Escort Card Dilemma

My original plan to have vases with my escort cards has been shot down, and for good reasons. If we passed out the escort cards like this during the cocktail hour, how would guests hold those, their drink AND get some hors d'oeurves. Quite a handful.

My dilemma now is, what in the world do I do with the 200 vases that I've purchased? We had originally planned on having the vases filled with baby's breath, but now I'm rethinking that whole idea. What I've come up with is this:

Since the tables will be relatively clutter free because we aren't having a seated dinner, what if we put round candles inside the vases and placed one at each seat? This would add some ambiance to the room, decor to the tables and each person would still have something to take home. But, then, how will the guests know that the vases are theirs to take? Should I still put name cards on them so they will know that the vases are theirs?

We will still have the escort cards setup at the entrance, mainly for crowd control. We are a little worried that some family and friends will bring uninvited guests, so we are going to have someone monitoring the escort card table and welcoming the guests to (hopefully) ensure that the only people at the wedding are invited guests.

So, now I ask for your help. What do you think would be a good idea to do with the 3" cubed vases/votive holders that we've purchased?!?

A pic of the vases so you can get a better idea of what they look like!

The Dallas Shower

A couple of weeks ago, I had my shower thrown by the YaYas. It was so beautiful I couldn't even believe it. We all met at Times Ten Cellars, where mimosas, white and rose wine were waiting for everyone. The tables had the cutest little arrangements on it and the food was so fabulous.

The beautiful room ... the food was setup buffet style in the room with all of the wine vats!

We all mingled for about an hour, then go down to business: we ate. There were pulled pork sliders with coleslaw, roasted asparagus, shrimp cakes and various cheeses, etc. I was so nervous so I only ate a small plate, but let me tell you, it was G O O D!


After about an hour, they told me it was time to open up all of the gifts. Since most of the people who attended were my mom's friends, I have to say, she has some generous friends. I got some amazing crystal pieces, along with some kitchen pieces that were much needed! The YaYas, aside from throwing me the amazing shower, got me a beach bag filled with a towel, flip flops and coverups for our honeymoon. I thought that was so creative!

Opening up the gifts!

Here I am with two of my bridesmaids on the right and one of my good friends from college on the left, who wasn't going to be able to make it, but surprised me last minute and showed up to the shower!

When the presents were over, I stood up to say thank you and almost started to cry - seriously, when did I become so emotional? I guess having all of these women make you feel that special really tugs at your heart strings. Then I passed out their presents. They were waiting for a candle, or something along those lines, when one of them pulled out the YaYa dvd. They loved it (they had even signed their card on my gift from the YaYas)!

At the end of the day, one of my mom's closest friends (who played tennis with Mom H when she was pregnant with me) came up to hug me and started to cry as well. They were touched that I had actually put some time and thought into the gifts that I gave them. I have to say, the best part of the day, for me, was seeing those women open their gifts.

Here I am with the infamous YaYas!

I didn't realize how nervous I would be that day. I guess it was odd having all the attention on me, and especially not having a party like this in my honor. Was anyone else, besides me, nervous for their shower?

Big Bachelorette Weekend - The grand finale!

As with many bachelorette parties, mine included an assortment of underthings from all of the girls. When we came back to the room from the cabana, I was surprised to see that our small room was opened to the suite next door, leaving a huge living area for us to continue the celebration.

I was completely surprised!

The girls hung up all of the lingerie on strings and placed numbers on each piece. This is where game #2 began - I had to guess which person got me each thing. As I was playing both of my games, the girls guessed how many I would get right. The winner out of the guests got a party favor as well!

Let's just say, at this point in the day, and that much champagne down, I failed miserably at guessing who got me what. The girls all bought me some pretty amazing things, that will definitely come in handy for my boudoir photos in two weeks!

