What's Your Scent?

"A woman's perfume tells more about her than her handwriting." Christian Dior

When it came time to choose the perfect perfume to grace myself with for the wedding, I had a hard time making a decision. Smell is one of our senses that can always take us wherever we need to go. A little whiff of something can instantly transport us back to a memory. That is why I wanted to make sure I chose the absolute best perfume for me.

I don't have a horrendous amount of perfumes, but i'd say I have a decent collection of a few staples.

That bottle of Chance was actually a Christmas gift from Mr. Buck back in 2010 when we got engaged. Chance is definitely my signature scent and I wear it almost every day. Somehow though I have barely made a dent in that bottle!

I headed out to Nordstrom the other day with my mom to try and track down the elusive scent that would accompany me at the wedding. I ended up spraying two different perfumes on each of my wrists and then walked away. Many perfumes smell great right away, but as the day progresses it either can fade or not mix well with your body chemistry. I needed to give these pretty fumes some time to mingle with me. 

We had lunch and shopped a little more. The entire time I was walking around smelling my wrists. I am sure I looked like a total dweeb. At the end of the day, one of the scents was completely gone. This was no good because I wanted the aroma to stay with me all day and into the night. 

The other scent had relaxed nicely on me, and seemed as though it wanted to stay and hang out for awhile. I decided to lock it down and purchase my new smell good friend. 

Her name is Love Chloe:

Another thing that really distinguished Love Chloe from the others was that it was very lucid. It's not the type that when you smell it you think "hmm, it smells kind of flowery. It smells good, but I am not sure what it is." That is why I like Chance so much because when you smell it, you instantly know what it is. Love Chloe is the same way, as soon as you smell it you know what it is. That was an important factor to me because in the future when I wear Love Chloe, I need it to be very distinct so that it brings back memories. 

Also, when I woke up the next morning...Love Chloe was still there enjoying that spot on my wrist. Enticing me to spray some more; but no...she will have to wait a little longer until I can start using her for good. 

I love hearing what perfume others like to wear. What is your signature scent, and what are you choosing to wear on your wedding? 

Round 2 Of Updated Projects

I would prefer to not say that I changed my projects...updating is a better word. I can't say I wasted time in creating these projects in the first place, because really what happened was that they evolved. (Or maybe I am just brainwashing myself and in reality I wasted a boatload of time and money. Oh well.)

Awhile back I showed you my cork board collage, and you all were so helpful in giving me tips on how I could jazz it up. Since I was planning on *updating* all of my projects, now was the perfect time to spice up that cork board.

I just so happened to have found ribbon that exactly matches the sage green color of our napkins. You know how I am now with colors matching, so this was a huge find. I decided a big floppy bow at the top of the cork board would add some fanciness.

I also decided to paint the cork board, because it was a little too yellow for my taste. I had really wanted to add burlap over the cork, but unfortunately when I started to deconstruct the board...I realized that was impossible. The cork was stapled into the frame in all kinds of crazy ways.

Here is my new and improved cork board collage:

Now I am off to go *update* (spend way too long completely changing...) another project. 

What do you think of my updated cork board, did I jazz it up enough? 

Getting Crazy

At this point, we have been engaged for fifteen months. I have been touting the fact that we have had a long engagement so I am able to have so much time do everything. So what do I decide to do two months before the wedding?

Oh ya know, change almost all of my projects. Nothing like a little procrastination and excitement to get my booty moving.

Why the sudden switcharoo? Well, I blame the damn linens.

You see, our wedding package comes with upgraded lamour colored linens. Lamour is a beautiful luxurious fabric. I am ecstatic that we are able to have this option because it is really going to add a nice touch to the tables.

We decided to do simple white lamour table cloths. Now, why would I choose white when I could choose any other color?

Because apparently I am obsessively crazy about color...or so I have come to learn.

No really, our wedding will (hopefully) be outdoors, and it bothered me when I envisioned sage green table cloths...against the already luscious green outdoors. Our venue is surrounded by gorgeous amounts of green trees, grass and plants.  It seemed as though it all might clash. Therefore, I decided to do white table cloths for a nice crisp look against the already green backdrop.

As for the napkins, I was okay with having sage green napkins. It wouldn't overtake everything and would add a touch of color to the tables. To give you an idea of the colors, here is a photo of the sample choices:

With blush pink flowers on the tables, I think this is going to tie together nicely.

