Sneak Peek: E-session with Steve Hughes

Love it!!! My friend, Patrina, gifted these Anthropologie monograms and they were perfect props. We will be featured on Style Unveiled in a few days -- can't wait to share!

Inspiration #86: Hearts on a String

I wish I had thought of these --check out the center image of escort card hearts on a string!

Photo by Marianne Wilson, via StyleUnveiled LA

 

Inspiration #85: Engraved Vintage Flatware

Really, someone needs to deny me access to Etsy. I just discovered WoodenHive's shop and I want to buy so many beautiful things. I was especially tickled to find a fork engraved with the message "Give Thanks." That's Rule #1 for the supperclub I help run in the San Francisco Bay Area AND our other motto is "Hold onto your forks." It's perfect, because without the Ghetto Gourmet, I never would have met Guitar Fred (aww).

I'm tempted to buy these his and her forks (and they're $14):

Bride & Groom Fork Set, $14, WoodenHive

Give Thanks Fork, $15.99, WoodenHive

Table Numbers, $6.50 each by WoodenHive

Sneak Preview: My Bridal Hair

In preparation for our engagement session, I got my hair and makeup done by Penney Do. Recognize the hair accessory you helped me select? I like my hair down, but I have the option of a side chignon. What do you think?

Va-va-voom: e-session outfit

I heart Anthropologie. Here's the outfit I'm wearing for our e-session tomorrow!

The "Silken Stitches" dress:

paired with this "Redux" jacket in black:

and Stephen Loewinsohn is taking photos of us at the Albany Bulb.

Spread the Love

This Sunday, a couple of my bridesmaids and I are joining Shakirah Simley, of Slow Jams, at La Cocina to make the last batch of our wedding favors: onion-bacon relish! Chef Peter made the bacon himself, so there will be lots of extra love put into these.

Here is some jam-favor inspiration to get me through until our favor-making extravaganza! The "Spread the Love" label is available on Etsy.com from Miss Pickles Press for $15.

{From OnceWed.com}

{from Whimsical Wonderland Weddings}

{the Spread the Love labels remixed}

{from DailyCraft}

{Not jam, but I love the doily and baker's twine! From We Met in a Bar}

My Uber-Fantastic Bachelorette

Voila! My bachelorette party was so much fun aboard the wine trolley. Click to watch the video slideshow set to Madonna's "Holiday."

1 month to go!

Here it is. 30 days left! Everyone's asking, "How are you doing?" 

From a tactical perspective, we're on track. In fact, last night, Guitar Fred and I finished printing and binding our programs! It took about 4 hours because we had to punch the corners to 250 individual pages, hand stamp and emboss a peony pattern and insert a brad into the corner. We printed the free custom monogram from the Wedding Chicks for the backs of our programs.

I also had my third dressing fitting with Anne Ventresco, who came highly recommended by my friend, Jill. I hadn't seen her since May and the dress was a little bit looser (yay!). I also got to see what the Pegasus Maiden fascinator that you helped me choose looked like with the dress.The whole ensemble looked splendid! More alterations are needed, like deepening the sweet heart neckline (Guitar Fred will appreciate that) and hemming the bottom. My last fitting is October 1. Gulp.

Last night, Guitar Fred and I also revisited our budget, which has been stressful and provides a glimpse into how we'll manage finances for the future. Fred is such a solid guy -- he kept reassuring me and pointing out that we weren't as far off as we thought. Ultimately, we came up with a couple solutions to cover the gap. This exercise helped me realize I'm more the spreadsheet-calculator person in our relationship and he's the big picture (and optimistic) type, which I believe is a good balance.

Things to look forward to over the next few weeks:

1. Bachelorette party on the wine trolley tomorrow!
2. Engagement session with Stephen Loewinsohn (www.stevetakespictures.com)
3. Getting our RSVPs by September 17 and putting together our seating chart
4. Friends and family flying into town just in time for Guitar Fred's birthday on October 7

Inspiration #84: Iron Gate Escort Card Display

A DIY bride created these escort cards from craft paper. She hand stamped each person's name (there were 166 guests) and punched the edges with a Martha Stewart doily edge. The cards were clipped to vintage lace that were strung flush against a wrought iron gate.

