Weddingbee boards

So I'm new the the wedding blogging world, but have been a bee-hind the scenes reader since getting engaged in January.  My dear friend Marie reads your blogs daily, and my friend, soon-to-be-bride, Ursula has her own wedding blog, so here I am, ready to dive in.  

I'm planning my wedding in Phoenix from Los Angeles, after moving here a few short months ago for mr. succulent's new job. It's been a struggle to  adjust to a new city (and one heck of a city!), rely on mr. succulent for my every social outing, and find a job in these hard times.  But alas, planning our wedding has been a torch lighting my way through all of the changes, and a nice reminder of all the reasons why the move is so worth it and, above all, that I'm truly a lucky girl to be marrying such a wonderful person.

I chose "Ms. Succulent" because I'm having a desert wedding, and unlike most Arizona brides, I plan to play up the beauties of the desert, rather than paint over them.  I think the desert is swell.  I love natural beauty and plan to have succulents decorating the tables at the reception.  I'm trying to be as green as possible, with my menu choice and decor, but I also recognize there are limits to having an eco-conscious wedding.  As it is, having guests fly in from all over is a deep carbon footprint. 

After being inspired by the desert sunset, I chose purple (more like plum) and orange(ish) as my "colors."  I never thought I'd have to choose colors as part of celebrating love, but then again, I never thought a lot of things would turn out the way they have (anyone see last night's debate?!), so I guess colors is kind of minimal.  In the end I'm blaming it on my bridesmaids who wouldn't just choose the colors they liked themselves, so bright orange it is! (Ha!) Here's the JCrew dress they decided on, in sweet orange:

 Anyone have ideas on how to fancy this up a bit?  My dress is pretty formal (no pics on that one!) and I don't want my maids to look casual.  Well I'll leave my first post at that and look forward to beeing a part of the hive!