Southern Sweethearts: It's Close to Midnight...

Our wedding was just a week after Halloween (my favorite celebration of the entire year) and in a city known for its ghoulish residents. So in addition to the ghost tour after the rehearsal dinner, I thought it would be fun to do the official "Thriller" dance at the reception!

So, I put the word out to our guests well before the wedding to learn the dance if they wanted to participate. And as we lined up at the reception, I was actually surprised that we got so many takers!

Quickly going over the dance one last time.

I didn't practice as much as I should have, but I think I did all right. But a couple of my college buddies TORE UP the dance floor and could have put Michael Jackson himself to shame!

Mr. Lab decided he didn't know the dance well enough and bailed halfway through! LOL

Kevin, Kelly, and Ian doing their thing!

Bucket List:
Win the lottery.
Touch myself inappropriately at my own wedding.
Fly to the moon.

Ian and Kevin were really into the dance. They knew every move and I kept cheating off of them to keep up! I can't wait to see this part of our wedding video. I'm gonna DIE laughing!

(right photo by guest)

After "Thriller", the rest of our guests joined us for some "regular" dancing.

We had a little of everything. Classic rock, hip hop, pop, and of course, "Cupid's Shuffle", which is fast-becoming a wedding classic.

I spy two bees! ;)

We danced with the kids...

...in a circle of friends...

...and with relatives!

L: My younger brother and sister. R: With my mom's cousin.

I never knew until looking through the photos the serious moves some of our guests pulled of the bag. I'm guessing the full bar lead to some liquid courage.

I slipped out of the reception for a few minutes to change into something a little more comfortable. (And I finally fixed my hair flower!)

Our DJ played a couple slower songs for the guests with significant others.

At this point, our photographer stole us away to do a special project outside (which you'll see soon!). It was fun, but it took us way longer than I expected and we ended up missing a lot of the dancing. If you know me at all, you know I'm a dancer. Like, not only was I in a hip hop-focused dance company, but I also love to dance any time there's music. I expected our wedding to be a huge dance party, but I missed most of it! :(

Is a dance-reception important to you? Or will you take after someone like Mrs. Turtle and nix the dancing?

Previously on Southern Sweethearts:

• Southern Belles Do Tea
• A Rude Vendor Interrupts Our Rehearsal
• We Have Dinner on the Savannah River
• A Spooky Ghost Tour and My Last Fling
• Our Wedding Trailer
• Becoming a Blushing Bride
• I Slip Into My eBay Wedding Dress
• The Fellas Get “Sessay”
• He Got Boudoir, I Got Bling
• An Unplanned First Look
• Our Wedding Party…and Paparazzi
• Details Tell the Story
• Years of Waiting for This Moment (Ceremony Part: 1)
• We Tie the Knot with Faith, Hope, & Love (Ceremony Part: 2)
• My Wedding Party Poses for Mug Shots While We Take Formals
• We Shared a Private Dinner for Two During Cocktail Hour
• Our Wedding Party Lines Up for Introductions
• We Nom on Publix and Sanford Stadium Cakes
• Dancing with Our “Stars”
• Toasts & Tosses
  

Next Up: A guest sings us a special song!

*All professional photos by Lindsi Jones Photography. Some images may have been slightly altered by moi.

Playing Dress Up

I've just about finished shopping for outfits for all my remaining wedding events and wanted to give you ladies a preview! Some purchases were steals while others were splurges (luckily, FMIL gave Mr. Lab and I $300 just for wedding outfits as a gift last time we visited her). I even plan on reselling at least one of the dresses after the wedding, so if you see something you like, let me know to call dibs! ;)

First up, my bridesmaids' brunch outfit. I'm throwing my girls a tea party at Savannah Tea Room. I've instructed all the girls to wear frilly dresses and floppy hats so we can channel our inner Southern Belles for the brunch! And of course, since I'm the bride I'll be wearing white:

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I scored this cute ruffly dress at Forever 21 for only $27! Definitely one of my "steals". To spruce up the dress a bit I bought the following accessories:

The same J. Crew belt Mrs. Cowboy Boot wore on her wedding dress. I've been eyeing it ever since this post and finally decided to snatch it up when it went on sale. I'll be able to wear it often as it matches a million things in my closet!

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A pretty, girly necklace:

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All some matchy girly earrings:

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I'll be wearing white wedge sandals I already own. And of course, my floppy hat the FILs got me! It looks like this:

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But boy would I love to own something as whimsical as this:

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But all is well. I plan to jazz up my hat with some ribbon and maybe even some tulle. ;)

Next up, the rehearsal dinner outfit! This was a pricier purchase and I will definitely resell to recoup my costs (I can't help it! I hate wearing things I already own for big events, so I buy now and resell later. I like to think of it as "renting" an outfit! hehe). I got this dress from Mod Cloth (I can now thank Mrs. Apple Cider for my new obsession with their clothing which is typically out of my price range! :P).

