Roll In the Reinforcements

Yesterday I mentioned that my wedding nap was over and I would soon be getting some help. Well, help has arrived!

Dad, Mom and Oliver (check out that crazy lamp and pair of rain boots!)

My mother wanted come to Pennsylvania a week or so before my shower to help my sister and bridesmaid. She also wanted to come a week or so before the wedding to help me finish any last minute projects. Well, she and my dad got to thinking about the time line and came up with a solution. My Dad drove my mother and their dog, Oliver, up along with their camper. My dad will be here one week helping me drywall and build a new desk, before flying back to Florida and leaving my mom and Oliver. So, I get to have my Bob Vila dad for a week and my Martha mom for almost two months! How lucky am I?!

She brought loads of pineapple things along with her (one of which is pictured). She is really into Weddingbee, but always afraid to comment. I have a feeling there will be a lot of pineapple themed goodness at the shower!

This weekend will be dedicated to drywall, but come Monday it's all wedding all the time. Awesome.

Has anyone else received some last-minute help?

When you are so busy that you don't know what to do next...

take a nap.

This is advice my mom, somewhat jokingly, gave me growing up. (Along with "you don't have to be hungry to eat" and when dad asked for some single dollar bills to "always trade up.") Well, aside from mailing the invites and a first/first and a half dress fitting, the last couple months I have taken a much needed wedding nap.

My to do list, which I should really write down, is a mental mile long. There are so many things I haven't even thought about. There are even guests that I didn't know about.

The good news? I am finally starting to go through wedding withdrawal. I went from planning overload to missing all the little projects. I am itching to get started on programs and the favor scarves. The even better news? Only 200 miles away from me (and closing!) the reinforcements are rolling in! (More on that tomorrow.) The next 51 days are going to wedding packed and fabulous!

Did anyone else have to take a wedding nap to get their second wind?

And They're Off!

After almost 3 hours of writing our new address on response envelopes (and spelling my own name wrong about 20% of the time) I was ready to invite our loved ones to the wedding!

This was a big day for the Pineapples, a big day at a teeny tiny post office.

Brush Valley Post Office complete with Amish Buggy Crossing sign

When stuffing the envelopes earlier I couldn't actually do any stuffing. I had forgotten to get stamps for the reply envelopes, oops! So, instead I organized the contents. To avoid any confusion about who was invited and to make sure no one forgot to write their name(s) on the reply I wrote them in ahead of time. Once I was at the post office I added the stamp to the reply envelope and doubled checked that the reply card and outer envelope belonged to the same guests.

I was so excited that the post office finally had cool stamps, Charles and Ray Eames.

All packed up and ready to go!

The final invitations required 59 cent postage, which was a relief. The invitations have 7 pieces all made out of card stock, plus the envelope. The 59 cent stamps were not quite as cute as the 42 cent, sorry James Michener.

The lovely post office worker hand canceled all the invitations for me. All I had to do was ask and she said "sure!" That was easy. While at the post office (for an hour and a half because of all the last minute stuffing and licking I had to do) people would come in and out and say "Oh! It looks like someone is getting married!" Most were excited and told me how long they had been married and wished Mr. Pineapple and I well. Everyone except the used car salesman across the street who said "Don't do it! I only have one friend who is happily married" so I said "Well, sounds like you need new friends." He turned around and walked out and off the invitations went!

Any pleasant surprises when you sent off your invites?

Hair Doing

So finally after 18 months I have made an appointment to get my hair cut, colored (back to brown) and have my trial. I scheduled my appointment for the morning of my shower so I have a reason to have fancy hair. I am going to wear my hair down or down-ish. When I have my hair up I feel really young and not pretty so that much was easy to decide.

Here are some styles I am considering:

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Which is your favorite down-do?

Shower and Bachelorette Invites by MOH/Sister Pineapple

I am Miss Pineapple's older sister and I also have the great honor of being her Maid of Honor. Since I, like my sister, am a graphic designer, I had a blast designing the bridal shower invitation and bachelorette party invitations myself.

Since a lot of her guests are flying in from out of town, we decided to do an afternoon shower and then a bachelorette that evening. Not all the same guests would be invited to both events (sorry Mom) so I decided to design and illustrate two simple invitations that were distinct enough to look like two separate events, but had the same illustration style on both which tied together the look.

For the shower invitation (above), I did a one sided card mounted on a piece of brown craft paper. I liked the idea of a one sided invitation for this event, because the guests will be able to hang it on the fridge and have a reminder of the details at a glance. As for the illustration, I did my interpretation of the adorable cake toppers by Anne Wood.