So what's my deal here? The fact that the sage green napkins do not match any of the sage green projects I have already worked on. Most normal people might just brush this off and say, so what who cares?

I can't though, it bothers me and I must address this issue. 

I won't throw all my changed projects at you all at once, so I will start with the table numbers.

Remember my glitter blasted sage green table numbers I made awhile back? 

Yeah, I repainted them. With the table numbers and napkins so close to each other on the tables, I couldn't have two different shades of green going on. I decided to apply my white shabby chic technique that I learned how to do when I painted my cake topper. 

I think it turned out pretty well, and will compliment the sage green napkins beautifully. I am much happier now that I made the decision to update my projects to match my linen choices.

Although I am now mourning the loss of my glitter blast. Farewell glitter blast, you were good to me while it lasted. 

What do you think of my updated table numbers? Is there any small detail that has drove you absolutely bonkers? 

I'm Just Crazy About Tiffany's: The Day

Everyone was asked to wear black and told that pearls would be provided. This turned out looking absolutely adorable and classy. Thirty ladies all walking around in black and pearls, how much more Tiffany's can you get?

{Mom Doe/Hostess Extraordinaire and I at the start of the party}

 {Sister Doe/Hostess Magnifico and I}

 {We even had pearl champagne glasses!}

 {My bridesmaids and I with Holly Golightly hanging out in the back}

Sister Doe asked Mr. Buck interview questions ahead of time, and I had to guess his answers. If I got an answer wrong, I had to put a piece of bubble gum in my mouth. I did pretty good, I only ended up chewing five pieces.

Only because there were trick questions such as "If  Mr. Buck could be any super hero, what would he be?"

Of course my answer was somewhere along the lines of batman or superman. 

His answer? Chuck Norris. 

Enough said.

Then came gift time. It's like gathering all of your birthday presents together from all of the years past, and piling them into one day. It was a ton of fun, but also overwhelming. The generosity that pours out from all of your friends and family is intense. I felt like I was opening gifts for two hours.

With that many gifts, it is easy to blow through.  I made a point though to know who each gift was from, and to comment on it after opening it. Which isn't always easy since sometimes gifts aren't marked.

That's when crazy-eyed Doe comes out.

You just have to stand up and yell over everyone and say, "who got me this freaking awesome rice cooker?!" Then usually you get every one's attention and can figure out who the gift-giver is.

All joking aside, I do think it is very important to know who got you what and thank them for it right after you open it. I can only hope that every single person knew how much I appreciated them.

All the while Sister Doe was preparing my rehearsal bouquet. It was her first time and I think she nailed it!

Bridesmaid K was busy keeping track of the gifts. She had a pile of thank you cards ready, and in each one she placed a post-it note with the name and gift of each guest. That way it made everything very simple when I started my thank you cards.

It truly was a beautiful day, and I could not be more thankful to my mom and sister who hosted the shower. As well as my bridesmaids who were a major help to them. 

Were you overwhelmed by the amount of love that oozed out from your bridal shower? Do you have any great bridal shower tips you can share for future brides?

I'm Just Crazy About Tiffany's: The Details

This past weekend was my bridal shower. If you haven't guessed yet, the theme was Breakfast At Tiffany's. As Holly Golightly said it herself, "i'm just crazy about Tiffany's." Like many girls out there, it is one of my favorite movies. It also makes for a super fun and girly theme.

Before I move on to the main bulk of the shower, I have to share with you all the beautiful details. My mom and sister put on quite the extraordinary display. My bridesmaids were also there helping along the entire time. Apparently at one point they held a secret meeting to finalize details of the shower.  I am like a super bionic bride, if there is anything wedding related going on, I typically find out about it. I am still trying to figure out how they managed to sneak that one past me.

The moment you walked into the room, there was a beautiful table set up to greet people. The table was scattered with mini diamonds and pearls. The corners were graced by Tiffany colored chocolate balls.

As a side note, my mom made these flower balls herself. She scoured local shops as well as the internet to find the best possible pricing on white carnations. She ended up finding the best deal on Costco's website. She was able to buy 150 flowers for $80. She worked so hard on these and they turned out absolutely adorable!

Also on the table was a basket filled with  faux Tiffany boxes. These were the favors for the guests, and they were filled with heart shaped french soaps. (Does anyone else like to stick these in their sock drawer to make everything smell nice and fresh? Tell me I am not the only one...) 

