Vote or Blush!

Get it?  It's a play on P. Diddy's (or whatever he's calling himself these days) "Vote or Die."  Well, I think that sounds a little dramatic; but seriously, you should vote.  On what, you ask?

I need help choosing lingerie for my wedding night!

I chose not to have a lingerie shower, because I asked Mr. Lion, "Do you want me to have lingerie or stuff to make you yummy food?" and he answered the latter.  I got some fabulous kitchen toys at my bridal shower, but now I have a little shopping to do for the wedding night!

I wanted something bridal, and I wanted it to be super sexy but pretty tasteful too.  I've narrowed it down to two options.  I like this first one a lot because the blue accents match my engagement ring.

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Option two isn't as exciting from the front, but the back is unique and definitely bridal.  I mean, it has a bustle!

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What do you think, Hive?  Cast your vote below!  Or just sit there blushing.  I am a little bit.
Option 1 - Blue Bows
Option 2 - Bridal Bustle

If I Had A Million Dollars

If money was no object when it came to our wedding, the first thing I would change is the amount of money I'm spending on my bridesmaids.  Out of the 6 Lioness Bmaids, 5 are in grad/med/law school and only one lives in Atlanta.  This means lots of travel expenses on very tight budgets.  These ladies have both literally and figuratively gone the distance for me, and I just wish I could afford to thank them more than I already plan to.  If I had the means, I would get them something like this:

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Hive, allow me to introduce you to 1154 Lill Studio, a custom handbag design company.  Sure, they have stuff like this on Etsy, but one of the things that makes 1154 Lill so fun is the experience.  You see, unless you live in Chicago or Boston where they have actual studios (or if you just shop online), you find a representative and design your own bag at a 1154 Lill party!  How fun would it be to have a handbag designing party with your bridesmaids?

You start with a blank canvas, which comes in every shape and size:

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Then, you choose your fabrics.  Note: you can also buy any of these fabrics by the yard...so you could make handbags to match your decor!

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I wish I could do this for my girls, but unfortunately it's just not possible.  Don't worry though; I have a few tricks up my sleeve in addition to the shoes and fascinators that they know they're getting!  What are you getting your bridesmaids as gifts?  What would you get them if you could get them anything?

A Surprise for Mr. Lion

I love when a bride's wedding day accessories reflect her personality.  It's even more adorable when she sneaks in a little something to reflect her significant other's personality.  And what better place for that than the garter?  It's discreet, intimate, but not any less fun!  I thought that my garter would be a good place to do just that.

...because my garter is actually a practical joke.  Mr. Lion and I do not have the most serious of relationships.  We're kinda silly together.  Exhibit A:

Personal photo: dressing up like cows for free food

Basically, he knew this was coming.  So how is my garter a practical joke, you ask?  I've mentioned in the past that Mr. Lion is a huge Yankees fan, while I'm a huge Red Sox fan.  Welllll....

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Words cannot express how psyched I am to see the look on his face when he sees this.  Don't worry though; it's all in good fun.  Besides, I'm making it up to him with a Yankees-themed groom's gift.  You'll see!  Stay tuned!

Two-Shoe Bride

You may recall that I had found the perfect wedding shoes for me.  Whimsical, unique, and by one of my favorite designers.  However, as our plans evolved, our theme evolved as well.  Though both the ceremony and the reception would be whimsically vintage, they each started to take on a different tone.  Our ceremony became more soft and romantic, while our reception became more bright and colorful.  I thought this was appropriate; the design was still cohesive, but there was some separation to the events too.  Then I started thinking.  Maybe my Kate Spade ballet flats were more reception shoes than wedding shoes.

And just like that, I was a two-shoe bride.

I'm so embarrassed to admit that!  I'm usually pretty far from indecisive.  I usually know what I want and I rarely change my mind once it's made up.  But I suppose that's one disadvantage of having a long engagement; you have plenty of time to second-guess yourself and every trivial decision you make.  So, I rearranged our budget (again) and started shopping around for ceremony shoes.  I knew they couldn't be too high because 1) Mr. Lion isn't exactly an NBA star and 2) wearing ballet flats for the reception now dictated the length my dress would need to be altered to.

