Project Wedding Gft

I'm just going to come out and admit it. I'm a scrapbook-er. I'm a scrapbook-er who has no time to scrapbook, but I have decided to make a little gift for my future hubby on our wedding day.

GET OUT OF HERE MR. PEARL! Thank you honey. Kisses!



Mr. Pearl loves that I scrapbook, and he's always asking me to make a scrapbook for him, but I'm not so sure he understands the time and energy it takes to make a whole scrapbook. So I've decided to make Mr. Pearl a miny scrapbook that I'll hand him as his wedding gift.



The concept is easy, I used old or junk CD's, outlined them, cut them out and pasted them onto the cd. I'm using shades of black, white, grey and green and navy in order to keep the miny album cohesive. When I've finished all the CD's I'll drill through them and slip a ring clip through them. TAA DAAA... and then I will be done.

Ya, you bet I sent that baby to Photoshop and blurred out all the cheesy-ness that I wrote to the Mr.


This last CD is a work in progress, somehow I'll have to be sneaky and get Mr. Pearl to make a list of all the reasons he loves me :)

This has been my favorite wedding project so far. What are you giving to your SO as your wedding day gift?

Together At Last

It was the summer before my senior year in high school, and I was working at a small jewelery boutique, I walked into work one day (our store was in the same building as the town's fav. ice cream shop) and saw a verrrrry cute "older college boy". I was shy, and we barely even said a word to one another.

We stalked each other on Facebook for awhile, and talked occasionaly, but lost touch as the school year began.

The next summer, when he was home from college, he sent me an email, and asked if I wanted to go mini golfing with him. I was hesitant at first, just because I didn't really know him and was always shy around new people, but I knew just from our emails that he was someone that I would get along with.

After that night, we were pretty much unseperable. We spent the entire summer together and had so much fun! That fall, Mr. Pearl headed back to school in Minnesota, and I was stuck in Wisconsin.

We were in a long distance relationship for a year, and let me tell you, it was tough! We were only 5 hours away and we were able to see each other about once a month, but it was still so hard to say goodbye. And when I would go to visit him in Minneapolis, I would have butterflies for my entire trip.

After that year, Mr. Pearl and I knew that there was no way that we could keep doing it. We HAD to be together! So we made the big decision that I would take my college courses online, and that Mr. Pearl and I would move in together. It's been more than a year since we've moved in together, and while the adjustment period was def. difficult (especially because Mr. Pearl thinks he's an interior designer... ) kidding lover, kidding! we really couldn't be more happy!

I give so much credit to couples who are able to be in long distance relationships for longer than we were, or who literally never get to see each other.

While I would never want to go back to having a long distance relationship, I think that it made our relationship so strong. We had to learn to communicate with one another, or our relationship would have never survived.

Project Ringbearers Pillow : Fail

The title says it, I tried and came up with a BIG FAT FAIL. While I have to say that my idea was cool and would have been super cute, my execution was horrible. I will NOT be making an appearance on Project Runway in the very new future.

On Monday night I dragged Mr. Pearl with me to JoAnne Fabrics. He was pretty much hating me the whole time, for making him come with my to a craft store, but then again, it's not like I told him we were going somewhere he would find interesting (Yes honey, you did agree to go, on your own free will)

When we got back I pulled out the old sewing machine, which I haven't used since I tried to make myself a dress a couple years back (Again, that was an epic fail) and got to work.

Measure fabric and cut out 2 pieces of the same size, pin fabric together, so that the back of the fabric (or the part you want on the inside of the pillow) is facing OUT!

Mistake 1: And this is a biggy!!! Measure your fabric and PLEASE cut in a straight line. I did not, therefor my pillow came out lopsided and ugly...


Sew 3 sides of the pillow from end to end, your corner stitches should OVERLAP to get a nice pointy corner! On the 4th side, only sew 3/4th of the way across. Flip the pillow inside out.

Notice the lopsided and already unsightly sew-manship.

Next take batting, or fiberfill and stuff the pillow, it's important to push batting into corners. Use your hands to mold the pillow.



When your pillow is stuffed to your satisfaction it's time for some old fashion' sewin', so pull out that needle and thread! Flip the unfinished end of the pillow into- itslef and continue the stich where you sewing machine left off.


When finished, you'll have your basic pillow, I decided to sew on some details, the pleating on our ringbearers pillow will immitate the pleating on my dress.


So I pinned the pleats in place, and now I'll begin hand-sewing them, directly to the pillow. I really just folded some material until I got the desired effect, there was no technical skill behind this.

