fab four on the farm

This past weekend was one of those weekends that leave you melancholy on Monday when the reality of adulthood sets in. I got to spend the entire weekend with 3 of my closest college friends. There was a point in our lives when we spent every day together. Every crapateria meal (that's not a typo). Every Wednesday at the dive bar drinking dollar Natural Lights (vom). And every Thursday at an apartment party. At that point it was hard to believe that in the future we’d live separate lives in different states and only see each other a few times a year.

Fast forward ten years and we were attending the first “Fab Four” wedding. Not only were we in attendance but the 3 of us were bridesmaids to our 4th. We wore black floor length gowns and carried light palette bouquets that were accented with flowers with black centers such as anemones, gerbera daisies and poppies to complement the dresses and the classic color scheme.

I am still laughing today at some of our new memories from the weekend.  We found ourselves planted on the Eastern shore of Maryland.  Although not far from the city, we were worlds away.

Back to the wedding…it was not actually on the farm.  Or near the farm.  We visited Grams and Pop’s farm after the wedding.  Luckily we arrived just after they chased the escaped pigs back into their pen so I could get this cozy shot of them.  I’m not sure this city girl would’ve been much help corralling pigs anyway.

Oh yeah. The wedding. It was on the Chesapeake Bay just before sunset. The Father of the Bride broke the ice like I’ve never seen before during a wedding ceremony. When asked “who gives this woman away” , he pulled out a receipt, actually a no return policy, and had the groom sign. He tore off the carbon copy and gave it to the groom while he held onto the original. It was comical although I'm not sure the bride agrees. 

Check out the ring bearer’s pillow that the MOB made. Isn’t it just the sweetest?

And the flower girl’s dress next to the bride’s.  There were about 100 buttons that all had to be fastened down the back of the gown but it was worth it.  She looked stunning…

And in case you were following along with the paper goods that I created for this wedding...here is the table number with the complementing, monogrammed favor box.  The box was filled with yummy chocolates which I have to admit I finished before the night was over!

So sad it's over but glad we get to do it all over again in just 10 months!  This weekend we were asked to be bridesmaids in the 2nd Fab Four wedding which is quickly approaching.  Before we know it we'll be dress shopping and jet setting all over again!

And now a word from our sponsor...Wilson.

-The perennial bridesmaid



brazilian getaway

I feel a rant coming on…

In the last 2 weeks, 2 of my friends with weddings in less than 2 months experienced bad service from their bands. Don’t flake on a bride this close to her big day!

Exhibit A: The lead band member and main business contact left the country. Yup, he just relocated…to Brazil. He cashed their deposit check and bounced with no update to who-knows-how-many customers. Fortunately, the couple contacted him and he promptly replied with a new lead who he said will be in touch. The original consultation was with this Brazilian-seeking band mate though. He took notes on what songs should be played and what songs they needed to learn. This conversation may have to happen again with band lead #2. How frustrating.

Exhibit B: The string quartet lady is MIA. My other friend had her consultation back in June with this band lead. She took notes and filled out the required forms. She also cashed the deposit check. The bride followed up with her a few weeks later as discussed and nothing. Did she flee to Brazil too? The bride persistently emailed and left messages for what turned into weeks. Serious panic set in so she called in the big guns…the Mother of the bride began calling. They have even threatened to report their business. The wedding is just weeks away. Do they find a new band?

I have no solution to suggest to brides in this situation. I’m just ranting. But if you are in the wedding biz, I’d assume you know how frantic brides (and some grooms) get in the weeks closing in on their wedding. Customer service prior to the event is just as important as the tunes you will play at the event. If you are not a good business person, you may want to have someone manage that end for you.

Future brides and grooms, beware!

-The perennial bridesmaid

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Drum Kit by TimWilson on Etsy

pulling it off or putting it on

Hopefully you read the last 2 posts about the Greek themed honeymoon shower we threw last weekend. I wanted to follow up with some other details that went into the theme to round out this "mini-series" of posts.

Having never thrown a honeymoon shower, I didn’t know what to put on the invitations. I googled a few things but didn’t like much of what was out there. Collectively we came up with the following...

[Bride] and [Groom] will marry soon
Followed by a Greek Honeymoon

Let’s send her to Greece in style!
Out of the box, off the registry…

This verbiage combined with some stellar graphics (which I can't take credit for) seemed to do the trick. Guests came equipped with honeymoon and vacation gifts (see previous blog entry for honeymoon shower gifts).

Polka dots have played a big part in this wedding overall. The bride loves them. We decided it would only be appropriate to work them into the shower as well. It was subtle on the plates and napkins. The fact that they were blue and white also worked to our Greek theme being that they are country’s colors.

