bon voyage, mon joli fleurs

Today I'm preparing to send supplies to my AMAZING cousin who will be doing all our flowers for this wedding. She is incredibly crafty, and did the flowers for her own wedding and the weddings of her two sisters. She's also coming a week before the ceremony to help gut pumpkins and make cookies...but mostly to hang out with my mom, who is like her best friend. They're super cute together, just you wait.
So in a little while she'll be getting a big ol' box full of ribbon we bought with after season clearanceSome inspiration sheets I whipped up in photoshopExtra leaves, baby's breath, and feathers (just in case her area stores are missing some of the ingredients) and the rough draft of the bouquet that my mom, sis and I whipped up when I went home for Super Wedding Weekend, which is starting to look a little haggard after a few months of hanging out and being batted around by the cat:
I'm a little sad to see them go. I'm shocked to realize that I'm going to miss them.

"WAIT, did she just say she was sending flowers through the mail?
And that they had been around for months? But that would mean...they would have to be...she wouldn't use....FAKE FLOWERS?"
Okay, let's just get something out in the open.
Are you sitting down? Probably, since this is the internet and you are probably on a computer.
Okay: I am using fake flowers for my wedding.
(ooooh, gasp, gag, I know right?)
I am a big ol' faker, and I have no problem with this. I did not think it would be an issue but I guess this is a huge wedding faux pas. I have learned that this is "unacceptible" because it seems to be the only part of my wedding people are willing to argue with me about. There are some things, like our wedding date and our choice of menu, which people consider "non-traditional," but they usually just say something like "Ohh...that's interesting." They have never come out and told me I shouldn't do something.

But apparently something about fake flowers make even the most polite people feel the need to tell me that I will ruin my entire life if I don't drop some serious dime on fresh blooms. Well, most people don't go that far, but perhaps many of you may have made an involuntary scrunchy face at the very idea when you read it, and people have told me that they think it's a "huge mistake." Really? Having artificial flowers will somehow make my wedding less magical? How does that work?
The fact of the matter is, I don't care about flowers. Not really. I want pretty flowers to be a part of my wedding, sure, and I want a bouquet that will compliment my bodacious dress, but this is a wedding on a budget. If I spent the amount of money on flowers that is expected, I would have to leave folks off the guest list. Their presence is more important to me than something that will wilt and die by the end of the night. Also, as we have established, Greg and I are both awkward people and I would crush a living flower with my elbow, foot or butt looooong before reaching the ceremony location. I think I would regret that. I don't think I am able to regret renunculas, dahlias, and feathers in perfect wedding colors that will take most of the abuse that I will be giving out, and for less than I spend at target in a given week.And see how pretty? So pretty. And that's just me and my fam playing around in a craft store. Imagine what the magical hand of experience will be able to do.
So what do you think? Are you a little disgusted by plastic flowers? Are real flowers worth the price? Or do you agree that every once and a while it's okay to fake it?

as much as i love planning the "wedding"....

...we must remember to plan the "hallo"....
Greg and I love Halloween, obviously, hence the wedding date. But I am starting to love Halloween more and more just because it is making my wedding planning easier. I don't have to put a lot of effort into entertaining my guests, because Halloween is just naturally a fun day. People will remember when the wedding is because everyone--Target, ABC Family, their children--will be counting down the days anyway. And, because I'm weird, and even though I'm a theatre major, I don't want all the attention on me all the time. That would make me terribly uncomfortable and probably make me feel like I had to poop all the time.
Yeah, I said it. Deal.
Oh, and there's the costume party reception, which is a very exciting idea. Lots of friends and family members have already started brainstorming their costumes, and by my counts there will be a gaggle of little kids running around dressed as ducks or whatever.
So I suppose the question is...what's my costume?

There's no way in hell I'm taking off that dress. It'd be a waste of money and I love that thing so much I might just wear it the next day as well. I thought about adding a really dramatic head piece, something with feathers or bubbles (a post on that later) but since I might be wearing a pretty dramatic one already, that takes that out...but one option I've been considering lately is masks.


Masks would allow me to keep on my dress and accessories and not get in the way of dancing, cake, and smooching.

I really love the above one from wing and talon (look at those little eyelashes!) but I don't love the color. Since they're on etsy, I'm sure I could get the seller to customize it in white and silver--yeah, you're picturing it. And it's cute. There are sort of matching male version for Mr. Groomy Groom.


But I think the leaf masks might also conflict with head pieces...and I don't know if they scream "Ren Fair," since that is their original purpose.


These wire options from byzantiumlotus could also be REALLY cute . I'm not entirely thrilled with her designs (or their prices!) but the idea of a wire mask is strangely appealing. It wouldn't cover up any of my face or ruin my makeup and would be so simple that I could essentially wear any other jewelry I wanted. I could also potentially make it myself, which is not an option with the leather masks.
In my searchings I've found a couple of more masculine options for Greg. The copper one at the top of this post and this silvery one are some of my favorites for him, but again, the silver mask is a little RenFair. But we could get away with a little drama since it's Halloween, couldn't we? I don't know. It's just an idea.

inspired yet?

Okay, this is NOT an inspiration board...this is just something I made up in about five minutes with sloppy Photoshop (sorry Paul, I know it's embarrassing) just to see if I could live with tan suits in my life...erm, I mean wedding. Because My Wedding Is Not My Life. It is a small, small part of my life. A small part of my life that could actually look SUPER cute.
I think you're all right. Tan suits will fix the "too much brown!" problem. But tan suits really mean my dress has to be super casual. Hm. Need to go dress shopping.
(Brown dress by J.Crew, shrug by Newport News [with an orange photoshop filter], wedding dress by -sigh- Stephanie James, suit by Men's Wearhouse)

Do Your Part

Sorry, I just had to post this. I think this is the first video invite I've ever seen, and it's certainly the first YouTube invite I've ever seen. But it really is a pretty smart idea, and it's beautifully executed. It doesn't hurt that these are two very funny people, the groom hailing from Hard N' Phirm and the bride from Respecto Montalban.

The only X-factor is how you make sure that only the right people see it, I suppose, and that you don't get monstrous guys in LOLcats shirts showing up for cake and the chance to be near a woman.

Anyhow, enjoy the video. And watch for the ending. And leave some feedback! If you've got fun ideas in this vein, let us know. It could be up our alley, potentially. We are wedding bloggers, after all.

On a more serious note, our friend/professor/mentor Paul summed up my feelings on the Omaha shootings very truthfully in his most recent blog entry. You can find it here. It's smart talk and apparently a good chunk of the Omaha press is going this way. Glad to hear it.