We ordered our invitations! They come with a vellum sleeve folded around them that matches the vines/periwinkle flowers motif. They should be here by the end of the week, and I'm so excited to see them! I think seeing our names together on the invitations will make everything seem like it's finally real. Here's a sample of our invitation for your viewing enjoyment:



In other news, we've decided that our favors will be small silver picture frames that double as place card holders. I found a great site to order them from, so as soon as we get a rough estimate of our guests' attendance, we'll order those too.

My next great challenge: accessories for my dress and the first fitting! Stay tuned!

The bridesmaid dresses have come in and are currently on their way to each of the girls. Hooray! Lucy's will arrive here any day now and I can't wait to see them. We also chose our videographer and swing band for the reception... so exciting! Next on our list is choosing invitations and favors. Stay tuned for more updates... :)

The bridesmaid's gowns have been ordered! You can see pictures of them at my bridesmaid's page, here. They should be in by the end of August, and all the girls love them. Everyone but Lucy has tried them on by now, and she looks good in everything, so no worries.

We've also decided on our cakemaker and florist. The cake will be done by Tasteful Creations of Chapel Hill. They make beautiful cakes! Gerry and I had so much fun at the taste testing, but we haven't decided on a flavor yet. He likes the toasted almond pound cake, and I like the chambourd poppy seed with raspberry puree filling. I don't think we can go wrong! Check out two of the styles we've got it narrowed down to:



The florist is Floral Dimensions of Durham. My bouquet will be a tight, hand-tied bunch of blush pink "Anna" roses. Everything else is still being decided! The flowergirls (Lauren, 8, and Bailey, 6) informed me that they want petals to toss and that they "don't like poofy sleeves". I'm keeping that in mind. The bridesmaids might carry a mixed wildflower nosegay in pastel colors.

Also, Gerry and I have been working on our registry. Here's our 2 sets of bedding and our china pattern. The bedding is Calvin Klein's Bamboo Flower and Royal Sateen's Haywood, and the china is Royal Worcester's Mountbatten Cobalt Platinum.

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We interviewed three photographers in April, and if I saw one more picture of a bride gazing thoughtfully out a window, I think I might have gone maaaaad, I tell you. But the search is over! We've found our wedding photographer, and it's all over now but the signing of the contract. His name is Ross Mann, and he came very highly recommended to us by the Carolina Inn. I loved his online portfolio (which you can check out at his site) and when we went to visit him, we were both really impressed with his beautiful albums. Photography was high on our priority list, so I'm glad we found someone we feel so confident about working with.

We also interviewed a DJ, and have since been locked in the great debate: DJ or band? Gerry wants a band, he thinks it'll be more fun and less cheesy. I think it's going to be harder to trust a band to play 2+ hours of songs we all like, and a DJ will naturally have a much larger available repertoire to please everyone. Plus, I'm worried that our friends will be bored by a five-piece swing/jazz combo, and no one will get out there and dance except for the formal first dance, mother/son, father/daughter combos. Hmmm. Well, the debate rages on.

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I am so excited! While I was home on Spring Break, I went dress shopping with my Mom and Renee, my sister and Maid of Honor. We had a great time, and at the first salon we went to, I found The Dress. It was about the 4th or 5th dress I tried on, and as soon as I put it on, I felt like a bride for the first time. It's just lovely... take a look:


This picture really doesn't do it justice, but it is so flattering on me; I felt elegant in it, and I had been so worried about finding a dress that didn't overwhelm me or make me look poofy. We kept shopping during the week, even trying out a discount bridal warehouse to see if we could find a deal on something better, but NO dress compared to this one. The following weekend, just before I left to come back to school, I took my Dad and Renee back to the first salon to try it on again. Even after a week of building it up in my mind, it looked even better than I'd remembered. We ordered it on the spot; it will be here in August! I chose a veil too, but i don't have a picture of it. It's a very simple embroidered satin band attached to a comb and an elbow-length veil. The veil has satin ribbon trim that looks great with the dress!

I still haven't chosen dresses for my bridesmaids; that's the next step! I had been thinking about a specific Bari Jay design, but I'm still on the lookout for dresses that will make everyone happy. To check out the bridesmaid's page, go here.

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The wedding colors will be cornflower blue and navy with silver accents. (We are Carolina students, after all!) The ceremony will be held at Orange United Methodist Church, with the reception to follow at the Carolina Inn's Chancellor's Ballroom.

Now all I have to do is book the photographer, videographer, florist, musicians, and DJ, choose favors, wedding rings, music, and book the honeymoon!

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