My Wedding Report

The search for my wedding dress had officially begun. Mama Duck and I went to two different bridal dress stores. You may remember my first post and then follow-up post regarding my feelings for wedding dress shopping. I’m pleased to say that I actually had a good time and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.

There are a few things that began to stand out as I tried on dresses. I really liked dresses that had rouching in the bodice. To my surprise a dropped waist looked good on me. My fear was that I was not going to be tall enough. However, the height was not an issue and the dropped waist showed off a bit more of my figure.

Our first store was Here Comes The Bride in San Diego. It is one of the more popular stores down there. There is a big room that has lots of dresses and then a hall with several “bridal suites.” The bridal suite is where you try on the dresses and has a comfy couch, big mirror, pedestal and a little cabinet with water, binder clips and other things I don’t know about.

Basically I just took a deep breath and went for it. I learned the “duck and dive” move it get into the dresses. Thanks to some advice from a fellow blogger, I wore a strapless bra and some bikini panties so that my butt was not exposed for all to see. I’d say that the experience was not necessarily emotional, but kind of a “woah moment” when you realize you really have a wedding dress on.

Okay my loyal readers, I did take pictures or I guess Mama Duck did. However, she was sitting down taking some of them and then tends to just hit the button at random times. The result being that these pictures are NOT flattering. I will show them to you as long as you promise not to laugh at how scary I look. If you have never seen a picture of me before, I apologize in advance and encourage you to keep checking back for when my posts don’t contain terrible pictures of myself. I am trying to be brave and be a devoted blogger and show you the good, bad and ugly. Here we go…

NOTE: MR. DUCKY IF YOU ARE RANDOMLY LOOKING AT THIS BLOG DO NOT LOOK ANY FURTHER. I MEAN IT! YOU WILL BE SORRY…

(MR. DUCKY CAN NOT HANDLE SURPRISES AND THE SUSPENSE IS ALREADY KILLING HIM)

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The Saturday after Thanksgiving we went to my cousin’s wedding. Having the wedding that Saturday ended up being perfect even though my cousin was unsure at first. Thanksgiving was at my house and it included all of my extended family, the groom’s immediate family and then members of the bridal party that had come into town early. It was so fun!! It gave everyone a chance to get to know one another and also kind of built the excitement and anticipation for Saturday. With the rehearsal the next day, it was like a weekend of celebration and events. So if you are considering this date for the future, I think it’s a great option. My only worry would be if you have a lot of far away guests that need to be out of town for Thanksgiving somewhere and then trying to travel back to the wedding that Saturday before returning home that Sunday. However, I think that the people you are close to will try their best to be there. And use the opportunity to have a giant Thanksgiving feast before where you can enjoy everyone’s company.

Alright, stepping off the soap box…I have some pictures to share with you. The wedding was at the Rancho Capistrano in San Juan Capistraon/Orange County. The Rancho Capistrano is a retreat center that is so beautiful. You can see it off the freeway, but can’t tell what it is and I had never been there. However, after this wedding I would highly recommend it. There are pretty ponds and lakes, spanish architecture and some beautiful courtyards.

A family friend of my Aunts did all of the stationary. It was super cute from the save the date to the programs. (This is the same lady that was the key leader in planning that amazing bridal shower I shared with you all awhile back!) All the guests had their own program that were laid out in alphabetical order with their table number for the reception attached. It was a good option for doing escort cards. My other cousin and I did the guest book and programs, and it was pretty easy to get everything handed out. It was a little awkward asking for the guests last name, but it was a nice way to greet everyone and then be able to really remind them to sign the guest book.

This is me being confused as to why Mark is snapping a bunch of “action” pictures as he puts it while I do the guest book and programs.

The ceremony was on a hill overlooking the a beautiful lake. The one downside was that it was on a bit of downward hill so you had to be kind of careful walking. (There are several ceremony site options if you are thinking about this location). The arch of flowers was gorgeous!

The bridesmaid dresses were a simple chocolate brown and looked good on everyone.

In this picture you can see a pretty good view of her bouquet that incorporated all the flowers her bridesmaid bouquets. All the bridesmaids had a bouquet made up of a different type of flower that was surrounded in green orchids.

Just after the ceremony and being announced as Mr and Mrs! Aren’t they a gorgeous couple??

This is Mark and I after the ceremony trying to get a good background for our picture. If you can’t tell, I’m literally bracing against him not to fall backwards in my heels!

