#626: the dance.

we will be having a father/daughter + mother/son dance. together. at the same time. because that's how we do.

i can't decide on a song. actually, it's not that i can't decide on a song. it's more like...i haven't found the song. i've pored through lists and lists, looked through you tube, googled and googled, asked my friends and family. and nothing.

what's your song?

#625: aNOTHER contest.

but this one's a good one.

read more about it here.

hint:

photo by feather love photography.

mmhm.

#624: the makeup.

so these are the products that made the cut:
1) diorshow waterproof mascara.
2) urban decay eyeshadows.
3) make up forever eyelashes.
4) smashbox primer in light.






what i've learned.
1) makeup is damn expensive.
2) makeup is way fun to play with. but it takes time to apply. me = lazy.
3) but still. i should wear makeup more often. because it's fun.
4) there's a lot of stuff out there. it's like, crazy.
5) i toads need to practice before the wedding.

#623: the timeline.

10:45am - ceremony begins.
11:30am - ceremony ends.
11:35am - cocktails + hors d'oeuvres hour.
12:15pm - slide show / our entrance / first dance.
12:30pm - lunch is served.
1:30pm - the toasts.
1:45pm - father daughter / mother son dance.
2:00pm - cake cutting / dessert is served.

this is the meat of it. no pun intended. heh.

#622: hi!

i know i've been toads MIA lately. it's a number of things. first, i don't know what to talk about. second, i was REALLY really sick for over a week and i'm still recovering (mom is convinced i have swine flu). third, the wedding is in less than a month so maybe i'm a little stressed out and don't want to blog about wedding stuff because i'm inundated with wedding stuff every single minute of the day? idk.

we're going to another wedding this weekend. hopefully we find time to write our vows at some point. heh.

oh. and there's another project i want to take on.

the polaroid guest book. except it won't be a free-for-all-take-as-many-pictures-as-you'd-like kind of thing. polaroid film = expensive. so i think i'm going to station 3 of my cousins at the front and have them take pictures of the guests as they arrive.

then again, i may not want to have another project on my plate.

then again, it'd be really cool to have a polaroid guest book.

#621: done.

centerpieces: check.
placecards: check.
boutennieres: check.
flowergirls' headpieces: check.

#620: twenty dollars.

that's how much alllll the materials cost. i'm making 5 real bouts plus several other bouts-y type things.

twenty dollars.

holler.

#619: i've been sick.

so sad. it's 90 degrees here in la and i've had a fever for the past 4 days. boo hoo.

but i'm feeling much better now. so you can expect more bloggage from me. first up, here's the dress that had me feeling the dress envy.



so. gorge.

oh, and if you're wondering why the quality of my pictures is always so terrible, it's because i take pictures with his blackberry. for the convenience of being able to email them to myself right away. so i can post them on this blog. so i have something to do. when i'm not doing wedding stuff. for my wedding.

#618: it's like i'm cheating.

because this isn't really anything other than a re-post.

but it's not like anyone minds, right?



a wedding by max wanger.

#617: too kitschschty.

you know what i mean.

so this was the original concept of our placecards. you know. because we're having our wedding at a restaurant known for their..*ahem*..prime rib.



but as i kept going with it, i came to my senses. so. no more cow cut-outs. (i hear sighs of relief everywhere i think.)

and now we have a new concept. concept 2.0. i'll post about it on monday since i don't have a prototype yet. heh.

p.s. i really like cereal box stock. re-using is cool.

#616: clearly.

lovely images perk me up. do they perk you up.

first, hello emilia jane's engagement pics.


photos by the equally moniker-blessed photog noa of feather love.

and then second, these friggin' garlands. clearly, i haven't thought about garlands in a while and i wasn't going to even start thinking about thinking about them again. but now i'm thinking.

via oh happy day.

p.s. thanks for the heads up on these beauts, lazy bride. i think.

#615: i'm vowing.

on this blog (because. i don't do something unless i say i'm going to do it. on this blog.)

i'm going to run at least 3 miles, every single day. for 30 days straight.

30 days. of running.

not joking.

that's all.

#614: dress envy.

i went to a wedding this weekend. and among other bits of fabulosity, the dress the bride wore was just stunning.

it was literally perfect.

i've never really lusted after a wedding gown before. well, not like this, anyways. a wedding dress is a wedding dress. is a wedding dress. a strapless is a strapless. is a strapless. i don't hate it. but i don't love it. and that's how i've always felt. like on a scale of ambivalence for wedding dresses, i tipped heavy to the "very ambivalent" side.

ergo my own spontaneous dress purchase months and months ago, a month or so into our engagement. i bought it (marked down 50%! wow! must buy now!), felt a few but not TOO many pangs of regret (mostly due to the price tag even after the 'marked down 50%!' thing), and haven't really looked back since.

because...i'm ambivalent.

but after seeing my friend's wedding dress this weekend, i'm having second thoughts. thing is. her wedding gown was made by one of her (extreeeeeemely) talented bridesmaids. it fit her perfectly, both in size and personality. i know it's not good to envy...but then again, oftentimes, that's how we're challenged to action, right?

not sure what i'm planning to do, really. but i might do something.

p.s. and we're less than 2 months out. good times.

