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Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Monday, April 11, 2011
Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!
{Not for personal use. Do not duplicate. NO permissions granted to use this photo}
Monday, January 03, 2011
Happy New Year
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| © Epic Image Photography |
We were so lucky in that our family, friends and co-workers surrounded us with love and support last year as we took those last steps through the engagement journey and into our marriage. It's difficult to believe, but Big Spoon and I have not yet been married 3 months!
I'm hoping that the coming weeks offer me additional time to blog about our rehearsal, wedding day and vendor reviews, but I'm making no promises. My priorities currently include organizing our home, selling off some of the wedding stuff and integrating our gifts. I'll be hosting a garage sale in the spring to help us purge unwanted items. I'm also working on setting up an Etsy store for Little Spoon Designs.
All things in good time. I hope you all had a wonderful start to the new year!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Perspective
I married my best friend 48 hours ago. The after-wedding reality is a bit more to deal with than I had anticipated. I'm not ready to talk about a lot of things, thus the blogging hiatus. However, I did want to put up a post today about perspective and the wedding day before the long break. I don't want to let slide the important lesson I'm being forced to learn.
Big Spoon was incredible this weekend. He was supportive, grounding, calming and helped me gain perspective when I lost mine. And I'm ashamed to say, I lost it a lot. He reminded me again this morning that despite everything, we're married now. We have the rest of our lives to look forward to and dwelling on one day isn't healthy for me or for us.
In the receiving line, my 80-year-old grandfather - with tears in his eyes - took us both by the hand and said "Always love one another and you'll have a long life. I know we have." Papa and Granny were married 62 years ago on December 11, 1948 when they were both 18 years old. Granny's aunt and uncle drove them to Franklin, KY and they married at the court house.
They don't have a single picture of their wedding day.
They don't have an invitation to frame, a dress to preserve or wedding keepsake to pass down. She probably didn't have any flowers. It didn't matter to them that they married at the court house nor do they really remember why they chose that. But 62 years later, they are still in love, still healthy and strong, and so very wise.
I got to spend one of the most important days of my life with my parents, parents-in-law, grandparents, siblings and their spouses as well as both our extended family and friends in a beautiful dress at a beautiful home beside my handsome husband.
If Big Spoon and I are married 62 years, I'll be the luckiest woman on earth. And nothing else matters.
Big Spoon was incredible this weekend. He was supportive, grounding, calming and helped me gain perspective when I lost mine. And I'm ashamed to say, I lost it a lot. He reminded me again this morning that despite everything, we're married now. We have the rest of our lives to look forward to and dwelling on one day isn't healthy for me or for us.
In the receiving line, my 80-year-old grandfather - with tears in his eyes - took us both by the hand and said "Always love one another and you'll have a long life. I know we have." Papa and Granny were married 62 years ago on December 11, 1948 when they were both 18 years old. Granny's aunt and uncle drove them to Franklin, KY and they married at the court house.
They don't have a single picture of their wedding day.
They don't have an invitation to frame, a dress to preserve or wedding keepsake to pass down. She probably didn't have any flowers. It didn't matter to them that they married at the court house nor do they really remember why they chose that. But 62 years later, they are still in love, still healthy and strong, and so very wise.
I got to spend one of the most important days of my life with my parents, parents-in-law, grandparents, siblings and their spouses as well as both our extended family and friends in a beautiful dress at a beautiful home beside my handsome husband.
If Big Spoon and I are married 62 years, I'll be the luckiest woman on earth. And nothing else matters.
Monday, July 05, 2010
Bridesmaids' Dresses? Check.
I can't begin to tell you how excited I am that my little sister and Matron of Honor purchased this dress yesterday for our wedding! She went out of her way to get the only one of her size left in Tennessee as this dress cannot be ordered through the store (nor are DB dresses returnable). Now, we just have to get our other sister/bridesmaid down to DB to one on! MOH is thinking black jewelry instead of pearls. What do you all think?
