Need a laugh?

After a long day, I needed a laugh. This is hilarious if you have some photos. I did our dog.

Oh So Classy...

So the birdcage veil is a go. My mother thinks she can make it and actually picked up "the perfect" material to make it work. We will see when I head home fo x-mas. This photo is my inspiration. I actually got this photo off Classic Bride, a while ago, but really like it because I think I can pull it off along with one of those very beautiful combs. My fear is that I am going to look like a turkey that is wrapped in that netting?!

Beautiful Accessories

I saw this website - The White Aisle on Something New, Something Old and have fallen in love with all these combs. I think either one of these will work with my dress. I also have fallen in love with all of their invitations too!

Less than Six Months Away...

Ok...Thank you for this post - With this Ring. I so need to do this. Unfortunately, it hit me this morning that we are less than six months away from our wedding! So the little pig is back! I need to lose some weight!

Marry in May and Rue The Day

My fiance comes from a huge Irish family, where as I am more of a mutt (German, English, etc...you name it - it is part of my family heritage). Being of Irish descent, my fiance has really tried to show me some of the great traditions and I definitely want to incorporate some of these into our wedding celebration. However, after doing a little research - I already found out that I am breaking one of the customs of an Irish wedding - getting married in May! I guess it is bad news - hence the Irish verse - Marry in May and Rue the Day! Oh well...I am not changing the date! But here are some interesting Irish customs.

- Lucky horseshoe: Irish brides used to carry a real horseshoe for good luck. (Turned up so the luck won't run out). You can get porcelain horseshoes which most Irish brides carry these days, or one made of fabric which is worn on the wrist.

- Magic Hanky: This charming custom involves having the bride carry a special hanky that with a few stitches can be turned into a christening bonnet for the first baby. With a couple of snips it can be turned back into a hanky that your child can carry on his/her wedding day.

- Make-up bells: The chime of bells is thought to keep evil spirits away, restore harmony if a couple is fighting, and also remind a couple of their wedding vows. Giving a bell as a gift has become an Irish tradition. You could also have your greeters hand out tiny bells to your guests to ring as you process. (You might want to let them know when they're supposed to be rung - perhaps mention it in your program along with an explanation of the custom). Guests could also ring their little bells at the reception in lieu of clinking glasses.

- Salt and oatmeal: In the old days, a bride and groom would take three mouthfuls of salt and oatmeal as a protection against the power of the evil eye. Also, when she's dancing, the bride must never take both feet off the floor because the fairies will get the upper hand. Fairies love beautiful things and one of their favorites is a bride. There's many an Irish legend about brides being spirited away by the "good" people! It's also very risky to wear green and it's very bad luck for a bride or the groom to sing at their own wedding.

- Strawing a wedding: It was said to be very lucky if the straw boys came and danced at your wedding. While there are several different versions of how they came into existence, the one I like best is this: young men who were being chased because they were rustling the landowner's sheep would sneak into a wedding reception and mingle with the guests. Eventually, it became a tradition for friends of the groom to disguise themselves with straw masks and suddenly show up.

- Jaunting Car: The men of the bridal party would hoist the groom in a chair and parade him around as a newly married man.

I found a ton more of traditions here at this site.

Windy City Love

I love all the blog love! After my shout-out on Tuesday, a couple other bloggers also did some Chicago love on their blogs - With this Ring - found some beautiful wedding shots done in downtown Chicago, while I Heart Peonies has dedicated a blogroll for all the Chitown bloggers. In the same spirit - I have decided to throw some things up that are total must for your wedding if you are a true Chicagoan! (All photos from my photographer - StudioThisIs)

Even though we are not getting married in downtown Chicago, I would love to get these trolley cars as our transportation! They actually will travel out to the suburbs, but I just don't think it will work as well for our wedding.

How about a replica of Wrigley Field as the grooms cake? Call me a bandwagoner but I became more and more of a Cubs fan after moving several blocks away from Wrigley.

You have to get a shot of you and your groom in the downtown area. I love walking down Michigan Ave. and seeing a bridal party get a perfect shot right near the Water Tower. We went back and forth on getting engagement photos and instead we decided we are just going to get some "fun" shots of us in our wedding best at some of our favorite Chicago locations.

27 Dresses

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It was very nice just to take a couple days off and not do any work - even wedding stuff. But I did see this movie preview and it reminds me of my maid of honor who has been in a thousand weddings as a bridesmaid! I can't wait to see it - 27 Dresses with Katherine Heigl in it.