I Have Moved...

It is time to say good-bye to Blogger and HELLO TO TUMBLR.

You can now follow my posts at wiredbride.tumblr.com.

My Heart Was Stolen - Cake Edition

Remember rice krispie treats as children? Welp, I do and I L.O.V.E.D. them...still do! Looks like we have a cake to add to our dessert bar!

Can you believe it? A giant cake made of rice krispies! Wow! Can't wait to "taste-test" it!

So Many Ideas in my little Pea Brain...

I have so many ideas running through my little pea brain about our wedding that it is hard to believe it is a year and a half away. If we had the money, we could definitely pull it off by this New Years! I have no doubt!

Anyway, here are some things I definitely wa

nt to include. Sometimes it's the little details that

are overlooked but mean so much!

1. Dancing shoes:

Every woman wants to wear heels because they make you feel sexy and look long and lean. BUT, let's get serious! Our little feetsies can only take so much pain and torture so I want to be sure sore feet doesn't keep my guests off the dance floor.

2. Pashminis:

A winter wedding means cold guests. I want them to warm up with these cute little pashminis. They double as a gift they take home from yours truly.

3. Mashed Potato Bar:

We are having a late start to our wedding so we can make it through the new year with our guests, which means it will be too late to serve dinner! We are going to focus on heavy hors d'oeuvres and a dessert bar. I absolutely L.O.V.E. the idea of throwing in a mashed potato bar!

4. Martini Bar:

To cut down on costs, we are thinking we will serve wine and beer and forgo the premium liquor bar. Instead, we want to offer a Martini bar. How cool is this martini bar/ice sculptures?

5. Floating Orbs of Light - http://www.oknowwhatbride.com/2010/08/diy-floating-orbs-of-light.html

The Cupcake Craze

I love working with wedding vendors for a living because once in awhile you run into someone who's work blows you away. This is the case today with "Enticing Tables" in San Diego. The owner Valerie creates candelabras, centerpieces, cake stands, AND MY FAVORITES....Cupcake trees!

They would work perfect for our "dessert - theme" reception. They can be rented for $30 each or bought for $90 each. They are adorable!!!!

Here is an shot up close of what it would look like by adding cupcakes and a simple flower.

I can't believe how many different ways you can customize a cupcake to resemble a flower. These are the best idea ever!

I will be honest, I have never really understood the cupcake craze! Now, it seems I have been bit by the cupcake lovin' bug because I can't get these cupcake "flowers" out of my little pea brain!

Fancy Cake

Beetle and I went for a Saturday night run and saw this beautiful cake in the window of Fancy Cakes in Bethesda. Wow! I am not usually gaga for yellow and white, but this cake is gorgeous. See the flower bouquet on the top? Yep, that is made from icing. Can you believe it?


Perhaps we will have to check this place out for our wedding cake. Beetle got my birthday cake from this place and it was DE-licious. They made a cake for the Pope's birthday - if they are good enough for the Pope, they are good enough for me:)

YUMMY!

Wedding Planner - Check!

I have found my wedding planner! She and I were connected through WeddingWire.com's SmartMatch system and she is fabulous. Kelley Cannon owns a small boutique planning company called Kelley Cannon Events located in Alexandria, VA.

Kelley and I chatted for a good 1/2 hour today about her company, my vision, budget, and what we can make happen. Next week we are going to meet to hopefully make everything official. A planner is a necessity when it comes to wedding planning because they can negotiate with vendors and keep you on budget - a good planner will pay for herself!

Dress - Check!, Planner - Check!, Next on list: Venue!

Wedding Dress Thoughts...

I can not get my wedding dress off of my mind. It is driving me crazy. I obviously can't post pictures of my dress on here because Beetle reads this blog (he's my biggest fan)!

BUT....Here are some dresses I am going to HAVE to try on to get them off of my mind. Some may be reposts because I mean it, I can't stop thinking about them!

maggie sottero - rosalyn

maggie sottero - rosalyn

Jasmine Style T394

Jasmine Style T394

Save the Date - December 31, 2011

It's official! We have set the date - December 31, 2011. We want a black tie affair and a whole lot of fun!

Now is the hard part - finding the perfect venue! I originally wanted to have a small wedding in a restaurant but now that we want a new year's eve bash, that won't work because we (most likely) won't be serving dinner. We would have the ceremony start around 8pm, which means we could get away with heavy hors d'oeuvres and a dessert bar. Maybe serve midnight snacks of mini cheeseburgers and fries?

I really want to secure the venue NOW so that I can make sure we lock in our popular date. That is my goal for August - find a venue!

On The News!

Channel 4 did a special today on the "running of the brides" and they taped me trying on my dress. Guess what? I made the news!

Still looking for the segment online to post, but we saw it air once we returned to work. Apparently, Beetle's friends saw the news segment because this was posted on his facebook wall...

