Rawr

Maybe I've just been lucky so far.  I'm 17 months into wedding planning and it's been nothing but smooth sailing with my vendors.  I've LOVED everyone I've worked with, and I've certainly never had a problem with any of them.  Well, never say never.

I went for my first dress fitting the other day, and I was really REALLY not happy with my seamstress.  I went to the boutique where I bought my dress and used their alterations department.  The sales ladies had been nothing but fabulous, so I expected the same from their seamstress.  That was probably a little naive.

The waist of my dress fit fine, so she didn't need to take it in.

The length was pretty good, so she didn't need to shorten it.

I was even pretty psyched about the bustle that she came up with.

The problem was the top of my dress.  I've lost a tiny bit of weight since I ordered the dress.  Not much; I've mostly just toned up a little.  I went from sitting around studying physical therapy to actually practicing physical therapy, which is a pretty physically demanding job!  Naturally, the first place we ladies tend to lose weight is in the bust area...which is so not fair.  I had a little bit of extra room, so I asked the seamstress to take the straps up a little...

...but as you can see, she had already whipped out her date book to schedule me for my next fitting.  No wait, seamstress lady!  I'm not done yet!  Look how big my dress is up top!  Don't you think I need a little more support...you know, up there?

Her response?  "Well, it's not like you'll be moving around much anyway."

Clearly she'd never been to one of MY weddings!  I'm a dancer and I plan to do just that during our four-hour reception!  The girls needed enough lift to handle that.  So, I begged her to take a look.

She took it up about one-fourth of an inch, but then insisted that any more would be too tight, and uncomfortable.  I explained (again) that I'd prefer that the top of the dress be too tight rather than the opposite extreme.  Her response?  "Well, do you plan to lose a lot of weight?  Because otherwise I don't think you need it any smaller."

Maybe she assumed I'd lose more weight since most brides do so right before their wedding.  Not this bride!  Remember the whole physically demanding job thing?  Baby needs her protein!  I'd like to give her the benefit of the doubt with this one.

We bickered back and forth about this for several minutes, and I could tell that I was really starting to get on her nerves.  I understand that she was frustrated with me, given my stubbornness.  Sorry, but I'm not sorry.  I paid good money for this dress, I'm paying her good money for alterations, and I want it my way.  I had three bridesmaids with me, one who lives in Atlanta and two who were in town for the weekend, as my shower was later that day.  The girls had my back, but I was definitely the one instigating.  I really don't think we were out of line at any point.  I was polite, just persistent.

We finally compromised and she agreed to take up another one-fourth inch, but no more.  She said she'd have it ready in two weeks.  "Good," I thought to myself.  "Then that will give me enough time to take it elsewhere if it needs to be taken up any further!"  I thanked her for her time, and for her patience.

Her response?  "Next time, this will take five minutes okay?  Try it on, I pin a little, then that's it.  No discussion.  Also, only bring ONE bridesmaid."

I honestly didn't know what to say.  I just thanked her for her time (again) and left, happy to have been the bigger person.  This picture basically summed up the whole experience:

Me: still fiddling with my top.  Lioness Bmaid Jessica: rolling her eyes.  It's amazing how revealing candid photos can be!

Have any of you butted heads with a vendor?  How did you settle your differences?

Lioness Invitations: The Secret

Mrs. Hamster recently explained the importance of numbering your response cards.  Apparently it's quite common for guests to send in their RSVP and simply forget to put their name on it.  I'm sure we will have our fair share of RSVP errors, so if there's something we can do on our end to minimize the number of mishaps, I'm all for it!  I am definitely in favor of a little extra work to save my sanity in the long run.  Basically, I'm just trying to prevent this kind of a situation:

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The solution: invisible ink.  As Mrs. Cherry Blossom, Mrs. Socks, and Mrs. Sewing have previously discussed, this stuff is brilliant!  I found a set of two invisible ink pens on eBay for $2.00.  Each pen has a marker tip on one end and a little black light on the other.  We simply assigned each household a number on our guest list spreadsheet, then wrote the corresponding number on the back of each response card.  Invisible to the naked eye, yet very helpful to those with the right tools:

{personal photo}

Has anyone stumbled upon any other fun tricks to help make the RSVP process a little easier?

