Location, Location, Location

So we finally got back to Atlanta after living in Boston for three months and traveling to Florida for a couple of weeks.  Time to start planning right?  Wrong.  I went to Guatemala for ten days.  Hey, I'm a graduate student.  Clearly, I'm trying to save the world.

But then I got back to Atlanta and decided it was time for us to book a venue.  Yes, we still had 15 months until our chosen date, but I'm picky.  I'm sure laid back brides who are much more flexible than I am do not need to start planning that early.  I am incredibly opinionated and I knew that if I wanted my pick of the litter, I needed to get there before everyone else did.  I did a lot of research and selected 15 places to further examine.  I used these criteria to narrow down the list from there:

• Indoor/Outdoor: We really wanted a garden wedding, but I'm also a control freak so I wanted to make sure that we had a back-up plan in case the weather got the better of us.
• Ceremony & Reception: We're faithful and spiritual people, but we are not religious.  We didn't need a church/synagogue/straw hut, and we felt that we could save money on guest transportation by having the ceremony and the reception in the same location.
• Affordable: We budgeted $12K for the venue if it included catering, $6K if it did not.  We couldn't go a dime over.
• Nearby: Trying to find a place within 30 minutes of Atlanta made the affordable thing trickier, but I felt like convenience was more of a priority.

From there, we were left with four potential venues.  I then came up with new criteria:

• Charming: I'm pretty quirky (as you may have noticed?) and I wanted a place with a story.
• Big Enough: We were anticipating 125-150 guests, which is in no way a large wedding.  But given the charm factor that we were looking for, many venues on our list were more quaint than charming, and couldn't even hold that many.
• Flexible: We had a lot of time to plan, and a very small amount of money to spend.  I planned to take advantage of that by shopping around for different vendors and by doing a lot on my own.  Many venues are all-inclusive, which is super convenient for some people...but when you had as much time as we did, it was an unnecessary convenience.

Here's how our final four measured up to those criteria:

Piedmont Room

 Barristers Ball, 2010

Two of my favorite things in the world are the skylines and the color green.  Piedmont Room has plenty of both.  Piedmont Room is the special events facility at Park Tavern, one of my favorite bars in Atlanta.  It overlooks Piedmont Park and the midtown skyline.  Unfortunately, this one was vetoed because of the charm factor.  It's BEAUTIFUL, but we needed something a little more funky.

Rhodes Hall

Source

Now we're talking charm factor!  Rhodes Hall, locally known as The Castle on Peachtree, was built in 1904.  It's currently used as the headquarters for the Georgia Trust, who operate Rhodes Hall in addition to other historic sites throughout the state.  Rhodes Hall was more than able to accommodate our guests...outside only.  Their indoor facilities, though lovely, were a little small for us.  Basically, if it rained, we'd have to send some people home.  I was a little disappointed, but I moved on.

Flint Hil

Source

I love this place.  Flint Hill is an antebellum home, turned events facility.  It was perfect for a garden wedding and an indoor reception.  The price was right, and the woman I spoke to on the phone was fabulous!  They are an all-inclusive facility, though incredibly flexible compared to their competition.  Something still didn't feel right though...

Anthony's Fine Dining

Source

Funny story about Anthony's: I'm an alumna of Kappa Kappa Gamma, and the Kappa Atlanta Alumnae Association held a luncheon at Anthony's a few years ago.  Gringa Bridesmaid Emily (who is also a Kappa) decided to go and we absolutely fell in love with the place.  This was long before I got engaged, but Emily still insisted on planning my wedding there.  She went and found the head chef, got him to give us a tour, and we talked prices.  We were just being silly but to be honest, it's been in the back of my mind ever since.  Anthony's is an antebellum home, built in 1797, and it's now a restaurant in the middle of Buckhead.  The garden is perfect for the ceremony, the Ladybug Room is perfect for the reception, the wine celler is a really cool place to get ready...I loved everything about it.  It met all of the criteria, so we decided to go take a peek.