This is a picture of my wonderful and amazing family! My mom and I are color coordinated…but not on purpose. haha

This is a picture of a table from the cocktail hour that has extra programs and the guest book laid out for anyone who did not get a chance to stop at the “station” before the ceremony. They also had the acoustic guitar playing in the background.

The centerpieces for the reception were really pretty. Bunches of flowers were arranged in simple vases for one type and another centerpiece had more of an arranged mixture. Don’t you like the bright colors?

The cake was really good. Each layer was a different flavor. I had chocolate cake with some sort of berry filling.

The favors were puzzle pieces talking about a donation to charity for autism awareness because my cousin is a speech interventionist that works with preschoolers who are autistic.

The reception was tented over a courtyard area with a fountain in the middle. Do you recognize those flowers? They were from the arch during the ceremony! Yeah for double use!

Chandeliers hung from the roof of the tent along with twinkle lights.

The wedding was not only so pretty, but it was also really fun. People were dancing all night long and genuinely enjoying themselves. One of my best memories of the night was of my 85 year-old grandparents dancing with all us grand-kids on the dance floor. Yes, I can say that I danced with my grandparents to Kanye West, Jackson 5, Beyonce and Madonna. I tried to take pictures, but they just did not come out so well.

I hope you enjoyed looking at some of the pictures from this real wedding. We had a wonderful time and I can only hope that people have as much fun at our wedding as we had at this wedding. On a side note, I inherited all those votive candles that you see on the tables for our wedding. Not sure where I will use them, but can’t say no to some money-saving hand-me-downs!

Remember when I told you about my anxiety to go shopping and find“the dress”? In preparation of my first bridal dress appointment I checked out all the designers that were going to be at the store. I was excited, but a little nervous at the same time. I still didn’t like the idea of being on a pedestal with a bunch of people looking at me. I was going with mama duck and my goal was just to really get an idea of what I liked and what looked good on me.

I know we’ve looked at dresses before, but here are an example of some of the designers were at the first store we went to. Are you familiar with any of them?

Michelle Roth Couture

Henry Roth

Alvina Valenta

Tara Keely

ProNovias

Lazaro

Jim Helm

Rivini

Renella De Fina Couture

Have you heard of these designers? Or was your dress made by one of them? Any tips for shopping?

The briefing on this first trip will be coming soon…

Well I am having some technical difficulties with some of the pictures and posts I wanted to share today. But not to worry, I can share with you some pictures that I have been collecting for ideas and inspiration. I’ve told you before that we want a simple, rustic look with touches of whimsical and romance throughout. I picture lots of personal DIY details, lanterns, ribbon, flowers not overly “done,” candlelight, moss and rustic wooden frames.

Weddingbee

The Knot

Once Wed

Once Wed

Martha Stewart

Once Wed

Ritzy Bee

These are some of the first images I collected and I continue to brainstorm. We need to balance the simple and rustic with the romance and whimsical. Our reception is a ballroom but with exposed wooden beams and iron chandeliers that have this rustic Tuscan feel. So there is some formality to our venue amidst all its rustic charm.

What do you think? If you haven’t checked out my color palette post be sure to do so. You can kind of see some of the ideas that are forming so far that we need to ultimately pull together. I love your feedback and comments so please give me your opinions and ideas.

Grad School Update:
I just turned 2 papers in and now have 2 finals to go. I finish my finals next week and then it will be a busy month of checking things off the to-do list before I start my last semester of graduate school. Be ready!

I thought I would show you some great things you could use for invitation DIY. I know that for many people it’ difficult because you don’t have access to designing your own graphics for invitations, can’t afford custom invites (like me) or just are short on time. Here are some letter press invitation sets from Target that are so beautiful and chic.

Wedding Invitation Kit with Ivory/Brown/Green Flowers

Green Flat-Panel Invitation Kit

Cherry Blossom Invitation Kit

Pink Peony Invitation Flat-Panel

Black Filigree Invitation Set

Jean M. Tea-Length Invitations (Check out the other color combos too)

Baroque Flat Panel Invitation Kit

Green Melon Invitations

Jean M. Piper Pocket Invitations

Now you may be like me and want that extra personal touch to everything so that it is really “yours” and has the extra “wow” element. Have you ever seen Sandra Lee’s Semi-Homemade show on the Food Network? She takes already prepared things and adds those extra ingredients to take a plain ready-made dish to something really delicious without too much cooking chaos on your part. Here are a few ideas do do some semi-diy invitations and take these simple invitation kits to another level.

