Monday, November 10, 2008

I'm married!

It happened. And it was WONDERFUL! Don't have much time to post now, but look forward to details, a few more DIY projects and tons of unsolicited advice in the near future.

In the meantime, I think my feelings can be be summed up with a song:

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Scents and Sensibility

The sense of smell can really define a moment and bring back memories. That is why I have been saving this discontinued tube of Bath and Body works Plumeria Body Cream for about a year. It's what I used to use all the time, and is last one out of my stash. Friday, I shall break the seal. And who knows, maybe I'll reseal it after the wedding, and then open it a year from now and sniff in the memories. :)

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

More Great Ideas From theknot.com

I have to admit, half of the things I am doing for the wedding were all stolen off the internet, and more than likely, from theknot.com. A lot of them were actually ideas that I had, but didn't know how to execute. This is a perfect example.
Being such a photo junkie, it's always bummed me out that people take pictures at events, promise they'll email to this person or that person, and then never get around to it. *Raises hand* Guilty! Hopefully, these reminders will encourage everyone to share with everyone else.

Friday, October 24, 2008

More Paper Goods

Currently working on the menu card. Ok, more like obsessing over the menu card.


I'd initially wanted to list all of the vegetables in the Wellington, but now am not so sure. Why? Because it messes with the design. And should I write "DINNER" or "ENTREE"? It's things like this that make me roll my eyes at myself.

One thing I can check off my list is the placecards. I have to admit, I love how they turned out. Nice and simple. :) Now I just have to fold them all. (See dotted line below)


Our meal will be all vegetarian, but there are a few vegans in the group who will be recieveing vegan meals. These folks get the little birdie on the back of their card.

From a design standpoint, I've been really inconsistent with the way I've handled these graphics. I would totally fail Corporate Branding 101. From a wedding standpoint... I just want it to look good. :)

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Oh No They Diient!

A ranch dressing fountain???



Oh yes they did. Where was this when I was planning? When my Maid of Honor gets married she WILL have this at her wedding. Oh yes. She will.

Suggested Dipping thingies: fresh veggies (carrots, bell peppers, cucumbers, celery), potato skins, chicken strips

In my research, I also came across these alternatives -

A nacho cheese fountain. NACHO CHEESE!! Sorry, I am still reeling over the ranch dressing. I don't know if I can even start thinking about melted cheese yet.
Suggested Dipping thingies: tortilla chips, mini tacos, breadsticks, cocktail sausages

A BBQ Sauce fountain. I'm a vegetarian, but I can still see the beauty of it.
Suggested dipping thingies: buffalo wings, ribs, chicken strips

I love America! :)!

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Is it Enough?

Should I have done the candy bar? With personalized aqua m&ms? The chocolate covered oreos as favors? Signature drinks? A sparkler exit? Bubbles? Should I have rented a black and white dance floor? Hired someone to do our lighting? Should I have splurged on that Liancarlo dress? I mean, you only get married once. If you're gonna do it, then DO IT.

right?

I feel like I've invested so much into planning this day, but all of a sudden it feels like I have nothing to show for it. Whatever the heck it is I've done for the past 10 months... it just doesn't feel like it's enough.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Houston, we have a menu

Salad
Modified Greek Salad (sans red onion, avec cucumber)
With Balsamic Vinagrette or Red Wine Vinagrette

Entree
Vegetable Wellington, on a pool of Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
Redskin Mashed Potatoes
Balsamic Green Beans

Dessert
Wedding Cake - Chocolate Mint or Lemon

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

ONE. MONTH. LEFT. OMG.

In exactly one month from now.... my hair will be done. I'll be either having lunch with my maid of honor or we'll be getting our makeup done. (I guess I'd better start finalizing that day-of timeline). We'll be either really giddy or really emotional. Or both. I can't believe it is so close.

There is so much to do. It's maneageble, but it's still a lot. So much has happened since my last entry. I don't even know where to start!

The biggest thing is that we switched venues. What a disaster that whole situation was. But we are starting fresh and hopefully this will be even better than what we'd originally planned.

