Shawn popped the big question at midnight on New Year's 2009. We have been together for five years and have been talking about getting married for quite some time. In fact, we have always talked about getting married in Miami- where I was born. We spent the first three months of our engagement tossing the idea around and even took a trip there in February to pick out venues.

Things change when reality sets in. We just changed our minds and decided to get married in our hometown of Phoenix, AZ. Planning will be considerably less stressful because I can actually meet with vendors and see everything in person rather than in an emailed photo. I want to do a few DIY projects to keep costs down, too.

I am really excited to start this round of planning and look forward to learning all the tips and tricks PW can teach me.

The Ceremony...

Shawn and I are getting married in spring (well, early summer in Phoenix), so most people think of light, airy springtime colors as the wedding palette of choice. I choose to pull in the warm and rich colors of my favorite wines for our evening affair.

Classics Reds and the deepest of purples to be precise.

Merlot, Cabernet, Zinfandel, Syrah, Shiraz, Burgungy and Beaujolais. The beverage in the glass and the ring they leave behind on the coaster. Wine is a rich and warm color and I want all the romance of it.

I will use it to enrich our ceremony and reception: bridesmaids dresses, deep reds and purples in the flowers, in the fabric adorning our iron archway, chair sashes, programs, paper fans, and monogrammed aisle runner.

The Reception will be in Black and White with Burgundy accents.

Most of my wardrobe is white. I love the simplicity and authenticity of white. It is essentially clean, angelic, and dreamy.

Centerpieces will be of natural manzanita branches with deep red silk phalenopsis orchids anchored in 5" glass cylinders (covered in burgundy satin ribbon). The tops of the cylinders will be covered in moss sheets.

To bring home the wine theme we will have wine cork escort card holders, and the table numbers will be names of French wines, and the favors will fleur de lis wine stoppers.

This all inspiration. I can see it in my head, but hope to make it happen in my venue's ballroom. May 1, 2010 is not too far away.

As one can easily tell from my name, I am French. I want to pay homage to my heritage in certain features of the wedding.                

Table Names

Names of famous French wines, of course!  --- Champagne, Burgundy, Bourdeaux, Beaujolais, Merlot, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Syrah, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscat, and Riesling  ----   To play on this little featurette, we'll have the placecards mounted in wine corks (which I am well on my way to collecting the 120 I need).

RSVP

I love Calligraphy. My invites and response cards, that I designed, will be adorned with plenty of script and flourish. My favorite little feature is on the response: Is in common French "Respondez Sil Vous Plait" with  Madame/Mademoiselle and Monsieur. We are also giving guests a choice of "Poulet" or "Boeuf" or "Vegetarien" with little cliparts of a chicken a cow and a vegetable to select. C'est Magnifique!