• You can add embellishments like simple belly bands by using some decorative matching paper cut in strips to wrap around the invitation. Use a square punch out with your monogram or date to attach to the center of the belly band strip.



• Order cheap monogram stickers to put on that belly band or add them to the outer envelope.



• Even a simple bow attached to the top of the invitation could be an extra personal touch.



• Another great detail would be investing in a $10 corner rounder to give the invitations a more polished and custom look.



• If you want to maybe use different envelopes you could back the invitation in another color of paper to pull together your colors. For example the black filigree invitation would look great against some green paper to create that chic and modern color scheme of white and black damask with green details.



• Take one of the more basic invitations (like the Jean M. Piper designs above) and use a rubber stamp with some metallic ink to stamp out a floral design or flourish. You could even get really fancy and emboss some images!

Look at these fun stamp images from Stamin’ Up!

Photos above from Target, myOWNinvitations blog, Create for Less, Renaissance Writings, With This Ring Blog, Stampin Up

What do you think? Have you taken the “Semi-Homemade” approach to any of your wedding planning details?

Do you love the details from the previous post? Well here are the DIY instructions so that you can easily create your own.

Pinecone Place Cards

Florets burst from place cards, made by gluing card stock over veneer paper; prop up the cards with a triangle of heavy paper glued underneath, perpendicular to the veneer.

Blossom How-To
Fill a small bowl with scales. For the work surface, you’ll need a cardboard box (at least 4 inches square) with a hinged lid. Snip 4 inches of floral wire; form a small hook on one end. From card stock, cut a disk a bit larger than the desired size of the bloom’s center. Secure disk to box top by poking wire through both, letting hook rest in the center so the wire won’t fall through. Using tacky glue, affix scales in a flower shape to disk; the hook will become covered with glue. For a fuller blossom, add another layer inside the first, using smaller scales, adding up to five layers for larger blooms. Use tacky glue to attach one or more cloves or tiny plant parts in the center; let dry, and remove bloom from box.

Use the “Blossom How-To” from above to create these Pinecone Candle Vines:

These climbers include flowers made from Sabulosum cone scales, buds from the tamarack tree, and leaves, which are really single Norway spruce cone scales. The finished vine can be tightly coiled around a candlestick.

Vine How-To
1. To make buds and leaves for a vine, affix tamarack buds and large scales to 4-inch-long wires: Wrap floral tape around wires and bases of bud or scale, adding tacky glue where necessary.

2. Cut a piece of heavy floral wire as long as desired length of vine. Alternate florets with buds and leaves: Lay stem against the floral wire, wrap it in place with brown floral tape, lay the next against the wire, wrap it, and so on until vine is complete.

3. Add pinecone blossoms.

Harvest Centerpiece

A table arrangement of grains celebrates the bounty of fall. In addition to wheat, which symbolizes a fruitful life, this textured display includes other dried grasses (available at crafts stores), so it can be made weeks ahead. The final flourish? A luxurious satin bow.

Centerpiece How-To
To make each centerpiece, you’ll need about a hundred stalks (six bunches) of dried grass and wheat.

1. Bundle 15 or so stems together at a time (they’re easiest to handle if you secure bundles with floral tape about 4 inches below grain pods).

2. Hold between thumb and forefinger at an angle. Add bundles, in a spiral as shown, until all are used.

3. Wrap with floral tape (choose a color that matches your ribbon). Trim ends with floral pruner (cut center tips shorter for a stable base). Tie a wide ribbon over tape.

Autumn Luminaries

Autumn Luminarias How-To:
1. Collect fallen leaves, and arrange them on top of colored-paper treat bags.

2. Put 1 teaspoon acrylic paint (choose colors that contrast with bags) in a 2- to 3-ounce misting bottle. Fill halfway with water and shake to mix. Mist bags and leaves. Let dry 20 minutes. Remove leaves. Repeat on other side. Fill bottom of each bag with sand.

3. Illuminate: For safety reasons, use either glass holders that are three times as tall as candles or substitute battery-operated lights.
All Photos and Instructions via Martha Stewart

In honor of Thanksgiving week I wanted to share some fall decor inspiration from a classic favorite, Martha Stewart. You could use these details on your Thanksgiving table, a fall wedding or just some extra touches to your home.

These delicate looking flowers were made with pine cones. The rustic and woodsy effect seems so personalized, especially when you use a scripted font or calligraphy.

Imagine these luminaries lining your front yard and greeting your guests upon arrival.