Friday, June 18, 2010
For Better or Worse
This has been a particularly bad week at the Spoon house; not necessarily for me but for everyone around me. I've been struggling all week to pull myself out of a funk while simultaneously being supportive of my ever patient and loving fiancé, who actually had a very big week (some good, some bad). I don't feel like I've been "there" enough for him amidst a ton of family situations and a week-long headache. And I'm wrecked with guilt and conflicting priorities.
Wedding plans are going fine, but in the course of two weeks, I have found myself stressed to the max. Work is stressful, Big Spoon's work is ten times more stressful and I'm still learning ways to help him and be a good daughter and friend, too. These are the things people don't tell you about before you get married ... How hard it is to go from single to fiancée to wife; that learning how to take care of yourself and still be a support system for someone else has many challenges and many rewards. I guess people don't tell you because everyone figures it out for themselves.
I'm still learning.
When things are good and easy, we’re really happy and I love those times. I've never known a more supportive, loving and understanding person than Big Spoon. Our relationship has made my life better in so many varied ways and I can't ever thank him enough for being so good to me. During tough times, it’s normal for one of us to lean on the other and to pick up the slack, but this week, we’ve both needed to lean and those are some of the hardest days. Sometimes, it takes a series of bad days to help you really appreciate what you have and see where you are falling short. I’m madly in love with Big Spoon and I hope that I continue down this path of self-discovery of learning how to love him (and me!) better, to be a good wife and a better friend.
I've been thinking a lot about him and our upcoming nuptials as well as priorities this morning, obviously. I understand now how those old vows have stood the test of time: they are just as valid today as they have ever been.
... to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health for as long as we both shall live.
I haven’t said them yet, but I already mean them with all my heart.
Wedding plans are going fine, but in the course of two weeks, I have found myself stressed to the max. Work is stressful, Big Spoon's work is ten times more stressful and I'm still learning ways to help him and be a good daughter and friend, too. These are the things people don't tell you about before you get married ... How hard it is to go from single to fiancée to wife; that learning how to take care of yourself and still be a support system for someone else has many challenges and many rewards. I guess people don't tell you because everyone figures it out for themselves.
I'm still learning.
When things are good and easy, we’re really happy and I love those times. I've never known a more supportive, loving and understanding person than Big Spoon. Our relationship has made my life better in so many varied ways and I can't ever thank him enough for being so good to me. During tough times, it’s normal for one of us to lean on the other and to pick up the slack, but this week, we’ve both needed to lean and those are some of the hardest days. Sometimes, it takes a series of bad days to help you really appreciate what you have and see where you are falling short. I’m madly in love with Big Spoon and I hope that I continue down this path of self-discovery of learning how to love him (and me!) better, to be a good wife and a better friend.
I've been thinking a lot about him and our upcoming nuptials as well as priorities this morning, obviously. I understand now how those old vows have stood the test of time: they are just as valid today as they have ever been.
... to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health for as long as we both shall live.
I haven’t said them yet, but I already mean them with all my heart.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
A Bride's Maids
The six-month-countdown is on! I find myself thinking about this a lot because there is still so much to do, but also because it doesn't seem quite possible that we'll be married in only six months.
When Big Spoon and I began talking about the wedding party, we both agreed that the smaller the party, the better - both on our wallets, our friends wallets and stress levels. I have three siblings, so obviously I want to include them and Big Spoon has a best friend. Done deal. The economy sucks and I felt guilty asking any of my girlfriends to pony up the money for a dress, shoes, etc. I'm listing my two best friends as honorary bridesmaids on our program: all the honor, none of the stress.
So ... I have a big sister and a little sister, both of which are married. I'm the last sister! Big Sister is nine years older than me, but we've always been pretty close. I was eleven when she married her husband (that's 17 years of marriage!). She's a Kindergarten teacher in our hometown and mother of my only niece and nephew.
