A Recessionista Ties The Knot

Sundance Bridal

2012-01-19T10:30:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite stores for unique jewelry -- Sundance Catalog -- has just introduced a bridal collection. Their unique engagement rings and wedding bands are so beautiful.

Look at this unusual emerald engagement ring --

Source: sundancecatalog.com via NYC on Pinterest

And this band actually reminds me a lot of my wedding band ...

Source: sundancecatalog.com via NYC on Pinterest

Modcloth wedding dresses

2011-12-11T11:00:00.000-05:00

Have you ever checked out the selection of dresses at Modcloth? I really love their vintage-inspired pieces. Well, many of their dresses would make beautiful wedding dresses, especially if you are planning a more casual wedding (say at City Hall) or if you just have that retro sensibility.

Here are some of my recent favorites:

(Source)

twobirds at Nordstrom

2011-11-20T12:00:00.000-05:00

How cool is it that Nordstrom is now carrying twobirds bridesmaids dresses?

Party on a Stick

2011-11-03T13:00:00.000-04:00

Along with not having a proper photo booth, my wedding regrets include not having these awesome Mad Men photo booth props --

(Image courtesy of LittleRetreats on Etsy)

Happy Anniversary

2011-10-10T10:00:00.000-04:00

It's really hard to fathom right now how it could possibly be a year ago that we were married. Each time I look back at these pictures, I get a little sad. I miss planning, I miss being a bride, and I miss the immeasurable feeling of joy from that day. But it could never compare with the joy of being Kevin's wife.

In celebration of our first wedding anniversary, I wanted to share some of my favorite photos from the day-

Getting my makeup done

Getting dressed

Kevin getting his tie on

Making my entrance

Our ceremony struck just the right notes - it was warm and lighthearted

Making our vows to each other (and my sister with her waterworks)

Pronounced husband and wife

One of my favorite photos from the day

Our day on the farm

My husband jumping for joy

Our first dance

Another favorite

With our friends

Dancing and laughing

Taking a walk to the corn maze

Our cake

The barn at night

(All images courtesy of Geoffrey Tischman Photography)

Almost a year

2011-08-17T16:00:00.000-04:00

It's really scary to think that it's already been more than a year since my bridal shower ... which means it's almost been a year since our wedding.

Not ready to think that far ahead yet!

Congratulations . . .

2011-07-24T09:15:00.000-04:00

... to all of the same sex couples getting LEGALLY married in my home city of New York today. I am so incredibly happy for you!

And if you haven't already, take the pledge on Freedom to Marry. I did.

Cute shoe options

2011-07-15T14:45:00.000-04:00

If you're planning to change into different shoes during your reception / party, then I would definitely check out some of these new options from Payless ... they're super cute!

(Source)

Honestly, for what you need them for -- which is to dance and party like a maniac -- and no one will even see your shoes ... these are fine, trust me :)

Beautiful photos

2011-07-12T11:00:00.000-04:00

I know I'm a little late to the party in commenting on this wedding, but seriously how beautiful and inspiring are these photos?

If you're at all worried about every little detail of your wedding day going perfectly, then take some notes on this couple's ability to deal with the unexpected very gracefully...I can only hope that we would have been as calm and positive if this happened to us!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Guest posting today at Pretty Rambles

2011-06-22T08:45:00.000-04:00

Hi all - I am guest posting today over at Pretty Rambles ... check it out!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Recaps: The food

2011-06-19T10:00:00.000-04:00

It occurred to me that I never really recapped the AMAZING food we had at the wedding ... how is that possible?! How could I forget the most amazing part?!

Our caterer, Bon Soir, helped us create the most amazing pit BBQ menu for the reception, and let us choose carnival desserts just as we wanted.

The best, most mouth-watering way to recap the grub for you is just to show you in pictures ...

Crispy Dumplings

Stuffed Mushrooms

Bruschetta

Steamed Dumplings

A little of everything

Serrano Ham-wrapped Asparagus

Crab Cakes

Roasted Vegetable Antipasto

Garden Salad

Texas BBQ Beef Brisket

North Carolina BBQ Pulled Pork

Oven Roasted Potatoes and Green Beans

Four-cheese Mac 'n' Cheese

Zeppole

Deep Fried Oreos

Warm Chocolate Chip Cookies

Blueberry Cobbler

Apple Crisp

Vanilla and Chocolate Ice Cream

(All images courtesy of Geoff Tischman Photography)

Love this wedding

2011-06-06T10:00:00.000-04:00

I love the feel of this wedding -- Ashley Williams, sister of Kimberly Williams-Paisley -- had a barn wedding on the Paisley property and by the look of the photos, it was gorgeous.

(Source)

Bridal shower dress

2011-05-17T10:00:00.000-04:00

Isn't this a perfect dress for a bridal shower? Perhaps even for a city hall wedding!

(Image courtesy of ModCloth)

New bargain dresses at Ann Taylor

2011-05-01T10:00:00.000-04:00

The latest weddings & events collection at Ann Taylor is now available, including this adorable short dress which is totally reminiscent of the 50s ... and under $700.

(Image courtesy of Ann Taylor)

Wouldn't it be perfect for a city hall wedding? They also have a long lace dress which I love.

Something old

2011-04-28T10:00:00.000-04:00

My "something old" was a surprise to me until the morning of my wedding ... my mom had a piece of her wedding dress sewn into the lining of mine :)

(Image courtesy of Geoffrey Tischman Photography)

6 months . . .

2011-04-10T12:00:00.000-04:00

Six months ago today, at about half past two, Kevin and I were pronounced husband and wife.

(Image courtesy of Geoffrey Tischman Photography)

Welcome to the world, babies!

2011-04-08T10:30:00.000-04:00

I am happy to share that my two bridesmaids (and dear friends) Valerie & Kara each have a beautiful new bundle of joy at home!

As you may remember, I found out during the wedding planning process that they were both expecting (and were due a week apart to boot!) ... so we technically had 2 more members of the bridal party :)

(Image courtesy of Geoffrey Tischman Photography)

Valerie has a handsome new son, Jeffrey Thomas, born March 18th --

And Kara has a beautiful new daughter, Grace Isabelle, born March 30th --

Welcome to the world, babies!

Kate Spade baubles

2011-04-07T12:00:00.000-04:00

Not a very recessionista-friendly price tag but oooh la la ... I LOVE this necklace!

(All images courtesy of Nordstrom)

Coulda been a contender

2011-04-07T10:00:00.000-04:00

Don't get me wrong ... I LOVE my wedding dress ... but if I was still planning and in the market for a dress, and I had seen this ... this gown would have been a serious contender.

