The One Where My Mom Wears a Dress

Although my mom is unquestionably beautiful, has flawless skin and a rockin body, she'll be the first to call herself a tomboy.

She grew up with 3 brothers, races motocross with my brothers, got her black belt a year or two after I did (at age 35) is an excellent shot with a handgun, prefers a stick shift and regularly hounds me to go skydiving with her. Case in point, she's awesome. She also raised 3 children, did all of the above, and went back to school to graduate with a business degree all at the same time. She's my role model in all that I do. She does not, however, wear many dresses! She jokes that the only real dresses she's ever worn were for prom and on her wedding day, and my grandma jokes she would've shown up in slacks to those too, if she could've!

I think she's plain silly, because as you can tell, she sure did enjoy trying on these!

My mom was 21 when she had me, her first child, so she'll only be a youthful 43 at the wedding. She was quick to demand that she not be put in any old 'grandma dress.' You know the type!

Cameron Blake by Mon Cheri

So off we went to the mall. The funny thing is, my mom was cursed almost immediately by the wedding faux-paux of white dresses. Pretty much everything she liked was some variation of white or cream! I kept my cool, obviously, and it became more of a joke than anything else. Besides, she insisted that people still dye clothing these days, which remains unconfirmed.

One such example was this, which we found at a BCBG Maxeria. I really did like everything about it except that it was stark white! We almost bought it too, "to dye it", until the store refused to honor a sale price, and then we left on principal.

That was the only contender from our first trip, but a second trip to Macy's at Northpark bore more fruit.

Check out that sassy hip! This one remains my favorite.

We liked everything about this one but the shoulders. Isn't that a bummer when one detail ruins the whole dress?

The attitude returns, and I loved this Calvin Klein dress! Mama Manatee didn't think it was formal enough, but it sure was slimming.

 Pictures definitely dont do this one justice. It was a very pretty light silver, not cream like in the picture. It also had sequins all over that picked up the light in a gorgeous way.

We ended up putting the silver dress and darker blue dress on hold, hopefully to return with MIL Manatee to see if we they find anything they both like!

I bet none of you believe that Mama Manatee doesn't like dresses either, the way she was sassing it up in her pictures! We had so much fun we forgot to get to the main mall to make a return before it closed!

Did you make a day out of 'finding the dress' for your mom too?

Video Killed the Budget...Until!

Disclaimer: I'm going to hope all of you love wedding videos of strangers as much as I do, because I've included a few!

Guys, I was just not feeling videography at first. I, like many others, thought it was just another expensive expense we couldn't afford. And I was perfectly happy thinking so! Until the lovely Mrs. Coach (or maybe Vanessa McKellar?) went and ruined it for me.

The first time I became even the slight bit interested in videography was after Coach posted about choosing her videographer, which happened to include this incredible piece by Vanessa McKellar.



The music, the love, the FUN! It was all captured so perfectly! And danggit, hive, I was hooked. Soon I was creepin all over the interwebs for more and more of these videos. Mr. Manatee found me several times cuddled up with my laptop and my comfy comforter (IKEA, you can make a mean goosedown.) with a single tear and the fear that our budget was out the window on this one.

Well, seriously, miracles happen. As it turns out, the woman that originally handled the Wedding coordination at our ceremony location passed the reins to a new coordinator. This coordinator met with us to discuss our membership and for the final word on if we wanted the sanctuary vs. the chapel. We'd been members for about 9 months at this time, and been attending faithfully. She was shocked that we still hadn't received any info about any member discount, and promptly gave it to us. And I swear. I danced. My eyeballs popped out of my skull. I kid you not, it was a grand cheaper than what we had been quoted for non-members. A G. One thousand dollars. I literally hugged the woman for releasing this information that made such a huge difference. Videography was on!

After checking out Ms. McKellar's website, it quickly became clear that no matter how the budget was coddled and stretched, it was just not going to happen with her. So I kept looking. The downside was that by the time we started looking at the beginning of June, we were no longer 'ahead of the game'. At only a year out from our wedding, we didn't have the pick of the litter anymore! It was a long process, but so worth it!

I initially stumbled upon Jeffrey Coombes at JChristopher Films. It seemed like a miracle, too good to be true. His prices started at $500. Turns out it was, since he was booked! However, remember that strategy I talked about about asking vendors if they could refer other professionals with similar styles? He kindly referred us to the talented Candlelight Films. Their videos were just as swoon-worthy! Their swanky website alone led me to believe that maybe we were back out of our budget. I was right.

Sarah + Kyle :: Coming Soon from CandleLight Films on Vimeo.