One of the bachlorettes and the fun idea of including a recipe card with the invitation so all the guests will be able to share a recipe with the new couple. I designed this card to match the invitation and included the date of the shower at the bottom.


The co-ed (but Mr. P free) bachlorette party will take place at Miss Pineapple's favorite country line-dancing club so keeping with the theme, I drew my pink cowboy hat and used a western typeface mixed with a more modern typeface.

Is your bridal party also getting into the DIY spirit?

UPDATE: Dress (Not) Fitting Number One

Yesterday I wrote about my traumatic first dress fitting at David's Bridal. To sum up the back story...

I only went dress shopping once. I tried one a few gowns and found the one I loved. They only had one size in the store and it was a bit too big. They used clips to show me how the gown should fit. After deciding to purchase the gown my truly lovely David's Bridal assistant and the head seamstress thought it would be best if I ordered a size smaller, so I did.

Flash forward to about a week ago. I went into David's for my first fitting and it didn't go well. Long story short the seamstress (a different one than before) said my gown wouldn't zip and basically made me feel like poo because of it.

Well, a couple hours and almost 50 reader responses after my post appeared on Weddingbee I got a call. Guess who it was. Go ahead... exactly, David's Bridal.

Somehow, someone in their corporate office read my post. (I am not sure if they have staff to monitor such things or maybe it was e-mailed to them, I don't know.) The corporate office found out my full name (somehow) and therefore which store I was writing about. It was the manager of that store who called. She was so kind and very apologetic. She said she read what I had written and was horrified. She was very understanding about why I had a bad taste in my mouth. She invited me to come back to the store and try on both the gown I already own and a size larger.

So today I made the two hour trek back to my old stopping ground, Pittsburgh. The head seamstress brought out my gown (the smaller one) and helped me into it. When it came time for the gown to be zipped I held my breath waiting to hear the zipper stop. But guess what? It didn't! She zipped it right up! The same exact gown that just a fews days ago would have to be let out an inch and a half, fit perfectly. An inch and a half really isn't much to sneeze at. In fact, I can stick my hand down my gown if I want to. :)

So, why did the previous seamstress insist my gown was way too small and make me feel like poo? Honestly, your guess is as good as mine. Maybe I was having a fat day or maybe someone felt the need to tack on extra alterations (ahem). Whatever the reason, I am relieved. I love my gown again. If I had not gone in today my gown would have been much too big after alterations and I would have been out $70! They did offer to embroider the lining of the gown with "Emily & Ryan | October 18, 2008" which should be a nice keepsake down the road.

Neck Wear

For the last few months I have been casually searching for a wedding day necklace. I would love to find something from Etsy. I have had nothing but amazing experiences from Etsy folks. I plan on wearing simple white pearl earrings (either a pair borrowed from my sister or a pair Mr. P bought me many moons ago).

I am definitely drawn to more vintagey looking necklaces. I love simple pearl necklaces with one big funky chunky accent. Here are some of my favorites:

{Etsy Seller Luxe Deluxe}

{Etsy Seller Lulucoco}

{Etsy Seller Damselle}

{Etsy Seller JC Jewelry Design}

{Etsy Seller Damselle}

My concern with the above necklaces is my hair. I will be wearing my hair down and I think the best features of the necklaces will just be hidden.

So, maybe something more symmetrical or simple is where I should head. I do love these, but I just don't love them in quite the same way.

{Etsy Seller Virginia Geiger Jewels}

{Etsy Seller Kateszabone}

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I would like to go with yellow or rose gold over white gold/silver to match my wedding ring.

Do you have any suggestions (online sellers, specific necklaces)? Which is your favorite?

Dress (Not) Fitting Number One

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Last week I had my first dress fitting at David's Bridal. When I walked into "the alterations department" I was a little nervous. Basically it was a big dressing room filled with other brides, their moms, and women with pins.

I was alone with my big poofy dress, crinoline and cowboy boots. I was shown a smaller dressing room and told to put on my gown. So I did, well I tried to. (Did they really think I could zip it all the way up on my own?) So there I was, standing in my half-zipped wedding gown in the middle of a crowded room not knowing what to do next. Eventually, I spotted someone carrying a clipboard - a good sign! She directed me toward the mirror and told me to step onto the stage thing in front of it. I did. So there I was standing on a platform in the middle of a crowded room halfway into my gown. Honestly, I was really embarrassed. Everyone was staring at me. I assume they were wondering why I was holding up my gown instead of actually wearing it.