The guest of honor got to sit in the Aphrodite chair which was simply a chair lined with tulle and dotted swiss fabric. It may look simple here but once she was in it she literally looked like she was on a cloud channeling her inner goddess, of course

Favors are on of my favorite shower elements to put together. I like to come up with favors that are practical. Fortunately we started the planning early so I was able to pull of my vision. Wine charms are not necessarily a new concept in the favor category but we put a Greek spin on it that played to the theme quite nicely.

After researching significant Greek symbols and their meanings, we settled on the following four which also lend the appropriate symbolism to the upcoming marriage that we are celebrating.








Owl – wisdom, protection, inspiration
Meandros – permanence, stability, infinity
Evil eye – protection and good luck
Selene – goddess of the full moon, womanhood

Here is a tip, these charms were not easy to find. Hit etsy to find an artisan who can create yours for you! Wildbryde was awesome to work with and custom made the charms for us - the only party of the shower we didn't DIY! We added the charms and a few beads to the hoops and voila!

We didn’t just pull of a bridal shower but we put on a themed event! It was easy to hit all of the elements in this shower because of the partnership between the MOB and me. The more communication and organization that goes into these things, the better the execution! Did I mention she’s a great baker too?

-The perennial bridesmaid

how do you spell greece

Where did I leave off? Ahh, dessert.

Before we could actually move onto dessert, we had to have an inevitable bridal shower game. It’s not just any game. We made this one up ourselves so we like to think it is original and more entertaining than the typical games turning up at showers.

Let’s call it “honeymoon girl”. The object of the game is for a guest to answer a correct trivia question. Then they get to put an article of honeymoon attire on the bride for the guests’ sheer entertainment.

By the end of our game “honeymoon girl” had everything on that she needed for the beach and we all had a good laugh! She was a good sport. This game is easily transferable as long as you come up with trivia questions that apply to the couple or their destination. Our questions were related to cities named Athens. Turns out there are tons of Athens beyond just Greece.

Now for dessert – baklava, oh how I wish I had more of that. Chocolate cake, almond cookies, brownies. I am sure I missing something. Check the menu. Did I mention that the brownie was iced in the Greek flag? How cute. Mmm, more baklava please.

We wrapped up the shower with gifts. As you know by now this wasn’t a typical bridal shower so there was no need for buying cutlery and sheets from Macy’s. We asked that the guests bring gifts that were “out of the box, off the registry” so we could send the bride to Greece in style.

We asked and they answered! She got fabulous floppy hats, beach bags, flowing dresses, summer scarves and more practical things like an umbrella, a passport purse, travel guide books, luggage, custom luggage tags, sunscreen, travel games and tons of flip flops. These are all ideal gifts to give at a honeymoon shower. The bride could get on the plane tomorrow to Greece and be set with those presents.

She also received several fun "before and after" gifts like a Greek cookbook and photo albums.

One guest had a creative way of presenting her honeymoon gifts. She lettered 6 blue gift bags with the letters G-R-E-E-C-E. Each bag had a different present that corresponded to the letter on the bag. For example, G – “Get ready for your trip”. The DVD of My Big Fat Greek Wedding was one of the items inside! There are so many ways you can spin these lettered bags to work for you for almost any occasion. It was such a clever idea! I want to try it.

Overall, this shower was as un-bridal shower as a shower can be and that was pleasing! A little bit of creativity and a great theme can really spice things up.

Stay tuned for some details about planning.

-The perennial bridesmaid

defining a honeymoon shower

I’m still recovering from my fantastic weekend that was jam packed with wedding festivities. As promised, I am sharing details. I have been trying to organize them in my brain to present them in a comprehensive manner.
Let’s start with the bridal shower… I am going to break it into a mini-series, if you will.

The bride’s mom and I opted to plan a honeymoon shower. I had heard of this concept but never executed it before. Commonly a honeymoon shower is thrown to prepare the couple for their vacation. The idea is to shower them with travel related gifts rather than items from their registry.

We took it a step further. You could actually say about 3 steps further…

The newlyweds will be vacationing in Greece later this summer. Therefore, we themed the entire shower around Greece. This was not only a surprise for the bride but also a surprise for the guests. They knew they were invited to a honeymoon shower for the bride but didn’t know it would be Greek themed for them as well.

When guests arrived they were presented with apps to munch on like olives, hummus & pita. Once the guest of honor came, we broke into Greek dance. This was led by a very talented little boy appropriately named Alexander. He is a Greek dancer who came prepared in the traditional outfit. Alexander taught us the traditional moves.  Opa!

Think that’s better than bridal bingo? We do.

