Wedding dress finalists (so far)

So based on 2 weekends of looking and a MILLION website searches, I'm down to 4 finalist dresses. Two are dresses that I've actually tried on, and two are dresses that I ordered online based on what I now know about my body type and what looks flattering on it. I'll receive the two online dresses by the end of February, so I won't really be able to make an informed decision til then. Anyway, here are semi-finalists (click to enlarge):

 

 

More blue dresses

Some of you ladies have expressed some concern over the theme wardrobe, so I thought I'd put together a quick montage photo using dresses from -- you guessed it -- modcloth.com to show you examples of 1940s dresses (click to enlarge). And I think red lipstick and pumps are a definite -- cheeky! =)

Must love pinwheels

So I just did a Google image search for "fabric pinwheel" because I wanted to find a tutorial for the little "fan crease" type flowers but didn't know what they were officially called. But instead, what came up were images of the types of pinwheels that actually blow in the wind -- and they are ADORABLE! Love love love them. I think I'd like to make fabric pinwheels an underlying theme of the wedding. I mean, how cute would these little pinwheels be as groomsmen boutinnieres? (This is actually a little bobby pin that I found a tutorial for -- but you get what I mean.) Even Dave was spellbound by their adorability. Ok, that may be overstating it, but he thought they were cool and definitely didn't hate them.

I also wanted to make a quilt for Dave's parents and my parents to thank them for their support. I found a beautiful quilt picture that I'd like to emulate, so if some of you craftier friends could give me some quilting tips ... *raising eyebrows eagerly*

We could make larger paper pinwheels as carnival game prizes, and maybe even my little sock monkey toppers could each be holding a small pinwheel. Squeal! So excited!

The Save-the-Dates are ready!

I must say, I'm pretty darn baller at this whole Adobe Illustrator thang. Below are the save the dates I whipped up. I think I'm just going to email the majority of them since stamps are expensive and people are fairly technology savvy, but there may be a few print-outs for the non-email generation -- and my scrapbook!

Shoes!!

Ok, I know these heels are completely unoriginal (I've seen them in 2 out of every 5 blogs I've visited), but I think they're absolutely adorable, and I just bought a pair. I think they'll be so so cute with the red/white/blue theme -- especially if I find a knee or tea-length dress with room for a light blue petticoat underneath. Now let's just hope they're as cute (and comfy) as they look in the photo -- otherwise someone's getting these shoes for Christmas! Lol

Wedding Theme Updates

Well, it turns out that Freddie's will be a no-go ... they won't let us have the entire restaurant, booo. So we're going to talk to Mercury Hall and Star Hill Ranch about booking for a Sunday wedding (all Saturdays are booked from here to eternity, it seems). So far Star Hill Ranch is the front-runner, and it is BALLER. It's an entire "old town square" out of 620/71, and it even has a little white chapel AND a windmill! Check it out at http://www.starhillranch.com/.

 

If we go this route, we're thinking about taking the vintage Americana theme one step further and make it a county fair wedding. Maybe some corn on the cobb and pie eating contests? =) If nothing else, there will DEFINITELY be a petting zoo. Screw the kids, I want to cuddle a baby goat! And the coolest thing is that we'd have the property from 8am to midnight, meaning we could have a fun day in the country and just have a good old bbq time.

Sooo ... I'm thinking I should stick to my vintage Americana roots and do red, white and blue. Not tacky bright reds and blues, but darker, vintagey reds and blues - like a 1940s county fair or carnival. Here's the photo that's my inspiration:

As such, we should start thinking about how we can reflect this theme in the bridesmaid dresses without going hokey. I'm thinking adorable sundresses that mix red/white/blue with yellow highlights and have a floral or other small to medium pattern. These are my two favorites (from my new crush, modcloth.com).

Do you ladies think you can find a flirty, knee-length dress that emulates this look? Don't worry about being too cold, either -- I think we're probably going to book the October 2nd Sunday if Star Hill Ranch is the winner. The only other option is November 13th, and that's just getting too close to the holiday madness. (PS, Caitlin you owe me big -- November 20th falls on a Sunday this year, and Dave really wanted to book it, lol.)

Oh, and I was going to create my own invites, too, which I thought could look something like this:

 

Cake Topper

Omg omg omg, I friggin LOVE this cake topper! If you see something like this, let me know!

Beaucoup Bouquets

Just wanted to post some pics of different bouquets I like. So far I've seen some cool button/cloth flower bouquets, a really baller jewel pin bouquet, and some bouquets made of eucalyptus leaves and succulents that I was surprisingly drawn to.

 

 

Other wedding dress options

So I'm really leaning towards dresses with sleeves to cover up my jumbo arms and to evoke a more era-specific feel. Check out these pics I found (gotta love Once Wed and Green Wedding Shoes).

 

 

 

I love ModCloth.com!

Ok, these dresses are ridiculously short and only come in small-medium-large, but holy crap are they cute!

 

 

 

 

 

 

More bridesmaid inspiration

If we DO decide to do color dresses, the most "vintagey" looking dresses I've found so far are wrap dresses, apron dresses and sundresses. To me, 1930s vintage means flowy flower-print dresses. Here are some examples of dresses I've found:

Wrap Dresses

 

 

Apron Dresses

 


Sundresses