A Creative Bride

Getting Ready - The Boys

2011-11-07T20:50:00.000-05:00

So while the girls and I were getting ready in the dressing room, the boys gathered downstairs.

I definitely have to say that I do not regret booking the Lesner Inn for my wedding, but my only feedback is to create a space for the groom and groomsmen to hang out in before the ceremony. Mr. L and his groomsmen found themselves dressing in front of the guests that were arriving early. However they still had a little time to horse around!

And they finally decided to get ready.

Mr. L's Dad had a little advice for him.

Then his best man pulled him aside to cheese for the camera.

Finally we were ready to get started and the wedding party lined up.

All images courtesy of Trivium Studio.

Getting Ready - The Girls

2011-11-05T19:30:00.000-04:00

Once we arrived at the Lesner Inn, we were ushered into the dressing room to change. But first... a shot of my dress (swoon... I would wear this to dinner at Denny's if I actually ate at Denny's...)

Then these fabulous ladies helped me into this beautiful thing.

My mother with the last little button.

We topped it off with my veil.

And my sister helped me put on my pearls. Side note: My sister lent me the diamond pendant that she wore on her pearls on her wedding day. It was passed down to her by our grandmother.

And finally I was ready to go! I just needed a groom.

All images courtesy of Trivium Studio.

Top 'O the Morning

2011-11-01T19:24:00.000-04:00

The morning of our wedding was a quiet one. My final night as a single lady was spent with my bridesmaids. We woke up that morning and immediately had our make-up done. To save money I chose to skip a professional make-up artist. (Helpful tip) Instead we all hopped in the car and visited our local mall! Cheesy I know, but hey it saved us each $75 or more!

If you're looking to save money this way, consider making an appointment at a local Mac, Clinique, etc counter in a department store. I had had a trial run for my bridal portraits done at the Mac counter in Macy's at Lynnhaven Mall, so I knew that's where I would go. Clinique offers free make overs (with the hope that you will at least purchase one product), so you can get away with only paying $15 or so there. At Mac they do require you to spend $50, but I got some really great products for retouching throughout the evening (and to use after the wedding).

Afterwards, we headed to my parent's hotel to get ready and have our hair done by the talented Elissa Johnson.

Then we were off to the Lesner to get dressed! Eeeek! The show was about to begin!

Meanwhile back at the ranch... the boys got ready by watching the World Cup. That's about it!

All images courtesy of Trivium Studio.

Truly Honored - Our Wedding was featured on Glamour.com!

2011-10-22T21:05:00.000-04:00

As if The Knot article wasn't enough! I recently found out we were featured on Glamour.com as a Real Wedding Album!! Amazing! I couldn't have done it without all of my fabulous vendors, especially Antonia Christianson Events and Trivium Studio. It was such a perfect day and I love reliving it all over again on Glamour.

Read the article here.

A Well Deserved Rehearsal Dinner

2011-08-02T10:37:00.001-04:00

So where was I... ah yes, the Rehearsal Dinner.

After our rehearsal, we reconvened at our dinner location, Doc Taylor's on 23rd Street. If you're a local to Virginia Beach you're probably thinking "Doc Taylor's is the place to go for brunch!? Not for dinner." Doc Taylor's is the sister restuarnt to Tautogs next door. They allowed us rent out all of Doc Taylor's for a private party and I have to say it was so worth it! Great food, service and atmosphere. We wanted a laid back venue and more importantly, when it came down to picking, the location was key. We didn't want our guests to have to drive too far for a good meal.

We started with some mingling and drinks.

Then we watched our How We Met video.

Afterwards we gathered for dinner.

I just love this photo of my father and his mother (my Mamie).

We laughed, we cried... we all had a great time! We couldn't have had a better pre-wedding evening. I thank my mother-in-law for a very warm reception. It was perfect!

When the evening was over, Mr. L and I said goodnight in the hotel. The next time we would see each other would be at 6pm the next day.

I've been keeping a secret!

2011-07-25T22:01:00.003-04:00

No I am not pregnant, nor do I have a child. You would think that if one goes MIA for 9 months that would be the case. Well fear not friendly followers! I will be honest... I found it very difficult to blog about the wedding after October. We are still together, happily married, and just celebrated our first anniversary (in June).

In the fall I found out that our wedding may or may not be featured in the media. At the time I did not know what kind of media or when it would be posted. A few months ago my dreams came true and my wedding planner, Antonia Christianson Events, contacted me about The Knot DC/MD/VA featuring our wedding in their upcoming Fall/Winter issue!! Our photographers, Trivium Studio, had submitted the photos on our behalf.

Needless to say... I was sworn to secrecy when it came to anything wedding day related. I wasn't even allowed to post 1 photo for you guys! Sooo sad :(

Just last week the issue was on newsstands in the surrounding areas. I was able to get three preview copies, but my family ran out and bought 6 more once it was on the shelves.

So without further adieu, I show you our 15 minutes of fame. I hope to share more of our big day in the coming months!

Practice Makes Perfect on Friday Night

2010-10-07T08:01:00.003-04:00

Okay so I have to admit, I did not enjoy my rehearsal. AT ALL. Why? Because of nerves... it's that simple. I knew that I was going to be an emotional girl when this weekend came, and it was upon us. I hate to cry in front of other people. Heck I don't like to cry if front of Mr. L, but sometimes it's necessary. But on that evening it finally hit me... all of this was happening, and I was so nervous. I could barely talk to anyone. I must have had a goofy look on my face. I almost felt zombie like. I'm not sure if anyone picked up on this though.

But regardless, I made it through and we rehearsed the ceremony twice. The boys and girls knew where to go, and the family members knew where to sit. I loved my dress for the rehearsal. It even made an appearance on the wedding night!!

The boys all lined up.

My father also has a Flip.

Listening to Judge McMurran read parts of our ceremony.

Practicing the exchange of rings.

Check out that hand on hip, opposite hand flip action.

"Boy you don't know what you're getting yourself into"

My good friend Audrey practicing her reading.

The boys looking nice.

And the girls looking fabulous.

Then we were off to eat (again). Not that I was complaining ;)

On Friday the Girls Lunched while the Boys Hit the Links!

2010-10-06T13:34:00.000-04:00

So it's a really good thing I behaved myself and ate light the week leading up to the wedding, because I think I literally started gaining weight from the first day we got to Virginia. Every where I went I had something seafood related and it was delicious.

On the Friday before the wedding my sweet Aunts and my amazing Grandmother threw a bridal luncheon in my honor at Bubba's Seafood Restaurant next to our wedding venue. We started with a local favorite, she-crab soup, and then had the choice of a few different lunch entrees. I went with the crabcake sandwich, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to turn into a crabcake one day.

Although, I wish I had more pictures of this event. I did get one from my cousin that she posted online.

If only we had a shot of the adorable sand cake!! My Aunt Totty had it made and it looked like a sand castle! I'm hoping more pictures of this event turn up. I was so happy to have important women in my life around me for this special occasion. All of my bridesmaids were in attendance, my two nieces, all of my Aunts from my Dad's side of the family and youngest female cousin, both grandmothers, Mr. L's mother and his step-mother.

And while all of this was going on, Mr. L was being treated by my father to a round of golf with his groomsmen, my brother-in-law, and all of my uncles on my father's side of the family. They certainly had a blast on the links that day and shared a few stories.

After our individual parties... we were reunited at our rehearsal!

On Thursday We Welcomed Our Bridal Party

2010-10-05T19:55:00.000-04:00

For the most part our bridal party was staying in Town Center at the Westin. My sister and her family were the only ones staying at my parent's hotel. After everyone had arrived in town on Thursday we had an impromptu dinner and drinks at Red Star Tavern. Mr. L and I were so happy everyone was enjoying themselves and could relax after a long day of traveling. We even got to break out the new Flip camera!

Wedding Week - Thursday Night Meet & Greet from Mary Paige on Vimeo.

My favorite part is when Groomsmen K and the Best Man were arguing about where we first met! At some point the best man took possession of the camera and turned it on us. Wow, we are such the sentimental type! [sarcasm at it's best] I do this thing, and try to not to get too excited in front of people (specifically cameras). It shined through on my wedding day too. I've learned more about myself through this whole process. Even on one of the biggest days of my life, I was still very calm and laid back.

After our meet and greet, the next morning we split up the party for some more fun!

Wedding Gifts to Each Other

2010-09-20T08:34:00.000-04:00

Originally Mr. L and I had no intention of exchanging gifts to each other, but over time I realized I wanted to treat him to something he's wanted for a very long time. So I approached him with the idea and he was definitely on board.

Since I already knew what I wanted to get him, I let him take initiative and pick out what he wanted to get me. One evening he went out with his best man for a little shopping trip. After they returned I was very anxious to see what he got, however I held my composure and never once snooped.

Two weeks before the wedding he asked me if we could trade gifts early. Of course I asked why a thousand times, but didn't understand his reasoning until I finally opened my gift. On the Saturday before we left for Virginia he brought me the gift and let me open it. To my surprise it was a Flip video camera! (My first thought... he listened!) I had dreamed about having the Flip for our wedding festivities for a while. I'm a very sentimental person and to be able to look back on our wedding and include it in our memories was very exciting to me. It was a big hit of the weekend and we had a couple of hours of footage from friends and family. I think the best part was watching the videos after we returned home and saw how drunk the best man really was that evening ;) Fortunately the camera found it's way back to my things, but there was some great footage!!!

Source

After Mr. L had given me his gift, I handed him an envelope with a note on the front. He read it and smiled. Then opened the envelope to find a gift certificate for a massage class from LIFT Total Wellness in Sandy Springs, GA. I've never seen him get that excited over a present... honest to God. He was always asking me to give him a massage before then and the class was for the two of us to learn how to give a proper relaxation massage to each other. Now when Mr. L asked for a massage, I didn't cringe from the idea of my hands cramping and my back hurting. We finally cashed in on the certificate and took our class at the end of July. We haven't been able to get enough massages from each other since then. It was an experience to learn tips and tricks from a professional.

Source

What did you and your spouse exchange for gifts? Did you completely go against tradition and put more money towards the honeymoon?

PWC to the PWP

2010-09-14T07:21:00.002-04:00

Yes friends, I did it too. The PWC (Post Wedding Chop). If you know anything about me pre-wedding, you would know that I'm not a fan of long hair because of two reasons. 1. My hair is thin, and when it's longer than my shoulders it's nothing but a stringy mess, and 2. I greatly dislike wearing my hair down. So having it short forces me to actually fix my hair and not pull it up in a damp pony tail, and also prevents it from drying out at the ends.

So here it is before:

I actually wore it down the day I got it cut.

And here it is after:

I'm pretty sure I just aged about 5 years. Which is great!

I have worn my hair down at least 3 days out of the 5 day work week, and that's HUGE for me. I'm very happy with my cut and Christine at Salon 11 Studios is so sweet... she even asked me if I was sure before she chopped off about 6 inches. I responded "Oh yes... I'm so very sure!"

Now onto the PWP...

You know... the Post Wedding Pounds. I, like many other brides, have really enjoyed the time after my wedding. For the past 3 months I have enjoyed every little bit of food I have eaten. No holding back either, if it was a cupcake, french fry, or bowl of ice cream I devoured it. In return my body has thanked me with 7 extra LBs.

As of today I'm back on Weight Watchers and I'm going to lose 15 lbs. (Why 15?) Because I'll finally take care of those last pounds I wish I had been able to loose before the wedding. Also I saw this commercial yesterday and it inspired me.

Jennifer Hudson became the spokeswoman for Weight Watchers in April, and in just 5 months she has certainly lost weight. (Let's be honest, we all remember what she looked like the first SATC movie...) Lately all I've wanted to do was wear cute fitting clothes and not feel self-conscious about how I look in them. Jennifer rocks this outfit and looks amazing, which makes me want to look just as amazing. Weight Watchers has been around for 40 years and it's been the only thing that has ever allowed me to eat what I want but still keep within my means. I'm sticking with it this time. There are so many recipes on the WW site that helps me plan out my meals and points, and then there are other food blogs like Skinny Taste. I'm also going to pair my weight loss with cardio and moderate weight lifting.

And if Weight Watchers wasn't enough... there's also a charity element to it!

The Loose for Good campaign kicked off last week and continues into October. But today they will give $1 to every person who tweets, blogs, checks-in, and comments about Lose-A-Palooza! I encourage all of my readers to do me a favor... Spread The Word! This is for a great cause and all you have to do is socialize. Visit their site to see how you can help the hungry. I plan to LOSE FOR GOOD! In more ways than one!

There you have it. My total post wedding make over. What do you think? Did you go through the same thing? Did you need a change?

We left for Virginia on a Wednesday

2010-09-13T09:07:00.013-04:00

On the Wednesday before the wedding, we hopped in our car (fully loaded) with wedding goodies, a groomsmen and the bride and groom.

If only we had a picture of this drive... Seriously I had about 2 feet of space in the back, while the boys had some cozy front seats. Of course I decided I still was not done with the programs and proceeded to apply no fray glue to them. (Promise to share designs).

So as I was trying to sprawl out with 75 programs in the back seat of my tiny 4 door Civic we made the 9 hour trip to my hometown, Smithfield, Virginia where my parents still live. On our way into town we had to make one VERY IMPORTANT stop.

We got our marriage license(!!!) at the Isle of Wight County Courthouse. Excuse our appearance in this photo since we literally got up, rolled out of bed, and got in the car. 6:30 am came very early that morning... and by the time 3:30pm rolled around I was in serious need of a shower. I bet these people were thinking "Why would this crazy non-matching fool want to be marrying this rough around the edges woman?" But I knew I clean up nice!

Once we arrived in Smithfield, it was hurry up and get back in the car. We had to drop off the wedding goodies at Missy's office. So we spent another 45 minutes in the car driving to Chesapeake, VA to visit Missy, James & their boys at her warehouse. Then we were out for some grub at BDubs! (Buffalo Wild Wings for those who don't know)

At the end of the night we returned to my parents house, ready to get up and do it all over again the next day!

90 Days of Marriage

2010-09-10T12:18:00.000-04:00

One quarter of the year gone already? Wow... this summer FLEW by us. I hate that it's leaving us so soon. However in Atlanta there's no such thing as Fall & Spring. We only know two seasons... Fall & Spring usually lasts about a week.

This summer was AMAZING. It started with a special Bachelorette trip to DC, followed by our wedding June. July slowed a bit for us but it was nice to not have plans. Then August picked up quickly starting with my full time gig. It's usually our busiest month. Then my best friend/MOH got married August 21st. She made a beautiful bride. I plan to recap that very soon! (Including a lot of other things I've dropped the ball on)

We ended the summer with a trip to our favorite Georgia beach, Tybee Island, near Savannah. A group of our friends all got together and rented a 10 person cottage for the weekend of Labor Day. I have NEVER laughed so hard for an entire weekend. The first day at the beach I did see a beautiful beach wedding set up. Never saw the wedding, even though we were sitting right next to the location all day. Either way I wanted to share this clever set up by Tybee Island Wedding. Never in my dreams would I have come up with the flags and ribbons. It was so classic, no flowers or arch needed. I had to stop and take a picture (or two).

If I had a chance for a do over, still don't think I'd trust the weather gods. I was stressing that we were having our wedding on a deck underneath and awning. But it was a beautiful day for this bride and groom. I hope their wedding was special.

For now I'm going to pick it up a notch on the blogging. I've seemed to have been a bad blogger, and I promise there are recaps coming! My planner and I are currently working on something that would make posting pro pics more difficult. So I'll do my best!! Please stick with me! And if I can't show my pictures I promise to show my MOH's pics!

Oh and right about now I'm wishing we never froze our top layer of cake, because I'm craving some. We left it at my parents house in Virginia. Guess I know what I'll be snackin' on the next time I go home!!

Here's to 90 more days!

2 Months Later

2010-08-12T15:16:00.000-04:00

Two months later... how am I doing?

After the wedding I couldn't wait to get my life started with Mr. L. I was so very happy that it was done and comments like "after the wedding" no longer existed. I've felt good about this until just recently when I realized that nothing much has changed in our daily lives. It wasn't a huge secret before, but we didn't go around telling everyone, Mr. L and I were living together in my (our) apartment before the wedding. It was just easier that way... We both saved money. So here we are two months after the wedding, rings on our fingers and we still live in the tiny one bedroom. The lease on the apartment won't be up until January, and we have both talked about moving into a larger apartment or hopefully a town home in the area. We are still saving money to buy our dream home one day. But to tell you the truth, I'm in need of some nesting... in a home that we can actually call a home and not just a building that hundreds of others are living in too.