(Image courtesy of Brides and Lela Rose)

30 percent off Weddings and Events at Ann Taylor

2011-03-30T11:00:00.000-04:00

For a limited time, take 30% off a full-priced wedding or party dress at Ann Taylor when you shop (online only) ... no code needed.

Gorgeous!

(Image courtesy of Ann Taylor)

Free shipping too!

Recaps: My dress

2011-03-26T10:00:00.000-04:00

I know y'all have seen our wedding photos by now, and that I blogged about it when I first found it, but I realize I never really talked much about my dress ... in case anyone was wondering who the designer was, it was a Mikaella, style number 1313. It's not even available anymore!

(Image courtesy of Mikaella Bridal)

Here's a closeup of the lace detailing --

(Image courtesy of PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com)

It's funny, I went to this little boutique on purpose looking for this particular dress. I knew I had to try it on, or I wouldn't be able to get it out of my system. I asked the shop owner how much the dress was, because I told her I had a $1,000 price range I wanted to stick to. She said it was $2,000, which nearly broke my heart.

Of course the first dress I really feel like I could love is way out of my price range. But then she tells me that they had an immaculate sample upstairs because no one had really tried it on. Maybe I could just take the sample?

I tried it on first, and when it was zipped up and I came out of the dressing room, I knew that was it. I didn't cry, but I just felt so right in it. Then when I was standing in front of everyone, while we all ooohed & aaahed over how beautiful it was, I put my hands down at my sides and felt a small tag handing off the side of the dress. I turned it over, and hand-written on it was the following figure --

$1,950

The dress wasn't $2,000 -- it was 1950! Only my late grandmother's favorite lottery number of all time. I laughed out loud, and showed it to my mom. I think that pretty much solidified it right then and there. We took the sample at a very nice discount :)

Here are a few pictures we took that weekend in 2009 -- the first of me in my dress -- it seems like such a long time ago!

(Images courtesy of NYC Recessionista)

Some of my favorite wedding photos

2011-03-10T14:00:00.000-05:00

Today is our 5 month wedding anniversary (hard to believe), and it's also the last day of our honeymoon. While we're flying back home to New York, I figured I'd share with you some of my favorites from our wedding photos.

(All images courtesy of Geoffrey Tischman Photography)

My Bhldn favorites

2011-02-27T11:00:00.000-05:00

Long overdue, here are my favorites from the Bhldn web site --

(Source)

Come to think of it, it's probably best that Bhldn wasn't around when I was getting married ... I would have BLOWN my budget.

Love it all!

2011-02-14T12:45:00.000-05:00

Just checked out the Bhldn site and I love EVERYTHING on there ... my fave picks to come later.

Drumroll, please

2011-02-12T11:00:00.002-05:00

Well, we've finally booked a honeymoon!

In March, we'll be heading to San Francisco for five days of sightseeing, culture, fun, food, and of course quality time together! It will be our first proper vacation together and we're so excited!

We'll be staying at the Hotel Palomar in the SoMa neighborhood ...

(Images courtesy of Flickr)

(Images courtesy of Hotel Palomar)

And I'm jazzed that we get to fly Virgin America, which was an awesome experience last time I traveled to the West coast.

Sneak peeks at Beholden

2011-02-11T10:00:00.000-05:00

Loving these first looks at Beholden (the forthcoming wedding line from Anthropologie) ... check out both A Cup of Jo and Oh Joy! for some great photos!

Two in one gowns

2011-02-09T14:00:00.001-05:00

Not sure how I feel about these, but they're certainly interesting :) If you wanted to have 2 dresses but can't afford it, then this might be an option! And I'd imagine these would be fab for a destination or beach wedding ... from ceremony right to dancing!

(Image courtesy of David's Bridal)

Anthropologie Weddings . . . coming soon

2011-01-28T10:00:00.001-05:00

Click here and sign up to stay tuned ...

Man, I wish this was around when I was looking at dresses!

Wedding Collection at Ann Taylor

2011-01-24T16:30:00.000-05:00

Ann Taylor has just updated their Weddings & Events collection ... click here to check it out.

(Image courtesy of Ann Taylor)

20 percent off at Paloma's Nest

2011-01-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

Now through February 14th, take 20% off your Paloma's Nest order when you shop online and enter code HEARTFELT at checkout.

I recently got the most wonderful personalized ornament there to mark our 1st Christmas together :)

(Image courtesy of NYC Recessionista)

The Wedding Shop at DSW

2011-01-10T11:00:00.000-05:00

DSW now has a Wedding Shop - an entire section of their web site dedicated to wedding shoes for everyone ... brides, maids, moms, etc. Very cool!

Hair clip giveaway winner!

2010-12-30T15:30:00.000-05:00

Thanks to everyone who entered my hair clip giveaway ... we have a winner!

I used Random.org to establish the winner and Comment #5 was selected ...

Saying I Do said:

"My wedding is this May 21, 2011. I know that I want a flower in updo hairstyle, most likely a french twist, but I hadn't decided on a particular flower, and I haven't bought one. I think this one is gorgeous and would love to wear it for my wedding. We are hoping to have a laid back rehearsal dinner at my future in-law's house with subs, and appetizer type foods."

Congratulations to Saying I Do! Please email me asap at nycrecessionista at gmail dot com to claim your prize!!!

Hair Clip Giveaway extended!

2010-12-24T11:30:00.000-05:00

I've decided to extend my hair clip giveaway! Brides-to-be now have until Wednesday, December 29th to enter. Head over to the original post and enter now!

Seasons Greetings

2010-12-24T10:00:00.001-05:00

One of the most fun parts of going through the photos from our photographer was picking out a photo to use for our holiday cards :)

Happy Holidays, everyone!

(Image courtesy of Geoffrey Tischman Photography, card design courtesy of Shutterfly)

Gorgeous Hair Clip Giveaway!

2010-12-18T08:00:00.002-05:00

While I was planning my wedding, I was lucky enough to win a blog contest from Brenda's Wedding Blog, and I was sent a beautiful hair pin from Emici Bridal.

Well, I had a change of heart and I didn't end up wearing the hair pin ... but that doesn't mean that another lucky bride shouldn't get the chance to wear it. So, I am giving it away to one lucky bride-to-be!

The hair pin is an ivory (with tulle accents) silk rose hair pin (see similar style here), made of gorgeous dupioni silk.

Here's a ruler shot so you can see the approximate size --

As you can see, the center of the rose is accented with rhinestones, and it has an alligator clip on the back.

(All images courtesy of NYC Recessionista)

To enter, please leave a comment below, telling me the following:

1) What is your wedding date?

2) How are you thinking of wearing your hair on your big day?

3) What is one way you're planning like a Recessionista Bride?

