New Bridesmaid Dresses

Well, I'm STILL trying to decide the colors I want, and I think I'm using the lack of a wedding dress as an excuse. Dumb. So, I think I need to decide this soon. These are some Jim Hjelm dresses that I adore and I need your opinion. Pink, Purple, or Black in the dresses...and which should I carry out for the wedding. Or would you rather see gray?!?

Despite the color issue, I am loving these dresses. Just FYI to the fabulous bridesmaids....



Why am I so bad at making decisions?

My Invitations Epiphany

So, I always planned on creating my own invitations for the wedding. But the more I look around, the more I love the ridiculously expensive invitations. So, I have to figure out some way to make them work on my tiny budget. So, I found these invitations at Target (believe it or not) and I think that I can create a similar design from the ultra-fabulous invite to be my own...So, the question is, can I pull it off??

However, The designer did a post on Style Me Pretty last week with an inspiration board of both of the favorite inviations. Here they are. I think they put up a good fight for pink in the pale pink vs. dark purple fight.

A 'Cool' Invitation

So this morning, on my new daily etsy stroll, I found an invitation that is shaped like a fan. Now, I think its clever for a summer family reunion or birthday party, but I'm not sure how I feel about it being on a wedding invitation. Maybe if you are getting married outside in August...but definetly not January.

Whaddya think?? Cool or Cheap? Here's the link!




On a completely random sidenote, I have a love/hate relationship with trying to get skinny. I love it when I lose a pound or two, but then I start getting crazy cravings for foods like this.....



It's a lose lose situation. boo.

My Love of Letterpress - or Embossing.

Well, I wish I had the budget to get super fabulous invitations made out of letterpress for the wedding. But, I dont just have $5000 laying around for projects like this. (And, if I did, I'd put it on my birkin that I dream to have.) However, I did find some potential alternatives that might work wonders to my letterpress-less invitations. I have found some beautiful embossers and stamps that could be great. Well, I didn't find them, stylemepretty.com did, but either way. I'm in love.

The first is from Lettergirl's Etsy shop that is really great and are the cutest stamps ever.


The second is an embosser with a simple initial or an entire address that could look really great on the invitations. (from Horchow.)




On a side note, I'm officially in love with etsy. There are lots of uh-mazing little shops that I could spend my entire day. (Maybe I will!) I'm also on the look-out for funky fun wedding stuff, as well, as super cool bridesmaid gifts, pink shoes, and a TON of other things.

PS..I seriously had one of the best weeks ever. I realized that I'm definetly an event planner. I had a high all weekend from a silly afternoon reception. It went perfectly, flawless in my book. And the things that went wrong were completely out of my control. Yay. I love it when things like that happen.

Terry and I went to Galveston on Saturday. We sat outside facing the beach at this little restaraunt right on the seawall, ate burgers while listening to old 50's music, and seeing a huge line of motorcycles and rollerbladers. I felt like I was in California in the 50's. (not that have any idea what that was really like...either way it was a blast. Terry got the worst sunburn ever!! But we played in the sand, read fashion magazines and got some much needed fresh air. Great!

I love....

this cake!

I just wanted to share that.

It's featured on Style Me Pretty today.

Fine China - In or Out??

Well, I love fine china. I think it is the classiest way to enjoy rich tradition and have something that can be passed down to my children and grandchildren. Most people my age think its silly to own china, they will never use it. But for some odd reason, I want it. I think I would actually use it. Special occasions, anniversaries, and visits from the parental units. But, is it really worth the $125 per place setting?? Opinions please!!!

But here's a picture of my fav designer Kate Spade and the china i WOULD register for!! (click the picture for the link.)

A-dorable

So, I ran across this picture and laughed out loud. Its when the groom kisses his bride. They totally gave him ratings. hahaha.

This picture is from Tara Swain Photography.

Daily Inspiration

Well, its been a while since I've had some really good 'wedding' inspiration to share, but I saw this wedding yesterday on Style Me Pretty, and thought I had to show off. Since I still can't decide whether to have pink or purple for an accent color, here's an argument for the pink side. View and enjoy!

Engagement Party

So, Saturday night we had our engagement party, and it could not have gone better. All of my worries about families mingling well were eased when everyone got there. The weather was HORRIBLE, but it was great. The food was great, the people were great, and yes, my dress matched my party, which was the best thing. I dont have all the pictures, but here are a few.


