Napkin Origami

I've been thinking about how I want my tables to look at our reception. A lot. I am hoping to find awesome chargers on the cheap whilst in India. I know I'll have zippo time to shop because I'm booked with back to back appointments. However, there's an awesome handicrafts market called Dilli Haat (pronounced deelee hawt) that's open in the evenings that I'd like to try to get to. Considering the rupee is at the highest it's been in years, I can load up on some really great stuff on the uber-cheap. Last time I went to Dilli Haat I got rayon pashminas for US$1 each. Nice. You can get the real-deal pashminas for about US$30. REALLY nice.

Anyway, I'm envisioning my tables with chocolate brown metal chargers with a slightly patina color on the brown. I have an Indian vendor who might be able to hook me up with some gorgeous chargers. He sent me tons of photos for them. I think I've narrowed it down to this one:

It would have a different finish of course, but this is just the raw body and pattern I would go with. What do you think?

On top of the charger, I'd place the ivory napkins. The tablecloth is in sandalwood. Here's a pic of the table linens I chose.


I want to tuck my printed menu into the napkin and my venue is cool with folding them, but I wasn't sure how. I Googled "How to Fold Napkins" and found a couple of sites. I found this step-by-step demo that I think is particularly helpful:

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I'm going with "The Pocket." I can then put my brown favor box right on top of the fold part with the menu peeking out from under the fold. What do you think?

"I Wish" Wednesday

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So my wish for this Wednesday isn't for a physical object, per se. It's more for peace of mind.

I'm nearing a WPM (Wedding Planning Meltdown), or perhaps just a regular, ol' meltdown. I can't tell which at this point. I am so stressed. Here's why:

• I'm afraid that my overseas trip is going to put me way behind on the wedding planning.
  
• I'm not trusting my fiance enough to take care of stuff while I'm gone. In reality, I know he'll do what needs to be done, but I'm still worried about it.
  
• I'm stressing over finances when I really shouldn't be.
  
• The last minute work trip to Dallas really put a kink in what I wanted to accomplish before I left for Asia.
  
• I'm freaked out about the Air France A330 that went down off the coast of Brazil. These things tend to happen in 3's and I'm about to fly around the world (literally) over the next 25 days.
• I'm freaked out about my actual overseas work. The economy has made my business tougher than ever and I just hope my vendors are agreeable.
  
• I have 2 flats of flowers dying in my backyard that I need to get planted. This is bumming me out.
  
• There is so much CRAP in my house. Cases of wedding wine in the closet. Bags of favor boxes that had to be moved to the attic to make room for the wine. The bags join the grapevine wreaths I got cheap for my ceremony flowers. The dining room table has been invitation central for a month. More paper projects cover the sewing table and dresser in the guest room.
  
• My dress is coming in while I'm overseas and this totally bums me out.
  
• Still no wedding shoes.
• Asia is going to be ridiculously hot. New Delhi's LOW temp for the next 10 days is 104, high is 109. Manila has temps in the high 80's with everyday calling for torrential downpours. Parts of China look OK, but it appears to be raining everywhere. There is nothing more gross than a wet China. Mud. Filth. Ew.
  
• I have to pack for overseas travel and I HATE to pack.

So, my wish for Wednesday is for less stress and peace of mind. I need it.

SHOE SALE!

Amazon is have an amazing 80% off designer shoe sale! The Hollywould shoes above were $394.95 and are now $118.48! Go here to see everything on sale.

Didn't win the $50? Here's another chance!

The Relentless Bride is offering the same giveaway as I did! Check out her site and enter once as day until June 10th!

And the winner is.......

THE FUTURE MRS. SMITH!!!

I am so happy to announce the winner of my first-ever contest! Fellow Nashville blogger The Future Mrs. Smith is now the proud owner of a $50 gift certificate to Moments of Elegance! Here is TFMS's winning comment entry:

i'm a longtime follower, but i added your button! :)
and... i want freeze dried rose petals. they look so pretty.

Congratulation again and thank to everyone who entered! I can't wait to have another contest!

To TFMS - please email me at thethirtysomethingbride@gmail.com so I can give you your coupon code!

We Need More Than a Velvet Elvis!

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So I mentioned a few posts back that we had finally chosen our wedding cake vendor! Hooray! We decided to go with a Cake Buffet versus a traditional wedding cake. I just couldn't stomach the idea of paying a ton of money for something that may, or may not taste good. I don't care if the cake is stacked. I do care if it's expensive.

As you readers already know, I tried my hand at baking my own. While I don't doubt that I could physically accomplish this task, I decided that I should not emotionally attempt it. I'm already baking cookies for my favors. I just don't want to totally freak myself out if things go awry in the kitchen. My goal is to avoid any further WPM (Wedding Planning Meltdowns). I think my family will be happy to hear that I've abandoned a DIY Cake Buffet.

So, after reviewing and tasting countless bakeries and cakes, we opted to go with a small, husband/wife own bakery called Sweet 16th, A Bakery. The Candyman and I met with Ellen, the baker and wife and just loved her.

The bakery is located in East Nashville. East Nashville is home to lots of things: hipsters, crystal meth addicts, musicians, families, great restaurants, crack houses. It's got a great historic feel to it, but it's not all that safe. Now, I'm going to bet serious money that no East Nashvillian would ever stoop to read my bridal blog. However, if I were to say that there's crime in East Nashville (meaning more so than in other neighborhoods) I'd be verbally attacked with a litany of crime statistics from East Nashville dwellers. There seems to be a bit of a fight between east and west Nashville. Hip versus Hop. Cash versus Cashola. Cable versus Digital. iPhone versus Blackberry. Happily, I live in SOUTH Nashville. Nobody lives there and we stay out of directional fights. It's nice.

