How to plan a wedding in 13,405,459 easy steps!

Ceremony Rug - IKEA find

2007-02-13T12:30:00.000-08:00

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

2007-02-13T12:15:00.000-08:00

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

2006-12-17T18:01:00.000-08:00

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!

2006-10-18T10:23:00.000-07:00

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...

2006-10-17T22:26:00.000-07:00

oh yeah!

1st Fitting

2006-10-17T22:14:00.000-07:00

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...

2006-10-17T21:54:00.000-07:00

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

2006-10-17T21:48:00.000-07:00

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

2006-10-09T10:37:00.000-07:00

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...

2006-10-08T22:10:00.000-07:00

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?

2006-10-08T21:56:00.000-07:00

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

2006-10-08T21:49:00.000-07:00

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!

2006-10-01T13:40:00.000-07:00

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....

2006-09-28T13:33:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-28T12:40:00.000-07:00

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....

2006-09-28T12:31:00.000-07:00

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!

2006-09-28T11:58:00.000-07:00

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!!!

2006-09-19T12:52:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-18T22:55:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-18T22:50:00.000-07:00

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. :)

Yipee!!! 6 months to go!!!

2006-09-17T23:27:00.000-07:00

Whoohoo!!! Exactly six months to go!!! I can't wait!!

(and we registered at Crate ad Barrel and Bed, Bath and Beyond this weekend!)

Photo Contest!!!

2006-09-13T12:31:00.000-07:00

I just got an email that I won honorable mention in a Travel Photo Contest that a travel store put on! I entered the maximum two entries for myself and then an additional two photos for Matt. They said there were almost 200 entries and both of ours were recognized! I got honorable mention with a $25 gift certificate and an Eagle Creek Packing System and Matt was listed as a "Noteworthy Entry." Not too shabby! :)

Seine River - Paris, France - Bastille Day 2001

Mostar, Bosnia - Summer 2003

To see the rest of the entries, visit the Travel Essentials site here: http://www.travelessentials.com/photowinners2006/

Cactus Couple

2006-09-11T00:26:00.000-07:00

When I was back east a couple of weeks ago, Katie gave me this ADORABLE little cactus bride and groom she made. I thought it was hilarious and very cute. I'm going to add hangers and use them on our Christmas tree every year. So cute! :)

Fun with favors! :)

2006-09-11T00:14:00.000-07:00

I had fun tonight working on the labels for our wedding favors. Here's what we've come up with thus far:

The two bottles with the labels affixed are shown above. I designed the labels in photoshop, printed them on cream cardstock on our home printer, and affixed them to the bottles using spray adhesive. It was pretty easy to do. I also want to add a little thank you note on a slip tied to the neck of the bottle using raffia.

For Better (the Orange Blossom Mead) Label:

For Worse (Imperial Stout) Label: Now we need to figure out what we want to do for a kiddie favor. I think we'll probably end up doing rootbeer or another soda in clear bottles with a label that reads, "For Kids: and kids at heart." I think that will go well with our "For Better or For Worse" favor theme we have going on.

Icebreaker Buttons?

2006-09-05T19:36:00.000-07:00

I saw these buttons on a another wedding blog and I thought they could be really cute for our party the night before the wedding. There will be lots of people from both sides of the family who won't know each other and they could be fun ice breakers.

The site wants to charge $2 per button, but I think I could make 100 for about $.60 each. Not to mention, if you make them yourself you can add all kinds of cute applicable phrases! :)
So cute! :)

Rehersal Luncheon - El Zocalo

2006-09-02T13:18:00.000-07:00

The last time we were back in Phoenix, we all had dinner at a neat little Mexican restaurant in Old Town Chandler called El Zocalo. They have a really nice patio in the back which would be perfect for our rehersal luncheon.

The menu would be:

Chile Verde Chimichanga

Cheese Enchiladas

Shredded Beef Flautas

Rice & Beans

Chips & Salsa

Guacamole

Sour Cream

Pico de Gallo

You can see a virtual tour of the restaurant's patio here: Link

If you click on the "Reception" option, you can see the inside of the restaurant which would be the rain location.

Wedding Poem

2006-08-31T17:38:00.000-07:00

I just read the sweetest wedding poem so I thought I'd share. I wonder if it's worth working into the ceremony?

Union

By Robert Fulghum

You have known each other from the first glance of acquaintance to this point of commitment. At some point, you decided to marry. From that moment of yes to this moment of yes, indeed, you have been making promises and agreements in an informal way. All those conversations that were held riding in a car or over a meal or during long walks - all those sentences that began with “When we’re married” and continued with “I will and you will and we will” - those late night talks that included “someday” and “somehow” and “maybe” - and all those promises that are unspoken matters of the heart. All these common things, and more, are the real process of a wedding. The symbolic vows that you are about to make are a way of saying to one another, “ You know all those things we’ve promised and hoped and dreamed - well, I meant it all, every word.” Look at one another and remember this moment in time. Before this moment you have been many things to one another - acquaintance, friend, companion, lover, dancing partner, and even teacher, for you have learned much from one another in these last few years. Now you shall say a few words that take you across a threshold of life, and things will never quite be the same between you. For after these vows, you shall say to the world, this - is my husband, this - is my wife.

Wedding Shoes!

2006-08-31T10:35:00.000-07:00

While shopping in CT last weekend, I found the cutest pair of ballet flats at DSW which should go perfectly with my dress. Very exciting.

Bridesmaid Dress = Found!

2006-08-31T08:57:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I had the opportunity to visit Rach, Melissa, and Katie in CT and we got to go bridesmaid dress shopping. I didn't have any requirements except it had to be brown, cute, and not floor length.

Aren't the pretty? :)

Bridesmaids Dresses - The hunt is on....

2006-08-23T16:31:00.000-07:00

I'm very excited to be visiting Rach, Melissa, and Katie this weekend. The only goal for the weekend, besides having fun, is to try to find bridesmaid dresses. I am trying very hard to avoid having to order dresses from a bridal company as I feel like they are often over prices for the quality the give. (Not to mention the inevitable pricey alterations).

Here's what I've found on my "preshop" online search:

Bebe - $149

Jcrew - $98- 100

$150

Macys - $80-90

$110

Nordstroms- $80-90

$120-140

What do you think?

Invite update

2006-08-22T11:46:00.000-07:00

I spent a little time last night playing with my favorite ribbons to see how they look worked up as invites. I need to make a trip to a good scrapbooking store to match the different shades of brown of the cardstock with the ribbon and patterned paper. I didn't have anything good in my stash to match Ribbon #1 or any of the ones with more orange in them.