Little Sister is the baby of the family and my Matron of Honor. She married her husband in 2006. Despite a four-year age difference and fighting like cats and dogs growing up, we've become closer now that we're grown ups. I was her Maid of Honor four years ago, now she's returning the favor.
Of the"big things" we have left to accomplish, the one on top of my list is to get my bridesmaids' outfitted in body-flattering, so going to wear it again, little black dresses. Our tuxedo-inspired color scheme makes this part easy ... it's getting the family together and predicting the weather that is the hard part!
I thought I'd pull together some of my favorites at David's Bridal:
When Big Spoon and I began talking about the wedding party, we both agreed that the smaller the party, the better - both on our wallets, our friends wallets and stress levels. I have three siblings, so obviously I want to include them and Big Spoon has a best friend. Done deal. The economy sucks and I felt guilty asking any of my girlfriends to pony up the money for a dress, shoes, etc. I'm listing my two best friends as honorary bridesmaids on our program: all the honor, none of the stress.
So ... I have a big sister and a little sister, both of which are married. I'm the last sister! Big Sister is nine years older than me, but we've always been pretty close. I was eleven when she married her husband (that's 17 years of marriage!). She's a Kindergarten teacher in our hometown and mother of my only niece and nephew.
Little Sister is the baby of the family and my Matron of Honor. She married her husband in 2006. Despite a four-year age difference and fighting like cats and dogs growing up, we've become closer now that we're grown ups. I was her Maid of Honor four years ago, now she's returning the favor.
Of the"big things" we have left to accomplish, the one on top of my list is to get my bridesmaids' outfitted in body-flattering, so going to wear it again, little black dresses. Our tuxedo-inspired color scheme makes this part easy ... it's getting the family together and predicting the weather that is the hard part!
I thought I'd pull together some of my favorites at David's Bridal:
And some favorites from various retailers and online stores:
Friday, January 15, 2010
The Conscious Bride
Confession: I've been working on this blog post for about two weeks now. I finished the book a while back, but just haven't found the time and the words to describe how good it is and why and what. You get the idea. Brace yourself for a lengthy post.
I've been feeling less like my normal self since the holidays. I'm not sure if it's because of the awful weather we've been having or I've simply allowed myself to become overwhelmed. I'm not sure, but what I can tell you is that I've begun the necessary grieving process. More on that later.
I first heard of the book The Conscious Bride at the Unabridged Bride workshop. Encouraged by Liza Hippler of Maiden to Married, I checked this book out at the library a few weeks ago and I am so glad that I did!
You can also check out the author's website Conscious Weddings; there are a lot of good articles there as well as recommended reading and excerpts from The Conscious Bride's Wedding Planner (which I now own.)
Just a few days after starting to read this book, I found myself completely immersed in it, thinking about it and longing for the next time I could pick it up. Every bride should read this book. It has helped to refocus how I am viewing and experiencing our engagement journey.
We'll just start in the beginning ... a life-time commitment is scary, right? I was the girl who told people that I would never get married or have kids. Looking back, it was clearly a defense mechanism to shield me from getting too hurt when I went through guys like blue jeans just trying to find one that fit. Or, maybe because I was from a small town and that's just "what people do" that I continued fighting it through my early twenties.
Regardless, it's a leap that is both exciting and scary. The book talks about the reality of the emotional roller-coaster that being engaged and then married puts you through. People expect you to just glow and gush, but I didn't feel that way everyday. The fact is, I was freaked out for the first few weeks of our engagement. People kept asking me about it and I had to fake my excitement because that's what they expect, right?
Like many brides, I was denying myself feelings of anxiety and grief. I felt bad. I wondered if I was doing the right thing. Why am I feeling this way?
Because I am going through a transition ... a rite of passage and the death of my former self and former life. Whoa! Say what? Think about it ... what changed for you socially, habitually, spiritually or emotionally after you became involved in your relationship? How did you feel after the proposal?
