We got engaged in April 2008 and are planning our wedding for May 2009.  I can't wait!

I'm attempting several DIY projects, including our invitations.  I'd love any advice if any of you have done your own invites!

These aren't finished, but I wanted to add a few pics, so thought I'd go ahead & post these. 

First, I tried one with eyelet and pink lining...

(Sorry, the color on that is really bad!  The pink is similar to my bridesmaids dresses.)

But then I found this fabric...

and thought this would be much cuter!  I'm going to flatten out the lumps & add light pink ribbons but think the B&W will look great with our little ringbearer's tux.

I did like the eyelet idea, though, and made 2 pillows with blue lining and ribbons as a gift for my friend who has 2 ringbearers.

This is not wedding related but so cute that I wanted to share this diaper cake I made for a baby shower.  I used ribbons I had at home and bought clear hair bands to wrap the inner layers.  I strung some (very cheap) pearl beads onto a ribbon for the name sign at the last minute, and it added an extra cute touch!  Everyone loved it!

My mom & I are making our FG dress from this McCall's pattern.  We're using the pink one on the bottom right, and we're doing it in pale pink material that matches the bridesmaid dresses.  I love it!

Here's the little dress coming together.

They're Jeanette by Me Too from Zappos.

For our DIY shower invites, I used:

• Scalloped notepaper from craft store
• Pink cardstock from craft store
• Glue stick
• Damask stamp from Michael's
• Embossing ink from Michael's
• Pink pearl embossing powder (it ended up looking white) from Michael's
• Small pearl stickers from Michael's

1)  Printed the information on the pink cardstock.

2)  Stamped the damask design onto cardstock, PRESSING HARD!

3)  Sprinkle embossing powder and shake off.

4)  Heated with embossing gun.  (It looks like a hairdryer.)  It took me a few tries to figure out just how much heat it needed, but it turned shiny and looked less grainy when it was done.

5)  Glue cardstock to scalloped notepaper with glue stick.

6)  Affix pearl sticker.  (Some of them weren't very sticky, so I used a teeny bit of tacky glue.)

Here are a couple of recent purchases...still looking for more ideas!

Double-strand pearl necklaces to wear for the wedding.  SO excited - after a long search, I found them at Forever 21 for $5.80 each!

Woven linen wrap, if they're cold at the wedding, or just to have.  Also from Forever!

Shower #1 -- Lilly Pulitzer (found it at TJ Maxx!!)

Bach Party #1

with this necklace

Shower #2 -- Lilly Pulitzer (found it at TJ Maxx!!) -- Amber White Cartwheel Dress

Bach Party #2 -- from Charlotte Russe

Rehearsal Dinner Dress from J Crew

We have approximately 170 guests, and here's what I ordered:

Here's what we got from metrocandy.com
JuJu Bees - 7.5 lbs ($15.98)
Gummy Melon O's - 8 lbs ($15.85)
Chocolate Covered Pretzels - 15 lbs ($35.55)
Rock Candy Swizzle Sticks - 72 pieces ($22.32)
You get 10% off your first order, so the total with shipping was $103.06

From GFS, I got
18 lbs gummy bears (prob too much in hindsight!)
8 lbs gum balls
360 twizzlers
Total was around $75

We also had a ton of ring pops leftover from my bachelorette party, so we're filling a jar with those, too.

Also, just for reference, here's what my girlfriend ordered for approx. 150 guests:

Gummy bears – 10 lbs

Runts – 15 lbs

Swedish fish – 10 lbs

Jelly beans – 10 lbs

Jordon almonds – 5 lbs

Nonpareils – 6.3 lbs

Good & plenty – 5 lbs

Bridge mix – 7.5 lbs

Peppermint patties – 400 pieces

Rock candy – 120 pieces

I loved our wine cork table number holders!  I got the idea from PW Bride budoh and got so many compliments on them!

I loved our cake!  I left it up to the pastry chef and had no idea what it would look like and was absolutely thrilled! 

*Another note, we used the venue's cake stand, and it made our little cake look a lot bigger and looked absolutely lovely!  Ask your venue if they have a stand they can use.

The cake really was amazing!  I loved working on the details of our wedding, but the two things I totally let go of, the band and the cake, ended up being two of my very favorite parts!  My husband handled everything with the band, and their playlist was so much better than anything I could have dreamed of! 

Same goes for the cake.  I gave our pastry chef one picture that turned out to be rolled fondant, and we wanted buttercream.  He couldn't replicate the pattern I gave him with buttercream but said he had something in mind that he thought I'd love, so I just left it up to him and didn't ask any other questions.  If I had spent hours looking for other pics and trying to dictate the details myself, I know I couldn't have found anything I loved as much as what he did!

I'm also really glad we stuck with the buttercream.  It tasted amazing!  It was vanilla with seedless raspberry marmalade - heavenly!  I just wish we'd gotten to eat more!

That's one of the girls' bouquets in the background.  I loved the pearl pins!

Here's my bouquet.  I wasn't wild about the little berries; I wasn't expecting them and thought they looked like apples.  However, my husband loved them because they reminded him of something his grandmother had when he was little.  Of course, that made me love them, too!  :)

I've always gone by Molly, but my real name is Mary, and some of our friends were confused when they got the invitations.  Years ago, my mom had bought these napkins for me, so I found them online and ordered a bundle for our cocktail hour.

I did my own makeup, and the products I used before the makeup were really key in keeping it on all day!

For my face, I used my usual moisturizer (Garnier Nutriste), followed by Laura Geller Spackle, a terrific primer that makes my skin super smooth!

I used Makeup Forever HD Foundation.  It costs a fortune but blends really well. 

For my eyes, I put on most of my mascara first (L'Oreal Voluminous.  I swear by it!!) so that I could wipe off the excess and correct any mistakes along my lash line, then I used Urban Decay Primer Potion before my shadow and liner.  (Using a little bit right under your eyes can help keep your lower lash liner in place, too.)  Then I finished my mascara.

The packaging sucks, but it works so well that if I don't use makeup remover before bed, I'll wake up the next day with my eye makeup fully intact!  :)

At the very end, I used Bare Minerals Mineral Veil to set everything.  It's my favorite powder because it absorbs shine without leaving any trace of cakiness.  It's truly transluscent.