Dance Dance Dance Dance

{This is a post about specific wedding details that some of our guests may wish to be surprised by.  If you are coming to our wedding and don't want to know ahead of time our plans for the father/daughter and mother/son dances, please don't read any further!}

...With Somebody Who Loves Me

{This is the first post about specific wedding details that some of our guests may wish to be surprised by.  If you are coming to our wedding and don't want to know ahead of time our plans for the first dance, please don't read any further!}

In Which I am an Over-Achiever

Ladies (and gentlemen?)- first, let me apologize.  This is the only post I have time to write this week, and it's not even a real post! :(  Forgive me.  I hope you enjoy it anyway...

So, I have this list.

This big, giant, nearly insurmountable list.

It's the List of Things We Still Have to Do for the Wedding- the wedding that is less than 5 months away.

A portion of this list is DiY Projects...which is also a really big list.

A portion of THAT list is DiY Projects I have Yet to Even Start.  Want to see just part of that list?

Programs

We're definitely looking to do book-shaped wedding programs- ie a booklet of information that you flip through designed to actually look like a novel.  (If you recall, when coming up with our wedding theme, we thought in terms of "If our wedding were a novel, what would the title be?"  ...so we'd like to actually see that title on something that at least looks like a novel.)  Of course, when I say "looks like a novel" I really, really wish I meant this:

Design by Collin Morgan // image via Synecdoche

Ohmygosh, y'all.  This is the book jacket to wedding programs that were literally hard-bound books.  I have actually bound my own book before- for a writing competition in the 4th grade- so I'm sure I could do it, but this is really only feasible for a wedding of, oh, 20 guests.  Maybe.

In reality, our programs will look more like this:

programs by Coeur Noir // image via Martha Stewart Weddings

Boutonnieres

 I'm planning to sew some pretty simple fabric flower boutonnieres for the men, including both of our dads.  These should actually be fairly simple, and I already have the fabric.  Basically, they'll be slightly larger versions of these flowers, with safety pins on the back:

image via Martha Stewart Weddings

...and in the center of each will be one of these little dudes, representative of each guy's personality, secured with some floral wire:

for example, one of the guys is a pilot and is getting LEGO Iron Man // image via Amazon

Bracelet Corsages

I've posted previously about my "meh" attitude towards flowers.  However, in an apparent homage to high school prom, it's traditional to distinguish the MOB, MOG, and grandmothers with floral corsages.  I really want to recreate this with a slightly more modern twist- flowers that will last a lifetime.  I plan to make fabric rosettes and attach them to simple beaded bracelets, like those shown below, for our mothers and my grandmothers.  Mr. Geek's honor attendant, if you recall, is his Best Woman, so I'll be making her one of these in the same color as the guys' boutonnieres, with her own little LEGO minifig in the center.

rosette and image by Little Birdie Secrets

Reserved Pew Bows

You've seen exactly one picture of the church.  Here's another:

{personal photo}

In an apparent homage to the 80's, it's traditional to decorate every pew, or every other pew, or just the reserved pews with big, tacky bows made of shiny white ribbon.  You already know how I feel about the 80s...and you know I don't really want to add anything to the simple beauty of this ceremony space.  However, I see the wisdom in marking a few pews as reserved- namely, the front pews, for our attendants, and two more pews on each side for our immediate families.  But what to do, exactly?  Bridesmaid MrsL and her mother are very crafty, and for her fall-themed wedding, they made some very lovely pew decor:

{personal photo}

The jury's still out on the details of this one, so stay tuned for a design idea, much less a finished product.  (Ideas?  Leave them in the comments, please!)

I'm sure there are more things on my never-ending list of DiY's, but that's all I could come up with at the moment.  I think I'm gonna need a permanent caffeine IV for the next few months...

How much did you DiY for your wedding day?  Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the wedding to-do list?

Much love,
The Geeks

Hairspiration

Previously, on Our Geeky Adventure:

-My girls picked out their dress
-I'm not quite sure what shoes to wear...
-...but I've got a hairstyle!