At the end of the presents, I was presented with a scrapbook. I opened it up and expected to find goofy pics of me and my girlfriends over the years, but what I got was something much more. When the girls sent out my invitations, it also included one piece of scrapbook paper and asked that each guest design their own page. That morning, after everyone arrived, they put it all in the book and presented it to me. This is where I lost it. I'm not a huge crier, but I was crying like a baby. There is nothing that could have made me feel more special, then to see these pages put together for me.

Here I am opening Mom H's page - she cut out a ton of pics of me growing up all through the years. The top of the page says "My Girl" and the bottom is one of our engagement pics and it says "Now His Girl." It was so awesome.

After I calmed down a bit, the girls handed out an addition to our evening outfits for the night - sailor hats decorated for each person. I was adamant that I didn't want a stripper or any penis paraphernalia on my body, so they made sailor hats, reminiscent to the ones that 4 of us had donned almost five years before when we joined our sorority. I couldn't believe how creative it was!


We topped off the night by having dinner at Tillman's Roadhouse - I had always wanted to go there for dinner so they made an awesome choice! They have quirky dishes like venison frito pie, chicken fried steak, salmon ceviche and brisket quesadillas. It was so yum (especially the mojito and the blood orange margarita)!

Headed out for our night on the town!

After dinner we went to a couple of clubs, Candleroom and Ghostbar. The girls were so prepared that they had our names already on the list so we got to go to the front of the line at both places. When we got to the Candleroom, it was pretty much empty, so we got some drinks and did some dancing. After it started to get crowded, we decided to go to the Ghostbar so the girls who hadn't been there could see it. It was super crowded, so about 1am we all decided it was about time to go back to the hotel, where the leftovers from our lunch at the cabana were waiting for us to munch on.

All in all, my bachelorette day/night was truly amazing. I really have some of the best friends (and mom) a girl could ask for, to have gone to so much trouble for me. I don't know how I'll ever repay them, but I know that several of them are reading this post, so I hope you girls know how much I love you and how truly appreciative I am for all of the trouble you went to to make my bachelorette something I will NEVER forget!

Big Bachelorette Weekend - The Initial Surprise

All I knew about this weekend was that it was going to be my bachelorette - all of the rest of the details were a complete surprise. I have to say, the girls that helped put on the weekend, and the others who were gracious enough to attend, made it the best bachelorette I could have ever imagined.

I made sure to sleep in a little on Saturday morning because it was bound to be a long day ahead. Mom H picked me up at our house around 11:30, and off we headed to Dallas. I knew it was going to be a night away, and had all of my things packed, when some of the bridesmaids started calling my mom and all I heard her say is "I'll drop her off and then come meet you guys." Drop me off? Alone?

Mom H pulled up to the Hotel Palomar, where one of my bridesmaids was waiting to pick me up and walk me to Exhale, their spa. She told me to check in, and, once I was done someone would come and pick me up.

(photo from here)

After filling out a little form, they told me that I would be heading up to a one hour massage ... much needed after the stressful week I had. One hour of bliss later, one of my best friends from college, who had flown in for the night, was waiting to pick me up and distract me at the bar for a while, so the other girls could finish putting the details together.

After distracting me for about an hour at the bar, 2 bellinis later, we headed up to a hotel room so I could change into my swimsuit and cover up to head out to the pool. We were greeted by my mom and sister-in-law in the room and, when we were about to head out the door, my FSILs and their friend showed up as well!

All the girls in the cabana!

I figured that we would just be hanging out poolside, but, when we walked out there, I was surprised to find the girls hanging out in our own private cabana, and, quickly thereafter, an amazing buffet of yummy sandwiches, pizza, fruit, hummus and pitas were all brought out for us to munch on. It was much needed for me, at this point, because I was working off of one cup of coffee and some champagne.


One of my bridesmaids, who flew in from LA just for the event, brought a stereo w/ iPod hookup and played tunes for us as we all just caught up and enjoyed the day. Then, the first game of the day was brought out. Mr. H had filled out a questionnaire from the girls and I had to try and answer all of his questions (50 of them!). For each question I got wrong, I would be forced to put a piece of gum in my mouth. This game is usually played with shots or drinks, but the girls actually wanted me to make it to the rest of the bachelorette fun, so gum it was.

