Bride's and Groom's Parents Meet

Our parents had not yet met each other prior to our engagement. We wanted to get them together before the wedding, but his parents live in New Hampshire and mine in North Carolina. Josh's parents graciously invited my parents up to their house for some carriage driving, apple picking, and cider making. Fun times!

More pics after the jump...

More Red Dress: Closing The Front

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The Red Dress Continues

pics after the jump...

The Red Silk Bias Dress

I cut the red silk a few days ago, nervously. It's pretty fragile fabric. Not to mention expensive. It is going to be beautiful though!

Yep there is more...

Favors

CB2...love it.

Beyond the Muslin: Test Fabric

I needed to see how the dress would drape, which was harder to do with the muslin. this is a leftover poly satin I had in storage. I like this idea for the top much better.

pics after jump...

Photographer Shopping

When we visited the Fearington house, we met with this photographer, Missy McLamb, and really liked her work. Its nice that she works in both NC and NYC. Spectacular photos, im thinking she is our of our budget though.

The biltmore sent us a list of ones that they regularly suggest and i like this guy, Corey McNabb, ALOT. An exceptional photographer, also out of our budget.

Poo

The Vases Came In!

Time to test them out

More after the jump...

Fresh Flowers

I just ordered the flowers from FiftyFlowers.com. Im a bit nervous about ordering on line, but ive done my research and their testimonials look good. Here is what we got:

Red Rose Petals: for the flower girls and to throw when we exit

More after the jump...

Shopping for the MOH dress in NYC

Since Hannah (the MOH) is in Germany, I took a friend of mine, Anna, to Pronovias in NYC. They are about the same size.

Dress porn after the jump...

Fabric Flowers

Crafting time!

So materials:
fabric
pattern (2 pieces)
scissors
glue size
iron
sewing machine
22 gauge covered floral wire
glue
floral tape
18 gauge floral wire
time


How to after the jump...

The Finished Table Numbers

Vegetarians

Butternut squash is the order of the day. Sounds tasty!

Tablescape

I've been working up some sketches of what the banquet room might look like as I try to settle on a flower arrangement. I knew that I wanted orchid arrangements, half fresh cut stems, and half fabric orchids that I would make with various ends of fabric I already have. How exactly to make all that work has been on my mind since December. I have finally hit on what I think will work.

Below I have included the first couple of sketches and the final one is the one I like. In the first few I have the fabric and fresh all mixed in together. In the last one, the fresh orchids are the bottom red layer, and the fabric ones are above in various colors.


More after the jump...

The Head Table Sign

Table Numbers

We asked my best friend and Maid of Honor, Hannah, to work up some table numbers for us. Sticking with the berry theme, Hannah and I chose 15 different North Carolina berries; each number getting a different berry motif. Josh and I are overwhelmed with how great they turned out. She is also working on one for the bride and groom table, and a cover for the ceremony program.

More after the jump...

Menu Tasting

We are traveling down to Asheville next weekend for our menu tasting. Aside from the main food we have upwards of 10 vegetarians. The chef will talk to us about that when we are there. They tend to do seasonal things. My idea is to keep it similar to the main food.
See the menu after the jump...

Candle Holders

More after the jump...

Response to Invites

So I mailed the invites out about a week ago, people have been getting them.  The response is overwhelmingly positive.  I am so pleased!

Next Project: Fabric flowers for the centerpieces.  Ill be posting this week.

Glassware for the Decor

I love CB2 sales.

The Deerpark

I thought I might take a moment to talk about our beautiful space for the ceremony and reception. Deerpark is one of many venues on the Biltmore Estate grounds. It was built at the same time as the main house, by the same architect, as a calving barn. It was converted into a restaurant and event space in the 70s (i think). It features a large hall with hardwood floors, an inner courtyard, and a glassed in banquet area that surrounds the courtyard. The biltmore provides seasonal decorations which saves us on decorating cost, though the space doesn't need much dressing up.
This is the link for the Deerpark on biltmore's website. It has a virtual tour.

Pictures after the jump...

Invites are Done!

Im so pleased with how they turned out.

Registry

Originally I was against having a gift registry. We have no space for things in our apartment, and we really need to move out of this tiny place more than we need stuff. After much convincing, I agreed to do a limited registry. After all, while we don't have the room to have a dinner party and use fine china, we likely will in a year or so, and I do fancy myself quite the southern hostess. Besides, josh wants a Kitchenaid mixer and an espresso machine.

So we began our search for fine china, silver, and crystal; the kinds of things that people only buy you for your wedding, the kinds of things that we will have for the rest of our lives. Honestly, the experience of searching for the right patterns and quality has taught us about each other. We work well as a team. Mostly we have the same ideas and like the same things, and when we don't, we have worked through it pretty peaceful. Who knew that choosing gifts for a wedding registry would confirm why we want to get married in the first place.

More after the jump...

The Woodblock Printing is Done!

I spent all day on Saturday printing. I was exhausted but they came out great.

More after the jump...

The MOH Goes Shopping In Germany

That's where she is; Germany. Hannah and her mom went shopping for maid of honor dresses and it seems it was slim pickings. Germans aren't into bridesmaids dresses on the whole, so there wasn't a lot of stock. Also, I couldn't be there since I live in NYC and I cant take her shopping here. So long distance pictures it is.

More pics after the jump...

Preparing for the Invitations

Im carving a wood block to print a design on each invitation. I sketched out the design, transferred it to the block (backwards of course), and began carving. The process will go as follows:

ink the roller
roll the roller over the block to ink the block
check the ink- not to thick not to thin, nice and even
lay the paper on top
press the paper into the ink- this is the hard part, the pressure has to be even and heavy,
with out moving the paper, and i cant miss any spots
peel off the paper
let it dry
sign, date, and number

and do that about a hundred times. this is going to take for.ever.


