Swatches in Sunflowers

I never imagined that a one inch by one inch square of fabric could be so exciting, but believe me it can. A couple of days ago, my fabric swatches from j. crew arrived wrapped neatly in heavy weight textured paper. I can tell that the wedding spell is beginning to affect me and I can't resist./div>

Even my fiance is in on the fun. He has quite the green thumb and has taken on the task of growing some flowers to get an idea of what's out there and what we both like. We made a trip to Lowe's, not the first of many, and picked out some beautiful varieties of sunflowers. I am intent on making my wedding rose-free. If you need an explanation other than the merely trying to escape some tradition, simply watch Maria Full of Grace for a small peek into how horrible the flower industry is.

Tangent over.

The flowers have sprouted and the swatches are here. I think we have made the life changing decisions of what our colors will be (heavy sarcasm intended).

Drum roll please... Green and Gold!

I am just a little reluctant on my choice due to the fact that they are my junior high schools colors and I keep getting flashbacks of heavy, highly shiny pom-poms.That's it for now and hopefully I can muster up another entry with a little more spice.

Pre-Planning or Planning for Planning

So, we've gotten engaged. In a perfect world, you'd be allowed to enjoy this period of impending forever-dom for a few months. But to my surprise, within just a few hours of the proverbial question being popped, I was already being inundated with questions about dates, colors, locations, and even fabric choices! Weddings and the accompanying planning are certainly a marathon, and as I've learned the proposal is the firing of the rifle, the mark of the start of the race.

I've planned a few small parties and love to decorate, so before I was even engaged, I dreamed of the fun and fulfillment planning a wedding would bring. Well, if party planning is a quiet little dolphin, weddings are the blue whales of celebrations. Hence, my title planning for planning. I don't want the traditional taffeta, tulle, and tiara wedding, so I knew I needed to get my bearings before even embarking on the planning process. I ran or merely strongly encouraged my fiance to drive me to the nearest Barnes and Noble to purchase some fine wedding planning literature. This is when I met Emily Post (The picture at the beginning of the post is her.) For those that don't know, Emily Post is the Lance Armstrong of Etiquette. Emily Post has been known to cast a spell on unaware, unknowing soft-spoken newly engaged women turning them into militaristic followers of the church of proper social behavior and its corresponding red tape, known as etiquette.

No wonder so many weddings look like they are the products of a Chinese factory, the dogma of etiquette and what the wedding industry claims you must do leaves little to the imagination. Since "they" have already figured out just how to do it, you should pick up your local bridal magazine and simply plug-and-play. Ugh, puke, vomit.

Now I am not the quirkiest girl, but I like to think I don't fit in a box. Luckily, I found a small black and pink book called bridal bargains and I have made it my wedding god. Unfortunately or fortunately it doesn't spell out the planning process. It is merely a wealth of information containing thousands of options. A sort of choose your own adventure. Right up my alley.

What I've learned so far is that those mix ups at the bridal salon on sizing that cost hundreds of dollars in alterations happen more often than not. Also, by simply substituting the words "family reunion" or "retirement party" while arranging catering can save you major bucks.

So here I go, armed with a battle plan. Poised to defeat the forces of Emily Post and her evil army of tulle and proper. This blog is the beginning of the journey and I hope it is fun and educational for you as it is therapeutic and reflective for me.