The other thing is I'm missing the planning... BIG TIME. Now that it's over I'm finding projects to keep me busy, like finding space for all of our fun gifts and cooking for Mr. L, but it's not the hoopla of wedding planning. I think it was the idea that I was creating this image in my head and putting together all the details, I just couldn't wait to see it all together! Now I'm having a hard time remembering what it all looked like. We are still waiting on professional photos to come through and I know those will be done soon, but it's so hard to be patient!! I'm doing my best though... and leaving James alone :)

We were just recently able to see the raw footage of our ceremony. I had my DJ/Videographer film it with two cameras and after the wedding he gave me the two SD cards the footage was on. Since my college degree is in Video Production, I'm pretty quick around editing software. I hope to have that done soon.

I also still keep a good relationship with my wedding planner, Missy. We usually find time to chat once a week or every other week. I'm glad she wasn't sick of me after the wedding was over! I'm so fortunate to have made a new friend out of all this too.

Now don't get me wrong. I love being married to Mr. L!! But I do wish we can go ahead and start the next big thing in our life. My sister says "Stop planning so much and slow down, otherwise you'll rush through life." Which is good advice and I need to practice.

For now I will dream of the home that Mr. L and I will one day live in. It will have a large updated kitchen with room for entertaining. A big back yard for Miss Maddy to run and chase the birds in. A cozy at home office for one of my many projects in life, and a simple bedroom for our beautiful Crate & Barrel bed.

All Images Courtesy of HGTV - Designer's Portfolio

Songs that Make Me Smile - Part 3 The last of the songs

2010-08-11T19:31:00.000-04:00

I've given you a run down here and here about how and what we chose for our music for the ceremony, intros and first dances. Now it's time to take a listen to the songs we used towards the end of the night for the other fun traditions.

First up... the cake cutting. It's only appropriate that I used a song from the group, Cake for our cutting song. We used their rendition of Love You Madly. (PS You can also find this in our How We Met video). It was alternative and upbeat. Just what we wanted.

For the boquet toss I knew I wanted something different. We have all heard Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper and Single Ladies by Beyonce, but what about a show tune?? Oh yes... I went there. But it was the modern day show tune, from a movie I hold dear to my heart, Moulin Rouge. I choose Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend, the Nicole Kidman version of course! (Sorry for the Italian version... Our song was cued up to about the 1 min mark too)

We wanted to get a little down and dirty for the garter removal, toss and return. We picked a classic from Ferris Bueller, Ohhh Yeah... A badass song by George Thorogood that we all know and love, Bad to the Bone, and finally one of my personal favorites and an ecletic song, Ooh La La by Goldfrapp.

And at the end of the night we finished slow with Josuha Radin's Today. I've included the lyrics to this song because they are beautiful. If we hadn't previously decided on "our" song, this would have been a major contender. He even played it live for Ellen and Portia after there wedding. (Foreshadow? I hope not!!)

Today by Joshua Radin
Shoelaces untied
You can dry your eyes
Perfect shadows alive
Behind us
This is the day I make you mine

The way your hair lies
sometimes unrecognized
All the way from these today
on a train
Nothing to say if theres still time

But you are the one
I've been wating for today
And here comes the sun
That's been baiting on today

Lately I've lost my tongue
Today you found the sun
I know not long has grown
Well I thank god you came along

But you are the one
I've been waitng for today
And here comes the sun
That's been baiting on today

You looked right through me
When there was no one else
I sat beside you and became myself
Today... today

You are the one
I've been waiting for today
And here comes the sun t
Thats been baiting on today

And there you have it, the soundtrack to our wedding. I even have a playlist on my iPod that plays all these songs and it takes me back. So were my songs different then what you expected? What did you play? Did you get new ideas?

Songs that Make Me Smile - Part 2: Reception Music

2010-08-02T09:38:00.001-04:00

It was important Mr. L and I to find songs to represent our personalities at the reception. I'm also someone who hates to use the traditional songs and Mr. L gave me free reign to pick the songs for our reception. These were my picks.

Bridal Party Introduction:
Call me a hypocrite... but yes I did choose one song that is traditional for the family to enter to. I couldn't resist but we used We Are Family by Sister Sledge.

The bridesmaids and groomsmen entered to a new fun favorite Tik Tok by Kei$ha, against a few of my bridesmaids request to not play it at all :P

Have I ever told you about Mr. L's love of MJ? Ohhhh yes, I believe one of our first dates included watching Michael Jackson's greatest hits. (Yes you read correct, I said watched) So how could our song to enter to not be Michael Jackson??? I choose The Way You Make Me Feel by non-other than the great Michael Jackson. (For your viewing pleasure... This is the Center Stage video... couldn't find the best MJ video)

Father/Daughter, Mother/Son & Mr & Mrs Dances:
After a delicious dinner we started the traditional dances, and since I was looking to do something different, Mr. L and I didn't start the dancing off, my father and I did. Let me tell ya... I'm a daddy's girl through and through!! This was a very special moment for me. My father and I had discussed before the wedding a song that we could dance to, but in the end he asked if he could surprise me. So on my wedding night I danced the sweetest dance to I Loved Her First by Heartland. (And the waterworks were on in FULL FORCE). I'm not much of a country listener, but this was PERFECT! Even listening to it now makes me teary eyed.

Mr. L and his mother danced next and he choose a song that he could relate to his mother raising him in Texas. Although it wasn't a song that said the word mom, mother or mama, he related it to her in so many ways. He chose A Father's Love by George Strait. Unfortunately I could not find a version of this song online.

FINALLY it was our turn to dance!! Our first dance as a married couple! We choose our song. A song that has lyrics that describes our relationship as we started our new life together. This song was also sung by one of Mr. L's favorite artists, and it captured our honeymoon location as well. Our song was (and is) Is This Love by Bob Marley.

Up Next: Extra Music

Songs that Make Me Smile - Part 1: Ceremony Music

2010-08-01T22:28:00.002-04:00

I'd like to say I'm a music connoisseur, or maybe it's just I've seen too many movies with great soundtracks. Do you ever think about what the soundtrack of your life would be? I do. (What? You don't secretly have music playing in the background of every life changing moment... ) And because we hired a acoustic guitarist from Fritz Pro Music to play at our ceremony and cocktail hour, it allowed us to create our own wedding soundtrack.

When it comes to music taste, Mr. L and I have COMPLETELY different opinions. I like John Mayer, Matt Nathanson, Mat Kerney, and Dave Matthews Band. He likes KORN, Rage Against the Machine, and TOOL. So choosing music for our ceremony was challenging.

The only song the two of us could agree on was the song I would walk to: The Secret Wedding from the Braveheart Soundtrack. We have a special place in heart for the movie, and it also makes us want to go to Scotland even more. I searched high and low on YouTube in order to hear the acoustic version of this song.

For our prelude and family members we chose a classic, All You Need is Love by the Beatles.

The bridal party entered to one of my absolute favorites, All We Are by Matt Nathanson.

And to satisfy Mr. L's taste in music, we exited to Wonderwall by Oasis.

Up Next: Reception music!

I Needed a Shower!

2010-07-20T20:43:00.000-04:00

Way back in 2009, my sister graciously offered to host a bridal shower in my honor. I was so excited and I even helped with some of the little details, like the invitations! I was able to keep my yellow and grey argyle theme with these too. As you can see we chose May 8th, which was also Mother's Day weekend and this worked out specifically because our mother turned 60 on May 9th and we knew the whole family would be able to celebrate together this weekend. We even hosted a "surprise" birthday party for my mother, and you can see the invitation for that below too.

And long before the bridal shower Mr. L and I decided that it would be nice if his mother, who lives in Texas, could be a part of the festivities. So as a Mother's Day gift to her we flew her out to Virginia! She was thrilled!

Everyone enjoyed their weekend and I certainly loved opening all the wonderful presents! Here are a couple of pictures of the event.

A delicious cake by Lisa's Sweet Shoppe

And a shot of me opening my awesome Martha Stewart Collection knife set and block!

All images by my sister, Amy.

Getting To Know You

2010-07-18T22:47:00.000-04:00

Okay so we've all seen the recent trend at weddings the cute slideshow of bride and groom baby pictures specifically placed to music. We all watch and "ooh" and "ahh" at how adorable they were when they were young. I love them just as much as the next, but when it came to it, Mr. L and I decided to put a twist on things. We wanted an actual video that told the story of who we are and how we met.

Mr. L's best man owns a video production company and recently opened a new division called Your Legacy Video. The typical video they produce is for an older adult who would like to pass down their generations stories for others to enjoy. They also offer wedding videography (Wedding Stories) and included in a package could be an documentary style video of how the bride and groom met. As you may remember, Mr. L and I bartered with the best man and his business partner for the video and in trade we designed and developed their website for them.

I can not express to you how excited I am with our video! We ended up showing it at our rehearsal dinner and it was a hit! Since our venue was not set up in a way to show one large projected movie, we opted to have it playing on a side table in a constant loop and had a sign saying the video would be available on our website after the wedding.

I have been wanting to share this with you for a while now so I give you Our Story!

Mary Paige & Nick's Pre-Wedding Story from Mary Paige on Vimeo.

Gimme Some of That Good Stuff

2010-07-16T13:11:00.004-04:00

So while I wait for professional photos to come back, I'm going to recap some of the things/events that led up to the wedding day. Today it's all about REGISTRIES!!

I'm a natural shopper, and I do it well... and in Mr. L's opinion, too well. So creating our registry was a BIG deal to me. Honestly it's shopping for yourself and just waiting for it all to arrive (just delayed a few months).

When it came down to which stores we were going to register at I knew for sure one would be none other than Target. It was a store that I know many of my guests would have near by, no matter where they lived. Target stores are popping up everywhere, and they also had great prices on many of the electronics Mr. L and I wanted. Many of our small kitchen items came from Target, and even though they are a hodge-podge of things, I would use every single one of them! From the wine cooler to the meat thermometer, and the king sheets to the stand mixer. And yes, I did register for a buttercup yellow stand mixer :) Needless to say I love Target, and I'm so happy with everything I've received so far! The only draw back I had with Target was the fact that when I registered online for items many of the things I liked weren't available in the store, and vice versa. So not all Target's carry the same thing and neither does the website.

The next registry was all about our everyday dishes. Seriously, we only registered here because that's the only dishes we could both agree on :P Plus how cool does this box look when it arrives! Flowers not included. Crate and Barrel was never on the top of the list of possible registries when we first started think about it, only because many of our guests would have to purchase our gifts online since there is not a Crate and Barrel in most of the major cities where they all live.

However, our first wedding gift was from Crate and Barrel and it was the first set of our every day dishes! We wanted something neutral and not frilly. We both saw these and agreed on them. Another thing we agreed on was our bed situation. Since we started planning our registry early last Fall we managed to choose teal quilted linens that were seasonal, and they soon started to quickly sell out. So I asked my parents to buy the coverlet and shams for Christmas. When we were looking at registry items we first walked into a Crate and Barrel store and saw this beautiful bed made up with our linens that fit our style. We knew that had to be on the list too. However we were hesitant with the bed frame being from Crate and Barrel, it was a bit pricey. So we held off adding the frame to our registry until after our wedding when we received a 10% discount coupon AND the bed went on super sale. We couldn't believe it. We knew it was meant to be.

Today I am happy to say that we have recently purchased our first king size bed! We decided to go ahead and purchase the frame we had been obsessing about for months and went to The Original Mattress Factory in Atlanta to buy a mattress. Since it's a platform bed frame we were able to save money by not getting a box springs. Oh and it's so comfy!! For the past three mornings I haven't wanted to get out of bed. Go figure! But tomorrow is SATURDAY! And I don't have to :)

After Mr. L and I had decided on every day dishes and all of our electronics, we debated if we should register for fine china. I had multiple conversations with my sister and some married friends regarding this issue. Was it a waste to receive fine china when I wasn't sure if we were going to use it for many years? We live in a one bedroom apartment, so the likeliness of us having the whole family over for holiday dinners is slim. But in the back of my mind I couldn't help to think, well what if years after the wedding I regret not registering for fine china? In the end the decision was made to go ahead and register for them, and BOY WAS I GLAD!! To date I have received 7 out of 12 place settings!! Seven?!?! I was happy I even got one!

We (mostly me) chose a pattern that would compliment every holiday. I wasn't really looking for a specific brand, but I knew Lenox was a trusted brand and we found that Macy's carried the style I picked. So the decision was made to register there, where we also put a few of our serving dishes, bathroom linens and crystal stemware on the list. Macy's also has a deal for Star Rewards card holders and every purchase made from your registry you get 5% of it back in cash. We are expecting cash back at the end of this month so we can complete a few of the items on our registry.

The Macy's Registry department was so sweet and helpful in every way. We had heard bad things since registering with them, about their customer service and their stock, but I have yet to have problems with them and I hope I never will!

Overall, we have been very satisfied with our registry decisions (both stores and items). I have a few favorite items that I would like to pick up in the near future, but I'm going to wait a bit. The one suggestion I may have for those stores who carry a registry: Think about having a priority or favorites list, because some newlyweds may want to list the items they really want from our favorite to we could wait on that. I got the question many times "What do you really want on your registry?" It would have been easy to show them! Just a thought!

Images courtesy of Target, Crate and Barrel, and Macy's

The words that touched my heart

2010-07-15T12:37:00.000-04:00

On Monday I shared with you my words to Mr. L on our wedding day, so today I will share you what he said to me. Can you see similarities in our words? We didn't share our vows with each other before the wedding ceremony, but I giggled a little when I noticed how perfect we are for each other.

Oh yeah... and I cried too. Thanks to my favorite amateur photographer and sorority little sister, Lauren, she captured the moment when I wiped my tears away during the vows.

Mr. L's Vows:

I am the luckiest person in the entire world for finding you. Or rather, for being found by you. Having you reminds me that no matter what bad things might happen in life, I have so much to be grateful for. Thank you for supporting me, for appreciating me and for
giving me your love every day.
When I realized that I had fallen in love with you, I wanted so much for everything to be perfect for you from that point forward for the rest of your life. I have since learned that perfection is something that is built; it is not something that exists in the beginning when you barely know each other, only to be foiled at a single moment and never be attainable again. Now my goal is to spend every day trying to achieve perfection with you. In order to do this, I promise…
To work as hard as required, in any job I can get or role that is necessary to assume, in order to make sure you have everything your heart desires, or at a bare minimum everything your heart needs.
To help you achieve your goals and dreams by being your inspiration to work hard everyday than the last.
To work with you through all differences, big and small, with enthusiasm for the better life we will create.
And most of all I promise to give you as much comfort and as little worry as we join our lives today, start our family and eventually grow old together.
I love you very much and nothing could make me happier than being right here, right now, with you as my bride.

I love you Mr. L. Forever.

A Celebration! How to say it with words.

2010-07-12T15:41:00.007-04:00

Happy One Month Anniversary to my sweet Husband, Mr. L! I'm such a lucky girl to have found him. For the last month we have been in wedded bliss :) I love him more every day.

Today I will share the words I vowed to him on our wedding day:

It’s hard to find words to say to you today because for the last two years you have left me speechless.
You are my world, my heart, my everything.
I am the luckiest woman because I have found you. You are my final puzzle piece and I can’t wait to share the whole picture with you.
Thank you for being the man I have been waiting for all my life. Thank you for your generosity and love. We have grown together and everyday has been better than the last.
Today I don’t promise you my heart… you’ve had that for a while now.
I do promise you my devotion and my love. I promise to stand by you and hold your hand as we start our new journey together. I promise to work with you as we make decisions together.
Today as we bring together two families, we also begin our own.
And don’t worry, I’ll still support your rocket clubs hobby as your wife… just as long as I can still go shopping.
I vow to be in love with you forever.
I vow to be your confidant and best friend.
I vow to be your loving and caring wife.

A Day in the Spotlight (and by that I mean, the Sun)

2010-07-10T17:36:00.001-04:00

A few months back you may recall that I was headed home for Audrey's wedding and to shoot my bridal portraits. You also may remember that back in November there was a major Nor'easter that flooded the area and practically wiped out my grandmother's backyard taking the dock down in it's path. I was in high hopes that with a little TLC my grandmother's yard would look like new again come Spring time... so I'll let you be the judge:

Before

And After

All Photos Courtesy of James Christianson & Trey Tesoro of James Christianson Photography

James and Trey came out on what should have been a very stormy day, but the sun was shining (like it would on the equator) and there was a nice breeze (border line hurricane force winds). So we got some great shots and I was able to prance around like a princess for the first time in my dress. Missy was also on hand to assist with the fluffing of the train and handing of bouquet... you know the most important things.

