Can I just say OMG! These hats by Topsy Turvey are just fabulous. Probably my favorite revamp of retro fashion ever, these hats are back in, in a HUGE way. Thank goodness they are too, cause they are just too cute. Finally it is time for adults to play dress up!

I saw a fabulous "tree" centerpiece a few years ago that someone had made look like a cherry tree, and I fell in love with it. Well, S wasn't keen on just having a random tree (I guess I understand) so he suggested we turn it into a Wish Tree. So that is what we are going to do! I found these lovely manzanita branches at www.bloomsandbranches.com and hopefully when they arrive I am able to transform them into something similar to their centerpiece pictured above. Wish me luck! I'll keep you posted on my status!

We are having our reception at the lovely Pere Marquette Lodge in Grafton, IL. I love how the lodge is both mine and S's style. We both agreed on it from the very beginning, and I'm super excited about having it there. The inside of the room we get is very lovely and driving down the Great River Road is a nice trip any time of year.

Going off topic from the wedding again, but can you blame me? How cute are these Sugar and Creamer Chikadees from Anthropologie? I saw them and just started laughing to myself. They make me smile.

And since I don't eat Turkey I've been trying to figure out what special stuff I want to make for the family gathering. I've settled on Baklava, green bean casserole (a classic) and a new recipe ... portabella mushroom pot pie. Yummy! I think I'm most excited about the Baklava. I love the taste. However, having never made it before I had to seek out a recipe. So I found this one at Allrecips.com. It looks like a winner (it's too easy to screw up!)

So one of the ideas that we (I say we, but I really mean Melissa) had for decorating for the shower was balloons. Easy and inexpensive, with the help of a helium tank and a little ribbon, we should be able to hide the quite a bit of the ceiling and make the room look pretty fun. Plus, afterward the party we can release them into the wild. ;) That would be fun.

I found these fabulous shoes to go with my new 50's inspired shower dress (thanks Dad!) at Makemechic.com. They were only $12.00! I know, they are a little over the top, but how often does one really get to buy and wear such cute shoes as these? I had to get a couple other shoes while I was out there, because their shoes are so inexpensive! I'll let you know when I get the shoes how well they are made, but for cute shoes I think they have great deals.

We have finally made a decision about our first dance song. S & I will be dancing to "Make You Feel My Love," by Adele. This song has been done many, many, many times before, but I really love this lady's voice and I just can't get over how beautiful this song is esp. when Adele is singing it. The first time I heard it I cried, that is how I knew it was "The One."
You can listen to it here.

"White Christmas" has been a family tradition for me for as long as I can remember, and my favorite part of the movie is def. the "Sister Act," especially when it is Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye performing it! So, what better way for my brother and the best man to show how much they love me than for them to perform it at the reception! I had to get them both hot pink feather clips that I'll be making headbands with and I will also be getting them pink feather fans. It is only fitting that we change the colors to that of the wedding. :) I can't wait to see the two of them performing! My brother, btw, will be Danny Kaye. Perfect.

S and I registered at Target and Kohl's (and attempted Walmart, though their scanners were all broken) the other day, and out of everything that we registered for, this is my favorite. This lovely stand mixer is the culmination of my dream kitchen, which will only happen when we can actually move into another house. But I have already decided that it will be painted robins egg blue and eggshell and that way I can accent pink, yellow, red, orange, green, white, black, whatever I want really with flowers or other items. To be honest, I really want a retro 50's styled kitchen crossed with modern appliances, but that is a long way coming. So for now I'll dream about my mixer and all the goodies I could make with it.

Sometimes I amazed at how well people really know me. Caitlin suggested this lovely 50's styled dress from Unique Vintage for the Bridal Shower. Amazingly enough, I've actually looked at this site and this dress a NUMBER of times. Thankfully my Dad also knows me well! He bought the dress for me! I posted a few days ago how I didn't want to spend the money for a dress just for the shower. I think it is amazing that he would do that for me! Of course, I know once I posted about it my other friends were trying to figure out how they could afford it for me. I love my friends and family!

I'm going off topic from the wedding for a moment, but I think this lovely shoe rack is just the coolest thing. Invented by Rakku Designs it holds up to 30 pairs of shoes in individual slots that you can see from either side, so you know which shoes go with which outfit! No more searching through the bottom of the closet, or under the bed! Or, if you are like me, leaving them lying around the house till you are forced to put them away. Some people are so clever. Of course I wouldn't mind the selection available in this one. ;)

I'm super excited about the wedding, but I'm just as excited about my bridal shower and bachellorette parties! Both will be on the Saturday of Easter weekend (4/11/09) so that my out-of-towners don't have to make a special trip. The shower is going to be retro 50's themed crossed with "Pretty 'N Pink." Very me. The bach. party is going to be just as much fun with 1 big detail planned and a few details in the works. We are most definatly going to the Bailey's Chocolate Bar in St. Louis. One of the other ideas that we had was playing a few rounds at The Pin Up Bowl on Delmar. I've never been there, but it's a bowling alley/martini bar. How could you go wrong? We may or may not be getting a hotel room, there are a few details still up in the air for now, but that makes planning it all the more fun right? And it gives the bride something to look forward to...

