The Rub Update: I’m going to have to keep this short and sweet as our internet is suuuuuppppeeerrrr slow tonight. The massage was everything! I highly recommend Blades to anyone who suffers from the upper back/neck/shoulders stress. Silla was great and got all my kinks out.
Here is my weekend in photos. The rsvps are rolling in and I finalized the rehearsal invitations and dinner menus. Super cute! And I got to spend time with my future nieces. Love them!
This weekend went by WAY too fast!
Lettered Update: Not sure if this is what I wanted, but it was 50% off at Hobby Lobby so I couldn’t pass it up. Even if I don’t end up using it for the wedding it’d be a cool thing for around the house.
Future Mrs. B
So excited for tomorrow! Every once in a while I like to pamper myself, and that is just what I am going to do at 11:15 AM. About a month ago there was a deal on LivingSocial that I could not pass up – a one hour massage for half off. I pulled the trigger and bought it. So tomorrow morning after pilates I will be indulging in a little wedding de-stressing session at Blades Massage & Wellness. I can not wait! It’s been a while since I’ve had a massage, but when I do reward myself with one I usually hit up these places here in Des Moines:
Firehouse Spa, 535 40th Street, Des Moines
The Spa at West Glen, 5465 Mills Civic Parkway, Suite 250, West Des Moines
And a spa I’ve heard great things about but haven’t yet gotten to try – maybe a post-wedding session is in order:
East Village Spa, 315 East 5th, Des Moines
Signature Drink Update: After a fun tasting tonight I think we have some winners for the wedding reception beverage menus. And the bevies are…
Freixenet Cordon Negro Brut
Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc
Joel Gott 815 Cabernet Sauvignon
TGIF! Tomorrow I am going to hit up Hobby Lobby after work. My attention is now on the gift table decor. I have a few ideas, but just need to find the right items to pull it off. At the gift table there will be a black and white box for the cards, but I also want something to already be there on the table. I would love to find a huge old letter B from some sort of signage, but I don’t know if that’s in the cards. So I figured I might be able to create something myself. Here’s what I had in mind:
It’s All Fun and Games Update: I have my work cut out for me this weekend. Tonight we popped into Lowe’s to get the goods for priming and painting the bags sets. Here they are in all their bare, unpainted glory.
Game on!
As if this week hasn’t been gluttonous enough already, tomorrow night I am heading to Christopher’s restaurant to try out a list of wines. We are going through a distributor to get our beverages for the wedding reception, and if you are able to do this for your wedding I highly recommend it. It can save you major bucks! We will be picking one white wine, one red and probably three or four different bottles of beer. On top of that, we are serving a signature cocktail. I had one in mind that included limoncello, but when we gave it a test run last weekend it fell flat. So on to plan b – which is a whole lot simpler – vodka lemonades. These will be refreshing and can be made ahead of time for easy pouring for the bartenders.
Here is a great resource for finding a signature drink for your wedding. Check out these beautiful yellow bevies!
Pretty lemon-y goodness
Pre-wedded Eats Update: Just rolled home from the extensive dinner at Lucca tonight. We tried everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, on the menu. That is eight different primis and five secondis, plus three delectable desserts. Oh, and let’s not forget the wine! And here are the winners:
The tables will all have bread, olive oil and various cheese plates on them upon arrival.
Primi options: risotto, gnocchi, mixed greens or bolognese
Secondi options: scallops, pork or steak
Dessert: gelato
YUM! Too bad I won’t be able to stuff myself the night before the wedding because I’ll be pouring myself into my wedding dress the following day.
The mom's should have called each other to avoid wearing the same outfit! Yikes!
Too many options
Four of the eight primis (clockwise from the top): gnocchi, polenta, bolognese, risotto
Tomorrow, we are going to take a trip to Lowe’s to get some black and gold paint. Why you might ask? Because my dad’s legal assistant’s husband made us our very own bags (or cornhole) set from scratch to be used during the cocktail hour of our wedding reception. How awesome is that?! I now have the pleasure (no, really, I’m excited to do this) of custom painting the two sets. He has them all sanded down ready to go, so all I need is a little paint and some open space in the garage. One of the sets with be Marcus’ and the other set will be mine. His will have a distinct Iowa Hawkeye theme and mine will be more wedding theme related utilizing our logo. I can not wait to get these started to see how they turn out. I’ll be sure to photograph them throughout the process and give pointers to those of you who would like to paint your own.
