"Like Birds of a Feather...We...Stick Together"

I'm sure most people have never seen feathers at a wedding. So, with me being the "trendsetter" that I am, (LOL) decided to use them at our wedding. We're planning on having 20 tables at the reception for all of our guests. With that in mind, we're going to do 10 tables with a feather centerpiece and the other 10 tables with a flower centerpiece. We will also have 6 cocktail tables flanking the dance floor that will have different centerpieces, maybe with candles. My only dilemma is that since feathers are so new, most florists haven't done them before. I'm worried that they'll turn out horrible and no where near what I wanted. I'm thinking about doing the centerpieces myself and letting the florist handle just the flowers. We'll see how that pans out. I'm going for a vintage, romantic, modern theme for the wedding. Hopefully I can pull it off. Originally, these were the feather centerpiece that I liked. I still like them, but then came across another feather centerpiece that I absolutely LOVE.

It's kind of hard to see it, but to me it's like a pink feather lamp shade with crystals hanging down. It's so funky and romantic at the same time. It also goes perfectly with the black and white damask! How I'd make it, not really sure; but I'll figure it out.

Here are some other pics of flower centerpieces I'm thinking about.

"The Things We Do For Love..."

Let me begin with a little background information. My mother made all of us daughters wait to pierce our ears until junior high. When 6th grade came around, she took me to the Dr. thinking he would do it the cleanest. Yea, well, not so much. They were always infected and never really turned out right so I let the holes close up. Then, in 2002, I pierced them again at the mall. Same story, always infected. I could never wear the cheap, pretty earrings that I loved without my ears getting red, swollen, and having bumps behind them. So, yet again, I let the holes close up.

So, here we are today. I know what kind of earrings I want to wear for the wedding, but most earrings look horrible as clip-ons. I decided a few months ago that I must re-pierce my ears...I just never actually went and did it. So, while I was out to dinner with some friends, we decided it would be an oppurtune time to get it done. I had my cartilage pierced a while back and had no problems wearing cheap earrings. I figured that it had something to do with the fact that I had it pierced at a tattoo parlor, which is usually more hygienic than the mall. Which brings me to this past weekend. At around 10pm, 3 girlfriends of mine (all moms from Dylan's school) and myself strolled into a lovely tattoo parlor. Everyone there was covered in tattoos and piercings, and I think was wondering what the heck we were doing there! I explain the situation and sign my ear health away on the dotted line. I headed behind the counter to a back room that was well lit, but seemed a bit shady, and sat on the table. The guy was pretty composed at first, and rambled a few things here and there and then got me ready. I was surprised by how little the pain was. I remember almost crying when I had it done at the mall, but this was by far less painful. He then gets ready to do the next ear and I notice his hand shaking pretty badly. I was nervous, and asked why he was shaking. I don't remember if I got an answer or not....but tried to remain calm and hope that he knew what he was doing. He eventually calmed down and pierced the other ear just fine. To top off the situation, after it was all said and done, he asked if he could take a picture of me for his portfolio because he had never pierced ear lobes before!!!! Yea, good times. No wonder he was shaking!

Anyway, here are some pics of earrings, and other jewelry that I like for the wedding.

"You Kinda Look Like a Shiny Mermaid"

OK, so hopefully my bridesmaids won't feel like shiny mermaids in their dresses. If so, I do apologize in advance! :)

Anyway, I've gone back and forth on the whole bridesmaid look. I originally wanted them to wear tea-length gowns, but with more consideration I'm thinking knee-length. It's a little more church appropriate and somewhat more fancy. I do know for a fact, however, that the dresses will be black. We found one at Alfred Angelo that looked good on, but I'm not feeling the fabric. I prefer the look of taffeta or dupioni silk as opposed to satin. Again, it looks better. Now for the tie-breaker, I like both strapless and sleveless looks. I'm waiting for Ashley and Kelli to be done with finals (hint hint) so that we can go try on dresses and see which looks better. I only have a little more than 5 months left before the wedding and have got to get going on this!

Here are some ideas: