books - it's doesn't get much more "me" than that! 

 And the back was just as detailed:

Can you believe the detail on this? I love the veil on the bride owl! 

The cake was brought out in the middle of the present opening marathon, so that the dessert table could be set up and finished by the time I was done opening all the gifts.

Posing with my MOH

Making silly faces, maybe asking "Do I really have to cut this??" 

The first cut was hard, I didn't want to destroy such an amazing cake! 

Once I had made the first cut, the cake was whisked away and sliced for the dessert table.  As the gifts were finished, my bridesmaids announced that the dessert room was open, but I was to be the first to see it before anyone else.

I walked in and saw this:

My amazing dessert spread - all made by my MOH

Checking out the desserts - in awe. 

The cake was three tiers, with two flavors.  The top and bottom tier were pumpkin cake with caramel buttercream (I also love all things pumpkin.).  It was so delicious, it tasted as good as it looks!  The middle tier was an almond cake with rhubarb jam and amaretto buttercream. YUM. Some cakes look really nice but don't taste very good; Di's cakes are equal parts beautiful and delicious. 

Then we had the rest of the desserts:

Macarons - my new favorite dessert! 

Scones! (I didn't get to try these, but I am sure they were amazing.)

Mini Cupcakes with lemon cake and lemon almond buttercream 

The owls are edible, but there is no way I'm eating them. They are rice krispie treats covered with fondant.  Diane tells me that they will petrify and I can keep them forever, in a shadow box or some sort of cabinet and they will not go bad. 

 I got a nice sampling of all the desserts (except the scones. I meant to try them, but somehow I missed them.) and was so impressed by the amount of time and energy that went into the creation of this amazing dessert spread.

But wait... there's more!  My favors were also an edible dessert. Diane made the cookies, and some of my bridesmaids got together the Friday before shower to pipe and flood the cookies to make these adorable edible beauties! 

I clearly LOVED my favors. 

 I know the desserts at my shower were off the hook, and how extremely lucky I am to have a friend who can do this for me.  I can not even begin to express my gratitude to my bridesmaids for all the work they did, and can't wait to shower THEM with the gifts I've been gathering for them over the past year! My awesome bridesmaids really went above and beyond for my shower, and I love that these ladies will be standing beside Mr. Ly and me on the most important day of our lives.

A thank you note doesn't seem to be enough to express how much this shower meant to me, how do you thank those who go above and beyond your expectations with such generosity and kindness? 

Champagne Showers

"too much of anything is bad, but too much Champagne is just right" - Mark Twain

While I was getting made up, my wonderful bridesmaids were busy setting up and finishing some last minute touches for the best bridal shower ever. 

All my lovely bridesmaids, (minus one who couldn't make it from Miami)

My MOH's mother was gracious enough to offer her house for our shower - and even went as far as painting her dining room and living room blue to match the colors of the shower (She was getting the room painted anyway, the shower colors helped her pick her colors!) 


Mr. Ly wanted no part in the shower what so ever.  He understood that he was responsible for showing up at the end of the party to help get all the gifts back home, but he really did not want to be there for any part of the actual shower.  Since I was getting my makeup done early, I couldn't pick up one of my friends coming in from NYC at the bus, so Mr. Ly agreed to play chauffeur for the morning.  I'm not sure how it happened, but he was still there when I arrived at my shower - after it had already started! We said a quick hello, took a few obligatory shots, and then he was off, leaving me to be the center of attention all by myself.  

A quick picture together before Mr. Ly leaves.

 There was so much amazing food, all made by my talented future sister-in-laws.

Mr. Ly's sisters are amazing! 

 Champagne cocktails were flowing all day. Bellinis, mimosas, and plain champagne were the drink options, which of course made me a SUPER happy bride to be!

My wonderful MOH Diane who orchestrated this entire shower, flawlessly. 

My favorite part of the shower was having all my close friends in one place, even if I didn't get to spend much time with each of them. It meant the world to me that they were there - some of them traveling long and far, and only for a few hours of party time - just to be there!

College friends, Brooklyn friends, work friends - all in one place was incredible! 

 My wishing well gift asked guests to bring a meaningful book with an inscription in the book for me, us, or our marriage. Some people took this to mean a marriage book, some people took this to mean a meaningful book to them, and some people gave us useful books like cookbooks and ... uh... sexy time books.  One of my mom's best friends gave us a Kama Sutra book... you can imagine the shade of red I turned when I opened that one!

Just a few of our books! 

I hate opening gifts in front of people, and I was least looking forward to tackling this mountain of presents. 