I love the fall leaves and this delicious looking cake. What a fun dessert table to have. Add some pumpkin pies and you are set for the night.

Add these perfect ribbon accessories to these hurricane vases and again the flowers are made of pine cones.

What a great and simple centerpiece that is different and eye catching. I’d love these at a rustic barn wedding.

I like that all these decor ideas are versatile and can be used for different events and reasons. How are you decorating for the Thanksgiving holiday?

I haven’t done an “M Monday” for awhile so I thought we needed to catch up. There are a few trends, vendors, photographers etc. that are continuously showing up in wedding blogs, photo recaps and inspiration ideas. With good reason Myra from Twigs and Honey is a name that I am constantly seeing mentioned and have been an admirer of her work.

I have been browsing her blog and etsy shop to admire her beautiful work. Take a look at some of her featured designs below…

Now look at these real brides and how amazing the pieces look on the wedding day!

Photos from Twigs and Honey Blog and Etsy Store

Another special thing about Myra? Her husbands name is Matthew, so they are another M&M couple!!

What are your favorite Twigs and Honey pieces? Have you also been seeing her beautiful work all over the wedding blog world?

As I was browsing my share of blogs for the day I came across the blog of Princess Lasertron who makes these beautiful and fun creations out of felt and buttons. What a fun idea and alternative to flowers! Look at these pictures and the detail of her work. Amazing! What is really special is that you will be able to take your bouquet and everything away as a keepsake of the day.

I’m not sure that I could give up the look and feel of real floral arrangements, but this is a tempting alternative. They may not match the decor and feel of our venue, but I can’t help imagining a wedding with these pieces. Maybe they could be integrated and used for boutonnieres or in the centerpieces? They’d be great little gifts to give to our parents and grandparents as corsages and pins on the wedding day so that they have a keepsake. I also think these would be great at a bridal shower or even the perfect addition to a little girl’s nursery or room.

What do you think? Where would you use these beautiful creations? Your wedding? A party? House decor?

When we first started dating, one of my favorite things about Mark was his creativity. He challenged me to be more creative and we could add to one anther’s ideas. When he was stilling trying to win me over he helped me design invitations for the sorority formal I was planning. I was on a very low budget and had come up with a basic concept. Working together we came up with the graphic design and handmade all the invitations. Well he earned lots of points after that project! But we continued to create things together and most of our gifts for the first year were all handmade.

Now as we plan the wedding we want to continue that aspect of our relationship by using our own creativity and talents for many of the details. This is also one of the many ways we plan on saving money. We are planning on creating our website from scratch, designing monogram/logo and designing and making all stationary which includes save the dates, invitations, programs, escort cards, photo-sharing cards, thank-yous, menus, table numbers and anything else you can think of. Well with that said you have much to look forward to in terms of DIY tutorials from me and I am trying to figure out where to even start.

We are actually working on creating our website first which is kind of hard to show pictures of, since it’s programming and a lot of it is in our heads. As I get snippets of graphics I will definitely be posting so you can see the process.

One of the first things I am trying to work on is our monogram design. Now as I look for monograms I like so many different things and get more confused the more I look. I don’t want it to be super traditional, more of a logo that we can use in different places. I’d also like to have maybe 3 versions just for variety.

We want to use feel script font from Veer for our stationary. This was important, because I wanted to find a font where I like the M, L and H. This sounds crazy, but it will be the letters most used because of our first names and last names. I love the Feel Script’s M, H and L! Take a look below at the sample…

Now for the actual letters involved in the monogram I was not sure what to do. We know that we want to use the “M” throughout our wedding in different details. I was not sure if I should use just “M” or “MM” or “M&M.” I’ve been leaning towards the “M&M” but I wanted to check with an expert. I emailed Nicole from the Pink Design Blog. She emailed back right away and even wrote a post about it on her own blog. She agreed with me about the “M&M” being the best bet.

So now what should the monogram look like? I’ve been looking at lots of different ideas and getting inspiration. Nothing is quite what we are thinking, but maybe you can get an idea of some of the different elements and details that I like.

Here are some of my favorite monograms from Nicole at Pink Design Blog. I really like all the personality that her monograms have and I am hoping that we can communicate that in whatever we design as well.

Here are a few more designs that I like from Lucky Designs blog. Check out her blog if you haven’t already, there are lots a of great ideas and pictures.

Such wonderful designs don’t you think? I’m sure I will be showing you our own designs as we makes samples so stay posted. Do you have a monogram that you are using (or used) in your wedding?