You're My Best Friend... Maybe

After tossing around a million ideas for our programs, I have finally decided on a design. They will look like a combo of these:

from the knot

from Martha

from Brides Cafe

My mom and I are using fabric to finish off our invitations (more on those later- they are due to arrive by the end of the week!) and I thought it would be fun to incorporate that theme into our ceremony.

I thought it might be fun to put a love quote on the back of the programs. Mr. Peacock and I don't exactly share a love of books. He is more of an online/magazine article guy with some business text books thrown in for good measure. We do, however love music. We started listing some of our favorite love songs and looking online for their lyrics. Trying to find a romantic set of lyrics was much more difficult than we imagined.

As a place holder, I put this quote from You're My Best Friend by Queen.

You're my sunshine
And I want you to know
That my feelings are true
I really love you
You're my best friend

It has the perfect combination of being sweet, to the point, could be said by either of us and recognizable. We aren't exactly huge Queen fans, however, so we decided to keep looking. We tried the Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Band and Wilco. Digging through Wilco lyrics was particularly painful because we both love them so much and yet the "love" songs are about break-ups, distance or are just filled with craziness, rendering them inappropriate for our programs. Take, for instance, "I'm the Man who Loves You." This is the song that the lead singer dedicates to his wife at every concert.

All I can see is black and white
And white and pink with blades of blue
That lay between the words I think on a page
I was meaning to send to
You I couldn't tell if it'd bring my heart
The way I wanted when I started
Writing this letter to you
But if I could you know I would
Just hold your hand and you'd understand
I'm the man who loves you

It doesn't leave you with a warm fuzzy, does it? I know it seems like the Beatles should have a good one, but none of them worked as well as that Queen song. In the end, we gave in to Freddie Mercury and he is still sitting on the back page. I would love some recommendations!

The Hostess With The Mostess

Last night, Mrs. Emerald and I went to an event thrown by the fabulous writer of the equally fabulous blog, Hostess with the Mostess. We had a little champagne, tasted a few hors d'ouevers, and gossiped about the other guests and the location. All in all, it was quite a fun evening!

The event was sponsored by Chambord liquor which meant lots of yummy raspberry flavored cocktails. Blue Plate catered and impressed me a bit with their hors d'ouevers and desserts- not the quantity, because we headed straight for dinner afterwards, but the tastes were great. The only thing that was a bit of the bummer was the location. The Ivy Room at Tree Studios has been talked up as this magical new Chicago venue. I was under the impression that it was mostly an outdoor space, but the focus of the venue is the large ballroom overlooking a beautifully landscaped patio. I don't want to say too much, but... meh. Our word for the evening was "vanilla."

Jenn Sbranti, the founder of HWTM, was our hostess and walked us through an easy "Tropical Zen Soiree." Although none of the ideas were earth shattering, she made the the execution seem simple, yet stylish. Everything was quite affordable and do-able, and I was inspired to be a little more theme oriented with my dinner parties. Jenn was great, too! We were able to talk with her for a bit about how she started her business and where she plans to take her site.

Something about the lighting in the room made the pictures awful- anything that was remotely far away come out purely black, even with the flash, and the flash washed out our faces to the point that I didn't want to post these pictures. I am, however, willing to take one for the team in the hopes that the WB readers can imagine me with makeup and blue eyes rather than red.

Me, Jenn Sbranti (THE hostess with the mostess) and Mrs. Emerald pose for a photo.

Unique ways to present your menu

Raspberry sorbet, Chambord and Korbel. Yummers.

Jenn's suggestion of a way to present the appetizers.

The place setting. Check out the little coconut cups- they were our favor for the evening!

A very simple and straight forward centerpiece, although it really glams up the table.

Another easy centerpiece. Jenn made one of these as a demonstration.

Jenn mentioned that her next stop is in NYC shortly after Fashion Week. The focus of the event will be more high fashion cocktails rather than luau. I definitely recommend signing up. It was free, the drinks were yummy and we learned a few easy ways to perk up a dinner party.