Here's what I have thus far:

Ribbon 2

Or Ribbon 2 with Brown Cardstock
(I need to look for a different shade of brown, I think)

Ribbon 4

Ribbon 5

I will change the inside graphic to correspond to the ribbon and patterned paper used, so don't worry about that yet. I'm sure the wording needs some work, as well. I also need to order ivory square envelopes online, rather than making them out of cardstock like this one.

Any other thoughts?

Bridesmaid dresses from HELL!

2006-08-22T11:39:00.000-07:00

Lol. I saw these posted on a bridal board a few weeks ago and was completely agast. I can't possibly imagine what that bride was thinking, but she has some awfully good friends to go along with it.

A bride and her John Deere themed wedding:

Yes, those are little tractors on the dresses, kelly green tulle ruffles, strapless dresses in school bus yellow, and to top it off - MUCK BOOTS! :-P

Here is a link to the original newspaper article.

Ribbon for Wedding Invites

2006-08-21T10:11:00.000-07:00

When I was in Phoenix last weekend, Mom and I went to Ruffler's Roost Ribbons & Lace, an awesome ribbon store in Tempe. We found lots of ribbon options, but now we have to choose just 1 (or 2, if we want to mix it up a bit!).

Here are the options:

Ribbon #1

Ribbon #2

Ribbon #3

Ribbon #4

Ribbon #5

What's your favorite??? Help me choose! :)

(Please ignore the uneven ribbon ends and bow quality, I didn't want to cut the ribbon and was in a hurry. The actual design of the printed invite will depend on the ribbon chosen. The ribbon will surve double duty as it will hold the inserts in our invite)

A fun drive to Phoenix...

2006-08-20T22:08:00.000-07:00

...with a very cute kitten. He certainly kept the drive from being boring with his many sleeping positions! lol

Centerpieces for the wedding

2006-08-20T21:26:00.000-07:00

Mom did some awesome bargain shopping and found these awesome orange, yellow and white candle holders at the mall. They will be soooo pretty on the table at the reception all lit up! We bought 15 large holders and 56 votive holders. Very cool! :) Now we just have to decide what we want under them for a table cloth and runner.

Peach Souffle!

2006-08-20T21:13:00.000-07:00

Matt and I had fun baking up a storm a couple weeks ago and had an inspiration to make something from our newest issue of Cooking Light.

Here they are, the yummy Peach Souffles!

Mmm... cake!

2006-08-20T20:04:00.000-07:00

We went to Phoenix last weekend to choose a bakery for our wedding cake and tasted at three place. It was super yummy so I thought I'd share our experience:

Honeymoon Sweets - This was the bakery recommended by my caterer and has a good reputation (to the best of my knowledge). We tried their cake and it was very good. Both their buttercream and whipped cream icings were excellent, but my finance thought their cake was a little dry. We want a chocolate iced cake for our wedding and they told us the only way to do this is to pay $7 per serving for ganache icing. Ack! Waaaaay out of our price range. They also wanted $50 for delivery. Not the place for us.

Bamboo Bakery - The guy we met with at this place was very nice and accommodating. He gave us lots of different flavors to try and we loved their whipped cream frosting, but their buttercream was NASTY. They were able to make any of their frostings chocolate flavored, unlike Honeymoon Sweets, and only wanted about $4.25 per serving for ganache icing. My fiance gave a thumbs up for their cake moistness. We were fairly satisfied but are now glad that we kept looking.

In Pockets Bakery (Chandler) - This bakery is much smaller than the others as they only make about 4 wedding cakes per weekend and don't freeze any ingredients or cake layers. They also would give us 4 cake layers instead of the 3 offered by the other bakerys for our 100 guests. In addition, they let us choose unlimited flavors and fillings for the cake at no extra charge. (The other places only allowed two flavors and two fillings.) Their cake was excellent and they gave us a ton of flavors to sample. The best part? They only want $3.25 per person with a $15 delivery fee for a cake with ganache icing. This was our choice in the end. The most cake and options for the least money and the cake was super YUMMY! :)

Such fun!!! :)

The coolest wedding....

2006-08-08T10:41:00.000-07:00

So I've looked at billions of wedding pictures in my wedding planning and I think I've found the coolest wedding photos EVER! lol... These are amazing. If you're getting married in Atlanta, this is definately the best place!

Check out the photos below, but there are more here: Link to profile

A few more fun photos from Amanda...

2006-07-31T12:40:00.000-07:00

You can see more on her blog! :)

Indian Feast and New Serving Set

2006-07-31T11:40:00.000-07:00

Last night Matt and I went nuts cooking and made a whole slew of yummy goodies. We made three curried Indian dishes - curried Zuchini, creamy curry chicken, and rogan josh. We also made naan from scratch and a super yummy yoghurt sauce. For desert, I made strawberry mint ice cream and oatmeal rasin cookies. Matt also started making jerky for his hiking trip.

We had Chris over for dinner and I got to serve up the food in our newest estate sale find, a very vintage wooden serving set. All of the bowls are removable and they sit on a lazy susan. So fun! :)

Cuddly Kitten

2006-07-31T11:29:00.000-07:00

Winston can be such a sweetie when he's not running around like a little maniac! :P

LA Garment District and Fabric District

2006-07-30T14:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Matt and I went downtown to check out the LA fabric, garment and flower district. It was a ton of fun with a touch of 3rd world flair.

We started out by parking in the garment district where I'd heard that many LA brides have gotten their bridesmaids dresses for $15 or so. There were heaps of stores carrying cheap polyester shirts, blue jeans for $2-3, and fake designer bags. Matt found a guy on the side of the street selling 48 socks for $10 that he bought (only to find out today that they are WAY too small for him so now I have 2 dozen pairs of cheap socks, lol).

In particular, I was amused by a store carrying a whole line of cheap blue jeans named after me. I was tempted to buy a pair for the novelty, but they were a little sketchy for my taste.

We did, however, find several bridal shops carrying a wide array of insanely brightly colored ballgowns with gobs of sequins, poofy white wedding dresses, and a large array of cheap satin bridesmaid dresses. It was a bit of a mob scene, but there was a small selection of tea length chocolate bridesmaids dresses at a few stores. Nothing had prices labeled, so I'm not sure what the dresses would have cost but they quality is probably similar to David's Bridal, barely adequate.

Of course at this point in our shopping, Matt decided it was time to buy a bacon wrapped hot dog from a sketchy street vendor. It's a good thing the boy has a stomach of steel.

