Duds for the Little Dude

At this point almost everyone in the wedding party has been outfitted. The gals are going to wear these pretty little numbers, the guys and my escorts will be sporting black suits, and the flower girl this beautiful dress. The last attendant to dress is the ring bearer!


Our ring bearer is going to be Luke, Nolan's (and soon to me MY) nephew. He'll be four years old on the big day and the youngest member of our wedding party (although only by about a year - Ethan will be just barely five!).


I've left dressing Luke last because I didn't want to fall in love with something and then buy it only to have him out grow it (little boys grow oh-so-fast!). So this is one of those tasks that has been on the back burner, but as the wedding is inching closer it is gaining priority in my head. My first thought was for Luke to wear a black suit, just like the rest of the other young men in our party. I mean, come on, who doesn't like to see a little dude all dressed up in a suit!


But lately I've been thinking I'd like to see him in something just a little bit different than all the other guys (and little dudes). Traditionally (I think!) ring bearers wear something like this:

Source

How cute is this?? I think this particular one is a bit too formal for what we're looking for, but there are quite a few more options.

All of these sets are from the DapperLads website if you're interested!

I need to confer with Nolan and see what he wants, I don't think he's as keen as I am on the "knicker" type outfits, so we'll see, but I'm totally loving them right now!

What is your ring bearer wearing?

NWR: St. Patrick's Day 10k!

I ran the St. Patrick's Day 10k in Mission Bay yesterday and had a really great time! Nolan was supposed to run it with me, but had a tooth extracted the day before and dentists orders said no run (boo!). He hung out and waited for me though.

My time wasn't the greatest, one hour and eight minutes, but considering I had a side stitch that started at about mile three - I'll take it! Basically it was about an 11 minute/mile, not too shabby for six miles I suppose.

Here are a few pics of me (before the race, as after I was a sweaty hot mess)!



My next big race? I'm running the San Diego Rock and Roll Half Marathon in June!

Anyone else racing leading up to their wedding?

Fit to be tied

Anyone that is married to or is going to marry a tall man will feel the pain of this post!

Shopping for clothes in an adventure in and of it self when your dude is tall. Nolan is 6'8". Hitting up any old store in the hopes of finding something that is long enough (both shirts and pants!) is pretty much NOT going to happen. The few stores that carry tall or long lengths in store don't have the best selection (note to retailers: tall men don't all want to look as if they are 60 strolling about the golf course), although everyone once in a while we'll find something worth buying.

Thankfully there is a better selection online, but it's not FABULOUS (sadly, I love me some shopping!). A lot of what Nolan wears is from Banana Republic, Old Navy, or Gap. Nordstrom has some things that will fit (mainly if we're looking for suits or dress pants, but sadly lacking in the casual clothing department). J Crew also has a limited selection of "tall" items. I've very recently found out that American Eagle has started carrying "tall" men's clothing as well (woot!).

Of COURSE this trend of finding tall or long clothing extends its reach into men's accessories as well. There is just NO way that a "regular" length tie is going to look right on my guy. So I knew beforehand that my search for a tie for him for the wedding was going to be a challenge. Throw the groomsmen into the mix and it gets even MORE interesting!

Besides an extra long length tie for Nolan we'll also need one extra long length for Ben, Nolan's brother (he's 6'5" so the tall genes run in the family - hehe - pun intended!), a regular length for Larry, Nolan's best man, and a boys length for Dylan.

Ummm, did I mention that I want them all to coordinate?


See, I told you this was quite the challenge.

Thankfully my trusty pal, Google, came through for me. For the last few days I've been searching men's neckties on Google like a madwoman. While there are LOT of retailers out there that sell ties, ones that sell extra length ties are a little more scarce.

This is the tie that I initially found that I loved:



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The problem is that I just couldn't find another tie in the three lengths I needed that I felt WENT with it (plus truth be told it wasn't just the blue color I was looking for). So, I said my goodbyes and went on looking.

Oddly enough my search ended at the same place where it began! I've know about The Tie Bar for some time now, in fact I've looked at the ties on their site for quite a number of times.

My thought the whole time through planning was that Nolan would wear a blue tie and the guys would wear green ones. So, this is the tie I ended up choosing for Nolan (sorry, I can't add pics!!) and this coordinating tie would be good for all the guys (it comes in all the lengths I need - yay!). If you don't want to click on the links, Nolan's tie is a herringbone pattern in royal blue and the guys will be wearing the same herringbone pattern, but in a dark green.

Maybe a little boring I suppose, but ties that they'll all be able to wear again and (thankfully) pretty inexpensive in the long run (roughly $15 - $20 per tie at The Tie Bar).

Was finding ties for your guys pretty challenging or a fairly simple process for you? Where did you end up getting the ties?

The DL on the RD

The rehearsal dinner has been my current obsession (bordering on bane of my existence) for a few weeks now. Since so many kiddos are going to be participating in the ceremony (six of them!) I decided straight away that we WERE going to have a rehearsal, so having a rehearsal dinner (henceforth RD)was a no brainer (I'm picturing Miss Manners turning over in here grave if there were a rehearsal but no RD!).

When I first discussed it with Nolan he mentioned something about having it at our home, which I quickly dismissed because I KNEW I'd be in no mood to prepare food for 25 people on the day before my wedding, so I started thinking about restaurants. I initially wanted something pretty close to our ceremony site (where the rehearsal is going to take place), but that wasn't set in stone. And of course it had to be inexpensive!

One place that came to my mind right away was Buca di Beppo. Who doesn't like Italian food, right? There is one in downtown San Diego which is fairly close to the Marston House.

As luck would have it a rep from the downtown location was at the most recent bridal show I attended and we chatted it up for a few minutes and she gave me her card and said she'd email all the info I needed. Woot!