Finished product, big fail, BUT.... Mr. Pearl and I both agreed that while the idea was a good one, the execution was horrible, and that I'll have to make another one and just be a little neater!


What was your biggest or worst wedding fail? Did it turn out alright in the end?

The Big B Word

Yup, you guessed it, budget. Dealing with the budget has been an ongoing inner struggle for me.

Even before the engagement, Mr. Pearl and I did our homework, and while I knew that weddings were expensive, the costs really shocked me. When we plugged in our towns zip code, the average wedding cost was between 36 and 60K *gasp* Mr. Pearl and I both knew that now matter what, we could not justify spending this much on one day of our lives. So, we instead decided on the rather conservative estimate of 20K.

While that first wedding decision was early on, it was fairly easy for Mr. Pearl and I to come to an agreement. And while yes... I admit I did agree initially, I am now having some regrets. It physically pains me to spend this kind of moolah on one day of our lives, and I am still trying to convince Mr. Pearl to run away with me so we can elope. He's not really going for that.

So what is the budget break down you ask? Well theknot.com's budget tool has become my new best friend. My favorite thing to do is plug in numbers and see how much under budget I can get us.

Venue/Catering: 9,000.00
Decor/Flowers 1,000.00
Cake: 1,000.00
Ceremony: 500.00
Attire/Beauty: 2000.00
Music: 800.00
Photography/Videography: 2000.00
Wedding Ring: 500.00
Stationary: 200.00
Gifts/Favors: 550.00
Wedding Coordinator: 1200.00

Which leaves about 1200 for whatever else I haven't thought of yet.

The ridiculous goal? Come in UNDER budget. Think I can do it?

Did you ever have regrets about your wedding budget. In ten years do you think you'll wish you were spending more or less?

Ah Paper Source, How I Love You

This weekend I stopped into one of my favorite stores to pick up some much needed wedding supplies. While I've shopped Paper Source online, I had yet to step foot into one of their stores. But when I did, I'm pretty sure my mouth might have dropped just a little bit, and I had to make a conscious effort to close it.

I only had a few minutes to look around, but I swear that I could have spent many, many hours there, just looking at all the different stationary and crafting supplies. You could basically say, that I was in a crafters heaven.

While there, I picked up a white stamp pad and navy envelopes, just to see if I liked that better than the current lime green envelopes we had for our invites and other wedding papery.



And this is what I came up with:



Now I'll let you decide which you like better, navy envelope with white stamping? Or, do you prefer the lime envelope with black stamping?

Simply Sub-LIME: The Photographer Extrordinare

If there was one thing that made me cringe when it came to plannin' it was definitely finding the right photographer. Finding a wedding photographer was utterly terrifying to me. It seemed that every photographer I saw just didn't have that "it " factor. I mean we were looking for "drool worthy" photos! I wanted to see something that made me say, "WE NEED TO BOOK THIS GUY IMMEDIATELY" I didn't even know where to start. So I did what I always do and posted on Craigslist.

This resulted in hundreds, and this is not an exaggeration, of emails. This led to the good, the bad and the ugly, and then to our surprise, downright AMAZING Robert Wojtowicz.


All images by Robert Wojtowicz
Mr. Pearl and I love the way that he uses light and editing, to make pictures look more interesting, and vingate-y ( I hope you learn to love that word as much as I do)


He catches every carefree moment, something Mr. Pearl and I both knew that we wanted. I want to look back at our pictures and feel that raw emotion that we were feeling right there and then... cheesy? VERY! Do I care? NOPE! :)


We are so excited to have Robert as our photographer!

How did you go about finding a photographer? Was it stressful?

Relationship Series: Hobbies

What are your favorite things to do together/hobbies you both enjoy together?

Wow this one is a toughy! I don't really consider the things we do together "hobbies".

Mr. Pearl and I both enjoy watching movies, even though I think he enjoys it a little more than I do. We love to people watch, some Sunday's we just go to the mall, get a huge tub of orange chicken from Panda Express, and just sit and watch the people go by. We also enjoy spending time with our pets, Kit and Maverick.

We both think it's important to keep seperate interests and hobbies though, so when I'm being crafty, baking, painting, and shopping, Mr. Pearl likes to be involved in photography, sports (both watching and playing) and playing guitar and listening to music.

Relationship Series: Night Owl/Morning Person

Are you a night owl or morning person? What about your SO? How does this affect your relationship?