You have until Wednesday, December 22nd at 11:59 p.m. ET to enter. A winner will be chosen at random on Thursday, December 23rd. Due to shipping constraints, this contest is open to brides in the contiguous United States only.

Recaps - our cake topper

2010-12-10T11:00:00.002-05:00

I really wanted to show you a pic of the cake topper that my mom handmade, which was a mini replica of the bunting that she also made by hand.

(Image courtesy of Geoff Tischman Photography)

Cyber Monday at Paloma's Nest

2010-11-29T11:00:00.000-05:00

If you loved our ring bowl and wanted to get one like it for your wedding, then today might be the day to shop --

Paloma's Nest is taking $5 off any online order today when you enter code MONDAY at checkout.

Cyber Monday at Wedding Paper Divas

2010-11-29T09:30:00.001-05:00

In honor of Cyber Monday, Wedding Paper Divas is having a sale at its parent site, Tiny Prints --

$10 off a $49 order

$20 off a $99 order

$50 off a $199 order

Just enter code CYBER50 at checkout. Hurry though, because the offer expires on Wednesday December 1st at 11:59 p.m. PT.

This would be a great opportunity to order those holiday cards :)

Recaps: the Reception

2010-11-24T10:00:00.000-05:00

I don't have too many personal photos of the cocktail hour because I was running around with the bridal party -- that hour is pretty much a blur to me to be honest.

When it was time for Kevin and I to enter the reception though, we had a grand entrance through the barn doors, courtesy of Kevin's antics :)

After he hammed it up for a minute or so, we got down to business and had our first dance as husband and wife to "Like a Star" by Corinne Bailey Rae

Here are my parents dancing ... so cute.

And while we were eating, we took a moment to pose with the props at our table :)

Some of the colors of the day ...

And here we are cutting our cake -- I will have to do a second post all about our amazing handmade cake topper!

And here we are posing on the hay ride.

(All images courtesy of NYC Recessionista)

I plan on doing more posts with some of my favorite images from the photographer, once we get a look at all the shots.

Love.

2010-11-23T11:00:00.000-05:00

This is fast becoming one of my favorite photos from our amazing photographer. LOVE.

(Image courtesy of Geoffrey Tischman Photography)

Article on chic and cheap weddings

2010-11-16T11:30:00.000-05:00

Refinery29 -- one of my favorite fashion Web sites -- has a great article on their site right now about how to plan a chic and cheap NYC wedding ... check it out!

Discount on Paloma's Nest

2010-11-08T09:00:00.000-05:00

If you're in the market for a Paloma's Nest ring bowl like we had for our wedding, you can get one for 20% off from now until December 1st.

Simply join Paloma's Nest's mailing list, order anything from their online store, and enter code MAILINGLISTSWEETHEART at checkout for 20% off any order.

(Image courtesy of Paloma's Nest)

The grand total

2010-11-03T10:00:00.000-04:00

So, since I fancy myself a recessionista, you're probably wondering what we spent on our fabulous wedding, right?

Well, without getting too much into specifics, I can tell you that we spent somewhere between $15,000 and $20,000 on everything (dress, suit, rings, venue, decor, printed materials, food, drink, hair & makeup, music, photography, wedding party attire, rentals, etc.) ... an incredible feat considering that we got married in NYC, where the average wedding costs between $22,832 and $38,053!

I know we probably could have spent less (something you learn as you go when planning a wedding, and hindsight is always 20/20), but what was most important to us was -- in addition to staying on budget -- to focus on making sure that the day reflected us as a couple. It definitely did, and you cannot put a price tag on that.

Recaps: more wedding pics

2010-11-01T11:30:00.000-04:00

Our amazing photographer Geoff Tischman has done a blog post for us with a sampling of photos from the wedding -- I love them all so much and cannot wait to see the rest!

(Image courtesy of Geoff Tischman Photography)

Oh and if you've been following me on The Knot as a Blogger Bride, this will probably be my last post on the site. I've so enjoyed sharing our wedding journey with The Knot community and I will miss it! Be sure to keep following me here if you want to see the rest of the recaps.

Recaps: The ceremony

2010-10-27T13:20:00.011-04:00

Once everyone processed, and I made it up to the "altar" to join Kevin, the ceremony was finally underway.

I'm so thankful that so many of our guests were able to capture such beautiful shots... they're holding us over until the professional pics are ready :)

A very good friend of ours performed the ceremony, and honestly I wouldn't have had it any other way. She was amazing!

My 87 year-old grandfather Romeo, or "Beepa" as we affectionately call him, did a reading for us after the opening words. He reads every weekend in church, so this was a piece of cake for him!

He read "Falling in Love is Like Owning a Dog" by Taylor Mali. It was perfect and lighthearted and beautiful.

Next, Kevin's sister read excerpts from "The Art of Marriage" or "El Matrimonio es un Arte" in Spanish.

After the readings, our officiant gave an amazingly personal and heartfelt reflection about the two of us, which I hope to share with you soon. You can tell in these photos that we're all laughing a lot, and some of it almost brought tears to my eyes.

After the reflection, we then passed around the coins as part of the arras ritual, and everyone warmed them up for us :)

Once everyone had blessed them, our moms brought them up to us.

Next, it was time for Kevin and I to face each other, join hands, and state our intentions for marriage. You can tell how it started out serious, and quickly we got the nervous giggles when we had to emphatically yell out "I will!"

I also love how my sister and I are making virtually identical faces in each of these photos --

We then said our personal vows to each other, and before I knew it, it was time for us to exchange rings already!

Kevin's ring almost didn't go on ... so I had to force it on there :)

She then pronounced us husband and wife, and we kissed and hugged while everyone cheered!

As Jessica was fluffing my dress, I had a big goofy grin on my face --

And here's us recessing down the aisle to our recessional song.

My brother-in-law Mark was lucky enough to have TWO ladies on his arm!

All our guest showered us with more rose petals :)

As we were walking away, I was kind of sad that it was over so quickly, but so happy to be married!

(All images courtesy of NYC Recessionista)

Next, it was time for us to take pics with our families and try to enjoy the cocktail hour :)

Recaps: The ceremony processional

2010-10-27T10:00:00.001-04:00

Where I left off last time, the ceremony was about to start, our processional music was playing, and my bridesmaids were getting ready to walk down the aisle ... but not before Kevin took his place.

Here's his parents walking him down the aisle --

Here's Valerie walking down the aisle ... not sure if I shared this little secret with y'all along the way, but in August I found out that Val and her husband are expecting their first child!

So she had to make a last-minute bridesmaids dress change :)

And here's Kara, who also found out in August that she's expecting a baby this spring! Luckily Kara had already picked out a rather forgiving style of bridesmaids dress :) She and Val are due a week apart!

