Charcoal, Champagne, Ivory and Blush

A big concern in planning the wedding so far has been my color scheme. When I found my dress - I fell in love with it in the light gold color thinking that it gave the dress an antique and elegant feel. Add that to the fact that I was pretty set on having charcoal grey bridesmaid dresses and it all threw me for a loop when it came time to narrow down a color theme.

I tend to be attracted to muted and subtle color combinations and I have finally found one that I am happy with. Our colors will be charcoal grey, champagne, ivory/white and blush pink. The pink will be used very sparingly in our bouquets and on the paper products. I don't think I could have gotten Brian to agree otherwise. Here are the colors side by side (our grey is a tad bit darker than what is shown here):

Our Honeymoon Location is Picked!

Initially we were just going to do a mini-moon for a few days after the wedding. However, Brian and I do short trips (long weekends) all the time and we wanted our trip after the wedding to be different. We sat down and talked about where we would want to go if money were no object (which it certainly is but it can't hurt to dream, right?) We both really wanted to go to Hawaii and were concerned that with our limited budget, we wouldn't be able to. We reached out to Rhonda at Travel by VIP (recommended highly on the Knot's honeymoon board) and she put together a package for us that far exceeded our expectations.

Before I get into any details on the trip, I just want to insert a plug here for Rhonda. I was a bit hesitant at first to work with a travel agent, let alone one that predominantly does her business on-line and not face-to-face. We gave it a shot anyway and am so glad that we did. Within hours of my initial email inquiry, she responded back with some very helpful information, collecting details of exactly what we wanted and got started putting together packages right away. She's very friendly, attentive and has kept us updated every step of the way. We have no hesitations going forward and feel as though we are in good hands. If anyone is in search of a travel agent, I would suggest at the very least dropping Rhonda a note and seeing what she can do for you. Her email address is Rhonda@travelbyvip.com. Travel by VIP does not charge you for helping put together your honeymoon package - they get paid directly by the resorts.

Now on to the really good stuff...

We are getting married on a Saturday and have allowed ourselves a day to recover. We leave on an early flight Monday morning, have a brief layover in Phoenix and arrive in Maui at 2:23PM in the afternoon (which is really 7:23PM EST). We will be staying at the Royal Lahaina Resort on Kaanapali Beach for five days.

We will then be staying for five days on Hawaii's Big Island at the Outrigger Keauhou Beach Resort on the Kona Coast.

In 8 months and 13 days, we'll be on our way!

Bridesmaid Dresses Picked Out!

After much consideration, we have narrowed down the choices for the bridesmaids dresses. The girls had their choice of floor-length gowns from Bill Levkoff in european satin material and the color European Grey. These are the current front runners for each of the girls:

We will be ordering the dresses from Helen Bohn as well. I got my gown there and was able to get a discount for the girls.