Marcus' will look something like these with the tigerhawk in the middle.
I-Day Update: Invites are on their merry way, and we even have one that will make it as far as Switzerland! Huge sigh of relief that this part is over. Now all we have to do is wait and watch the RSVPs roll in…
Please make it to your final destination little yellow envelopes!
Tomorrow we are heading down to Lucca with our parents to do a little pre-rehearsal dinner tasting. I can’t wait to try out the different dishes and make wine choices for the final supper I will have as a Haas. Weird!
If you are in Des Moines and are looking for a unique wedding rehearsal dinner venue, I highly recommend the following:
Lucca, 20 E. Locust Street (515) 243-1115
Cafe di Scala, 44 18th Street (515) 244-1353
Proof, 1301 Locust Street (515) 244-0655
Band It Update: Wedding bands have been picked out. I’m going with a super thin pave diamond band, and Marcus will be sporting a traditional gold band. Before we hit up Joseph’s on Saturday we made a pit stop at Terrace Hill. I was lucky enough to get to do the floral arrangements for a small dinner the future in-laws were having that evening. It’s always a fun thing for me to do and you can’t go wrong with flowers from Trader Joe’s – cheap and beautiful.
Today I spent time over at my parents house finishing up the invitations and hanging out with the little bean, Sidney. She’s just the cutest!
Look at those thighs!
Tomorrow is the BIG DAY – well, one of them. The invitations are done and are heading to the post office in the morning. If you receive a large yellow envelope with an elaborate cursive address on the front (thank you Molly Driscoll!!!) then you have been invited to join us on our big day. 69 days and counting…
Stylin’ Wines Update: Popped in to WineStyles tonight to pick up the wine we had purchased after the tasting the other night. Can’t wait to enjoy a whole bottle of it!
Tomorrow Marcus and I are going to head downtown to Joseph’s and pick out our wedding bands. Hopefully our jeweler Rita will be there to show us the goods and help us pick out the perfect pair. I’m thinking more diamonds…
I was poking around on one of my fave wedding blogs the other day, Snippet & Ink, and came across these cool looking rings from Bario-Neal. Some of which would be perfect as unique wedding bands. Take a look.
It Ain’t Easy Being Green Update: Call it the luck of the Irish, but this morning I decided to bring a festive treat to work for my co-workers so I stopped at Dahl’s to pick up some St. Patty’s donuts. Well, I guess everyone else was thinking the same thing because when I got to the office there were green bagels from Bruegger’s and shamrock cookies. It was definitely treatpolooza today!
No joke, these were neon green!
My Irish sister...
Can't pinch this gal!
My little leprechaun
Recently, Marcus and I came across a wine shop in our neighborhood that was having a free tasting so we decided to check it out. It didn’t take us long to decide that we liked the place and wanted to return soon (and often). WineStyles is actually a chain of stores located in 21 different states across the country. Luckily, we have one close to home in West Des Moines that features some great wines and even nicer owners. Andrea and Bryan welcomed us into their store and made us feel right at home. Of course we had to sign up to be members of their wine club. It’s such a steal at $34.99 a month for two bottles plus a ton of other great perks and discounts.
I was recruiting for them this week when I brought my mom and Marcus’ sister-in-law Adrianne along with me to a free portfolio tasting. I couldn’t get out of there without buying a few bottles, so tomorrow night Marcus and I are going to go pick them up and possibly uncork one to try it out in store. If you are in the West Glen area anytime soon, I urge you to pop in and see what you can find. I’ll guarantee you’ll come back!
WineStyles West Glen, 5515 Mills Civic Pkwy, Suite 120, West Des Moines
Bridal Bling Update: Second fitting was a success. They took up the hem at the bottom and are also working on the bustle. So far, so good. I did make a decision on earrings tonight, and I think I am settled on the plain pearl stud. It’s so classy and with my dress it’s just the perfect touch.
Looking forward to tomorrow’s Irish holiday I am excited to don one of my most favorite colors – GREEN! My closet actually has a lot of green in it so it’ll be quite hard to pick out just a few things to wear for St. Patrick’s Day. I’ll try not to go overboard.
These items will make you green with envy:
Boden, Piazza Dress, $148
Anthropologie, High Gloss Belt, $28
J.Crew, Rainy Day Bow Ballet Flats, $58
Marc by Marc Jacobs, Pretty Nylon Little Tate Tote, $158
Tomorrow's To Dos 