tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33063289328183385382024-02-18T22:57:30.242-05:00Wedded: Ever AfterUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger128125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3306328932818338538.post-16899853918101920622013-10-05T08:06:00.001-04:002013-10-05T08:06:08.597-04:00Relaunch-- Wedded Ever AfterT<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">oday is a new day! After over a year of a lull and no blog posts today I am officially relaunching Wedded:ever after.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here's what's new: I have a few beautiful weddings to share that I have planned over the last year, including one that was featured on <a href="http://www.stylemepretty.com/">Style me Pretty</a>, the Boston based wedding</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Blog. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lots of new inspiration and ideas coming your way as well!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And one big change, in the past I had featured some lifestyle posts. As my life has changed, I know many of yours have as well. After the wedding there are so many new and exciting things happening. The ever after. Look for posts on decorating, cooking, household tips and tricks and even babies! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thanks for coming back!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3306328932818338538.post-13378476456838054502012-10-23T11:12:00.000-04:002012-10-23T11:12:50.942-04:00Married!<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It's official. I am a Mrs. After over two years of planning, lots of laughs, a whole bunch of tears, the day came and went in a flash--as I had been warned it would. It still feels like a dream. It has been over a month and I still can't believe it happened, it's over...or it is just the beginning of the life as a Mr. and Mrs.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Let's recap:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The day was ah-mazing! We had perfect weather, it was 78 and sunny out (why did I spent the Saturday morning before looking at rain on the forecast and crying for a good 20 minutes?). Everything fell into place, the trolley showed up on time, the hair and makeup were awesome, we even had our coordinator take some video. We even got to include some Taylor Swift songs in the ceremony, like I desperately wanted to do to appease my inner 14 year old. I walked down the aisle and didn't trip and greeted a crying (yes, crying) fiance, who in a matter of 25 short minutes became my husband! It was so surreal! We stood outside the cutest little white church greeting people and hugging and kissing and I just kept thinking that it was 7 am and I was just waking up!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">We had a great reception full of good food, friends, tons of fun music, and strawberry milkshakes. Anything that went wrong (and a few small bumps did occur) seem silly to even remember now that the day is done! I can only remember blurbs of the day, it was all so fast, but in every photo I see I see my fiance and I with ear to ear grins- so I know we did it all right!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Thanks to everyone that helped out, it was more than appreciated! We couldn't ask for more amazing family and friends- we are so lucky! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Here is a photo sneak peak! EEEK! We're</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> married. </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRC6T94TSZf7LPi-0oauBQ4wbtfZ5oYMbbCb_WnN7bnsuQODhHOuUPeTJrYJqcHs27ovFebDmIUI7l847Tu1PbGCnG1a7fdnajYsXJPIMhXqtn9bHMDBwLF8_OU_jfodIwVxHV9j5-cfpj/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRC6T94TSZf7LPi-0oauBQ4wbtfZ5oYMbbCb_WnN7bnsuQODhHOuUPeTJrYJqcHs27ovFebDmIUI7l847Tu1PbGCnG1a7fdnajYsXJPIMhXqtn9bHMDBwLF8_OU_jfodIwVxHV9j5-cfpj/s400/2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The groom and groomsmen before the ceremony--he doesn't look too nervous</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU61CcI5UB7XWPJMa23IR0JBaoayywHSZfe4pofJ0HEzC075BcVcyPBd26Sb3EXupLuMSizBoyaJe7VRjijPY5N375Bu8Bth7XIAoq-bK-PKLSewI8kDJO-omId40hC5pykiOj3szSPxzi/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU61CcI5UB7XWPJMa23IR0JBaoayywHSZfe4pofJ0HEzC075BcVcyPBd26Sb3EXupLuMSizBoyaJe7VRjijPY5N375Bu8Bth7XIAoq-bK-PKLSewI8kDJO-omId40hC5pykiOj3szSPxzi/s400/1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bridesmaids during photos</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9xFTPjBbyWq7slWjM-eEXSiNPCH4Zvsy7C34Mv6T2opnBKQH0TOD32cQhhmDI2XkOYbERRCbuxV-1VUvqjB7lnm5fOyBKmXZOY3s56I0CRH7zCVIlAuphYXU7Ghji1R0GBsmIG5-YY-vA/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9xFTPjBbyWq7slWjM-eEXSiNPCH4Zvsy7C34Mv6T2opnBKQH0TOD32cQhhmDI2XkOYbERRCbuxV-1VUvqjB7lnm5fOyBKmXZOY3s56I0CRH7zCVIlAuphYXU7Ghji1R0GBsmIG5-YY-vA/s320/3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5GILX6zenLg/UG3S73hy7rI/AAAAAAAAAf0/NF6x7lHv3_g/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="118" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5GILX6zenLg/UG3S73hy7rI/AAAAAAAAAf0/NF6x7lHv3_g/s320/4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3306328932818338538.post-34293469624717508042012-06-04T16:48:00.001-04:002012-06-04T16:48:02.404-04:00Here comes the....ring bearer<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Looking for a cutesy idea to add some punch to your ceremony? Look no further...</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gtfcg6URgqo/T80e5-madLI/AAAAAAAAAes/boqf8klf0Cc/s1600/here-comes-your-girl-sign+via+ever+whim+photographs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gtfcg6URgqo/T80e5-madLI/AAAAAAAAAes/boqf8klf0Cc/s640/here-comes-your-girl-sign+via+ever+whim+photographs.jpg" width="425" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3306328932818338538.post-46422510258882702672012-05-23T10:52:00.000-04:002012-05-23T10:53:41.256-04:00Memorial Day Menu!<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">So yesterday I mentioned that we were shedding for the wedding. But now, Memorial Day weekend is only a few short work days away.... and cookouts are always a hard thing to navigate when watching what you are eating! I mean there is all the temptation, "sure I'll have another 350 calorie hot dog,they are so small!" or that pasta salad that is calling your name. This year I decided that to avoid this, I would make a healthy but tasty menu everyone can enjoy, (most recipes I find are on skinnytaste.com btw) Diet or no diet. Plus the boys can grill up some full fat patty's if they like. So here's what I'm planning:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong><em>Apps:</em></strong></span><br />
<strong><u><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Avocado and corn salsa</span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1 medium size Avocado </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1 cup corn kernels</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1/2 cup chopped tomatoes (I prefer plum tomatoes they hold up well)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1/4 cup (little less if you don't love onion) red onion</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">2 tbsp lime juice</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1/4 tsp sea salt</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">2 tbsp cilantro- rough chopped.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This is easy to make, dice the tomatoes and avocado and onion (I use my tiny chop chop for the onion to make sure its small...I am not a good "dicer"), mix with corn, lime juice, salt and cilantro. Refrigerate at least 3 hrs prior to serving. Yum!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<strong><u><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Caprese Skewers:</span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Totally easy, I get the tiny mozzarella balls</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Skewer with grape tomatoes and slivers of basil</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Drizzle with balsamic glaze (found in the salad dressing aisle)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<strong><u><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Buffalo Chicken Dip</span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">You can find this recipe searching on my blog. I mentioned back during Superbowl. It can be done hot or cold so we will do the cold version. Basically you take LF cream cheese mix it with pulled buffalo chicken yum yum, add some hot sauce and call it a day!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em><strong>Sides:</strong></em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">My fav part are the sides!!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong><u>Regular Tossed Garden Salad</u></strong>- with all the goodies!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong><u>Chick Pea and Cilantro Salad</u></strong>- I LOVE cilantro FYI</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">2 cans of garbanzo beans, drained and washed and dried</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">4 cups, loosely packed spinach</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1 cup cilantro</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1/2 small onion</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">3 Tbsp sugar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">2 Tbsp Dijon mustard</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">2 cloves garlic, finely minced or grated on a micro plane</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1/2 Tbsp chili powder</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1/2 cup olive oil</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Chop the spinach very finely. Add the chickpeas, onion, and spinach to a large bowl. In a food processor or small chop chop :) add the lime juice, cilantro, sugar, mustard, garlic, chili powder, and olive oil. Process til it comes together into a dressing, about 30-45 seconds. Pour over the chickpea mixture and stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let sit for about 10 minutes on the counter or overnight in the fridge to let the flavors become friends!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong><em>The Main Event</em></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<strong><u><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Shrimp Skewers</span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This recipe I got from my amazing friend Mox. We made them least year for Fiance's bday bash and they were soooo good! Juicy, tasty, and healthy! She also notes that the KEY to these are that they marinate overnight!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">3 cloves garlic, minced</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1/3 cup olive oil</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1/4 cup tomato sauce * use a good marinara!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">2 Tbsp red wine vinegar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">2 Tbsp fresh basil</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1.2 tsp salt</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1/4 tsp cayenne pepper</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">2 pounds peeled and deveined shrimp (The market near us has "recipe" shrimp so they are already peeled, deveined and all the gross stuff is done!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Skewers (remember to soak these for 15 minutes before you thread the shrimp on so they don't burn on the grill!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="plaincharacterwrap break" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">*I like to add a little bit of red pepper flakes* </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="plaincharacterwrap ingredient">