Lioness Invitations: The Teaser

Hive, we spent the better part of the weekend printing, cutting, trimming, punching, and assembling the Lioness invites.  They were truly a labor of love, but I am so pleased with how they turned out!  Here's a little sneak peak:

Lion Corgi was incredibly distraught, as she was not getting as much attention as she usually does.

We threw them in a very large shopping bag, and just like that they were on their way to the post office!

{all personal photos}

Allow me to leave you with one little screen cap of our design.

A dinosaur?  But what does it all mean?!  Stay tuned!

In Over My Head

Sister Lioness has had a month off of school (that's right: a month) for Christmas break.  I've been trying to take advantage of having my super-crafty MOH around by being as productive as possible with my long list of DIY projects.  Instead of knocking out lots of little projects, we decided to tackle the big ones: the tossing bouquet and (drumroll) the invitations.

The result?  Feeling like I was in a liiiittle over my head.  We spent hours on the tossing bouquet, only to get about 1/4 of the way done with it!  Then, it sat on my coffee table like this for about a week:

{personal photo}

I mean, it's off to a good start.  I think it looks good so far, there's just so much more to do!  The task of finishing it up just seems too daunting, but I'll know we'll get around to it soon...maybe...

I've definitely learned some important lessons in trying to accomplish my ambitious DIY projects, and I'd like to share them with y'all:

1. Set realistic goals. "I will assemble all of these invitations in the next 30 minutes" sounds nice, but it ain't gonna happen.  Overestimate, if you must.  Better to be pleasantly surprised than frustrated that your efficiency isn't up to par!
2. Delegate whenever possible (and bribe if you must).  Some of my projects have gone by faster by using the assembly line method.  I recruited Sister Lioness and Lioness Bmaid Emily with mimosas, and I bribed Mr. Lion by playing "Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus" in the background.  Hey, whatever works!
3. Buy excess supplies.  I hate to be wasteful, but buying the extra paper/fabric/ink was worth it in the long run.  I didn't end up needing most of it, but knowing it was there if I messed up and needed it kept me sane.
4. Never underestimate the importance of a good paper cutter.  WHAT A DIFFERENCE!
5. Proofread.  Proofread again.  When you think you don't need to proofread anymore, keep proofreading.  If your eyes start to hurt, call it a night and proofread again tomorrow.  Don't try to proofread when you're tired!  I promise it'll do more harm than good!

The fact that I've learned something from the experience makes it all a little less overwhelming. With a little self-pacing and patience, I know it'll be worth it in the end!  Have you ever felt overwhelmed by a DIY project?

Leaving Room for Flexibility

A few months ago, I got a phone call from one of my bridesmaids.  It went a little something like this:

Bmaid: Heyyy
Lioness: Hi!  What's up?
Bmaid: Ummm...
Lioness: (awkward pause)
Bmaid: siiiigh...
Lioness: Dude, is everything okay?
Bmaid: Welllll...
Lioness: WHAT'S WRONG? (at this point, I'm thinking that she's about to tell me she can't be in the wedding, she doesn't want to be in the wedding for whatever reason, or something horrible happened)
Bmaid: (giggles) Are you sitting down?
Lioness: (feeling relieved and instantly knowing what's coming next) Yes?

Bmaid:......I'm PREGNANT!

{lots and lots of squealing}

Lioness: Congratulations!  Ohhhh I'm SO happy for you guys!
Bmaid: Oh good!  You're not mad.  I'm really worried about my dress, and I was worried that you would be worried, too!  I mean, I still plan to be there and everything, but what are we going to do about my dress?

Obviously, her dress was the last thing on my mind at that moment!  But she did bring up an excellent point: what's a bridesmaid to do?  This particular bridesmaid had not yet ordered one of the dresses that we had decided on months before she learned this news.  Allow me to remind you what those dresses looked like.

Oh, Sister Lioness.  Never a dull moment.

Empire waist? Some forgiveness around the hips?  Our first thought was that this dress would work with a baby bump...but then we did the math and figured out that my bmaid would be 8 months pregnant on our wedding day.  Again, I asked her if she was sure she wanted to commit to standing up there next to me.  She responded with things like "ARE YOU SERIOUS?" and "I'm just going to make him drive the whole way to Atlanta anyway."

