Need a little help from my friends!

I know what you're all thinking....Where have you been!?





It's been a tad crazy busy this summer that I've been slacking with keeping you posted. My bad! I do need your expert opinions though on what to wear for the home reception. The attire is semi-casual so I was thinking of wearing this:

This little number is by J.Crew in Ivory. I figured this would be a cute end of summer dress that I could wear a cardigan with should it be cooler than expected. Maybe a cute little necklace as well.

My FMIL e-mailed me asking if I was going to wear my dress for the HR too. I replied and told her no since I think I'll stick out like a sore thumb and people would wonder, 'why is she wearing her wedding dress a week later?' So I believe word got out to his family and his Aunt inquired as well as to why I wasn't going to wear my dress to the HR. Ugh. So i've seeked a few other outside opinions and I'm just wondering about yours.

Also please note, I have a TTD session two days after my wedding which is 5 days before the HR. I'm a little concerned that the dress won't be in tip top shape after since we'll rolling around in the sand and water and I'll have to pay for express dry cleaning when I get back.

Should I suck it up and wear the dress for the first two hours so people can get pictures in and his family can be satisfied or shall I continue with my original plan? I could possibly play it ear and see how the TTD goes and make a decision after? I just didn't want to get all dolled up and get my hair done for the HR.

What's your thoughts?

Bedazzle Flops!

Remember my 'attempt' to bedazzle my own flips flops? If not, click here. I was pretty bummed that it didn't work out and I failed miserably at what I thought was an easy DIY project.

So I caved in and decided to purchase Swarovski flip flops from an AMAZING Etsy seller JS Creations.

She not only does flip flops but she blings out custom t-shirts and tanks, hair pins etc. The process was smooth and they arrived in about two weeks. I'm actually thinking of having her make me a "Mrs." tank!


I neatly opened the tissue paper to reveal these beauties below:

How AWESOME AND AMAZINGLY cute is it that she put her own logo on them!?? I was super excited to parade these around the office to show them off. These bad boys came all the way from Hawaii which I thought was cool since our wedding is in the tropics. I highly recommend using JS Creations for hassle free purchase at a decent price.

Bling Bling Baby!

Not motivated for a wedding....

Ok so don't read into the title just yet! It's not what you think.



I had lunch with John yesterday since he's been working a lot lately and we barely saw each other this weekend since I was visiting my sister. And the conversation went a little something like this:


J: I was thinking how awesome it would be to receive pictures of you for my birthday since it's my last year as a single man.

Me: (almost spitting out my food) What? Umm you mean boudoir photos??

J: What are boudoir photos?

Me: Who put this stuff in your head?

J: No one, just a random thought.

Me: Normally a bride gives her groom the day of the wedding boudoir photos.

J: Oh, I didn't know that.

*side note: his birthday is in the middle of August*



And so the conversation continued on but I wasn't sure if he was serious or not. This came from way out of left field. I wondered who put that bug in his ear! My first reaction was not a good one but I didn't let him know that. I just kept it inside to boil. This was just so random I was still in shock. I didn't even think he knew about pictures like this.

I've never really given the idea some serious thought. I personally didn't think he would like a gift like that. I saw Mrs. Cola's Boudoir photos on WB recently and they looked amazing and she's like me "size wise" so I knew not to worry about that.

So I came back from lunch and couldn't stop thinking about this random conversation we just had. I really would love to surprise him with a little black book of photos but I don't think I have hundreds of dollars to spend right now. So I took to the classified section of WB to see if anyone is offering boudoir sessions in the NYC area. My search didn't go far since the listing was one of the first ones. Laura Pennace is a photographer who is looking to expand her work outside of wedding photography. I was shocked at the price! I thought it would be at least $1000 for a session.

So I contacted Laura and we exchanged e-mails back and forth all day and it was so easy to talk to her and ask questions. All of a sudden I got this sudden urge to get my butt to the gym so I can look good in these pictures. I thought to myself, ' a wedding doesn't motivate you but a boudoir session does. Huh, that's kind of funny.'


So as you can see the title of this post isn't what you thought it was. I am still so excited for this wedding, 81 days!


I am meeting with the photographer today to discuss ideas and get to know her better to establish a level of comfort which is her number one concern. I'm very excited and still a little in shock that I'm actually going ahead with this.

More details to come.

Have you considered a boudoir photo session?

Reality Bites....

I've been a bad blogger and I haven't updated you on a sensitive subject but I was honestly waiting for the outcome to write this post. Remember back in April I wrote about the decision to not invite his father? If not, click here.

About two weeks into May I got a text message from my FI saying to send an invitation to his father and not asking any questions and to just trust him. Ok. I wasn't exactly happy with that text but I trust him and I sent it out that day. I honestly did not think that was a smart idea because I'm sure by now (this was in May) that they got word other family members received invitations and they didn't. I was right. His sister mentioned to us over Memorial Day weekend that their father was upset he didn't get an invitation. Now it looks like we sent one just because he was upset when really my FI wanted to do the right thing and let this be his last attempt at reconnecting with his father.

It makes me sick to my stomach waiting for their reply. RSVP due date was June 1st and of course we still get responses to this day. And today was the day I opened up the envelope and saw this:

Sorry for the sideways photo but my computer is being weird and it automatically uploads like this! So tilt your head to the side if you haven't already and take a look.