So now that I know I'm definitely having my hair done the morning of the wedding, we have a hair stylist available for my bridesmaids to use if they want to.  I'm going to let each girl decide on her own hairstyle so nobody feels like they're forced into a look that just doesn't work for them.  That might be a hairstyle they do themselves, or one they get our stylist to do.

I'm also letting the girls choose their own shoes.  My only requirement is silver (and, you know, not sneakers, as this is a church wedding) but the style of shoe is completely up to them- super high heels, flats, sandals...whatever works for each girl.

Finally, there's jewelry.  Once again, the girls can wear whatever they want with just a few guidelines- so if they don't normally wear a ton of jewelry, they don't have to.  All I ask is one "statement" piece of jewelry, be that a necklace, earrings, bracelet, or ring.  They're welcome to wear multiple pieces if they wish, but I know that, for example, my baby sister doesn't have pierced ears and therefore never wears earrings, so I don't want to mandate that everyone wear earrings.  If they go with metallic jewelry, I'm asking them to stick with silver (like the shoes) but if they want to wear something colorful, they have the whole palette to choose from.

Colors via Olympic and Valspar // collage assembled in Paint via me

I have quite the long list of tasks left to accomplish on my wedding to-do list, and I don't have much time for playing around.  Also, my friends and sisters are all stylish ladies perfectly capable of shopping for shoes, jewelry, and hairstyles on their own- they in no way need me to compile inspiration outfits to help them make their decisions.

But I love shopping!  And in the process of looking for hairstyles for myself, I found a ton of other cute looks that could work for them.

Sooooo I compiled some inspiration outfits!  Behold:

The Laid-Back Look

Alfred Sung D448 in majestic // The Heartbeat is On earrings via ModCloth // What's the Steel? Heel by BC Shoes via ModCloth // Katniss braid via Make Up Geek

The Rockstar Look

Alfred Sung D448 in majestic // Jennifer Love Hewitt image via She Knows // Mirror Mirror bracelet via Forever21 // Suedette High Cone Heels via Forever21 {unfortunately no longer available}

The Elegant Look

Alfred Sung D448 in barcelona // Carrie Underwood image via Taste of Country // Nello earrings by Amrita Singh // Cortesan Floral Bar by Irregular Choice

The Party Girl Look

Alfred Sung D448 in majestic // Flat Hoop Earrings via Forever21 // "Flirty Poof" hairstyle image via Seventeen // Darla by Type Z via Zappos

The Glam Goddess Look

Alfred Sung D448 in barcelona // Triple Threat faceted bangle via Kate Spade // Kate Beckinsale image via Cosmopolitan // Anabella by Ivanka Trump via Zappos

The Effortlessly Chic Look

Alfred Sung D448 in majestic // Caged Leatherette Wedge via Charlotte Russe // Leighton Meester image via Glamour // Ruby Radiance indie ring via Ruche

The Beautiful Badass Look

Alfred Sung D448 in majestic // Rhinestoned Loop Earrings via Forever21 // Ashlee Simpson image via Good Housekeeping // Zandra by Caparros via Zappos

Boy that was fun!

So if you were in my bridal party, what kind of shoes/jewelry would you wear?  Are you giving your ladies full reign over accessories or sticking to a specific look?  Do you find yourself spending time on things that aren't quite on your to-do list but justifying them by saying they're wedding-related and the actual important stuff can wait? :D

Much love,
The Geeks

Try Me

Previously, on Our Geeky Adventure

-My hair kind of sucks
-There are lots of pretty hairstyles out there...I just can't do them
-But that halo braid sure looks pretty...maybe a professional could do it?

So, Mom Geek drove me down to her hair stylist and we crossed our fingers and hoped for the best.

I brought along this photo, including step-by-step instructions from Wedding Chicks.  I wasn't sure if it would seem insulting to a professional hair stylist to bring along a tutorial from the internet for the style I wanted...but she thought it was awesome!

hair by HairstylesDesign.com // image via Wedding Chicks

I said in my last post that I was highly skeptical of anyone's ability to make my hair do something as complicated as this and stay that way, professional or not.

