Rosette Madness!

Whew! That whole My Fair Wedding series was a doozy! Sorry about the lack of posts, home improvement projects are keeping me busy now! :D Now we're back to our normally scheduled wedding prettiness! :D

Spring has officially sprung! :D

Even though it takes a while in chilly Buffalo to actually believe it, all last week we were blessed with wonderfully warm, sunny weather!

Call me fickle but my purple, flowery, summer wedding vision is sounding better and better each day! XD So I figure I"ll talk about my summer plans for the Thousand Islands wedding in the spring and summer, and shift focus to my Buffalo winter wedding plans in the fall and winter. Then I'll always be relevant to the season! lol

Another reason for wishing for warmer wedding days and the great outdoors? The wonderful, romantic, addicting trend of rosettes!

I. Love. Them. I WANT THEM!!!

These better still be around when I get engaged, XD because I don't know if I can live without them!!!

These big, beautiful flowers are popping up everywhere in fashion lately:

On wedding dresses:

*drool*This is a stunning prom dress from Sherri Hill, style 2223, covered in rosettes and comes in white! However be careful with most prom/bridal sites online, many of them have a no return policy or a ridiculous restocking fee...

On shoes:

These grey suede heels are from Forever 21 and are just $25.80! So cute!

On purses:

This cute little number is a pink rose clutch going for $29.50 at Bag Madness. Yes, the only color they're selling is pink, but if that's your thing, grab one for the spring season!

On hair accessories:

This cute little hair pin is from Etsy! Brydferth sells many pretty and delicate rosette accessories, and this bobby pin for $12 is just one of the many she sells.

And also making a stunning appearance in other wedding aspects too!

On cakes:

This cake is from I Am Baker, and it's SO FRIGGING ADORABLE! I can't wait to make something like this when I actually have company over! lol You can find the tutorial here! :D

On table runners:

This runner is from an Etsy seller, floratouch, and sells the most beautiful runners I have ever seen! Yes they are pricey at $18 each, :( but they are beautiful! *sighs*

Dear rosettes,

Please be so frigging popular that you are still around in a couple years...or at least let me get an "out-of-style" rosette wedding dress for a killer price! :D Love ya always,

Sarah

Attention Winter Brides: A Blog That Is Just For You!

Delicate sugared fruit decor inspiration:


The perfect snowflake shoe:


And the purse to go with them:


Just some of the many wonderful winter wedding touches you'll find in Brenda's Wedding Blog - Holiday Weddings!

Nice to see a dedicated winter wedding blog. If you're a winter bride, you have to keep an eye on this one!

Just something I wanted to share with you. That is all :)

The Bargain Awesome-ness Just Keeps Coming...

Omg I think I'm in love. Well, obviously, with this wedding planning and all, but now with a website.

The 15 Dollar Store.

Okay fine. $15. Whatever. What does it have?

SHOES AND DRESSES!!!

And other attire and accessories, but I'm drooling over the SHOES AND DRESSES. All for $15. Somebody pinch me! 8D

It is clothing site for juniors, but I'm still young and short, so that is not an issue. Plus, shoe sizes are the same no matter what age you are!

This is all thanks to the lovely Miss Sloth from, yep you guessed it, WeddingBee! Thanks to her awesome bridal ensemble on a budget post, I have been enlightened!

I could get these...


or this...


or maybe this...


And look. at. this.


Affordable but very tasteful bridesmaid dresses!!! And they kinda look like those fancy twobirds bridesmaid dresses! (They're all the rage in wedding blogs these days) And they even come in gray/silver AND purple!!! And they're floor length so it could be appropriate for a winter OR a summer wedding!

I'm sensing serendipity here.

I mean I even could ask the lovely girlies to buy these now, because for heavens sake, they're $15 fracking dollars!!! 8D

These dresses could be dressed up very easily too, all you need is a pretty sash or big flower or something, but I can work with them!

*starts reading store return policies in my drunken dress excitement stupor*

Well, I just found one slight catch - all sales are final.

