Sad Little Birdie [REVISED]

Hello All,
I know I've been gone for awhile but today I finally got the kick in the rear end I needed to get back on the horse.
Remember the awesome birdcage veil giveaway I posted about a few weeks ago? Well I WON!!! kind of... :( I had three days to respond and due to my lack of follow-through I missed out!!

Major bummer! But I want to thank the lovely blogger from Chic 'n Cheap Living for trying so hard to get in touch with me!I promise to do better in the future!!

Revision:
I was given a second chance and in fact did win!! So while I do not have a date, location, dress... I do have a veil! :) One thing down... 452 to go :(

Bridesmaids Fashion Cards

Martha Stewart WeddingsHow adore are these bridesmaids fashion cards. It's a great way to let all your bridesmaids know what they need, where to get it and when to do it.
To download this template click here

Inspiration: Invitations {Ijorere}

Pronounced E-Jaw-Ray-Ray and derived from a Yoruba-Nigerian meaning, Ijo Rere is actually two words made one. ‘Ijo’ means Day and ‘Rere’ means Grand. Ijorere sums up how your special occasion should be…A day that is Grand.




Although I am not Yoruba (I am Igbo), I thought it would be appropriate to feature a Nigerian company that combines traditional ideas with a modern aesthetic. PLUS... all Ijorere's products are GREEN! Ijorere prides itsself on using vendors & resources that are concerned & provide earth-friendly products using renewable energy. Ijorere papers are made using 100% wind power. Ijorere papers are acid free, Archival, Green Seal Certified, Certified Processed Chlorine Free and recyclable. Ijorere ships all its orders in boxes made from recycled material.

To see more click here

Fantasy Villa Location?

{Photos, Koh Samui, Thailand}
The FF and I spent over a month living in Koh Samui, and recently I got this amazing email from a friend with a link to this gorgeous villa in Koh Samui Thailand.
While we were living in Thailand, we always joked about coming back for our wedding. Unfortunately things have been pretty bad in Thailand and we probably couldn't afford it anyway.

Giveaway: St Regis Bora Bora Resort!!!

From what I can tell this giveaway includes:

*roundtrip airfare from LAX
*5 nights 6 days at the St Regis Bora Bora Resort
*Choice of 1 of 5 David Tutera by Faviana dress

How amazing does this look! I don't even know anything about Bora Bora but it just sounds amazing.

To enter click here

Shameless request: I would love love love to win this Bora Bora honeymoon(who wouldn't) so if you aren't applying on our own behalf, I would adore you if could you apply on our behalf!

To be continued...

It has been a super long week but its also been amazing! I decided to spend Tuesday in Boston with for my best friends birthday! Then my parents came to visit on Wednesday. Last night, my parents met my fiance's parents for the first time (it was terrifying AND amazing). Today my parents headed back to Texas but my future parents-in-law will be here until Monday... that being said, I'll be back on MONDAY!!! There is so much reading, searching, surfing and blogging to be done. I can't wait!

Best,
~Miss J.D.

Lovely Clusters

Lovely Clusters is a a place to browse and shop beautiful handmade and vintage items from very creative artists and designers from around the world. The items themselves aren't for sale on the site but each item links to the sellers shop site where you can purchase.

The best thing about Lovely Clusters is that the site allows you to search by color and categories. So while it is fun to spend countless hours searching etsy for that perfectly pink accessory, it can certainly get tiresome and this website provides a great alternative.

These are some of my favorite shops which are featured on LC:
{Bagatelles & Co.}
{The Gilded Bee}

{Down and Out Chic}

Bubble Magnets

The more I thought about save-the-dates, the more I thought about not only how it should look but how to mail it, and how it will look in my guests homes. (this is way I've crossed off a number of non-traditional save-the-dates) Beyond the S-t-D itself I decided that I should send refrigerator magnets with my save-the-dates!

{eye candy}I know I have a list of like 15 DIY projects but this idea was so cute I couldn't pass it up. I don't know if I'll be able to find the clear pebbles but if I do, I will definitely give it a try. Also I have a number of coupons for Michaels so I may as well use them :)

DIY parasol??

Recently, the Wedding Chicks featured this gorgeous engagement shoot. I love Louisiana and I adore field e-sessions but I especially love the "love" parasol in the last shot.



