I SAID "MAYBE!" TO THE DRESS // B&B WEDDING SERIES

Yes, you read that correctly. I said "MAYBE!"to the dress. Not "YES!" to the dress.

I can guarantee that everyone has a different experience wedding dress shopping...but shows like "Say Yes to The Dress" make it seem like everyone has the same experience, right?

Here's the scene:

Bride-to-be walks in with a posse of 16 gorgeous bridesmaids, mom, future mother-in-law. They all are gushing about how wonderful she is. She tells a story of the romantic way her fiancee proposed, everyone is already in tears. She explains what she's looking for in a dress for her Aruba destination wedding of 400 people and sends the Bridal Consultant on her way. She tries on a few dresses, mom starts crying. She tries on a few more, bridesmaids start crying. Bridal Consultant throws on a veil and a sparkly belt and Bride starts crying. "YES! I say YES to the dress!!!" she declares through her teary fake eyelashes. Everyone hugs her, even bridesmaid #4 who is in love with the groom-to-be and secretly hates the bride. 

via GIPHY

The thing is, that's really not how it goes down. Or I mean, not how it goes down for everyone. I know some people find their dream dress at their dream price on the first swing- it's just not exactly how it went down for me.

I know it's a lot cleaner to say "I went dress shopping and said YES to the dress!" instead of saying "I went dress shopping and am not 100% sure because there are a few things I still need to consider so I said MAYBE to the dress!"...but for me, it's just not reality.

My dress experience was a little more laid back than SYTTD. I went to two local dress shops with two amazing, supportive friends (and the mother of one of those friends who was in town!) and showed up with a vague idea of what I wanted, a general idea of a budget, and a crazy short timeline (we leave for our wedding in Greece in less than 3 months)!

I tried on a few dresses- shockingly loving each of them. Dude you GUYS wedding dresses are flattering. They suck you in in all the right places and convince you you have the waistline of Kate Moss. It's neat. The...4th dress I tried on was MAGICAL. It was a non-traditional color, it was flattering, it was simple and elegant and romantic. I couldn't stop staring at myself. #VAIN.

via GIPHY

The ladies I was with were in love with it too- but when I looked at the price tag and realized it was over budget. In that moment I felt a lot of jealousy for the women on SYTTD and their $10,000 budgets from their rich great-great-aunt. Where was the magical moment that happens on the TV show where the Bridal Consultant says "Oh! You know what, we like you so much here's 50% off the retail price!"?! I tried on 2 more that I did NOT like (clearly a tactic by the Bridal Consultant) and decided to put a hold on the dress I loved, since it was an as-is sample.

I have 2 weeks to decide on what the hell to do, but there it is, how I said "MAYBE!" to the dress.
Stay tuned for what I end

Ladies out there- how did your first dress shopping experience go?
Anyone else say "MAYBE!" to their dress?

xo, lp

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HOW TO CUSTOM DESIGN YOUR ENGAGEMENT RING // B&B WEDDING SERIES

I knew exactly what my engagement ring would look like when Michael proposed.

How? 

 I helped design it! 

The reactions I get when I tell people I took part in making my ring are variations of the following:

1. "That is so cool! How awesome you had a say in what the ring looks like!"

2. "Ohhhhh...you didn't want it to be a surprise? I can't imagine if it hadn't been a surprise for me"

The second version just really gets me. I don't go up to people who had their ring given to them in surprise and say "Ohhhh...you didn't design your ring? Oh..so..you just..settled with what he gave you?" That would be ridiculous and rude. And wrong. Because there's just no right answer when it comes to engagement rings. Heck, you don't even need an engagement ring if you don't want one.

Michael and I first talked about getting married after about 2 months of dating, so we were more than comfortable talking about rings. I'm INSANELY picky, and was so happy and appreciative that he knew me well enough to know that I would like to have some (read: alot of) control in what the ring looked like. Ironically enough, my ring ended up looking just like a ring that Michael jokingly told me he would buy me one day when we were still in college.

 Also- let it be noted that looking at my ring, no one would ever guess it was "designed". It's a simple, platinum three-stone ring- but nothing out there I saw had the exact band width or profile size that I wanted- so we designed one that was exactly what I was looking for! "Designing" doesn't need to mean over the top crazy wild details- even the most simple white t-shirt was "designed!"

