Christina said "yes" to the dress

FINALS: 'Tis the season to procrastinate

Just a quick blurb as I'm listening to the droning of a podcast lecture. I haven't had too much of a chance to plan anything else, but at least everything is somewhat listed and set up with pictures and lists.
John's tasting room manager has been wanting us to have an engagement party, so news of that will be forthcoming. I'm imagining a "Voodoo on the Bayou" Mardi Gras themed party, but we'll see what we can actually pull off.

As per wedding tidbits of what John and I have in store, I finally searched some images of his greatest request: the white linen suit. When he first made the suggestion, I laughed. Surely, this just John jostling me, no? He was entirely serious, and when I finally started looking at pictures of white linen suits, I had to admit that they looked pretty darn good. And I think they will look pretty darn good on that pretty darn good looking winemaker chemist of mine.



I am also thinking of getting some lanterns for the bridesmaids in lieu of bouquets. I plan on chatting with them about it, but I was thinking of using some electric candles (don't think UC Berkeley would appreciate fire in the midst of the redwood grove...) in the lanterns along with matching blue and green sea glass like I'm planning to have on the tables. Something along the lines of those neat little ones with stars that they have at Ikea.



Anyway, an Ikea run will most likely be in order. As for now, back to degenerative joint disease.

Blue & Green Butterflies = Peacock feathers!

I was searching for dresses and accessories on one of my new favorite procrastination sites, TheKnot.com. People have asked me if I'm going to wear a veil, and was definitely leaning towards no. However, I think that a cool, funky 1920s style net veil with white feathers would be lovely, and hopefully something that I can pull off. I was imaging something along the lines of this. As I was sifting through the myriad photos and other blog sites, I came across an idea to link both the jade and marine color theme that John and I have settled on as well as tie in butterflies! There was this lovely image of peacock feathers begin shaped in fours to form a butterfly - it's absolutely stunning. Pretty much have to-do lists and ideas all summed up, now vacations are going to be the time to make it all happen.

Every Wedding needs a Theme...

So, in prepping for the wedding, we're aware that this is all very far in advance. After deliberating, it only seemed logical to plan the wedding around my veterinary school graduation. More parties are supposed to be more fun, right?
The main reason, however, is that we are hoping to get some of my East coast family out for the event, and it's easier to make one arduous journey as opposed to two. Yet, it also is giving us ample time to plan and make things great in spite of how busy we will be!
It was hard to know where to being, especially because my wedding attendance experience is relatively limited and I wasn't sure where to start at all! My lovely mother was kind enough to get me lots of great books. Tina thought it was hilarious that I was reading them and highlighting as though they were textbooks.
So, I have some pretty good ideas of where to begin, but thought it would be nice to start out with some color schemes and paintings for inspiration. Having certain elements to tie everything in together should give a distinctive vibe to the various ceremonies.

Above is Moon by Alphonse Mucha, one of John's and my favorite artists. We have picked Jade & Marine as our colors, thinking that the blue and green also go well with the ocean that I love and the mountains where John is most at home.

There's lots of other ideas we've thrown out there, such as using driftwood and sea glass with only a couple flowers as table decorations. But, just having a good start with some solid colors and great support group seems like a nice foundation to being our 2 years of planning. The other element that I think will connect it all together are butterflies, and I envision something like this.

As silly as it may seem, I'm reminded of the butterfly that was conspicuously present at my father's funeral. Everyone noticed, and my mom and I later joked about "Billy the Butterfly." So, I thought that incorporating butterflies as a theme would make for appropriate decor. I found this lovely image of an art nouveau pin. I'm also reminded of one of John's and my first dates, where we went to see the art nouveau jewelery from France.