Bridezilla... or assertive customer??

from here

Help!! I am worried I am turning into that bride!! Here's the situation: I have been convo-ing a certain etsy seller for the past couple of weeks in regards to some custom attire pieces for our wedding party (I don't want to throw this seller under the bus, as I am assuming it will all work out in the end), and she has been very good... timely responses, thorough answers to my questions, etc. etc. I have purchased from her in the past (non-wedding related), and have had no complaints... great product, quick shipping, overall I've been satisfied.

BUT, now I am nervous. She last convo-d me on May 29th (back and forth communication leading up to this last one was daily, up to, at most, 2 days between my email and hers). She sent me the final colors (she was doing a color match) for me to review, and when I expressed a bit of concern, but overall satisfaction (I convo-d her back the same day), it seemed to hit a black hole... NOTHING?!?! Hello etsy seller, where are you?? I heard nothing back from her. So 7 days later, I sent a follow up email, very polite, stating that I hadn't heard from her and just wanted to touch base to see where we were at with the listing... that was June 6th... NOTHING?!?! OK, seriously, WHERE ARE YOU??

Here's the issue I am suffering with... I told my sis about this, and she said "email her again... and again... and again until she gets back to you... you're a bride, you can do that!". Well, ok, so far I haven't had to pull out the bride card (well, between you and I, things got a bit heated over my invite envelope printing when they screwed that up, and the bride might have shown her face a bit). When things haven't gone totally smoothly (and trust me, in the early days, we hit some very rough terrain in dealing with our venue), I stayed calm (in front of them at least), and assertively worked to amend the situation. I really do NOT want to be a bridezilla! I work very hard to not let other people's lack of attention/care/foresight/etc., set off a bridezilla-esque tantrum... thanks Eckhart Tolle. BUT, I am, on a day-to-day basis, a very assertive customer. I expect a level of service from the people who are in the customer-service business (makes sense right??). The old adage "the customer is always right" is something that tends to get lost (we live in an oil city, and the quality of service has been pathetic... but the recession has started to turn things around), but as an assertive (and paying) customer, we should get what we want.

So, this is my dilemma... do I continue to send emails, or even start making demands... or do I trust that she has something going on, and that she will get back to me at her earliest convenience? This is custom work getting done, and while our wedding is still 2.5 months away, I need to know this stuff is getting taken care of. But, most importantly, I need this off my list, so that I can move on to the next item!! What would you guys do??

Today is all about blog-loving!!

SERIOUSLY, you MUST head STRAIGHT over to the Broke Ass Bride's site, and then to her photogs blog... no seriously... go now!! These are photos to dream about now and forever!! And I am not even the bride!! These are just a few of my favorites... but seriously, I could have put them ALL up here!! (All photos from CHENNERGY WEDDINGS) CONGRATS to Dana and Hunter... and thank-you for sharing your magic!!

Smack it!!

I just found this awesome site via a comment thread over at Green Wedding Shoes (another one of my fav wedding blogs!), and boy am I glad I did. Her name is Donna, and her blog's name is Shiny Happy Weddings. A bride who loves old school innocent fun as much as I do... yup, I dig this girl!! Feast your eyes:

Can't you just imagine taking a blind smack at a pinata to get the party started?!?! LOVE IT!! This would be a great way to relieve any wedding day stresses that you weren't easily able to brush off... you know, like a drunken best-man speech, or hot soup served luke warm, or your mother in law greeting your guests like it was her own wedding... yup... smack that pinata and I bet the stresses would just melt away!!

Here's another great shot from Donna's blog... dontcha just love the whimsy in these colorful flags?

And speaking of Green Wedding Shoes, today Jen did an awesome post about one of my favorite topics... bridesmaid dresses of the non-matching varieties... My favorite pic from her post is shown below!

Which way to the... table?!

Seating charts... wait!! Don't leave!! I know this isn't the most glamorous of topics, and probably one of the biggest hassles of wedding planning (especially since it haunts us as the days tick away, when our weddings our just around the corner!), BUT, I am determined to at least make this creative, if not fun!!

Our wedding in the mountains is nothing too formal, uppity, or glamorous. It is really a weekend for family fun, and a little deal called a wedding ceremony. While stationary and calligraphy make my heart melt, let's face it, they really don't belong at our wedding. We have (or will) bucked tradition when it came to our save the dates, invites, dessert, menu, bridesmaid dresses... and well, the list goes on I guess! Some of the amazing seating charts done by the bride-land-famous calligraphers are truly pieces of art, but we are looking for something just a bit different!! Here a few ideas out there that have perked my interest:

all from here... and while I am not personally into race cars (my man is though?!), and even though the airport style is a bit confusing, these ideas really show the personality of the bride and groom.

The next one is, well, swoooon-worthy!! This is from one of those A-list calligraphers I mentioned, Miss Laura Hooper of Laura Hooper Calligraphy, and A Lucky Orchid Wedding.

Dreamy right?? ya, I know!!

Well, to make a long story shot... I contacted Laura, and described my vision of a hiking trail through the mountains inspired seating chart, and, suffice it to say, this was not an option for us!! I'm talking almost as much $$ as my wedding dress... and yes, I bought by dress on ebay, but still. A seating chart can NOT even come CLOSE to the cost of my wedding dress!!

So what's a girl to do?!?! Well, you might remember Sarah from sarahNwonderland (shout out to etsy!!). She created the graphic for our save the date (shown above), and she was awesome (read... totally affordable) to work with!! She is clearly a talented girl (also did some work for my girl Dana, aka. The Broke Ass Bride, shown below), and I can totally picture an awesome, whimsical, unique seating chart created by her... can't you?!

from here

Soooo, I have sent Sarah an email to request (ie... beg and plead for) her services again, for our table seating chart!! I don't know yet if she is on board... but please keep your fingers crossed for me that she will be willing to do such a job (which, sidenote, is way out of her normal repertoire, but heh, it never hurts to ask right?!).