We started the shoot off in my grandmother's formal living room which was set up for some perfect shots.

And even got a few of the details.

Fluttering Flowers by Debbie Pence

And my favorite!!

Then we headed outside.

I had so much fun with the guys... and I think my grandparents got a thrill out of it too. My grandfather even stuck his head in the room just to see what was going on.

And before I forget, my dress... my beauty... my favorite gown I've ever worn. (okay, I'll stop gushing) After a two stops at bridal shops with family members present, I finally decided to venture out on my own and I found Sweet Elegance Bridal in Decatur, GA. It was a small shop and I had an appointment after work, so there was no one else there but me and the owners, Kristie and Aimee. It only took three dresses to find THE ONE. I had the huge grin and felt unbelievable in MY dress. The designer is Anjolique and they are known for their great fit. So THANK YOU Aimee and Kristie! You made me feel like a princess!

And THANK YOU guys for taking some great shots!

I couldn't wait to show Mr. L!

Bachelorette Shenanigans - DC Style!

2010-07-06T15:15:00.000-04:00

My bachelorette festivities in DC with all of my bridesmaids and little sister in Alpha Phi kicked off at my Maid of Honor's apartment. Because it was the premiere weekend of Sex and the City 2, we started it off right with a matinee showing.

Movie Poster

After the movie we headed back to E's house and proceeded with gifts and yummy snacks, including kick ass Coconut Shrimp. It was there where I received my outfit for the evening. I have to say that I was totally excited about how cute I looked!!

Above: My Alpha Phi Little sister. Below: My Maid of Honor E.

After many drinks at the house we all piled on to the Metro and headed into Adams Morgan, where I was surprised with a Karaoke Bar called Peyote Cafe. Such a dive, and I loved it!

When we arrived I was greeted with "YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED" from two strange men. So I then took a shot with one of them to celebrate.

Almost all of my bridesmaids below: J, E, Me and A... Just missing my sister!

Enjoying the moment, and well onto my way of not remembering things.

This was the last picture of the evening because the batteries in my camera died. However I just wish that I had a camera for what happened next. You see, the most memberable part of my night happened at the end when I told off E's ex-boyfriend. Long story short: He's a jerk and since sophomore year I never had a chance to tell him how big of a D-bag he really was... so on my bachelorette night, bridesmaid A happen to spot him in the bar. I quickly walked up to him and asked him if he remembered me. He did and then I proceeded to shake my finger at him and say a few things I shouldn't repeat on the blog. Either way I felt good about myself and ended the evening with a smile.

Thank you to my ladies who helped my celebrate my last weekend (more like 2nd to last) as a single lady! I love you all! I had an AMAZING time! obviously

Why Hello.... I'm Married!

2010-06-30T12:12:00.001-04:00

AHHHH-MAZING! That sums it up...

It was everything I imagined and so much more! I'm so thankful for everyone who helped me along the way, throughout the weekend and day of the wedding! I especially want to thank Missy Christianson, from Antonia Christianson Events. She was my HERO (and still is!) that weekend. The best part about it all, is that we intend to still work together! More to come on that!

Bottom line though... I'm married to an amazing man who I love and adore! We have the rest of our life together! I'm so excited about that :)

Here is a sneak peak of Mr. L reading his vows to me. A friend took this photo.

Projects... Check | Excitement... Check | Nerves... Check Check

2010-06-07T11:24:00.000-04:00

I would claim myself as a pretty laid back bride, not stressed (too much) of the whole planning process. I got my projects done early, I've been very detail about my lists and to make sure I made no mistakes.

This weekend I was out with friends and I would be a rich woman for every time someone asked me if I was excited. I just smiled and said yes. (Secretly I wanted to be a smart ass and say... not really but I guess we've gotten this far...) Okay I don't really mean that but I just want to say to everyone: YES! I'M EXCITED! And you know what? I really mean it this time.

Let me back up and say it's not that I wasn't excited before... but it's not like I was leaving the next day to go to Virginia. I still have 2 days of work ahead of me and a lot of packing to do. But as I sit here on the Monday before my wedding I can honestly say that I am excited and nervous at the same time!! Finally... I was beginning to think I was a zombie bride.

This weekend will be beautiful. I have everything straight for Missy and her team to set up for me. Most importantly I can't wait to see my groom at the end of that aisle. We've come a long ways from the mustache bash. It will be two years together on Thursday, so why not celebrate with the union of marriage!!

If I get another chance to post before we leave on Wednesday I will. Until then!! Good luck to those fellow bloggers who are also getting married this weekend :) Laura from Lucky in Love and Morgan from The Handcrafted Hitching Post!

Sincerely,
VERY Soon to Be, Mrs. L

Hardest Part of Wedding Planning - Seating Assignments

2010-06-02T15:04:00.000-04:00

Yes... I would have to say this has been the hardest part by far. Considering we've received word from everyone who is coming, we have a few who are still on the fence about it. So I have Plan A and Plan B.

We have one family who may or may not be able to attend the wedding at all. Since they are a young family, their kids are very involved in summer sports and such, of which I understand b/c I remember a time when my family was toting me and my sister around (not so much my sister because she could drive by then, but definitely me). Anyhow... I've devised a plan. Set the tables as if they are coming... Either way I look at it, we are under our minimum so we would be paying for their dinners anyway. If we hear from them by the end of next week and they say they can't make it, then the seating chart goes to Plan B where pretty much everyone has been moved around again.

**Tables seat 16 people**

I'm going to have to admit that I've been dealing with inner arguments of whether to sit certain people next to others. Between Mr. L and I we have 4 sets of family and friends who we know would not get along if they were sat next to each other. So I must carefully plan the arrangements... and since I'm such a sucker for everyone enjoying their company I've struggled making the assignments.

Oh yeah... and apparently I've become Type A at the end here. I'm creating lists upon charts and check lists. It's amazing. I just want to make sure there is no confusion between Missy, me and her team. I'm hoping to have it all organized so there is no question about what I was thinking. For each table I've dumped the name cards in a small plastic baggy, then each of those bags are labeled and dumped into a bigger bag. And to add to it all... I may cut out the table arrangements from my Excel sheet and include it in each bag. Just for that added touch of crazy.

Here we are one week away from leaving to go to VA and I'm 98% done with my projects!! GO ME!! The napkins are complete, washed and packed into a plastic bag so they don't get dust and dirt on them. I need to finish printing out the OOT brochures and then finalize the Escort Board. THEN I'M DONE!

Napkins Done!!!!

My wedding pile ready to be rearranged and packed up!!

I'm not feeling stressed at all. I can't believe it? I don't know if I'll have the typical stressful week before the wedding. I honestly want to enjoy it, be with my family and welcome my friends to Virginia as they arrive. I didn't want to worry about the little things I couldn't finish.

Also don't worry. I plan on showing you all the finished products of everything. Like I've said before, I'm waiting for all my guests to see the finished details. It's going to be amazing. I can't wait!

Me and My Pink Cowboy Hat

2010-05-24T12:15:00.000-04:00

As the wedding draws closer I've been swamped with projects and checklists galore. However I've been taking great pictures of everything and will definitely recap it all after the wedding. I want all of my guests who read this blog to see it first in all it's shining glory.

But I will recap the Bachelorette night... version 1... stay tuned for version 2 (DC style) after this weekend.

Early in the year Bridesmaid J asked if she could throw a party for me here in Atlanta. Who was I to turn down a great excuse to party? We settled on a date and decided it was going to be a shower/bachelorette deal. (Again... not going to turn down the chance for presents).

You may remember that she and I went to art school together, so of course she designed some very adorable invites for the occasion.

I'm loving how she pulled in the argyle!

When the day arrived all of us ladies gathered at a mutual friend's house and had a few drinks, toasted to the event, I opened some fun presents and we took a group picture. (All pictures are courtesy of a friend of J's)

That's where the night started... and then they presented me with my BEAUTIFUL light up pink feathered cowboy hat... which I was to wear on my night out in the Virginia Highlands.

Then at dinner this man felt the need to give me marital advice, and asked me to wear his hat... That face was not me laughing. Yikes!

I had a great time and enjoyed the party throughly! Thanks to J who put on a perfect bachelorette shin-dig!

This weekend I'm off to Northern VA to celebrate with 3 bridesmaids and a few sorority sisters! The festivities include catching up with old friends, SATC 2, shenanigans in Clarendon and laying out by the pool with some of the best friends a girl could ask for. I can't wait!!

Vendor Spotlight: Ten23Designs

2010-04-23T07:27:00.002-04:00

Can I tell you how much I love Lauren from ten23Designs? I probably can't tell you... however this beauty could...

Oh yes... that's our monogram for a FLOOR DECAL!! (Shoes not included) The final product on the floor will look like this with the letters overlapping the yellow.

Lauren is the brains behind her fabulous decal store! Check out some of her work on the ten23Designs blog and in her store. I've picked two of my favorite images from her blog.

AND decals are not just for special events... you can use them to decorate every room of the house! They are perfect for children!

Thank you, Thank you Lauren for my FANTASTIC decal! I'll be sure to send you some pictures after the wedding!!

A Soggy Weekend

2010-04-22T16:10:00.003-04:00

This week I've been preparing to head to Virginia for my friend, Audrey's, wedding and my bridal portraits. We are taking any and all wedding projects that are complete with us too. So far I have the favors completed and most of the little things like bathroom baskets and OOT bags. Those will need to be prepared in VA, but it's nice to get that stuff out of my living room.

Today I've been trying to plan out what I'll be packing and wearing this weekend. As usual I check this weekend's forecast and I got some bad news.

They are calling for rain alllllllll weekend. We are staying through Monday so that's why it's included. Audrey's wedding is on Saturday and that's only a 40% chance of rain, with no thunderstorms. However I'm more concerned about Sunday. That's the scheduled day for my bridal portraits... and is the only time I'll be available before the wedding. I've been hoping this would not happen and it was "worst case scenario". I guess that came true.

Okay so now I've been in contact with my photographer, James Christianson, a few times and he's looking into different places we can shoot indoors at... but he says with short notice there's not many to choose from.

So cross your fingers for me that I'll be able to get some great pictures. Even if it's overcast... I'd be okay with that... just not thunder and lighting.

I also want to end on a good note:

I'm so happy for Audrey to be marrying Marc this weekend. I will be a reader in her wedding and I just want to share with you the beautiful passage she picked out. They are so blessed to have found each other and I am very excited to share this special day with them! I even get to see my favorite vendors there: Antonia Christianson Events and Baker Entertainment!

Here is the passage:

A reading from the Song of the Songs
Hark! my lover-here he comes
  springing across the mountains,
  leaping across the hills.
My lover is like a gazelle
  or a young stag.
Here he stands behind our wall,
  gazing through the windows,
  peering through the lattices.
My lover speaks; he says to me,
  “Arise, my beloved, my dove, my beautiful one, and come!
“O my dove in the clefts of the rock,
  in the secret recesses of the cliff,
Let me see you,
  let me hear your voice,
For your voice is sweet,
  and you are lovely.:
My lover belongs to me and I to him.
He says to me:
  “Set me as a seal on your heart,
  as a seal on your arm;
For stern as death is love,
  relentless as the nether-world is devotion;
  its flames are a blazing fire.
Deep waters cannot quench love,
  nor floods sweep it away.”
The word of the Lord.

Major Crisis... Averted??

2010-04-22T15:44:00.000-04:00

This morning I almost died. No really... not breathing thought I was having a stroke... dying.

OKAY maybe I'm being a little over exaggerating... BUT I'll tell you what happened.

The seamstress who was sewing in the comb to my belgian lace veil misplaced it and couldn't tell me where it was!!

Last week I went into this particular seamstress and dropped off my veil to have a silver hair comb sewn in. No biggie, and the seamstress came highly recommended by a friend. I said I needed it back no later than the following Wednesday so I can take it when I get my bridal portraits taken (more to come on that). She assured me that was not a problem and someone would be calling me the next week.

Skip to this morning, still no word... and honestly if someone at a work meeting this morning hadn't mentioned the name of the company I may have totally forgot until tomorrow! Anyway on my way to the office I call the store and checked on the status of my veil. After a few minutes I got to speak to the owner and she seemed a little distracted. After much debate on which veil was mine, she finally said "I think I took it over to ______ Bridal Shop for you to pick up."

"Umm... that's funny because I didn't purchase anything at that shop. I brought the veil into your store last week and intended to pick it up there." Also notice she said 'I think'.

"Oh well I'm going to have to call that store and see if that's the one I have over there. I'll call you back after 10am."

[Note: In my previous post I mentioned that this was an HEIRLOOM veil given to me by my grandmother... not something you just loose. Panic had set in.]

So I hear nothing after 10am and I call her back.

"Any word?"

"Oh no I haven't had a chance to call yet. I have a few appointments this morning. I'll call after those."

At that point I should have said... "Um... so my MISSING lace veil is not your number one priority???" However I restrained myself and stayed positive that she would turn up with it. And she did... 45 minutes later I got a phone call saying she had it and I could come by to pick it up.

What I later found out was she had it in her store all along... just in a pile she wasn't looking in...

I know everyone makes mistakes so I won't hold it against her since the veil turned up... however that was not a great way to start my morning. The veil is now in my possession again and everything is OK. Phewww.

You are Now Free to Roam around the... World

2010-04-09T09:18:00.002-04:00

Yes folks. We are legal. We have PASSPORTS. Only 9 more weeks until we leave on a jet plane to Jamaica 'mon.

We got the books in hopes that we will travel overseas in the upcoming years. We still want to take a trip to Scotland and see the Highlands.

This is me pointing out that it's from the government.

Put a Redstripe in his hand... I think he's ready.

Ring a Ling a Ling...

2010-04-08T22:02:00.001-04:00

Did I ever mention that Mr. L upgraded my rock??? Oh I didn't? Hmmm I must have left that part out!

I'll fill you in...

It all started on Valentine's Day. My ring had been too big on my finger since I had lost weight earlier in the year and I kept fidgeting with it. He finally said to me "Would you like for me to take it to the jeweler and get it resized for you?" With a smile, I said "Yes that would be great, I just hope it doesn't take too long because I don't like to be without my ring."

Well guess what. It took too long. On the side of 3 weeks too long! I know I bugged him about it every day.

Me: "Has the jeweler called back?"
Mr. L: "No, he said it's going to take longer for your ring."
Me: "Um why longer? It's not terribly complicated to get it resized."
Mr. L: "Honey, you'll have it back soon enough."

In the meantime I felt like a crazy person discussing my wedding with complete strangers... when I had nothing to show for it.

Sometime early in March Mr. L said that he had a surprise for me. (Immediately I thought... "Yay! I'm going to get my ring back") But he had a catch. He made me play a game...

It was a treasure hunt, and it included me calling 9 different friends and family members, who each had a clue and a letter. At the end I had to unassembled the letters to spell out a phrase. The phrase was Wedding Dress.

"Wedding dress?" I thought... Why does that have anything to do with my ring. He hinted that I should go take a look at it. (He promised he didn't not sneak a peak. I believe him) When I looked closer at the hanger of my dress I notice my ring was wrapped around the hook, BUT it wasn't my ring.

IT WAS A BIGGER RING!!! I definitely squealed... very loud.

We had discussed upgrading my ring at some point when we first got engaged, because he knew that I had something a little different in mind that he could afford. But I never expected him to decide to upgrade before the wedding! Ohhh it was beautiful. Hearts on Fire, .73ct in the simply bridal twist. Identical to my first, but with a bigger (and better!) diamond.

On to the pictures!! I'm sorry for my stubby hands... what can I say? I was blessed with little fingers. Which is why anything bigger than 3/4 ct. would have looked ridiculous on me. It was always my ideal size.

Here is my in the box shot:

And on the hand:

And of course I had to take it on a mini photo shoot:

I am so extremely happy with my new ring, and to clarify: Just because Mr. L didn't get me the exact ring I dreamed about when he proposed doesn't mean that I wasn't happy with the original. It was a symbol of his love and devotion (sorry that's a little cliche), and it represented something that we both felt strongly about. I do believe that a piece of jewelry should not define a bride. If it makes her happy, then that's all that should matter to that couple.

I'm an extremely lucky woman to be marrying the man of my dreams and I just had to share this great news!!

I'm back... with a BIG reveal!!

