My Wedding Report

First of all, hello and I hope that you all are enjoying the holidays. Second, I am so sorry for my delayed absense.  I can’t remember the last time I posted, checked a wedding blog or even sent an email.  Things have been crazy as I am sure it has been for you.  There was the normal holiday craziness with family in town, holiday parties and last minute shopping after my semester finally ended.  So I never even got a chance to tell you I was taking a break much less Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

On top of all that I have been having a little bit of a health scare.  Basically what started as a routine check-up found some abnormality in my blood results and from there trying to figure out what is wrong.  I don’t want to go into too much detail and bore you, but it has been a long last couple weeks of blood tests, specialists, medication and a bone marrow biopsy 2 days before Christmas.  I won’t have the results back until the first week of January and until then it is a lot of waiting.  We don’t think it is anything terminal, but beyond that I’m not sure what is wrong.  It’s a little bit scary, but there is no reason to worry too much yet when we don’t have all the information. 

So my break has not quite been what I expected.  I have not gotten a thing done for the wedding and some of the medications I am taking are making me more tired than normal, plus just exhaustion from everything going on.  Right now I am traveling and visiting my mom’s side of the family and will return home tomorrow. Hopefully Mark and I can make some progress next week.  I think the health issues on top of everything else just added one more thing to an already full pot.  However, all I can do is take a deep breath and keep going.  I am so thankful for my family, friends and Mark and all the support they continually offer.  I can’t help but feel the tiniest bit of frustration that my break is not exactly what I planned for, but I’m glad that I have the time off to go to the medical appointments and process everything that is happening.  Sometimes it takes something big happening to make you pause and assess what is going on around you.  While I love wedding planning, enjoy school and have a great job, I know that my relationships are what matter.  With the time and energy I’ve had in the last few weeks I have taken time to visit with friends that are in town, appreciate the love that Mark gives me and share in making memories with family.  I am truly blessed and know that no matter what is ahead in the coming months for school, wedding planning, work and health I will have the love and support of many amazing people.  Do you ever feel overwhelmed and just need to pause and assess what is really important and wonderful in your life?

On a lighter note…have you all gone out to get the newest Martha Stewart Weddings???  I grabbed one just before I went out of town and have been savoring all the pictures, ideas and inspiration.  I’ll post more on my favorite ideas soon.

Hopefully I will get a chance to post a bit this week and check-in, but I know many people are still traveling so they will be light posts.  Then starting the first week of January I’ll hopefully have lots of wedding progress to update you on as well as some fun posts that I’ve been keeping in my back pocket. 

How have your holidays been so far?

I’m so glad to hear that you all are excited about our “blog holiday recipe exchange!” For those of you that missed it yesterday, we are getting into the holiday spirit by sharing recipes! I am having people send me a recipe, anything they want to share about themselves and their blog and I will then feature the recipe and blog in a post. It will be a fun way to get some new recipes to try and discover some more wonderful blogs.

Our first recipe to share comes from the Introverted Wife. She has a great blog and you can go look at her wedding recap. She was married on Halloween and had a costume reception. It looks like they had a blast from the pictures. She also blogs at Elegant and Budget Friendly with 4 other ladies. I actually had never been to this blog before, but after browsing it has some great tips, ideas and deals.

Alright now on to her recipe and instructions she sent me. I love that the recipe is very entertaining to read as well. Enjoy!

Christmas Cookies-Lazy Style

I would like to introduce you all to the best cookie ever.

You don’t need to have any baking skills at all to make them. Hell you don’t even need an oven or pots or pans. Everyone loves them and they’re gone before you can even turn around.

I have no idea what their real name is but we call them “Elf Crap” and “Snowman Poop.” I’ve been making these bad boys since my Sophomore year in college when my best friend and I started a weird tradition of trying to make Christmas cookies in the dorms with no kitchen.

The first step, get yourself a huge bag of oreos and put them all in a zip lock bag (you may even want to double bag it).

Next pull out your beating utensil of choice. I’ve used everything from a hammer to a biochemistry textbook to a bottle of wine. This year I picked an ice cream scoop.
Then just start swinging:

While you’re working out the stress of the day (it really helps to imagine you’re punching that nosy relative who is sure to ask “Should you really be eating that?” in the face) have some almond bark melting in a crock pot. Or if you don’t have a crock pot a microwave works just as well (and if you are in the middle of the woods with neither just start sitting on the almond bark til your body heat melts it).

While all this was going on you should have had a package of cream cheese (8 ounces) warming on the counter. What do you mean you didn’t do that? Saying I didn’t tell you is no excuse.

Well when you do pull that out and your cookies are thoroughly pulverized dump them into a bowl. After the cream cheese has warmed add it to the cookies and mix, mix, mix!

This is the best part as you get to goo up your entire hand in chocolate cream cheese goodness (and of course you have to lick some off to test it):

Once you’re done mixing it all up together, and have finished cleaning up your hands (licking is perfect acceptable as I doubt any human being with taste buds could resist) it’s time to make the Snowman poop.

