Wedding Blog - it’s a bride’s life - real brides blogging ’til “I do!”

As a lover of anything and everything coconut, I was intrigued each time I would see a photo or baking blog post about french macarons.

Pamplemousse Patisserie & Cafe’

They didn’t look like the type of macaroon that I had devoured on numerous occasions, but the light texture and bright colors certainly got my attention.  A few months ago, a friend of mine was fortunate enough to be gifted a box and was kind enough to give me a few to taste.  Oh my!  Talk about delicious!  As described on the Pamplemousse website:  Crunchy and crisp on the outside, while chewy and flavorful on the inside, a French Macaron is a sandwich-like pastry made with two almond meringue cookies filled with butter cream.  Can you say, YUM?!    What a perfect idea for wedding favors!

photo credit Martha Stewart Weddings

After much debate we settled on registering at two places: Bed, Bath and Beyond and Pottery Barn!  While our BBB registry holds a lot of practical items like flatware, pots & pans, toaster oven and a steam vacuum, Pottery Barn was our chance to make a fun wish list!  With a scan gun in hand and the fiance by my side we made our way through the PB store. I had started the registry online, but stepping into the store put us into overdrive.  Within an hour and a half we filled our registry with lots of goodies, including pretty & plush bedding, spa-like bath decor, various entertaining sets (including my favorite, a cruet & dipping bowl set) and a creamer dispenser shaped like a cow (Shaun’s request).

When it came down to it, we decided to leave the practical to BBB and spring for somewhere we don’t normally shop, but absolutely love.  Now (fingers crossed) we’ll be able to fill our home with all sorts of PB treasures.  Can’t wait to see what we get!

All photos courtesy of Pottery Barn.

At first I wasn’t sure if we really needed a videographer considering we will have a very talented photographer taking our wedding photos. But after I saw this wedding day recap I knew I had to have Tangerine Media Group capture our big day in HD video! I love the modern style and timeless quality of their videos.

At the core of Tangerine Media Group is the dynamic couple Drew & Alycsa. David and I met them at their studio and I was instantly charmed by duo.  Drew is laid back yet exhibits passion about his work. Alycsa had an incredible energy and must have taken a million notes in our meeting. This is key in their process of creating a cinematic wedding day recap which is personal and unique for each couple in all ways possible.  Check out more of their masterpieces on vimeo!

Tommy and I have been living together for several years now, so we have a house full of everything. The only thing we don’t own is a house. We are renting right now but want to buy our own place.

We have started looking around but there are just so many expenses. That is why we are asking for money instead of the traditional gifts. I am slightly worried about offending people or sounding greedy, because it is not the usual way things are done, but I know more people are starting to do this so I am not too worried about it.

We are planning to include the following poem within the invitations or somewhere everyone can read it before coming to the wedding.

.

We know it’s not traditional,

Please don’t think of it as greed,

But living together these past few years,

Has provided everything we need.

.

So if you’d like to give a gift,

To help us celebrate,

Some money for a house,

We would appreciate .

.

But if a more traditional gift,

Should you wish to bestow,

Please feel free to choose a gift,

From a registry listed below.

.

(Then, at the bottom of the poem, there will be the names of the two places we did register for gifts at)

photo credit

A few months ago, as we began to think about wedding rings, Shaun’s best friend surprised us.  Several years ago, he picked out his own ring for his wedding, a beautiful gold Claddagh design straight from Ireland.  Little did Shaun know, he had purchased an identical ring for him.  Just this weekend we brought it in to be re-sized and were reminded how lucky Shaun is to have such a good friend…. and how stunning the ring is.  It looks something like this:

It turned out our quest for wedding rings was easier than we thought!  We had Shaun’s and all we needed to do was order the matching band to my beautiful engagement ring.  This pave band (which looks similar to this one) will fit perfectly with my ring, which contains an estate sale diamond.  All we know is that the diamond (and original ring it came from) was from a 98 year old woman.  I like the fact that it had a life prior to being on my left hand.  Now we will both have rings that have a story!