I started to look at maternity bridesmaid dresses.  My first stop was Alfred Angelo; they make the dress that we had initially chosen, and I hoped I could find something in the same color.  Lo and behold, I found this:

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Is that similar or what?  I was so glad this bridesmaid of mine decided to put off ordering her dress!  She must have had a feeling.  I called the store where we had ordered the other bridesmaid dresses from.  I told them that one of my bridesmaids was pregnant, and they said, "Oh, so would you like to change her order to the 7002MA?"  I was a bit surprised that they knew which exact style I had chosen, but she simply replied, "Well, it looks the most like the one you had initially chosen."  It's always nice to have a salesgirl who knows her inventory!

I walked away from bridesmaid dress shopping having learned an important lesson: sometimes, it's best to go with the larger, more popular designers.  They're large and popular for many reasons, and one of the main reasons is their variety.  Granted, if I had chosen bridesmaid dresses from a small boutique, we would have been able to figure something out.  But this switch was very easy and very inexpensive, and for that I was grateful.  It's definitely important to leave room for flexibility...especially if you have a bridesmaid who you know will make a wonderful mother some day!

What kinds of changes have you had to accommodate for during your wedding planning?  Any major curve balls?

Channeling Veronica Lake

Mr. Lion had one request regarding my wedding day look: he wanted my hair down.  At first, I was a little skeptical.  What if it got in my face?  What if it covered up to much of my gown?  Would my veil look okay with a down-do?  Then, I recalled the feeling I get when I look at my old prom pictures.  I had chosen a pretty involved up-do.  On some girls, this would look glamorous.  On me, I just looked poofy.

An exaggeration, but you get the point.

Most importantly, I just didn't look like myself.  I don't want to look back on my wedding pictures years from now and wonder why I picked a hairstyle that wasn't me.  I want to look like myself...just a more glammed up version of myself.  Enter the Old Hollywood inspiration.

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Veronica Lake is one of my favorite Hollywood bombshells.  Her curls are subtle, but sophisticated.  The look is natural, but it also packs a lot of sexy.

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Rita Hayworth is another excellent example of the classic Hollywood look.  Her curls are a little more wavy, adding a softer element to the look.

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At risk of this post turning into a Madonna music video from the 1990s, let's venture into modern day, shall we?

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Hmm...wonder if I could pull off red lipstick with that look, too?  All of these ladies had oval faces with high cheekbones; I needed to make sure someone with big cheeks a heart-shaped face could work it too!

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Phew!  Thanks for the assurance, Scarlett!  Then, I just needed to see it on a redhead.

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Seeing that Old Hollywood look on a redhead reminded me of another one of my favorite bombshells.

She's not bad, she's just drawn that way!

So there you have it: soft, wavy, loose curls with a little bit of a pick-up in that front piece just to keep it off the face.  I'm meeting with my hair stylist soon for a test run, so I'll definitely let y'all know how it goes!

How did you decide on your wedding day hair do?  Where did you draw inspiration from?

A Very Important Date

We have now entered the double digits in our wedding countdown!  We've started to get a lot of logistical questions from our guests, like where to stay in Atlanta, when to fly in, etc.  Items on our to do list are slowly being checked off.  The wedding is starting to feel real, and I'm starting to feel productive; but the anticipation and the excitement really started to build when I got this in the mail the other day:

It's an invitation to my bridal shower!  Squeeeee!  You may remember from Sister Lioness' fabulous guest post that my shower is going to be "mad tea party" themed.  I knew that she had that theme in mind when she was designing these invitations, but I had no idea that they were this detailed!  I really appreciated all of the thought that she had put into them.  I loved the colors, I loved the fonts, and I especially loved the nod towards the novel.  It added that hint of vintage whimsy that just defines our wedding style.  She even included it in the registry cards!

The envelope also included an invitation to my bachelorette party, which will take place the same weekend.

I love how the themes are clearly different, but the colors compliment each other well enough to be included in the same package.  The "preppy princess" thing kinda melted my heart a little...she knows me too well!

Best of all, I liked how the events described in this envelope fit in with our wedding style but were unique enough to stand on their own.

 {all personal photos}

What was your favorite part of your shower invitations?