Valerie and Josh are engaged!!

As of February 14th, 2010, Valerie Rankin and Joshua Gunter are engaged!! Yay! This is pretty amazing; Valerie and I can plan together now! I am pretty excited. I wonder/hope her expected wedding date is near mine! I'm assuming she'll do Summer 2011 but who knows. I am talking to her tomorrow so I can find out. Everyone is going to Tech this weekend for a couple birthdays, but unfortunately I can't go - so I'll be returning the favor and sending down a wedding magazine to her! The Knot, to be specific... it's a really good one (I also use their website), it's seasonal rather than monthly, which I don't like because I get bored quickly. But for $10 and the whole spring season, it's huge and chock full of great ideas! Happy planning to Val and Josh! <3

Detail Update!

So - my new tentative date is June 18th, 2011! It's in the early summer, so people should still be around. Also - I really like it because it has Jon and I's number in it (8 - since we started dating on January 8th, also an 8 is endless/turned sideways means infinity okay enough nerdy math talk :] ). Plus, then we'd be on our honeymoon over Jon's 24th birthday which would be really fun. Last update, I think I am starting to change my dream honeymoon locale from Santorini, Greece, to a little bit closer to home... St. Lucia! It's in the Caribbean, but closer to South America in the Lesser Antilles. I always told myself I wasn't going to pick a Caribbean Island like everyone else - BUT St. Lucia isn't your typical island. It's got amazing mountains - which is bound to provide for some good hiking, one of Jon and I's newest passions. It also has a rain forest! Plus, you can go between a couple different islands (Martinique, Dominica, Guadeloupe) via Catamaran (high speed sail boat), which takes about an hour and a half. The only downside? I was really looking forward to seeing historical / "must see" sites... St. Lucia doesn't really have anything like the Parthenon or Pantheon if you know what I mean. I'll have to think about how important that is to me...

Okay... not THAT important. haha

Flower Spotlight: Anenomes

I am really digging these little gems. I would have included them before, but google search always wanted to give me sea anemone, so I kept getting thrown off the track.

Sigh, and yet again, I find myself straying from the fig, candy pink, and peach theme.... I. really like the burgundys and pinks I had before. But then again those are just more pretty colors - I want a pop. I do like those better than the colors I have now. I do really enjoy the peach flowers, but Peach and Purple together - not the biggest fan. There is one theme I keep going back to though:

Colors: Deep Red, Black, White, Gold, Some accent color I haven't decided on

Essence: Vintage Chic / Retro / Mod

Patterns: Stripes, Argyle, Damask

But that might be a little too edgy for me. All in all I think I like light pink, burgundy, and a touch of green. I could do vintage romantic retro with that, right?! :)

Caroline & Jon Hook Article!

I know I've been posting up a storm lately (procrastination at it's finest..) but here is the link to Jon and I's article in the Hook! I didn't think it would be online, but I randomly decided to check, and of course it was there. Enjoy!

http://www.readthehook.com/stories/2010/02/04/wedding-CollegeCouples-A.aspx

PURPLE! and... peach?

Peach Rose

Peach Ranunculus

Peach Dahlia

I'm pretty sure I want my bridesmaids to be in royal purple! More like the top three bridesmaid pictures (esp the first one!)... although Jon and I have been considering a peach and purple pairing (maybe with a hint of pink! mostly just with flowers & ribbons/accent items), however I don't quite like it in the last picture. Maybe it's just that the Bride's bouquet is kind of off-color and doesn't fit. But I did check, they do have my three favorite flowers in peach! I am going to ponder this matching for a while and see if I end up hating it. If I don't, maybe we have a winner... who'da thought it'd be so sweet and girly?! Part of me is still holding out for something dramatic and retro...

CHOCOLATE.

Chocolate menu. Need I say more?!

To Splurge or to Save?

There are certain parts of a wedding that just can't be contested as major money suckers (photography, for one!). While I still have NO IDEA what my budget is going to be, I definitely know where I want to scrimp, and where I want to indulge!

Splurge
- Wedding Day Photography
- Dress (within reason)
- Hair
- Venue

Save
- Centerpieces (DIY or floating candles in water, minimal flowers..)
- Engagement Photography - with my camera by a friend or my sister
- Having an "exhibition cake" - (smaller) with extra sheet cake in the back ALSO going with 15% less cake than what your guest list calls for should suffice (this way I can still get a pretty sweet Ace of Cakes cake - so it's not exactly a save... but relatively!)
- Don't serve any other dessert besides the cake - unnecessary

Getting closer to finally picking a color scheme!

This picture really stuck with me - I love the mix of fig (ribbon color), candy pink, and peach. But then again I kind of want an old school/great gatsby-esque essence to my wedding - and I don't really feel that from these colors. Sigh, back to the drawing board...

NEW favorite inspiration board!

So while I thought I was going to definitely go with royal purple and an accent color (Jon wanted a light orange, I wanted pink) -- I am now thinking about pairing the two colors we were deciding between as the two main ones... light and sweet for an early summer wedding!

My Favorite Flowers!

Since I am having such a hard time deciding on colors, I decided to look toward possible bouquet flowers for inspiration. I find myself attracted to deep reds and pinks--maybe it's a sign! And I'd have to say my favorite flower is the Burgundy Ranunculus!

Orchid

Purple Speckled Phalaenopsis

Scabiosa

Burgundy

Ranunculus

Pink

Burgundy

Roses

Black Baccara

Light Pink

Dahlias

Pink

Red/White

Burgundy

Peonies

Dark Pink

Burgundy

Schwarzwalder Mini Calla Lilies

Dark Burgundy/Red

Nephrines

Hot Pink

(Not great pic - but see them in the last

bouquet - my favorite one)

Tulips

Red

Pink

Pink/Sunburst Wooden Shoe Variety

Hydrangeas

White

Green

Pre-made Bouquets I like