Hey - that was way easier than I thought it'd be!

WRONG.

Sadly the pricing at Bucca di Beppo is about double what Nolan and I were looking to spend (not even including the 20+% charge they make large parties pay). Boo.

I was down but not out and started looking at other locations. I checked out a few places in Old Town and much to my dismay, I was coming across the same problems that I was with Bucca - they were just TOO expensive.

We then started thinking about just making reservations at a restaurant that could accommodate a 25 person party and showing up (i.e. not having a "private" function), but that 20+ "gratuity" (which I want to point out that I understand WHY it's there) was always in the back of my head.

So, back to square one. I decided to take a creative angle this time though. I'd pretty much determined that restaurants were going to be out. And that I didn't want to make the food myself. Oddly enough, Craigslist saved the day again! Now, I didn't go with someone I found on CL, but I got the idea of having the event catered at our home.

Enter El Indio! El Indio is pretty much an institution in San Diego and a plus is that Nolan really likes their food!

Source

I clicked on the catering section of their website and was VERY impressed with the prices! For under $11 per person I'd be able to get a Mexican feast for my guests, along with all the napkins and plates! And our order will be over their delivery minimum, so we'll be able to get it delivered! Woot!

I'm still a *little* bit apprehensive at having 25 or so people in my fairly average sized house, but I think the pros really outweigh the cons. We're not going to have to worry about cranky kids (they'll be able to play in the back yard!), not have to deal with a terrible parking situation, and the cost is very doable for us. Thankfully I have some friends I can call on to borrow some chairs (and maybe a table!) so everyone will have seating.

Right now the plan is for Nolan and I to head to Costco a few days prior to the RD and buy any beverages and desserts we'll need.

Have you decided on the location of your RD yet? Anyone else having it at home?

Is less more or is more more?

*~*~*~*~*~ Nolan if you're reading please don't read this post! ~*~**~*~



All of you faithful WeddingBee readers may remember this post from Miss Argyle last week. She featured a red bolero that she'd seen over on Style Me Pretty and that she'd fallen in love with. I clicked on over to the sellers Etsy site and fell in love myself!


I've really liked the look of boleros for a while now, but after this this one in this Uh-mazing blue (that would match my shoes SO well!!), I was hooked. I hemmed and hawed and thought and re-thought.

I was in LOVE with this bolero. I convo'ed the seller just to be sure she could make it in my size (she could!) and I just couldn't stop thinking about it!

So I took the plunge and made this completely unnecessary purchase (don't worry, not from the wedding fund, from my own personal stash!). While I was hemming and hawing and thinking I had e-mailed this beauty to BM Sally to get her input on it (since she has great taste and all!) and she liked it too.

Well, fast forward to last night. I was over at her pad watching the Oscar's and chatting about wedding stuff. I happily told her that I did indeed bite the bullet and ordered that Uh-mazing bolero. I then proceeded to show her a bracelet I found at Loehmann's marked down to a killer price (what can I say, it was a marathon shopping weekend for this bride to be!) that I was thinking may be a great addition to my wedding jewelry wardrobe.

It was at that precise moment my bridal bubble was burst.

Sally very tactfully (and sweetly) pointed out that I already have a LOT going on as far as wedding accessories go. My awesome blue shoes. My big and beautiful statement necklace. My blue earrings. The birdcage veil. And now the addition of my uh-mazing bolero.

Uh-oh.

I think my brain was in bridal overkill mode. So now I'm a little worried that it's all going to be TOO much. :(

I plan on high tailing it to Sally's house (where my dress currently resides) with everything that I have once the bolero gets here (probably not for a few weeks or so) so I can try on the whole she-bang and see if it all "works" (and hopefully it will!!).

Did you ever doubt any of the wardrobe or accessory decisions you made for your wedding?

Evolution of a Centerpiece - Take Two

Remember how I told you last week that this past weekend was going to be filled with wedding goodness?? Well, it was, but I think I bit off more than I could chew! I started about six different projects and ended up running out of paint (or other supplies). In fact, this is what my dining room looked like most of the weekend (and there is even a sneak peek at some of my other projects!):

Something I did hunker down and work on was centerpiece trial number two. Since all signs were pointing to the flowers being too expensive, I gave my rocks/candles idea a go (and am pretty happy with the results).


Here it is NOT lit up:

And here is the same idea, but lit up (except for the green votives):

I'm still not COMPLETELY sold on this look. After much deliberation, I think I'm going to remove the ribbons completely and remove the green votives as well. I have my eye on some cylinder vases at the dollar store too and may add them as well to see how that goes.

What do you think??

How can I make this look better? What do you think would look best underneath?

Easy-peasy DIY Table Numbers

You've probably noticed the trend with my DIY projects, they are all REALLY simple! Miss Trail Mix on the Bee actually blogged recently that she has the same DIY philosophy, so it's nice to know that I'm in good company.



My table numbers are no exception and they, too, were "stolen" from the awesome (now) Mrs. Dew Drop (you can see hers here) and they were pretty darn simple!



I don't have pictures of all the steps, because they were just so easy. I started with the paper I purchased at Paper Source (after my Bee meet up a few of us headed there) and cut it to fit my 5 x 7 frames.


Then I painted the vinyl number stickers that I bought at Michael's. This was probably the most difficult part - painting vinyl isn't easy! I was getting a little worried after I had two coats on and they weren't covered well. Three coats was the trick though!

Next very carefully peel the stickers away from the sheet and adhere them to your previously cut paper.

Put that sheet into your picture frame (I got mine at the Dollar Store - woot!) and voila - table numbers!

Here is how mine turned out:

What do you think?

What are you using for table numbers?