Behind The Scenes of Wishes Weddings: A Maid's Perspective UPDATE: More Shower Stuffs

[MaidMeghan]

Deleted.

 

[librarygeek]

Great, and what a bargain on the shoes!

 

[MaidMeghan]

Deleted.

 

[MaidMeghan]

So all has been quiet on the wedding front. It's that intermission between shower planning and wedding planning. Liz is what I would call an uber planner and between the two of us we've pretty much run out of things to plan at least until after her planning session. So it makes for pretty slow going.

The two of us have been prowling around Michael's on a fairly regular basis and picking up a bunch of things here and there for the welcome bags for the kids in the wedding party (and their siblings). So far she's compiled quite an assortment of Disney fun things and I'm sure they'll be very happy to receive them. (I know I would be! ) We (and as usual, by "we" I mean Bryan and Liz) had gone back and forth on whether or not we would do Welcome Bags for the guests and we had been leaning towards not doing them but now the tides have turned and it's become a good little project to work on when we're bored.

One of the last times we were at Michael's we found these cute foam door hangers and lo and behold - they were on sale! So we scooped those up and they have become an ongoing project. It usually consists of Liz sorting little foam letters while I swear at them when I can't get the backs of them off. It's a fun time We've gotten about halfway done with them and we're going to need more letters before we can make many more but this is what they look like:

(You can see Bryan and Liz's cat Lenny in the picture! Such a cutie!)

So that's that. Let's see...oh! I've found a dress to wear to the rehearsal dinner. I had originally had one picked out but decided that if the RD is to be held at Jiko (which it more like than not will be) it won't be dressy enough. I was mildly heartbroken because I loved it very much. But the search began again and I stumbled across this beauty:

I love it. I think it's so cute and I'm always drawn to black and white patterns so this was a winner. What do you think? I haven't ordered it yet, but it's a definite yes for me. I'm not sure what color shoes to go with yet, but I'm thinking of either yellow or red (granted I already have red and yellow shoes...but I can never have enough pairs so I'm on the search for new shoes )

So that's about it for now. I've begun construction on my bridal shower dress, I couldn't find any that I liked enough to buy so my Grammy and I are making my dress for the bridal shower. More photos and whatnot to come once it starts looking like a dress and not just some scraps of fabric.

So that's that. It's been a zillion years since I've updated so I hope this is enough to tie you all over until my next update.

 

[Torrance]

Hi Meghan! The door hangers are VERY cute, and you definitely can't go wrong when things are on sale. The rehearsal dress is really pretty! I hope the shoe hunt goes well (I'm the same way about the perfect shoes, even when I've got a pair at home that would work ) Red seems like it would look great with that dress, but yellow would be really fun!

It's a little late, but I'm very sorry you had to step down as a bridesmaid in Jackie's wedding. I'm glad she was okay with it, and this way you'll still get to be there on the big day to celebrate.

Good luck with the DIY projects!

 

[MaidMeghan]

This is just a short update to show you all my rehearsal dinner dress that I bought this morning (oh the wonders of online shopping...). I follow a style blog and asked the blogger the other day for suggestions as to where to look for a dress for the RD, now I did have the one from David's Bridal picked out but I was feeling iffy about spending over $100 on it so I was looking for other possibilities. Long story short, the blogger suggested Dillards and that's where I found this one, for only $50!

So here it is!

This is the front (obv) I zoomed it so you could see the detail (I also wanted to cut off the head of the model - she was making a super awkward face in the picture ) it has pockets and I'm mildly obsessed with that. I'm a chapstick addict and always need it with me, so the dress having pockets is awesome.

And here is the back. Overall I like it better than the black and white one I had picked for several reasons - the main being cost. I'm also excited because I've been on a quest for a pair of nude pumps and now I have a legitimate reason to buy a pair

So that's that. Just a quick update on my ever growing wedding wardrobe. Thanks for stopping in.

 

[librarygeek]

That dress is really cute, I like it! Plus, I'm with you on the pockets - I love this new style of dress that has pockets, so convenient!

 

[laurafarr]

What a great Idea to post from the MOH/BM perspective. I've really enjoyed this. LOVE all the shoes by the way. Here is a question for you ( and I hope I don't make things awkward for your two brides). Are either of the brides contributing to your travel or dress cost? The reason I ask is because in doing some research on destination weddings I'm getting mixed feedback. Thanks!

 

[MaidMeghan]

What a great Idea to post from the MOH/BM perspective. I've really enjoyed this. LOVE all the shoes by the way. Here is a question for you ( and I hope I don't make things awkward for your two brides). Are either of the brides contributing to your travel or dress cost? The reason I ask is because in doing some research on destination weddings I'm getting mixed feedback. Thanks!