Continuing on, we found several bridal warehouse type places selling vast assortments of wedding do-dads, tulle, and ribbon roses. Most of it was junk, but they did have elbow-length veils there for $15-$22. This price is a little less than ebay, so I may consider going back if I don't decide to make one.

While the garment section was a little disappointing, the fabric section had a ton of great stuff. Most non-upholstery fabrics were in the $1-3 per yard price range with 3-5 yard minimums. Some of the cotton prints were old and icky, but others were beautiful and pristine. There were lots of bead and trim stores. In fact, there was an entire street filled with bead stores. This should be a great place to come and get fabric for table runners or overlays for the wedding. I can't wait to bring my mom down. The quantity of fabric for sale really was astounding.

Before we left, Matt decided to pick up a movie from a street vendor. He kept swearing up and down that they were real copies stolen from a theater or something, but in the end it is just a guy in a theater with a video camera. lol.

Finally, on the way out we drove through the jewelry district. Fun fun! :P

A kitty cat fort!

2006-07-30T13:48:00.000-07:00

Winston is such a playful little beast, Matt and I were inspired last weekend to build him a fort to run, jump, and play in. It was fun to build as there's nothing quite so reminicent of childhood as cardboard boxes and duct tape. I know Matt still has some plans for additional towers and tunnels, but here's what we have thus far.

In this first pic, notice his rear disappearing inside. I was trying to get him to pose for a picture, but he was having too much fun.

Here he is hiding under the ramp inside.

He likes to sit and look at us through the windows.

He has a particular fondness for trying to fit his little head in places where it's just slightly too big. lol.

How about luminarias for the table centerpieces too?

2006-07-28T12:50:00.000-07:00

I love the look of this table by Martha Stewart with the luminarias. It is so pretty and elegant. I love the little bows on all of the bags. What do you think? We could also intersperse little terra cotta pots with cacti and rusted iron stars to mix it up and bit, instead of using bowls of flowers like they did.

Cute little dirtball!

2006-07-27T20:07:00.000-07:00

Winston **loves** digging in the dirt on our patio and despite our best efforts, we often find him covered in mud. This seems soooo weird for a cat, to me. He has pushed out the screen on the sliding door twice now just so he can play on the patio. Gosh... I'm not sure what were going to do with him. It's a good thing he's plenty cute! :-P

(This last one is his "Oh no! I'm caught again so now their going to throw me inside" face)

Brewed and bottled!

2006-07-24T13:45:00.000-07:00

That's right, our imperial stout wedding favor is all bottled and ready for labels! :) (just another entry on the neverending to-do list) I'll start posting ideas for labels soon!

Thus far our idea is to call the dark and thick imperial stout "For Worse" and the pale yellow mead "For Better." hehe... a little wedding pun.

Here's a picture of Matt enjoying a little of the flat, warm, leftover beer after bottling. yum! :-P

The event of the decade...

2006-07-24T08:32:00.000-07:00

... and it's not our wedding! Matt's had a little cactus since he was in 5th or 6th grade. This plant has follow him for many years now including college in Potsdam, internship in Conn. and now two apartments here in Cali. He says that when he bought the little cactus at the grocery store it had a single pink flower on it and it hasn't flowered since.... until now that is! The cactus has FIVE beautiful pink flowers on it and they have been opening for the past week.

Here is the first picture, when they were just starting to open and were a very bright pink color:

Here are a couple of pics a few days later after the flowers were a bit paler and more open.

Aren't the blooms spectacular!?!

Save-the-Dates are out!

2006-07-20T12:37:00.000-07:00

Well, that's it folks! I just sent out the last major batch of STD's this morning so their safely in the hands of the US Postal Service. Perhaps there will be a couple more to send, but 99.9% are done!

Here's the final image. It's mostly the same as the last one I posted, except the proportions are slightly different for Vistaprint. The messed up the first batch of postcards as we looked like we had a horrible skin disease, but their customer service was excellent and the second batch is perfect.

Oh, I also bought my plane ticket to NH for August. I'll be there the weekend of August 25 and I can't wait to see Rach, Melissa, and Katie. It's unfortunate that Ash can't come, but we'll have to make plans for the future. It should be fun and hopefully we'll have some time to look for bridesmaid dresses! Very exciting!!!

Guess we're really getting married now, huh? :)

Another landmark...

2006-07-17T21:59:00.000-07:00

That's right folks, we're getting married 8 months from today!!! :) Yipee!!!

Lacy Luminarias

2006-07-14T07:47:00.000-07:00

In my perusal of wedding sites, I've found a bunch of pictures of people who followed Martha's instructions to make "Lacy Luminarias" and I think they're adorable. I wonder if I'll have the time or patience for such an undertaking?

Here's a link to the instructions.

Here's a link to someone who made them for their wedding, so you can see them in "action." It was a beautiful wedding and instead of using doilies, they used cutouts of their wedding monogram. Very cool!

Moving forward at warp speed...

2006-07-13T15:37:00.000-07:00

Planning has been wizzing along at warp speed this week.

Thus far we have:
1. Received the save-the-date cards
2. Mailed out 80% of the STD cards
3. Updated the wedding website with hotel info
4. Booked a photographer
5. Hired a wedding coordinator!
6. Reserved a bunch of hotel rooms and started getting relatives to do the same!

On our short to-do list:
1. Find a seamstress for my dress alterations and make an appointment
2. Hire a DJ
3. Book a caterer
4. Send the rest of the STD's
5. Call bunches of friends an relatives and get them to book hotel rooms
6. Book my ticket back east to see the girls & bm dress shop! :)
7. Plan a trip back to Phoenix for planning
8. Make appointments at cakes, caterer, linens, coordinator, seamstress, and Dad's b-day in Phoenix
9. Scream! :P

If you're coming to the wedding... book your hotel room now!!!

2006-07-12T19:48:00.000-07:00

Hey all you trusty blog readers. I'm assuming that at least a few of you will be coming to the wedding and if that's you... PLEASE BOOK YOUR HOTEL ROOM NOW! Matt's mom found an excellent rate at the Residence Inn by Marriott in Chandler so we are hoping to have as many guests get rooms there as possible before the rates change.

Click here for booking instructions and more general info!

The skirt on my dress

2006-07-11T12:56:00.000-07:00

In my perusal of wedding sites, I found this great pic of out I hope my the skirt of my dress will hang once it's altered. The top is all wrong, but I hope the skirt has a nice shape and makes my waist look that tiny! :) I like how the veil falls right at her waistline as well.

Peru Scrapbook

2006-07-10T20:06:00.000-07:00

I spent a little time this past weekend looking into getting our wedding album printed semi-professionally. I really want to design our wedding layouts, so I decided I should practice with our Peru pictures and have them printed in a mypublisher album. These are fairly inexpensive and will do the job of documenting this amazing trip.

