Props to Laura219 & italia134! So, so true... :)
I have GIVEN UP trying to plan a small ceremony & reception of about 60 - 65 people. I think it will be about 85 - 100. Whimper... neither of us wants a big affair; we'd prefer something smaller and more intimate, but that's about as small & intimate as it's going to get!
The date is October 8, 2005. We're getting married at my childhood home, which is a federalist period farmhouse (that's just after colonial) w/ a big old yard & lovely gardens/patio.
One of the reasons I want to get married at home is that since the Revolutionary War only three (white) families have owned the land our house is on. The original land grant was to a General Wilkins for service in the Revolutionary War. Our house was built in 1799 by the Shaw family, who bought the property from Gen. Wilkins. The Shaw's owned it until 1970, when my parents bought the house (which was the eyesore of the neighborhood at the time... it was literally sagging in the middle.) I think it's so cool that in all that time only three families have owned the property and that mine is one of them! There are so many things that have happened in that house since it was built: weddings, funerals, births & deaths. It would be an honor to join the other brides who've been married in that house. I don't know how many belong to that number, but I love the idea of being part of that group of women!
Drew & I at McConnell's Mill
me & my honey (in front of the so-big-you-can-stand-in-it fireplace)
drew & i are on the right (w/ my dear, dear friends john & wendi, who live in san francisco. we're at chez panisse in berkeley, ca., for supper, oct. 2003)
my matron of honor & best cousin, lisa conroy wright!
with my best friend kendra (in blue), also one of my bridesmaids!!! (w/ some of her pals after A LOT of sangria, on haight street, also on our trip to california in october 2003)
and here is my best friend darcy, another of my beautiful bridesmaids, with her friend at a fancy swing dance party last year (i think). darcy's THE BEST, and my favorite mischief pixie!!!
my niece, rachel, who is the youngest member of the wedding party at 14. don't be fooled by her youth... this girl has more personal style than you can shake a stick at!
Zinger! (aka Zing-Zing, Zing-a-Ling, Zingy, Little Dog & The Beast of a Thousand Wags)
... and our other little furry: Little
My 2nd Fitting!!!! 9/15/05
I am SOOOOOOOOO excited with how my dress is coming along! It actually is fitting me, and by the next fitting it should be done! Whoopee!!!! Thanks to Lisa Price for coming along for the whole 20 minute extravaganza and taking pics before I bailed on her & headed home to look after my sick sweetie. You rock, babe!
Can you tell I'm excited?
with ms. price in the mirror
a close up of the bodice
bustle shots
good pic of the embroidery on the front and the skirt
the embroidery that goes around the entire edge of the skirt & train
red shoes peeking out!
i feel like cinderella!!!!!
A Few Shower Pics
my wonderful sil, popie, made these cookies and put together this awesome cookie tray for the shower!
me and my aunt margie, who is 86, and the sweetest lady i know.
opening the crucifix my aunt mary, a nun, gave me for our home
eating! with my aunt margie & girl friends lisa (left) and allison (right)
thanks to lisa price i now know how to cook EVERYTHING!
Yum, yum, and double yum! Lemon raspberry from the French Bakery, which is what our wedding cake will be...
and some apricot praline for good measure.
MY DRESS!!!! by Janell Bert� (but in ivory, not white.) can i tell you how much i LOVE my dress? i LOVE it! i just dropped it off for alterations last week (late july) and cannot wait until my next fitting appointment... sigh!
i look COMPLETELY dorky, but you can see the bodice detail a little better in this one
two pics of the veil i made for $12 (tho it is shorter than in 2nd pic as i trimmed it. it now reaches down to just below my knees. pls excuse the coffee stain on my shirt... had a mishap in the car earler!))
my shoes!!! i bought enough of the fabric for the bm's dresses to make one for myself, and i thought it would be fun to dye my shoes red. i LOVE how they turned out!
i have decided on an Asian theme, so lots of paper lanterns for the tent. the colors will be red (red is good luck in chinese culture & one of my favorites) & purple (drew's favorite, go figure), with some orange accents. i want our wedding to look like a sunset! i know there's a huge garish potential with those colors, but i think we can pull it off.
my bridesmaids will be wearing Cheongsams, traditional chinese dresses similar to this one...
...but using this fabric
And here's one of the bridesmaid dresses! this is my niece's dress, which is almost done. I fitted it last week & now i just have to get my hands on her again to hem it! i am very happy with how the dress has turned out.
some of the dress embellishment
favors! inside are teabags... china black & oriental rose teas, by stash. the stickers are double happiness... they came out a little fuzzy. the picture really doesn't do them justice... i am VERY pleased with how they turned out!
my bouquet. I LOVE IT! i call it the opulent bouquet... will need to do some substitutions...sweetpeas in october? i think not. we'll probably use lisianthus tucked deep in the bouquet to give the same ruffly effect.
my bridesmaids bouquets... the last incarnation of them, too! my florist & i decided that it would be better with the bm's dresses, as they have a lot going on visually, and now that i am using a bouquet with calas they tie in nicely!
my parents' house and site of our wedding. the tent will be in the yard, to the right of the house in this picture. if you look on the left you can see a building with 4 columns. we call it the shack, and the ceremony will be right in front of it.