Rush Orders

For whatever reason, I woke up yesterday in a cold sweat. My many, many to-do lists were all running through my head. Room layouts, contracts, programs, junior bridesmaid dresses, the list goes on. I grabbed my little black moleskin, the receptacle of all wedding thoughts, and started yet another list. I literally sent 30 emails and made many phone calls to vendors, bridesmaids, Mr. Peacock, my mother, my new DOC (amen!) and my priest. The good news is that I was able to check a few items off of my list. Unfortunately, I am still waiting on responses on most of these emails, including one particular vendor that has been driving me nuts lately.

You know what leads to instant gratification? Shopping. I don't have to wait on anyone to buy something. I was literally in a state of mania, and I should have known better than to pull out my wallet. At least these little babies were on sale!

Pottery Barn White Oversized Shades

There is a beautiful little tree that our guests will pass as they walk from the valet area to cocktails. I am working on a chalkboard sign to place under the tree and I thought it might be fun to hang these in the branches. My mom already bought the little globe lights from PB for another party, so I was able to just buy a few shades. I am not sure how I am going to power the lights quite yet, but even without light these should be pretty adorable! I don't regret the purchase yet, but Pottery Barn, even on sale, is not the most cost effective place to buy something like this. No one tell me where you bought these cheaper, because my crazy wedding brain can't handle it!

I have officially crossed the threshold from calm, cool party planner into wedding maniac. Is anyone else with me?

The Disastrous Downside to Planning Ahead

I have now had three, potentially four, vendors leave me. Each had their own particular reason- moving back to their hometown for family reasons, changing jobs, the birth of a child- and there are no hard feelings. Life happens and my wedding is certainly not at the top of their list of priorities. But geez... you would think that a 21 month engagement would get me somewhere!

My make-up artist just emailed me to let me know that she is leaving the state. She will not be able to do the make-up for myself and my bridesmaids that morning. This is a little frustrating for me because she is independent and so she can't just assign me a back-up. She did provide a few names for replacements, but there is no guarantee that I will like them as much as I liked her or that they will be as affordable. Its not the end of the world, but it took me awhile to find her (more than a year ago) and now I need to start over, with less than three months to go.

My photographer's wife is due in September. Unless she is delivering on or very close to my wedding day, this shouldn't affect him. I did, however, hire her to take a few photos of the guys getting ready. My photographer has found a back-up for for his wife as she will either be about to burst or still recovering. I just have this weird feeling that I am going to get a phone call that morning, informing me that his little boy had just been born and he will not be able to make it. He was one of the very first vendors that I selected because I loved his work so much and I had to make it happen. It would break my heart if someone else took his place, even if they were an equally talented photographer.

I already whined about my caterer. The meeting went fine, although my contact owes me a few things and a week has gone by without a word. The final vendor to bail was my contact at my venue. Although she left before I had a chance to get too attached, her leaving marked a big change in the management of my venue. Rules changed, prices went up and the customer service fell off. The little extras that my contact had promised were no longer going to happen. It was my fault as I did not get it in writing.

I know everything will be fine. Aside from my make-up artist, I selected these companies based on their excellent reputation. It just seems kinda silly to me that I spent all this time booking vendors more than a year ago, and now I am doing it again.

I just need some good vibes- and recommendations for make-up artists in Chicago, if anyone has one!

My Pet Rooster

In honor of my little monkey's third birthday, I thought I would formally introduce you all to Margaret Thatcher Peacock, aka Maisy.


She doesn't normally look so introspective.


She has 28 different nicknames- because that's what happens when you have no kids and a dog is the cutest thing in the house- but our favorite is "The Rooster." We call her that because of the hilarious noise that she makes when she wants your attention. It has become a theme in toys and Halloween costumes.


How P.O.'d does she look?! Mwahaha!! I am so evil. Don't worry, it wasn't on for very long.

Neither our church nor our reception site are too keen on dogs as ringbearers, so she will only be at the wedding in spirit. Both Mr. Peacock and I are madly in love with her and we had to find a way to include her in the festivities. I am not ready to reveal our invites quite yet, but lets just say that Maisy made the RSVP card.

Our hotel is pet friendly and we are considering keeping her with us that night. They provide walking services so it would be comparable to boarding, but without my stress over her welfare. She only takes other dogs in small doses. She has been to doggy day care, but when I pick her up she always seems scared and exhausted. I can't imagine having so much fun at the reception while she is hiding in a corner at the pet hotel.

