WeddingLovely.com's New Wedding Planning Email Newsletter

Tracy, the genius behind Wedding Invite Love and Wedding Planner Love, has done it again!  She's launched an incredible tool that will help brides with their planning timeline - WeddingLovely.com, an email newsletter system to inform couple's of what they should be planning and when, is now available!  Simply sign up with your email address and enter your wedding date (even if you haven't solidified it, a guesstimate works, too!) and you'll start receiving emails full of tips and recommendations based on where you should be in your planning timeline.  Seriously awesome!!

Katie's Lake Bridal Shower | 05.14.11 {Willoughby, Ohio}

I'm so excited to share this beautiful "Sweet and Spicy" Bridal Shower with you today!!!  I, along with the mother and sisters of the groom, threw this little soiree for one of my best friends and college roommate, Katie, in May earlier this year.

The sweet pink, fiery red and spicy orange themed shower was held at Olivor Twist in Willoughby, Ohio.  Guests were invited on baci designed white linen with red backing invitations requesting guests wear pink, red or orange attire to the event.  Each guest was asked to bring a sweet or spicy recipe with them to the shower on the provided card.

When guests arrived at the venue, they were asked to choose their name tag slogan - "I'm a little sweet. . ." or "I'm a little spicy. . ."!  They were greeted by tables draped with white linens, carnation centerpieces in red vases, pocket fold red linen napkins with baci designed menus placed inside and tasty Spiked Pink Sherbet Punch {recipe below}.

After dinner, guests were directed to the dessert display.  All the tasty treats were made by family members or the hostesses - they ranged from spiced carmel truffles to choco-berry tartlets, seriously yummy!!  Gifts for the shower games were in various shades of shower colors and included some of our favorite kitchen spices :o)  The favors were a perfect combination of sweet and spicy with a pink rock candy sucker and spicy jalepeno pistachios!

Spiked Pink Sherbet Punch

Recipe Originally by Paula Dean on The Food Network

(Printer-friendly Link)

2 quarts sherbet (Any flavor will do - we used raspberry to go with the color scheme, but I generally use lime)
2 liters ginger ale
1 (46-ounce) can pineapple juice
Lemon slices
Lime slices
Maraschino cherries

1)  In a punch bowl, add 2 quarts of lime sherbet. Then add ginger ale and pineapple juice.
2)  Decorate with lemon and lime slices and some maraschino cherries.

Handpicked - Groomsmen Gifts

If you ask me, groomsmen gifts are the hardest to pick out of all the people you will need to get gifts for. Luckily I do not have to pick out these gifts because Eric will get the opportunity to do this job. However, I did come across some gifts that would be perfect for any groomsmen.....with a variety of tastes.

1) Tuxedo Design and Customized Bobblehead on whoopassenterprises.com, $109 - I think this a fun gift! You can design your own groomsmen bobblehead according to a picture - Fun!!

2) Architectural Tankard on thingsrememberd.com, $20 -(Buy 1, get 1 free right now) Mugs are a pretty traditional gift, any groom would be safe getting this.

3) Personalized Cherry Wood Keepsake Box on mygroomsmengifts.com, $33.95

4) 18-hole Course of Golf on auglaizegolf.com, $40 - This includes golfing and a cart :-)

5) Your Big Day Custom Cufflinks (Personalized) on etsy.com, $38

6) Brushed Flask and Zippo Lighter Gift Set on mygroomsmengifts.com $46.95

7) Weave Texture Money Clip (Personalized) on thingsremember.com, $20 - A money clip is a safe bet to get any groomsmen.

8) Personalized Poker Set on mygroomsmengifts.com, $93.99

9) The Beau Men's Urban Lattice Collection Neckties (Choose your favorite print) on etsy.com, $24 - I just love these ties!!

Wedding Wednesday | Valentine's Day Inspiration

In honor of Valentine's Day I designed this "Valentine's Day Inspiration Board" with different shades of pinks, reds, and whites. I picked this gorgeous Oleg Cassini gown that is short in the front so a bride can wear sexy, but fun red shoes, like the ones pictured below from Zappos. Candy buffets are becoming more and more popular every year. A bride and groom can pick any type of candy that is red (red hots), pink (bubble gum), or white (mints) to emphasis a Valentine's Day themed candy buffet.

