Answer: False

I knew I wanted to wear fake eyelashes on our wedding day. They look great in photos. But I also knew that the thought of applying them was scary, and the possibility of them falling off and looking dumb was pretty significant.

So I did a test run yesterday.

First, I watched a you tube video that explained it in great detail.

So I bought eyelashes, cut them to fit my eye, applied the glue, let it dry (for about 45 seconds), then slapped those suckers on.

And, voila (click to enlarge)...


Verdict: They held up for a 9 hour day at work, which included an hour-long video shoot outside in 20 mph winds with my eyelashes shoved in an eyepiece. No one noticed the lashes without me telling them (Ryan and two of my coworkers). In my opinion, that's a plus. I didn't want to look ridiculous. I'm not a super "makeup-y" type of girl, so something that looks natural is more my style. I though they looked good. They added a touch of length and drama without being too much.

In case you're interested, I bought mine online. I went with the Model 21 False Eyelashes No. 24T and a tube of their dark lash adhesive. It cost $13.10 (there are 10 pairs of reusable eyelashes in the box), and arrived in about a week.

I feel much more confident now that I've tried them out. I might even break them out for my Bachelorette Party next weekend!

Are you wearing fake eyelashes for your wedding day? And do they terrify you as much as they did me?!

Mother of the Bride

Does anyone need a Mother of the Bride (or Groom) dress? My mom purchased a non-refundable one a few weeks ago, then changed her mind.

It has never been worn, and still has the tags. The only flaw is a small snag on the back near the zipper (looks like someone got it caught while zipping up the dress), but that's fixable by a seamstress.

She paid $360 for the sample dress, so make us an offer. We will ship for free. :)

Color: Indigo

Size: 12, unaltered

Jasmine Jade Mothers Dresses, Fall 2010. Floor length tiffany chiffon gown with an off the shoulder neckline and cap sleeves. Skirt length can be changed to tea-length or knee-length.

Fabric Contents: 100% Polyester Lining, 100% Acetate

Cleaning Method: Professional Dry Clean Only

If you're interested, leave a comment or email me at kel (dot) schultz (at) gmail (dot) com.

Thanks, blogger friends!

What the...?

I called in sick this morning (ugh. What's new.) Well... I didn't call. I emailed (totally legit since it was 7 am).

And after my email, I went straight back to bed. Ahhhh... sleep.

But I was rudely woken up at 9:15 by a loud pounding on our front door. I didn't actually get up to see who it was... but after trying to go back to sleep, curiosity got the best of me, and I shuffled downstairs to check it out.

This is what I found...


Those are two very large Macy's boxes. But what I found inside the boxes would take anyone by surprise...

Not one... not two... but six sets of china.

Six!


I knew Macy's was having a buy-one-get-one-free sale on our china, and I knew it was being snatched up fast... but I had no idea we'd get this much of it at once!

We now have 8 full sets of china, which means we could throw a very swanky dinner party ((in our less-than-swanky house)).

While this was some excellent mail to receive, it's really just the beginning. I'm expecting packages from Bath & Body Works, Paper-Source, Cut Cardstock, Amazon, and 2 from Etsy.

Plus, I received this delightful necklace in the mail yesterday...


Ryan and I both agree that it's even cuter in person than it is in the photos.

Next up... an update on our invitations, and our hand-drawn map!

Saying Thank You

Ages ago (last May), before I even knew who my bridesmaids would be, I bought them all makeup bags at our annual Vera Bradley outlet sale.

But that was all I had for them... and no idea of what else I should buy to go with it.

... until now.

I browsed Etsy for what seemed like forever until I found the perfect silver necklace for each of my ladies. They will in no way be expected to wear these to the wedding... but I got them all silver ones just in case they decided to.

First up, from seller SmileSophie, this lovely flower necklace...


Next, I purchased this leaf necklace from seller IrisJewelryDesign...


And lastly, this bow necklace from seller LimeGreenModern...


I love them all so much... and I hope my bridesmaids do too (or at least don't hate them... that would be awkward).

To supplement the makeup bag and necklace, I bought them some goodies from Bath & Body Works, who had a half-off Groupon yesterday and was having a sale today. Score!

Here's what I bought...

Mentha Lip Shine

Scented Candles

Anti-bacterial Hand Sanitizer

All that totaled up... and I came in at a whopping fifty cents under my $40-per-person budget.

What can I say? I'm a rockstar.

Dressing the 'Maids

Welcome to my newest follower, Manda Mack!

