handsome fellas

all pictures by One Love Photo

Tommy's best friends were his groomsmen.  All of them were high school buds - four of them were in a band together...my Tommy played the guitar and did vocals...so hot.  Anyway...I love these guys.  They are hysterical... smart... successful... and totally down to Earth.  Tommy's little bro was also one of his groomsmen...he busted the best dance moves....honestly.  None of these men live anywhere close to Arizona....they all live on the east coast (and one lives in Norway!).  This was a huge deal to have these guys be a part of our big day.

I thought my groom and his buddies looked wonderfully dashing in their tuxedos.  However, the tuxedos were not without their own drama.  When we placed our order at the Men's Warehouse, we requested off-white colored shirts as my dress was ivory and bright white shirts would have made my dress look dirty.  After we made that shirt request, I confirmed it with the sales associate before we left the store - you know, just to make sure - he kindof rolled his eyes at me and said, "yes ma'am...you made the request....we already put in the order."

Fast forward to when the boys picked up their tuxes in Las Vegas.  Sure enough...they were all the wrong color.  ALL were bright white, except Tommy's...which was the correct color.  AND...they didn't quite fit all the guys right, despite the boys getting measured prior!  The poor dudes hated the itchy jackets....and the pants were itchy....and the shoes were incredibly uncomfortable too.  The icing on the cake was the fact that the sales people were douche bags in Vegas.  Unfriendly. Unaccommodating.  Unhelpful.  Just a bunch of sh*t heads.  I felt bad.

Whereas I thought the boys looked really nice, Tommy was less than thrilled.  He was bummed about the awkward fit, the awkward pleating, and he just didn't like how they looked.  How heartbreaking is that?  

If we had it to do over, we would have had them wear their own suits...any color (which was what Tommy wanted to do in the first place!)  We went with the Mens Warehouse because we thought it would be easiest, the most convenient, and the cheapest route (as a couple of the guys don't own suits).  Here's one of those things where you get what you pay for.

bachelor party...in vegas

Here's a brief rundown on what's been up in my pre-wedding world.  Tommy's best friend/best man flew in from Norway this past Saturday and has been living on our sofa...amongst the moving boxes and wedding decorations.  He was awesome and would accompany me on wedding errands while Tommy was at work.  Then, his little bro from Rhode Island flew in and has been sleeping on a small patch of carpet in the living room...surrounded by towers of boxes.  Needless to say, it's not easy to get stuff done when you want to play host!  Thankfully, these guys are good sports...like, really good sports. 

Last night, the boys left.  They are meeting up with a dozen of Tommy's dude friends in Vegas for a few days of craziness.  The next time I see him will be at our Rehearsal dinner!  Ha!  How's that for timing!?

Visions of The Hangover play in my head...I just hope they manage to avoid the whole tiger kidnapping situation. 

I've had a lot of friends ask me if I was nervous about the Bachelor Party in Vegas.  Umm...I had my party in Vegas....it's a fun freaking town!  They are going to be wild....perhaps a bit crazy.  And I'm not nervous one bit...they are good guys. 

They only thing that's a bummer is that now I spend the last couple days without Tommy.  Last minute wedding stuff is up to me...and this is a romantic time so I wish he was here.  BUT - I know these few days in Vegas will be amazing for him and his buds.

victory #15: our diy boutonnieres

I forgot all about the boutonnieres until this past Saturday whilst on the mission to find our card holder.  I walked into the plastic flower section at Michael's and "ohhh yeaaa" happened.

Tommy and I talked about boutonnieres once - we decided it would be rad to incorporate something that made 'em special...to make 'em us.  We liked the idea of using hemlock cones that we collected last spring from my Aunt and Uncle's Seattle front yard.  The Pacific northwest is our favorite region of the country, and it's where we would love to live someday....our vacations there are always so inspiring and wonderful.  We wanted to bring a piece of those dreams, of that place, of our adventures, to our wedding.

So I had a jar of hemlock cones...and florist tape.  Nothing else. 

I spent about an hour meandering around Michael's this morning...lost...no direction...no idea how to freaking make a boutonniere...no idea where to start...or what to use.  Even though I studied the DIY directions from blogland.  All the plastic greenery looked so... well... plastic.  I went home with no clue of what to do.

I ended up dismantling a large bouquet of dried flowers I purchased at Pike's Place last year.

Yay!  The bouts turned out AMAZING!  Once I got the stuff all collected, it took me 15 minutes to whip 'em up!!  I just hope that they don't smush into a million pieces...as they are rather fragile!!

But, seriously, I'm proud of myself.

a rad ring...with moving gears!

Kinekt designs

Tommy and I have been doing a little "dude ring" searching these days.  With 40 days until I put a lil ring on his finger, we need to find said ring.  Thankfully, there are some badass boy rings to choose from.

Currently, I'm a big fan of our new sponsor, Kinekt design.   I've noticed the ring on some blogs around the web...and it is awesome!  It's stainless steal...and it freaking SPINS...and the GEARS MOVE!  That is just cool design...and an amazing conversation piece.  Perfect for the engineer, the mechanic, the handyman...or anyone who played with erector kits when they were little.  They only come in men's sizes now, but new sizes are underway for girly fingers too!  But anyway...check this video...to see the ring in action.  (You know you want to see it spin.)

The price is sweet too...I think it was $165.  And comes with a lifetime guarantee.  I'm not really sure you can beat that.  Anywhere.

