Just a Little Update

It's been a while since my last post so it's time for an update.  It doesn't seem like it but it actually has been a busy holiday season.  I looked at a few florists and found one I loved.  I still have to get that all set up.  But I am very confident in my decision.  They are a very good florist that actually understands what it is I want for the big day.  Plus they are excited about doing something that isn't like your typical princess wedding.  Updates on flowers will be posted as they come along.  I do know that I can get my anemone flowers so I am very happy about that.

Now on to one thing that has been running through my mind, invitations.  I would love everyone's input on this topic.  Is it better to get an invitation kit and then print them off on your own personal computer?  Or is it better to get the kit and have another person at like a copy place print them out for you?  Or should I order them online and let them print, construct, and then mail them to you?  Or would it be best to have a stationary store that is local make the invitations?  If you have done any of these let me know about your experience.  I am very interested in finding out the best approach on getting my invitations. 

I have found a kit that Danny and I both like and we are kind of interested in doing it ourselves.  It is very cost effective but I don't know how nice everything will turn out.  The kit has just a simple black and white invitation that has a black floral border and white background.  BUT I have found a few other invitations online that have a baseball theme to them.  I don't know how far this whole baseball thing should go.  Like I said, I would love everyone's input on this topic.  

Also, it's less than 300 days (298 to be exact) until the wedding day and I almost feel like there isn't enough time to plan all this out.  Danny being in Columbus makes it a little bit more difficult to plan out things together but he is trying to be as helpful as possible.  I think we have narrowed down a few photographers to meet with thanks to him.  Next time he is home, when it isn't crazy busy with holiday plans, we are going to try and get a ton of wedding planning done.  We are going to meet with one or two more bakers, a few photographers, and with our coordinator at the ballpark so we can work out a timeline for the day and get a few other details worked out.  Wedding planning is crazy, it feels like time is going by so fast.  

All the Pretty Flowers

I have decided to look at florists for our next big planning step.  I have one appointment already set up for this week and I have e-mailed about three other florists in the Cleveland area. Danny's mother has been very helpful with finding a few recommended florists so it's not as overwhelming.  There are TONS of florists here and narrowing the list is so helpful.

I cannot wait to meet with the florists because I am hoping they will help me figure out my "wedding vision."  I am getting almost confused about what I want to do as far as wedding decor goes.  I know a few things.  Black and white will be the colors. BUT now I don't know if I want to incorporate another color for accent.  I was thinking maybe silver would be pretty, or even red or blue or who knows! I know I want simplicity.  I want things to look classic and elegant.  And I know I want to try and incorporate baseball into the decor but I don't want to overdo it.  Hopefully, after visiting numerous amount of florists I can get a better idea about what I want everything to look like.

I have one flower that I keep seeing over and over again when I search black and white wedding decor.  The anemone flower is a gorgeous flower that comes in white, blue, pink, red, and purple.  Then in the middle of the flower it has a black center.  It is simple, elegant, and a little modern but can look very classic when paired with certain flowers.  I cannot get these flowers out of my head when I think about the wedding.  I just love them.  I am hoping that they are readily available around September of next year.

 Hands down this is my favorite of all the anemone bouquets I have seen.

If anemones are unavailable I have looked into monochromatic white bouquets, and white with green incorporated in the arrangement.  I have found quite a few white bouquets that I think are gorgeous.  

 Not a bouquet BUT a very pretty centerpiece with a variety of white flowers. 

 I love the wrap and brooch on this arrangement.  I would love a wrapped bouquet with sometime of sentimental piece of family jewelry on it for accent.

 Not all white but I like the dark accent blooms placed in for a pop.  

Flowers are so beautiful and I have no idea how I am going to decide on what flowers I want in my wedding. I have to admit though, I do find it slightly relaxing just looking at pictures of flowers for a few minutes here and there.  Let me know how your florist experiences went.  How did you choose what flowers to use out of the hundreds out there?  I love reading everyone's comments!!  

Groom's Cake...It's a Southern Thing

After looking at normal wedding cakes I thought I would look at groom's cakes too.  Apparently up here in "Yankee" land they don't usually have groom's cakes.  Most people I have talked to them about don't even know what they are.  For those of you who don't know have you ever seen Steel Magnolias?!?! Hello! Armadillo shaped, red velvet, groom's cake!  I am just going to guess that groom's cakes are a "Southern thing."  But I still would very much like to have one either for the rehearsal dinner or for the reception.  

People who don't know Danny, let me give you a little background on him.  He is from Cleveland, he lives and breathes sports.  He loves the Cavaliers, Indians, Steelers, and of course Ohio State.  He graduated from Ohio State University with a degree in Business (concentration Logistics).  He says he bleeds scarlet and gray...whatever I bleed UK blue.  He loves football more than anything it seems.  His favorite color is, you guessed it, red (or scarlet).  Other than Ohio State and sports his other love is sugary baked goods.  An Ohio State cake is pretty much a given then right?  Yep!  I haven't even thought about anything else that would be a good groom's cake, except for a cake made to look like Jim Tressel, which isn't happening.  Here are some pictures of cakes I have stumbled across online.  For those of you who hate OSU, look away!  Oh how I wish he was a UK fan at times.  Here it goes...