I told them upfront I was not looking for any type of discount, since June is prime real estate, and we all have bills to pay! Clint and Lauren were happy to refer us to the buried treasure, I Do Cinematics.

Now guys, I've said it before and I'll say it again (like with our wonderful photographer June Bug Company). If you glean nothing else from my posts let it be this. Get. In. On. The. Ground. Floor. 

 Matt and his now-fiance Claire were brand spankin new on the scene, but they had talent out the ears. Since we were mostly working on trust, they didn't have many videos to show me at the time, they were willing to work with us on our budget and got us an amazing package for an amazing price. Did I mention they are incredibly talented? They've recently been shooting a ton of styled shoots with some serious players in the wedding world like Southern Fried Paper, After Yes and Couture Events by Lottie. And did I mention they're already on the Black Book for Wedding Chicks and been featured on Ruffled Blog? Seriously. Talent. We met once and hit it off, and it was a done deal. I'm subscribed to them on Facebook, and every time they post some great news about their thriving business and recent engagement (yay!) I'm so happy and just a little more in love with them!


erica + jason // sneak peek from Matt McNeill on Vimeo.

If you havent figured it out by the videos I've posted, I adore the 'sneak peak', which are usually less than 5 minutes. I'm a strong believer in that your co-workers and acquaintances dont want to see a 300 picture album of your wedding. They dont even necessarily want to see a 12 minute video. But hey, under 5 minutes? Post that shiz on Facebook, on Twitter, wherever your heart desires. Flaunt it, its adorable.  

I hope I've been a videography eye opener like Mrs. Coach! Were any of your vendors a labor of research love? And wasn't it totally worth it?

And if we do, Where?

Despite the despair and confusion in my last post about the honeymoon, we actually have a few good ideas of where to spend this 3-4 night mini-moon! I'm going to list these in order from most-probable to mostly wishful thinking.

As a side note, we agreed pretty early on that we want our honeymoon (preferably scenic) to be 75% relaxation, 25% adventure. If you read my last post, you'll know why. Spoiler Alert: Sh*ts about to get real hectic.

1. Austin's Hill Country

Images by Classeguide

Austin is only about a 3.5 hour drive (and one we and GM T make frequently). The hills of Austin are gorgeous, and Austin has some pretty-impressive resorts available. Given the Manatee's fondness for drink, downtown has unlimited nightlife and activities to keep us busy for the 25% adventure. Cheap, close and hello. Its Austin. Need I say more? However, we've also been there many times. Is this the most exciting option? No.

2. The Oregon Coast

Img by Tripadvisor

Img by Walldesk

I hate to admit this, but Twilight had some seriously jaw-dropping scenary. I investigated where it was filmed. If you guessed Washington, that is incorrect. Oregon. Also partly filmed in British Columbia,which is absolutely breathtaking in general. That is, if I'm allowed to make generalizations about a part of Canada where I was born and spent half my life. Because I'm a Canadian citizen. Am I getting off-topic? ANYWAY.

Oregon is gorgeous.

It has a beautiful coastline, Portland, canyons and mountains. Silver Falls State Park http://www.oregonstateparks.org/park_211.php has 10 waterfalls. 10. Oregon also has white-water rafting, which I fell in love with during my two week stint in Costa Rica, and the Mr. got a taste of during one of our trips to Colorado.
Can you tell I've got my fingers crossed for this one?

3. A 4-day Cruise to the Bahamas.

Img by Bahamas Air Charter

My father used to travel quite a bit for his old job, and has quite a bit of travel points saved up. He has offered that we could use some of these travel points either for a cruise or (since the best cruises leave from Florida)  flights to a cruise. I've never been on a cruise (although Mr. Manatee has) and transportation and meals are mostly included! The bad side is, unless you want to just wander around on shore or stay on the boat forever, excursions are expensive. Also, Mr. Manatee has already been to the Bahamas (spoiled!) and we kind of want to go somewhere we've either both have or havent been to. That way neither of us will be too "been there, done that" about it.

Right now, the bahamas actually seems like the least tempting option! I never would have expected that.

Did you investigate non-conventional honeymoons?

Will We or Wont We?

No, this post is not about (in my opinion, WAY over discussed) wedding night sex.

This post is about the honeymoon!

Now when I first told people I was getting married during nursing school, I got a mixed bag of reactions: Mostly polite congratulations, some crazy looks, and just a little even flat-out-rude discouragement. I was originally  I think I'm getting a slight idea about why.