We made an appointment for a tour and ended up staying there for a few hours, just chatting with Mary and Amy, Anthony's wonderful coordinators.  We told them we'd go look around and let them know what we decided.  We decided on the five-minute drive home.

I was a little disappointed that I didn't go check out the other venues, but I don't like giving myself the opportunity to second-guess myself.  I never check over my exams before turning them into my professor and I wasn't about to second guess this gut feeling.  I was especially curious about what Flint Hill looked like in person, but fortunatley one of my best friends is getting married there in October!  I suppose we'll see it then!

A Subtle Tribute for Unsubtle Fans

I don't remember exactly when, but around Christmas break we started discussing dates.  We knew we wanted Spring 2011, because we were both graduating in Spring 2010.  We knew we wanted a Saturday, because so many of our guests would be coming from out-of-state.  So I whipped out my iPhone and took a look at the calendar.  I decided March might be too cold, and May would be too close to three of my bridesmaid's graduations (more about how incredibly brilliant and talented my friends are later).  That left April.

Source: my iCal

I immediately checked the vitals: Passover was the 19th through the 25th.  Easter Sunday was the 24th.  The NCAA March Madness Finals were the 4th.  That left the 2nd, the 9th, the 16th, and the 30th.  My mom didn't like the 2nd because it was too close to my birthday.  I didn't like the 16th or the 30th because it was too close to actual wedding season (and finals for my lovely bmaids who are still in school).  So now that left the 2nd and the 9th.  Then, I had an epiphany.

Source: SoxBlog

Do you know who that is?  It's Jackie Robinson.  He broke the color barrier.  Now, I've told you that Mr. Lion and I are huge baseball fans.  I'm a Sox fan and he's a Yankees fan.  This is the source of all of our arguments.

Personal photo: Hat fight, circa 2005

Personal photo: Interleague Sox game at Turner Field, 2009.

Mr. Lion was not thrilled that my boys were winning.

Regardless of who you root for in baseball, integration is something we can all agree on.  Jackie's number is 42, so April 2nd would be a wonderful tribute to him and all he did for the game.

I was psyched.  We had set a date AND discovered a fun way to incorporate our love for baseball into our wedding day.  Plus, Mr. Lion could never forget an anniversary date like that!

How did you choose your date?  Does your date have a certain significance behind it?

Let Them Eat Cupcakes!

One of the other ways I tried to incorporate Mama Lioness' creativity was by having her host our engagement party.  I love seeing inspiration boards featuring engagement parties that could rival a wedding.  I didn't want all of that, though.  I wanted something low-key, inexpensive, and casual.  Also, I didn't want people to bring presents, as we hadn't had a chance to register yet.  We decided to have it at Mama Lioness' townhouse on December 26th, 2009.  We were in South Florida visiting three of our four divorced parents for the holidays, so it was a perfect opportunity to take advantage of already having many of our favorite people in the same place at the same time.  Five of my six bridesmaids are also from South Florida, so they were home visiting family as well.

Mama Lioness sent out evites (did I mention how casual I wanted this to be?) and started brainstorming with Sister Lioness.  They decided on afternoon cupcakes and champagne with DIY decor.  They got mini-cupcakes from Allegria at The Promenade in Coconut Creek.  (They sell froyo and cupcakes...who could ask for anything more?)  These are the flavors they decided on:

• Strawberry Meringue
• Mocha Espresso
• Tres Leches (it was very important to me that we include something more traditional to Mr. Lion's side of the family)
• Apple Streusel
• Key Lime
• Cookies and Cream
• Reeses Peanut Butter
• Red Velvet Cheesecake

Mama and Sister Lioness also made Black Bottom Cupcakes, a family favorite...so much so in fact, that I think people would have been disappointed if the Lionesses served cupcakes without a Black Bottom appearance!  Mama Lioness does not have cupcake trees, so she stacked glass cup and saucers together.  She bought a few heart-shaped cupcake liners and made a few Funfetti cupcakes to serve as toppers for her cupcake trees.  Then, she hand-made little bride and groom toppers to be toothpicked into the top cupcake.  Sister Lioness hand-made signs indicating the flavors (I wish I had her handwriting).  Here are the final results:

You can't see, but we had personalized confetti with our names!  A very nice touch from Mama Lioness, since she knows I'm into the details.  The lovely 8x10 frame and commemorative letterpress was a very nice gift from FMIL Lion!

