Venue Confirmed! Invitations Ordered!

The wedding ceremony and reception sites are now confirmed! Can you believe that we had to put down a deposit back in November just to hold the date, not the location?? The Broadmoor reserves the right to "bump" weddings from their chosen site in the event that a larger (read: wealthier) group needs it. Luckly, no conference group wanted my South Terrace or The Penrose Room locations that day and the hotel's room occupancy goal has been met so we were able to put down the second deposit to that guarantees the locations (that is unless there's something sinister in the fine print...).

Since the location was confirmed, I went ahead and ordered the invitations! I got a lot of positive responses on my "Save the Date" cards so I went ahead and ordered the matching invitations and response cards. I know they aren't thermographed with vellum and ribbons (and embossed swans and calla lillies-bleh) but they are simple and sweet and I like supporting a company that designs creative, indie wedding invitations. Plus, I'm saving significant money without having to print and assemble them myself. I should get the invitations in mid-March- expect to see yours in late April!

Youth, where are you going?!

I've gotten some feedback by people who are reading this blog... and I think only females are reading this. So, let's talk beauty, ladies! I think a few years ago, I studied my face and noticed that one or two tiny lines had appeared under my eyes. I really didn't think much of it and started using Philosophy's eye cream, "Hope in a Jar". Fast forward to the present and I was studying my face again... and those under-eye suckers have multiplied. Congregating and becoming less-than-tiny wrinkles. Yeah, those have to go. So I ran over to Macy's, told the makeup lady that I wanted "to blast my wrinkles away by June" and got this:

This is Lancome's eye cream for people in their twenties. It's not a thick cream like the Philosophy stuff and supposedly contains pure vitamin E which "helps protect the fragile eye area from premature aging factors so it’s free to repair itself" - whatever that means. I'm not sure it's working but when I bought this, I got a (tiny) free sample of this:

This eye cream is Lancome's heavy duty stuff- for ladies in their 40s and 50s. I've been using the Primordiale Eye stuff in the mornings and the R.A.R.E. stuff at night. Holy crap- I think this stuff actually works! I've only been using the creams for about 5 days now but my fine lines have significantly soften. Surprisingly, I think it's really helped my dark circles too! Also, the skin under my eyes is much softer than when I used the Philosophy stuff.

I won't lie, the eye creams are pricey... but I think the full size jar will probably last 8 months to a year and even the trial size jar should last almost 6 months. I'm impressed enough that if the eye creams are still working in a month or so, I might treat myself to some night face cream too. Lancome is owned by L'oreal so maybe the L'oreal eye creams are just as effective? Anyway, does anyone else have any skincare recommendations?

Wedding Day Jewelry

While my dress is being made, I've started to think about the bridal jewelry. I can't picture wearing a tiara and I don't want to be dripping in fake rhinestones (but apparently, a LOT of brides do). Pearls are always a classic choice and I've been looking for the right balance of classy and bling. Recently, I found an online shop that sells some nice, handmade jewelry and this necklace caught my eye:

It's made of freshwater pearls and swarovski crystals. Here are the matching earrings (the crystals aren't the right color in the picture):

Both pieces are really affordable but I'm not sure if I could wear them again after the wedding. Another option is to go the pearls only route like this pearl strand from Blue Nile:

I could definitely wear this again but the price is much higher. The pearl earring options are much plainer too:

The last option is to go the borrowing route. A friend of mine has offered to let me borrow some of her jewelry and she has quite the collection. I'm just worried about borrowing something waaay out of my price range and then losing or damaging it. Does anyone have any opinion on what I should do?

Ceremony Musicians

I've booked ceremony musicians! It's a string trio. I booked them through The Broadmoor (this is the only vendor I booked through them) and I'm worried that I'm overpaying. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to do my research and call a bunch of area musicians since I'm busy finishing up my graduate work. I think they'll do a fabulous job so for those coming to the wedding, please show up early and enjoy them!

My Big Redneck Wedding

I was pretty sick this week so I spent most of my time parked on the couch watching TV. I discovered a show called "My Big Redneck Wedding" on the Country Music Channel (I'm not a fan of country music, but the channel is right next to the Food Network and FX). Man, did I get sucked into this show. We're talking about weddings where the entire wedding party is wearing camo. Wedding receptions that have a mud wrestling pool (and the groom wrestled his mom and took her down!). And lots of obscene french kissing. I mean, is there a Hershey Kiss lodged in the back of her throat or something?! And the best part of it is that it's hosted by Tom Arnold and his comments are truly merciless. It's must watch TV for me (and much better than those crappy "My Big Fat Fabulous Wedding" type shows) and it really goes to show how when it comes to weddings, or any other special event, it's really to-each-their-own.