All Over The Map

I feel like I have literally been all over the map! I have so much on my mind right now. I know I still have 8 months until our wedding, but I not only like looking for ideas, but I want to get as many decisions made as soon as possible...thus my mind traveling the globe! I have videographers, hairstyles, make-up, bridesmaids dresses, shoes, jewelry, flowers, table decor, DIY projects, etc... It's all on the mind these days.

I have opened a gazillion and one tabs on my computer screen to find hairstyles, bridesmaids dresses and videographers. I have spent my night going through tab after tab after tab of possibilities and finally, I have my dresses for the girls. It is not set in stone, but I am going to send the formal "order" e-mail of the style and color I want and request the swatches, etc tomorrow. :) I am happy beyond belief right now.

I've sent numerous e-mails to videographers, asking for prices and their availability, so hopefully after a lot of searching, I will find something in my style and my price range.

Let's see.... To be a little more detailed in my searches of things, I am looking for shoes: flats, but cute and comfortable, maybe embellished some how. I don't just want a plain shoe. I kinda want something a little surprising when I let a peek out from under my dress. Nothing crazy, just something fun. I am thinking of possibly embellishing them myself. I may just wear a very nice flip flop. I only want to buy one shoe. Shoes aren't too big to me so I would rather spend that extra money elsewhere (like my videographer). I need to find these babies within a maximum amount of time of six weeks! (Right before my birthday... will these end up being a b-day gift to myself?)

For my hair, my unmanageable and thin hair, I am looking at updo's. I originally thought I wanted my hair down, but we shall see. I have a few ideas, but I don't want to give anything away. I'm trying to steer away from painting a picture of myself on my wedding day for all of you!

In the line of jewelry, I won't be wearing too much of it. I would like a nice earring, nothing too dangly and maybe a nice bracelet, and I think I may make that on my own, so I might just be looking for the earrings. I might not do those though until I see the dress in person.

I have a lot of DIY projects and in fact, I'm going hunting again tomorrow! I am hoping to find some good things! I have phone calls to make tomorrow as well so it should end up being a busy day in the line of wedding planning.

I was supposed to be going up north this week for a bridal show, but it is looking like that might not work out with the winter storm they are scheduled to get. We shall see. I'm not going to worry about that though. If we do go though, I will need to pack... fast!! ;)

I will update again soon. It's getting late and I have a lot to still do, save on the computer, write down, etc. And I am honestly a bit tired and would like to get to bed at a decent hour. :) I do promise more updates soon!

The Makings Of My Dress!

Today I bought my wedding dress (Is that what you'd say? It sounds like it is more important than just "I bought my dress"). You know, I've been looking through countless dresses on magazine pages and I have had several in-store appointments trying dresses on, and though I've seen some that I've liked, or parts of ones I liked, I knew that I hadn't found the one. They say you will know and I never got that feeling. I was questioning what wasn't right. Something was missing and I couldn't figure it out for sure. So, I got my sketch pad out and drew the one. Today I had the amazing opportunity to meet with an actual wedding dress designer. So you know how real she was, she kept talking about her friend Vera and I thought oh that's nice. Well she was talking about Vera. You know, Vera as in Vera Wang. This lady was the sweetest thing ever and we clicked instantly. I showed her my designs of what look I was looking for and then I scoured the racks of dresses she brought with her and the store had in, and I said kinda like this, and kinda like that and about 8 dresses later, I had my perfect sketch, detailed and with physical pieces of dresses to show her exactly what my little marks meant on my sketches. I wish I could tell the entire world right now what it is going to look like, but I have to keep it on the DL. Plus, to be honest, I am not even going to know completely what my dress looks like until it arrives to the store. Being that I designed it from the bottom up, I was not able to see my dress yet. On paper and in my mind yes, but not in flesh in one entire piece. I am not sure how long it will be until I get to see it done, but I am quite excited to see my dress. And for everyone else, it will be soon enough that you will get to see it... 244 days to go to be exact. :) One thought that makes me smile: my dress was created by me, and it will be one of a kind with no other one like it!

