Miss Rucksack Tips for Surviving a Bridal Show

When I was a single Miss Rucksack, I loved me some bridal shows. Fashion shows, giveaways, and free cake? Count me in! In college, friends and I even took turns "playing bride" at bridal shows and used our fabulous improv skills to make up elaborate stories about our fiance's, engagement stories, and our wedding plans. You guys, we took it to the limit.

*For the record, my fake story was: engaged to an investment banker, he proposed while we were moving into our new house (We ordered Chinese food after a hard day of moving and he asked me to open the kitchen wares box. I was annoyed because - hello? who needs forks and plates with Chinese takeout? When I finally opened the kitchen box and pulled away the newspaper, there was a ring box!) and the elaborate wedding weekend would be held at The Inn at Longshore in Westport, CT. Like I said, we were not kidding around.*

Attending a bridal show as a bride is a completely different experience. It's somewhat like being the most popular girl at a dance and having a bunch of horny nerdy guys trying to get you to dance with them. Or like being a piece of bacon surrounded by a group of dogs.

Via FanPop

The point is, everybody wants a piece of you and your precious wedding budget.

While attending our first bridal show as an engaged couple, Mr. Rucksack and I quickly came up with some ground rules, made simpler since we were really just in search of a DJ.

1. Avoid eye contact with vendors. They will suck you in if they catch you looking and they can smell fear, or at least confusion. Mr. Rucksack and I would scout a couple of vendors ahead to check out the offerings and would march right past them if they weren't what we were looking for. No use in wasting everybody's time, now is there?

2. Fill out the raffle tickets since you never know what you might win. But also don't fill out fill out anything that you don't necessarily want because those vendors now have all of your contact information and they will continue to contact you until they go out of business.

3. When it comes to finding a DJ, it is okay to judge a book by its cover. We avoided anyone that was over the age of 60, was dressed terribly, or sported a flock of seagulls haircut.

Via Duksta

I'm sorry, but how is this a thing?

4. Sampling cake is great, but don't go overboard. This was a given for us since we don't eat gluten. We also don't particularly like cake. Still, surrounded by frilly dresses, flowers, and estrogen, I was a little tempted. I'm so glad I didn't partake, because I'm sure the sugar would have just about taken me down with the heat and stress of that bridal maze.

5. Prepare for the marathon ahead of time. This means, a) go in with a game plan of what you need and then stick to it. Otherwise you will be there all day. b) dress for the event. It will be warm, there will be a lot of people, you'll be doing a lot of walking and talking. Leave your coat in the car and don't wear heels. c) fuel yourself. Having a big breakfast before hand really stopped us from splurging on cake and luke-warm appetizers. d) arm yourself with water.You'll be talking to a lot of people and you'll want to stay hydrated.

By following our guidelines we made it out in about an hour and we found our DJ!

Do you have any more tips for surviving bridal shows?

The Rest of the Bridal Party Gets Popped

Mr. Rucksack was a little concerned about sending his groomsmen "Will you be my groomsman?" gifts. While he and his friends are actually pretty adorable and regularly send each other snail mail, everything he had seen in the way of popping the question to a dude was just a little over the top.

We settled on a simple card that I designed based on a picture I found by typing "men drinking champagne" on the interwebs. However, we also have a junior groomsmen who is only 9 and we had to come up with an alternate idea for him. Little Cousin Rucksack, or GM Brobot as I'm sure he would prefer, is seriously too cool for words. He's really excited about our wedding and even though we hadn't asked him to be in the bridal party yet, he was already busy picking out bow ties for the occasion.

Seriously, this kid is 9 and already way cooler than I'll ever be.

I decided that presenting him with his very own bow tie would be the perfect way to ask him to be a groomsman in our wedding, so the search began. Luckily, Peter Blair was having a $10 tie sale when I happened to visit. Super score! The deal was so good that we decided to get bow ties for all the boys. They'll have the option to wear them to the wedding or to wear one of their own.

Your Service as a Groomsman is Required. Hoity toity and hilarious.

Mr. Rucksack chose each tie based on each groomsman's personality. GM Brobot's is the goldfish tie, third from the right.

Last, but certainly far from least, we needed good ideas for our adorable kiddos. Mr. Rucksack's best friend and Best Man has the two cutest children who will be our ring bearer and flower girl.

