Category — weekly columnists

There is no doubt this in an intense time of year for all across the nation. With the future president to be decided in a few days, everyone is on edge, myself included.

However, when you are also two months out from your personal “big day” there are other debates to be had. For me it has been “to assign or not assign.” This my friends is the big question.

From the beginning of this crazy wedding planning journey I have known I did not want to have a sit down, plated dinner reception. I wanted to have several “action stations” providing us the opportunity to serve our guests many different cuisines. It served my “wannabe foodies” status quite nicely. This decision also lended itself to not assigning seats. Having grown up in the south I had been used to this methodology and never found it to be a problem. People can get their food, pull up a chair, and repeat this action as many times as they want. I felt it encouraged mingling and wasn’t as “structured.” However I began to read in various bridal publications that it wasn’t polite to leave your guests without a seating assignment, and people appreciated having a space to call their own. Thus began many months of wavering about assigning and not assigning. I polled friends, many of whom said they would appreciate and assignment. However the top voter, my mom, was adamantly against it. I fell somewhere in between.

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You know you’re a die-hard foodie when:
1. Your favorite perfume smells like chocolate, vanilla, coconut, and cinnamon
2. Your second favorite perfume smells like saffron, pimiento and white pepper
3. Your third favorite perfume smells like honey
4. Your shampoo smells like coconut and your conditioner smells like vanilla
5. Your deodorant smells like vanilla chai

Yup - I walk around smelling like a freaking bakeshop. all. day. I LOVE IT! People hug me and say “oh, you smell so good!” My doggie occasionally tries to lick my wrists. I, as a sit here typing, am euphorically sniffing myself. Yeah, I might be crazy, but at least I smell good, yo!

I’m also the type who associates smells very strongly with memory. For instance, the perfume I’m wearing today (#1) is the same I wore when Hunter and I first started dating… so wearing this scent opens a floodgate of sentimental thoughts of autumn, Milwaukee, infatuation, pleasure and comfort.

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Since EAD is doing DIY month in November, I thought I would share with you all my DIY necklaces and earrings that I made for my bridesmaids!

Early on, a friend of mine whose hobby it is to make jewelry suggested that we make something for my wedding.  Since I wanted to give my bridesmaids something special for their gift, I thought this would be perfect.  After discussing different styles and looks, we settled on using freshwater pearls and incorporating gold accents in with it.  I thought this would be pretty with the gold accents I was using in the wedding and tie into their gold shoes.  Also, freshwater pearls are pretty affordable.  In Dallas, there is a place called the Rock Barrell that sells them, along with beads and findings for making jewelry.  My total for all the supplies - the jewelry wire, the pearls, beads, crimp tubes, clasps, the earrings - was approx. $130.  This also included 4 brooch backs that I ended up not using.

We decided on a double strand design of mixed freshwater pearls (whiter ones mixed with ones that had a “peachy” tone) and gold beads.  For the earrings, we went simple and did studs.

And voila!

Here is a quick run-down of how we made them.

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So sorry I have been MIA for the past two weeks. I have been out of town a bunch and have not had enough blogging time. However, I am thrilled to share a sampling of my recent engagement session photos with you. My fiance and I had a blast and are so happy with the way they turned out. After two bad weather days Mother Nature finally smiled down on us with blue skies and light breezes. Here are just a few. Some good, some goofy.

We found these cool iron structures while on our way to a 4th of July party. They are fun to play in.

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In Los Angeles, driving is a hazardous sport. For those who aren’t well trained at it (and often for those who are), disaster is lurking around every corner. Take it from us, who managed to total both of our cars within 2 days of each other, within 2 blocks of each other, last Christmas. Yep, it happened.

Roughly half of our wedding guests are out-of-towners, and we really didn’t want to subject them to unnecessary driving, especially given the mojito madness that we expect to ensue at our reception. We opted not to have our ceremony and reception in the same spot to allow us to realize our dream of marrying in nature, so that added yet another transportation hurdle to the game.

