Saturday, March 27, 2010

Sweetheart Chairs

Generally, our wedding planning process goes something like this:

Me: Hey future husband, what do you think about wearing a suit instead of a tux/getting married on a farm/having a candy bar/misc other suggestion?
Dave: Ummm...ok!

While I'm inclined to believe Dave's blanket acceptance has less to do with my amazing pitching skills and more with his (admittedly, reasonable) point that we are not actually planning a wedding right now, I still get excited when I can get him excited about some little detail I've thought up to make our wedding special.

Like: chairs!


These beauties, of course, come with a story. They're the same chairs from the dining hall in our college dorm, Cabot House, where we met. The dining hall was sort of the main social space in our dorm, and on mammoth study days people would stay in there for hours, a growing pile of trays and empty coffee cups surrounding them.

I have very fond memories of long lunches and dinners with friends, although I have absolutely no memory of the meal where Dave and I actually met (introduced by mutual friends). I also have no memory of the lunch a few days later where, sitting by myself doing a crossword puzzle, I was approached by a cute, friendly Dave, who...I completely blew off? Yes, I am a sharp one...

In any case, love prevailed, and the Cabot House dining hall remains a very special place to both of us. When our house master decided a few years ago to replace the chairs, I suggested that Dave (newly graduated and moved into an apartment down the street) ask for a few of the old chairs. After he moved out, we packed up two of the chairs to keep.

Initially, I'd thought they would just be sweet mementos to have around our house--Mom and Dad used to sit in these chairs and study until their butts went numb! --but then I had the idea about incorporating them into the wedding somehow, maybe at a sweetheart table at the reception.*

It feels very full circle to be sitting at our wedding in the same chairs where we met. Plus, Cabot chairs! Aren't they nice?

*wedding lexicon alert! A sweetheart table is a table where just the bride and groom sit together at the reception. Can you believe I used to study comparative literature and now I spend my braincells on this?

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Proof that there is Logic in the Universe

Dave and I are in Charleston right now, taking a little spring break vacation (him from graduate school, me from a job where insane narcissistic econo-bloggers choose to sacrifice innocent radio producers on the altar of self promotion. what me bitter? noooo...), and on our lovely travels we stopped by a cute little vintage store wherein they had for sale.....

(dramatic pause)

...LITTLE RED COWGIRL BOOTS!!!


kickin up some heels...

Like, exactly what I have been looking for but have never been able to find! They are calf-high, pointy-toed, bright bright red, nicely embroidered, fit perfectly, exist perfectly! I had a half second debate whether I should buy them or not--"But will I ever really wear them in real life?" I asked. "You blogged about them," Dave said, "you have to buy them."--and of course, the moment I handed over my debit card I knew I had made the right decision.

I spent the rest of the night interrupting the conversation to say "No, but really, aren't they soooo cute???" And it's still hard for me to pass them in the hall without wanting to put them on and go dancin.

Now all I need is a sweet full-skirted wedding gown to go with them...

Dave took this picture.
I was so excited about the boots I put them on as soon as we got outside the shop.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Cake like WOAH


Going with our laid back, chill out, keepin it simple wedding planning style, Dave and I really aren't planning an over the top cake (cake shaped like a 6-foot statue of myself? do not want). And while I have been known to swoon over the Martha Stewart Wedding Cakes book (hello lovelies...), I'm hoping we do fondant-free because, let's be honest here, fondant does not taste good.

Something plain and white and pretty, sitting atop a cake stand, is more to our style (although I think Dave's style, when it comes to cake, is fairly broad...). I like this pretty garland one (Dave says no to maps--again--so we would have to do something different). It's muted colors, traditional shape, clean lines--it is beautiful without being fussy, fancy without being over the top, simple without being boring.

Or, at least, not tooo boring. It'd be nice to have a cake with a little pop and personality, like crisp white frosting covering a WOAH of color:


The rainbow might be a little too Lisa Frank for a wedding, but a nice color gradient? How cool would that be?


I am 90% sure that the top cake is by d.sharp, although I am dumb and forgot to make any notations when I saved this picture 5 months ago. In any case, they have very pretty white cakes with little vintagey strings of garland. They are pretty. Hurrah.

The bottom cake is by Kaitlin, from Whisk Kid. I think she is not a professional baker, but just one of those ridiculously talented people who are just like "What? Oh, this? Yeah, I had nothing to do while I was waiting for my pedicure to dry." Who are these people and how do I befriend them before our wedding?

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Blast from the Past


While cleaning my room today I came across
this picture of my mom on her wedding day.
I've had this picture for years, and it's very strange to think
that I'm in the same position now that she was then.

Isn't she pretty?

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Save the Date (Place)


Because in my alternate happy life I am a designer/cartoonist/cupcake bakery owner, I've been enjoying playing around with mock save the dates and invites for our wedding. I put this one together last week. The numbers are longitude/latitude coordinates of all the places Dave and I have lived over the years, with a heart next to the coordinates for Morristown, NJ, where we're getting married.

I think the thing we're most excited for (aside from the general rah rah yay we're married feelings one should have) is living together in the same place after our years of long-distancing it, and we're looking for ways for our wedding to reflect that. Dave has already vetoed going for the obvious "maps" theme (fiance sez: "That is weird and cliche. We don't care about maps. They are not our thing."), but we're thinking about other ways to show our journeys around the world, the hours we've spent traveling to see each other, the time of our lives where constant movement was the norm, and the happiness we feel knowing that we can, finally, stay still.

