Win a free wedding map!

http://blog.weddzilla.com/2009/11/papercake-design-customized-map.html

Go check out PaperCake Design and Weddzilla's give away! They are cool stuff... and tons of ways to win!

Videography

Want to cry?

http://justhappilyeverafter.blogspot.com/2009/11/real-wedding-brittany-brent.html

Engagement Pictures!!!

What We See Photography---- use them. the end.

Dress update...

Okay, so if you read back you're familiar with my dress saga from Lex Bridals... Long story short, I am still trying to get the cashola back from that transaction. My credit card and the attorneys general office are doing a great job for me! Thanks guys.

However, I did find "the dress." If you're in the market, definately visit Bridals by Elena in Severna Park, MD. I went in and was telling her about the dress I was interested in but saying how the dresses I like aren't the right fabric... she looked at me and said... "I can do anything to any dress..." That gave me hope... I tried on a bunch of dresses but the 1st one I tried on was the one. It should arrive on Jan. 29th... I can't wait for it to come in... it's such an iconic, symbolic, critical piece... It's like I'm waiting for my life to begin... starting with that dress!

Taylor Swift--- Fifteen

You take a deep breath and you walk through the doors
It's the morning of your very first day
You say, "hi," to your friends you ain't seen in a while
Try and stay out of everybody's way
It's your freshman year and you're gonna be here
For the next four years in this town
Hoping one of those senior boys will wink at you and say
"You know, I haven't seen you around, before"
'Cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you
You're gonna believe them
And when you're fifteen
Feeling like there's nothing to figure out
Well, count to ten, take it in
This is life before who you're gonna be Fifteen
You sit in class next to a redhead named Abigail
And soon enough, you're best friends
Laughing at the other girls who think they're so cool
Well be out of here as soon as we can
And then you're on your very first date and he's got a car
And you're feeling like flying
And your momma's waiting up and you think he's the one
And you're dancing 'round your room when the night ends
When the night ends
'Cause when you're fifteen and somebody tell you they love you
You're gonna believe them
When you're fifteen and your first kiss
Makes your head spin 'round, but
In your life you'll do greater than dating the boy on the football team
But I didn't know it at fifteen
When all you wanted was to be wanted
Wish you could go back and tell yourself what you know now
Back then I swore I was gonna marry him someday
But I realized some bigger dreams of mine
And Abigail gave everything she had to a boy
Who changed his mind and we both cried
'Cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you
You're gonna believe them
And when you're fifteen, don't forget to look before you fall
I've found that time can heal most anything
And you just might find who you're supposed to be
I didn't know who I was supposed to be at fifteen
La la la la la la la la la la la la la la la
Your very first day Take a deep breath, girl
Take a deep breath as you walk through those doors

dress update...

so.. long story made short... the dress I purchased @ Lex Bridals is a fraud.

When I called them on it, they did not understand that making a designer dress in their factory counts as fraud.... they didn't understand that this was illegal and refused to give me my $ back... I'm glad I have a stellar lawyer

i neeeeeeeeed these...

http://shop.diamondpartyconfetti.com/product.sc?productId=32&categoryId=12
edible sugar diamonds for the cake.

amazing.

let the drooling begin....

I said yes... to a dress :-)

Went dress shopping today for the 4th time... started the day convinced that I wasn't going to find anything and just wasn't expecting anything amazing. Mom and I head to Annapolis this time. 1st appointment is at Lex Bridals (http://lexbridaldesigns.com). We pull up to the store and it doesn't look terribly promising. Old neighborhood, small looking lot... *sigh. Store #1 is a bust... so I thought... and I thought wrong.

We get in and are greeted by the NICEST women you've ever met. Lex and Andrea are on site. They finisht working with their 1st bride and let mom and me peruse. During our shopping time we found matching bridal and MOB dresses... no, we should not be allowed to shop together in public. Then we find fushia, lime and orange dresses... maybe good options for the mom's. I personally liked the red one with feathers.

After being silly, we pick out three dresses. I try the first one on and they automatically come and bustle it, pin it with a sweetheart neck line, cut out a layer of crinolyn... etc. Lex, the owner, also happens to make dresses. She shows me what she can do to the dress and it is suddenly transformed into the super cool dress. I like it.

Dress #2: I really like. It has sparkily beads and a different beading pattern than I've seen. Doesn't seem to fit me as well.

Dress #3-5 no go.

Re-try on dress #1..... sure enough. This is the dress.

They put a rush order on it... and didn't charge me. What I paid today included 3 fittings, free alterations (minus the bustle and hemline) and the nicest women I've encountered yet. Lex Bridals... you rock.