2010-04-07T22:56:00.006-04:00

Thanks everyone for being understanding of my blogging break. I needed to clear my head for a while. I had gotten to a point where I was so overwhelmed with work and wedding projects, that I never made time for myself. Once I did that everything else straightened itself out.

So back to my post title. A BIG reveal!! My invitations!

Mr. L guesstimates that we spent at least one hour on each invitation suite. From the design, cutting, stuffing, writing, and stamping. I believe it! I started the design process before Christmas and it took me until the end of March to have them ready to mail out.

Drumroll please!!!

There they are! In all their shining glory! I had to do a little editing for privacy, but you can see on the top left is the finished pocket fold with our emblem in the corner and the belly band acting as a "second" envelope. Then on the right is the suite opened up with the map, accommodations, and travel cards in the pocket and the invitation in the center. Behind the cards is the RSVP, you can see the corner peaking out. At the bottom is the outer envelope with the hand written address. I was fortunate to have two girl friends who have amazing handwriting! Thank You Bridesmaid J and MK!!! You ladies are wonderful!

Because you can't see the RSVP in this picture, and it's a terrible shot of the invitation itself. I'm posting the digital files below. (Again, a little editing for privacy)

I stuck with the argyle theme and carried it throughout the invitation. I also repeat the emblem from our logo. I can't tell you how happy I was with how they turned out!! We got so many compliments on our invitation suite that I was grinning from ear to ear. It was definitely reassuring that I do belong in the graphic design business.

Thanks to all of the local & national companies who helped me complete the look. For the invitation and RSVP card I used Dolphin Graphics in Lilburn, GA. The inserts were printed by CopyAtlanta. The pocket folds were a custom cut (designed by me) at Cards & Pockets. Which is also where I purchased the yellow cardstock and smoke colored envelopes. I was able to use my Gocco for the inner "envelope" and the logo on the front of the pocket fold. The belly band ribbon was purchased at Michaels.

So far we've received 7 Yes and 4 No. That's a good start!!

I Need A Little Time

2010-03-22T11:22:00.001-04:00

I'm not sure if any of my readers have noticed my lack of posting in the past months, but I've definitely lost the blogging bug. I've got a lot of stress in my life right now, and honestly the only thing I want to do at night these days are hang out at the house and veg out. The wedding is starting to overwhelm me a bit and I've got a lot of other things going on. I've also been bringing work home with me for the past few weeks, which leaves very little time to work on the wedding planning/projects and blog about them.

So I'm sorry to say, but I'm going to have to take a break for a while. I need a little recharge time. I haven't felt excited about the wedding in a while and I need to take a step back to find that. I've been going through the motions of planning, but not enjoying it. Hopefully I'll get that back, and I will return with many updates. I still intend to keep reading and following my favorite bloggers! Once inspiration hits me I will be back!

For now I'm counting the days to Jamaica.

Source

Another Edition of Wedding Wednesday

2010-03-17T23:12:00.000-04:00

Today I am taking a time out from wedding projects to focus on what's been on my mind lately.

In less than three months I will walk down that aisle, a beautiful bride, towards the man of my dreams. I can't believe how lucky I am to have found him, and I think that gets lost in the frenzy of flowers, dresses, and decor. It's been hard for me to remember those things are just small things in comparison to the rest of your life. You get a day where you pledge your love to each other and everyone ooooohs and aaaahs, but the reality is when you return from your honeymoon, that day has passed and you are now someone's wife. Don't let me mislead you. This is exactly what I'm looking for, however it's hard when I constantly get caught up in what project I'm working on today. Living in the moment is great, but it's when you start thinking about the future, it gets even better.

Another reason why I make this point, is the fact that all of these decisions and more can lead to major stress and slight panic attacks. In just the recent months and days Mr. L and I have been hit with a lot of new information that we didn't see coming before the wedding. Most of it puts me into my not so happy place. [It's usually pretty dark there] I don't want to go into too many details, but it does greatly impact our wedding/marriage. All we can do is hope that things get better and the sun keeps shining. My hope is very low right now, but Mr. L reminds me that we need to put us first and make each other happy before dealing with our other stress. He does have a point, however I'm not so sure if I'll be able to follow it.

All I need to keep remembering is that we have a very strong relationship, and share everything with each other. Not a day goes by where we don't say I love you, nor will there ever be. We will promise to be true to each other and to ourselves. And if all else fails one will just do something silly to make the other one start laughing. We are in this together, until the end. That's why we are getting married and that's why it will last.

9862 days ago...

2010-03-11T10:42:00.002-05:00

I was born in Portsmouth, Virginia at this hospital (which no longer exists).

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I don't have any baby pictures of myself but this will have to do.

Thats my mom, me and my sister.

On this day I share my birthday with many "famous" people. Lisa Loeb, Johnny Knoxville and Terrence Howard... just to name a few. Happy Birthday to all!!

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On this day in history:

1993 - Janet Reno was unanimously confirmed by the Senate to be the nation's first female attorney general.
1997 - Rock musician Paul McCartney of the Beatles was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.
2002 - Two columns of light soared skyward from ground zero in New York as a temporary memorial to the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.
And a little local news... sad but true
2005 - A man being escorted to court for trial in Atlanta took a gun from a sheriff's deputy and went on a deadly rampage, killing four people, including a judge. (Brian Nichols was later found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without parole).

I have to say as my last birthday as a single woman I'm looking forward to the many other birthdays I won't have to spend alone. I'm starting a new journey with the best guy by my side. I'm so excited to spend every birthday from here on out with him. I love you Mr. L!!

The weather has been a little dreary with rain, so I hope the weather clears up and gives me a lovely day for my birthday. No big plans, just dinner with Mr. L, my bridesmaid, Janna, and a groomsman, Charlie, at the best southern food restaurant in the city! Yum Yum!!

to Me!

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DJ Play That Song!!

2010-03-09T16:23:00.002-05:00

Oh I'm sorry, have you two been introduced??

Probably not, because I've been keeping him as my not-so-hidden secret. He's the DJ for our wedding (of course)... and he is the very AWESOME Walter Baker from Baker Entertainment.

You see, Walter is not only a kick a$$ DJ in Hampton Roads, he's also my former boss from a video production firm in Virginia. We go way back to when I had an internship with that company in 2003 and then after college I was hired on as a Videographer/Producer under his division of the company. As I got to know him, I also got to know his "inner DJ." I even attended a few of his events/weddings and his love for music and entertaining really shined. As soon as the wedding planning began there was no question who I was going to ask to be our DJ.

AND THERE'S MORE!!

Walter's business also includes videography. So every bride will have the perfect story to watch for generations. As stated before I worked with Walter in the video production field and have the software to edit video. Since this was the case he agreed to film the wedding ceremony for us and hand me the tapes once the day was over. That way I get to create my perfect story and add my special touches.

He's been great to work with, and I even recommended him to my friend Audrey who will be having him DJ & film her wedding in April. I'm puttin' on my dancing shoes for that!! I can't wait!

It's Wedding Wednesday!!

2010-03-03T13:31:00.000-05:00

I'm starting a new weekly post as I approach the 3 month mark to the wedding. I hope to update you all on all projects started and completed.

So far all of my big vendors have been taken care of:
1. Wedding Venue/Caterer - The Lesner Inn Catering Club (Website & Blog)
2. Wedding Planner - Antonia Christianson Events (Website & Blog)
3. Photographer - James Christianson Photography (Website & Blog)
4. DJ/Videographer - Baker Entertainment [This is my former boss. He's pretty awesome!]
5. Baker - Patty Cakes
6. Flowers - Debbie Pence
7. Dress - Sweet Elegance Bridal
8. Men's Suits - K&G Men's Wearhouse
9. Ceremony Music - Fritz Pro Music
10. Lighting - Pike Media Resource (Website & Blog)
11. Honeymoon - Sandals, Montego Bay Jamaica
12. Rehearsal Dinner Venue - Doc Taylor's
13. Wedding Rings - Helzberg Diamonds
14. Officiant - Justice of the Peace, family friend
15. Bridesmaids Dresses & Accessories - My Black Dress & 10 Kiaat Street (Etsy Shops)
16. Wedding Day Hair - Salon Associate booked

Still left to confirm/complete:
Transportation for the grand exit
Design of flowers & tablescapes
Invitation stuffing & addressing (Invites designed by me & printed by local shops)
Menu Cards - need design
Programs - need design
Table Names - print
Escort Cards - create
Napkins - finish sewing
Registry - Review previous additions... revise items not available anymore
Men's Ties - on order from Tux & Tulle
Favors - on order, once the items arrive need to assemble.
Wedding Gifts - Bridesmaids complete, need Groomsmen & Parents
OOT Bags - Baskets & candy purchased, need more items & create brochure to include
Wedding Day Make-Up - Need to research
Bathroom baskets - purchase items

Oh wow... I thought I had a lot done, but it seems like there is always something to do!! Tonight Mr. L and I will be working on invitations & napkins. This list is not only for me to keep my sanity, but to share with you all. Let me know if you think I've left anything out!

Have a Happy Wedding Wednesday!!

My BFF/MOH is Getting Married!!!!!!!!!

2010-03-01T23:53:00.000-05:00

HOORAY! I'm so excited for her!!! (And let's be honest... we all knew it was coming!!)

My BFF is also my Maid of Honor and she and her (now) fiancé got engaged on February 12th! That night she called, I just so happen to have left my phone in the car after dinner and didn't think about it until it was about 11pm. Thank goodness I went to go get it!! She had called a few times... and even texted "Are you alive???"

I can't believe that we are coming up on 10 years of friendship!!! She and I were that success story that you occasionally hear about when you are paired up with a random roommate during the first year of college. We became friends instantly!

Who knew 10 years later we would be in each others weddings!!! I'm so happy for her, and I can't wait to share her special day :) Here's a little sneak of the proposal. She was having a girls night out and he surprised her at the ice skating rink. They are both unsure if he actually got the words "Will you marry me?" out before she accepted! LOL!

Can't wait to be celebrating their day!!!

Did You Miss Me?

2010-02-26T15:48:00.000-05:00

Hi fellow friends, family & bloggers... I went on a hiatus from blogging these last few weeks. I don't have a reason, unless laziness can be considered one?? I have been busy working on wedding projects and there was not much to say. Sorry :(

Here is a recap of my life in the last month:

As you remember I got frustrated with the Gocco when I was trying to finish the invite inserts. Since then I can officially say I was able to get them printed at the local copy shop, and they have been cut and resized. Hooray! We've also received the invites & rsvp cards back from the printer. I scored a major deal with a local printer I found through work and he was able to print them using thermography. Which is what I originally dreamed of, but thought I couldn't afford!! *Side Note: I first took them to a stationary store and they quoted me over twice the price my printer sold them for.*

I look forward to sharing with you all the finished invitation suite... as soon as they are in the mail!!

We've also been working diligently on the napkins for the reception. (Oh right... I forgot to mention that) Yes I should have CRAZY tattooed on my forehead... but it's actually a fun project for both Mr. L and I. Here I am cutting the fabric:

Official Napkin Count: 2 complete, 30 pressed, 16 cut.

I'd say I still have a ways to go... but I assure you my friends... it will look AWESOME. But now you're probably thinking "What will she do with all her napkins after the wedding?" I've got that covered... I am making a quilt for my new office/2nd bedroom that I hope we will have... one day. See the plan is to use all of my wedding crafts and create a yellow and grey office. That way they will have a place to live... instead of a box in the storage closet. It's also very eco-friendly since I'll be reusing all the fabric for a blanket.

Moving on -- The other project I've been so anxiously working on is our ceremony "alter piece". Here is a sneak peak:

I've still got a long way to go with this creation and it needs a little touch up paint. But I'm so proud. I actually cut this thing out of a large sheet of styrofoam.

And then I painted it:

Sorry for the PJs... I was comfy though!

My plan is to create a hanging monogram and flowers with fishing wire. My florist will be helping me do this of course, but this is the basic idea. *Quick Note: In my mock up the logo appears larger than it will be when complete*

I can't wait to see this in action. You may recall that I was looking for new and different ideas for the alter piece since an arch with ferns around it wasn't going to cut it. My inspiration came from where else, but Style Me Pretty with this post and how the couple incorporated text with their ceremony. Recently 100 Layer Cake posted a blog about using type in wedding decór. Being the lover of all things fonts & type I was in love. (I had also seen almost every one of these weddings featured on one blog or another... so I was very familiar) This has stimulated new ideas and my wedding inspiration has tripled. I can't to share with you all of my ideas!!! Until then!

My EPIC Fail

2010-02-04T20:29:00.000-05:00

Well folks... I did it. I officially had my first FAIL of wedding DIY. I'll start at the beginning.

As you most can gather I'm a graphic designer and it has been very important to me to design and create our invitations for the wedding. You can see here and here the other invitations/programs that I have designed before, and I was mostly excited to put our own spin on the invites.

Early in planning I worked with Bridesmaid J to create a unique monogram for our Save the Dates. Since sending those out the wedding details has taken another turn down the road. BUT AN AMAZING ONE!

Since this post is all about my EPIC FAIL. I'll leave you with just a sneak peak of the wedding invite. There will be a reoccurring theme throughout the day and I am bursting at the seems to tell you! However I know that guests are reading the blog and I really want them to be surprised by some elements that day. Don't worry!! I'll be sure to address everything on the recaps.

Here's your sneak peak:

Oh man!! I can't wait to show you these. As soon as my guests receive them I'll be sure to blog about it.

Moving on to what has been driving me crazy for the last few days.

You all know that we were planning to use the Gocco for printing the invites. Weeeell, a few weeks back I had a thought to only print the inserts with the Gocco and find a printer for the Invites and RSVP card. This was because they each have bleed and it would be difficult to print this on the Gocco.

When I initially purchased the Gocco, I also bought extra screens and ink for it. I had no idea this would be the smartest thing to do. When I finally pulled the machine out of the box and started to read the instructions I thought "How hard could this be?" And on the first night it was great! I learned how to burn an image on the screen and then print it onto the paper, but then I realized I should have not used red ink because that sucker was HARD to clean. I ended up tossing the screen with the idea that I have six more, why would tossing this be a problem.

That's probably where everything started to go wrong. The next weekend I pulled it back out with intentions to get started on what would be all of the inserts with directions, hotel info & a map. The first screen I burned that afternoon did not burn completely through... ugh. On to another one... The second screen worked, but once we started to print them they started to look like this:

Notice the imperfections?? Ugh... I'm usually a laid back person and that might not have bothered me if it wasn't on EVERY print. We completed about 20 and every one of them had a flaw. Not just a little flaw either, but a big and noticeable one when you're reading the instructions. I didn't have much patience at that point and got very frustrated. I decided the inserts will have to be printed on a real printer.

**I digress a moment to fill you in that I orginally tried to print these on my HP Photosmart printer... Note to self - Cardstock jams in printers. So unless you have a bad a$$ printer that pushes them through like a winner, don't try this at home**

Since that weekend I have now found a friend/client from work (who also printed our fabulous Save the Dates) to print out all of the inserts.

BUT this was not the end of the Gocco. We later figured out that it does better (or maybe we are better at) printing designs rather than text. We tried it out on another piece of the invitation suite (more to come on this) and tada - it works! This sucker will be trimmed down to a smaller scale so the edges don't count.

Mr. L was hard at work! I have him to thank for all 100 of these bad boys. I was truly unhappy with the Gocco that night so I walked away, but he saved the day and helped out!!! This is why I love him so much :)

Well there you have it. My first fail... and probably not the last. More DIY to come!

Nom... Nom... Nom...

2010-02-03T22:32:00.000-05:00

Have I told you about my love for food and cooking? These two things combined pretty much require me to watch Food Network. Right now I'm watching Throwdown with Bobby Flay and he is challenging the Vermont Brownie Company. Yum!!! I think I know what I'm ordering Mr. L for Valentine's Day! That made me think about all the yummy desserts we will be having at the wedding.

First of all, it wouldn't be a wedding without wedding cake. Since the tradition of having cake at the wedding is important to more than just us, we have decided to go with a smaller cake. We researched a few bakers in the Hampton Roads area, and actually hired Emily Patti, from Patti Cakes in Moyock, North Carolina. I was so impressed by her quality of work in her portfolio, I knew there was no one else for the job! We tasted many of her delicious cakes and fillings, and the ultimate decision came down to me. Mr. L will have his own little surprise (more on that below). The one thing that I'm not crazy about is unusual types of cakes. (ie. keylime frosting with pistachio cake) And while Emily only has a choice of six flavors and four fillings, I went with the trusty yellow cake and lemon, and it still sticks with the yellow theme!!

