I'm not with any band and I realize that's a corny post title but it's late at night so cut me a little slack.  What this post IS about is our wedding bands.  We got them!  I'm guessing this is way early on any regular timetable, but I am glad that we did.

When we started thinking about where to ring-shop, we decided we'd prefer to support a small local jeweler.  Several people had suggested checking out Glennpeter.  Although I doubt anyone from upstate New York will ever read this, I highly recommend them.  Mike and I had decided ahead of time that matching bands weren't really a priority for us - we both have very different tastes, and we thought it would make more sense to each find a ring we adored.  And that is exactly what we found. The whole experience was much easier than I ever anticipated...much like my dress-shopping experience we knew what we wanted and the wonderful staff helped us find it pretty quickly. 

As an aside - although our bands won't match, we do have plans for some corny engravings for the insides. 

Now we get to wait over a year to wear them!
 
I've said it before and I'll say it again.  I adore Etsy.  I've spent hours browsing the many shops, but actually made my very first purchase(s) yesterday!  I fell in love with this stamp months ago:
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via modernartstamps
As I type, it's being made with our names across the top and our date across the bottom.  I also ordered another one-of-a-kind, tiny, fantastic fish stamp for other stationary purposes...
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thank you, nellielovesart
Can't wait until they arrive and I can try them out!
 
This weekend Mike and I took a trip east for a some wedding prep.  We looked at two possible reception sites - The Harbor Room in Gloucester and the American Legion in Manchester.  Both venues had pretty waterfront views...
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The Harbor Room
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American Legion post 113
I also went dress shopping for the first time with my mom and sister.  My mother's friend had recommended a shop in Portsmouth, New Hampshire called Madeleine's Daughter.  Tucked away into an shopping plaza, this shop was amazing.  The staff were so professional, friendly, and helpful.  I came in with a few pictures of dresses that I liked, but said I was open to almost anything.  Somehow the consultant put together all the elements she could tell I loved, and walked in with a dress that somehow combined them all beautifully.  Even though I tried on 4 or 5 different gowns, I fell in love with that first one.  I wish I could post a picture here, but I'll be traditional and keep it a secret for now!

A couple of bonus...I brought Mike to the beach where I had wanted to have the ceremony.  Luckily, he loves it as much as I do!  We also stopped by to visit my grandparents while we were in town.  Grandma pulled out her own wedding album and told all kinds of great stories.  We both left imagining a wedding where the whole town shows up and everyone eats sandwiches and Italian cookies and dances the Polka to a live band...
 
I have completely fallen in love with this clutch.  I stumbled across it while doing my regular check on Emmaline Bride, and am seriously considering investing in this for myself.  Yay for Etsy!  [Cadybriar]
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We decided early on that we would be growing our flowers on my parents farm.  This was actually a 'someday' suggestion that my mother made a long time ago, before we were ever engaged.  Since my brother has a great interest and lots of horticultural knowledge, why not?  Plus, they do have an everlasting supply of fertilizer at their disposal.

Everywhere you look, wedding experts say it's crazy to take on flowers as a DIY project.  I'm not convinced.  Mike and I are pretty laid back when it comes to all the traditional wedding expectations.  I would be perfectly content with a bouquet of the wild black-eyed-Susans that grow along the edges of the paddocks, maybe tied with a little white ribbon.

In a couple of weeks we plan on taking a trip east, and we'll have some time to sit and look at seed catalogs.  Can't wait!
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