Up close and person w/ Miss Hydrangea and about 20 pieces of gum.

I have to say, if I don't see another stick of gum for a long while, I will be ok with that. I was sure I'd have all the questions in the bag, but I only got 28/50. At least that's over 50%! When the game was over, we all hopped into the pool and hung out. We topped off our pool time with some champagne ice cream and then headed upstairs for the second game of the day.


Coming up - more games, some tears and our grand finale of an evening!

Still here!

Sorry for being so quiet this week, but Mr. H and I have had both wedding related and non-wedding related family issues that we had to take care of. It was dramatic, but we seem to have sorted through it all and are relieved, but exhausted to say the least.

Last weekend was my amazing shower, which I promise to write about next week, once I have the pictures from Mom H's camera. This Saturday is my bachelorette surprise, so I'll be sure to give you guys an update on that, as well as some wedding details that I have finished.

To tie me over until next week, I found a couple of cool bridal things on DailyCandy today that are going on in the Dallas area this weekend that local brides might be interested.

1) R.S.V.P. Soiree
This weekend they are selling a lot of their party items that they used for rental (linens, chairs, centerpieces, etc.). You never what you might be able to find for a good discount for your own wedding decor! The sale is on Friday from 9-5 and Saturday from 9-2. 1937 Irving Blvd, Dallas, Texas.

2) Warren Barron Sample Sale
Warren Barron, the store where I bought my second dress for the wedding, is having a sample sale this weekend. Their store is amazing and the dresses are so beautiful, I would definitely check this out if I didn't already have my dress(es)! The sale is on Friday and Saturday from 10-6. 53 Highland Park Village, Dallas, Texas.

And, on a final note, I thought I'd share with you my bachelorette dress. I looked and looked, and finally found this cute number on sale on Bluefly (another one of my bargain shopping addictions)!

I'll be back next week, with loads to talk about and (hopefully) some fun pics to share!

Drumroll Please ...

My invitations are in! Actually, they came in several weeks ago, but we had to redesign the RSVP card and reprint their envelopes with a different address (more details on this later). Before I share with you the whole invitation suite, I wanted to talk a little more about the RSVPs.

I don't know of any wedding that hasn't had some sort of an issue with people returning their RSVP cards, but Mr. H and I had several obstacles to overcome when it came to this portion of our invitations. Because Mr. H is the first generation born here in the States, a lot of his family is not used to RSVPs. Also, in his family, although they send out invites, it is normal for people to bring along other family members, friends, etc. that weren't given an invitation. Finally, while most are fluent in English, there are still quite a few members who are more comfortable with Spanish.

Because we don't want 500 people at our wedding, and because we want to try to get the maximum amount of returned RSVPs, we chose to try and curb some of this by writing a very detailed RSVP card, which I have below.


We wrote everything in Spanish and English, to avoid any language barrier situations. Also, we chose to put a line saying "We have reserved ___ seats in your honor." As we put the invites into their envelopes, we will hand write in the number of seats that each party has. Finally, we opted to send out our invitations a little early so that the RSVP date is three weeks from the wedding. We figure this would give us ample time to make any calls to people who haven't RSVP'd.

How did you all handle the wording on your RSVPs? Did anyone else have language/culture barriers to work with?

Wrapped and Ready!

Since I am going to meet Miss Avocado for dinner tonight, I tried to stay on top of things and last night I wrapped up the hostess gifts for my shower this Saturday. Like I've previously mentioned, the women throwing it are some of Mom H's best friends, and they all fondly call themselves the YaYas. They love the play tennis, travel and drink wine. They decided to have my shower at an awesome wine bar in Dallas, Times Ten Cellars, so, based on all of these things, here is what I came up with for their gifts:

A YaYa DVD - for obvious reasons!