Even though our budget is super slim, we decided that shuttle service was a must-do for our guests’ safety and sanity. I can only imagine how late our wedding would start if we unleashed 50 midwesterners, New Yorkers and Europeans onto the mad streets of Hollywood to fend for themselves!

We checked into several options, but the one that won, hands down, was a no-brainer. Meet our double-deckered beauty, in all her glory!

(Topless Fun Tours? ‘Nuff said!)

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Something that I just thought about this week, as a cold front came through, is that I may get cold at my wedding - especially as we exit and take a carriage ride off.

That’s what happens when you live in Texas, where it’s always hot!  You forget that in mid-November, the nights are a little chilly!!

So I’ve been browsing around trying to get some ideas for something that would be cute with my dress, keep me warm, is affordable, and would be something that I would wear again.  I think my #1 fave right now is this classic style bamboo-fiber wrap from Amazon.com

At only $19.99, it’s a great price.  Plus, it comes in many colors.

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When we started planning, our number 1 goal (aside from the actual getting married part) was to ensure our guests came away saying “what a great time!” If we are going to spend this much money on a party, it had better be fan-freaking-tabulously fun, right? So, we’re trying to integrate lots of little activities or treats to keep our guests entertained and excited. I want to keep a few of these things under wraps to maintain an element of surprise, but I’m so excited about this one, I just had to share the news!

We *heart* photobooths. If we had all the money, we’d have one as a permanent fixture in the house, just for fun. And we’d probably jump in there once or twice a day to take some really silly cute, and sweet photos peppered by the occasionally obsene. Cuz that’s how we roll, yo. So, immediately we knew that a photobooth was a top priority for our reception. Lots of our friends are actors and/or hams, so mayhem is sure to ensue

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Hi everyone!

As some of you may know, my wedding is coming up in LESS THAN A MONTH now! November 15th, to be exact. Last Friday night, I met with my parents to go over the ol’ budget one last time and to see what else is left. Sounds like a pretty kickin’ Friday night, huh? Well, I have to brag a little, I was pretty much where I thought I would be. I am not one of those, what you would call, financial geniuses. Before we committed to anything major early on in the planning process, I did sit down and drew up a rough draft of the budget I wanted to try and stick to. From other friends’ weddings and lots and lots of internet research, I had some ideas of what things might cost and the prices that we needed to aim for. But the tracking spreadsheet?? Yeah, that was all my Dad. I got updates, and kept a notebook with all my contracts and info. I am by no means advocating that this is the smart approach… because it’s not. I should have been more exacting. But I wasn’t, and luckily it all worked out.

So in the interest of helping other brides just starting their planning, I thought I would share the rough rundown of my budget, where it went, and any tips I may have unknowingly picked up along the way.

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This is it! The moment we’ve all been waiting for! The grand reveal of our Save the Dates!

Before I show you, Hunter and I want to say thank you to all you amazing readers who showered us with your goodness regarding the STD drama we’ve been going through. Your support, thoughts, prayers, juju, and well-wishes have meant the world to us… and we can’t help but believe that all that positive energy helped in the rescue of our Save the Dates from the fedex graveyard. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You guys are the best!

Without further ado…. It is with great pleasure that I share with you our official Save the Date Magic Wallets, as lovingly designed and executed by the inimitable geniuses here at Elizabeth Anne Designs.

The front:

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As we get closer and closer to our date (which is still 5 weeks away!), it seems like many of the decisions left to be made are kind of tedious… and stressful!  What color of ribbon should I use on my cake?  What print of paper for the programs?  How should I arrange our tables, and what about the seating chart?  You have much less free time to think about these things, and after months and months of planning - either you know exactly what you want, or you’re not as enthusiastic as you were at the beginning.  It’s not that I don’t care anymore, I just think that I’m really going to enjoy de-stressing on the honeymoon!

Like I have said before - some of these wedding decisions are much more fun to make than others!  So after discussing the programs and escort cards, and finding out how much it will cost us to make our exit via a horse-drawn carriage ride (which is ridiculous!!), I just wanted to look at some eye-candy.  That’s when I saw them, again.  Birdcage veils!

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