Happy Friday!

August is the month for birthdays in my family.  I have two sisters and we're all born in August.  We'll be celebrating Lil $is's birthday on Saturday and Big Sis (Big C?) next week.  Diets be damned!  There is no avoiding cake and refreshing beverages. What this month lacks in caloric modesty it makes up for in sheer fun.  I couldn't think of a better way to enjoy the dog days of Summer.  

(source)

Have a great weekend!

Can I Register for a Lomo?

Because I really want one.

Image via Lomography.com

No?  How about a pony?

Image via MiddleoftheRoad / Photo by Saddle Mountain Rider

I've always wanted one of those too.  At least more than I've wanted serving dishes and salad bowls and such.  

A couple weeks back my mom asked me where we planned register, and I told her I wasn't sure but I didn't only want stuff for the house.  Bewildered, she stopped and asked me if I was crazy.  Then without skipping a beat she asked me what color towels we wanted.  My mind went blank.  White?  Yes, white.  "Mom, we'd like white towels." Of course she thought that was a bad idea too, but I recovered quickly with "Um...blue.  We'd like blue towels?"  Satisfied with that answer, she left me alone.  Hopefully Mr. Marmalade will like the non-white towels.  

I know that registries serve a purpose and maybe I'm saying this a little prematurely.  But why can't we register for things we want? Not just items for the home.  I've heard of sites like Honeyfund that allow you to register to help pay for your honeymoon.  Or the Alternative Gift Registry, where you can "register" for non material items or ask your friends to donate to your favorite charity. Those sound like wonderful alternatives!

I'm not saying that we won't register for our own KitchenAid Stand Mixer, because I'm sure we will.  But why do our registries have to be so traditional even when our weddings or even our relationships aren't?  It just doesn't make sense to me.  I'm sure we'd be thrilled with whatever we recieve for our wedding, if people decide to get us anything.  But if we're supposed to take the time and create of list of things we "want" for our house, doesn't it stand to reason that we should be able to register for things we want for ourselves without running the risk of being called tacky?

 Before I go, here's some food for thought:

His and hers beach cruisers?  

Image via Beachbikes.net

Come on.  That's a bad ass wedding present. 




Did you register for for non-traditional gifts?  If you did, how was the received by your friends and family?

 

Grow With Love

One of the most common questions about my wedding day look was about my hair, people kept asking me if I was planning to grow my hair out. Were they trying to tell me something?     


I hadn't thought about it too much before the questions started coming but I realized that yes, I'd probably have to grow it out since I had no idea what I wanted to look like on my wedding day!


But I didn't really want to grow my bangs out. If you've ever worn bangs, you already know that growing them out is a difficult proposition filled with many, many awkward hair phases. 

Here I am a couple months ago.  BM Lil $is gets full credit for this one.

Try and try as hard as I could, I just couldn't quit those babies!  I felt more like me with a little fringe hanging over my brows.  And why not?  They're cool and classic--

Image via Biography.com 

(There you go, definitive proof as far as I'm concerned.)

My relationship with bangs has been hot and cold, my whole life.  It all started when I begged my mom to cut them for me and she refused.  So at the ripe age of 7, I took the matter into my own hands and had the world's shortest bangs for a while and I loved them! I've had some kind of fringe ever since! Not to worry, these days I leave the fringe for the professionals (except for that one time, right around my 25th birthday *shudder*).  Live and learn.  But do I want to rock bangs on our wedding day?  Mmm...I don't think so.

Image via Complex.com  

As much as I loved my bangs I wanted to see what I looked like without them--it had been so long!  And yet I cut them again and again and again. Finally, I went four whole months without a trim and my poor forehead felt nekkid.

Image via IMDB.Com

I've finally made some progress.  My Winter was dedicated to fug: big sweaters, super pale skin (daily sunscreen = pale Miss M), and bobby pins galore to let my fringe grow. That "sacrifice" has led to some growth! It's not much progress, but it's pretty good!  


If I can control myself until the wedding I may end up with a style sans bangs!




Are you going to be sporting "bridal bangs?"  Or did you grow them out?

