150 Days Out : Progress Post, DC/NoVA Wedding

[etoilepb]

I swear, wasn't it just January? Where on earth has May gone?

I was surprised as hell on Tuesday to find that we were 5 months out from our October 11 wedding... and I've been pleased with how things are going lately so I felt like doing a progress post today. :) (Really, it's as much for my own little archive as anything else, but eh. ;) )

Here's where we were at 200 days.

Since then, we've settled:

• Flowers: Petal's Edge Floral Design. I forgot to calculate labor & delivery into my original estimate, and I also changed my mind about not having flowers at the ceremony, so this came in $250 over budget, but I think it was worth it. The florist I met with, Gerry, was exactly the kind of professional I look for in a vendor. She was nice but not phony, thorough, listened to what I wanted and provided workable solutions. It turns out I'm going to have a white calla lily bouquet, tied in blue ribbon, and I'm looking forward to it. :) I'm also planning to tie my late grandfather's ring onto it; we were never close (they lived in California) but he and my grandmother were happily married for 63 years when he died, and it's amazing how much my fiance is like him. (My grandmother gave him that ring when they were engaged in 1941.)
• Menswear: My fiance picked out what he liked, we went to Men's Wearhouse, and it's ordered and reserved, with him all measured. Also, he doesn't know but these are already ordered and on their way. ;)
• Cake: We had a "not impressed" meeting with one bakery already, so now we know better what to ask and what to look for. We have a tasting scheduled with this baker on June 7th. The cake ideas of hers that are closest to what we're looking for: one, two, three.
• Invitations: They are in, and I love them! Here's a biggish picture. The only regret I have is how grey they are, so I bought opal envelope liners (same color as the white in the picture) for the envelopes, and it brightens them up a million times over. Total extra cost: $12 plus shipping. Nice. :)
• Rehearsal: There's a community house near where we live that we can rent pretty cheaply, so we did. We're going to have our parents, grandparents, and a very small handful of closest friends there for (a) a super-quick runthrough (no bridal party = pretty straightforward) and (b) Eastern North Carolina-style barbecue (because my fiance grew up in Wilmington), which is tasty and cheap.

Also, this morning, in response to another post in this community, I felt compelled finally to clarify the color concept, of "all sorts of shades of blue, as long as they're not too dark or too light, intentionally mismatched, with bits of silver" and it was this:



And then, in the last week, while fielding questions from my parents, my grandmothers, and my fiance's mother, I've come to realize that all of the things that were "just details" are suddenly details that need dealing with -- maybe not today, and maybe not tomorrow, but soon! ;)

Remaining:

• Jewelry: I need to raid my mom's collection before I buy anything. A week ago, on the phone, she mentioned that apparently there's a 4- or 5-generation old diamond pendant in the family somewhere, so I'd definitely like to see how that looks!
• Hair / Makeup: Everyone here was amazingly helpful when I asked about make-up, so I have a little guidance there. I'm going to buy myself good, high-quality items that I can re-use, and as few of them as possible. As for hair, I've found a couple of leads in the area but I'm still floundering. DC / NoVA brides: any tips on who I should be seeking out to come to the hotel and do hair -- just mine, no bridal party -- at 9:30 a.m. on a Sunday?
• Undergarments: One of my local LJ communities gave me a bunch of leads. Local LJ communities: almost as awesome a resource as this one!
• Shower: I had been planning to skip it altogether and weasel out of the experience (I don't much enjoy that sort of thing), but what with me being an only child and an only grandchild it has slowly become clear to me that for however long my grandmothers, mother, and aunts live, that is how long they will resent me for not doing it. So what the hell; it means I get presents and I can't really object to that. I told my best friend from college (she came dress-shopping with me, too), who lives within a half-hour of my folks, to call my mom and the two of them will sort it out. I'll go up to MA / RI [I grew up around Boston, my parents relocated closer to Providence when I was 21] whenever they tell me to. I suspect it will be mid-to-late August.
• Eighty-five thousand other details: I have learned that the flaw in "don't sweat the small stuff" is that if you don't, someone else will do it on your behalf, and then that's a bigger mess than if you'd just made a damn decision to start with. WHEE.

Also! I was having a look at our photographer's blog today, to peek at his most recent weddings, and I SWEAR that his April 18th wedding is a member of this community. Anyone in here get photos done by Max Orenstein this April? ;)