Hair Foliage

I always knew I wasn't going to be a veil bride. It's just not me. Then, I went back and forth between hair flower and head band. In the end, the flower won. I just couldn't back away from the floral prettiness that is organza-and-taffeta petals and blush- and ivory-pearls.

So, as every other Bee has ever done, I searched Etsy for some hair flowers I thought suited my look. I stumbled upon this beauty by Portobello and was pretty keen on the center of the flower and its petals (sans the feathers and birdcage veil).

Alena Headpiece by Portobello

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I'd bookmarked Mrs. Quiche's flower-maker, Muscari Designs, way back when and kept returning to their Minnesota Bloom. They were all sold out but I thought I might be able to finagle my way into a custom flower.

Muscari Designs Minnesota Bloom

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I wanted to combine the look of the Minnesota Bloom with her set of two flowers, the Sweet Peas.

Muscari Designs' Sweet Peas

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Easter at Muscari Designs agreed to blend the two styles for me, using blush-colored pearls and fabric, and here's what she came up with. She sent me three images of different samples she made.

I ended up asking her to take the velvet out from behind the pearls. The third of the above was my favorite so she took note that I liked the blush fabric and created these lovelies for me...

I have two of these adorable flowers. They're both pretty small and would fit beautifully with a half-up, half-down style, trailing down the back. My hair trial with the new stylist is coming up this weekend and since I have the hair flowers in-hand, they'll be making their debut.

Did you choose a hair flower, headband, veil or other hair accessory? Fill the hive in on who you got it from and which it is! We can always use suggestions.

Have You Google Stalked Your Venue Today?

Have you done this? Have you searched for pictures of weddings that were held at your venue? For some reason, I never have. Until today.

Coming across images of weddings before ours at Devil's Thumb Ranch is making me excited. Realy, super, duper excited. It's also making me nervous (there are quite a few of brides and grooms holding umbrellas and of foreboding skies). That said, I'm also nervous because looking at these pictures is somewhat of a reality check. Soon, we will have these same pictures with our faces and our details and our friends and family. The only thing that gives me comfort (amidst the stress of wedding planning right now) is knowing that Mr. CB will be there with me.

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Does looking at pictures of your venue make you nervous or excited?

Hello Two-Month Mark.

I'm pleased to meet you, two-month mark. Do you know what you mean? Eight weeks. Literally. That's right, we're eight weeks out and to be honest, I'm feeling pretty good about our to-do list. It's dwindling down to the tiniest of details like finishing up a few DIY projects, making sure the stragglers get taken care of (Mr. CB's ring? Just a tiny detail), and booking our honeymoon.

One of these details might seem like minutia but I can't seem to decide and I need your help. Calligraphy. Oh, it's many swirls and whirls.

You've seen our seating cards. These will either be hanging from a clothesline on gold organza ribbon or tied to a bunch of horseshoes on a table (once I get the courage to open my bucket of used horseshoes). I may end up using the clothesline for fun pictures of Mr. CB and I with our guests throughout the years which is why I'd opt to go the horseshoe route.

Either way, our guests' names have to be scrawled on these escort cards for them to even be useful. And since the etsy seller we're buying the cards from isn't doing it, I've enlisted Pretty Pen Jen to, well, pen these for us.

She has many, many styles of lettering and my favorites are the really script-y ones. Which, of the four below do you prefer? From top to bottom they are: Jenny, Ruth, Mary and Rachel.

This penmanship will be adorning these adorable tags.

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Please give me your vote!

Jenny
Ruth
Mary
Rachel

And, They're Off...

I debated for quite a while before doing it. The time had come to mail my invitations. Should I skip over to the post office on my lunch break or wait until the weekend when there is no time limit? I was zig-zagging between hand-canceling my invitations and just handing them over.

I pulled up to the post office, 45 minutes left until I was supposed to be back at my desk, stuck a few quarters in the meter and made my way inside. My invitations were all stamped. I'd taken them to two post offices prior to make sure the postage pricing was correct. $1.39 sounded like too much the first time but indeed, it was the same at the second post office. I could've easily dumped them in the big blue bin on the sidewalk since they were stamped but I couldn't bring myself to do it.

In line, inside, I continued to zig-zag in my head. Should I tell her I want to hand-cancel them? I had done it to my save-the-dates only to find that the ink takes at least 45 minutes to dry once you stamp them and you might get a parking ticket in the process because you didn't expect them to take that long. I couldn't find another excuse, though, to explain why I'd waited in line. Why I didn't want to part with my beautiful, paper lovelies. Hand-canceling them seemed like a way to prolong the process, make it a heartfelt, lingering send-off.

But, once I got up to the counter, I could only squeak out that these were my wedding invitations and I just wanted to make sure everything was okay with them. She weighed one. Asked me how much postage I'd put on each. $1.39 I dutifully reported, the taste of vintage stamp gum rising on my tongue.

So took my two boxes, stacked high with thick, filled envelopes and took them...somewhere. I'm not sure where. And that was it. Now I can't wait for RSVPs!

Did you have trouble handing over your invitations?

A Makeover

I just got word that our ceremony site has undergone a transformation. I never showed it to you before but don't worry, not too much has changed--they replaced long, wooden benches for chairs and added the stone pathway. The minor tweaks have made it less rustic and more elegant.



I haven't put too much thought into decorating it. I don't want to add anything to my florist budget (and as of now, ceremony site decor is not in there) and as much as I love Mrs. Cherry Pie's DIY jar lanterns I just can't bring myself to buy one more thing (like Shepard's hooks).

Now that you've seen it, what do you recommend?

Hair'Spiration

I'm at it again, hive. I thought I'd signed on the dotted line and was all set to go but then my hair stylist went and upped the bejeesus out of her pricing. I wasn't aware of this when I first went to my trial but her pricing was based on me using the original make-up artist I went to, Katelyn Simkins. And then I decided, Katelyn, the first make-up artist just wasn't for me. Here's a link to my successful hair trial.

So, I'm off and running again. Luckily, Liz, my new make-up artist (who Mrs. Cookie came upon first!) is on the books. But, this coming weekend, I'll be taking a second stab at my hair. I was happy with the styles I brought along to the first trial, but since then, I've added a few more inspiration pictures to my file.

Do I go with the messy, low chignon?

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Thanks Ms. Bear Cub for sending me this link!

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How about the low side ponytail?

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More wonderful pony tails on Miss Mascara's post

Or, leave it down a curly?

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The options are pulling me in all directions. Do I put it up to be more comfortable and dance? Do I leave it down and be more flowy? Do I do the side pony or is it too trendy? Hmph.

How are you wearing your hair for your wedding?

More Obsessed Than Ever

For awhile, there was radio silence. But that was actually my fault. I kept heading back to my photographer, Tec Petaja's, blog but nothing had been updated. Apparently, I was going to the wrong blog. He's moved, redesigned and updated over and over again without my knowing!

Now that I've stumbled upon him all over again, I can't help but swoon. You all might recognize him from the iconic duo Chelsea and Tec, who were all over the wedding blogs. To be honest, the weddings he shoots are so darn cool I'm worried ours might not live up to the standards! I guess that helps to keep me motivated when it comes to finishing our creative DIY details.

Between real weddings, though, Tec shot this Nashville Lifestyles wedding edition story. Oh. My. Can we talk about adorable? She's making me want to wear my hair down.

So stunning. Hopefully, our wedding turns out as beautiful as this styled one.

Has your photog's blog got you smitten? Is it making you even more excited for your wedding?