<span class="plaincharacterwrap break" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In a large bowl, stir together the garlic, olive oil, tomato sauce, and red wine vinegar. Season with basil, salt, and cayenne pepper. Add shrimp to the bowl, and stir until evenly coated. Cover, and refrigerate overnight (if you don't have time or forget to do that, its ok to marinate for 30 minutes to an hour stirring once) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span class="plaincharacterwrap break">Before you grill:</span><span class="plaincharacterwrap break"> Thread shrimp onto skewers, piercing once near the tail and once near the head. Discard marinade. Lightly spray grill with non-stick spray, or use a seafood cage to cook on grill.1-2 minutes each side. These are SO good!!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="plaincharacterwrap break" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Other LF menu additions: Hebrew National low fat dogs, whole wheat buns and veggie patties.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="plaincharacterwrap break" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Of course, the guys are still going to want the good stuff, so we have some burgers and dogs for them...but shhhhhh.... the cheese will be LF.</span></div>
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<span class="plaincharacterwrap break" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Have a Happy Holiday Weekend :)</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3306328932818338538.post-85200274378902848872012-05-22T10:31:00.003-04:002012-05-22T10:37:29.598-04:00Shedding for the Wedding<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So your wedding is around the corner and you want to shed a
few lbs? I did. I promised myself I would lose 40 lbs. before my wedding day
two years ago. “Forty pounds no biggie, I have over 2 years to lose it! I could
do two lbs. a month and be good!” Ya, somewhere between the cake tasting and
the afternoons spent with the caterer, I realized that a year and a half had
passed and I hadn’t moved a pound on the scale—in the right direction.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Losing weight is hard enough, add to the recipe (no pun intended) stress, lots
of pressure, lots of celebratory drinks and cakes, a full time job of wedding
planning on top of the day to day stuff- it can be difficult. If you are like
me, add to it a thyroid problem and a hefty schedule of not-your-own wedding
related events (other people’s showers etc) and a fiance that loves pizza and
beer—it can be extremely difficult.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3QoyBf5XU0o/T7uhthFVIaI/AAAAAAAAAeY/slDYpR4V35I/s1600/feet-scale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3QoyBf5XU0o/T7uhthFVIaI/AAAAAAAAAeY/slDYpR4V35I/s1600/feet-scale.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Months ago I decided to exercise more and start eating less .
I felt better on the inside, I had more energy and felt like I should weigh 102
lbs…but when all was said and done I hadn’t lost a pound. When I hit my “100
days“ to my wedding mark, I decided to really kick it up a notch. I asked my fiancé
for his support and started on the 17 day diet. It hasn’t been easy, and I
haven’t weighed myself to see what (if anything) I have lost. But my fiancé has
lost 6 lbs and we feel better. Not to mention, I feel like we could go back to
our old “foods” and eat them in a more moderate way (side note: I’ve always
eaten pretty healthy just TOO much).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Basically Dr. Mike’s 17 day diet is this: two servings of
probiotic a day, lean meats, some fish, and lots and lots of veggies + fruit
before 2 pm. It’s all about calorie cycling, so you change your caloric intake
and foods every 17 days.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The first week we stuck to it pretty strictly. I will
provide our week one menu below. Then we went ahead and had a “cheat” weekend
(more on that later) and this week we are back to it, with some “moderations”
(again more on that below).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ok so here’s the deal—I downloaded the 17 day book, but I
found most of my help on blogs regarding the diet. I don't really feel deprived and I'm not really craving carbs, I just want to be able to have more variety-- so we have cheated a bit adding avacado and having a bit of cous cous on Sunday night (rounding out a cheating weekend)...but I have made better choices: IE no bun on Saturday with my sandwich!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">**Disclaimer: I do not recommend doing this diet without
first checking with your Dr. and we HAVE moderated it a bit- so please if you
are a 17 day dieter, don’t judge--by day 5 I needed a half a glass of red wine</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h2 class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Week 1 Menu:<o:p></o:p></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So as I said, basically for week 1 you eat only veggies, protein,
and two servings of probiotic. Since I basically eat the same thing all week, I
did the first three days.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Day 1:<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">B- <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>¼ cup Cottage
Cheese, ½ granny smith apple</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">L- Super salad (they talk about this in the book, its
basically loading a salad w veggies)- lettuce, green pepper, red pepper, LF
cheese 2 tbsp, grilled chicken, hotties, tomatoes, onions, celery-etc</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Snack- Orange (before 2 pm)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">D- Grilled Chicken and Roasted Zucchini and mashed
cauliflower (really easy to do! And once you are back “on” carbs you could
easily add ONE baked potato and do the rest with cauli!)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Snack: Plain Greek yogurt, drizzle of honey<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Day 2:</strong> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">L- Chicken Vegetable soup- homemade. 1 box of low sodium
Swanson broth, 2 cut up carrots, 2 cut up celery, ½ cup of chicken, as much
onion cut up to taste, ¼ cup cut up mushrooms</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Snack-Orange</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">D- “Taco” salad. Lettuce, tomatoes, chicken, lf sour
cream, salsa. I also made a side of "slaw" basically coleslaw mix with some cilantro, and some olive oil for a dressing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Day 3: </strong></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">L- Super Salad again with homemade tomato soup (diet
approved, so easy: take one can of diced tomatoes with basil and oregano- put
it in a blender, and mix it with 2 tbsp of plain Greek yogurt!)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Snack- Cottage Cheese and Granny smith apple<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">D- “eggplant parm” (recipe to follow)</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Snack- Cottage Cheese, plain with Pepper<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">By Day 4 we had to go out to eat, we had grilled buffalo
chicken salads at our fav pizza and calzone place, Angelo’s. It was pretty
delisc. I did stare down the kid with the penne pink vodka at the table next to
me—but in reality, I wasn’t really craving a carb.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>Eggplant parm on the 17 day diet is a sham. Ok, it is
decent, but still. I read one blogger who said her husband from New Jersey said
it was the best he had. I’m not sure where in New Jersey he is from but it must
be a town in Kansas called New Jersey…because honestly, its filling and its
edible and tastes goodish but it isn’t any eggplant parm form Luigi’s.</em></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong><u>Here is the recipe:<o:p></o:p></u></strong></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>¼ cup egg whites<o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<em>
</em><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>¼ cup non-fat parm cheese (the only non-fat parm cheese I could
find was the grated kind in the plastic can)</em></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Cut the eggplant into ¼” rounds. You can’t get the excess
water out with salt (sodium content) so try to leave them out with a plate on
top to get it out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Dip the rounds into egg white, then parm chese.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Bake for 25- 30 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>minutes. (I baked it on 375 and guessed). FLIP
ONCE (really important I forgot to do this)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Top with LF marinara (I made my own, since most sites
mention using low sugar, low fat marinara and obvi they don’t know this can be
achieved through making your own very easily). and a Bit of LF cheese, and put back in the oven for 2-3 min. Serve with a side salad.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The other recipe I tried and failed at was a cauliflower pizza
crust.. It came out eggy and weird… and thick and kind of mushy and gross. I
feel that other people got it to come out crunchy.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I can’t figure it out…. If someone does, please let me know-
I followed the recipe to a T</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Our “cheat day” aka the downfall. Let’s just say we had a
wedding so we called it our cheat day. Earlier in the day I heated up a Kayem
Chicken Dog (ok on the diet…I think) and some roasted zucchini I had leftover.