After much searching, I decided on a jewelry box for Flower Girl Rucksack, complete with a flower girl version of the star bracelet:

And a pirate chest for Ring Bearer Rucksack. The box is by Melissa & Dog and came complete with gold coins, a pirate flag, and an eye patch. We added a cute card that asked - "Will you guard the rings - and be our ring bearer?"

 The kids were psyched. Mostly because they both received cool boxes with treasure (and secret compartments). Ring Bearer Ruckus, who's only three, didn't totally understand the concept of walking down the aisle, but we were assured he could be bribed with pizza. Flower Girl Rucksack is really excited to wear a pink dress!

Gifts for the whole fam of VIPs:

How did you pop the question to your bridal party?

Asking the bridal party. AKA: Thanks a lot, Pinterest.

Do your remember the Pre-Pinterest days when asking someone to be a bridesmaid was as simple as calling a friend and saying "Hey, dude. Do you wanna be a bridesmaid and help me pee with my wedding gown and stuff?"

I feel like with the invention of Pinterest, those days are long gone. Now apparently you have to "pop the question" to your whole bridal party. I thought about skipping the tradition, but then FMIL Rucksack mentioned it. If even FMIL Rucksack was expecting me to craft something awesome, then I knew it had to be done. (In addition to blaming Pinterest on my "must DIY" obsession, I also blame Minnesota. Those Minnesotans are a crafty people.)

Pinterest is a terrible source for competitive Type A people like myself because when I see something cute my thinking goes something like this:

"That's awesome! I could do that!"
"Crap. It's on Pinterest. I wonder who else has seen it."
"If it's too popular, I can't do it."
"I must do it BETTER."

Which is how on a Wednesday evening I came to be opening up a package of darts from an Amazon package.

You heard me right: darts.

Via Amazon

And then I attempted to paint them with pink glitter paint. (I am only now starting to realize just how crazy that plan was.) It was a total failure and it was at that moment that I used my favorite stress-related phrase: eff it.

It's a phrase I first used when stressing out over finding the perfect brown belt to go with my "meet the parents" outfit when Mr. Rucksack flew me out to Minnesota the first time. After searching through stores for over an hour, I realized his parents wouldn't care or know that my outfit would look cuter with a brown belt. And so, "eff it" was born.

Similarly, my bridesmaids never have to know that my initial plan involved them popping a heart shaped balloon with a glitter painted dart to reveal confetti and a fancy banner requesting their bridesmaids services. I know I'm totally giving up the world's best bride award here, but I know my bridesmaids will thank me later when I'm significantly less crazy and twitchy from craft related stress.

And you know, their gifts are still cute and original:

I made the bracelets and the holder based on ones that I saw on Etsy. The little quote works perfectly since I did theater through high school and college and I ended up using starfish as my stars since it fit with our beach theme. The folded cards were purchased from Etsy seller Charm and Fig.

The best part about my simplified gifts is that they could be sent easily in the mail. With one bridesmaid in Minnesota and one in New Hampshire I was going to have to spend money on shipping a big (although very light) balloon holding box.

Of course, we couldn't leave out the groomsmen and kiddos! Up next, the rest of the bridal party gets their goodies!

Dressing the Gents

Now that we've covered my bridal clothing ad nauseum, it's time to share the spotlight with the men.

Mr. Rucksack is quite a dapper dude. He's a lover of all things preppy so his closet is very full of oxford shirts, bow ties, and embroidered pants. Since he's definitely a man who knows what he likes and because he has such great taste, I've left it up to him to choose the attire for the guys side of the bridal party.

Luckily being on the beach, it was an easy decision.

Peppermint Bliss Real Wedding via The Shoreside Bride

Our boys will be all prepped out in Nantucket Reds - an item which I'm pretty sure at least half the boys already own. They'll pair those white button downs, navy blue blazers and a playful patterned bow tie of their choice. We're trying to keep things as simple and inexpensive as possible for our entire bridal party, and that comes with the added bonus that they get to feel comfortable with their choices. Plus, I think it'll be really cool to see a bunch of cute boys with mismatched preppy bow ties.

Mr. Rucksack chose this tie from Country Club Prep

I'm so happy with his choice and I think our boys will look great. I'm also happy that they won't have to spend much money, an issue we may have had if we had gone with tuxes or Mr. Rucksack's second choice: seersucker suits.

What are your guys wearing? Did your man choose his own outfit?

