I'm just sitting at my desk trying not to cry right now at how beautiful this is!
Thanks to Marie D., one of Shannon's fabulous bridesmaids, for passing this along!
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
FASCINATING!
My lovely-wifey-to-be-a-real-wifey has decided to distinguish myself as the MOH (as all bridesmaids except the junior will be in a matching amethyst Vera Wang silk chiffon gown, no big deal...) I am going to wear a fascinator in my hair.
DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY THOUSANDS OF GORGEOUS FASCINATORS THERE ARE ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB? Just use stumble upon ans select "Wedding." You'll be lost for hours !Here's one outstanding site, so beautifully laid out. Who knew fabric flowers could cost so much? I mean come on...did you mill it yourself, hand dye it, fashion it into a flower, then sprinkle it in magic fairy dust? Looks like it but I doubt it!
It's simply fascinating, and overwhelming. I want so much to just "make" mine, but there are so many fabulous international female artisans to support.
I have been corresponding with Kate(I think it's fate,) located in Australia, over etsy to have this item below custom made with emerald instead of ivory feathers:
Yes, it's $94.95, but the shipping is free, it would be custom made and one of a kind, and I would certainly wear it again to say...her daughter's baby shower...or my rehearsal dinner...the bachelorette party...who knows! Her whole shop "Spoiled Pretty" is adorable.
Can't WAIT to fascinate,
Kate
DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY THOUSANDS OF GORGEOUS FASCINATORS THERE ARE ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB? Just use stumble upon ans select "Wedding." You'll be lost for hours !Here's one outstanding site, so beautifully laid out. Who knew fabric flowers could cost so much? I mean come on...did you mill it yourself, hand dye it, fashion it into a flower, then sprinkle it in magic fairy dust? Looks like it but I doubt it!
It's simply fascinating, and overwhelming. I want so much to just "make" mine, but there are so many fabulous international female artisans to support.
I have been corresponding with Kate(I think it's fate,) located in Australia, over etsy to have this item below custom made with emerald instead of ivory feathers:
Yes, it's $94.95, but the shipping is free, it would be custom made and one of a kind, and I would certainly wear it again to say...her daughter's baby shower...or my rehearsal dinner...the bachelorette party...who knows! Her whole shop "Spoiled Pretty" is adorable.
Can't WAIT to fascinate,
Kate
The Internet Is Amazing
I am simply astounded by all the gorgeous wedding blogs out there. King of makes me feel like I need to step my game up with this one!
Where Shannon and I plan to junk all next summer long to find unique vintage doors, window panes, glass, etc. for her Vermont Country Romantic wedding, these guys took it to a whole new level of profitability and specifically rent fabulous vintage decor for weddings! I figured we'd just auction our findings on eBay or Etsy after the soiree (or put them away for ME.) Check these guys out: Milk Glass Rentals.
I mean, maybe it would be easier to rent rather than own? I have always thought a little outdoor living room scene for pictures and lounging at my wedding would be absolutely fabulous, and this makes it much easier to pull off.
Love that vintage feel,
Kate
Where Shannon and I plan to junk all next summer long to find unique vintage doors, window panes, glass, etc. for her Vermont Country Romantic wedding, these guys took it to a whole new level of profitability and specifically rent fabulous vintage decor for weddings! I figured we'd just auction our findings on eBay or Etsy after the soiree (or put them away for ME.) Check these guys out: Milk Glass Rentals.
Love that vintage feel,
Kate
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Oleg Cassini
Who? you may be asking.
Oleg Cassini was a French designer whose clients included the late and elegantly dressed Jackie Kennedy. His latest client? Well, it's me! That's right world, I FOUND MY WEDDING GOWN!
Oleg Cassini was a French designer whose clients included the late and elegantly dressed Jackie Kennedy. His latest client? Well, it's me! That's right world, I FOUND MY WEDDING GOWN!
Last Sunday I went back to David's with the MOH, Mom and my baby step-sister Lauren.
I wanted to try on a different genre of dress that day then my first find, and I certainly did. The dresses had a lot more detail, lace, and beading. My future-sister-in-law Jessica (who is getting married June 8, 2012!!!) said it best, "This should be the fanciest dress you ever wear." I kept that on repeat in my head while playing dress up in front of these women.
I wanted to try on a different genre of dress that day then my first find, and I certainly did. The dresses had a lot more detail, lace, and beading. My future-sister-in-law Jessica (who is getting married June 8, 2012!!!) said it best, "This should be the fanciest dress you ever wear." I kept that on repeat in my head while playing dress up in front of these women.
