I mean honestly, I wouldn't mind the 'whatever, go with the flow' attitude, if I wasn't coming from out of state, having to book flights, find people to stay with and arrange rides. But with the wedding 3 weeks away, she should at least be able to tell me if they are having a rehearsal or not! I decided I'm not going to be there if there does end up being one since nobody can pick me up from the airport until 7. I could have been there if she would have planned it ahead of time, but oh well.

5/22/2009 12:38:41 AM

Yeah, that would annoy me as well. It's inconsiderate of the bride to not consider the fact that people will need to arrange their schedules based on what's going on.

5/22/2009 1:45:09 AM

i picked up my dress last night from the tailor and it fits perfectly. now i just need to find something wear that will smooth me out a bit but won't show. i've tried spanx and they suck. any suggestions?

5/22/2009 8:44:17 AM

agreed on the spanx. while i don't mind wearing under any other dress, it was too damn hot to wear w/ my wedding dress.

where are you wanting to smoothe? tummy? thighs? bootay? all over?

5/22/2009 9:08:22 AM

tummy & bootay. i'm not a big girl but not a stick either, i just want to look as good as possible (like anybody else on their wedding day).

5/22/2009 9:28:28 AM

Is anyone getting their grandparents presents as well to give to them during the rehearsal dinner? I know you give a present to the bridesmaids/groomsmen and parents, but do you generally give something to the grandparents too?

5/22/2009 9:30:09 AM

^^Control It at JCPenny's...like Spanx, but cheaper, and not as thick. I'm wearing Intimissimi's high waist brief from Victoria's Secret, but it's more for comfort than smoothing.

^No. We're just giving gifts for our parents, flower girl, ring bearer, program attendants, usher, and groomsmen (I already gave bridesmaids and reader their gifts) at the rehearsal dinner.

[Edited on May 22, 2009 at 10:56 AM. Reason : ]

5/22/2009 10:56:44 AM

oh crap we're supposed to give them gifts? what the hell do i get?

mom is moh, friend & future sol are bridesmaids. no monogrammed corny shit. something awesome but not $texas. ideas?

5/22/2009 11:19:16 AM

Quote :

"what?? i'm telling what the emily post book and all other etiquette books say about gift giving.....i'm just telling you how it is."

emily post doesn't cover this?

5/22/2009 11:21:06 AM

I got my bridesmaids and reader a clutch off etsy. The etsy seller (LaVitaLola) was really great to work with. I got a different print for each girl that I though they would like. They loved them. They were $50. Sometimes brides will give their bridesmaids jewelry to wear on the wedding day so that's an idea.

We're giving the program attendants (my fiance's 13 and 9 year old cousins) a Wii game.

I can't disucss groomsmen gifts, cause some of them are on here.

The ring bearer's parents set him up a savings account when he was born, so I would like to give him $$ to put in that. We've talked about giving the flower girl something similar.

5/22/2009 11:32:51 AM

We did jewelry and purses for the bridesmaids, scuba diving books for the groomsmen, a tractor bank for the ring bearer, a monogrammed beach bag for the flower girl, the aisle runner pullers, and the program passer outer. Our parents asked us not to give them gifts, so I'm trying to think of something inexpensive and sentimental.

5/22/2009 12:14:27 PM

Oh Gosh, I just panicked trying to remember what I got my girls, if anything! Then I remembered that I had paid for them to get their hair done the day of the wedding. I always hated being in a wedding without looking done up and professional the way the bride was (without out shining the bride of course) since tons of pictures are being taken and you're dressed all nice. So that was my gift to them and they all seemed to appreciate it. I was going to frame a picture of all of us from the wedding but gosh, i never got around to it. I did buy them all a picture of all of us and sent it to them.

And the husband got his groomsmen some really nice liquor...uhm, Johnnie Walker green label I think? Which I'm sure they had a bit of before the wedding.

I didn't get anything for my parents (never even crossed my mind!! yikes!) And we had a my mom's boyfriends daughter pass out programs at the last minute instead of having people pick them up on the way to the seats. She really wanted to be a part of it and help out so that wasn't planned...though I doubt I would've gotten her anything had it be planned...?

5/22/2009 12:59:17 PM

I had seven bridesmaids and my husband had seven groomsmen. We also had a flower girl and ring bearer.

I bought fresh water pearls from China and made my bridesmaids necklaces and I ordered them pendants... i.e. and I put them on the necklaces. I also gave them make up bags and various lip glosses. And I gave them each a little jewl plate that says "My Bridesmaid, My Friend". My MOH got this super awesome monogrammed key chain instead of the plate.

I made my mom a necklace and bracelet from different pearls and bought her some earrings.

I made my mother-in-law a necklace with two strands of pearls and bought her a pearl bracelet with a cameo.