As far as design, I scoured The Knot and Project Wedding for fun and unique cakes! Here are a few that I loved.

I loved a little bit about each one. (Missy, my planner, would tell you I'm a little particular on my choices and how I describe them... I'll spare you all)

I have two favorites and I'll give you a hint #2 and #5 are exactly what I'm looking for :) I love the little yellow cake, and the layers of #5 are very different and unique. I love the asymmetrical layers and the ribbon wrapped around it.

Now like I said before, Mr. L will be having his own little surprise thanks to his love of one particular pastry.

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Did you see that one coming?

Since the beginning of time our relationship Mr. L has not stopped talking about brownies and how much he loves them. Then once we were engaged his first request was to involve brownies in some way. But how??

We all know that cupcakes have been popular for a while.

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And candy buffets are a big hit.

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I've even seen ice cream bars in wedding pictures.

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But what about a BROWNIE BAR!!!!!

**Sorry no examples of this... because we are setting the trend**

(and possibly I did not look hard enough on google images)

We spoke to our caterer and they are willing to make a luscious bar of delicious brownies for our guests to devour. I'm just hoping there will be some leftovers after the wedding!! We know these are going to be a big hit and everyone is looking forward to muchin' on some (nom nom nom) brownies.

Mmmmm... Peanut Butter Brownies, Walnut Brownies, maybe even Mint Chocolate Chip Brownies!!! (must stop writing, and not think about this. I'm craving some brownies right now... hmm I think I'll go do sit ups instead. I still have a dress to fit into! Then I'll stuff my face!)

Gocco is making me Loco

2010-02-01T15:49:00.000-05:00

Hi my name is Mary Paige and I feel like this when it comes to my invitations:

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Why did I ever think I could print my own invites??? Who told me this was a good idea... an easy one too. I have no one to blame but myself. I've read too many blogs on Weddingbee that make it look so easy to print your own invites.

I pulled out the Gocco last week and followed the instructions step by step, and it was created beautifully... unfortunately I used red ink for the test thinking that I didn't want to waste the real ink for the invites... and then I couldn't clean it off. So I scrapped the screen... One down, six left. Then yesterday I was ready to start Gocco'ing and then the screen didn't burn completely through so I got frustrated and threw that screen out.

Tonight I'm trying it again. I'll give it another shot before I decide it was a terrible idea and I should find a new way to print. Ugh... I think I've bitten off more than I can chew. Does anyone have tips & tricks that might help me with the Gocco? Please share!!

...To Be Continued...

I've Hit that Point in Wedding Planning

2010-01-29T11:31:00.000-05:00

You know that point where your dreams turn into nightmares of your wedding day? I've heard about other brides having bad dreams, so I know that it's a normal thing. But I'm telling you... these dreams are awful. And none of them end happy... so be warned.

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Dream #1
It's the week of the wedding and Mr. L dumps me with no cause. Just straight up leaves. We are a week away from living happily ever after and I've put so much effort into making this day special, I felt like I was robbed of actually enjoying the day. (Enter my Father) He tells me that I've spent all this money on the wedding so I have no other choice but to get married... to somebody... anybody. But who? (Skip to my ex boyfriend walking up to the venue) He said he was there to marry me because he heard I needed a fiancé. [OK let me be honest in my dream there was a moment where I just wanted to get married and I thought... well why not?] But then I snapped out of my delusional thought and told him he was fat and a slob. In conclusion, I did not get married but I may have still enjoyed my party.

Dream #2
Day of the wedding I wake up with the usual excitement all brides have. I'm in a house full of people running around and enjoying their day. Although these people are not the wedding party, they are random friends of Mr. L's from high school and they are all hanging out and chatting. At some point it dawns on me that Mr. L and I were not getting married to one another, and that really I was supposed to marry "Bobby" who is one of Mr. L's acquaintances from high school. At that instant I start panicing and asking why I'm marrying him. "I've been with Mr. L for two years! I've been planning a wedding to marry Mr. L, not Bobby! Look see, (I pull out a program) it even has Mr. L's name on it!!" My dream ended there, but I couldn't help but wonder what made me think I was going to marry another guy, who wasn't even close friends with him, and also had a girlfriend of his own. Plus, in real life he's a little odd and not my type.

There you have it... my wedding nightmares (so far). Do you see a pattern? I swear I'm not insecure in our relationship. I just think my mind is racing with all the details and can't fathom with the idea that after all this work, what would happen if it was just over? The relationship, not the day. Mr. L and I have no intentions of NOT getting married and I'm looking forward to the day I can call him my husband :)

Share your wedding nightmares... I'd love to hear your side of things!

A Cozy Place for our Guests

2010-01-24T21:43:00.002-05:00

During the Christmas trip to Virginia, Mr. L and I had a chance to stop by a few hotels and check them out. We were looking for options that our guests can choose between when coming from out of town.

Mr. L is originally from Texas, and moved to Georgia in high school. On both sides of his parents families there are many who live all over the country. I too, have out of town family attending the wedding and between the two of us we are inviting guests from twelve different states.

We looked at a few different options for our hotel choices and found two great places to stay. The first is approximately one mile from the wedding venue and offers the beach, and indoor/outdoor pool, restaurant, and suites. We choose the Virginia Beach Resort Hotel & Conference Center because of the convenience and beach access.

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Out of all the hotels that are on beachfront property, this was by far the cheapest ($179/night) and closest. Since we are getting married in the beginning of June, we are at the start of the summer season where the rates increase. This was a little intimidating so we thought it may be best to have another option for those looking to spend just a little less and have more to do around them.

Only ten minutes away in the heart of Virginia Beach is the new Virginia Beach Town Center. Within a few blocks our guests have restaurants, shopping and entertainment all in one. The Westin Virginia Beach Town Center is located in the tallest building in Virginia, and it has only been complete within the last two years. They have also offered us a great rate of $129/night for our guests.

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So I hope our guests feel comfortable with our choices. They both show off the best of Virginia Beach. More to come on the perfect OOT baskets I'm putting together!!

Exhaustion Has Set In...

2010-01-13T22:17:00.000-05:00

I feel like this week has been a whirlwind of things going on and I just can't seem to keep up. I've got things to say but just no time to put it all down on paper. So today I will leave you with the most adorable wedding featured on Style Me Pretty. Swoooooon! Don't you just love the bridesmaid dresses and all the little details that they included on the tables? Look at that little yellow wedding cake!!

I would love to have the ultimate SMP wedding. Ahhh for now I will just drool dream.

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Check out posts I, II, III, and IV on their blog.

A Shoe-y Situation

2010-01-10T22:41:00.004-05:00

Welp… I’ve gone and done it. I officially have not one but TWO pairs of shoes to wear with my wedding dress. Some of you are thinking – “Well that’s okay” and in most cases it is.

You see, some brides purchase one pair of shoes for the ceremony and pictures, then switch to a more comfortable pair for the reception and dancing. I on the other hand have purchase two pairs for just the ceremony alone… ooooops.

A few weeks ago I had this debate on how much should brides spend on shoes for their big day. Does the more benjamins you throw at a pair mean a better quality and (shocker) more comfortable pair of shoes??? While there have been many posts about this on weddingbee, I went ahead and did some research and came across many shoes that were made for such wedding occasion.

In particular, Hey Lady Shoes claim to make such a shoe that not only supports your feet but makes them wearable for hours of dancing. Although the price tag stuck out in such a large way that I would have been killed [by my mother] if she knew how much I wanted to spend on my shoes… ***Note: I got the hint that this would happen when my older sister, and also Matron of Honor, said that I was crazy to purchase a pair of shoes this expensive*** Point taken.

So I moved on.

Now what I was really looking for all this time was some very cute Mary Janes because I have these killer Mary Jane heels in black that I constantly wear in the winter. During my search for the perfect pair of Mary Janes, I was suggested by a friend to try ballroom shoes. Huh? Interesting. So I found myself googling for a great company that sells ballroom dancing shoes. My theory was, if they can dance and practice in these shoes for hours on end, they must be comfortable right?

As it turns out I found a prefect pair of T-Strap dyeable ballroom dancing shoes at Best Ballroom Shoes and I was sold. No more looking my shoe search is OVER! And the best part was they were at least $150 cheaper than the Hey Lady shoes. Very nice...

My personal photo

– Cut to me still pondering this decision after they arrived –

I started thinking about all the pictures that I would have after my big day was over. Would they do the trick? Could my pictures look like these?

Photos courtesy of Scott Hayne Photography blog

Would I would feel and look beautiful in these? I was kinda hoping for something with a little more color. Everyone I asked reassured me saying “No one will see your shoes, so it doesn’t matter what they look like.” But a little part of me was saying “but I will know what they look like, so don’t I deserve to feel fabulous… shoes included?”

And then while strolling through the shoe department in Nordstrom last weekend I found these:

My personal photo

Cue Hallelujah music.

These are my shoes. It was almost like the feeling I got when I put on the dress for the first time. No questions. This was it. Then I looked at the price... $30 cheaper than the ballroom shoes and on sale. I packed them back up and headed straight to the counter.

So finally my shoe saga has ended, and my Best Ballroom Shoes will be returned for the future Dancing with the Stars C-List celebrity to purchase. However I'm not sure how I will stand in 3.5" heels all night. I may be changing into a pair of flats after the first dance is over.

Now I officially have my dress, veil and shoes. Next on my wardrobe list is jewelry!

I don't make resolutions...

2010-01-07T21:37:00.000-05:00

Well it’s about time I welcomed in 2010. Sorry that I’ve been so MIA. Let me catch you up to speed.

During Christmas I spent it at home with my parents, and Mr. L joined me. I introduced him to the rest of my mother’s side of the family and my uncle proceeded to tell Mr. L about the “thumpers” he knows. Whatever that means… We also racked up pretty well in the present department, including a new rotisserie and the bedding off our registry.

We returned home the week after and went back to work until it was time to ring in 2010. After a fun evening at Mr. L’s sister’s house we celebrated the new year with all our friends. Mr. L had himself a great time. He was quite the party animal.

That following Saturday we invited Mr. L’s father, step-mother, and sister over for a lunch and to celebrate the holidays once again with his family.

The reason why there have been very few posts this season is because I’ve been super busy with work, wedding planning and household chores. So I’ve hardly had time to sit down and think.

But back to the original statement in the title of this blog: That’s right, I don’t make resolutions. Only because I can’t keep them. Plus I never come up with anything good worth resolving. Until the wedding I was always happy with my body, happy with my job, and happy with my life in Atlanta. But although I don’t make resolutions, does not necessarily mean I cannot make goals for the upcoming year/decade, and I will list them here.

Goals for the upcoming year:

Lose 10-15 more lbs. before my first dress fitting. How I’m accomplishing this- I have hopped back on the Weight Watchers wagon, which I was successful with back in the summer when I lost the first 10 lbs. Since the fall I have been able to keep those off, but never lost anymore than that. To go along with this I’m starting the 100 Push Up Challenge (idea by The Relentless Bride). In 6 weeks my upper body strengthen will improve dramatically and no back fat/flabby arms in my dress!! It also helps that my other bride-to-be friend, Audrey, and my future hubby are partnering up with me on this. We are each other’s support.
Worry less. How I’m accomplishing this- let things roll of my back and not affect me as much. Also know that no matter what happens the important thing is I have a loving family with 100% support. This could be wedding related, or even in my daily life.
Start a stationary/invitation company with my friend and bridesmaid, J. How I’m (we are) accomplishing this- We’ve made a list of things to start our little business venture. Currently we have decided to start planning the actual brand for now and after the wedding put the wheels into motion on the company.
Network more for my job/company. How I’m accomplishing this- Since I earn a commission on every project I bring to the table, I want to make it my goal to at least bring 4-5 new projects to my boss. I plan to attend one young networking group per month to meet new professionals.
Train my dog to not freak out around other dogs and to be able to cut her nails without a fight. How I’m accomplishing this- I have no clue. We are looking into hiring a trainer…

Goals for the next decade (these will be less specific)

Travel to the UK and Greece.
Get a playmate for Miss Maddy.
Buy a house.
Have a family.
Be a stay at home mom until I’m ready to work again. :P

There you have it folks. It’s in writing. I will refer back to each of the year long goals as I accomplish each of them. Wish me good luck and I hope you all have a happy and healthy “Twenty-Ten”.

It's just like waiting for Christmas Day

2009-12-25T13:31:00.001-05:00

Remember when you were a kid and you waited all year for Christmas Day? Just to find out what Santa brought you?? This is how I imagine every kid spends their Christmas Eve...

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I can definitely relate... but this year with the looming wedding less than 6 months away I found it hard to be as excited for Christmas like I have in the past. It was also probably a mixture of the feeling of being home and not having any expectations for Christmas... so just enjoying the family time. I've also used this time to discuss with my mom certain vendors to use in the wedding.

So I ask this (mostly to those who have gone before)... Is waking up on Christmas morning the same feeling you get the day of your wedding? You've waited for that day for a whole year and it's finally come. On the day of your wedding you wake up and can't wait to get to the church to marry the man of you dreams.

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And just as you've been anxiously waiting for Christmas, it finally arrives the day quickly flies by and then you find yourself at home playing with all your toys and wishing you could do it all over again. Everyone says your wedding will fly by so take it all in. Unfortunately we do not get to have a wedding every year...

I just have to note the similarities between these two days, and both of equal importance. Merry Christmas to all of my blogging family. I hope that Santa was good to you and the love of family and friends is filling the air. Just for one day I'm going to enjoy my family and not think about the big day.

I'll Be Home for Christmas

2009-12-21T12:27:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited this is a short week. For the first time in two years I'll be returning to my hometown (Smithfield, VA) for the Christmas holiday. I get to spend it with my parents, extended family and most importantly, Mr. L. I'll also finally get to see some great light displays and the boats docked at Smithfield Station will be decorated with holiday spirit.

Source: Southern Living

Growing up in a small town makes me grateful for all the things you don't have in a city. Holiday parades, farmer's market, pig pickin's, and small town restaurants where you are guaranteed to know someone every time you walk in.

I'll also be able to have some of that yummy Smithfield Ham that Paula Deen always talks about. Living in Atlanta makes it hard to find the salt cured, country ham that I crave. I am also trying to incorporate ham biscuits into the reception dinner. We are still working out the logistics on the meal.

Source: Old Virginia Ham Shop

We [Smithfield] even hold the world record for the World's Largest Ham Biscuit.

Source

I try to make it back home a few times a year, and even though the drive is 10 hours long, it's still worth the trip. I love being home this time of year and taking in all the historic homes decorated with Christmas lights and wreaths.

But before we leave Atlanta, Mr. L and I took some time to decorate the Christmas tree. I wanted to share with you all below for some holiday spirit.

We are ready for the holidays!! Check out all the presents under the tree. We were busy this year saving towards the Christmas fund we set up last January. It was Mr. L's idea, and it turned out to be a great one. We've really felt comfortable spending (and splurging) for Christmas gifts for our family, friends and even ourselves. Last January we sat down and promised each other to save $50 from each pay check to put towards Christmas presents, travel, and whatever else we needed. This year we are pledging to contribute $75 per check... and whatever left over can go towards a nice trip we are both hoping to take in the next few years. Saving just a little bit each check is a great way to put aside money for the end of the year when we all need it the most. That way we didn't feel tight on cash this holiday season.

Make a promise to yourself in 2010 to save just a little for something special you've always wanted. Even if it's not holiday related, you know that you have that little bit of extra cash to take the trip to Hawaii or cruise around the Caribbean. Even saving it for a house or big screen TV you really want. Just doing a little goes a long way.

I wish you all the happiest of holidays! New Year's will be such a milestone for us as we prepare to start our life together in 2010. I'm looking forward to sharing with Mr. L a Smithfield Christmas. He's visited my hometown a few times, but this time it's special. He'll be meeting the last of my mother's family on Christmas Day and I'll be dragging him all over Smithfield to see the decorations I love so much. He means so much to me and it's going to be a great holiday.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!

Helpful Tips Everyday

2009-12-16T22:27:00.000-05:00

Like many new brides, when I was first engaged I signed up for every website. TheKnot.com, Brides.com, GetMarried.com, ProjectWedding.com... and the list goes on. My email inbox gets flooded every day with daily tips for wedding planning. **Secretly my favorite are the ProjectWedding.com email's that count down each and every day until the wedding**

Right now I want to share with everyone some of my favorite tips that I receive every day from Brides.com. Most are helpful and some can be irrelevant to the type of wedding we are having. Each tip is of a different part of the wedding planning. Below I'll list my favorites so far.