Silk and Organza and Tulle, Oh My! (Part 2 - or the one where I actually do find a dress!)

Day two of shopping felt much more relaxed from the beginning. I had learned a couple of things from my first day of dress shopping. Namely, that I wasn't going to spend $4,500 on a dress. Also, that it didn't really matter what I wore to my appointment because I was going to get naked anyway. This time I nixed the leggings, but opted for full bottom underwear. I also wore a full bra with hopes that the bridal store would provide a long line bra for me. (They did.) Lastly, I did my hair better than the previous day. While I had blown my hair straight the day before, I opted to curl my hair and style it similar to how I'd want to wear it for the wedding - half up with loose curls along the lines of this:

Dianna Agron via Fine Art America

It totally helped me visualize the whole look together, especially once we added accessories and the veil.

We went to The White Dress by the Shore to see one dress in particular: Ivy and Aster's Sweet Pea.

Sweetpea via Ivy and Aster

Sweet, isn't she? Similar to the day prior, I naively assumed I would be done when I tried her one. Nope. Turns out, the style just doesn't work on my figure. I ended up looking less Beach Princess and more Beached Whale. Not exactly what I was going for. We put her aside and tried on a slew of other dresses. Seriously, there were so many perfect dresses that within two minutes we had picked out 10! We were politely told by our Consultant, Ennike, that maybe it was time to start whittling down our choices by trying some on.

After trying all 10 dresses on, we narrowed it down to 3 very unique dresses.

1. Jenny Yoo Riley. This really reminded me of the dress I loved in Westport at a fraction of the cost. It was the first I tried on at The White Dress by the Shore and immediately went into the "yes" pile.

Via Flair Bridesmaid

2. Anne Barge LF161. I loved the preppiness of this dress and the pockets! I also liked that the fullness of the skirt was more what I had envisioned in my gown.

Via Wedding Inspirasi

3. Anne Barge LF214. This dress fit like a glove and had the coolest details. I just loved the ruffles!

Via Fashionable Bride

After trying them on again with accessories, I got even closer to a decision and narrowed it down to two. My mom and aunt were no help at all as they sat there with a smirk saying "We know which one - but you need to decide for yourself."

I asked to be put back into the first dress and came back out with a huge smile. "This is it!" I exclaimed and then quickly turned back to them for approval. "This is the one, right?"

They said they knew right away because every time I put it on I started dancing. Everybody hugged and teared up a little and Ennike went and got us champagne to celebrate. She even let me stay in mt dress while she filled out paperwork so that I could be smiley and happy and champagney in my dress a little longer.

Do you all know which one I picked?

It's..........................Dress Number 1!

Via Flair Bridesmaid

As soon as I put her on the first time I said "I could go home with this dress right now and be happy." Of course, that didn't stop me from making Ennike put me in all 9 other dresses multiple times, something I apologized for as soon as I officially said yes to the dress!

Looking back at pictures from the day, I'm even more sure about my decision. While the other two dresses looked amazing in person, they photographed kind of weird.

All of the lines and ruffles came out strange in pictures and if the lines weren't perfect I ended up looking lopsided. I love the simplicity of my dress and the fact that I can dress it up with accessories! It's modern and timeless at the same time - exactly the look I was going for! It even looks like one of my inspiration pics that Mr. Rucksack and I (sort of) agreed on!

Dakota Trumpet Gown via Nicole Miller

I promised my mom I wouldn't put up a picture of me in the dress, but I never said anything about showing off my excited face!

Oh and I guess a little sneak peek of the top won't hurt either....

The dress is not at all what I originally thought I wanted, so I'm really glad Auntie Rucksack pushed me toward those curve hugging dresses. I'm thrilled with my choice and even happier that I stayed under budget! (Seriously, you guys. The dress ended up being a SAMPLE so when I say under budget, I mean way under budget!)

Did you end up with a dress that was completely different than your original inspiration too?

Silk and Organza and Tulle, Oh my! (Part 1)

To be honest, my first experience with trying on wedding gowns was a total nightmare. I had seen an ad for a sample sale, dragged my mom along to check it out, and had a big fail whale of a moment. In addition to the lack of staff help and the tremendous amounts of tulle and fluff, my mom and I got into a whopper of a fight. The details aren't so important, but my mom was stressed about her upcoming move into her boyfriend's house and I was being a bride, and I'm learning that those sorts of mother-daughter conditions nearly always lead to tears.I ended up trying on itchy scratchy tulle dresses while blotchy and hivey from crying. Not so fun.

