Goodbye for now, but not forever

Hi there hive.  You might have noticed I've been MIA lately.  While I've poured over the reasons and emotions of this for a while now, to make a long story short, Mr. Woodpecker and I first put our wedding on hold after several arguments and doubts about our impending marriage.  We tried to repair things, but other things happened, and things unfortunately got worse instead of getting better.  So, we called off the wedding.

It wasn't easy.  There were weeks of tears and many less-than-desirable words exchanged.  There was a lot of love, but we soon found out that love alone doesn't make a marriage.  You also need trust, dedication, and a commitment to each other, no matter what.  Things got ugly, really ugly.  Things happened that I couldn't forgive and move on from.  I'll spare the details for the sake of mine and his privacy, but our relationship at that point was beyond repair.  

I doubted myself a million times.  I did not want to be that person with a failed engagement.  I did not want to face my family, friends, and you guys with this news.  I wanted our marriage/wedding to work more than anything.  But after much contemplation, I realized that the issues between us would not go away, and marriage would not fix these issues.  People kept telling me that I was better off realizing this now than 5 months after marriage, but that did not help.  It still hurt.  Finally, things got a teeny bit better, and with the support of some of family and friends, I was able to realize that I had been in a pretty dark cloud throughout our engagement.  When we called this off, I was devastated, and sad to the core.  But you know what?  That dark cloud has moved on a little bit.  The hurt, sadness and lost trust was still there, but I felt a little better about my future.

I have loved the time I have spent on the hive, and the support and courage of the women on here never ceases to amaze me.  I spent time reading over some of the older bees stories who had gone through the same thing, and even read many similar posts from some of you on the boards.  And the thing that has gotten me through this ordeal has been my amazing family, and my amazing friends.  Seriously, I could cry tears of joy in between the tears of sadness over how loved I have felt from everyone in my life.

So thank you guys for being a part of my wedding planning journey.  I still be hanging around the hive, and hope to check it with you all in the future.

Lots of love,

Miss Woodpecker

Centerpieces inspired by my Wedding Crush

Over the course of wedding planning, there have been two things that had overwhelmed me to the point that I thew them aside and pretended they didn't exist.  One of those is invitations (yeah, totally need to get started on that), and the other is centerpieces.

I had no idea what I wanted to do for our centerpieces.  I was so overwhelmed at all the possibilities...and the flowers.  I like flowers, but I don't love them, plus a lot of them make me sneeze, so I knew that the tall flower arrangements weren't for us.

I wanted them to look classic and simple but beautiful.  When I think of that description, I keep going back to my wedding crush.  I'm sure more than one of you have one.  It's that one wedding that is just perfect and inspiring that you want your own wedding to be everything it is...without seeming like a wedding stalker.  It's been bookmarked on my computer for months, and I visit it for inspiration once a week.  I just can't get over how perfect everything, even their simple centerpieces, are:

Image via Bridal Musings/Photo by Hendrickson Photography

Image via Bridal Musings/Photo by Hendrickson Photography

Alright, enough of my love-fest.  Since I just couldn't figure out my centerpieces, I went back to this nautically lovely wedding and was finally inspired to make a decision:

L to R:  Image via Snippet & Ink/Photo by Leah McCormick, Image via Style Me Pretty/
Photo by KT Merry, Image via 100candles

Simple yes?  Too simple/boring?  I hope not.  But in the end, hydrangeas, candles, and a touch of sea decor are the perfect combination for us, I think.   Plus, now that I've made a decision, I feel much better.  One more thing to cross of the to-do list!

Has your inspiration helped you in your wedding planning?  Even though I try to get creative, I always go back and try to be inspired by past brides.  Anyone else have a wedding crush?

DIY for my ladies: Cheers!

I am super excited about this project for my bridesmaids, but before I unveil the details, 

As soon as I saw this idea, I immediately added it to the top of my to-do list.

Image via Something Turquoise/Photo by Studio 11

I could not do the tutorial justice by showing you my own steps, so I encourage you to visit the How-To on Something Turquoise.  Then, I dare you to tell me that these aren't the most perfectly adorable addition to bridesmaids gifts ever.  They are screaming "Sip a Mimosa out of me on your wedding morning!!"   I decided immediately upon reading that I had to make these, as part of a future "Wedding Day Survival Kit".