I am NOT a morning person and neither is Mr. Pearl. In fact, I don't even want to talk to anyone until I've been able to use my 45 min. drive to work, to drink coffee, listen to the radio, and fully wake up. While Mr. Pearl is cranky in the morning, he isn't as bad as I am!

It's nice to be on a similar schedule, because we both tend to get tired at the same time, and we both usually wake up at the same time on the weekends.

Glowing Cenerpieces

While I should be sitting down to begin my 10 page, single spaced paper on Management Information Systems (I can barely contain my enthusiasm for this captivating topic) I am instead procrastinating and searchin' the net for new exciting wedding projects.

And I found one! Not something that we'll necessarily use, but definitely something I just had to pass on to the hive.

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Click on the source link and it will take you right to the directions on how you can DIY. Yes ladies! It's true, you can make inexpensive lampshades!

Oh wait, what is that you say? You want something bigger? More grandiose? No problem. Check out these!

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There are so many interesting ideas when it comes to centerpieces that everytime I see something new, I want to change our existing centerpieces!

Are you more into traditional centerpieces? Or would you rather have something just a little out of the ordinary?

Relationship Series: Pets

What is your/your SO’s stance on pets (are you in agreeance on the kind, and how many, or does the subject make you fight ‘like cats and dogs’)?

When it comes to pets, Mr. Pearl and I see somewhat eye to eye. When we started dating and we're in a long -distance relationship, I took in a kitten that Mr. Pearl had rescued. We named him Kit, and while neither of us are cat people. he became the love of our lives!

A year after living together, we decided to get a puppy. We went back and forth on what kind of dog we wanted for several months. I either wanted a yorkie, or a german shepherd (exact opposites!) and he wanted a beagle. Sooo we got a golden retriever. (We're weird) We love him so much, and Maverick has become the second love of our lives. Surprisingly, they play together really well.

Eventually, I would like to get another dog, but Mr. Pearl isn't so sure, so we'll just have to see!

Colors

Deciding on our colors was kind of difficult. Mr. Pearl and I both decided to go with green (our favorite color) very early on, but after searching for kelly green bridesmaids dresses and coming up empty handed, I knew we would need another color besides green and shades of white/ivory.

Enter navy! I've always loved navy, heck, my favorite symbol is the anchor... sensing a theme? So we decided to pull in navy and alter a few of our existing ideas.

Right now we couldn't be more happy with our color choices!

Was it difficult for you to pick your colors? Did you find them right away, or did it progress over time?

The Groomsmens Duds

While I'm talking about the ladies get-up. I might as well fill you in on what type of attire our groomsmen will be wearing.

Because we want the gentleman to wear something a bit more relaxed than a tux or even a suit. We're having our guys buy navy blazers, tan pants, and boat shoes! The trick will be to pull it all off for what it might cost to rent a suit.

So last week just a couple days into my search for navy blazers I found some potential blazers at Gap, and they were... wait for it.... on SALE! I sent emails to all the guys and we had them ordered and delivered within a week!

While I haven't seen every groomsmen in their suit, I have seen three or four, and I have to say that for $60 they were a great steal.source

Now, the blazer looks extremely casual here, but when you put a white oxford shirt under it, it really pull the look together.

Mr. Pearl is unfortunatly being shy right now so you'll have to wait until I can get him to play dress up, to see the finished results.

What are the guys wearing for your wedding? Did you have to convince your Mr. to get something?

Letting the Ladies Choose

There was a very long process when it came to deciding on bridesmaids gowns.

Initially, I wanted matchy-matchy kelly green dresses, but after a long hunt, I realized that this might be nearly impossible. At this point I talked to Bridesmaid SJ and we both agreed that we should try to pull in another color, navy.

Even after bringing in navy I still thought that I wanted matching dresses for all my ladies. Until I saw these:

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And so, like so many brides before me I decided to set my ladies loose with just 4 guidelines... ok well 2 guidelines and 2 orders.

GUIDELINES:
1) The dress must be navy.
2) The dress should be somewhere between right about your knee and mid-calf.

ORDERS
1) Make sure you're comfortable.
2) Make sure you're yourself.



There has been a hidden pro to this course of action, almost all of my ladies asked for additional guidelines and so we decided that we would go shopping together and look for dresses that we both liked.

The Pearl entourage, lives all over, and most of them interestingly enough don't know each other, so it made sense that I go with each bridesmaid individually. This means that I have gotten or will get some one on one time with each of my girls.

