Planning for our big day
 

One of the biggest things I was looking forward to at my engagement party was asking our friends & family to be in our bridal party.  I was really excited to show them what I have made/bought for them & how much I appreciate them being part of my big day!!  Below are some pictures of me asking "my girls".  (More pics to follow with Rima)

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The cookie, candle and card I got the girls :)

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Carrie Ann...Matron of Honor


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Alison...Maid of Honor


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Melissa...Bridesmaid

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Shannon & Lauren...Bridesmaids

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Gwen (to the far right)...Bridesmaid (had to ask her the night before b/c she wasn't able to make the party)


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Cousin Kristen ( Jr. Bridesmaid) and niece Autumn ( Jr. Bridesmaid)


 

So I decided to stop being lazy and blog about my engagement party.  It was about 4 months in the making and I really enjoyed planning it.  I was a bit nervous/stressed beforehand because it was the first time alot of our family & friends were meeting.  Kal is Arabic Muslim and I am Irish/German Catholic so I really wasn't that sure how it was going to go.  But from the first half hour, everyone was mingeling and dancing.  I felt so much better and was really able to enjoy myself.  The party was four hours long and it really went by in a blur.  Noone was ready to end the party!!  This also made me feel alot better about our six hour reception because I was worried that might be too long. 

Here are my raves:

Flowers -  www.fiftyflowers.com  I ordered 10 bunches of pink peruvian orchids, which came out to 100 branches for $109 (with free overnight shipping).  They arrived still closed in the bud and opened after two days, so I would definitly recommend having them for a few days if you are ordering from there.  The customer service was great and they even called after I recieved my order to ensure I had them out of light and with fresh water.  I had enough flowers for 12 high and 36 low submerged centerpieces, and two arrangements for the bar area.  It has been a week and they are still in full bloom!

Floating candles - www.candlesjustonline.com This was the best prices I found for floating candles and also used a coupon I googled for 10% off.  The candles burned beautifully and after four hours, half the candle is left.

Cake - Buono bakery, Staten Island.  The cake tasted awesome (as usual) but I wasn't happy with how it was decorated.  I just asked for black, white and fuschia and it had neon green all over it.  My fault for not being more specific!

Catering Hall - Arianas, Staten Island.  The food was great and the room was beautiful (patting myself on the back).  But there was alot that went wrong.  We were supposed to have a mini cocktail hour (salads, paninis, etc...) and it was served with dinner (not a big deal, but c'mon!).  The Maitre'D was nowhere to be found (until it was the end of the party and she was looking for her tip).  She also was throwing all of our stuff around when it was time to clean up the party.  I knew from the getgo when we booked with her that she was unprofessional and I'm just glad she stayed out of my way the whole night and didn't bother me until it was over lol.  Their prices are good and the hall is really nice...so if I would have another party there, I would just request not using "her".

 

 

 

I slacked on ordering flowers, so last minute I contact fifty flowers about an order I would need for this Saturday.  They were really nice over the phone and explained to me that I would need 4-5 days for the flowers to open correctly.  They overnighted the flowers to me for free!!  I recieved them in the very early morning the next day.  I plan on making submerged centerpieces with them. Oh, they are azailia hot pink orchid

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Day one.  They looked a little dead and were in need of water!


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Day three.  They are starting to open up and actually look pink :) I cut the stems and fed them plant food on th second day


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My mockups ( I wish I took more pictures the day of!!!)

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So today I ventured into making my chocolate dipped oreos with our edible monogram for our engagement party favors.  I had the monograms printed on 8.5 x 11 paper and it wound up 20 monograms to a sheet.  It took a few hours to cut all the circles out (which was way annoying and I didn't realize there was such things as comfort grip scissors lol).  With the help of my mother and two sisters, we finished 80 cookies in two hours.  We ran out of sprinkles, so we'll finish them during the week. 

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My tedious task of cutting circles...


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Melting milk chocolate chips for the dipping (melted over a double boiler)

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My sister making a mess...I mean dipping oreos


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My mother and other sister assembling


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drying out my creations :)


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The finished product.  We dipped half the cookies in pink/white sprinkles and the other half in brown for contrast


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Another view with favor tag


 

So yesturday I recived my order in the mail from an etsy seller (still haven't decided if I want to say her name...it wasn't the best experience).  Below are some pictures of the cookies I ordered from her for my bridal party and the edible paper with our names on it (for the favors).  She forgot one "will you be my jr bridesmaid" cookie and will only refund my money...not send me the cookie, so I'm still pissed right now.  She did send me an extra "will you be my bridesmaid", so I'll have to add in "Jr" with some icing...Not a huge deal, but when I pay for a product I expect to get what I paid for...end of rant....here are the pictures...

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