Swooning over this Asking of Bridesmaids

As you may already know I am a big fan of creative ways to ask your bridesmaids.  If you ever have any to share please do not hold back!  My bestie, Ali, just showed me how her friend Alissa asked her and I seriously cannot stop swooning.

Among a bunch of other sweet surprises, she gave everyone a copy of the movie "Bridesmaids."  Okay, yes that is a cute idea, but look closely at this cover photo.

I know you don't know any of these girls, but if you look closely these are obviously not the actresses from the movie!  HOW ADORABLE IS THIS?  I cannot get over it and her photoshop abilities.

Thank you Alissa for letting me share!

NO Tights Please!

As fall approaches, wedding season kicks into full gear for me.  I have at least one wedding every month until January, and then they pick back up in April.  With so many weddings taking place out of town, it also means I have several rehearsal dinners coming up.  If you know me well you know I am not a big fan of tights.  I know, I know, they keep you warm, they come in different patterns, colors, materials, I don't care I do whatever I can to be without tights for as long as possible.  I think it has something to do with wearing tights for ice skating for so many years, but I just despise them. I usually cave around Febuary, but until then I do what I can to stay warm and still wear dresses. 

At the actual wedding you are normally fine, if you are staying in the hotel you get ready and go down to the reception, easy no tights required.  The rehearsal dinners, however, require you to leave the hotel, which means you are destined to be cold.  That is why a leather jacket is my favorite go-to in this situation.  Stay warm, stay cute, stay happy.. NO tights needed (for me at least)!

Leather jackets can get pricey, but there are always a few gems out there.. here are some of my favs:

Rebecca Minkoff $529 / velvet By GRAHAM & SPENCER $169 / Bod & Christensen $365 /                 BB Dakota $102  / Veda $334 / Allsaints Spitalfields $395

Happy Birthday Mommy!

I just want to send some love to my mom who is my best friend, the greatest mom and cutest little lady I know!  I don't know where I would be without her and I am serious so fortunate to have such an incredible mentor in life.

Last night, in honor of the birthday, David and I went to Coldplay with my parents.  Honestly, I have never considered myself a huge Coldplay fan, but after last night I completely changed my view.  Not only was the music incredible, but the entire performance was probably one of the greatest I have ever seen.

How cool is it with all the bright lights around the entire stadium.  

It was wristbands they handed out at the beginning of the show.  Everyone had different colors and they were controlled by the show to light up to the beat of the music!

Mom and I each caught heart shaped confetti

Honeymoon Care Pack

I was so taken over by the entire Gloria Estefan debacle I completely forgot to share with you the AMAZING gift all the bridesmaids came up with for Lisa's second shower.  As many of you know standing up in a wedding can get pretty pricey.  We wanted to make sure we got something for Lisa that was special, but didn't break the bank.  That is where we came up with the "Honeymoon Care Pack."  It was so perfect I am honestly thinking I should start making these for a living!  Inside this care package was several different items Lisa could use on her tropical getaway to Hawaii.  We put so much thought into it and I think it really showed!



CUSTOM FLIP FLOPS

When Lisa takes a step in the sand she will find the imprint "12-15-12" (her wedding date) and " A <3 L"

MONOGRAMMED BEACH BAG

MATCHING MAKEUP BAG

DO NOT DISTURB SIGN

Of course the hotel will have their own, but its a cute touch to provide one that reads "Just Married"

UNDERWATER CAMERA

HAT

LUGGAGE TAGS
GIFT CARDS
With the left over money we were able to give her money to Amazon.com for her kindle and "Everything but Water" for a new swimsuit

#Lollapalooza

It is FINALLY here!  My favorite part of summer, Lollapalooza!!!  As much as I love the music my favorite part is just day drinking (into night drinking) with my friends and soaking up the sun.  The backdrop of Chicago is pretty much unbeatable and every year it helps me to reconfirm why I love this city so much!!  Tomorrow we are kicking off the day with a Booze and Bagels party at our apartment, which seems to be rounding up a large crowd. 

The memories I make at Lolla usually go down in the books as some of my all time favorites.  To enlighten you let me describe last years shenanigans: Sunday morning at 9am I landed at O'hare after being at a bachelorette party in Miami where we had a table at LIV until about 3am. I walked into a packed apartment where a pregame was in full swing.  In my drunken exhausted state I figured my Chanel bag from the night before would work well as a festival purse (yes, I am an idiot).  The weather was so nice and as we made our way to the festival I was completely content with my decision.  About two hours later the torrential downpour began.  I took my shirt off to protect the bag, but my Splendid tee really wasn't doing the job.  While most people would find some shade I decided it was time to try and catch a cab.  I was soaking wet, why would a cab driver ever let me in his cab?  I ended up walking all the way home.  Okay, so it doesn't sound fun, but actually it was hysterical.  Once I was home safe I found it so funny and I now have a wonderful memory and a very bendy bag.  As to not repeat history I am not bringing any sort of purse and I am hoping the rain will hold off.  Its those crazy moments when you think you are experiencing the worst thing ever that I tend to look back and love the most.