TJ wanted to really “do it up” on cheat day so he made a box of kraft mac n
cheese. I reluctantly (OK... not so reluctantly) took a scoop full. It was the
worst decision. I told my friend Mox about the scene at our house and she
reminded me of the scene in Sex and the City when they both eat something bad
and fight for the bathroom. It was THE WORST. We went sweaty and sick to our
stomach to the wedding- where we didn’t cheat so bad, except with a trip to the
dessert table and a bad case of drunk MnM eating.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So this week we are back on track.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Our dinners this week have been:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Taco Salad, with ground chicken with fajita spices, and
tomatoes, LF sour cream and salsa<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And Tuna wraps…<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Lunches have been cottage cheese. I did cheat and have some avocado!!
Avocado you are my weakness </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">L</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So far, I haven’t weighed in, but I do feel better. My skin
looks healthier and my hair is looking better too….I won’t weigh in until after
memorial day weekend…See my next post for healthy BBQ fare </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3306328932818338538.post-29449714754740867922012-04-27T11:16:00.002-04:002012-04-27T11:16:29.774-04:00Featured!Yesterday, my Fiance TJ and I were featured in an article in USA Today! This is a great keepsake to add to our wedding stuff, and I thought the article was a good look at modern couples. There was definitely a lot of feedback over the average cost of a wedding, the need to save vs. spend, etc. What's your take on it all?<br />
<br />
Check out the article here: <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/wellness/story/2012-04-24/long-engagement-couples/54538912/1">http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/wellness/story/2012-04-24/long-engagement-couples/54538912/1</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3306328932818338538.post-73882255677796834192012-04-26T11:06:00.001-04:002012-04-26T11:07:08.840-04:00Pink and GreyAnother color day. Today's focus, the adorable pink and grey wedding. I love the look of this, it's classic and fresh and modern all at the same time. How cute!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AYUhfu6Bo0M/T5ljEKMuCsI/AAAAAAAAAd0/F8TRlC7Dz_k/s1600/invite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="397" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AYUhfu6Bo0M/T5ljEKMuCsI/AAAAAAAAAd0/F8TRlC7Dz_k/s400/invite.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Super Cute Invites from <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/WhimsyBDesigns?ref=seller_info">http://www.etsy.com/shop/WhimsyBDesigns</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KubVBnIZFtw/T5lj7XhFTSI/AAAAAAAAAeE/aeDlM8V-MAw/s1600/53761789271352867_m9oReeTH_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KubVBnIZFtw/T5lj7XhFTSI/AAAAAAAAAeE/aeDlM8V-MAw/s400/53761789271352867_m9oReeTH_b.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Your bridesmaids will love this cool color combo! Find a similar dress at JCrew or from H+M</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZihqShXC-hc/T5lkbLCMC_I/AAAAAAAAAeM/yjlgC2A3QUQ/s1600/amze.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZihqShXC-hc/T5lkbLCMC_I/AAAAAAAAAeM/yjlgC2A3QUQ/s400/amze.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">AMAZE!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NUd-akh90kw/T5ljlUHapbI/AAAAAAAAAd8/IpZV73iuAPU/s1600/blog2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NUd-akh90kw/T5ljlUHapbI/AAAAAAAAAd8/IpZV73iuAPU/s400/blog2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Super Cute for a photo op! <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/pickledparlor">http://www.etsy.com/shop/pickledparlor</a><br />
<br />
<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3306328932818338538.post-59907952066503746262012-04-17T10:01:00.000-04:002012-04-17T10:01:06.190-04:00Back!So sorry little bloggies. I left you for so long. But I am now back and in the saddle- well in front of the computer blogging away.<br />
<br />
I have so many things to tell you. We have chosen a florist, and had our final tasting with the caterer (and perfected the menu!), My dress is due in in one month, and my shower is planned and booked! How exciting!! It's all coming alive.<br />
<br />
Now, Fiance and I are on the fitness train. Nothing like waiting to the last minute. As many know, I am a huge lover of Zumba-- so I have a standing Monday night date with my girlfriends to go. But now fiance and I are going to be starting Couch to 5 k! <br />
<br />
What better time to start then this week- since we are going to Burlington this weekend, one of our 25 minute runs will take place up there- by the lake! Wahoo<br />
<br />
So it's back to blogging...stay tuned for some more posts :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3306328932818338538.post-42071163370431414802012-02-14T11:50:00.001-05:002012-02-14T11:51:12.200-05:00Client Appreciation Party<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Hi all! Just wanted to let you know about Victor's client appreciation party. If you are lucky enough to have booked this amazing DJ then come check him out this Friday night at 41 North (A super location if you have never been!). This is open to all possible clients, clients, bridal party, family, and up to 6 guests. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you are need of a DJ and are considering Victor I highly suggest you check out this event!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xWvuwkmTr3c/TzqQvt9Xh5I/AAAAAAAAAdQ/fOROOS0Ajd8/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xWvuwkmTr3c/TzqQvt9Xh5I/AAAAAAAAAdQ/fOROOS0Ajd8/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3306328932818338538.post-81238214782091614142012-02-03T14:24:00.000-05:002012-02-03T14:24:39.769-05:00Superbowl Superbowl SuperbowlGuess what Sunday is!? Well if you live under a rock maybe you are the only one who didn't know.<br />
How excited are all your Rhode Islanders for the PATS!! woo hoo<br />
<br />
Superbowls call for superbowl parties. Want to try to keep "on" your pre-wedding weight loss track but still enjoy yourself, well... indulge in this tried and true recipe--it's always a huge hit! This is a crock pot recipe which I think is great for keeping the dip hot throughout the game, but it can also be done in oven- just leave out the vinegar.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iErM8xeFJlo/Tyw0Zyv0yuI/AAAAAAAAAdI/hkY6291fnqk/s1600/Buffalo-Chicken-Dip1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iErM8xeFJlo/Tyw0Zyv0yuI/AAAAAAAAAdI/hkY6291fnqk/s320/Buffalo-Chicken-Dip1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #20124d;"><b><u><br />
</u></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #20124d;"><b><u>Light Buffalo Chicken Dip</u></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">one block reduced fat cream cheese, softened</div><div style="text-align: center;">1 cup fat free sour cream</div><div style="text-align: center;">1/2 cup hot sauce (I love Franks)</div><div style="text-align: center;">1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese</div><div style="text-align: center;">1 tsp white vinegar</div><div style="text-align: center;">2 cups shredded chicken</div><br />
Mix the First 4 ingredients together until smooth, add in the chick and put entire mixture in the crock pot on low for 3-4 hours before serving. Leave in crockpot on warm to serve. Makes appox. 10 servings. Total calories per serving 100. If you chose to do this in the oven, just combine all ingredients and bake for 20-30 minutes until bubbling.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3306328932818338538.post-18324000067131900232012-01-20T16:44:00.000-05:002012-01-20T16:44:39.561-05:00What up bridesmaids?<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I would like to announce that my fabulous bridesmaids ordered their bridesmaids dresses in blush, well before it was sited on Gossip Girl. Totally stylish, ladies.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">How excited are we for gossip girl's big wedding?! 20 bucks Blair runs out of the Church.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DaYy5ZQ95js/TxngKLXhn_I/AAAAAAAAAdA/s41WOQaG9rk/s1600/blush+color.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DaYy5ZQ95js/TxngKLXhn_I/AAAAAAAAAdA/s41WOQaG9rk/s400/blush+color.jpg" width="345" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>PS. LOOOOOOOOOOVE Serena's dress!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3306328932818338538.post-46671063220581660522012-01-20T12:47:00.000-05:002012-01-20T12:47:23.082-05:00Bridal and Gift, The final show-down<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And so it comes to be, that I did indeed find a dress on my travels. You see, I found the dress I LOVED and I thought about it all the time. It was at Ana's Bridal.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But just that night I was at a party in my apartment. A recently wed couple was discussing their wedding. "Where did you get your dress" I asked her, totally in the dress mode. "Bridal and Gift, have you been there, if you haven't I highly suggest you go!". Really? I thought.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The year before I had bought a bridesmaids dress there. It was a nice place, but small. The woman there were helpful and they had lots and lots of nice designer dresses. But when it came time to get our measurements, well... they read them ALOUD. I was totally embarrassed! After all, I was with a size 2 bride, her size 0 sister, and three single digit sized bridesmaids. My chest was in a whole new number set than theirs. UH</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UPErhCxYRFo/TxmoiUso85I/AAAAAAAAAc4/gia2a00x19A/s1600/3223590380_71229358ca.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UPErhCxYRFo/TxmoiUso85I/AAAAAAAAAc4/gia2a00x19A/s320/3223590380_71229358ca.jpg" width="295" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Then came the alterations. Again my woman was so friendly, but insisted I didn't need the top tighter. On the wedding day I put on the dress and the top fell down. Luckily she had gone above and beyond and created spaghetti straps for me and added hook and eyes so I was able to secure the dress. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I went there not expecting much- and boy was I in for a surprise. They had revamped the store. Downstairs was tons of gowns, upstairs was solely bridesmaids and Maggie Sotteros.