Happy Valentinesday

14th of February, half a meter with snow and -4 degrees Celsius. Do you know that it is just 6 months!! to our wedding? Just half a year, time flies. I hope the weather is a bit (or much) warmer in August and the snow is exchanged with lot of flowers instead!

I wonder if we still are on track with the wedding plans... let see

Eight months before
• Book the photographer - Check
• Book entertainment - Check, DJ booked
• Register - Hm, I think in Sweden this has to be done no sooner than 3 month before the wedding
• Purchase a dress - I'll go measuring on Tuesday and order it after that. Exciting!
• Start meeting caterers - We have met with Husby Säteri and they will fix most things for us, but we'll still have to decide on a menu and how much flowers they should help us with.
• Reserve block of hotel rooms for guests - Check
• Launch a wedding website - We have started one, but it isn't launched yet. We want to wait until we are ready to send the invitations.

Six to seven months before
• Purchase invitations and hire a calligrapher - We will make our invitations ourselves. But I haven't ordered the paper for this yet... guess it is time to get started!
• Plan your honeymoon - Check, we have more or less decided, waiting for travel agency to come back with price suggestion and availability.
• Meet with the officiant - This have to wait a couple of more months. We hope to be able to meet him (yes, it will be a guy, not the officiant I was talking about in another post. She was on vacation when our wedding is to be) in May or something like that.
• Send save-the-date cards - Check, done a long time ago ;)
• Book a florist - Not done yet, but we will visit one within a couple of weeks.
• Procure transportation - We have our plans ready, just need to contact them and say which time he is needed.
• Start composing a day-of timeline - This isn't on paper yet, but I think we will have to start doing this soon =)

I also need to add that it is high time to start looking around for seeds and bulbs for the wedding flowers. Even though it doesn't look like spring outside my window it is high time to start sowing!
Off I am to look in seed catalogs =)

Fabric flowers

Oh, I found some really nice fabric flowers when I was surfing around for inspiration today. It'll take some time making a bunch, but I'll at least try with one =) If it turns out nice, then it might comes more...



You will find the tutorial for them here: Fabric Flowers.

I haven't forgotten about you!

No, not at all, it is just that there are so much going on at the moment and I'm absolutely not in wedding planning mode. Anyway, a few things have happened since my last note (well.. shame if it hasn't it's sooo long since last time).

I have decided upon a ring =) and the goldsmith have come up with a price that is in our liking! So both a good looking, sparkling little thing and within our budget. It'll look something like this, but with much smaller stones and much more petit.



My engagement ring will be adapted so they will fit together.


We have also been looking and deciding cloths for the man to be. He looks gorgeous! Just look at this





Don't ask me what he is looking for =)


A close up of the details in the waistcoat.



The cravat is made from the same fabric that will be used in my wedding dress. The lilac color is not showing very good on photo :/

Yesterday we created a webpage about our wedding and started with the gift list, but none of this is public yet.

We have also been discussing about the honeymoon. Our first thought was to go on safari, but when we have discussed and looked at proposed routes it doesn't feel 100%. So I proposed that we should go to China instead, much since I liked it very much the first (and only) time I've been there, and my fiancé agreed that it could be nice, so we have been to a travel agency and collected some brochures. We might change our minds again, but at the moment I think both of us are rather excited about it. Doesn't this look inviting?




Hainan, China

DJ booked

Finally we got an answer from the DJ we have contacted regarding playing at our wedding. He was free the night of our wedding, but he is no more =)
We got the recommendation from Husby and after a look at his web page we decided to contact him. I think he will be a good choice who can play varied music at the party. And he fit into our budget as well! =)

Otherwise we are laying low with the wedding plans at the moment. We have been in contact with the goldsmith and her suggestion is within our budget. The only 'problem' as I see it is that she will turn my engagement ring into the wedding ring. I have been thinking about this and I think I would like two rings after all... I have some drawings of what it might be able to look like, so we will present them for her and see what she thinks. But it'll have to wait until next time we are there.

Sometimes it is not so fun to do the planning at a distance. Especially not if you want to do something NOW!

Husby Säteri

We also visited the 'castle' where we will have the reception. Susy showed us around and answered all our questions. Susy liked our choice of colors for the wedding and she had some great suggestions for the flowers and the table setting.
The castle was very nice inside and I hope we will have a wonderful reception here. Some pictures:

From the outside with all snowy glory



And some from the inside



Wall paintings in the entrance hall





We will be able to accommodate all guests in the houses around the castle so they don't come inside before the wedding. We will also have the whole castle to ourselves during the weekend.
Now we have to decide upon a menu for the reception... any suggestions??

