Winter cleaning. December 8, 2009

I just deleted 218 inspiration photos from wedding planning..wow!  That was pretty liberating

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(source)

From cakes, to colors, dresses, veils, candy buffets and centerpieces, all the ideas that inspired things in our wedding…have been released back into the universe.  I held on to them for a while, thinking I might use them for something, but really, it’s nice to see just ‘real’ pictures replacing them in my iPhoto now.  I look forward to putting even more pics in my folders when they arrive (I see new ones almost everyday between flickr & facebook) and when the professional pictures come in, it’ll be even more inundated.

Whew!  Now, time to look for relevant pictures for some kind of new update here.

P.S.
I *have* started a second blog related to newlywed life.  There is a bit of a crossover between the two at this point, but if you’re interested, it’s here.

P.P.S.
Is there a topic you’d like me to blog about regarding the wedding? Comment and let me know!

Guestbook…part ?? December 5, 2009

I honestly lost track of where my guestbook saga went, but I CAN tell you show you how it turned out:

(personal photo)

To make a long story short, what we did was simple: I purchased a large roll of paper from IKEA, then used a Martha Stewart eyelet border punch and cut yards and yards of the paper to create paper table runners:

We unrolled the paper table runners, then placed a ‘pack’ of fabric-wrapped markers down, including a cute set of directions:

(previously posted pic!)

…and the rest was history, our guests were extremely creative and left great notes, sketches and fun little anecdotes.  From there, it was my task to collect the ‘best of,’ then cut each out individually, and organize them into a framed format…of course, I returned to IKEA for presentation assistance.

I bought the largest RIBBA frame possible, which is 28 ¼ “x 40 ¼ ” and a bargain at only $28!  The greatest thing about this frame series?  It’s made of durable plastic instead of glass, which makes it klutzy-krissy-proof while also being more lightweight!  I had tons of fun assembling the messages in puzzle format, then using a simple glue stick to put it all together.

(personal photo)

I am so glad that it turned out so nice! and I love that we have a big keepsake of our big day through our guests’ eyes that’s cute and fun. Now, just to find somewhere to hang it!

PWC (the post-wedding-chop) December 1, 2009

It’s been discussed time and time again…the inevitable haircut following the wedding…c’mon board the link-train!

CHOO CHOO CHOO CHOO

Now, my hair isn’t super long, but for me, it’s longer than it has been in quite some time…

Us at the rehearsal dinner

So, I am thinking just a few inches shorter with the inverted bob style that I have been getting for the past year or so, ala something like these:

I also am going to *finally* invest in a better-quality hair straightener…as you can see in the above photo (of myself, not hayden or kimberly, lol) my hair was straightened that evening with Liz’s CHI straightener and I was amazed by how fast it heated and how smooth my hair became.  So, this “weekend” may be the time that my hair goes a better direction altogether!

Post-wedding life, thus far. December 1, 2009

We’re still seeing more pictures everyday from our wedding from family and friends and that makes us so happy..

I don’t think I posted this one, yet!

Yayy!  Anywho, the next thing we’re super excited, of course, is the honeymoon!  We have only eleven more days until we leave Port Canaveral on the Disney Magic for seven lovely nights, cruising around the Western Caribbean…here’s the post about our itinerary.

Onboard, we’ve booked a Palo Dinner for the Cozumel evening, as well as a tour exploring the ruins and historic sights, but the other ports we haven’t booked, yet.  Thanks to generous wedding gifts and some onboard credit, I think we will do a few more things, but we’ll decide onboard!  We also would love to do a spa treatment or two…never had a massage, but we would love to try it!

Overall, I love married life.  It’s so nice to say “husband” – no more pretentious-sounding “fiance” lol…it’s just nice!

Programs & Program Folders. November 27, 2009

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These ^^ were my inspiration pics/ideas when it came to programs and program holders; I knew from the beginning that I wanted an overall Mary Blair inspired feel to the wedding & so it began with that…I think it played out well through the theming, and I had a request to share how I did the programs and folders, though I have to say this was a less-documented project (visually) than most, so bear with me – I’d be happy to answer any questions about any part of the process!!

• First, I free-handed the design of the program cover on PowerPoint.  Really, I love PowerPoint and I am just weird like that.
• Next, I printed them out on ‘cover stock’ creme-colored paper I bought as a pack @ Staples.  I liked the thickness of that paper because it was sturdy enough to hold on its own, but thin enough that it didn’t add any weight or make it difficult to fold.  I’d still recommend a bone folder to make the crease nice, though!!
• After that, I printed the contents. (msg me or leave a comment if you’re interested in the order/etc. of the program contents) and folded them in 1/2 as well – then sandwiched them in accordingly.
• When I had the ‘books’ done, I used a standard stapler and stapled them ‘length-wise’ along the crease; about 2 staples per book.
• In the meantime, I had stamped several sheets of gold-toned scrapbook paper with a floral stamp, plus alphabet stamps in between (initials em + kh), then sliced them with the paper cutter in two inch wide strips.
• With the strips, I folded them (with the bone folder as well) then used a foam brush and standard glue to secure over the ‘binding’ of the books.

