In Search Of...The Perfect Hostess Gift. Any ideas?

We've got an engagement party coming up in just a few weeks and I'm still search for the perfect hostess gift!  The party is actually a "triple engagement party", hosted by my parents and two of their closest couple friends, in honor of their three newly engaged children, B & myself included.  We all decided it would be easier (and way more fun) to do one big giant engagement party, instead of three separate ones.  We spend every Christmas Eve with these families and used to all vacation together at Wrightsville Beach, so we've all known each other for a long time; the kids have become great friends as we've become adults and always look forward to seeing each other.

So back the hostess gift.  I'm stumped!  I thought about just having all of the hosts over for dinner, but there is no way we'll fit 8 adults in our tiny dining room :(

Now I'm searching for "hostess" presents for the couples hosting the party.  It has to be appropriate for couples and not too expensive.  I think our back-up idea is a really nice bottle of wine for each couple, but I thought I'd see if any of yall have any fun ideas.

What would make a really great hostess gift for the couples hosting this party?!

(Here are some pics from xmas Eve a few years ago - all these people are super close to my heart!)

All of the "kids" at Xmas Eve

"The Girls"

"The Guys"

Say Yes to the Dress: NYC vs. ATL

I'll admit it, I LOVE Say Yes to the Dress (who doesn't?!).  I've been watching it for the last few years, well before I got engaged.  I may or may not cry during most episodes and I may or may not think most of the dresses are heinous, but I'm still obsessed nonetheless.

Neededless to say, I was pretty excited when I learned they were bringing Say Yes down south.  Hello Say Yes to the Dress Atlanta!  I don't watch a ton of TV so I missed the first couple episodes, but thanks to DVR I've been able to catch up pretty quickly and check out the new show. The formula for the Atlanta show is the same as the original, but for some reason I think this new version is so much better.

THE ORIGINAL:
The consultants in the original are hilarious - tons of personality - but also pretty rude.  I wouldn't want any of them helping me with my dress selection; they are all just a little too pushy.  It often seems like they care more about the sale than the girl or the dress.

The dresses at Kleinfeld's, at least the ones they show on TV, are pretty hein.  I didn't see a single one of the dresses featured on the show when I was shopping!  Also, why are the dresses on the show so expensive?  I can't remember exactly but I think one time they said dresses start at $3500 and most are $5K and up.  I don't really think there are regional prices in wedding dresses and I can count on one hand how many dresses I saw that were over $5K.  Then again I wasn't really looking at any dresses with a lot of bling, lace or expensive details.  Still...

The brides on the original...where do they find some of these people?  That said, I always appreciated that they found people with a unique story or touching background.  Those always made me cry the most!

THE ATLANTA VERSION:
So far, the consultants seem much more down to earth and actually interested in helping the bride - not just making the sale.  That said, the owner of the Atlanta boutique is a wackadoodle.  I guess one might have to have an extra dose of crazy to run a huge bridal boutique? 

I think the dresses in the Atlanta version are a thousand times better.  Not to mention that I tried on tons of the dresses that have been featured, which has been fun to see.  I especially love it when a girl hates on a dress that I kind of loved, or a girl loves a dress that made me look like a sausage.   I also appreciate that the dresses in this boutique start at $1500 and lots of girls have a lower budget.  Its much more relatable /realistic.

The brides on the Atlanta show are also much more down to earth in general.  Maybe that's because most of them are good southern girls ;)

I'll still watch the original when the next season begins, despite its flaws it's still good trashy TV.  But for now I'm glad the Atlanta season is in full swing!

Have yall seen the Atlanta version?  Which did you think was better?

(all images courtesy TLC)

The Ingredients: Bridesmaids

Even before B & I actually got engaged we had talked about who we wanted in our wedding party.  I don't know why but it was always fun to talk about who would be sharing one of the biggest days of our lives by standing at the alter with us.

But when I actually got engaged, I really struggled with how to ask my bridesmaids.  So many of my girlfriends have already gotten married and done some really cute things to ask their friends to be bridesmaids.  I felt a lot of pressure to do something different (this has been a common theme actually, I'm really getting sort of tired of people saying "Oh I know you're wedding will be so crazy cool and full of different stuff"). 

A few examples of what friends did in the past, off the top of my head:

• Mini champagne bottle w/ cute tag
• DVD w/ nice letter
• Homemade cookies shipped out to all the girls
• Bridesmaids Survival Kit
• Nice letter
• Framed picture + note

I also saw some really cute ideas online but all seemed either super time consuming or really expensive.  Sorry girls, you're totally worth it, but things were really busy at work and I was in major saving $$ mode.  

I decided I wanted to do something slightly humorous, yet still let each girl know that it really would be an honor to have them be part of my wedding party.  So after lots of thought (and procrastination), I went with a funny card from Naughty Betty, purchased through Jack Cards, and pictured right (Naughty Betty cards are honestly the funniest around, I am so glad I discovered them, thanks Holly for the reco!).

