{and another!}

look! another pretty, simple, delicious looking cake that actually looks like a human made it! --maybe i've started something here! (lol, i know, i deserve zero credit on this in reality)

ps. still no fan of cake toppers...not even birds.

{just peachy}

i know, i know, apparently i was a little early in being proud of myself for making decisions and sticking to them. but hey, i'm doing very well over all.

my latest re-consideration though: shoes. i love the blue ballet flats i posted before, but they sold out and since then i've ordered my hair flower which i ended up buying a peachy-apricot colored flower instead of the ivory i had planned on, and ever so conveniently, J Crew just happens to have a beautiful set of the same flats as before, only in apricot...how tempting...

{take the cake}

alright, well i've said this whole time that our cake is very low on my list of priorities. I want a cake that tastes great, but other than that, well i can't seem to find it in me to care all that much.
i did start looking at cake photos today because we have to meet our bakers sometime in the near future and decide on flavors and such (hooray!)... and have finally developed a little cake style.

i want something very simple. Really, bake me a cake frost it in buttercream (hold the fondant! i think it's gross), throw a flower or two on, maybe a ribbon, voila! a cake.

Here are some photos i found that seem to be close to what i want, but really, at the end of the day i don't want a ultra fancy cake with flashing lights, crystals, an entire garden and orchard, that matches my dress that i found fondant for using pantone color swatches...i want my cake to look edible. and judging from most of the photos i saw, that may be a little revolutionary...

(LOVE the ribbons! hate the fondant...but otherwise, beautiful!)

(pretty... would have to really think about the dots, but pretty)

(love the strawberries and the frosting! lose the topper and i'm a huge fan)

(my favorite, minus the tiny top layer, lol)

{the cathedral}

Here is the cathedral we will be getting married in in Puerto Rico. It is in the center of Mayaguez, on the west coast of Puerto Rico. Isn't it amazingly beautiful?

{table settings}

this past wednesday i got to go visit milton ridge with my mom! it was wonderful because i got to see the venue again (and realize how much i absolutely love it!), and i got to show my mom something that i was really proud of finding, and i got to see it on a rainy day (actually the weather was bazaar and eratic because it was pouring one minute and sunny with those huge dark blue clouds in the distance the next). the opportunity to see it on a rainy day is actually fantastic--because it was beautiful in the rain and now i don't have to worry about the weather at all! i'll take whatever may come.

so while i was there i also got to pick out table linens with our planner... and drumroll please: ivory and gold. the table clothes will be a very white ivory (not a more yellow ivory but not snow white either) and the napkins and cake table will be a light, creamy (not metallic) gold color.

it's very neutral and simple. it will be beautiful in candlelight...and in keeping with the plan, the girls dresses will be such an amazing pop of color, it will be stunning. Besides, the reception hall is a warm gold color with white trim and wood floors and now it will seem like the hall was built for our wedding... it will be perfect, i'm so excited to watch this all coming together!

{how does that make you feel...}

help... I'm having a wedding dress crisis. I love my second dress so much and feel sort of undecided over the first one (which is still somewhere in the process of being made/shipped/delivered) which has all led me to consider selling the first one when it's delivered.

don't get me wrong, I'm still addicted to the idea of two dresses (this is important to me) and have fallen accidentally in love with a completely simple plain (but BEAUTIFUL) J Crew gown (not expensive either!) in the process...

what now? would it be wasteful and silly to sell the first dress and buy a third to replace it in the name of happiness?

and I thought everything was going so well...(not that this is a big deal, I just spend my free time at work agonizing over the thought. I can't help it!)

{we'll request the honour of your presence}

this weekend was a big weekend for me, wedding-wise. I finally chose paper and supplies for the invitations (yes, I know I haven’t sent out save-the-dates yet, but I did order ink so I can finally print them!). they didn’t end up exactly the way I was picturing them thanks to the enormous amount of trouble I had finding paper for the invitation sleeve, but it will be fine. It’s a very small detail that I realized wouldn’t make a whole lot of difference at the end of the day, so I just picked my favorite from what I did find and that’s what we’re going with. I do love the concept of them though:

• darker blue envelopes
• a light gold patterned paper sleeve for the invitation
• white linen invitations printed in blue ink
• and a response post card and small card with additional information
• all tied together with a wheat colored ribbon

love it. so now I just have to assemble and print everything and then set it aside until july (so fun!). Just wait until you see how I address the envelopes—I’ll have a special post all about it I’m sure!

{indulge me}

So our wedding is coming along beautifully. We are on schedule (or ahead of it) for everything. We are entering that phase where we get to do really fun things—like bridal showers and cake tastings. My second dress was delivered (http://www.preownedweddingdresses.com/ is phenomenal) and is gorgeous…and it barely needs to be altered. And our budget is still on course.

I discovered this weekend though that there are small indulgences you can still grant yourself on a budget. For example—silk ribbon. I really, REALLY wanted to tie off all the invitations with dupioni silk ribbon…but instead of breaking the bank, I ordered a gorgeous wheat colored satin ribbon for the invitations and then found a company that sells dupioni silk by the yard (instead of by the roll). I indulged my silk craving by ordering enough to tie off the bridesmaid’s bouquets and decorate the aisle chairs for the chapel. I cannot wait to see it!!

The dandelion midori dupioni silk ribbon should look fantastic against the blue dresses! Now I can have silk ribbon, but not throw my budget away for it…it’s going to be fantastic.

{programs}

I found this picture via snippetandink.blogspot.com and have always loved it. i finally caved into my adoration of this book and have found a way to allow it to melt into our wedding. Although this is a guestbook in real life, it will serve as the inspiration for our wedding programs:

a sort of old-world yellow gold cover out of thick paper and tied off with a warm honey copper velvet ribbon... i love that we have a palette and can incorporate different colors and textures in at every turn!

(see--everything is starting to come together! notice how the gold programs are pulled into the gold detail of the handtied bouquets???) love it!

{decisions, decisions}

I've been making lots of fun decisions lately and think that i've finally decided on flowers for the girls! I threw this together in Photoshop, simply combining the different flowers I plan on ordering... So there will be Esperance Bicolor roses, Friendship Creamy Yellow and Fuschia roses, Latin Lady Red and White roses, Marlysse Salmon Pink roses, Orange Cream Tulips, Orange Sorbet Spray roses and pink-peach hypericum berries, all tied off with a silky warm gold ribbon (that I have not found yet but am excited to be looking for!)

And the extra tulips will be the finishing touch on the centerpieces. I love it!

{decisions}

after a sort of lovely few weeks of relaxing and settling into the idea of being engaged and enjoying the fact that most of our work was taken care of presently, i think i've gotten back into the wedding fever.

it was sparked yesterday by the arrival of the flower for my hair and my maryland veil--oh, did i tell you? i caved on wearing a veil and have decided to consider wearing a vintage birdcage veil--and i LOVE them both!

i think i may have also decided on one major issue that i've been puzzled over for some time: my hair.

*drum roll please* i think i'm going to wear it down. i found this picture and think the bride is stunningly gorgeous... AND the best part is my hair actually does that and i can do it myself! so there's a decision (for now at least, lol)