Wedding Tuxedos

Getting the mens all suited up has been a relatively easy journey.  Well kind of.

My dream was to have midnight blue tuxedos way back when, but apparently I just dreamt them up in my mind because they only exist in suit form.  I would have been fine with suits, but it would have toned down the formality.  With bridesmaids in navy blue it might have been a little overkill though.

Then we have dear sweet Aaron.  He is so funny, for someone who is not that great of a dresser (but I still love him), he is awfully picky about what he wears.  So of course he decided that he was going to refuse to rent his wedding tux.  In his words - he is not wearing used clothes on his wedding day.  While I appreciate the sentiment, he acts like I am asking him to wear hobo clothes I bought at someones garage sale.  So I was concerned with this idea from the get go because I just want everyone to match and look like they are in the same wedding.  And I am so not about to ask people to pay hundreds of dollars for a tuxedo to wear once, after they are paying hundreds of dollars just to be there in the first place.  Also, I figure for $150 bucks (or however much it costs to rent a tux) you get to wear a nice designer tuxedo, and it fits you just right, it has all the pieces, they can matching the accessories with the bridesmaid colors, and it is just easy.  I am not looking for any extra complications with this stuff, you know?  And for the final portion of this rant...I think Aaron spending a lot of money on a tuxedo is beyond financially foolish.  We don't have hundreds of extra dollars in our budget to buy an expensive tuxedo, I don't want you to look like you are wearing a $100, ahem, cheap tuxedo, and I am willing to bet 5 bazillion dollars that this tux will never get worn again.  Make that ten bazillion.

But in an effort to choose my battles and keep the peace, Aaron bought a very reasonably priced tuxedo from JC Penney, and it actually looks pretty nice.

10 bazillion.  Any takers?

Oh, and Aaron also refused to wear a vest because he thinks they don't flatter his physique (which is totally ridiculous) and that it creates too many layers and he will be hot (which is also ridiculous, it is January!)  So the guys are doing just black cummerbunds and bowties, and Aaron has silver ones so he is special.  Mozart, to be precise.

Made in America, yeah!

So Aaron told the guys what was up, and they all agreed to purchase these tuxedos.  I still have ushers and a grandpa though.

I called my grandpa today and told him we were buying tuxedos and he really wasn't into that.  He told me about this guy Al who has a tuxedo place in the mall by his house (Al's formal wear) and that I should call Al and see what kinds of deals they have, lol.

Lucky for me, there is an Al's on my way home from work, so here's what I did.  I printed out the photos of the tuxedos from JC Penney and took them into Als and hoped I would not get stink eyed.  The lady there was super nice and showed me the matching tux model that looked just like the one the others bought.  Win!

So now everyone can be happy and rent or buy their wedding outfit, and I can check this off the list more or less!

How to ask your ushers

...in a sorta funny way.

Since I am the queen of 'funny yet nerdy' things, I thought the most funny way to ask someone to be an usher at our wedding was so simple.

An Usher Mix Cd, silly!

All I needed were 3 blank CDs, some wedding themed scrapbook paper and ribbon, and about $8 bucks of itunes purchases if you don't already own some Usher tracks, and a computer with a CD burner.

Supplies

Tunes

So I downloaded the songs, burned them to the CD, made a CD jacket sized piece of scrapbook paper.  on the inside I wrote:

Dear Matt (prospective usher's name), 

It would mean a lot to us if you would be an usher at our wedding.  We hope you say 'Yeah!'  Love, Natalie and Aaron

(the the track list)

1. Yeah! (feat. Lil Jon & Ludacris)

2. More

3. OMG (feat. will.i.am)

4. DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love (feat. Pitbull)

5. Hot Tottie (feat. Jay-Z)

6. Love In This Club (feat. Young Jeezy)

(Usher doesn't work alone very often....)

I found the manliest wedding scrapbook design, which were silver doves:

These are totally manly doves.

But then femme-ed it out with a bow ;)

Bridesmaid Dresses!

For the past 3 weeks, I have been searching far and wide for the perfect bridesmaid dresses.  These dresses were to be elegant.  These dresses were to be reasonably priced.  These dresses were to be figure flattering for multiple body types.  These dresses were to be appropriate to wear in a church.  These dresses were to make my favorite ladies look fierce. 

and I think we've got it! :)

Groomsmen! (Finally!)

I have been waiting for Aaron to ask his groomsmen for MONTHS now, so at last I said, you have until June 1st, then I am asking them for you.  Sometimes you have to get assertive...

First up we have Aaron's best man, Doug!  Aaron knows Doug from college, and was Doug's best man when Doug got married!  Fun fact: the guest room in Doug's house has officially been named "The Aaron E Hinkley Guest Suite", lol.

Then we have Dylan (left) and Jeremy (middle) who are Aaron's good friends from college.  I will have to add some fun facts later, because it is too early in the morning to call Aaron.

And lastly, Aaron's future brother-in-law, my little brother Jeff.  Here they are on Thanksgiving, about to sample some Fourloko, the trashy caffeinated alcoholic beverage.  We once saw a lady on Intervention who drank it like it was going out of style, so we have always been curious.  It is pretty terrible, just as we suspected.

But anyway, that is the lineup, and I am so excited for everyone to be a part of our day!  Love these guys! :)

Bridesmaids!

Go see this movie, it is hilarious!!!

Here come the Bridesmaids!

Hot!

Out of all the younger ladies in my life (whom are in my age range) the ones that are dearest to my heart have agreed to stand with me on the big day. 

Drumroll Please

We all already knew that Katrina is the Maid of Honor.  I think I asked her when I called to tell her I was engaged...it has been pretty much a given for years and years.  I met Katrina in college when we were both joining the same business fraternity.  The rest is history basically, it would take half a lifetime to remember all the laughs and memories we have together.  In short, my life would be nowhere near as fun or as cool without this gal, and I just love her to pieces!

Next in the lineup is Anne!  Anne and I met in college, during my freshman year...  We originally met through a mutual friend and would hang out at parties and stuff.  Well one day I brought my bff Trey along to Anne's birthday party some 5-6 years ago, and they met, fell in love, and above is a pic from their wedding day - and they just celebrated their 1st anniversary last month <3  So thankfully bff Trey found an awesome wife, and in turn we(Anne and I) have become great friends.  I love Anne, she is so happy and funny and just explodes awesomeness!

And behind door number 3 is Rachel!  Rachel is my younger step-sister, so of course I chose to ask her!  When my Mom married Rachel's Dad, I was the most excited to have a sister.  I always wanted a sister, so before Rachel was here I was forced to dress my little brother up like a girl and call him Jeffalina.  I am so excited that Rachel is going to be part of the big day!

And last up is my cousin Heather!  Heather and I have soooo many fun memories from family get togethers and holidays growing up.  She is the one person in the group that I have known from my entire life, which is really special.  She asked me to be in her wedding a few years ago, and I am so glad that she is going to now be in mine!

So that is that, and now I need to try and find some scary ugly dresses for these ladies to wear...(only kidding, guys!) :)