Me? Twitter? Hmm...

So as I mentioned before, I've started temping. My job is very simple (read: boring). I open mail, I sort the mail, I scan the mail, I sort the mail again. In the afternoon I go through returned mail and delete addresses. That. Is. It. I work within a small team and don't really know anyone too well yet. It's tough. I can't really join in the witty banter. And believe me, I'm a pro at witty banter. I have so many things I want to say during the day, just quick one-liners, but no one to really say them to. So I'm thinking about opening up a Twitter account.

(Source)

I wouldn't use my real name (or BRB, for that matter) and I wouldn't reveal the identity of my company. I just really need an outlet for my random thoughts, and my understanding is that is what Twitter is all about. So what do you guys think? Does anyone here Twitter? I might post this over on Weddingbee, too. Which, by the way, I cannot participate on during the workday!! That's right, posting in comments and boards on WB is restricted at work. Seriously, I'm dying here. Anyway, thoughts and suggestions are welcome. I'll let you know if I sign up!

A few good men

Now that I've introduced you to my hot 'Maids, it's only fair that you get to meet the 'Men, too. Let me start by saying that I love BRG's friends. They have welcomed me into their very tight circle and for that I am forever grateful. They are crazy, wacky, hilarious, and all-around good guys. With them around I have no doubt our wedding day will be filled with a million laughs. I originally asked BRG to write this, but I seriously doubt he actually will. If he does, I'll edit this post to include his words.

First we have the Best Man, Mike (or Mikey as some like to call him.) Mikey is just the most lovable guy. I feel like I get to know him better every time I see him (which is only a few times per year because he lives in Indiana.) He and Josh have been friends for many years and I know he'll be an amazing Best Man.
Next are the Twins, Mike and Chris. Mike is actually getting married in less than 2 weeks and BRG is in the wedding! These two are literally insane. We don't get to see Mike often because he lives in DC, but we see Chris on a regular basis. Separated each guy is a hoot, but when they get together there is a perma-smile on my face. Factor BRG into the mix and you've got a recipe for trouble. Fun Fact: whenever they get together, they always grill "meats." If we get home from the bar at 2:30am, they're firing up the grill at 2:31am. It's just something I've learned to shake my head and smile at. Silly boys

Third up is Ryan. Ryan is probably the quietest guy in the bunch. But don't let that fool you, he has a great sense of humor and will zing you given the chance. Ryan and BRG swam together in high school and for a year at OU, and lived together for 5 out of the 6 years they both spent there. He was also Ryan's Best Man a few years ago. He and his wife MJ just had a baby about 5 months ago and he is so sweet!

Next is Griff. He and BRG actually share the same first name, and Griff is only part of his last name, but I refuse to call him anything else. BRG and Griff lived together for a few years at OU. He always greets me with "Hey sweetheart" which I just think is the nicest thing. He is a really great guy and I know he'll bring the fun on our wedding day. I couldn't find a pic of BRG and Griff, so here is one of ME and Griff!

Finally we have Tyrone. Tyrone is actually one of MY best friends, but he'll stand on BRG's side to make things symmetrical. I've known Tyrone since high school and he is out of control. He now lives in Florida and I haven't seen him in over a year, but we remain really close. This man literally thinks he is Beyonce. He's got moves like no one else I know. He's even mentioned (threatened?) that he will come to the wedding AS Beyonce. I'm not sure how some of my more conservative relatives would take that, but if he REALLY wanted to maybe preform I'd be OK with it. You may have guessed by now that Tyrone is gay. It pains me more than anything to know that he cannot enjoy the same rights that BRG and I can. I'm not trying to turn my wedding into a political statement, but part of me wants to include a message about marriage equality in our programs. Whether I do or not, I cannot WAIT to have Tyrone there on my wedding day. He is such a special person.

We're um...close.

Our wedding day is going to be so amazing with all of these wonderful people around us!

You like me, you really like me!!

So last night I was going through my Google Reader (which every single person should have. Seriously, if you don't know about it check out That Wife's excellent explanation) and saw that the beautiful bride over at August15Bride awarded me with the "One Lovely Blog" award. I was shocked!! So here are six fellow brides whose blogs I love reading.


1. Wifetacular

2. You Can't Take It With You

3. Life, Love & Mawwaige

4. Cross Country Wed

5. ::crafty::loves::smarty::

6. Boots & Lace

Thanks for being such great brides and sharing inspiration with the wedding blog community!

