the heady bride

A compilation of woes and woahs in wedding planning in Chicago. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-10089692-5']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();

[theheadybride]

My bridal shower invites!  Great work by the bridesmaids on this one - how cool.  Can't Wait!

[kingcakeradar]

We did it!  

New Orleans took another little piece of my heart in the process.

[theheadybride]

How fantastic is this photo of an old co-worker's wedding day?!

Congratulations, Colleen! 

[styledandwed-blog]

FYWI’s 1ST VALENTINE’S DAY GIVEAWAY! - “CUPID SHOT ME”

Yes, it’s finally here! I promised you all a few giveaways and so FYWI’s first giveaway contest starts today! This contest is to show appreciation and love to those that have been following me and to those that FYWI has inspired. FYWI has reached almost 38,000 followers and I greatly appreciate all of you. The messages I receive are always nice and inspiring, and what better holiday to share the love than Valentine’s Day?

For the contest prize I teamed up with the wonderful Erin Graves from SPARKLEFARM on Etsy to give one of my lucky followers a pair of SPARKLEFARM’s Cupid’s Arrow Earrings + the Cupid’s Arrow Necklace, a $42 value!! Read all guidelines below carefully to find out how to win this cute package. 

GUIDELINES - Please read everything!

Reblog and/or Like ONCE (repeats will get you disqualified).

Reblogs/Likes after Sunday, February 12th at 3 pm eastern will not be counted.

The winner will be contacted Sunday evening after being chosen using a random generator.

Have your ask box enabled. Submission boxes will not be used to contact you.

Yes, this is open to International followers!!

You must have been following me prior to February 10th.

PRIZE - The winner will receive:

One (1) pair of Cupid’s Arrow Earrings

One (1) Cupid’s Arrow Necklace

The giveaway starts now and ends Sunday, February 12th, 2012 at 4pm eastern time. The winner will be announced on Valentine’s Day. Good luck to everyone & even if you don’t win still head over to SPARKLEFARM and purchase those earrings and necklace, clearly they’re a MUST HAVE! Thanks soo much for following FYWI & once again Good Luck!

[theheadybride]

Help Us Win A Pre-Wedding Photography Session!

Here's the deal.  I've entered us into a contest to win a free photo session with Amanda Megan Miller.  We desperately need some good shots of us so we can launch our wedding website to our guests.

Here's how you can help!  Just click here and "like" our picture on Facebook.  The couple that accumulates the most votes / "likes" by Valentine's Day wins the photo session. 

You know there will be an awesome post if we win!

[theheadybride]

The dress looks really flammable. We're going to have to keep you away from fire on the wedding day.

My fiance

[theheadybride]

Phish Best Man Toast.  I love this. 

[theheadybride]

Will You Be My Bridesmaid?

          I must have bookmarked dozens upon dozens of crafty-type things I found on various bridal blogs when we first got engaged.  When it was time to ask the girls who are going to be bridesmaids, I went back through this library I came across these DIY invitations.

Originally I was going to make these myself.  I called my craft savvy co-worker, Julia, for some paper advice before heading to the craft store and she intervened, explaining I can't cut dolls with my hands and scissors and that this type of project required a die cutter.  Julia recently launched Louisville Sewing & Paper and one of her first blog posts is a really good read on how Julia made these invitations for me!  These picture are hers; she has more posted showing all the detailing!

                                       I decided that I was going to use the matching clutches I had purchased for my bridesmaids at the Lill Street Warehouse Sale last year as part of the invitation.  The clutch purchase was one of the very first wedding purchases that were made last year - it's an odd priority, but one I took advantage of because of the great savings.  (If you're able to make on the spot decisions about little details here and there, you can save so much money on random things you're going to wind up buying in a few months when it has to get done).  The downside to this sort of deal driven planning strategy, you wind up with shopping bags full of clutches in your apartment for months.

I boxed everything up and sent them out to each of the bridesmaids.