Well, ladies (and gentlemen?) I'm glad to say- I was WRONG!

self portrait with our awesome new camera // {personal photo.  obviously.}

Because I have much less hair than the model's, the braid is thinner and doesn't overlap- it makes it around my head exactly once, the end tucking neatly behind the beginning.

it's hard to get used to manual focus after years of point-and-shoot // {personal photo}

Isn't that cute?  We were pretty shocked that she was able to accomplish this, and asked what the trick was.  Turns out she'd pretty much covered her hands in a pomade-type wax stuff as she was braiding, and added a dab or two as she went, so all the fly-aways were tamed and the hair cooperated.

whoops, out of focus again! // {personal photo}

Just for kicks, I slept in it to see how long it would last.  I got a whole two days out of this baby- probably could've gotten more, but I felt the need to wash my hair.  The only maintenance necessary was the addition of a few bobby pins to keep the tail tucked in!

Several times, my mom pointed out how "it looks like a halo!" to which I replied, "That's why it's called a halo braid." // {personal photo}

On day 2 of the trial run, I tried my dress back on with the veil (and forgot to take pictures.  Bad blogger!).  I stuck the comb of the veil just inside the braid at the back of my head and tossed the blusher over my face- and it looks AWESOME.  We'll probably have to use some bobby pin magic to keep the veil in place during the ceremony, but I won't be wearing it at the reception anyway.

Something about this hairstyle is just so...princess-y.  And therefore bridal, in my world!

So what do you think?  Have you ever tried this hairstyle before?  Do you think it looks bridal?

Much love,
The Geeks

Is it Charm, is it Poise? No- it's Hairspray!

Previously, on Our Geeky Adventure:

-My hair is always long
-Except when it's not
-And sometimes I make funny faces

So, last time I said I definitely wanted long hair for the wedding day- and I lamented the fact that my hair doesn't quite seem long enough- but just what do I want to do with it?

I kind of have a thing for the 1940's.  Mr. Geek and I often wish that we'd been born in 1917 and 1918 instead of 1987 and 1988, so we'd be living through the 1940's at this age.

And then we play with our smartphones.

Even so, I've really got a thing for vintage fashions and hairstyles- especially those from the 40's.  Unfortunately, I'm kind of rubbish at re-creating these styles.

Experimenting with faux bangs before a Senior Design presentation.  Spent more time on my hair than I did prepping for the presentation.  Got an A.  // {personal photo}

So perhaps some victory rolls for my wedding look?

Jessica Sherr // Photo by David Chen // image via Racked

Photo of / by Lindsay Lane // image via Vintage Rose

Only problem is, I have never been able to make my hair roll like that, and I've tried millions of times.  Hair stylists that specialize in vintage styles are also few and far between, and I somehow doubt I'll be able to find one in Middle-of-Nowhere-ville, Alabama.

Besides, how would I wear my fingertip-length veil?

So then, I heard about this phenomenon called the sock bun.

Hey look!  A celebrity!  This must be a trend! // image via Lifestyled

I tried this out recently, but with my aforementioned thin stringy hair it just...doesn't work.  Couldn't cover the sock.  Epic fail :(

About this time in my search for hairstyles, I'd kind of assumed I'd just loosely curl my hair, pin it back from my face, and call it a day.

And then the greatest film adaptation of a book EVER was released in theaters- The Hunger Games.

Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen // image via Eleusinian Mysteries

 And suddenly the world of fashion and beauty became obsessed with BRAIDS.

Sure, I tried the whole over-the-shoulder braid thing for my Katniss costume for the premiere- though not nearly as complicated as the one on Miss Everdeen in the film, as my hair wasn't long enough.

I'm Katniss, he's Cinna- complete with gold eyeliner not visible in this picture // {personal photo}

...buuuuut it, too, was kind of a fail.