Our new venue is.... wait for it.... our local indie theater! We are both really excited about this. We've even been scheming a few fun surpises for our guests. There are a few details that need to be ironed out (like where I'll be "hiding" as our guests arrive), but overall, I think we are going to have so much fun with this. :)

Other than that...
- we've written our vows
- i've gone in for my first fitting
- had a hair and makeup trial
- had an amazing wedding shower
- had a great bachelorette party the same night
- my fiancee got a tux
- we both got our halloween costumes
- i've learned how stress can physically affect your body

Thursday, August 28, 2008

THE FIRST RSVPs HAVE ARRIVED!

I came home last night to find seven, yes, SEVEN little aqua envelopes in our mailbox. I was positively giddy! :)

Monday, August 4, 2008

Little Things Excite Me

I just found out that our invites, when assembled, will be able to be mailed with just one first class stamp! Great news! Especially since I am so in love with this stamp:

Friday, August 1, 2008

The Countdown Continues

The wedding is exactly THREE MONTHS away!!

Yesterday I was calm, but all of a sudden, seeing the 3 month mark today, I feel like I have so much to do! The most important thing is for us to finalize our plans for the ceremony itself. (We are doing that this weekend)

I've been looking through readings, poems, even lyrics to find something that is us. The best resource I have found, hands down, is this thread over at indiebride. Reading through there, I saw some things that really spoke to me. I'll admit though, it feels wierd to go through and seek out a reading just because that's what you are "supposed to" have during your ceremony. It honestly never even crossed our minds until people started asking us what kinds of readings we were going to have. Now, it would be different if there was a poem or something that we've both always loved or something like that but... oh well. For now we are looking into it. I don't think either of us want to force anything, but if we find the perfect thing, we'll use it. :)

On to the readings!

I've been looking at this.... (For various reasons)

I Corinthians 13:1-13
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.



But right now, I think this my favorite:

James Kavanaugh
To Love is Not to Possess

To love is not to possess,
To own or imprison,
Nor to lose one's self in another.
Love is to join and separate,
To walk alone and together,
To find a laughing freedom
That lonely isolation does not permit.
It is finally to be able
To be who we really are
No longer clinging in childish dependency
Nor docilely living separate lives in silence,
It is to be perfectly one's self
And perfectly joined in permanent commitment
to another--and to one's inner self.
Love only endures when it moves like waves,
Receding and returning gently or passionately,
Or moving lovingly like the tide
In the moon's own predictable harmony,
Because finally, despite a child's scars
Or an adult's deepest wounds,
They are openly free to be
Who they really are--and always secretly were,
In the very core of their being
Where true and lasting love can alone abide.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

99 Days to go!

Just in case you were wondering.

Friday, July 11, 2008

(His) Ring Update

I think we may have found something! It is a custom made wooden ring, with a sterling silver inlay and band. We found it on Etsy.com, at Naturalezanica's Shop and ordered it a few days ago.


From the sellers site:
Simply elegant organic design. Nambaro (cocobolo) wood collected sustainably by hand in Nicaragua transformed into a band with simple sterling inlay.
Every piece is a handmade design by Marlon Obando Solano using sustainably collected organic materials.


I can't wait for it to come in and for him to try it on!


UPDATE - the ring looks great! We have a winner!


I also found something else on etsy that I really like, kind of a modern take on the ring pillow:



These can be custom made with your own text (what would ours say? hmmm.) and are from palomas nest. We won't be having a ring bearer, but maybe our rings can be tied to this and set on our altar (which is really just a small column that our officiant can set her book on). I don't know, but I like it. :)

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Monograms

I'm learning so much and getting so many ideas from all of the wedding sites and magazines I've been looking at. One thing that I am seeing everywhere are wedding monograms or even a logo for the wedding. I was bored at work yesterday and decided to give it a shot. Most of the monograms I've seen are centered around the brides and groom's first initial and the first letter of their new last name, like this (taken without permission from a google image search):

I am not planning on taking my new husband's last name, so that wouldn't really work for our "logo." So instead I just used our initials. Here's what i did:


and if I need it on a black background:


not that I know what I'd do with this design, mind you, it was just a fun little excercise. :)