How fun is that font?!  It reminds me of Juno.  Anyway.  I found these lovely ivory heels, the Culver by Nina:

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They were exactly the look I was going to, and they weren't too tall (2.5 inches).  The only problem was that I love the trend of colorful wedding shoes.  I needed my shoes to have a little more personality!  But could I pull of something like this with my classic lace gown?

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Then, I discovered the DYO (design your own) section on Nina.  This feature allows customers to take a Nina design and customize the shoes to their liking.  You can even add rhinestones.  There are a few disadvantages to this feature; the shoes are more expensive and, because they're one of a kind, they're not returnable.  I went to a local store that sold Nina shoes and tried on a pair to make sure I was ordering the right size, then I created these:

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Ivory satin Culvers with an Apple Green sole.  Yes.  Here they are in person:

{personal photo}

All in all, I was really happy with the decision in the end.  What have you changed your mind about during your planning process?

OMG Shoes

I enjoy a good boutique sale like Rue La La or ideeli.  I get a kick out of special deals like Scoutmob or Living Social.  But I freeking love eBay.  Maybe it's the competitive side of me, but winning a good auction just makes my day.  It can be really hit or miss, but if you just so happen to stumble upon the treasure you were searching for, eBay can be absolutely thrilling.  It can certainly give a budget bride quite the sense of accomplishment.

I decided to venture over to eBay to do a little bit of wedding shoe searching.  I typed in "green" (one of our wedding colors), "7" (my shoe size), and two of my favorite words in the language of fashion:

Kate.  Spade.  She is absolutely one of my favorite designers, but when it comes to my everyday budget, she's on another playing field more appropriate for a special occasion...like a wedding!  I'm a big fan of the classic and sophisticated style that this designer brings to shoes, handbags, and jewelry.  Well, my eBay find wasn't exactly what I would call classic or sophisticated...but it was certainly more me!

{all personal photos}

I had struck gold.  Bright green and pool blue, our wedding colors exactly.  Fun and whimsical, our wedding style exactly.  The little gift bow seemed to say "to Miss Lioness with love."  I had to have them.  Best of all, they were $30 plus shipping!  I felt like that was a pretty good deal in general, but for Kate Spade it was just amazing.  They were in pretty good condition too...just a little scuff on the sole, though it was not nearly as bad as the seller had made it sound.  I bid, won, and waited patiently by my mailbox as I imagined myself twirling through our first dance in these dancin' shoes.

Have you found any bargain wedding items on eBay?  Or have you struck out?

Bridal Style vs. Daily Style

So now that you've seen my dress and my headpiece, I'll bet you think you have a pretty good sense of my personal style.  Frilly, romantic, girly...were you thinking of something like this?

Sources: ModCloth

Actually, the style represented in these items is pretty far from my personal style.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE this look, but I just don't feel like I can pull it off on a daily basis.  If I had to describe my personal style (a la Tyra), I would have to say it varies between preppy and mod.

Preppy, by Vineyard Vines

Mod, by Anthropologie

Basically, this chick right here is my fashion icon:

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Emma Pillsbury's closet can do no wrong.  I mean, she's a redhead and she can pull off yellow!  Not sure how that's possible, but I'm sure as anything not gonna fight it!  I love everything this girl wears, so you'd think her wedding dress would perfectly suit my style.

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Dress by JCrew

I was certain that I would have similar taste in a wedding dress, but this style just wasn't me.  Perhaps I have an alter-ego side of me that's just dying to try something new!  How about you?  Is your bridal style similar to or different from your daily style?

Flowers and Etsy and Veils, Oh My!

I tried on a few different veils in stores.  I liked some better than others, but none thrilled me more than the birdcage style.  I loved the vintage look of it, and I loved the way it looked with my dress.  As I've mentioned before, I'm a huge Etsy fan.  So when it came time to find a unique veil for a reasonable price, I looked no further!

I had read about different Etsy shops all over the 'Bee, but one post by Mrs. Dolphin really jumped out at me.  Etsy seller Fine & Fleurie (formerly known as JMG Jewelry Design) features handmade jewelry and hair accessories perfect for weddings and other special occasions.  I was immediately enamored with the shop.  Everything was so romantic, so feminine, so PERFECT.