So I went to I Do Originals to see if I could pick one up for my engagement shoot but at $45 it is a NO GO! Then I remembered that my dear friend Emily sent me a link to an online party supply store that does parasols! I am 85% sure I could pull this off... I have 2 days of nothing to do so if I can get myself out of bed and down to Michaels, Tuesday will be a wonderfully DIY-filled day!!

DIY save-the-dates

I am about two weeks away from sending out save-the-dates so I've started looking for the very very best ideas. So I really love the vintage handkerchiefs and have found a number of affordable vintage handkerchiefs on ebay. Although I think they are lovely, I think they may be too feminine for my FF and the lovely gentlemen in my life.

{Martha Stewart Weddings}
{wedding bee}
{Eat Drink Chic}
{The Wedding Chicks}
{oh hello, friend}

Date Night!!!

The best thing about summer is DATE NIGHTS! The FF and I use to go on date nights once a week but since we're both in school its been really difficult to coordinate our schedules.
When we lived in Thailand 2 years ago, we would scour the city for delicious veggie burgers or pizza, and there was a vegetarian Italian restaurant that we loved. The reality was that after months of Thai food three times a day we would really crave a taste of home.
Now... we are always looking for delicious Thai food.
A few weeks ago a bought a groupon to a Thai French Bistro called The Elephant, and tonight we are finally going to cash in! It will also be our first date night since we got engaged :)

Preppy Ring Pillow

How adorable is this DIY ring pillow! It's just pleated trim and a little bit of ribbon.
{Martha Stewart Weddings}

Here are some other amazing DIY ring pillows from Martha Stewart Weddings!!





I am beginning to wonder if perhaps what I want is to start a bridal etsy store! I could make all sorts of amazing wedding accessories...veils, fabric flower accessories, and ring pillows! I'll put that on my list right after becoming a lawyer and planning a wedding...sigh...so much to do and so little time!

Lovely Bridal Shop

In a move away from cakes and back to wedding dresses, I found this lovely (pun intended bridal shop in New York.

From their website:
Lovely is a bridal shop that feels like your best friend. You’ll feel cozy and at home, play dress up with our bridal stylists, and leave feeling like you had the best time and bought the best dress. Because we know the experience AND the dress should both be Lovely.
{Elizabeth Dye}
{Heidi Elnora}
{Lea Ann Belter}
{Samuelle}

With prices on bridal gowns that range from $500 – $5000 (average price at $2000), Lovely seems to have So whether you are on a budget or buying that reception gown, the have something for everyone! Don't forget to check out their inspirational blog!

Edible Flowers!

On my DIY cake quest, I found these great etsy stores that make floral accessories for an affordable price. According to these lovely ladies, these flowers can be stored in a air tight container for up to a year.
{Sweet Deja Vu}
{Sweet Petal Bakery}
{Sweet Bouquet}
The problem with this find is that I am now pretty sure that I could make these... hehehe. I am so excited for a summer of fondant, and gum paste!

Cake Toppers!

I don't think I will be using a cake topper but I love to look. I especially love the little love birds, and there is definitely something very sweet about a bridal cake topper.

Much like the veil, the little bride and groom is one of those things that really says "wedding."

All these cake toppers were found on etsy!



The thing about these cake toppers is that I'm pretty sure I could make them. They are just hand painted peanuts which I could make out of polymer clay.(I think very highly of my DIY skills).
So I was also a little surprised by the number of zombie/vampire themed wedding toppers and the lack of bi-racial toppers :( I wonder if it's a cultural thing? Or maybe a statistical thing... maybe the type of people who are in biracial relationship are not typically the type of people who want wedding toppers? I know that's ridiculous but I prefer to think it has a business reason.

Vintage Stamps

Good morning!

This morning I was looking for vintage rubber stamps for my save-the-dates. Instead I found this old post from 100 Layer Cake about vintage postage stamps.

I obviously love this idea! I have clearly fallen head over heels in LOVE with all things vintage and NO detail can go untouched. Then I found Whitney Rae's Etsy store! She sells vintage stamps but Whitney also collects vintage postage, then artfully arranges the stamps on colorful envelopes in ready-to-mail postage denominations!

Giveaway: Chic'n Cheap {Birdcage Veil from One Little Dove}

Here's a chance to win a modern classic voluminous birdcage veil in ANY COLOR (rose pink, turquoise, dusty silver) from One Little Dove.

To enter: click here

Deadline: Thursday, May 13th, 11:59 pm PST. This is open to North American readers only