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.

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!

Christmas According to Kelly

Welcome to my newest followers, Diana Lee and Sara. I hope everyone had a very merry holiday!

Christmas came and went. It was exciting, overwhelming, fun, and exhausting all rolled up into a little ball of wrapping paper.

Ryan and I started off the holiday with our own personal Christmas. We exchanged fun gifts like beer and space heaters.

Mmmm... spacey warmness...

After all my debating about whether or not to give Ryan his cufflinks, a funny thing happened. Ryan, too, gave me a present that is typical of a wedding day gift.


I was surprised by a gorgeous topaz and silver necklace from Rogers and Hollands. (I don't have photos because I'm dumb. You'll just have to wait!)

I wore it once on Christmas Eve, then left it at my parents house for safe-keeping until the big day.

While we were with my family, we received quite a few items off our registry... two sets of china, an electric griddle, a level, bannanagrams, a saucepan, and some mixing bowls to name a few. Looks like we need to add some more stuff to our registry!

My mom fulfilled a few items on my wedding wish list. She started by gifting me these beautiful hair combs...


We both commented how they were much smaller than we thought. I guess that's what happens when you skim over the description portion on Etsy. Woops!


But I definitely plan on working these into my 'do some how. They're just too adorable to let collect dust!

After that, Ryan and I opened a set of toasting flutes.


They aren't the ones I asked for, but my mom picked them out when she was in Germany... so I'm not complaining.


I'm so grateful for all the amazing presents people gave us. Ryan was welcomed to our family Christmas with open arms and a pile of gifts. Talk about spoiled!


It was the first Christmas Ryan and I have ever spent together... and it will be our last as a dating couple. Exactly 6 months from Christmas Day is our wedding. Let the real countdown begin!

The Gift that Almost Wasn't

I love giving gifts. Seriously. When I think of the joy of Christmas... seeing the looks on peoples' faces as they open their gifts is the best part. The fact that I too will be opening gifts is just a pleasant afterthought.

Christmas may still be two days away, but Ryan and I's personal Christmas was this morning!

I bought Ryan a bunch of things (he had at least 7 wrapped presents under our tree)... but there was one gift in particular that was my favorite.

...and it's wedding related!

The very last gift Ryan opened this morning was a small box with cufflinks inside. I ordered them from seller TomatoMade on Etsy.

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Inside each cufflink is a vintage map. I ordered one to be Chicago and one to be Philadelphia... signifying our two hometowns and the long-distance hardships we endured for the first year+ of our relationship.

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The funny thing about this gift is I almost didn't give it to him. When I originally ordered the cufflinks, my intention was to give them to Ryan on the morning of our wedding.

But there's one thing I'm not... and that's patient. Once I had these beautiful little cufflinks in my hand, I just couldn't bear to wait another 6 months to give them to him.

And that's how... just this past Tuesday... I ended up frantically wrapping the box with our very last scrap of wrapping paper and adding one final gift to the pile under the tree.

I don't think Christmas would have been complete without something from the heart. This fit the bill perfectly.

I will be taking a 3-day hiatus from blogging in order to spend un-interupted time with family. I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend, and I'll see you on Monday. Merry Christmas!

Gimme, Gimme, Gimme!

Christmas is fast approaching. And while I'm seriously struggling with what to get family and friends, I've had my Christmas list ready for months.

Mainly because it's mostly wedding-related stuff.

It may seem weird... but I figured that asking for things we can use on our wedding day is sort of like killing two birds with one stone (man... that saying is seriously terrible). The giver can get me something I need, we can get something checked our list, and everyone's happy!

Here is a glimpse into the stuff I asked for...

Hair Combs, $36 - I'm not yet sure how I'll be doing my hair for the wedding. But one thing I do know is that I love these beautiful hair combs. I'm not big on headbands, so I think these would be the perfect addition to my [probably] awesome up-do and cathedral length veil.

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Personalized Cake Topper, $55 - It's unlikely anyone got this for me because it needs to be personalized with our outfits. At this point, we still don't know what Ryan will be wearing, or how I'll be doing my hair. But if they did, they'd see one excited bride come Christmas morning.

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Return Address Stamp, $14.50 - This would be perfect for addressing our invitations. I was originally eyeing some more expensive custom stamps, but I realized it was frivolous to pay $50+ for a stamp that we probably wouldn't be able to use in a year (due to a change in address).

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Toasting Flutes, $80 - I love the idea of having our own toasting flutes at our wedding. It will be just one more thing that we can bring out on special occasions and anniversaries that will remind us of our special day. I am weird and I don't like the flutes that are super "V" shaped, so these are perfect (and Ryan approved).

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Personalized Hanger, $25 - I believe when I sent this Christmas list to my Mom, I said something like, "Don't judge me. I'm well aware of how frivolous this is." But it's just so darn cute! I would get one that said "Kelly (heart) Ryan". Awwww!

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Sapphire Pendant Necklace, $32 - My taste in jewelry is relatively simple. I chose a sapphire necklace so it would go with our Navy Blue/Pink wedding colors. Also, it could double as my "something blue". While there are extremely expensive versions of this necklace out there, I figured a less-expensive knock-off would work just as well.

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It's really a stretch that I'll get any of these gifts for Christmas, but it's still fun to imagine!

Is anyone else using Christmas as a chance to score some awesome wedding loot?

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::

Pretty Pink Package

I'm feeling extremely popular with all these packages arriving all the time. I'm going to pretend that companies are sending me free promotional swag... instead of the reality where Kelly spends all her hard-earned money on junk from the internet.

Oh well. That's the life of a bride-to-be.

My latest package was an exciting one, though... my shoes arrived!


Even though I was on my lunch break, I immediately ripped open the box and pulled out my lovelies to admire them in person.


Ooooo... ahhhh. Sweet, beautiful, bright bright pink.

Of course I couldn't stop there. I had to try them on, prance around the house a little bit, and take a bunch of photos.


So what's the verdict?

They are hot!

Besides that, they may be a tad large (they don't come in half sizes, so this is as good as it gets). But the back of each shoe has an elastic band, so the size shouldn't be an issue on our wedding day. It's not noticeable at all when you look at them.


I'm so glad that I was able to find comfortable and cute shoes at such a great price. Every dollar that I save on little things like this really adds up in the end.

Plus, I came up with a great idea. If I can't think of anything else to get my Bridesmaids (so far, I've bought them Vera Bradley makeup bags), I could get them each a pair of silver flats.

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They will be wearing silver heels for the ceremony, but they might want some comfy shoes to change into for the reception (for all the hardcore dancing we'll be doing!).

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.

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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.

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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.

This is Way Too Easy

The ease of our wedding planning to date is making me extremely nervous.

There's no way it should be this easy.

Case in point...

Hair and Makeup
My mom was at her hair appointment with our long-time stylist, Amy. She asked if Amy would be available to do my hair for my wedding. Amy loved the idea, wrote it on her calendar, and offered to do hair and makeup for everyone!
Done.

Hotel Block
We drove past a hotel in my hometown this past weekend. We stopped in to check it out. It was large, secluded, and practically empty. My mom reserved the rooms this afternoon.
Done.

Wedding Dress and Veil
Picked out and ordered after one afternoon and two bridal shops.
Done.

Photographer
Signed the contract after meeting him in person at our home in Indiana.
Done.


If the rest of our wedding planning goes this smoothly, I'm looking at an extremely laid-back 12 months.