Here are some pics!

[theheadybride]

Interested in the Vera Wang Bridal line available exclusively at David's Bridal?  It looks like Blair's bridesmaids will be sporting the line on tonight's episode of Gossip Girl's Royal Wedding.  I didn't have much success with this line - it's called White by Vera Wang - however, they look like they photography really well!  (Honestly, my biggest gripe was the quality of the dresses, not the styles). 

[theheadybride]

We had a great get together with Andrew's family in Des Moines when his dad and his second wife hosted us a nice little engagement party last June.  It was a great was to get together with our Iowa family and friends and we were so happy that Andrew's family from Texas was able to be there with us.

Andrew's cousin, Kristin, who is also getting married this year in Austin, TX is responsible for both of these pieces of artwork!  She's spot on -- robots and unicorns!

Kristin ordered the cake for our engagement party from a local story.  When she placed the order, she said she would like it "music themed".  When she went to pick up the cake, she was met with a congratulatory Jonas Brothers themed cake.  It was hilarious and the cake was delicious nonetheless.  We Love Kristin - I think she did great on both endeavors! 

[theheadybride]

Another Unique Wedding Event in Chicago!

Here's a plug for another unique wedding event happening in Chicago.  The 4th annual Lettuce Entertain You Bridal Bridal fair won't be hosted at a venue as natural to me as the Bottom Lounge, but I thinking of heading to the Paris Club on March 4th to join them for this event.

        It only costs $10 per person and they'll have food and drinks from Joe’s, Wildfire, Hub 51, Foodlife, Osteria Via Stato, Nacional 27, Everest and more (I'm personally hoping for Cafe Ba Ba Reeba since my sister and I are thinking considering it for a bridal shower venue).  I guess I'll have to class up my headiness for this one to fit in with what I assume will be a more swanky crowd.

Event basics:  You can buy tickets here and RSVP to the Facebook Event here.

[theheadybride]

I'm pretty excited about my name change from Montag to Stone.  Montag isn't bad, but with the association to Heidi Montag and the repeated "like Monday?" comment, I'm ready for a solid, classic last name.  I used to say that Alexandra Stone sounded like a detective name, either way, it's totally hard core.

I made this Letter Art framing project that's going to be hung in our guest bathroom. 

Here's the deal break down:

I bought an Eversave deal for $20 to ImagineLetters for up to 7 letters (I only used the 5 that spell out STONE).  The deal included shipping, which was cool since they ship from Toronto.  This was the first place that I've seen that sold the fun colored letter library that I chose from.  They also have the black & white and sepia photo letters that you more commonly see. 

It was surprisingly hard to find a cheap frame with five 4" x 6" photo slots.  I found a set of two black frames on Walmart.com that wound up being about 35 dollars after tax and shipping.  I figure with all the promotions that photo sites send out, I'll use the other one for another project sometime soon.

The framing turned out pretty well and it only cost $38! 

[theheadybride]

Pop-Up Wedding Market Makes a Stop at the Empty Bottle this Weekend

             Calling all Chicago brides to be!

There's an event this Saturday at The Empty Bottle sponsored by The Vintage Bazaar.  I'm not a fan of bridal/wedding expos.  I strongly suggest avoiding bridal/wedding expos if you're trying to gain insight on wedding planning or meeting good vendors, I do however believe every woman has to experience one of these things once in their lives.  But only once and definitely after a few mimosas.  This pop-up vintage wedding market sounds like it's going to be more unique and actually give you access to helpful people!

Get all the details here.  Buy tickets here (it's only five bucks).  RSVP to the Facebook event here.

Maybe I'll see you there!

[theheadybride]

I Got My Dancin' Shoes!

I received the shoes that I ordered from the BHLDN sale in the mail today and they are definitely keepers!  My two savvy purchases (I also got a fantastic deal on my dress) have saved me just under $1200 from retail prices on bridal attire - two very heady scores indeed.

