Review: Dyeable Shoes

My shoes initially looked like this


Even after taking them off for the walk across the stream to get to our ceremony spot


they got wet in the rain before our reception and now look like this:


In case you haven't been following I searched for turquoise shoes for months and finally settled on some dyeable flats from David's Bridal.
Not to fear! I had a back up pair of fuschia flip flops I got for $3 at Target in case I couldn't find anything else.


Warning! If there is any possibility that you or your bridesmaids will be walking outside in dyeable shoes - don't do it. I knew this was going to happen even if it didn't rain. But I really wanted this color and wasn't willing to settle. People have told me that even if you barely walk in grass that may be damp the color will run. Either give in and get something else, keep looking, or have backups.

In the end I think we got some great photos of my blue shoes and kinda liked wearing the flip flops during our reception.

Ring Bowl Love

One of the best finds I have found in the wedding blog world was the discovery of Paloma's Nest Ring Bowls via Etsy. I have seen them featured on nearly all of my favorite wedding blogs at least once so I knew that I had to have one as a wedding present to myself.

We didn't have it done to carry our rings for our ceremony but do think that it would have been a cute idea. Instead we both plan on using it to hold our rings on the nightstand.

I would recommend a ring bowl to anyone. It also comes with the beautiful packaging. I love the simplicity!

Something Borrowed...

In all of the pre-wedding frenzy I forgot to post about my something borrowed. I previously posted about my something old, something new, and something blue.

For my something borrowed I went the practical route rather than sentimental and borrowed a fuchsia satin clutch from a friend because it matched the color of my hairflower.



I used it to hold my make-up and toothbrush. I had a horrible cold with a runny nose and cough the week of the wedding so this clutch came in handy to hold Kleenex. Luckily my cold stayed at bay I didn't need to use any during the ceremony or the entire reception.

What was/is your something borrowed?

We are hitched!

Yeah we are married!!!

The entire week was just wonderful. Our ceremony in Sedona was much more than I could of asked for and our reception in Phoenix was so much fun and exactly what we wanted. My mom said the photos from the ceremony spot didn't even look real, like we were standing in front of a backdrop.

Unfortunately it was raining all day Saturday before the reception. In the last 100 years it averages <1 day with rain for the entire month of April, go figure. Although we thought we were in the clear it continued to rain again around 5 for another 45 minutes. This was during our photos and the set up. The caterer's moved the tables and chairs 3 times! But just as the guests were arriving the sky opened to sunshine and a double rainbow appeared. It was gorgeous! Several of our friends including my dissertation advisor said that only Melissa and Matt would have a wedding with a rainbow. I don't know if this is good luck but we will take it as a blessing of our marriage.

I am back to the real world and need to catch up on many things. But here are a few photos my brother took from our amazing wedding weekend.

Thank You Blogoshpere!

Well, tomorrow is the big day! Matt and I are both super excited and ready to begin the next chapter in our lives together.



I wanted to extend a big thank you to all of the friends, family, brides, and newlyweds that have checked in on this little blog over the last year. I have truly enjoyed sharing this journey and appreciate all of the advice and well wishes. I originally started this blog to share my ideas with my mom and mother in law and it has grown into something larger. I knew nothing about blogs and certainly had no idea of the enormous amount of inspiration and advice out there in the virtual world of wedding blogs. The wedding planning experience has certainly benefited thanks to this experience.

Thursday night is our ceremony at Red Rock Crossing in Sedona followed by a small dinner with our family. Friday is our "welcome happy hour" for out of town guests and close friends at one of our favorite spots (and will be our first outing as husband and wife!). Finally Saturday is our Fiesta Reception in Phoenix.

Don't worry I wont disappear from the blogosphere. We have another reception in May to plan and there are still lots of DIY projects I never posted. As well as recaps of all of our events! I am sure I will be "wedding obsessed" as Matt likes to say for a few more months but I am looking forward to transitioning this blog to newlywed life - full of the other things that I do (crafting, cooking, traveling, etc.)

Happy Easter and I will see you when I am a Mrs!

Cool Find of the Week

How fabulous is this idea? I saw it here from Offbeat Bride.