After we caught our breath from dancing, we toasted to the bride with ouzo. An anise flavored aperitif that I’m sure the bride and groom will sample more of on their honeymoon.

Finally it was time for the delicious main course, which consisted of spanikopita, tzatziki, dolmades, olives, hummus, and many many good things that I do not know how to say, let alone spell. The mother of the bride is such a fabulous cook and baker. She made it all herself from scratch! And no, she is not Greek. Check out her menu below.

Hungry for more? Stay tuned for dessert.

-The perennial bridesmaid

maid of mom

I’ve noticed an increasingly popular trend – moms as bridesmaids. Endearing. It really is. I only have one thing to say about it.

PLEASE DON’T HAVE HER WEAR A BRIDESMAID DRESS.

Is that too much to ask?

If you’ve worn a bridesmaid dress, you probably know what I’m talking about. They’re suitable for a 20, 30 and even 40 year old but the pastel, strapless tea length gown is not the best look for your middle aged mom. Not saying she can’t pull off the sweetheart top but, come on, she is the mother of the bride as well. Give her the option to wear a tasteful evening gown that coordinates with the other girls. Heck, give the other bridesmaids a tasteful evening gown too.

It makes sense to choose your mom as maid of honor. Now you don’t have to play favorites with your best gal pals. If you pick your mom, no hard feelings.

Overall, mom can play the mother of the bride role as well as bridesmaid or maid of honor to you. Just have her wear the mother of the bride dress!

-The perennial bridesmaid

mama said

I’m on a veil kick this week. There are just so many styles out there. I am not going to list them all in this post. I’d rather address yo’mama’s veil. Many of my friends are telling me about their mom’s dream of having their daughters wear their veil. These dreams have been in place since before these girls were even around. Fast forward 30+ years and mom’s pulling the veil out of preservation. These vintage styles tend to range from finger tip to cathedral in length. Perhaps that’s not your style. How can you let mom down (especially if you’re her ONLY daughter) and not wear the veil?

Consider using it in your bridal bouquet. Swap out the ornate florist ribbon for the tulle of your mom’s bouquet. You can wrap the stems with the veil or actually weave it amongst the flowers. The former veil will still be a feature on you during the ceremony.

One of my friends is doing just that with her mother’s veil. The veil-turned-bouquet will also coordinate with the lace huppah at the ceremony. The bonus is that the lace was an heirloom tablecloth that belonged to the bride’s great-grandmother.

Which brings me to another use for cathedral length; you can use the veil to dress the arch or the huppah that you plan to marry under. You can also incorporate it into a table runner. Are you having a sweetheart table for you and your groom? The veil may be just the right size to decorate the table.

If your mom really wants you to actually wear the veil, you might just be able to without forsaking the veil of your own dreams. Incorporate mom’s veil into your dress. The netting can be used as an overlay on the skirt or panel on the waist. Talk to your seamstress. Most are happy to make customizations when fitting the dress to you.

Think about lining a clutch purse with the netting. This is not an overt shout out to mom but you will know her veil is with you. If you’re lucky enough to have combs or floral accents on your mom’s veil, you should easily be able to accent the outside of your clutch or shoes with the flowers. Plug in that hot glue gun!

-The perennial bridesmaid

from the mob

Today's guest blogger is a real-life mother-of-the-bride, also known as the mob. She is sharing her experience in helpfully planning her daughter's wedding.  Read on for her approach...

As many mothers of a daughter can understand, I have dreamed with my daughter about her wedding...way before she met her fiancé! So when my daughter told me I was on all the wedding committees, I was pretty excited. (Yes, there are committees! And they are organized by the strengths of the members, not by family or friend obligation.)

The engaged couple have been planning for months. The families have visited the chosen site, the couple will have their tasting in a couple of weeks, dresses have been tried on, centerpieces discussed, honeymoon plans are in the works. Close family members have submitted ideas on some details and all are listened to respectfully. However, the vision for the wedding belongs to the couple.

I think this is where things could get sticky but haven’t for us. In a clear yet kind tone, certain ideas have not fit with the vision and are taken off the table! As the Mom, I am aware my opinions and ideas are just that - mine, not the bride’s. I already had a lovely wedding. This one is for her and her future husband. It also helps that I love their ideas!

With that said, the only way I can explain what it's like helping to plan the wedding is comparing it to the largest birthday party I ever planned for her growing up. Thinking along these lines, I suggested we have a planning meeting to organize the timeline, get dates in our plan books and google calendars, and compare notes on details. It made me really happy when some of my thoughts were new to her and helpful, and when they weren’t, well, they weren’t!

As more committee meetings are held, I will listen, offer helpful advice and counsel...and lots of love and support.

And I will dance at the wedding!