My particular nursing program is a 15 month 'fast-track' program, which means we pretty much go continuously for 3 month sessions with one week break inbetween. Guess which week DOESN'T fall on a break! Of course, the week after our wedding! Since it's a fairly newish program not particularly known its communication skills, my desperate pleas for information about this summer's schedule have been met with  a whole bunch of 'we're not really sure yet." The good news is, this program is online with 1-2 full days of clinicals (school time spent with real patients) a week. They THINK clinicals that semester 'might be on Tuesdays, but dont count on it" and there are rumors that we have a test every week. Joking, (or am I?) I may need some serious xanax that week.

Img by Some Ecards

Deep breath!

Because of this, we've decided that IF a honeymoon is gonna go down, it's going to be a mini-moon!

Here are some worst-case scenarios:
1. In the case that clinicals are ACTUALLY on Tuesdays, either head straight from the hospital to the airport (worst, worst case) or fly out bright and early Wednesday morning (slightly better). Study on the plane there/back for a hopefully non-existant test that next Monday. Damn.
2. Throw caution to the wind and re-schedule/skip clinical. Live in a bubble for the rest of the semester to prevent getting sick ever/having to miss another one.
3. Fake death. Go on mini-moon and never come back.
4. World ends on December 21st, situation becomes null and void.

Best case scenarios (unlikely)
1. No clinical that week. No test either. Best week of my life.
2. The nursing department decides that a mini-moon is a completely acceptable reason to miss 3-4 of material and I get off scott-free.

Also, since we'll have spent pretty much every dime we've ever earned on our wedding, we're largely relying on Mr. Manatee's Fancy New Job sign on bonus (which we may not even get in time) and hope that our guests continue to react positively to our Honeyfund.
And yes, we're doing a honeyfund.

All these things/stressful roadblocks beg the question...Do we really need to have a 'honeymoon' right away? Besides, we've already been - wait for it - cohabitating/living together/LIVING IN SIN  (nobody faint!)for over a year now. If honeymoons are traditionally for 'exploration', that ship has sailed.

Img by cheezburger

The only saving grace to this situation is that the mini-moon in question is firmly in Mr. Manatee's territory, and once we get the go-ahead on any of the above-mentioned scenarios, he's going to be planning it.

In summary:
Like many bees before me, I'm left biting my fanga-nails to the quick and trying to convince myself that its totally okay that we may not have a honeymoon/minimoon....yet.

You lazy blogger, you! / We find a photog.

I, like Miss Otter, have been on a little blogging hiatus due to a new job!! In addition to my original hospital, I picked up a job at a county hospital in Dallas! I adore my previous job working with mothers/infants and will stay PRN (very very part time, for non-medical folk!), but this new job is a really great career move. The transition has been time consuming, but exciting!

Anyway! I've teased a lot about our amazing photographer, but it's time for the reveal!

As I mentioned in my Risky Business post, I was totally in love with the photography of Jonathan Ivy and Allison Davis, but it just wasn't in the budget :(

I had actually heard of a photography company based in my high school hometown, Mansfield.  Daydream Photography was fairly new at the time that I contacted them. Small world - the photography assistant used to date one of my guy friends in high school. My younger brother's friend had their senior pictures done by them, and they recommended them. They mostly did senior pictures and family portraits, so I was skeptical. Sure enough, they did weddings too!

Photography by Daydream Photography

Photography by Daydream Photography

 I exchanged a few emails back and forth with the owner, and he was awesome! We had an in-person meeting at his studio, and he was always quick to respond to my emails (a big plus for me). He was willing to give us the printing rights as part of our package, and his prices were excellent. I was really hoping for someone who specialized in wedding photography, but with our small budget we were staying open-minded! I had a good feeling about it, but kept my options open.

I looked and looked and looked. I googled, I asked around, I flipped through countless wedding magazines, and haunted Weddingwire and The Knot.

I think everyone goes through a knot.com phase. Its so exciting, with the little countdown and the seemingly endless vendors! I dont know about you guys...but I grew disenchanted with the Knot very quickly. Checking out the $ page for photographers, I got well...nothing. Nothing really good, anyway. If my memory serves me right, The Knot insisted that only  4 photographers in ALL of DFW were in our price range. I checked out the first 3 web pages, found nothing special, and closed the page. I wish I had clicked on the 4th, because she ended up being our photographer!

Later in my search, I came across June Bug Company.

All photography by June Bug Company

Seriously, I had a hard time even picking just 3 to post on here.

This is really where 'getting in on the ground floor' really, really, really helps. Nadia had been in non-wedding photography for a while, when another photographer called asking for her help shooting a wedding. After that, she couldn't get enough. She'd only been on her own doing purely wedding photography since the end of 2010. But she is holy-crap amazing. Since we booked her, she's been featured in several magazines, added an unbelievable amount of weddings to her gallery and has just gotten better by the day. I love that she captures a sense of fun in all of her pictures!