{Photo by Vera Devera}

Wedding Slideshow - DONE thanks to Animoto

I've been dragging my feet in putting together our slideshow for the wedding. I'd been hitting a wall trying to edit over 100 images in PowerPoint and MovieMaker on my PC when I found Animoto. I can't believe I hadn't heard of it any sooner. It's a kick-ass automatic movie maker. You can sync it with your Flickr, Facebook and other social networking sites to pull your image files and video into Animoto. You don't have to be an editing whiz -- the site automatically sets your images and video to the pace and tempo of the song you pick.

You can choose your own song, but you don't have control over the number of songs. I love love love the final result.

I'm not posting the video since I don't want our guests to see it before October 10! But I did put together a quick video of my dog to show you what one of the slideshows can look like (it's the 30 second version, you have a choice of full length/as long as the song you choose).

Here are some comments on using Animoto:

1) It took me 6 hours to put this together!
2) Scan your photos at hi-res -- I made the mistake of importing low res and had to rescan everything (which is a huge reason it took 6 hours).
3) Don't panic when you can't see the final result before processing. Simply put your photos in the order you want them to appear, upload your song and let Animoto do the rest. I was amazed with how our images synced with the song we ultimately chose.
4) The original Animoto production template is by far the coolest one, the Air, Water, Fire, and Earth aren't as flashy.
5) Definitely upgrade to the $30/year membership so that you can save your work and also access more than one template.
6) Don't freak out when you watch your video on full screen and everything is blurry, Animoto charges you $5 to upgrade to hi-res to be able to watch it on larger monitors.
7) Stumped with music? Our friend, Juaquin, tipped us off to a great site, called Dirpy, where you can find songs on Youtube and convert them to mp3 (esp. if your music collection is tied up in iTunes).
8) Have fun!

Reason #13 why I love him

He mops in his undies.

I came home from a late night meeting to find Guitar Fred rocking to an Adam Ant song in his undies while mopping the floor. He had no idea I had come home. I watched him for a few seconds, totally amused and thrilled he had taken the initiative. Plus, he looked so darn cute! And the floor looked great too.

Next, he gave our dog, Munch, a bath. Meanwhile, I stepped into the kitchen, I saw that the dishes were done...and he even picked up my dry cleaning.

Looks like our pre-marital counseling sessions with the Rev have been rubbing off on him? ;)

Or maybe he's just begun to pick up on learning my "love language." See #13 at 40 Signs You're in a Healthy Relationship.

Our Wedding Invites!

Our reply cards are starting to roll in and so I'm finally giving you a peek at what they look like.

I purchased the invitation suite (Martha Stewart, Heirloom Ornament) at TJ Maxx for $7.99 for a pack of 48. I hand stamped them with a bird icon and also enclosed a custom made map by Genevieve Walker. I promise to post a blog dedicated to Genevieve later this week -- she was fabulous to work with and incorporated some of the elements from our "musically romantic" Save-the-Date!

The Invitation Suite

Our Save-the-Dates

6 weeks to go....checked off 11 things in 1 week!

With 6 weeks to go, we've just begun to get our act together in getting our details wrapped up. (Not to mention, I've got 4 more weddings to coordinate before ours!)

Tonight, we have our last meeting with Reverend Wilson to review our ceremony. I'm very excited, not only because Reverend Wilson is tons of fun (it's hard not to smile around him) but also because I'll finally get started on printing our programs.

In the last few days, we've been able to check off the following and feel a little bit more sane:

• Mail our invitations -- Genevieve Walker created a fabulous custom wedding map for us to enclose with our invites (will share once our guests receive the invites first!)
• Ask our uber-talented friends, Jessica, soprano, to sing me down the aisle (to the song that always brings tears to my eyes) and Jard, classical guitar, to mesmerize us with his mad guitar skills for our ceremony at Christ Church of Sausalito
• Order uplights from ImpactSF - blue for the stage (where we'll dance) and amber for the reception hall
• Send our photographers, Davina + Daniel their final payment 
• Set up a jam-making session (for our favors) with Slow Jams at La Cocina
• Pay the balance for our Oahu honeymoon to Mundi Travel
• Book parlor and bridal suite at Four Points Sheraton San Rafael
• Select a caterer, Cibo, for our rehearsal picnic in the Marin Headlands
• Schedule a final fitting with seamstress, Anne Ventresco 
• Choose linens from Hartmann Studio Rentals -- here's what the specialty linens look like (we got poly cotton orange and beige for all other tables)

 {Turquoise Nepal for the head table and 6-foot banquets}

 {Tiffany Blue Lamour for the candy buffet}

So, what's left? A lot...