Coasters that I made at For Your Party, using their fonts and graphics.

Coasters wrapped with a bow!

A Lolita "Queen" wine glass, painted with a cocktail recipe on the bottom.

A better idea of what the glass looks like.

Each lady will get one of these two kitchen towels as well!

All wrapped up and ready to go!

I think that I am also going to write each lady a thank you note and pass them out when I give them their gifts. Did any of you stick to a theme when buying your hostess gifts?

I Confess ...

I'm cheating on my shower with my registries! I know it's horrible, possibly tacky too, but I just can't help myself. Knowing that my shower is this weekend, I keep checking my registries to see what has been purchased. It's not about people buying me things, but more about the excitement that those hours spent fidgeting with registries are now starting to come together, and that Mr. H and I are REALLY getting hitched!

(My Bed Bath and Beyond Registry)

I've always been the person who tries to figure out the surprises before they happen ... I keep telling myself, "well, at least I don't know WHO bought me what." The funniest part is that, of the three people I've fessed up to (Mom H, Mr. H and BM H), the only one who told me I was bad was my bridesmaid! I was sure that I'd hear a lecture or two from Mom H and Mr. H.

Am I the only one cheating with my registries?

Oops ...

I wrote a teaser post a few weeks ago about the bridal event that I attended at The Crescent Hotel in Dallas, but I forgot to share the pics and details of the event. Mom H and one of my bridesmaids met up with me at the hotel, where we had a couple yummy cocktails, tasted a little cake and viewed several rooms decorated by various florists, lighting companies, etc.

Flowers at the entrance of the hotel.

The main ballroom.

The funniest part of the night was walking into the first room, which happened to have the florals done by our florist (Bella Flora), lighting by our dj/lighting company (Lite Dallas) AND the Paciugo Gelato cart like we are going to have at our reception! It was so awesome to see the work of both companies come together in one room.

The room decorated by our vendors.

After walking around for a bit, we went across the hotel to see another space they have for receptions, as well as listen to the one and only Preston Bailey speak. I have to say, he was quite entertaining, very honest and I was FLOORED at how amazing his work is.

Myself and Preston Bailey!

The night ended with a gift bag, which I have to admit, was thoroughly disappointing. I might be a little spoiled because the last event I attended was free and gave the most awesome gift bag, but at this event, which cost $50 a person, the bag was merely a Kate Spade bag with a bunch of coupons thrown inside.

The final highlight of the night was viewing the live band, Signed Sealed Delivered, that was playing in the ballroom. We all enjoyed the music so much, especially Mom H, that we got more information on them and decided to book them for our wedding!

The amazing band!!!

With less then 3 months until the wedding, I'm afraid this was probably one of the last events I'll be attending. While a lot of fun, I'm afraid if I see too many more ideas I'm going to second guess the decisions I've made (not to mention, I need to spend more time finishing up the little details we have left).

Our Lasso

Several months ago, Mr. H's mom went to Mexico to visit her sister and to look for a few wedding items that we need for the Hispanic traditions in our ceremony. Unfortunately, the lasso that she found we were unable to get, so I set out to search for one online.

Just incase many of you aren't sure what the lasso is, the lasso is a large cord, or rosary, that is placed around the couple after they exchange vows. Someone particularly special to the bride/groom (such as Godparents, grandparents, etc.) places the lasso around the groom’s shoulders, and then the bride’s shoulders. The lasso is worn for the remainder of the ceremony. This tradition is performed to show the love that will bind the couple together for the rest of their lives.

It turns out, finding a lasso online isn't the easiest thing to do. I found many inexpensive ones that would definitely do the trick, but Mr. H was picky and wanted something made of real silver and beads that would stand the test of time, and that we will be able to hand down to our children one day. I love the idea of our future generations using the same lasso for such a significant event, so I made it my mission to find the right one for our wedding.