Cupcake Nation?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rkbcupcakes/3268195504/

Polka Dot Lovin'

source

hi, my name is crystal... and i'm addicted to polka dots... but i'll spare you.

A Ball of Sunflower Happiness!

POMANDERS!!!!

So I've become incredibly addicted to pomanders and decided I'd try to DIY them myself. So super easy I must say... and crazy addicting.


Step 1:
Obviously, purchase whatever materials/items you need. The foam balls are available at Michaels, Wal-Mart etc. Personally, I like the quality of the ones at Michaels better... they didn't shed on me :-). You also need the flowers, a wire cutter, a hot glue gun and a skewer or stick of some sort. You may also want paint to match the colors of your flowers.





Step 2 (optional):
paint ball to match flowers... just in case you have extra space and you can't tell.

Step 3:
Trime the flowers off the stems. I left about an inch of stem attached to the flower. Discard the remaining greenery.






Step 4:
Poke a hole in the ball,fill with hot glue (lowest heat setting as possible), put flower in hole.





Step 5:
repeat with varying pattern and play with how tight/loose you want your flowers packed in there.






Step 6:
glue on ribbon.

Step 7:
Enjoy your happiness.

Mmm... food.

http://www.intimateweddings.com/blog/food-stations-18-exciting-ideas-to-make-your-mouth-water/

Monogram Madness

So I was playing on amazon.com looking for more monogrammed items... here's a ton of misc. stuff that I found




I actually bought one of these and was looking for another one so WAHOO. Yay for me.

Here are some other flags they have...










I don't know why... but everyone needs one of these.




to match the banners!

Fun stuff

Here are some things that I think would make neat centerpieces.






Or how about these for favors since the FI's last name is Dunkin.. anything with donuts rocks :-)

Rained Out

*Sigh. Stinkin' rain. We were planning on going to SMC to take our E-photos today and get some ideas for pictures next year but of course the heavens decided to open up and rain on our parade. We'll end up rescheduling for this coming week sometime.





On a side not, the FI (fiance) and I, ur, well he, worked on our invites last night. We got the basic concept down and worked on our monograms (I can imagine my mom shaking her head as I type this at the mention of monograms) but I'm super excited about how they are turning out.





Here's one so far.. it's more of a logo than monogram, but I think it rocks.

1 year, 1 day and counting.

So we're going on Sat. to take pictures and play with the lighting on location for the wedding. Here are some E pictures that I've been inspired by.

Cakes and Dresses!

So the past two weeks have been wedding extravaganza! First, I went to PA to see a college buddy of mine get married. Before the wedding, 3 of my 4 peeps were able to go dress shopping with me. Most people I talked to about this thought I was insane for doing that, but I love my people and really wanted them to enjoy the dress. It was funny that 2x two of the girls came out in the same dress. We decided on this one but in black. I am super excited about that.










































These are really neat center pieces from that wedding in PA. I love the lights!

Last weekend, we went to Will's cousin's wedding in Georgia. I had never met the bride and groom in person but it was so sweet. I got teary-eyed during the ceremony.








The best part was when her dad came up and prayed for them while a song played. It was incredible. This is a blurry picture... but you get the idea.

Cakes Cakes and Cakes

So we went cake tasting again last night. This time at Cakes by Maureen. I am feeling more confident about it as we go along.. the 1st time we went I had no idea what I was doing or what direction we are taking.. this time I knew what the plan was.. I had more questions and expectations.

Walking into her house, I noticed right away the difference in presentation styles. Both Sherry and Maureen had their strong suits... I think we're going to try Anitas and make a decision after that.

As far as flavors, I still like almond and lemon cakes. Will still likes red velvet. I tried a rasberry filling which I LOVED last night so that is something to keep in mind. I also got to try some fondant which I really enjoyed. I wasn't expecting it to taste like anything other than a rubber shoe sole, but it was pretty good. I'll definately keep with that.

We talked more about design and shape etc. I am liking the square cakes although everything else we have will be round (cupcakes, tables, people... just kidding :-p). I can't decide if I want a traditional elegant cake or something slightly funky. I'll post pictures tonight.. I'm off to a meeting!

CAKE!

Another cake tasting this evening.. This time "Cakes by Marureen".


Not sure of a design yet...

I'll let you know how it goes!

Photography

So, the first thing I definately had planned for my wedding was the photographer. I'm going with What We See Photography out of California, MD. One thing they do well is you can tell them what kind of poses and pictures you like and they are very willing to incorporate them into your day. I've been looking at photos and here's one of my favorite sites so far. Very fun, unique pictures.