I made my grandmother and my husband's grandmother necklaces as well.

My husband gave each of his groomsmen their fave bottle of liquor and I ordered them monogrammed money clips that also have swiss army knife features.

I think everyone liked everything.

5/22/2009 2:41:49 PM

I got my bridesmaids necklaces from Swarovski's to wear on the day of the wedding


they <3 them. My husband gave his groomsmen a beer stein from the Hofbrahaus (where we had our rehearsal dinner)

I got my mom, grandmother, aunt and hubby's mom a corsage to wear.

5/22/2009 2:48:22 PM

beautiful...awesome...SPECTACULAR!!!!!!!!

http://offbeatbride.com/2009/05/lipdub-wedding-video

5/22/2009 4:35:49 PM

Quote :

"^^no, the rule of thumb & what most people do is that if you are invited to a shower you are buying an extra gift on top of what you are getting them for the wedding."

[no]

5/22/2009 7:45:58 PM

^^ ahaha they're so British

5/22/2009 10:39:30 PM

ooops

[Edited on May 22, 2009 at 11:16 PM. Reason : wrong thread]

5/22/2009 11:07:35 PM

^^^yes, yes it it.

Quote :

"emily post doesn't cover this? "

can you not read?

i didn't want to give my bridesmaids anything cheesey. we dont wear jewelry and hate hate monogrammed crap. i ordered something yesterday but im not gonna say bc one of them is on here (TroopofEchos)

[Edited on May 23, 2009 at 9:10 AM. Reason : ]

5/23/2009 9:09:49 AM

Quote :

"oh crap we're supposed to give them gifts?"

heh it sounded like you had no idea that you were supposed to give gifts but were very well versed in how people should give you gifts - that's why i made the comment

5/23/2009 9:12:36 AM

I don't know if she's been mentioned in here or not, but she definitely needs to be!

Best seamstress HANDS DOWN: Olga Samarskaya!

She's in Cary off Chapel Hill Road, and she's soooo wonderful. Little Russian lady who is absolutely hilarious! Very reasonable, and does excellent work. She even makes wedding dresses if you wanted to do that. Her specialty is bustling (ask to see her photos when you're there--WOW!!!), and the way she has done my dress is so beautiful. (If you want more specifics about that...PM me).

My story: I had a less than wonderful experience using the alterations lady that my bridal shop recommended (Merileen [something] of Butterfly Sewing & Alterations). I imagine that she does a great job on more simple dresses, but mine is a little bit more involved so when it came down to having a few things taken up she kept saying, "It can't be done," or, "that's just how that dress is," instead of just saying, "I cannot do it." The bustle was okay, but it still dragged on the floor and felt very heavy.

Olga took one look at my dress, after we begged her to work on it (we went mid April and she was REALLY booked!), and redid everything. She changed the bustle from 3 points to a whopping 20 points so now my dress looks like a beautiful cloud when it's up. She also fixed the parts that we weren't happy with and, "couldn't be done."

919-462-9472
olga_samar@yahoo.com

5/26/2009 8:55:28 AM

just got home from an amazing wedding weekend! it was a very very personal wedding, even with over 200 guests. the whole thing started with the rehearsal dinner on friday night at a near by 4H camp/lodge. saturday bfast was served and activities like canoeing, rock wall climbing and a high ropes course were available. lunch was provided as well but super casual. dinner was a little more elaborate but still low key, casual feeling. after dinner we built a bonfire and roasted s'mores.

saturday was the wedding, 4pm start time. short, beautiful ceremony with very lovely but minimal decor (it was outdoors, all they had were white chairs, a small arch they all entered through and rose pedals along the aisle). while the wedding party and family took more pics, the rest of us drank champaign and had appetizers in the arboretum gardens. then we all caravanned over to the hotel where the reception was, about 40min away. dinner was at 7pm followed by the dancing and such. dj left at 1230am and the rest of us who wanted to stay up and party went down to the 2 lane bowling alley the hotel had on site and drank the rest of the keg beer and ate popcorn.

the reason i say the wedding was so personal
- all guests staying at the 4H center had a welcome bag waiting for them. it was a simple paper gift bag with their "wedding logo" stamped on the front. she had a stamp made of the logo she had designed and stamped it on everything and it was printed on all the wedding programs and menu's and place cards. each bag had a personal note from the bride and groom attached. in the bag were various snacks.

-the tables at dinner each had a name that was a place the couple had vacationed together or lived in. marking each table was the name of the table and on the back was the story of the significance.

-the guestbook was a blank, bound book that they had pictures of the couple pasted in the center of each page. guests could choose the page they wanted to sign.

-the couple had a book made off of snapfish or a site like that where you can organize the photos onto the pages and have it printed professionally. it was neat to see that at the entrance because it was basically the chronology of their relationship.

