It's in the Bag

At first I wasn't sure if I wanted a bridal handbag, it didn't seem like I'd need it that much. However I did think it might be nice to have somewhere to stash some powder and lip gloss, so I just figured I'd use a bag I already own, borrow one, or sew up something sweet and simple.

Then I saw this sweet sparkly little lady at almost 60% off and I decided that I did in fact need a new fancy bridal bag.

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She arrived in the mail today, and she is gorgeous. She is a tad smaller than I had pictured, but I think it'll still work.

Sunglasses used for scale.

Here are some other bridal bags I've been eyeing:

Grey & Pink Floral on Etsy

Heart bag via KarmaLoop

Pretty Bowed Bag on Etsy

White with rhinestone accents on Amazon

Sequins! From Zappos.

Are you using a handbag during your wedding?

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Like most brides and grooms I knew to set up a couple hotel room blocks at discount, but I was happy to discover that you can set up group discounts for air travel as well. Since we're having a semi-destination wedding and a large portion of our guests will be traveling to Palm Springs by plane we're quick to jump on board anything that makes getting to the Cheetah wedding easier on our guests.

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There are two basic ways to set up a discount travel: 1) Group travel from one originating city to the final destination, often on the same flight, and 2) travel from many different originating airports to the final destination. As our guests would be traveling from different cities and on different days, we were looking for airlines that would offer option 2.

Only a handful of airlines fly to Palm Springs, so I contacted them all in hopes of setting up a discount for our guests. Luckily both American and Alaskan Airlines were able to set up small discounts (5% and 7% off) for any of our guests flying their airlines to Palm Springs. Both airlines required a short contract and had a minimum number of passengers (10-15) to set up the discount. After that I was sent a discount code, which we then posted on our wedding website and included in our invitations. In fact, it was much easier than setting up the hotel room blocks! I know many of our guests have already taken advantage of the airfare discount.

Did you set up group travel or other discounts for your out of town guests?

The Girl Who Cried Earrings

Now that Mr. Cheetah is long gone we can talk about a little problem I have.

I can't stop buying earrings for the wedding.

When purchasing my dress I decided that my only jewelry would be a bracelet and earrings. I already knew exactly what I wanted for my bridal bracelet and I'm having one custom made (can't wait to show the hive once it's done!), but my earrings...Well that's a whole other story. I'm not exactly sure what I want and as a result I've already bought five pairs. And I may not be not done.

If only I had 5 weddings. Or 10 ears.

These from Ann Taylor were the very first pair I purchased while out holiday shopping. I love the shape and all the sparkles, but as the rest of my bridal look started to take shape, the less these earrings seem to work.

Next I spotted these stunners by Kenneth Jay Lane in a Gilt sale.

I was a little nervous since they were final sale, but since I had store credit from a prior return I bit the bullet and clicked "buy." These earrings are awesome, but when I brought them with me for my first dress fitting it became clear that they were too big. I love me some big jewelry, but my bridal look seems to call for something more demure. Not studs, but definitely not big.

So armed with a Nordstrom Gift card I went back on the earring prowl, this time searching for something smaller. I came home with the next three pairs:

Clusters by Tarnish:

Round small dangles, also by Tarnish:

Delicate dangles by Nadri:

I'm going to bring these three pairs to my next fitting, and return any that don't make the cut.

I'm still not convinced I have found my wedding earrings, so I remain on the hunt. I recently found these beauties, and I think they'd look great on my wedding day--but they are clip-ons and I really rather have pierced earrings.

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Here are a few more I'm thinking about picking up to test out at my next fitting:

Two above from Tejani

Two above from Emitations

See, I have a problem.

Which earrings are your favorite? Did you have any problems narrowing down your bridal accessories?

all personal photos except where noted

On Trend

When you read as many wedding blogs and magazines as I do (I know I'm not the only wedding p*rn addict out there), you become pretty aware of all the current wedding trends. I'm not one to blindly follow a trend just to be "in", but I'm also not one to shy away from a trend just because it's, well, trendy. So which trends are "in" and which ones are "out" for the Cheetah wedding?