Needless to say, I was not looking forward to getting back on that horse. I did plenty of online research and put off dress shopping until the last possible minute. (Apparently that last possible minute is 7 months from your wedding day. It takes a long ass time to order a wedding gown!) Finally, the moment of doom arrived. I really was convinced that dress shopping take two would be horrific and would result in me a) crying b) yelling and/or c) getting drunk.

Armed with Mr. Rucksacks's dos & don'ts list and an iPad full of ideas, I set up two appointments for one weekend and asked Momma Rucksack and Auntie Rucksack to join me. I was almost certain that I would choose one of these beauties:

Theia Style 890022 via Misses Dressy

Sweetpea via Ivy and Aster

Stop one was The Plumed Serpent in Westport, Connecticut. Our appointment was at 9:30am (Alison was a sweetheart and opened early for us!) and since I had read up on dress shopping etiquette, I arrived with no make-up, simple hair, a strapless bra and leggings. I quickly learned that it didn't matter since I was naked within seconds and in a borrowed long-line bra.

In addition to the Theia dress that I "knew" was the one, I allowed my mom and aunt to each pick one dress. Momma Rucksack leaned toward huge princess ballgowns while Auntie Rucksack chose curve hugging dresses.

Well, it turned out that I was very wrong about Theia. It hit my curves in all the wrong places. Insert sad face here. Luckily, I was in a store full of beautiful dresses and with some urging from my aunt I finally tried on her choice:

Romona Keveza A-Line Gown via Kleinfeld

And I fell in love. Unfortunately, that feeling quickly dissipated when we learned that the price was way over my budget!

I left the store feeling extremely conflicted, especially after Momma Rucksack and Auntie Rucksack assured me we could make it work. I just couldn't fathom spending so much money on a dress!

Luckily, we still had one more day of shopping ahead of us.

Did you fall in love with a dress that was way over your budget?

Mr. Opinionated Chooses a Gown

Perhaps this is odd, but I actually showed Mr. Rucksack pictures of the gowns I was interested in. He's my best friend and he has impeccable taste, so I didn't think much of it. Plus, he's the one I want to impress on our wedding day so he had better like the dress I choose!

As it turns out, he surprisingly had a lot of opinions about dresses. It helped narrow down my choices a lot because my ideas were all over the place. So let's take a look at some of the choices that were quickly nixed by my opinionated guy.

Grace Gown ia Watters

Part of me wanted a dress with straps or sleeves. I'm rather busty and I live in constant fear of looking like I'm trying to show them off - or worse, having the top come down and actually showing them off! However, Mr. Rucksack did not agree. He thought the sleeves and halters were kind of weird. That knocked off about 1/4 of the dresses on my list.

Blush Style 1104 via JLM Couture

This gorgeous dress has two qualities that Mr. Rucksack disapproves of: lace and a keyhole back. I know. He is insane. I kept showing him this dress in between others hoping maybe he'd changed his mind, but he's too smart for that kind of tomfoolery. In the end, I actually agree that it doesn't fit the mood we're going for, but that didn't stop me from trying on a couple of lacy numbers just to be sure!

Dakota Trumpet Gown via Nicole Miller

This was one we were split on. He prefers a more flowy style (which I informed him is called A-line) but he didn't dislike this, he just hadn't pictured something like this. He also doesn't understand the whole sash thing - something I explained he better get used to because I knew I would want some bling in the form of a bridal belt.

Sweetpea via Ivy and Aster

Theia Style 890022 via Misses Dressy

Then there were these two beauties. I loved loved loved these in the photos, and bonus: so did Mr. Rucksack! To me, they just screamed "Beachy Princess Bride" and I loved that they were traditional, but still had their own funk. (Noticing a trend here?)

While I kept my mind open when dress shopping, it certainly was helpful keeping Mr. Rucksack's wishlist in the back of my mind while trying on dresses.

Did you involve your fiance in picking out the dress?

Anthropologie Sea Gleam Centerpiece Inspiration

Mr. Rucksack and I visited his family in Minnesota over the holidays and in addition to meeting even more of his wonderful family and eating all sorts of yummy foods we also did lots of shopping!