Then there was this Oleg dress. A fundamental shift happened within me when I put it on. I finally felt like this was a dress to get married in. This is what I wanted my fiance to see me in when I become his wife. I had tried on a couple before this one, and even a couple after. I even put on the sweet Vera from my previous visit.
Oleg kicked Vera's ass.
With the Oleg, I will be able to wear my great-grandmother's pearls! This dress made my mother cry.
Oleg kicked Vera's ass.
With the Oleg, I will be able to wear my great-grandmother's pearls! This dress made my mother cry.
I didn't even want to take it off to put on 'regular' clothes again. It will arrive hopefully by January. I will have plenty of time to try and retry it on. Because I was able to order it in petite, I hopefully won't need to do too many alterations. However, if there is any left over lace, the MOH Kate already has ideas about how to use the scraps.
I can't get over what a huge accomplishment it is to have ordered my wedding gown. Or that I actually paid for half of it!
Even if the rest of the wedding planing goes to pot, I will marry the love of my life in a perfect dress.
I can't get over what a huge accomplishment it is to have ordered my wedding gown. Or that I actually paid for half of it!
Even if the rest of the wedding planing goes to pot, I will marry the love of my life in a perfect dress.
Love,
Shannon
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
StoryPeople
In college, a room mate of mine, Rachel M., loved this website, Storypeople. I would visit it from time to time reading things that made my heart ache. Things that made me smile.
I stumbled upon the website again tonight and found this quote. Although I partially agree with it, I'm finding myself much more romantic about the wedding and far more in love with my future husband than it sounds.
"You seem very calm for a woman who's getting married, I said & she nodded. It's on my to-do list, she said, so there's no point in agonizing about it."
That's what I need to remember, not to agonize. 25 years from now, I won't remember if my bridesmaid's eyebrows weren't waxed or that I got a blister from my new shoes. I will (hopefully) remember the way my heart fluttered when I saw his face, walking toward him, to become his wife. I will remember the blur of happiness that surrounded us in the form of our family and friends.
True Love Is...
Whisking the chocolate syrup into the milk with a fork. Not stirring it with a spoon. Creating a well blended late-night snack!
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Photo Shoot Day!
It's been raining. A lot. I had envisioned having our photos taken outside, at the Burrow. Bridgette, our talented photographer friend is setting out for Ghana on the 12, so they had to be done within two weeks of our engagement! So with a tight timeline to get our engagement photo shoot done this week, I was disappointed to see so much rain on the forecast.
Today though, the rain stopped. Albeit cloudy, Henry and I drove down to Basin Street to meet Gabriel and Bridgette. After a quick nursing session we walked outside and got to work. Because we were able to shoot in our venue location, I got a feeling of what shots I will also want come the Big Day. Bridgette has a great eye for portraiture and used the barn, trees, flowers and swings to our advantage. I kept sneaking previews on the back of her Nikon Digital SLR and was getting so excited to see some of the results.
She also posted a teaser sample of some of our shots to Flickr to tide me over until I get the disk!
We were also fortunate to get a few in of the three of us and Henry alone, as he is 6 MONTHS OLD TODAY! Although Gabriel protested getting gussied up to go outside I think he is pleased with how they turned out as well.
I hope you enjoy and look out for your 'Save the Dates' coming to a mailbox near you!
Love,
Shannon
Follow Up on Bridesmaids Shopping
So-That Alfred Sung we loved? About $200 and not in stores in Vermont. It only in two kinds of SATIN---FAIL!
However, we had absolute success last night and found a fabulous VERA WANG for all of Shannon's senior bridesmaids to wear. Now we need to tackle her Junior Bridesmaid, flower girl, groom/groomsmen, and ring bearer!
As the lovely lady Heather at the local David's Bridal pointed out, the Sung we were in love with is so retro and "Man Men," it would completely changed the look and feel of the wedding-taking it from "VT Romantic" to "Quirky Vintage." Not a bad idea, but definitely not Shannon's vision.
Remember that green dress in one of my first entries, You Say Potato, I Say Vera Wang? What a complete trip it was to have ripped that very dress out of magazines months ago, coveted it, blogged about it, then walked into a local store between a Michael's Crafts and a Staples last night to try it on!
It ended up being absolutely stunning, the perfect purple, and fit right into Shannon's Romantic/outdoor/ethereal theme. The word of the night was definitley "Diaphanous." I felt like a goddess in it.
