Le Honeymoon

Mr. Cowboy Boot and I didn't really think we were going to take a honeymoon at first. After going through our budget time and time again, there just wasn't room in it for a trip. We figured we'd save our money after the wedding and plan something big for the following year. My dad, however, didn't agree with this idea. "It's really important for you guys to be together as a married couple after the wedding," my dad told us. "Just the two of you, to feel your decision and let the marriage really sink in before getting back to everyday life."

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I took this to heart and approached Mr. Cowboy Boot about the idea of a mini-moon. Just a three or four-day trip after the wedding to celebrate--it could even be within driving distance of the wedding, somewhere like Jackson, Wyoming. Heck, we could even camp. Although I've always pictured plush down comforters, candles, massages, and wine for my honeymoon, I was willing to suck it up and camp if it meant it could happen. (For the record, we love to camp--it's just not my exact idea of a honeymoon).

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Somehow this idea grew into Sayulita, Mexico or a train trip through our northermost state, Alaska. While Mr. CB dreamed of big mountains, heli-skiing, and fly-fishing, I had my sights on sleeping in, drinking margaritas on the beach, and plenty of good surf sessions. We agreed that Mexico would be cheaper, is somewhere we've both never been, and would feel exotic while not completely blowing the cash load because it's not that far from New Mexico.

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Then what happened? Qantas went and had a huge airfare sale. We're talking the cheapest it's been in ten years. And where do they fly? Australia and New Zealand. For about $100 more than flying to Mexico we could get to Auckland and spend almost two weeks on the north and south islands of Kiwi-land.

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I bet you can guess what we did. That's right. We bit the bullet. Two tickets to Auckland, New Zealand please. (As if the images didn't tip you off). The flight leaves from Los Angeles two nights after the wedding. To save money on four more plane tickets, we'll drive from Colorado to LA after the wedding. With two days to go 14 hours, we might even make some fun stops along the way like Vegas (where Mr. CB's never been) or Moab (the mountain bike capitol of the US).

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So far, we haven't planned very much. Because there is a lot of territory that hasn't been hit by the guide books yet, we plan to rent an RV and explore roads that entice us. If we get lost, we'll have home right there. But don't worry, there will be a few luxurious hotel stops (and a few massages) along the way. We're also hoping to go horse-trekking, whitewater rafting, surfing, hiking, SCUBA diving, and cycling through the wine country. Any tips for us? I could use a recommendation or two.

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I feel like New Zealand will be the perfect blend of what we were going for--a little adventure, somewhere we both haven't been, my surfing, Mr. CB's mountains, and, hopefully, a lot of pampering, good food, and local wine.

Did you find a great deal on plane tickets for your honeymoon? Where are you going?

Hive Knows Best

Hive. I need help with a decision. After that last flower post, I had a sudden change of heart. I get a little uneasy when this happens because then I'm suddenly heading down a path that involves lots of back-and-forth with my vendor. In this instance, my florist. And I hate to seem flighty and indecisive--It doesn't do anyone any good.

But, the feeling I got was so intense, I can't ignore it. I started thinking that maybe I want more cream or white in my bouquet with hints of peach, instead of having an all-peach bouquet with touches of cream which was my original plan. I am worried that the bouquet will disappear into my dress if it is too creamy and white will be too stark against ivory. But, now I'm thinking the peach bouquet might not seem classic in 30 years. If I go cream and white, I can use a colored ribbon to add pop. Or, vice-versa if I go for colored flowers. Give me your vote!

Peaches with pops of whites and creams wrapped with leftover ivory fabric and a little raffia:

Sources: Juliet Rose, Lisianthus, Dahlia, Hypericum Berries, Larkspur, Ranunculus, and Stock.

Some peach bouquet inspiration:

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Mostly white with pops of peach and apricot wrapped with peachy ribbon and raffia:

Sources: Juliet Garden Rose, Lisianthus, Hypericum Berries, Larkspur, Ranunculus, Stock, and Dahlias

Here are a few inspiration photos of mostly white bouquets with bursts or tinges of color:

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So, which do you like better? Option 1: mostly peaches with bursts of white? Or Option 2: White or cream with pops of peach or apricot? Or should I mix up the color variation differently or do different specific flowers in peach or cream?

A Fall Version of Spring Flowers

Yesterday's post gave you a little rundown on my flower inspiration. But, like I said, my florist was wary of the soft pink and ivory palette meshing with my tendency to gravitate towards peaches. She also mentioned that we'd have to replace the spring blooms with similar fall flowers.

So, here's our plan with side-by-side (or one on top of the other) images of the spring bloom originally used versus the fall bloom we hope to replace it with (and few options). The colors are not exactly on par with what we're planning but close.