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

4 Months to go!

I've been a busy little bride these past few weeks! :)

I have:
- Ordered envelopes (see rave below)
- Printed RSVP cards
- Made table numbers and other assorted paper stuffs
- Ordered my wedding day jewelry
- Scheduled a makeup trial
- Secured Photobooth
- Secured the disco ball rental >:)
- Joined a gym (note: this doesn't mean I've actually been going)

We have:
- Hired a DOC (huge relief)
- Been gathering childhood photos for a slideshow
- FINALLY decided on a honeymoon destination :)
- Had a preliminary meeting with the officiant

And a bunch of other stuff I can't think of right now.


I/we still need to:
- Rent tuxes
- Select wedding bands (the one below didn't work out)
- Decide on Best Man gift
- Schedule a hair trial
- Book karaoke dude
- Print the actual invitations
- Decide on vows and ceremony structure
- Meet with officiant again
- Go in for a tasting
- Get my dress fitted
- Get undergarments

and....

- Go from this (no offense to Rachel Ray whatsoever, just sayin this is what I look right now):

- To this:

*biting nails*

And a bunch of other stuff I can't think of right now.

(I'll probably be adding to this post as I think of things)

Monday, June 30, 2008

Rave: www.envelopperinc.com

I don't know how to pronounce their name, but they do have some mighty fine envelopes. Very competitively priced, had what I was looking for (aqua blue envelopes) and offer FREE shipping for orders over $25! I got my precious envelopes about 48 hours after I ordered them, and they even came packaged in peanuts so they wouldn't break! I'm a fan.

Monday, June 23, 2008

My Diligence Paid Off!

I swear I have googled "Damask Table Runner" almost every day for the past few months in the hope that something will pop on ebay, a message board, craigslist... but nothing. These babies are hard to find and are pretty much the holy grail for the damask bride.

THEN, last week, sure enough.... a got a bite. A bride on weddingbee was getting rid of a huge stash of them. I contacted her in time and nabbed a few. I should be getting them in the mail this week. I am so excited! I think they will really help pull the look together.

Here's what the fabric on these looks like:


Of course, being the OCD bride that I am, I wish it matched my existing damask pattern better, but at this point, I can't be picky. (even though I just KNOW that now that I've found these, Target will come out with some next week that match my pattern exactly. That's just how it is.)

Friday, June 20, 2008

Our 8 Year Anniversary!

This weekend marks 8 years since my fiancee and I started dating. I can't believe how far we've come. And I can't believe that after all this time, I still fall in love with him more and more every day.

With all of the ups and downs in life, and all of the uncertainties, it is unbelievably comforting to know that there is at least one thing I am completely sure of, one thing that I can always count on... him. :)

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

My First Wedding Gift!!


AND my first iProduct - isn't it cute? And look at the color! TIFFANY BLUE!!!11 (I'm sqealing as I'm typing)

to: me
from: me

I'm so sweet. :)

Friday, June 6, 2008

My First DIY Project!

I couldn't find any envelope seals that I liked so I made my own! :) Once I got the idea, it was really easy.

1. Gather materials:
- Paper in the design that you want. I used some scrapbooking paper from Michaels. (I'm sure you could use fabric too)
- Spray mount
- Sticker paper
- 1" circle craft punch (which is pretty standard, but you can use different size and shapes if you want)

**nerd alert**

I took pictures.



2. Adhere decorative paper to sticker paper with spray mount.
Let Dry.

3.
Punch!



4. Viola - you have perfect little round seals! Just peel the back of the sticker paper off and you are ready to go! I got about 70 seals out of an 8.5 x 11 sheet of sticker paper.



5. Put in a cute little bag and feel very Martha Stewart-y ;)

Monday, June 2, 2008

It's a Great Time to be a Tiffany Blue Bride

Look at all this cute stuff!

Robes from Advantage Bridal
Towels from Classy Bride


"Mr. & Mrs." Passport holders and luggage tags from Advantage Bridal

Cutest Thing Ever?

