OK, all sorts of fun wedding babble today. Yesterday I spent several hours at the mall waiting for the serpentine belt on my car to be replaced. With weddings and Christmas in mind, I set out to get ideas for my big day and Christmas presents.

First, I found myself in Sephora oogling $9 nail polish cleverly named Teal We Meet Again.  Its a "A dramatic blue-green polish that evokes a forbidden rendezvous under the Havana stars." Clearly, I need this. The only teal nail polish I have is wet and wild or something called Caribbean Frost. The name has irked me since i bought it (probably 8 years ago, I never throw out polish. I also never polish my nails). Why is this the color of Caribbean Frost? It doesn't frost there. That's just a stupid name. I quickly realize that this polish will cost more than my lunch in the food court so I realize there's no way I will buy it. I guess I'll also have to skip the bridal collection with colors like Dear Diary or How Many Carats? Barf. Not sad about those.

Next it was off to Hallmark. Our friend Natalie and Russell are getting married this weekend in Peachtree City, Georgia. We got them a present and shipped it online but I still love getting an actual card so I can write a note.

First, half the wedding cards suck. I mean they really do. I want one that sends well wishes but they're all so sappy and flowery. In general this is over the top but if you knew Natalie and Russell you'd know even more that grandma floral print is not them. I eventually found one at Target who carried some more modern cards :)

What I did find at Hallmark was this card section. Sorry for the awful picture but it was my phone. Its "cards for unique needs". Apparently, UNIQUE needs include:
*sister's wedding - why does this need a special card?
*For my shower- once I opened this I learned that it is a thank you note for throwing a shower. Can't I use a regular thank you note?
*Belated- ugh. I've always hated Belated Birthday cards too. A whole card that calls attention to what you forgot is awkward.
*Braille!!! Finally one that makes sense. Finally!!

This got me thinking that this isn't really very unique. If I was making cards for unique needs they'd be more like:

- a card for the older sister who is jealous her sister is getting married first but needs to sound happy to be her maid of honor.
- a card for when you hate the girl your son is about to marry that stresses you hope he realizes the seriousness of this commitment
- a card for when the bride is your high school girlfriend that says its awkward you invited me but I'll come for free booze.

Perhaps once I've gotten through this whole experience I'll work on a line of cards. I bet there are loads of people that want a good card that looks all wedding appropriate but has a little sting when you read between the lines.

Alright, its time to wash off my face mask and go to bed. Yes, I'm doing face masks. I figure I should start early. I also got high lights today in my hair. Ahh, the quest to not look ugly in my pictures :)

Whew! I survived my first bridal expo. I've been sitting here in my living room for the 5 or so hours since I got home trying to digest the entire thing. Talk about wedding overload.

Originally, Shanna was going to go with me but in a last minute lineup change Andy ended up going with me. He was surprisingly supportive and didn't offer one complaint!

Now, these bridal expos suck you in with loads of giveaways. At this one it was a "free" wedding. The website wasn't really that informative. OK, it wasn't informative in any way, shape or form. I had emailed the lady in charge asking about the prizes since the site said you must be present to win. I figured I should learn what time this was. If I am going to pay $8, I at least want a chance to win! She said the drawing was at 4:30. My game plan was to get there at around 2pm.

Of course, we get there and its raining off and on. Not a huge issue because the expo is inside but we did have to dash up to the door only to be told its CASH ONLY! We have like $12 but we need $16. If I hadn't gone to the corn maze yesterday and and used so many quarters to get food to feed the goats I probably would've had enough change. Instead, we run all over campus trying to find an ATM in the student center. I shouldn't even have to say that it down poured the entire time and there was construction blocking the shortest path to the ATM. Finally, we're soaking we but can get in.

We pay and I get a pink wristband to show I'm the BRIDE and everyone else gets a blue band. Then, as the bride, I'm handed a form to "register" which I must to do to win. I fill it out and promptly remember I have a second gmail address for things like this but I put my real one. I forgot this 50% of the time today so look out bridal spam! ugh.