With everyone's busy schedule it's hard to get together a lot, so it's always nice when we can have a girls afternoon, where we shop and talk and catch up.

Has your wedding caused any sort of rift between you and your bridesmaid? Do you feel that you get to spend enough time with them?

Simply Sub-Lime: The Bling

Ladie and gentlemen, boys and girls, I would now like to formally introduce you to my ring!

Just as I never really imagined getting married, I never imagined what my ring would possibly look like. In fact, I never even really like diamonds.... ( I just heard women around the world gasp and get bug eyed and mumble... that girl's crazy) Right, right, I know diamonds are a woman's best friend, and apparently I was missing out on a great friendship.

I am a changed woman... I am now, loving diamonds. Go figure.



The above picture is my attempt at being creative when it comes to photography.

I love my ring. I really do. And yes, I am going to brag when I say that I don't think that these pictures do it any justice.

I love it so much that I rarely take it off, and once, right after Mr. Pearl first put it on my finger, I was staring at it in the car.... WHILE I WAS DRIVING... and almost got in a car accident. Whoops.

Trials and Tribulations

When I was a little girl, I NEVER dreamed about my wedding. Thinking back, I don't think I ever considered getting married. I knew that I wanted a whole slew of babies, but never really thought about how a husband fit into that. So no... I was not the little girl who played wedding dress up, or who married off her barbies.

And when I thought about when I MIGHT get married, I thought I would surely be in my late twenties, early thirties, but I never would have imagined I would be 20.

Being a young bride has been difficult to an extent, I may be paranoid, but I sometimes feel like vendors, friends, family, and even other women are sometimes critical or don't take me seriously. And maybe that's fair, because even I'm surprised that I'm getting married.

Don't get me wrong, I'm SOOOO excited, I know without a doubt in my mind that Mr. Pearl is the one for me, and so our thought process is, why wait? We've been together for more than two years, and although we have more stressors then when we first met, we're still as happy as can be!

Relationship Series: Frugal vs. Spendy

Who in the relationship is frugal and who is spendy? How does it affect your relationship?

While Mr. Pearl is more frugal when it comes to somethings, he is spendy when it comes to DVD's, since he's a a huge movie buff. I tend to be more spendy when it comes to things for our home, but when it comes to clothes, and accessories, I am painfully cheap.

So, we're both spendy and frugal in different ways. I handle all of our finances though and really enjoy it :)

Rollar Coaster of Emotions

I have been driving myself absolutely crazy. Everytime I see wedding pictures my first thought is oh... why didn't I do something like that?

I think my problem is that I am incredibly indecisive and am often times very critical of myself. It in fact drives Mr. Pearl crazy, and I don't blame him. It's just that when i see pictures like this (see left) that I start to feel just a little well... I guess jealous?

I don't think that it means that I'm going to dislike our wedding, in fact it may just be that I can't really see how our wedding is all going to come together. And I've come to the conclusion after talking to a few other brides, that these feelings are normal, at least for some ladies.

For me, I think it comes with this constant anxiety and a desire to have a perfect, drool- worthy wedding. While I realize that all that really matters on that very special day is that Mr. Pearl and I are at each others sides, the OCD , perfectionist part of me wants complete perfection, every detail in it's place.

It doesn't help that on top of these feelings of jealousy and anxiety that I also feel guilty and silly and selfish for feeling this way.

So what's the consensus?Are these normal feelings, or am I being a brat?

Loving You Always

Since Bridesmaid S has passed I have been on a mad hunt to try to find ways to continue to include her in the planning process and the wedding itself.

I know for sure that on my bouquet I will have lockets with pictures of my loved ones who have passed, 4 in all including my grandmothers, uncle and cousin. I came across a great seller on where else but Etsy! DIY Charm Kits


What a cute idea, and how easy would it be for you to incorporate your own pictures or memories, instead of using the provided images!

Another one of my ideas, that I've been going back and forth on, is to have one of our groomsmen carry down Bridesmaid S's bouquet, which will include some of her favorite flower, calla lilies. The groomsman will carry down her bouquet and hand it to her sister, Bridesmaid K. Stupid idea? or cool idea?

We'll also ask our Reverend to ask our guests for a moment of silence before the start of the ceremony and include a section in our programs to honor our loved ones.

Did you include any ways to honor a loved one in your ceremony or reception? Any ideas to help a girl out? :)

The Great Compromise

Who knew that wedding planning could be so..... STRESSFUL. While Mr. Pearl and I are usually able to talk things out and compromise, but when it came to the size of the guest list, things got a lil' heated.