Still, I really, really liked the braided hairstyles popping up on beauty blogs around the net, particularly the halo braid:

hairstyle by HairstylesDesign.com // image via Wedding Chicks

Mom Geek said she could make me an appointment with her hair stylist in Alex City during our Week of Wedding Work and see if she could make this work.  My previous frustration getting my hair to do ANYTHING, however, made me very, very skeptical.

Still, it couldn't hurt to try.  Worst case, I end up doing something simple for myself on The Big Day if she couldn't make this work.

So...was the hair trial a success or a fail?  You'll have to tune in next time to find out!

What kind of hairstyle are you wearing for your wedding day?  Have you tried the sock bun?  Can you make victory rolls stay?  Are you obsessed with braided hairstyles like everybody else?

Much love,
The Geeks

Ancient Hairstory

I have always had thin, stringy, oily hair.

Scooping the guts out of a pumpkin with my little sister.  I'm the dork in the glasses // {personal photo}

For the most part, it's always been long.  At various points when I was younger, it was chopped shoulder-length or with bangs, but up until high school, it was never much shorter than that.

The summer I turned 9, maybe? // {personal photo}

The length was mainly because from age 3 all the way through senior year of high school, I was a dancer, and I needed hair long enough to be pulled into a bun for classes and performances.

Backstage before recital in 10th grade with the best part about dance class- my friend L // {personal photo}

This also meant my go-to hairstyle for much of my life has been a bun- or at least a ponytail.  Occasionally, I would wear my hair down when I was in school, but not often.

Oh, wait, that's a wig.  Rocking it out at a festival performance in 9th grade, second from the left // {personal photo}

When I was very little, my hair was very blonde.  The older I got, it darkened a little to a dirty-blonde, and now it's more brunette than blonde.  Around middle school, I really wanted to change that.  My friends were experimenting with highlights and some were even dying their hair completely different colors.  I really wanted to try red hair- I felt like it wouldn't be too drastic of a difference from my dirty blonde, so it wouldn't be a crazy change to adjust to.  Plus, I got braces in the 7th grade, and wanted to do all I could to avoid looking like a total loser, as I was trying to establish myself at a new school.  My parents partially conceded on this point and let me get contacts so I could get rid of my ever-nerdy glasses, but coloring my hair was one step too far.

My mom tried to appeal to my scientific side with a lecture, backed up by a nodding hairstylist, on how my body chemistry was ever-changing at the tender age of 12, and any weird chemicals I added to my hair then might do permanent damage later on.  I bought the "science", but I still wanted to do...something.  The stylist suggested a perm- my hair was stick straight, always had been, and it could be fun to experiment with the opposite end of the spectrum.

These curls were achieved by sponge rollers when I was flower girl in my uncle's wedding, as were many a hairstyle when I was a little girl // {personal photo}

So even though we had just entered the early 2000's, I thought that yes, it would be a good idea to get my hair permed every few months for 2 years.

You've seen this picture already.  The heat and humidity are doing weird things to what were normally tight, corkscrew curls around this age // {personal photo}

Remember that mess about chemicals and puberty and permanence?  It was totally true- though why no one considered the chemicals used in perming my hair was beyond me.  So even though it's been years since I've gotten a perm, my hair now has a permanent wave to it- not quite curls, just a tendency to flop around all curvy-like, instead of being stick straight.

In the hotel before a competition in high school with L and BM MrsB.  Notice the kind-of-curly-ness? // {personal photo}

Finally, in high school, I started cutting my hair shorter than my shoulders.  The first experiment was a "rockstar cut" I got the summer before 11th grade.

It's kind of hard to see, but that's the shortest I'd ever cut my hair. // {personal photo}

I could afford short hair over the summer because I knew it had time to grow before the end-of-the-year dance recital in May.  Even so, for many years, I never cut my hair above my shoulders again.  The exception was the very end of my junior year of college- I wanted the rockstar look again.