Something y'all should know about Mr. Lion: he does not want to know ANYTHING about my wedding day ensemble.  Nothing.  Not the dress, not the veil, not even the shoes (we'll get to those in another post!)...so forgive me for interrupting this story to say Mr. Lion, read no further!

Upon perusing Fine & Fleurie's shop, I decided on this birdcage veil:

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It's bandeau style, meaning it wraps straight across rather than poofing up or out.  I thought this would be more comfortable for someone fidgety like me!  There are dainty pearls at the bottom of the veil, adding just a touch of elegance, and I was able to order it in ivory to match my dress.  I felt like the veil alone wasn't enough though...I needed a little something extra.  Then I found this fascinator:

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This fascinator is silk and lace with crystals and pearls in the middle.  I felt like it was made to go with my dress!  I loved it so much, that I decided to get miniature ones for my bridesmaids so that we could match!

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The mini fascinators came in sets of two, so I only needed to order three for my six bridesmaids.  Still, that along with the veil and my fascinator ended up being a pretty big order!  I convo-ed the seller to see if she was willing to give me some sort of discount for being such a wonderful customer, and sure enough she was happy to oblige.  A few weeks later, I received the items, beautifully gift-wrapped and attached to a lovely thank you note.  I absolutely adore sellers like this because they seem to really enjoy what they do.  It makes such a big difference, and it leads to very happy customers!

Personal photo: iPhone and a bathroom mirror, myspace style!

What does your headpiece look like?  How did you find it?

The Shoes That Almost Weren't

I had so many ideas of what to give my bridesmaids as a thank you for being there for me on the big day.  Then, I had a thought.  Maybe the greatest gift of all wouldn't be necessarily the most unique, most beautiful, most thoughtful gift.  Maybe the greatest gift would be not having to spend so much money.  Being a bridesmaid is expensive!  Not to mention the fact that ALL SIX of my bridesmaids are still in school.  I hinted about this thought to Sister Lioness and Bmaid Emily, both of whom agreed that they would rather have me cover some of their expenses, even if it meant missing out on this:

 Source: Fine & Fleurie

So, I decided to cover their shoes.  Yes, yes, I know, we hadn't yet picked out the bridesmaids dresses.  I knew the bridesmaids dresses would be solid green, so I knew these would match when I found them.  I picked out a lovely pair of D'Orsay peep toes from David's Bridal and gave my girls their first official bmaid task: try them on.  Seemed simple enough, right?  Every town has it's own David's Bridal, and they don't even need to worry about paying for them.  Just try them on, call me with your size, no big whoop.  I mean, I'd be pretty eager to get these babies on my feet anyway.

 Source: David's Bridal

Unfortunately, it was the end of the spring semester and everyone was super busy.  And it was no piece of cake to try to rally 6 girls in 5 cities in 3 states to get this done.  After a few months, I finally got everyone's sizes.  I was really glad I had them try on the actual shoes because they ended up running quite large.  Adjusted sizes in hand, I called the Atlanta David's Bridal one morning to order all six pairs of shoes.  Well, they informed me that they have been DISCONTINUED and therefore I could NOT order them from their warehouse/shipment center/mothership.

I asked them to look through what they had in their store, and they told me they had ONE size 7, and everything else was bigger.  "Hmm, it's like everyone's snatched up the smaller sizes!" the saleswoman observed.  "Like, these must, like, run large or something!"  Duh, that's why I asked everyone to try them on!  She said she could search through the inventory of every David's Bridal in the country and "call me back" (oh yeah, that definitely goes in quotes).  This sounded like a long task, so I wasn't expecting to hear from her until tomorrow.  I started to look at back up options on dsw.com just in case.

