Lily of the Nile

I've been searching for the name of this flower for a couple of months now, ever since it started popping up in gardens around Austin. Agapanthus, aka Lily of the Nile, or African Lily. The varietal also comes in Buckingham Palace, Blue Brush, Black Pantha and Jacks Blue (final pic), to name a few.

I was initially attracted to their stand alone quality. I envisioned caring a single flower in lieu of a bouquet and this would do the trick. Pair that with the beautiful color and an appearance reminiscent of a firework mid-burst and you've got love. The price is pretty nice too.

Perhaps I'll try to grow some in my yard and use them for table decor...

Which color would look best with the dress?

Accessories

I saw these on my favorite accessories website Etsy. Luxe Deluxe http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=62605 has so many pieces which fit perfectly with my dress and the style of the wedding, that I have a hard time choosing which ones I like best. These seem like they would compliment the dress perfectly with out being a distraction...

My Dress!!!

Well I'm nearly there, as far as wedding dresses go. Today I found the website of Claire Pettibone http://www.clairepettibone.com/. It was love at first sight. Once the page loaded, I knew this was the style I was looking for - romantic, light and flowy and figure flattering!

I emailed my mom and she recommended I contact my aunt Katherine to see if she'd be interested in making a similar one for me. We chatted this evening, and got the ball rolling. My custom dress is in full swing! I envision a dress inspired by this one but my own and completely unique.

I feel so relieved. Choosing a dress has been on my mind ever since we got engaged last October. Katherine and I agreed that we'd do some preliminary research on my dress and its design, fabric, etc. and officially start on it this fall. I hope to have it in hand by February...so soon!

So, what do you think?

I will post again - Promise!

Just wanted to pop by and say a quick hello! With all the madness that this month as provided (Lon's semester ending - yay all A's, work becoming dramatically busier, and family in town) I've not been able to think much about the wedding, much less blog about it.

Fear not, once we're all moved in next week (a nicer/cozier house down the street!), we'll get back to planning with the catering selection -- and then it's on to cake!

xoxo - Donna

P.S. I may have found my dress!~ More on that later...

Dressing the Bridesmaids!

Debi and I went to J Crew this weekend to check out dresses for the wedding. I'd seen this one online, and thought it would be perfect.

We pulled nearly every dress on the floor for her to try (such a great sport!). As I had hoped, the one we chose is just like this but in gray. I imagine adding similar jewelry, a fun belt, gold sandals and a emerald green or blue shall to wear at the reception. As gray is a great basic, most colors go well with it, especially gold!

Black and Yellow

I just saw this board on Snippet & Ink and LOVE it. I know Lon and I have chosen our colors... but the dress is amazing. The more I think about the style of our dresses, the more I want a Grecian theme. It would be so lovely at the Wildflower Center. I checked out the dress on Saks.com and think it would be too short, but it does provide amazing inspiration!

I also loved this advice for saving on our wedding, "As a wedding dress, this gorgeous chiffon number by Elie Tahari is a deal for $598. And the fun yellow band across the bust means you can easily wear it again," Karyn at Snippet & Ink. Agreed!

Suiting

I've given a lot of thought as to the color Lon and his groomsmen will wear at the wedding. Originally, I thought tan was the way to go as it was so fresh and fun for summer. I then noticed that most of the brides wore bright white when the grooms wore tan. I will likely be wearing ivory or a cream color, which would be a bit matchy for my taste. Classic black would be the most striking, but may be a bit distracting from the bridesmaids, as their dresses will be a brighter blue/green color. Enter gray! Jenny and I discussed it a while back and got excited at the idea. While Lon would look amazing in jet black, it may be a bit harsh on him (and he rarely wears black as it is). Gray however, would be a nice medium color and would compliment his skin color and the bridesmaids dresses.

I'll be monitoring The Sartorialist ( http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com) for fabulous looks, but in the mean time here are some that caught my eye.

marthastewart.com had this lovely pic of a groom and his men in gray, while Brides.com had gray paired with a yellow bow tie, and a super chic combo with a vest and tie. I think a tie would suit Lon better but we'll see...