My Girls

I've only officially asked one of my girls to be my bridesmaid, but I think I've got a pretty good idea of who I want to stand up for me. I've been putting "the proposals" off for a while now because I'm waiting until Bruno and I can agree upon a firm date. That being said, I never realized how difficult it is to choose my bridal party! My best friend of all time is actually a male, and I really don't have many female friends at all. Most of the few female friends I do have don't get along with each other. It's just stressful all around. It's also difficult because even if I don't have a super small and close-knit group of girlfriends, there are still so many ladies in my life who mean so much to me, that I can't begin to fathom that they not be a part of my wedding. Depending on how big the wedding is, I may have a house party, in addition to the bridal party, just so I can have an excuse to include them. I just have to ponder it all more, methinks, and I have plenty of time.

Until then, I've been working on my "vision" for my ladies. I can't tell you how excited I am!

The venue Bruno and I  decide on (see last post) will ultimately determine the feel of the wedding. Right now it's bordering vintage and rustic.

I know for a fact that I don't want my girls in gowns. Bruno and I want the wedding to feel more casual and fun, rather than stuffy and formal. I want my girls to be cute and comfortable, so I hope to find them some short, cute vintage-inspired dresses (think Anthropologie). I love the idea of non-matching dresses as well because it gives them the opportunity to choose a shade and style that flatters each girl the best and that each girl feels comfortable in.

Here's some examples of dresses in coordinating colors, styles, and prints:

However, I would ideally like to have them choose dresses that are at least within the same color family:

At this point, I'm thinking I want them in shades of champagne/taupe/tan, like the photos below. I think it goes well against both a rustic and a vintage backdrop, plus it would look great with a pink peony bouquet (assuming those are the flowers I decide on).

Depending on whether we decide on a more rustic theme or a more vintage theme, I'm also brainstorming ideas for accessories. For a wedding on the more rustic end of the scale (if we decide on one of the ranches we're looking into), I've considered having the girls in (Bruno will kill me when he reads this) brown cowboy boots:

Now, if we decide to lean toward the more vintage end of the spectrum (like if we decide on a venue like Barr Mansion or Allan House), obviously boots aren't going to cut it. I'm thinking, since the girls will be wearing non-matching dresses, perhaps the their shoes could be matching. Obviously, I would be unable to decide on an exact color or style until I got a better idea of what their dresses would look like, but these are a few I love:

Aldo "Orpin" Peep-Toe Pumps, $90

Miss Alexa, $295

Miss Selfridge nude seam platform, $63

KG by Kurt Geiger "Echinacea", $235

Christian Louboutin "Madame Butterfly", $945

Anthropologie "Tattered Cosmos Sandals", $115

Coach "Sierra" Thong, $188

One really cute accessory I love for a vintage theme are off-white, wrist-length lace gloves. I can't say I'm completely sold on them yet, but they looked so great in this shoot, paired with long strings of pearls:

As for hair, I'd really love it if my girls have hair long enough to style in a long, low side ponytail like the one below. I also hope to either buy or make them coordinating silk flowers (or some other sort of hair accessory, perhaps like the headbands above).

I don't know; it's all still up in the air right now, but that should provide a pretty good idea of what I've got going through my head as of this moment.

Color Me Friendless

I have come to the conclusion that:

1) We can only afford a very small, close-friends-and-family only wedding.
2) I have no friends. Okay, maybe that isn't true, but I have very few friends.
3) Bruno wants all three of his brothers, plus his best friend as groomsmen. Cue HUGE wedding party. Add my brother, JJ, and my best friend, Cory. Cue VERY HUGE wedding party. Cue Michelle unable to find that many female friends to put on her side. Cue NO ONE left to actually attend the wedding as guests.

I know it's really important to Bruno that his brothers be his groomsmen, but, from what I can tell of our finances right now, that's just too big of a wedding party even for a normal wedding, even more so for a very small, intimate wedding. I know we can't narrow it down to only a couple of bridesmaids and groomsmen because that would mean him not having ALL of his brothers in the party, but I wonder if it might be possible for us just to have a Maid of Honor and a Best Man, and just leave it that? Maybe have our brothers and sisters just help out on the sidelines with other things - have them do the readings, have them work as ushers, have them hand out programs, have them handle the guestbook or the gift table...things like that. I don't know...it's just something I'll have to talk to Bruno about. I mean, the way we have it now, all of Bruno's siblings, my only sibling, both of our best friends, and pretty much the only female friends I have are in the wedding party. Aside from my near-distant family, I don't even know who else I would invite since everyone is in the wedding party!