Flower 1:

Spring Version: Peonies
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Fall Version: Juliet Garden Rose
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Flower 2:

Spring Version: Sweet Peas
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Fall Version: Larkspur
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Fall Version 2: Snapdragons
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Flower 3:

Spring Version: Azaleas
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Fall Version: White Ranunculus
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Flower 4

Spring Version: Spider Mum
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Fall Version: Dahlia
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As an addition to the flowers above, we're going to lisianthus which looks like this:

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And we're going to be able to use the Peach Hypericum Berries that are in the original spring version. You can see them in this bouquet:

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The bridesmaids will have similar bouquets but with carnations instead of garden roses (thanks to my budget) and white dahlias instead of peach ones. Their bouquets will actually be more white overall with touches of peach while mine will be the opposite. Although, I may decide to go more white in the end. We'll see.

Did you replace springtime flowers with fall blooms? Or did you luck out and get the flowers you wanted in the first place?

My Flower Decision

First I want to say thank you for voting on my bouquet inspiration. I never let you in on which image was my favorite. Well, to be honest, it got the least votes--a mere 3%. Maybe that's why I was a little bit hesitant to write this post. Nonetheless, a girl can't question her taste. Okay, that's a lie, but with wedding stuff, it is best to go with your gut. I will blame the fact that the image was small and hard to see.

But before I start making excuses, let me give you a larger spread of my flower inspiration. It comes from the wedding of Sharon and Francis in Bristol, Tennessee, that was featured in MSW.

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When I came across this wedding, I swooned at the loose garden-y feel of the flowers. I particularly liked the "trailing" affect (as my florist likes to call it) of the paper-like petals. I sent these images to my florist, Erin at Plum Sage, and she also loved them. But, she thought the color palette (ivory and soft pink) wasn't going to go with the peachy bridesmaid dress palette I'd been going for. And, most of these flowers are not available during October. She mentioned the florist had used peonies (of course!), hypericum berry foliage, sweet pea, spider mums, azalea, and other spring blooms.

After a few back and forths with Erin via e-mail (she's SO awesome at responding to my many, all-over-the-place ideas and requests and changes of mind), we came up with a fall variation on these bouquets that accommodates my apricot, dusty rose, peach, cream, and pink color scheme.

Stay tuned to find out how we did this.

How did you come up with your flower plan?

An Untraditional Tradition

A dear friend of mine mentioned a tradition she'd seen at a wedding she'd been to recently. She's not getting married, nor is she really paying attention to details at weddings, but this one stuck with her for some reason. She mentioned love letters, a wooden box, two wine glasses and a bottle of wine. It's supposed to work something like a unity candle or pouring grains of sand into one vessel. But when she explained it to me, I liked it more than these two options. And so did Mr. CB.

The tradition goes something like this: The couple writes love letters to each other. In their letters, they detail why they fell in love with each other and what they really, truly admire about the other person. The letters get sealed up before they are read by the person they are intended for.

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The sealed letters are brought out at the end of the ceremony. They are put into a wooden box that the couple supplies. Along with their letters, they put a nice bottle of wine into the box with two glasses. Once all is in the box, the wedding party hammers nails into the box to close it.

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The point of all this? If, at any point, the marriage is in serious jeopardy, the couple is to open the box, read the letters about why they fell in love with each other in the first place, and drink the wine together before making any irrational decisions.

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While, some could see this as a somewhat solemn ritual and not a celebratory or joyous tradition, I see it as being realistic and somewhat romantic. It's a metaphor for keeping the marriage based in truth and what is real. The hope is that you won't have to open the box but, who knows, maybe on your 40th anniversary it's a treat.

Mr. Cowboy Boot and I were immediately drawn to this tradition. We love wine and can think of several vineyards that mean something to us. If times were tumultuous down the road, I could see those certain wine-bottle labels bringing us back to more care-free days and to the things we love about each other.

Ms. Cowboy Boot in Tuscany

Before we were on Capri (where we got engaged), we spent a few nights in this gorgeous agriturismo in Tuscany called Torraccia di Chiusi. Every day we walked on an old pilgrimage road through vineyards and stone houses into the town of San Gimignano where we did a very Italian tradition: fare una passeggiata every evening. That means to take a walk. Simply stroll and enjoy the atmosphere, the people, the stores, the language.

Those are some of our favorite memories. And, if we ever needed to break open The Box, we'd be reminded of this. And, of being with each other in a foreign environment where we had hurdles, but mainly just romance.

Are you including any symbolic traditions in your ceremony? If so, what?

Dear Bridesmaids: Here Are Your Dress Options

Hive, I've finally made a decision on bridesmaid dresses. Thank you for voting and giving me your opinions! They were so helpful. What I've come up with is a collaboration of all of my thoughts so far.

