Good news! We booked a honeymoon!

After lots of debate we decided to go with Sandals in St. Lucia. We've been toying with going to an all-inclusive but after some good conversations with other couples who have honeymooned at Sandals in St. Lucia and Jamaica, we decided it was the way to go! The stress of finding restaurants, transportation and everything are alleviated. It should be incredibly relaxing! I'm so excited.

St. Lucia actually has 3 resorts so although we're staying at one we can enjoy dinner and activities at all three. We've also decided to do two excursions (which of course, cost extra). First, we're doing a zipline through the rainforest (Andy's Choice) and a Land and Sea excursion which included touring a banana plantation, driving through a volcano and a cruise on a catamaran (my choice!). Sandals also included free scuba diving so I'll be hauling my butt off to FINALLY get certified since Andy has been certified for years. At Sandals we can do two dives a day! Plus snorkeling, sailing and kayaking. It should be amazing.

We're going for a week. We'll leave the Monday after our wedding. We want a little downtime after everything on Saturday. I really don't want to rush off to the airport first thing the next morning so I'm glad we'll have all day Sunday to see our guests off and get some sleep.

Life is really busy but I'm in the thick of wedding planning. Oh, and we just picked a rehearsal dinner restaurant today! (more soon!) There are so many details to pin down. But, I'm finalizing vendors. I should have dessert tastings, flower consultation, order chairs and tents, make decorations, design invitations.... hopefully all with blogs to follow!

I found them! I found wedding shoes! I've been looking high and low for something teal and not $400 and while in Maryland I found them!

They're satin and the right color teal. And they were only $45! PERFECT! I was with bridesmaid Chelsea and we both agreed I should buy them. Even if I hate them later (doubtful) they weren't expensive or I could wear them to the rehearsal dinner. I mean, I was only in Maryland for the weekend so I should probably pounce.

But, of course, they only had a 7 1/2 and a 9 and what I really needed was a 8 1/2. Luckily, another nearby location had them. It was only Friday and I didn't fly out until Monday. In fact, they could have them to the store on Saturday. So, I paid and all I had to do was wait!

Saturday passed. So did Sunday. No phone call telling me the shoes were in. Well, also I forgot. Since I was in Maryland visiting everyone I got side tracked. But, I called Monday morning. First, the shoes weren't there. Then, 5 minutes later I get a call that they were in, the salesgirl just didn't see them before. GREAT!

Chels and I have a nice farewell lunch and then swing by the mall to pick up my shoes on the way to the airport. I get into the store and the salesgirl tells me that the reason she didn't realize the shoes were mine is because the style of the shoe is the "Alison". She didn't realize they were also for a girl named Alison. FATE! FATE! FATE! I found teal wedding shoes called Alison. FATE! Of course, this is what I say to Chels, probably slightly more excited than anyone should actually be over something like this.

Then, for some reason when we get to the car I flop the bag down and open the shoes. I wasn't actually planning to take them with me, I didn't have room in my carryon. I already had a little too much fun at Paper Source (more on that in another post) so Chels was going to mail me my mounds of peacock colored paper and teal shoes. Well, you guessed it. When I opened the shoes they were WRONG! They were beige, black and studded :( So, we had to head back into the mall.

Sadly, the teal shoes are not "alison". In fact, my teal shoes hadn't actually arrived. Chelsea has to pick them up for me, they should've come in today. So, I will be wearing some lovely teal shoes that I will pretend was named after me! But, at least for a short while, it was fate!

The entrance to the Ezell House has a place to hang two wreaths or something similar. I'm not using the main entrance for the actual entrance, I'll be using the wrought iron gate to the courtyard. But, the front doors will definitely show up in pictures. So, I want to come up with something to put here. But, I am not about to blow a significant amount of money on this sort of thing. Of course, that means I'm scouring the internet to figure out what I could do myself.

First inspiration... Moss initials! Pretty, simple, cheap. The only problem, BOTH OUR INITIALS ARE "A".

I don't want AA on our door. One, we're not an alcoholics anonymous get-together and second, it'll look real stupid.

I also love preserved boxwood wreaths. I think they're simple, pretty and classic. Also, I can keep them after the wedding and hang them up to remind up of our wedding day which is super sweet.

