More From the 2009 Fall Kleinfeld Kollection

Grant's Pick

He wants me to go out and buy this dress right now. I like it, too. So maybe. Jim Hjelm from the Fall 2009 collection.

Ivory Silk Satin Faced Organza A-line gown, strapless embroidered bodice with crystals and hand-cut Silk Organza, Chiffon and Charmeuse, natural waist accented with Platinum moire ribbon, bias cut asymmetrical ruffle skirt, chapel train.

Sounds expensive. Looks amazing.

I Can't Stop Looking at this Dress

I know I've posted like a million dresses on here before, but I can not take my eyes off this one. It's from the new Kleinfeld Kollection, so it's probably pretty pricey, but maybe I can hit up a sample sale or something.

I really like her hair up in a ponytail like that, too. I think I might forgo the veil for a headpiece on this one, though.

Marriage is all about compromise

So if I end up going way under budget by buying a wedding dress from David's Bridal, I think I'm aloud to go over budget on my shoes.

I really like these bridesmaids dresses for my MOHs

The dress that has a name

A new contender: The Miranda dress by Monique Lhuillier.

This is the dress Rose was wearing in the post below. LOVE. IT. Absolutely stunning and gorgeous and everything I have ever dreamed of in a wedding dress.

Two concerns:

1) Can I afford it (WAY over budget)
2) Will my chest fit or can I make my chest smaller by the wedding?

I think I've got it

Maybe I'll change my mind in the next 478 days, but I think they almost seem too perfect to change.

For the maids of honors/groomsmen processional: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKH0sMb2oJQ

followed by

the father of the bride/bride processional: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0mc1rQG7Uc

Rose Made Me Want to Have a Veil

If I do, it's going to be cathedral style like this. Her pictures may have sold me on it. And her dress is AMAZING. My dream dress.

I Kinda Wish We Could Do This

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0

Currently obsessed with...

having a candy buffet at the at-home-reception! Possibly instead of dessert, possibly in conjunction with dessert as a favor guests can choose for themselves. Found a candy buffet specialist located in south jersey. Here is a pic from one of her photo galleries.

I changed the mood board (again)

It will be fun to look back at this blog after our wedding and see how drastically things changed from beginning to end. But then again, that's why this blog is about the EVOLUTION of our wedding. :)

I can't wait to register!

Here are two things I would definitely put on it right now: luggage and china. Yeah, that's right--china. If you never thought I would care about (let alone fall in love with) dinnerware, don't worry, I didn't think I would care either. But, turns out I do! I think the rolling duffel on the luggage we like has been discontinued though, so that kind of sucks. But we won't officially register for a while, so maybe we'll find something we like even better by then.

Pretty.

This is made by the same person who made the other headpieces I've posted. I'm kind of super in love with this one, and the colors are perfect.

A Note On Safety Concerns...

From a fellow Destination Bride that got married in Mexico March 2009...

Recently there has been a lot of talk about whether or not it's safe to go to Mexico, so I thought I'd pass along my experience to hopefully help future brides, or anyone wanting to go. DH and I did many off-resort activities and at no point did we ever feel threatened, scared, or nervous. Everyone we met was very friendly and usually struck up long conversations with us. The security going into and out of the resorts is VERY tight (all visitors are required to state why they're there, who they're visiting, and to leave id) and I got the impression that it has always been that way. The only point in time when I was slightly skeeved was when we went through a checkpoint on the main highway where the police are stationed (apparently they're scanning for suspicious vehicles and trying to prevent drug trafficking and whatnot) and they have very seriously-looking guns... but I've also seen that in the US before and have been skeeved out by that as well. But I understand that they are there to protect and to catch the bad-guys, so I'm ok with it lol. We took cabs several times and the drivers were always friendly and as long as you take the official ones (they're very easy to spot) you should have no problemo. We didn't go off the resort at night but that was mainly because there was sooo much to do at the resort that it just wasn't needed, and we were pretty pooped too! We honestly felt like all the hype was just that... PDC (especially Playacar... Love it!) felt very homey and welcoming to us. We really can't wait to go back!

Bottom line is... would you go to Philly? If you answered yes, you should feel more than comfortable going to Playa del Carmen/Tulum/Puerto Morelos and probably Cancun (we spent a total of 3 hours in cancun so I can't really speak for that city). I hope this info can help some of my lovely knotties out there!!

Other Photographers We Love <3

http://www.amelialyon.com/ <3favorite
http://www.drewbphotography.com/
http://www.tristalerit.com/

If you knew how many of my sentences started with, "The girls on The Knot said..." this would be especially funny to you...