Separation has never been my strong suit. I hate losing touch with friends, even the ones who probably weren't all that good for me, but since becoming engaged, I've held my close friends closer and disengaged from other relationships I used to invest a great deal of time in. I've found that I enjoy visiting my family more now than ever ... and I believe it is because I now recognize the separation that must take place in order to commit my life to Big Spoon.
The book doesn't encourage you to drop everyone and become isolated for your future husband. What it does do is explain that these feelings are normal and that although separating from your past self is necessary, everyone you love and the good parts of you come along too.
Being 27 and having lived on my own for quite some time, the separation with family is not as difficult as separating with my single-self. My identity is changing. No really. I'm changing my last name, are you? That is the most concrete incorporation of your new self, but there are so many other subtle ways in which one changes.
Grieving your former self is important and I believe that it is why I've been so blue lately. I finally gave myself permission to grieve, to slow down and to think. I've been moody and probably hard to live with, but letting go of 27 years takes some work. I'm happy to do it. I'm more excited about the next 27 years than I have been about anything in my entire life!
I'll bring this entry to a close and just say this: being aware that some negative feelings are natural and not feeling guilty or confused is a big step toward sanity. Being conscious of the fact that all this planning will end in your marriage to your spouse and remembering that this journey - from engagement to wife - is a rite of passage. Cherish it, slow down and make an attempt to remember everything you can about it. Don't neglect your relationship for a wedding, but rather cultivate your relationship for your marriage as you plan for the big day.
I've been feeling less like my normal self since the holidays. I'm not sure if it's because of the awful weather we've been having or I've simply allowed myself to become overwhelmed. I'm not sure, but what I can tell you is that I've begun the necessary grieving process. More on that later.
I first heard of the book The Conscious Bride at the Unabridged Bride workshop. Encouraged by Liza Hippler of Maiden to Married, I checked this book out at the library a few weeks ago and I am so glad that I did!
You can also check out the author's website Conscious Weddings; there are a lot of good articles there as well as recommended reading and excerpts from The Conscious Bride's Wedding Planner (which I now own.)
Just a few days after starting to read this book, I found myself completely immersed in it, thinking about it and longing for the next time I could pick it up. Every bride should read this book. It has helped to refocus how I am viewing and experiencing our engagement journey.
We'll just start in the beginning ... a life-time commitment is scary, right? I was the girl who told people that I would never get married or have kids. Looking back, it was clearly a defense mechanism to shield me from getting too hurt when I went through guys like blue jeans just trying to find one that fit. Or, maybe because I was from a small town and that's just "what people do" that I continued fighting it through my early twenties.
Regardless, it's a leap that is both exciting and scary. The book talks about the reality of the emotional roller-coaster that being engaged and then married puts you through. People expect you to just glow and gush, but I didn't feel that way everyday. The fact is, I was freaked out for the first few weeks of our engagement. People kept asking me about it and I had to fake my excitement because that's what they expect, right?
Like many brides, I was denying myself feelings of anxiety and grief. I felt bad. I wondered if I was doing the right thing. Why am I feeling this way?
Because I am going through a transition ... a rite of passage and the death of my former self and former life. Whoa! Say what? Think about it ... what changed for you socially, habitually, spiritually or emotionally after you became involved in your relationship? How did you feel after the proposal?
Separation has never been my strong suit. I hate losing touch with friends, even the ones who probably weren't all that good for me, but since becoming engaged, I've held my close friends closer and disengaged from other relationships I used to invest a great deal of time in. I've found that I enjoy visiting my family more now than ever ... and I believe it is because I now recognize the separation that must take place in order to commit my life to Big Spoon.
The book doesn't encourage you to drop everyone and become isolated for your future husband. What it does do is explain that these feelings are normal and that although separating from your past self is necessary, everyone you love and the good parts of you come along too.