Can't decide which one I love more. The little chocolate chip cookies with the "shot" of milk, or the mini grilled cheese sandwiches with the teeny weeny serving of tomato soup!

Yes, people are really doing this at their weddings! (((jealous)))

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Awww!

I don't really like knick knacks, but these kokeshi dolls are too cute. :)

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Unnecessary Objects

There are a lot of thngs I don't need for this event, but feel the need to get anyway. i guess the argument could made that almost everything involved with the modern day wedding is unnecessary, so these are things that are even more unnecessary than those. (If that made any sense)

1. A colored aisle runner:












2. Fun cocktail napkins:

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Ha!


(from married to the sea)

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Paper

Being in the graphic design biz, it just made sense for me to make own invites. I didn't get too crazy, just kept it to a simple, one sided card:


The RSVP card...





All in a Tiffany blue envelope.




And our Save-the-Date cards, which I should've sent out about 2 months ago.... *gulp*

I'll also being doing menu cards, place cards, signs, etc, etc.... :)

Note: these are not our real names, and we don't have that many tattoos.

Shopping Therapy

As I alluded to in my last post, I've been a little stressed about this whole thing. But there's one thing always guaranteed to lift my spirits: shopping! (ok, the real answer is "my fiancee!" but for the purpose of this blog, we'll say it's shopping)

Sooooo...... I finally got something I've had my eye on for a while. I present to you, my wedding day, getting ready attire!


Just the hoodie of course, I intend to wear something other than just panties on my bottom half.

I *heart* it. I feel a bit obnoxious buying something for myself that claims I am "sexy," (yes, quotes are necessary) so if anyone asks... umm... the wedding fairy brought it to me.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Dear Faithful Readers,

(yes, all 2 of you) if you've noticed, I haven't written anything in a while. I bet you thought it was because I was soooo busy planning and finding great deals on cute votive holders, right? Actually, I haven't been planning at all. And I haven't found a single votive holder to use. I actually had a bit of a mental setback with this whole thing, and stopped thinking about wedding stuff completely. But I'm here to tell you that I'm back in the saddle and will be updating soon.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

The Maid of Honor's Ensemble

The weekend of shopping was a success! Here is what we found:


Impression Bridal gown, Style 1568. Shown in Platinum above, but will be black and have spaghetti straps for the wedding.

She also found these Sam and Libby's Sedalia heels to go with it:

Thursday, March 20, 2008

The Rings

A funny thing about me having a diamond ring... Yes, I am using "Tiffany" Blue, but no, I am not really into Tiffany & Co. And while they are beautiful, but I'm not really into diamonds, especially spending that much money on something so small and seemingly impractical. Not to mention that I figured I'd probably snag it on something, or lose it, etc etc. And when people get engaged, I'm not normally the type of person who asks to see the ring. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course. I'm actually not really into fine jewelry at all, and if you'd asked me a couple of years ago, I would've told you that I would be perfectly happy with a plain silver band as my wedding ring.

But here I am, a couple of years later, with a diamond ring on my finger and I have to admit, I absolutely adore it. There's nothing "impractical" about how I feel when I glance down at it and see it sparkling back up at me. Maybe there's a Tiffany girl lurking inside of me afterall. ;)


1. My beautiful engagement ring - 4mm comfort band
2. The wedding band - matching 4mm comfort band
3. The way they will look together - hawt. There was no 4+4mm picture, so the one shown is 3+3mm. In other words, the real deal will be slightly thicker than what is shown.

Naturally, I want to get my honey something he loves just as much. He has talked about wanting some sort of non-traditional ring, maybe something in wood, so I've got my eye out for something that screams: "________!" (<--- insert his name there).

Then I saw someone post this on indiebride.com:


when I saw it, it totally screamed "________!" This is from 22DesignsStudio, based out of Taiwan, and is their 7 Days ring.

Big Weekend...