The Photo Booth

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Probably out. I love photo booths, I do. I've only been to one wedding that had one and it was a ton of fun. But I have no idea where we'd put it and there is the extra cost/project to consider as well. I'm also worried that there would be a line and it would take people off the dance floor. And these Cheetahs want a dance party.

Although this picture makes me second guess our decision...

Colored Bridal Shoes

Love these shoes & flowers!

Out. I considered colored shoes to go with my dress, but then decided on some lovely ivory t-straps instead. There will be some brightly hued shoes in the wedding though, the Cheetah girls will be donning bright pink shoes with their awesome grey dresses!

MOH Sister Cheetah's Pink Shoes

Cupcakes

Nom Nom Nom

In! While wedding cakes can be spectacular, we recently decided that cupcakes are the way to go for our wedding.

Sweets Table

It's already in our colors!

All signs points to in! We still need to discuss this with our DOC and venue, but we're planning on having some other desserts and candy surrounding the cupcake tower.

Sweetheart Table

Table for two

Out. We're having three long tables at our wedding, and we'll be smack dab in the middle of it all!

Non-Number Table Numbers

I adore these!

To be determined. We love the idea of naming the tables after streets in our hometown or buildings at UCSB (where we met at undergrad), but we may just go with simple numbers to make it easy on us and the guests.

Bunting

So cute!

No clue. We'll see where my last minute DIY takes me...

Wedding Signage

Will someone please make this for their wedding?

Out. Great idea, but there really isn't anywhere for it to go in our venue.

Flip Flop Basket

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Out. I'm not a flip flop person myself (I hate that thing between my toes), and I figure that plenty of our guests will be staying at the hotel so if their feet are aching, they can just grab another pair of shoes from their room.

Fun Socks

Pink Socks!

Out. I love this trend, but Mr. Cheetah and I decided that the fun sock ultimately didn't go with the sleek modern look we're shooting for.

Grooms & Guys in Converse

All Stars

Out. For the same reasons as the socks.

Moustaches

Fun fake facial hair!

In. But real ones. Hey--my family is from Chicago, my uncles were ahead of the trend on this one.

What wedding trends are you including? Omitting?

My Shoe-In

I brought three pairs of shoes to my first fitting and a clear winner emerged:

The Ivory T-Straps!

I love the way they look with my dress as is, but that didn't stop me from hitting google in a shoe-clip search-frenzy as soon as I got home. Here are some of my top finds:

floral pizazz

Two above from Etsy

rhinestone bow

feathery fun

What do you think Hive, should I clip it? Clip it Good?

Bringing the Rings

We're not having kids in the wedding party which means we won't have a ring bearer. So we need to figure out another way to get those wedding bands to the altar.

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Of course our Bestman and/or Maid of Honor could carry the rings with them but I thought this could be a great opportunity to honor another two great people in our lives: Our Grandmas!

Meeting Grandma Cheetah for the first time

Mr. Cheetah with his 97 year old grandma!

Mr. Cheetah and I are lucky to each have a grandma in attendance for our wedding. My grandma will carry Mr. Cheetah's band down the aisle, while his grandma will carry my wedding ring.

There are so many fun alternatives for ring holders (really, Ms. Cheetah, you couldn't come up with anything better than "ring holders"?), but I think our grandmothers might be most comfortable with the traditional pillow. I plan on crafting a couple of coordinating ring pillows soon and here are a few designs I'm digging for inspiration:

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How are you getting your wedding bands down the aisle?

Look at What I Found in My Mailbox!

An invitation to my bridal shower!

Check out how adorable it is!

And the best part, a custom stamp made from our save the date illustration!

My Aunt and sister are throwing me a bridal shower in Chicago and I'm super excited! Now I just have to find an outfit to wear...

Are you having a bridal shower?

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