Then, I finally get my INSTRUCTIONS for even being eligible for the grand prize. WTF? I just paid you $16 for Andy and I to get in. I have a list where I need to get the signature of 20 vendors. The vendors are grouped into 6 categories and I need at least two from each category but 20 total so I'll need more than two from some groups. The last category is a 30 minute seminar I have to sit through to get the signature. All this has to be done by 3:30pm to qualify. Um, its 2:20pm and the seminar is at 2:50pm. Whatever, here we go!!

I run around sticking me sheet out asking for signatures and not doing anything else. During all this Andy tells me the seminar is on why we should by a house. None of these were listed on the website. There were ones earlier in the day on cakes and other things that I would've actually been interested in. I manage to get all my signature minus the seminar signature just in time.

Then, 2 minutes before the seminar, I actually stop to look at the sheet for the Grand Prize. Its like 25 gift certificates that would cover a wedding. I realize I already have a venue and I don't like half the vendors who are part of the prize. So, I look at Andy and say "screw it". All he did was hug me and say "I love you". Best. Fiance. Ever.

After abandoning the big prize,  I decided to go actually pick up brochures and info from vendors since I definitely need a DJ, Photographer and a few other things. I immediately head back to Club Sun because they told me if I came back to chat I could have a big shiny pink bag. Since Andy was already clutching a large pile of business cards and flyers, we needed a bag.

The Club Sun gals asked me if I prefer UV or Spray tan. Um, look at me. I prefer no tan. But, I have a coupon for 2 free weeks of UV tan and 1 free spray tan (hello Jersey Shore party!!! Its gonna happen now!). I also have 20% of candles they sell, I guess so I can meditate while tanning. Thank goodness I got this out of the way.

Now, the one good thing about today was that I did get info on a lot of DJs and photographers. I have more names on my list then several hours of internet searching have previously turned up! I saw a photographer who Andy, Shanna and I saw while visiting the Ezell House one day. We also saw another guy who really caught our eye AND he had dogs in engagement photos! I'm really excited about him so I think I'll start by calling these two photographers.

We spent the next couple hours gathering a random assortment of giveaways including this sweet cup from the Hampton Inn. In the false bottom there's a mini bouquet, two fake wedding rings, a white top hat and some little crystal. Totally going to live on my desk at work so feel free to stop by and see it in person.

We also had another women stuff my bag full of chocolate, insistent that we would NEED that to finish this ordeal. She was correct. Also, Hershey Special Dark with Almond Nuggets are AWESOME.

We also had a few other nice surprises in the sea of wedding insanity. We got to taste a few items from the caterer we met a few weeks ago. He was previewing a crab/artichoke/cheese dip and it was awesome. The other items were a BLT canape and a salmon canape. They were fine but they weren't what I was wanting in the first place so I didn't give them too much thought. There were also mini mini cupcakes. They were just white cake with a dollop of cherry frosting and they were delightful! So, this made me very happy and I'm excited to go for a real tasting.

On the other hand, we saw some other caterers. Another had a name very similar (Creative Creations) to the caterer we've met (Creative Catering) so it was confusing. Even more confusing was their choice of sample food. There was a cheddar cheese spread ball, meatballs and pasta salad. Um, if you're trying to book weddings and a Sam's Club cheese spread and pasta salad are the most enticing things you can offer, I'm not sure I want to see the rest of your menu.

I also tasted a cake. The cake women in Mobile is a old lady named Judi and she runs Cakes by Judi. Leave it to me, I judged a book by its cover. I peeked around her website and found some of it fairly old fashioned but then today I tasted her butter cake and the raspberry and bavarian creme fillings.... they were AMAZING! I wanted more. I was completely impressed. So, that's back on the list.