Row One: Oleg Cassini for David’s Bridal Strapless Faille with Sweetheart Draped Bodice {Style CT326}; Floral Image from 100 Layer Cake

Row Two: Ceremony Photo by Anna Rozenblat

Row Three: Shoes by Me Too {Style Janette} available on Zappos; Ice Sculpture Image by Jami Lee

Row Four: Rose Bouquet Photo by Jami Lee; Candy Buffet Image from The Sweetest Occasion

Row Five: Heart-shaped Cookie Cutters from beaucoup

Handpicked - Valentine's Day Gifts For Your Man

Whether or not any guy wants to admit it, they actually like getting gifts. Valentine's Day might not be their thing, but it is always nice to get a thoughtful gift for the one you love. The items I picked are great, not only for Valentine's Day, but for any special occasion as well.

1) Apple - iPad with Wi-Fi - 16GB from Best Buy - $499.99

2) Best Buy Gift Card from Best Buy - $50.00 - any guy would like to be handed a gift card to Best Buy because then they are in control of their own gift.

3) Candy Bouquet made by you - prices vary depending on materials and candy.

4) Cookie Cake from Mrs. Fields - $34.99 - You can also make this cookie cake.

5) Craftsman 12 Drawer (Black) from Sears - $199.98

6) Pima half-zip pullover from Gap - $39.50

7) Jake from Hollister - $30.00

8) Nike Air Max 2011 Men's Running Shoe from Finish Line - $159.99 - I absolutely love these shoes and it helps that they are Fairview (my high school) colors.

9) Nintendo Wii Console with Bonus Wii Sports Resort Bundle from Walmart - $199.00

Rehearsal Dinner Dress - My Current Wish List

Question: Is it really necessary to have a beautiful rehearsal dinner dress when you are going to be looking stunning a day later in your wedding dress?

Answer: YES!! You can look stunning two days in a row :-)

Even before picking out my wedding dress, I was already looking for a rehearsal dinner dress. However, there is no harm in wanting another wonderful dress to prep you for your big day. I picked four amazing dresses and would love for some feedback from baci designer followers.

1) Max and Cleo Strapless Dress from Dillards, $99 2) Pleated Neck Sheath Dress from Ann Taylor, $79.99 3) Silk Chiffon Arabelle Dress from J.Crew, $225 4) Silk Chiffon Sophia Dress from J.Crew, $175

"The Perfect Dress"

As every bride, bride to be, and woman knows, your wedding day is not complete without "the perfect dress."

Step 4

Finding "the perfect dress" for the perfect occasion

Dress shopping has been one of the most difficult steps I have taken in my wedding process. I thought it was going to be fun, beautiful, and quick. Little did I know I was in for a real treat.

(I apologize in advice for not giving tons of little details about each dress, but I want it to be a surprise to Eric when he sees me walking down the aisle.)

I went to two shops in Toledo over Christmas break with my mom, sister, best friend, and two cousins. The first stop was pretty amazing, but overwhelming because at that time I had no idea what I was even looking for, so dresses were being pulled left and right. Thankfully the consultant was amazing and very helpful! She made my first wedding dress shopping experience be a good first experience. By the time we arrived at the second shop, I knew what did and did not look good on me (since my fellow people made me try on about 50 dress at the first shop, ha). The service there was not the greatest, but we expected that. Thankfully, I had my sister there to get me in and out of dresses. Within those two shops, I found two dresses I liked (one was sleek and vintage and the other was a ball gown).

About a month later I decided to go wedding dress shopping again, but in Fort Wayne. I thought I would give it another chance. A month was about the perfect time to recooperate, ha. This time I brought my mom, sister, and soon to be mother-in-law. We again went to two shops. The first shop was a traditional bridal shop, packed full of people but a helpful consultant. I found two dresses I liked, which both happened to be ball gowns with a ruching top. The second shop was a little boutique, it was a very nice looking place. However, the service was awful, which put me instantly in one of those moods. The only thing is, I found an amazing dress that all four of us liked a lot there.

After it's all said and done, I had 5 dresses I liked. I ended up narrowing it done to two (which are both ball gowns) that I loved and could see myself walking down the aisle in. They're both around the same price range even, which is a plus, because I do not want to go over my dress budget.

Step number 4 is not complete yet.

I will be going to Fort Wayne Friday with my best friend and mom to try on both of the dresses again. Hopefully, I will come out of this day with a dress ordered.

Come back next week to see if I found "the perfect dress."

My Perfect Photographer

Found The Perfect One To Capture My Perfect Day....

Step 3 was picking the perfect vendors and I asked readers to stay tuned to find out what company I would pick as my "perfect" photographer, since that was my only HUGE vendor I had not picked yet.

And the winner is. . .

Montography Photography out of Wauseon, Ohio.

