A Sneaky Dress!

I'm going to be honest with the blogosphere out there. There is something I've been keeping from you - something I haven't told you all.

Secretly, I'm a ninja. Ninjas are sneaky, and I'm gonna tell you all just how sneaky I am!

Nordstrom has a whole bunch of nice and spring-y dresses up on their website. There's quite a bunch that make me swoon, but also a bunch that make my wallet cry a little bit.

Luckily, there is some hope for us cheap skates out there :). Here's the proof.

This lovely number (by Teeze Me) can be found here at the Nordstrom site. It makes me smile, sitting at an affordable $68.00. Naturally, I don't like to spend more the $30-$50 on any one item of clothing (I swear, I was born thrifty), but for a nice new dress, I could tend to splurge a bit more. Especially if it was for a nice rehersal dinner perhaps?

I like to think that even though we're trying to have a wedding on a budget, I can still splurge a little on the trifecta. This is my term of endearment for the set of new 3 desses I am dying to purchase and also have to be perfect and give me "the one" feel. Wedding dress, rehearsal dinner dress, and bridal shower dress. It's not like I am just looking for an opportunity to shop . . . Okay, I really am just looking for a reason to shop, but the trifecta is totally necessary.

I almost forgot, I shared my "secret" with you all :). Ninja!

I was 0n the Windsor site later and found this dress!


Familiar right?! I know. But here's the best part - at Windsor, it's $64.90! Okay, okay, I realize you'd only get to save like $3.00. But that could be the cost of one invitation, right? And in wedding planning, every little bit helps!

After seeing the dress at Windsor, I got a little curious and did some serious google searching.
I found this!

Here it is at Dillard's! The best part about it though? It sits at a cool $59.00 which is totally more my style. I was surprised to see it, sitting at $10 less then the first time I saw it. $3 might be a toss up, but saving $10? I'm all about it.

These are all the full price for the dress, so I'll be hoping it goes on sale in the future.

The dress is only sold in juniors sizes, but right now, at 21, I can admit that I still shop in juniors. If the clothes are cute, they're cute! And besides, I'm still a bit of a kid. . . at least for the next 3 weeks untill I graduation!

Oh! And if you're all curious, this dress is available at Von Maur for $89.00

That's a party cake, for sure.

Has anyone ever visited White Flower Cakes? I hadn't, but I found the link via another blog that wasn't in English so I had no idea what it was saying, but it was a cake blog :). Anyway, I headed over to the gallery and found a cake that just really made me smile. I've been on the fence about if we want a traditional cake, or something a little more hip, but this one in definitely in the hip category. (source for all images)

So I just love this cake! As a huge fan of color, it just blows me away.
The website says: "The Lindsey C - This bride fell in love with The Daphne, but wanted a more tropical feel to it. Hand-sculpted sugar orchids, bold bright colors, (not to mention the flavor choice: coconut cake with a rum soak and a mango buttercream filling) made this cake the perfect centerpiece for her tropical outdoor reception at The Country Club. Serves 280."

The Daphne, eh? So after I read that, I had to find the Daphne. Needless to say, I was blown away, and now even more smitten with more 'contemporary' cakes. What White Flower Cakes says about the Daphne, "Vivid colors, retro patterns and a lush sugar bow topper make this cake an amazing centerpiece for your reception"

As if that wasn't enough for you to drool over, take a quick look at the Velma. "Bold vibrant colors and a tropical floral patterns give this cake a fresh summer feel, perfect for an outdoor wedding."

So, naturally, I'm completely in love with those cakes. Mr. Giraffe is definitely a more traditional kind of guy. But, White Flower has a number of traditional, and traditional with a twist cakes also.

I love the "Love" topper on the cake on the right.
All cake photos taken from White Flower Cake Gallery.

Anybody else drooling over cake photos?

Cute!

So depending on the amount of 'whimsy' in your wedding or playfulness, or theme; I think this dress from Sunday Brunch Dress could work as a bridesmaids dress or even the wedding dress. Either way, I'm drooling over it and I want someone to get it. It's gorgeous. I love it. Actually, someone should get it for me. Any takers :) ? At $570, the price is a little steep for BM dresses, but hey you never know!

Cute, cute, and cute!

Soooooo I love this 5 way wrap dress from Urban Minx. At first look, it doesn't seem quite fancy enough, but I would totally get this for my bridesmaids if it was the right color. It's on sale for a wonderful $138.50. which is quite the savings from the original $198.00.