After many weeks of searching through Google and various links upon links, I came upon one website that seemed to have just what we were looking for. Mary's Rosary had the exact one that we were hoping his mom would find in Mexico (and, coincidentally, it was the site I had found to give his mom a reference picture AGES ago, but hadn't saved to my favorites).

So now, I present to you our lasso:



It's pretty large and heavy, but I am so happy with the end product. Holding out and really searching around was worth the wait.

Are any of you incorporating this tradition into your ceremony and, if so, where did you all find your lasso? I'm sure there are quite a few others out there who would love the links!

Accessories Part Two

Last month on June 15th, Mr. H celebrated his 28th birthday. It is also the same day that he proposed to me, one year ago. Since we have been spending so much money on wedding things, he told me not to get him anything for his birthday. This I just could not do. So, how did I justify spending the money on a birthday present that he didn't want? I made it wedding related.


Mr. H originally wanted to purchase a nice black suit for our wedding. However, we wanted all of the groomsmen to match and didn't want to ask them to buy a suit, so we opted to rent tuxes instead. Mr. H knew he wanted to wear a white or cream tie and have all of the groomsmen wear black ties, so I found this beautiful tie and decided to splurge for him, since he didn't get his original wish when it came to his attire. The price was a little hefty but, when you think of how much we all spend on our attire the day of the wedding, it was minimal.


Here it is next to my dress and it matches perfectly! Mr. H was so excited (probably the most excited I've seen him for anything wedding related, thus far) and I'm happy that he will have something from his wedding that he will be able to wear again one day down the line, and not have to return the next day.

Accessories Part 1

I had mixed emotions when it came to the garter toss. Part of me wanted the tradition in the wedding, and part of me thought it was one of those wedding traditions that I could live without. While on the phone with my mom one day during my lunch break, I was telling her that I thought this was something we could leave out of the wedding, when my boss yelled from her office that I shouldn't take the fun out of it and I should keep it in. That, combined with Mr. H wanting it in the wedding, made me decide to go ahead and order a garter.

I knew I wanted something simple, so I searched around and decided on a simple garter from the Garter Maker. When I came home from my daily walk and grabbed the mail, it had arrived. I was eager to see if the navy blue and ivory I had selected would match my other accessories and the dress. Lo and behold, I think it came out quite nicely.

When I opened up the UPS box, it was nicely wrapped with a cute little bride on the sticker!

The finished product! I opted not to get our initials, as we wouldn't be keeping it when the day is done. Seeing it now, I almost wish that I had opted for the two garter option, one to keep and one to toss, but I know it would end up stuffed in a drawer somewhere and , eventually, lost amongst all of our things.

The garter on top of the bottom of my dress to compare the ivories.

All of the accessories: shoes, purse and garter. I think it all comes together quite nicely!

Did anyone else debate including the garter toss in their reception?

Let the Festivities Begin!

It's finally countdown time ... my shower and bachelorette invites are here!

We'll start with the shower first:

My mom's lovely friends (aka the Ya Yas) are throwing my shower in two weeks at an awesome wine bar in Dallas. I'm soooooo excited!

Party 2:


My bachelorette, like I previous wrote about, will be the weekend after the shower and will be a total mystery me to me until that day. They even sent me my own special invite so that I won't have a clue as to what we're doing!

Knowing the planner that I am, my bridesmaids wrote everything in code, but made sure to give me an itinerary of what I'll need to pack, and what I should wear at certain times (they know me all too well).

It's really starting to hit me that after over a year of planning, everything is starting to HAPPEN!

While we're on the subject...

I know I've been talking a lot about gifts, but it's the one task I know I can check off the list early so I'm trying to knock it all out.

Mr. H loved all of your input on the groomsmen gifts and it sparked some major ideas - right now we are really thinking about Weddingbee reader KJ's idea of customized Converse, which we'd have the boys change into between the ceremony and reception and maybe a pair of funky socks to go along with the gift. But this is the idea for today, try me Monday, and it could be entirely different!