And here's Jessica -- I absolutely love the bow on her one shouldered gown!

And here's my gorgeous sister and M-O-H Elena ...

And my junior bridesmaid and niece Lydia ... with such a serious look on her face!

I love how everyone's smiling in this one, watching our flower girls Jackie and Abigail come down the aisle ---

The flower girl dresses we borrowed from a coworker worked out perfectly, they looked adorable!

This is another one of my favorite shots from the day -- Abigail was being very theatrical with her petal throwing :)

Next, it was my turn ... and we're off!

Now, I love this photo ...

But this one -- a shot of him when he first saw me -- might be my favorite!

It was such a long walk from the barn to the aisle, and I didn't have my glasses on, so it took a few moments before Kevin came into focus for me ...

I couldn't stop smiling ...

After giving both my parents a hug and a kiss, we took our places at the "altar" under a beautiful tree.

Kevin took my hand, and the ceremony was about to begin :)

(All images courtesy of NYC Recessionista)

Recaps: Before the ceremony

2010-10-26T12:30:00.000-04:00

Because we were running later than we wanted to be, us girls didn't have extra time for taking pictures like we'd hoped. By the time we made our way through the crowds at the farm and got out of the limo, we darted into the barn so I could hide from Kevin until the ceremony.

First of all, we were blessed with the most amazing weather that day --

And the barn looked so cute all decorated for fall!

When I walked into the barn, I couldn't believe my eyes. Everything had been decorate (by a family friend, a.k.a. our Fairy Godmother) so beautifully that I couldn't imagine the barn looking any more beautiful than it did that day.

My mom's handmade bunting looked so perfect hung up in the barn --

And the tables with the chocolate brown linens and baskets of apples was exactly the way I always pictured it.

We used 2 bales of hay for our place cards, and our Fairy Godmother finished them off with gingham ribbon.

I tried to wait away from the double doors of the barn so I wouldn't be seen. Here's me hiding out.

Here you can see Jessica, who I dubbed 'Waterworks' a few minutes earlier, taking some liquid courage before we were ready to head out the door :)

But not before a few quick checks of my skirt --

Meanwhile, everyone had pretty much taken their seats outside and was ready for the show to start.

Here are the flower girls heading out the door to the barn, waiting for the prelude to finish.

One of our guests caught these great shots of the girls waiting for the ceremony to start --

And here's my dad and I waiting ... I'm not sure who was more nervous.

The bridesmaids are starting their procession ... and this was the moment I was about to make my grand entrance!

(All images courtesy of NYC Recessionista)

Recaps: The limo ride

2010-10-22T13:00:00.000-04:00

Once we finished getting ready (an hour later than we anticipated), it was time to get into the limo and head to the farm!

Here's me getting situated --

And here's Abigail sitting next to me -- at one point during the limo ride, she proclaimed that she'd been in a limo "5 times already" ... then a few seconds later, when we asked her when, she said, "I'm just kidding guys, this is my first time in a limo!"

And here's Kara and Lydia --

And here's Val, Jessica, Kara, and Lydia -- the only person we didn't get a picture of in in the limo was my sister, because she was playing photographer!

And, as this picture illustrates quite well, I spent the majority of the ride holding on to the "Oh, Shit Bar" as I like to call it, for fear that I was going to hurl in the stop-and-go traffic on the Long Island Expressway.

(Images courtesy of NYC Recessionista)

Pretty soon, we'll be at the farm :)

Recaps: Getting ready

2010-10-21T13:00:00.000-04:00

Surprisingly, I actually did get some sleep the night before our wedding day. Last time, I blogged about our rehearsal luncheon and ceremony rehearsal, which kept us crazy busy that day.

Well, after the ceremony rehearsal ended, we weren't even done yet. It was about 8 p.m. and we still had to make our way over to the farm to drop off a bunch of things, mainly the decor. And after dropping everything off at the farm, we realized we forgot one tiny little thing -- the rose petals for both our flower girls to scatter and for our guests to toss during our ceremony recessional. So we had to drive around until thankfully we found a Walbaum's in Great Neck, and they had a great little flower department. We bought dozens of red, orange, and yellow roses .. all while our friends were enjoying a relaxing, albeit late dinner at one of our favorite restaurants.

By the time I made it back to the hotel, it was after 10 p.m. and I was completely exhausted ... Kevin said goodbye and left me at the hotel to head to the apartment where he'd be spending the night before the wedding. I ate some turkey and some pretzels from the grocery store, and that was my dinner. How fancy!

On the morning of our wedding, I was getting ready in my hotel room with all my girls :) it was quite a hectic scene in there ...

I had my hair set first --

And then they started on my makeup --

Val kept Abby and Lydia very entertained --

They modeled their earrings and headband for us --

And Lydia was thrilled to have some shimmer makeup put on --

And of course Abby had to have makeup, too --

They looked so pretty all dressed up!

Here's Jessica getting her hair curled --

And Elena after getting her hair straightened and getting Abby's crown on her --

They're all ready to go!

(All images courtesy of NYC Recessionista)

Recaps: Time to rehearse . . . and eat

2010-10-18T13:00:00.001-04:00

Well, after we showed our Chi-town friends around on Friday night, it was time for our rehearsal luncheon and ceremony rehearsal on Saturday.

We kind of did things backwards in that we did brunch / lunch instead of dinner, and that our ceremony rehearsal was after the meal and not before. Different strokes!

Anyway, as I blogged about before, our rehearsal luncheon was at Brick Cafe, which is one of our favorite restaurants in Astoria. We went with a combination brunch and lunch menu and the food was fantastic.

Here's Andy, Kara, and Jessica at lunch --

And here's Kevin and I catching up with Owen, one of the groomsmen, and his wife Nina --

We handed out gifts to everyone, and here's Abby trying on her flower girl crown for the first time ...

And here's our junior bridesmaid Lydia, trying on her new headband ...

My mom had called me the day before to say she was picking up a robe for day-of, and promised it wouldn't be cheesy ... and this is what I ended up with ... a bedazzled robe that said "Bride" on the back :)

She also got me a bedazzled "Just Married" tank top ... oh and Kevin decided to photobomb me.

Later that day, it was time to rehearse at the hotel where everyone was staying --

I had the most fabulous ribbon and bow bouquet, which Jessica had handmade for me at my shower (she's a pro) and my parents practiced walking me down the aisle.

And we practiced the hand-off too :)

We did a pretty quick run-through of the ceremony --

And here I am with all my girls :)

(All images courtesy of NYC Recessionista)

My PWC - Post-Wedding Cut

2010-10-15T22:10:00.003-04:00

Y'all can remember how long my hair was before the wedding, right?