More pics after the jump...

Map

Hand drawn map for the info pact to be sent with the invitation...

Envelopes have arrived!

Check em out...

Hair Jewelry Ideas

More after the jump...

Trim Test Patterns

Honestly, Im not sure if I like any of these.

More after the jump...

Trim Inspiration

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Trimming Fabric

The idea is to have a sort of art nouveau look on the outer dress. Red lace over the silver, along the collar, and front lapel to the floor will tie in the color of the underdress. This red lace will fade into silver lace more spread out around the lapel and hem. All of this i'll be making by hand. It's going to be a lot of work.

More after the jump...

Muslin #4

Several of the pieces are stitched together. Still not certain about the top though.

pics to follow...

The Muslin #3

More on the bodice and back...

check em out...

The Muslin #2

I've changed the top and played with a different set up for the train...

check em out...

Dress In Progress: The Muslin

Ok so, What is a muslin? When one is building a pattern, in this case i'm fabric draping rather than patternmaking, you create a mock-up. This is called "a muslin" after the cheap cotton cloth it is commonly made from. This is where you work out details of shape, construction and fit. This first muslin of mine is held together by pins. once I work out the how I want to dress to be I will stitch it all together, planning out how it will eventually be constructed.

More pics after the break...

Inner Gown Inspiration

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Outer Gown Inspiration

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Gown Inspiration

That's Right. I'm Sewing My Own Dress

Here are the drawing ideas for the gown. Originally i was going to do 3 pieces, underdress or skirt, corset, and outer gown. You can see that in the first two groups of drawings. After trying on the dresses at Pronovias, I decided doing something cool, with drape, and slim fitted for the underdress and nixed the corset.

More after the jump...

Fabric Shopping

After seeing that Reem Acra dress I started thinking about making my own lace for trim. So I went browsing. Lots of stuff in white. Not much silver or red though.

More after the jump...

Flower Arrangement Test

More after the jump...

Save The Date Cards

Since our wedding is going to be in a city where none of our family and friends are, requiring everyone to travel, we wanted to get the word out as soon as possible. Save-the-date cards are in order. We have chosen post cards from the Biltmore Estate to showcase our beautiful venue and whet peoples appetite. Handwritten and addressed, and off they go!

Venue

We wanted a venue with style. Someplace that had some history and character. Even though we live here in NYC, we never thought for the first moment we wanted to hold our wedding here. It would be just too expensive, and we had some grand ideas. Josh suggested NC. It is where, or near, most of my extensive family. So we started looking there. I showed Josh the website for the Biltmore Estate in Asheville NC, and we both fell in love. I assumed we would never be able to afford it, but Josh sent in a pricing request anyway. I went on looking. Tryon Palace in New Bern? The Fearrington House in Chapel Hill? A random farm house with a tent? A plantation house in Wilmington? Banquet halls were boring; blank space where you have to rent tables and chairs and linens and waitstaff was oddly not very cheap, and a lot of work. Most places that were cool had "package deals" that didnt seem to include much of anything, and you had to use their florist and photographer and everything was an add on cost.

We saw 3 places. Biltmore and Grove Park Inn in Asheville, and the Fearington House. In the end we liked Biltmore the best, and it was the best deal. Crazy.

Check it out. www.biltmore.com

Lioncrest @ Biltmore

More pics after the jump...

3rd Round of Dress Shopping

Over the winter holiday Josh, my mom, and I went dress shopping in Raleigh. The Experience at Victorian Rose was very nice. We got to walk around and pick things out, the staff was very nice and helpful. They had no where near the selection of the NYC stores, though I figured that would be the case. Below are some of the dresses I tried on.

More pics after the jump...

Joshua on Bonobos!!

From the Bonobos website:
"This is one of the most wonderful things we’ve ever read—Joshua’s an awesome customer from New York, and we’re honored to have had a hand (or pant leg) in this monumental moment. Congratulations to him and his bride-to-be!...."

http://www.bonobos.com/blog/testimonials/a-proposal-in-bonobos/

Dress Shopping

I have known since high school, that i wanted to sew my own wedding dress, however, shopping is fun and i wanted to try on things. So, armed with appointments at Kleinfelds and Pronovias, i took Josh and my Maid of Honor and best friend Hannah and had at it. I tried on 3 or 4 gowns at kleinfelds, where i felt somewhat like cattle and they dont let you take pictures. Here is my favorite dress from there:

More pics after the jump...

Bouquet Trial Run

Got the bouquet holders and Ive done a test run of the bouquet.

More pics after the jump...

Dress Inspiration

More after the jump...

Planning

As soon as we got back to NYC we went to barnes and noble and bought wedding planning books, and of course, a bridal magazine or two. I started researching and getting ideas. After a month of thinking about it constantly, I was feeling very overwhelmed. I bought a calander, and over Christmas vacation in Raleigh I made a todo time line. Instantly I felt like I had it under control. My mom was right about lists; man, are they heplful.

Our Engagement

For my birthday, Joshua and I went up to Boston. My birthday is Nov 1, so there is always a Halloween celebration involved in my birthday planning. I spent a week sorting out my costume, and we drove up from NYC to make it to the dance on Friday, put on my costume in the car, and proceed to lindy hop in 4.25 inch pink heels all night. Good night!

Saturday, we went to dinner at Dali, Restaurant and Tapas Bar, with a group of our friends for birthday celebration. Everyone ordered like 3 dishes, took some, and passed it around. Damn tasty food. After the meal was over, the lights dim and the waiters bring out candles for me and the other birthday girl, sing a song in spanish, dance around, and tell us to blow out our candles. After dessert and after all the birthday presents were unwrapped, josh turns to me and asks me if I'm ready for my present....
More after the jump...