Boo :P So that means that if I do get said dresses, I would have to make sure they all fit now and pray they all fit later... *sighs* It could work...except I don't know if I want all silver or all purple...buy both maybe?

Yeah, I'm getting overly excited about this like I did with shoes before, however it is important to me that I get a bridesmaid dress that is affordable for all of my girls. Almost all of them are still getting degrees right now and don't have a couple hundred bucks to throw around on dresses.

It would be probably one of the most budget friendly dresses ever!

And these dresses were way cheaper than the shoes I was eying previously.

So...I know most of my bridesmaids-to-be know about this blog, (except for one...I think she might worry about me too much if I showed her XD) what you do think? :)

Just Tap Your Shoes Together Three Times...

Ah! D:

I am so awful for not posting in forever, but there is a good reason for that:

The bf and I have gotten a new little puppy! :D So naturally, the cute little girl is keeping us busy, I've barely had any time to go online, and most of that time was used to look for puppy names! XD

So a little tidbit to tide you over...

You better believe it--


I'm going to make my eventual purple shoes even more awesome! With a rhinestone message on the bottom! <3 (or hearts, those work too) :)

Sometimes It Helps To Clean Out Your Closet...

Being influenced by the cute rose purse I found earlier, I continued the search for shoes, and found myself being drawn to shoes with cute little flowers on the toes:



Both lovely shoes, both terribly expensive XP

Move on to times when I'm not glued to a computer screen...

I was rummaging through the many, many items in my closet, and I realized that I already had a lovely pair of purple heels, purchased from Payless several years ago for prom...

Similar to this in dark purple:


Not a literal photo but you get the idea.

They are perfectly good purple shoes. They're sandals, with a bit of a heel, but doesn't look excruciating to wear...however they're missing that little bit of "wow factor"...

*looks at closet shoes*
*looks at drool worthy internet shoes*
*looks at closet shoes*
*looks at drool worthy internet shoes*
*realizes something obvious*

All I need are some purple flowers to put on the closet shoes! :D

So the search was on for lovely satin fabric flowers!!!

I looked at some flower hair clip sites, My Diva's Closet and Hairflowers.net, and then at the lovely handcrafted world of Etsy.

And I think I found something just wonderful:


Yes, they are headbands, but I'm sure I can either ask for the flowers only or just remove the flower from the headband once I get it!

AND they come in silver too! So at the very least, the bridesmaids can have matching fabric flowers, and they just need to get themselves some purple or silver shoes.

(If you haven't noticed I have been bouncing around the idea of the 'maids having purple and silver color scheme...)

Much easier than finding cute, stylish, affordable, mid heel purple sandals in a wide range of available sizes. :P

Only possible problem with these flowers is the size, 3 inches may or may not be too much for a regular pair of shoes.

Itching to try it out though :D

Shoes. Oh My God! Shoes.

Realllly itching to make another pre-engagement purchase...

Remember these beauties I thought were not in my size?


Well, you can pre-order them in a wide range of sizes (and widths!) at ShoeMall.com for $50 with free ship!

Yes, $50 is a lot, but ShoeMall.com does have sales, and they won't be available until December 15th anyways, so I have time to wait for a sale!!! :D

*twitch* *twitch*

Must...have...shoes...

Do you think it would be weird to ask my 5 bridesmaids-to-be to buy them once there's a sale? XD

Be Wary of the Allure of Dyed-To-Match-Shoes...

While looking for colorful footwear, the idea of dyed-to-match shoes did catch my eye! (and mentioned by a friend in my comments! :D)

So many styles to choose from, and any color I want! :D Sounds great right?

But then I started doing a little bit more research...

Apparently dyed shoes and water do not mix.

Suggestions for Choosing Dyeable Shoes:

"Dyed shoes are not weatherproof. They may run or stain if the weather does not cooperate. To reduce the chance that your shoes will run if it rains, apply a coat of water repellant, but don’t expect them to be completely waterproof. If your shoes get wet, reapply the water repellant."

