Fabric

My mom and I have done nothing on the bridesmaid gowns other than gather measurements. Sounds scary, but my mother is extremely fast and good at sewing. Between her and I, we should be able to get all three dresses done in a day, and follow up in early July with 'final fittings'.

I bought 10 yards of Plum Polyester dupioni from JoAnns.com, after finding out that it was not only cheaper but that they were offering a sale on shipping in addition to a 50% off coupon they conveniently sent via email. This is the online photo of the fabric, of which the color is nowhere close! I double checked it with the one in the store, and plum was actually the color we wanted. For less than $60.oo I got that fabric, and should be able to purchase lining, notions, and lace for less than $100.

Not a bad total for three bridesmaid gowns, especially considering that the Watters gown we fell in love with (left) retails for $300 - $400 each!

I'm meeting my mom on Friday to choose the rest of the materials for these gowns, and sometime in June we'll cut and sew all three in a day. The skirts and sashes are super easy, it's the top that will be the time-consumer.

My future Mother-in-Law found a beautiful Coldwater Creek dress in a pink polyester duipioni with a bit of lace on the top; the style goes well with our bridal party and the pink has just enough grey in it to go with our colors (which are all grey-toned shades of green and purple).

I will post, of course, when we having something resembling a bridesmaid dress created!

Dresses Everywhere!

47 Days.

That's how long I have to get my stuff together for this wedding!

One major thing is that I need to do is get my (store sample) dress cleaned. This terrifies me, because it's silk (which unfortunately = hard to clean properly) and I love my dress so much that I can't imagine having to find another that compares.

Most of the time silk gowns come back fine, but it's a fact that cleaning does reduce the amount of sizing, which is the filler they use to turn silk into silk satin. Sizing provides the sheen and weight to the fabric, which is part of why I love this dress; it photographs beautifully. I'm considering just having it spot cleaned for the wedding, and then having it fully cleaned and preserved after. The dirty spots aren't very noticeable and are both around the hem and by the zipper; spot cleaning eliminates the chance that the sizing will get ruined, and after an hour of being outside getting pictures done the dress will be less than pristine by the ceremony as it is!

I found a dress for the rehearsal dinner, a $130 Calvin Klein dress that I got at Burlington Coat factory for less than $40! They had it in white, yellow, and brown; I got it in brown because yellow is an awful color for my complexion (very fair) as is the white (had it been ivory instead it would have been my first choice). I plan on dressing it up with a flower in my hair or pinned to my waist (or a bright colored sash), a nice clutch, a shawl, and some nice shoes. Please excuse the fact that it's wrinkled! When I bought it the rain was coming down like crazy and I didn't have an umbrella, so the clerk folded it super small and double-bagged it.

What was really fun was trying it on in my old size, and having to try on 3 more until it was small enough to fit! Even now it's a little big, and I have to get the straps shortened (not an uncommon problem for me). I have another cute dress (black with polka dots and pink ribbon accents, in the old size) that I wore to my first bridal shower; it's now too big and will have to be taken in if I don't give it to one of my friends (who loves it anyways!).

This brown Calvin Klein dress will also serve as my bridal shower dress for this coming weekend, a two day event organized by my Matron of Honor that includes my 'Bachelorette Party'.

My Matron of Honor (MOH) paired with one of my bridesmaids to rent a beautiful little secluded cabin in the mountains near our venue. They are hosting my second shower there, which will be followed by a girls night. My MOH knows me well enough to know that I would not be the least bit interested in the traditional (if it can be called that) night of bar hopping and silly games; instead we're spending the night in this cabin, watching some fun girly movies, and going for a hike the next day.

I'm excited for this coming weekend!

The RSVP's are coming back, usually coming in piles of two or three per day. It's been very fun to check the mail box each day, although today was mildly dissapointing. Mixed in with a few that we knew were going to be definite 'yes' and definite 'no' replies was one from Daves former boss and his family. We thought they would likely come, and because Dave has a good relationship with this boss both of us were dissapointed that they declined. Included in their response was a wonderful note explaining a previous obligation; however it was the first 'decline' we didn't expect.

All par for the course: it did open up some space on the guest list and I'm getting to work on a few more invitations *just in case*.

DIY Pomanders

I loved the idea of making pomanders for my bridesmaids, feeling that they offered both something elegant, and something unique.