Lovely Ladies

I'm typing this in my cube at my new temp job. Needless to say, I don't have much work to do. By the time I post it I'll be home (I don't really want to noticeably blog while at work) and will probably want to hurl puppies at oncoming cars and yell expletives at young children. Not that I'd ever really do that...maybe.

So to keep me occupied (and sane) I'm just going to keep doing what I did while I was unemployed: surf the internet, read wedding blogs, and generally be a waste of breath. Except now I'm getting paid for it.

Now is as good a time as any to write about my excruciatingly good-looking bridal party. I may be a little biased, but my wedding pictures are going to be smokin'! Without further ado, and in no particular order, my 'Maids.

First up we have BM Claire Bear (ha, she'd kill me if she saw that). Claire Bear and I have been friends since age 5. She moved away in 5th grade, which sent my life crumbling to the ground. I was devastated, but there was nothing I could do about it. We've been able to maintain an incredibly close friendship even though I only see her a few times a year. We're so different yet so similar. I know that with her, things will get out of hand. Plus, she has a wicked vocabulary. We've been through it all and stuck by each other every step of the way. I'm honored that she has agreed to stand beside me.

Next we have BM Nikki T. Like BM Claire Bear, Nikki T and I have been friends since age 5. Legend goes that we met the first day of kindergarten (morning class, natch) and by recess we were holding hands down the slide. Nikki is so great because we can go for so long without talking, but pick right back up when we see each other. She is one of the sweetest and classiest people in the world and I'm so thankful to call her my friend.

Third up is BM Tinkle Princess (aka Helen). She really will kill me if she reads that!! Helen and I became friends in 7th grade over our love for the Backstreet Boys. BSB 4 EVA!!! Thankfully we had different faves (Nick and AJ...can you guess who liked who?) so there was no competition. I'm so glad I had her to go through my awkward years with. We didn't care about what the "popular" girls thought, we just wanted to have fun. And if I could describe Helen in one word, "fun" would be it. She is the best person to laugh with. Her fierce wit and loyalty will be much appreciated on my wedding day.

Next is BM Ena. She doesn't get a funny name...sorry. Ena and I also have been friends since 7th grade, also due to the Backstreet Boys. Ena is just one of those girls who is always up for anything. She is one of my favorite people to go out with because I know it will be a night filled with laughter, crazy dancing, and lots of incriminating pictures. I hope my wedding night is exactly like that. Ena is also recently graduated with a fashion degree, so she might make her BM dress (which I have yet to blog about. It's coming!).

My college roomie, BM Greek Goddess Despina, is up next. Hands down I could NOT have survived college without her. We lived next to each other Freshman year and became fast friends. As you can see in the picture, we both have extremely curly hair. We always say that who would have thought that the two girls with the curliest hair on campus would become best friends and roomies? Despina has been in Greece since January so she's been gone for most of the planning, but she'll be home in August and I can't WAIT. I love to dance, but this girl can dance circles around me, which I look forward to seeing at the reception.

Last, but definitely not least is BM Breezey, my FSIL. Ugh I can't even type this because I'm going to cry (damn you, Breeze.) Ok, I took a break. BM Breeze and her brother are very close. Repeat: VERY close. It took a while for her and I to become close. I now know that she was protecting both herself and her brother. Ugh damnit...break again. Cannot cry at work. Ok, that was the last one. Anyway, after a lot of crying and a lot of talking, Breeze and I are closer than ever. Unfortunately, that doesn't apply proximity-wise. It seemed like as soon as she and I got close, she fell in love with a guy in Baltimore and moved away. I'm so happy for her, but I wish I could see her more. I'm so glad she is one of my bridesmaids for many reasons, the least of which being she's doing my hair!! But also because I know that whatever I ask of her, she will make it happen. She is one of those rare people who will, to quote Tim Gunn, make it work. And I am sincerely grateful for that. I can't wait to call her my sister :)

I personally can't think of a better bridal party...but I might be a bit biased. Picking my maids was a no-brainer. How was it for you?

Happy Dance

I got a jobbb, I got a jobbb *does a happy dance* yay!! I don't think that was a complete sentence, but I don't care. This bride is no longer unemployed. Since graduating back in November I have had no luck finding a job. Cleveland is not necessarily a mecca for wanna-be event planners and communication grads. I had a handful of interviews, but nothing stuck. A few weeks ago I decided it was time to do something about it. Insert temp agencies. WHY had I not contacted one sooner?? I literally had a job lined up within days, and I'm finally starting on Wednesday. I'm not sure what to expect, and it's not exactly what I intended on doing with my BS in Coms from OU, but it's a paycheck and it gives me something to do.