Basically, all you need for these are some champagne or wine glasses, Martha Stewart glitter paint (that's exactly what I used-Michael's has an insane collection of colors), and a foam pouncer/stamp.  You paint the glasses freehand, using stickers for letters, or painters tape for guidance.  Whatever you like!  Once you are done painting, the instructions encourage you to bake"cure" the glasses, which is the method I chose, and then let them sit for a long long time before using them.  I was a little nervous and waited extra long, but I can tell you that when I did test them out, there was not one piece of glitter that fell off.  Fabulous!

Pink Glitter

I tried out a few designs.  First, I did pink glitter using the first method in the tutorial.  I liked it, but didn't like that the glitter looked uneven.  Second, I went for the initial glasses.  They looked like the one in the picture, but up close, I wasn't happy with the results.  Third( the above picture), I went for a taped line and then a steady, rather heavy coat of glitter paint, in multiple coats.  Do you think this was the last?  I liked it, but the pink just didn't feel right.  I was a DIY bride possessed at this point.  There was no stopping me, as I stopped into Michael's for the third time this week.  Finally, the fourth time was a charm.   Success!

Gold Glitter

At the end of it all, these are a super easy project.  If they weren't, I wouldn't have been able to try them 4 times.  Oh, and also, you can scrape off the paint BEFORE you bake them, if you don't love your design.  Once you do bake them, the paint/glitter sticks and is dishwasher safe.

What do you think?  I am trying to gather more ideas for my girls, and love these homemade touches.  Anyone else have any DIY ideas for your bridal party?

Sunday No Funday: Sunday/Holiday Weddings

When Mr. Woodpecker and I chose a Sunday to get married on, I had no idea what we were getting into.  From the beginning, we wanted a Saturday, but our venue had only one date available, that was before I finished school.  So, we had to make a choice, would we pick another day, or put it off for another 6 months?  Mr. Woodpecker did not want to get married on a Friday, for fear that people working on that day would be inconvenienced or not make it.  I did not want to get married on a Sunday, because I did not want to go to work the next day, and we were pretty sure our wedding would be at the beginning of my new career.  So, when we found out that there was a Sunday/Holiday date available, we figured it was a perfect compromise.

Little did we know, getting married on a Sunday would literally cost us down the line.

image via webmoneymaker

I'm not sure if this is all around, but I do know that in Connecticut, there are many things that close down on Sundays.  We can't buy liquor, shopping stores open at noon, and lots others are closed down for the entire day.  In those that close down, you can include rental companies, bakeries, salons, and much more that I'm sure I will encounter.

We have encountered anything from a $100-$300+ fee for companies providing services on a Sunday.  Some places, I have honestly dismissed as soon as I see a huge fee, but others, like salons, which are rarely open on Sundays anyways,  it seems like we can't avoid.  In addition, others have heightened fees for holiday weekends, which our wedding happens to be on as well.  That's double the extra fee!

I can't blame people and companies for wanting to have their weekends and non-working days, but when planning a wedding and have no ability to change the day, I have to say, the extra fees are no fun.

image via thewambulance.com

Anyone else planning a Sunday/Holiday wedding finding this?  Any tips for avoiding hefty fees? The good news is, since it's a 3 day weekend every year, we'll always have a long weekend to celebrate our anniversary, right?  

Airbrush Makeup? Is it worth it?

Back in 2010, right after Mr. Woodpecker and I got engaged, I started reading lots of wedding chat boards.  They are such a useful piece of information, and I especially like when you can get lots of good recommendations from local brides in your area.

Reading these also helped me a lot in general in my wedding planning, and opened my eyes to things I hadn't ever heard about in my life.  One of these things:

Image via perfectmakeupfinish

Airbrush makeup!  I personally thought it was something only movie stars did, and was surprised at how many brides in the area swore by it on their wedding days.  