Here are a few LO's that I've already completed:

Happy 4th!

2006-07-04T16:25:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July everyone! :)

Here is a picture of toot and I back in the day. I was still in high school, so this was probably 1998? We were hanging out at the esplanade in Boston that year waiting to hear the Boston Pops perform.

{Favors}

2006-07-04T16:07:00.000-07:00

For the favors at our wedding, Matt opted to share his brewing skill with the guests buy making a mead from orange blossom honey and an Imperial Stout. When choosing his brews, Matt decided to make something(s) special which need some aging. He actually brewed both of these a couple of months ago and they're aging in our closet. He'll be bottling in the next couple of weeks. When he was selling each recipe to me, he told me that mead is the "honeymoon drink" so I checked Wikipedia and here's what it says:

Mead is a fermented alcoholic beverage made of honey, water, and yeast. It is generally pronounced "meed." Meadhing (pronounced meth' ing is the practice of brewing honey. Mead is also known as "honey wine," although this is inaccurate. Mead is a separate and distinct family of alcoholic beverages, completely apart from beer, wine, liqueur, and distilled beverages. The history of mead goes back more than 8,000 years. The oldest known meads were created on the Island of Crete; fermented honey was seen as an entheogen and bees were sacred to Demeter. Wine had not yet been created. Mead was the drink of the Age of Gold, and the word for drunk in classical Greek remained "honey-intoxicated." (Kerenyi 1976 pp 35ff). The word "honeymoon" in English is supposedly traceable to the practice of a bride's father dowering her with enough mead for a month-long celebration in honor of the marriage. (Wikipedia, "Mead")

I think in order to appease the guys with a hardier brew, he chose to also make an Imperial Stout. So it doesn't feel left out, here is a blurb from its Wikipedia entry:

Imperial stout, also known as "Russian Imperial Stout" or "Imperial Russian Stout," is a variety of ale that was originally brewed in England for export to the court of the Tsar of Russia. It is highly hopped and has a very high alcohol content (nine or ten percent is not uncommon) intended to preserve it during long trips and to provide a more bracing drink against cold climates. The colour is very dark, nearly opaque black. Imperial stout exhibits enormously powerful malt flavours, hints of dark fruits, and is often quite dry.

Once he bottles next weekend, I'm going to have to get to work putting labels on all of the bottles. We spent a lot of time looking for the perfect bottles. First, Matt found the cute green champagne bottle on the left and ordered them through the Culver City brewstore. Then, last weekend we were at the store in the valley and we found the cute brown bottle on the right. I put a "normal" beer bottle in the center for reference. Both the bottles are really cute! I want to affix cute little tags with rafia thanking our guests for coming to the neck of each bottle. Matt wants me to include a brief blub on the history of each drink on the label. I really hope our guests like them and they turn out well! It truly will be a joint effort.

Tulle Skirt & Bustle

2006-07-04T15:46:00.000-07:00

My dress has a tulle skirt and short train, so I've been looking around for pictures of bustle for this type of skirt before I meet with a seamstress. Thus far, the best pictures I've found have come from PrincessLizzy's knot bio. She has a bunch of cute pictures and, while I don't think my skirt is quite as full as hers, it provides a great example of how a simple underbustle will look.

Check it out:

Hair and face shape

2006-07-04T15:23:00.000-07:00

Seeing as it's a holiday and my fiance has skipped town leaving me all alone, I decided to play around with my hair to see what I like with my face shape. (Yes, I am a little psycho.) While I probably can't have a realistic hair trial until much closer to my wedding as I'm growning my hair longer, I will need to have some idea what I want to do with my hair so I can buy a veil. I tried a bunch of stuff, but here are pictures of my two favorite options for the front:

Good:
1. Side part with slight back poof to give height (but not too much as Matt is short)
2. All pulled straight back, but not too tight so there is still some volume

Bad:
1. Long side part
2. Center part
3. Tightly pulled back
Now, I just have to figure out how I want to attach a veil to this hair style. I think I want it on top of my head (not coming from the bottom of the updo) but not too far forward. Perhaps something like the veil placement shown in these photos:

Outtakes

2006-07-04T15:13:00.000-07:00

While trying to get a good shot of the pretty flowers for my blog, Winston decided that he wanted to help. These photos are just too cute not to share! :)

Alstroemeria - Very pretty!

2006-07-04T15:04:00.000-07:00

Matt and I were at the grocery store last week, shopping for a Mexican feast we were making and I noticed bunches of one of our wedding flowers: Alstroemeria. Most brides probably don't know about this flower and I certainly didn't before I saw it in a bouquet at the wedding expo. It's a really pretty and delicate looking, yet hardy bloom which is in season in the spring. We're going to use it in a vivid orange for my bouquet, but it is commonly found in pink, white and yellow.

On his 2nd trip to the supermarket (to pick up all the stuff we forgot), Matt got me this pretty bouquet to keep me company while he's out of town. Very nice! :)

He's getting BIGGER!

2006-07-01T23:40:00.000-07:00

Our little Winston has gotten much bigger since we got him! He's gone up from 2 lbs 3 oz. to 3 lbs 14 oz in about 3 weeks. He had a fun trip to the vet today where he's being treated for ear mites. The little guy has had every kitten disease imaginable and has racked up quite the vet bill, but he's cute enough we've forgiven him. He's a little cuddler and and complete sweetheart. Henry is still coming around, but it's getting better. We're hoping that in the end they'll be the best of friends.

The top of the dress....

2006-06-25T10:47:00.000-07:00

I've had a few people comment that they don't like the top of my dress. I think that is at least in part to the fact that in the pictures I posted, the top is HUGE. I was looking around Romona Keveza's website and found a picture of another dress with exactly the same top half as mine ending in the same sash. It gives a good idea of how the top of my dress should fit after alterations. It's not as dowdy as it looks in my pictures and the fabric is amazing.

Now that I have the dress... how about the hair! :)

2006-06-25T09:20:00.000-07:00

I was looking online tonight to see if I could find a few hair inspiration pictures. At this point I feel like my dress has a pretty classic look and needs a pretty classic hair style. Nothing too modern, romantic or flirty. Right now my hair is permed curly and about shoulder lenghth. I'm trying to grow it out for the wedding, but I'm still unsure how long it will be in 8 months and 3 weeks. Eventually I'll have to consult with a hair dresser to see what they can do with my thin mop, but I can dream for now! (<-- Does it get any more classic than that? No tiara for me though!)