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I went into the room and the woman had tons of dresses for me to try on. I never asked about prices and she never told me- which was weird. But she was really focused on finding what I was looking for. I was the only person in front of the mirror and the only person there. I felt totally waited on hand and foot and also like I had a ton of privacy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I have to say it was the first place I went to, besides Helene's that I felt I got the whole "bridal experience".</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And so, I did find a dress I really liked there. It was a plain A-Line Justin Alexander with pinch pleating at the top and a long train. It was pretty simple, but it had the most beautiful swavorski crystal belt!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I still had the dress at Ana's in my head though. And then a light bulb went off. Bridal and Gift gave me the experience I wanted and carried the line I loved. Could they order the dress I saw at Ana's?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In fact...they could!! Without a flinch, I ordered the dress!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I got the experience AND the dress. They may not have a fancy website or champagne and strawberries- but there was lots of love and attention.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Right before I left, Linda, the owner, came over and hugged me and whispered in my ear "congratulations and welcome to our family!"</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3306328932818338538.post-54933991565694659482012-01-13T15:15:00.001-05:002012-01-13T15:15:25.697-05:00Next Stop Shopping: Ana's Bridal<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The next stop on this ever long journey was Ana's bridal shop. I feel like I should have mentioned this earlier- but I did go a few other places I am not going to review: New York Lace, Party Dress Express, and Erina Boutique. I didn't spend a fair amount of time at each place to review them and felt my review wouldn't do the shops justice. I did however, spend an AWFUL lot of time at Ana's. It included three visits</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KADfoddnp-Q/TxCMryqY2VI/AAAAAAAAAcw/eUKKxAy-r9k/s1600/anasbridal.com.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="176" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KADfoddnp-Q/TxCMryqY2VI/AAAAAAAAAcw/eUKKxAy-r9k/s320/anasbridal.com.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As many of you know, who may have had the experience of shopping at Ana's it is small, really small. I felt like I hadn't been in such a small space before. There are dresses in every little corner.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The first visit: The first time we visited Ana's was because we had been to Wishing Well and David's without much luck (I didn't mention my visit to Wishing Well on here, because I wanted to focuses on places I had POSITIVE and negative experiences at. The Wishing Well only provided the latter). We actually showed up sans appointment which is a huge bridal no-no. I know this, but my mom doesn't and she is the type to say "let's just go you never know, maybe they can squeeze us in." Which, they did. I had one girl I was working with. Her name was Cassie. She was super sweet, but probably AT MOST 20 years old. I felt like she had no idea what this whole wedding thing was about and she basically agreed with everything I said.. She WAS perfectly nice and helpful, and my mom even thanked her and complimented her many times- which was surprising.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I was stuffed into the smallest dressing room ever. I didn't have on the proper garments and they didn't supply me any (David's and House of Brides had done so). She kept bringing over dresses that were nothing like I explained I wanted. For a moment,. I felt like she was just bringing me samples she knew would fit, without much effort on her part (contrary to Ashlie working less than a mile down the road at Helene's who was going to put every single sample in the store on you, and get it ON you even if it was 5 sizes too small, as if her life depended on it- just so you'd be happy). I then asked Cassie if I could look through the racks and SHOW her what I was looking for.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Eventually she pulled out two dresses. One was a complete lace dress that I didn't love on the hanger. I didn't want all lace. It was fitted and more of an a-line bottom. It actually looked really nice on- she added a crystal belt and I have to say It was REALLY pretty. Good job Cassie. The only problem was , this wasn't the fit I wanted, it was too "sheath" for me and also, the lace had a funny- almost circular pattern. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The next pull was a sale dress that was as is. It was a champagne colors Justin Alexander with gorgeous beading on the top. Even thought it was 4 sizes too small, I was able to get into the dress and pull it on. It wouldn't zip but she clipped me into the back. They would have to do alterations to this dress, because it was the last one. It was on sale for half price, so the dress was around $1000.This dress was going to need a corset back and the beading to be redone in some spots, plus an obvious hem. All the reconstruction was adding up. Finally I could tell my mom thought "no way". She looked at me and said she wasn't going to pay a ton of money for a sample dress that had to be completely reconstructed (she was paying for my gown). </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The next few were ok. And at the end of the appointment we started looking through the Paloma and Justin gowns. They were beautiful. There was a gown my mom pulled out that I quickly dismissed. She put it back on the rack. Then I went through and I saw the gown again. It was SO gorgeous now that I looked at it. I hadn't seen anything in the store I liked better. I held it up, but by that point the steam from the appointment was running low, so we left.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Three days later I was still thinking about that dress. So I called Ana's back and made another appointment. This time it was with Ana herself. It was a week night so it was really slow. Again, I was crammed into that small little fitting room. The other piece I didn't mention is that when you have on a gown you have to get in front of the mirrors in front of the whole store. Not my ideal situation. I showed her the gown I loved and asked if she had anything similar. I told her that I had been thinking about it. She wiggled me into the gown as best she could but I couldn't get an idea of it. So I tried on a similar Paloma dress. Except the price tag on this one was TWICE as much. I got the idea of the style and the look of the dress. I told Ana I wanted to look around the entire store to see if I liked anything better. I had heard Ana can be pushy and a bit annoyed with brides, but to be honest, I was delightfully surprised with her. She was really kind and she showed me every dress that I MAY like that was similar or at least was my taste. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I kept coming back to that dress. The beading I had never seen before, the lace, the crystals! It wasn't ANYTHING like I thought I would fall in love with but it was perfect.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I left that night knowing in my heart that was my dress.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In the meantime, I had made my appointment at Helene's to see if I could find anything better.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I went to Helene's with my mom the next night, and as you know, I had a great experience but didn't find anything there.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So back to Ana's we went for our third trip there. They were busy and we didn't have an appointment so I told them I wanted to re-show my mom the dress I loved. When I picked it up off the rack I started to cry. "The lace!" "the beading!" "the construction!" "the fabric" it wasn't just the dress to me, it felt like it came to life. I can't remember the last time I loved an article of clothing so much. It wasn't even on my body and I felt so much love for it. When I think back, I still get that feeling. When I have doubts that it was my dress, I think back to that moment. My mom nodded and we knew.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But....did we buy the dress???????</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Well, I will let you think about it over the weekend! Happy weekend everyone, see ya' Tuesday!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3306328932818338538.post-88872349472475211182012-01-10T14:30:00.001-05:002012-01-10T14:33:19.599-05:00The Next Bridal Shop Stop: Helene's Bridal<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Back again with more wedding dress shopping-ness. My next stop was <b><span style="color: purple;">Helene's</span></b>. I had a ton (I mean a ton) of people telling me I should go there and saw tons of great reviews. My friend Ali had bought her dress from Helene's and it looked incredible on her on her wedding day. She said the service was spectacular.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2nzbDuQeASI/TwyRVB8qiEI/AAAAAAAAAcc/xm94wapC6Kk/s1600/Helenes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2nzbDuQeASI/TwyRVB8qiEI/AAAAAAAAAcc/xm94wapC6Kk/s320/Helenes.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My mom and I made an appointment for one night after work. I was the only customer in the shop, and though there is just two changing rooms they are huge. I like that the changing room was divided up. My mom sat on one side of the changing room door--and then we could close an accordion door so that I could get dressed on the other side. It made the anticipation fun because then we'd open the door and I would have on a dress- ta da!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I also went to Helene's because they carried one of my favorite wedding dress designers: Tara Keely.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Tara dresses are designed by Lazaro so they have the same incredible craftsmanship but do not have any of the beading or intricate designs of the Lazaro dresses so the price tags are not as hefty. The dresses are beautifully made, with lots of lace and really flowy ethereal look. From what I have seen Tara dresses ran from $1200- $2200. I tried on this Tara dress in ivory:</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UeLMCsFnAAk/TwyOodzetwI/AAAAAAAAAcU/G5lcFM9JLJk/s1600/2059.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UeLMCsFnAAk/TwyOodzetwI/AAAAAAAAAcU/G5lcFM9JLJk/s400/2059.jpg" width="286" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I did try on quite a few other choices. Including gasp a Maggie Sottero that I liked. There were a lot of dresses, kind of divided up by section. I did think the large closet that held a ton in the changing room was dark and hard to see the details- and also PACKED with dresses. But the consultant was great about pulling them out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">One of the issues that i had when trying to find a dress was that I did not, no way, no how, want a satin dress. I am getting married in August, in a church with no AC. I was not going to put a heavy satin dress on. I also do not like the sheen of satin on myself so I preferred a more matte fabric.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ashlie the consultant at Helene's was nothing short of phenomenal. She was the same consultant that had helped my friend. I did not know this until I mentioned my friends name and she knew everything about her, from the colors of her wedding to her fiance's name. I knew that to remember that from month's earlier meant that she took a real interest in her clients.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After about an hour I wasn't really finding anything I loved. That Tara Keely above I tried on- the material was just plain weird. Ashlie told me while the dress looked cute on the mannequin she actually had not sold one of those dresses, ever. Sometimes she said "pieces are just a showpiece". </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At the end she was just plain honest, I might not find what I am looking for at her shop. They carried a certain type of dress and a limited amount of stock and if it wasn't what I was interested in those choices then she wasn't sure she could help. She took my name down and took photos of what I did like, then told me whenever she got in the shipments she would look through to see if there is anything I might be interested in. If there was, then she would send me a pic to my cell so I could see it and possibly come in if I liked it. I liked that she was no-nonsense and wasn't going to waste my time making me come in for a dress I was not interested in. She also was the first one that spoke up to say "we might not have what you want here, but that's ok". The entire appointment she stressed that she wanted ME to be happy as a bride and if it meant not finding something at their shop that was ok.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This made me like Ashlie a lot. On top of that, it made me want to go back to see her. So we may end up back at Helene's looking for a dress for my mom. Or a veil for myself or accessories. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If I had to suggest one place that all brides should try first in RI, I would hands down suggest Helene's and suggest that you request Ashlie.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I would give Helene's and A for the visit. I would have given them an A+ but I didn't find a dress there :( </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Next Stop: <b><span style="color: purple;">Ana's Bridal</span></b>- East Providence</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3306328932818338538.post-1453674751205117532012-01-10T09:36:00.003-05:002012-01-10T09:47:28.577-05:00Next Stop: House of Brides<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As you know, yesterday I started a series on my dress shopping experience. I wish I had photos to document my journey- but sorry, I was already self conscious enough. I wasn't the bride that had "clips" in the back of the dress. So there was no way I was taking photos of myself in the dresses...but I have posted photos of the dresses I tried on while at HOB.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I made an appointment at <b><span style="color: purple;">House of Brides</span></b> because it was close and I heard it had a really great selection. They carried Enzoani dresses, which I def. wanted to try on. I had called them a few times and they were over the top nice and said to come in, it didn't matter what size you needed or wanted and that they thought all brides were "beautiful" because they were old ladies. I thought that was funny and quirky so I made an appointment.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The shop is big and clean. It is a blast back to the 70's but you would almost think it was modern since all that retro chic stuff is coming back in- good thing they didn't renovate. Everything that was in style, always comes back. I thought it was funny that it was so blast from the past and my mom mentioned that in 1972 she bought a bridesmaid dress at the shop. She was sure the only thing in the shop that had changed was the carpet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There are some sale dresses and MOB and Bridesmaid when you walk in, but all the wedding dresses that are full price are held in the back. You tell the sales person what you are looking for and she heads in the back and pulls you the dresses. I didn't mind that kind of experience because I had been through something similar when looking for prom dresses years ago at La Botega.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LJjOudYTMNc/TwxMPtrHscI/AAAAAAAAAcE/UZ5A2wHEWIQ/s1600/house+of+brides+larger+print1_full.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LJjOudYTMNc/TwxMPtrHscI/AAAAAAAAAcE/UZ5A2wHEWIQ/s400/house+of+brides+larger+print1_full.jpeg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I went looking for a specific Enzoani dress that I had seen online. When I showed the sales women the dress she said its nothing they would "ever carry". I asked why and she said "too much going on, too big of a belt at the waist, stupid sleeve". It kind of hurt my feelings that she felt that way (I loved the dress in the photo) and I wish she wasn't so honest. Her honesty did not end there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I showed her photos of what I did not like. I was not looking for something generic. this means different things to different people, but most of all, I didn't want to end up in a dress 1,000 other brides had worn.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The first 3 dresses she pulled were exactly what I wasn't looking for. I said I was going to be honest, so I will be. Maggie Sottero is the largest dress designer in the US. They supply to almost every private bridal salon and her prices range from $600-$2500 for her dresses. I would say that 70% of brides in the US may wear a Maggie or Maggie look alike. They make nice dresses that are quality. The majority of their dresses however, are in a style I was not looking for. I didn't want to totally exclude any designer but I knew if a designer's line had a majority of dresses in a specific style I wasn't interested in, then it was best to just exclude that designer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Once I made it clear that I wasn't a "Maggie Bride", things went easier. There is nothing against Maggie dresses and some girls beat down the doors of a bridal shop to be a "Maggie Bride" but it just isn't me. We all like different things and that's what makes the world go round, right?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I tried on a few more dresses that were pretty and nice but just ok. Then I tried to explain further what I was looking for. The consultant came back with two more dresses. They were Marisa's. She said she didn't bring them out originally because they were beyond my price point. This is true, they were, but only by a few hundred dollars. I appreciate her not bringing them out at first since they were over the budget. But I wish she mentioned she had a dress exactly what I was looking for that is slightly over budget. I would have asked to have seen it about 10 minutes into my appointment, not an hour.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Overall the sales woman was nice and she was concerned for me. She sat me down at one point when I was almost in tears and told me I wouldn't have to settle for anything and not to feel that way. Then she talked to my mom, and said that sometimes being supportive is the best medicine for someone that feels self conscious. Instead of bringing up my flaws (which is what made me upset in the first place), its best to ignore them. After all she said "we all know our flaws and we don't need to be reminded of them." Which I thought was really applicable to everyone and anyone. We all know our flaws, we do the best to work on them. Be them physical or personality flaws etc, we don't need daily reminders from others!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After I looked at the Marisa dresses I asked for something similar. She said she didn't have anything. But I felt like "what" if there was something in that back room that she had that I didn't see. So she allowed me to go into the back and just as she said there was nothing else there that was similar.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I made an appointment to go back to the store the next week because I did REALLY love the Marisa dress. The Marisa dress is totally beautiful. It is all silk and hand sewn flower detailing. My mom doesn't love the flower details but I think they look pretty and soft and elegant. It just flows really nice. It was sooo soft to the touch and the material was draped beautifully.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OcWikn4CyNI/TwxMQqkVo7I/AAAAAAAAAcM/vHUhwATQXRM/s1600/marisa860_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OcWikn4CyNI/TwxMQqkVo7I/AAAAAAAAAcM/vHUhwATQXRM/s400/marisa860_1.jpg" width="298" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">However, this dress did not end my search. I was ready to see more dresses, feeling confident I finally found one that was similar to the style I was looking for!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Overall, I give my experience at House of Brides a B+. At times the sales woman was a bit harsh but she was overall pretty nice. I never did try on an Enzoani like I asked to a bunch of times..but, they did have a nice selection and I appreciated them letting me go into the back to peek. I also thought the decor was kind of a fun trip back in time- while still being insanely neat and clean.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My next step, I was onto <b><span style="color: purple;">Helene's Bridal </span></b>in East Providence.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3306328932818338538.post-72632026798726875242012-01-09T10:56:00.002-05:002012-01-10T10:05:17.031-05:00DRESS SHOPPING REVIEW EXTRAVAGANZA!<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