#613: won't stop.

a wedding by max wanger. that's right. a wedding.

i mean, don't get me wrong. his engagement photos are ridic(ulously good). but these are the first wedding shots i've seen from him in a while. so i'm a little bit up in a happy tizzy.

p.s. oh. and in case you're wondering whether i will be sharing every single shoot he posts with you, the answer to that is...probably. as in yes. i will not stop doing so. thank you.

#612: will it keep.

diy instructions at once wed.

would this baby's breath garland keep if i made it ahead of time and kept it out of water for like 12 hours?

just askin.

#611: hip hop at noon.

we hired a dj.

it was a TOUGH decision, let me tell you. i went back and forth on it a million times. to dj or not to dj. to spend the money or not to spend the money. and fiance was unmoved either way.

can i also add that negotiating with djs isn't easy? the djs i contacted didn't move much on their price and even with a lot of back and forthing, they all ended up hovering around the same price range.

and by same, i mean out of my price range.

eventually, i contacted a friend of a friend who used to promote at clubs and now books gigs and manages 2 of her dj friends. i had done my homework and found that other friends who've used them had really liked what they did. so i asked how much they would charge for what i needed...and found that they were around that same 'out of my price range' price range.

i negotiated to the best of my freaking ability and was able to knock off a bit. and looking back, i think i could have been an even stronger negotiator. but it was tricky because she was a friend of a friend.

during negotiations, she promised no hidden fees, no extra charges, the rate was inclusive of all travel and equipment handling fees...and tips. plus, no upfront deposits - just payment in full after a job well done. and she also offered to step up and semi-coordinate the day while 2 djs manned the music.

AND because she's a friend of a friend, i trust her.

trust = key.

so. after all that, it felt kind of right and we bit the bullet. the more i think about it, the more i think it was the right choice for us.

i didn't even feel right delegating someone to light candles around the room, let alone man an ipod for a few hours.

although, now that she's acting as a semi-coordinator, i suppose i could ask her to light the candles.

anyways.

so getting to the 'hip hop at noon' thing. we're having a lunch reception. and our venue is not outdoors...it's a restaurant. and it's mostly family. given those things, i just really don't think people will feel like dancing. i've never been to a daytime wedding so i don't know.

as i discuss the playlist with the djs, should i assume people won't want to get down so early in the day and keep the music on the mellow side? or should i not assume anything?

#610: whole foods.

i was over at whole foods on friday, picking up a fruit tart and a wheat-free/flourless chocolate cake and briefly stopped to admire the flowers by the entrance.

i'm DIY'ing my bouquet, see, so i notice these things.

now. ideally. i know i should head over to the flower mart where they have a million flowers on the cheap. but 1) i don't have time and 2) i don't want to stress over it days before the wedding and 3) i don't want to stress.

i think i would try harder to save bucks on the florals if i was building my own centerpieces and needed a LOT of flowers. i'd probably also care what would be available to me and i'd probably even go so far as to order in advance the flowers i really want to use.

but the truth of the matter is, i don't because i'm not. my centerpieces are paper, remember. and the bouts are not going to have anything live in 'em.

so. i need real flowers for my bouquet. and the bms' bouquets.

that's it.

and my bouquet will not be one of those lush, thick, 10 pounders, i can tell you that much. and the bms' bouquets will probably be itty bitty. heh.

anyways. the point of the story is that i'm going to go to the local whole foods on the friday before my wedding because 1) it's right behind my house, literally, 2) they have a great selection and 3) it'll keep me sane yo.

happy monday.

#609: clearly.

i've fallen off the blogging wagon.

but that's ok. right? i've got no mojo for it right now. dunno why.

anyways. have you seen the latest? gaw.



by max wanger.

#608: pretty.

instructions via once wed.

since i'm making my own bouquet, i'm hoping wherever i go the night before our wedding to buy the flowers has these exact colors and species available.

and if not, that's ok too.

#607: a list.

this is one of those 'thinking out loud' posts. so.

do you do better with lists? i do. and i haven't had one in a while. i guess i've been carrying around a muddled one in my head. but i haven't sat down and really gotten dirty with it. i think i might have been skirting the fact that i need to get stuff done. with the invitations out of the way, i've been kind of like in 'i deserve to rest' mode. still kind of am. plus. there have been other dramsies. anyhoo.

so the rsvps have been trickling in. and before the inbox gets all crazy, i need to have a system. do you do better with a system in place? i do. so, this weekend, i plan to start cutting up our placecards. the idea is to write down each of the yes answers as they come in. srsly.

i also need to go to michaels to pick up $5 flowers.

APRIL:
complete centerpieces
practice hair/makeup
decoration for ceremony
hairpiece for the flowergirls
wedding rings
seating chart
order rehearsal lunch
write vows / ode to parents
cake - make a friggin decision

doesn't seem too bad. i think.

#606: in the hair.

via a desert fete.

i plan to make two. one for each of my flower girls.