Back to the cakes. We saw some gorgeous pictures of Ellen's cakes and I'm so excited to have 4 simple, beautifully decorated cakes. The problem is I can't decide which flavors to get. The have 15 cakes to choose from. However, if i want them all to look alike (all with white cream cheese frosting), and I do, then I have to narrow it down to 9 or 10. We know for certain that we're going with the Velvet Elvis Cake (2 layers red velvet cake plus 1 layer of chocolate cake with peanut butter cream between the layers, frosted with white cream cheese frosting). The remaining options are:
Chocolate
Carrot
Banana
Vanilla
Abstract Crunch - chocolate cake with toffee bits between the layers, drizzled with chocolate and frosted with cream cheese frosting.
Lemon Vanilla Cake
Chocolate Raspberry - Chocolate cake infused with raspberry syrup
Chocolate Amaretto - Chocolate cake infused with amaretto

What other 3 flavors should we go with? I feel like I need to decide and tell Ellen before I leave for Asia. I leave June 9th! Ack!

Calling All Music Snobs

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While I used to consider myself a know-it-all music snob, I long ago relinquished that title to those with more time on their hands and the wherewithal to engage in the activity. I have better things to do like play Mafia Wars and Scramble on Facebook. Oh right, and plan a wedding. And blog about it.

Early in the planning stages I found a cool article in Martha Stewart Weddings magazine. She listed "songs you won't hear at every other wedding." The same article can be found here. Or, you can just see the list below:

For the Cocktail Hour
"I Only Have Eyes for You," Billie Holiday
"How Deep Is Your Love," The Bird and the Bee
"Tupelo Honey," Cassandra Wilson
"It's Wonderful," Ella Fitzgerald
"Soledad," Jorge Drexler
"In a Sentimental Mood," John Coltrane
"Stop, Look, Listen to Your Heart," Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross
"I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl," Nikka Costa
"You Don't Have to Say You Love Me," Shelby Lynne

For the Dinner
"The Weight," Aretha Franklin
"Wind Cries Mary," Jamie Cullum
"Don't Speak," Leela James
"Easy," The Commodores
"All at Sea," Jamie Cullum
"Shelter," Ray LaMontagne
"This Must Be the Place (NaiveMelody)," Talking Heads
"Across the Universe," Rufus Wainwright
"Closer," Travis
"The Look of Love," Dusty Springfield
"More Than This," Roxy Music

For Your First Dance
"Sea of Love," Cat Power
"Thank You," Lizz Wright
"Northern Sky," Nick Drake
"Brighter Than Sunshine," Aqualung
"In Your Eyes," Jeffrey Gaines
"Somersault," Zero 7
"Isn't It Romantic?," Tony Bennett
"A Case of You," Joni Mitchell
"You're the Best Thing," The Style Council
"Baby, Now That I've Found You," Alison Krauss
"Here Comes the Sun," Nina Simone

For the Father/Daughter Dance
"Maybe I'm Amazed," Jem
"Sweet Pea," Amos Lee
"In My Life," The Beatles
"Isn't She Lovely," Stevie Wonder
"I Can See Clearly Now," Jimmy Cliff
"A Song for You," Gram Parsons
"To Sir with Love," Al Green
"The Wind," Cat Stevens
"Have You Met Miss Jones (Swing When Version)," Robbie Williams

For Boogie Time
"Heart of Glass," Blondie
"Let's Stick Together," Bryan Ferry
"Mercy," Duffy
"What'd I Say," Ray Charles
"Ring of Fire," Johnny Cash
"Some Kind of Wonderful," Joss Stone
"Modern Love," David Bowie
"I Only Have Eyes for You," The Flamingos
"Valerie," Mark Ronson with Amy Winehouse
"Twistin' the Night Away," Sam Cooke
"('Til) I Kissed You," The Everly Brothers

For the After-Party
"If You Find Yourself Caught in Love," Belle & Sebastian
"Who the Cap Fit," Bob Marley
"Sirenes de la Fete," Brazilian Girls
"Following," Chungking
"Beautiful World," Colin Hay
"Heartbeats," Jose Gonzalez
"Cupid," Jack Johnson
"Karmacoma," Massive Attack
"Je T'aime Moi Nnon Plus," Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin
"Little Black Sandals," Sia

I've downloaded a lot of these for my own enjoyment, except for Belle & Sebastian. I'd rather poke myself in the eye with a sharp stick than listen to that melancholy, wrist-slitting crap. I also sent a copy of the list to my DJ. She's including these on her play list too. Very cool.

I also gave the list to my dad in hopes that he will choose a good father-daughter dance song. I don't know if it's his job to pick, but I think it would be nice if he did. It's also one less thing for me to worry about, right?

I'm also starting to think about the Do Not Play list. Off the top of my head, I've got:
The Macarena
The Electric Slide
The Chicken Dance
The Hustle
Love Shack
Grease Mega-mix
Theme from Friends
That's What Friends Are For
U Can't Touch This
Achy Breaky Heart
Gonna Make You Sweat
YMCA

What's really scary is that all of these songs were on Top Wedding Song Lists from various idiotic websites. What's on your Do Not Play list?