After filling you in on my idea to use various J. Crew dresses (thanks to their many color-coordinated dresses right now), I hoofed it over to the store. I was a little worried that some of the dresses would be too casual and, boy, was I right. They didn't have the dresses I was interested in there (regardless of the fact that some weren't b-maid dresses), but they had other items in the same fabric so I was able to nix anything that wasn't dressy enough. (And thanks to reader Slicey19 for telling me that linen wrinkles easily).

After my little research trip to J. Crew, I wrote an e-mail to my bridesmaids to present them with their options. I really wanted to make them adorable hand-written letters with printed pictures and swatches but I was too worried that one of the dresses would sell out. And anxious to share my thoughts with them and get theirs.

So here you go. My bridesmaid dress choices. Finally. The girls will be able to pick from these:

Option 1: Embossed Cotton Printed Lorelei Dress. Color: Papaya. $118.


Option 2: Any of J. Crew's silk chiffon knee-length styles in Light Shell. $165-$180.


Option 3: Any of J. Crew's silk chiffon knee-length styles in Deep Rose . Again $165-$180. This color becomes available in August.

Thanks Ashley from J. Crew for sending me images of fall's selections

And, for all you Sarah Seven lovers out there, this is still an option. For the girls who liked these custom dresses, they can choose one of four styles from her and get them in a coordinating color. Here are their four options:

The Tulip Dress

Raspberry Perfection Dress

Peachy Keen Dress

Flock Dress

The last option is for the girls to find dresses elsewhere, but to run them by me before they buy anything. I don't want to be a bridezilla but I've put so much work into making it look coordinated, too. It's so hard to balance all of that.

Next, I'll be getting a few swatches in the mail as well as the printed Lorelei dress to try on. Hopefully, these swatches will confirm my final decision. If not, well, you're in for another round of bridesmaid dress drama.

So far, two out of five bridesmaids are opting for silk chiffon J. Crew dresses while another wants a Sarah Seven dress. I haven't heard from the final two yet. Can't wait to see what they pick.

Did you have trouble balancing bridezilla-ness and letting go completely? I'm hoping I've found a good balance.

We're Moving. And Getting Nostalgiac.

We've decide it's time to move houses. Although, we're staying in Santa Fe, we're opting for a 'lil lower rent and place that's unfurnished where we can begin building our own collection of furniture (and have a place to stow any wedding gifts). We've been in our current place for two years now--it was our first home in Santa Fe--and we're sad to see it go. It's the longest we've ever lived anywhere together and it really felt like home. (This is starting to sound like a bad poem).

But, it's the truth. Mr. Cowboy Boot spent a lot of time planting a vegetable garden, building a compost bin, and fixing up the property altogether. It's our puppies's first home and the place we first became "parents" (to the dogs, of course). It's where we came home to after getting engaged in Italy. It's our first house and not apartment. It's where our families stayed when they came to visit. It's where we've had some serious talks about wedding plans, life, jobs, and finances. Essentially, it's where we really got serious.

Odin and Rio in the front door

As an ode to the place where our love really started to grow, I thought I'd share some funny pictures and moments from the house we're leaving behind and give you a sneak peek at our new house, where we'll be living as a married couple after our wedding in October. Oh, and the house we're moving into is for sale which may or may not have started some thinking about buying on our part...

Odin in one of his first days home

Rio on her first day home

The view from our yard--I'll miss that windmill

The dogs confused about Mr. CB's painting

Weighing skinny-minnie Rio

Mr. Cowboy Boot and Odin as a puppy, sleeping

Now, for the new place we will be calling home. Oh, and it has a tiny bit of furniture so we can work on our collection slowly and buy nicer quality stuff instead of rushing into cheap stuff for the sake of having it.





It will be different, planning a wedding from a new house. I won't have my comfy chair to surf the internet for hours at a time, my spot in the bookshelf where I keep my magazine tear-outs, sample invitations, planning binder and other inspiration, or my corner where I've been shoving ball jars, birdcages, raffia ribbon, and other starts to DIY projects. Not to mention, this adds a few extra boxes to our moving load.

But, it's not only about wedding storage. It's about change. We've moved before. We've moved across the country together, before. But this time, we finally felt settled. And this time, change is making me more nervous than it ever did before. I'm just glad to have Mr. CB there (and our pups) to deal with change together. This is just another growing pain: a chance to deal with the ups, downs, and challenges that life throws our way. Yes, it was our decision to move and uproot ourselves from a very comfortable place for the sake of saving a little money. But, together, I have faith that Mr. CB and I can make this new (and weirdly not our) place our own.

Did you move in the middle of wedding planning? Did it change the dynamic in your relationship at all?