My favorite straight front and back (for now):

Here are a few more pretty straight hair options:

Here are a few nice options for curly hair, if my hair doesn't straighten well or needs a little more volume:

Finally, a couple of pictures where they added other things to the "do" to add a little more volume/interest:

the DRESS!!!

2006-06-21T15:34:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, I took a trip down to Anaheim for the Making Memories Dress sale. They are a charity which takes donations of used dresses from brides and new dresses and samples from designers. They then resell these dresses for breast cancer research. It's a great cause.

Anways, Claire and I scoured the racks at the sale and there was a pretty big range of dresses. About 1/2 the dresses were brand new from designers and the other 1/2 were used. Some were very old and out of date, while others were current styles. I tried on abou 6 dresses but really fell in love with the first one! :) It is a 100% silk gown by Romona Keveza and a brand new sample. Unfortunately, it is a size 12 but I believe it can easily be altered because of the style of the top.

Rather than just post pics here, I am going to just post links so there is less of a chance that Matt should accidentally stumble upon the pics. Here they are: (just remember the top of the dress needs to be taken in about 6 inches)

Front
Back
Detail
The top

At the Sale
At the sale #2

Let me know what you think! :)

Pssstttt....

2006-06-20T19:09:00.000-07:00

Less than 9 months and counting!!! I can't wait!

(oh, and I bought my dress too!!!!)

Fox News: Special Report!

2006-06-15T14:01:00.000-07:00

In recent weeks, a video of a couple guys adding Mentos mints to Diet Coke has been circulating the internet. (View Here) Today, the hilarity was taken to a whole new level when Fox News called the chemistry department here at UCLA to do a special report on the dangers of drinking diet coke while eating mentos. (i.e. Can it make a person explode or do internal damage??? lol) Here's a spoof of this on the web. (View Here) After circulating around the department a bit, Steve and Cari jumped at the chance to do a demo on air or the mentos/diet coke experiment and educate the ditzy blond reporter.

So why does Diet Coke explode when Mentos are added?

It's simply a matter of surface area. Mentos have a very high surface roughness (or are "rugged" as described by the reporter) and this roughness serves as nucleation sites for the dissolved CO2 in the Diet Coke.

Here's a run down of the filming:

Steve confusing the heck out of the reporter with his dumped down scientific explination. She just wasn't going to get it, no matter what.

Filming more explinations by Steve.

Ognjen, Cari and Steve preparing the Mentos for addition to the Diet Coke while looking spiffy in their lab coats and CNSI goggles.

Explosion #1: 2 L of Diet Coke + 5 Mentos (the camera guy was too busy running from the soda to capture the explosion so they had to do it again)

The peanut gallery.

Explosion #2: 2L Diet Coke + 8 Mentos

The GRAND Finale: Steve drilled a small hole in the top of the bottle to act as a nozzle so the soda would spray higher. It shot ~ 15 feet in the air.

Cari filming the final wrap up.

So, if you're in the LA area be sure to tune into Fox News tonight at 10 PM! :)

Another productive weekend in Phoenix!

2006-06-13T19:39:00.000-07:00

Matt and I drove to Phoenix on Friday night to get a head start on our weekend of wedding fun. Overall, it was a great weekend and we got a ton done.

Here's a brief summary:

Photographers - Met with Tod O'Driscoll, Photography by Kristie and Liquid Shutter Photography. Were super impressed by Kristie and LS and are now trying to make our decision. Kristie takes great pictures, has guarenteed us an assistant and has slightly lower prices. Unfortunately, her package doesn't quite come with as much time as we'd like. LS also has very good photos, two shooters, and has offered to alter one of their packages to meet our needs. Now we just need to start bargining via email to see who can give us the best package.

DJs - We met with AZ Celebrity DJ and Cruizin' Tunes DJ. We really likes Cruizin' Tunes as he seemed down to earth and to "get" what we were looking for before we told him. I just want to ask a few more questions and get a couple of references before we book. DONE! :)

Cakes - I wanted to start our cake quest this weekend but didn't have much luck. I called Honeymoon Sweets and they said I could come in to visit in late July at the earliest. bleck... I also called Cathy's Rum Cakes and talked to Cathy and she said to come in anytime. No prob. When we got their we were met by a rude girl who was far far less than helpful. Not worth our trouble. I'll take my buisness elsewhere. I don't care what your cake tastes like! Time to start again! :P

Caterer - When I finally got a hold of Atlasta (our chosen caterer) on Friday after a week of unreturned phone calls and emails, I was informed that our contact person (Kristen) was no longer with the company as of Tuesday. From that statement she either quit or was fired but none the less Atlasta didn't have any of our contact info and asked that we send our proposal back to them. I totally should have deducted a little money as they can't keep their accounts straight. After a couple confusing phone calls on Friday, we were set on a Monday meeting with Steve. The meeting ended up going pretty well. Supposedly, Steve is the owner of the company despite only looking 30ish. He promised us that he will be handling our account from here on out and we won't be passed around. We were fairly satisfied and will probably be sending in a deposit this week.

Florist - On Monday, we got to meet with Alan at Kabloom in Chandler and once again were super pleased. He remembered our account and promptly changed our order slightly. I'm super excited for our flowers. They are so unique and pretty! :) We put down a deposit this weekend! DONE!

Dress - I was refered to Azteca Bridal Plaza by Marisa Bridal's vendor page and was nothing but disappointed when mom and I went to look for dresses. First of all, they don't actually carry Marisa dresses. In addition, I'm looking for something without tons of beading and of the 1000+ dresses in the shop we found a total of 3 which fit this criteria. Finally, the place was a madhouse with large crowds, screaming babies, disappearing staff, and a heartfelt rendition of "My Heart Will Go On" blasting from a DJ hocking their services. A definate skip.

Band - Monday morning we met Gary at Craftsmart (yes, this was his suggestion not ours!) and we gave him a deposit for our wedding. Their music will be awesome! :) DONE!

Overall a great weekend! :) Thanks Mom!

A new member of the family! :)

2006-06-05T11:47:00.000-07:00

Matt and I got suckered by a cute face this weekend and adopted a very cute, 7 week old, male, tabby cat. He's the cutest thing ever! Now we just have to convince Henry of that....lol...

Does anyone have name suggestions? I've voted for Winston. Matt likes Thor. We've also considered Dubrovnik, Ceasar, and Shoeless Joe (to continue the baseball theme).

Welcome to the family, bud!

Oodles of Stationary!

