Inside Lairmont Manor

Here is a picture of inside Lairmont Manor. Check out the wooden walls.

Wedding Theme

So with the planning I have been focused on our venue, with the wedding theme in the back of my mind. I just knew I wanted an Eco-friendly wedding, with some meaningful traditions. I had also always planned on incorporating some Lord of the Rings elements. Anyways, after thinking about it, Why not make it more of an overall Lord of the Rings theme (minus the Orcs and ears). It has a lot of meaning to me and Jesse, and it is Romantic, Pretty and Natural.

I'll post some more idea pictures soon!
I also have some inside pictures of Lairmont, I will post tonight.

Update! Save the Date August 24th 2009

We choose a date, and reserved a Venue as well! Now it is happening really fast. It's Monday, August 24th 2009.
We have the Lairmont Manor reserved and we are going this weekend to check it out again. I'll be sure to bring a camera this time, and post the pictures!

Bride Wars Review

Bride Wars Review-
We went to see Bride Wars last night. The premise is two friends somehow end up with competing weddings. After reading many reviews I wasn't expecting much. I was very pleased with Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway performances. Their relationship was the main focus of the film and it was well explored.

However, This is not really a Romantic-Comedy. The male characters fell a little flat, they were generic and not treated as very important. [Example: When asked if they want to check with the groom about the wedding date, both ladies imediately say "no"] Overall, It was a nice girl-friend flick, but not a Romantic one. Plus, there was quite a lot of ideas and themes that I know I don't want. =P It also made me appreciate that I will have a really close friend to help plan and care about the details, and He's my fiance.

To Veil or not to Veil

While researching I really discover how much I don't know about this wedding stuff. The one decision that I have made for the entire wedding so far is regaurding my headware. I want a circlet (see previous post). My initial thoughts of the Veil was that if I had the circlet it is not needed, and buying one from a gown store I know it would be overpriced and made oversees probably (basicaly not inconjuction with our wedding's overall theme).

Then,my Future-MIL offered to make me a Veil. This removed all of the aforementioned reasons not to have a veil, now thinking about it, It would definately make me feel a lot more 'Bride-y'. BTW, She is a fabric artist, and I'm sure it would be exactly what I want. If only I knew what I wanted (short, Long, Birdcage, angled, over my face) I'm still not even sure what all that means. I'm also not a extremely put-together sort of dresser, If I like it I will wear it (ie. bright orange sneekers with my work dress pants).

So does a veil and circlet clash? Or is that a silly question?

My guess my first step if to find my dress!

Venue Scouting in Bellingham

This Saturday Mr. Geologist and I drove around to scout out venues in B-ham. The vision we had imagined of a beautiful archway among the evergreen trees of the Northwest with a pretty waterfall behind us, isn't exactly feasible.

After a couple places I have to admit I was getting pretty pessimistic. The Lovely Idea of a wedding out in nature comes with quite a few realities that I did not want deal with. Bringing in food, electrical if there was to be dancing (and there is to be dancing), permits, etc., Plus I just could not see myself in a pretty white dress, hiking around. Anyways, We visited (i.e. walking around) the Roeder house and discovered that though the historic house looked nice, the lawn area was very small and on the corner of the road. Absolutely no Privacy outside. 

The Picture above is from the Lairmont Manor. When we arrived Mr. Geologist and I had the same feeling, 'Wow, A place we can actually picture ourselves being married at. There was a very cute Sword-in-the-Stone in the front, and a cute courtyard with a fountain, and hedges to give the place a very intimate feeling. We didn't bring the camera to take our own photos, unfortunately. Not sure yet if this is 'The' Place, much more to scout out. 

We are planning more venue scouting further South, but I am glad to at have some options. I also have a better Idea of what I am looking for. Exciting!

Wedding Music: Any Suggestions?

Mr. Geologist and I are really into music, and we have already started to compile a list. However, our taste tends to run indie, and although I would love everyone to enjoy the songs we enjoy, I also want people on the dance floor. Especially Mr. Geologist's Father. Though I think Okerville River is awesome, they have quite a unique sound that I don't think everyone will apperciate.