We were at dinner a couple weeks ago with a bunch of our married friends.  Wedding rings came into the convo as the plans for our wedding came up *grin*.  All the guys were saying that the prices of their wedding rings were upwards of $700!!  Yikes.  And theirs don't even spin. Or have gears.  Or anything. 

I bet your man would drool over this too.  (or maybe you're drooling over it...like me.)

snappy dressed dudes

Sarah Neal Photography

I don't think it will be tricky to dress up a bunch of good looking guys for our shin dig.

My thoughts:

- Suits: wearing their own suits was a possibility...I was all for it after I saw a few weddings where this was done...looked amazing. Except a couple of the guys don't own their own suits, and this could get really costly for them to go BUY a suit for our wedding.

- Suspenders: charming idea really. But the more I thought about it, it would be tricky to have the boys all wear the same colored pants and shirts. I became skeptical of pulling it off. But let it be known that Tommy DUG this idea.

- Vests: My fave trendy look. Except, again, expense plays a part as the vests would need to be purchased (as "renting" pants and vests aren't possible). But I still love love this idea. (my future hubby isn't totally "into" the vest look...he digs it....but....he doesn't exactly "swoon" over it like I do...soooo...

- Tux rentals: totally not where we thought our simple mountain wedding would go. We weren't anticipating formal. We were anticipating relaxed wardrobe...not red carpet (even though the men that walk the red carpet are GORGEOUS in their black tuxes).

And obviously, what the dudes wear are up to my Groom...sort of...but mostly.

Tux rentals ended up being the easiest...and the most cost efficient. Who woulda guessed? The groomsmen will all look wildly classy. Plus, we went with Mens Warehouse which has zillions of rental places across the country. It will be easier for the guys to go and get measured and rent their duds (including shoes!) and pick 'em up in Vegas before heading to Flagstaff for the wedding. (or at least we are crossing our fingers it will be easy anyway).

It took Tommy like 2 seconds to make his selections.
One button black tux - check
Black tie - check
No cummerbund - check
Vest - check (yay!)
Black shoes - check

And then we left.

Could it really be that easy?

Lucky gents.

boys in suits are hot

The Brides Cafe via Discovery Street

It is so easy for a man to look damn fine. Yes yes, they look good in worn out jeans...their work out basketball shorts...and in their hoodies (or at least...I dig My Guy in all of the aforementioned situations). But really, a man in a suit is a beautiful thing.

This has been a topic of our recent wedding discussions. Groomsmen attire. I kinda figured that the guys would all wear the same suit...or different suits in the same color...or vests :-)

My Guy had the idea of his guys wearing whatever suit they had - especially since all my ladies will be wearing whatever dress they wanted. I really poo-pooed his idea. But now, I take it back. That could look awesome.

Melissa Dunstan Photography

Southern Weddings via Discovery Street

JCrew via DistrictWeddings

One Love Photo (this is a double whammy because I adore her bouquet too)

Snippet & Ink

Snippet & Ink

*ENTER TO WIN $25 from MyWeddingFavors.com HERE!*

men in vests

JCrew

It could be that my childhood obsession with the movie Newsies has influenced my affection for this look...or it could be that I see vest adorned grooms online more. I dunno...but I'm loving it. I keep hinting about it to My Guy...

It's a casual step down from formal...but it's a huge step up from casual and makes a man look special. Irresistible in fact.

Newsie boys :-)

100 Layer Cake

Green Wedding Shoes

Once Wed

no cold feet here!

Style Me Pretty

I love seeing these pictures of boys in crazy socks. It's a playful touch that doesn't allow anyone to take themselves too seriously. I hope My Guy wants to wear obnoxious socks on our big day.

*PS: I like the bold stripes the best.

Green Wedding Shoes

i love a guy in suspenders

I think suspenders are absolutely cool. Dudes that can rock them are awesome. Just today My Guy was browsing my blog waiting for the Celtics game to start and he mentioned that he thought the suspenders on the guys in this wedding looked cool for a mountain wedding.

Perhaps I haven't mentioned it before, but My Guy and I are super chill...our style is simple and relaxed. Though, we look damn good dressed up. *wink*

Found pictures of all these rad dudes wearing suspenders...I like 'em.
(pics found here)

diy: boy bouts

With these ingredients:
· Blooms for boutonnieres
· Bucket
· Floral wire
· Green waxed floral tape
· Ivy leaf, fern frond, or other greenery
· Pearl-tipped corsage pins
· Pencil
· Resealable plastic sandwich bag
· Ribbon in a complementary wedding-day colour (optional)
· Stem cutter or sharp knife
· Stem stripper
· Wire cutters

and this instruction set, you can create your own man decor! Wahoo! DIY via Event Essentials.

nice bouts

found here

Dudes have a lot more interesting choices to make these days when it comes to wedding style. I think that's cool! It's their special day too, right!? That being said, most guys I know could care less about those details. My groomster buds seem to show extreme interest in making sure they get that awesome local brew in keg form...or to make sure that a golf game with the boys can be squeezed in before the ceremony.

I have no idea where My Guy will really fall into that. We are still a billion years away from making REAL decisions. Subjects like "boutonniers" will not even be whispered about until the timing is just right.

I just happen to dig the one's here...lots of green...minimal fluffy flowers. Totally dude worthy.

twigs & honey

muscari

found here

Leave it to Martha to come up with these great leaf bouts.

Flowers by Mary Lynne