Candles: Seek out candles made from pure stearin wax for your reception tables. They’re unscented, dripless and derived from a vegetable source rather than petroleum. This would be a great thought for those guests that are sensitive to fragrances.

Make-Up: Lipstick really stays put if you start with a waxy balm (let it sit for 30 minutes); then fill the center of the lips with pencil that matches your lipstick. Apply loose powder over that with a brush, follow with lipstick, and then go back to define the edges with pencil. My lipstick is always wiped off half way through any evening out... I'm going to try this the next time we go out for an event.

Use a water-based primer on your face before applying cover-up to create a smooth canvas. The clear gel fills in fine lines and pores, giving you exceptionally even skin texture. This is very true. If anyone has ever had their make-up professionally done you would have noticed they used a primer first.

Registry: Add hobby-based presents to your registry that you can enjoy together as a couple such as cooking classes and mountain bikes. Mr. L and I love to cook, especially together. Although we have not added cooking classes to the registry it would be a fun idea. That would be ideal for couples who have lived together before getting married and had all the "housing" needs.

Table Scapes: Use a long runner (on a banquet table) or a tray (on a round table) as a platform for your flowers and candles—it adds a block of color and defines the space. This is featured on all the inspiration boards on the wedding blogs.

Food & Drinks: After a night of dancing, many guests will appreciate a late-night bite. Offer mini hamburgers and grilled-cheese sandwiches or milkshakes in tiny milk jugs served with brownies. I LOVE THIS! Note my excitement. Mr. L and I have something up our sleeve for our guests that night!

Receptions: Connect with your guests by sharing something from your childhood. Offer a favorite snack such as caramel popcorn or marshmallow twists, or potted flowers from the area where you grew up. Attach a short note to explain the significance. I grew up in the Ham Capital of the World and would love to include yummy country ham biscuits in the appetizer menu. Can you say NOM NOM NOM?

If you use elements that are too of-the-moment, your wedding pictures will look dated next year. Err on the side of more formal and classic. This can be subjective. If you love your plans why worry what it will look like in the future? Do you think our mothers did? Just go take a peek at their wedding albums, no matter how formal they were I bet it still looks dated.

Music: If the dance floor is packed come toast time, ask your band or DJ to let the music play longer and delay raising your glasses until there’s downtime. This would be a perfect time for your Mistress of Ceremonies or Wedding Planner to step in and judge this. Following a timeline is good, but if your are loving the party why break it up?

Invitations & Stationary: Number the guest list and the backs of the RSVP cards, in case someone forgets to write in his or her name. I would have never thought to do this! What a great idea! I'm not sure who would forget to fill in their name, but why not write their name out for them before you send it off?

Jewelry: To make sure your engagement ring is at its sparkliest for your big day, clean it with a mixture of six parts water and one part ammonia. Use a soft-bristle brush to make it really shine. My jeweler agreed that this was a great solution for cleaning your ring. I use a window cleaner solution when I feel like it's too "dirty" or I just want to show it off.

Flowers: One great way to save on cut flowers: Splurge on the reception, where people will see the flowers for four to five hours. Ceremony flowers will be seen for an hour, tops. This is true for those who are having the ceremony and reception in two separate venues. Try to reuse the flowers somewhere in the reception decor.

Photography & Video: Project pictures or video of yourselves through the years on a screen or monitor for guests to enjoy. If you're feeling ambitious, create a video of old home movies or interview each other during your engagement, including favorite funny or touching stories. I have mixed feelings about slideshows and videos during the reception. Mr. L and I will be showing our video during the rehearsal dinner but didn't want to break up the fun during the reception with a tear jerker, but it would be a nice touch. Our video is an interview during the engagement.

Cakes: Instead of freezing the top layer of your cake to eat on your first anniversary, arrange for the baker to create a mini version of your wedding cake to be made one year later. Since Mr. L and I won't be living in Virginia Beach on our first anniversary this won't be possible, but I think is is a great idea!! We may be able to get a baker in Atlanta to re-create the cake. **By the way, I secretly want to eat our top layer of cake on the way to the honeymoon**

Music: A surefire way to get everyone on the dance floor is to compile a personalized playlist with guests' requests. Ask everyone to jot down a favorite tune or two on their RSVP card. How fun!? That would guarantee that everyone brought their dancing shoes and hand a great time.

Fitness and Health: To avoid bloating, stay away from the following foods the day before the wedding: broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, onions, chewing gum, soda, soup, beans, lettuce, brussels sprouts, peas and high-fiber cereals. I'm not one to know too much about foods and how they effect my body so this was a great tip... I'll be keeping this one mind!

Want to tone up for the big day, but short on cash? Hire a trainer for one session: She'll show you how to position your body to make sure you're exercising correctly. If you already belong to a gym, ask a trainer on duty to check out your form. Don't belong to a gym? Ask a friend who does to get you a day pass, and seek help there. Most personal trainers will give you a free consultation & workout (and then they try to sell you sessions) but you learn exercises that you can reuse. Find a gym that offers free first visits.

I hope these tips and more will help you on your big day! Please share if you've come across some great tricks and tips for wedding planning.

My Goodness, My... Gocco???

2009-12-13T22:54:00.000-05:00

If you've ever visited an Irish bar or had Irish friends you've probably heard the expression below where a man's Guinness is always in danger of being taken or shown off by an animal of some sort.

Source

In the past 2.5 weeks I've been worried that my Gocco was in danger as well. With no response from the seller I was beginning to think I had been fooled and they were only out for my money. It took them one day to respond to me after I had the Etsy team involved, and good news... The seller responded and said it had been shipped!

After a troublesome week dealing with the post office and trying to figure out how to get them to redeliver a package, I finally received this on Saturday:

Maddy was quite curious as to what arrived in this foreign box (of course I knew what it was!!)

However the entire thing is in Japanese... so I'm going to need to research how to use it again online. It shouldn't be too hard considering there are many bees I can reach out to on Weddingbee who have used one for their invitations. I guess this means no more procrastinating on the invitation designs!!

Really? 6th Months Already?

2009-12-12T17:50:00.000-05:00

Well, here we are folks. Six months away from the big day. As I'm writing this I look at the clock on my computer and it says 5:45pm (EST) and that means in exactly 182 days I'll be 15 minutes away from walking down the aisle!! Eeeek! Panic set in. I'm so excited!

So here's what I need to accomplish in the next month in order to stay on track:

• Confirm florist and send off deposit
• Find a baker
• Secure Ceremony & Cocktail Musicians
• Meet with our Officiant
• Follow up with Moms and see if they've started looking for dresses
• Work on invitation designs
• Research hair/makeup artists
• Meet with Catering Manager

Mr. L and I have planned a full weekend of wedding planning for January and will be driving up to Virginia to check off most of these "to do's." Other things we are going to think about while we are there is the rehearsal dinner venue and finalize plans for that evening.

Hooray! It's all finally starting to come together! How are other brides doing? What do you have left to do at your 6, 5 or even 4 month mark?

And I'll leave you with a beautiful image of the deck were our ceremony will be held at the Lesner Inn and Catering Club. This is a sunset from November. Gorgeous!!

Source

Good News on the Gocco Front

2009-12-09T21:19:00.000-05:00

So I wanted to update you all about my sent/unsent Gocco machine. I heard back from the seller today and they wrote me a one liner "I have already sent your gocco." So I will now have to patiently wait for it... Patience is a virtue right?? I'm pretty sure I missed the patience gene when it was being doled out.

I'll keep you all updated! Thanks for all the comments everyone. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

This Can't be Good for the Gocco...

2009-12-08T21:57:00.002-05:00

Do you ever get that feeling in the pit of your stomach that says "Something's wrong!" Yep I'm having one of those tonight.

I'll take you back to November 25th where I made this lovely thing mine... allll mine. (At least that's what I had hoped)

My excitement overwhelmed me and I was ready to start designing our invitations that night (of course my procrastination got the better of me... I have plenty of time) But I knew in a matter of a week or so my new Gocco machine would be in my hands. For Weddingbee followers you can understand where I'm coming from.

After a week of not hearing from the seller and/or receiving a shipping notification, I emailed the seller. I purchased this on Etsy.com and as you all know it's my new love. So far I've had great products reach my doorstep because of it. However this one is taking longer than expected.

Fast forward to Sunday where I was still concerned I hadn't heard from the seller via email, so I convo'ed them to see if there was a delay in shipping. Still no response as of today.

Tonight I filed a claim with Etsy.com about the seller. Some of you know me personally, and know that I hate to complain about products and/or things that happen at a restaurant. Unfortunately it's my nature to just keep quite and not make a scene. Confrontation is not my strong suit. An email has been sent via Etsy.com Abuse Team to the seller and I was CC'd on the email. I do hope I have a happy ending and that this isn't the end of my Gocco dream. More to come...

My Favorite Etsy Finds

2009-12-03T23:34:00.001-05:00

I can't get over how fabulous Etsy.com is... everything you need is available. In the last week I have made 5 purchases, mostly wedding related and one christmas present. The other day I was flipping through Etsy to just "window shop" when I came across some really cute items! I've put together the Etsy board below to show off the wonderful Yellow and Gray things I found all over!! Details below.

1. Urban Prairie - Milk Maid Press Looove, these invites and what a great price! The entire suite is steal! I'll be designing my own invites but this was great inspiration.

2. Vintage Table Numbers/Letters - Grey Clover  Another great idea! These frames are very clever and would make for a great DIY project. However she does sell them on her shop for those non-crafty brides!

3. Flower Felt Pin - Soleil Girl  Can't you just see this little felt flower on the lapel of your peacoat? Or on the headband to match your new heels? I bet this would look great on some bridesmaids dresses of mine!

4. Ginseng Wildflowers Pouch - Charm Design  The first of two cute handbags, this is a perfect clutch for dinner and drinks. I'm loving the slouchyness.

5. Handpainted Custom Family Sign - Bosheree08  I will definitely be purchasing one of these! You have the option to customize it with any colors. It's perfect for the foyer entrance of your home.

6. Canvas Photo with Wedding Vows/Song Lyrics - GeeZees This is to die for! How sweet would it be to remember your first dance through a beautiful image and lyrics to the song.

7. Jennifer Clutch Bow - Pretty Lulu Bridal  Last but CERTAINLY not least... is this gorgeous duponi silk clutch.   This is a great selection for the essential bridesmaids dresses they will be wearing and can't find a purse to match!

These things and so much more are on my "I really want this" list... I can't get over all the great finds! Etsy makes finding the most random things easy!

To top it off I have to share my beautiful niece's Christmas present.

** If you are my sister please do not read any further than this. I warn you: it will spoil the surprise!!! **

This gift is for my second niece and it's her very first Christmas! You've seen my first niece here.

Since Santa is bringing her toys to play with, it was suggested to me to order her a piggy bank for her room. She has an adorable pink and red ladybug room (notice she's a ladybug for Halloween too!) so I had AndrewandEllaDesigns create a custom designed piggy for her. It came in the mail yesterday and I have to share with everyone how freakin' cute this thing is!

I left it in the cute packaging so that she has something to admire when they open. But can you make out the pink flower and the red lady bug!! Ahhh I squealed when I opened the package. I give this Etsy shop two BIG thumbs up! Well Done!!

So don't you want to go check it out now?? Etsy.com

A Hairy Sort of Thing...

2009-12-01T15:50:00.000-05:00

I've been brainstorming ideas on how I'd like to wear my hair on the big day. As you may remember I was going to ask my Grandmother to bring down the Belgian lace veil she had bought almost ten years ago. After a fashion show in my house while Mr. L was at work, I was in love with how it all looked together. Again... sorry you'll have to wait for the big reveal after the wedding... gotta leave something as a surprise :)

It is a traditional mantilla type veil, but I've decided to wear it lower on my head with a loose bun. Here are a couple ideas:

However my concern is that 1. my hair won't grow long enough before June and 2. it's too thin and won't make a large enough bun.

So I'm reaching out to my blog community, are there any solutions to growing hair thicker and/or faster?

Picture Source: Brides.com

My First Wedding Blog Experience

2009-11-29T16:56:00.001-05:00

Mr. L never "really" surprised me with the idea of marriage. We knew we were meant for each other and within the first year of dating the topic had come up. Since he was the first boy to EVER mention that he would want to make me his wife one day, I couldn't help my excitement. I had been dreaming of this day for my whole life and finally I was with someone who filled in the gray silhouette of this fantasy. Mr. L is my Prince Charming. *sigh* :)

After this magical conversation I got a little carried away with wedding websites. I felt as if it was okay for me to "look, but not touch" in some sense. The very first wedding blog I came across hit very close to home. Chrissy is an Atlanta native and she recently married her love, Brad, in the North Georgia mountains. Her blog, The Perfect Palette can inspire you with every color combination. She does wonders finding images that can match the tone and feel of every duo or trio. I encourage all new brides to visit her site first and get an idea of what season and colors work well together.

Not only does she give options with color complementations, but she also highlights wedding vendors and hosts giveaways. Even if you've selected your color palette, suggest to a recently engaged bridesmaid or friend to check it out. She will not be disappointed, and you'll be able to help her execute her newly inspired ideas!

199 Days and Counting!!

2009-11-25T06:41:00.003-05:00

We've done it folks... In under 200 days Mr. L and I will officially have tied the knot! Our engagement is flying by. Last night we did the math and our half way point will be this coming Friday!! Since we will have been engaged for 394 days on our wedding day, our midway point is 197. To celebrate he's taking me to see Ninja Assasin on the big screen -- I'm thrilled (note the sarcasm), but it's something he really wants to do so I'm a good future wife and I will endure the viewing.

Needless to say our planning is coming along. I may have found a florist who has worked closely with my wedding planner, Missy, on other events. We are still reviewing some of the details.

Thanks to Miss Pretzel (on Weddingbee) I've fallen in love with a Gocco machine! It slapped me in the face when I was trying to figure out how we would print our invitations. Mr. L and I have found them on Etsy.com, Ebay, and Craigslist that fits the project just fine. More to come as soon as we make this decision.

**Editor's note if you're wondering what in the world a Gocco machine is... see this, this, this and this.**

Source

Since we are at the half way point of our engagement, Mr. L and I have been reflecting on our relationship lately. We are both so lucky to have found each other at that point in life. If it had been any later Mr. L would have been long gone and off to Seattle. Instead I snagged him up and hoped he change his mind... good thing he did, cold and wet are my least favorite things. I hear the sun shine only makes occasional appearances. Needless to say we are so happy to have each other and can't think of anyone else who could be "that person" for us.

Here we are almost a year and half ago on our first date to see the girl in the middle play a harp - Gillian Grassie.

And here we are in October. He cleans up well :)

We have so much fun together and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with my best friend. We truly are a perfect match and my life is complete with him by my side. Only 199 days until I become Mrs. L! ...... I better get back to planning :)

Just had to share!!

2009-11-23T17:18:00.000-05:00

I found this engagement story on Think Splendid. What a wonderful story and very creative! I just wanted to share with everyone. Read the story here.

Marissa, will you marry me? from justin on Vimeo.

Happy Birthday to a Sister!!

2009-11-17T14:04:00.001-05:00

Not only do I have the pleasure of sharing a sisterhood of fabulous women in Alpha Phi with Missy Christianson of Antonia Christianson Events, but I also will share my big day in June with her. As I've come to know Missy better I can confirm that she is an amazing event planner and will design a perfect day for any bride. She has an unbelievable amount of resources and can make any idea come alive from a simple description and scribble on a piece of paper. I'm very proud to call her my sister and friend. Not only have we become great friends through the process of planning, but I know we will be friends even after the wedding day has come and gone.

Here's a great picture of Missy with her husband and our photographer, James Christianson, by the awesome Trey Tesoro (second shooter to James).

So I wish you a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY MISSY! You are AMAZING so you should enjoy your day!

As a present for her day I've revised her blog and it's now better than ever! Take a look: antoniachristiansonevents.blogspot.com

Grover Has a Question

2009-11-16T12:34:00.000-05:00

Going through my morning ritual I came across this video that was posted on A Part-Time Happy Homemaker's blog. She has great tips about cooking, DIY projects, sewing, cleaning, organizing and the list goes on! You should definitely check out her blog!

I attended a funeral this morning of a dear friend and client of my company, so I needed a little pick me up. This definitely put a smile on my face. Enjoy!