I can always count on FMIL Rucksack for a fun day of shopping, and this time was no exception. We stopped at the Mall of America, Crate & Barrel, CB2, West Elm, and my favorite: Anthropologie. We don't have any of my favorite stores nearby, so it was a treat!

While we were on our way out of Anthropologie I spotted the cutest Hurricane candle holders that I thought would look great as vases for our centerpieces. I quickly snapped a picture and began wondering if I could make them myself. (It turns out I can't.)

Unfortunately, they were sold out online, so back in Connecticut I dragged BM Penny with me to the closest store 45 minutes away.

With the last two remaining vases in hand, I begged the woman at the register for help and told her I was getting married. After reminding me that I better start planning soon because I don't have much time left until my wedding (thanks, lady!), she did some checking for us. It turns out that she could order a bunch more for us through their system!

Via Anthropologie

Even though they're made for candles, I think they'll look great holding our centerpiece bouquets.

Which, speaking of flowers - I have no idea what they're going to look like. I'll be using Whole Foods for my flowers and while I was able to give the florist a general idea of what we want, it will all really depend on what's in season and looks good that week. Since everything is local, the selection can totally change from week to week.

A bright summer bouquet of dahlias, zinnias, and billy balls like this may be a possibility:

Image Via Serendipity Flowers / Photo By AJH Photography

Or this fun, pink arrangement comprised of garden roses, ranunculus, freesia, billy balls, and lily of the valley:

Image Via Handmaker of Things/ Photo By K&D Photography

More zinnias:

Photo by Handmaker of Things

To be honest, it's a little exciting not knowing exactly what our flowers will look like. (I will have to remember to come back and read this when I am freaking out the night before the wedding because I have no clue what our flowers look like!)

Where did your decor inspiration come from?

Seaside Save the Dates

Can I get a quick amen for all things Etsy?

After months of attempting to design our STD cards, I finally caved in after it became apparent that I cannot paint. I had gotten it into my head that since I can do fairly decent graphic design work, that I should obviously be able to hand paint our cards. So armed with hundreds of dollars of pens, watercolor paper, canvas, and watercolors  I gave it my very best shot. And another. And another.

No dice.

I called my artist uncle for help, but he just scanned and sent me a bunch of old paintings he'd done of tropical beaches. They were gorgeous, but palm trees don't really match our New England themed beach wedding.

I searched online. I searched Etsy. I came up with nothing several times.

And then I stumbled upon an artist named Jackie Maloney and she was everything I wished I could be as an artist. Her work is cool and colorful and nautical, but it also looks so effortless. Like she just whipped something awesome up in a matter of minutes. So I sent her a flattering email with hopes that I could butter her up enough that she might draw something custom for us. Luckily she said yes and within two days, I had a lovely Save the Date in my possession!

The only inspiration I shared with her was this:

Via Momental Designs

But mostly I told her to have fun and to maybe add my dog, The Beez, into the mix.

Words cannot describe the amazing work that Jackie did for us. I think ours are even better than my inspiration pics! You guys ready to see?

I had the cards printed and cut at my favorite local printer, then assembled them at home with navy cardstock and red baker's twine. (Can you spot The Beez playing on the beach in the upper right corner? It's her favorite thing to do!)

All tied up! (Get it? Because we're tying the knot? Ha)

I had absolutely no intention of using address labels, but when the time came to use our customized address stamp, I couldn't find the ring with our new address on it! Of course I had put it "somewhere safe" and after an hour of searching still couldn't remember where that super safe place was.

So I did what any sane girl would do in my situation and I went to Best Buy and bought a printer. I know, I can't believe we didn't own a printer either. I figured it would come in handy throughout the whole wedding planning process anyway and we scored a great deal on a scanner/printer combo that's not only wireless, but that we can print with wifi from our iPads and iPhones. Awesomeness. If you're looking for a printer and scanner, definitely look into the Canon Pixma MG5420. (For what it's worth, it cost us $99 in-store.)

I'm still completely obsessed with our Save the Dates and think they really set the tone for the wedding. 

Would you commission an Etsy artist to create something for you? I love that we can now use the image for other wedding goodies!

A Caveman Wedding? Or me babbling about food choices.

At the beginning of the year, Mr. Rucksuck and I committed to living a Paleo lifestyle. It's been over 7 months now and we could not be happier with our diets, waistlines, and the way our insides feel.