I realized I posted that I bought my dress and had a guessing game of which dress it was, but didn’t comment on my dress shopping experience. So I thought I’d do a series this week. Much like the girls do on the knot I thought I’d give a grade to each shop (I visited a bunch) and then give a tidbit of info to help those girls just starting their dress journey. On top of this, I have decided to go all in on these posts. If you don’t like honesty I suggest you skim. I am being honest about my experience and myself as a person in order to help those other brides to be out there. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">To be honest, I put off dress shopping for a year and then months and months because I was not happy with myself. I haven’t lost the lbs. *<b>lots of lbs</b>* I have gained since meeting fiancé and I felt like crap. The dieting and exercising and weight I thought I would have lost didn’t come off as fast as I’d hope, or at all. I felt better inside but didn’t think I reflected it on the outside. My weight gain also lead to additional scaring and stretch marks that made me feel self conscious. I never talk about my weight gain much but I knew everyone else KNEW that was the reason I was being so apprehensive. I finally came to the realization if I wanted to get a dress I LIKED I’d have to start shopping and be happy with myself. Yes, I might be getting married at the heaviest I have ever been, but that doesn’t mean I can’t look pretty and have my dream dress. I got over the fact that I didn’t think I “deserved” what thin brides got for their day for my own wedding, and realized I needed to give myself some credit. So here is the disclaimer that a lot of my dress shopping was hindered by my size. Awesome. But, I deserved a dress I loved- so off I went shopping.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Anyway, mine was not so much of a dress journey as it was a marathon. Once I got going on it I didn’t WANT to stop until I found a dress. It left me searching website and pulling gowns from magazines non-stop on the days between appointments.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My first appointment was on a whim.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">On a Sunday afternoon my mom and I went into <span style="color: purple;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>David’s Bridal</u></b>.</span> Partially to look at dresses for her, and then to look at dresses for me. She wanted me to try on various styles to see what I liked so we could narrow it down.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PqoMkk3Y218/TwsOJDhjRzI/AAAAAAAAAbw/LJK6sJHGfLI/s1600/davids_bridal-shop.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196px" rea="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PqoMkk3Y218/TwsOJDhjRzI/AAAAAAAAAbw/LJK6sJHGfLI/s400/davids_bridal-shop.png" width="400px" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In case you haven’t realized from reading my blog, I am really particular. I have a certain style in mind and a set idea of “what” I want. When I can’t find anything to fit into that mold, I get easily frustrated. This is probably why one day last August a girl I barely knew looked at me and said “it’s ok I understand why you are obsessing, because you are totally type A”. I will never forget that comment or the comment my printer made to me about being the “most particular client that has walked through the door in at least 15 years”- but I guess it helped me get out of my denial stage and come to terms with the fact that it was true, I was one of “those people”. (we don’t like to call ourselves control freaks).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At any rate, I did have preconceived notions before going to David’s Bridal. I knew what it was: A chain store that sold knockoffs of too expensive for me to afford designer dresses for an affordable price. A friend once told me the designers for Forever 21 head out to fashion shows for top designers and immediately run back to their office to sketch the Forever designs based on the shows- and immediately send the sketches off to be made. I figured this must be what David's Bridal designers did. This was the exact reason I wanted to check out the Vera Wang White line. After all, who doesn't want a Vera look at an affordable price? Overall, the store was a bit chaotic, and a bit over crowded.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We didn’t have an appointment so I was assigned a girl that looked about 12. She threw me over a corset and a petticoat and told me to come out when it was on. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to hook all 42 hooks on the corset myself but I tried my best. I got frustrated and was almost in tears when another girl knocked on the door. “How are you doing”…”um can you tell me how I am supposed to do this myself”…”you’re not”, she said. She came in and helped me. She was a life saver!!! She saved me from the edge of tears.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I tried on a few Vera gowns I had been swooning over. They weighed about 30 lbs a piece. And I soon realized what I “thought” I liked wasn’t what I liked. I wanted something a bit couture, and since David’s is a national store- they order their gowns so they appease a multitude of brides. Because of this, I found 3or 4 gowns I “kind of” liked.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The service wasn’t as bad as I expected. There were two appointments at once- but that was ok with me. I had more time to stand and stare at myself in the mirror (not my crowning moment, but hey, every girl wants to feel like a princess) while strangers told me they liked the dress I had on (that I hated).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I did find one dress that I thought could be a big backup if I couldn’t find anything. Also, I do give David’s credit for having dresses ALL women can try on. I mean I am talking size 0-30 in stock to try on. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Overall, I’ll give my appointment at David’s from the point the savior consultant walked in until I walked out a B. Anything before that gets a D+.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Next stop:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My next appointment I made was at the <span style="color: purple;"><strong>House of Brides</strong></span> in Woonsocket. Come back tomorrow to read more on that visit!</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3306328932818338538.post-79146006970450970502012-01-03T12:32:00.000-05:002012-01-03T12:32:46.447-05:00Recently Engaged? Here's Help<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As I mentioned in my previous post there were a lot of engagements over the holidays! It's one of the most popular times of the year to be engaged, after all.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So now, you are newly engaged... and what do you do next.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Well from my own engagement, some nice girls on the knot, and a few other resources I have compiled a "WHAT NEXT" plan for you!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1. I think this is my biggest tip: <b><span style="color: purple;">Stop and smell the roses</span></b>. Take it all in. It is certainly a very overwhelming time. Everyone is likely as happy as you are and wants to be involved and hear all the details. There will be lots of phone calls, lots of posts on facebook, and lots of e-mails. Plus lots of questions being fired in your direction "when is the wedding? Where will it be?" etc.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">First have a go to line for all those that are inquiring. A quick "thanks so much! We are so happy- and we are just enjoying the moment and will let you know when we start planning" or even a "this has been so exciting we haven't even begun to plan yet". Should do the trick. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Consider sending out one big e-mail to recount what happened. "Since you all asked, here is the quick version of our engagement story" with a photo of the ring. That should keep people at bay---for a few weeks anyway.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Now, sit back and enjoy being engaged. I heard stories of girls that went dress shopping the day after they got engaged. It's all so fun- that its nice to enjoy Each moment, a bit at a time.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">2. School yourself. Likely, you have never planned a large scale event like a wedding before. It is a lot, and there are tons of details. It's best to grab a few wedding magazines first. See the styles you like and think you might be interested in. Scour a few blogs. My favorites are Stylemeprettyand ruffledblog. However, I think smaller (read: written by Bride's themselves) blogs are great too. Try <a href="http://futuremrsmathewwolfe.blogspot.com/">http://futuremrsmathewwolfe.blogspot.com/</a> and <a href="http://www.blushingbrideblog.com/">http://www.blushingbrideblog.com/</a>. These will give you a look into the lives or real brides!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Once you have an idea of what you and your fiance want in terms of style, think about size, what's MOST important to you (food, decor, music?) and then you can move on to step 3.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">3. Set a budget and search for venues. The venue will set the tone of the day. That's why its best to have an idea of what "style" (read: tip #2) you have in mind BEFORE you start to look. If you want a vintage rustic barn wedding-there is no sense wasting time looking at hotel ballrooms. If you want a huge mansion wedding, you won't waste time at small beach side venues. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Set a budget BEFORE you look at venues. So you won't be tempted to look outside your comfort zone. There are beautiful venues that fit EVERY budget.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">4. Make a list. Sign up for TheKnot or some other countdown by month. Having a planner with step by step monthly "to dos" will work wonders. Please note: your timing will vary by area. For example, we booked our DJ a year or more ago but TheKnot planner is telling me to search for DJs now that I am 7 months out. In our area, that doesn't make sense.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ask around. You will find out what vendors you NEED to book right away and which can wait. I swear by the local knot boards. Even if you lurk and don't post- they are extremely helpful.