Finally, a seamstress came up to me to help with the zipper. She had it almost zipped up when she started yelling "I can't get it to zip! I can't even... you see? I can't zip it! I don't want to break it! It won't zip!" Really, she was yelling at me. I felt so horrible. In a room full of people she was yelling at me. I know my boobs and I was not so surprised that it didn't want to zip all the way up. I kept saying "ok, ok" and she just kept yelling about how it wouldn't zip.

When I ordered my gown they suggested I buy a size smaller than the one I had tried on. Apparently, the waist on the bigger one would have to be taken in. Well, the smaller one was too small in the boobage department. Not a big deal. Well, at least I didn't think it was a big deal. Either you take in the waist or take out the boobs. The seamstress on the other hand made me feel like the biggest bride, wearing the smallest dress, in the world. I was beat red and sweating. I was so embarrassed.

So, they would take out the top. Problem solved. Then, she told me my dress was too long. When I tried it on the first time the head seamstress commented that the length was "perfect." How come all of the sudden I would have to pay $75 to make my gown an inch shorter? I just told her "no thanks, I'll look for different shoes I guess." (I was wearing the same shoes I had been wearing all along.)

After I got myself out of my gown and back into my real clothes they told me they needed my measurements for their records. After my fitting? With my jeans and jacket on? They haphazardly threw the measuring tape around me and shouted out the numbers to someone else in another room, behind a curtain. Maybe it was the wizard of Oz. I assume the reason for the measurements is so that if your gown does not fit they can possibly blame the bride for gaining or losing weight. Or maybe at this point I was just being cynical.

Since then I have been haunted by the words "IT WON'T ZIP!" I wasn't going to even write about my first fitting. Maybe buying a dress at a high end boutique would have been worth it after all. Maybe.

Did you have a traumatic dress fitting?

Lounge Seating

One of my favorite current wedding trends is lounge seating for the reception. It can be rather pricey, but the look so so modern and casual. You can rent lounge furniture and pillows that match your wedding. The rental company will then drop off, set up and break down the lounge.

Here are some of my favorite shots:

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How cool would it be to use these Living Stones by Smarin Design?! I have no idea if there are any rental companies with these, but if you have the money, why not get them for your wedding and keep them for your home?
Are you having lounge seating at your wedding reception?

Being Accommodating

When Mr. P and I first set out to reserve a block of hotel rooms for our guests we went to a hotel within walking distance of my favorite pseudo honky tonk, Saddle Ridge. Unfortunately, the rate was higher than we were hoping and our guests would have to walk across the windy Smithfield Street Bridge to get the the wedding. The wedding coordinator for the Rivers Club Recommended we contact the Omni William Penn Hotel, just a couple blocks away.

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The beautiful Omni William Penn is rated 5 stars by trip adviser, so I didn't get my hopes up about an affordable rate. Fortunately, I was wrong. The rate was much lower than the other hotel and they provide a free shuttle to and from the Rivers Club. Each guest will receive a ticket for the shuttle and when they are ready to head in for the night, they can call the shuttle for a ride.

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Here is a view out of one of the rooms at the Omni. Below you can see Mellon Park, where Mr. Pineapple and I will see each other for the first time and where we will be taking our portraits.

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Here is a shot of the exterior of the Omni, nestled right in the middle of downtown.

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Here is a guest room at the hotel, this one is probably fancier than the ones we have reserved.
Mr. P and I will also be staying at the Omni the night before and the night of the wedding. Don't tell our guests ;) I am very excited to be staying in such a lovely Pittsburgh landmark.

Where will you be staying the night of your wedding?

Will You Marry Me, Mr. Pineapple?

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One year ago today, at 8:24pm Mr. Pineapple took me to Bow Bridge in central park and asked me to marry him. Everyone told me the engagement would fly by, I didn't believe them. Until today, it's been an entire year. Oh my goodness.

Mr. P and I spent the weekend moving to Clyde, PA. We have set up our first home in an old farm house on 100 acres. The puppy thinks it is wonderful and I am enjoying make our home uniquely ours. We have been very busy, but I wanted to do something nice and funny to celebrate this once ever milestone with Mr. P.

I really wanted to get Mr. P a pair of rose gold cuff links to match my ring. Unfortunately, with all the crazy last minute packing and job hunting I lost track of time and didn't order them. So instead, I decided to give him something stereotypically "wifey," socks and t-shirts. (I also threw in a Play Station game so he has something to do until they figure out how to get HD cable and internet into the woods.) I found some copper wrapping paper and a card that quotes his favorite show, Lost, "all we really need to survive is one person who truly loves us."

I am going to try to arrange some sort of dinner and hopefully propose to him at 8:24 tonight. Hopefully this poorly planned engage-aversary will still be sweet and touching.

Did you plan anything for your fiance on the anniversary of your engagement?