Vamping for the camera just after the haircut // {personal photo}

And then, in December of 2010, I graduated college.  I finally finished my mechanical engineering degree after 4 and a half years of hard work, lost sleep, and bad eating habits.  I had a few months before I would move to NOVA and start my brand new big-girl job.  Everything about my life was changing; I felt like a whole new person, though nobody could tell.  So I wanted to look like a whole new person.

Earlier that year, Emma Watson cut off all her hair.  Filming for Harry Potter was finally over after more than a decade, and this drastic change in her look reminded us all that she was not just Hermione, she was an actress and a model and had a whole career ahead of her.  I decided to take a page out of Miss Watson's book, even using her picture as my example for my hair stylist.

A little drunk on New Year's Eve 2010 // {personal photo}

A pixie cut- now THAT'S short.  Super short.  Really, really short.  Never have I had my hair that short before or since.  I started letting it grow out, intending to cut it short again at some point, but I never got around to it.

And then we got engaged.

Now don't get me wrong- obviously brides can have short hair.  If the look you rock every day is short- then rock it on your wedding day!  I'm a firm believer that a bride shouldn't be "in costume" on her wedding day...she should look like herself- if perhaps a slightly-fancier version of herself.

But short hair isn't really my all-the-time look, even though, post-graduation, it was my at-the-moment look.  When Mr. Geek and I met, I had shoulder-length hair, and he's always told me he thinks my hair is beautiful when I wear it down and long.

Also, I really want to look...feminine...on my wedding day.  As in, I want to look very much like a woman when Mr. Geek takes me as his wife.  Does that make sense?  Does it sound archaic?  I don't mean it to sound anti-feminist or whatever- obviously I'm no less of a woman when my hair is short.  But when my hair is long, I feel more feminine.  So I've always known I wanted my hair to be long on my wedding day, even if I'd be wearing it styled up.

So my hair has been growing!  But it hasn't been growing very fast.  I've been using this shampoo the past few months:

image via Garnier

Garnier Fructis Length & Strength says it's for "fragile, hard-to-grow hair" which is my hair to a T.  Only...I'm not so sure it's working.

See, it's been almost a year and a half since the pixie cut, and scissors have not touched my hair since- but it's still just barely below my shoulders.  See?

I don't think y'all realize how appreciative I am that this little blog has an audience.  To reward you for reading this mess, here's an embarrassing picture of me // {personal photo}

Broken glasses and beanie hat aside, my hair is..not that long.  I realize it's had to grow from nothing to this, but you'd think in a year and a half it'd get a little longer.  Also, it was cut into weird layers originally- so I'd have "bangs" that angled across my forehead to almost my eyebrows with the rest shorter than an inch in length- and as such it's grown out at weird angles.

I am all about the attractive pictures today! // {personal photo}

This is pretty much the most recent photo of an accurate representation of the length/weirdness of my hair.  Also this face represents how happy I am with my hair at the moment.

So, just to recap, my hair at the moment is:

-not quite long
-thin
-stringy
-oily
-kind of straight but kind of wavy/almost curled

What in the heck am I supposed to do with this on the wedding day?  Is it long enough to support a legitimate hairstyle, or am I going to have to revert back to my trusty stand-by, the bun?

You'll have to wait and find out!

Have you ever experimented with hair cuts?  Does your hair grow quickly?  Were you adamant about having long hair for your wedding day?

Much love,
The Geeks

Hot Mommas

Previously, on Our Geeky Adventure

-Our wedding will be casual, but not tooooooo casual
-We're using a fall-themed color palette with accents of grey and silver
-I've got a dress, my bridesmaids have dresses...

 [Standard Mr-Geek-Don't-Click-That-Link Disclaimer applies]

...but two other very important women didn't have dresses- yet.

Part of our Week of Wedding Work involved taking both my mom and Mr. Geek's mom shopping for their dresses while Daddy Geek, Mr. Geek, and my sisters went to play at the lake.  (And got sunburned.  And considered pulling a prank on me to make me think my car had crashed into said lake.)

