Photos for Photos

My best friend from college is a wedding photographer and has gifted us with her talent for our engagement photos. Mark and I wander around Brooklyn and get inspired...

This is down the street from our apartment. I love the industrial grunge look.

Brooklyn Heights. Downtown skyline - you can see Mark's office building. Park benches, beautiful houses, water and the Brooklyn Bridge. Need I say more?

Love it! Prospect Park possibilities...  Check it out.

The Shoe Debacle..

It took a while for me to find the perfect shoe. At first I wanted a closed-toe T-bar heel, but I wasn't seeing any good ones. Then, I found a Cynthia Rowley shoe that I still have dreams about. Ah.. it had a round closed-toe, a crystal encrusted rectangle buckle on an ankle strap. The shoe was the perfect height.. it even came in off-white satin. But it didn't come in my size. :-(. So after more searching, I found my shoe.

Corloriffcs, Trisha. It has a cute little peep-toe and keyhole cutouts in the back, with a great little ankle strap.

I ordered them from the first site. I got an email notification that the shoes are being processed. I waited and waited and waited. The shoes never came!

I wrote one email. Then a second more frustrated email. No reply. I wrote a third email and cancelled my order. I'm guessing they went out of business..??

I ordered them from the second site. The shoes came. I got them sent to my mom's house because I wanted to try them on with the dress.. oh! you have to see the dress. ;-).

Of course, my mom opened them up. I think she tried them on! I think my sister did too!

"Oh they are so high! I don't think they are 3.25" like it says.. I'm going to measure them," says my Mom. "They look really big too.. you have to come an try them on."

"Mom, I don't care how high they are, I will wear them. I'm not giving up those sexy little keyholes for a couple hours of pain!"

My mom became obsessed with the shoes. I think she measured the heels 4 times. I started keeping count of how many often she told me how high the shoes were. In one conversation alone she mentioned the word "high" 5 times. She phoned me 3 different occasions, just to talk about the heel on my wedding shoe. She wrote one email - subject line: SHOES. I responded and her reply was simply, "too high". She told my sister, who told me over IM about the height of the heels and then wondered why I seemed frustrated.

Finally, I came home and I was able to try them on. I open the box. "Well, these are pretty high!" I tried them on.. they are a size too big. :-)

Now, I'm trying to return them.. Like everything, that can't be easy either. The information on the site led me to get a size that I normal wear, yet they are clearly too big. I have to pay to ship them back AND a 50% restocking fee. F- that! I'm speaking to a manager!

Invites

I'm making my own invites - being a graphic designer and all.. it's the least I can do!

I started with an idea that I wanted, but then I went to Kate's Paperie with my trusty bridesmaid and best friend, Lisa, I was presented with a lot more options and decisions to make than I had realized! I had to think about paper, envelope size, ornamentals.. and I still had to physically design the thing!

It's taken me a bit to get to this point, but I think.. I have made my invite!

Still have to think about the envelope design, I have to pick paper... RSVPs! Those are going to be phone number and web address - it's 2010 ;-). Directions - online.

Of course, a few key players will get the whole shebang - Can't wait to design it all!

My comps are below:

Final, I think..:

Dresses!

This weekend I picked out my bridesmaids dresses while I was out in Mass visiting my family. I had an exceptionally great time. My mom and sister accompanied me to Amari Bridal, armed with magazines and the thought that I knew exactly what I wanted..

Seeing the dresses and colors in person really makes a difference. I chose eggplant and lilac. My sister looks great in eggplant. Bill Levkoff.

Initially I was thinking of a pinkier purple, but I wasn't thrilled by the selection of dresses in that color. However, I did find one for my mom in that color...

I think Jade Couture has some great styles for Moms. The shape is modern and flattering to the body. The jacket hides the arm jiggles. And I love the lace overlay - it gives a shout out to my

dress..

And that brings me to my dress. The image is a Jim Hjelm design, but it's not my dress...

My mom is making my dress and I have pics to prove it!

Until next time. :-)

Hello :-)

My name is Jess. I am a print/web designer and I work at the 92Y in NYC. I am a DIY bride and I am always looking for a bargain.

My fiance is Mark. He is went to school for music management, but now he works in the Financial District at Standard & Poors. Mark is the negotiator and makes sure we stay on track - time and budget.

We live in Park Slope in a postage stamp of an apartment. Our bathroom doesn't have a sink! It's endearing and we love it. Mark and I met in college thru a mutual friend, we survived a long distance relationship and living with a third roommate.

Our proposal story is a funny one. It didn't go quite as planned. We took a cruise to Bermuda. The trip was sandwiched between hurricanes, coming and going. The seas were rough the first night and I spent it in the bathroom! I found the ring twice; the first time I felt it in Mark's jacket pocket when I was packing, then it fell out of the safe in the cabin. The champaign and strawberries were delivered a night early and by that time, I had an inkling of what was going on!

The next day Mark brought me to a secluded area overlooking the ocean. He told me he loved me. He got down on one knee and popped the question. Of course, I said, "Yes!".

Later, Mark asked me if I knew. I told the truth and I thanked him because I would never forget any of the moments leading up to the happiest day of my life.

In true Jess and Mark fashion, our wedding planning has had its ups and downs..

At first, we looked into having our wedding in Massachusetts (that's where I am from).. We weren't quite ready to get married yet and Mass wasn't giving us that warm-fuzzy feeling that you get when you know something is right.

Then we were going to have a big wedding, then a very small wedding, then a medium-sized wedding, and now we are having a small-large wedding.

Next, well there was no next - not for a year at least. I got a job, after being unemployed for months. We moved out of our apartment in Queens with the third roommate into our pint-sized apartment in Brooklyn. And we finally got fed up of hearing, "When are you guys getting married?" from our parents, relatives, friends, friends of relatives, co-workers and random people on the subway - so we chose a date.

Sunday, September 26, 2010. A brunch wedding.

We called Prospect Park and booked the Picnic House. The venue price was good, but we didn't do any prior research on their approved caterer list. After putting down the deposit, we met with some caterers. This wedding was going to blow our budget, we cut our losses and decided to look outside of the city limits - Long Island (that's where Mark is from).

The deposit is being used as a charitable donation on behalf of our guests. :-)

We had to make a quick decision, we needed to find a venue before our date was taken. We drove up and down Long Island one weekend and found the Venetian Yacht Club. The site is beautiful, the price is right - and though it won't be the quaint garden party reception that I had hoped for, it was perfect all the same.

So, there you have it.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

at the

Venetian Yacht Club

Babylon, NY

11:30 ceremony