Not only did the bride rock an awesome red wedding dress but the wedding had tons of creative ideas. Here are thier words about the cutout:

" We blew our parents' wedding photos up to life size, cut out the faces, and put them on stands like a carnival photo opp. We got a Polaroid camera and asked guests to pose in the cut-outs and write a message to us on the photo (or take their own on their digital photos)."

So wish I would have seen this a few months ago.

Kid's Wedding Activity Book

Apparently I just can't stop with the DIY projects. I made an activity book for our little quests at our Fiesta themed reception this Saturday. I was already planning to do an activity book for our hometown reception in May where there will be a half dozen or so little cousins running around. Doing it now allowed me to test out some ideas (and well you know, procrastinate of course).



The project was really simple. I pulled together some images and printed them out on some cardstock leftover from our invitations. I scored the pages down the center then used a hole punch and some more left over ribbon to secure the pages. And Voila!


I used images from the web such as those found here. I also found some great ideas from this post on Bridal Buds. You can download a word document and print it out as is after changing the names or play around with some of the images like I did. Many people include word searches or crosswords. Out lil' quests are all <7 so we didn't include anything but coloring pages. I will include little bundles of colors for them to use at the party or to take home and color later.

What are you doing for the lil' quests?

Show me a sign!

This week has been full of the final DIY projects. Only a few more days to go!!!

I blogged a few months ago about how we are trying to reuse several items we already have or only buy new things that we can use after the wedding as a way to be more ecofriendly. I finished up all of the signs for the Fiesta reception using frames we already have as well as left over paper from the invitations. This was also very budget friendly in addition to being green!

The Buffet Menu:

The Bar Menu:

The Candy Table:

Something Blue...

My shoes are my something blue.


A great shade of dark turquoise or teal or peacock. Or you can just call them blue. A simple ballet-esque flat shoe.

It took me FOREVER to find the right shoes to wear. The dress was also an ordeal but the shoes were a nightmare. I am not necessarily 100% in love with them but I swear I looked everywhere and although going barefoot was appealing I needed to do something.

I ended up getting them at David's Bridal. First off let me say that I despise this store. It is sort of like Walmart. You may hate what they stand for but since they have managed to take over every corner of the globe you can't help but find yourself inside thinking your getting a great deal at the expense of customer service. After ordering nearly a half dozen pairs of shoes on-line, looking in every store in town, and hours surfing the web I found myself heading inside to the big DB.

I had heard of several horror stories from fellow blogging brides about DB and I myself had 2 less than polite encounters when trying to find a dress. But I went in anyway. And low and behold I found a pair - the right price, comfy fit, and really cheap dying price ($3). So I ordered a pair and waited 4 weeks (!!!) to pick them up after they were dyed.

I really didn't want to go the dyeable route but I was set on this color and had no luck elsewhere. After I picked them up I REALLY wish I hadn't gone the dyeable route. I stood there in disbelief over how sloppy they were. Not only was there all sorts of dye on the bottom sole but there were at least 5 spots where the origional satin was visible. Because of all of the slop over on the sole the seam between the sole and the shoe had a striped appearance. I asked to see a manager and explained that I at least wanted the white satin covered up and the mess on the sole should be an even mess if the slopover with the dye was unavoidable. She sent them back to the "dye girl" (her words, not mine) immediately. They came out in about 10 minutes and she said they should dry and blend.


Anyway I am sure no one is still reading but I let them dry for a few days and they looked like they had water marks on the bottom and were absolutely horrible. I called DB prepared to be stern to demand that they redye a new pair right this time. I was sort of freaking out because the wedding was just 11 days away at this point and barefoot seemed like it was no longer a choice. But the phone call was very easy and the manager remembered my issue and said they would dye a new pair and have them ready for me the next day. Good. I was very relieved and despite having to wait 20 minutes for the sales girl to find them, they were ready the next day.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend going with dyeable shoes, but if you have your heart set on a specific color it opens up alot more styles. DB is much cheaper than getting a custom color dye. My seamstresses salon charges $30 for a custom color match. So maybe I got what I paid for. Despite generally rude experiences with salespeople and the sloppy "dye girl" I don't think DB is as bad as the corporate wedding evil giant I originally thought. The manager was very helpful and willing to make things right with very little effort. Any hey, sometimes going to the corporate giant makes shopping a little easier or at least they have some selection.