Two of my bridesmaids took time out of their busy schedules to spend all day with me on Saturday. Yay for friends! We all met in Indianapolis (where BM Jess lives), had lunch at Olive Garden, then headed over to the Alfred Angelo store.

We immediately hit the racks and pulled everything.

Seriously... I think we grabbed about 30 dresses. Other consultants kept having to steal dresses from our dressing room because there were none left.

Here is BM Colleen browsing the samples. She likes to make awkward faces and poses in photos (just a warning)...


BM Jess was feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the dress options, so we had BM Colleen model them all first.

We thought this one was lovely, but a little too plain for BM Colleen's quirky personality...

Here, BM Colleen is making the "what do you think of this dress?" face. I'm responding that it looks like a gross yellow bathrobe...

She really enjoyed this dress, but wasn't sure if it was right for the occasion...


This was one of my favorites of the day... but it may have just been because it came in this saucy red...


BM Colleen's a professional seamstress, so she totally fell in love with the material of this dress (which came off of Alfred Angelo's eco-friendly line). She knew this was the one...


She had her measurements taken, and was about to swipe her credit card when the consultant informed her that her dress doesn't come in navy.

Sigh.

Back to square one.

After a whole 'nother slew of dresses, she ended up in this pretty little number...


As much as BM Colleen loved the lime green, I found it distracting, so she tried on the same dress in black.

I think we have a winner!

(It doesn't have straps... those are her bra straps.)

After Colleen had tried on every dress on earth, Jess took her turn. She only tried on two. While wearing the second dress, she turned to me and said, "I think this is it."


Easy enough!

I have one more bridesmaid... but she lives out in Maryland. Luckily (and by no mere coincidence), she has an Alfred Angelo store 30 minutes away from her house. She's going to head over this weekend and order herself a navy dress.

I'm so happy to have this huge item off the "To Do" list.

Go team!

Slap a Bow on Me and Call Me Thrifty

Welcome to my newest follower, Miss D!

I bought the most adorable bracelet today. But I'm not sure if I should show it to you... because you'll for sure be jealous.

But what's a blog post without pictures?! So here you go...


Perfect, right? It is so not "me"... but when I saw it, I just had to have it. And for $27? Um... yes, please!

I got it from RueLaLa (one of those sites that carries designer items, steeply discounted, in limited quantity and for a limited time). You should all go check it out cause they're currently having a big wedding sale with jewelry, tiaras, invitations, and more! You can't see their website unless you join, but you can join by going here.

This is the first thing I've purchased from them, and I'm super excited about getting it half off! I think it will go great with the bling on my dress and my hair combs.

I'm practically done with all my accessories now. (Bracelet? Check. Necklace? Check. Hair combs? Check. Shoes? Check.) I think all I have left to worry about is earrings... and I haven't decided yet what exactly I want, so that will probably have to wait for a couple months.

PS: I promise I will start writing more. I've got a few posts lined up already, plus I'm going bridesmaid dress shopping this weekend!

Crazy 'bout IKEA!

Welcome to my newest follower, Miss Cuddlefish!

Now that we're only 6 months away from the wedding, I thought it was about time I delve a little bit further into my moniker.

As the IKEA Bride, it's my job... nay... it's my God-given duty to spread IKEA love to all my fellow wedding-planning friends.

One of the reasons I'm named the IKEA Bride (and one of the reasons Ryan proposed there), is because IKEA is pretty much the best store on earth. They have everything you could ever need for any occasion.

So I will pull some IKEA knowledge out of my sleeves and show you how to have a rockstar (slightly swedish) wedding on an teeny tiny IKEA budget!

First off, this cupcake apron would be the perfect bridal shower gift. And for only $5.99, your friends and family will have plenty of moolah left over to include all the necessary baking accessories too!

Etty, $5.99

Magasin, $3.99

Next, for the ceremony, your adorable ringbearer could be carrying this equally-as-adorable heart pillow. You could easily attach a small ribbon to tie the rings to... or just put the rings on the ring fingers!

Famnig Hjarta, $4.99

Next comes the cocktail hour. These decorative cocktail napkins would be a cute low-cost alternative to the standard white napkin...

Nysno, $1.49 for 30

Decorate your cocktail tables with these classic lanterns...

Borrby, $7.99

Keep the kiddos entertained during the boring cocktail hour with these charming finger puppets (I'm pretty sure the one second from the left is a bride!)...