Sister Lioness' amazing work

The only thing store-bought on here are the bottom two tiers of cupcakes.  Yay for DIY!

And here's a recap of how much fun we had!

When getting ready for an engagement party, it is necessary to wear an Ariel tiara and make a princess face.

Us with our Mamas...I am literally the whitest person here.

By the way, how fun our our buttons?!

 Mr. Lion and Lion Corgi...dancing!

 With Sister Lioness and Daddy Lioness

With 4 of my 6 bridesmaids...aren't they fabulous?

{all personal photos}

We had a ball.  The best part was having so many people that we care about in the same room at the same time.  If that's any indication of what the wedding itself will be like, I'm psyched!

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?

Meet Me Halfway

Mama Lioness is the antithesis of Mother of the Bride.  I grew up in the South and view myself as a Southern Belle, but that certainly doesn't mean I have a Southern family.  My family is from New England, but my mom grew up overseas.  My grandfather was a diplomat, so she lived all over...mostly in South America and the Caribbean.  Yes, Mama Lioness is actually more latina than gringa.  Hey, maybe that's why I ended up with a Cubano!

I'm Southern, so I grew up dreaming of grande romances comparable to Scarlett & Rhett's.  I'm Floridian, so I grew up dreaming of Prince Charming whisking me away as woodland creatures frolicked about.  She's slightly more practical than I am.  She loves Mr. Lion, she loves that we're happy, and she's super excited about the wedding.  But when it comes to every detail and every ridiculous expense, it's hard for her to see why it's important to me.

On the one hand, it's nice having her a bit removed.  I'm a control freak and I would not function well with an overbearing mother trying to be too involved in my decisions.  On the other hand, sometimes I wished she understood why the smallest, dumbest traditions were so important to me.

Fortunately, I've found a way to solve this problem.  Mama Lioness is super creative.  I figured if I could find ways to incorporate her creativity and her individuality, she could be the Mother of the Bride that I wanted her to be without changing who she is.  I've made an effort to stick to that plan, and so far it's been quite successful and I think she really appreciates it!  This is my first act of compromise:

 Source: Paperback Swap

This book was PERFECT for my mom.  It's dry, original, and realistic, yet still heartwarming.  She loved it, and it made me really happy to give it to her!

Did you find a fun way to get a family member involved in your planning process?

Book Report

So I left for Boston, armed with my engagement ring and the comfort that my bridesmaids knew how much I loved them.  I knew I wouldn't be able to do much wedding planning for the next three months, since I was so far away from the city where I would hire all of our vendors (clearly, this was before I discovered Wedding bee).  I allowed myself to brainstorm, but I forbade myself from "actively planning" until I returned to Atlanta in 2010.  When I got a coupon to Borders in the mail, I decided that I needed something to guide me in my brainstorming.

I sat in the wedding planning aisle four nearly an hour (not exaggerating, just embarrassed) trying to choose the perfect wedding planning guide.  Well folks, the truth is, there isn't one.  I finally decided on Emily Post's.

 Source: Emily Post

I like it, but it wasn't as helpful as I had hoped.  I think a lot of brides could find it helpful, but it just wasn't what I needed.  I needed more of a guide than a workbook.  Workbooks are necessary too, which is why I am a spreadsheetaholic.  But as far as guides go, I have gotten a lot more out of the following:

 Source: Bridal Aislusions

This book is exactly what a bride like me needs.  It's helpful for those who are on a budget, and for those who need to be reminded that the wedding industry is just that...an industry.  It's easy to get all bright-eyed and busy-tailed when looking at all things sparkly, but most of us can't afford to do that!  I found that this book provided some honest insight and incredibly useful tips.