After some thought, we decided to use silk flowers for the majority of our floral arrangements for several reasons:

a. Cost. Silk flowers are substantially cheaper than real ones, and hiring a florist was not an option for our budget, not to mention hard to justify.
b. Storage. It would be really difficult to have to care for, and store real flowers and keep them pristine before the actual wedding.
c. Silk flowers can be arranged ahead of time instead of the day before, or of the wedding.

This week at Michael's they had all of their spring stems 50% off, and since hydrangeas were one of our top picks it was the time to buy. Michael's had beautiful hydrangea stems in several colors, and we chose purple, green, and yellow to make the pomanders with.

Once we got home, I started making the first pomander and quickly realized our mistake: I used up almost every stem (of 15 we bought) on what quickly became a large, 12 inch diameter ball of flowers. Much to big, not to mention heavy and way to quick to use up too many flowers!

The styrofoam balls were 6", and I should have used much smaller ones. So, Dave and I went to Michael's and picked up 15 more hydrangea stems to start over with. I am also thinking I should be able to re-use the offending pomander flowers on smaller balls!

To make the pomanders, I poked a bamboo skewer through the center to create a straight hole for the ribbon to pass through. I used floral wire like a large wire threader to pull the ribbon through the foam ball, and then wrapped the ends up and around and secured them with hot-glue.

I cut each bunch of hydrangeas off the stem and created piles of each color of hydrangeas. I used each stem to poke a hole in the styrofoam with, which I then filled with a dab of hot glue and the replaced the stem. The color of the flowers are placed randomly throughout the ball, which lends to our elegant mountain wildflowers theme.

The flowers look amazingly fresh and real, and will hold up in the July heat without wilting!

Bridesmaid Gowns

On Saturday I had my bridesmaids join me for an entire day of wedding planning. We had several decisions to make, first and foremost being their attire.

Our day started at d'Anneli bridals, where Theresa and Kirstin were given free reign to pull dresses off the rack that they liked. I didn't want to be the bride with exacting specifications, and to be honest I didn't have much clue about where to go with the bridesmaid dresses in regards to our wedding.

After about 30 minutes of searching and trying on dresses, we were all getting weary of seeing the same thing in a different color: a-line, satin, tea length, sash bridesmaid dresses (which make up about 80% of the dresses available. The rest are absolutely ridiculous or inappropriate!).

To the right, an example of the type of dress we saw 100's of---->

We went into it knowing that we would avoid strapless dresses, and probably floor-length as well. I was worried that floor-length gowns would be a problem for my sister to walk in; but was also not resigned to tea-length imagining that Chandra's dress would simply be shorter if that is what it came to.

Noticing our frustration, our consultant (with good intentions) brought one out that we all laughed at on the hanger. It looked a bit dowdy and was a complete 180 from the dresses we had been trying on. In looking through the racks I remember passing it by because it really wasn't what I was thinking of in my mind. However, because this one was a bit different, we decided to bite and threw it over Theresa's head.

Our reaction to it was both instant, and unanimous. Not only was the dress stunning on, but it was universally flattering on both Theresa and Kirstin. I can only imagine (after having tried it on myself as well) that this will also be a good choice for my sister. It is floor length, which is how Theresa and Kirstin will wear it. Chandra's will be tea length (so she doesn't trip on the hem).

This dress is seperates, so the top and the skirt can be paired with other things in the future. The skirt is made of silk dupioni, and the top is made of silk with a lace overlay(which is hard to see in this photo) and a sash to match the skirt.

The caveat? A nearly $400 price tag. However, we knew it was very likely that we would be making the bridesmaid dresses. As if it were a sign, just a week before I had found a beautiful, purple polyester dupioni that would be ideal for the skirt. It has the same texture as the silk version, without that price tag! It is a gorgeous, dark grey purple and will look beautiful against our mountian backdrop.

Cost to purchase dress in bridal salon: $370 + alterations
Cost to make it at home: <$50.00 + time
Not only that, but the designer of this dress doesn't offer it in a purple that we would all agree on, especially considering the price-tag! When we got home, we pulled out all of the fabric samples I have collected during the planning process, and oooh'd and ahhh'd over the purple dupioni paired with ivory lace over a champagne satin. The sash on my dress is champagne, and having that showing through the lace will tie the entire wedding party together. Carina's dress will have a purple sash made out of the dupioni.

Photos: Theresa in fabric samples! Please excuse the complete lack of shape, we're looking at colors here :) Also, my dress from the back with the champagne sash.