The food was crazy awesome. Mimosa's, fruit, salad, quiche, muffins, cinnamon rolls, mini sausage, cheesecake stuffed strawberries, hash brown casserole...my mouth waters just reminiscing. 

Even the napkins had to join in on the fun.

The cupcakes and cupcake stand were out of this world. 

It was an absolutely beautiful day, and I cannot wait to share more with you!

Did you have a theme for your wedding shower? What kind of unique details were included? 

A Camo Grooms Cake

I always knew that I wanted to include a grooms cake during the wedding festivities. The perfect fit for us would be at our rehearsal lunch. My latest wedding obsession has been trying to find the right bakery to complete my unique request. I thought I had the perfect bakery squared away, until she emailed me to tell me that now she will be gone on vacation the week of my wedding. Well that's a bummer, and thanks for waiting two months before my wedding to tell me this.

I thought for a split second about freaking out about this...but really when it comes down to it, it's a cake. Not the wedding cake, a grooms cake. No need to worry, I just need to find a new baker.

First I should show you the object of my affection here, and then explain my issue.

As some of you may know by now, Mr. Buck is a big time duck hunter. Which means I wanted his grooms cake to include two things: camo and a duck. I preferably wanted the duck made out of red velvet cake so that I could have my Steel Magnolias moment.

{Image via Fan Pop}

I went on a search trying to find just the right cake to make everyone "ooh and ahh" over. I finally found the cake I had been looking for, that included all of my specific elements. I definitely would not need it this grand, but something along these lines would be magnificent. 

{Image via Found Splash}

Here is the problem I have ran into with multiple bakeries. Most are willing to create the duck out of red velvet, but it nearly doubles the price of the cake. The majority of the bakeries suggest doing the camo base, with a plastic duck on top. I am willing to pay the extra cost if it is worth it...but I am not convinced that it is. At the end of the day...the cake gets eaten no matter what. Does it really matter if the duck is made out of cake too? 

What do you think, Hive? Should I fork out the extra dough to have my Steel Magnolias moment, or should I go the budgeting route and adorn a plastic duck on top of a camo cake? Do you have any plans to include a grooms cake at your wedding? 

Gonna' Be All Jersey Shore

...is what I said when I went in to get spray tanned last week. Obviously, I was joking. At least I hope you realized that I was joking.

If you wouldn't mind if I stray from the subject real quick, I have to bring you up to speed on my jersey shore-ness.  You see, I am of the 1% of America that actually does not watch Jersey Shore. Sure, i've seen a few reruns here and there, but I haven't actually sat down to watch an entire episode. Don't get me wrong, it's awesome in all kinds of terrible ways. I just never really got around to watching it, and let's be honest, by this point it's a little late in the game.

Back to my point though, I was joking when I said I wanted to be tan (ahem, orange?) like Jersey Shore. In fact, I was hoping for quite the opposite. I just wanted a natural glow, nothing that looked too fake baked.

My mom and I decided to head out to the tanning salon to test out spray tanning. We wanted to see if it would be a good idea for the wedding. I was slightly worried at first that I was going to have an experience similar to Ross.

{Video via You Tube}

Luckily, my results were far different from Ross. While I was fairly happy with my spray tan, I am glad that we decided to test this out ahead of time.

I am slightly streaky in a few inconspicuous areas, nothing extreme though. The color seems about right, but there is one major issue that I discovered and had not thought about originally.

Staining.

If our wedding is on a warm day, and there is any perspiration whatsoever...there is a huge chance that some of that fake tan will wear off onto my pretty white gown. The last thing I need is to lift my arms up to throw my bouquet, and grace our guests with a view of nasty orange streaks.

Not. Cute.

I think the spray tan is fun for events such as a wedding shower or bachelorette party. I am not sold on it though for the wedding. I am fairly certain I am going to stick to tanning the good old fashion way. I am glad I discovered this issue now than on my wedding day.

Which means a big hip-hip-hooray for trials! That's what they are meant for, and I am glad I took the time to do so, and re-evaluate my options.

Our Ritual Is No Ritual

Sand ceremony, unity candle, wine box, and so on. These are all beautiful rituals that seem to be utilized the most at weddings. They all mean something different to the couple who chooses to utilize them during their wedding ceremony.

When it came down to deciding what we wanted to include in our ceremony, we decided that no ritual was the best ritual for us. Nothing felt right to us, and so we decided we would like to keep it short, sweet, and very traditional.