Thankfully I have so many of my wedding plans finalized already (at least the Big 4: venue, photographer, DJ, florist). Hopefully I can keep reading my favorite wedding blogs during the day. At least I have an iPhone if using an actual computer to surf is frowned upon. I'll do my best to not ignore this blog, too, but posting may be light while I get back into a "real world" schedule.

Wish me luck!! Any other recent grad brides out there trying to find work??

Flower Power: It pays to negotiate

When I started planning the wedding I had no idea how much various things cost. Very quickly I learned that um...weddings are expensive! Even after learning how much venues, photographers, and DJs cost, I never really thought flowers were *that* expensive. Ha! Wrong. Or, maybe it's just that I have expensive tastes. Either way, I wanted to cry when I received the proposal from one of our potential florists. They impressed me so much when meeting with them, but their prices were crazy. Even my mom said so, and for her to admit that something is "too much" takes a lot.

So after crunching some numbers and finding things we could eliminate, I wrote an email to the guy we were working with outlining my concerns. I told him that his prices were just too much and that we wanted to eliminate a number of items. A day later he came back with a counter offer. He cut the price of some items by half! He came down in price for my BM bouquets and centerpieces. He said he would eliminate the things I wanted. I was elated!! This was my first real vendor negotiation. It gave me a lot of confidence to negotiate with future vendors. It does make you wonder, though. If you can come down in price so much, why didn't you offer me that price to start with?

So now we have our florist!! Yay! Now that our "big" vendors are out of the way it's time to start thinking of all the "little" things.

Were you able to negotiate with any of your vendors? How did it go?

Flower Power: Ceremony and Reception

I had to take a break from all flower, all the time on the blog. It didn't happen in my "real" life, unfortunately, but I'm back and ready to talk ceremony and reception decor!

We're having our ceremony and reception at the same location. This was a no-brainer for us because we do not have a church and are not religious. Here are a couple pictures of our location set up for a ceremony.

Hopefully that GAWD AWFUL tree you see in the corner can be removed. Ew. There are all of these weird fake plants around the venue. You'll be able to see them in another photo. Anyway, this is how our ceremony will be set up. We'll be on a stage type thing. There will be draped fabric behind us, covering part of the window. The florist recommended we cover it instead of just frame it with fabric. The windows have a view of the Cuyahoga River and the city, but for the ceremony I'd like our guests to focus on us. Selfish? Yup!

We plan on using 2 of our tall centerpieces to flank us on either side, which is going to look awesome. Our smaller centerpieces will line the aisle. Again, it's going to look amazing.

When I first started looking at centerpiece ideas I fell in love with floating flowers and I haven't looked back since. This has been my go-to inspiration photo for a long time. I'm not sure where I originally found it, but I know it's somewhere on Project Wedding.

This particular centerpiece has 5 vases, we will only have 3. Also, it will not be on a platform. I'm SO EXCITED!!! Our low centerpieces will be a group of 5 shorter vases, also with floating flowers and candles. Swoon. Cost? Not so swoon, but that is another post for another day.

Did you have a clear vision of your florals?

That's tight!

So my dress came in. I looooove her so much. Just thinking about her gives me butterflies. By the way, I want to name her. Any suggestions? Here is a reminder of what she looks like.

I tried the dress on in the store and it fit me like a glove. It will probably just need to be hemmed and taken in around the bust. Because my gown is a mermaid cut I knew it would be snug around the hip area. Now, I do not have big hips and I refuse to lose weight. I'm 5'5, 115-120 lb. I don't like getting any smaller than that. Anyway, I guess I just didn't think the dress would be so restricting. I can walk in it, and I know it will get easier once it's shortened and I have heels on, but bending/sitting is a challenge. I always wondered why brides needed help putting their shoes on...now I know.

Now, if I were one of those brides who just planned to mingle with her guests and only have a first dance, then I think my dress would be perfect. I, however, am not one of those brides. Hell to the No. I fully plan on shaking it hard on the dance floor. Dancing is seriously my lifeblood. I'm not trained or anything, but I'm pretty good for a white girl.

I really do love to dance...

