Our First Holiday (Alone)

With marriage (quickly) approaching, Mr. Turkey and I have discussed how being Mr. and Mrs. will impact our holiday plans.

Mr. Turkey with my family at Thanksgiving (this was my family's Christmas card)

In the 3+ years since we started dating, we've done some holidays together, but also spent many apart. Most notably, Christmas. With my family in upstate NY and Mr. T's two sets of families here in PA, there are no shortage of events...and parties. There are also MANY years of traditions.

Brother Turkey and I rock our matching Christmas morning PJs

The men in Mr. Turkey's family toasting on Christmas Eve

What Have You Done So Far?

Besides "how did he do it?" I think the title reflects the question brides hear the second most during their engagement.

Every couple has their own timeline...or goes off online planning resources (from theknot.com or brides.com, for example). However, I always like to hear from real brides when they booked / scheduled everything, so I thought I'd share my timeline with you all!

Before I jump into it, want to mention that all these comments / thoughts are my own and based on my experiences as well as those of friends who were / are to be married in the Philadelphia area. It's also worth noting that things may be different for those not booking in a major city or during a peak month.

WARNING: this post is heavy on info...if you just want a quick look at timelines, skip to the bottom!

Dress Adventure - Parts II and III

Last month I shared the first part of my dress adventure and now I'm here to share the conclusion (mostly in photos). That's right, the long-distance relationship with my dress has come to a close and we are now co-habitating.

This is my excited face...photo taken on the day I went to pick up the dress

My second fitting was in the late afternoon of Easter Saturday. Unfortunately, this timing was a bit inconvenient (taxes were still undone, lots of work to do, etc.), so it was just a quick up and back trip for me.

So bada$$

However, Brother Turkey was kind enough to make the trip down from NYC to spend the morning with Turkey Mom before the fitting. They met me at Penn Station mid-afternoon and we made our way down to Kleinfeld.

Right: How Brother Turkey said he felt; Left: How Brother Turkey actually felt; Middle: his Facebook status

Mr. & Mrs. (continued)

Back in March I said I was going to cool it on my Mr. & Mrs. addiction. Well, I've been working hard to kick the habit, but there have been others egging me on.

It started when, a couple weeks ago, I received a package from our save the date and invitation designer, Two Paperdolls. I thought perhaps our thank you notes or "day of" materials had come through...and got excited.

A day with a package from Two Paperdolls is a good day!

But what greeted me inside was not at all what I anticipated.

Envelope including a beautiful letterpress card and sweet note from Nicole!

Whatever could be inside? (side note: she's reading the blog - how cool!)

On Fathers...And Traditions

"I used to think a wedding was a simple affair. Boy and girl meet, they fall in love, he buys a ring, she buys a dress, they say I do. I was wrong. That's getting married. A wedding is an entirely different proposition...

You fathers will understand. You have a little girl. An adorable little girl who looks up to you and adores you in a way you could never have imagined. I remember how her little hand used to fit inside mine. Then comes the day when she wants to get her ears pierced, and wants you to drop her off a block before the movie theater. 

From that moment on you're in a constant panic. You worry about her meeting the wrong kind of guy, the kind of guy who only wants one thing, and you know exactly what that one thing is, because it's the same thing you wanted when you were their age. 

Then, you stop worrying about her meeting the wrong guy, and you worry about her meeting the right guy. That's the greatest fear of all, because, then you lose her..." - (slightly edited) quote from Father of the Bride

Although the above quote comes from George Stanley Banks (played by Steve Martin), it could have been said by my father. You see, if you've seen Father of the Bride, you "know" Turkey Dad. He is (pretty much) that character.

Father of the Bride (source)

This has been one of my family's favorite movies since it came out in 1991 and it's only become more meaningful this past year. I even showed Mr. Turkey the movie before he met my father...you know, for training!