My best friend and Maid of Honor is coming into town this weekend. I haven't seen in forever and am really excited. On tap for this weekend: find her a dress and shoes, attend a cake tasting, first meeting with a florist, and majorly catch up on eachother lives. :)

Update on the centerpieces: I want to wait to meet with the florist to make any decisions, but I'm pretty sure that the centerpieces are going to be DIY. I'll be using the floating bowls pictures below, filling them with aqua gems and water and floating a large white flower (of a few small flowers) in them. around the bowls, i'll probably sprinkle some gems, and surround the bowls with votives in these holders i found at efavormart.com:


Now the real issue is what do about the bouquet. I HAVE NO CLUE. I was originally going to do ALL of the flowers white, but the more I see white bridal bouquets, the more I think they blend into the dress too much. And there is no such thing as a Tiffany Blue flower, which makes me sad, so that's not really an option. There has been talk of dyeing some white flowers blue, but I've heard mixed reviews on that. We'll see. Hopefully the florist will have some good ideas.


PS. Here's another picture of theeee dress:

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Reception Decor

It's easy to find things in black and white. Finding accents in Tiffany Blue/Aqua hasn't been as easy. I'd like to bring as much aqua into the reception as possible, without overkill.

Here are some things I've been looking at:



1. Tiffany Blue silk carnations: ebay
2. Squared aqua votive holders at: www.modernvaseandgift.com
3. Aqua/White striped votive holders at idealfavors.com
4. Frosted glass bowl at www.greengreen.com
5. Vase Jewels www.colormewedding.com

I have no clue what I am doing for the centerpieces yet. I have access to 20 FREE floating candle bowls, so while they probably wouldn't be my first choice, I'm going to try and use those.
They are double walled, so you can fill the inner wall with whatever you want, and then put something else in the actual bowl. For example, I could fill the inner wall with those silk carnations, and float some white candles in the bowl. Then I could surround the bowl with those aqua votive holders... something like that.

I'd like the head table to have a different centerpiece, maybe that Blue frosted bowl above, filled with water and some floating flowers in it...? I really have no idea yet :( This is probably the area I need the most work on.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Eeeeee!!!!

This deserves a post of it's own:



This would be perfect for the Groom's cake that I am surprising my honey with. Shhh, don't tell him! ;)

Glass Damask Cake Stand, available at Horchow.com
or at Nieman Marcus

by the way, this is the inspiration for the grooms cake:

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Don't Laugh But...

...this is really tempting:
MiniTopHat
(The itty bitty top hat, not the hair style.)

I also like these:
EricaKoeslerHats
Erica Koesler designs, available at AdvantageBridal.com

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Bridesmaid Dresses

Or, more accurately, Maid of Honor dresses. My best friend is the bridal party. ;)

I am looking at either a tiffany blue/aqua dress, or a classic black dress.

I am a fan of Jasmine Bridal's B2 collection:


Here are some black dresses from Dillards.com:

Right now, the one in the upper right is my favorite. It's classic, elegant, and I think it will suit my maid of honor perfectly, and still be comfortable enough for her to get her groove on. And she WILL be getting her groove on. Oh yes.

David's Bridal: (Dresses shown are in "Pool")

FYI - that last one really has nothing to do with bridesmaids dresses, I just happened to see it and really like it. For me. ;)
I like David's because they have the most options in my color. Well, sort of. "Pool" isn't exactly Tiffany Blue, but it'll do.

Monday, February 18, 2008

It's in the Details

I bought my dress yesterday. I went with the David's Bridal one - I love it! Unfortunately by "bought" I mean "ordered," so I won't get it till the end of May.

So, now that I have the dress, I need other stuff. I already have the shoes, which I am just wild about. From Nine West (Via Zappos.com):

...I guess they technically fall more in the Turquoise category than Tiffany Blue. They are hot hot hot! The heel is a little taller than I would've liked, but still definitely doable. I'll probably need to bring some backup shoes, just in case. (tiffany blue flip flops maybe?)

I had also looked at these (I am all about the peep toe):


...which were $99 somewhere, but are only $19.99 at Payless! A budget bride's dream!

Since I won't have a pocket in my dress to hold my chapstick and keys, I guess I should get some sort of bag. I'm thinking a satin, blue, clutch type of thing. David's Bridal has some cute little purses, nothing too fancy, but they'll do the trick:


or something like these, from MadieDeluxe: