Save the Dates

It's been almost a month since we've mailed out our Save the Dates, so I feel that I can officially show them off here! All were made by me and I have good ol' Martha Stewart to thank for the number/envelope inspiration! After setting my heart on that idea, I realized I had no idea how to get those cute numbers and embossed envelopes. (Cue the MANY trips to JoAnne's) 

I soon became an owner and expert of a Cricut and Cuddlebug. And boy did they take longer than I expected. After about the 20th one, I was starting to ask myself, "What have you got yourself into?" Oh well, they were just too cute to give up on!

Here they are all ready to go to the post office.

The final product ...

Save the Date - as you pull the little bow and open the envelope, out comes the date!

The finished product complete with a magnet on the card backing and on the last digit.

Getting Down to Wedding Business

The time had come for Sean and I to make a trip to Georgia  to start official wedding business. Our first mission was to check out hotels, restaurants, and shopping in the town of LaGrange, Georgia. Since LaGrange is only 15 minutes away from Hogansville (where the wedding venue is) we thought it would be a perfect city to host our guests for the wedding weekend. 

We stayed overnight at the Wingate by Windam Callaway Gardens hotel. Which was beautiful and newly constructed. Features include rooms either with carpet or hardwood flooring, flat screen TVs, refrigerators, microwaves, and a continental breakfast each morning. We thought it would be a great weekend escape for our guests so we made it our official wedding hotel!

The city was great too! Besides all the common restaurants and stores, LaGrange offers Callaway Gardens and the Pine Mountain Animal Safari nearby.

The next day Sean and I to had our first meeting with our wedding planner/coordinator Vickie Brown, who also owns our venue Victoria Belle. The mansion was decorated so beautifully for Christmas!  Us three definitely hit the ground running and we left with three pages of "To Dos" before our next appointment in February. I brought my inspiration board along and felt a little, well, obsessed and one of THOSE crazy brides! To my surprise, Vickie LOVED the board and it actually helped translate my vision of the big day to her. 

After our meeting with Vickie, it was time to meet our potential photographer, Karen Ann Yontz of Mac and Cheese Photography. We met at the Dancing Goat in Decatur - a swanky Starbucks lookalike with a less commerical feel to it. We talked for over an hour with Karen Ann and definitely hit it off. We then took our conversation to the Brick Store Pub where the beer selection was outrageous and contracts were signed for her to be our wedding photographer! 

Needless to say, it was a very successful 24 hours!

Inspiration

As the bridal magazines stack up so do the ideas! I've been cutting out pictures for inspiration since even before the bling graced the finger! After hundreds of clips and cuts, I started seeing everything coming together in one direction. To get organized, I bought a foam board and started spreading out my ideas to get one clear picture. It's a work in progress, and some pictures are blacked out/pixeled to keep a few details under wraps, but here it is so far...

Of course these are only ideas and things will differ; however, I am excited to see how much of it comes to life on our wedding day!

Always a Sorority Girl

Ways to Add a Phi Mu Touch to a Wedding

*Use a quatrefoil theme throughout your wedding for invitations, programs and the shape of the cake.
*Use pink as one of your colors.
*Give each Phi Mu present a pink carnation corsage
*Have a Phi Mu row marked with pink ribbons
*Give each of the Phi Mus present a pink carnation. When the you walk down the aisle, collect one flower from each of sisters stationed at the end of the aisles to make your bouquet.
*Pin your badge on the inside of your gown.
*Wear a pink garter if you do not want pink to be your primary color.
*Take a group photo of all of the Phi Mus present at the reception
*Ask Phi Mus to sing a song to you during the reception, such as "Sisters" or “Picture a Girl.”
*Play the “P-H- I to the M-U” rap song at the reception

Countdown to Paradise!!!

Our honeymoon has been booked and we couldn't be more excited!

We're going to ST. LUCIA!

A Weekend with David Tutera

IT FINALLY CAME! Time to meet David Tutera! Saturday I flew to Atlanta and stayed with one of my friends, Ashley, who was also a David fan and attending the weekend's events. We got all dressed up and headed to Che'ne Rouge in Hiram, Georgia for the cocktail party titled, A Southern Enchanted Evening with David Tutera.

After we hit the open bar and returned to our table, the lights dimmed and David came walking through the door! Oh. My. Goodness. What a hottie!

The best part was when we got to actually meet him, take pictures with him, and have our books signed!

What an amazing night!!! I couldn't wait for tomorrow's wedding planning session with him!


When I woke up Sunday, I jumped out of bed and we headed back to Che'ne Rouge for The Tutera Touch: Creating a Wedding with Personal Style.

After a fashion show from Savvi, it was David time! We made sure to get good seats!

He had GREAT stories and tips that I was able to take away and incorporate into my planning!

And, we just had to talk to him again and get another picture with him!

What an AMAZING weekend!!!!

And The Shopping Continues ...

This time, my mom and I took the bridal gown search across the bay to St. Petersburg to CC's Boutique. As we walked up to the entrance, we noticed the street number was 770. Anyone from Atlanta would know that number! Not one to believe in "signs," I took it as one this time!

We walked in and the inside decor reminded me of an old southern house. I loved it, obviously! We met with my consultant Katie who lead us to the gowns I had in mind.

I tried on the two gowns that were stuck in my head from Olga's Bridal. My mom didn't care for them (nor the price) before and the second time around didn't seem to change her opinion much! I was willing to compromise but I was set on the designer (who shall remain anonymous!).  Katie pulled another dress from the same designer that had everything I was looking for. I put it on and it was gorgeous! Everything was perfect about it - I loved it, my mom loved it, and the price fell within the budget! Even better, a trunk show was scheduled in September which translated into getting a discount off the dress! Success! 

It would be the last dress I tried on because we put down a deposit for it! Thanks Mom! It was a brand new dress in the Fall 2010 collection and I was the first customer to order it from CC's!