Church

While in the area we took the chance to visit the church to see if it was open and we were lucky this time. It had fallen a lot of snow and the short trip by car to the church went through a fairytale landscape. The church was covered in a blanket of snow and looked so serene.



On the inside it was small and cozy, the perfect size for our wedding. Here are some pictures:



We also looked at the place where the wedding photos probably will be taken.


We talked to the photographer the other day and he was really nice and will be able to take the photos I'm wishing. He had a couple of albums with photos he had taken that he showed us and they all looked really nice. He was also open for suggestions and our ideas, just as important since we want to not go too traditional.

Shoes found

Yipee! I have found shoes for my wedding!! If you have followed my blog, you will know about my shoe-problems. Well, they seem to be solved now. As I mentioned in the previous post my fiancé and I was visiting his parents over the Christmas Holidays and we had time to do some shopping. It was really easy, we found them in the first shop we looked at, and they were on show in the shop-window.

Do you want to see some pictures? =) I thought so...





The heel is straight, so I'll be able to bling it... I'll also be able to tye a ribbon around the ankle if I want to.

And here is a close-up picture of the toe:




And here is the shoe together with the lilac color on the dress:



And do you know what is best of all?
They only cost about $30 =)

Ring.. reception.. and flowers!

Yes, a lot has been done in just a couple of days. We are visiting my fiancé's parents and we have visit Husby, the castle where the reception will be, we have also visit the goldsmith and been to the florist.

The florist didn't have time for us =( not to book a time before Christmas either, so we need to find another weekend when they can talk to us. I'm a bit disappointed, I had hoped for a better welcome and more interest from their side, so we might go looking for another florist. We haven't decided yet though...

The welcome at Husby, the castle where we will have the reception, was very warm. I liked our contact very much and she was really helpful. The castle was very beautiful (some pictures will be shown here after Christmas) and we will have the whole place for ourselves the whole weekend. Very nice!
We have some suggestions for the menu from Husby, but we are not satisfied with them so we will sit down and create a menue ourselves which was absolutely ok with them. We also got two bottles of wine to try!

The goldsmith was a really nice girl, she made a couple of drawings of what could be done with the engagement ring that I have (see picture here). We liked one of her designs very much and she will give us a price for it before Christmas. I hope it isn't too much... our budget for the ring isn't that big.... and I liked what she showed us a lot. In the design she didn't create one more ring, but adds on my engagement ring, so I need to give it to her a couple of weeks and can't wear it until the wedding. Hm. I might have to get a new engagement ring ;)

Tomorrow will we go looking for a frockcoat to my fiancé and maybe find shoes to me as well...

No shoes...

Now I don't have any shoes at all. The company did not send any pictures of heels that fitted the description, so I had to return the shoes and get my money back.
So now I have to find a replacement... not an easy task as I've mentioned before. The ones I like are no longer in production and the orange ones I found a while ago can't be found now! Really irritating!

I think I have looked at every bridal shoe shop on the internet and on all dance shoe once as well. I have also looked at places such as ASOS, Debenhams and others.

I have a picture of what I want, so I don't think it should be so hard, but it seems impossible to find anything like it.
These are my criteria:
The shoe should not be white, so Black, orange, purple etc.
The shoe should not have any big flower on the toes
The shoe should have a ankle strap and preferably a covered heel.
The toe should be rounded, covered or open.
If possible the heel should be straight and lower than 4" (10 cm) but higher then 2,5" (6 cm)

My fiancé and I is going to a bigger city tomorrow, and I'll hopefully have some time to look for shoes. We are also going to his parents over Christmas and maybe there will be some time for shopping there as well.

Cake topper

My father called the other day and told me that he had fixed the cake topper. Hm, I wasn't aware that he was responsible for that! =)

Anyway, he has a very good friend, Kjell Engman, who is working at Kosta Boda making all sorts of glass sculptures and other glass pieces. Apparently he has made a bridal couple whom my father thinks should be on the wedding cake.
The couple is pretty nice in black and white glass.



I'm a bit worried though... the glass sculpture is 15 cm high and probably pretty heavy... will the cake cope with that?
Otherwise we will have to stand it on the side of the cake, but on the same table.

What is the difference between a hen’s night and a bridal shower?