2006-06-03T20:23:00.000-07:00

Since our Save-the-Date cards need to go out in the very very near future, I have had stationary on the brain. In many ways, I'd really like our invites and STD cards to coordinate, if not match (not that it matters to the rest of the world).

Here are a few more inspirational invites I saw in my web searching by Braun & Brown Designs:

The band.... Newton's Theorem

2006-06-03T20:10:00.000-07:00

Last time we were back in Phoenix, Matt, Mom, Dad and I went up to Wrigley Mansion to hear Newton's Theorem play. The mansion is pretty neat, but we were really there for the band. Mom and I had heard them play at the wedding expo back in January and really liked what we heard. They play mostly their own stuff but will do a good grouping of covers, too. I think we're going to have them play the ceremony and for the cocktail hour before switching to a DJ for the rest of the night. I really love the cello and guitar sound. It is very classic without being snooty and fits perfectly with the laidback vibe of the garden. If you're interested, you can hear more of their music on their webpage.

Here is a link to a video I took of them at the expo (be sure to turn up the volume).

Photoshoot #2 - Urban Venice

2006-06-03T19:25:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, Matt and I had a ton of fun posing for another photoshoot with Amanda. We really enjoyed the pictures from the last shoot (as you can see from the many save-the-dates they've morphed into below) so I was very excited to try again.

Once again, I'm very impressed with her work. This set has a totally different feel than the last and I can't wait to see the rest of the photos. She has posted a small preview on her blog.

Here are my favorite three:

Photoshoot and Save the Dates...

2006-05-28T20:36:00.000-07:00

This afternoon Matt and I had the opportunity to be guinea pigs for Amanda's beginning photography buisness. It was fun to wander in downtown Venice looking for neat walls and I can't wait to see the results. I also learned that I really need to work on not squinting before our wedding or most of our photos are going to have my eyes cloes. lol

Amanda was also kind enough to give me a CD of photos from the last shoot. As a result, I've been on a photoshop spree making up options for our Save the Date cards.

Here are a few of my creations:

1.

2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

And the back of the postcard: (I've blurred our address for the web)

When you're on a roll....

2006-05-27T15:12:00.000-07:00

So I'm still having fun making wedding invites. Too bad I'll eventually have to pick a single one!

Here are a few more of my faves:

Invite fun... swirls, stripes, flowers and plaid!

2006-05-27T11:41:00.000-07:00

I was inspired this morning (as it's an awfully quiet morning with Matt away), to work on our wedding invites. I'm mostly happy with the Arizona postcards for our STD cards, but do sort of wish we were making something to match our eventual invites.

I ended up on 2 Peas in their shopping section (bad bad!) and found a bunch of cute orange, brown and green paper. I ordered a bunch and want to do a mockup invite sometime soon. While I had my credit card out, I also purchased a couple of Rhonna Farrer's digikits. I really like the swirls and flowers and figure they would be perfect to jazz up the printed portion of my wedding invite.

Here's what I have done thus far. What do you think? I'm sure there will be a million other versions, but I do like this. It will be easy to print with brown ink on cream cardstock and have it look good. I made it 6x6 figuring that way I could print 2 on an 8.5x11 piece of paper and make a folding section out of 12x12 cardstock.

Atlasta's Menu

2006-05-23T12:18:00.000-07:00

So I just heard back from Atlasta and both Matt and I are pretty happy with their package. Here is the menu we're proposing. What do you think?

Appetizer Station

Bruschetta Station
traditional tuscan/ white bean and pancetta/ pistachio and ricotta served with grilled flat breads

Cheese Board with Artisan Breads and Crackers
smoked gouda, havarti dill, muenster, provolone, swiss, bleu cheese and cheddar with concord grapes and pears

Spinach, Green Chile and Artichoke Dip
spinach, green chiles and artichoke hearts baked with jack cheese and served with grilled asiago and sourdough breads

Plated Salad
Caesar Salad
crisp romaine tossed with parmesan cheese, anchovies, egg, croutons and classic caesar dressing

Buffet
Stuffed Frenched Pork Chops
roasted pepper, pancetta and monterey jack stuffed pork chops with madeira demi

Tenderloin Medallions Au Poivre
served with pinot pan sauce

Truffled Twice Baked Potatoes
potato shells piped with whipped potatoes and cheddar cheese

Sauteed Greenbeans
with Garlic and Shallots

Fresh Brewed Iced Tea
Lemonade
Fresh Brewed Regular Coffee (following dinner)
Water Service

Served with Fresh Baked Breads

Caterer

2006-05-23T00:17:00.000-07:00

Last time we were back in Phoenix we met with a bunch of caterers and whittled the list down to our top two, Atlasta and Arizona Taste.

On the list:
Atlasta - They were incredibly accomidating and met us a block from the house. They also have excellent prices and we really enjoying talking with Kristin. Only wants a 25% deposit.

Arizona Tasta - was also great. When we sat down at their office they immediately served us water with lemon and continued to refill our glasses throughout the meeting (great service!). Their prices are comparable to Atlasta and we like their menus. We also have heard several good reviews of AZ Taste. Wants a 50% deposit.

Off the list:
Heidi's - Seems to want to overcharge for rental upgrades. Not as flexible and seems to want things a certain way. Didn't like the menu as much.

Michael's - Very cool restaurant, but just a bit too pricey for us.

Fabulous Foods - They met us at the garden to talk and it was okay. I think they're prices are a bit higher than AZ Taste and Atlasta. We also didn't get as good a feeling from them.

We just emailed Atlasta tonight for some more info and we'll be putting down our deposit later this week. Very exciting (and expensive!).

Busy Busy Busy!

2006-05-18T12:18:00.000-07:00

I've been really busy with work stuff and have fallen behind in both my blogging and wedding planning. Things are a bit up in the air anyways as Matt and I haven't chosen a photographer or caterer. In addition, I had to cancel my dress order.... why, you ask? It doesn't come it white!!! :-P Now I'm stuck working on finding another dress.

If you're hankering for more good blog reading before I get around to posting more, here are a couple of my recent favorites!

An awesomely funny and insiteful chemistry blog: http://www.blog.tenderbutton.com/

A great list of bios from the Knot: http://www.weddingbee.com/author/miss-dragonfly/

A photography masterpiece by Tara Whitney: http://tarawhitney.typepad.com/

A little chemistry humor for those few females working in science: http://sexyscience.blogspot.com/

Congrats to Melissa and Marcus!!!

2006-04-27T16:29:00.000-07:00

I put off posting this for a few weeks because I wanted to give them a chance to tell people themselves, but now I feel like it's been long enough...

