HaselBride

Wedding Website, part two

{alternate title: Allison Finally Got It Together}

A couple days ago, I confessed that our wedding website wasn't quite ready for its spotlight and took a look at the different ways to organize a wedding website. As usual I got a lot of great advice and feedback. Some of you even showed me your actual sites! {Thanks ladies!} I love examples! Kristina from Lovely Morning is a designer also and she shared her super fab wedsite with me via email. It was just the kick in the pants I needed to get the ball rolling.

So last night I sat down to put some serious time into this and I came up with this {click to see it bigger}:

What do you think?

Top designs © Kristina from A Lovely Morning, bottom designs © HaselBride.

Unusual Registry Additions

In keeping with the theme of my registry post from earlier this week, I thought I would share with you a few things we added to our registry that could be considered unusual.

Scale: Nick's choice. We were walking in the bath section of Bed Bath and Beyond and he pointed it out. The guy hasn't asked for much, so we included it. In normal times {ie, not while studying like crazy for pilot training}, Nick really enjoys exercising and training for marathons. He tries to be as health-conscious as he can. He liked this scale because of the ability to measure body fat. {Don't ask me how it works...I loathe  excerising. I need to get my butt in gear and start doing that.}

Air mattress: Very handy for when we have lots of guests {we have three bedrooms, but only two beds}. We'll also need this as we start our frequent moving courtesy of the military. The movers always deliver your stuff a few days after you've gotten into your house. An air mattress would allow us to move out of our temporary hotel digs and into our house as soon as it is available to start cleaning, painting, etc.

Electric toothbrush: A bit ridiculous? Maybe, but I am dying for an electric toothbrush. Our friends swear by it and share it switching out the heads. {Remember when Big gave Carrie one of the heads for his toothbrush?}

Box fan: I thought our air conditioning was acting up the other day and it dawned on me: we would roast in Mississippi waiting for a repair man to fix our a/c. We have a few ceiling fans and a small, personal one, but no bigger fans to get the air circulating in an a/c crisis.

 

Some other practical ideas for a couple starting a new home: flashlights, an emergency kit, and an crank-operated radio. During a power outage last week I realized we only had one flashlight and no radio. A battery-operated radio is a must! I had no idea if a tornado was a possibility and a radio would have helped me stay up-to-date on the weather. What unusual items did you choose for your registry?

All photos © Bed Bath and Beyond.

Wedding Website

I am {as usual} a bit behind schedule with our wedding website. The web address went out on our save-the-dates, but is currently very bare bones with some basic information on one page. I want to design it up a bit more since we will be providing a lot of information on it for our guests {and that is my job after all}. I wanted to wait until we received our engagement photo files so I could incorporate some of those into the final design.

I purchased a domain name and hosting myself so I can do pretty much whatever I want. {Which is honestly the hardest thing ever. Designing for yourself is challenging–so many options and no restrictions!} I went the do-it-yourself route because I plan to use it as a portfolio space eventually and I know how.

However, I need to organize my thoughts and decide what information I'm putting on it before I get too far along. Over the last few months, I saved some links to other couples' websites as a reference. I'm hoping these will serve as inspiration for our site.

First off, the famous knottie Springchic's wedsite.

I really like the simplicity of their site and the separation of the info into three different sections {about us, wedding information and guest information} with more pages within each.

Next up is Miss Peacock from Weddingbee/Natalie from i heart peonies's wedsite:

Their website is really cool and the style is so current. All of the VIP information has a link directly on the front page. Those links get right down to business: all about us, directions, registries, etc. I like that a lot. People don't have to search high and low for the information they want. It is all right there. However, if they have a bit more time they can learn a lot more about the wedding and the couple by digging deeper into the site. Another one of my favorite parts of their site is that Natalie wrote Jake's bio and he wrote hers. So cute, if Nick will participate I am so "stealing" their idea.

The third and final inspiration I saved is one of the templates from mywedding.com.

This is plain Jane, but I saved this example for the variety of links included. These templates are great though for brides and grooms who can't or don't want to spend the time or money on a diy website.

There you have it: my inspiration for our wedding website. I will keep you updated with my ideas and final plans as they fall into place. Did any of you create wedding websites? If so, what information did you include?

Registry Frustrations

I've posted about our registry frustrations before. You all provided great ideas for the registry, but it wasn't enough! Our mothers keep pestering us {read me} to add more! My fantastic aunts are throwing me a shower back home in August and Nick's family is holding one in my honor in September, so it is time to add some more options to the list.