"THE DESTINATION WEDDING" By Lois Smith Brady, New York Times Reporter

A lot of people resent "destination weddings," which have become increasingly popular—among brides and grooms, anyway. These far-flung events require guests to travel to an uninhabited island off the coast of Maine, a castle in Portugal, or a mosque in Turkey. One might have to take multiple airplanes to get there, or navigate roads with potholes as deep as bathtubs, or stay in a hotel with no outgoing lines. In some people, this creates wedding rage.

Even the smallest amount of traveling can unnerve wedding guests. I once attended a wedding that required everyone to walk for miles, literally. It took place in Manhattan and was called the Seven-Stop Wedding. The couple led their guests to seven of their most sentimental spots. We visited the park where they first kissed. We climbed stairs to the rooftop of an art museum.

I don't recall the significance of the rooftop (the proposal, maybe?), but I do remember everyone huffing and puffing when they got there. The experience was like boot camp. But I remember it more clearly than the 50 other ceremonies I attended as a wedding reporter that year. The walking added much more camaraderie than you'll ever feel at a church wedding. It was a calorie-burner, and you can't say that about many parties.

A conventional wedding is the opposite: it always seems like an uninspired beginning, like a very long, uninteresting first sentence to a novel. Generally, it is full of rhetorical language and other things that put you to sleep. You certainly don't feel sleepy or bored as a wedding guest standing barefoot on a beach on Maui—even if your flight in was delayed.

Traveling is an apt metaphor for love. Both can be risky and both give you a heightened sense of all the things that can go terribly wrong. You can lose your luggage or get on the plane heading to Reno instead of Rio. Your heart can be broken, badly. These days, walking down the aisle means taking a fifty-fifty chance. Why not bring your guests to a place where the chance of their luggage being lost is also fifty-fifty, as is the chance of having Internet service, or even room service?

Once, I flew into Buffalo, New York, to watch a couple say their vows next to Niagara Falls. The bride and groom could easily have had a similar five-minute, inaudible civil ceremony at city hall. But it was worth traveling for the background roar and the symbolism. Another time, I went to a wedding in Utah where every guest stayed at the same slopeside hotel, which soon took on a dormitory atmosphere. Most guests had never been to Snowbird before; many didn't ski. But the unfamiliar "Where am I?" feeling seemed perfect. No matter how much you read about marriage, no matter how much you quiz your parents or your therapists, as a bride and groom you will always walk down the aisle into your own uniquely unknown territory.

And when someone can take you elsewhere, that is love. It's a form of unintentional, unplanned traveling. As John Steinbeck said, the best kinds of journeys are not the ones you take. The best are the ones that take you.

Manolo Blahnik needs no introduction

Something blue. And exquisite.

Photographer I Love

Her name is Jasmine Star; you can see her work here: http://www.jasmine-star.com/#/home/

I really love this shoot of hers: http://www.jasmine-star.com/#/carissa---brian---wedding/ And the song playing!

Colors

Mostly the same as before. Some of the colors from before didn't seem happy enough/took themselves too seriously. And you know we don't take things too seriously, so we looked (I looked, Grant nodded) at colors that made us happy and decided on a simple palette of orange, navy, and electric purple. Click on the image for a larger view of the mood board.

Fabulous.

My something new (although it will probably be my something old by november 2010)

Grant's mom got me these for Christmas. Hand-blown glass with copper flakes. I think they'll look nice with my dress. And the peacock feather in my hair. ;)

Started Making a Mood Board

for color ideas. This is one thing I want to solidify before we send out the save-the-dates so that everything is cohesive. Grant (surprising) liked the peacock feather. Even more than the flower veil. I'm thinking rich blues, greens, and purples, with olivey-gold accents. I'd also like to incorporate faux bois texture and have the BMs carry peacock feather fans instead of bouquets. Click on the picture for a bigger view.

Good Thing We're Not Getting Married til 2010

Because I have plenty of time to change my mind on things. I've recently been addicted to a website: www.etsy.com. Looove it. They have the neatest stuff on there and it's all handmade and custom, which I love.

I recently stumbled upon this headpiece that I am kind of really into at the moment. I think I'd have to angle it back though so that brightest feather was more tilted backwards than straight up. It's a little out there, but I liked it so much that now I'm reconsidering the whole orange, coral, pink idea and thinking of going with colors of a peacock. Maybe when I send out my invitations to be a bridesmaid I'll just include a peacock feather and say "please match the dress of your choosing to one of the colors in this feather." That's more my style, and it might look super freaking awesome against the Pacific water. Tell me what you think about the headpiece. (Instead of a veil, or with a birdcage veil like the one in the picture below.) I might change my mind next week, but then again, I might not.

If I wear a veil, it's going to be more along the lines of this...

Grant probably won't like it, but for the moment, I do.

Ok I need to stop posting and get back to writing ads.