So, for any other brides to be, here's what I've learned and can pass along:

1. GO EARLY. Half the stuff is gone in 15 minutes.

2. You won't win the prize so still go early even if the prize drawing isn't for 5 hours. If your only goal is prizes, go at the end.  Make sure you figure out the requirements before you go so you don't waste time or your $8 entrance fee.

3. You will be overwhelmed so mentally prepare. There will be nothing relaxing, romantic or blissful about people trying to sell you things.

4. The people organizing will be annoying and think this is the most exciting thing in town. Also, if there's a fashion show don't bother. That's just dumb.

5. Create a second email address and remember to use it. I didn't half the time and you fill out things to win prizes everywhere. Also, when you make that address don't have it be 16 characters long before the @gmail.com. You will get annoyed halfway through writing it every time. I'll let you know when the bridal spam rolls because I forgot.

Now, time for bed! I need it.

I'm excited. Tomorrow is my first bridal show which should prove to be incredibly insane. Its held at the University where I go to school and supposedly EVERYONE in Mobile who has anything to do with weddings will be there. There are free samples, door prizes and even the chance to win a honeymoon!

I'll give a full report tomorrow. I'm hoping to see all sorts of fun things... especially at the bridal fhas

For some reason, our rehearsal dinner has come up several times. My mom and I were talking the other day. She asked me how many people we were thinking and if we thought we'd include our bridesmaids/groomsmens significant others (um, yes!). In her defense, that question did stem from the fact that everything that was the norm for wedding when she had one seems to be out the window these days so she just wanted to know if it was "still" proper to include them. haha. I told her "technically" we're "supposed" to invite all out of town guests. Newsflash. ALL our guests are from out of town.

The more digging I do, the more I realize there's a lot of variety in what is expected in a rehearsal dinner from who pays to who comes. So, here's my best summary so far...

What exactly is the rehearsal dinner?
OK, if you force all your friends to wear matching outfits and parade down an aisle, you must practice at least once. If you want your friends and family to still like you, you better feed them after practicing walking i.e. the rehearsal dinner. At this point we, the bride and groom, thank everyone involved by toasting, giving presents, etc. Now, I've seen a few thesis defenses that have forgotten to thank a crucial person (a professor who paid for half the research, etc) so here's a cheat sheet to the thank yous for the rehearsal dinner

1. $$$ Anyone who financially contributed. Duh. You know you couldn't live without the $1400 candle centerpieces. Thank you to whoever paid for this color coordinated extravaganza.

2. Your parents. They gave birth to you. And Grandparents. They gave birth to your parents. Anyone who is directly responsible for your existence is on the list.

3. Groomsmen. They don't want to wear itchy rented tuxedos. Thank them and remind them there will be an open bar (but also that there is a cleaning fee for anyone who pukes in the fountain!) Just think, if the tux rental was $49.95 and they drink two whole bottles of Jack Daniels each tomorrow at the reception, they've basically MADE money on your wedding.

4. Bridesmaids. Even if you picked out a "totally re-wearable dress" they deserve a thank you because the dress is not re-wearable. Also, the dyed shoes are ugly and uncomfortable. And, when you're wearing a dress the size of a tent the next day, they'll be the ones to hold that while you pee. Thank them profusely.

Who comes to the rehearsal dinner?
Anyone you want. Now, if we use cues from the title of the dinner, we'd include anyone who rehearsed. I'm not sure where the out of town guests came from. Of course, its time to turn to Amy Vanderbilt and see what I can figure out.

The "official" definition:

"The wedding rehearsal is often held late in the afternoon the day before the wedding, followed by cocktails and a dinner, which is schedule for seven or seven-thirty o'clock"

Phew, no surprises here. Although my dinner be at seven-thirty not seven-thirty o'clock. Amy also says the mandatory invites include all members of the wedding party include spouses and both sets of parents.

