My dream invitation...

Every bride has a wishlist of beautiful things that they want for their wedding. While my wishlist is compiled of things cut out of wedding magazines and Web site printouts, Brandon has the reality list—compiled of credit card bills and our wedding expense sheet. Needless to say his list usually trumps mine, but a girl can still dream right?


At the top of my wishlist (next to crystal chandeliers and lucite tables filled with strands of pearls), are these invitations designed by Gourmet Invitations.

The portfolio is made from a silk damask, fastened with a sash made from strings of mini pearls and a cameo brooch. You can't get any more regal than this. 


sigh......

Finding the right mix of centerpieces for the wedding...

When it came to centerpieces, I wanted to keep things sparse since i like the look of manzanita branches on their own. Pam, from Jordan's Food of Distinction, recommended I switch things up for the centerpieces. With 15 tables, we will incorporate three different designs of varying heights. 


Using Dessy's styleboard feature, I created a few inspiration boards for my centerpieces.

Here are a few ideas:

Some tall centerpiece ideas....

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Some shorter ones....
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The perfect bridal bouquet...

I just got off the phone with Pam from Jordan's Food of Distinction, who was inquiring about my thoughts on flowers for the wedding day. Since they are a full-service event planning company, they will be handling all of our floral needs including bouquets and centerpieces. 

Since Pam asked for more styleboards, I did not want to disappoint. I logged onto to Dessy's styleboard creator and got busy. Since my wedding has a vintage-glam theme, I centered my floral inspirations around peonies, big roses and stephanotis with pearl/crystal detailing. 

Here are the styleboards I came up with:

For my bouquet....
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For the bridesmaids....
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March of the Penguins

 When it comes to wedding planning, so much thought goes into what the bride and the bridesmaids will wear. Hours are spent agonizing over the perfect shade of white, trumpet skirt vs. ball gown, sweetheart or capped sleeve...(you get the idea). 


But when it came to tuxedos for the groomsmen, we walked into a Men's Wearhouse location and told the associate we wanted a three button tuxedo. He then asked us the color of the bridesmaids dresses. That was it. There was no thought about tuxedo styles before we walked in, and not much thought after.


In fact, I did a few random Google searches and it turns out not much has changed in the realm of tuxedos over the past few decades.


          1950s                                                                  1980s             

    

present day      

    

     

The beauty of the tuxedo is that you can't really go wrong with it. It's classic and elegant (maybe minus the pink ruffled shirt), and looks good on everyone. If only bridesmaids dresses were this simple....

Our amazing bakery!

Brandon and I had a plan. We were going to seek out THE best bakery in Chicago to make our dream wedding cake. So before we began our quest, we researched various bakeries on Yelp and through referrals. We then called around to set up tastings with the ones we had a good feeling about. But neither of us knew that our quest would end before it really began.

On Saturday, Jordan and Pam (our caterers from Jordan's Food of Distinction) surprised us with a sampling of Naomi Levine's (of Tipsy Cake in Humboldt Park) great work. We were left licking up the crumbs. Coincidentally, our first cake tasting was scheduled for the following Tuesday (yesterday) with none other than Naomi herself. 

We walked into our first cake tasting adamant that we were going to find the best baker in Chicago....and we did! Naomi's cakes were light and airy and her choices of fillings were absolutely amazing (try the peanut butter mousse, the raspberry infused chocolate mousse, the passionfruit...just try them all!) And her cakes look as good as they taste. She truly is an artist!

We had so much fun with her, that our tasting lasted almost two hours! She brought us out everything that we wanted, and after showing her my inspiration boards she came up with some really great ideas (our inspiration above). And best of all—her work is incredibly priced! 

If you're looking for a custom bakery to make the cake of your dreams (and believe me I dream of cake A LOT) be sure to give Naomi a call—just don't forget to tell her I sent you!

My Beautiful Bridesmaids

When it came to selecting bridesmaids for my wedding, I knew I was going to have a large party. In my life, I have been blessed with four sisters (two on each side) and five best friends (three from high school and two from college). And while I briefly thought about somehow widdling it down to a smaller group, I knew it wasn't going to happen. When I walk down that aisle, I knew that I wanted each of those girls standing there to greet me.

The tricky thing with having nine girls though, is trying to figure out what they're going to wear. I could've been that bride and put them in whatever I felt like without a concern for their body shape and budget, but I wanted my brides to be happy to stand up in my wedding—not punished.

Now since the girls really do run the spectrum of body types/sizes, I knew the one-dress-fit-all approach wasn't going to fly. And with that many girls, seeing nine of the same dress seemed a bit redundant. Instead, I opted to let them pick their own dresses.

Since many of my bridesmaids are still in school, have families etc., I knew they weren't going to be donning Vera Wang. Though David's Bridal sometimes gets a bad rap, I was able to select several styles that complemented both my bridesmaids' individual styles and my wedding theme (my favorite style above). And each gown came in under $130! While it's not exactly couture, David's Bridal offers plenty of gorgeous, fashionable dresses in an array of colors. Plus, the fact that it's a national chain made it easy for the girls who aren't in the area.

We just ordered all the dresses yesterday, so they should be coming in by late March to early April. I will post pictures as soon as I have some!

A Little Taste of June 12th...

Today, B, our moms and I had our first dinner tasting for the wedding. Jordan and Pam from Jordan's Food of Distinction invited us to their Chicago studio where we sampled every morsel of food that will be served at our wedding—and we were not disappointed.


I can't give too much away because it will ruin the surprise, but we have some pretty unique and savory appetizers. I'm hungry just thinking about it! Jordan prepared several appetizers for us to taste and it was so hard to pick between. By the time he had brought out the actual dinner we were stuffed! The dinner itself had the most beautiful presentation that it was so hard for us to ruin Jordan's "artwork." Everything tasted absolutely amazing and while people say the bride and groom hardly have time to sit down and eat, I know there is no way I will pass this meal up!


They also let us sample some cakes from Tipsy Cake who we are actually going to visit on Tuesday. Their lemon cake with raspberry buttercream was absolutely delish. We're checking out a few other bakeries too, so stay tuned because B and I are on a quest for the best (looking and tasting) cake in Chicago!