I am not toootally in love with this Save-the-Date design, since it's a little obscure, but I also don't want to include a very obvious HI WE ARE COORDINATES OF PLACES!!! note anywhere. Dave also thinks we should include La Plata, Argentina, where he lived for the first three months of our relationship (we have a lot of long-distance practice...). I am still iffy, although I think it's pretty and like the basic concept (also like that I did it in about 3 minutes).

From top to bottom: Morris Plains, NJ (my hometown); Moorestown, NJ (Dave's hometown); Cambridge, MA (where we went to school and met); Astoria, NY (where I live now); Potes, Spain (where we got engaged); Chicago, IL (where Dave lives now); and Morristown, NJ (where we're gettin hitched)

Dear Shocked/Concerned Friends and Family: The Save the Date date is not for realsies, I just stuck in a somewhat random and semi-plausible day to see how it looked. Don't go savin nothin yet. Love, K+D

Thursday, March 4, 2010

The Happiest Song in the World


Let me just put it out there, I am a Gleek. And while Dave and I are still on the Great Wedding Music Hunt, there is one song that I know I will dance to at my wedding: the Glee girls' mash-up of "Walkin' On Sunshine" and "Halo," also known as the happiest song in the world. It is like taking pure perkiness and distilling it into 2 minutes and 6 seconds. Every time I put it on I can't help but dance around like a foo'--I just love how it so well expresses the crazy joy you feel when you've found the person you looove.

And, it's also possible I love it so much because those girls look downright adorable in their pretty yellow frocks (big hair? headbands? little silver flats? yes please). I'm thinking of throwing my bridesmaids into yellow (except Evie, my MOH extraordinaire, has requested a color that doesn't wash her out) or wearing some yellow shoes or requesting Dave stick a little yellow flower in his boutonniere. It's a nice little ray of sunshine. Here are some of my faves:


This is Quinn's dress, from Calvin Klein.
It's sold out, but I am like 80% positive I saw it at Marshall's for half off last week
(let's all give it up for the big M)



My first obsession, wedding-planning-wise, were daffodils.
"Let's have a daffodil-themed wedding!" I shouted.
"Um...whaa?" Dave asked.
It was a dark time, filled with many brightly-colored flowers.
The obsession has since waned ('specially because we're probably having a fall wedding),
but I still like this daffodil bouquet ($37 from EdenProject)
and matching boutonniere ($5 from Blooming Gorgeous)


My gown (spoiler alert!) will probably be strapless
I love this sweet garden-themed necklace ($48 from Anthropologie)


I'm pretty much set on wearing yellow shoes, something with some sunshine,
and whimsy, and a bright dash of color.
These suede beauties (by Joan & David, $155.04 from Zappos) are pretty sweet.

Then again, these cuties (by Asics, $64.99 from Online Shoes) ain't too bad either


Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Thoughts on Engagement

A really interesting post on A Practical Wedding, Engagements And Proposals, Part I. It raised a lot of questions for me: should proposals be a surprise? should they happen by a mutual decision between the couple? yay or nay on women proposing to men? what's the deal with proposals being some sort of cosmic test for men to pass to woo their women (right location, right ring, right timing)?

I'm still thinking about and writing about these questions, trying to sort through in my head, but I thought my non-wedding-blog-reading audience (hello family!) might appreciate reading Meg's post (and the 90+ comments from her army of thoughtful readers).

Monday, March 1, 2010

Kids n Babies

Baby Adam. Future ring bearer? Eh, he's gotta learn to walk first.

I was reading a wedding blog the other day (yeah, I get it, walking stereotype, whatevs), and it highly, highly recommended banning kids and babies from weddings and receptions. "They're no fun for kids! This is a classy affair! Parents want the break! They're going to cryyyyyy!!!" Which got me thinking, yay or nay on the toddler set?

Because I'm relatively young, I don't have any close friends with kids. With the exception of my future nephew-in-law, Adam, everyone in the immediate family is old enough to grab a beer at our reception. Still, there are several babies of cousins who we plan on inviting (who will likely be rambunctious 2-3 year olds by the time we tie the knot). I've been to "adults-only" weddings and receptions, and ones where kids got their own kid-friendly mini reception (all the adults were envious of the cookies and cakes playland my cousins had for the kids at their Alabama wedding).

I've seen kids have mini meltdowns and seen them charmingly ooh and aah over the brides, and to me, it simply will not be a complete celebration if my littlest family members aren't there. And I get it, kids are unpredictable. They run around and scream and talk very loudly and press cake-covered hands all over white gowns. But my attitude is, they're kids. What do you expect? I'm not inviting them to get up on stage and sing "Fly Me to the Moon" (although how adorable would that be?). If the worst that happens at our wedding is some kid loses his cool and knocks over the cake, ok, it happens, and you deal with it.

If we end up at the reception hall where we're thinking of, we're planning to set aside one of the rooms as the kid room. Throw a TV in there, some Disney movies, hire a couple of baby sitters, and order a pizza--the kids'll be happy to have some space to chill out should the reception prove too boring, the parents'll be happy to drop them off somewhere and enjoy themselves, and Dave and I will be able to coo and snuggle our favorite toddlers.