Oh crap... I just forgot about dinner party rules. One thing this book taught me if proper seating at a dinner party. Ya know, boy girl and NOT next to your significant other! But, the rehearsal dinner is an exception and I'm supposed to sit next to Andy. And "after they are married, they will always be separated at formal dinner parties". Whoa, ok, I've also learned the rest of the seating. The maid of honor on the groom's right and the best man on the bride's left. No wonder people need place cards and seating charts.

Also, Amy recommends keeping the rehearsal dinner small so that it is not too tiring. She also suggests that wise parents or best man will announce the end time of the party at the beginning of the night offering that it will allow everyone to be rested for the next days festivities. Nate, I guess its your job to set everyone's bed time the night before the wedding. Also you are the moderator of toasting at the rehearsal dinner and are supposed to tell everyone to keep it "short and sweet".

Haha, I'm not sure I really shed any light on rehearsal dinners but at least I know that I can't really go wrong. It seems like anything goes as long as I invite the wedding party and our parents. Perhaps I can even bring Parker and Violet (sorry Andy, just here to piss you off. But Parker does want to be ring bearer. I'm pretty sure him sleeping on my throw blanket on the couch is his way of proving he'd be an awesome ring bearer.)

Anyone got an thoughts or suggestions on rehearsal dinners? Anyone been to any exceptional or memorable ones? (Bri, I still remember pumpkin sorbet in frozen mini pumpkins at yours!!!)

Well, I dropped off the planet for the last week or so. I'm not really sure why. Well, I did go to New Orleans for the weekend so the hand grenades definitely contributed to my lack of posting.

This last weekend marked the one year point for our own wedding. I have to say I'm more than pleased with our choice of a weekend. The weather here has been amazing and I can only hope for the same next year. While we were in New Orleans we saw A LOT of weddings. Generally, when you hang out in the French Quarter you're bound to see a couple weddings. A parade of people and a band playing "When the Saints Go Marching In" while dancing through the streets with parasols. But, as I'm mucking around all the nasty goo on Bourbon Street, I have a hard time seeing the appeal of a wedding in the Quarter.

Since Andy and I are having our wedding down here we're trying to work on some more Southern aspects. Obviously, we want to do this through FOOD! We put together a sample menu at the caterer meeting last week but it lacked that "southern" component. First, freshly fried food is off the list since they're not going to do that on location so our friends will have to try fried pickles for lunch before the wedding.

Another option is an oyster bar. First, oysters are expensive. Second, as much as I'd like to eat oysters I realize the completely gross people out. Also, the thought of people slurping on raw oysters at my wedding just doesn't give.

Then there are grits. Now, I LOVE grits. Andy and I just went out to dinner last night with Joseph and Amanda (who are both in our wedding party!) for some of my favorite grits in the world. But, grits look gross. They're mushy and boring colored. They look like baby food. I'm not sure they have any wow factor. As delicious as they may be, I don't think any people will be enticed to try them that have never had them. The caterer will do a grits bar with different toppings but I just don't see it working well.

My "best" idea now is to do jambalaya, etouffee or gumbo. I'm thinking etouffee. Its yummy. And the word is weird so I'm sure it'll be fun to watch people not from here learn to pronounce it!

The other southern tradition I'm looking into is the Groom's Cake. The Groom's Cake is traditionally chocolate or just something not white and buttercream like the wedding cake. Tradition says that single ladies should take a piece of the Groom's Cake home and stick it under her pillow and she'll dream about her future husband. Now, with the popularity of shows like Ace of Cakes, the Groom's Cake is a place to go CRAZY!


Oh man, now I'm STARVING! This food planning is fun but I'm also trying to be on a diet, so its not working well. I emailed the first caterer today and asked about setting up a tasting so now I'm REALLY excited. Wish us luck!

Andy and I had a meeting with a potential caterer over the weekend! It was very exciting and I didn't even have heart failure when he gave us a quote!