CLEARLY they checked off 'will attend home reception' and then crossed it out. On purpose? By accident? Definitely on purpose and to make a point. I'm livid and I'm hurt. Its not that I didn't see this coming but you always hope to see the good in people. I called John up and told him and he just said "ok" like it was nothing. I know what happens when he is quiet like that. It will take a couple minutes to sink in before the emotion starts to show. A few minutes later I got a text saying that he will cut them a check for $800 (if you don't remember that story click on the link above) that he owes them (from 2002!) and a letter to his father which he says will now be easy to write. That's $800 that could be used to celebrate our wedding without them BUT its his money and if that's what it takes to end this chapter in his life than I'll stand by him. I don't agree but I support him.

I know that we are only months away (86 days to be exact!) from our wedding and to focus on this negative energy is a waste of time. We have the people we love sharing our special day with us and that's what should matter most. Gosh, it's easier said than done! I want to send back the RSVP card in a frame that's engraved saying "Best Dad Ever!" It's taken a lot of strength to hold back from dialing his step-mother and going off on her. But I won't.

I will just sit back and hope one day his father looks back and realizes how big of a mistake he made by not being part of his son's life. Karma.....(and now I break into a little singing ditty of Justin Timberlakes "what goes around comes around" LOL...laughter is good).

Any drama making your blood boil lately? Do you find the closer the date, the more emotions come out (i.e. drama)?

With this ring....

...I thee swoon. Or drool!

I received my wedding band in the mail the other day and I can't take my eyes off of it. Way back this winter I explained that my engagement ring was a green diamond. Oh, you don't remember? Read here. So when it came time to pick out my wedding band, it was easy as 1-2-3. I wanted a matching band. So I called up Diamond Nexus Labs and spoke to a representative. She was super sweet and she remembers working on my appraisal for my e-ring. How cool is that?? She looked up my information and had everything ready to order. It was that simple. It would take a week to create since it's a custom order and then a couple days to ship.

Say hello to my little friend.....


This little box comes in a bigger white box with a beautiful green bow and Godiva Hot Chocolate. I forgot get pictures of that since I was ripping the box open at the time, can you blame me??

Oh it's such a beautiful sight. I didn't want to take it off. And no, I don't think it's superstitious to 'try' it on before the wedding. I wanted to make sure it fit right (wink wink).

Tried to take a snazzy photo with the ring box but it didn't exactly work that way. All these photos are courtesy of my 5mp camera phone. Not bad to be honest!

And there you have it folks. Just another thing to check off the list! I couldn't be happier with our choice and I absolutely love working with this company. Not only are we doing our part for the environment but we also aren't breaking the bank.

Have you bought your band yet? Are you happy with your results? Does the box stare at you and call your name out to wear it? LOL

A little getaway 3 months prior

So yeah....today is officially 3 months until we get married!!! HELLOOOOO people! Remember when I was kicking my heels for it only being 7 months?!! Honestly it's really starting to kick in that the big day, the day I've been dreaming about since I was little is around the corner!

Since most of my vacation days and all of John's vacation days are being used for this wedding we have decided to get away for the weekend to relax and de-stress! We normally take vacations every 6 months so we are dying to go away right about now and we can't. So we are going camping with our favorite couple (and also his best man) in Eastern CT!! We went camping at the same place we did last September and had such a blast that we wanted to go again when it was a bit warmer. It's a great little getaway that doesn't cost much and we can enjoy the scenery, play games, grill on a open fire and drink beer! woohoo!!


Our campsite and hopefully the same one this time around. Little funny side note: our tent is the brand new Coleman one (orange) and our friends is the 1987 coleman version (just guessing). On our last day we woke up to a rain storm our friends old tent was swimming in a pool of rain and leaked while our tent was dry. Needless to say we bought them a new tent for our adventure and it happens to be the same tent we have so we should have no problems this time around!

Our friend Bob playing the ladder game. Ever place this while talegating?? It's awesome!

Snuggling by the campfire. *side note: this was 2 weeks before we got engaged*

End of September can be cold so we huddled by the fire.


Anybody else using all their vacation time for their wedding? If so, what are you doing to get away from the planning to unwind?

Relief at last!

So much weight has been lifted off my shoulders after this past weekend. Why you ask? Because I got to FINALLY reunite with my dress after a 6 month separation period. Remember I had a moment of insecurity and doubt? Well all the fears have gone away and I can finally sit back and know that I picked the right dress! I fell in love with it all over again! My sister helped me get it on and once it was zipped up I had the biggest smile. Although I freaked out a bit when I couldn't zip it up myself and my sister had to help but it's all good now.



I absolutely love everything about the dress and I didn't have to use 'chicken cutlets' for the "ladies" like I did initially since it made me look flat chested. Not anymore, woohoo!

I love the back, it's my favorite part of the dress and exactly why I opted out of having a veil. I didn't want to take away from the dress by wearing one. I also used my hair pieces to see if it flowed with the outfit and I couldn't be happier with my choice. My sister absolutely loved the look and asked me, "say Yes to the dress?" LOL

I'm hoping my mother can help make a simple little bustle using the buttons that go down the back of my dress since it's a smaller train. I really don't want to spend money on alterations since I don't need anything else done.

I didn't want to take my dress off to be honest. I just fell in love all over again and it made me so excited for the big day. 95 days away!! How is your dress situation going? Have you tried it on since?