Before we went shopping, I had three basic requirements for their dresses:

-MOB in red, MOG in grey/silver
-knee- or cocktail-length dresses
-they should NOT look like your traditional MOB/MOG dresses

The three of us hopped in Mom Geek's car and drove the two hours to Birmingham, the nearest big mall.  (Auburn has a mall, but it's kinda tiny.  Also, it's Auburn.)

First we went to Macy's.  Mom Geek found several options, but there weren't really any grey options for FMIL Geek.  Mom Geek only had to try on two dresses before we found a winner!  I didn't take a picture of Option #1 because it didn't quite fit her right, and we had planned to find a better size if Option #2 didn't work.  But she absolutely loved Option #2- and it's easy to see why!

*all images in this post are personal photos*

That face is because she's mid-sentence in a discussion about hairstyles.  Also, I'm not hiding as well as I thought I was.

Doesn't she look hot??  The hem falls just below the knee, the ruffles bring a little bit of spice, and the cut narrows in her waist.  I wish I had recorded the little dance she was doing when she came out of the dressing room!  We're going to find her a pair of comfortable shoes with a slight heel so she can pose for pictures and dance all day.  Initially, I figured silver, like the bridesmaids, but this dress would look even hotter with a little black pump, methinks.  And since we were talking about hair when I snapped this picture, I'll go ahead and mention- my mom looks gorgeous with her hair down, like in this shot, so I'm thinking nice full curls pinned back from her face with some sort of jeweled comb or barrette to pump up the volume a little bit.  What do y'all think?

The only real option we found for FMIL Geek was pretty, but not a winner, so we moved on.  I thought it looked great on her though!

Flattering, but almost too formal compared to the MOB dress

So it was off to Belk!

We found a LOT of options at Belk, but we were all pretty picky.

Whoops, out of focus.

This dress had FMIL Geek dancing around but we still have several other dresses to try!

Cute cap sleeves!

We liked this dress, but again, it felt a liiiiittle too formal.  Maybe because of the shiny fabric?

not sure what was so funny here, LOL

I wasn't really a fan of this dress, even on the rack.  The color was a bit more lilac than silver, the vee was a little too deep, and I didn't understand the placement of the buttons.  Next!

We were considering moving on to another store, and FMIL Geek was changing back into the clothes she'd come in.  I was messing with some dresses just outside the dressing rooms- you know, the rack full of clothes that didn't fit people or that they just didn't like, waiting to be put back where they came from- when we found an adorable little grey dress.  Only, that was just the problem- it was little.  FMIL Geek was in love with it, though, and we were determined to find it in her size.  She set off, scouring the racks, and I found a sales consultant.  After complimenting me on my shoes, he told me that this particular dress was being marked down a second- perhaps third- time, and therefore there were few left.  He couldn't tell me exactly where to find it, only motioned vaguely in the direction labeled "dresses" where we were already searching every rack.  "Good luck" was the only advice he could offer.

Disappointed, I carried around the tiny dress, heading towards a cashier, with the hopes that she could scan it and let us know if the size we needed was even in stock.

And then we hit the jackpot.

FMIL Geek practically skipped up the aisle towards me, THE dress in her size in hand.

"I found it!" she squealed, and we hurried back to the dressing room.

(In the meantime, I'd found another grey dress for her to try on.  Before I had a chance to put it back, Mom Geek snatched it from me and tried it on.  It looked gorgeous on her, so she actually walked away with TWO dresses on this shopping trip- double success!)

So here's the winning dress, ladies (and gentlemen?):

Winner!

The color is perfect, as is the length.  The ruffles give the dress fun movement, and the crochet waistband is not only slimming, but also brings the dress a step or two back from super-formal.  And most importantly, she felt gorgeous in it!

So what do y'all think, readers?  Don't these mommas look hot??

What did your mom wear to your wedding?  Your groom's mom?

Much love,
The Geeks

Picking Flowers

Heh, see what I did there?

No?  Too subtle?

Whatever.