I'd been growing it out ever since we got engaged 18 months ago ... so I was DYING to cut it. So, right after the wedding, I made an appointment with Nykia at Scott J Aveda on the Upper East Side to chop it all off tonight :)

It feels a million times better! After not being able to have it razored for more than a year, it feels a million times lighter, too. Kevin said it's totally a wife haircut :)

(All images courtesy of NYC Recessionista)

Recaps: Intro to New York City

2010-10-14T15:00:00.000-04:00

One of my bridesmaids, Kara, is one of my oldest and dearest friends -- she lives in Chicago so she flew out on the Friday afternoon of our wedding weekend with her husband Andy. We wanted to give him a proper NYC welcome (a.k.a. the culinary tour of NYC, with some sightseeing thrown in for good measure) since he'd never been to New York before --

Our first stop was the Buon Appetit Deli in our neighborhood so that Andy could have his first authentic NYC deli sandwich. Andy ended up having the Donnie Brasco, while Kara ordered the New York, New York, and Kevin had the Mets hero, of course. I had a boring turkey sandwich with no fancy name :)

After a late lunch, we went into Manhattan, and soon after exiting the subway, something caught Kara's eye --

(Image courtesy of Tiffany & Co.)

Kara ogled at the yellow diamonds for a few minutes, and we also took the fun elevator ride where they announce every floor ... I never get tired of that :) We also pretended we had money for a second and walked into Bergdorf's ... and then left a minute or so later haha.

After that, we headed over to Rockefeller Center so we could get tickets to the Top of the Rock. I'd only ever been up to the top of the Empire State Building (and the Statue of Liberty when I was a kid of course), but I'd never been to the Top of the Rock.

The elevator ride was completely scary (a glass ceiling in the dark car, and a really dark elevator shaft except for some blue track lighting) and your ears pop on the way up ... but soon enough, we were on the observation deck 850 feet above street level.

(Image courtesy of NYC Recessionista)

The ESB was lit up in perfect fall colors, too -- red, orange, and yellow. The city looks amazing from up there at night, and you can see everything.

After we took the scary elevator back down again, we crossed over to the East side and showed them the ceiling of Grand Central Terminal ... another must-see.

(Image courtesy of Antiques and Fine Art / afa.com)

Then we hopped on the 6 train to the Upper East Side, so that Andy could have his first NY pizza experience. And when you want legit pizza in NYC, there are only so many places you can go ... Totonno's is one of them.

(Image courtesy of NYC Recessionista)

Their margherita pizza (with half pepperoni of course) is unparalleled. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. After we got back into Queens, we dropped them off at the hotel for the night and prepared ourselves for the wedding rehearsal and luncheon the next day.

Recaps: Our table numbers and place cards

2010-10-13T13:30:00.002-04:00

Before things got crazy last week, the last thing I'd showed you was our Table Numbers, which Kevin designed to look like farmers market price cards.

Well, here is what the finished product looked like:

As you can see, they fit perfectly in our apple centerpieces! Then, to match with our place cards, or escort cards if you want to get technical, Kevin made miniature versions of them for our wedding guests' names that we stuck into bales of hay.

(All images courtesy of NYC Recessionista)

I love the way this came out!

A little sneaky peek

2010-10-12T09:00:00.001-04:00

Well ... we're MARRIED!

I'm now Mrs. J! Our wedding day was a complete whirlwind ... just amazing. Everyone told me that the day would fly by, and I didn't want to believe it. They were totally right though.

I really do want to start my recaps soon (fingers crossed!) but until then, here's a little sneak peek for y'all, from my final dress fitting.

(Image courtesy of NYC Recessionista)

You'll see what the rest of my ensemble looks like very soon :)

One last post . . .

2010-10-09T23:49:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow afternoon, Kevin and I will be getting married! I cannot believe the big day is here. I really don't want it all to blow by so quickly that I miss everything. I want everything to slow down!

I will of course be sure to share recaps of everything afterwards ... I can't wait to show y'all all those other little details that came together in the last week or so.

Anyway, this is my last post as a "Miss" :)

xoxo

Miss Recessionista Ties The Knot

Our Table Numbers

2010-10-06T09:00:00.000-04:00

I recently showed you a little sneak peek at our Table Numbers ... well, they're really coming together! After he designed them, Kevin had them printed and here's what they look like --

We're going to use each design twice, since we have 10 tables. We just bought a simple pack of wooden dowels at Michael's and we'll use those to stick the cards into our centerpieces -- baskets full of apples :)

Next time, we'll show you our Escort Cards :)

(All images courtesy of NYC Recessionista, designs courtesy of moog8008 Designs)

Something to eat off of

2010-10-05T10:00:00.000-04:00

One of the decisions we made early on in our planning was that we were going to be budget-conscious ... clearly, as NYC Recessionista, I can't be spending money on ridiculous things, even if it is for our wedding.

When it came to our pit BBQ reception, our caterer asked us if we wanted to rent china, glassware, silverware, etc. My mom and I priced it out, and it was going to tack another $1,000 onto our budget.

$1,000!!! For stuff you're just borrowing.

Now, if our guests were eating filet mignon and lobster tails, then china rentals would be a no-brainer ... but we're having brisket, pulled pork, and mac 'n' cheese ... who are we kidding?

We also knew we wanted to keep our wedding as eco-friendly as possible, so plastic plates just didn't seem right. Well, first I was reading around the wonderful world of wedding blogs and found Ecoware Products, which I previously blogged about. We loved the idea of birch wood utensils! We finished them off with some gingham ribbon.

Then, our caterer showed us these ivory plates made out of recycled corn ... so awesome!

So, here's what our guests will be eating all of that yummy pit BBQ off of --

(All images courtesy of NYC Recessionista)

My makeup trial

2010-10-04T09:00:00.000-04:00

This weekend I had my makeup trial :)

A very old and dear family friend, Tanya DeJesus, will be doing my makeup for the wedding, as well as for the bridal party. My sister and I actually went to grammar school with her about 20 years ago ... and when my parents moved us out of the city, we lost touch with her for a bit.

But, thanks to the wonders of Facebook, we reconnected with her and found out that she's a professional makeup artist ... as in, she does Fashion Week, editorial, catalog, etc. Pretty awesome, huh?

She's actually the talent behind this Tejani ad:

(Image courtesy of Tejani)

So, I showed her some of the ideas I'd torn out of magazines (like this one), and she went to work --

(Images courtesy of NYC Recessionista; makeup by of Tanya DeJesus)

10 days!