Our road to Paleo was pretty long and even included a trip down vegetarian lane that left us several pounds heavier and feeling generally yucky. After realizing we'd each gained quite a bit of weight in our year and a half together (foodies and winos in love is a bad weight loss combination) Mr. Rucksack joined a local Crossfit gym in December. The Paleo diet came along shortly after, and I jumped on the bandwagon too.

Sometimes vaguely called the Caveman Diet, we can really only eat meat, fruits, veggies and nuts. Nothing processed, no dairy, no gluten, no soy. Basically, if I can't hunt it or forage it, I can't eat it. (This is obviously super oversimplified, but if you're interested in learning more I'd suggest checking out Robb Wolf's site and Everyday Paleo to start.)

Via Hunger Games DWTC Fansite

I think it's fitting that I read the Hunger Games trilogy during my first few days being Paleo, even if I don't really hunt my own food.

Mr. Rucksack and I both stand firm in wanting to remain Paleo - like forever. For as long as I can remember I've had random unknown food allergies that left me with hives and stomach problems  that have all disappeared since starting Paleo. I've learned that I have a soy allergy (and you'd be surprised how many processed foods contain soy) and that my stomach doesn't particularly care for gluten. In addition to no more allergic reactions, I'm down ten pounds so I know I'm doing something right!

Since we're loving this whole Paleo thing, and I refuse to touch gluten and soy ever again, it kind of makes sense to have a Paleo menu for our wedding too. Don't worry, we're not doing some sort of Flintstones dinner.

Via Yedies

When we started to think more about our menu options, what really jumped out at us was a grilled menu. And since we're getting married on the beach, what's better than a clam bake?

Hey, Mrs. Corn! I stalked Mrs. Corn's wedding so hard back in '07! / Photo by Kate Whitney Lucey

Lobster, steak, chicken and vegetables? Now that is a paleo menu all of our guests can be excited about!

Mark & Stephanie, our caterers from Forks & Fingers, have been so accommodating to our needs. Mark's kids actually have Celiac Disease so he's a pro at gluten free menus. That definitely put our minds at ease since we know we have someone who really understands our dietary constraints.

Do you have dietary issues you're keeping in mind during wedding planning?

Ring Ding Dong

My engagement ring is my all time favorite possession. It is exactly what I wanted and months later I still swoon over it.

Before we got engaged and before we really even talked about getting married, I started pinning ring styles that I liked on my super secret Pinterest board - the one that held all of my wedding lust items. Mr. Rucksack has always frequented my Pinterest in search of gift ideas or yummy foodie surprises. (You have no idea how awesome it is to come home to find that he has made three different foods that I pinned that very day.) So naturally, when I wanted to pin all the wedding goodness I saw on Pinterest I couldn't very well do it on the one he looks at every day. I also didn't want his family to see it and I think know I was wedding obsessed.

Anyway, there came a day when Mr. Rucksack wanted to know what kinds of rings I liked. And luckily I was prepared. I sent him (actually I gave him hints for days until he finally guessed the name) to my super secret Pinterest and continued to add ring photos. At one point we had thought we found "the one" only to find out it was $12,000. Without the center diamond. Whoops.

Eventually I learned to also look at prices as I pinned and soon he told me that he had contacted one of the jewelers. It drove me nuts for weeks. I kept looking at my Pinterest and trying to guess which one he had picked. I would pull up each picture and try to imagine how each ring would look on my finger by raising my hand in front of my computer and squinting until my hand and the ring sort of blurred together.

So many possibilities! (And this is just a small sample from my Pinterest!)

Clockwise from Top Left: Reinstein Ross via Vena Amoris; Anne Sportun; Anatra Jewel; Liloveve

One night as we were preparing to go into New York to see his sister and brother-in-law who were visiting from Minnesota, he asked if I'd like to go to the jeweler with him the next day. It turns out, the jeweler was in New York and he had contacted them to see if maybe we could squeeze some time in to visit. I was SO excited.

Once we got into Grand Central we hopped on the subway and headed into Brooklyn. We ended up in front of this door in Williamsburg:

It reminded me of the Wizard of Oz door. It was so big and gothic and Mr. Rucksack looked so nervous and adorable standing outside of it.

After Caroline, the owner and bling-maker extraordinaire of Liloveve, introduced herself and showed us around her shop, we got down to business which for me just meant trying on pretty things! I ended up falling madly in love with the ring Mr. Rucksack picked out (it's the bottom left ring in my inspiration photo above!) and then we just made our changes to it: 18k yellow gold instead of the white gold I tried on, smaller width for the band, choosing a diamond, and a whole bunch of other things that I didn't pay attention to because I was so busy falling in love.