Honestly though, I feel that one of the most important rituals during a ceremony often gets overlooked as such. What is it that I am talking about? Why the exchanging of the rings, of course.

Maybe because it is an age old ritual. Why wouldn't someone include that in their ceremony? Which might be the reason as to why we try to find secondary rituals to be included as well. We all want to have something personalized just to us.

We are thinking that because we aren't having a secondary ritual, we might add some extra oomph to the exchanging of the rings. I would like to add to it something out of the ordinary. So that everyday when we look down at our rings, we are reminded of just what was said during that special moment.

Our ceremony will be very traditional, with all the usual aspects. What will make it unlike others and personalized to us? Simply that it will be us reciting the vows and exchanging the rings. I think that is unique enough on its own. (Unique, New York. Anyone? I can't help myself.)

Will you be including any type of ritual during your ceremony? Or is no ritual the right ritual for you?

A Cork Board Collage

Remember way back when I wanted to include photos of us when we were younger, somewhere at the wedding?

Let me rephrase that, only the cute photos of us from when we were younger. Mr. Buck was always cute...but I had my days back when I was a pre-teen. Then again, who didn't?

I also wanted to include photos of us from the past ten years. I was going mad trying to figure out a proper way to do all of this. While one day when browsing a Home Goods store in Roseville, CA, I passed by something that called out to me. It literally was singing out my name and glowing.

 I'm sure nobody else in the store was seeing what I was seeing. I knew instantly though that this would be perfect for what I wanted to do with a collage. It was a large white cork board for only $20. Not just any cork board though, a pretty one that resembled a large picture frame.

I bought a pack of small straight pins with a rounded black tip to use to pin the pictures to the cork board. It was quite difficult narrowing down all of the photos I wanted to use. However, I decided it would be best to do two rows of us when we were young and three rows of us together from the past ten years. 

I still need to play around with the placement of the photos, and there is a chance by the time the wedding rolls around that some of these photos will be swapped out. For the most part though, this is exactly what I had envisioned. We can set this up on an easel near the welcome table for people to look at as they arrive. 

I also might add a bow somewhere on the white part, just to jazz it up a bit. 

While I was at it, I decided to buy two of these cork boards while they still had them in stock. The other cork board I am going to use for the seating chart. That way everything stays all matchy-matchy. 

What do you think of my cork board photo collage? How do you plan to display photos at your wedding? 

Wacky Dreams

Hive, I have some exciting news to share with you.

I had my first wedding dream! Some of you may or may not find this exciting, but I am pretty thrilled. I kept hearing people talk about their wedding dreams, and up until now I had not had any. I wanted to have fun and experience a freaky wedding dream too!

The wedding is creeping up pretty fast, which is probably why those wedding thoughts are now entering my dream world. I have to tell you though, my dream was weird. Not just kind of weird...i'm talking super weird. 

I only remember bits and pieces of the dream, but these bits and pieces are enough for anyone to scratch their head.

As we walked into our reception, I noticed all of the tables were covered in burlap and lace. I made a note to everyone that these were suppose to be sage, but oh well. Then, all of the centerpieces were piles of sand and marshmallows with birthday candles stuck in them. When we lit the candles, the sand and marshmallows magically transformed into piles of snickerdoodle cookies. (Which actually sounds pretty fantastic.)

You  can't make this crap up.

From there I changed out of my wedding dress at the reception into none other than my high school prom dress. Mr. Buck asked me why I decided to wear my prom dress. All I could answer was, it was all I could find in the house. Oh well. 


Throughout this entire dream, I had a real sense of knowing that everything was out of place. My wedding is suppose to be elegant with a rustic twist, with beautiful colors of blush pink and sage green. Somehow the marshmallows, snickerdoodle cookies and prom dress just didn't seem to fit quite right.

In my dream, people kept coming up to me asking me what I thought about everything being wrong. Every time I would answer with a smile on my face and say, oh well. I honestly did not care that everything was not the way I had planned it.

I had to sit back and reflect on what this dream could have meant.  There had to be something pass the odd details, right? All I could think of is that this dream was telling me to relax and stop worrying so much about the small things that don't matter.

Should the design I had envisioned not come to fruition, then I believe I have the personality to just say, oh well. Followed by a big hearty smile, and who wants cake?!


Have you had any wacky wedding dreams? Did you write it off or did you decide to figure out what the dream could mean?