Eric and I had two photographers we were leaning towards. However, when I was on Facebook I saw my friend, Jenelle, had engagement pictures up and as soon as I looked at them, I fell in love with the pictures. A few weeks later her wedding pictures were posted and I decided instantly that I needed to meet with her photographer. So two photographers soon became three. We found ourselves in a little bit of a situation - so many great photographers to choose from and we could only hire one. We ended up only meeting with Montography and one other photographer. After meeting with two out of three photographers, we knew we had made a decision. Montana from Montography had a wonderful personality, prices were reasonable, she had plenty of experience, and her pictures were absolutely stunning!

I am happy to say Step 3 is complete :-)

The Perfect One

A big obstacle to overcome when planning a wedding is picking vendors, and picking the right ones.

Step 3—Picking the Perfect Vendors

As I am sure all of you know, vendors are the people you like to truly think hard about before involving them with your BIG day. For Eric and I, there were a lot of things we already knew we wanted, but was not sure if we could have them. One, because of budget, and two, because the place or person was already booked for another occasion.

As soon as Eric and I got engaged, he called Knights of Columbus Hall to see if the date of October 8^th was available. By much surprise, it was still available, and of course we took the opportunity and booked it right away because in Defiance, Ohio there are not many reception halls that hold 500+ people.

We then asked Father Kill one Sunday after church if he had October 8^th open, and we fit right in between two other couples—a week before and after us. So we have our church and priest booked. A sub category of the this would be everything you have to do before you can get married, such as: marriage license, take a test, and a couples conference, but that will be a whole other post when that time comes J.

My mother also knew exactly who she wanted as our caterer, Classic Catering by Kim Brown. She used them for my sister's wedding and wouldn't think of having anyone else!

The next big thing is booking a photographer, which is something incredibly important to me. However, there are so many talented people to choose from that it's been rather difficult to narrow down. My sister created an amazing spreadsheet comparing each photographer's packages side by side so we can compare them on an apples to apples basis. We're currently making appointments to meet with the few we've selected and hope to make a decision shortly after the holidays. Wish us luck!!

Rings

Jami and Eric's Wedding Journey

Step # 2 was getting my ring sized because my fiance' bought the ring a few sizes too big :-)

After he proposed, I told him that he should have asked my ring size, however, he said to me "It wouldn't have been a surprise if I asked you your ring size, plus, I wouldn't have gotten to see you almost cry."

Eric and I took my ring in on November 16th. We thought it would be a simple process of soldering my ring to the correct size that would have normally taken at the most a week.

We were wrong.

Eric called that Saturday, the 20th, just to check on it (only because I was bugging him so much...I was missing my ring already). That is when we found out that the ring had been shipped back to the manufacturer to have them solder, so the jeweler wouldn't possible ruin the ring since it was such a drastic change in size.

I call on Tuesday, the 23rd, to get another update. "They had to send out for another ring because of the change of the size," is what I heard when I asked about my ring. Of course, I was devastated because that meant I did not get to show any of Eric's family for Thanksgiving or the rest of my family.

At this point, I had only had my ring for approximately two days and now I won't have it until who knows when. The jeweler tells me it should be back here sometime next week, at the latest the end of the week, which would be December 3rd.

Deb (Eric's mom) and Desi (my future sister-in-law) asked me Tuesday, November 30th if I had gotten my ring back, I replied, "No, they said by the end of the week, but I'm not getting my hopes up. I just pray that it will be back by Monday." Well someone must have been listening in on our conversation because Wednesday, December 1st, I got a call saying my ring was finally in!!! Obviously, I was ecstatic.

2 weeks and 1 day later I got my beautiful ring back :-)

The Engagement

My Wedding

I will be taking you through a journey to my BIG day!

My name is Jami (The Baci Designer's sister) and she thought it would be a good idea to share my wedding journey with all of you.

My fiancé, Eric, asked me to marry him on November 14^th (which happened to be his mom’s birthday). The story is sweet. We were at my sister’s house and while my sister and her husband were cooking lunch, Eric suggested taking our bags out to the car. As we were walking back into the house, he stopped me in the breezeway. I was attempting to get into the house because I was cold, but Eric was refusing and finally said, “I have to ask you something,” and if you knew me, you know I said, “Whatever,” and continued trying to get into the house. He said “No, I have to ask you something. You know I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You know I love you.” Then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him (shaking and freaking out of course J). At first I thought he was kidding, as soon as I realized he was completely serious—I kissed him and said, “Of course!”

Eric and I in my sister's breezeway right after we got engaged!

Step 1 was to tell EVERYONE!!

Eric and I will be getting married on October 8th, 2011 - both of our parents' anniversaries.

Be on the lookout for more updates from me, the bride-to-be. Feel free to contact me: jami {at} bacidesigner {dot} com