This post is for anyone else who is hoping to design their ring too- these are steps I took, and I hope they'll be helpful to you!

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Step 1: Get inspiration online.

Go on Pinterest. Scroll through #engagementring and #theknotrings on Instagram. Search Etsy. There are so many easy, pressure-free ways to search for rings nowadays! I created a hidden Pinterest board with my sister who has a lot of jewelry knowledge and we bounced ideas back and forth of what looked good. 

Step 2: Try some rings on!

Going into a jewelry store is just like going into a clothing store. You are allowed to try the merchandise without having to BUY anything. I know, it can be a little intimidating or awkward to walk into a store alone- so bring a friend! My sister and I went through a store about a year before Michael proposed and we both tried on a bajillion rings. See what you think looks good on your finger. See if you like a white or yellow or rose gold (or other metals). I kept gravitating towards 3 stone rings, so it's clear that's what I wanted to end up with.

Step 3: Find a jeweler you're comfortable with & ask about their policies.

A few friends recommended a local jeweler, which is both where I checked out rings with my sister, AND ended up designing the ring. The people were welcoming, not overly pushy, and incredibly knowledgeable. Michael and I found a guy in the store with an outgoing, honest view on picking out a ring that we loved. I asked about 20 questions about their policy on designing rings- and found out it costs ZERO money to design a ring, and if you don't love it when it's done, it's a full money-back guarantee. That took a ton of weight off of both of our shoulders!

Step 4: Share your ideas, and BE. SPECIFIC.

Oh lord. This isn't the time to be wishy-washy my friends. This is something you'll wear forever. I was very clear I wanted a platinum band, and valued quality/clarity of the diamonds over size. My biggest requests were to have the stones be low-profile and to have a narrower band. I personally don't like it when stones sit up really high on the ring, because I feel they catch on everything, and I have really short, sort of wide fingers (#truth).  He found us a ring that was similar to what I wanted, and we went from there.

Step 5: Choose your diamonds & get a mock-up done.

Oy. This made my head spin. Our jeweler brought out loose diamonds of different sizes and it took a while to pick what what was right. Once we had an idea, our jeweler sent instructions to the designer and they sent back versions of what the ring would look like with different sized side stones (image below).  I ended up not going with either of the exact below options- but here's what the sheets look like! FYI- it takes about 2 weeks to get the drawings back.

Step 6: Get a wax mold made. 

Once you've approved the drawings and picked your stone(s), the designer makes a wax mold of your setting, so you can rest the stones in it and get an idea of what the tangible ring looks like. Keep in mind, if your ring has prongs, they'll look a little oversized in the wax mold form. From CAD to getting your mold, it takes about 2-3 weeks.

Step 7: Get the ring! (and get it insured!)

I chose to NOT pick up the ring with Michael when it was done, because I wanted to at least be surprised with what the final-FINAL product looked like. From wax mold to final ring, it takes about 3-4 weeks. Before you (or your partner) walk out the door, be sure you have your ring insured. Whether it's on an existing insurance plan, or through Jeweler's Mutual, DON'T be lazy about this! If you lose your ring or it get's stolen and you don't have it insured, you are seriously out of luck. HERE is a great, easy article about ring insurance!

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I truly, 100% believe that the jeweler you work with can make or break your experience. If you're not getting a good vibe from the first person you work with, email the jewelry store and request someone else. Don't. Feel. Bad. You are paying a premium for their service, don't at all feel like they get the final say in who you work with. I can assure you that they'd rather you request someone new than go to a whole other store to purchase your ring!

If you designed your ring, what advice do you have?

xo, lp

Want more of the #BBWeddingSeries? You can find all the posts here!  

THE 51 STAGES OF WEDDING INVITES // B&B WEDDING SERIES

When it comes to wedding planning, I feel like people don't talk about invites much. Maybe it's just because I'm a huge paper goods nerd, but this is something about the process I was SO excited about! It turns out if you're indecisive (like I am), it takes a liiiitttle more time than you'd think. In the end, we found wedding invites we absolutely loooooove, but I definitely thought I would get this task done in like 30 minutes. Sigh. So naive.

Here are the 51 thoughts while creating wedding invites:

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1. Oooh! We get to send out invites! Yes!