Being 27 and having lived on my own for quite some time, the separation with family is not as difficult as separating with my single-self. My identity is changing. No really. I'm changing my last name, are you? That is the most concrete incorporation of your new self, but there are so many other subtle ways in which one changes.
Grieving your former self is important and I believe that it is why I've been so blue lately. I finally gave myself permission to grieve, to slow down and to think. I've been moody and probably hard to live with, but letting go of 27 years takes some work. I'm happy to do it. I'm more excited about the next 27 years than I have been about anything in my entire life!
I'll bring this entry to a close and just say this: being aware that some negative feelings are natural and not feeling guilty or confused is a big step toward sanity. Being conscious of the fact that all this planning will end in your marriage to your spouse and remembering that this journey - from engagement to wife - is a rite of passage. Cherish it, slow down and make an attempt to remember everything you can about it. Don't neglect your relationship for a wedding, but rather cultivate your relationship for your marriage as you plan for the big day.
Friday, January 01, 2010
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year! I'm back from my blogger break and wedding planning hiatus. I am so excited about 2010 - the beginning of a new decade and the year I will start my married life with Big Spoon! 2009 went by so quickly and I have a great deal to be thankful for. I'll work backwards from today ...
New Year's Eve 2009:
We invited our closest friends over and had a ton of fun ringing in the new year. Also, it appears that 2010 is the year of weddings: three of our close friend couples are engaged and planning summer/late summer weddings. Oh my! We are so excited for all of them.
Christmas 2009
We had such a wonderful, low-key Christmas this year. It was our first year to celebrate Christmas together. We headed up to my family's celebration on Christmas Eve to be with my parents, maternal grandparents, brother, sisters and brothers-in-law and niece and nephew. Christmas day, Big Spoon's parents flew in from Colorado and were here through Tuesday and they totally spoil us. I am always sad to see them leave and miss them like I've known them forever.
Oh, and Big Spoon gave me a Tiffany's charm! Isn't it cute?
Fall 2009
Oh, let's see ... we booked Down South Delights catering in November, celebrated our 1st year dating anniversary and chose Rose Mont Mansion for our wedding and reception in October.
Summer 2009
We (as in my parents) purchased my wedding dress in August, celebrated Big Spoon's birthday, had engagement pictures made in June and celebrated my birthday! Oh, and I bought a new car :)
Spring 2009
This quarter of 2009 was marked by travel - a weekend trip to Colorado and a romantic getaway to New York City. Big Spoon proposed in Central Park on April 13. It all felt like a dream and sometimes, it still does. I started our blog in 2009 as well.
Winter 2009
Shopping for engagement rings in January is definitely an experience I will never forget. Both surreal and exciting as this experience was, the most shocking part was falling in love with classic solitaires. I love my ring more every day. Big Spoon did a great job matching my personality to my engagement ring - classic brilliant round with a flat, small modern band. Even down to the surprise side diamonds, its perfect.
Although there were some shadows - work, relationships, the economy - overall, I couldn't have asked for a better year. I am so lucky to be in love with my best friend, to be surrounded by family and friends and continue my career in design into the new year.
Thanks for reading, folks. Happy New Year.
New Year's Eve 2009:
We invited our closest friends over and had a ton of fun ringing in the new year. Also, it appears that 2010 is the year of weddings: three of our close friend couples are engaged and planning summer/late summer weddings. Oh my! We are so excited for all of them.
Christmas 2009
We had such a wonderful, low-key Christmas this year. It was our first year to celebrate Christmas together. We headed up to my family's celebration on Christmas Eve to be with my parents, maternal grandparents, brother, sisters and brothers-in-law and niece and nephew. Christmas day, Big Spoon's parents flew in from Colorado and were here through Tuesday and they totally spoil us. I am always sad to see them leave and miss them like I've known them forever.
Oh, and Big Spoon gave me a Tiffany's charm! Isn't it cute?