Funny story, when we decided to meet at Starbucks after a flurry of emails, I almost missed her! She was the tiniest little person (although, that's compared to me at almost 5'10), and looked about 21. The meeting was supposed to be quick, but we were there at least an hour, we just clicked!  The funny thing is, we both thought we were drastically younger than we are! I kept talking about graduation, and eventually she just looked at me with a totally straight face like "You seem really mature, but your parents are okay with you getting married in high school?" I thought I was going. to. die. laughing. I guess she thought I was like, 16. (Its probably the freckles!) I told her that was okay, since I thought she looked like she was still in college! 

She was a little over our budget, but we negotiated a package to include two photographers instead of one and an engagement shoot. We even kept the option open for a boudoir, ow ow! ;)

I couldn't be happier! Did you bond right away with your photographer?

In Lieu of Paper Sacks

I want my girls to look good. Like "I feel like a rockstar" good. Seriously! I'm not the kind of bride that is secretly plotting to make my ladies look a mess so that I'll look better by proxy. Hive, that is tacky. Also, no one wants to $100-$300 on a dress that they hate. I don't even like spending that much on dresses I like.

But when I originally asked my bridesmaids what kind of dresses they were thinking about for the wedding, they were totally wonderful....but also very vague. They assured me that "they'd wear a paper sack if I wanted them to". Well, hive, I'm here to announce the official cure for well-intentioned "I'll wear whatever you want" bridesmaids! Spoiler alert: Terrorize them with pictures like this.

Img via RackedNY

I had had some ideas before, mostly Pinterest inspired, but I was torn between matching and mismatching dresses. To add even more indecision, 'mismatched' also has about 10 different ways TO mismatch.

Our only confirmed wedding colors are blue and gray. It just so happened that my favorite inspirations were usually one or the other of these colors. I also knew I would really life them in soft, light fabrics like chiffon. I wasn't sure if I preferred that they be long or short, just that they all chose long or all chose short. I loved 'matching' options like these...

Image via Style Me Pretty

Img via Em for Marvelous

But then the mismatching options were cute too....

Img via Style Me Pretty Photography by Jen Fariello

Img via Princess Wedding Styles

I loved that the mismatched options also worked really well with my ombre theme!

In case your head is spinning with options like mine was, I found this awesome blog post with examples of each mismatched 'style'. I posted this link to my "Bridesmaids!" Facebook group (which I would highly recommend!) to clear things up so they could choose their favorite!

I polled my bridesmaids, and they actually unanimously picked long dresses over short. They also liked the same color, different dress idea! Now just to decide on blues or grays!

Next we'll try some on!

So much Cake Porn

As you can probably tell by now, Mr. Manatee is taking what you might call a "hands off" approach to wedding planning. This is pretty much okay with me, since it means he pretty much trusts my opinion but isn't afraid to step in if one or two of my ideas go terribly wrong. I also attribute this to a sweet conversation I happened to walk in on between Daddy Manatee and the Mr. He explained it to Mr. Manatee like this. "Your job is to show up, look nice for pictures, and be absolutely amazed at everything she's put together." When he puts it like this, how could I possibly disagree?

But the cake? He was all over that. To be honest, he's not actually much of a cake person normally, so this surprised me. Picking out table linens? Not so much. For me, it was not as much about taste as it was about design. Duh!

I was swooning over these beauties. Sensing a theme? Yeah, me too. Ombre, yet again, and no fondant!

Img via Wedding Chicks Photo by Austin Gros

Photo by Martha Locklear

Img via Ruffled Blog Cake by A Cake To Remember

My mom teased me that she would make sure a traditional fruitcake would be present, as is tradition in Canada. She was only joking, since she had adamantly protested that there would not be one at her wedding, but Grandma Manatee slipped one in at the last second!
Admirably sneaky, but gross.

Image by Aussie True Blue Recipes

We also knew we wanted to have a Grooms Cake! Despite the fact that the slices are usually inexplicably 50 cents cheaper, its the one of the few chances the couple has to really showcase the groom's personality. And an excuse to have a cake dripping in chocolate, usually.

Because of Mr. Manatee's Ohio roots, he's a die-hard Buck-eye fan, and we're hoping to somehow combine the sports element in these two chocolate-on-chocolate cakes. I'm dying just thinking about it.

Image Via World Wide Wedding and Bride

Img via Pinterest

Stay tuned for our cake tasting adventures!