But, then I wonder, are they too plain?

I've also seen these flower cones. This one isn't my favorite but I have seen some neat metal cones. They're often also used in smaller form as aisle decorations. But, it seems like these require fresh flowers and that makes it hard to do ahead and probably a more expensive option.


Now this is just the beginning of my search but at least I feel like these are promising! Anyone have any ideas? Do most people do a door decoration at their wedding or is it just unique to my venue? I feel like people decorate church doors.

As I mentioned last post, I have been busy planning. I FINALLY actually met with a florist. I went to a lovely shop in town and the meeting was actually pretty fun. But, as always, there are more details to consider then I initially considered. Of course, some of them are ridiculous, you only need so many flowers at a wedding. Others are nice reminders (flower for your officiant?! probably a nice idea).

The one thing I was very pleased with was their willingness to work with me. I still want to DIY things like my origami aisle decor. I know that often times these sorts of vendors can be pushy but she didn't question any of the things I said I was doing myself. I also want a couple wreaths for the main entrance but I was planning on doing these myself.  The florist was very helpful and gave me some suggestions and price ranges in case I decide I don't have time to deal with them. She was good at letting me know what's available but insisting I should let them do it!

In fact, in a few instances she pointed out how having them provide services wouldn't cost me any more money. I want hanging basket ferns for the porch at the Ezell House. I was planning on heading to a local nursery and purchasing this myself. But, the florist I met with has a local nursery and they can provide ferns for the same price I've seen at other places! If I'm already paying them labor costs to come and do flowers and delivery, it'll really cost me nothing more and I won't have the headache of picking up the plants myself!

Of course, there were also some outrageous parts of my quote. I want a relatively small bridal bouquet (8-10 inches) and I want my bridesmaids bouquets to be the same but about two inches smaller. Would you be surprised to hear that my bouquet will cost THREE TIMES the amount of my bridesmaids? Ridiculous! How can a few extra flowers triple the cost? I don't think it can. So, I'm curious to see what the florist says when I ask that question? I asked for the same flowers so they can't give the excuse that they are using nicer flowers in my bouquet!

I'm going to try to meet with more florists this week. I tried to call last week and set up appointments with 2 more florists but was met with the same response.... its the week before mother's day, we don't have time! So, I'll call back Monday and try again.

Anyone got any good florist tips? Horror stories? I'm just not sure how to know what's a good deal and what isn't! I hope getting a few quotes helps with this.

Well, sorry for my long blogging absence. Its been a crazy couple weeks for me but now everything is back to normal so I'm back to blogging. I've been up to all sorts of stuff but I figured, before I get to that, I need to address THE ROYAL WEDDING. I mean, this is a wedding blog.

First, the world is buzzing about Kate's sister Pippa and how gorgeous she looked at the wedding. And, I must agree, what a pretty set of sisters!

But, I think its neat that Pippa is also in white. Despite, not really caring for white, I do like the look of all white here. Plus, its actually much more traditional. Bridesmaids are supposed to dress like the bride to confuse evil spirits! I've heard so many people being shocked Pippa was also in white but I wasn't at all!

Also, with Pippa in cap sleeves and Kate in full sleeves, I wonder if sleeves are going to make a comeback. I like sleeves. I hope they make a comeback.

Second, I was really surprised to hear the reception was A LOT smaller than the ceremony. In general its a big etiquette no-no to not invite guests to the reception. I read tons of wedding website posts about girls wanting to cut down their reception list and its always met with SHOCKED responses. In fact, you actually see the opposite with more people at the reception than the ceremony (who doesn't like a party, I guess?!). But, I guess when you're royalty you can do whatever you want.

And the hats... how can I not mention the hats! Apparently, our friends across the pond have a VERY different definition of what constitutes a hat. The princesses are getting all the buzz for their weird choices but seriously, the vast majority of the hats were weird.

See, the fiance of the prince of Monaco understands the normal definition of "hat".

Meanwhile, the queen of Spain thinks a hat is actually a bow.

Seriously, what's up with hats sitting on the forehead? Also, why did she scowl the whole wedding! Come on Posh its a happy occasion or are you too botox'd to smile?

All and all, the royal wedding is really strange but pretty. What did you guys like and dislike?