We're waiting on the final menu from our caterer and still need to hire servers. And Guitar Fred has yet to buy his suit. Eeks!

Fleur de Sel Bacon Caramel Popcorn Balls

I caught a RT for Bacon Bourbon Caramel Corn from UTbrideandgroom which led me to Salted Caramel. I've begun to nix the idea of having a popcorn machine for our carnival cocktail hour and I think the caramel popcorn balls would be easier to manage (i.e. make ahead of time and set out).

A 3.5 pound bag is $85.00, so I think I'm going to try my hand at this! It just so happens that the chef (a friend) who's catering our wedding just made his own batch of bacon too!

We'll have to modify the following recipe by tossing in bits of the bacon and maybe adding a splash of bouron. Kitchen testing this will be delish!

Paula Deens' basic popcorn ball recipe:

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/3 cups water
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 18 cups popped corn

Directions

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, water, syrup, vinegar, and salt. Cook over high heat until mixture reaches 255 degrees F (hard-ball stage) on a candy thermometer. Stir in vanilla. Pour over popped corn, tossing gently to coat. When mixture is cool enough to handle, press popcorn into 3-inch balls with lightly greased hands. Cool completely on waxed paper.

Etsy Find: Wrap it Up

Continuing on my hide-the-arms quest, I'm considering a wrap -- which ties behind versus having a full panel of fabric. It's less expensive than a bolero and I'm loving Bonzie's charming, Victorian style.

Ethereal Light Baroque ($69)

If I can find $145 to spare, I would buy this (it 's my favorite, the Silver French Vanilla):

The golden yellow Venetian raw silk wrap ($110) is darling too!

Coral Dupioni Silk Wrap ($79) would go with our orange-teal wedding colors:

My Wish

I found the perfect father-daughter song for me and my dad: Rascal Flatt's "My Wish"!

I'm going to cry...

Here are the lyrics:

"My Wish"

I hope that the days come easy and the moments pass slow,
And each road leads you where you want to go,
And if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose,
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.
And if one door opens to another door closed,
I hope you keep on walkin' till you find the window,
If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile,

But more than anything, more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

I hope you never look back, but ya never forget,
All the ones who love you, in the place you left,
I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,
And you help somebody every chance you get,
Oh, you find God's grace, in every mistake,
And you always give more than you take.

But more than anything, yeah, and more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

This is my wish
I hope you know somebody loves you
May all your dreams stay big 

Cute cake topper alert!

Cute cake topper alert! A bride I'm working with just ordered these "kokeshi" wooden dolls from Esty (shop Temple7e here) and I couldn't resist sharing them with you too. ADORABLE! Wouldn't you agree the ninja should throw ninja "hearts" instead of stars?

Wine Trolley for my Bachelorette!! Woot woot!

My bridesmaids rock! I am not a let's-go-to-the-Thunder-Down-Under or what-happens-in-Vegas-stays-in-Vegas kind of bachelorette. I'm super excited about the party they've planned for me in September: we're taking over Sonoma on a wine trolley. 

Sebastiani Winery rents out wine trolleys for $150/hour with a 4-hour minimum. It comes out to $60/per person and less if more than 10 people attend -- which is far less than some bachelorette weekend getaways. We can drink and not worry about driving, plus we can hoot and holler. Can't wait!

{Photo from Destination I Do}

How to hide your arms

I've lost about 14-15 pounds so far but I've still got the jiggly arms since I haven't been doing weight training consistently. My dress is strapless and I'm worrying about the chicken cutlets that threaten to hang out over the sides of my dress. Eeks!!!

Uptown Urban Craft to the rescue! For $74, I can get this cute bolero in taffeta and choose from seven colors. Unfortunately, teal or orange aren't among the choices (mostly pastel), but I suppose the brown will go best with my champagne colored dress.

{Photo from Uptown Urban Craft}

Another one that's really sweet is this art noveau inspired number, called La Belle Epoque.

 {Photo from Uptown Urban Craft}

Free download: Monogram crest from the WC

I love free downloads, especially this one from The Wedding Chicks -- the Custom Monogrammed Crest!

We have printed these on 5x7 note cards (papaya) from Paper Source for the backs of our programs. We'll glue the actual program to the front. They turned out really awesome! Get yours here.