I am not getting any financial help from either bride. I knew going into 2 DFTWs that it would be a very large financial obligation and planned accordingly. I have been setting aside money from each paycheck for the past 6 months or so to help save. I'm also buying my dresses and shoes and accessories now so when it comes time to book and pay for the actual trips I don't have anything else that needs paying for at the same time. I know that if they could help pay for anything they could, but it is a big financial undertaking and I wouldn't ask that of them. Liz is paying for me to have my hair and makeup done the day of the wedding and that is plenty for me to have her give me. It's really up to the bride and groom in the end and what they can afford.

Hope that helps!

 

[MonkeyDishwasher]

I don't know if you're still looking for shoes, but I actually own these and love them:
http://www.stevemadden.com/Item.aspx?id=52361&np=127_282-654_675

And there are also these:
http://www.stevemadden.com/Item.aspx?id=52395&np=127_282-654_675

I also have to have the platform under the toe to survive an evening in heels (and a lot of alcohol helps too! )

 

[laurafarr]

Thank you!!

 

[DoomBuggy0922]

Thank you!!

On that note, Meghan is no longer one of my bridesmaids--- but my MOH was having a bit of financial trouble, so I did offer to help her out if she really needed it. But she got a raise so she's golden now.

 

[MaidMeghan]

All right, time to get this ball rolling. Bridal shower planning has officially gotten underway so I thought I'd update this with something more than the few sentence updates I've been doing for the past...forever.

Even though the wedding isn't until March, we are doing the shower in August. This is for a couple reasons, the main on being travel. Liz's inlaws all live in Ohio and it is easier for her FMIL to travel in the Summer because she works in the school system and her FFIL and FSMIL were planning on visiting in August any way. So that works out the best. Also, I didn't want to have the shower in January or February when it will be freezing cold and yucky. I wanted a warm, sunny shower and Liz and the other bmaids agreed with me. So August it is. The date is August 13 and we are doing a brunch/lunch shower.

I wasn't planning on having a theme because they all seemed kind of generic - luau or Hollywood and stuff like that and that's not Liz. She also said that she didn't want a Disney themed shower either, because not everyone attending the wedding is as Disney crazy as we are. All understandable. So I was content to have a theme-less shower. Then I stumbled across these invitations and decided to break one of my rules.

So because I was/am so enamored with these invitations the shower is going to be LOOSELY based on the movie "UP." Now I know that I was told no-Disney, but I mentioned to Liz that I was using a Disney movie as inspiration but it's not going to be head to toe Disney and she was cool with that. I think what attracts me to using UP so much is the vintage feel of it. So I adapted the "theme" to be a "vintage- UP inspired shower." Mainly - I just want very bright colors.

Now the venue has changed since my original plotting, mainly because of reservation fees and parking fees and the like. But I have reserved the restaurant at a golf course near my house to hold the shower. Last October I threw my parents a 25th Anniversary party and used that space and it was awesome. The best part - no fee for renting the space, we just need to pay for the food (which is amazing.)

That's the room it will be held in, there are floor to ceiling windows on basically every wall so it's bright and sun-filled. There's also a cute patio outside if people want to chill outside. It's a nice intimate space and I think it will be perfect for us.

For decor - sticking with the UP theme I'm going to use balloons in lieu of flowers for centerpieces. Not only is it cheaper, but I think that they will look nicer in the space because it has such high ceilings. Right now I have it in my head to make the UP houses to house the balloon weights of the big bouquets that we'll place on each table so that each table has it's own UP house, but I am not artistically inclined so we'll see if that actually happens. So the room will be flooded with balloons and I think that because there is so much sunlight that flows through the room it will looks like a kaleidoscope and that is what I'm going for.

We are also going to do a candy buffet as our favors. One of the other maids' grandmother has a template to make chinese food take out boxes so we are going to make those and I'm going to create labels for them with Liz and Bryan's initials and wedding date to seal them with once they are filled. I've seen so many awesome inspiration photos on the Dis, which is awesome when it comes to choosing candy. As of right now I want to get an assortment of containers of different heights and sizes and fill them with bright colored candy (skittles, mike and ikes, stuff like that). And around the bases of all the containers I'm going to put cotton fluff so it looks like clouds surrounding the candy.

I think that's all for now. I'm really excited for everything to start coming together. The invitations should be in in a little over a week so then I can address those badboys and send them out!


I'll update more as more comes up!! Thanks for sticking around!

 

[librarygeek]

I love your ideas for the bridal shower! As soon as I saw those invites I was thinking Up theme, and I'm glad you decided to go with it Sounds like it will be a really fun time - I'm sure she will be surprised and pleased! My bridal shower is in just a few weeks, and I don't know anything about it other than the date - I'm excited! Seeing your plans makes me even more excited

 

[FairytaleBride73]

This blog is such a good idea! Love all of the dresses! Can't wait to hear more.