Soooo Perfect!

New Fab Photographer

So, I was perusing through my favorite wedding blogs this morning and was exposed to a new favorite photographer, Kelly Moore. I love that its in style to bring personality and your lifestyle into your wedding pictures. Here is her blog to get distracted in, but here are some pictures that I loved. (she has many, many more on her website!)

Vinyl Guest Book

So, I love the idea that people sign a picture at the wedding leaving warm wishes. I think its a great way to help remember the occasion. But this is the coolest twist I've ever seen. Terry is a huge Elvis fan, so this seems so appropriate!


Believe it or not, this was from the Editors at The Knot.

His and Her Banking??

So, I always assumed that when I got married, we would join our bank accounts together and share everything. However, I ran across this article today on MSN that had differing opinions. So, here's the article below. Let me know what you think. I love advice!

By U.S. News & World Report

When Sharon Cotter married her first husband 35 years ago, she didn't think twice about combining all of their bank accounts and letting her husband manage their investments. Then, when they divorced after 25 years of marriage, she had no idea how much money they had or where it was.

"I will never let that happen again," says Cotter, now in her late 50s and about to remarry. She has two children and wants to protect their inheritances, as well as ensure she still has her own money in case something goes wrong in the new marriage.

"You have to protect yourself, no matter how much you love someone," says Cotter, a career-management consultant in St. Louis.

Like Cotter and her fiancé, more and more couples are dropping the traditional share-everything approach and keeping their accounts separate. Nearly half of married households have two or more checking accounts, up from 39% in 2001, according to the Raddon Financial Group. That suggests a rise in his-and-her bank accounts. Financial advisers point to later marriages, higher-earning wives and the prevalence of divorce as factors contributing to the use of separate accounts, while marriage counselors warn that split funds can lead to secrecy and distrust.

The trend toward separate accounts appears strongest among remarrying baby boomers bringing substantial assets and financial commitments into their new marriages.

"Typically, they will have 'ours,' 'mine' and 'yours,'" says Kathleen Miller, the author of "Fair Share Divorce for Women" and president of Miller Advisors, an investment firm in Kirkland, Wash. She adds that separate accounts are useful for paying the expenses of children from previous marriages, for example. Many second marriages fail because of money issues, Miller says. That's why she recommends that remarrying clients have an open discussion about finances and sign a prenuptial agreement.

Protecting yourself

In the case of divorce, separate accounts also serve to protect women (or men) who earn less money than their spouses, Miller adds. She recommends that a stay-at-home wife, for example, establish her own retirement account using a spousal IRA, which allows her to save money in own name, using her husband's income. Though retirement savings would probably be considered jointly owned in the case of divorce, Miller says it's still important for both partners to have some savings in their own names.

Candace Bahr, a co-founder of the nonprofit Women's Institute for Financial Education and the owner of an investment firm whose clients are predominantly divorced women, points out that marriages don't last forever.

"Even in the best marriages, one spouse is going to die. So it's still important to maintain your own identity," Bahr says. She recommends keeping assets, retirement accounts and credit in one's own name. If one spouse is completely responsible for the finances, the other is vulnerable in the case of death or divorce, she says.

Combining accounts slowly

Patty Sullivan, the owner of a gift boutique in Kansas City, Mo., decided to maintain her own account when she married her second husband eight years ago. Throughout her first marriage, which ended in divorce, she and her husband shared all of their money.

This time around, Sullivan and her husband, Bob, each came into the marriage with children and significant assets. To protect their children, they kept the money they brought into the marriage in separate accounts, with their respective children as beneficiaries, and created a shared account for money they earned after their marriage.

Eight years later, they use their shared money to pay for their children's weddings and other family expenses. "We don't want to draw lines," Patty says. But they still maintain the separate accounts, which come in handy when they buy each other birthday presents. The Sullivans also plan to draw from the individual accounts to fund their retirements.

Keeping some 'fun money' separate

Many advisers recommend separate bank accounts for all couples, not just those who are remarrying. "It's always best to have some separate accounts," says Sharon Epperson, the author of "The Big Payoff: 8 Steps Couples Can Take to Make the Most of Their Money -- and Live Richly Ever After." "It just makes it a lot easier if (couples) can have an account that they go to for their own purchases where they don't have to tell somebody every time they're making a purchase."