Problem is if we need something new for our house {decorative element, a chair, etc.}, I look for a long time at every store imaginable and eventually I'll come across something I love that is perfect and I'll buy it. I'm not going to walk into one store and find something perfect immediately. I guess I am just picky? Narrowing our registry down to a few stores has been murder on me and deciding what to put on them has been even worse. {Especially since I decided to forgo the headache of registering at the returns-unfriendly Target where I always find stuff I love.}

It is really stressing me out to pick out every utensil, tray, or plate I'd like us to have for the next 50 years while making sure everything coordinates. I know that's so silly to say because it is supposed to be fun, but it is the truth. I don't want people to be upset because they don't have a lot to chose from, but at the same time I don't need 75 chip and dip sets. Seriously. The one I have will do the job.

To relieve some of the stress, I downloaded Crate and Barrel's plain Jane, but very helpful registry checklist. {Available as a pdf and online.} I liked the pdf because it was easy to read and bare bones {no blurbs to read through about each item} and it had boxes for check marks. A few weeks ago before we rounded out our registry at Bed Bath and Beyond, I printed out our registries from Crate and Barrel and Macy's and went through the checklist page by page. Lines went through things we do NOT need {soup tureen, mattress, etc.}, checks went through stuff we'd registered for, and circles or question marks went next to items we should consider registering for. It definitely took a little bit of the stress of and helped me narrow down the items we needed to add at BBB or look for at the other stores.

After it was all said and done I felt a bit better about the whole thing and a lot less stressed. If I had it to do over, I'd have started with that list from the beginning. Circling things we might like, crossing off stuff we don't need. Hopefully my ideas will help you other brides be more organized about it from the get go and not be stressed like me! Did you have any methods for registering? Did it stress you out a bit?

{Help!} Possible bridesmaids gift and accessory

I'm wedding planning away today. {If you're one of my bridesmaids, please skip this post! That means you, Cat! I think you're the only one who might be reading.} If not, click continue to read more.

SOLD! {Shoes for Sale} Green Nine West Jojus

Edited to add: SOLD! I wish I had twelve pairs to sell to all of you, but I only had the two {and the one was sold before I even started this post; these babies are popular!}. They might not be a perfect fit for these brides, so I will let you know if they become available again.

I normally wouldn't post stuff like this, but I've had a surprising number of inquiries about the extra shoes I purchased. I was just going to return them, but I would love to help out a fellow green-loving bride. If you're a size 9 this one's for you: I'm selling one of my extra pairs of the infamous, green Nine West Jojus. I posted about them here. They've been featured on half a dozen blogs and our shoeru Molly is wearing them to her wedding in red. They are brand new, still in the box with all the original packaging. Interested or have a question? Shoot me an email.

Check!–oh wait, uncheck.

I'm working my way down the never-ending to-do list of wedding chores. {That sounds awful, as though this is stuff I don't want to do–like make the bed.} Next on my list is to seriously start thinking about the flower girl outfit.

I called my sister to double check my niece's size and tell her my ideas for Mady's outfit. She thought they were all great, so I set out to order the tutu from Cake + Milk Paperie. I was so confused because there were only four options available in their drop-down menu. Then I realized, Cake + Milk Paperie has stopped creating these fabulous and inexpensive tutus. I emailed to double check and those are the last ones. {If you're in the market, they still have a few in great colors, just not what I need.}

I was mildly upset, but I figured it was for the better because I wasn't sure what she would wear on top. I decided to check out Monsoon again. The beautiful sequined skirt {above, right} was available again. So I started to order it even though the exchange rate from pounds to dollars isn't so fabulous right now. As I'm starting to checkout, I look over and the shipping column doesn't mention international. Two seconds later I realize, they don't ship internationally! I am so disappointed. I love their clothes for little girls' special occasions. {I don't have a friend I can have it shipped to either.}

I'm back to square one. After reading Emily's recent post about J.Crew, I headed back for another look. I liked some of their stuff in the beginning, but tried not to get too attached because of the price. I decided to check out the sale and found this:

I love the subtle metallic sheen of the fabric, but it might be too boring. What if I added a velvet green or grey sash and one of the Sex and the City flowers/poofs I'm in love with? I'm still so hung up on the Monsoon outfits. They had such great detailing and were so different. This has very little detail aside from the pleat.

I also like this other number, but of course the yellow flowers would have to go. $138 is a pretty steep price if I'm going to have to add or remove some stuff. Plus, Mady would definitely need a cardigan for this one.

I guess I need to keep looking, but I'm tempted to buy that first J.Crew dress as a back up. I just wish they allowed returns for sale items. What do you think? Have you seen any fabulous, unique flower girl outfits at any stores or in a real wedding? Do you know of a place that is similar to Monsoon?