Andrew Kern My girl says she saw your girl on the news

5 hours ago via Facebook for iPhone · Comment ·

WeddingWire & Filene's Basement Running of the Brides

The WeddingWire Team headed to Filene's Basement at 6:00 this morning for the annual madness of " the running of the brides." I had no intention of looking at the dresses because it is a circus and I imagined my dress shopping with my family sipping on champagne and being pampered. BUT...I found ONE! So not what I had in mind (actually the exact opposite) but it is PERFECT for a New Years Eve Wedding!

Here is the madness we experienced...

You Are The Best Thing

I may not know what I want for my wedding - date, location, theme - BUT I do know ONE thing. Our first dance song!

Best Wedding Video Ever

Lauren + JP from Matt Odom on Vimeo.

Dessert & My Sweet Tooth

If you know me, you will know that I am not a big dessert person. I am a candy addict but pies, cakes, and cupcakes don't really call my sweet tooth. This makes it difficult when you think of a wedding because you are supposed to have a a really big, expensive, delicious cake.

I was thinking it would be a great idea to have a dessert bar. Is it too childish to include this "sushi" rice krispie rolls?

What about my famous cake pops?

Maybe I will keep these for a bridal shower or something...

Check out this DJ!

Being Creative On A Budget

I love out of the box ideas for weddings! I just saw on a blog where a couple tied the knot in san francisco at a nursery. Here is the blog post -

http://blogs.dexknows.com/weddings/2010/07/photo-gallery-mike-nicoles-wedding-weekend/

They made it work by being cReATiVe. There wasn't a kitchen so they hired a gourmet pizza truck to serve pizza and salad. They had a dessert bar of cake pops and small cakes. They used the cash register area as a bar. wow. Not to mention they ended their wedding weekend with a game of kickball the next day - FUN!

Here is another fun wedding! A small, intimate wedding in San Fran. The guests sit on blankets with their own picnic baskets. ADORABLE! ...and check out those fun Bridesmaid dresses.

I LOVE LOVE the idea of these fun boutonnieres - I wonder if Beetle would let us have these?

The Dress?

I have just found the most beautiful bridal gown!

Essense of Australia- Style D1108

It can be found on this website: http://www.essensedesigns.com/essense

It is much too fancy for a destination wedding but PERFECT for a New Year's Eve affair.

Taking HIS last name!

It is obvious that I am very excited to be an "official" part of Beetle's family. I LOVE them as my own already! Beetle's mom AND sister kept their last names, which presented the question...

Will I Take Beetle's Last name?

YES! OF COURSE! It is a lot easier to pronounce! :)

BUT....I will say that I am jealous it doesn't have quick as nice a ring tone as Jordan Jordan.

Check out the girl with the coolest "new"name - copy and paste the link. I promise, it is worth it:)

http://ourblogoflove.com/index.cfm?postID=536

The Best Proposal - Hands Down!

Stop Motion Proposal from Kent Yunge on Vimeo.

Bring in the New Year 2012?

After trying to plan the "perfect" New Year's Eve year after year with little success, I always thought it would be the perfect holiday to celebrate a wedding. The question is...Is it a the perfect time to celebrate our wedding? The more I think about it, the more I think YES!

Here are the pros:

• TIME: It gives us a full year and a half of being engaged (enough time to save for the downpayment of a house this new year and save for a wedding afterwards).


• DATE: It happens to fall on a Saturday. December 31, 2011.


• INTIMATE: It would help us keep the guest list small.


• FUN: It allows us to be quirky and show our fun side - not to mention a great excuse to throw one heck of a party!


• BUDGET: It should be budget-friendly since it is in the off season for weddings.
  
• VACATION TIME: It is a time people can take off work without worrying about getting far behind or sing too many vacation days since it is a paid holiday.


• ATTIRE: It will be a great excuse for guest's to wear their "best," allowing us to have a classy affair without explicitly stated it. Maybe a black tie ball?

Here are the cons:

• WEATHER - If it is in the DC area, winters are unpredictable. This could cause serious travel hazards for out of town guests.


• BUDGET: It is the off season for vendors but rates could increase considering it is a holiday.

We also haven't decided Destination or DC area. Hmmm. For the DC area, I have some great ideas. For instance, name the tables after DC neighborhoods so out of town guests can get familiar with the city. For goody bags, I would include a map of the dc metro and a metro card.

Also, we must have these Bridesmaid dresses. No idea what designer or where to get them so I will have to ask around because these are a must for a new years eve celebration!

This wedding dress isn't "New Year's Eve-y" but still so beautiful - alfred angelo #433.

The One!

This is the first post on my new blog - The Wired Bride - where I will talk everything "wedding." My favorite! :)

You can still find a few posts on my personal blog Rantin' & Ravin' by copying this link: http://dclovedc.blogspot.com/.

Happy 10 days of being engaged to my love! For blog purposes, his name is Beetle.

and...can we please take a moment to look at my beautiful hardware:) Sister likes to say that Beetle "rocked" my world!