2010-09-30T11:30:00.000-04:00

We're down to just 10 days before our wedding! I'll try to blog as much as possible up until the big day ... there's so much stuff I want to tell you about, but I am seriously running out of time to blog about it haha :)

This is how our week has been so far, and what's on our agenda for the rest of the week:

Monday - Picked up marriage license at city hall; met with officiant to go over the ceremony
Tuesday - Put together 100 sets of biodegradable utensils (more on that later :)
Wednesday - Met with Photographer to go over shots list and schedule for the day
Thursday - Meeting with DJ to go over playlist
Friday - Haircut and color for me :)
Saturday - Makeup trial and final dress fitting
Sunday - Picking up apples for our centerpieces from the apple festival @ the farm

Not to mention the fact that we still have to do all the escort cards and table numbers!

Do we sound a little busy?

Weather update

2010-09-29T12:00:00.000-04:00

We're getting closer and closer, so it's time to check [read: obsess over] the weather again :)

We've gone up 4 degrees since last I checked, and now there's rain in the forecast for the day after!

(Image courtesy of NYC Recessionista and AccuWeather)

A suit for the groom

2010-09-28T09:00:00.002-04:00

I've talked so much about what everyone else is wearing (except for my dress of course, which won't be revealed until after the wedding), but I realized I haven't shown you what Kevin will be wearing yet --

(Image courtesy of NYC Recessionista)

Kevin chose a slim-fitting DKNY suit in charcoal gray, and an orange tie from Brooks Brothers. He looks totally Mad Men in it :)

A sneak peek

2010-09-27T10:00:00.001-04:00

I'm probably going to save a lot of the little D.I.Y. details until after the wedding, but I wanted to share a little sneak peek at our table numbers ...

Last time I told you about how we're putting baskets of apples on the tables. Well, my very talented future hubby is designing cards for the table numbers, made to look like those kitschy price cards you would typically see at a farmers market ... totally cute idea, no?

Here's one of the several designs he put together for our table numbers --

(Image courtesy of NYC Recessionista and moog8008 Designs)

Two weeks to go!

2010-09-26T10:00:00.007-04:00

We're getting married exactly two weeks from today ... I can't believe it! I really hope I can finish all those D.I.Y. projects I've got going on.

And the very extended forecast actually has 10.10.10 on it :) I know it's way too early to tell, but I hope it stays this way!

(Image courtesy of my iPhone and AccuWeather :)

Our flower girl baskets

2010-09-24T10:00:00.000-04:00

It all started with a trip to Michael's and a couple of $5 wooden 1/2 peck baskets like so --

(Source)

They're totally cute, and go really well with our farm theme, but they were a little large for our purposes, and a little rough around the edges, literally. I was afraid our flower girls would get splinters.

Enter my mom ... you know, master of bunting. She sanded them down, put some filler in the bottom to make them more shallow, lined them with white fabric, and finished them off with orange grosgrain ribbon. Genius.

(Images courtesy of NYC Recessionista)

More / better pictures to come.

Our centerpieces

2010-09-23T12:00:00.000-04:00

My mom did a test run of our centerpieces the other day ... check it out :)

(Image courtesy of NYC Recessionista)

Gifts for my Flower Girls

2010-09-23T11:00:00.000-04:00

I knew I wanted to get a little something for my Flower Girls as a thank you for being our our wedding. I of course went to Etsy for ideas and found these adorable little earrings from SMV Designs, which are absolutely perfect.

They even came perfectly packaged!

(All images courtesy of NYC Recessionista)

And they match really well with their new dresses and crowns!

15-day forecast is killing me!

2010-09-22T15:00:00.000-04:00

In just a few short days, we should be able to see what the very extended forecast says for 10.10.10 :)

(Image courtesy of AccuWeather.com)

Fingers crossed!

We FINALLY have flower girl dresses!

2010-09-22T09:00:00.002-04:00

I cannot adequately express to y'all how relieved I am that the quest for flower girl dresses is officially over!

Last week, I was commiserating randomly with a coworker about how I was having so much trouble finding 2 identical flower girl dresses for 2 girls who are in 2 different size brackets and live in 2 different states ... and she graciously offered the beautiful flower girl dresses from her fall wedding last October!

(Image courtesy of Jordan Fashions)

She had 2 flower girls as well, whose dress sizes turned out to be pretty darn close to the sizes of my flower girls! She called up her sister and sister-in-law, who just each shipped the dresses they had to my sister and future sister-in-law, and had their girls try them on.

And the only thing that needs altering is the hem on my niece's dress ... it's just a tad too long:

My mom already marked where the new hem should be --

(Images courtesy of NYC Recessionista)

... everything else is perfect!

Honestly, what are the chances that this would ever work? Not very good ... and yet it worked out really well. I am pretty much shocked at this point as to how this even came together.

Not to mention that the rust orange sash on the dresses goes perfectly with the crowns I ordered for the girls :) AND we're technically being very eco-friendly by reusing dresses!

(Image courtesy of LambCandy on Etsy)

Yay!

My Junior Bridesmaid in her dress

2010-09-21T09:00:00.001-04:00

My sister snapped some pics of my older niece -- my junior bridesmaid -- in her dress, the night that it came in the mail --

(Images courtesy of NYC Recessionista)

She's so excited that she gets to wear a "big girl dress" with us :)

Beautiful backyard wedding

2010-09-20T14:00:00.000-04:00

Love love love everything about this sunny backyard wedding on Green Wedding Shoes today ... gorgeous!

Why we sent it back

2010-09-20T09:00:00.000-04:00

I never really shared this ... visual confirmation of the reason why we decided to return the flower girl dress I'd purchased from J. Crew, even though I really wish it had worked out.

Here's the pic my sister sent me of my niece in it --

(Image courtesy of NYC Recessionista)

It kinda looks like a maroon trash bag with a ribbon around it ... so disappointing! And while I thought it would be cute to do something different, it's way too short for a flower girl dress.

Anyway, we're working on some other potential options for the girls' dresses, but I am not even going to blog about it until it's 100% confirmed haha :)

I've got a Rehearsal Dinner Dress!

2010-09-18T10:00:00.000-04:00

I finally found a dress for our Rehearsal Dinner --

The Berry Abstract Print Dress from LOFT

I also picked out this pima cotton cardigan to go with it ...

(All images courtesy of LOFT)

Now I just have to figure out what shoes to wear with it :)

Damn, it feels good to be a gangsta

2010-09-17T12:00:00.001-04:00

Remember the bunting / flags project my mom has been painstakingly working on over the last few months?

Here was some of my original inspiration for the project--

(Source)

Well, last night my mom was in the midst of sewing when my sister, bestie, and brother-in-law got a little gangsta with the flags ...