Today, I am especially excited to be marking a check off of my bucket list.. 

You may remember from this post, that I have an obsession with Haley Reinhart.  Well today, at 1:10pm I am taking a lunch break to go watch Haley preform!!!  Yes, I am going to Grant Park by myself stone cold sober to watch the third place contestant from last years season of American Idol perform, and I could NOT be more excited.  Ugh, I would even stick around for the autograph signing, but I have to get back to the produce. 

Anyways, if you are in town for Lolla and come say hi I will be there all weekend just send me an email or a tweet:)

*Lollapalooza photo was taken from the website

Will You be My Groomsman?

As Lollapalooza quickly approaches, the visitors are beginning to arrive.  When David's best man, Andy, came in from LA last night, it made me realize I never shared how he asked his groomsmen.  Now, unlike me and my professional ways, David has never been in a wedding so his own wedding with be the first he stands up in.  However, David doesn't half ass anything.  After seeing my major production on asking my bridesmaids (if you missed it you can read about it here), he wanted to make sure he added a creative touch to his approach.  He hemmed and hawed at what he could do and threw out a bunch of ideas.  I then turned him on to Etsy where he could let his imagination run wild.  That is where he came across these incredible beer bottle labels by Michele Purner Designs:

 

They had the perfect combination of sentimental value and humor.  He added his own personal touch including "DIK & TAK" one one side which is his initials and my future initials (Traci Anne Kraus) and different "Bro" terms on top instead of cheers.  Here is a pic of one of his originals:

I thought it was just a perfect way to ask his very best friends.  For those that lived in Chicago they came over to our place for some scotch and then went to brunch, and he sent the rest to those that lived out of town.  I loved how I came home after and a few had even finished their beers.. I mean how funny is that would a girl ever drink something that had sentimental value?

Some did catch the sentimental value and I see them on display in their apartments.  My favorite display, is the one I can catch at only three apartments. 

At three apartments you can find the bottle of champagne I used to ask my bridesmaids sitting next to the beer David used.  It is so special that three of David's besties love three of my besties.  As David and I take a giant leap to spend our lives together, I can be assured we have some great "family friends" to look forward to in the future!

I thought it was so sweet of David to think outside the box and I am pretty sure all of his friends appreciated the thought he put into asking them to be a part of his big day.

Not Your Typical Shower

As promised today I want to share with you one of the craziest events to ever happen in my life, let alone at a wedding shower.  If you follow me on instagram you may have a clue about what happened, but I will explain everything.

The day started out as any shower would.  The ladies arrived we chatted for about half an hour, ate appetizers, and then took our seats.  Of course me being me I couldn't bring my new fancy camera because I obviously have lost the charger already, so I am stuck with mediocre iPhone shots.  However, here is some cute shots of the day.

This is a picture of a homecoming portrait of Lisa and Adam from FRESHMAN YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL! 

Pretty place cards

Me and the pretty bride

So we eat and play a game and then it is time to unwrap the gifts.  All the bridesmaids are busy getting situated in their unwrapping positions.  Lisa and Adam are handed their first gift when all of a sudden a waitress comes in and asks Lisa if she wants decaf or regular coffee.  We look up and behind her in walks a camera crew and a few other people.  Lisa is looking at this waitress with the oddest stare, not answering if she wants coffee or anything. I swear it felt like time stopped nobody knew what was going on everyone was just looking around more confused than the next.  Then all of a sudden Lisa shouts...

At this point, I am not sure if the adults were picking up on what was happening, but I know at least the bridesmaids that were up by the present table were all confused.  In my head I am thinking how does she know this Gloria women?  Is she an old boss?  Is she an old teacher?  Who can she possibly be and what is she doing with a camera crew?  Nobody knew if this was planned or what was going on.  I looked behind me and Lisa's cousin says I think it is Gloria Estefan.  I immediately shot her down like why would she be at a restaurant in Highland Park, IL?  So slowly we come to realize it is indeed

It is just complete chaos!  Lisa starts telling her how she had just seen her on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen," and everyone is trying to figure out what she was doing here!

It turns out they were filming for the CW show, "The Next," which is a new series premiering on August 16th.  Gloria and other major superstars are traveling the country to find performers that are on the brink of success.  Apparently, there is a woman that sings at Bella Via in Highland Park every week and she will be a contestant on the show.  Gloria and her crew had some time to kill so when she heard there was a wedding shower going on she figured why not drop in! 

It was pretty surreal and a moment the bride says "she will never forget."  I personally am so thankful that Lisa watched "What Happens Live with Andy Cohen" recently, or she may not have known who it was.  I am not saying we are too young of course we know her music, but if I were the bride I think I would have been clueless.  Gloria was so sweet and continued to tell Lisa to cherish these moment and pointed out she just celebrated her 34th wedding anniversary with her husband, Emilio Estefan, who was present as well.  It will be a memory we all hold on to for a long time and I seriously do not know when the words "Gloria?" will get old!