Tradition

I just finished reading 2 pages on wedding bee boards about things that people hate at weddings. A lot of them revolve around weddings being boring and lame traditions that guests do not look forward to. My fiance & I have discussed and there are things that we simply won't be doing. Because we don't want to. 1) No bouquet/garter toss 2) No lame dances (YMCA, electric slide etc) 3) No cake cutting... not even a mini cake (yay cupcakes!) 4) No unity candle, sand pouring 5) No banquet halls 6) Pictures before the wedding 7) A gift registry 8) No money dance Someone made a comment about 'the head table' being weird - like the entire wedding party being on display for everyone. I also saw a recent picture of the wedding party sitting at a round table instead and my first thought: "Wow, they look so cozy and intimate". Just thinking...

Invitation prototype

I'm pretty sure that this will be the final design. I spent the better half of Saturday night putting this together. This was my 4th draft working with these basic design elements. Originally I was thinking green for the pocket, but after playing around with some leftover black card stock, I think I'm leaning towards black. I'm still working with the adornments, but I'd say this is a good first try.

Pondering

Veil change? That's the question that's been on my mind lately. Since I found the dream hair, I've been wondering if my 9 inch blusher veil is coming up short... in length that is. My feather fascinator is designed to be worn on the side to back of my head. I intended to wear the blusher veil at an angle like this bride:

(this is my veil in action)

However, it feels like the blusher veil needs to be pulled too taunt in order for it to span from the near back of my head & cover a single eye. I'm thinking maybe I should wait until my next hair appointment & consult my stylist to see what she thinks. But I also saw this today & I really like how clean it lays on the head/face. Birdcage veils are tricky. So many end up looking messy, but I think this one looks romantic and classy.

18 inch bandeau-style birdcage veil by Pish Posh

The offer

We put down an offer on a house! Very exciting. The real estate market is so crazy right now, so hopefully they will except our offer. It's an approved short sale & we are basically meeting their asking price (crossing fingers) so we will know in the next couple of weeks. So many changes going on- getting married, buying a house. It's kind of scary & exciting at the same time. The property is 1,716 square feet, 4bed/3 full baths, 2-car garage with a yard. Plus it has a waterfall spa & a cool patio deck upstairs that opens up to an awesome view of this hills.

Walgreens photo

{Photobook Album}

I just ordered {3} 8x11 photobooks of our engagement session from Walgreens photo. It is amazing. I made the whole album online & it was super easy to use. I love the photo templates. It really added a dynamic feel to all the cool angles the photographer shot. The best part is, it only cost $80 (with an online coupon: use AFFSAVE33 at checkout to save 33% off your order).

Invitation inspirations III

I've been creatively stumped on my invites. Maybe because I realized that I have to actually design them this month. We are less than 5 months out... which means I have to finalize my invite design, send it to Vista Print, which usually takes about 2-3 weeks for standard delivery. That gives me about 1 1/2 months to embellish, emboss, make pocket folders & address so I can send out 2 months before the wedding. That gives me a rather cushy time line to avoid stress.

{Recent Inspirations}

These lovely designs really helped me focus. I realized that the invite design can be rather simple, and I can add pretty packaging with lots of personality.

{Outer Invite Pocket Photoshop Mock-up}

The Plan: 8.5 x 11 70 lb weight paper; folded & trimmed to pocket folder {5.5" x 4.3"} *Vellum floral printed band *Natural raffia or twine added over vellum *Monogram tag tied with raffia/twine *Invite size: 5.47" x 4.21" {folded or flat notecard} *Additional inserts: Venue map/directions Web RSVP information

The engagement

{The Engagement Shoot}

The Queen Mary. Long Beach, California all photos by Aaron Willcox Photography

As promised, here's the photos. There were so many amazing shots, that it was impossible for me to narrow down what I post here. Aaron our photographer was so amazing. I'm really glad that we went with a photo-journalistic style photographer. He captured us in such a natural state, that it made it easy for us to relax & have fun.

Mossy candles

These are my centerpieces. I am adding 4 candles per table, because my venue is rather dim. I am placing 2 birdcage candle holders & 2 votive candles per table. I purchased some frosted votive candles from Michaels Crafts already, but I'm thinking of taking them back & just getting some clear ones and adding some moss, bound with twine (as pictured above).

Welcome banner

Stamped burlap pennant banner by Funkyshique

This is just cool. It could easily be a future DIY project. Maybe strung over the wide entrance to our venue (saying WELCOME). Note: I'm having them remove the Christmas-y garland strung through hallway for our event.

Happy Friday

It's a very happy Friday for us. Our engagement photos are completed! Here's a little teaser:

by Aaron Willcox Photography

...More to come soon!

You & me, always

Sometimes I feel like an alien - because both my fiance & I have never had the experience of dating in our 20's because we met in like high school. No breaks... and that's how we plan to enter our marriage.

Our story

Heidi, I think I love you

Heidi Klum gets it right every time. I mean, it's her job to look fabulous. So, it's no surprise that she happens to be sporting the wedding hairdo I've been seeing in my mind, but couldn't find a picture of. Until now. Bangs, loose romantic curls. sigh. I hope my stylist says I can pull this off with my length & hair accessories.

House hunting

As far as finances go, my fiance is way more responsible than me. He's a saver & like any girl, I invested in shoes. We've been watching the real estate market for a while now... waiting. Now seems to be the right time to start looking for our first home. We applied for a loan & last night we met with a real estate agent. It's all happening so fast. Hopefully we can find something we love in the next couple of months. I'm excited.