My niece's stuffed animals couldn't even escape the initiation...

(Ridiculous images courtesy of NYC Recessionista)

I honestly can't stop laughing when I look at these ... which was their goal I guess. No animals were harmed in the making of these flags by the way.

'Dos for the Bridesmaids, Vol. 3

2010-09-16T09:00:00.000-04:00

My bestie Jessica just emailed me the other day with some pics of what she's thinking of doing with her hair for the wedding --

(Please note that I do not have the rights to any of these images!)

Third time's a charm?

2010-09-15T10:30:00.000-04:00

Well, the flower girl dresses we ordered @ J. Crew did not fit. So, we're back at square one. Again.

[sighs]

I really just want to find dresses for the girls and be done with it.

'Dos for the bridesmaids, Vol. 2

2010-09-15T09:00:00.000-04:00

Last time I blogged about hairstyles, I told you what my friend Valerie was thinking of for her 'do.

Then, my friend Kara recently sent along some pics of how she's thinking of doing her hair --

(All images courtesy of Brides.com)

Maptotes are 20% off

2010-09-14T21:09:00.003-04:00

Now through September 19th, all Maptotes are 20% off when you enter code back2school at checkout.

I've previously blogged about how we're planning to put some goodies into a Maptote for our out of town guests... so if you're interested in doing the same, then now's a great time to scoop them up.

Our boutonnieres :)

2010-09-14T10:00:00.000-04:00

The boutonnieres we ordered from KateSaidYes on Etsy came in the mail this past weekend, and we're so happy with them!

I even love the packaging they came in ... she even took the time to use our wedding colors in the ribbon!

(Images courtesy of NYC Recessionista)

They're just perfect!

My rings

2010-09-13T10:00:00.001-04:00

It occurred to me that I never shared pics of what my engagement ring and wedding band will look like together --

And here's my attempt at being arty :)

(All images courtesy of NYC Recessionista)

I am so happy that I was able to find a band with the milgrain detailing matching my engagement ring.

The perfect cards

2010-09-11T12:00:00.000-04:00

I never got the chance to blog about this, but my sister picked out the most perfect thank you cards for me after my bridal shower ... and she found them at Michael's of all places!

Aren't these awesome?

(All images courtesy of NYC Recessionista)

I love the kraft paper feel to them ... I love the colors ... and of course I love the apples :) And the folded design gave me plenty of room to write personalized notes to everyone!

We've got new flower girl dresses!

2010-09-10T13:00:00.000-04:00

After the nightmare scenario I walked you through last time with the flower girl dresses ... I am proud to report that new flower girl dresses are already on their way to us!

Here's our new (and hopefully final!) selection -- the J. Crew cotton lawn bubble dress from the Crewcuts line ... and the style is under $100!

(All images courtesy of J. Crew)

Can't wait to see what they look like in person!

One month.

2010-09-10T10:30:00.000-04:00

We're getting married one month from today ... I can't believe it!

Decor at the drug store

2010-09-10T09:00:00.000-04:00

I love finding decor for the wedding in the most unexpected places!

The other day, I was in Rite Aid with my sister, brother-in-law, and niece, actually picking up apple juice for my niece, when I saw an assortment of fall decorations on sale for 50% off. A few things caught my eye --

I absolutely love these signs that say 'welcome' and 'harvest' ... I know they're a little bit artsy craftsy, but I think that's part of why I love them so much :)

We're going to put the 'welcome' sign on the table with the escort cards, which will be the first stop for our guests when they enter the reception. And as for the 'harvest' sign, we'll probably put that on the dessert table :)

Then I saw these adorable little barrels, which match our apples / farmers market theme perfectly ... I picked up a few of them to house the special biodegradable forks, knives, and spoons on our buffet line, and an extra one which we'll probably use for the pens for our guest book.

(All images courtesy of NYC Recessionista)

In all, I don't think I spent more than $20 on everything. So, take a look next time you're in your local drugstore ... you just might find some cute stuff for your wedding!

We've got a guest book!

2010-09-09T22:12:00.004-04:00

After looking at lots of different guest books, we figured out which one we wanted. Only problem is, apparently I had blogged about it a little too soon because by the time I went to purchase it, someone already had. Lesson learned on that one!

Luckily enough, the Etsy seller -- Kate Blocher Book Shop -- was willing to make me a new one, and immediately put up a reserved listing with my name on it ... which someone else ignored and purchased it, again before I could buy it.

Third time's a charm :)

(All images courtesy of NYC Recessionista)

Do you believe in the Farmer's Almanac?

2010-09-08T11:30:00.001-04:00

I am freaking out a little bit ... I just checked the 2010 long-range weather forecast on the Old Farmer's Almanac web site, and it says the following ---

OCTOBER 2010: temperature 56° (avg.); precipitation 1.5" (2" below avg.); Oct 1-4: Rain, then sunny; Oct 5-8: Rain, then sunny, warm; Oct 9-10: Showers, cool; Oct 11-14: Sunny, warm; Oct 15-23: Showers, then sunny, cool; Oct 24-29: Showers, then sunny, cool; Oct 30-31: Rain, warm.

Do you see what I see?

"Oct 9-10: Showers, cool."

Umm ... excuse me, but does that mean showers and cool on both days or showers on the 9th and just cool on the 10th?

Please, for the love of all things sacred, don't rain on my outdoor ceremony! It's the farmer's almanac and I'm getting married on a freaking farm ... that means the farming gods should automatically spare me, no?

We've got our boutonnieres!

2010-09-07T09:00:00.000-04:00

After a crazy search on Etsy and a lot of time spent looking at boutonnieres, we've finally made a decision!

We went with the aptly-named October boutonniere from Etsy seller KateSaidYes --

(Image courtesy of KateSaidYes on Etsy)

I know they'll go perfectly with my flowers, as well as all the orange ties we've picked out :) I can't wait to see what they look like in person!

Flower girl dresses - a new candidate

2010-09-06T11:00:00.000-04:00

I think I've figured out what to do for our flower girl dresses since the debacle -- but I am afraid to jinx it by blogging about it!!! I will reveal our new selection after we've ordered it haha!

New flower girl dresses, a.k.a. my first wedding b*#$%fest

2010-09-04T10:24:00.004-04:00

So, I thought that I had our flower girl dresses all taken care of ...

I was wrong.

I previously blogged about how I ordered our dresses from a web site called MyGirlDress.com. I'm not even going to link to them, because I don't want to give them the web traffic. My future sister-in-law had placed her order weeks ago for her daughter (one of our flower girls), and I had placed an order as well, for our other flower girl (my youngest niece).

Then just YESTERDAY, I get an email that the style has just been discontinued.