my dad in his garden behind the house
the upper back yard, right behind the house. the garden in the previous picture is on your left, the house on the right. the tent will be just beyond the garden directly in front of you.
here i am on the porch of the shack, circa 1972. gotta love 70's fashion! this is where we'll be for the ceremony. the shack looks a little shabby in this picture & at the moment, but with some fresh paint & new windows it'll look great!
and here's the shack, circa 2005, with a fresh coat of paint! my dad just finished painting it last week and it looks sensational! i cannot wait to get married in front of it!!!
front view... we will be standing right in front of the steps for the ceremony, with guests on either side. the bunches of lanterns (see below) that we are using to decorate the shack will be hanging in front of the windows, and the wreath (also see below) will be on the door. we will put either impatiens or mums on the steps, and obviously all the ladders, paint, etc., will not be there.
this is actually the side of the garage, with the new door. i think the clematis that my folks planted (on trellis) is so beautiful. we will be taking a few pictures in front of it. and you can see the white impatiens that i'd like to put on the steps of the shack for the ceremony.
lanterns! we are having a ton of red lanterns like the one below, 72 of them are 16", 12 of them of 12". sixty of the 16" lanterns will be used in the tent and will be lit, hanging either around the perimeter of the 40' hexagonal tent, or, from each of the six corners going up to meet in the center. the rest of the lanterns will be used to decorate the ceremony site, half on each side, like the lanterns above the table in the picture below.
the effect i'm going for at our ceremony site with the lanterns. pics of the newly painted site & my folks house coming soon...
i love this saturated red palette, although i don't think it's what we're going to end up with. one of my original lantern inspirations. martha stewart: inspiration or bane of all brides on a budget? talk amongst yourselves...
Branches (courtesy of yammers.) i decided to do these myself and my wonderful, totally gifted & amazing sister-in-law has not only taken charge of the project, but she & my brother are paying for them as a wedding present! so, so sweet and generous of them! we are scrapping the flowers, however, but to bring red into the centerpiece we are going to anchor the branches in red glass beads.
the original plan was to use the dahlias that my dad grows, which are always so gorgeous, but unfortunately the bulbs he'd been using for years got this mold over the winter and we have been seriously underwhemled with the ones we bought. so... no flowers, but it should still look cool.
place card & table number idea... my florist is looking into the price of bamboo!
we will have one of these wreaths for the door of the shack (which is what we call the building we're doing the ceremony in front of, but trust me, it looks much more charming that its name would suggest!)
save the date postcards (4"x6")
front
the back says "We aren't sure about the afterlife, but we are getting married!"
our invitations, but our type is in black.
hair:
i have finally decided how i want to wear my hair, which is just like the this. i might pull it back on both sides, not sure yet, but this is the look i am going for.
i will use brown barettes to pull my hair back and use these decorative combs (two on each side, if i pull both sides back.)
when i thought i was going to have an updo, i wanted something like this (from the spring/summer 2004 knot magazine)
ideas i love but can't work in (leaf altar courtesy of ORAutumnBride)
chinese lantern flowers
i love this, but just using the first tier of carnations. it could be either flush on the table or on a stand; i was thinking candles in the middle & outside.
i love this cake and had planned on using it but i think we are going to have the cake decorated with a plum blossom design like our invitations
my original bridal bouquet idea
the second bridal bouquet idea... God, but do i love this bouquet. it's so lovely! i was going to have the orangy-yellow colored roses for the center, instead of purple. then i was going to use it for the bm's, but it was a bit too busy with their dresses.
i love this bouquet for my bm's
this one is SO COOL! made of honeywort, green tomatoes, ornamental pineapples and european ginger.
this one doesn't work w/ our color scheme at all but i think it's so beautiful...
my e-ring!!!!! these pictures suck (i took them w/ my picture phone) but I LOVE IT!!!! (from Henne Jewelers in Shadyside. we just bought it this past saturday, may 15th)
some dresses i like...
by Janell Bert� Couture
Our pre-wedding trip to Aruba... it was tough, but somehow we managed! ;) And yes, the water really is every single one of those amazing colors
Here's a picture of the island 'our' beach was on. It was AMAZING!!! We liked the beach on the right best, and that's where all of our beach pictures were taken. We stayed at the Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino. We really loved it, and once Drew gets other exotic destinations out of his system, I want to go back!
At the beach
Isn't he just the cutest thing?
Three Pictures of 'our' Beach
That's the hammock we loved best sticking out on the righthand side of the picture.
There were even flamingoes!!!
if i have pictures from your bio and you want them credited to you please page me on the pittsburgh board! i didn't know about crediting people when i started my bio, but i am starting to do so as of now.
Interesting Planning Resources
Visit the Celtic_Wedding bio
VENDORS
Cake: Chatellier's Bakery (aka The French Bakery), 213 North Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15209, (412) 821-8533
Catering: Yes, We Cater! (724) 516-9698, yeswecater@hotmail.com; John Vallese, Owner/Consultant
DJ: Andy Hutelmyer, All Around Sound, (412) 427-1207
Dress: Carlisle's of Pgh, (412) 562-5800
Flowers: Allison McGeary Floral & Event Design
Invitations: iCatching Cards
Video: Pittsburgh Wedding DVD; (412) 445-4705
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