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I have a black cardigan I'll carry with me in case it's cold that night (we'll be outside for the rehearsal then on the riverboat for dinner and the ghost tour after that). I haven't found any shoes to go with the dress yet but I'm looking for some along these lines (but waaaay cheaper):

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I'm wearing black flower stud earrings I already own plus this dramatic statement necklace:

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Then comes the reception/after party dress. Some of you may remember that I already had a dress for this part of the wedding weekend (as seen in my profile pic). But due to an unfortunate (and shameful) event during my bachelorette party (still waiting on photos from my girls *hint hint!* so I can post), I no longer have my dress. So I had to find a replacement. It took forever but I finally settled on one that comes close to the way I felt about my engagement dress.

I really really really wanted this one because it would compliment my wedding dress so perfectly...

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...but $400 is simply too much for me to justify. And I couldn't even use the excuse of reselling it because I KNOW if I bought this dress I wouldn't give it up for the world. *le sigh* If I were a short dress bride, that would be my wedding dress in a heartbeat!

So I went back to the search, deciding that I wanted something similar to my original reception dress but a little more bridal. I quickly came across a photo I used for inspiration. I love Solange's dress!

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Working off the inspiration photo I found this gem!

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I've said it before and I'll say it again; if it blings, sparkles, or glitters, I LOVE IT. The sweetheart neckline and flower embellishment just sent my love over the edge. And I could live with the $133 price tag (after a promo code to take 10% off!). I'll decide after the wedding whether I want to resell this one.

I also bought special shoes to go along with this glittery dress:

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And I'm wearing earrings I already own:

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I'm wearing a short veil I ended up getting for free on Ebay after the seller refunded me the full price when it arrived super late (I wanted it in time for my boudoir photo shoot-more coming soon on that!). I'm also switching bags before we go out and using the one my MOH got me for Christmas last year (that's only $5 now!):

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*Whew!* Okay, that's all...for now. I still have to share my bridal outfit! You know, the wedding dress and all? :P I pick up my dress from the alterations shop next Friday and I'm hoping to get a post in before the wedding on the much-anticipated "inspired by" purchase! Stay tuned and more importantly, stay patient my lovelies! :D

The Bridal Party "Look Book": Inspiration Boards Included!

Okay, are you ready for the big reveal? *cue drumroll*

For my bridal earrings I chose the lovely gold and pink bow earrings for the amazingly low price of $13.oo plus $3.50 shipping and handling! (Can you tell I'm channeling my inner Billy Mays? Man, I'm gonna miss that guy.) Aren't they beauts?

I could have easily picked any of the choices in my previous post because they are all so beautiful. But it was ultimately the price tag and Mr. Lab's approval that did it for me. (I had him pick his favorite before telling him my fave-we both picked these!) I think they'll also compliment my dress and whatever pink shoes I end up with perfectly. My bridal "look" is coming along quite nicely but is missing a little something. Perhaps a dainty bracelet to match the earrings?

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I love the romantic and vintage look of cameos. And this bracelet fits pefectly into the bridal color scheme! But oy! Again with the price! $278?!? No thank you. Back to combing the interwebs for an affordable cameo bracelet....

Wait, what's that you got there Ebay? Oh, a cameo bracelet just as charming for a fraction of the price? I see how you do!

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So for less than $25, I will have wrapped up my bridal jewelry for the big day. Yes, I am a full-fledged bargainista. :D

Warning: Sensitive information coming up. So if you go by the WB moniker of Mr. Lab, stop scrolling now. I mean it!

In honor of these great new finds (and my obvious new obsession with Picasa's collage feature), I created a "bridal look book" inspiration board:




I'm being serious Mr. Lab. You go any further and I'll sell one of your kidneys on the black market to pay for my Louboutins! ;)




Okay, I think the coast is clear.

*TA-DA!*

This board features: My earrings and bracelet and the shoes I covet. My hair and makeup inspirations. My dream dress and a gorgeous fascinator. And an adorable clutch and lush bridal bouquet*.

And no, I haven't forgotten my bridesmaids! For them I chose the pink topaz and swarvoski crystal earrings.

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Although these are $39 a pop, I couldn't help but fall in love. They would match the bridesmaids' dresses so perfectly! So I crossed my fingers and contacted the seller in hopes of finding a way to negotiate the price. After a few messages back and forth, she offered to replace the pink topaz with pink quartz and give me a 12% discount because of the larger order. That brings the total down to $22.88 for each pair. Still a bit more than I was looking to spend, but definitely doable for such gorgeous pieces that I will be gifting to my fabulous girls. I may even see if my MOH's MIL (holy acronyms!) could replicate these for me since she's somewhat of a jewelry extraordinaire. Anywho, the moral of my Etsy story: never hesitate to negotiate price with ANYthing on Etsy. I saved a ton on my save the dates by negotiation.