So, flowers.  Flowers are representative of life, growth, and all other sorts of things that happen in a marriage, so of course they feature prominently in traditional wedding day decor.  For weddings in spring and summer, there are a gazillion [the technical term] varieties of flowers to choose from, and why wouldn't you want to bring some of that outdoor beauty inside to the party?

During medieval times, weddings took place during the summer because that was typically when people took their annual bath and, well, since it was likely the first time the groom would be seeing the bride, she needed to freshen up a bit.  Carrying a bouquet of sweet-smelling flowers would further mask any unpleasant odors picked up during the time between Bath Day and Wedding Day.

However.

We're getting married in November, we've met each other before, and we both take showers every day.

Also, when you look at our priorities for the wedding day, flowers are...at the bottom.  Actually they're not really a priority at all.  To us, flowers seem like a huge waste of money in the Grand Scheme of Wedding Things.

Therefore, we're not having flowers at our wedding!

Err.

Okay I lost that battle.  Apparently it's not a wedding without flowers.  I care so very little about floral arrangements, however, that this doesn't faze me in the slightest, so we are having a minimal amount of flowers at our wedding.

Last week, Mr. Geek and I made the trek down to Alex City for a week of wedding stuff (wedding stuff which will be the subject of many a blog in the coming weeks!  Stay tuned!) and one thing we did was visit a florist.  She was currently prepping for another wedding, however, so we weren't able to have an actual consultation, but we did look at her sample books and talked things over with our moms.  Mom Geek is going back tomorrow for a consultation and hopefully will arrive at a solution to fit our needs.

What are our needs, exactly?

-7 bridesmaid bouquets comprised entirely of baby's breath
-1 small toss bouquet for the reception (don't care what kind of flowers, just something tiny and short-stemmed)
-2 identical arrangements for the sanctuary
-1 small bouquet of red roses to lay at the feet of the statue of Mary (more on that in a later post)

 Notice I didn't say anything about my bouquet...you'll have to stay tuned to find out about that!

I guess I haven't shown you where we're getting married, have I?  Well, here it is: St. John the Apostle Catholic Church in Alexander City.

{personal photo}

Don't worry- I'll be devoting a whole post to this cute little parish sometime soon!

See those two green ferns in that picture?  If it were up to me, I'd remove them and their pedestals completely, and let the decor of the church speak for itself.  However, it's traditional to decorate the church with flowers for the wedding and then leave those flowers as a gift to beautify the church after the wedding.  In this parish, different parishioners donate floral arrangements or plants for 2-week intervals, so our arrangements could be there for up to two weeks after the wedding day.

After talking it over, we've decided to use the pillars those ferns are sitting on, and the urns those ferns are sitting in, for two floral arrangements.  As far as what those arrangements look like...well, I'm going to leave that up to the professionals to decide.

At a time like this, I would normally turn to Mr. Geek and ask his opinion so we could go with that.

Unfortunately Mr. Geek has about as many opinions on the topic of flowers as I do; that is to say, none.

After putting our heads together and poring over the sample photos from the florist, we came up with the following criteria for our arrangements:

-Round.  We want the arrangements to be circular, globe-like...round.  I don't know what the proper term is here.  Basically I'm picturing a dome of flowers filling up the round urns with nothing dangling out of them or sticking up from them.  Compact and round.

-Green and orange.  Green and orange are our secondary colors, and we're looking for places to include them since red and purple are sort of stealing the show in bridesmaid dresses and bow ties.  Mr. Geek and I are no flower experts, so we're not sure what flowers are orange or green, or if these flowers are even in season.  We're thinking maybe green spider mums sprinkled throughout an arrangement consisting mainly of orange carnations, if that's possible/pretty.  We're really looking to the florist to help us decide here, but basically round flowers that come together in a round arrangement would give the effect we're looking for.

I trust that Mom Geek will be able to present our needs to the florist and determine the right solution :)  She's good at these things!

