Thursday, February 19, 2009

Ceremony Details

The part of the wedding planning I'd been putting off the most (even more than dance practice) was the details of the ceremony. I just wasn't sure how to put together a ceremony that would have enough meaning. It's outdoors, so a unity candle didn't really make sense (even though Andrew and I love candles), and the idea of pouring the sand together isn't really our style.

I just wasn't sure what should come between walking down the isle and kissing the groom. Andrew and I are writing our own vows, which we plan to surprise one another with on the wedding day (that part has always been exciting to me)! Other than that, I was lost on any readings to have, music to play, etc.

Dad helped me get the ball rolling by looking up some prose that could be read at the wedding. Andrew and I started to search together, but it was a lengthy process. We just kept searching for that poem/reading that really described us.

For awhile we were considering using an Apache Marriage Blessing (which I really like), but we ended up finding a few things that suited us even better. Now I'm really excited about planning the ceremony.

We've invited our Officiant, Richard and his wife over on Saturday for dinner, so that we can start discussing the details. I'm really looking forward to it. 

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Two Garters?

Lynnette, Jean, Kristine, Rylee, Ty and Emily met mom and I at J'Maries Off-The-Rack last Saturday. Our intention was to find Rylee one of those $19.00 Flower Girl dresses they sell. Instead, we found a bunch! Rylee had several styles to choose from, all in cream colors to match my dress. The one she liked best was a size too small (and I say that, meaning it fits her tightly now, and who knows if she'd fit into it in 4 months). So, we went with her second favorite option (which was the first dress she picked out). She looks adorable in it, and there's a little room for her to grow. Better safe than sorry, I suppose.

While Rylee tried on dresses, Lynnette picked out a few dresses to try on for the wedding. We found a few options that looked really nice, and then Emily brought me a silver one that I just wasn't sure about (until she mentioned that the metallic-looking bead-work on the top reminded her of something Andrew would make). Silver is certainly on of our accent colors, so Lynnette tried it on. When she came out it was obvious that this was the dress. It looks stunning on her. So, we walked out of the shop with two dresses by the time we were done looking!

Since we only had to try one dress shop to find everything we needed, I invited the others along to the fabric store to look for sash material for Rylee and the bridesmaids. Lynnette is going to make the Ring Bearer pillow and Flower Girl basket for me (which is so wonderful, thank you Lynnette), so we wanted to use the same material on the pillow that we bought for the sashes. Lynnette also suggested that her mother could make my garters.

"Garters?" Plural? I didn't realize until Saturday that it was traditional for brides to wear a "throwing" garter and and "keepsake" garter. I think I may have been the only one in the group that didn't realize this (perhaps with the exception of little Ty). So, we called Andrew's grandma Joyce, and she will be happy to make the garters for me. Lynnette helped me figure out how much ribbon, elastic and lace I would need. I really love the ribbon we picked out. The one I'm going to keep is orange ribbon with these white, graphic flowers. Emily found me some red lace to go with it that is perfect!

The other, throwing garter has the same flower pattern, but it's a teal-blue color. We found some white, sheer, beaded lace to go with it. So now I have my "something blue!"

We also found deep orange satin to make the sashes out of. Emily was kind enough to bring her dress with, so we could make sure the material for the sashes goes with the bridesmaids dresses. They look great together. So, that will be a project for mom and I to tackle. We thought we might fasten the sashes with broaches, but we've yet to find them. If anyone sees any good sales of has ones to borrow, I'm all ears. I'm thinking silver (not gold), if they're metallic.