 I am so grateful for the generosity that our friends and family bestowed upon us, but I am so awkward at opening gifts. I never think my reaction is enough, and then I over think it and worry that my reaction seems fake.  Besides my own discomfort, I know it's not a favorite part of any shower.  My bridesmaids did Bridal Bingo to make it more fun for the guests, but apparently we didn't register for typical things because not a single person won. We got some amazing gifts, but no one probably put down 6 different types of chip and dip servers, which we registered for without realizing that we don't NEED that many party dishes.
(Hopefully I'm not the only one who this happened to - you register for things then realize when you get it all that your registry was actually pretty redundant. Seriously, SIX chip and dip/appetizer sets.)

Our most coveted item on the registry - our SodaStream! My smile says it all.

And of course, we got our Kate Spade dessert server, toasting flutes, and "his & hers" glasses! 

After presents, dessert was served and most of the guests starting trickling out.  Sadly, most guests were gone when my bridesmaids presented me with an amazing video of Mr. Ly answering questions about our relationship, and I had to answer what I thought his answer would be, a shorter, sweeter version of "The Newlywed Game."  It was a crowd pleaser for the guests who were still there, and Mr. Ly showed up to help pack things up right at the end of the video - which was a perfectly timed entrance.

Now you may be noticing the lack of dessert or any sweets in this post.  This is not by accident.  You may remember that my MOH is an incredibly talented pastry chef, and the cake at my shower blew me away. All the desserts were to die for, and again I'm reminded how lucky I am to have such a wonderful, talented (and generous) best friend.  It deserves it's own post - in and of itself.

What my face looked like the first time I saw my cake. 

After all the guests left, and all was cleaned up, it hit me that my shower had actually just happened. Being an older bride means most of my friends are married and I have been a guest or a host at countless showers in my life. Having it actually happen for me was slightly surreal.   It passed in a blink of an eye, I didn't get to talk to anyone nearly long enough. People traveled long distances, spent time and money to be there for me, and I felt like I didn't have enough time to talk to the guests properly or thank them enough for being there.  I felt guilty not talking to everyone, so I spent most of my time moving from room to room, not really getting to have a good conversation with anyone!  I know this is just a minor glimpse of what our wedding day will be like, and I'll never feel like I had enough time to do it all.  When all is said and done, it was an amazing shower, and I had the best time. I just wish I could have slowed time down a bit to really soak it all in.

What are some tips for slowing down and enjoying the moments more? I need to practice before the big day! 

"Powder & Paint....

... make a woman what she ain't" - this is one of my grandmother's favorite expressions.  Anytime I get my makeup done, I think of this! 

This past weekend, I spent the day as a bride-to-be being showered with love and generosity and sweetness all around me at my incredible bridal shower. But before I get to the actual shower, I have a pre-shower makeup trial to share with you!

I took the opportunity to schedule my makeup trial the morning of my shower to get maximum photographic mileage out of being done up all fancy. The last thing I wanted was to get all made up and have no where to go. One way or another, my makeup trial was going to be for some special occasion, and I was very fortunate that my makeup artist was available to do both mine and my mom's makeup the morning of my shower. This is just another benefit of not having a surprise shower! 

(All photos personal) 

When it came to finding someone to do my makeup, I definitely didn't have to look far! 

This is my little brother as a cowboy, and our childhood next door neighbor, Danielle, as a BEE! (how awesome is that?) 

That little bee grew up into a very talented makeup artist, who will be doing my makeup for the wedding.  Since she lives so close, she was able to come over to my parents' house the morning of the shower for my trial.  I didn't have too much inspiration to go on, and I trust Danielle. So I closed my eyes and let her go to town. 

I'm not going for a "natural" looking eye AT ALL.  In fact, I was drawn more towards darker eye makeup, with heavy liner, and thick lashes.  That is exactly what I got... and surprisingly, while I don't think it looks natural, it doesn't look as heavy in the pictures from the day.  It was the perfect balance of what I wanted! 

I love getting my makeup done! 

My first time with false eyelashes - LOVED them! 

Checking the final product out! 

 I felt like I had a ton of makeup on, but I absolutely love the way it looked.  As someone who wears a decent amount of makeup daily, I was worried that I wouldn't feel much different with my wedding makeup. I was pleasantly surprised! The only thing we talked about doing a bit different for the wedding was a darker lip, maybe. I did love this whole look though.

After taking my hair down, I got to spend a precious hour with my gorgeous niece while my mom got her makeup done!

One of my favorite moments of the day! 

Before I knew it, it was time to head over to my shower! Here's a sneak peek of my mom and me, with our makeup all done, at the shower: 

My shower was perfect, and the day flew by, but at the end of the night despite how exhausted I was - I still didn't want to take my makeup off!  

Did anyone else have their makeup trial before a big event?