Congrats Melissa and Marcus on your engagement!!! :)

Here are a couple of pics of the happy couple:

I can't wait to hear their wedding plans and what the future holds for them! :)

Weekend Plans...

2006-04-27T14:26:00.000-07:00

So, our weekend is booked. We leave for Phoenix tomorrow morning bright and early. Estimated TOD (time of departure) is 4:30 AM. That should put us in Phoenix before noon. If Matt complains too loudly tonight, perhaps we'll push it back until 5:30.... we'll see...

Here's the breakdown of the weekend.

Friday:
- Appointment #1: 2 PM, Fabulous Foods
- Appointment #2: 3:30 PM, Arizona Taste
- After that appointment I really want to return to the DBG as our site will be set up for a 109 person wedding catered by Fabulous Foods.
- Dinner with the folks!

Saturday:
- Appointment #3: 9 AM, Michaels Restaurant
- Appointment #4: 11 AM, Photographer Wes Johnson
- Appointment #5: 1 PM, Atlasta Catering
- Check out some local hotels for rates and blocks of rooms
- Appointment #6: 9-12 PM, Newton's Theorem Concert

Sunday:
- Appointment #7: 10 AM, Kerry Allen Photography
- Appointment #8: Noon, Michelle Meyer Photography
- Drive back to LA!!!

It should be a super busy weekend getting everything done. Wish us luck getting it all done!

New Hair! :)

2006-04-20T18:19:00.000-07:00

My hair was getting long and a little drab, so last week I decided to make it a bit perkier! :)

Here are the results:

Wedding Website

2006-04-20T17:41:00.000-07:00

In anticipation of printing and sending out our save the date cards, I have created a wedding website for our guests. There is a nifty free website called Wedding Announcer that has pretty good templates suitable for creating this type of website. It is pretty easy to use, but doesn't allow much personalization.

Here is the link: http://phoenixwedding.weddingannouncer.com

I'll be adding travel info and accomodations info (the most important parts!) as soon as I can. For now, the guests can enjoy planning their trips to Arizona as I've listed lots of fun add-on trips and lots of pictures.

Save the Date Cards

2006-04-18T08:29:00.000-07:00

When I spoke with Mom on Sunday she mentioned that we should get our Save-the-Date cards sent out in the next month or so. I haven't really seen anything I liked for a card, thus far. Most of them look like mini wedding invites and I'd rather stay away from that as I don't really know what I want my invites to look like. Instead I was thinking of doing a postcard to save on postage and to be a bit different.

Last night I was searching for postcards and found these images. I think they'd be great for my STD cards, but I can't find them for purchase online. I love how the cards are a bit retro and very "Arizona," as the desert will probably be the over riding theme in the wedding decorations. **If you know where to get an Arizona or Phoenix Postcard like this, please let me know!!!**

Getting frustrated, I ended up posting on my scrapboo king site for ideas. A couple suggested making my own image and having them printed and I may still do that, but I doubt my photoshop skills. Another person suggested an awesome postcard store in San Francisco called Quantity Postcards. They have a great selection including STD cards and older postcards. I don't see a phoenix or arizona card on their site, but they do have Tuscon so I will email them. From that site I can either have a STD printed like the Florida one shown ($1.50 each) or I could purchase a non-personalized card ($4.80/12). Definate possibilities! :)

Another month down...

2006-04-17T13:30:00.000-07:00

11 Months and counting!!! :)

Hanging with a Nobel Prize Winner

2006-04-13T12:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I got to spend the whole day with Sir Harry Kroto, the winner of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He was instrumental in the discovery of buckminster fullerenes (C60) and is an all around cool guy. He has put tons of neat stuff on his website (Vega Site) including videos of Richard Feynman and lectures on nanotechnology. His lecture was pretty interesting, as well. It included lots of science jokes and was fairly inspirational without being dumbed down. (FYI. If you saw the talk you'd wish you were from Mississippi so you could lead the effort to oust Trent Lott from office!) Overall, the best part of the day was hearing him describe the discovery of C60, the experiment and the excitement of it all. Very Cool! :)

Here's a photo of us together:

Congrats to Daniel and Emily!!!

2006-04-13T12:39:00.000-07:00

Daniel and Emily just welcomed a new little one to the world last Saturday. Congrats to them! :) Her name is Madison and she weighed 7 lbs 7oz. They're going to be excellent parents!

Here is a pic of them at the San Diego Zoo last summer before their whole adventure in the world of parenting began.

Choosing a Photographer

2006-04-07T19:12:00.000-07:00

Matt and I are planning on driving to Phoenix in a couple of weeks to select a photographer and caterer. We have a limited list of caterers to choose from, but the list of photographers seems to be endless. Below is a list of photographers we are currently considering. I have a few I have to call to get more info and I will edit this post to update after I do so.

Here are a few we are considering:

1. Michelle Meyer - 2K for unlimited coverage with photographer and assistant, negatives + engagement session.

2. Frank Nickolls - $1500 for unlimited coverage, 1 photographer, negatives + engagement session

3. Allan Studios - $1295 for 6 hours of unlimite coverage, negatives.

4. Nelson's Wedding - $1295 for 6 hours, 2 photographers, web negatives, 200 4x6 prints

5. Heinz Photography - Call for pricing - experience at DBG

6. Kevin King - Already booked

7. Matt Kim - 2K for 6 hrs of coverage, 1 photographer, negatives (200 processed)

8. Focus Pocus - $995 for 6 hrs of coverage, 1 photographer, digital negatives.

Invites...

2006-04-07T12:42:00.000-07:00

So I wasn't really happy with the sample invites I got in the mail from envelope mall. They look a little small and cheap. When you close the invite the edges don't line up. I think I can do better.

I just found the cutest pochettes today at www.lcipaper.com. In the translucent colors they sort of look like flowers! :) I like the green one with a golden yellow inside.

Rusty Star Centerpieces

2006-04-04T13:23:00.000-07:00

I just found this awesome website that sells tons of rusty stars. The ceiling of our reception pavillion has rusty stars which hang down and light up. I was thinking it would be fun to continue the star motif in the centerpieces. (sort of a desert night theme) We could punch star cutouts in luminarias along the pathways, as well.

Here is a picture of the ceiling of the reception pavilion. Aren't the stars cute?

Here are a couple pictures of the stars I found at Briar Hollow. I think they match the pavilion pretty well and are super affordable. I'm just a bit concerned that the stars may be too primative or rustic for a wedding. I think they could look pretty classy amongst candles or potted cacti. The garland could be used for the buffet and cake table. The theme could be toned down by using the star shaped dish to hold floating candles or flowers.