Location, Location, Location!

Here's where the ceremony will be take place. If it rains, there is an indoor location.

The reception will be near it, under a white tent.

I'm really excited about this! I don't know that I ever admitted it out loud but to get married outside under a white tent has been my dream since I was a little girl. Moreover, the fiance and I spent most of the summer on the water, he proposed on the water and our 1st date included a trip to the beach.... so it makes good sense.

Happy Birthday!

No new wedding planning this week. I've been busy with the fiances birthday! Wahoo! I have been emailing with my bridesmaids this week trying to decide on dresses. I think I'm going to have to pick out my dress before I end up picking out theirs. Long? Short? Black? Blue? All the same? Different styles?! AHHH so many choices. Just think.. if I'm this crazy about something I'm not wearing.... what am I going to do with finding my own dress?

All of the dresses that I really like are from Alfred Angelo. I have some legit options... and one just for fun..

Monogram maniac?!

So I've been trying to compile a ton of ideas... and they all seem to go back to the same 2 ideas.. lights and monograms. My mom was teasing me saying I didn't need to worry about food, tables or people. Give me lights and monogramming and I'd be fine. She's pretty accurate in that.

Here are some more really neat sites that I've stumbled across

Gobos: These are cool plates that go over light kits and can project your monogram on the wall or floor. I think they are neat. They're about $100 a piece and you need the correct lighting kit, but with the right space, you should be able to use them.

Aisle runners: I really like monogrammed aisle runners. I think I've mentioned this site before, but they do custom ones. The prices depend on what you want done. Another good option for you DIY'ers is to look at this blog. She made her own aisle runner. It looks pretty easy and hers turned out so well! I'm in awe. She's amazing. I wish it was a current blog so I could keep up with her. She also had neat table # luminarias and whatnots.

Light maniac

So I'm really excited about 2 new sites that I've come across...

1.) weddingstar.com
2.) save-on-crafts.com

Weddingstar has REALLY neat items, favors, decorations etc. I could easily spend a fortune on that site with all of the things I like.

Save-on-crafts.com has a lot of good ideas, but I really really realllllllllly like their lighting items. They have all sorts of LED and lighting decor that I think is incredible. My mom claims that I am a light maniac. She might be right.

I know when I'm getting married... honest

So I realized in my 1st post, I mentioned June 16 for the wedding date... apparently I was distracted because it's def. June 19th... *sigh.

Yesterday we went back to Paper Stock and I ordered an embosser and 2 plates (address and monogram) for our invitations. They aren't terribly expensive and I think will add a really unique look (see their website for more info). I also picked up more potential paper and pool blue envelopes so we can start putting the pieces together. I am really excited about them.

I also taked to my MOH and a few BMs the other day. We're all going to a wedding in a few weeks and might *cross fingers* have a chance to go try on dresses together. I'm having a hard time deciding on colors and styles for them. Black dresses would look really nice but then may be too formal? Will pool blue look nice on everyone? What about styles?!? AHHHH! decisions. And of course, with the color dress comes the choices of possible flowers.. I've started contacting some florists but don't know what direction I want to go yet.

The oven timer is yelling at me... back to non-wedding planning life. Happy Sat. night!

Happy Anniversary to me!

So, no wedding planning today. Just enjoying the day. Today is our 1 year anniversary (wahoo!) We're going to Anapolis for dinner and just hanging out tonight... we might go by Paper Stock (paper-stock.com) they have the COOLEST paper and paper products. I found a shimmer paper that I really want to do my invitations on and so I'm going to go look at that and then possible envelopes etc. Wahoo... so I may have lied... just a little wedding planning today

Wedding Chaos!

Quick post (since I'm at work) but I wanted to at least get something up here!

I am getting married on June 16, 2010. I got engaged Jan. 31 and just set a date a few weeks ago. We were waiting to hear back about our honeymoon and set a date around that. Since then, I have (tentatively) booked a location, DJ, caterer, photographer, videographer, started getting my invites together and purchased more bridal magazines than one knows what to do with!

Last night my fiancee and I went on our 1st cake tasting and so my quest today has been looking at cake designs and trying to hone in on 1-2 ideas instead of 20! :-) We tried Sherry's Cakes and Bakes (sherryscakesandbakes.com)... yum yum yum. She had an assortment of cakes and icings and it was just deliciousness in cake form.

Alright, I'm off for now but will update again soon with more specific details like how we met, got engaged and location information!

429 days and counting.