I will update you as soon as I hear from her!!

Inked, then booked, and now... now it's a widget!!

OK, this might be the coolest thing since... well, since animoto movie mixin!! You can flip through our book to check it out!

inked and booked...

I just couldn't wait to share our guest book with you... so, I took some snapshots off inkubook to show you some of the spreads... I just love them!!

A bit of background... I have been working on a few books with inkubook for the last couple of months, including a book for my man to give him the morning of the wedding, telling the story of our journey so far, books for my bridesmaids, chronicling our 29+ years together, and this one, our photo guestbook. Well, when my girl Jess (Mrs. Budget Savvy Bride) hooked us loyal readers up with a 40% discount code for inkubook, I jumped all over it! The only kicker... I hadn't purchased our e-pic files yet. Well, this was a good reason to do it, since the main purpose of us doing the photo guestbook was showcasing our engagement pictures. So, I frantically called up our boys at 6:8, hoping they could send me the files asap (it was Friday, and the coupon expired on Sunday!!), and they made it happen (thanks again guys!!).

The guestbook is a combination of casual fun photos of the two of us beside our actual guest book entry pages (I used half/half of traditional name/notes entry page, and a blank page for writing, entitled "words of wisdom" where I hope a lot of our guests will get creative with their entries!), and spreads of our professional photos (courtesy of 6:8 Photography). There are also a couple of spreads with pics courtesy of my sis/MOH, when we did a practice e-shoot in Costa Rica... she got a couple of really cute ones. I will let the screen shots speak for themselves: first up, some of the spreads from our pro shots...

A couple of the casual pics with the two types of guest entries (first shown is the name/notes page, and the second is the words of wisdom page)...

This one is courtesy my sis... love the soft colors in the sunset pics (don't you love us being dorks trying out our angles?!?! I really like the pic on the right... lines, angles, colors... I think she got a great shot!)

The back cover of the book is probably my fav... I was breezing through my sis' pictures and saw this one! We didn't know she was taking it, but I love it, and think it is perfect for the back cover!!

I am super nervous/excited to see how the book turns out. I really hope the quality is good, as it will hold precious memories!! It was a blast putting it together, and for the most part, a pretty easy program to use. There are always quirks, and while I know a lot of people don't love that there are limits to the layout options/designs, I appreciated how easy it was use!!

So, what do you think?!?! I will let you know when I get it so I can comment on the quality of the printing/binding, etc.! Fingers crossed it is beautiful!!

Two weddings and a... family feud?!

image from here

Well, in spite of my desperate attempts to avoid wedding-related drama and stress considering my current state of stress at work (sorry to keep bringing it up, but that is my reality right now), we have hit a tiny (ie. HUGE) road block. As the days pass, the impact seems to lessen, but suffice it to say, the long standing issues between my FH and his younger brother (much younger... ie. 13 years younger!!) seem to be surfacing right in the middle of our pre-nuptial stresses. The background on this form of sibling rivalry is that lil bro is the quintessential baby of the family... could never do anything wrong, endlessly protected and defended even (ie. especially) in the face of obvious screw-ups on his part, and quite frankly, is always the centre of the attention. NOW, I am also the youngest in my family, but grew up with a mom who treated us identically... I'm talking Christmas present budgets to-the-penny-equal. So, it is difficult for me to watch my FH struggle to build a relationship with lil bro when he obviously resents him for the star role he has stolen from him, and his sister (2 years younger). Well, lil bro has definitely swooped in and stole the show from us... more importantly, from MY MAN... it pains me to see how this has hurt him.





Lil bro started dating a girl a couple of months ago... I'm talking 2 months ago people. His mom has mentioned that they are just head-over-heels, to which I have responded "lil bro falls head over heels when he meets ANY girl... this will last a couple of months most, just like the rest of them" (that's me, the cynic talking!). We haven't met this girl, so needless to say, we fell off our chairs when FH got a call from lil bro last week, telling him he had PROPOSED?!?! Yup, at the ripe age of 23, knowing the girl for 2 months, never having lived together, popped the question. But the best part... wait for it... the wedding date you ask?!?! 4 weeks after ours?!?! 1st weekend in October!! Yes, do the math dear readers... that means these two kids will be marrying 5 months after meeting. Don't mind me, but I think that is ridiculous!!





My FH has taken serious offense to this news, and is absolutely livid that lil bro didn't even have the decency to ask what we thought of him getting married right after us. Now, I know a lot of you are thinking, it's no big deal, it's a month after yours. And to be honest, I personally agree. I know it really isn't the end of the world, but because of their history, and how badly my man has taken the news, I am offended. lil bro knew this would be an issue (he even told his mom and dad that he didn't want FH offended...), and he still couldn't muster up the balls to speak to us directly. The family has FOUGHT about this let me tell you. They won't acknowledge FH's feelings, or validate his concerns one bit, which is causing him to shut down. He doesn't want to talk to them, he says he is hesitant to share things with them at all now, and while we both know what's done is done and it's time to move forward, I can't help being sad that a wedge sits between my FH and his little brother, who is standing up for us, all over the issue of attention.





I understand why people elope... family feuds over weddings... not fun?!?! Help me... are we fair in feeling put out by this? Would you care if your younger sibling swooped in like this for a spontaneous wedding weeks after your own? Any tips on how to not let it affect our emotions about their wedding/marriage??