The hen’s night (or bachelorette party) is the term most often used in UK and bridal shower is more often used in the US. But it is not only about the terms, the bridal shower and the hen’s night do differ in other ways as well.
The hen’s night is a night out with the girls, sometimes the whole day, with different activities.
In Sweden the hen’s night or Möhippa often include some form of dressing the bride up in funny clothes and doing the bar hopping. Sometimes the activities are on the embarrassing side of fun. The bride is kidnapped and should have no idea about what is going on.
The bridal shower on the other side is more a sophisticated event where the bride’s family and (female)friends gather, eat cake and give gifts to the bride that consist of things she may need in her home or at the wedding day and have a good time. This event is calmer than the hen’s night.

And since I love cake, you can guess which one I prefer! =)

Wedding flowers Part II

Here comes a follow up post on this post.

Astible – This is a perennial and it flowers rather late, some beginning in July and then keeps up the flowering for a long time, at least when the weather is not too hot and dry. They have long spires of flowers in white, pink and red. There are also some reddish purple colors. I already have some in the garden and if they are having a good year I might be able to bring some sprays. This flower is also rather easy to buy at the garden center, but they use to be in flower too early for the wedding.

Love in a mist – Nigella – is an annual flowering with interesting blue, white or pink flowers which leaves even more interesting seedpods that are very decorative. The seedpods often have a crème ground color streaked with green and purple. These are easy going and just to seed and forget.


© MzePhotos.com, Some Rights Reserved

Sunflower – Helianthus – No, not the sunny yellow sunflowers! They are way too yellow and don’t fit the color scheme. I’m thinking of the crème-white sunflowers of ‘Italian white’ or ‘Moonshadow’. These are not so huge either, which makes it easier to incorporate in flower arrangements with more dainty flowers.


Moonshadow


Italian White

Tagetes – No, I’m not thinking of the bright yellows. Tagetes also comes in a creamy white color. This is my least favorite of the flowers I’m considering. But it can be good filler and it will stay fresh the whole day with minimum of water.

Ammi majus – This is probably a weed in some places, but it has beautiful flowers similar to the Swedish ‘Hundkäx’ (Anthriscus sylvestris). The flowers are white and the leaves are freshly green. The flowers are excellent fillers and very dainty. Might not be an excellent combination with the sunflowers though =)

Trachymene caerulea – This annual is very similar to Ammi majus, but in blue, white or pink.

Eschscholzia californica – This Californian poppy is also annual and is a very sweet flower. I love their interesting shape and sunny warm colors. I wish to have my front yard covered in this one day =) I’m not sure if they are a suitable cut flower? Anyone who is familiar with them?
They are at least easy going and I’ll give them a try. They like it on the hot, dry side.



Eryngium – A thistle! Yes, it is a bit prickly but it has a nice steely blue-green flower and stems. Some have a more whitish-green color. The flowers are peculiar and interesting. The plant is perennial or biennial and comes in different heights and shapes of the flower and leaves.


Photo copyright Richard Muller


Photo by Geoff Manley

Still looking for shoes

How hard can it be? I'm still looking for shoes... The company that should create mine hasn’t sent any pictures of the heel yet, so I'm looking for a back-up. But it isn't that easy to find =(

I think I've been through all images on goggle when you search for 'wedding shoes' 'bridal shoes' and 'bröllopskor' but haven't found anything that is as good as the one I had imagined. I have also looked at a lot of 'dancing shoes' liking the Latino Dance shoes. I have found a few I like in this category, but there are two things. First the colors... not much creativity there, most are black, a few white and then some brown-orange they call tan. Other colors like pink and purple do occur, but I don't like them. They have really nice red shoes though, so if you are interested in red shoes, do a search for Latino dance shoes... and be prepared to pay ;)
The price of these shoes is in the higher end... but I have found wedding shoes that are much more expensive... so it's just a question of your budget.
The second thing with the dance shoes is that they have a suede bottom. I'm not sure how happy this will be walking outside. It's a pity trashing the shoes at once. The pro is that these shoes probably are really comfy.

Well... my search continues. Where did you find your shoes? Please give me some ideas!

Toastmaster

Yes, our best friend and her fiancé have promised to be toast madam/master at our wedding! Thanks a lot! =)
They will help us coordinate the toasts during the dinner. They might also help us with the reception program... if we ask them nicely.

Disappointment

I got my shoes... and they are not as I imagined. In an earlier post I mentioned that I had found someone that made shoes from your whishes. I found a picture of a shoe I liked and send it to the contact person. No problems what the reply and I’ve been waiting a couple of weeks. Now I’ve got them and they are not what I wanted =(
The problem is that the heel is not straight. Might seem like a very small thing, but it was the heel that caught my imagination. I contacted the contact person and they want to replace the shoes. I’m a bit skeptical but they will send me pictures of the heels they have to ‘choose’ from. So now am I waiting for pictures…