Bridesmaids Dresses

After a trip to David's Bridal with my bridesmaids we found a few styles of dresses that the girls liked. I have found out that depending on which designer we go with will determine the exact shade of purple the dresses will be. Each designer has their own colour palette and the same colour name may not actually be the same colour or fabric. Originally I thought I would like all the bridesmaids in the same dress style but after seeing all of the girls in different styles I think I might not care anymore. I don't think they would be impressed with me posting pictures of them in the dresses they tried on so I have found the dresses online which shows the colours they would be available in anyway. 

The dress that I have liked from the moment I saw it in a magazine, that no one has yet to try on, is still on the table. I love the look of it but until I can see it on at least one of my bridesmaids I really can't decide if I will love it for our wedding day. http://www.jlmcouture.com/Jim-Hjelm-Occasions/Bridesmaid/Additional/Style-5001

Jim Hjelm Occasions in eggplant silky taffeta
A-line tea-length bridesmaid dress, pleated
halter neckline, empire bodice and side pockets. 

The dress that all the girls tried on and liked is below. It looked nice on all of them however I don't know if I love it... I think although they all looked beautiful there were certain styles that suited each girl better. The only shade of purple this dress comes in is "Plum" and I prefer the "Lapis" shade. http://www.davidsbridal.com/Product_Strapless-Flat-Taffeta-Bubble-Hem-Short-Dress-81255_Bridal-Party-Bridesmaids-Shop-By-Color

David Bridal's plum strapless bubble hem dress in
flat taffeta with a matching sash at the ruched waist.

This dress was tried on by three of the girls. It looked really good on all of them and I liked it much better then the style above. This dress comes in the "Lapis" shade. I like this dress because I feel like it is more unique then the style above. http://www.davidsbridal.com/Product_Short-Strapless-Satin-Peplum-Dress-84629_Bridal-Party-Features-New-Arrivals

David Bridal's lapis short strapless satin dress
with ruching detail that cinches the waist and
peplum ruffle.

The following dress was liked by all the girls except Hayley. They did all try it on but again I think although they all looked beautiful there were certain styles that suited each girl better. This dress comes in the "Lapis" shade. I like the dress above a little bit more. http://www.davidsbridal.com/Product_Short-Satin-Dress-with-Pleated-Bust-and-Ruching-F13277_Bridal-Party-Bridesmaids-Shop-By-Color

David's Bridal short lapis satin dress has a round
neck  with pleating at the bust and ruching at the waist.

There were many more dresses tried on however these were narrowed down from the most liked of what David's Bridal had to offer. There will be many more dress outings and hopefully will find something they each are excited to wear and love. Would love to hear feedback and suggestions.

DIY Pomanders - Kissing Ball

Brandon and I both really like the look of "Pomanders" also known as "Kissing Balls". Pomanders have started to replace the flower petal basket traditionally carried by the flower girl however we like the look of them as decorations. We have talked to several florists and found that Pomanders made with real flowers can range anywhere from $35 and up so we sat down and tried to get creative. We want to save money in any way we can without cheapening the look of the wedding. Brandon came across a DIY site for Pomanders made of coloured card stock.

These are traditional flower Pomanders being used as aisle decorations

This is an example of a Pomander made with coloured card stock.

We plan to use these green petals to make two Pomanders

We plan to use these ivory petals to make two Pomanders

We plan to use these purple petals to make two Pomanders

So far the homemade Pomanders are looking great! When they are done I will be sure to post a picture.

Rings, DJs, and Photographers... OH MY!!

So after two days of intense vendor meetings and a week away at the cottage to discuss our options we have made a few major decisions.
Firstly, a decision that seemed like a no brainer, we are having our wedding bands designed by the same guy Brandon used to design my engagement ring. Sevan, the designer, is an interesting guy but seems to be very talented. You can see more of his work on his website www.astjewellery.com.

Similar to the band I will have - it will be a duplicate of my engagement ring band.

Similar to the band Brandon will have.

Secondly, we have booked our DJ. Maximum Music is the company we will be going with.

Tim will be our DJ and he is one of their most popular DJs so we had to snatch him while he was still available.

Lastly, but the vendor selection we are most excited about, our Photographer. Bruce Zinger is the photographer we have decided on. We met with many and felt that we had the best connection with him and were very impressed with his portfolio and credentials.

Bruce Zinger

A photo from a wedding he shot that we liked

Detail shot he took that we liked

We pretty much knew right away he would be the one we were going to pick but it had to be made official. We sent him an email to request him as our photographer and I thought since we seemed to connect so well I would play around with him a bit. I emailed him the proposal: "If you will have us... Bruce Zinger, will you be our photographer?" He replied with "I am laughing right out loud because of your proposal!! That's the best complement I have had for a request to shoot anyone's wedding in my entire career. Thank you for that, Elizabeth and Brandon ... I do!!!" I feel like this is a great start to a very comfortable connection with him which will result in beautiful pictures... hopefully *fingers crossed*.

Less than a year!!!!

I am a day late but we are now officially less than a year away from the big day! In about a week we will post our decisions from all of our meetings and the vendors we chose and the areas where we are still going to have to do some research and keep looking. Over all the two days of vendor meetings was worth it but very tiring so we are looking forward to spending a week at the cottage and thinking things over before making any decisions.
See you all in a week! :D