 Source: The Knot

I don't use The Knot for much these days, though I know many brides who swear by it.  The one tool I still use on The Knot is their To Do List feature.  I find it incredibly thorough.  I've examined lots of wedding websites' to do lists, and I've found that The Knot's timeline tends to bias planning ahead rather than doing things last minute, which is a great match for me.  Also, as a typical Type A girl, I love me some to do lists.  That little check mark in that little box symbolizes success and accomplishment to me more than anything else in the world.  This book is stock full of to do lists, with plenty of room to jot down notes along the way.

Regardless of what books you choose for your planning process, I definitely recommend writing in pencil!  It's amazing how many times your plans can change...a lesson I'm still learning.

Rallying the Troops

As a recent physical therapy student, my program's curriculum included nine months of clinical affiliations.  Each rotation is three months long.  I did my first two rotations here in Atlanta, and my third one was in Boston.  I've always wanted to live in Boston, it's an amazing place for healthcare, and it is way too cold for Mr. Lion.  Since I figured a proposal was right around the corner, I figured I'd better get this out of my system now before we settled down somewhere together.

Well, Mr. Lion proposed two weeks before I left for Boston.  This was one of the main reasons we decided on a longer engagement; I would be out of state for three months, which would make the first stages of planning difficult.  Instead, I got to just enjoy our engagement without thinking about the actual wedding.  There was one thing I wanted to plan though.

I wanted to tie down my bridesmaids.  Since it can be such a financial commitment, I wanted to give my girls plenty of time to start saving up.  I wanted to ask them in a really unique way.  Of all the elements of wedding planning, I feel like this part is one of the most pure and innocent.  As little girls, we dream of one day becoming brides.  I wanted to capture that moment of pure joy and share it with the little girls that I dreamed about that moment with.  So, I made children's books!  Ladies and gentlemen, here is my first DIY project!

I bought colorful paper, stickers, and ribbons.  I spent more money on this than I would have with store-bought cards, and it is in no way well crafted.  I had two criteria I wanted it to meet: I wanted it to look like a child made it, and I wanted it to bring a smile to my bridesmaids' faces.  Done and done!

The book's cover

In case you can't read the poem:

There once was a princess who dreamed of true love.

She hoped and she wished and she prayed to above.

Til one day, and unlikely Yankee* kaptured** her heart

Even 150 miles couldn't keep them apart!

(*Mr. Lion is a Yankees fan, I am a Red Sox fan.  More on this later.
**This is a play on the sorority grab-a-date that served as our first date.)

  Their relationship grew strong and their days filled with laughter.

Then he gave her a ring that promised happily ever after.

There's a twist to our story!  That princess was me!

And Dave has made me his bride-to-be.

So now I have a question for you, a favor to ask.

And I really hope you're up to the task!

I'll get right to the point, there's no reason to tease...

You can probably read this one!  Obviously it was different for every girl.
{all personal photos} 

How did you ask your girls to be your bridesmaids?  What inspired you?

In Fair Atlanta, Where We Lay Our Scene

I knew I wanted a spring wedding ever since I was a little girl.  I'm Irish, so those colors just look better with me.  Sr. Groom liked the idea of a spring wedding because it wouldn't conflict with baseball postseason or college football season.  So why Atlanta when the majority of our family members live in Florida?

I took this with my iPhone.  That's how beautiful it is outside right now.

I love the smell of magnolias.  I love the sight of fully bloomed dogwood trees.  I love leaving my windows open when I go to sleep at night and waking up to crisp air filling my bedroom.  I love taking Miss Corgi for a long walk.  I love driving through the Highlands and seeing families walking outside with their strollers.  I love sitting on a porch with a glass of sweet tea in my hand, enjoying the fact that it's warm enough to enjoy a refreshing beverage but not quite warm enough for the condensation to drip down the side of the glass.

Of course, I didn't mention the yellow powder that completely covers my car right now, but I like to think positively.

Shut up!

That was my reaction when I realized that Mr. Lion was down on one knee.  But let's start at the beginning.

