Bridal bouquet

Aren't hydrangeas just one of the most lovely blooms? I can't bring myself to pay the outrageous costs associated with retail wedding flowers, so I tracked down a wholesale flower distributor here in town and am putting hydrangeas on my list. Hopefully I can make a bouquet like this one:

Colors will be different of course -- most likely white and green, or some blue in there -- but you get the general idea. I also love that hydrangeas are a hardy flower and they last a while.

Wedding mashup

I promised D that my hair would not see a major cut until after the wedding. Trims are acceptable. Hacking off 2-3 inches is not. The wedding day hairstyle I have in mind is long and flowy -- think loose curls, slightly pulled back. I'm thinking that I do want a veil, but haven't been able to pin down a style. Hopefully that decision will be easier after I decide on the final design for the wedding dress.

Since my sister is up visiting until Sunday, we both figured that this would be a good time for me to try on a few swanky wedding gowns. I have an appointment scheduled for this Saturday at one of Anchorage's few bridal salons. I'm still wanting to alter my mom's dress, but trying on other gowns will give me a better idea of what looks good on me. And let's be honest, I want to get girl-ified and PUT ON SOME PRETTY DRESSES!

Finding hair and make-up people to officially transform me into a beautiful and dewy bride has been difficult. I mention Moose Pass to wedding vendors and they act like I'm getting married at the top of Denali. Our venue is only 90 minutes from Anchorage, people! But my sister has been working overtime for me and is enlisting some of her professional friends to help out. One works for Bobbi Brown cosmetics and we're reserving her for make-up services. I'm hoping to convince my regular stylist to take June 26th off and be my hair guru for the day.

Lately I've become obsessed with finding the perfect pair of apple green heels to wear at the wedding, like so:

I want that surprise punch of color when someone gets a peek at my shoes!

Two Sisters recipes

One of my all-time favorite bakeries EVER is located in Homer, Alaska -- Two Sisters. They serve the most delicious breads and pastries, not to mention the fantastic soups and sandwiches. Seriously, I'm getting hungry right now just thinking about the food stuffs. What makes this place even more fabulous is the bakery's location out near Bishop's Beach in Homer. Just a really lovely setting, looking out over Kachemak Bay.

I check the Two Sisters site every once in a while and on my last visit, found out about their new recipe blog. Um, YUM! I love that the bakery buys local organic produce and products. Can't wait to try out some of the recipes -- the roasted chicken looks delish. I should probably start purchasing free-range organic chickens but like the Two Sisters blog mentions, they are way expensive. Chicken is pretty much the only thing we don't buy organic so I feel like we're doing pretty well on that front.

Save-the-Dates!

About half of the wedding save-the-date reminders went out yesterday morning. I'm working on getting them all out in batches! Save-the-dates are most often less traditional than a formal wedding invitation, so I designed a whimsical postcard with our colors in mind. The polar bear postcard stamp seems very apt (this being an Alaska wedding and all...)

Here's a sneak peak for my blog readers - yours will be arriving in the post shortly (barring any unforseen roadblocks and Christmas delays):

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Now that these are completed I can really begin thinking about our wedding invitations. I ordered lovely envelopes and enclosures from Paper Source (a store I'd LOVE to spend a few hours in) and am excited about starting the designing process.

On a related note, only 6 more months with my current last name. I'm planning on dropping my middle name (which I never really liked anyway) to become Audry Whalen Patrick, instead of Audry Sumie Whalen.

Facebook & Craigslist postings

Oh my, some people are not so savvy with the Facebook skills! I got these from HuffPo.

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These are pretty funny too: Crazy Craigslist Ads

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