Fall 2009
Oh, let's see ... we booked Down South Delights catering in November, celebrated our 1st year dating anniversary and chose Rose Mont Mansion for our wedding and reception in October.
Summer 2009
We (as in my parents) purchased my wedding dress in August, celebrated Big Spoon's birthday, had engagement pictures made in June and celebrated my birthday! Oh, and I bought a new car :)
Spring 2009
This quarter of 2009 was marked by travel - a weekend trip to Colorado and a romantic getaway to New York City. Big Spoon proposed in Central Park on April 13. It all felt like a dream and sometimes, it still does. I started our blog in 2009 as well.
Winter 2009
Shopping for engagement rings in January is definitely an experience I will never forget. Both surreal and exciting as this experience was, the most shocking part was falling in love with classic solitaires. I love my ring more every day. Big Spoon did a great job matching my personality to my engagement ring - classic brilliant round with a flat, small modern band. Even down to the surprise side diamonds, its perfect.
Although there were some shadows - work, relationships, the economy - overall, I couldn't have asked for a better year. I am so lucky to be in love with my best friend, to be surrounded by family and friends and continue my career in design into the new year.
Thanks for reading, folks. Happy New Year.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Holiday Cheer
Big Spoon and I had a good Thanksgiving vacation, even though we have both done a lot of work over the past few days. Big Spoon has been trudging through work projects all week and I have been cleaning, shopping and decorating for the holidays.
We had a great time with my parents, grandparents and siblings - especially my niece and nephew, who seem to just get funnier every year.
My future-in-laws are coming in on Christmas Day, we're hosting a holiday party for the students working in Big Spoon's lab and we'll potentially be having friends over for New Years Eve. Thus, I've put forth a great deal of effort to make the house look festive! So far, I have our main tree up in the living room, a tree in the upstairs window and garland on the railing.
I really love decorating and hosting and I'm looking forward to having people over. It is definitely more exhausting than my little apartments of yesteryear, but I'm liking the results. I'll try to keep up Music Monday through the holidays, but there won't be much else to read, I'm afraid. Holiday time = wedding planning/writing break time!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Thankful
photo via {Agricultural Law}
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
What a short year it has been for me since last Thanksgiving! Big Spoon and I had been dating for only ONE MONTH last turkey day and it was the first time he met my family - and it was quite an overwhelming experience for him (as he is an only child).
Among those I have to be thankful for, my immediate family includes two wonderful, loving parents, my mother's parents, an older sister, brother-in-law and their two children, my younger brother, and my younger sister and brother-in-law. That's thirteen people (including myself), folks, in one house for the holidays. Big Spoon makes fourteen. For my family and for Big Spoon, I am grateful, lucky and humbled by their love. I am especially thankful this year for my fiance and the great in-laws I will receive by the next Thanksgiving.
This might sound strange, but I am really thankful for my job; for the customers, vendors and co-workers that keep our company afloat. It is certainly not what I imagined doing after graduating design school, but there is a great deal for me to be thankful for here. My Dad lost his job in 2008 and since that time, I have been more keenly aware of the extent that the bad economy has impacted our friends and neighbors. This might be the toughest thanksgiving that many families have ever faced.
Lastly, I am thankful that we have my brother-in-law safely home from his year-long tour in Iraq. Please remember all the troops serving overseas during the holidays. They give us a great deal to be thankful for as well.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Diamonds & Pearls
I say "our" jewelry store because I can't imagine ever using another one as long as we live here! Wholesale Jewelers in Hermitage is stellar.
I have a nearly broken string of pearls that my parents gave me the day I graduated High School. Needless to say, no matter how inexpensive they were, they have sentimental value to me. They are freshwater pearls, not even beaded like the good stuff, but I want to wear them on our wedding day. The jeweler cut me a great deal on having them re-strung and while I was there, I sold some old yellow gold pieces I've held on to for a decade. Who says old high school boyfriends aren't good for something? I made $20 to apply toward my necklace repair. Yay!