For the dog mommies and daddies out there, what are you planning on doing with your pooch on the wedding night?

The Cupcake Tree

I was practically begging Erin to give me something to do before her wedding. She finally relented and passed off the stand for her cupcakes. She had ordered a Cupcake Tree and wasn't sure what to do with it. It arrived at her home as a box of white cardboard pieces. If you aren't interested in decorating it, the tree is quite easy to put together. But this tree was going to Erin's wedding, and that white cardboard wasn't cutting it for either of us. She gave me very few instructions. The cupcakes were going to be decorated with primary color flowers made of icing.

I enlisted my mom's help because she is super crafty. We were struggling with the primary colors. We wanted it to be fun and whimsical to match the cupcakes, but we didn't want it to be childish. It was a very fine line! We decided to make it look like grass so that the cupcakes seemed to be growing out of the stand. We came up with a million different ways to do it, but our favorite method became covering the levels with green plastic tablecloths and then hot gluing pieces of paper grass to the edges.


We bought the grass at Michael's in their scrapbooking section. As much as I love paper, I really dislike scrapbooking and I get really uncomfortable in that section. After several trips to specialty scrapbooking shops and every Michael's within a 30 mile radius of my mom's house, I got over it. We weren't sure what to do to make the grass 3D, and this was the perfect solution.

As you may have noticed, we added a few little critters to the grass.


Erin's reception was at a gorgeous Arboretum in the Chicago burbs. They were doing a huge exhibit on bugs (including some ENORMOUS metal and wood scupltures of ants and a praying mantis!) so we thought this would be the perfect detail. Although we had many different little bugs, I overdid the ladybugs for good luck!

Here is our pride and joy in action. I love how she looked with all the cupcakes!

Those little cakes were AMAZING! After several painful (ha!) trips to bakers, Erin and Jeff found their favorites at Sensational Bites. My family brought home as many leftovers as we could because they were so yummy.

Has anyone else bought a Cupcake Tree? I would love to see yours decorated!

Margaritas and Mexican, My Favorites!, Part II

Mr. Peacock and I are still buzzing from our Mexican themed shower last weekend. The sun was out, we were surrounded by friends and family and all the party details were absolutely perfect. Even the guys had a good time- at a bridal shower!


How cute is that little tent? I love the party lights. Although the weather was perfect, the tent really helped set the mood.

Mr. P's brother-in-law Marc stocks the bar. The beer selection was killer. Marc drove into one of Chicago's many wonderful Hispanic neighborhoods to get some specialty beers (other than Corona!). My favorite was Tona from Nicaragua. I also made up a few pitchers of margaritas- which were pretty tasty, if I do say so myself.

Mr. P and the youngest of his older sisters, Vicki. She was the brains behind the shindig.

We catch up with Mr. Peacock's side of the bridal party. How cute are those centerpieces? Each table had a different flower and a different citrus fruit.


There were also framed photos of Mr. Peacock and me throughout the years. Vicki also made bright table runners to add more bright color to the tent. This photo is of one of Jake's groomsmen/lifelong friend with his beautiful wife. She is due in SIX WEEKS! Can you believe it?

The favors! Everyone was invited to take home a little potted herb that works well with Mexican dishes. We lucked out with some cilantro, jalapeno pepper and thyme. It was such a cute idea and the guests loved it. Vicki also had a little guest book for us. She is handing it off to another of Jake's sisters for our next shower. We decided that we wanted to wait and read all the notes before the rehearsal dinner.

One of the most memorable aspects of the shower was taking a walk down her street... to our new house! I will write another post about this, but Mr. Peacock and I are officially in escrow. We bought an adorable bungalow down the street from Vicki and Marc It is going to need some lovin' before we move in, but we couldn't be happier. It was so fun to show it off in its "before" stage to all of our favorite people.

Thank you to Vicki and Marc, as well as Mr. Peacock's mom who played a major behind the scenes role, for throwing us such a wonderful party!

Erin and Jeff, The Finale

I know that I have been talking a lot about Erin's wedding, almost as if it were my own. I can't help it! I am so excited for them. We spent almost two years planning together. It was so exciting to see all the details that we had spent hours discussing come together. And now, the grand finale... the pro pics.

