Mr. Otter has a ring...

...that he can't wear until April and even though he'd probably rather I didn't share publicly, he was super pouty about it when he got it and couldn't wear it. I can't blame him - I want to wear my band already and I have an engagement ring! But it was still pretty funny. ;)

In my first post talking about the Mr.'s ring, I showed a few different styles that we didn't love, and two that we did. Not surprisingly, Mr. O decided on a ring that was one of the two I used for my post.

Personal photo / The ring!

Personal photo / This must be his model pose... ;) 

Shopping for his ring was surprisingly simple. We went in to the jewelry store, looked around for approximately five to ten awkward minutes waiting on someone to be available to help us, and then finally looked at a few different rings. While he did try on both the lighter and darker alternatives, he ultimately decided to go with the in between finish. Like me, Mr. O tends to get bored of things that aren't "normal" for him after a short time, and we can't let that happen with his wedding band!

We ordered the ring that same day and it arrived less than two weeks later. Unfortunately, it didn't quite fit him and we had to send it back out to be sized. NOW - let me tell you, I was just waiting for him to say something about them sending it out and having to wait on it to come back in (since mine had to be sent out twice), but he's smarter than that and didn't make much of a comment.

It came back in again and this time, it fit perfectly! Another task to check off my list.

How long did it take you and your SO to choose their ring?

THEY'RE HERE!

Okay, so there are things I should talk about. Like how I've been MIA, or how life has been busy blah blah blah but really when I have something cute to share I'm all about sharing so here they are - the little Mr. and (almost) Mrs. Otter cake toppers!

While all personal photos, I obviously cannot take credit for these amazing little otters. These otters were handmade by Maria, her Etsy store is called HeartShapedCreations. They traveled all the way from Maria in Greece to me here in Indiana, and managed to survive the shipping mess that came along with the devastating flooding from Sandy.

I can't tell you bees how absolutely IN LOVE I am with these little guys. Maria was wonderful to work with - I found a Mr. Otter in her store, and sent a message asking for a Mrs. Otter to match. From there I had a few different options to choose from. Mr. Otter, for example, wanted a top hat on his clay counterpart. (I squashed that one since, you know, he isn't ACTUALLY wearing a top hat...) I also chose to have the veil for Mrs. Otter, and to have the blush pink incorporated in the flowers and tie.

Even after getting them, photographing them, and showing them to anyone who will look at them, I can't believe how wonderfully they turned out! These little guys are going to sit on top of our cake (which I have yet to talk about... coming soon, hopefully) and then get a new home in a shadowbox so they're permanently displayed in our home.

I think the reason I chose Otters is obvious, but some asked why not choose our favorite animals instead. Simply enough, I wanted to incorporate the Bee into the wedding festivities! Blogging for the bee, being on the boards, and interacting with so many amazing people has been wonderful (and okay, maybe has kept me mostly sane throughout planning), so I couldn't imagine NOT incorporating the Otter in some way. :)

What do you think of them!?

*Drumroll please...*

Image via I Can Haz Cheeseburger / Text added by yours truly

I love organization and if my closet space allowed it, I would hang everything. (In order of length and color within length, of course.) Unfortunately, this particular closet doesn't allow me my fair share of hanging space, so instead I've had to *shudder* fold some of my stuff. I'll come clean - not having to fold things is the main priority in hanging clothes. It's much more difficult to color coordinate when things are folded... sigh.

Anyway, when it came time to think about a hanger for one of the most significant pieces of clothing I'll ever wear, it was obvious I was going to get something special. (Okay, so wire hangers have been done a lot, but that doesn't make it any less special to me!) 

There were so many options...

Image (and hanger) via Etsy seller Designsathome

The thought process here was that I've always said I'll only get married once; therefore, I would only be a bride once. Shouldn't I get the bride hanger to enjoy the title for the day?

Image (and hanger) via Etsy seller HandcraftedAffairs

For this hanger, I loved that it included the date, a heart, and a special flower detail at the top. What made me decide this wasn't the one was that my dress has some intricate details, so I didn't want to take away from the dress too much by having a ton going on with the hanger.

Image (and hanger) via Etsy Seller CustomWeddingHangers

Again with the hearts - I love them! What changed my mind about this one was that it would be the full date. I'm not a huge fan of odd numbers, so having that 3 at the end made me a little less likely to choose something with our date on it.

At the end of the search, I think it was pretty obvious to myself (and anyone who knows me well, ;)) which hanger I would go with. The classic Mrs. HisLastName. I'm ecstatic to change my name, so it didn't come as too much of a shock that I would choose the last name hanger. 

Yes! My hanger, custom made by Amber at MyAmberColouredWorld. I was very back and forth on if I should capitalize the letters or not but eventually decided not to, and finally placed my order. A few weeks later, my hanger was on the way, and now it's displayed in our bedroom just waiting for the big day. ;)

Did you get a custom hanger for your dress?

The BM Dresses: Revealed

Ah, hive! The day has finally arrived where I can reveal (most) of the mismatched BM dresses! You see, I have had most of the photos for a while, but then I forgot to save BM Blondesquared's photos, so I had to get them again. Oops. :) 

Remember, this is the idea of what we were going for:

Image via Style Me Pretty / Photography by Jessica Lorren Organic Photography

While I never wrote a full post about it, I talked a little on the boards about how I really wanted dresses the girls would want to wear again. I know it's cliche to say, but I really didn't want them to hate their dresses, I didn't want them to spend a ton on them, and I wanted it to be something they could wear to work or another event. My only request was that they stay in the champagne/tan family, and to keep them short and affordable!

Thankfully, affordability wasn't a problem at all - all of the girls got their dresses for $40 or less! In fact, MOH Cubbie got her dress at Forever 21, so she even got a second option! I'm a little in love with all of them, especially the first two, so let's just say if they don't end up wanting to wear them again, I won't mind taking them off their hands. ;)

And here they are!

Now, for those of you that noticed BM Jen is missing - she hasn't quite selected a dress yet. Or a side. She may be team Bride, or team Groom. Who knows! We don't care either way, so I'm letting that detail slide until the rehearsal.

As for shoes - MOH Cubbie and BM Tara have the same shoe, BM Blondesquared has an almost exact copy (which she is wearing in one photo), and BM Jen doesn't have shoes yet either. ;) But since she is so much taller than us already, she may end up choosing to go with a shorter heel.

So that's the reveal - what do you think!? I love the variety of styles and colors - I think they're all going to look great together!