Ceremony Rug - IKEA find

So I've been undecided on an aisle runner for a while and decided this weekend to skip the runner (expensive for a one use item) and to just get a rug to put down to center the ceremony. We really liked this one at Ikea and the price was right so we went for it. It's 5'7" x 7'10" which seems to be a good size. After the wedding we can just put it in our living room (after a good vacuuming!).

Back from the abyss - Take 2

So I've really gone down in posting recently but I'm really going to try to improve.

Here's an awesome wedding I just found. It's so inspiring as it seems super similar to mine in some ways. I just hope mine is this beautiful! Link to Bio

Non-traditional ceremony, outdoors with brown bridesmaid's dresses!
A guitar player during cocktail hour!

Raffia on the homemade programs. :)
An awesome night shot of their venue (I really want one of these!)

Burlap on the tables - us too!
Great minds really do think alike! :)

Back from the abyss

Lol... so I haven't been posting for a while. I got super busy, wedding stuff was in a lull, and I lost my camera charger. Fortunately, Santa (who goes by the name of Matt) brought me an early Christmas present - a digital Rebel XTi!!! :)

I'm soooo excited to begin learning photography. Although I've only had the camera for a day now, here are a few of my favorite learning shots.I think I'll start a photography blog before too long too keep the wedding and random photos separate.

Fabric District and Table Overlays!

Mom and I scoured the LA Fabric District to find something that would look good with our centerpieces for the tables at the reception. We looked at everything from french embroidered fabric and italian lace to linen and burlap. In the end, we settled on 72" wide burlap which we cut into 72" squares to lay over our 60" guest tables. Matt and I then frayed the edges about 1" so they look finished and they will be layered over an ivory table cloth. We'll have 2-3 tealights, 1 large candle holder, 1 cactus in a terra cotta pot, and perhaps a couple of desert rocks per table. They look so pretty all lit up! :)

Here's a picture of our table mock-up in our kitchen:

Such a diva...

oh yeah!

1st Fitting

So a couple weekends ago when my Mom and Aidan were here, we went to Lady Jane's in Toluca Lake to see how my alterations were going. Unfortunately, Jane hadn't gotten around to starting them at all in the past 2+ months that she had the dress. Blah. Fortunately, Mom and Aidan still got to see the dress and I got to see it with the veil and shoes. I go back on Saturday to see the alterations. I can't wait!

Here are a few pictures from last time:

Lady Jane showing us the 1-point bustle.

Pretty Veil...

I bought my veil online and I must say, I'm very pleased! It's the perfect fullness, color, length and trim. If you're shopping for a veil, be sure to check out: www.trupink.com

Hair Brooch

I'm very excited, I got my hair brooch from the ebay seller in China and it looks great. The clasp is a bit flimsy, but it should be great in my hair. I love the color with my dress, too.

Now I just have to pick out a necklace, earings, and bracelet to go with the brooch! :)

St. Patty's Day Ceremony

I think we've decided to end our wedding ceremony with the traditional irish blessing. It seems so appropriate for the day and the mood of the event.

Traditional Irish Blessing
May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

May God be with you and bless you;
May you see your children's children.
May you be poor in misfortune,
Rich in blessings,
May you know nothing but happiness
From this day forward.

May the road rise to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home
And may the hand of a friend always be near.

May green be the grass you walk on,
May blue be the skies above you,
May pure be the joys that surround you,
May true be the hearts that love you.

A ring for Matt...

Last weekend, Matt and I went looking to see if we could get an idea of what he'd like for a wedding ring. While it was only our first trip, I think Matt's pretty settled on a 6 mm tungsten band with platinum inlay. They're pretty cool with the contrast in the shades of the metal and the fact that the tungsten will stay perpetually shiny. Very cool.

Here are a couple of rings he's looking at:

Natural Aisle Runner?

Mom really thinks we need and aisle runner for the ceremony site to keep my dress from getting covered in dirt as I walk down the non-aisle. I'm really concerned with people stumbling and falling on wrinkled fabric and crunchy gravel.

What do you think of using mats for aisle runners?

Out of Towner Boxes

I found a good source online to buy gabled boxes to leave at at the hotel for our out of town guests. http://www.buygiftbox.com/gablebox.htm Sweet! :)

Costa Rica - Here we come!

Yipee! Matt and I booked our airline tickets for our honeymoon yesterday! We're flying out of Phoenix on March 19th to San Jose, Costa Rica and returning from San Jose to Los Angeles on March 28th. Chris has wonderfully volunteered to drive our car back to LA for us. :)

Very very exciting!!! Now we just have to plan our itinerary!

Oooo.... Ahhhh....

Aren't you WOWed by by lovely new paper trimmer? :)

It's the perfect thing to make gobbs of weddding invites. I'm very excited. If you want to get one of your very own try JoAnne's online with a 40-50% off coupon. Then they're a great deal!!!

Card cage

I was informed by my wedding planner that we will need a box or cage to hold any cards we receive at our wedding reception. After looking at lots of pictures of fabric covered boxes, pictures frames mounted on lazy susans, and cheesy white bird cages, I wasn't really satisfied with something I liked enough to display at our reception.

Fortunately, Matt and I were shopping at Target (pronounced Tar-JAY, of course) when I stumbled across this birdcage candle holder. I think it's cute without being cutsey. The verdict is still out and I'm holding onto the receipt, but I'm mostly satisfied that it will suit its purpose. Perhaps I'll dress is up with a little ribbon and a cute sign.

He thinks he's all that....

Winston has again decided that he wants to play and cuddle starting at 4:30 AM every morning and tries to get his way by laying on my face while licking Matt's nose. Despite his being repeatedly locked out of our room as a result, he still thinks he's "all that and a bag of catnip." Can't you tell?

Pretty Paper Flowers!

Matt and I ventured to Beverly Hills last weekend to visit Paper Source in search of ideas for our wedding invites. I wanted to check out their selection of patterned paper to line our wedding invite envelopes and see their options for cream/ivory cardstock. Of course I couldn't possibly walk out of such a cool store empty handed, so I picked up a neat kit to make your own paper flowers. It came with the necessary wire and floral tape, which I can now pick up on my own and make as many as I'd like with the pattern. Very fun! :)

My boss takes on the Governator!!!

I thought I'd share a couple of pics of my boss and the Governator while they duke it out in front of the CNSI building, originally commisioned by Gov. Gray Davis. :)

Fraser asked if the Governator if come back for the celebration of the opening of the CNSI building.

The Governor's responsed, as expected, "I'll be baaack."

Hair Brooch & Veil

I've been doing a little online shopping and just recently bought a hair brooch and a veil for the wedding. I really like the pearls on the brooch and hope the crystals will provide just a little shine.

.

I also bought a veil online. I got one with a single layer since I don't intend to wear a blusher, but instead got extra fullness with 108" in width. I also got a 1/8" satin ribbon edge so it has a little definition from my tulle skirt. It was a really good price at $12.99 in case I change my mind, is diamond white, and is attached to a metal comb. I hope the quality is as good as the reviews the company gets. I'll take pictures with my dress at my next fitting, the first weekend in October. Very very exciting! :)

Paper Trimmer

I bought a paper trimmer from JoAnne Fabric's online last night with a 40% off coupon. This Tonic Paper trimmer gets great online reviews so I'm hoping it will make nice straight cuts when we make our invites. My old Fiscars trimmers don't cut straight and leave jagged edges after a couple years of use.

Very exciting. :)