Featured

My handmade boutonnieres were featured by Amanda from Vintage Glam Weddings. You can view her post here.

The wedding party

{Wedding Party Board}

Cupcake buffet

image from Jennifer Skog

{Cake Table Revisited}

I've always loved the idea of the candy buffet table. It's whimsical & looks amazing in photographs. I always thought I would do it at my wedding, but after seeing it everywhere in blog space, I feel like it's played out (even though I myself have never attended a wedding with a candy buffet). I am serving cupcakes instead of cake, because cupcakes make me smile! We're not doing a mini bride/groom cake, so it seems kind of anti-climatic to have a giant 5 tier cupcake tower. I saw these images from Jennifer Skog - I like the look of different heights + black & white textures- it's like a cupcake buffet.

image from Jennifer Skog

Put on a pretty face

{Wedding Day Make-up}

My beauty regimen is rather minimal. I don't like to look like I'm wearing a lot of make-up, because to be honest, I have good skin & a pretty face (thanks mom!). I want to look like a 'blushing bride' on the big day & don't want to worry about black eyeliner dripping down my face during the nuptials. So I'm thinking: MAC pressed powder - maybe one of their mineral ones that don't give a total matte finish. Rosy shimmery cheeks. Pink/nude glossy lip (lip stain w/gloss). Soft eyes & maybe some individual fake lashes.

My favorite blush: Revlon cream blush in Just Peachy. I've been using this for years & I just adore it on my skin. Pink blushes always look too harsh on me.

Skin prep must: MAC Prep & Prime is better than the Smashbox primer. It's more lotion-like & has less silicone. When my MOH did my make-up for the engagement shoot, she let me try her MAC mineral water spray. This stuff is amazing! It added a noticeable sheen to my face that looked really natural. Plus it set my make-up. My face wasn't greasy, even after many hours in the briny sea air.

Realization #1

image from our labor of love

Part of making the life long commitment is realizing that you will be growing old together. It's strange, but I really can't wait to do that with my fiance. It's also hard to fathom loving him anymore than I do now. At this moment - always. I think perhaps my heart might burst! I know, that was cheesy... but I like cheese.

Bridesmaid headbands

{Bridesmaid Headbands}

This is the piece I made for 2 of my bridesmaids. My bridesmaids are all wearing different dresses. These will be for the girls in the olivine/lace dress & olivine taffeta dress. I am incorporating the olivine color into my MOH's hairpiece since she will be dressed in black. I know I've posted a lot of hairpieces here, but this is my 3rd & final design for these girls (I swear). I purchased the skinny satin headbands at H&M (2 for $4), attached lace & 2 different types of feathers with a glue gun. I found these adorable vintage earrings on etsy. They are so unique, but are unusually large in size. I thought they would make better adornments instead.

Vintage earrings from The Whitelefant $4.99

Paradise

We've decided that international travel for the honeymoon is pretty much out of the question. 1) I don't want to be killed/mugged/taken hostage on my honeymoon 2) Getting passports is expensive & is yet another hassle. Answer: Hawaii! I know, so cliche. But people frequent this place for a reason - it's beautiful & relaxing & only a 5 1/2 hour plane ride away. We've narrowed it down to this. Fly to Hawaii (big island) on the Tuesday after the wedding (Sunday). Spend 3 nights here...

Volcano Mist Cottage

This place looks amazing! Total seclusion, private cabin, hot tubs in the rain forest & even shower outside. They even include mountain bikes with the cabin rental.

Then fly to Maui & maybe stay here...

Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa

Hollywood

I just saw these gorgeous looks from the Met costume institute ball. These would make great bridal looks - for a formal wedding or destination event.

Warm-up

We had our engagement photo session yesterday & it was wonderful. I was kind of stressing about it - the logistics, the perfect outfit, perfect hair. It's funny how well my fiance knows me, because he could tell I was thinking about this thing way too much. There were so many locations I wanted to cover, props & 1 wardrobe change. We met up with Aaron (the photographer) at 5:30 and I instantly relaxed. I stopped thinking and just enjoyed the afternoon. We wore the same clothes the whole time, we only used 1 prop & we didn't even make it to 2 of the locations we originally scouted, but all of this was okay. We got so many wonderful shots, thanks to the creativity of our photographer and I am really excited to see the final selections. I'm really glad we did this - we truly enjoyed each other and it's nice that it was captured. It also helped me learn to just enjoy the experience - a valuable lesson for my wedding day. The shoot took 3 hours and it seemed to go by so fast. The wedding day isn't much longer than that. I'll be sad when it's all over.

May

May to do list: 1) Have fun at the engagement shoot 2) Order bridesmaids & flower girl dresses 3) Research accommodations in Maui (honeymoon) 4) Design invites 5) Tone up my arms 6) DJ Playlists

Props

{Engagement shoot props}

A prop can add a whimsical touch to an engagement shoot. Since a portion of our shoot has a carnival-like feel, I think it would be cute to incorporate some of these ideas.

It fit

My dress arrived from Barcelona {yay!}. So me & my mom went to pick it up today. I've been stressing {just a bit} about it being too tight in the hips, leaving in tears because I ate that whole box of thin mints by myself. Not the case - it fit, amazingly well. And I love it. Because it is my dress and it's hanging in my closet awaiting its debut. Oh, and in case anyone was wondering...I will not be posting any pics of me in the dress pre-big day. It's a surprise :)