My handsome men!

Last week, my mom and I did lots of searching for suits for the guys in the wedding! We decided to go with buying them, since renting can get close to the cost of buying them! Especially since we are going with navy!

The best deals that my mom found were at J.C. Penney’s. I rarely shop there, but I have heard other people say that they’ve found good deals on suits. She found a manager that is working with us, to get us the best, discounted price! And because we’re buying at least 8, he’s giving us a really good deal!

Here’s some pics of myself and my good looking men! Please excuse the fact that I didn’t fix my hair or put on make-up! I knew I was going to be a bridesmaid “stand-in”, but didn’t think about fixing myself up! ) And Ray was complaining that he didn’t fix his hair either, and you’ll notice his brown flip flops in a few pics- don’t worry, he’s not wearing those!! And the BM’s aren’t going barefoot like I am! ) They will look much prettier!

 Here’s myself with my handsome fiance- who reverted to his old picture taking ways with a goofy face! But hey, remember, these pics are about the clothes!! )

I absolutely love the tie that we picked out for him– from Dillard’s. It cost a bit, but the stripes in it match the dress and the groomsmen ties perfectly (see groomsman tie below on my dad!), and we’re going to keep looking for it to go on sale!

Here’s the Father of the Bride joining us…. He’s wearing one of the ties we got for the groomsmen and possibly for him too, from Ross. It is a light teal blue with some faint paisley outlines.

Tie up close on Father of the Bride…..

We had the guys in black shoes, but tried them out with brown as well…..ummmmm….we’ll go with black!!

And the three of us go for a stroll in the sun………..

We’re pretty set on these suits, just need to gather up the groomsmen and his dad’s sizes then off we’ll go to purchase them all! We might change his dad and my dad’s ties, but the groom is set and so are the groomsmen!  They also go lovely with my flowers as well, which I forgot to bring to the “photo-shoot” but here’s a pic to remind you!

 

I can’t wait to see it all put together in the end!!!

 

Shoes, shoes, shoes!!

Myself and my girls have been searching for shoes to go with the bridesmaid dresses for awhile now! And it was my mom who came to the rescue!!

This isn’t the best pic, so get look at the ones below to get a better idea! They just about perfectly match the navy in the sashes the girls are wearing!

She found these shoes at Kohl’s- on sale for $19.99 – 50% off!! Plus for the last few days (and until Tues 5/20) if you use your credit card you get a scratch off card for a chance at another 15%, 20%, or 30% off!  (online they are only in gold and silver. In store, I didn’t even see gold and silver!!)

So during the yard sale, I tried them on, tested them out with the dress, and called/sent texts to all my girls to find out shoe sizes! Then my mom even called a couple different stores to check on who has what sizes!

Then after the yard sale, it was off to buy the shoes! Of course, in my crazy shopping past, I had a Kohl’s credit card! ) So once we got there, I reactivated it and used it to purchase the 3 more pairs we bought (my cuz is buying her own up in OH because her mom has a card!). So I don’t get myself in trouble again, we paid it off immediately with a check from my wedding account and I’ll need to destroy the new card as soon as it comes- for my own future sanity!

They also had these super cute styles, colors….

Love the red/white polka-dot ones!

Like Fine China

Most girl’s dream about their wedding day practically from the moment they are born! I’m one of those girl’s, but one who also dreamt of my own fine china some day! Silly, I know….but I have always loved looking in my mom’s china cabinet and seeing all the beautiful things she has there from her own wedding. Her china is very basic and simple, but because so many of the accent pieces say my maiden name on them, I won’t be the one inheriting her main set! I have however already staked my claim on a smaller set of dishes! Don’t worry, my mom is well aware of it!!

So right after I got engaged, along with looking for a dress and locations and all those other things a girl needs, I started looking for China! This set above was one of the first ones I saw and quickly fell in love with!

Don’t be shocked by the price!! This is a picture from Macy’s. I ended up not registering there (awful customer service and there just wasn’t a lot there I wanted!). Instead, I’ve registered for these at Bed, Bath, & Beyond where they are half the price at Macy’s!! You know I love bargains like that!! (Plus, everyone can use those 20% off coupons we all get in the mail from BBB!!) I didn’t even know that BBB carried china, since I’d never really looked, but as soon as we walked into the office they have to help you set up your registery, there they were! In pink…but I knew they just had to have the blue too!! It was a sign that I HAD to register there and HAD to get those plates!! I did spare Ray from having to eat off the pink ones though!

They are from Wedgewood China’s Vera Wang Collection and is called Blue Duchesse. How elegant does that sound? And Vera Wang??!! Sweet!! It has just a tiny bit of blue around the edge of each piece. A very subtle way to show off my personality!

I also chose this individual plate from Waterford’s Ballet Collection, which I LOVE, but I felt that the ballet loops on every piece would be a bit too overwhelming! This plate perfectly compliments the Vera Wang set!

 

I can’t wait to have people over for dinner to serve them with my new fine china!! (And to have the time to actually cook dinner!!)

I love cheap, cute little gifts!

Now that all of my bridesmaids have received their little packages, I can blog about it! )

I prepared a little package with a few little gifts for all my girls, and included a letter with important wedding details and time lines. I LOVE all my girls, and don’t know what I’d do with out any one of them! I’m so excited to have them all stand by me on my big day!! I always wondered what I would do after having been in TEN weddings as a bridesmaid, but they’ve all made it pretty easy for me! There was no question when it came down to it, of who I wanted standing by me on that big day!!

I’ve been collecting LOTS of stuff for my girls– some of which I won’t mention here since they won’t get them for awhile, but I will tell you where I’m picking up some of it! )

This is what I included in the package I just sent them all!

I got some fun stamps at  The Dollar Tree which I used to decorate the envelopes that I put the letters in and also the outside packaging, the cute paper was also from The Dollar Tree, left over from my letters to my 5th grade students last year. I got nail files (regular and matchbook style) and bridesmaid luggage tags at JoAnn’s (which I got way back, but saw them today when I was there!), Cocktails for Dummies from Target (so much fun and Linda’s fave gift!),  and also included my Save the Date magnets.

I’ve gotten lots of other stuff for them at Michael’s (the same day I got the stuff for the kid’s table), Target’s One Spot Section, more stuff from JoAnn’s, and much more!! And stuff for my flower girl’s too!

Speaking of those places, I’ve also bought some stuff lately to help keep me organized! I found lately I can’t have enough notepads, sticky notes and file organizers! I’ve always loved sticky notes for school, but I find myself using them all over the place to write small to-do lists or important reminders! There is SOOO much to do, it’s impossible to keep up with it all!

Here’s some stuff I’ve gotten recently…

The striped file folder and adorable citronella candles (for me, not oranizing!) for $2.50 from Target’s spot section. Everything else is from JoAnn’s – they have $1 items in the front by the checkout, and by fabrics. I got black and pink file organizers and labels, note pad, sticky notes, and cute little blue emery boards.

Kerri says I’ll buy anything if it’s a dollar…..not true, I’ve learned to pick the good stuff out, but you are way more likely to see me spend $30 on 30 things, than $30 on one thing!! ) And why not with all the cute stuff out there!!

Speaking of Target and my current love/hate relationship (love shopping there, hating registering there and about to take it down!), if you’ve never seen this site, it is a must for Target lovers!!  Great blog– Slave to Target

Fun shops for gifts, invitations, and more!

 

I looooove to shop! I don’t know many girl’s who don’t!! There are a few shops in Nashville that I love, but I am starting to discover more throughout my wedding planning! I’m also a sucker for little beach or gift shops in and around Wilmington, NC (one of my fave places in the world!)

The other day my mom had me check out the Puffy Muffin  on Franklin Road in Brentwood, TN for our bridal luncheon. It’s cute, but I think their room is too small for us! Anyways, next door is an ADORABLE store- Hot Pink. I’d seen it before, and always wanted to stop in, but I hadn’t  yet! Kerri was with me, and well…I didn’t have to twist her arm to go into a cute store and do some shopping!! We really just browsed because we’d already both spent too much money at the mall, but I did see some beautiful stuff!! I’ve heard that the sales people aren’t that friendly, and they didn’t really talk to us, but I was too interested in browsing around to really notice!

I especially liked the new collection from Mindy Weiss- an elite wedding planner! Lots of her stuff is in shades of blue and is totally adorable! Slippers that say “I do,” wedding organizers, and lots more! Her stuff should be available soon online in her shop!

Here’s a small pic of her wedding organizer…

Her stuff isn’t cheap, but isn’t too overly priced either!

Here are some of my other favorite stores, or stores on my research list that carry either gift items, stationary supplies, or both!!

Hot Pink
231 Franklin Rd
Brentwood, TN
(615) 376-5552

Papyrus
The Mall at Green Hills
2126 Abbott Martin Road, Space 244 
Nashville, TN

 **Some of their stuff is also at Target and Swoozie’s (see below!), but I looooove looking around at all the stationary, cards, etc. there!!

I can already tell…this is one of those places that although I really want to go….maybe I shouldn’t!! I will want to buy it all!! ) Also in Green Hills! Check out the post and wonderful pictures from a guest blogger on Ashley’s Bride Guide

Swoozies
4015 Hillsboro Pike, Suite105
Nashville, Tennessee 37215

Bella Carte
212 White Bridge Road
Nashville, TN

There are also several stores at The Factory at Franklin that I love…..I can’t tell you the names though because I don’t think I’ve ever really paid attention!! Guess that means I have to go back. There is one in particular that sells everything from gifts, to clothing, to jewelry, to bags, that I’ve found some adorable stuff at!

That about rounds out my list for now, as my brain is telling me to stop writing and listen to my hungry stomach and feed it dinner!! Let me know some of your favorite stores like these that I can add to my “to explore” list! )