more inspiration boards

Because I had a night off! And they take so little time for so much pretty payoff.I even made two...the second one is more "bride and invitation stuff" and the first is more "reception stuff."

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)

another suit option, bride style

We could also go grey. This is mainly because I have decided that purple WILL be in this wedding and purple and grey are soooooo pretty together. Purple and grey would straight up be my palette if we were getting married any other day of the year. Mmmmm. Unfortunately we are not getting married any other day of the year, we are getting married on Halloween goddamit, and that means we have to take things into consideration. For instance, on February 5th or whatever this suit would just be plain sexy:But on October 31st it could look like we are trying to re-enact the Nightmare Before Christmas. Such is the burden we shoulder here at the Hallowedding. What do you think? Tan, grey, super expensive brown?

Suits...The Reckoning

Greeter Penguin is going to have to sit this one out, I'm afraid. But thanks to Shannon for buying me that thing! I love it!

But now, more suits! This time you can click the links to see the additional detailed shots on the Men's Wearhouse website. There's been a change in plans, and this is now somewhat urgent. The suit of our wedding's dreams...

...is now sold out. Such are the tribulations of planning. But there's still hope! We can get the same price in a very nice tan!

And there is, as there must be, a $100-more-expensive suit of such sublime perfection for our desires that it breaks our hearts to deny, but unless somebody wants to kick $600 our way it's going to have to just...

...sail on by. But the real pressing question is this: Does a tan suit bother you? With Shannon leaning in the direction of mocha or brown dresses with bold accents (or vice versa) I think we'd be safe to go in the tan direction. Accents stay the same, with orange and purple pocket squares, ties, and Chuck Taylors for the groomsmen and corresponding red ones on me. Vests are probably out of the question for the moment due to financial matters, but that doesn't bother me in the least. Sharp suits are more important.

As always, feedback = love. I'm leaving behind rental options for the moment, but once a decision is made on this we're diving in and sending the link out for purchase. Gird your wallets, brothers, you're getting a sharp new suit posthaste. Oh, and we're paying for your awesome customized shoes, so you can handle this.

planners

Greeter Penguin! Serve me up a planner!
I did buy my planner for the year, with handy little month at a glace and a weekly calendar that divides every day into half hour increments. I spent half an hour in Barnes & Noble, with six or seven different planner spread around me on the floor, flipping back and forth to see which would fill all my criteria. I looked COMPLETELY insane. I'm sure someone saw me and went home and blogged about it.
I was really drawn to the ones that were called "Engagement Calendar" because I am turning into a crazy wedding person...but "engagement calendars" are, I have found, notoriously lacking in the space department. I eliminated any that didn't have days divided by time (which knocked out a HUGE selection, including the one that was devoted to the 80s, which was super tempting)
I almost bought the B&N Famous Writers Desk Calendar, that was gorgeous, and had the full calendar BEFORE the month (which was my absolute favorite) as opposed to in a big chunk in the front. But, since it is a "theme" planner, pretty much every day on the month-at-a-glance had some little fact about writers that were born or died that day, and I just can't sacrifice that space. A LOT of fucking writers were born in September and October, dude. But oh, oh it was tempting.

I ended up with a very plain black leather number (see above with Penguin) that is almost perfect, but I do have one major beef with the thing--who will doubtlessly be getting a bitchy french man name soon because, remember guys, I'm crazy--it's little hour by hour breakdown starts at 8 am and ends at 9 pm, and Sunday is just a block and has no division whatsoever. Excuse me, planner, but my life does NOT work that way. Sometimes my day starts at 5 am and I have meetings that START at 11 at night (not wedding related...usually when I deal with theatres). So I find myself writing in the margins and on Sundays? It's just a chaotic scribblefest.
Apparently B&N just don't understand people who over schedule themselves. Pity, it's such a large demographic...they could probably make millions.

wedding nightmares already? damn.

Last night I had a dream that it was September. I still didn't have a venue, a photographer, or a dress. None of the bridesmaids had dresses, no one had been invited. And of course I freaked out. I said, we have to put it off a year! And like most of the dreams I have this way, I spent the entire dream being incredibly frustrated and on the verge of crying as people said, no, you can not have the wedding NEXT Halloween, you must have it in three weeks, and I woke up still convinced that I was terribly behind on everything in the world.

If these dreams continue until October I will not be happy. Greg probably will, because my usual dreams are really weird, and at least this one wasn't disturbing. (Yesterday, before the wedding dream, I dreamt I argued with a boy I vaguely knew in high school about whether or not he gave a shit about webpage design as I was eating a rock. It was one of those fancy agate ones that they make into bookends and coasters, and it tasted like strawberries, but it was still very much a rock.)

I don't get to go to the bridal show today because of an impromtu rehearsal that was planned against my will. Damn. That might be why I feel so...apprehensive all of the sudden, about getting it all done.

You have ten months girl. Get over yourself.

ain't no party like a bridal party

Oh! And I DID manage to see the girl from Maine so our bridal party is official now!
The boys (which Greg can go into more detail with and find pictures of) are Roommate Ben as Best Man, Greg Brother Dave, Greg Brother Mike, Greg Brother Joel, and Shannon Brother Justin.