An Opportunity Of A Lifetime

Tomorrow morning I am meeting with a wedding dress designer and I am quite excited! This is going to be the closest thing I will get to working with a real fashion designer, and that excites me! I can't wait to sit down and show her my ideas and pick her brain and see what the two of us can come up with. And then of course, see if the outcome is even a possibility…monetarily. I know anything is possible in the fashion industry, unfortunately (there have been many unfortunate designs out there in Hollywood). But the dreams I have dreamed up that are now sketched out on paper may not be possible in the "wallet" industry…… No matter if the dress on paper turns to a dress in fabric or not, it will be an experience I will remember forever I am sure. Now if only I could be meeting with a bridesmaids dress designer, my issues in that area could be nearing completion. I'll update you all tomorrow or Sunday, whenever I am able to get back to blogging!

Love Me Some Wedding Projects!

Today I am out on the hunt for some materials and options for some of my many little (and some big) projects for our big day. I am hoping that my trip out here is successful in getting what I need to at least get started and settling some decisions. A few of the things I want to make will be determined when I see what my options are for the materials/supplies needed. :) Wish me luck! I can't wait to post more of these projects. Some I do want to keep on the DL so I don't give too much away about the Big Day!

Wedding Inspiration Day!

I'm declaring today to be Wedding Inspiration Day! I have so many random things that I should be looking up, getting ideas for and making decisions on and that is what today is going to be for. I have pew decorations, flower girl dresses, bouquets, escort cards, sashes, etc... that I have to be looking up! I have so many ideas for everything, but they have to become more orderly so I know what I am looking for. I want to make an inspiration board (sans my wedding dress so Mono doesn't see it) to keep out in my room. You can make them online, but I am more of a visual/touch type of a person so I want a physical one right in front of me. Today I am going to look online for ideas, set them aside and then when I can, print them out to go on the board. I know I won't get it all done, especially with the cleaning and wash that also has to get done today, but I'll get a good start on it. Happy Searching! :)

It Was An Absolute Nightmare!

I've had wedding dreams scattered throughout my nights since the planning began back in November, but a few nights ago was a first… I had a wedding nightmare. It was absolutely awful. It felt like eternity. I have no idea how long it lasted, but to me it felt like a full length movie.

I woke up the morning of my wedding feeling wonderful, stress-free and very excited... until the girls showed up... with the wrong dresses!!! Yes, that's right, the wrong dresses! And they were hideous things. I paid extra for different things and having them tweaked certain ways, arriving by a certain date, etc. And they came wrong! Completely, utterly wrong. I got so upset and drove over to the designers place and ended up in an icy parking garage, running and slipping, all while in my wedding dress! I went into the place and raised holy heck and argued with the guy (who was an absolute idiot in the dream) and got no where, but late and messy to my wedding! I ended up realizing that I wasn't going to let their ugly dresses and my ugly mess of myself ruin the wedding, but I was not happy at all. I woke up so upset and couldn't get back to sleep for a little bit. It may seem petty, but I was so distraught. I have been working very hard to find the type of dress I want for my bridesmaids and I want to make sure they look and feel beautiful in what I choose, so maybe that stress got to me. Ugh. What a nightmare! I pray nothing even comes close to this happening for our real wedding!!!

It's All In The Details

Registering for our wedding/shower gifts has not been high on my to do list, but recently, I have begun to look at things here and there. Today I went to a few stores with Mono and we enjoyed looking around together. I am actually a pretty lucky lady. Mono cares enough about the details of a home, but not to the extent where he makes it hard for me to pick out nice things. 

Going into this, picking things out for our future home, I want to make sure everything is picked out tastefully. I want to create a peaceful, calm and cozy home. One that he cannot wait to come home to after a long day at work. One that family and friends enjoy visiting from day to day. I want an elegant and classic look, but cozy and kid friendly all at the same time. 

So today, as we shopped, we walked throughout a few stores (some fancier than others) and enjoyed taking a peek at what some of the rooms in our future home would like to hold. I had fun with him. Yes, ladies… Fun shopping with my guy! :) He liked the little details and noticed all of the other couples doing what we were there to do. I can't wait to go for a real date to register in the stores for our shower/wedding. I think it will be a lot of fun. Of course there are always things I have to explain as to why we would need them, but I think my Mon is pretty excited himself to see what the loveliness of our home will be like! 

Since I was about 10 years old I have been receiving gifts for my hope chest which is now turning into an entire hope room, but that is another story, and while knowing that, I figured I wouldn't need much. But today, as we strolled the aisles, I noticed a lot of random little things that would be very useful to us come October!! 