A few of the songs on the Playlist now:

Nothing Better - By Postal Service {..Tell me am I right to think that there could be nothing better, Than making you my wife and slowly growing old together...}

Come Away with Me - Norah Jones

Take Off Your Cool - Outkast

I Will Follow You into the Dark - Death Cab for Cutie 

The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows - Brand New

Anyone have any suggestions for Classic/Good songs that are good for dancing? Or opinoins of meaningful songs to the couple vs. songs that everyone enjoys? Also I have been keeping almost all the songs of the Romantic Variety,

A Few Mexican Wedding Traditions

Money Dance - Guest will pin money to the bride or groom to dance with them, this is to help the new couples nest egg, as well as give the bride and groom a chance to visit with each guest. Picture from http://hystudio.wordpress.com/2007/08/28/vicky-vince/

Yay or Nay? Yay-ish, Though it does some a little silly, it does seem like a fun way to get people on the dance floor, and a way for me to spend a some (even just a little) individual time with each guest. 

Heart Shaped Piñata- Piñatas are brightly colored tissue-papered containers filled with candy, They are hung on rope and children are blindfolded and try to hit it open with a stick. My Grandpa used to make them for me and my sister on our birthdays, and they are very fun, for everyone watching (depending on how many times the hitter is spun around), and my dad always has fun swinging the Piñata just out of reach. 

Yay or Nay? Depending on how many kids will be attending, I would opt for one if feasible (Adult who are not familiar with Piñatas tend to stare at the ground once it is smashed open, instead of running like crazy to grab as much candy as possible).

Green? I think so, You can buy some at the supermarket or party store that has been made in China and shipped here, using brand new materials, or it is very easy and a fun activity to make your own with old newspaper, some tissue paper, ballons and some flour and water. Making it yourself (or having a handy family member make one) will also make it a lot more personal and special for your day. you can make your piñata into almost anything that has meaning for you. We are thinking of a Chincilla (as we have one) See the follow website for instructions: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Piñata

These are just a couple of  traditions we are thinking of including at our wedding, as we are a mixed bag we have a lot of ideas to choose from. 

Corpse Bride Review

Of all the wedding related movies I have, Corpse bride is among the few that the bride and groom end up acctually getting married!

This movie looks amazing, and is really fun. It is not animated, it is done with still shots (a la Nightmare before Christmas) It does make you appreciate living in a society without arranged marraiges (although it does work out for them). I enjoyed the juxapostion of the land of the living (gloomy) versus the land of the dead (surprisingly lively). We wathed the special features as well, and It is really impressive the amount of dedication to detail that they did. Also, Christopher Lee was just awesome.

The movie did get me thinking about Traditions. We are not very traditional people but I've started doing some reseach. Jewish and Mexican have many traditions to work with so we will see. I will post later on the intresting stuff I find.

Bridal Headware

So There are a lot of options for headware. 

There are Tiaras, Veils, Feathers, ect. 

My choice will be a circlet, and I found this really cool website:  http://www.medievalbridalfashions.com/

You can see that the artist was inspried by Lord of the Rings. 

Having one handcrafted piece will be stunning, and I think it will stay true to my hope of having a wedding that will help local/small buisnesses and artists, and not hurt the Earth in the Process.

I have yet to find the perfect Chuppah/archway.. etc.  

Follow-up Wedding Expo Post:

Listed below our favorite booths.

The Eco-Friendly Seattle based DJ couple Bamboo Beats. We were inpressed by their commitment to be as green as possible. Such as driving a hybrid to the event, buying green powed, and using digital media. We were also happy to hear that the DJ liked the Lord of the Rings, we were thinking of some music at the ceromony. Our first date was to see the Two Towers and it's very romantic to us.

Pour Girls and Some guys was also intresting, They served us some Thomas Keeper. We found it pretty nice that we would bring the drinks and they would take care of the serving, Ice, etc. Another nice way to make it completely personalized.

Mike's Amazing Cakes was a definately a show-stopper. They are very unique cakes and pretty well, amazing. Very Ace-Of-Cakes.

This was just to name a few of the venders of course. It did give us some good ideas, but perhaps a little further from choosing the venue.

Wedding Expo!

Lauren Wedding Expo Photos

Hey All, Here is some Expo photos. A lot from the fashion show. Found a lot of great stuff and a lot of stuff I know I don't want. It's getting late and we are snowed in tonight so I will post some of the coolest booths later. There was an Eco-Friendly DJ couple, some Bartenders (Pour Girls), and a photographer that looked pretty nice. I also tried on a dress [My first] that the sales lady really wanted me to get, because it was 300$ off. I didn't really feel up to buying the first dress I tried that was 2 sizes too small. =P

-Lauren