• I repeated this process until I had completed apx. 60 books…

• Then it was time for the holders.  I took the approximate dimensions from a site that sells the tags (not going to link to them, but a Google search could tell ya) and once again free-handed a design ‘template.’ (I did this by cutting a standard size scrapbook sheet in 1/2 (so 6″) and then chopping the tops diagonally to create a tag shape.

• To emebellish, I added a strip of blue ribbon, which I attached with double-sided tape, then finished with the 2″ circle sticker with our “monogram” – then I used the hole punch in the middle of the top and laced ribbon through (2″ grosgrain) and secured the loop with hot glue.

• For the opposite, “holder/folder” side, I actually sliced off the bottoms and reattached with glue dots.  Looking back, I could have just folded them up 2″ and been done with it – actually, I realized it about halfway through the process.  Hmm, so just fold up when you do these!! =) Hehe…anyway, I side-stapled the ends of these ‘pockets’ as well.

• As a finishing touch, I added our FLICKr photo-sharing business cards to the flap (securing with glue dots) and a circle punched sticker that explained what the bubbles (attached on top, with ribbon) were for.

• And that’s how they looked on the chairs!!

All in all, it was a work in process that I really just approximated and tweaked until I got to the finished product.  I think that was one of the things I enjoyed most about my wedding projects – they allowed me to really use what I had (as far as ideas/supplies and inspiration) and make it into something I knew I could never buy in a store.

<3

Wedding for sale…? November 27, 2009

Now that the wedding is over, I am thinking about the piles of randomness that are lying around the house…things like:

the candy jars…

the aisle pomanders…

our cake stand…

…and the “i do” letters.

While there were some things I kinda had a plan for (possible dismantling of the centerpieces and selling the manzanita branches to an interested party on wb) these are the items that I realistically no longer need – they were great and we had fantastic pictures of them, but they just don’t serve everyday uses to the point where I think we need to keep them.  So, I think I will be listing them on classifieds soon (possibly when I have prettier pictures of them).

What did/will you do with your leftover wedding “stuff”?

-3 Days. November 25, 2009

Wow, cannot believe I have been a Mrs. for three days already =D

Anywho, the day went super great…was so happy how it went, and even happier now that I am married to the bestest guy ever!! <3 Pictures are trickling on from our guests, and I have captured a few of them, available on our FLICKR page as well as facebook.  Here’s a sampling:

More to come soon!!!!!

Three Days (I need to start packing) November 18, 2009

I have a closing shift today at work…and then I am off until the 29th – and when I come back, I’ll be a married woman!  Ahhh….nice to think.  But before that, I need to get packed here soon for the wedding eve hotel stay, the wedding and for the wedding night at the Grand =D  Whoo hooo!!

(source)

Basically, I need to make sure I just have everything organized, because honestly, if I forget something, it’s not far to fetch, but just getting stuff set up right should be the key!

I’ve decided recently that I will wait to do the name change stuff likely until January because of the Honeymoon and such…after we get back and are settled down it’ll be less stressful.

Those are my three-days out thoughts! =D

Venue + Catering…FOUR DAYS out. November 17, 2009

All the finalizations are coming together for the wedding prep!  On Friday, me and my mom went to the Town Center to meet with the venue coordinator and catering coordinator to make final arrangements for the space.

We were able to create a new floor plan that really utilized the space to its best advantage, as well as figure out where the ‘extras’ would be placed (including the cake table, the gift table and the candy buffet) – we worked on centerpiece arrangement and also how the candy buffet would be displayed…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not so pro pic of the candy buffet set-up!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sneak peak of the centerpiece/table runners.

So, all that’s really left to do is to complete the ‘last touches’ on the centerpiece trees and work on the table runner lengths. =)

 

Around VillageWalk – 11 days out. November 10, 2009

Recently, I thought I’d take a little walk around the VillageWalk Town Center and take some pics of the surroundings on wedding day; so join me here on a tour of the area!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Perhaps this might be the area we could do the “first look” (click here for a cute description of the ‘first look moment.’)  Right near here, there is a little playground area, that could possibly a fun area for pre-ceremony pictures with our wedding party!  I didn’t get  a pic of that on this photo-excursion, but it’s cute.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is where we will say “i do.” <3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…but not until I hike the grassy field here.  Haha!  It’s a semi long aisle, isn’t it?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These might be nice areas to take family photos and such, no?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…and we could not be without a picture of the main tower of the Town Center.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the obligatory picture in front of a door!  This wouldn’t be too shabby!

Well, I hope you enjoyed that photo-tour, and please suggest your must-have wedding photo ideas! =)