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3306328932818338538.post-87527542167158200522012-01-03T10:59:00.000-05:002012-01-03T10:59:21.983-05:00HAPPY NEW YEAR! and Happy Engagements<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Happy New Year! I hope everyone had an amazing New Year's and that you are ready for 2012!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I know I am. 2012 is a great year!! I spent the last moments of 2011 with 4 great friends and fiance. We all had one thing in common- we're all getting married in 2012! How fun is that? It also made for a fun photo op!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Here we are:</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHQr-nwkJ-qX6YmMJz6qWdpFnZ54BG5B9k8TEvIXPf276uNvCV1dZ2IHKoDcnq260fsUeYaDM95uKTxObobhiKcbKLcRbRTFa0IbXMKgrTfXHkLEbQt3O_yiBMyai61zBbuc5pHw1FEcM2/s400/3marriedladies.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="298" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the three 2012 brides :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHQr-nwkJ-qX6YmMJz6qWdpFnZ54BG5B9k8TEvIXPf276uNvCV1dZ2IHKoDcnq260fsUeYaDM95uKTxObobhiKcbKLcRbRTFa0IbXMKgrTfXHkLEbQt3O_yiBMyai61zBbuc5pHw1FEcM2/s1600/3marriedladies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I also want to congratulate 3 sets of couples that were engaged over the holidays.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Congrats to Julia and Rhodes- so happy for you two!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Also Congrats to Katie and Phil- who, after years of dating are taking the plunge</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">and finally to my Fiance's Friend Mike, who is also a groomsman in our wedding and Margarita! Best wishes </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">XO</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3306328932818338538.post-75532576522961299142011-12-19T11:39:00.000-05:002011-12-19T11:39:02.785-05:00Happy Holidays!<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Happy Holidays everyone! I hope everyone is getting all ready for the upcoming madness that is the holiday season.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Just wanted to share some really cute inspiration from Christmas themed weddings:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ElwPpWO0PY8/Tu9oYFK2xUI/AAAAAAAAAbE/ZXo7Nyf5Irw/s1600/cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ElwPpWO0PY8/Tu9oYFK2xUI/AAAAAAAAAbE/ZXo7Nyf5Irw/s320/cake.jpg" width="236" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5MegREoEGZQ/Tu9oZ6AdlOI/AAAAAAAAAbU/RmgnYoDpsKI/s1600/christmas_claire_and_ashley_wedding2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5MegREoEGZQ/Tu9oZ6AdlOI/AAAAAAAAAbU/RmgnYoDpsKI/s400/christmas_claire_and_ashley_wedding2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Pbh4DhAwZ_s/Tu9oa_aPmtI/AAAAAAAAAbc/8_eZjzM9tNE/s1600/ChristmasTheme.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Pbh4DhAwZ_s/Tu9oa_aPmtI/AAAAAAAAAbc/8_eZjzM9tNE/s400/ChristmasTheme.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--sTx22e1G3s/Tu9oY1-5dQI/AAAAAAAAAbM/DlQBZWP0oys/s1600/cake2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="291" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--sTx22e1G3s/Tu9oY1-5dQI/AAAAAAAAAbM/DlQBZWP0oys/s320/cake2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3306328932818338538.post-22963450939098107292011-12-14T13:01:00.000-05:002011-12-14T13:01:20.653-05:00Really Exciting Stuff!<b><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Calling all RI and close by MA brides!!</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As you all know, I am a total type A person, and am picky picky picky. So it was a TASK to find all my perfect vendors to create my dream team. One of those fantastic ladies that I chose was Kristin Greene from Simply Beautiful. The minute I met Kristin it was like chatting with a friend. I felt that I could exhale when I met her, that I could be open and honest about everything wedding without being guarded. Honesty after all, helps a bride achieve what she REALLY wants.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4gGXGcwgptw/Tujj2TMFccI/AAAAAAAAAaw/P5rrqq28VWk/s1600/1alexandriahair_thumb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4gGXGcwgptw/Tujj2TMFccI/AAAAAAAAAaw/P5rrqq28VWk/s320/1alexandriahair_thumb.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After my awesome trial with Kristin, I soon began following her Facebook page "Simply Beautiful by Kristin Greene".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Well- am I glad I did. I wanted to let everyone know that Kristin is looking for models for gel polish, updos, airbrush makeup and extensions. What better time to try out your wedding look when it's free of charge-plus you will be totally helping Kristin and her girls out!</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I suggest you head over to facebook right NOW and volunteer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Simply-Beautiful-by-Kristin-Greene/112166232155125">https://www.facebook.com/pages/Simply-Beautiful-by-Kristin-Greene/112166232155125</a> </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Check out Kristin's work on her website: <a href="http://kristingreene.net/default.aspx">http://kristingreene.net/default.aspx</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(where you can see a lovely photo of fellow knottie Faith!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You.Will.Not.Regret.It!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">xoxox</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3306328932818338538.post-35622419436174587362011-12-08T09:46:00.001-05:002011-12-14T12:52:33.160-05:00Which dress is my wedding dress?!<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Want to play a little game?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">On Monday I got measured for my wedding dress ,which is being ordered tomorrow but unfortunately I won't have in my possession until the second week of June. I am so saddened by this, because I basically want to wear this dress ever day of the week and sing it from the rooftops that "i found my dress". I can't believe I found the dress I am going to get MARRIED in. I really can't believe I have been thinking about my wedding day, practicing walking down the aisle, and wearing a pillow case as a veil since I was a little girl. That I have looked at thousands of wedding photos of other gals, and thousand more dress photos and that it all boiled down to THIS ONE DRESS. I wish my dress could talk to me. I wish it could say how happy it was to have been awarded the task of being the thing I wear on my big day. I would imagine it is kind of like an actress winning a role in a new hit sitcom (or at least, I imagine my dress would feel that good!). I mean-- I can't get over it. I can't believe it, and I am super excited.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So let's play a game. One of these dresses is MY dress. The rest are not. Which one do you think it is? Sorry, I won't reveal which dress is mine- and if you already know please stay hush!!- but we will have a little fun looking! Some of these dresses were even contenders, but the "one" just topped them all! I will tell you one thing, it is nothing like the dress I THOUGHT I would get!</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t-fUQFwFVL8/Tt065r332wI/AAAAAAAAAZ4/zjz6jWf36kA/s1600/dress4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="400px" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t-fUQFwFVL8/Tt065r332wI/AAAAAAAAAZ4/zjz6jWf36kA/s400/dress4.jpg" width="300px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dress: Allure Couture</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QgL9tQQBSHQ/Tt066QMXszI/AAAAAAAAAaA/7DbCMmehQow/s1600/dress+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="320px" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QgL9tQQBSHQ/Tt066QMXszI/AAAAAAAAAaA/7DbCMmehQow/s320/dress+5.jpg" width="229px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dress: Oleg Cassini</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tCC_P0n9DxE/Tt067CBH_-I/AAAAAAAAAaI/6t3fHyw71UU/s1600/dress+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="400px" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tCC_P0n9DxE/Tt067CBH_-I/AAAAAAAAAaI/6t3fHyw71UU/s400/dress+6.jpg" width="278px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dress: Allure Couture</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K654Kg9kv9o/TuDNajTC-oI/AAAAAAAAAao/rCv8fbmZzi8/s1600/jad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400px" mda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K654Kg9kv9o/TuDNajTC-oI/AAAAAAAAAao/rCv8fbmZzi8/s400/jad.jpg" width="300px" /></a></td></tr>
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dress:Justin Alexander</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C08spzMGJLQ/Tt069U2yvdI/AAAAAAAAAaY/IsZd2vhsRA8/s1600/justin2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="400px" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C08spzMGJLQ/Tt069U2yvdI/AAAAAAAAAaY/IsZd2vhsRA8/s400/justin2.jpg" width="290px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dress: Paloma Blanca</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7tmt21fnSRA/Tt06-rL2JaI/AAAAAAAAAag/-pg5axe60k8/s1600/paloma+blanca.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" dda="true" height="400px" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7tmt21fnSRA/Tt06-rL2JaI/AAAAAAAAAag/-pg5axe60k8/s400/paloma+blanca.jpg" width="285px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dress: Paloma Blanca</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3306328932818338538.post-52188334566133066272011-11-14T10:20:00.000-05:002011-11-14T10:20:02.649-05:00I'm back!<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I'm so sorry I left you all for so long. As I mentioned earlier today, I took a bit of a hiatus...But I am back with LOTS of goodies! New etsy favs today!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">So for now some new etsy favorite items I have been dying to share!! These are some inspiration for the "winter wedding" ladies. Shine on!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zH4Btp_DGEY/TsEw-q57-VI/AAAAAAAAAZo/jn4hFWUrKS0/s1600/12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300px" nda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zH4Btp_DGEY/TsEw-q57-VI/AAAAAAAAAZo/jn4hFWUrKS0/s400/12.jpg" width="400px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snowflakes? Letterpressed? Shimmery? Yes please. <br />