I'm a girl who straightens her hair everyday, and throws on some general makeup/bronzer/lip gloss, but I by no means go crazy.  I rarely visit the MAC counter, and have been using the same Sephora makeup for years and years.  So when I thought about it initially, I figured makeup wasn't a huge deal.  The more I thought about it however, I decided to get mine done for a few reasons:

• I want my makeup to last for the whole day.  I have no idea how to do that on my own.  Now, my makeup barely lasts until the end of the workday.
• Although I do my own makeup everyday, I cannot apply eye shadow for the life of me.
• Recently, Little Sis WP saw me putting eyeliner on, and told me I have apparently been doing it wrong since I was 16.  This squashed any belief that I knew anything about makeup in general.

Once I started looking at regular versus airbrush makeup, I was sold when I went to chat with the hairstylist at the Salon we are doing too.  My big concern with airbrush was that it would look too "fake".  She assured me that although it might appear a little bit different, her philosophy was to make a bride look gorgeous, but still look like herself.  I also was pretty swayed with the airbrush makeup primarily because of its long lasting effects, and the fact that it could be hot on wedding day, and I do not want my makeup melting off, which has happened to me before during the summer with regular makeup.

Image via Sephora

In the end, the cost is also not too bad.  If I was going to do my own makeup for our day, I know I'd have to go out and buy some special stuff anyways, and in the grand scheme of our wedding budget, the cost is not too bad.  Plus, I have no idea how much getting your makeup done costs anyways, since I've never done it, and totally over budgeted.  Win!

Is airbrush makeup as popular where you are?  What are your thoughts?  Is it worth it?

Nautical Navy Bridesmaids: The Top Two

There's nothing better than checking things off on your wedding planning list.  And just in the nick of time, we were able to score the perfect bridesmaid dresses...well, almost.

After our intial bridesmaid search, Little Sis WP and I decided that we would give it one more shot and check out bridesmaid dresses at a dress shop right in my town, that we had previously done some bridal dress shopping at.  We were actually going to look at some Jim Hjelm dresses I spied online, and ended up not liking them so much in person, but finding some others that were just perfect.

Little Sis WP and I were pretty quickly easily able to pick out which dresses would work and which didn't.  She only tried on 4 dresses, and two of them we loved!  Both of the dresses are Bill Levcoff, and Little Sis WP said they felt better on than any of the others we've tried.  These are our finalists:

Ruffle Dress without straps

Ruffle Dress with straps

Tie Back Dress without straps

Tie Back Dress with straps

Neither myself or Little Sis WP could decide which was our favorite.  So, we sent pictures to the other girls, and are giving them the option of picking them out and picking their favorite.  Once we saw the dresses online, I have to say though, as much as I like the ruffles on Little Sis, I wonder if they will look a little funkier when the dress fits (the one she tried on was 2 sizes too big):

Image Via Bill Levcoff Dress Style 156

Image via Bill Levcoff Dress Style 112

Which one do you guys like?  We have 2 weeks to decide to meet our order deadline (according to the store).  The pressure is on!  Two of the girls have already said they like them both, and I don't want to have to decide :)  

6 months to go!

Funny story.  A few weeks ago, after I started writing for the hive, I sat down to write a post one day when I thought to myself "How will I ever have enough to write about until September?  I have barely anything left to do..."

Fast forward to present day.  These days, you can not see me, panicking at my computer everyday, trying to figure out how to squeeze an extra day into the weekend and feverishly emailing vendors late into the night.  This past week, we hit the 6 month mark until the wedding, which for some reason, opened up my eyes to all there still is to do, and how much should be done, immediately.  

Thanks theknot, for throwing
my to-do list out there everyday 

I really don't have any excuse.  Mr. Woodpecker and I have been engaged for 14 months now, and I've known that this time in my life was going to be crazy for years coming.  Back when we secured our venue in October, I made a comprehensive to do list (nerd alert!) with every task/project I could think of, and have been adding to it ever since.  I even broke down everything into multiple steps (ex:  "research photographers", then "book photographer").

Woodpecker to do list:  Almost on the second page!!

I knew that the lists would be longer as we got closer, but the 6 month mark has us registering, looking for cakes, helping pick out bridesmaid dresses, and finding our officiant.  Plus, a plethora of other "little" things.  So, I was pretty wrong when I thought there wasn't much left to do.  Still, I'm pretty excited to say that I will be a Mrs. in less than 6 months!!

What date made things real for you?  Are you other September brides getting excited??  What's on your to do list this month?