It's the little details that make a house a home. The frames, the nice canisters to hold your flour, sugar etc, so you can bake warm goodies for your family... Oh there are so many details. I always notice them too and that can get me into trouble... Like picking out everyday flatware. To most people, you might go and just pick something out, but not to me. I like to shop around, see what is good quality, a good deal and something that is different, unique with details all of it's own. Unfortunately that normally means it is more expensive, but there are places out there you can find unique things and bargain prices!!

I can't wait to have a little place of our own and decorate it, organize it and make it cozy! 

Come on October! :)

A Visit From My Maid Of Honor

My Maid of Honor came for a visit and spent a few days here, helping me with wedding plans. It was so wonderful having her here. We made some things for the wedding, went dress shopping for the girls and myself and turned pages and pages of bridal magazines. I think we got a lot figured out and now after tomorrow, I am hoping to have a good hold on what the ladies will be wearing! I am trying to add touches of my own to a lot of things and now I am having to prioritize them. I have two possibilities for my top choices for my dress and one possibility for the bridesmaids dresses. I meet with a few people for mine next week and the girls' tomorrow. Hopefully all of that will go nice and smoothly so I can set things in stone and move on to a different task. :) I am really enjoying this whole process and it is nearly all stress-free for me so far. There's one area that has had me a little anxious, but overall I see it working out. :) So our visit was lovely, but too short. She has a busy schedule but says she is "on call" at all times. ;) For today, I have three tasks left in the lines of wedding planning and then the rest of my daily duties must get finished. I am looking forward to a quiet and relaxing weekend....and sleeping in... hopefully. :)

Flower Girl Sweetness

I had the best little conversation with my sister tonight… my flower girl. First we chatted about school and her classmate that told her she had an ugly name (and let me tell you, her name is not ugly). She told me about what they had for dinner, how the cat is doing, and the random little things going on in her cute little life.

And then her voice changed and from hundreds of miles away, on the other end of the phone I hear so sweetly, "Marezy, I'm really excited for the wedding." It was just so sweet and a quite little statement. So then we talked about the wedding. I told her I will go look for pretty dresses for her and let her help me pick her favorite out. I want her to be beautiful. She's precious and no matter what dress she ends up wearing, or how her hair is done, she will be my favorite little flower girl.

She then told me how she wants to wear her hair. She tried to explain it to me. I could tell she has the exact image in her mind, and she was trying her hardest to share in her image. She used the words, "kinda half up and half down, and a hump and a really pretty clip….and curls."

Picture that for a minute.

I can't wait to see her beautiful face on our wedding day! :)

Love you sweetie!

Fancy Feathers From A Dear Friend

Okay, so I was away for a few weeks over Christmas and when I came home, I had a little something special waiting to be opened. Turns out, it was from a peacock! Or a peacock was the delivery man because he left one of his fancy feathers behind. :) No, just kidding. It had a beautiful peacock feather on it.

Although I have a special little place in my heart for those beautiful creatures, it was from someone who has a much more special place in my heart…. my long distance sister, Jillian. She is the daughter of one of my Mom's dearest friends. We've known each other our whole lives. We have grown closer recently and she is becoming so dear to me. This is around the same time in our lives that our Mom's became such wonderful friends.




I know the gift inside of the package was itching for me to come home so it could be opened. It was a beautiful little wedding planning book. She ordered it exactly how she wanted it and it is just perfect. I am so in love with it. I am afraid to take it around with me because it is so fancy. I want to keep it as a very special keepsake. I've already begun to fill it out and I even had the perfect pen to use when I write inside of it. :)








Thank you, Jillian, first and foremost for being such a special long distance sister. I have grown even more these past few months to treasure and love our friendship and all of our similarities. I am thankful for YOU, and for the beautiful wedding planning journal you sent me. Love you.


P.S. She didn't even know I had a little place tucked away in my heart for peacocks and their fancy feathers!

272 Days = 9 Months

At this time, in 272 days, I will be Mrs. Federle! Today is January first... 9 months until our big day! We are so excited. As more plans are made and more time goes by, reality sets in with more and more excitement! :) October 1st still seems like such a long ways away, but I am sure it will be here before we even know it! What a great gift for the New Year! Happy 2011 to all!