 Typical block O with the buckeye on the bottom corner. 

 I am a huge fan of argyle so I actually kind of like this one even if it isn't UK.

 A little too big BUT it is different.  I am pretty sure this was a couples' actual wedding cake...crazy bride!

 Another block O.

 Kind of cool since it isn't all red and gray.  The Ohio State baseball ribbons would have to go though. 

 OOO glittery!  Probably would have to ditch the glitter and strawberries since he doesn't like either one. 

Simple and small and kind of cutesy.  I don't know if he would like it but I kind of do.

Maybe one of these bakeries this weekend will be the right place to get our groom's cake if they aren't the right place to get our wedding cake.  I don't think I will have difficulty finding a baker that will do an Ohio State cake in Ohio.  I just keep thinking about how I wish I could have a UK cake to cancel out the Ohio State cake haha. 

Photos courtesy of:

http://marypoppinscakefactory.com/pics/Destination%20Grooms%20Cakes/index.htm

http://www.flickr.com/photos/46629837@N03/4934773729/in/photostream

http://archive.blisstree.com/feel/specialty-theme-wedding-cakes/

http://mypersonalartist.blogspot.com/2009/01/ohio-state-buckeye-grooms-cake.html

http://www.monicascustomcakes.com/fondant_celebration_cakes

http://www.cestlaviecakes.com/Graduation-Cakes.php

The ONE Thing I Know Danny Wants to be Involved With

Saturday morning Danny and I will be looking at probably one of Danny's favorite things in the world besides sports, cake.  I thought looking for photographers would be the next thing we do but Danny wanted to jump the gun and look at cake bakers in our area instead.  We are only looking at two places that morning to get an idea about what all goes into a consultation and different prices, flavors, styles, etc.

Since the day is approaching soon and I haven't even thought about the cake and what it should look like I decided to do a little browsing on theknot.com and google.  I know we are going to have a black and white color scheme so I have looked at hundreds of black and white cakes in just the past few hours.

This is what I know I like.  I know I want something small.  I think I want to do a smaller cake for Danny and I to cut and as a way to avoid getting a massive cake.  I want something simple.  I feel like I have been saying that a lot when describing my wedding.  I am all about a small, simple, black and white cake, with just a few flowers on it for detail.  Flavor is a whole other story since that will mainly be up to Danny I feel like.  He is all about how the cake tastes.  It has to be good and it has to please his humongous sweet tooth.

Here are a few pictures that I have found that maybe possibilities for our cake.  First are the anemone flower cakes; all in black and white.  I LOVE these flowers I think I really want to incorporate them into my whole wedding.  They are just so simple and elegant.  I have seen them in so many different colors too.  They can be red, pink, blue, purple, and of course white.  They all have the interesting and gorgeous black center no matter what color they are.  After all the anemone flower cakes are just simple all white cakes with pretty floral detailing.  Like I have said over and over again, " I love simple details."  I am actually really excited about finding all these pictures.  They are all very pretty and I think they are a great way to just give the bakers an idea of what I would like.  Hopefully, Danny likes them too.  I think he really just cares about the taste though.

I like how there is the ribbon detailing with just a couple of anemone flowers to complete a smaller three tiered cake.

 Similar to the one above but a little wider and the flowers aren't as detailed. 

 Piping and flowers for detail

I like this one without all of the black ribbon or piping.  I think the white with just the flowers is so pretty.  Plus the stripes in the cake are really nice for texture.

I like how the baker used purple floral accents in this cake.  

Square cake time!  I like how there are clusters of flowers on each tier of this cake.  I don't know if I like all the lines on it though.  

I like the red and pink anemone flowers on this cake.  

Gorgeous!  I love how they used real flowers on this one.

 Tons of flowers!!! LOVE!

 I really like this one! The cake topper is cute too! I love the dog!

 This one looks like lace to me and it's so pretty! I like how there are little flowers in each circle too. 

 Cute little flowers cascading down the cake. 

I like the roses and the sheer ribbon on this cake.

Here is just a collage I made on Picasa of all the cakes listed above with a few extras thrown in there that I liked too.

If you aren't using Picasa, start using it NOW!  It's amazing and so easy to use.  It is a great photo editor and it organizes all your pictures according to who is pictured in the photo.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!  Now that I am done with my commercial for Picasa...please leave comments and let me know what you think of the cakes.  If you have any suggestions I would love to read them.  Oh and if you know of any bakers or cake flavors that you love I want to read all about it!

