wed-headed nightmare

it's happened. at less than three months away, i've officially become a wed head. not even sure if that's a real term... but, it's how i feel. i've got wedding brain. i guess this is normal, but it seems i can't go longer than an hour without pondering something about the wedding. hopefully i haven't driven too many people crazy with my constant spewing of bridal chatter.

i blame etsy. only the best online store for the most sylish/cutest/awesome finds. not just for weddings of course, but they sure have an amazing bridal section! a little too amazing...

http://www.etsy.com/weddings?ref=fp_ln_new_weddings

thanks to my addiction/love of details -  i've easily wasted many hours window shopping on this awesome site. from flowers to jewellery, decorations to cake toppers and even bow ties for our pup Sullivan - my "favourites" list continues to grow.

trying to stay somewhat on budget: when i'm not on etsy, i'm on kijiji - hunting down awesome deals on decorations from weddings past. i recently found a few brides who hooked us up with almost all of the decorations we wanted to bring down with us, for a quarter of the price! this bride loves deals!

of course, with constant bride brain comes - indecision, second guessing and doubt. did i choose the right colour, the right design. have i forgotten something?  i'm actually starting to realize my brain wanders before bed to all things wedding... how many hours have i lost trying to decide between orchids or roses for my hair?  and no, having nightmares about lost passports or missing gowns is not normal. 

i have to constantly remind myself - calm down. the major decisions have been made. and yes i love the cutesy decorations, and selecting which jewellery will make the outfit. but that's just it. decisions. not even stressful ones. this should be fun. and IS fun. this is why we chose jamaica - for an easy breezy beautiful day! there really shouldn't be anything worth staying up at night thinking about. it's all too easy to get swept up in all things weddings. though just to be safe, i think i'll put dave in charge of the passports...

flower power

decisions, decisions, decisions... there really are so many things to consider when prepping for a wedding.

originally, i had decided i was not even going to think about flowers and was happy to hold/carry whatever the resort decided to give me. unfortunately, my A-type personality won't let me do this.

after looking at various wedding photos and ideas, i've determined a random flower assortment just won't do. though i'm sure it will be nice - i have seen two examples of the bouquets provided by the resort (free of charge i should add), and needless to say, i was not wowed. to be expected if provided for free.... but - this lead me to researching how most other destination brides handled their flower department. turns out i'm not alone in my control-freakness. wanting specific colours, flower types and boutonnieres, i'm starting to look outside the free options provided by the resort.

at first i was sure i wanted all white flowers. pure. simple. beautiful.

unfortunately, when i started seeing these bouquets against bridal gowns, i realized the purity, simplicity and even beauty was lost in the white on white:

and so, i started to consider a more colourful bouquet. i quickly realized, these colourful flowers really do add flower power. the colour POPS against the white dress:

i'm hooked. i want a beautiful brightly coloured bouquet. i can't help it.

my ongoing bouquet research has also lead me to find, and i cannot believe i'm saying this but - i want fake flowers. no, not the cheap ratty dollar store kind, but quality silk flowers. i realize i'll be in the caribbean, surrounded by some of the most beautiful flowers around, but - other destination brides have noted that due to the hotter temperatures, their flowers had wilted by the evening. our ceremony is at 2:00, on the beach and i definitely want my bouquet for our sunset photos.. and into the evening. the solution - real touch silk flowers. from what i've seen so far, these silk bouquets are actually amazing looking.

can you spot the difference?

i'll steal the tip other brides have done, using the free bouquet to dress up the dinner table for the reception instead. etsy has already lead me some fantastic flower finds!!!

seriously - wilted flowers = not romantic.

i'm sure my mother is about to ask me how i plan on getting all of these items to negril, and honestly. i have no idea at this point. i am confident though, everything will make it a-ok :)

girls go crazy for a sharp dressed man

nope... not these guys...

i'm talkin the groom and his groomsmen.  though this look is a pretty awesome look for a rockabilly wedding! sadly i think long beards and black suits may be too hot for the beach.

trying to keep some tradition, dave has not yet seen my dress. we figured we'd keep some element of surprise to the big day. as such, he's told me i'm not allowed to see his outfit either. though we have discussed various looks, colours and styles - all i know is the general style dave decided on. and that his shirt is white.

like a little girl before christmas, i'm oh so excited to see my man in his dressy duds. my brain is mentally pinning his face on all of these looks:

a recent trip to muskoka brought us to port carling for dave's wedding shopping. so i do know the shop he visited... giving me a BIG hint to his attire... when i walked in to meet him i could hear the saleswoman asking about his bride - not wanting to spoil the surprise, i quickly turned around and made a bee-line for the closest patio. the server and i joked about the role reversal while i happily sipped mojitos dockside waiting for my man to shop...

turtle jack's port carling: best patio, best mojitos, best fish tacos,
 best place so far to wedding shop. 

being a control freak, i can't help but be curious about his choice. but, i do know no matter what - i can't wait to say i do to this man:

♥

tangled up in blue

something borrowed, something... blue?

as time creeps closer and closer to the big day (3 months and one day officially today), we are starting to finalize the decorations we want to bring with us. which means we had to decide on our colour scheme... not wanting to have a barrage of colours resulting in a rainbow assault on the eyes,

we've narrowed the many colour choices down to a few.

being in jamaica, we've opted to stick with the tropical colour scheme... of oranges, creams/whites and blues. inspired by the amazing blog theperfectpalette.com/, i wanted to put together my own collage of items i liked within our colours:

needless to say, this bride will definitely have that something blue...

we aren't being too strict with the different shades of these colours, but we have fallen in love with the striking oranges against the easy blue hues. we will be on an island after all...  sure makes decorating easier when nature creates these colours for you...

if you like it put a ring on it...

yes, i realize i'm not single and do have a ring on - but i'd be lying if i didn't admit i'm pretty excited about getting our wedding bands. dave has also admitted to me he's pumped about wearing a band... and so this weekend brings: wedding ring shopping.

we've done many searches online, and of course there are oh so many types to choose from. from various metals to different types of wood, or precious gems to engraving - similar to everything wedding related, there are really WAY too many options.

dave tends to like plain, bold wedding bands...

while i tend to like dainty, rustic, romantic bands... 

we'll likely settle on something in-between... 

regardless, we can't wait to get out and get looking and get practising slipping those bands on our ring fingers...