Titta Folk, $4.99

Following the cocktail hour comes the best part... the reception! Decorate your dinner tables with these great multi-height candle holders...

Blomster, $14.99 for 3

Milk glass is really popular right now for weddings, so these vases would fit right in!

Farm, $2.99 each

Stock the restrooms with must-have emergency items by stuffing these versatile and re-usable baskets...

Lidan, $9.99

Last, but certainly not least... cut your cake in sleek and sophisticated style with this chic cake cutting set...

Envis, $3.99

Now who, after seeing all that, doesn't love IKEA too?!

Can you believe that after Ryan and I got engaged, I had at least two people who responded, "What's IKEA?"

Oh, the horror!

Dressing the Flower Girls

Our flower girls are adorable.

My 5-year-old Cousin

Ryan's 4-year-old Niece

These two cuties need adorable outfits to match.

Back in October, Ryan and I attended his cousin's wedding, where Ryan's niece was also a flower girl. She wore a 4-tiered white dress with a teal sash.


Ryan and I decided it's ridiculous for us to ask them to buy another flower girl dress for our wedding, just 8 months later. Why can't she just re-use that one?

Even more perfect is that her dress was taken in for the October wedding. By the time our June wedding rolls around, we can have it taken out again, and it should fit pretty well.

So we will probably have my cousin buy the same (or a similar) dress, and pair them with navy blue sashes so the girls match.

When I was in Philadelphia for Thanksgiving, Ryan's mom really had her mind set on buying the girls something to wear in their hair. At the wedding in October, Ryan's family was really unsure how they should do his niece's hair. Since his niece and my cousin have very different length hair, I was thinking a headband might work well for both of them.

So we ended up with these...


They were like $3.00 each at Claire's. What a deal!

They each feature a fake white flower with a few scattered rhinestones.


I will now model one for your amusement and mocking...


Yeah... it looks a little stupid on me. But it looked super cute when we tried it on Ryan's niece in the store. And it will be the perfect thing to keep her hair back out of her face.

I haven't yet asked my cousin to be a flower girl. We will definitely do that when we see her at Christmas. As for Ryan's niece... she came up to me at the end of the last wedding and asked, "Can I be a flower girl at your wedding too?"

::Awwwwww::

I Found Them!

(Welcome to my newest followers: Little D Down Under and LM!)

So I found them.

My shoes.

In fact, I wasn't even looking.

I was browsing the internet for bridesmaid dresses (a post for its own day). I was on the Dessy Group website, when I saw them staring back at me.

Tutti Frutti

OMG, they're perfect. They match all my criteria: flat, cute, comfortable (looking), pink, and they come in size 11.

::double squeal:: They come in navy too!

Midnight

In fact... they come in 23 different colors to match your bridesmaids' dresses, your bouquet, or whatever.

Have I held off for the best part?

Oh yes. Yes, I have...

They're only $28!

Tall brides... you can thank me later.

I've Got a Fever...

... And the only prescription is more shoes!

I started something dangerous. Here's how it went down:

1. Kelly logs onto her bank account and admires how much money she's been saving.
2. Kelly remembers that her bank has a rewards program. She figures her points must be way up there by now.
3. Kelly investigates said rewards program and discovers she has enough points to buy a $50 gift card to Zappos.
4. Kelly thinks, Hmm... why pay actual money to buy wedding shoes when I could get them for practically free!
5. Kelly starts searching for shoes on Zappos that might fit her criteria: flat, cute, comfortable, bright pink or navy blue, and size 11 (yes, I have giant man feet).
6. This search quickly balloons into a wide-spread "scour the internet for shoes" event.

It's really hard to find shoes that fit all of the criteria. I suppose I'm going to have to just go shopping in a real store like a real girl.

Sigh.

In the meantime, please enjoy these two pairs I did find (hurray!)...

Me Too Lilyana in Navy Suede $89 - These are the first ones that caught my eye. I found them on Zappos, which means I could use my gift card and they would only be $39. They have great reviews, come in my size, and look super comfy. Problem: they are really dark. At least in this photo. They are verging on the color black. I don't want people to think I wore black shoes on my wedding day.

Source

Tory Burch Reva in Pink Suede $143 - These are the exact color of pink I would go with if I decided to go with pink shoes. But holy cow are they expensive! And I'm not sure they come in my size.

Source

I wish I was a little bit shorter, and Ryan was a little bit taller so I could wear adorable shoes like these...

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Or these...

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And have photos like these...

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And these...

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Oh well. A girl can dream.