2. I can't fricking wait. Everyone is going to want to hang our invite on their fridge.

3. We have to do letterpress. Anyone who's anyone does letterpress!

4. Whoa. Letterpress is really expensive.

5. Wait this is like down-payment-on-a-house expensive.

6. Ok so maybe not letterpress. I'll Pinterest this up in another way somehow.

7. Hm...is gold foil still in? 

8. Never mind that's too expensive too. 

9. Okay let's just Google "cheap wedding invites".

10. Oh! We can afford this site!

11. Mmmkay let's see- 186 design available. 

12. Sort "low $ to high $$$". 

13. Welp these look more like 40 year high school graduation-y than wedding-y.

14. WHY ARE THESE ALL SO UGLY.

15. Screw this I'm designing my own. That's not hard right?

16. Should we have a picture of us or not?

17. Are pictures of us only allowed on Save the Dates?

18. Okay no picture of us. Artsy picture of leaves instead.

19. Wait...maybe sparklers?

20. Nope sparklers are too "4th of Julyish"

21. Ok these leaves rock, let me ask for opinions from people.

22. Soooo no one likes the leaves. Shit.

23. Time to Google "free stock photos of leaves"

24. "fall leaves"

25. "red leaves"

26. Whoa "leaves" looks weird after typing it 30 times.

27. Okay. Got the photo. Time to add text.

28. WHY IS NONE OF THIS TEXT LINING UP LIKE I WANT IT TO.

29. F*&( IT I DON'T CARE I'M JUST SCRIBBLING "COME TO THE WEDDING" ON A POST IT.

30. Ok. Calmed down. Maybe I should keep trying..to..make this...work...just..line..up..

31. (5 hours later) SCREW THIS I'M USING A PRE-MADE DESIGN

32. Ok...nothing pink..or orange..yellow is hard to read...purple looks bleh...hm...

33. Oooh! This one is nice! Okay design chosen I AM A GENIUS THIS IS AMAZING.

34. Names CHECK. Location CHECK. Time...

35. Wait.. 7pm? or 7 PM? or 7'oclock? 7 in the evening? Hm...

36. Blurb about marriage abroad, CHECK. Accommodations CHECK!

37. Do we put the registry on the back of the invite? *checks 50 wedding sites* 

38. Now the great part where we tell people they can't bring their kids...this should be fun.

39. Googles "how to tell people to not bring kids to a wedding" 20 times.

40. Whew. Add the wedding website and we are GOLDEN!! YAAAS.

41. Wait. Shit. Do we do RSVPs online? Or a card?

42. Is online RSVP cool and forward thinking or cheap and annoying to old people?

43. Will people forget to RSVP online? I like online RSVPs but do other people!?!?

44. Screw it we're getting RSVP cards, real mail is the absolute best.

45. *runs finished product past a bunch of people*

46. Okay. Time to order. Feeling great about this. *hits PURCHASE*

47. &%*$& DID I SPELL "accommodation" wrong?!!?!?

48. Nope we're  good. Whew. 

49. WAIT I BET I SPELLED OUR NAMES WRONG.

50.Okay nope those are good too. Time to stop staring at this goddamn screen.

51. Shuts computer. Gets glass of wine. 

THE END.

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Where did you get your invitations from? Minted? Shutterfly? Etsy? Vistaprint? Kinkos?

Let me know how it worked out for you!

xo, lp 

For more fun, find me on instagram @lpodlich or snapchat: lpod216

See more on the wedding series HERE


(and if you're wondering, the front of the invite ended up looking like this.. with location/address removed of course!)

VOTE ON A DRESS! (B&B WEDDING SERIES)

For someone who loves tradition A LOT, I'm having a pretty non-traditional wedding. 

No walking down an aisle, no bridesmaids, no bouquet toss. Just about the only traditional things that will happen will be that we will say vows to each other, and that I plan on wearing a long white dress. The first one is the only really important thing, right?!

Anyway- weirdly I love the newer tradition of the bride wearing a white-ish shorter dress to pre-wedding events, like bridal showers/bachelorette parties/etc. I don't know who started it (cough social media cough)- but because there is NEVER another occasion to really wear a short white dress, this seems like the perfect excuse to buy one.

Because I am the most indecisive human ever, I'm employing you to help me pick the type of dress to wear. This will end up being used for a small family/friend party, a dinner before our return-home from getting married reception, and any other events that may pop up! Throw in your input below (bonus points if you have an "other" option you love!)

Okay team, tell me what to wear- vote in the poll below! 

xo, lp

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