The seemingly terrifying, insurmountable task of finding a perfectly purple dress that every bridesmaid will love and look stunning in is OVER-and Shannon has been engaged only a whopping 9 days!
Not only is it over, it's an affordable (for Vera Wang, and costs less than most J. Crew dresses) and very, very easy dress for every girl to access, as there are over 300 David's in the nation!
This is really a dream come true. I'm still trying to come off the high from finding such a perfect gown so easily. Shannon and I could not stop laughing hysterically in shock, shoveling our faces with dark chocolate flips and beef jerky as she drove me home from the store at 9:00 pm (what a healthy dinner!)
Love that we can check THAT off the list! ~Kate
However, we had absolute success last night and found a fabulous VERA WANG for all of Shannon's senior bridesmaids to wear. Now we need to tackle her Junior Bridesmaid, flower girl, groom/groomsmen, and ring bearer!
As the lovely lady Heather at the local David's Bridal pointed out, the Sung we were in love with is so retro and "Man Men," it would completely changed the look and feel of the wedding-taking it from "VT Romantic" to "Quirky Vintage." Not a bad idea, but definitely not Shannon's vision.
Remember that green dress in one of my first entries, You Say Potato, I Say Vera Wang? What a complete trip it was to have ripped that very dress out of magazines months ago, coveted it, blogged about it, then walked into a local store between a Michael's Crafts and a Staples last night to try it on!
It ended up being absolutely stunning, the perfect purple, and fit right into Shannon's Romantic/outdoor/ethereal theme. The word of the night was definitley "Diaphanous." I felt like a goddess in it.
The seemingly terrifying, insurmountable task of finding a perfectly purple dress that every bridesmaid will love and look stunning in is OVER-and Shannon has been engaged only a whopping 9 days!
Not only is it over, it's an affordable (for Vera Wang, and costs less than most J. Crew dresses) and very, very easy dress for every girl to access, as there are over 300 David's in the nation!
This is really a dream come true. I'm still trying to come off the high from finding such a perfect gown so easily. Shannon and I could not stop laughing hysterically in shock, shoveling our faces with dark chocolate flips and beef jerky as she drove me home from the store at 9:00 pm (what a healthy dinner!)
Love that we can check THAT off the list! ~Kate
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Color Me Bridesmaid
Shannon and I are heading over to Needleman's to touch some peau de soie and silk faille and paw through some bridesmaids dresses. Maybe a white one too....who knows!
We both fell in LOVE with this Alfred Sung number found through the Dessy group (consequently one of THE coolest wedding fashion/acessories site I have ever seen.) Websites without prices do put the fear of God in me though...it was through locate a retailer that I found Needleman's to be an authorized vendor of this dress. A few voice mails later I come to realize that they only carry After Six, the cheaper little sister of Alfred Sung in our Burlington store, but have plenty of books and swatches for both labels. I would just hate us to have our heart set on something so lovely and flattering and it cost $400. The goal cost for dresses is $150 or less for the maids, but it must be said, this one is super chic, seriously a wear it again, and has this almost "mad men" feeling to it:
If anything, Dessy made me realize I do not know as much about fabrics as I assumed I had. One thing I do know for certain: No SILK MATTE. This is not a 1980's prom folks, it's a classy Vermont-Country-Romantic wedding.
I have so much more to write about color too. I could write a novel really. Pantone wedding? AWESOME!!! Any artsy fartsy bride or really any bride in that matter should be heavily invested in their wedding's colors. It says so much about your season, you as a couple, sets the mood...
According to Pantone, turns out maybe miss Fitzpatrick's idea of "Emerald" is really "Ivy" or "Shamrock." Shamrock is just so fitting (Shannon Marie Fitzpatrick...Irish much?) If colors could be legal or illegal, Pantone is the law, so if they say potAYto, you do not say poTAHto!
More soon!
Loooooooooooooove purple and green, no matter what you call them,
Kate M.O.H.
We both fell in LOVE with this Alfred Sung number found through the Dessy group (consequently one of THE coolest wedding fashion/acessories site I have ever seen.) Websites without prices do put the fear of God in me though...it was through locate a retailer that I found Needleman's to be an authorized vendor of this dress. A few voice mails later I come to realize that they only carry After Six, the cheaper little sister of Alfred Sung in our Burlington store, but have plenty of books and swatches for both labels. I would just hate us to have our heart set on something so lovely and flattering and it cost $400. The goal cost for dresses is $150 or less for the maids, but it must be said, this one is super chic, seriously a wear it again, and has this almost "mad men" feeling to it:
If anything, Dessy made me realize I do not know as much about fabrics as I assumed I had. One thing I do know for certain: No SILK MATTE. This is not a 1980's prom folks, it's a classy Vermont-Country-Romantic wedding.
