Our Aruba Wedding

I’m running out of time to order things so I really need to make some product decisions. I’m considering some that I’ve read about but haven’t tried. I’ve collected some links of some products I’m thinking about trying. Anyone used any of these? And I don’t know what it JUST occurred to me, but I need to find some good waterproof items. I’ve been thinking that my wedding day make-up is being done for me BUT there is the sailing excursion and (hopefully) the Trash the Dress!

For “Melt-Proof Make-up,” Real Simple suggests this mineral foundation primer by Becca. They say: “TheBECCA Mineral SPF Primer  keeps your makeup in place regardless of heat or sweat, due to an oil-free, water-resistant formula that leaves skin matte and protected with SPF 30. It also contains antioxidants, including vitamins A, E, green tea and Enzyme Q10.” It pricey but might be worth a try.

“To Stay Cool,” they suggest LaRoche Posay Thermal Spring Water . “On hot days, toss a bottle of LaRoche Posay Thermal Spring Water into your purse and use it on the go. The light mist instantly refreshes skin without disturbing your makeup (quite the contrary; experts often use it to set makeup), and its water is rich in minerals to help reduce redness and irritation.” I was thinking about getting this travel size to put into my girlfriends’ welcome bags. Amazon has the best price.

I really should be in bed right now but “Say Yes to the Dress” is on and rooting me to the couch. Its interesting though – I woke up so down and haven’t been sleeping well at all. I’ve had a bit of a headache all day (please don’t be the beginning of the flu!) and was totally burned out on ‘anything wedding’. Well, as soon as I vented here, I started actually getting some things done! Just little things but right now every little bit count! I revisited the sailing excursion issue, looked into my chocolate bar favors and find out I still have time to order them, contacted a company about a shirt for my groom and am hoping we have time to have it shipped (from India). I also started on the design for the CDs (the software they provide to design with is junk so I’ve found a template I can work with in Photoshop). And, I dug the printer out of the spare room, changed the ink and am hoping it will print without a fight.

Anyway — I just wanted to follow up on our trip to NYC. We visited the famed Kleinfeld to look at accessories. The windows were so amazing – gorgeous! It was kind of funny walking in there though. We walk in together and there is this light blue carpet and this high counter / desk and behind it are 4 or 5 women, all with dark hair and a LOT of make-up, ALL looking at us. We were directed downstairs to accessories and as we are on our way down he leans over and says something like “I feel like we just walked into a brothel!”. (Actually his wording was more colorful than that but I don’t need to repeat it.) Part of me wanted to elbow him and tell him to behave but I could only laugh because I was thinking the exact same thing! ‘Come on in my darlings… we have lots of nice girls for you…’ (Of course their girls are dresses but it was still funny. No one actually said that but it seemed like they could have.)

I looked mostly at some earrings and bracelets and geez they were expensive. What looked like simple crystal earrings were $180. Seriously? A simple bangle with a single row of rhinestones, $105. I also saw a cuff that was nearly $300 that I swear I recognized from Overstock.com where it’s being sold for just over $100. While I wouldn’t pay that much for costume jewelry, I was hoping to at least get inspiration. There were a couple of pairs of earrings I did like. And wouldn’t you know, I found one of them on eBay for $18 vs the $160+ at Kleinfeld. I’m not sure they’re right for the dress, but for $18 I bought them anyway. At least now I have backup.

The highlight of my month!?!? My Jimmy Choos have just arrived! I am so in love with these shoes (and of course the wonderful man that bought them for me)! I have to admit that I just picked probably the most impractical wedding shoes given that we’re having our ceremony on the beach and dinner on a lawn! I tried these on when we were in London this spring and couldn’t stop thinking about them. By the time I finally decided I had to have them, they were sold out worldwide. I had even emailed them through their website hoping they’ll notify me if they get a pair of this Ivory Macy. I’ve also been searching eBay and have googled til I couldn’t see straight. Then, Friday morning, there it is… an email from a London Jimmy Choo boutique! It was meant to be, right? 

Getting them here wasn’t as easy as we thought it would be though. Shipping was expensive (over $50) and then they were held hostage at US Customs! My fiance got the call and had to become an ‘importer’? Really it just amounted to a form he had to fill out for FedEx, and I’m sure more $$$ for duties.

I have a nice totally practical pair of Cole Haan “Ceci Mid Air Heels“. (Well, not totally practical because they are still heels, but more practical than a 4.25″ stiletto.) Beautiful shoes but I just wanted something sexier! Is it wrong that I am more excited about my shoes than my wedding dress? I love my dress but agonize over that last few pounds I have to lose to feel confident in it. The shoes are sexy even if I don’t lose an ounce!

