Long time readers will be familiar with my Wedding Wednesday series.  It was a weekly series where I described our process going through wedding planning since our relatively recent engagement last June.  But it started to make me feel overwhelmed with the task list we have at hand and having to have a new update each and every week.  That, then combining the fact one of my 2016 blog goals is to focus on evergreen content, and I decided to remove the Wedding Wednesday updates from my repertoire.

On the other side of the coin, I find that the personal stuff is what make Semi-Sweet Tooth what it is.  Yes, we can chat through recipes and fashion tips and fitness tips galore, but the fact that you and I feel like old friends is why I keep coming back for more writing.  And maybe that’s a piece of why you come back, too.  If that is the case, then welcome to one of two wedding planning  updates to come prior to our nuptials this Summer.

How We’re Feeling

I feel as though wedding planning has been fun, low key, and highly stressful all at the same time.  I’m loving having this time with Ray, and we’re making sure that every piece fits us, which is more difficult than it sounds.  Ultimately, I think both of us would have been the type to have every friend we’ve ever met at a garden wedding somewhere up high in the mountains and all our guests would be with us for the week for all of our mountain-y activities together.  Yes, everyone is there “to see us transition to becoming one,” but if that was the only reason that we were having this wedding, then we would just get married in the courthouse and call it a day after a dinner.  We’re wanting essentially a week of everyone having a great time, being in a vacation mindset, leaving like they experienced Colorado and we threw a massive party at the end of the week.

I have always loved the details, as well as planning events in general.  But the difference is that with this event we’re working with 200 different schedules and planners.  (If anyone coming to our wedding is reading this, yes, we will have a full week of events planned.)  We have to realize that our preferences are not the preferences of others.  Some look at the mountains and see giant piles of dirt.  Some think of week-long vacations and get stressed just thinking about being away from work.  Some people just hate planning ahead.  To some people, we are just planning a wedding and they could care less about what’s happening the Wednesday prior.  And that’s okay.  We have learned to do what we want to do, and not take the opinions others have personally.  The fact that they have opinions is evidence that they care.

Bridesmaid Dresses

I ended up selecting our bridesmaid dresses about seven months prior, which ended up being more “last minute” than I would have expected.  If you’re planning your wedding and choose to use traditional bridesmaid dresses, know that they must be ordered six months in advance to not have your bridesmaid paying a rush fee.

Because I have a full set of gorgeous bridesmaid dresses, but a little more tulle in stock than I had bargained for sitting in my closet today, I decided to work through Vow to be Chic to allow the girls to rent or buy, whichever they prefer.  The dresses are gorgeous and the service has been impeccable.  While we haven’t had the wedding yet, I have only high reviews from working with them through today.

In terms of colors, we were first looking for more of a mauve tone, because we wanted something more neutral.  But grey color tones are tough on most skin tones, so we decided to go a bit brighter with more of a lilac shade.  The dress is a convertible Jenny Yoo, meaning that the girls can use the straps in whatever way makes them most comfortable.  My hope is that my girls feel comfortable and gorgeous in their dresses on our wedding day.

Suits

Ray has fairly high standards with his clothing, being committed to quality – as he should be.  But when we started looking for suits he already knew that Bonobos would be the direction he would take.  We found gorgeous suits that are leaning towards the newer, slimmer style than most suits or tuxes you can rent.  The fabric is gorgeous, and we’re pumped that the guys have all said that they’ll plan to wear the suit outside of the wedding long term.

Note that if you decide to go with these suits, “custom” means the same type of thing as ordering bathing suits from Victoria’s Secret – you can get your pants and jacket in the specific sizes the guys need rather than in standard sizes like when you order typical suits.  They do not do alterations.

For colors, one of the first things Ray and I discussed was who gets navy blue between the guys or the gals.  We both have an almost strange addiction to navy, but with less options to pick from on the suit side, he won this battle.  So, needless to say, navy was absolutely in order.

 Floral

Selecting our floral has been one of the most fun pieces of the process, because our florist (Petals & Pours) has been incredibly flexible and FUN to work with.  If you follow me on Pinterest, you kind of know the direction we’re planning to go – classic and traditional, with some lush, rustic touches combined.  I won’t go into exacts, because some surprises need to wait until the special day, but below is a piece of our mood board the shows the direction we’re moving flower-wise.

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