When I traveled into the city for New Year’s, my hostess was gracious enough to allow us a quick stop at M&J Trimming. And oh my, it might have been a quick trip, but it was amazing!! M&J Trimming is a ribbon and trim emporium that’s stocked floor to ceiling with every possible color, width, and material of ribbon a girl could imagine.

Oh, you’d like some blue ribbon? Here’s about 1/5 of their blue velvet ribbon stock:

On the left, a wall of pom poms and fringe, and on the right, some beautiful pink cotton ribbon.

Ladies, a tip: if you’re looking for the perfect glitzy sash to set off your wedding dress, consider making one instead. Just buy a beautiful rhinestone embellishment from a store like M&J and glue or sew it onto a wide satin or grosgrain ribbon. Custom, and so much less expensive than most of the ready-made options available!

Want to see the treasures I brought home? Here’s a little peek:

The thinner velvet ribbons are being set aside for a particular wedding project. The thicker velvet ribbons haven’t been designated yet, but they’ll be used for things like hanging wreaths and wrapping bridesmaid bouquets. And see that beautiful pleated ribbon? I think I’m going to save that for my bouquet :)

If you go:
M& Trimming is located on Sixth Avenue between 37th and 38th Streets in NYC. They’re open Monday-Friday from 9:00-5:30pm, but are closed on Saturdays and Sundays. You can find more information on their website here.

I am lucky enough to have four beautiful ladies standing beside me on my wedding day. Two are my sisters, and two are my future sisters :) Now that I know what I’m going to wear, I’ve been turning my attention to their attire. Yep, they’re all going to be wearing the same thing, and it’s likely going to be floor-length, chiffon, and slate gray… though that’s not 100% certain yet. I’d also like their dress to have a natural waist and a sweetheart neckline. We’re thinking a little something like this:

Credits: Jenny Yoo dress photo by Charlotte Jenks Lewis via Style Me Pretty; Jasmine Bridal dress photo by Virgil Bunao via Southern Weddings; lilac dress photo by A Bryan Photo

With the above inspiration in mind, I set out to find a few budget-conscious possibilities that fit my desired look. I waded through an abundance of options to find a few I thought were both stylish AND reasonably priced, then turned things over to the ladies. Together, we’ve since narrowed it down to three options. Here they are:

From left to right, that’s Bill Levkoff Style 193, Allure Bridal Style 1221, and Bill Levkoff Style 537!

My bridesmaids live in four different states (and I live in a fifth), so sadly, a group shopping trip is not in the cards. Instead, they’ll each visit a salon near them, try on the options, and then report back to the group. Hopefully we’ll have consensus at that point, and you can be sure I’ll check back in with our final pick! In the meantime, let us know in the comments which dress is your favorite!

I think it is HIGH time I introduced you to our wedding photographer, and I could not be more excited to do so!! Tanja Lippert will be shooting our wedding, and I will be so bold as to say I think her work is both epic and exquisite (and I don’t use those words lightly). But let me back up a bit and tell you how we came to choose Tanja…

Photography was pretty much at the top of our wedding budget priority list. It was one of the first things I thought about after we got engaged (and, truthfully, for years before that. Yes, years.) There are a few reasons for this — most importantly, that the photos are what we will cherish long after almost everything else has been eaten, sold, thrown out, packed up, or forgotten (kind of sad, but true). But the photos? The really good ones? Those will bring us back to that day years and years in the future.

There were a few things we were looking for in our photographer. Some of these things were more important to some of us than others :) They were:

1. Someone who shoots film.
2. Someone who has a great personality.
3. Someone who effortlessly directs her subjects and has a knack for natural posing.

Though I admire SO many photographers, in my opinion, there is one lady who clearly comes out on top when you consider our criteria. And that lady is the lovely Tanja Lippert.

I have loved Tanja’s work for a loooooong time — ever since I saw this wedding almost four years ago. From what I’ve seen, she does an amazing job effortlessly posing single subjects and large groups.

She also seems like she’ll be a blast to be around on our wedding day — just check out this video for evidence :)

She has a strong commercial background, which gives her a matchless editorial eye.

She has a huge heart, which is evident in how much love and emotion comes through in her images.

And, of course, she shoots film, which gives her work the most beautiful color and quality.

You know what the best part about hiring Tanja has been, though? She is SO EXCITED about shooting our wedding, and I think that is in part because she knows that I am SO EXCITED she’ll be shooting our wedding. It’s been my experience that vendors can tell when you love what they do and are thrilled to get to work with them — and those seem to be the conditions under which they produce their finest work. There are still eight months to go until our wedding, but I already can’t wait to meet and work with Tanja!!

I spent part of my Christmas at my aunt and uncle’s house. They recently acquired a player piano, and since I had never seen one before and thought it was so neat, I wanted to share it with you! Here’s a little peek:

Player pianos are self-playing pianos that read musical notes mechanically off of a roll. (You can see some rolls in boxes in the upper left photo, and a roll in action in the bottom left). To work the mechanism, you press the pedals (which look slightly similar to those of a regular piano). The whole effect is kind of magical, because the keys depress and rise with the notes of the song, as if an invisible hand was playing! These pianos were very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries until the Great Depression virtually wiped out production. However, I think the neatest thing is that a few companies still produce rolls for sale! My aunt and uncle’s is in beautiful shape, and it was fun to sing along to songs old (“My Blue Heaven”) and new (Disney tunes!) while we were visiting.