What do you think? Yea or Nay?

Monogram

2006-04-03T23:25:00.000-07:00

I was playing around a bit tonight with photoshop again and I made a couple of monograms. I figure this is a good way to figure out what style and typeface I like for my invite. I want to see if I can come up with a consistent feel for my save-the-dates, invites, programs, etc. The font in this mongram is called "Will and Grace" and combines upper and lowercase letters. It is casual without being sloppy. I modified the flowers from the April 2Peas free digikit. They were pink to begin with and said "flowers are beautiful" so I photoshopped out the old words and added a mask to make the flowers orange. I like the orange and green in this image. The flowers remind me of those found near the Wildflower Pavilion in the previous post. I don't think I'm quite happy with the font yet. I may splurge at some point and purchase a font from 2Peas. I just need to figure out what I really want first. There are so many to choose from and it's hard to figure out what will be just right without already having the font to play with in photoshop. Anyways, I'm sure there will be plenty more monograms to come!

The garden is in BLOOM!!!

2006-04-03T18:23:00.000-07:00

Mom, Dad and Aidan visited the botanical garden last weekend (almost exactly one year from the wedding) and it was entirely in BLOOM! :) There are awesome orange flowers growing in the ampitheater and the wildflower pavillion is surrounded by white, yellow and blue flowers. It is soooooo pretty!!! I hope it is just like this next year. My Dad put all the photos on a website for people to see (link)

Here are a couple of my favorites!

The view the guests will see entering the amphitheater. Aren't the orange flowers awesome!?!

A close-up of the pretty orange flowers. They'll match my wedding bouquet perfectly! (You can see a photo of the one I like in the title bar of the blog)

A view of the inside of the amphitheater. You can see Dad and Aidan over in the corner. We were talking about getting an arch for the ceremony, but I think it might be too much with the flowers. Perhaps we'll just have a nice mat/runner to emphasize the ceremony location. (Matt wants a big red 'X' to stand on, lol)

Here's a shot of the wildflowers over by the reception site. I guess they call it the 'Wildflower Pavilion' for a reason, huh? This may not look very lush to you easterners, but it is pretty amazing for the desert in Phoenix! I hope it looks just like this next year.

Dani's Bridal Shower & Bachlorette Party

2006-04-03T12:07:00.000-07:00

Saturday, Claire and I hosted a combined Bridal Shower and Bachlorette Party for Dani. She's getting married in September, but is leaving for Italy in a week. It was a ton of fun. We decorated the apartment in pink, baked lots of goodies, hired a massuse and got pedicures!

Here are a few pics:

Cari getting a massage

Paula getting her pedicure

Showing off our newly manicured feet.

Dani decked out with her drink, boa, chocolate covered strawberries, tiara and veil.

Dani blowing out the candles (we forgot her birthday a week earlier!)

Even Henry got dressed up for the night! She loved her pink boa.

Dani opening her presents

All dressed up and ready to head to the Sunset Strip

At Cafe Med for an Italian Dinner

Cari and Atsuko in toilet paper bride contest
The beautiful toilet paper brides. :)

Wedding pictionary

More Engagement Photos

2006-03-28T22:24:00.000-08:00

Amanda just put some more photos from our shoot on her blog! (link) I've copied a few of my favorites here but there are more there, so check it out!

I love the composition of these shots. The colors and contrast is awesome, too. I just wish our faces were a little different in a couple of them. That was probably our fault as we weren't sure when to look at her and when to look at each other. In picture #2, I might try to blur the background a bit when I get the photo in high res to obscure the lightpole and cage-thingy. I really like how that photo came out, but want to keep the focus on us. Thanks again Amanda!

Quote of the Day

2006-03-28T12:30:00.000-08:00

"Holidays are the invention of the Devil"

- my boss

Engagement Photos

2006-03-27T10:48:00.000-08:00

Luck has been in my favor! On one of my favorite sites (2Peas) I met Amanda, a new photographer who lives only a mile or so from me. She was in search of subjects, as she aspires to take up professional photography. Sunday, we met her and her bf up at Pt. Dume in Malibu for a photoshoot. It was a good time and learning experience for us all! If you're in LA and want to have your picture taken, be sure to post on her blog. It's a lot of fun and she's great to work with!

Here are a few pictures I stole from her blog. I really love the style and composition of these photos. I can't wait to see the rest!

A couple of LO's

2006-03-23T23:21:00.000-08:00

I had a little fun tonight creating two new digital layouts. The pagekits available on the internet have become soooooo much better since I first tried digital scrapping (just once!) about a year ago. There are so many more elements of a much higher quality.

Here are a couple of the layout's from tonigh. The first is using a couple of fun pictures of Henry I took in the apartment. The second is using a photo of Janelle and Craig from their wedding about 1.5 years ago. I figured it would be fun to scrap a wedding photo for practice while I'm waiting for my own!

New title bar!

2006-03-22T23:18:00.000-08:00

So, I had more fun tonight and came up with a new title bar. Fun fun!

Photoshop fun

2006-03-21T23:45:00.000-08:00

I had a bit of fun tonight playing with photoshop. I think we might send out a postcard as our "save the date" card so I figured I should brush up on my photoshop skills. Here are a couple of my works-in-progress:

Any comments or suggestions?

Whoa! :)

2006-03-21T15:44:00.000-08:00

The site is REALLY booked!

2006-03-21T12:25:00.000-08:00

I've called the wedding coordinator at the Desert Botanical Garden daily for the past 2 weeks to see if they had received our deposit and contract yet, only to have my phone messages ignored. I was getting a bit sick of calling, so yesterday morning I left a nice polite phone message that went something like this, "Hi Lindsey! This is Kirsten and I was wondering if you've received the contract and check for our March 17th, 2007 yet. It's been almost 3 weeks now, so if you haven't received it I should really cancel the check today in case it's been lost in the mail. If you could call me back and let me know before I call the bank, that would be great. Thanks a bunch!" Lol... so what do you know? An hour later my call is finally returned! I'd left nearly 10 messages and not until I leave a veiled threat is my call returned! (and promptly at that!)

None the less, our wedding is booked!!! March 17th, 2007 is our wedding day!!!! :)

Only 360 days to go! :)

NAPKINS!!!!

2006-03-18T13:29:00.000-08:00

What do you guys think of personalized napkins for the cocktail hour? I think they're adorable!!!

There's a great site which sells them for a reasonable price called www.foryourparty.com. I like their coasters, too. However, I don't think we'll have a good place to use coasters during the cocktail hour as people will be wandering in the garden, so the napkins will work much better. Something to keep in mind for sure!