It was so hard to leave her shop without a ring in hand, but after we left Caroline was hard at work creating my ring!

And I'm probably biased but I think this must be her most beautiful ring so far:

Did you help to choose your ring or was it a total surprise?

Preppy Beach Color Scheme

There were so many schemes we could have gone with for our little beach wedding. We considered red, white and blue. Or even a play on red, white and blue with Nantucket red and blue & white seersucker. Then we thought about doing the classic sea glass scheme with greens, blues, and white. I even briefly considered going with natural with white and tan. But it didn't take too long to settle on navy, pink, and gold. After we had our initial colors down, I started playing with PowerPoint and Photoshop - creating tablescapes with different design pieces and elements. But as much as I played, I couldn't get it quite right. That's when I realized we needed to add another color.

Every time I imagined my personal bridal style, I pictured myself adorned in gold, pink and aqua/mint jewelry. Something like these babies:

Via Etsy Seller Julianne Blumlo

It seemed only natural to add aqua mint to the mix. So we now have this lovely color scheme:

Ta-da! Colors! I think they're the perfect mix of preppy and beachy.

After the colors were refined, I played around with my growing list of inspiration pics and assembled them into a mood board using PowerPoint:

Clockwise from left to right: Navy & White Chevron, xoxo Cake via Somewhere Splendid, Navy & Pink Nautical Wedding via Green Tree Photography, Ceremony Flags via Carley Rehberg, Holla via Lil Hoot, Flamingos via Joie Lala, Tablescape via Wedding Chicks, Pink Anenome Bouquet via Elizabeth Anne Designs

Look at those flamingos! I love me some flamingos and think they'll be so cute holding signs directing guests to the ceremony and reception!

For the overall scheme, I was going for modern, but still classic. Casual, but still chic. Fun, but not too kitschy. And beachy without screaming "Hey guys! We're at the beach!" It's the Hand in my Pocket of weddings. (Broke, but I'm happy and all that.)

Did you create an inspiration board to hone in on your scheme?

The Great Venue Reveal

After visiting every venue in the state of Connecticut (or at least their websites) and pulling out our hair debating exactly what type of wedding felt the most "us" we finally made a decision.

The winner is.... The Madison Surf Club!

Surprised? I kind of am too!

In the end, the Surf Club made the most sense for our budget and the feel of our wedding. We really want to provide a fun and casual day for our guests and we think this is the place to do it.

Remember my revised list of important wedding qualities? The Surf Club allows for us to have everything we want - and will be the least expensive option! Score!

Photo by Paul Cantrell

Here's a little reminder of what we wanted:

1. Our friends and family - This is an obvious one, but the Surf Club fits almost exactly the amount of guests we'll be inviting, topping out at 125.

2. Yummy food - Being able to hire our own caterer is a major plus since we'll be able to create a menu that is delicious, totally unique, and hopefully not too expensive.

3. Good wine and beer - We'll be allowed to bring in our wine and beer so we'll not only save a lot of money, but will be able to drink exactly what we want.

4. Music & dancing - Of course we would have had music at any venue we'd chosen, but I love that we'll have the option of dancing outside on the deck by the water.

Surf Club Entrance

Ceremony Location

Tented Deck for the reception

So what about the cons?

1. The rustic blank canvas - I've been looking at inexpensive ways to brighten the space a little and am thinking something along the lines of paper lanterns, candles, and white market lights, but the amount of options available is making me crazy! How can I possibly choose?

2. Beach bums - This is one I still have a slight reservation about, but I'm trying to just go with the flow and not worry about it. Even if there are kids at the snack bar or running by, as long as they don't come into our venue and put their hands in my cake we'll be cool. (That happened to me at my 10th birthday party at a mini golf place and it totally scarred me for life. Not cool, man. Not cool.) Maybe these kids will even think I'm a princess and I'll totally make their day! At least, that's what I'm going to tell myself. Oh and the screaming? We have a DJ to drown them out. And alcohol.

All in all though, I think it's the most perfect venue! And you know, if the negatives do become a reality, it doesn't really matter because I'll be marrying Mr. Rucksack. On the beach. And it will be awesome.

Did you have any cons to overcome with your wedding venue?