The girls are Roommate Ashley as Maid of Honor (who has tried on more wedding dresses than I have, and is learning to crochet, making her better at wedding than me. We also work at almost all the same jobs so it's kind of Co-worker Roommate Ashley. Which, as you can see in the pic, she is totally fine with )
Shannon Sister Jessie as Matron of Honor (cuz she married, yo! Although Matron does make her sound old...Married Lady of Honor? Big Sis of Honor? Whatevs. She also looks very enthused in this picture)
Shannon High School Friend Katie (the elusive "One from Maine" who I asked at Old Chicago because I'm super duper classy...Ashley did convince me to at least call Katie to our side of the table, as opposed to just shouting "Hey Katie! Wanna be in my wedding?" over the talking of the twenty other people who were there.)
Jacksies College Friend Krystal (Krystal has been in like a thousand weddings. She is doing me a favor and doing the bridesmaid thing AGAIN because she loves us and is awesome. We might really exploit that love and make her sing at the wedding. This picture, btw, is from a series that makes me laugh SO HARD when I see them that I almost pee. Every. Single. Time.)

Greg High School Friend Jessica (a Jessie and a Jessica! This will cause problems! Jessica is one of the hippest chicks I have ever met. She and Greg went on a road trip to Chicago and they brought a George Foreman Grill to make grilled cheese on the road. But she is also a vegetarian, which means bachelorette party bacon theme is out. Shoot. I will also probably exploit her singing and crochet skills)

(and yes, I just went to facebook and found whatever pictures of the girls made me laugh/happy.)

The bride and groom, well, they've been decided for a while now.
The ring bearer will either be Ruffles....or an actual Ring Bear. It depends on the venue, I guess.

ten months from yesterday...

is my wedding.

Conversation from last night:
Friend: I think this year I will get myself a boyfriend.
Me: I think this year I will get myself a husband.

We went to the Slowdown for a New Year's Eve dance party last night. When midnight came and everyone was done kissing (and they dropped giant balloons full of glitter!) roommates said "You're getting married this year!" and I was like, HOLY SHIT I AM GETTING MARRIED THIS YEAR.
Crazy.

This Sunday is my first bridal show. I don't think a bridal show is essential to my planning process. Most girls go for ideas and I am so full of ideas that Greg and I might have to get married a couple of times just to get them all in there. So I don't NEED to go to wedding shows.
That being said, I am going to two. One on Sunday where fabulous roommate/maid of honor Ashley will be modeling dresses in a bridal runway show hosted by Joan Rivers.
I know. I know. It made me throw up a little too.
And then there is one on the 20th (?) which hopefully my mom and fabulous sister/matron of honor will come to as well so we can do wedding stuff together as a family.
I think these shows will be kinda useful because I need help finding vendors and I figure there will be lots of those there...also I will be able to go up to dress shop owners and say "Do you have any short dresses?" and then they can just say no to my face instead of playing the email game.

And holy God I have to go buy a planner today. This month is going to be scheduled within an inch of its life and I need something to tell me what I am late for. I like the planners with the big month pages (because my brain works better that way) but I'm thinking I'll need a minute by minute planner...which, again, makes me want to throw up a little.
Or maybe that's from all the partying I did last night. Oi. Girls, when we go to the Bachelorette party DO NOT LET ME ORDER THAT DRINK I ALWAYS ORDER. It'll only end in tears.

like martha stewart needs my dollars

I bought my first wedding magazines today!

I know, right? Half of you read that sentence and said "You haven't bought any yet, are you crazy?" and the other half thought "Jesus, so?!"

I thought I didn't want to buy any...the internet is such a valuable resource and the magazines just seem to cater to the kind of wedding I am not having, and I thought, who needs em? I've got like fifty wedding blogs I can read every day for free, suckas!
But (and on hallowedding there is always a but) I was kind of expecting Santa to bring me a bridal magazine this year AND HE DIDN'T. And a few days after Christmas I thought, boo, Santa. You should've bought me a wedding magazine. Well, today I FINALLY got my refund check for financial aid (only five months late...great job, university system!) and I said "I'm doin' it!"

You guys, I was wrong about wedding magazines. Wedding magazines are. So. Fun.
And pretty.
And unlike, say, Cosmo, where I always wonder where the content is hiding under all the ads, in bridal magazines, the ads are the best part! and everybody knows it! and everyone is okay with it! It's kind of like a Playboy...if you do end up reading the articles they're really good but if you just look at the pictures you'll get off just fine.
...
Sorry Mom. Sorry Jesus. That was inappropriate.

But back to weddings, these things are huge! I sat paging through one for over an hour and I'm only half way through--and I was flying through that bad boy. So I still have half of Modern Bride and a whole Martha Stewart Weddings left to go. Remind me that I have things I need to get done in the next week...lots and lots of things. If you see me sitting in a chair, folding over pages, ask me if my costumes for the Moving Company are done. That should get me up pretty fast.

Oh, and Greg and I spent a good chunk of a car trip to Wichita talking wedding shop and we have a LOT figured out. I'll also be doing some quick posts about Christmas gifts that are doubling as wedding prep presents and how I managed to bank AGAIN on post-holidays sales. Hallowedding stuff in post-Christmas clearance: it is a MADHOUSE. Target is a MADHOUSE.

Goodnight internet.

happy holidays

Going back to the hometowns now. Have a Merry Christmas (or whatever) and a fantastic New Year!