I think most of the girls got the humor and thought it was funny.  Thankfully all of them said yes to being a bridesmaid, so now the next challenge is to find ways to torture them with ridiculous dress options.  Only kidding.  I'm SUPER excited and can't wait to get all 10 girls together for the big day!

How did you ask your bridesmaids?  Any creative ideas?

New Favorite Spot: Georges Brasserie

I decided to take a break from the wedding stuff to write about our experience at a new restaurant here in Charlotte, Georges Brasserie.  B and I finally went there Friday and it was divine!  Anyone who knows me well knows I love to eat out and living in New York made me a bit of a restaurant snob.  If I could change one thing about Charlotte it would be the general lack of good restaurants; things have definitely improved in recently years, but still...this is a steakhouse town and the steakhouses aren't even that great.  Georges is fresh, different and a welcome addition to the Charlotte scene!

We got to the restaurant about 7:30 and by then the main dining area was packed with no availability until about 9pm, so we chose to sit at a table in the bar area. The full menu is still available but its just a little more casual. The inside of the restaurant is definitely french bistro inspired, but not over done or cheesy to the point that you feel like you're in a themed restaurant. It was sophisticated yet understated - actually, it would be a great rehearsal dinner spot for us if it weren't so far from downtown (farther than we'd like).

And the food?  Did NOT disappoint, our meal was great!  We started with drinks:  I had a carafe of rose (great deal - $17 for 3 glasses of wine?  hell yes!) and B got a vodka soda.  The restaurant offers amazing happy hour appetizer specials on the bar side, every day after 3pm, so we took advantage and ordered a half dozen cushy oysters + truffle fries.  I was a very happy girl!  For dinner I went with salmon, served over English peas with creme fraiche and a beet vinaigrette.  Oh my god, I am salivating just writing about it.  B tried the bouillabaisse which was good, but mine was definitely better!  Homemade eclairs were an indulgent but worth-every-calorie way to end the meal.  YUM.

If you live in Charlotte, this is a must-try!  SO good!

Here are some more pics, courtesy of the Georges website:

The Ingredients: BAND!

I don't know why this was such a difficult decision, but we had the hardest time picking out a band!  We liked tons of them, but seemed to find fault with most of them.  And then, several of our early favorites got booked up because we took so long to make a decision.  BUT, I'm proud to say that finally have a band and I could not be more excited.  I think they are the PERFECT choice!   I won't bore you with the details but this was one of my top choices originally but Beale veto'd them right away.  Turns out he didn't really know who they were...and when we randomly came across them earlier in the week he loved them.  I'm SO excited; can't wait to be on stage with them in less than a year ;)

Here's a link to their promo video from East Coast, Enjoy!

Do or Don't: Patterned Bridesmaids Dresses

I bought the dress below over the summer from JCrew and it was so damn cute on that I started thinking I might consider a patterned dress for my bridesmaids to wear...

But I started rethinking things when a friend sent me this pic:

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!  (what are those little white sleeve things?!)

Then I came across this post and the dresses I saw there totally sealed the deal...NO patterned bridesmaids dress.  Yall can all breathe a huge sigh of relief and save your cute, fun patterned dresses for the rehearsal dinner, hah.

Feel free to send links of anything cute yall find...this has to be one of the worst parts of wedding planning!

My Something Blue!

My Matron of Honor sent me these ADORABLE rhinestone shoe appliques (from Mindy Weiss).  They are the perfect "something blue"!

How freaking cute?  I found a pic of them from a real wedding (love the color of those shoes...great combo!). 

Thank you, L, for sending these my way.  I LOVE them and can't wait to wear them :)

Obsession: Peonies

So I know peony season is long over, but I am obsessed with peonies and felt compelled to post a few of my favorite images now that all of the weddings from earlier in the summer (ie - during peony season) have started appearing on some of the wedding blogs.  God love a peony!

via apartmenttherapy

via Ruffled

 via Style Me Pretty

via Style Me Pretty

In my quest for other peony-inspired wedding items, I found these AMAZING cupcakes.  To die for!

via pinkcakebox.com

Staying in the baking theme, I found this awesome apron on Etsy, made from adorable Amy Butler fabric.  Honestly, I might have to treat myself to this to make up for the fact that peonies are no longer in season.  It would keep my kitchen bright and happy all year (and be a great addition to my ever-growing and lovey apron collection)!

via Etsy (visit the shop here)

I hope all these peonies brightened your day - they certainly brightened mine!

Things I Love: Gorgeous Garlands

Stumbled across these while stalking one of my favorite wedding style blogs, With This Ring.

How fabulous?

They would be super cute for a baby shower as well:

You can find these darling garlands on Etsy, here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/KristinaMarie


This color palette would be especially pretty for a wedding shower - or baby shower :)

Gorgeousness!