Mr. Turkey and me with Turkey Dad (note the tiny hat on his head)

Then, we got engaged and after hearing the introductory monologue again, we realized what we were in for with the wedding process. Not that Turkey Dad has gotten himself arrested for stealing hot dog buns, but there are a lot of actions and quotes from the movie character that sound (scarily) familiar. And he, like Mr. Banks, is very traditional.

Nails and a Nosh

It seems fairly common for brides to use the day before their wedding to relax and get pretty, specifically when it comes to mani / pedis with their bridal party. Well, I don't often buck tradition, so it seemed to be a good idea to look into salon / spa options for the group.

Since I have trouble doing things simply, I decided to make the Friday before the wedding an "event" for me, the bridesmaids and Turkey Mom.

Invitation by Sweet Wishes (specific design)

Dressing the Men

With a black tie (optional) wedding, tuxedos for the men seemed to be a bit of a no-brainer. As much as I love the mismatched look for bridesmaids, there's just something about men all fancy in black tuxedos.

Mr. Turkey rockin' the tux - sometimes with a bow tie, others with a vest, and once with suspenders

Yes, there are options to mix up the look with tuxedos (gray, colored, etc), but we were hoping for a classic look that wouldn't date our wedding.

Turkey Mom & Dad walking down the aisle - beautiful, but VERY trendy menswear choice

However, we did decide to throw in something a little different than simply black and white.

Now, I highly doubt any of our groomsmen read this blog, but just in case they do:

Turkey Groomsmen...please walk away!

The Final Number

Yup, we have "the number". 

A giant stack of RSVPs

A little under a month out from the wedding and we now know our guest count. The number that all factors can be multiplied by, one to use when putting together the seating chart and, more importantly, the number of family and friends that we are SO excited to celebrate with in May!!

And that number is...184.

Apologies, Hive, but I'm a data girl and so you'll have to deal with me as I share with you the way that our number came to be.

Fashionista Bridal Shower - The Details

I've now shared both the full recap and some tips from the fashionista bridal shower. However, I would be remiss if I didn't cover all the details.

The Fashionable Five (AKA bridesmaids) and Turkey Mom worked very hard to create such a color and decor coordinated shower...and since all brides LOVE details, I just had to share!

I think the elements speak for themselves, so I'll be pretty quiet during this entry and let the photos do the talking.

WARNING: pink, green and photo heavy post ahead!

DIY Fail

Back in the fall I shared my DIY calligraphy for the save the dates and said that I planned to go "higher class" for the wedding invitations.

That's right, I was going to buy a dip pen and ink and do REAL calligraphy.

I purchased all supplies, including 2 colors of ink at Utrecht

I spent hours practicing, including all the exercises outlined in the book Mastering Copperplate Calligraphy: A Step-by-Step Manual. Yup, in the absence of any real curriculum in my life, I decided to become a student of calligraphy. Nerd alert.

I'd love to say that this diligence paid off and our invitations are addressed with beautiful, masterful calligraphy, but alas...they are not. Instead, I'm here to tell you that I failed and, well, I'm OK with it.

Fashionista Bridal Shower - The (Full) Recap

I started my bridal shower recap by going through tips with you all, but I'm going to back up (and take it up a level) to give you a full picture of the day.

The fashionista bridal shower all started with the invitation below (made by Turkey Mom) and was clearly inspired the event's design.

Shower invite

Fairy Godmother?

I'm sure every bride feels like they have a fairy godmother many times during the planning process. After all, on the wedding day there are a LOT of people in place to help us look practically royal.

Source

However, I recently discovered that there is another fairy godmother roaming around...the Mother of the Bride fairy (or MOBF)!

Fashionista Bridal Shower - The Tips

Although it at one time felt YEARS away, my fashionista bridal shower was this past weekend. Besides being a wonderful event where I felt so blessed by the love shown by family and friends, it was also another marked milestone on the wedding timeline.

On the "big" wedding-related event scale, it's just my bachelorette now between us and the weekend we get married...scary.

My incredibly detailed wedding timeline (thanks, PowerPoint)