I called Sister Lioness, who lived in Gainesville at the time, to tell her that my brainchild of pairing these gorgeous shoes with lovely green dresses might not come to fruition.  Sister Lioness was already out and about, and offered to visit the Gainesville David's Bridal and see what they had in stock.  She discovered two size 7s and a size 6.5.  We now had 2/3 of the shoes that we needed.  I wasn't sure whether to go ahead and get them or not...what if I did and then I couldn't find the other 3 pairs?  So I called Atlanta back to ask them if they had ANY 5.5s.  A different saleswoman answered my question with, "nope...there are only 2 pairs left in the country: one in Des Moins, Iowa and one in Norfolk, Virginia."  I asked her how she knew that so quickly, and she responded, "I just looked it up on our system."  I decided to give up on the incompetent saleswoman with whom I spoke earlier and I asked for the phone numbers for these two stores.  Norfolk did, in fact, have a size 5.5 and (upon further research) Tampa had a size 6!  Luckily, I was going to Tampa that weekend for a friend's bridal shower.  I picked up the one pair in Atlanta, I had Norfolk to ship the 5.5 to me, and Sister Lioness picked up the three in Gainesville.

I have to say I was quite impressed with David's Bridal's sense of urgency.  These shoes had been discontinued, and they helped me search all over the country to make sure I got what I wanted.  And they were efficient, too!

So there you have it: the saga of the shoes that almost weren't.  Sometimes things have a way of working themselves out...especially when you have an amazing MOH to help you with the dirty work!  Have you had to jump through any hoops throughout your planning process?

Push the Button, Commander!

The title of this blog post is brought to you by one of our favorite married couples: Ryan (who is one of Mr. Lion's Groomsmen) and Emily (who is one of my best friends from grad school).  We were at Disney World (as most of my great stories begin), and we were on EPCOT's Mission Space.  For those of you who have never been on Mission Space, there actually is a mission.  You have to push a button.  The problem?  The ride simulates space and all of its super fun gravitational effects.  So, when you try to push a button, it's nearly impossible to lift your arm because it feels like it weighs three tons.  Each passenger gets a different role and Emily was assigned "Commander."  When it was her turn to push the button, Ryan kept screaming "PUSH THE BUTTON, COMMANDER!" but it was too hard for her to lift her arm!  He truly believed that if she failed to complete her part of the mission, they would be doomed.  Of course, it's a ride and that's not the case.  She finally made it and accomplished the mission, but not without giving us an amazing Ryan story.

But I digress.

This post is about our first engagement gift that we received.  Sister Lioness, who is my Maid of Honor, is an incredibly generous, thoughtful, and creative human being.  She wanted to do something special not just for me, but for the entire bridal party.  She loved the idea of custom tees for bachelorette parties and pre-wedding pampering, but she wanted something that we could use over and over again, something that would be versatile enough to be used for a variety of occasions.

Hive, allow me to introduce to you The Embroidery Shoppe.

Source: The Embroidery Shoppe on Facebook

The Embroidery Shoppe is a small business based out of Gainesville, Florida, home of my Florida Gators.  I'm a huge fan of artisans who are able to turn their craft into something lucrative (more about Etsy later).  I first heard about The Embroidery Shoppe through one of my sorority sisters.  This company is a Southern sorority girl's dream.  They hand-craft totes, koozies, and buttons with the preppiest of materials in order to create one-of-a-kind accessories.  Sister Lioness had this made for me about a year ago in honor of Timmy's last season with the Gators:

 Personal photo: Is that a gameday necessity or what?

So when Sister Lioness decided that she wanted something all of the bridesmaids could wear over and over again, she knew who to contact.  I had told her that our wedding colors would be some shade of green and white, with some accent color (which later turned out to be aqua).  She collaborated with the girls at The Embroidery Shoppe and decided on fabric, font, etc.  Here's what they came up with:

Source: The Embroidery Shoppe on Facebook  Yup, they totally featured OUR buttons!  How fun is that?!

If that doesn't say Southern spring wedding, I don't know what does!  They're even cuter in person, and The Embroidery Shoppe truly did a brilliant job when making them.  The quality really is amazing!  My girls absolutely loved them, and we plan to wear them for showers, the bachelorette party, and while getting ready before the wedding.  Most of all, I just appreciated the effort Sister Lioness put forth in order to have them made.  I'm certainly a lucky bride!

What was your first gift as an engaged couple?  What was sentimentally significant about it?