Happy Friday! Movie Poster Inspiration

(image via JustJared)

I'm loving the movie poster for The Romantics, the bold typeface and color combination is altogether modern and sweet.  It would make for some gorgeous wedding stationary.  Actually, it reminds me of something like this:

(studio on fire via oh so beautiful paper)

(These would make some amazing "Out of Town" bags)

All wedding thoughts aside, I'm actually exited to see this movie.  Sure, it takes place at a wedding, but it's certainly not your average "love story" unless your average love story involves self reflection and cynicsm (hmm...).  Any movie that reminds me of The Big Chill and combines the acting prowess of Candice Bergen with Anna Paquin AND Adam Brody must immediately be put on my "see this in the theater" list (as opposed to the other lists like, "rent and watch at home," or "wait until it's on TV and there's nothing else on" and so on). 

Have a great weekend!

Budget, Part 2-- My Heart Speaks Up In Defense of Our Wedding

 Saltwater Farm Vineyard - August 2011*

As luck would have it, I didn't have to wait long to speak with Mr. Marmalade after my outburst.  Funny how things work out that way.  Sure, I didn't want to waste the little time we had to speak by going over our wedding, but it couldn't be avoided.  So, he figuratively talked me off a ledge from thousands of miles away.  I hung up the phone and tried to process the conversation, which only got me started again; the room began spinning a little, my heart skipped a beat, my brow furrowed (worst habit ever, please please let me break that habit soon).  


So I talked to some married friends at work.  Then I talked to BM Cuz.  And when the workday was over, I went over to my aunt's house, and I talked/cried it out with her.

Everyone had the same general conclusion.  "You need to have the wedding you are planning.  You aren't going overboard.  It's okay to spend money on this.  You will tighten your belts again and again, but you will never regret spending money on your wedding."

 Chardonnay Grapes, Saltwater Farm Vineyard - August 2010*

So, we are not eloping.  And here's are my conclusions:

1.  When it comes to almost everything related to our wedding, I used the word "our."  But when it came to my doubts about spending, I used the word "me."  This "me-fest" had to go.  It's our wedding.  If we decided to spend money on OUR wedding, what right do I have to say no on my own?  We chose to have a wedding, so any change in plans had to be decided together.


2.  A big wedding is something he wanted from the start, more than I did.  He wanted to have a day for us to share with our friends and family.  He was looking forward to it.  He deserved it. So why couldn't that be enough for me?  I think, deep down, once I got past all the panic, the thought of a big wedding grew on me, and I wanted it too.


3.  Our wedding day is bigger than us.  We will celebrate our union.  What I didn't take the time to think about was how our families felt about it.  Contrary to my pessimistic part I, this mattered a lot.  Our families deserved this just as much as we did.


4.  We aren't going crazy and spending ourselves into debt.  Weddings are expensive.  There are few that have planned or have been part of a wedding in the past few years that would argue that.  We set the budget, and I've stuck to it.  I had to accept it for what it is and stop being such a cheapskate.  


Truth be told, I hate spending money.  It makes me nervous, but it was time to get over it and stick to our plan.


5.  The toughest realization (the one that still hurts), was that our dream wedding venue and our "dream" wedding, wasn't in the cards for us.  There were way too many factors that go into planning a wedding at a venue that is not "all inclusive."  My aversions to what I considered to be a "wedding factory" got the best of me, and I was wrong.  I needed to keep things simple and consolidate as many vendors as possible so that in the event that Mr. M's plans changed, I'd be able to take it in stride.  And to be honest, more than the money or anything--the thought of changing our date and losing our deposits (or worse losing our vendors) kept me up at night.  I'd spent way too long worrying about the worst case scenario.  


So with a very heavy heart, I had to let go of our seaside vineyard.  

Saltwater Farm Vineyard - August 2010*

There were still plenty of changes to come for us. But letting go of our original plan was the right thing to do. I don't know how I would have made it through our long engagement without that piece of mind.  


And with that, we were back to the drawing board!




Did you have to make a major change to your wedding plans?  What kind of change did you make, and do you feel it was the right choice in the end?

*All images in this post belong to me.