Are flowers important to you for your wedding day decor?  Are you an expert in flower arranging or a total n00b like us?  What flowers would you use in the arrangements I described above for a November wedding?

Much love,
The Geeks

Just Not Meant to Be

Previously, on Our Geeky Adventure:

-My dress fits PERFECTLY, no alterations needed. [And if Mr. Geek clicks that link he is D-E-D dead.]
-We picked a fall-themed color palette
-My attendants will be wearing purple dresses, my honor attendant will be wearing red, and they'll all be wearing silver shoes of their choosing

Sometimes, when you're planning a wedding, an unpleasant truth becomes painfully obvious.  It's often hard for the parties involved to accept this truth.  I myself was in denial about it for weeks before I accepted that, well, sometimes things just aren't meant to be.  Some relationships are just doomed from the start.

I'm talking, of course, about my relationship with my dream wedding shoes.

I have some very specific criteria for wedding shoes:

-A low-ish heel (1" or less)
-Comfy enough to be worn all day long
-No exposed toe
-Some sort of strap to keep it on my foot 
-In (at least) one of our wedding colors (purple, red, green, or orange)
-SUPER CUTE
-$60 or less, if possible

Armed with these criteria, I hit the interwebs to look for shoes.

So, obviously, the first pair I absolutely fell in love with meets NONE of the requirements.  (Well, except for the SUPER CUTE.)

Latrice by Kate Spade // Screen Capture via Endless

Oh Latrice.  I was in love with her for a very long time before I finally came to terms with the fact that we just weren't meant to be.  First of all, the colors are slightly off- our green is more of a clover, not a lime, and I don't know if you can tell, but the heel is actually pink.  Clearly there is no strap of any kind, and the heel is too high.  If all that weren't enough...these ladies cost more than my dress :(  Even on sale, they're around $300.  My dress cost $299.  I could not live with myself if I spent more money on my shoes than on my dress, even if they are this gorgeous.  Moving on.

Wowie Zowie heel by Irregular Choice // image via ModCloth

These shoes meet NONE of the requirements.  BUT THEY'RE SO AWESOME.  My "something blue" will be a garter (as soon as I get around to making it...) and I really want my shoes to be in our wedding colors.  I'm still infatuated with these shoes, though I pretty quickly came to terms with the fact that these are not The Wedding Shoes.

Chipper by Fergie

These shoes are HOT.  But also way off the mark when it comes to the rules.  But hey, rules are made to be broken, amirite?  No, actually, I'm not right.  :(  Maybe for another occasion...

But then there was another option...These also broke a few rules, but compensated for that by being free.  (Well, already purchased, anyway.  Which means they don't count towards the wedding budget!)

Photo courtesy Emile Frey Photography

Remember these puppies?  I actually bought them for BM MrsL's wedding last fall.  That's right- they're dye-ables from The Devil - David's Bridal!  Insane, right?  Well, hey, even a broken clock is right twice a day...

I had a chance to try my dress back on recently, so I put on these shoes to see how they'd look.  Because I'm so short and my dress fits so perfectly- I mean PERFECTLY- these 3"-ish heels are simply too tall for that dress.  I tried on a lower heel, just for kicks, and even that didn't look right.

Oh, and before you ask- we forgot to take pictures when I tried it back on :(  But I promise you it looks just as gorgeous as the day I first saw it...and it's all clean and floofy now, too :)

So, ladies (and gentlemen?) it's been decided- I'm gonna have to wear flats.  :/

Not that you can't find cute flats.  But one of the few advantages to being so darn short is that I can wear really, really tall heels and still be shorter than Mr. Geek.  And those red shoes there?  They are actually super comfortable.  I could stand through a whole wedding, dance through a whole reception, and drive halfway to Disney in these shoes!

Buuuut I won't be.  I'll be in flats.  :/

So, it's time to start searching for cute flats that meet all the other requirements.  Any suggestions?

What shoes did you wear on your wedding day?  Would you prefer white shoes or colored shoes?  What are your requirements for The Wedding Shoes?

Much love,
The Geeks