Dyeable Bridal Shoes - Things to Consider:

"Moisture of any type will ruin the shoes for the day. (Can be re-dyed but will tie-dye when moisture comes in contact with the shoes.)"

"There is no protection that will keep water out. (Protection will also keep you from dyeing your shoes at a later time another or the same color.)"

Dyeable Wedding Shoes – Should You Do It?:

"The truth is that most of the horror stories that are based in dyed bridal shoes are the result of ignorance- people don’t bother learning about dyeing beforehand. As a result, they are often left to deal with a number of unfortunate incidents on their wedding day. Legions of brides and bridesmaids have ruined their shoes and sometimes even their dresses because the dye got wet. This is usually what happens during outdoor weddings."

"First of all, water is not your friend. When it comes to dyed wedding shoes, there is absolutely no way that you can protect them from moisture. Furthermore, any kind of moisture will ruin them- though you can re-dye these shoes again, you’ll usually end up with a tie-dye sort of pattern. So if the wedding is an outdoor one, this is something you should probably consider. Remember that even the sprinkler system or some morning dew can spell disaster for your shoes."

About Dyeing:

"Shoe dye is water soluble. That means that dyed shoes, when exposed to heavy moisture, will bleed or stain. We strongly suggest you do not wear your dyed shoes in the rain. However, if you must, we recommend you use a water repellent spray to, at the very least, minimize bleeding or staining."

So I guess

boats + dyed shoes
= potential disaster

As I dug deeper, I heard about a trick one can do to keep them from running -- use Scotchgard. (Weddingbee post here)

Was this true? I had to look further...but it looks like Scotchgard is just another fancy word for water repellant...

Link for yes:

"It is recommended that the dyed shoes are waterproofed using a scotch guard spray and Scotch guarding can be done very easily at home."

Link for no:

"Our dyes are not water-fast so customers mustn't get bags or shoes wet. A dyed shoe or bag can be made water resistant by spraying with Scotchguard or other silicon treatment, but cannot be re-dyed afterwards."

Link for maybe:

"We strongly recommend you opt for Scotchgard as this helps to prevent the dye from running especially if the shoes are worn in rain or on damp grass etc. (we don't recommend dyed shoes be worn in rain anyway!) You can do this yourself - make sure to wipe the 'sock' and sole immediately after spraying."

With the research given, unless I'm really desperate, I think it is wise for me to stick to the already-colored shoes...

Oh How I Do Love Shoes...

Okay, since I fell in love with yesterday's wedding photo, I have tried to find the perfect pair of bright purple shoes for me and my wedding party...

And realized holy crap, cute purple wedding shoes are hard to find!

Most purple shoes either:

Have a really high heel



Look hideous to me


Are not the right shade of purple

Etc.
Another bride on WeddingBee had this issue too in 2008, (after reading some of her posts, I found that she loves purple too...hmmm I can feel an immense amount of blog reading coming on...) and I will post it for your enjoyment here!

I am happy to report that she does end up finding a lovely, affordable, and practical pair of shoes!

I have found a style or two that I liked, but either have been discontinued or only in a couple sizes...
Like these ):

and these D':

Well, it looks like I will leave this as a challenge for later because availability seems to be so fickle...

At least the shoe shopping is always fun :D

The Artistic Beauty...Of A Shoe

Since I'm just starting out as a wedding blogger, and since I am not engaged as of yet, I have only begun browsing the dozens and dozens of wedding blogs out there.

But one featured such a cute idea (that I absolutely adore!) that I feel I must post it here!

CastleBride Couture - Colorful Shoes

OMG.

I LOVE IT!!!

Is that not the cutest wedding party pic you have ever seen?
For me it is, lol.

I so want to do this, I just love how it looks!

The shoes match the ribbons on the bouquets, the shoes are ardorable, the ribbons fall loose at the top of the bouquets, the great pop of color, the beautiful contrast, even the size proportions of the bride and bridemaids bouquets are perfect!!!

Now the question is...
should the bridemaids' dresses or shoes be purple? lol