Thursday, September 30, 2010

Two weeks 'til the big day

Pin It!

So last weekend, it was time for me and Brandon to bring out
all of the containers that I've been collecting for the past 6 months
and clean them all.
We brought them to our florist on Sunday.

This picture is about 2/3 of all of them. I think there were around 50 containers.
The plan is to have about three on each table: 
a glass pitcher, a mason jar and a wine bottle.
This will have a very eclectic look but I like all of the varying heights.

After we washed and dried them, it was time to wrap 'em up and box 'em.
It felt like such a big check-off on my slowly dwindling "to-do" list.



Yesterday
{1.5 weeks before the big day}
I picked Brandon up from school downtown
and then we headed to our final DJ appointment.

It was finally time to turn in our thick packet of musical choices.
Family processional, bridal party processional,
bride's processional, recessional, cocktail hour theme,
grand entrance songs, first dance song, father-daughter song,
dinner music, bouquet toss and garter song, last song...
my head was spinning.

Our DJ is amazing and really helped us nail down what we wanted.
He was able to take a song we wanted parts of,
and he cut out the verses and looped the chorus and the instrumentals
in just a matter of minutes.

He's also so organized which really puts my mind at ease.
He assured me that he will be keeping everything running on time.
That's one thing I will not need to worry about at the wedding.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Love is in the air

Pin It!

So with only two weeks left before the big day, and Fall quickly approaching I've been overwhelmed with emotions. I love the Fall, and the way it smells and the things it brings with it. The air is turning slightly more crisp and it's bringing to mind sipping Pumpkin Spice Lattes, going to Bates Nut farm to search for the perfect pumpkin, making donuts (a tradition Brandon and I have been doing for a few years now while we carve our pumpkins) and wearing sweaters and boots. And although I can't explain why, I always feel more in love during the Fall :-)

I am about to marry my best friend, one of the kindest people I know. Have I fully registered that yet? Not quite. I still kind of feel like it's this dream I might wake up from...



-At Holland's cowboy party last Fall-

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Love Birds

Pin It!

So I just ordered our wedding cake topper
{we're only having a small top-tier so we have something to cut}
and I couldn't resist sharing.
I just thought they were so adorable.



The handmade lovebirds were crafted by Strawberries and Cream Etsy shop.

Have I mentioned how much I love Etsy?
It's a dream come true for a planning bride
who appreciates unique, handmade touches.

I have purchased my wedding invitations, wooden signs, frames,
vases, my garter, petal cones and now my cake topper
and so much more from this amazing site.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Bachelorette Party!

Pin It!


Well this weekend was an absolute blast.
It was truly everything I'd ever dreamed my bachelorette party would be.

Early Friday afternoon, Kandi and Kelly picked me up
{they pulled up with rap music blasting, and bachelorette stickers and flags all over the car}
 and we drove a few hours to Palm Springs.

We were so impressed with the adorable house when we pulled up.
Jess has a connection, and was able to get us the place for the weekend.
It was a three bedroom house right on the golf course.







After Kandi had set up a little bit, we went to Trader Joe's down the street
and bought a bunch of food and wine for the night.
When we got back the other girls arrived.
Stephanie drove from Carlsbad, and Jessica came from the LA airport
where she picked up Brittney and Chelsea {who came from San Francisco}
Melanie arrived later that evening from Temecula also.

Friday night we enjoyed sitting on the patio with a glass of wine
chatting and trying to soak up the warm air.
{It's been an especially cool, overcast summer for those of us along the coast.}




Friday ended up being one big slumber party
complete with food, games, gifts and prizes.
I don't think I ever laugh as much as I do when I'm with these girls!


Yes, we had a playdough penis making contest.

The next morning, we woke up and went to breakfast at this adorable restaurant
right along "the river" which was very close to where we were staying.


Afterwards, we headed to River Nails where we got manicures and pedicures.
We spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool!
It was so refreshing to lounge around on a hot sunny day
in my bathing suit with my closest friends.




And, I even got to wear  my "bride" visor that Chelsea passed down to me :-)
I'll have to pass it down to the next of our friends to get engaged...


After a day in the hot desert sun, it was delightful to be greeted by an air conditioned house.
We all took short naps, and then it was time to get ready for dinner.
Kandi made sure that I had all the cheesy, traditional gear before our night out.
I had a huge ring that flashed a blue light when I turned it on,
a bachelorette sash, and a tiara/veil.


Chels just got married a few weeks ago!!


Dinner at Don Diego's was a blast!
Kevin, Johnny and his boyfriend Joe met us for dinner.
The food was great, and the girls even coerced me into having a strawberry margarita.





A few of the girls bet me that if I had TWO alcoholic drinks
{I'm clearly not that big of a drinker}
that they would go streaking through the golf course later that night.
{Yes, we are in our late twenties and not our teens.}

So after dinner, we went across the street to The Yard House,
where I took my first shot!!!
Man, was it strong...but I think as far as shots go,
one with whipped cream and chocolate is the way to go :-)


Before



After


Needless to say, a few of the girls had to "pay up."
Hopefully no one saw two half-naked girls running through the golf course :-)

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Getting Crafty

Pin It!

I've always known that Brandon was a handy man,
but I didn't realize how crafty he was.
He has been a lot of help with my chalkboard "vision"
{something that we used in our engagement photos that I would like to incorporate into our wedding as well}
Brandon and I went to Michael's and bought these wooden frames.    


They were like $1 a piece!


And then Brandon cut a bunch of partical board
in the same dimensions as the inside of the frame.



We spray painted it with Chalkboard paint...



And then we stained the wood to give it an older, rustic look...

                                                     

Voila! Table Numbers



He also did something similar with these little guys, which will be used on the dessert table!

 

Friday, September 10, 2010

Marriage License!

Pin It!

I had a really hard time working today because I knew that we had an appointment with the County Recorder's office at 3:30 to apply for our marriage license! Even though we hit really bad traffic, got lost AND ended up being 15 minutes late (which made me really cranky if anyone knows how much I hate being late) we still decided that we'd like to proceed with getting a marriage license ;-) We had to fill out an application and were given a license that is good for 90 days. In that time we need to have it signed by our officiant...which we will next month when we tie the knot. Then we send it away, and can receive copies of it two weeks afterwards. I asked the lady to take our picture right after we signed the application and she thought it was so cute that she had us hold up the Just Married sign. However, don't get too excited, we aren't married yet...



Afterwards we went to Stone House Brewery which we've heard so many of our friends tell us about. It was a very cool restaurant/bar with an amazing outside area with tall trees, walking paths, firepits, bridges and benches and chairs to sit around and drink and chat. We got two entrees and split them. We started with the Macaroni & Cheese (with beer battered something or other) which was very good. It had slices of sausage and the creamy sauce had a spice to it. Then we split the Chicken Tikka Misala, which was delicious! Two chicken skewers over a bed of basmati rice and sauteed vegetables. mmmmm...I was a happy camper :-)


Cake Tasting!

Pin It!

Well, I have been completely slacking in the blogging department!
Wedding planning could be a full time job.

A few weeks ago we had our cupcake tasting with Melissa,
owner of Le Petite KupKak.

She came to Brandon's house with all of her delicious flavors to try.
We are going to have several different flavored cupcakes,
some regular and some mini.

The flavors we decided on are:
Funfetti with almond buttercream frosting,
black forest chocolate with cherry liqueur,
luscious lemon with vanilla frosting,
 mini red velvet with cream cheese frosting,
 mini carrot cake with nuts,
 mini devil's food cake with peanut butter frosting
and then some brownie pops.
Before:



After:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...