I attempted to take a photo of the earrings I plan on wearing for the wedding. I also tried to take a photo of this cool jeweled silver flower ring that I got from Forever 21 that I also plan to wear, but that one didn't turn out well. I'll have to come up with a different plan for taking a picture of it.

In my rush to talk about all the other stuff, I almost forgot to add the part about the favors! We are having a cookie bar/buffet table with homemade cookies made from family recipes and we are also (hopefully) going to have recipe cards for each of the cookies! I make no guarantees about mine coming out anywhere as cute as either of these, but I'll do my best. I'll have to take a couple photos of the items I have so far for it, trays and stands and such, and my lovely maid of honor is letting me borrow some jars from her wedding as well.

At the request of Caitlin I am posting my centerpieces. This is a photo of what the idea is. So it is 3 different sized cylindrical vases with a 3 different types of flowers. The flowers will be pink hyrangea, pink alstromeria and either cherry blossoms branches or birch branches, depending on what the florist can get her hands on. They will all have a lit floating candle on top and white votive lights around. The table clothes will be white and most likely so will the napkins, but I haven't talked to the reception hall yet about that. I'm still thinking about if there is anything else I want to do on the tabels as a little something extra. But I'm really excited about the whole "submerged flower" thing. I think it looks elegant and makes a big statement without a huge amount of flowers. And thanks to my lovely Aunt I get exactly what I want!

It is official, Scott and I will be spending a wonderful week in Hawaii, Hawaii for our honeymoon. We will be staying at the Wyndham Vacation Resorts in Kona on the Big Island. The deal we got on the one bedroom condo was too good to be true, but we made up for that with the price of plane tickets for a 10+ hour flight (YIKES). But I'm throwing all care into the wind since we will be in HAWAII! I can hardly believe it. I'm just to excited.

So my bridesmaids dresses have finally arrived! I am WAY early on this, still many months out, BUT...I like to be early. Here is one of the three. My three girls are all wearing different shades of pink (which is the wedding theme if you will). This is def. the brightest, but I think it is SUPER hot.

I know that everyone has different ideas about design, but being a designer, I take it my wedding design very personally. That is part of the reason that I didn't want to just leave it up to our cake decorator to do whatever she wanted. I really wanted the wedding cake to reflect parts of the wedding. SOOOOO..... here is my fabulous cake, or at least what it will mostly look like. Our decorator (Artistry on Cakes of Bellville) was really excited to have something new to try, and I was really excited to have her doing our cake, because her cakes taste like HEAVEN.

So my cousin found this AMAZING hairdo on Taylor Swift's video "Love Story." I love both hair styles that she is wearing in the historic flashback, but this is my favorite of the two, so now, thanks to this video, I have decided to switch from a half updo to a full updo. I just can't get over how wonderful this hair style is. I plan on wearing a flower in my hair too, and I think it'll work really great with that. I may have to look into a headband or something similar for the front, but I'll see what I like. Check out more great Taylor Swift style tips at http://dlt.lovechem.net/hairguides.php (which is where the photo came from).

I can't get over how much I love these tables by Amy Atlas Events. Every time I look at them I just want to create something similar everywhere I look. I hope we can do something this fun for my shower, or I can at least spice up my favor cookie bar for the wedding.

I'd never really call myself a "careless with money" type of person, but looking at some of these wedding blogs certainly could entice me to be. Once Wed posted these lovely porcelain milk bottles by Alyssa Ettinger. Here Etsy shop is here. How cute would one or two of these look on my homemade cookie favor table! Aarrgghh! It's almost too tempting!

I have been working really hard this week, and trying to compile lists off all the little things I have left to do. Hence the reason I haven't been back to blog lately. And the verdict is...I have no idea anymore. I think I fried my brain somewhere along the line because I've got all the major vendors booked, and I've done a ton of stuff, and for some reason I've lost all the wind from my sails and run aground. I can't think of what I need to do next. Sure, I can think of things to do, but they either don't need to be done for a while or I can't do them till a certain date (ie: my caterer doesn't want to do a tasting till a few months before, and I'm still at least six months out) OR, I am trying to rely on Scott (the fiance) for a decision, or at least help with a decision. I think I need to just take a few days for myself, shut off the brain, and try to pick up where I left off.

I also have to brag a bit about my photographer. I got the best one in the world. The owner of Hazelton Photography based out of Geneva, Illinois happens to be a relative of mine and she agreed to take our photos. Now I may be partial, but I think her work speaks for itself.

I wanted to share my first must have item for the wedding. Shoes are WAY to important to me, I know, but I really couldn't live without these fabulous shoes by Touch Ups. They are call the Katherine and they remind me of a 1940's or 1950's dance shoe. One you might see Ginger Rodgers wearing as she is glided across the floor by a dashing Fred Astaire. *Sigh* A girl can dream can't she. I know I was born in the wrong era, but thank heaven for these shoes!

While I have been an avid blog "stalker" for some time now, it never really occurred to me to have my own. However, since I have not entered the full swing of my wedding planning, I thought it might be nice to share my ideas and try to keep track of everything. I'm super excited for having this blog and I can't wait to start posting.