I thought the photo on the site was used was cute, but when I clicked on 'more photos' I found the dress a way I liked even more. You can see all 5 ways to wrap the dress in the photos. As the web site says "make is look dressy, casual, or in between." That's what's great, your girls could wrap it to make it a little more classy, and then definitely re-wear it later! You could get so many looks out of it!

And, as everyone says, you should get your girls something they could wear again!

Love at first sight . . .

I have totally fallen for the bridesmaids dress over at Coren Moore. From the looks of the site, it seems like they're a pretty popular brand, but I haven't heard of them before. It seems like most of their dress are out of our budget ($150), but a girl can dream, right? Most of the dresses cost $220-$320, but what is nice is that you have your choice of what fabric you choose to order the dress in. Shantung, cotton sateen, and seersucker seem to be most of the options they offer. They also off group discounts. I wonder how much I could save if I really wanted some of their dresses for my girls? Hmmm, I'm not sure. I should check it out.

Another plus to Coren Moore is that the website is easy to navigate and nicely designer. It's always a turn off for me if I can't quite figure out the website. It makes me quickly navigate elsewhere.

So, without further ado, here are a few of the cutest / freshest bridesmaids dresses so far! (image source for all images)

Here is the Rose. The small photo doesn't do it justice. Head over to the website to size the full length photo in all it's glory. I'm actually quite smitten with it, but $290 is way over our $150 price tag. But it's the perfect length - Just above the knee is just right! Oh and those little ruffles around the neckline! Mmm - gorgeous! And I still have an obsession of putting a sash/bow on everyone, which doesn't work on all dresses, but it could work here! The nice flat panel around the waist could be perfect for a nice little sash.
Maybe they have sales? I'm not sure, I'll have to keep an eye on it. But regardless, this is love.

Oh Tara, how I love your neckline. You're so cute and sweet and definitely ready for the party. Tara is ready for all occasions actually! She can be bought as a full length dress under the evening section ($315), or as a shorter dress under the cocktail section ($285). Swoon! I love options!

Oh Lily, what's that you say? I was trying to add a sash to Rose, when you were all ready perfect for it? You guys have the same adorable neckline, but Lily's shape it just fantastic. So cute, so lovely!

So there they are! If your budget allows, I highly suggest heading over to the site to see some cute dresses!

Oh! And did I mention they have a bridal line too??

Who doesn't love to shop, really?

I told you all how much I love cake toppers so in spirit of that, I just had to share this really quick:I don't blame her :). I love to shop.
Is this right for your cake? Buy it here.

Unity Sand. . . What?

So Mr.Giraffe and I will not be doing a unity candle at our wedding, but I think what they stand for is very sweet and can be a touching/memorable moment for the mr and almost mrs.

I'd seen a few different unity candles, but in my mind, they were all pretty much the same. I think the reason for this is that I never really looked into them because we never planned to have one at our wedding.

Regardless, now I know that I am wrong and that there's a whole looooooot of different kinds of unity candles, all the same in their purpose but all slightly different. How did I learn this? Well I was at WhereBridesGo.com and after seeing a photo on their main page that made me curious, I clicked on it and it led me to their unity candle section. Okay, so now I'd see a pretty big amount of unity candles, but what about the photo on their main page that piqued my interest originally? (image source)

It's a unity sand (sand kit? sand set?) ?! I know, I know, I had never heard of it either. But honestly, what a neat idea!! It's such a cool twist on such a normal tradition that its super unexpected. I think it would be a treat for your guests, and I definitely think that it looks as pretty as a regular unity candle. It's just so . . . hip! I really can't find another word - It's hip, fresh, cool! It's so unheard of to me that I just love the idea. Another plus? You can choose sand to match your color scheme, for all those OCD brides out there (or pretty much any bride!).

What's cool about this one is that you can have the hear personalized. It's hard to see in the photo, but there are initals on the heart. The biggest most awesomest upside? I'm not sure how people hold onto a unity candle (I couldn't burn foreve), but the sand 'jar' would be a great mamento of the wedding to have and display in your home.

WhereBridesGo.com also has different unity sand a couple other styles for brides with different tastes (image source 1, image source 2).


Any body else [happily] surprised by the idea of using sand instead of a candle?