Photos courtesy of:
http://www.karascakery.com/blog/?p=183
http://weddings.theknot.com/Real-Weddings/85192/detailview.aspx?type=3&id=85192
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/163467_486927481573_136778576573_6629544_6181610_n.jpg
http://ideasforabride.blogspot.com/2010/03/anemone-cake.html
http://www.cakesforwedding.net/2011/07/vanilla-bake-shop.html
http://weddings.theknot.com/Real-Weddings/85022/detailview.aspx?type=3&id=85022
http://weddings.theknot.com/Real-Weddings/71383/detailview.aspx?type=3&id=71383
http://www.cakesforwedding.net/2010/04/anemone-wedding-cake-pictures.html
http://fifteengrandwedding.blogspot.com/2010/01/wedding-cake-take-2-making-less.html
http://weddings.theknot.com/Real-Weddings/86593/detailview.aspx?type=3&id=86593
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=white+wedding+cakes&start=236&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1600&bih=775&tbm=isch&tbnid=DD6WHkbbquB3GM:&imgrefurl=http://www.zoeclarkcakes.com/white-lace-on-ivory-wedding-cake.html&docid=ltZ3erIRtY3nMM&imgurl=http://www.zoeclarkcakes.com/images/whiteonivoryweddingcake.jpg&w=488&h=700&ei=BoecTtjKKuXV0QHCpeB-&zoom=1&chk=sbg
http://www.zoeclarkcakes.com/white-rose-corsage-wedding-cake.html
http://wedwebtalks.com/2011/04/the-purity-of-white-wedding-themes/

Two Bridesmaids Are Better Than One

Yesterday was a fantastic day!  I was soo excited to have one of my best friends from college in town for a whole week!  Brianne and Cassie both agreed to endure hours of bridesmaid dress shopping!  What great friends right?  We went to three different stores and spent countless hours searching through racks and racks of dresses.  I didn't realize until then how hard it is to find flattering dresses for all different body shapes.  None of us could believe how many dresses out there are just straight up hideous. There were many jokes and comments made about neon orange or rainbow colored gowns that made me cringe.  I kept wondering why in the world do designers put these dresses out there for the masses to purchase?  As a bride I really do not think it is a smart idea to put your bridesmaids who are usually your closets friends and family members in ugly dresses and possibly ruining your wedding pictures that you will look at for years to come. One good point was made while Brianne and I watched an episode of Say Yes to the Dress Bridesmaids this week.  The bridesmaids are the frame of a picture and the bride is the center of the picture so why would you want the frame to look bad and not uniform?

I am now determined to find a dress that all my bridesmaids will like.  I truly want to make sure they are comfortable, gorgeous, and happy with the dress choice.  I think we may have found a winner.  The crazy thing is it's from David's Bridal too!  The store I have had issue after issue with may be the store we go with to purchase all these dresses.  Kasey, Cassie, Brianne have all tried on this dress and they have all liked it.  It is the number one dress for Brianne and Cassie.  Hopefully the other three bridesmaids will like the dress as much as they did when they tried it on.  So here is the front runner for now:

http://www.davidsbridal.com/Product_Short-Satin-Dress-with-Pleated-Bust-and-Ruching-F13277_Bridal-Party-Bridesmaids-All-Bridesmaid-Dresses

Typical Brianne look...but the dress does look good on both of them.  I like it in black and red but I think we will go with the black if this is the dress.  

Here it is again on Kasey.  I think this picture has been posted at least three times already haha. 

I really do like the dress more and more I see it.  I remember a few years ago when we were looking for dresses for my other bridesmaid, Sarah's wedding, that I kind of liked that dress.  I didn't think it would still be around by the time I got married though (of course at that point in time I thought I wouldn't be getting married till I was probably 30).  The dress is very simple, looks great in black, flatters the three different figures it has been on, and it looks classic.  I'm all about simple and classic. 

Now it's time to see some of the other pictures from the shopping marathon!!!!! There were too many dresses we decided to pass on taking pictures of just because they were a little too horrendous.  But hopefully you all will enjoy these!

Showing off the guns!

 This is the blue dress Kasey tried on from Galleria Gowns that we liked on her.  BUT I don't think it is the dress I want to go with since it didn't look the same on Brianne and Cassie. One comment in particular made me think maybe we should go with a different dress.  Cassie's, "I don't really like these lines on the boobs because they make them look pointy," comment made me think, no darting on the boobs!  That was used a lot the rest of the shopping trip.  Every time we saw darting on the chest that's all we talked about. 

 Love the color of this dress but it doesn't go with my color scheme.  I do like the dress but there were a few issues with the fit. 

 Cassie is a little more enthusiastic to be trying on dresses.  I really liked this one but it's a little pricey I found out.

 It's just crazy how the same dress can look so different on another person!

 The Lazaro on Brianne.

A newer dress from David's Bridal.  There is a sheer detailing around the neckline and the back but something just didn't seem right.  I felt like it was a dress that people in a high school chorus would wear or something when I saw it on the two of them.  I do like the face Brianne has on though! Hopefully she won't do that in all the wedding pictures....she probably will though.  

What troopers to let me put their pictures on here!  That's one thing that Brianne knew was coming as soon as she decided to come up to Cleveland and visit.  I told her we have to go bridesmaid dress shopping and she instantly reacted with, "Ugh I'm going have to be on your blog like your sister." So thank you Cassie and Brianne for being so cooperative and letting me take all kinds of pictures of you and trying on some crazy dresses. 

What's next on the planning agenda? Danny will finally be back in Cleveland and he actually arranged for us to meet with two local cake bakers!  So lots of tasting and picture flipping will be in the near future for the two of us.