And so the bridesmaids aren't left out of the inspiration board fun, I created this:

Their dresses will have a skirt closer to the chocolate color swatch shown. And I just decided today that I will be making their (fake) bouquets using dahlias, ranunculus, peonies, and possibly hydrangeas, all in a monochromatic pink tone. The girls will wear whatever shoes they like since no one will see them anyways. Now I just need to decide whether or not I want them to have necklaces to go along with the earrings, or just go with bare decolletages.

*Yes, I'm changing my bouquet color! You shall hear more about this soon enough!

The Running of the Brides

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As I've already mentioned, I'm on a very tight budget for my wedding. I'm not even sure of the final budget number (I'm dreading the "how much can you help me" talk with my mom) but I have a working number in my head. It's going to come from left over loan money, lots of extra shifts at work, cutting back in everyday spending, selling stuff on Ebay, whatever Mom can give, and of course, Chris's family.

I prefer not to list the budget number until after the wedding, where I promise I will break down all the wedding costs one by one. And if any of you are REALLY wanting to know how much I'm spending, I'm sure that you'll be able to keep track with individual items as I book, reserve, and pay for them. But that would make you a borderline stalker. :P

With all that said, I will routinely list ways I'm planning on saving money during the planning/paying process. One of those ways is with the dress. I know a lot of girls would never dream of the dress being anything BUT the most important item on the budget. I'm not one of those girls. I'm willing to save on the dress to add to another area (photography!) on my wedding day. Brides wear their dresses for maybe 12 hours max and then never again.

Don't get me wrong. I definitely want a gorgeous gown that will illicit gasps & awes as I walk down the aisle. But I'm not willing to spend a lot on it. Period. This is where "The Running of the Brides" comes in. Once a year, select Filene's Basements hold an event where thousands of designer gowns are marked down drastically for brides-to-be. I'm fortunate enough to be living a little over an hour outside of Atlanta where one of these events are held. So can you guess what I'll be doing on March 20th this year?!?! My bridesmaids have already signed on to help take out anyone standing between me and my dream dress! Haha...but seriously, I'm sure Ashley might cut someone for me! ;)

I'll only have to take about $750 with me to the ROBs because they only sell dresses at 3 price points: $249, $499, and $699! They once had a $10,000 dress sell for $199 back in the day! So no matter what, I know I'll find my dream dress for an awesome deal.

The day before ROBs, my girls and I are going to have a sleepover so I can "drill" my mini army on what I want so they know what to grab. I'll also outfit my team with matching outfits so we get the full effect of the day (maybe the classic BM tank tops?). I've already had a style of dress in mind and I've even found a designer that carries a lot of those styles. I'll update later with more details on my dream wedding dress, but to hold you over here's an idea of what I'm wanting:

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Anyways, I ran across an awesome opportunity today regarding ROBs. AtlantaOccasions.com is hosting a contest where a bride can win a dress from the event and even have her team outfitted in matching outfits for free! I thought about not posting it here in a public forum (who wants to slim their chances), but I'll look at it as good karma. ;) If I make it to the finals, I'll be coming back to hit everyone up for votes!

My Reception Dress!

I've always known I would want a separate dress to wear for the dancing portion of my reception. I don't want to get my wedding gown trashed after I break it down for one too many songs, lol. So after dinner, the cutting of the cake, the bouquet toss, and the first couple of dances, I'm going to change into a "bridal cocktail dress". We'll also probably hit River Street for the "after party" and I'll need a short dress to party in. I may add an inexpensive short veil to the ensemble since I'm not too keen on one for my actual wedding gown, but feel like I'll miss getting to wear one on my wedding day. This way, people will know I'm a bride while we're out on the town. I had originally planned to buy a dress like this:

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But because I'm trying to keep the budget as tight as possible, I decided I'd just wear the dress I got engaged in on New Year's Eve! It's a Betsey Johnson "Teen Vogue" Strapless Sequin cocktail dress with a hot pink/fuchsia sash. Here's a picture of it:

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This idea is perfect for four reasons:

1. I get more use out of this "special occasion only" dress.

2. I don't have to spend money on a new reception dress. This dress originally cost over $400 in the B.J. stores. But I found it on Ebay for $170 and then did a "Best Offer" for $100 shipped! On top of that, I'm selling other dresses on Ebay I don't wear anymore to make up for what I spent on it. I never spend that much money on ANY clothing because I'll typically end up feeling guilty about the purchase later. But this time I had no regrets because I ended up getting engaged in it! :)

3. It'll have a special significance since the only times I would have worn it will be the day I got engaged and the day I got married.

4. It'll be my way of getting my favorite color into the wedding: hot pink! I would never make pink one of my wedding colors because my groom and groomsmen would kill me. Not to mention hot pink doesn't really go with a fall wedding... So this way I can have my cake and eat it, too. Pun intended. ;)

Btw, if you'd like to help support my "wedding fund", you can buy a dress from me off Ebay here!