I have so much more to write about color too. I could write a novel really. Pantone wedding? AWESOME!!! Any artsy fartsy bride or really any bride in that matter should be heavily invested in their wedding's colors. It says so much about your season, you as a couple, sets the mood...
According to Pantone, turns out maybe miss Fitzpatrick's idea of "Emerald" is really "Ivy" or "Shamrock." Shamrock is just so fitting (Shannon Marie Fitzpatrick...Irish much?) If colors could be legal or illegal, Pantone is the law, so if they say potAYto, you do not say poTAHto!
More soon!
Loooooooooooooove purple and green, no matter what you call them,
Kate M.O.H.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Oh For The Love of Vendors!
For instance, if one of my super-handy uncles is willing to build me a bar I can cover with linens and decorate for cheaper than $69 (cost to rent) I might as well do that and then sell it to some Frat House up at UVM. Just a thought...
I also need to set up a meeting with our caterer in the next month or so. Gabriel has expressed his desire to have input on food-- which I am game for. We are thinking BBQ style (pulled pork is his favorite food) and then pot-lucked hors d'oeuvres.
And here comes my anxiety... One thing at a time. I will feel better with a deposit down on the tent-- after that it's all in the details.
Love,
Shannon
Monday, September 5, 2011
MOH Duties
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Follow Up to "So it begins..."
The inspiration board is all fine and dandy-I like what it looked like being there making it even more. It's really the story of our lives as wives.
Note: binders, bumbos, baby toys, iPad, bridesmaid dresses, cabernet sauvignon, buffalo chicken dip, and crafting supplies. It was a perfect thirsty Thursday.
Love preparing!
Kate
Note: binders, bumbos, baby toys, iPad, bridesmaid dresses, cabernet sauvignon, buffalo chicken dip, and crafting supplies. It was a perfect thirsty Thursday.
Love preparing!
Kate
So It Begins
It's official, my wedding ideas are in full swing. MOH Kate came over last Thursday and we put together my 'inspiration board.'
I want to go with Vermont Romance as our wedding theme. We have decided on our venue; Gabriel's childhood home in Bristol, VT. His parents have a beautiful property, complete with a red barn! Along with the beautiful backdrop, we want the big white tent, white lights and plenty of candles; soft romance will set the mood...at least until the real partying commences!
Now that the creative juices have really started flowing, the next hurdle will be narrowing down what we will be able to execute given our time line and budget. Starting this week (after the scary budget talk with Mom) I will be making preliminary phone calls to the big vendors. A year in advance isn't too far in the wedding world, and I will need to reserve the rentals!
Wish me luck for this week and feel free to leave ideas!
Love,
Shannon
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Group of Gals
Being a recent bridesmaid (back in June, see photo below) I know how PAINFUL and convoluted communication can become.
Anyone else hate chain emails with 65 one liner replies? I sure do.
So, to try and organize the hot mess that is a gaggle of gals in matching dresses from all over the country, I have created a private Facebook group. If you are one of Shannon's bridesmaids, you will receive an invitation to join "Shannon & Gabe's Wedding Party."
This space is for coordinating the showers, parties, the dress shopping trips, etc. It can also serve as a forum of encouragement and support for those of us (me certainly included) who are using this wonderful excuse to get into the best shape possible! It's our own "Shedding for the Wedding."
If you have any questions, comment below, or contact me!
xoxo much coordinated love,
M.O.H. (Kate)
Anyone else hate chain emails with 65 one liner replies? I sure do.
So, to try and organize the hot mess that is a gaggle of gals in matching dresses from all over the country, I have created a private Facebook group. If you are one of Shannon's bridesmaids, you will receive an invitation to join "Shannon & Gabe's Wedding Party."
This space is for coordinating the showers, parties, the dress shopping trips, etc. It can also serve as a forum of encouragement and support for those of us (me certainly included) who are using this wonderful excuse to get into the best shape possible! It's our own "Shedding for the Wedding."
If you have any questions, comment below, or contact me!
xoxo much coordinated love,
M.O.H. (Kate)
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