Songs for the Bridesmaids/Groomsmen to Walk To

More decisions "made" that won't matter til November 2010...but here is the song I want my bridesmaids/groomsmen to walk to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuiUegBhyF0

It's called "Somewhere Over the Rainbow (What a Wonderful World)" by Israel Kamakawiwoʻole.

One of my favorite songs ever.

The picture that made me want to have bridesmaids

If I have bridesmaids, I want the dresses to be like this.

Started Playing with a Monogram

Here's my first attempt at making a monogram for our wedding materials. Newer version in orange.

Engagement Pictures Coming Soon!

We had a shoot today with one of my photographer friends at Piedmont Park. Pictures coming in 1-2 weeks. Get excited.

Here Comes The Bride...Sorta...

Another decision made that doesn't mean anything right now and very well may change, but for right now I'm in love with it.

Instead of walking to "Here Comes the Bride" down the aisle, we like the song "Sunshine" by Peter Salett. You may be able to hear it at the link below:

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=34579503

It's a little over a minute and a half.

These are the lyrics:

I got a girl and I call her sunshine
through the air shes dancing in the line
I say hey sunshine
wont you be with me now and for all time

oh so free cause shes loves me sunshine
catch her laughing out by the waterline
I say hey sunshine
wont you be with me now and for all time

I got a girl and I call her sunshine
through the air shes dancing in the line
I say hey sunshine
wont you be with me now and for all time

Not really wedding related, but funny so I thought I'd share...

Last night Grant and I went to Walmart.

Upon getting out of his truck in the parking lot, I notice that it feels kind of weird when I walk. I get kind of nervous, because I've had a history of feeling dizzy out of nowhere, etc. Then I look down and realize I'm wearing two different pairs of shoes! They are both flats, but one has a slight heel to it. So now I'm at Walmart with two different shoes on, one has a heel, the other is BRIGHT yellow, and Grant and I are laughing our @ss' off the whole way into the store. People probably thought we were on drugs.

It's good to laugh that hard. It's (obviously) been a rough week. ;)

Wedding Email Address (Yes, I am THAT lame.)

No real exciting news right now. I'm still working with the wedding coordinator at Dreams, asking every little question I can think of before we send in a deposit.

Also working on solidifying the guest list so that once we reserve the date for real, we can send out our save-the-dates. We're around 36 guests right now, but I think we are closing the book.

Fun-ness: We've created an email address (TeamMeeks@gmail.com) for both of us to have access to that is specifically for wedding questions, planning stuff, etc. So if you want to email us about the wedding, feel free to send things there.

TripAdvisor.com Pictures of Dreams Resort Puerto Vallarta

http://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotos-g150793-d481596-Dreams_Puerto_Vallarta_Resort_Spa-Puerto_Vallarta_Pacific_Coast.html#18898892

Puerto Vallarta is available!

Just heard back from Puerto Vallarta. I'm impressed that they responded in about 24 hours. Still haven't heard from Tulum and I emailed them Saturday. (PV-1, Tulum-0) I appreciate people being on their A game, so hopefully this is the start of a beautiful relationship between us and Ms. Rivera of Dreams Puerto Vallarta.

Anyway, our first choice date (11/15/10) is available, so as soon as we have $100 to throw down to reserve it, I think we're setting the date!!!

LOVE this dress

Who would have thought I would love something from Davids Bridal, but I do. Simple. Classic. Elegant. All-over beaded lace trumpet gown with empire waist and cap sleeves. Chapel train.

And 10% of what the Vera Wang gown costs.

The veil has GOT to go, though.

Oh Yes, We have a New Contender

Same resort, different location. Dreams Puerto Vallarta: http://www.dreamsresorts.com/drepv/index.html

Among other features, my biggest pro and con for Vallarta are:
PRO: 2-story suite dreams suite for about the same price as 1-story Tulum dreams suite
CON: No chapel. But there is an oceanview terrace for weddings, which is what we wanted to do in the first place, so maybe that's not really a con afterall.

Hmmm.

We've sent a request form to see if the dates we like are available, so still waiting to hear back from Puerto Vallarta and Tulum.

In the mean time, visit Puerto Vallarta's e-brochure here: http://www.amresorts.com/ebrochures/vallarta/

Forget the Other Dress; This is the New One I Love

Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce you to the Vera Wang Luxe Callalily. It's a little more than the first dress I liked, (OK it's about $7,400 more.) Even though I'd never pay that much for a dress, I'm in love.

The One Destination We Both Agree On

We found a resort we both like. (!!!)

We sent away for more information, but so far the resort that has captured our hearts is the Dreams Tulum (http://www.dreamsresorts.com/dretu/guest-rooms.html).

Check it out and let us know what you think.