151 Days to Go

The dresses were a bit more orange in person

I have entered the 6 month frenzy.  I ordered bridesmaid dresses yesterday from House of Brides in Chicago.  All the girls are wearing Coral Bari Jay Style 810.  The final dresses will flatter all their body types and work with the overall East Indian/American wedding look.  While I was at the dress shop, I found my new favorite accessory. I resisted the impluse purchase since it was silver and rhinestones and there's NO silver on my dress. I am going to look for something similar in gold and will post when I find it (or make it myself?)

This week we have to finalize a tasting menu so that we can go next week with MOG and my parents and Groom to try out a few things.  We're hosting the reception at a Spanish tapas place and until recently have been gung ho about the traditional menu option for some reason.  I am hoping that can morph into a tapas meal instead.   

Next on the list- Invitations and Tuxedo hunting...I might want to nail down my accessories while I'm at it too. 

DIY Salt & Sugar Scrubs

DSC04653
Originally uploaded by Helene Orange

For the holidays, I made sugar and salt scrubs for my family and friends. For the ladies, I made a Maharani Sugar Scrub using the following:

Coconut Oil- 4 ounces at room temperature
Ground Almonds- 2 tablespoons
Dark Brown Sugar- 2 ounces
Light Brown Sugar- 2 ounces
Honey- 1 tablepoon
Rose Water- 1 splash
Vanilla Extract- 1-2 teaspoons

For the guys, I made "Maharaja Salt Scrub" using:
Sea Salt- 1 ounce
Table Salt- 2 ounces
Extra Virgin Olive Oil- 2 ounces
Orange Extract- 1 splash
Clove Oil- 1 -2 drops
Glycerin (a carrier oil to extend the shelf life of the scrub)- 1 once

I then created labels borrowing from Martha Stewart's idea to use bumper sticker paper. It's water proof and re positionable. I ordered jars in bulk from Specialty Bottles.com and then found some canning jars on clearance (12 for $4) so I picked those up as well. I ended up making 12 salt scrubs and 20 sugar scrubs total.

Hawaiian food in Chicago?

If you're a Chicagoan going to an island for your honeymoon and haven't told your Bride, take her to the Tiki Terrace in Des Plains! They have dancers and authentic food as the chef is from Hawaii. I learned this by watching ABC7 news tonight and thought I'd share. 

Songs for your Reception

A friend is getting married soon and put a call out for ideas for Father/Daughter and Mother/Son songs to dance to. We plan on combining the numbers in the interest of time and guests' attention spans. That got me thinking about music in general and how I've deprived you of my thoughts on music. If there was a way to include movie clips, I'm sure Groom would eat that up, however, lucky for us all, we won't be doing that. Maybe soundtrack music will be our compromise. Here are random lists for different parts of your reception. 

Father/Daughter; Mother/Son Dance:

Unforgettable-Nat King Cole & Natalie King Cole
Your Song- Garth Brooks
Thank You - Dido

I'll Always Love You- Whitney Houston OR Dolly Parton
Have I Told You Lately - Van Morrison

First Dance Songs:

Hallelujah, I Love Her So - Ray Charles
This Kind of Love - Sister Hazel
Tell Me - Sara Evans
Sweetest Thing - U2
The Way You Look Tonight - Frank Sinatra

Because You Loved Me - Celine Dion
At Last - Etta James (Short and to the point)
Making Memories of Us - Keith Urban
Sweet Thing- Van Morrison

Bridal Party Introduction:

Beautiful Day - U2
Send Me on My Way - Rusted Root
Everybody - Sister Hazel

Music to Cut Your Cake to:

It Had to Be You (Instrumental) - Harry Connick, Jr.
Love & Marriage - Frank Sinatra

I'm a Believer - The Monkees or SmashMouth

If You Wanna Be Happy - Jimmy Soul
Ice Cream - Sarah McLachlan (obviously if you have an Ice Cream cake...)

Songs to Toss for the Groom to Toss your Garter:

Love Song for No One - John Mayer

Lot of Leavin' Left to Do - Dierks Bentley

Just Can't Get Enough - Depeche Mode

Nothing But A Good Time - Poison

Sexy Back - Justin Timberlake

Songs to Toss the Bouquet:

Settlin' - Sugarland
Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) - Beyonce
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper

Beautiful Girl - INXS
Wishin' & Hopin' - Ani DiFranco

You Can't Hurry Love - Dixie Chicks

Songs to Get Your Guests Up to Speed on your Relationship while Watching a Video Montage: 

Good Things - BoDeans

Better Together- Jack Johnson

I'm Your's - Jason Mraz

If I Had a Million Dollars - Barenaked Ladies

My Best Friend - Tim McGraw

Who Says You Can't Go Home - Bon Jovi and Jennifer Nettles

Somebody -  Depeche Mode

Forever and Ever, Amen - Randy Travis

Somebody Like You - Keith Urban

In short, look through your music collection and pick out music you and Groom like.  An artist you like has most likely written an appropriate song for you to dance to with your father or for you to rock out with your Groom or any of the other traditions receptions include.   If neither of you are music buffs, enlist your friends who are....we love this kind of stuff! 

My Wedding Inspiration Board UPDATE!

Here's a part of my Inspiration Board. I change it from time to time as I find things that catch my eye or as I refine my thoughts.   As of now, we're STILL negotiating flowers.  Technically I'm on 'break' til January 1, so it's fine.  I put this together using Picasa which made it very easy. 

I found a bridesmaid dress style I LOVE, Bari Jay 810.  I am giving the girls three choices, in the event the MOH wants to go with the other style (the deep v w/ open back shown in purple) It comes in every color imaginable, and I've chosen coral. It's not Bears Orange, it's more subtle, so I can play up the tangerine with the flowers, cake, and stationary.  

  

Schmap

Two things: We're going to Maui for our honeymoon and as it turns out a picture I took last year when visiting a sorority sister is now on schmap.com.  My picture is number 2 of 8 of the Banyan Tree Park taken while hiking around the park.  So here's why schmap is pretty freaking cool: it's an interactive map of most major cities and hot spots.   There's a desktop version allowing you to plan your trips and share them with your visitors. The wedding guest possibilities are endless. You can make a totally interactive map for your guests so they can check out the destination prior to visiting.  If they're local, they can look at the town from your perspective as a couple.  I'll keep you posted on my schmap as I get closer to the big day. 

My Bouquet

David Beahm in NYC has designed this breathtaking cascade of parrot tulips.  Maybe I can find something similar (not use parrot tulips and put it in white for myself and non cascading ones for the maids in a mix of colors.  I am waiting on proposals from a few florists and have to get all this decided sooner than later.  Wedding planning (further appointments, except bridesmaid dress color hunting) is on hold til January. That doesn't mean that I can't still look for things that are pretty, right?