The Ladies' Attire

2009-11-15T15:19:00.005-05:00

Hardest decision made yet during the wedding planning, and I can't believe I actually made it. Let's go back to the beginning.

Since being engaged there were two fashion decisions that I personally had to make. One being my dress (sorry ladies! that one's a secret until after the wedding) and the other has been the bridesmaid dresses.

As you remember I have four WONDERFUL ladies standing next to me on my big day. Since they are all about the same size I knew finding a dress for them would be fairly easy and almost anything would look great. I knew that I was looking for knee length and something with a neckline. Over time I opened it up to a strapless. The task became a little overwhelming due to the fact that I was trying to please everyone. In the end I remembered it is still my day and they all made the comment to me that they will wear anything I ask them to.

Before we get to the actual winner, let's look at who came in a close 2nd, 3rd, 4th and even 5th.

First there was the original Melissa Sweet dress that I loved! Only because I could see myself wearing it. I love the high neckline and the "almost" empire waist. The other attraction was the color... oh the color! The color it's shown in is Majestic. The image doesn't do it justice. The royal purple was so deep and gorgeous! But I remind you that this was a pre- yellow and grey decision. There were so many other choices for purple, but I couldn't stop thinking about this one dress. It looks comfy and dressy enough for a 6pm wedding in the summer.

However it did not survive the elimination due to the color change. The yellow version of this dress was not as beautiful as the purple... so I moved on to a second dress in the Priscilla of Boston family.

This dress was such a cute yellow and I'm starting to see so many ruffles in fashion. Bridesmaid J came to the Priscilla of Boston salon in Atlanta to try on this dress. Our first reaction was "whoa ruffles" but after a few minutes we both agreed they were growing on us. With much consideration and a sneak peak at the price tag this dress too was eliminated from the competition.

At that point I started thinking more about my bridesmaids' wallets, than the actual style of the dress. It has been important to both Mr. L and I to keep the costs low for our wedding party. We realize everyone feels honored to stand next to us and they know it may not always come cheap, but we don't want them spending a fortune even if they are okay with it.

So I started thinking about dresses that are more affordable and available to most of my b'maids. David's Bridals had many options to choose from and their prices are very reasonable. Most dresses fall into a $99-$150 range, which is what I had been looking for.

This first dress had been a favorite since the beginning of my engagement. It's a jersey knit material with a similar neckline to the first dress from Melissa Sweet. (Clearly I have a type) I know that everyone would be comfortable in this dress, but my hesitation was two things. One, the material can show curves some ladies might not be comfortable with and despite all of them being small, I know I would feel like I'm showing it all through the jersey knit. Secondly, the material may not be dressy enough for a evening wedding. This can be subjective, but I would like for them to be in something a little more cocktail like.

The second dress at David's Bridal was a huge favorite!! I loved the small detail on the bottom and the crinkle chiffon material... if only it was available in yellow or grey! This would have been the ultimate winner, however David's only produced the dress in a few colors making another dress eliminated from my search.

So what did I end up doing you ask? My search led me to Etsy.com. If you are into handmade eclectic items I highly suggest you take sometime to preview was Esty has available. People who make handmade items can set up shop to sell it all via Etsy. You will find anything from knitted coasters, to wedding invitations, baby clothes and even holiday decorations.

A while ago a friend sent me a link to Etsy so that I could view an example of invitations she wanted designed. Before being engaged I was overwhelmed by everything available, but since then I've navigated the site and found many items I'm looking to purchase. I've even asked for a ring plate for Christmas from the ever so famous Paloma's Nest. This shop has been featured on many blogs across the wedding world.

Back to the matter at hand... how did I find bridesmaids dresses on Esty? Easy: I searched for them. Many of the dress designers post on their shops that they can custom make orders for wedding parties. After messaging a few designers I found one that suited my needs and was very helpful. Jiminie from MyBlackDress listened to what I was looking for and agreed to make a custom dress for my girls. What caught my eye and ultimately led me to her store was this listing for bridesmaids dresses.

Through trial and error of finding the right fabric and color, I've decided on a Dupioni Silk in Lemon Cream. It gives the dress enough sheen for an evening wedding, while still being light and summery.

Yellow can be a little tricky to wear, and may not always look the best on everyone but I believe that with enough spray tan and the right accessories it will fine. I found a wedding on Snippet & Ink with pale yellow bridesmaid dresses and I fell in love!

The dress will be custom made between two available options from MyBlackDress. The first is a top from the Claire design. As you can see from a previous dress above I love the bateau neckline and it flatters all. This will be combined with the Kelly bottom. The gathering will give the dress fullness and won't hug the ladies in areas they may be uncomfortable with.

The best part about getting the dresses custom made by Jiminie is the price tag! If I had chosen another dress similar to what I'm getting I can guarantee it wouldn't be for this price. Up until this point everything I looked at was $200 or more. All of my b'maids are getting theirs for under $150!! Making the girl's fashions equal to the boy's fashions... and everyone owns their own outfit. (Although I'm not sure if any of my girls will wear theirs after the wedding... but hey, I try)

A HUGE weight has now been lifted off my shoulders and the decision has been made! Woo Hoo! I think I deserve a glass a wine... Who knew this would be so difficult?!? As soon as I get a completed dress I will show you all. Promise! Until then - Happy Planning!!

Picture Perfect.... Not Really

2009-11-14T15:15:00.001-05:00

As you all remember I live in Atlanta, but Mr. L and I are gettin' hitched in Virginia Beach because I grew up near there. In the last two days Virginia Beach and the Hampton Roads area were hit by a huge Nor'easter. It's probably the worst one they've seen in a few years. During the last one I was trapped in my house and all routes out of the neighborhood where blocked by 2 feet of water. So it's a pretty intense storm that hits the coast.

Needless to say many of the homes and neighborhoods that sit near the water were hit the worst. Here is a picture of my cousin's neighborhood in Norfolk and my other friend's home in Virginia Beach.

I hope everyone is staying high and dry up there! And I'm thinking about them all! As well as my Hampton Roads blogger friends, Palindrome Bride and Flip Flop Bride.

A real concern was my grandmother's house. They took on some serious water and ended up losing their pier which you can see is in pieces and sitting in the backyard.

I had hoped to take bridal portraits in her yard this upcoming spring because she always kept it so pretty and the flowers bloom so bright. I have no doubt in my mind my grandparents will get it all back in place soon after this, but it's heartbreaking to see it torn apart.

Life goes on after this and that's why good insurance is always needed for times like these. Atlanta had their own flood not too many weeks ago and we are back to normal now!

A Space to Call My Own

2009-11-14T10:06:00.001-05:00

I am happy to announce that I am blogging from my new desk in the apartment!! For the past year I've been using my laptop where ever it would go. In my comfy chair, on the coffee table, and mostly in the bed at the end of the night. This made for some awkward sitting positions and strained neck. Mr. L helped me rearrange the apartment space so that I could finally have a place of my own to blog, research wedding stuff, and most importantly work on WORK because sometimes I bring home work as well as I am currently working on projects for friends. So here you go! My lovely IKEA desk. :)

Notice the sweet sign I got from my cheerleaders this season! So Cute!!

Let's Just be Civil with One Another

2009-11-10T00:33:00.003-05:00

I've spent so much of my time here catching you all up on my ideas for the wedding reception that I haven't actually discussed the event that precedes the reception. (It's kinda a big deal).

Source: Inspired by This

Yes that would be the ceremony.

Mr. L and I have opted for a civil ceremony.... and the reason for this is because we want to be true to ourselves and leave religion out. We were both raised to believe in God, but as adults we've accepted that religion is not a presence in our lives. You'd most likely find us waiting in line at the courthouse to be married, than at a church.

A civil registrar ceremony is a non-religious legal marriage ceremony performed by a government official or functionary (thanks Wikipedia). Mr. L and I will be married by a good family friend of mine who is a retired Judge from the City of Virginia Beach, although, we haven't yet met with him. Since his wife is close friend's with my grandmother I have been assured he will be able to perform our ceremony, but let's be honest, until I hear the words come from his mouth I'm still slightly worried. That's just my nature.

Tonight I started to focus on the wording of the ceremony, so I've pulled a few passages to share with you all. I'm a fan of the quick wedding, but I'm thinking I want it to be longer than five minutes. So in my search I narrowed it down to ceremonies that is not only traditional, but digs a little deeper. Here are just some highlights.

First of all, the Call to Gather:

"We are here today in the presence of family and friends to share with Bride and Groom the most important moment in their lives. We do this as the legal requirement to be married in Louisiana but this ceremony does not alter the love required to be husband and wife. Without the love between these two people we would not be here today." Source

or

"We are gathered here today to celebrate one of life's greatest moments, to give recognition to the worth and beauty of love, and to add our best wishes to the words which shall unite Bride and Groom in marriage.

Who is it that brings this woman to this man?

(Father) I/We do." Source

Next there is the Charge/Challenge:

I love this ---- "Bride and Groom , I would ask that you both remember to treat yourself and each other with respect, and remind yourself often of what brought you together today. Give the highest priority to the tenderness, gentleness and kindness that your marriage deserves. When frustration and difficulty assail your marriage - as they do to every relationship at one time or another - focus on what still seems right between you, not only the part that seems wrong. This way, when clouds of trouble hide the sun in your lives and you lose sight of it for a moment, you can remember that the sun is still there. And if each of you will take responsibility for the quality of your life together, it will be marked by abundance and delight." Source

After that the Intent/Vows/Ring Exchange:

Traditional ---- "Groom, will you have this woman to be your wedded wife, to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, and forsaking all others, keep you only unto her, for so long as you both shall live?

Bride, will you have this man to be your wedded husband, to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, and forsaking all others, keep you only unto him, so long as you both shall live?

Take hands and repeat after me: I, Groom, take you, Bride, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, to love and to cherish, from this day forward.

I, Bride, take you, Groom, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, to love and to cherish, from this day forward." Source

or

"I Groom , take thee, Bride to be my Wife- To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, in joy and sorrow and I promise my love to you.

With this ring, I take you as my wife, for as long as we both shall live

Bride places ring halfway on Groom 's finger and says:

I Bride , take thee, Groom to be my Husband. To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, in joy and sorrow and I promise my love to you.

With this ring, I take you as my husband, for as long as we both shall live" Source

or

We will be writing our own vows and combining a few of these.

Finally the Declaration of Marriage:

Which definitely has to be ---- "Inasmuch as Bride and Groom have consented together in this ceremony to live in wedlock and have witnessed their vows in the presences of this company and have given and received rings as a token of their vow, I now pronounce, by the authority vested in me, and in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, that they are husband and wife. You may kiss the bride" Source

"Ladies and Gentleman, I now present to you Mr. and Mrs. L!"

We will also be having a reader during our ceremony. I've asked my friend Audrey, seen here, to read a passage for us. I'm a huge fan of I Carry Your Heart by E.E. Cummings but I am looking for other ideas too. I'm undecided at this point. More to come on this though!

So that's it! What do you think? Have you started thinking about your ceremony?

Blog Overhaul

2009-11-07T22:15:00.000-05:00

I have a new look and I'm not just talking about my hair color :) I was thinking that my blog needed a facelift, and to be honest I got bored with the way it looked. So WAH LA! Here you go! I hope you like it!

But Moooooom...

2009-11-06T14:22:00.001-05:00

I just have to share my Maddy. She had her annual appoint at the V-E-T today. She's a smart girl, she understands many of the words I use... it's amazing. We have to spell things out like she's a child. But good news! She's a healthy girl!

That reminds me of a great topic: Pets in weddings. Will you be having them?

Source 1 and 2

Maddy is my special girl, and Mr. L and her have really bonded over the last year and a half. He loves her just as much as I do :)

And although we have used her in our engagement photos as well as making an appearance in our video for the rehearsal dinner, she will not be participating in the day of activities. Point being that she is too little and has high anxiety when there is a large group of people. Too much excitement and she could take a finger off... seriously. She is the sweetest girl on a one to one basis and loves all our friends, but I don't want to stress about my dog on the day of my wedding.

So unfortunately Maddy will be missing Mommy and her "new" Daddy's big day, but she won't even realize anything is different once it's all said and done. We will be happy to reunite with her after our honeymoon.

Have you been to a wedding with an animal as the ring bearer or flower girl?? Please share, I'd love to hear about it!

Gonna Dress Up 'dem Boys

2009-11-03T12:12:00.003-05:00

Since Mr. L and all of his groomsmen live in Atlanta, he asked them all to meet up a few weeks ago and try on suits. They met at a local suit warehouse called K&G Fashion Superstore. Mr. L knew he wanted all the guys to wear a suit and that renting a tux (or suit) would cost almost as much as purchasing one. We both decided that it would be okay to ask the guys to purchase a specific suit since all of my bridesmaids will be wearing a dress that I pick out.

Mr. L and I browsed through the store before anyone had arrived and found that the Kenneth Cole Reaction suit was the best choice for the big day. Once everyone arrived we had them try everything on.

{Pictures courtesy of my iPhone}

Now that we have the outer shell I've been brainstorming ideas for the shirt and tie combination.

Here is one idea: Groomsmen - Yellow dress shirt and White tie | Mr. L - White dress shirt and Yellow tie. The bridesmaids will be wearing yellow and I'll be in white (of course).

{Items shown are for a representation, I haven't made decision on where to purchase yet}

I'm debating on how the yellow would look with a white tie. I may go back to the store and see if we could try the combination with the suit. What do you think?

I had ideas of using a patterned tie instead, but I couldn't find a pattern I like and is small enough to use on a tie. I'm also trying to use argyle throughout the theme. I've drafted up (before the wedding) thank you cards below and I would like to use the pattern on other paper items. I would LOVE to find it in a tie or fabric, but no luck yet.

I've seen yellow and grey argyle in many stores: Express, Macy's, and Lands End (third color choice). So why can't I find a yellow and grey argyle tie?? Clearly a designer doesn't know I'm looking for one, because I'm sure they would produce it for me right?

But the good news is the boys have their suits! We are waiting for three pieces to come in on order, but they are all set! Now on to the girls!!

My Sunshine-y Day

2009-11-02T23:49:00.000-05:00

I had a minute to sit down the other day and make a new polyvore set for a casual Yellow and Gray event! Check out the gorgeous things I found! I would looooove to wear that dress as my going away outfit... but unfortunately they only had one size left, and it wasn't mine. Mr. L really likes the hat and suit, and I love the shoes :) I'm also digging the dark gray invite with yellow writing. I have ideas brewing!! The little yellow cake is darling and it wouldn't be a party without Margaritas!!

Enjoy!

My life is finally slowing down so I have some great blog posts planned for everyone. Stay tuned!

Sunshine-y Wedding Day by jaymugirly featuring Lela Rose dresses

Pause... take a breath

2009-10-23T15:31:00.002-04:00

Hi all! I've been extremely busy this week juggling multiple projects. This is my life (minus the baby carriage):

Source

Until I can get back to my regularly scheduled blog posts I'm going to leave you with this AMAZING video that I saw posted on Weddingbee Pro.

This recap was a Same Day Edit (SDE) by Stillmotion Photo + Cinema. The footage is amazing, and the clarity is perfect. It was shot with an HD camera, and makes me super excited about our own wedding that will be shot in HD!! More to come on that... we have a DJ and Videographer booked!

SDE's are tough, and Stillmotion pulled this off perfectly. It takes a lot of preparation to set these up and get them out during the event. Some of the shots are staged, but I appreciate the film like aspect of the video. I worked in the video world for two years and studied it for three, which is why I respect this type of editing. Check out more of their videos here, here, and here.

phyllis + adam // same day edit from stillmotion on Vimeo.

Oh Sunny Day!!

2009-10-18T22:03:00.003-04:00

What a beautiful day it turned out to be in Atlanta. After almost two straight months of rain, the sun greeted us this morning but not the heat. I'm not complaining.

Since I had such a great day, I decided to get outside and take a few pictures of my gorgeous ring! I figured I owed it to my blog community to share!

Mr. L loves the fall and we purchased our pumpkin last week. I took the opportunity to use it as a prop, as well as a small dachshund figurine and some candy corn (yum!).

A little background about me and my ring:

I am not a jewelry kind of girl. Occasionally I wear the sterling silver Tiffany's necklace that I was given as a gift. When I was a senior in college my grandmother called me and said "I would like to give you diamond earrings for your graduation gift, but there's a catch, you need to get your ears pierced." Yes my friends, I was 22 when I finally made the trip to Claire's to get my ears pierced. I never had any desire to wear earrings before then, and to be perfectly honest I don't remember the last time I wore earrings. It's usually a special event when I do wear them and again I'm not a jewelry kind of girl. I always wondered how I'd look in an engagement ring, now I know!