My wedding dress is beaded with rhinestones and pearls. Pearls are my birthstone and definitely a favorite of mine - timeless and classic. I'm so excited to have them fixed and someday, hopefully, pass them along to my daughter or grand daughter.
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Jingle Bells
Jingle bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg ...
I used to think September was a bit early for Christmas. Since
Although it takes some of the joy away from the holidays, I have found it impossible to avoid planning this far in advance. I begin my holiday shopping in September and finish up with Black Friday. I put my
Last night, I got some really good news: my future in-laws are coming to our house this Christmas! This means that not only will I get to keep the tradition of seeing my immediate family on Christmas Eve, we get to celebrate with Big Spoon's parents on Christmas Day. Granted, this will most likely change from year to year after we are married, but that's okay.
Speaking of jingle bells, I like the idea of a "bell sendoff" as we leave on our wedding day. It's one more DIY project to add to the pile, but ... we'll see. What are you all doing for your grand exit?
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
The tie that binds Bridezillas
One of Little Spoon's guilty pleasures is the show Bridezillas, in which the misbehavior of a variety of women is chronicled and edited together with the sweetest and snarkiest of narrators describing the proceedings. Some of them have minor emotional meltdowns, but others become physically and emotionally abusive to those around them. There have even been a couple who seem to play up their "bitchiness" for the cameras - after all, they wouldn't want to be deprived of their $2500 and free wedding video for not making enough of a show!
After watching some episodes of this, it seems like these brides would all be high in a personality trait called stress reaction; namely, they are moody, react strongly to even minor stressors, and seem to be unable to put things in perspective. However, many times this stress reaction seems to stem from a belief that the wedding day is supposed to be all about the bride, that everyone else is supposed to be her slave, and that the perfect fulfillment of every one of her multitudinous wishes is only a reasonable expectation - not a recipe for insanity.
Keeping things in perspective - that your wedding is just a day in the grand scheme of things, your friends and family still deserve to be treated with respect as on any other day, and everyone still has their limits - can go a long way to reducing the Bridezilla mentality. If you can step back and remember that your wedding is a celebration not just of your relationship with your future spouse but of all the relationships with your friends and family that got you to this point, it might help take the aggressive edge off.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Cake Topper
We have $40 budgeted for a cake topper (whether purchased or handmade). Luckily, my mom found this beautiful Martha Stewart cake topper at Big Lots for $2.00! ::happy dance::
We are going to dress-up the birds a bit (tuxedo bow and veil ... maybe?) and it will look awesome on top of my granny's coconut cake that she is making as our wedding cake! Yipee!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Let Them Eat ... Candy!
I suppose this post is out of order and I should still be writing about our engagement trip and the like, but this story is just too good to not write about now. It is the first of many things I hope will "fall into place" as we plan our wedding day together.
While sitting in a Baskin Robbins in New York City (our first night there), sharing a dessert, the topic of wedding cakes came up. Says I, "Big Spoon, do we even like cake that much?" Says he, "well, not really." The idea of cake tastings and cake haggling doesn't really thrill either of us. As a matter of fact, I'm pretty positive there isn't a bakery out there that can make a cake as good as my Granny.
We like candy. A lot. We don't have to have cake, but we like the cake cutting tradition. However, we don't like wedding cake prices (yes, I know they are labor-intensive works of art. I still don't like the prices).
The compromise: the increasingly popular candy bar. I'm hoping to borrow glass and crystal jars, buy a few or (register for them) and buy "little spoons" to dip out the candy! I am also going to talk to my Granny about making one of her delicious from-scratch cakes a few days before the wedding. We'll chill them and still have a cake cutting.
We both agree that this is something that speaks to both of our personalities and asking for family participation makes the cake cutting tradition that much sweeter.
I found some good Candy Buffet advice via {this blog}. Which tells me I won't like candy prices either. Well, I'd rather spend $500 on candy than cake, but that's just me.
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