(Image from Here)

On another note, I have a big question regarding gifts. Did you all also buy gifts for your house party, ushers and readers? At first I was planning on buying them a small token of appreciation, but now I'm thinking that this might not be necessary.

What do you all think - aside from the bridal party and parents - who else do you think it's nice to buy a gift for?

Lagging Behind ...

I want to apologize if I've been a little absent around here lately, but I have a good excuse.

This week, after several weeks of worrying and contemplating and many months of not being happy, Mom H and I decided to part ways with our wedding coordinator. I think that our communication was bad from the beginning as to what we were both expecting as the clients and as the vendors.

I jumped the gun when we got engaged and thought I HAD to have a planner, but, in all honesty, I ended up doing a lot more of the work then I ever thought I would be capable (or willing) to do. We still intend to hire a day of coordinator, but I won't be posting more on this because I feel like the whole subject is finally water under the bridge and I would like my last few months of wedding planning to be as drama and stress free as possible.

On that note, being the planner that I am, I emailed one of my bridesmaids about the bachelorette party as it is approaching quickly (and Mom H accidentally spilled the beans that we would be going somewhere overnight). We decided to do it about 2 months before the wedding, because I know how crazy things will get and I really want to enjoy my time with them and, once again, I'm a planner. That being said, I emailed her today to find out what kind of clothes I should wear and received this response:

Hey Miss Hydrangea,

I figured someone would spill some details, but I didn't think it would be Mom H!! That's funny!! Don't worry actually Mom H's spilling of details was a planned decoy by Bridesmaid Hydrangea and I ;-)

In regards to attire, I figured you would want to know what to wear/bring, so I sent an invitation especially made for you. Enclosed are details that only you will receive and need to know for the big day. If you have any more questions after receiving the invitation just let me know. It should be arriving this week sometime, so be on the look out. If does not come this week due to the 4th, then I will email you the details if you plan to go shopping this weekend.

I disclosed that this was all a secret in all the invited, so I hope no one else gives any hints. Well hope things are going good and work week okay. I'm sure you are looking forward to a 3 day weekend, which I'm sure will be filled with wedding stuff :-) Oh it never ends until the day. Well I hope this helps and I will ttyl!!

love,

Bridesmaid Hydrangea

Seriously, HOW EXCITED AM I?!?!? I can't wait to see my special invite!

Am I the only one having their bachelorette quite a bit earlier then their actual wedding date?

Mr. H Needs YOUR Help!

Last night, while Mr. H and I were eating dinner, the topic of groomsmen gifts came up. I've been bugging Mr. H for months to try and come up with some ideas, so we aren't stuck buying everything last minute. With less then 100 day until the wedding, it's looking like it will be last minute afterall. Here are a few ideas I came up with, all shot down by Mr. H:

1) Cufflinks - While a very popular choice, if we bought them sterling silver cufflinks with their initials engraved in them, it would be something they could keep forever, which I think is important.

(Image from JC Penney Jewelry)

2) Personalized Coolers - This is one of my personal favorites - how fun would it be to have a nice cooler embroidered with their initials, filled with their favorite beer and ready to go?

(Image from Bud Shop)

(Image from The Pink Monogram)

3) Ipods - While I think these are a great gift, some of the groomsmen in our wedding are technologically inadvanced and don't even have a computer, which is pretty necessary with one of these.

(Image from here)

I have to admit, none of my ideas are super original. I guess that, while I've been thinking about the entire wedding and cute gifts for my girls, I've kinda let the poor boys get pushed to the back of my mind. When Mr. H and I were talking, and I couldn't think of anything, he asked me to use my best resources - the girls of the hive - to come up with some ideas. What are your fiances planning on giving their groomsmen (or what did your husbands give)? While we are trying to keep the pricing at a reasonable amount, I'd love to hear all ideas from every end of the spectrum!