PS: I think part of the reason I'm so hung up on Mady's outfit is because I though my dress would bea bit more unusual. I feel like this is a place to let Mady and I's fabulously fashionable flag fly. Stupid but true.

Top images {from left to right} © Cake + Milk Paperie, right © Monsoon. All other dress images © J.Crew. Ribbon images © M&J Trimming. Poof images © Tinsel Trading.

These Shoes Were Made for Walkin'

Another chapter in the HaselBride shoe saga...

When I was in Indiana, I begged my mom to make a quick pit stop on the way home from the airport. She begrudgingly* drove me to Saks Fifth Avenue, where I tried on the wonderful Manolo Blahnik silver Sedaraby that I've been obsessed with since, well, forever. It was heaven. Made of leather, it is so supple and soft and fabulous. I pranced around the store in it as my mom rolled her eyes. I love it, I really do BUT. Here goes...it is such a beautiful shoe and I would wear it again for a million other things after the wedding, BUT I just don't think it compliments my dress. The buckle and the silver might be too blinged out with my very beaded dress. So, I am back to the shoe drawing board and thinking maybe this time some color. {One day, I will own those shoes...I promise.}

We've all been eyeballing the lovely green feathered Christian Louboutins {also available in blue and red} that were featured in a real wedding post on Style Me Pretty. They are gorgeous and so unique, but at $760 are a bit too much of a splurge for me. Plus, where do you wear a feathered shoe after your wedding? Not too practical. {So so hard for me to admit, but it is true.}

Then Janie at The Bride's Cafe showcased a real wedding where the bride wore the Nine West Jojus in green. I had been admiring the light gray version for months on Piperlime, but I had never seen the green. So I Googled and searched every online department store and shoe shop {and a few brick and mortar stores}, until one day I finally found the green ones on Overstock.com. For $30. {Other colors were $80-90.}

In a crazy mad rush, I ordered three sizes to be sure I had my choice. They came in this week and I love them! They are so comfortable. Because they aren't super strappy and the front knotted straps are made of fabric with a soft leather underneath, they won't rub my feet raw after a long day of standing and dancing. However, I am not 100% sold on the green. Seems like everyone is wearing green shoes. Although I'd be in great company, I want to see what the light grey looks like in person. They were now on sale also {$50!}. I ordered those a few days ago, so they should be here next week. Then I think I'll try them both with my dress and see which I like best.

How did you chose your wedding shoes? Or if you haven't yet, what shoes are you daydreaming about now?

{*I did not inherit the love-to-shop gene from my mother, we think it came from my aunt or my father's love to shop for cars, guns and watches...you know guy things.}

Top images © Cheri Pearl via Style Me Pretty {event design by Oh How Charming!}, bottom images © Amy Squires via The Bride's Cafe.

More Ways to Waste Time

Just wanted to share a few lovely sites I've been browsing lately while avoiding work and/or other chores. I am the queen of procrastination.

Rebecca Thuss online portfolio
This is a no-brainer as many bloggers link to it, but I discovered it early on in planning and it had fallen to the back of my mind. I spent a few hours just going through all of the images on her site the other day. So inspiring! If you've looked at it before, take a look again. I'm sure you'll discover something you hadn't noticed the first time.

Minted
From the design challenges to their gorgeous wedding invitations {available for purchase online} from brands like Paper + Cup and Mr. Boddington's {one of my favorites}, you could spend hours pouring through all of the different designs.

Jenny Packham
I can't remember if I mentioned it, but here goes. While I was very happy {and relieved} to find a wedding gown while my mom was in Mississippi, I am kind of sad I won't get to try on dresses anymore. It was exciting and fulfilling some little girl dream to try so many dresses on. I adore shopping, so that was probably my favorite part of wedding planning. In place of that I've been pouring through all the lovely gowns on the Jenny Packham website. Not only are they fabulous, but the website is incredibly innovative {although it does use Flash, which isn't exactly user-friendly}. The draping, the pleating...it is all so gorgeous. Oh and design*sponge's Grace will be wearing Jenny Packham when she walks down the aisle. Her post prompted me to spend some time pursuing the website.

Southern Weddings magazine blog
Looks like another fab wedding magazine will be hitting the market this fall. For now, their blog features great real weddings and tons of contests.

So there you have it...the things I've been reading/looking at lately. If you're not going away or don't have plans for this upcoming holiday weekend, now you have some reading material! Enjoy!

PS: Thanks for the {Help!}

Forgot to mention in my last post...thank you all for your great responses to my latest dilemma. You gals are so great at calming my fears; and I love hearing firsthand about your experiences. I will keep you updated on what we decide, but I'm leaning toward some kind of day-of-coordinator be it family or hired.