This leads me to a pretty big decision...buying a 2nd dress for the reception. I've only been to one wedding where a bride has done this, but I thought it was a great idea. Also, I've always wanted to be a short dress bride, so this is my chance!! I'll definitely document my journey for my 12 or so beautiful readers :)

Is anyone planning on a 2nd dress?

Best. Phone. Call. Ever.

Today the place where I bought my dress called. And guess what....SHE'S HERE!!! Yes, my wedding dress is female, I refuse to call her "it." I go pick her up tomorrow and I am so FREAKING excited! She'll be coming home to my apartment, but only for a little while until I take her up to my mom's house. I know Josh will be a good boy and not peak. He really wants it to be a surprise come May 22 and that is just fine with me. I'll be back with updates asap!

Domestic Goddess-ness

We interrupt our regularly scheduled wedding programming to bring you the most amazing Sloppy Joe recipe ever. Say what you will about Miss Rachael Ray, but she has a pretty decent magazine and some really good recipes. Last night I wanted to make Sloppy Joes with ground turkey, so I went to the trusty Food Network website. I came across a recipe from Rachael and another from Tyler Florence. Rachael's recipe got MUCH better reviews so I decided to give it a shot. I didn't take any pictures, but it was so freaking GOOD! Her recipe, titled Sloppy Joe Di Maggios, calls for cut up hot dogs, but I decided to omit them. I also added a green bell pepper.
Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 pounds lean ground sirloin or ground turkey
• 1 packages beef or pork hot dogs, sliced 1/2-inch thick
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon steak seasoning (recommended: Montreal Steak Seasoning by McCormick)
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 9 soft burger rolls - like at the ballpark

Directions

Heat the extra-virgin olive oil, a turn of the pan, in a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add meat and crumble as it browns. Add chopped hot dogs after 3 to 4 minutes then cook 3 to 4 minutes more. Add the onions to the pan and cook to soften, 5 to 6 minutes more. In a bowl mix the spices, sugar, Worcestershire and tomato sauce. Pour sauce over the meat and simmer a few minutes to combine flavors. Slop onto buns and serve.

Flower Power: The Maids

I know I haven't introduced my BMs yet, but I have asked 6 lovely ladies to stand with me on my wedding day. Since I'm going with a mostly white bouquet, I'd like them to carry mostly green bouquets. Here are a few of my inspiration photos. Again, I suspect many came from The Knot, Project Wedding, and possibly Style Me Pretty. If you know where an image came from please let me know and I'll credit it accordingly.
In the first two pictures the girls are holding Bells of Ireland. I really like how they look grouped together, but the first florist I spoke with was a bit skeptical. Apparently they are very long flowers and it would be sort of awkward to cut them. He also said that the flowers in the pictures were the most full he's ever seen. Basically he said it probably wouldn't work out. No prob, Bob. I got lots more ideas.

I pretty much told both florists that my only requests were green flowers and no roses. Roses are fine, just not for me. Both florists mentioned green hydrangeas, green cymbidium orchids, and other various green flowers whose names escape me.

To be honest, I didn't think I would get excited about flowers, but suddenly I am! Particularly...centerpieces! Coming up next!

Flower Power: The Bride

What an original title for a post about wedding flowers, huh? Flowers have been on my mind a great deal lately as I've met with 2 florists in the past few days. The first meeting went exceptionally well, while the other went just OK. I don't want to reveal names right now since I'm still waiting on proposals from both and I'm still hoping to meet with one or two more florists. What I will reveal is that one is a big florist with showrooms and a greenhouse, while the other is a one-woman show who works out of her home.

Before I go on, let me show you my inspiration photos. I really don't know where most of the photos are from, so I'm just going to say that most are probably from The Knot and Project Wedding. First up, bridal bouquets (because I'm the most important, duh. JK!)

First I thought I might want a mix of greens and whites:
I especially loooooove the first one. Which surprises me because I never looked at myself and thought "I'm a mini calla lily kinda gal." Unfortunately, um...those little green and white thingies coming out like spikes? Yeah, those are lilies of the valley and apparently mucho expensive. At least that's what "one woman show" florist told me. Damn.

So then I thought I might want an all-white bouquet:
Again...I like calla lilies? Who knew? After doing some major soul searching (read: internet wedding porn searching) I realized that I love the look of all one flower type bouquets. I'm not a big frills and bells and whistles type person. That look is beautiful, just not for me. Simple, sleek, structured, and modern is definitely more my style.

Were there details that "spoke" to you that took you by surprise?