Pretty Papers for Ladies in Love

It's finally happened: I've reached my wedding planning threshold. There are simply too many options! The choices are dizzying, and they eventually become paralyzing. It's true that people react poorly when they have too many choices, and this fascinating article describes the phenomenon: "Overabundance of choice seemed to freeze shoppers' decision-making skills... Your search for the better might be making your life worse."

The article focuses mostly on dating, and I'm not interested in searching for a man other than Keith. But my search for wedding invitations needs to end now--it's only making me crazy! I love the idea of purchasing a customized suite of coordinated designs for paper goods--from invitations, to programs, to thank you notes--having them printed locally, and assembling the invitations myself. Your paper goods can be as luxurious or as economical as you like, depending on your choice of paper and printing methods! 

My jaw literally dropped when I saw the Vintage Botanical Wedding Invitation by 3EggsDesign

The Botanical Bird Wedding Invitation set by 3EggsDesign is just as good, though! How's a bride to decide?

The Rustic Bird Wedding Invitation by KayleighDuMond is perfect for those who want a simpler, more modern option.

Not getting married? Who cares! Buy a year of pretty cards from KayleighDuMond.

I think we're actually going to choose a simpler design and dress it up with some DIY touches. But I love these botanical illustrations so much--I'd like to frame them and hang them on my wall. But enough about wedding invitations, right? How was your weekend? 

I think I gained 10 pounds in three days, and I don't even care because I feel so happy and loved. Keith treated me to a luxurious date night at Table 3 on Friday. Their pink starfish cocktail tastes like a mermaid's kiss--it's so salty and strange! I love it. Then my entire family got together for my sister's birthday celebration at Etch and a walk on the Shelby Street Bridge on Saturday. And on Sunday, we had a Father's Day get-together at the lake house with mountains of hot chicken from Hattie B's and a few sidesplitting games of Exquisite Corpse. Last week I was a frazzled ball of wedding planning nerves. But after all the hugs and kind words shared over the weekend, I can't stop smiling! It was so hard to say goodbye to my sisters today.

Wedding Planing Update. Bridesmaid Dresses: Check!

This is what I thought my wedding party would look like. Minus, you know, the me being Christina Hendricks part:

Christina Hendricks and Bridesmaids, as seen on Elegance & Simplicity

Or perhaps this (minus the whole yellow floral thing):

Mismatched maids, as seen at Belle

Basically, I envisioned an eclectic mix of dresses. I wanted our wedding to be an excuse for my favorite women to buy themselves an awesome new dress they like (within a certain color family), not a reason for me to dictate their clothing choices. I feel super-weird about telling my friends what to wear. And generally, I don't like matching bridesmaid dresses because I don't feel good about grown-ass women wearing the same dress. Women don't like showing up to a party in the same dress as some other chick, period. But my girls had other ideas!

Bridesmaids in pretty neutrals, as seen on Style Me Pretty

Five of my six 'maids, my mother, and I went to Bridal Warehouse on Saturday. I wanted the girls to wear shorter hemlines and dresses in a certain color family. Other than that, anything was okay with me. Chiffon? Sure! Lace! Cool. Satin? Yep. They pulled armloads of dresses they liked and headed to the dressing rooms. The fashion show was fun. My friends and sisters are so pretty!

I love these soft, sweetly mismatched colors! As seen on Style Me Pretty

Unfortunately, Bridal Warehouse mostly stocks a weird and limited number of sample sizes. If you want to shop there, keep that in mind. It was difficult to imagine what some of the dresses might look like in the proper size, because they were so very, very off. Until, that is, Stephanie came out of her dressing room wearing The Dress and announced, "I'm wearing this!" It was so flattering, everyone wanted to try it. The Dress came in a size that somehow fit everyone, and it made all my girls look beautiful. They wanted the same dress.

Is that Jessica Alba in the wedding party? Whoa! As seen on Belle.

What was a bride to do? Throw a fit and say, "But I imagined that you would all want different dresses, waaaaaah!" Um, no. I wanted this to be an excuse for them to buy any dress they liked--and they all happened to love the same dress. It's a fantastic, dress, too: Lauren says, "It makes me feel like Audrey Hepburn on a boat." Um, who doesn't want to feel like Audrey Hepburn on a boat?!

Swoon! As seen on Belle.

Since they knew I craved variety, we picked two almost-the-same colors. Three girls will wear the greenish version of The Dress, and three girls will wear the bluish version. We're going to look less like the other pictures, and more like this. And my mother is so relieved!!!

You'll Never Forget an Experience at the Catbird Seat.

Presentation matters! I love this little guy's 5 o'clock shadow.
19th century Rabbit soup tureen from 1st dibs

Today I have no words. No words, that is, to describe our extraordinary dinner experience at the Catbird Seat. My beautiful sister, Erin, is visiting Nashville from Hong Kong, and on Monday night she treated our family to the best dining experience I've ever had. I want to do the meal justice. But unlike Old Red Boots, I'm not a food blogger, and I don't think my culinary vocabulary is up to the challenge! 

Each course was a delicious surprise: We had two appetizer courses, soup, monk fish, duck, lamb, something that tasted like a tiny Reuben, and three (!) desserts. But that doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of the experience. The chefs' attention to detail, thoughtful combinations of textures and flavors, and playful wit (Porcini and Parmesan savory Oreos!) elevate food to art.

I asked so many times, "This is really potato? How did they make potato DO that?!" We're still talking about the experience and trying to decide which course was the best. I think dining at Catbird changes one's approach to food; two days later, I'm looking at food differently and experiencing each meal more thoughtfully. Erin, thank you so much for making this dinner possible--you have no idea how much it meant to us!

What is the best meal you ever had? And if you've  been to the Catbird, a) what did they serve that night, and b) Did you frame your menu? I'm seriously thinking about framing it and hanging it in our kitchen!