Just form the cookie cheese mixture into a small ball and dip it into the almond bark. Then let them set out on the counter for a half hour or so:

All that work will yield a wonderful crop of poop related treats in neat little rows:

We always make chocolate as well (my personal favorite).

Now just try to not eat them all up while they’re sitting there. One word of warning, make sure to only get the Oreos with white filling. The dyed ones (you know in Red & Green) do horrible unspeakable things to almond bark (that was a really fun year trying to fix that mess).

They may not be the prettiest cookie out there but I bet even Martha Stewart would gobble a few down when no one is looking.

Thanks to the Introverted Wife for sharing her delicious recipe and pictures with us! Go check out her blog if you haven’t already!! Let us know how the recipe works out when you try it!

I still need recipes and blogs to share, so please send me your tasty holiday treats soon!

Now that my semester is over I feel like I can focus on the holidays and getting ready for Christmas. Some of my favorite parts of the holidays are the delicious cookies, fudge and treats that seem to be abundant and irresistible. I was thinking that maybe we could do a fun thing on the blog in the next few weeks…

Send me your favorite holiday recipe and a picture if you have it. What I will do is create a post just for your recipe and share some fun snippets about your blog. Hopefully we can all get some yummy recipes and discover some new blogs to add to our daily reading lists.

If you can’t find a favorite holiday recipe, just find one online (Food Network, Martha Stewart, Country Living etc.) and share that.  I still would love to hear from you and give some holiday blog love.

You can send all the info by clicking here or going to the “Contact Me” in the tool bar above and writing in the message space.

Here is what I need to from you:

• Name and blog (if you don’t have a blog that is okay too!)
• Recipe (Picture if you have one or even one that looks like it could go with your recipe)
• Describe your blog and include any fun pictures you’d like me to post
• If you don’t know what to say you here are a few ideas (how long you have been blogging, wedding day, favorite holiday traditions, favorite place for inspiration, describe your holiday decoration style)

I have loved getting to know many of you through your blogs and sweet comments.  I think this will be a fun way to share some holiday cheer.  Feel free to invite readers on your blog to share recipes as well.

Photos from Country Living

I’m a big fan of Laura Hooper’s calligraphy.  She is always being featured on my favorite blogs and I get excited to see all her beautiful creations.

While I don’t think we can afford a calligrapher, I can’t help but drool over her work.  I wonder if there is a font that is based on her calligraphy?  Anyone know of one?

I especially love her maps.  They are so fun, whimsical and personalized.  Wouldn’t you love to have one of these included in a wedding invitation?

Here is one for San Diego!

Photos from Etsy LHCalligraphy

Her work is incredible and you can see her exqisite attention to detail.  I wish I were that talented. If you want to see more of her work go check out the A Lucky Orchid blog.

When I was little I loved looking at my parents wedding pictures. Well around Christmas time we were unloading boxes from the attic at my parents’ house and we came across my mom’s wedding dress. Immediately Mr. Ducky and Daddy Duck were trying to convince me to try the dress, while I kept saying no. This went on for awhile before I gave in. So my mom and I went to my old bedroom opened up the dress that has been sealed for 26+ years and I did another duck and dive.

You can tell the dress was from back in the eighties. My mom looked beautiful, I definitely did not. However, it made me laugh that some of my mom’s favorite dresses I tried on were modern versions of hers. She is a lace person. Anyways, I snapped a few pictures for your enjoyment. (Note: It was early in the morning when I took these thus make-up and hair is not done. Maybe I’m getting too comfortable sharing awful pictures of myself with you guys?)

Well I probably won’t be wearing my mom’s dress on the wedding day. However, my mom and I think it would be special to take some of the lace and parts of her veil to create a custom veil for me to wear that day. This will be a perfect “something old” that recognizes my mom and dad’s wedding so many years ago.

Have you tried on your mom’s wedding dress? Are you doing anything on your big day to incorporate memories from your family?

If you are just catching up go this Part I to hear about the first store I went to for wedding dresses. The next store we went to just opened up in North County San Diego a few months ago.

The shop is called Bliss Bride. The two owners, Jennifer and Anne are so sweet and I had a lot of fun working with them. I really felt special and they close down the whole store just for you. If you are a San Diego bride and looking for a smaller shop then this one is wonderful. Their dresses are higher end ranging from $2000-12,000 with the majority being between $3000-5000.

Once again: MR. DUCKY DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER!

Read the rest of this entry »

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)

Read the rest of this entry »

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!

As of Saturday we officially have 9 months until we are married!! Time is flying by considering that we first got engaged back in May. There is so much to be done, but I know we will get through it. Basically this means that in the next few months I’ll be sharing more of our DIY details and vendors. And that will mean that I’m getting things checked off the to-do list (hopefully…)!

In the meantime I am enjoying our time as an engaged couple. Do you ever get nervous as you see the clock tick away and you know the wedding will be here before you know it?

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…