Long story short, when Mr. L was questioning me about what I like, all I knew is I wanted something to fit my personality. I knew that I loved the idea of having a unique setting and this Hearts on Fire setting was exactly what I pictured. Along with the setting came the Hearts of Fire diamond and I was amazed by the clarity and perfect quality of this ring. If you are about to start your search for the perfect diamond, take a trip down to your local retailer and you'll never think about an ordinary diamond again.

To take these lovely pictures I followed the simple instructions from The Handcrafted Hitching Post. She found an article on Weddingbee Pro about photographing your engagement ring.

Happy Birthday Mr. L!

2009-10-15T23:27:00.003-04:00

Today marks the 27th anniversary of Mr. L's trip around the sun. We spent the occasion by eating in, instead of going out. I cooked a fantabulous New York Strip steak, Shrimp & Grits (with Andouille sausage), and a brownie cake. It was a great surprise for Mr. L :) He said it was the best steak he ever had (or had in the last five years...) but who's counting?

Just so you can see it was a pumpkin!

Okay so this probably does not qualify me to make my own wedding cake, but Mr. L certainly enjoyed it! Steak and Brownies are his two favorites... the shrimp & grits were for me! Since he loves brownies so much I decided to make him a brownie cake!! With the upcoming holiday it's only fitting that it looks like a Jack-O-Lantern. I took two boxes of regular brownie mix and layered them. Then I covered with icing and decorated. So simple and very effective. He loved it.

Food network is always on the TV in my house, so I've learned a thing or two about cooking by watching Iron Chef America, 30-Minute Meals, and the Barefoot Contessa (and nothing from watching Ace of Cakes). Mr. L and I love to cook together, and we've recently started to venture out from our comfort zone. We try new things all the time, and experiment with new recipes. We even make up our own sometimes!

We've both talked about taking cooking classes at a local shop in Atlanta called The Cook's Warehouse. I suggested we ask for classes as a wedding gift or holiday present. Who wouldn't want to learn to make their own sushi!? Mr. L has been trying for months now, and I'd love to learn how to cook with wine. All the classes sound super yummy, and are very affordable.

What do you think? Cooking classes for the newlyweds? Is it a necessity? I vote yes ;)

Milestone: Date Saved

2009-10-14T10:52:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was a fun day! Mr. L and I got lots of responses from our guests that they loooved our Save the Dates!! I even got a very sweet compliment from his Aunt, "She is very creative." It's good to know others think I live up to my A Creative Bride title.

I started with many ideas like a bride would, postcards, magnents, etc, but I still didn't think any of them were unique enough for me. Now if you've met me before you will know that I usually avoid anything that's been done before. I worked really hard to come up with this crazy idea... and I think we pulled it off well!

So I've kept you waiting this long... I now present our "creative" Save the Dates!

Here is my "work space"

Mr. L says "Smile!"

We enjoyed an adult beverage... notice what's sitting under the bottle.

The finished product:

Ta Da!!! We had "Join Us on the Coast" Coasters!!! Clever huh? Mr. L came up with the phrase. We also used Pocket Folds from Cards & Pockets. They have such cute things at this shop! If you are about to DIY your own invitations I would highly suggest this company for everything you need. I had a few questions about the envelopes before I ordered them, and the customer service was STELLAR! They were able to answer all my questions.

The coasters came from PrintGlobe. They have tons of corporate gifts at great prices. Also another company who had great customer service! PrintGlobe will show you a proof of your product before it's printed, not like this is uncommon for printers, but it was very helpful to see a preview.

I printed the 5x7 card with our picture at a local copy shop here in Atlanta, Copy Atlanta. As always, they did a fabulous job. We use this company at work so I was familiar with many of the employees.

All of my labels were printed at home. I purchased the stickers from Office Depot and with the help of one of my bridesmaids, J, we created the logos that went on the front and back of the envelope.

I hope all of my guests enjoy the coasters! I was very excited to send these out and I've been hearing great reviews from everyone.

Now I must start brainstorming the invitation! Have you seen any unique save the dates or invitations? Please share!!

And they're off!

Creative... with a K

2009-10-12T22:06:00.005-04:00

"Thank you, Thank you! I'd like to thank all my fans for this truly special award. Winning this Oscar..."

[screeching sound of record]

Ok so it's not really the Oscar that I will win, but it's really fun to know that more people (besides all the bridesmaids and my FMIL!) are reading my blog. Horray! I have an audience!

I have been awarded the Kreativ Blogger Award by Morgan at The Handcrafted Hitching Post.

Her blog is super cute, so I definitely encourage everyone to browse through it.

Along with this award I must pass on seven random things about myself, so here goes:

1. I have a Dachshund and I treat her like she's my child. Now I don't mean dressing her in clothes (all the time) and putting her in a carriage, but I do talk to her like a person and most of the time she understands what I'm saying. Her name is Maddy and I adopted her from the Dachshund Rescue of North America. She was a stray found on the streets and I'm the lucky girl who got to take her home. See my post here for more pictures.

2. I am a cheerleading coach for a local high school freshman squad. I cheered all throughout high school and after college I got right back into it as a coach. It has definitely been a great experience so far and my squad this year has been a blast to work with... but if I could only control the chatty Cathy's.

3. I'm obsessed with keeping my engagement ring clean. Since Mr. L purchased a perfect Hearts on Fire diamond for me (ring pictures in an upcoming blog!) I am always making sure that sucker is clean. I want to see the rainbow of colors shine bright.

4. I'm quite an impatient person. Just ask Mr. L, he can back it up. Planning a wedding one year out has felt like time is moving in slow motion. I'm uber excited to get the show on the road, and I find myself daily planning parts of the wedding thats not on the list of things "to do" until at least March or April. I hope the next EIGHT (as of today!) months pick up the pace.

5. I heart Macs. If you read through one of my recent posts here you will see that I love Apple computers and all their capabilities. I have a Macbook Pro, iPhone, and iMac (at my office).

6. Social media is like a drug to me. I check Facebook and Twitter regularly, and check in on most of my blogs at least once, sometimes twice a day. I have to say I wanted nothing to do with this website called Facebook when it first released in college. But like many students I jumped on the wagon soon after. I've been addicted since... (except for that short lived stint on Myspace. Does anyone ever use that anymore?)

7. Finally lucky number seven... I was a beauty queen in high school. I was asked to participate in my high school pageant and won my senior year. My sister won the title eight years before me when she was in high school. We were the second set of sisters to both capture the title. Below is a photo of my college freshman year friends (two of which are bridesmaids, and one who is still a great friend) who went back with me to the pageant when I gave away the crown. So glamourous I know! This picture was taken backstage in the dressing/classroom.

Okay, there you have it! Seven random facts about me.

And like I stated in the previous post, I have some favorite blogs I read starting with those listed and some special shout outs to:

East Coast Wedding

The Flip Flop Bride

The Future Mrs. Smith

Lucky In Love

And oh so many more that I find every day!

Hi, my name is Mary

2009-10-09T17:47:00.003-04:00

...and I'm addicted to wedding blogs.

Yes I said it. Here is a great example of why:

It's Friday afternoon and my boss took us out at 3:30 to have a TGIF margarita (yum) Instead of heading home for the day, I returned to the office to browse the latest blog posts on my 24" iMac. I could be doing this at home on my little laptop, but I don't have a desk there, it's not comfortable on the couch and well there's really no other excuse.

A few of my favorites start with the first addiction, Style Me Pretty. Talk about STYLE!!! I only hope to have 1/10th of the style that these brides do! I look at the glamorous pictures featured and I strive to be like them. I never knew I would be like this! But then again... I never knew these blogs existed! As of 6 months ago I had never thought about blogs. My favorite site was The Knot. Now that's all changed! Here are some of my favs!

Budget Savvy Bride	Weddingbee
The Broke Ass Bride	Big Spoon & Little Spoon
Palindrome Bride	The Perfect Palette

And the vendors:

Antonia Christianson Events

Style Me Pretty

Weddingbee Pro

You can view most of these on my right column... but I wanted to give a shout out to these ladies! You are making my wedding experience so amazing! I am so grateful to have found such brilliant inspiration, and please don't stop writing. Every new entry puts a smile on my face, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

2009-10-08T16:51:00.002-04:00

Like so many people in the great city that's nick-named "Hotlanta" I am a transplant. (BTW It's anything but hot here... hello Fall? I'm not sure we've met before?) I am not a native of this southern city, which is why it's important for me to have the wedding in my home state, Virginia.

But then it hit me... "I live ten hours away from my hometown and I only have so much money and so many vacation days to use traveling." What was a girl to do? My mom had offered to help out, but there is only so much she can physically help with because of certain things or another. At first Mr. L and I were convinced that taking weekend road trips to Virginia would be the best choice.

Buuuuut after two very long drives (Leaving after work at 6 and arriving around 3am-ish) we have given up. And from here on out I will treat it like it is... a destination wedding!! I've added up all our vacation days available and it looks like we can only make it for one more long weekend.

So is this what it's like to plan a wedding from far away? Destination brides please feel free to give advice!! I don't know where I'd be without Missy (my wedding planner) taking care of things for me, and she will just have to act like my stand in from now on. I also find it's hard to fit so many meetings in one weekend. Many vendors won't meet on the weekends because they either have an event or just want to enjoy a Saturday off for once. Therefor, I am going to look into other ways to communicate.

With technology, we have everything at our finger tips to have business meetings on the web. Skype is one tool that every destination bride (& vendor) should look into using! If you've purchased a computer in the last 6-12 months the application would already be loaded. All you need is an internet connection and a login. It's a free conference meeting to anywhere in the world with internet! Now all you have to do is get your vendor on the same page, or even your wedding planner. If your planner has an office computer set up with Skype you can always ask the vendor to visit her office and have the meeting there.

Now you can't exactly taste cake via the internet, but you can pretty much do everything else. What did brides do before there was internet? We can find everything here... including a husband!!

Pictures of You, Pictures of Me!

2009-10-06T09:30:00.054-04:00

Do you remember this song? It was popular a few years back.

Every time I hear it I imagine a photo montage... Which brings me to my point!

DIY Photobooth!!

and

Apple Photo Booth

Do you ever kill time in the mall at the Apple store? Have you played with Photo Booth? The wedding in the video above set up their MacBook with an Automator script that would take three pictures of their guests with one click and immediately print out on the photo printer in a classic photo booth style. They also bought fabric to hang for a fabulous backdrop! Read about the whole story here.

We are really excited and hoping we have the room in the venue to set this up. Mr. L and I want to have a table near the guest book and favors where our guests can sit and take silly pictures of themselves. Very affordable and lots of fun!! What do you think? Would you have fun with this at a wedding reception?

Ch - Ch - Ch - Changes

2009-10-05T21:41:00.005-04:00

I've been struggling all day on how to write a post about this, but I'm just going to lay my cards on the table and hope this comes out right.

Last night Mr. L and I had the pleasure of attending my older cousin's wedding here in Atlanta. My parents came to town for the event, as well as, my grandmother, aunts and uncles. Since my cousin and I have not seen each other lately, I've never had the chance to ask about her wedding planning. She and her fiancé were engaged last fall, and she's been planning this day for about nine months now.

I'm not one to step on anyone's toes or try to steal thunder, so being engaged before her wedding this fall brought on a little anxiety. Since she was first to be engaged and her wedding would fall eight months before mine, I politely held off doing anything until her day had arrived. Boy am I glad...

For starters you may remember this post where I had an idea of using purple and orange tones together. Ideally this would look best in a fall/winter wedding, but I loved it so much I was going to make it happen for June. When I walked into the event last night I noticed the bridesmaids were wearing deep purple and carrying orange flowers. Yes folks, it was the same color scheme. Well done too. I couldn't believe my luck.

Don't get me wrong though, I am not here to vent about it. At first I was a little bummed to find out we had the same color palette in mind, but I picked my head up and thought "There are many more colors in the rainbow to choose!" (Besides picking the color scheme has been the best part of planning so far and I'm happy I get to do it again) I respect the colors my cousin choose, and they will be hers. I also realize that some weddings I attend may have the same colors as mine... we're all looking at the same websites.

In reality, Mr. L and I decided it's best to choose a different palette. So without further delay, I give you our new colors!

Yellow & Grey

Source: The Perfect Palette

Source: Duet Letterpress

Source: Wedding Chicks

This yellow cab would be a fantastic exit!

Source

Have you and your fiancé run into this? Did you attend a wedding before your own, and the same color palette was used?

So You Wanna Be a Pro?

2009-09-29T21:51:00.001-04:00

... but you may not have the tools. Here are a few tricks to get you through.

I realize that not everyone owns Adobe Creative Suite 3 or 4, and it's not really in the budget to buy, so I've listed a few programs that you may be able to use when creating paper materials for your wedding.

If your looking for a free program try Paint.net and download it on your Windows computer. (Sorry Mac owners... this ones for the PCs) It has all the basics that we all remember from the original Paint, but now it allows layered files.

The other free option is from Adobe, but it's for a limited time only. If illustration is more your style, and you'd like to take a stab at it, Adobe Illustrator CS4 is available for a 30 day free trial that starts when you first launch the program.

The last option is another Adobe product, but it's not free. Photoshop Elements 7 is a downgraded version of Photoshop, for a reasonable $79. You are able to use many of the basic tools in this program and it has specifically been marketed for the home user because of it's simplicity and easy use.

So if your looking to save a little money and want to create your own invitations, save the dates, or programs. These three tools can help!

And We Shall Drink Our Honey Wine!!

2009-09-28T11:52:00.006-04:00

Mr. L and I have recently decided upon the location of our week long Honeymoon after our wedding this June. Because it will be the first long trip both of us will take in two years, we have been very excited to plan it!!

I got to thinking about the origin of the Honeymoon. Who would have come up with this name? What does it refer too? **Scratching head, squished forehead**

Alas!! With a little Wiki searching and the help of Google, I got my answer! There are different meanings but here is one: In the Medieval Times, upon an engagement, a father would present a pint of "Honey Wine", also known as mead. The wine was be opened during the wedding day feast, and depending on how long the wine would last, determined the length of the feast. The amount of the wine and the length of the feast would reflect the wealth of the family. Some feasts were known to last a full month. In those times the calendar months were base upon the moon's cycle, therefor it became the Honeymoon. (Source)

Neat?! Huh?? I always like random trivia. Use that the next time you're asked about your Honeymoon.

Although Mr. L and I will most likely not be drinking honeywine on our Honeymoon, we have researched different locations of our destination.

First it started with the idea of visiting Scotland. We are both Braveheart fans, and sad to say it was the spark in the interest of visiting. I have two friends who live there. We met a few years ago during an internship in New York. I've always wanted to visit and yell "FREEDOM!!!" It's also a gorgeous country and we would have tons to see during our stay.

Sources (1, 2, 3)

Once we discovered that June was a terrible month to visit Scotland we decided to file that away for a future anniversary present to each other.

The next option was Mykonos, a Grecian Island. Let me tell you... I was in LOOOOOVE with this idea. Guilty pleasure = Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. That movie alone sold me (do you see a common trend in this post with the movies?). But with further inspection we really liked the idea of the warm Mediterranean and an a foreign country. We could just loose ourselves in the islands, and possibly never return to the states.

Sources (1, 2)

After much consideration, we both admitted to wanting more than a week in the islands. Because of our jobs, Mr. L and I will not be able to do this... *sad face*. This too will have to be an anniversary gift in the coming years.

Your on the edge of your seats now right? Where will we be?? Well we new we had to stay close to the east coast because of travel time, and we wanted something warm, we finally decided on the Sandals Resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

We chose Sandals because of it's excellent ratings and the feedback we hear from our friends. Of all the all-inclusive resorts we researched, Sandals came out to be the best for the money. Not only do you get all of your food and activities included, but you get to skip around to the other Sandals in the nearby area for the included price. Mr. L also has his scuba license and at Sandals, scuba is a part of the deal... Woo Hoo!! Except for me. I think this was his final ploy to get me to get certified... I guess it worked ;) I'm getting certified before our wedding so we can blissfully enjoy our honeymoon in and out of the water!!

Sources (1, 2, 3)

There you have it folks! We are off to Jamaica ('mon). It's only fitting because one of Mr. L's favorite musicians is Mr. Bob Marley himself. Maybe we'll get some good Jamaican jerk while we are there?? "Oh yeah... we're jammin'"