I have a feeling that a company knows ahead of time when certain styles are going to be discontinued ... my feeling is, then take them off the darn web site! Why are you letting people place an order that will take weeks to process, when the style is going to be discontinued soon anyway?

I called their customer service number immediately, and the woman I spoke with didn't even apologize once for the inconvenience. No apology. Nothing. Just, "they ran out of the fabric to make that dress."

Are you freaking kidding me?

So now, with 36 days left until the wedding, we're back at square one with having to find matching flower girl dresses for 2 different little girls who are in 2 different size brackets and live in 2 different states.

Oy vey.

I highly recommend staying away from MyGirlDress.com ... that is unless you like it when your order gets cancelled and you're left scrambling at the last minute.

Back to the drawing board to find new flower girl dresses ...

'Dos for the bridesmaids

2010-09-04T10:00:00.001-04:00

One of my bridesmaids, Valerie (the newlywed!) sent me some photos of what she's been thinking about for her updo --

(Please note that I cannot take credit for any of these photos!)

I think my favorite is probably the 2nd one ... what do you think?

Our Rehearsal Dinner, Vol. 2

2010-09-03T10:00:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, I blogged about how we picked a spot for our rehearsal dinner (or lunch).

Well, I figured I'd better get moving on an invitation :) so I ordered these totally cool invites from Wedding Paper Divas -- the style is called "Social Flatware" in case anyone is interested, and it can be completely customized, right down to the accent color and fonts.

(Image courtesy of Wedding Paper Divas)

Wedding Paper Divas is actually having a big sale at the moment, too --

$10 off orders of $75 or more

$20 off orders of $149 or more

$40 off orders of $249 or more

When you use the code WPDSEPT at checkout. This offer is good until September 7th. And they've also got free shipping on any order with code FREESHIP at checkout.

We've got a rehearsal dinner spot!

2010-09-02T10:00:00.002-04:00

Kevin and I finally got around to booking the rehearsal dinner this week ... yay!

We chose Brick Cafe ... it's this amazing bistro in Astoria which has the yummiest food. Kevin and I have gone there multiple times for dinner, and once we saw their back room (a cozy lounge near the bar), we knew it would be a perfect spot for the rehearsal dinner.

(All images courtesy of Brick Cafe)

We're technically having a rehearsal luncheon -- since it's going to take place on a Saturday, we figured it would be best to avoid the Saturday night dinner crowd and go with a brunch instead :)

Here's what our guests will be feasting on:

French Toast

Zucchini, Tomato & Onion Omelettes

Scrambled Eggs with Smoked Salmon

Penne a la Vodka

Home Fries

Mixed Greens with Fresh Tomatoes

Grilled Chicken Breast

Grilled Sausages

Bloody Marys & Mimosas

Soft Drinks, Assorted Fruit Juices, Iced & Hot Teas, Coffee

If you're ever in Astoria, definitely stop by Brick Cafe -- my personal favorite is their Bruschetta :)

We've got our centerpieces!

2010-09-01T09:00:00.002-04:00

This past weekend, we stopped at our local Michaels and totally on a whim ... I actually wanted to stop in there originally to see if they had any interesting albums we could use as a guest book. Well, we didn't find anything for that, but we did find the baskets for our centerpieces :)

They were so cute, we couldn't resist -- they fit perfectly into our theme (autumn and harvest are two of our favorite things), they had 13 of them so we could buy enough for each table, they'll perfectly fit the apples, and they were 40% off to boot :)

(All images courtesy of NYC Recessionista)

We figure we'll alternate them, and perhaps even alternate the kinds of apples ... we'll have to figure that out next!

A special delivery

2010-08-31T09:00:00.004-04:00

Our Paloma's Nest ring bearer bowl came in the mail the other day, and I couldn't believe the beautiful packaging!

It was so nice, i had to take pics as I was opening it. They even include a little thank you for your order message in the form of a wooden heart with the words THANK YOU stamped on it in their signature print.

And the bowl was literally delivered in a nest ... just a lovely presentation. And they even include the string to hold the rings.

(All images courtesy of NYC Recessionista)

For those who can't see the inscription, it reads, "The Sun, The Moon, The Stars, For You" which I love.

More wedding day jewelry

2010-08-30T11:00:00.001-04:00

I've blogged about my search for the perfect wedding day earrings before (here and here) ... and while I ended up doing with the dainty, more vintage-y dogwood post earrings as opposed to the bling-ed out J. Crew pair, I still wanted to add some color to my wrist with a fun bracelet.

Well, I found the amber-hued stone bracelet you see on top at the last J. Crew sample sale, but it didn't exactly "go" with my earrings.

Then, I found the bottom bracelet you see here -- a smaller, champagne-colored stone piece -- last weekend at the J. Crew outlet, and voila ...

(Image courtesy of NYC Recessionista)

It's strange ... individually I wasn't sold on either one, but I kinda love them together!

Arras

2010-08-28T11:00:00.000-04:00

We decided that one of the customs we'd like to incorporate into our wedding ceremony is Arras, a Spanish (or in this case, Colombian, where my future husband's family is from) tradition where the groom presents 13 coins to the bride to represent his commitment to support and care for her.

Ideally, I'd like to figure out some way to update the tradition slightly so that it represents us supporting and caring for each other :) marriage is a two-way street after all!

Anyway, my future mother-in-law found our arras coins for us, and had them blessed. Here's what they look like:

They come in a beautiful pouch which we intend to use for the ceremony as well.

(Images courtesy of NYC Recessionista)

My hair trial

2010-08-27T22:42:00.001-04:00

Tonight, I had my hair trial at the Scott J Aveda Salon on the Upper East Side of Manhattan ... I went to my favorite hair stylist Nykia :) who's been cutting my hair for several years now. I always knew I would ask her to do my hair for my wedding (and everyone else's hair for that matter) ... she's amazing. I've actually been going to Aveda salons ever since junior high -- I feel like they just understand hair better than any other salons I've been to.

Anyway, I've been toying with ideas of what to do with my hair for a long while now, as you know -- I've considered up-dos, down-dos, braids, curls, flowers, headbands, pins, veils, feathers, and fascinators ... you name it, I've thought about it.

But after my stylist saw photos of my dress, and saw pictures of some of the styles I was thinking of, she immediately knew what to do and which direction to head in. And that's why she's awesome.

Wow, does it feel strange when the whole process first begins though ... they used millions of pins to set my hair.

Kevin, my love ...

THIS IS WHERE YOU STOP READING...!

And here is the finished product:

(All images courtesy of NYC Recessionista)

I absolutely love it ... makes me feel like Rita Hayworth. The next step will be my makeup trial :)