Get these at etsy store: PurpleInkPress</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PI2UJ877hyM/TsEw_C-f0GI/AAAAAAAAAZw/jUAXx9UXlS0/s1600/1234.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="307px" nda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PI2UJ877hyM/TsEw_C-f0GI/AAAAAAAAAZw/jUAXx9UXlS0/s400/1234.jpg" width="400px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snowball snacks? Yes please! <br />
Get em here, etsy shop: Simplydivinedesserts</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PDvsHdlANno/Trk_5-j7WaI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/eRogVqFLgjc/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267px" ida="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PDvsHdlANno/Trk_5-j7WaI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/eRogVqFLgjc/s400/11.jpg" width="400px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These Winter themed programs are great. I love the different color bows! <br />
Get these here: <span class="shopname wrap " sizcache="13" sizset="96"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/theweddingpaper?ref=seller_info"><span style="color: #0192b5;">theweddingpaper </span></a></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3306328932818338538.post-83735031858240225782011-11-14T10:15:00.000-05:002011-11-14T10:15:22.661-05:00All about Home<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Hi! I'm back. After a bit of a hiatus. Here I am. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I wanted to focus on a little amazing site I found. Onekingslane.com</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I just bought the cutest little light pink teacups and dessert plates last week- and they are scheduled to arrive today! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Then I logged in today and saw this:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hhEtUIRSx84/TsEwMbmZgxI/AAAAAAAAAZg/vX_kOU_yNww/s1600/23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="271px" nda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hhEtUIRSx84/TsEwMbmZgxI/AAAAAAAAAZg/vX_kOU_yNww/s400/23.jpg" width="400px" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.onekingslane.com/invite/jencorvese"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">https://www.onekingslane.com/invite/jencorvese</span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This cake dome is totally a necessity for the holidays! Or hello, dessert table at your wedding. Plus its only $29. How awesome is that? Seriously, run over to this site. I can't wait for my adorabs little dessert plates that I scored for $12 to arrive. Yippee!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3306328932818338538.post-74494244081054050182011-10-11T15:36:00.001-04:002011-10-11T15:41:51.145-04:00Making Styled Shoots Work for You!<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It took me a few months into my wedding to realize that some of those awesome weddings I saw on style me pretty and 100 layer cake, well, they weren't exactly weddings. They were simply styled shoots!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It makes sense now. I mean I realize now its pretty impossible to get a guest list of 75 to have a hanging lighted lantern over their head, all snuggled on a chair covered by a hand knit blanket, and all sitting around a huge farmers table in the middle of a field. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">So what's the point? Surely, the styled weddings are there for inspiration.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Think of them as the "catwalk" of the wedding scene. Not everything that walks down a runway is ready-wear. You have to tweak it and take what you can.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Today I am featuring a styled shoot that I love- and breaking it down element by element to show you how you can use it in your real-life-have-more-than-three-guests wedding! I'm thinking about making this a regular occurrence- so I help seeing how you can use it in real-wedded-life is helpful!!</span><br />
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<u><strong><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">A Southern Wedding, Styled for Green Wedding Shoes:</span></strong></u><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">PHOTO 1:</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>What doesn't work:</em> Really? Are your guests sitting out under a tree on this about-to-break chairs. No way.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>What works:</em> You can use this for inspiration. check out the centerpiece loaded with cotton and succulents. The embroidered table cloth could be a great addition to your generation or cake table, too!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GR_fJBJM7Jk/TpSYYbnTZ5I/AAAAAAAAAYw/jj8y0Dfv_vE/s1600/table1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="266px" kca="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GR_fJBJM7Jk/TpSYYbnTZ5I/AAAAAAAAAYw/jj8y0Dfv_vE/s400/table1.jpg" width="400px" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">PHOTO 2:</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>What doesn't work:</em> Um, how many guests are those 2 pitches of juice going to serve. Who is manning the bar? This seems small. There are like 6 freakin' glasses. Plus, who is eating those 12 black berries in the lower photo?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>What works:</em> The cocktail sign is super cute, and putting it on a easel frees up space on a small bar. Presenting the juices in carafe's looks classy and cute on a table. And who doesn't love drink stirrers? Most people won't have a vintage looking cabinet in their venue, but if you do, more power to ya!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hrO7kqiosqo/TpSYZLobPYI/AAAAAAAAAY4/SFqADjcwwvs/s1600/table2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="400px" kca="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hrO7kqiosqo/TpSYZLobPYI/AAAAAAAAAY4/SFqADjcwwvs/s400/table2.jpg" width="342px" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Here are some items that reflect this shoot that can really be used at a wedding:</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>1.Garden chairs. These create a cute country or secret garden look</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>2. Crystal. Loving the crystal pieces in this shoot. Look for your own at antique stores</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>3. Small bowls of fruit served with cream. These could be passed around with small spoons during dessert.</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>4. Drink stirrers!! Hello etsy- these are all over that place</strong></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3306328932818338538.post-57047413497118400982011-09-29T11:57:00.001-04:002011-09-30T09:25:37.719-04:00The Case of the Neverending Save the Date SearchOK!! OK! I know I just blogged about Save the Dates not too long ago. But the best part about this blog is that I can share things i LOVE that aren't necessarily things I would actually use for my wedding, because they don't fit the style. Just because I LOVED that caricature or nautical themed save the date- doesn't mean I can actually "make it work" (must be said in Tim Gunn voice!) with my own wedding.<br />
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So, that being said, since I look at so many beautiful pieces of paper all the time- its hard to narrow down my own choices. I tried to involve Fiance last night- but that lasted an entire 2 minutes of me explaining the difference between digital print, letterpress, thermal printing. I barely kept his attention to explain the different between linen paper- and the paper weight.<br />
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I have to admit I am ahead of the curve a bit. I spent 4 years after college working for a printing company. And even today- I deal with paper quality and printing on the reg. OK, so maybe that makes me a bit more obsessed with the paper stock, quality of imaging, etc. Just a LITTLE more obsessed. <br />
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I did get TJ to agree on one thing ,we don't really have time to get our engagement photos done in time to have our save the dates done with photos. And we aren't sure we want photo save the dates anyway. So while a lot of the options I originally Loved involved photos- we scrapped those and started all over.<br />
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At any rate, I have tirelessly searched high and low- and here are some of the final picks--- ahh! Yet, my search has yet to end. For all the RI Brides out there- I am headed to Crosstown Press this weekend, a long with New England Paper--just to add to my never ending search to find "the perfect" Save the Date.<br />
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Here are some (keyword: some) top picks! (and perhaps they will inspire you too). If you need more inspiration, a lot of our "ideas" really came from the <a href="http://ohsobeautifulpaper.com/save-the-dates/">Oh so Beautiful paper! Save the date section</a>. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-woJ69Zq4wcs/ToSVKr-H_DI/AAAAAAAAAYg/jAQNam_A9TI/s1600/save+the+date1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300px" kca="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-woJ69Zq4wcs/ToSVKr-H_DI/AAAAAAAAAYg/jAQNam_A9TI/s400/save+the+date1.jpg" width="400px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cute right? From Gus and Ruby in Portsmouth, NH</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SAnZ-dBIL0Y/ToSVL9QcbpI/AAAAAAAAAYk/I-uBcKaYvPw/s1600/save+the+date+2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297px" kca="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SAnZ-dBIL0Y/ToSVL9QcbpI/AAAAAAAAAYk/I-uBcKaYvPw/s400/save+the+date+2.gif" width="400px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another lovely one from Czar press</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I7NQ1gKUPqM/ToSVNjTpw0I/AAAAAAAAAYs/wVlZbF6zkaw/s1600/savethedate3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400px" kca="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I7NQ1gKUPqM/ToSVNjTpw0I/AAAAAAAAAYs/wVlZbF6zkaw/s400/savethedate3.jpg" width="375px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Etsy shop: for your invitation</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gviF8rBZ7fc/ToSVMmE7_DI/AAAAAAAAAYo/hxzyjGJqSRs/s1600/savethedate2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="318px" kca="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gviF8rBZ7fc/ToSVMmE7_DI/AAAAAAAAAYo/hxzyjGJqSRs/s400/savethedate2.jpg" width="400px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Etsy: Shine Invitation</td></tr>
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