Did anyone else have a difficult time with their wedding day attire? Either with finding it or getting it right?

Real Wedding Inspiration - Florals

Check out these amazing flowers from a wedding recently featured on the Bride's Cafe.




The colors are gorgeous and I love the hanging arrangements.
I am not sure but it looks like the arrangements have mint. Even if these don't mint would be a fabulous addition. Mint leaves have such great texture in addition to the scent.

Hair Trial

All of you other brides put me to shame. Just a week and a half away til W-Day and I have just made all of the hair arrangements. I went in for a short consultation yesterday and I got a quick 10 minute hair trial. Not paying for a full trial allowed me to get a sense of the style and still afford appointments for both the ceremony and reception 2 days later. Besides since I wasn't interested in an updo a full trial isn't really necessary. The day of will look very similar but with more product to make it last. Just what I wanted - loose natural curls with bangs swept to the side.


We also played around a little with the hair flower and I think I decided to place it just behind the ear. Since I am wearing pearl studs I think I will leave the flower as is and not add a pearl or rinestone in the center. This is also me sans makeup which gives me hope that I won't look half bad.



Won't we look cute!! So excited. Today we are officially in the single digit countdown. Yeah!!!

And the award goes to...

The lovely Dana over at Once a Bride gave me this award. She just recently launched her own wedding and event design company, Revel and Bloom, and I wish her luck!

I must tell you 7 things I love.

1. My fiance of course

2. Traveling

3. Friday nights in

4. Happy Hour specials

5. The internet

6. Crafting

7. Antique shopping

Thanks so much Dana. I have fallen horribly behind on my blog reading, which should also be on the list :) so I am not going to pass along to anyone specific. Instead I pass it along to all of my followers. Thanks to those who recently joined! I have some more free time this week so I will be catching up to see how you all have been Kreativ.

Kids at the Wedding

I am so excited that we have 2 kids coming to our Fiesta Wedding reception. Okay, so I know it is not that many but I really wanted some kids to come. They always seem to lighten the mood. And well I am not going to lie, I had big ideas for some kid centric DIY projects and if no kids were coming it would seem silly to do the projects. I plan on making some sort of gift bag for our two special short friends that includes some activity books and crayons and not sure what else....

What do you think about these activity books from We Met in a Bar. Didn't she do a fabulous job!


At our hometown reception in Nebraska this May there will be plenty of kids. I will have to use this idea then as well. Since it is a backyard reception I was also thinking of getting some bubbles or setting up a special small table covered in butcher paper for them to go wild coloring.

Any other ideas for little quests?

The 411 on Gift Delivery

While continuing to procrastinate I found the following info about Wedding Gift Etiquite from Emily Post.

"... Generally, wedding gifts should be delivered to the bride's home or to the home of her parents before the wedding, addressed to the bride. When gifts are sent after the wedding, they are sent to the couple at their new address. When a couple is living together before the wedding, gifts are either sent to them at their home address or to the bride's parents if they are hosting the wedding. In some areas and cultures, it is customary to bring the gift to the wedding reception rather than deliver it ahead of time."

I quess the "some areas and cultures" includes Midwesterners who prefer to tote thier gifts to the reception.

The link also contains some good info about gift etiquite. But I say etiquite smetiquite. I am just thankful for any gifts at all. To our guests: bring it however you want. We are glad you are thinking of us.

Gift Table?

I love doing the blogger poll gadget. I like seeing what the "popular" ideas are about a wedding subject but not so sure how I feel when I disagree. (Meaning the whole dancing is fun thing - seriously?). Anyway I was procrastinating again thinking about what to do for a new one when I remembered a wedding etiquette discussion among some friends.

photo from here

What do you do with the gift? Some feel that it is rude and tacky to bring it to the reception to display on a gift table. While others didn't understand how else you should get it to the couple and that a classic wedding picture is always of the gift table.

So I ask my readers. How do you prefer to deliver your gift? I set up a poll on the right.

It would also be great to get some comments about the idea of a gift table. Where do you put it, decorate it, photograph it, who do you get to take care of it when the reception is over, etc.