As I get more pictures, I'll add and do a full recap.  Until then:

I'm a peacock/button bride.  Our main color is navy blue with accents of ivory, antique gold and a "light olive," as I like to call it.  As far as "vibe" goes, we're shooting for our twist on a night at a jazz club in Paris/Rome in the late 1950s.  And these are elements I want to include:

>> Stay tuned for more <<

The good, the bad and the (potentially) ugly from the past two weeks.

Good things:

• Mom found awesome 1947 pattern for her MOB dress.
• We went to Mood Fabrics (yes, I'm a Project Runway geek, but I do live in New York, so it wasn't that far of a trip) and found perfect fabric exactly the color I imagined for her dress.
• We found materials for my veil that match my dress PERFECTLY for all of $11. 
  
• I think we also settled on a veil design that will work for me, so I get to stop worrying about that.
  
• Finally figured out what the eff I'm going to do with my hair.
  
• Found beautiful fabric to make the ring bearer pillow of my dreams (never thought I'd have such a thing, BTW).
• Located the tuxedo vendor of my dreams and they are currently ordering navy blue tuxes for the groomsmen to try.
• FI coordinated said recon mission for tuxes with his boys.
• Finally found a wedding band that meets all of my criteria: I love it, it will compliament my vintage engagement ring, AND can be coordinated with my FI's band to reflect his wishes regarding the style of his band.
• Came up with a really cohesive plan for my decorations.
• Discovered the bounty of upcycled buttons available on ebay.
• Learned that 4 of my 5 BM dresses came in.
• Found the honeymoon locale to fit all of our needs.
• Owning up to the fact that I don't want to schlep around town the morning of my wedding to have everything done - I'd rather just go to the spa I love that's next door to the wedding hotel and get both hair and make-up done there.
• Scheduling our engagement shoot!
• My mom volunteered to make reuseable canvas bags for the OOT welcome bags (which makes me very happy since I would like this thing to have an air of environmental responsibility around it all).

Continued Annoyances:

• My florists' purported lack of access to navy blue diamonds for the dinner tables.
• Identifying something for my flower girl to throw or have in her basket as she walks down the isle (we're doing a cut-flower-free wedding, BTW, so petals are out).
• Identifying exactly what the flower girl is going to wear.

Edit (4/8/2010): My brilliant MOH suggested throwing eucalyptus leaves since they will figure into our centerpieces.  They're the PERFECT color.  Now I just have to talk my florist into it (seems to always be an issue).  Also, thanks to fellow-PWer XxAshleyxX007, I know what my FG is going to wear.

Edit: (4/16/2010): Went to an event last night at our venue and chatted with our event coordinator.  Navy for the tables is not a problem AND I don't have to wrangle with my florist about it.

Annoyances I can feel coming on:

• Figuring out the perfect place to stay in Malta.
• Figuring out the right music for the ceremony.

Whew.

First the inspiration:

I made this in preparation for my hair trial on Friday.  Obviously I am in love with sideswept bangs, a low bun and the swirl.

All photos from theknot.com except the brunette - she came from a post on greenweddingshoes.com.

Edit: the swirl thing did NOT work.  Looked, literally, like an old-fashioned home for bees, thanks to my very thick hair.  On to plan B (not "bee").  This is what we came up with at my trial:

I wanted a style that was up, classic yet architectual.  I will be wearing a veil for the ceremony but that will come off shortly thereafter and I don't plan on putting anything else in my hair.

So, this is neither me nor my FH (we're a whole lot more life-like), but it IS the tuxedo he and the groomsmen will be wearing to coordinate with the navy bridesmaids.  I am thrilled that the bridal party is not going to look like a big bruise (which is all I could see when I looked at navy vests with a black tux). Photo from http://www.mytuxedocatalog.com/.>

Our e-pic session is in a few weeks and we're doing it in lower Manhattan, near City Hall, Brooklyn Bridge, 60 Center Street (the court house featured in Law & Order) and some parks.  I'm SO EXCITED to do Brooklyn Bridge pictures.  These (on greenweddingshoes at http://greenweddingshoes.com/real-wedding-carissa-joshuas-new-york-wedding/) simply fuel my excitement. 

Despite my intentions to cobble something together, I think it's better on everyone if my FG's mom just has to buy a dress and, at $24, you can't beat this one from mygirldress.com:

A David's Bridal classic and the first of my button bouquets.  I also was thinking about giving them peacock eye fascinators for their hair (which will be up too).  I think it will work, but there may be too much going on.  Thoughts?

Elizabeth Arden Red Door at the Westchester did hair and make-up for me, my MOH, two BF/BMs and my amazing mom.  Since there's not a vendor page for them and they did SUCH an amazing job, I decided to dedicate part of my bio to them.  First off, ChrisAnn did an amazing job with my eyebrows and she's such a terrific spirit too boot, I can't imagine going to anyone else.  She is nothing short of awesome.

Amy did my up-do.  It took 2 tries, thanks to my extra-long hair, but she was so fastidious - it was exactly what every bride would want and I got compliments all. night. long.  And it didn't move a bit, despite all of my dancing.  <3  Lisa did amazing jobs with my Mom and MOH's hairstyles.  She was able to replicate two drastically different styles and they both looked fantastic all night.

Kaylyn, the make-up artist saved the day.  I did my trial with Pat several months ago and LOVED her work, only to discover 48 hours before my make-up appointment that she was out on medical leave and hadn't done make-up there in months.&nbs p; Despite making a big deal about wanting Pat to do my make-up with Courtney (the bridal coordinator and my sole complaint about the vendor), no one told me about the staffing change until I had a casual conversation with another staffer.  Kaylyn graciously made room for a last minute trial (which was comped, due to the last minute change-up), worked with me to get the look I wanted and soldiered through scheduling changes due to hair the next morning to do fantastic make-up for us all o n which we were still getting compliments after midnight.

In addition to all of the great work these specific individuals did, the support staff were amazing, accommodating and truly a pleasure to be around.  They made the girly morning at the spa everything I wanted, my bridal party look fantastic and me feel so elegant on my wedding day.  I can't say enough good things about them!  Their prices are competitive for the area and the service incredible.

**Pics to come when I can marshal them from my MOH