She practices that approach in her own marriage. Epperson's husband likes to make almost daily purchases from Amazon.com, for example. "I don't bother my husband about it. I know it's on his credit card," she says. On the same note, her husband doesn't ask her about the makeup and clothes she buys with her own money.

Epperson's advice does not change for couples in which only one spouse works; she says a stay-at-home mom, for example, should also maintain her own bank account, with a percentage of her husband's income funneled into it.

Says Epperson: "A stay-at-home mom who is not making any income should still have fun money," her term for individual accounts that go toward personal expenses. Similarly, if one spouse earns more than the other, equal sums should go into the individual accounts because they are based on household income, not each spouse's income, Epperson explains.

Blending different spending styles

When Kellie and Dan Mercurio, in their 20s, married in 2006, they knew they wanted to have at least one joint account so as not to deal with the question of who pays for dinner. But the Charlotte, N.C., couple also decided to keep separate accounts for personal expenses, such as a new jacket for him or manicures and haircuts for her.

"Having multiple accounts that serve different purposes is a good way to segment out record-keeping," Dan says.

It also prevents disagreements over how to track spending, the couple says. Kellie, a manager at Wachovia, likes to keep a record of each purchase by saving receipts, while Dan, a financial sales manager at the bank, prefers to keep just a general sense of how much money is in his account.

Despite their separate accounting, the couple say they do not keep secrets from each other and generally talk about all of their purchases. "(Having individual accounts) just provides a little bit more freedom. If she wants to splurge on something, she can do it without asking me," Dan says.

Preserving financial independence

"Today people are mating and re-mating much further down the path," says Manisha Thakor, a co-author of "On My Own Two Feet: A Modern Girl's Guide to Personal Finance." "That's why the financial three-way is gaining more traction." The financial three-way is Thakor's term for having a shared account as well as individual accounts for each spouse.

A survey by TheNest.com, a Web site for newlyweds, found that 60% of respondents, mostly young married couples, planned to keep at least some personal spending accounts separate.

"Part of that partnership is recognizing each other's independence. It's a smarter way than throwing all of (your money) in one pot," says Riann Smith, the deputy editor of TheNest.com. "You aren't looking over each other's shoulder and saying, 'Why did you spend so much on those shoes or that golf weekend?'"

"Women find (having their own account) empowering," says Jean Chatzky, the author of "Make Money, Not Excuses," a personal-finance guide for women that advocates separate accounts. Since more women than ever earn their own money, she says, they want more control over how they spend it.

"You need to be able to get coffee without checking with your spouse," says Chatzky, which she says is easier to do when one has her own bank account.

Avoiding money secrets

Despite the enthusiasm among personal-finance advisers for such a system, marriage counselors often see separate funds as a harbinger of marital problems. "When people insist on keeping their own account, that speaks volumes about their feelings," says Jack Singer, a clinical psychologist in Laguna Hills, Calif. It often suggests a lack of trust about another aspect of the relationship, he adds.

Singer does, however, suggest setting aside money for certain costs, such as those related to children from previous marriages, in a separate fund. It might be easier, both logistically and psychologically, to pay those costs out of a separate account that's funded once a year instead of doling them out from joint accounts each month, he says.

Cotter worked with a lawyer on a prenuptial agreement, to lay out how her and her new husband's separate accounts will work. Says Cotter, "The lesson I've learned is whether I am single or whether I am married, I still need to take care of me and not expect anyone else to take care of me."

It's that time of year!

Its the time when I get to take an additional 30% off all permanently reduced merchandise at Dillards!! I'm so excited! I think I'll be shopping this weekend, so I can buy fabulous things like this:

Save the date

So, I found this amazing save the date today that made me really want to steal the idea and use it as my own. But I'm pretty sure mine would not be as clever.

Here is the link for what they did. From the link there is a PDF picture that shows you what it is.

I can't tell you anyore

The Veil...

Now, I like to think of myself as a very traditional bride. I am afraid of going to 'modern' for the wedding in fear that 10 years from now, I will look at myself and laugh. hard.

But, I do have a major crush on the birdcage veil. I feel it has a very vintage feel that is waay classy.

Here are a few pictures...Do you think I can pull it off?