If I had it my way, we'd be having a wedding, somewhere warm and sunny right near the ocean with a group of 10-30 of our numero uno fans. Something like this:

Ahhh Mr. Pearl how could you not enjoy this, you, me and the beach! :) (I'm still trying to sway him)

Mr. Pearl on the other hand, wants to invite everyone and anyone he's ever known.... or so it seems. Which would be fine, if we were a) made of money or if b) Mr. Pearl wanted to plan the whole thing.

But being the wonderful fiancee that I am (I hope you're reading this Mr. Pearl) I have decided to give in, and just go with the flow. Originally though I had said no more than 100, which turned into 150, and is now slowly creeping up to 200.

This is where I had to draw the line though. Although I am not usually one to stick to a budget, I am making it my mission to pull this whole shindig off UNDER budget.... not an easy feat for a girl who has an eye for the more expensive things in life.

A fight did ensue, when I began randomly crossing people off the list. Not a knock down- drag out brawl, but more of a "DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF BUDGET?" and "WELL DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY?" type fight.

In the end though we both agreed to keep the list under 170 and so far we've stuck to it. For me, even though I wanted a small wedding, I do understand how close Mr. Pearl is to his family, and I do understand how important they are to him. In fact, it's just one of the reasons I fell in love with him.

What was your biggest compromise, and are you regretting it?

Simply Sub-LIME: Stationary Sneek Peak

Here's the first mock up of our thank you cards!


The lime stamp used on these thank you cards, which will be used for any gifts or general thank yous that are wedding related.

This color green is from the Stampin' Up line and is called green galore. It's perfect because they have stamps, markers, and paper all in the same color, which really helps us pull the entire scheme together!

I used my embosser and embossing powder on the limes to give the card a little texture.

The envelopes, from Astrobrights, are the only reasonably priced green envelopes I could find. At first I was concerned that they were too lime green and that they didn't go with the rest of the kelly green scheme, but they're def. growing on me!

Inspiration Bling

I LOVE pearls, hence the blog name Miss Pearl. Some of my friends even call me and introduce me as Pearl, and I'll admit that I enjoy it.

While I'm still not quite sure that I want to wear a necklace or earrings with my dress, I've decided that if I'm going to be wearing any jewelry, then it can only be something dealing with pearls.

So I've turned to Etsy to find the coolest possible piece. Before wedding planning I'd never even heard of Etsy, but as soon as I glanced at the site I was hooked.

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I especially like the last one by Lizard Bridal. One thing that I think is so cool about Etsy is that you customize almost everything you see. Like those earrings but wish they were more elaborate? Simply email the seller, and see what they can do. SCORE. Ahhh Etsy how I love you.

Simply Sub-LIME: Groomsmen

When Mr. Pearl and I were putting together our wedding party it was easy for both of us. I knew that he would want every single guy in his tight knit group of high school buddies.

While I was slightly worried that his large group of groomsmen would make me look like I had no friends, I knew that there was no way for Mr. Pearl to pick and choose his buddies. I also knew that I would not pick random ladies who I'm not going to be friends with in 10 years to be in my pearly entourage.

So just how many is a large group of groomsmen you might ask... well 8... Yes 8 guys, and that's not including Mr. Pearl. And the group could have been larger, but one of Mr. Pearls friends will mostly likely be on a tour of duty during the time of the wedding.

While I love all the guys, I was a little concerned that with that many gentlemen I could easily turn into a babysitter. So far though, they've all been super responsible and have each found ways to make me laugh.

When I told the guys that they needed to buy their navy blazers by Saturday, groomsmen J responded, and I quote " so let me make sure I've got this right, we're ordering sky blue suits from the Gap that we are wearing everyday starting Saturday and up until the wedding and the bachelor party is taking place at Chubby's on hwy 29 in Wisco.... Correct me if I missed anything."

Ohhhh these boys will definitely keep me on my toes.

When it comes to having 4 bridesmaids, and 8 groomsmen, I've been wondering how to get them down the aisle. While I know that MOH and the BM will obviously walk down together, and that one groomsmen will most likely carry Bridesmaid S's bouquet, that still leaves me with 3 ladies and 6 guys.

There are two options, either send down 3 couples and the three guys single, or have each lady walk down with two guys. Orrr I could make 3 guys walk down the aisle skipping and holding hands. Funny! :p

Did you have an even number of bridesmaids and groomsmen? If not, how did you send them down the aisle?