Something Bleu has a ridiculous collection of dye-able bridal shoes, many of which are really close to designer bridal shoes that will run double the price (and the Something Bleu collection is already in the $200+ range, which to me is still a pretty penny to pay for shoes).  There is a small aqua colored rhinestone on bottom of the shoe where the arch of your foot sits - ah ha, Something Bleu has provided me my something blue!  A perfect marketing gimmick for the wedding industry.  Something Bleu doesn't have an online store, but you can buy them off My Glass Slipper - another really great wedding shoe resource - and independent vendors who sell the dye-ables and store ready pairs, like the ones I got from BHLDN.

Happy (wedding) shoe shopping!

[theheadybride]

40% Off Sale Items at BHLDN until Midnight!

                                        Doing some late night Sunday online shopping?  Whether you're a bride, a bridesmaid, or a stylish guest, you can benefit from this deal - available for the next few hours!  BHLDN is offering an additional 40% off their SALE items until midnight with the code HAPPY2012. 

I grabbed a pair of potential wedding shoes that were regularly priced $280, sale price $160.  They were only $96 before tax and shipping with the promo code.  All sale items need to be returned within 30 days and you only get store credit.  This place is really my style - bridal and non-bridal - so I had no problem investing the hundred bucks in hopes that the deal worked out.

I'm a pretty big proponent for deals when it comes to wedding spending and in spending in general, so it's odd that the "bride's look" is the to-do that is furthest along in our wedding planning - I really can't wait until the wedding is over and I can reveal in more detail all the great steals I'm getting!  I feel really girlie; not being the girl that has been planning her wedding since she was a kid nor someone that is particularly fashionable outside of her wook-like awesome sauce, it's sort of weird that I've grabbed on to buying my bridal adornments.  [You might even get a future post about my reservations yet eagerness in ordering a veil and my freaking out about sending it to our apartment.]  I digress, so here's a few tips into getting wedding deals for your bridal look:

Sign up to get emails from bridal stores and merchants you're interested in and those who sell your style/look as well as the look you're planning on using for your bridesmaids.  JCrew and Ann Taylor are essential for bridesmaid dress staples.  BHLDN launched this year (I've obviously been a big supporter), I'm partial to Nordstorm Weddings for department store shopping, and etsy provides a wealth of one of the kind items.  Everybody offers deal - figure out a way to organize the email overhaul and keep an eye on daily specials. 

Double discounts, like the one I got with my shoe purchase often come with return restrictions.  Remember to check if items are final sale.  If you're going to buy a $300 necklace on sale, make sure you're willing to accept the vendor's credit only return policy.  Ask yourself:  If I have to return and only get a store/site credit, will I be able to spent $X.XX I'm committing to this merchant?  

Brides, just because it's our wedding and we're allowed to change our minds fifty million times doesn't mean it's not important to get our money back while we're trying to make up our minds - liberal shopping does not equal wasting money on stupid bridal crap.  Keep your receipts and pay attention to return/exchange conditions.

With that said, hop onto BHLDN and indulge in some great wedding steals with the promo code is still valid!

[styledandwed-blog]

[theheadybride]

Wedding vows.  HIGH FIVE!

[theheadybride]

Check it out - this is the ticket stub from the first night Andrew and I met up in Chicago.  I found it while I was organizing our main closet over Christmas break.  You can read the full story in the about us. 

[theheadybride]

"We were looking for an independent officiant to perform our backyard wedding, and one contender sounded great... until we met with him and discovered that he would wear a bright purple robe, assign us a symbolic animal and ask the nature gods to bless our marriage. We moved on to the next officiant on our list."

Since we got engaged over a year ago, there has been an ongoing debate about who is the appropriate person to ask/or hire to perform the ceremony.  It's a sensitive area that has lead to a lot of conversation, on the lighthearted side, this article made Andrew and I chuckle.