Erin and I share many things. Chatty mothers named Diane (although mine is a Dianne). A love for a day in the sun with a margarita. Catholicism. Our hair dresser. The occasional "going out" top. The list goes on, but lately we have shared one very important thing- our photographer. Dean Thorsen has impressed us more and more with every wedding, and he totally blew me away with these beauties.

The Belden Stratford in Lincoln Park. It was pretty and comfortable, but the customer service was severely lacking.

Kelly, Erin's sister and MOH, helps with her earrings

Yup, I'm a bride!
Aren't her eyes amazing?!

They had just seen each other for the first time. Jeff can't keep his hands off her!

Erin LOVED her Kate Spade shoes
The wind calms down for a quick shot with the bridesmaids

OMG! We're freaking married!

Erin's dad welcomes the crowd. Per usual, he was goofy, loving and thoughtful all at the same time.

Kelly toasts the happy couple. Erin is trying to keep herself from making the ugly cry face.

Me and Mr. Peacock. I am singing "At Last" to him... poorly.

Dean did such a great job capturing their personalities. That picture of them walking down the aisle after saying their vows is absolutely perfect. I hope you enjoyed their love story as much as I did!

I Have Issues with Food

We picked our caterer very carefully. It is, by far, our biggest expense. There are quite a few good caterers in Chicago, each with a unique perspective on cooking and serving. After emailing the ten caterer's on my venue's preferred caterer list, we requested sample proposals from the six that responded. We read through all of their materials and menus and considered the customer service that we had received thus far. We narrowed the list down to two.

Both were large catering companies, well known in Chicago, with very experienced head chefs. One of my bridesmaids worked for Company A at the time, although she was in their marketing department and we were assigned a different sales person. Company B's sales person blew me away with her customer service and their take on fresh, local products really impressed me and Mr. Peacock. They also have an "assistant" who is, basically, at my beck and call that evening- setting up place cards, making sure that Mr. P and I have drinks and appetizers and packing up our gifts at the end of the night. Sweet, right?

My first tasting was with Company B. Mr. Peacock was not able to come with me, so I dragged my BFF Erin along and we took notes. There were a few misses, but most of the food was really amazing. We were able to pack up and take home the leftovers, which Mr. P devoured right when he walked in the door. The food was cold and anything that was originally crunchy was no longer, but he still loved it. Company A's tasting was nothing compared to Company B. They tried to pass off a mini quiche was a deep dish pizza (Come on! We live in Chicago!) and they didn't take any of our suggestions into consideration when preparing the tasting menu. The customer service was also sub par. In fact, I still haven't heard from them since the tasting a year and a half ago.

I happily called Company B to let them know of my decision. Since then, I have had quite a few wonderful conversations with my sales person. She was always prompt, emailing me back within 10 minutes of sending it, even on Sundays! Her knowledge of the business was incredible. Then, I got the email of doom #1- she was leaving Company B to become a hot shot at another big catering company. I was honestly heartbroken. I set up one last meeting with her and her "replacement" (I will call her Sally) so that I could feel confident in their services again. The meeting went well and I walked away assured. Until email of doom #2 arrived from Sally, introducing me to the true replacement, "Nancy". Apparently Sally was simply filling in in the interim. I could either decide to stay with her or work with Nancy. I left the topic alone for awhile to think about it. I was confused, and very unhappy with how they had handled the situation. I was set to meet with Sally again at the rental company's warehouse to select my chairs, tables, dishes, etc. in a few weeks and I would make a decision after that meeting.

Sally didn't show up at the warehouse. In response to an email that I had sent her the night before, she called me that morning to let me know that she wasn't aware of the meeting (although we had discussed it at our first meeting) and that she didn't need to be with me. She felt that my mom and I could handle it without her. She was wrong. The warehouse visit went poorly because their salespeople weren't sure what Company B would need to prepare the food, serve the coffee and create the bar. I wasn't able to place my order and I walked away crabby.

I have my first meeting with Nancy this afternoon. I am already frustrated with them. I am very concerned because this is my biggest bill and the vendor that I will have the most contact with leading up to the wedding day. I chose Company B because the food was good, but truly it was for the customer service. I hadn't been planning on hiring a Day of Coordinator, but these experiences (along with conversations that I have had with other Company B brides and coordinators) have caused me to rethink that move. The wedding is in less than three months. It has been smooth sailing until this point, and now I am starting to worry.