We've been settled on a heavy hors d'oeuvres style reception for a long time. Its really the only feasible option for the location we've choosen. I have really been in love with old mansions and all the cool spaces they provide but they aren't incredibly conducive to a large sit down dinner. In fact, I really didn't want a venue that had everything in one room. I like that people can wander and hang out in different spaces. So, obviously, we're using the food as a way to keep people wandering and mingling around.

Meeting with the caterer made me realize there are just so so so many options! I just want food people will eat. There are so many fancy, of the moment food fads out there that its easy to loose sight of what people really enjoy. When the caterer was asking what we liked, I quickly realized "um, everything" wasn't really an option.

When the caterer first suggested chicken tenders, I thought to myself "I don't want CHICKEN TENDERS at my wedding". But, I then immediately realized that I did. People like chicken tenders. Not everyone is going to want to eat raspberry phyllo puffs. And, once my friends start drinking they'll NEED chicken tenders. So, as I've been looking at our potential menu I've been trying to make sure its a good balance of down to earth food with some fancy fun things mixed in (mini beef wellingtons anyone?).

I really enjoy this style of reception because I feel like I actually have a lot more choices. I don't have to settle on a couple dinner entrees. I get to choose a lot of fun food that Andy and I both really love.

Andy and I realized that some of our favorite times with friends on the island have been making tons and tons of appetizers and watching LOST. The same goes for food with my parents, my mom has always been good at entertaining and making delicious appetizers.

I've actually never been to a wedding reception that was more cocktail style like this. I've been to a lot of seating dinners and a few buffet dinners. This makes me a little nervous because I'm only assuming that this will work nicely but I've never seen it in action. I feel that as long as I have enough seating and tables scattered throughout it will work. Although, I'm not sure if people will be thrown off to not have an assigned seat.

The Ezell House has like seating for 50 people on the upper courtyard at wrought iron tables. We'll rent a bunch of tall bistro tables that will be scattered on porches, around the dance floor, etc so that people can stand and eat. Then there are lots of chairs inside the house that can provide seating indoors.

Overall, I'm really excited. I can't wait to actually do a tasting!!!!!

Since this is a wedding blog and all, I thought I'd pose a wedding related question that is driving me crazy.... why exactly is polygamy illegal?

First, no, I don't want Andy to marry me and 4 other people. I've just been watching that new TLC show Sister Wives. And since I've been delving into the sociological side of marriage and weddings, I figured I'd toss this out there.

I don't really care what anyone's feelings are on the subject, to each his own. I personally couldn't imagine sharing my husband with anyone else.  All personal feelings aside, how is it that a man cannot marry two women or even live with two women in a marriage-like relationship? But, its not a felony to have an affair?

I've spent a lot of time googling this and I cannot come up with a satisfactory answer.

I found this on the internet which summed up my confusion

"If a man has sex with several women and promises to take care of them and their children forever, we call him a bigamist and put him in jail, yet...

If a man has sex with several women and ignores them all, we call him a professional athlete and put him on the cover of Sports Illustrated. "

OK, so I "get" why you can't legally be married to two people. What I don't get is the part where even if the state won't give you a marriage license, its illegal to live like you're married if you already have one spouse. I think my biggest confusion is what really constitutes cohabitation that is marriage-like. How on earth could you attempt to prosecute a case like this? Oooh, you ACT like you're married. This is just made up garbage. I would argue that having sex with people other than your wife is doing something marriage-like with a second person. Why isn't Tiger Woods in jail?

Most of the stuff I've come across seems to detail individual beliefs on the subject not anything to do with the law. Telling me the polygamist abuse their children does not explain why it is illegal nor will I believe that having a second husband automatically leads to child abuse. I know there have been all sorts of huge news stories on the subject but that's not what I want to know.

So, one of you smart friends out there... please help me. I know some of you are in law school and some of you are just plain smart. Its going to drive me nuts!!! Why can't I have a second husband???

Once I get an answer I'll give you all an update on our search for a caterer

OK helpful readers, I need your advice on what style STD we should do!