 

[hmdelf]

I love this idea! I am doing a VR and I am from CT!!! I can't wait to see your perspective. Where is that golf course! It looks amazing!!!

 

[MaidMeghan]

I love this idea! I am doing a VR and I am from CT!!! I can't wait to see your perspective. Where is that golf course! It looks amazing!!!

Thanks The Golf Course is Elmridge Golf Course in Stonington. Where abouts in CT are you?

 

[MaidMeghan]

Well since I have left this poor PJ by the wayside for too long, and because I don't have to be at work until noon, I figured there was no better time to give those of you still tagging along an update!

First, some not so wedding/shower/MOH related news. The 17th was my birthday and my friend Jessica made me the most amazing cake that I wanted to share with everyone.

For reasons unbeknownst to me, I am completely enamored with Mickey's pants. Jessica took this and ran with it and made me the most adorable cake I've ever seen. I am trying to convince her to help me make a cake or cupcakes for the shower but she's been really not liking baking lately so we'll see... Fingers crossed!

Another personal update, things aren't going too well at my job right now. My boss basically told me that I am terrible at my job and she is cutting me down to two days a week until the managers decide I can have more days. Clearly, this was not the best thing I could have heard. (Just to clarify, I am not terrible at my job, I just don't live and breathe retail like everyone else there does...) So I've started looking for a new job and sent an application out to one that I would really like to have. So please send some pixie dust my way about this new job because I could really use it.

All right, I've bored you long enough...on to wedding stuff!

First off, I have purchased yet another dress for the RD. I bought it the day I had my work drama, which always leads to me having to buy something (not the best response, I know.) But this one looks SO much better on me and I am completely enamored with it.

This is it on the model.

And this is it on me (pardon the bathroom cell phone pic )! It was 40% off when I bought it and the best thing about it is that it is a size smaller than I've ever been! It also has an amazing bra built into it, not just lame little reinforced cups but a legit bra, which is amazing IMO because I've never seen a dress with one good enough to feel comfortable going without one.

That's that, now onto shower stuffs. Saturday is two weeks away and I am going to call the facility to set the menu, which I'm excited about. As of last night I am officially done buying all of my supplies for the shower, which makes me super happy.

Our favors are going to be a candy buffet, which will contain lots and lots of bright colored candies. For signs to list the names of the candy in the jars I found these adorable little wooden hearts, and painted them bright balloony colors (everything is going to be in the color scheme of all of UPs balloons) And when they're all done I'm going to write the names of the candy on them. I think they look adorable!

For the take away boxes we decided to go with chinese take out boxes and I made these stickers on Zazzle to seal the boxes once they're all full of goodies!

I struggled for a while thinking of what to get as prizes for the different games we're going to be playing, but one day when I was browsing through TJ Maxx (basically the best store in the world) I stumbled across this little baby.

(Clearly, this picture was not taken in TJ Maxx )

They had these little teapots in every color of the rainbow and they were only $3.99!! So I got red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple along with a large tea sampler which I'm going to divide into each teapot and voila! All of the prizes (and 2 extra in case of ties) for less than $30. I was really happy with myself after that one

For the guestbook I initially wanted to do an Adventure Book but decided that it would most likely just end up gathering dust somewhere. So I opted for the old standby - the signable mat. I got a rather large one and blew up their engagement photo for the middle of it. When it's all signed (with fuschia and navy markers of course!) they can hang it in their house. I thought that was something that would get a little more mileage than just a book. (And thanks to an awesome coupon I got the mat and the frame for it for $20. I love Michaels SOO much!)

The last thing I did was create pins for everyone on Zazzle to wear at the shower. I wasn't planning on doing this, but I designed one just for fun and ended up loving it, and they were only $2.50 a piece compared to the $10+ I saw other places.

This one is mine (obviously) but I also made ones that say "Bride" "Bridesmaid" "Junior Bridesmaid" "Flower Girl" "Mother of the Bride" "Mother of the Groom" and "Stepmother of the Groom" I knew making them would be my best bet because it is super hard to find anything that says "Junior Bridesmaid" and nearly impossible to find anything that says "Stepmother of the Groom"

So that's that! I probably won't have anything else to say until after the shower but you better believe that there will be a billion pictures to look at once it is over! Thanks to those of you who are sticking around, I love you all bunches!

 

[belle2211]

Everything looks so great! And I love the dress! Where did you get it??

 

[MaidMeghan]

Everything looks so great! And I love the dress! Where did you get it??

Thanks!

It's from The Limited. They have it in a cranberry color too. I believe it's even more on sale now too, they're having a big sale with all their weddings/ special events dresses. I love it too and I can't wait to wear it.