After my last post on flowers, I figured it might be a good idea to look at some real flower alternatives.

Centerpieces no longer even have to be flower related, in fact what about candles. While there are hundreds of different options I'm going to focus on candles in this one, simply because I think it's such a neat idea!

The one to the left is especially cool and unique, what a way to bring light into a room. And who doesn't look good illuminated by candlelight, am I right?

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And with this option at only 25.00 for each, you could easily have an average priced centerpiece alternative. I especially love the hanging crystals and the vintage-y look!

Mrs. Lemon's centerpieces on the Weddingbee blog, can also offer some great inspiration.

Simply Sub-LIME: Meeting the Florist

I knew from the get go that flowers were expensive, and after reading previous posts form Weddingbee bloggers and hearing of other flower quotes, I was super nervous. My mom, of course, had another great vendor recommendation, so off we went to meet up with Laurel from Bloom Floral and Event Design. (Laurel - Perfect name for the flower business in my opinion.)

We were so nervous sitting in Starbucks waiting to meet her, but she came in with her book of inspiration, and asked me a few questions about what we wanted.

And what did she do? You guessed it! She put Mr. Pearl and I both at ease.

Hydrangeas, are my favorite flower, when they are in season, we almost always have a bunch of them sitting in a vase on our kitchen table. (Mr. Pearl knows just how to keep his future wifely happy!)

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I just love that hydrangeas look so soft and airy and yet they're so thick. Plus, they smell fantastic. We decided that we would put hydrangea centerpieces on half the tables, and on the other half we would use some sort of glass vase to hold limes.


I was so excited, everything sounded so great. After talking and going over ideas it was time to talk budget. I knew that there was a number sitting in my head, and so when she asked what I would like to keep it under, I kind of skirted the issue. It was awkward to say the least... but she was professional, and told me she would look over everything and come up with a number for me.

Here's what my flower budget now looks like...Original floral budget 1900
Laurel's floral quote - 900
SAVINGS =1000

Score? Yes, score one for the Pearls, score zero for expensive flowers! YAY.


So how is this possible you ask? Well Laurel explained some of it to me. Laurel works out of her home, which means she's able to cut overhead costs. We're also able to save so much because our flowers are in season! Laurel also runs somewhat of a "green business" no pun intended. She told us that a lot of her brides only take home a few of their purchased centerpiece containers, so she is often able to use them for her next set of clients, continually passing down the savings. What a cool idea!

Laurel was even voted in the top 5 for Best Flowers 2009 in Milwaukee! As with most of our vendors, after finding Laurel we didn't even consider looking for another florist.

We are so excited to see what Laurel comes up with for us! Were you ever scared off by the price of flowers? Did you decide to bite the bullet and shell out the dough? Or go a less traditional route?

Relationship Series: The Holidays

How are you deciding where you spend the holidays? Was it a big deal between you and your FI? How did you come to a decision?

This is currently something that Mr. Pearl and I are trying to hash out. Mr. Pearl has a 60 year old family tradition where on Thanksgiving the gentlemen, 7 years old and up, travel to the UP and stay in the family cabin. I personally dislike this tradition. And while this means I will always be able to spend Thanksgiving with my mother's side of the family, I can't help but be a little peeved that, by tradition, I won't ever be able to be with my husband on Thanksgiving... (I'm pouting) and this is still something we're trying to talk about and compromise on.

When it comes to Christmas we are on a three year rotation, which will become a two year rotation sometime in the future. The current plan is that we will go to Dallas, Texas to spend Xmas with Mr. Pearls grandparents, the next year we will travel to Wisconsin to spend Christmas Eve, with my extended family on my mothers side, Christmas morning with Mr. Pearls family, and then brunch with both of our families combined. The next year we will head to Atlanta Georgia to spend X-mas with Mr. Pearls extended family.

Ahhh hectic? YES! :)

The Perfect Bouquet

Initially I had told our fantastic florist that I wanted only hydrangeas, but I’m thinking that I’d like to include the different shades of hydrangeas (green and white) and incorporate, peonies. That’s what I believe the flower towards the front is, but I am in no way a flower experts! I love that it looks natural and yet put together, and the petals seem so ruffly to me... love it.

My one issue is that I have no idea how to differentiate my bouquet from my maid of honors and my bridesmaids. I was thinking of using the green and white hydrangeas in my MOH bouquet and then using only white hydrangeas for the bridesmaids.

But then again, I’m not even sure that the MOH and the bridesmaids should carry different bouquets, will it be an interesting or a distracting concept?