Va Va Voom Hair

I was originally planning to wear my hair half up, and half down like this (apparently a very popular look for knottie brides, evidenced by the number of bios in which this pic appears):


But after seeing my epics (and determining that I REALLY hate my jawline) I think all down is the best way to go.

We're aiming for a "modern vintage" look for the whole affair, and my dress is rather 40's-esque glam, so I'm thinking something like a modern take on screen siren Veronica Lake might be in order:


Flipping through the most recent Martha Stewart Weddings issue while waiting for the ever-late 1 train I discovered these looks. I think they would go perfectly w/ our "vintage modern" wedding, and with my vintage-inspired mermaid gown.

(pics courtesy of Simone Carvallie and Piccione)

I absolutely LOVE the glam 40's curls these looks have. Now I'm off to send an email to Sam Hill at Salon Cherry Bomb to see if this is something he can recreate. Wish me luck! :)

Primp and Pretty, Round II

I think I have officially found a make-up artist.

I had originally thought of booking with Heidi McKenna and had arranged a trial with her. The trial went well; the make-up looked good, but I wasn't entirely thrilled with it. Plus, Heidi used a lot of coppery colors on my lids and apparently I have an allergy to the red dyes in a lot of make-up colors, including coppers - my eyes were entirely swollen the next day (totally NOT Heidi's fault - I had no idea I was allergic to red dyes).

In any case, when we had our recent epic session, my photog recommended that I check out Nancy with Brideface as a possible alternative. I had researched Nancy before, and had concluded that she was probably a tad bit over our price point. That being said, when my photog confided that Nancy was the ONLY person she let touch her own make-up, I decided it was worth at least a trial.

The trial with Nancy went FABULOUSLY. I am VERY fair and matching foundation to my skin is always a challenge. Nancy managed to do it perfectly. And the lashes - oh, my. I have naturally long lashes, but I was still infatuated with the falsies that Nancy applied. If you're on the fence about whether or not they're "necessary," they are! ;) If you want that nice, fluttery look when batting your eyes at your fiance on your wedding day, you'll definitely want these. Just make sure that your MUA uses individual lashes, not strips, and BLACK glue - my photog recently shared that some MUA use white glue to attach the lashes, and it shows irl, and in pics.

Also, Model in a Bottle is a godsend.

My trial was at noon, and I didn't remove the make-up until 11:00 p.m. This stuff is amazing!

Anyway, here are the shots. The first was taken right after we left the trial. The latter two were taken ELEVEN hours later. Were it not for the shine (damn you, oily skin!) and the lack of lip gloss, I could swear they were taken at the same time.

Did I mention how much I loved the false lashes? ;) So watcha think? Wedding worthy?

E-pics are in! E-pics are in!

Don't really have much to say here other than - WOOHOO!

Well, that and Steph Carson = photo goddess. A few pics for your viewing pleasure:

Satisfying our Sweet Tooth - Favors

When I first started planning, I hadn't decided on whether or not to do favors. There didn't seem to be a consensus on whether or not they were worth it - some people think they're a necessity, and some people see them as a complete waste of time and money. After all, who needs yet another picture frame?

After viewing a few planning bios and reading several posts on the topic, I finally decided that favors would be a nice touch, but that they had to be edible - this immediately knocked jordan almonds out of the running. ;)I eventually settled on the idea of truffles for favors - an especially budget-friendly move as my mother used to be a professional chocolatier and offered to make them for us. Recently, however, she has expressed concern that she won't have the time/skill to make great truffles, so I've started researching companies to order from.

I was intrigued by Marble Hill Chocolatier's in Cincinnati because I thought using a local company would be a nice touch, and they had very chic looking chocolates:

Unfortunately, however, I recently learned that they have closed their doors (boo!), so the search continued.

I've had Godiva truffles before, and they were okay, but I've heard a lot of people consider them pretty waxy, and I kind of felt the same, so I kept looking.

And then a fellow knottie recommended Vosges in Chicago.

Oh. My. God. These truffles look AMAZING! Here are just a few:
They even have cool names for each one - clockwise from the top left: Fire (mexican ancho & chipotle chillies, ceylon cinnamon, and dark chocolate), Ambrosia (macadamia nuts + Cointreau + white chocolate), Viola (milk chocolate + candied violet flower), and Black Pearl (ginger + wasabi + dark chocolate + black sesame seeds). YUM!!!

I would LOVE to be able to put one "normal," boring plain chocolate truffle (for our guests with less adventurous palates) together w/ one exotic truffle in a box for each guest. In the alternative, I'd love to order a couple hundred to have displayed for guests during the cocktail hour a la knottie KaraMGM.

Either way, I need to move things around in the budget so we can afford these.

And now I'm off to order an "exotic" gift box so I can sample them all. :) Just don't tell my personal trainer! ;)

Edit: Ooh ooh ooh. I almost forgot to mention - they use organic and fair trade cocao in a lot of their products. I think the human rights activist in me just swooned a little bit. ;)

Bling, Bling, and More Bling

I know it's way too early to be stressing about my jewelry, but I've just seen way to many awesome designs out there not to start thinking about it.

I'm definitely all about the chandelier look for ears, especially with a super tight, vintage modern (modern vintage?) mermaid dress.

These from Ben-Amun are great, and are reasonably priced at $100 - $180:





As are these from Vera Wang, available from Bag, Borrow or Steal. You're basically only renting them from the company for your wedding (or longer if you have the cash) and then returning them, but who wouldn't want to wear real bling (3 carat earrings anyone?) on their wedding day?



*sigh* pretty. *sigh*