-each table at the dinner had their own cake. there were several flavors and ALL homemade. they also had their wedding logo on the top. simple and pretty.

-each table also had a selection of the couple's favorite wines.

-as far as wedding party gifts, i was a "personal attendant" which is like being a bridesmaid but you aren't in the wedding and have zero expenses related to the position. i was basically the "wedding planner" the day of. i ran around pinning the flowers on all the groomsmen and family, tied all the bridesmaids dresses, herded everyone around for pictures, etc. it was great and i still got a sweet gift. the girls got cute victoria's secret bags with lotion and stuff inside. the bags are cute enough to use as a normal purse. the bridesmaids got the bag plus the wedding jewelry AND an individual personalized gift (basically something from things remembered with our names engraved).

the whole thing was amazing, what a fun weekend. i know this isn't the norm for a wedding but the couple are from two different continents (US and Europe) so they had family from literally all over the world, so they went out of their way to make it a vacation weekend for the out of towners.

5/26/2009 11:09:26 AM

Quote :

"heh it sounded like you had no idea that you were supposed to give gifts but were very well versed in how people should give you gifts - that's why i made the comment"

i didn't read the whole book, just went and looked up the shower part when it was brought up here. a family friend loaned it to me and i haven't really made any use of it. my question was more rhetorical than anything. i had been told/heard it before, but hadn't thought of it in a long long time, basically completely forgotten. anyway, it's done.

5/26/2009 11:43:41 AM

^I pick up my dress tomorrow
Got the shoes on Sunday

5/26/2009 11:58:38 PM

i found something to wear under my dress last night at jcpenny (thanks for the suggestion!). i wasn't the brand mentioned but it works, and i later found the same thing at belk for $12 more.

i have to do the bridal portrait today and it will be a trial run kinda thing as far as makeup and putting everything on.

mom is being a super bitch. i can't wait til this is over. she's so fixated on stupid little details that NO ONE will notice the day of the wedding. i didn't want to have this kind of wedding, it's all her doing, so i don't feel as bad that she's so stressed out. i mean, she cares and she wants the best for me, but THIS IS NOT WHAT I WANTED. whatever. it'll be over in 10 days and we will be 2,414 miles away.

5/27/2009 8:55:50 AM

awesome--glad those worked out for you

5/27/2009 9:47:13 AM

^^ I'm sorry your mom is making this into something you don't want

I love the "well, it isn't in my budget... so if you think it's important you can pay for it" line. It has made working with my mother much more manageable (she's super traditional, thinks silk flowers are tacky, simplicity looks cheap, etc).

I attended a wedding this past weekend at the Basilica in Balitmore, MD. I can only hope that mine will be as much fun! It helped me to see that simple table centerpieces really are enough and it's ok if not everything goes smoothly! The open bar was rather nice, although I didn't get to fully take advantage of it because I ended up being the DD for the groomsmen . I think I enjoyed the coffee with the cake most of all. The groom's grandfather bought a box of REALLY nice cigars and that was probably the biggest hit of the night.

[Edited on May 27, 2009 at 12:36 PM. Reason : ]

5/27/2009 12:31:55 PM

se7entythree, I know your wedding is just around the corner, but I thought you would enjoy this. A while back, you mentioned that you wanted lego people for cake toppers. I came across this today, and immediately thought of that! These are all lego themed cakes, and they turned out pretty awesome.

http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2009/05/sunday-sweets-legos.html

[Edited on May 28, 2009 at 8:10 PM. Reason : ]

5/28/2009 8:09:38 PM

holy crap that's awesome!

5/29/2009 8:33:57 AM

If you're planning on purchasing your own alcohol for your wedding, definitely go to Total Wine. We priced everywhere (costco and the like included) but there, and we wish we had after.

We bought most of our beer at food lion, but after having a hard time finding 12 packs of Magic Hat No 9 (when did they stop selling those? i know they used to...all we could find were the variety packs) we went to Total Wine as they had it in cases. PBR was the same $ per 12 pk, but 12 pk Corona was $2 cheaper and 20 pk of Bud Light was $1 cheaper. Pacifico, which was our original plan b4 the sticker shock of $17 a 12 pk in grocery stores turned us to Corona, was a cool $14 a 12 pk :/

5/30/2009 11:27:10 PM

if you are looking for cheap wine that is pretty good,
we were recommended "rockbrook" wine, which is around $5-$6 a bottle
i tried the chardonney, savignon blanc, and a shiraz today and they were all pretty good
they also have a cabernet and merlot but because our reception is outside in august i think we are going to stick mainly with white wines and only offer one red.