Has anyone else had a big vendor flake out on them so close to the wedding day?

My Pseudo Hair Trial

I absolutely loved the way that Livia Caporale styled my hair for Erin's wedding.

Sarah, me, Kelly, and my sister/Maid of Honor Elise

I loved the style and the way it framed my face, without being in my face. I loved the products that she used. And I absolutely loved that it still looked pretty darn good 13 hours later, after crazy winds (there were tornado warnings), high humidity, 90 degree heat and lots of hugs. The wind was the most important factor in a potentially ruined style because we walked around Lincoln Park for almost two hours taking pictures. Yet, here are some photos that Mr. Peacock took for me when we got home at 1:00 am.

Check out those lashes! I need to get those permanently implanted.

I can see my make-up giving up here, but not my hair! ;)

It's not as perfect as it was at 10:00 that morning, but I think it still looks good! I am definitely bringing these with me to my hair trial. I am not using Livia for my wedding because I have a major crush on my stylist and I want her to do it, but I wanted to share her contact info with the Chicago brides in case any of you are looking for an excellent stylist for your wedding. She will travel to you, which is a major perk! Livia Caporale- 773-386-2699

My Best Friend's Wedding

I have a few photos from Erin's wedding! Everything was so beautiful. Of course, there were a few snags, but in the end everything was perfect.

Erin and her bridesmaids spent the night before the wedding at a hotel in Lincoln Park. I loved that! We were up late with girl talk and then up early watching the Weather Channel together. We were also ready to go when the hair and make-up team arrived at 9:00 am.

Doesn't she look so happy and excited? It really was her day.

Bridesmaid Sarah and me. We were happy to break out our tank tops again.

The gorgeous all-peony bridesmaids bouquets. I had my nose in them alll day, they smelled so good!

The bride's bouquet. Such a pretty collection of flowers!

The bride had been anxiously checking the weather all week and we had been expecting thunderstorms throughout the day. After a few coats of waterproof make-up and lotsa hairspray, we were prepared for anything. Fortunately, there was only a quick shower right before we headed out for photos and then the sun was shining. The wind was definitely blowing, too.

The bride and groom :)
I loved our dresses! They were from Simple Silhouettes. The pear color looked beautiful with the pink peonies.

The ceremony was beautiful! The waterworks were definitely on. I can't believe she is leaving me for Cincinnati!

Most of my reception photos are of our friends and family, so I will hold off on the flower and decor photos until the pro pics come out. I do love this picture of the Maid of Honor, Erin's little sister Kelly, giving her speech. She is so cute and funny, and you can really tell how much Erin was enjoying it!


There were a few problems, but Erin's DOC- Amy Vaught from Vaught Events- was all over it. Traffic from the photo location to the church was horrible. When we arrived ten minutes before the ceremony, the contact was all over us for being late. "The Father will not wait for you!!!" The DOC quietly escorted her from the bridal room, allowing us a few moments to freshen up and giving Erin a chance to breathe. The ceremony went off without a hitch, but we were greeted with problems at the reception venue. The security guard was waiting at the door to let Erin know that the electricity had been out for the past few hours due to the high winds and he wasn't sure when it would turn back on. The AC was out and the 90 degree temps were heating up the room. We also weren't sure what we would do once the sun went down. The tables hadn't been set up the way Erin had asked and people were filling the room that had been set for dinner. Erin wanted a big reveal, so she was freaking out. Amy was on the scene again, leading Erin away from the security guard to a small conference room with a glass of wine. She then rounded up all the candles she could get her hands on and started peppering the room with light. Fortunately, the power came back about 10 minutes before dinner and saved us from the sweat bath. Everything was forgotten once the music started. I had Amy's card in my hot little hands before the night was over. Erin said it was some of the best money she had spent, and I agree with her!

It was such a wonderful day. It got Mr. Peacock and me so excited for our wedding, we couldn't stop talking about it all weekend. I can only hope that we look as happy on our day as Erin and Jeff did. Congratulations, you two!