So — I have a couple of options for the walk down the aisle. One, my planner has a white carpet runner that could let me wear my shoes. The catch — no real rose petals allowed on the carpet. Darn! I had wanted an aisle of real pink and orange rose petals. So, option 2 – a high heel wedge shoe for the ceremony and dinner, saving my fab shoes for pictures and dancing. Here’s the problem with that option — the wedges are 3-1/2″ tall, the Choos are 4-1/4″ tall. So do I tailor to the wedges and then have a dress that’s a little too short when I put on the Macys? Or do I tailor to the Macy’s and have a dress that’s a little too long when I wear the flip flops? Am I crazy for even putting this much energy into thinking about this?

Do you have a ‘totally impractical but gotta have it’ thing?

Well I haven’t given much thought to “Something Borrowed, Something Blue” yet, but I have finally started looking for my bridal jewelry. Aside from my engagement ring I don’t have anything glam. I’ve been looking for some really nice CZ pieces but am shocked at how expensive they are. Then I stumbled across a site that will rent diamond jewelry. Kind of seemed like a weird idea at first but then I started looking around. There is a gorgeous $9800 necklace on there that can be rented for $290 (the beautiful ‘lace’ pattern can’t really be seen in the photo, left.) I’m also in love with some beautiful diamond drop earrings for just over $100, close to the price I was going to pay for CZ. (Though don’t get me started on the $21,000 bracelet – out of my league but wow). Of course the nice thing about CZ is that I’ll have it forever. The question is, will I wear it again? Do I want it as a keepsake? Or could these glamorous diamonds be my ’something borrowed’? Just check out all of the bridal magazines and shows where they’ve been featured…

Something Borrowed and Something New - Diamond Jewelry Rental

Well I know I’m doing this backwards but I need to find my bridal lingerie. (I had my first dress fitting last week even though I didn’t have my under garments picked out yet.) I have tried SEVERAL bustiers and am having a really hard time. I think I’ve exhausted the least expensive and local options. I keep hearing about the Va Bien bridal bustier (available at Bare Necessities) and am finally going to give it a try… Of course my concern is heat in Aruba. How much will I be able to bear as far as shaping garments?

Yay — I’m so excited that I think I’ve found a fantastic welcome bag component. I’ve spent a lot of time looking at ‘reviews’ of what brides put in their welcome bags along with notes of what items were a big hit and what items were a waste. Well over and over I’ve read that can / bottle koozies are a big hit in destination wedding OOT bags! As much as I like the idea though, I didn’t want cheap cookie cutter koozies. I ended up getting discouraged during my search and had taken a break from looking for them when I stumbled across some FANTASTIC koozies on Etsy.com. PinkGasoline makes some super fun and festive koozies in just about any color. (They have can, bottle, wine bottle and even sippy cup koozies!) You can get a discount by ordering as few as 4 koozies and can place a ‘wholesale’ order for as few as 25. You can also ‘mix and match’ styles, colors and patterns.

I love the fact that I can get some pretty koozies in different patterns. Being able to order mutiple patterns will help guests keep track of what belongs to who, and will make each bag a little more personal. They can even be embroidered if you wish.

Check out Alicia, Stacey, Beth’s store on Etsy.com: PinkGasoline

I’ll be ordering some of the pinks and oranges. (Note, there are even some fun orange prints cool enough for ‘the boys’ to carry!)

By the way — the number one thing brides seem to say to not bother with is sunscreen — people know they’re going to a hot place and bring their own. I do plan to bring extra sunscreen and leave it with my bridemaids. I’ll put a note in the welcome bag letting people know they can contact one of the girls if they forgot their sunscreen. We will also bring plenty of sunscreen (and Dramamine) with us to share on our sailing excursion if that comes together.

OMG – this is an awesome day on Gilt! Stila bronzing powders and 24 kt lip gloss over half off. Fun, funky tropical beach wear and dresses from TIBI. Below are pictures of just a few of the items on sale. I really need to stop looking at this site! Gilt offers private 2 day designer sales at slashed prices (Stila and Tibi sales mentioned here end Wednesday July 22nd at midnight and items sell out fast). Sign-up is quick and free and if you choose they’ll send you a daily reminder of boutiques opening that day. (That’s what keeps getting me in trouble but I can’t help it!) I don’t receive other spam or junk mail from them – this is a first class site. Sign-up for Gilt.com»

24 hours only, these awesome Swarovski crystal Haviana flip flops are on sale half off at Ruelala!

While this isn’t Aruba specific, if you’re like me the wedding budget may be squeezing every other budget of yours. One of the websites I use to get a “Designer Fix” is Gilt.com. These are short private sales of about three days each. The Stewart Weitzman boutique JUST opened up and has a few different pairs of really cute metallic silver or gold sandals that would be great with a wedding dress. There are also some wedges that would be great for a tropical location. That sale ends 7/2/09. Another designer, Helen Kaminski has some great light tops and woven bags and hats perfect for a beach destination! (That sale ends tomorrow at midnight!) The Ali Ro boutique is also open – there is a super cute Silk Print Habotai Bustier dress that would make a really fun bridesmaid dress. Below are just a few of the items featured right now on Gilt.com.