6/1/2009 1:27:11 AM

tww comes through again. a couple people in tech talk cut up a jimmy buffett song for me so dad and i can dance to it w/o the harmonica solo. awesome! my parents are so thankful for tww (just the good parts, they aren't aware of how bad the bad parts are). after the last time tww helped, for somewhere to find japanese maples, mom asked if she could join. LOL i told her she didn't have the backbone and would never get the rules.

tww, my parents love you

TWO MORE DAYS!!!

6/4/2009 7:48:33 AM

Yay! They were productive for something!

6/4/2009 8:27:26 AM

Olga now has my dress... we'll see how it turns out!
I could already tell that she has the eye for detail I was looking for... and her personality is hilarious I can't wait to see what she does with it! (Not sure she is as excited... she has to hem at least 5 layers by 6+ inches from the waist )

[Edited on June 4, 2009 at 11:49 AM. Reason : ]

6/4/2009 11:48:46 AM

ONE MORE DAY!!!!

the tent and bathrooms and stuff were put up yesterday. it looks really good. im very excited

6/5/2009 9:09:17 AM

I HAVE A HUSBAND!!!!!

btw, it does not get dark in whitefish MT until after 10pm. how did all those people who had been here forget to tell us about this????

6/8/2009 9:53:35 AM

I too have a husband

fabulous day--just, wow!

6/9/2009 4:52:28 PM

^, ^^ congrats

6/9/2009 5:13:51 PM

congrats!


hehe lk yall are on the front page: http://www.wilmingtonncpetphotographer.com/

6/9/2009 8:06:29 PM

I know! He's had those on his pet photography page since February-ish. Sabrina is in a few more throughout that page too! I love our photographer...highly recommend him

And thanks

6/10/2009 12:34:51 AM

^ ok somehow i was able to stalk (via facebook) one of your wedding albums. i guess because saps was tagged in it so it let me look at the whole thing! anyways, besides the fact that i'm quasi creepy, i wanted to say 1) the train on your dress OMG. way pretty. my favorite picture (that i was allowed to see, because yes, i did try to stalk the rest of the pictures and yes, i was totally blocked by facebook haha) was one of the portraits of you in the grass with the train all around you!!! and 2) i LOVE the color of your bridesmaids dresses!

and finally i was also allowed to stalk someone else's album (because livinproof was tagged) and i got to see your rehearsal dinner set up which looked sooo nice and beachy and i want the dress that you wore for it.

ok that is all. i'm not that creepy i swear. some pictures just happened to show up on my facebook home page and i just happened to stalk the rest of them

6/11/2009 5:43:12 PM

Yay! Our pictures are up, and incredibly fast too (wedding was just on Saturday).

http://www.peggyrogersonphotography.com and click on clients, and Francis Spence Wedding.

6/11/2009 8:11:49 PM

^ I don't know why, but the pic of the dog and little girl on the front page creep me out

6/11/2009 8:42:54 PM

Yeah, that was one of her earlier shots. She's improved so much in the past few years, she's only been doing photography for about 5 years. But she's gotten really talented, and you have to use family if they're available!

And it's probably the bangs on the girl that freak you out if anything... but that's Martin County for you.

[Edited on June 11, 2009 at 8:49 PM. Reason : ]

6/11/2009 8:48:15 PM

khcadwal thank you!!! if you want to see more (and not be creepy) or be fb friends ( ) that could be arranged

6/11/2009 10:33:37 PM

leaving for FL on Sunday, get on the ship on Monday, married on Wednesday.

PUMPED AS SHIT

hahaha

6/12/2009 8:57:42 AM

message_topic.aspx?topic=568405

thought this should go here for the ladies in this thread. like a public service announcement.

6/12/2009 12:27:15 PM

What have you all done for tablecloths? I need table coverings for 6 60" and 20 72" round tables. The best I have found is $17 to rent 120" round tablecloths. I found some for the same price to purchase on Ebay, but I ordered a test one and the color looked beyond AWFUL. My current rental quote is just shy of $1,000 for 26 tablecloths and 100 chairs. IMO, this is ridiculous. I don't think I can rent the chairs elsewhere, but if anyone has a cheaper tablecloth idea, let me know! I have looked everywhere I know, and no one sells larger than a 90" round off the shelf (cheapest is at Sam's Club in the catering/banquet food section). Is there a linens manufacturer/warehouse between Raleigh & Asheville?? I need 20 red and 6 white if possible... so matching the red does make the search more difficult. I will probably have plenty of uses for these down the road... so if I could find decent ones to purchase for the same price, it would still be worth it!!!!! Thanks!

6/18/2009 1:17:24 AM

Are the tables good looking enough that you could get away with not having whole tablecloths?

6/18/2009 3:35:25 AM

No That's why I switched from white to red on the 72" rounds. You could see through them and see how ugly the tables were. I'm making my own overlays for the 60" rounds (two completely separate seating areas) to obscure those.

6/18/2009 11:29:06 AM