Andy and I are seriously investigating magnets as an option but we can't figure out what style to do. There's the simple magnet with just the info and a design but then there's the ones with a photo! Andy and I don't have engagement photos so we'd have to work on that. Our debate is what type of picture if we use this option! I'd really like a picture of Andy and I with the dogs on the beach on the island! But, Andy thinks this will seem like we're crazy dog people!

There's also many humorous options like movie poster style or photo booth style. There's also baby photos but I tend to think this is weird!!!

So PLEASE vote in my poll to give us an idea what you think would be nice to see on a magnet. Is it weird to put our picture on all our guests fridge for 10 months before the wedding??

Also, for your enjoyment, I'll include the styles I've already ruled out!

The ABSOLUTELY NOT list from TotallyWeddingMagnets.com

Andy has been all about the Save the Dates lately. I asked him to get together his guest list and how many save the dates he'd need. We're also meeting with a caterer this weekend so we need a good idea of what we're thinking.

At dinner with Brittany and Kristin yesterday we were discussing STD's. Kristin told us about photo magnet puzzles. Turns out that most of them are two pieces with cheesy messages like "we're a perfect fit". If I do puzzles its gotta be a little bit challenging. Also, they're like $4 a piece.

Apparently, today Andy and his best man Nate were continuing this conversation. First, Andy told me that he and Nate decided they should just send out facebook  messages instead and funnel all that extra money into the liquor budget. Then, I came across this gem that Nate posted on his wall...

Andy: "You know whats stupid...save the dates. why do you need a pre-invitation? its like having a shirt before the shirt"

Nate: "A shirt before the shirt is totally necessary"

Andy: "ya thats true... but still."

um... was that a Jersey Shore reference? I think it was !!! Welp, Jersey Shore is on in 3 minutes so I better post this and get to fist pumping.

*** If you don't watch Jersey Shore, sorry this makes no sense.

Save the Dates (i.e. STDs in the wedding forums) are first on the list of things to think about for the wedding. Since we're asking so many out of towner's to the deep south, we need to give them a heads up. The idea of the Save the Date is a genius one. But, like everything else there are endless options.

The two most popular tend to be the postcard and the magnet. As a generally disorganized person, I LOVE magnets because they are much harder for me to misplace. I am terrible at holding onto save the dates and the RSVP cards in invitations. I try but its just not in me to be organized. I'd say its not in my blood but that'd be a lie. My mom and sister are obsessively organized. Erin used to reorganize my closet for me all the time because it would bother her that my tank tops were scatter among long sleeved shirts. Still, I can't do it.

But now, there are so many endless ideas. I'm completely in love with these Encrypted Save the Dates on Martha Stewart Wedding. There are complete templates available for free!

I love these because they're nerdy and fun but unfortunately they're not terribly practical. If you post them on the fridge they're useless because you can't read them without the decoder. And I'm sure people will lose the decoders. But, I'm going to keep these in my head for another occasion. They'd make fun party invites.

Another huge trend seems to be the photo strip from a photo booth. People either actually have the photo booths at the wedding or they send out save the dates in that style like these here from Wedding Paper Divas.

But, this would depend on us having some sort of photos for this. Many of the ideas rely on photos so I guess we should start thinking about getting a couple photos, even if we have one of our friends do it!

Or these super cute (but terribly time consuming?) ribbon reminders also from Martha Stewart! These are so darling, I think I'd keel over a die from wedding cuteness if I got one of these in the mail. Seriously, how many ways can you tell people the day you're getting married. I also think these would the the cutest birth announcements of all time.

Also, check out the envelope liners. I think the envelope liners are just awesome but I can't believe anyone has time to cut them all out and glue them in! But, I think I seriously will do envelope liners. They're SO pretty.

This Martha Stewart Wedding article has so many great ideas I can't even begin to choose, I love them ALL so much.

If anyone has seen any other awesome ideas, please share. Shanna is vying for singing telegrams. I'm not even sure where to begin on that one!