Confession: I watched more wedding-themed shows in college than I do now...

I was one of those girls who always wanted to dress up and have fake weddings as a kid. I used to make my Barbies marry each other practically daily. I'd dress up all the Barbies and Kens in different "fancy" outfits and pretty much my entire collection was married to someone else.

Then in college, when I had ample free time in the afternoons, I got hooked on TLC's A Wedding Story. (This show, sadly, does not seem to exist anymore as I've searched in TIVO many a time.) I saw some of the weirdest theme-weddings ever, some really good stories, some really homely couples, and just about every trend available in the mid 90s to early 2000s. If nothing else, these shows gave me inspiration to not completely give up on my childhood dream of having a wedding. But they also gave a false perception of the reality of wedding planning. This is exactly why I had to blog, so that the other young women hooked on the latest and greatest wedding show trends (Say Yes to the Dress, Bridezillas, and Four Weddings) know that those "reality" shows don't provide the complete picture for you.

For instance, I am pretty sure that because my mom and younger sisters watched Say Yes to the Dress a few too many times in my dad's presence that he was a little more than freaked out about the prospect of buying an overpriced gown that I'd wear once. Took care of that, bought my own dress. I also think that the idea of attending a total stranger's wedding (or for that matter, inviting total strangers to your wedding) to simply judge them for a chance at a free honeymoon seems a bit ludicrous. It is bad enough that we brides already have all this pressure for a "perfect" wedding day, much less knowing that someone is rating your every move.

I won't deny taking a self-indulgent moment here and there to watch a cheesy wedding chick-flick, and yes, I have watched wedding-themed shows occasionally, but the romantic notion that most of these shows portray is for our younger and more idealistic views of marriage. In MY reality, THIS is what you get--a blog, embarrassing anecdotes, and raw emotions. You're welcome ;)

Say Yes to Which Dress?!

A Full Color Palette

"Envision your dream wedding, what will your dress look like? What will your colors be? What decorations will adorn your tables?"

Is it wrong of me to say that "I don't envision anything in particular?" Ok, I do envision some details, maybe most, but I am not in love with any 2 colors for "my colors", or feel the need for any certain type of flower (although I am not the biggest fan of sunflowers). I am a highly creative person, and some would say I am an anal retentive perfectionist, but this is where I am more comfortable letting some professionals work their magic. I would actually love to walk into my wedding and be surprised by the details that adorn the room.

Ah, who am I kidding, I am a bride. That means I get to be the picky one. And Kyle certainly does NOT care about flowers or bridesmaids' dress colors. He just keeps asking for Jack Daniels and a juggler. (Apparently our wedding itself is not all that exciting, he wants entertainment).

When people ask me what my colors are, I just say "Fall". Use your imagination, but I envision reds, maroons, cinnamon, burnt orange, tangelo, golden, all shades of brown, some dark purple, and perhaps some green. I want my wedding to look like the forest I no longer get to live in, or see every year in September turn to brilliant shades of varying jewel tones. The hard part is narrowing this down to certain shades to choose a color theme for the wedding. Why not have the whole darn color palette?

See some of my inspiration from surfing: