Ever since our engagement, or for about a year now, I have been on the internet searching and seeking wedding related ideas for our big day. During this process I have come across some very interesting finds that I felt were share-worthy.
A Brief Guide About Bridesmaids
For example, “A Brief Guide About Bridesmaids”is a super-cute animated video created by the Vancouver Film School. The video does a wonderful job at describing the duties and experiences of a typical bridesmaids and also describing the origins of bridesmaids in different cultures. “A Brief Guide About Bridesmaids” video is sponsored by The Dessy Group, an online store for bridesmaid clothing and bridal dresses.
Being Erica
The second video I have to share is from a bridesmaids point of view and how she feels about the planning and dress shopping process. The women in it is from the Canadian show Being Erica, and as a way to advertise the show they created a prequel where she video blogs. Most of her entries are hilarious but this one in particular is funny because I hope my bridesmaids never feel like this.
Even though it is a Canadian Show, Russell was able to download episodes for me. Or you can catch the show on SoapNet in the United States.
I hope you enjoyed these fun online videos about bridesmaids!
Next week will be the beginning of May, that means we will be a year away from our wedding date! I am so excited to get the ball rolling on vendors getting booked and plans figured out. With Russell and I being engaged a year now and us having our wedding date and venue secured since January we have had a lot of time pass by in regards to planning I hope within the next couple of months to have the major vendors researched, contacted and booked. With all this planning ahead of me a bride will absolutely need her bridesmaids by her side.
My bridesmaids have known before I got engaged that they would be in my wedding, duh! they are my best friends and I hang out with them all the time. These wonderful & beautiful girls have become my closest friends ever since being my roommates in college.
Even though they know they are in the wedding, I have waited until now to “ask” them to be my bridesmaids. If you are getting married and have read any wedding magazines or browsed theknot.com, brides are now formally asking their friends “will you be my bridesmaid?” and giving little gifts to commemorate the occasion. I think this is a great idea! There is a lot of commitment on the bridesmaid part: from planning and going to pre-wedding functions, paying for a dress, as well as being a big supporter to the bride. I also love the idea of presenting them with a token of appreciation before all the madness takes over as it gets closer to my wedding day.
I have been waiting until May to have a get-together type luncheon with all of the girls so I can formally kick off the process. I tried to think of a cute restaurant to have this Bridesmaid Luncheon and I came up with Mrs. K’s Tollhouse Resturant in Silver Spring, MD. I am hoping the weather is good because they have a beautiful garden in back to take pictures. Then after the luncheon we are all going to go over to the Strathmore Music Center to show them the venue. All of the girls have not seen Strathmore and showing them where the ceremony will take place, cocktail hour and the reception area is vital in order for them to picture the day. This will also help when I will need to plan and pick decor and get their opinion if it will go or look good in the venue.
The Luncheon is planned for Saturday May 2nd, 2009! I am super excited that all of them can make it. If you know me I love to craft and do hands on projects so this was a great excuse to make my own invitations (pictured below). I found these “Petal” cards in the clearance section of Paper Source in Georgetown. The cards were a plain pink inside so I added everything from the ribbon, pink and green paper, paper flowers and gems from past craft projects. I think they turned out amazing and Russell and I are thinking of incorporating a “Petal” packaging for our wedding invitations. This is how they turned out:
I am going to write another blog post discussing how the day went and to reveal some of my surprises! Shhh I can’t say now because I don’t want my bridesmaids to find out until our luncheon on May 2nd! Stay tuned.
I wanted to make it “blog official” and tell everyone that we have set a wedding date and found the perfect place. I went with my parents back in January to sign the contracts but forgot to update it on our blog. Back in January, we had our fair share of hard times in securing the place on the right date, but when we finally did it turned out to be great. We originally were thinking March, but now the wedding is in late May. The weather will be beautiful and the flowers will be blooming as well as the trees will be green for an outdoor ceremony. Also May 29th is Memorial Day weekend, which I think is a good thing. We will have a lot of people from out of town coming in and this way they can make the wedding weekend into a long weekend. We will just have to inform everyone early (by word of mouth, this blog, save-the-dates and invitations) so plans don’t collide.
Some of the “pros” of having our wedding at the Strathmore Music Center:
Metro accessible, from Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro Station
Free parking with a covered sky bridge to Center
Located right off of the Beltway
Great location close to Washington, D.C.
The place is gorgeous, modern yet classical appeal (View the pictures below)
Soaring 65 foot high glass wall and tall ceilings give an open and airy feeling for the reception
Terrace for the ceremony overlooks an 11-acre site of greenery
Inside and outside options for ceremony, just in case of rain I will have a beautiful “plan B”
Offers catering with on-site chefs and kitchens
Enough space for a separate cocktail hour
Striking built-in bars with granite counter tops
Bridal Party Suite/Dressing Room: large enough for the people who perform there
We think Strathmore Music Center is so beautiful inside and out. We know this place will provide gorgeous backdrops to our photos and decor. Below are some stunning photos of the Center which don’t give it half the credit of seeing it in person! With all the visits I have taken to the Strathmore Music Center I have not seen it laid out for a wedding yet with tables and a dance floor. We asked the Catering Director when the next wedding is taking place and if we could drop by for a couple of minutes before the wedding to check it out. He said yes and we going to visit it on May 23rd of this year! Which is perfect because it will be within the same time frame as our wedding next year. It will give us an idea of the weather, the timing of the sunset for pictures, when to start the wedding, and especially the look of the foliage around the Strathmore Music Center.
Strathmore Music Center
Sculpture Patio (For Cocktail Hour)
Covered Sky Bridge from Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro station
Kristina and I took a day trip to Whitetail ski resort with friends to do some snowboarding yesterday. We made it up to the mountain around 9:30 in the morning and the weather was beautiful. All of the trails were open and the snow was in good condition; not to slushy and not to icy. Ski resorts in this area are known for being iced over which makes snowboarding more like icescraping. The lines for the lifts were long but it was to be expected for a Saturday session. Kristina brought her camera which helped pass the time in line.
Russell and Kristina pose with their snowboards at Whitetail ski resort.
Kristina spent the day with her former college roommates on the easy trails. Kristina was getting comfortable switching between heelside and toeside while helping her friends get the hang of slip-sliding down the slopes. Kristina’s friend’s boyfriend and I tackled the more advanced blue and black diamond trails including a bumpy double black diamond course on the other side of the mountain. Later in the day we met up with the girls again and goofed around on the green trails with them. That’s where this video came from:
I was having fun videotaping everyone at the beginning but towards the end I decided to cut loose from the group and turn the camera on myself as I raced down the hill.
Kristina's friend Jeanette is smaller than Russell's snowboard.
The whole crew going up the lift at Whitetail ski resort.
Around 3pm we had had enough snowboarding. It felt so good to get out of our boots and wet jackets. Even though the high temperature was 38℉ I was drenched in sweat. Before heading home we decided to fill up on some good-old country cookin’ at Crackerbarrel. It was good!
Today we were both a bit sluggish as the soreness had set in. However it was worth it because our trip to Whitetail was a blast.
Kristina baked these awesome inauguration-themed sugar cookies this past weekend. They’re totally delicious and I’m hooked on them. Each one tastes like a little, teeny-tiny cake. Hopefully Obama’s next 4 years will be as sweet as these scrumptious treats.