Mr. Lion and I both graduated in May of 2010.  We started saving up for a graduation trip to Costa Rica when we started school.  Mr. Lion had hinted that a ring was coming after graduation, so I assumed that's when he would pop the question.  I mean, the setting would be perfect...beauty, adventure, romance, and Latin American food.  It doesn't get any better than that.

Meanwhile, Mr. Lion was up to plans of his own.  Mr. Lion had a really good internship in the summer or 2009, so he had saved enough money for a ring, but not a diamond.  Luckily for him, I didn't want a diamond.  I've had my eye on an aquamarine earring that belonged to my great-grandmother since I was a little girl.  The plan was to take the stone out of that earring (we have no idea what happened to the other earring, by the way) and design an engagement ring with it.  When he eventually decided that he wanted to propose, he spent a lot of time pondering how to execute the perfect proposal.  We saw the movie "Up" (I mentioned I'm a Disney geek, didn't I?) and he was instantly inspired.

Source: Disney/Pixar via kidstvmovies.about.com

Side note: "Up" also features a hero using an assistive device.  My physical therapist heart kinda melted.

Source: Disney/Pixar via Movie Cafe

I've always wanted to go up in a hot air balloon.  In fact, it's on my bucket list.  As soon as Mr. Lion had this epiphany, he called Sister Lioness.  (Something you should know about Sister Lioness: she is my absolute best friend in the entire world.)  He asked about the aquamarine, he inquired about my dream setting, but he did not reveal when or how he planned to propose.  He then called Daddy Lioness.  He asked for permission, but he did not reveal when or how he planned to propose.  Last but certainly not least, he called Mama Lioness.  He requested that she ship the aquamarine, but he did not reveal when or how he planned to propose.  Well, hot air ballooning involves going up with the sunrise, so imagine the surprise in my family members' voices as I called them one by one at 8:00 AM to tell them we were engaged!

 Personal photo: Us, Up!

But back to the actual proposal...yes, I said "shut up."  I was absolutely shocked when I realized that Mr. Lion was awkwardly positioning himself into a kneeling position in a tiny balloon basket.  I had my mind made up that he was proposing nine months from that moment, something he had worked very hard to make sure I believed.  Whenever someone asks Mr. Lion about this bait and switch, he starts singing Lady Gaga's "Poker Face."  It's really quite...umm...charming.

Yes, I said "shut up," and he said nothing.  He never even asked me to marry him.  But I'm awkward and he's a man of action, not of words.  One of my favorite things about our proposal is how it is so consistent with our personalities.  Did your personality quirks shine through during your proposal?

Intro!

Miss Gringa - My family is from New England, but I was raised in the South.  What do those two areas have in common?  Well, not much besides argyle and brunch (both of which I LOVE, by the way).  I'm a graduate student, though not for much longer!  I like Disney, board games, traveling, cooking, the Florida Gators, eBaying, anything that has to do with the ocean, and sarcasm.





Señor Groom is a first generation American.  His parents moved from Cuba to New Jersey in the 1980s.  Unfortunately, because of this, Sr. Groom is a Yankees fan.  Sr. Groom attended the University of Central Florida for undergrad and is a die-hard Knights fan.  He is now in the process of finishing up law school.  He enjoys golf, video games, being outside, going to the movies, and eating Miss Gringa's cooking.

We met in Florida, migrated to Georgia for school, and plan to start our lives together here in Atlanta.  We're huge baseball fans (more about how this is influencing our wedding later) and we're parents to a 4-year-old dog, Miss Corgi.  Miss Corgi has a huge Napoleonic complex.  She is incredibly mischievous, mostly in situations involving food.  She enjoys destroying stuffed animals, chasing her tennis ball, snuggling on the couch, and eating popcorn.

We got engaged on August 29, 2009 and we're getting married on April 2, 2011.  I love having a long engagement and I have thoroughly enjoyed the planning process so far!  I'm excited to share with you lots of lovely inspiration, fun ideas, creative DIY projects, and of course, entertaining stories about our wedding planning adventures.  Happy reading!