Calling All Beach Brides!

Are you having a destination wedding somewhere tropical? Having a local beach wedding? If your upcoming nuptials have a beach theme, then enter to Win this Resin Shell Guestbook!

This guest book has 50 lined, double-sided pages, and features a 3" heart-shaped opening for a picture of the couple! The book itself measures 8" by 6."
I do have a matching pen holder! You just need your own pen.

To enter:

1 entry - Leave a comment below telling about your beach wedding!

Bonus Entry

+1 entry - Follow me on Pinterest and tell me with a comment here!

+1 entry - Follow this blog and tell me with a comment here!

+1 entry - Re-blog, tweet , or Facebook this and leave a comment per each method you used to share!

Giveaway Ends: 05/28/2012



My Bloggy Gal Pal is Featured!

Good evening, everyone! Hope you're happy and shiny now that we're almost (or at!!!) home!
Just wanted to share a slice of happy from earlier today: my friend from Creighton, Kamie, is featured along with her new hubby Danny on Nebraska Wedding Day!

Go see and comment on her pink and gray cuteness and princess amazingness! Also visit Kamie on her personal and wedding blog here!

OFW : Drafting the Wedding Dress

Hello everybody!

While I have been away I have been busy, busy, busy!!!

I sketched out 3 ideas for the gown design...

The Original

Mizrahi Spring '12 Inspired

Then a short and/or convertible version of the Original.

This will be the first pattern I have to draft and design myself, too. Every article of clothing (with very few exceptions) needs a pattern. Since this is just a sketch I will have to "block out" my dress with a generic strapless gown shape and then get crafty with a yard stick, Kraft paper, sharpies, yarn, pins and my newly-acquired pride-and-joy: my dress form!!!

Usually dress forms are around $200 and I need to set that kind of cash aside for my fabric and Muslin mock-up yardage. I had literally NO options available to me to get a dress form before Christmas to get working NAOW.

Yes, I checked craigslist. Yes, I checked teh e-bays. No dice at all there.

$75 was the best deal I could find. I'd rather invest in one that is a working dress form and is adjustable from my-size and up, instead of buying a half-solution to my problem and having another problem to deal with. I was really racking my brain until Shawn reminded me what he mentioned last year (when I was going through the would-I-have-to-make-my-dress situation): Grandpa has one in his basement. Grandma bought it before she left Earth to make dresses with and never got to use it.

HOWWWW did I forget that?!

In any case... it was there. And it's not perfectly sized but it was perfectly free. And that covers up a lot of size issues. It can still be used to pin, draft and drape! So it will work.

It is now living in my office tingling with purpose.

AHHHH! I am SO excited now! NOTHING is standing in my way! Plus I just had a huge ego-boost: I can make my dress pattern WITH MATH!

The A-Line Ballgown Skirt is really a simple cone. To find the surface area of the skirt would be as good as knowing how many yards my pattern will take to complete the skirt before it is even made. I just have to divide my computing units into meters and take care to note they are in SQUARE INCHES. Failure to take note of that could increase my cost and leftover fabric approximately enough to piss me off for a whole day. So I took note.

As I block it out I will take pictures and post the progress of each step! I'm sorry if I'm not as fast movign as I'd like to be but it is the holiday season and I DIY a lot of my gifts for people! My hands will either be crocheting, blogging or pinning!

Just keep hanging in there with me!

Real Wedding : Love You More, Love You Better

I am SO pleased and proud to present to you, one of my very-best bloggy gal-pals Kim at Party Frosting! has married her love D and has been married for 8 days today! She and D celebrated their nuptuals October 30. It was a rustic, orange, and wine themed celebration of love!

Kim and D did things their own way which I am a huge fan of! They DIY'd the stuff out of their wedding and also did these things their own way:

• The wedding was in their lovely wood-accented home.
• Kim held her daddy's hand and her dress instead of a bouquet.
• Kim went barefoot at the last minute! BOO YAW!
• No attendants; just surrounded by people they love and who love them.
• They had their favorite cake instead of a big fancy wedding cake.
• They had a wine tasting class instead of a first dance.
• They had a wine ceremony instead of a candle unity ceremony. WOOT!

Congratulations to Kim and D!
Read all about her wedding planning journey here and visit her Party Planning prowess blog here!

Arbor Day Farm - Morton Barn Wedding

This weekend our family all went to the Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City, NE to get apples for Fall baking! We had a great time, walked some trails and even did a wine tasting. While we were walking we came across a BEAUTIFUL rustic barn just ready for a wedding!

It is called the Morton Barn. Apparently they rent it out for weddings on a regular basis. It costs around $8500 for a 200-guest wedding and reception. There are even vinyl flaps on the barn in case of weather!

There is a hotel on site for guests to stay in as well as for the wedding night. The only thing you need are your decorations and cake essentially! It explains it all in their wedding package PDF.

The money goes to a great cause... Arbor Day Farm focuses on conservation and enjoying the beauty of nature right here where we are!

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

So a while back I had mentioned a "big announcement..."
Through time, our wedding, this blog and my wonderful followers' words I have learned what I am best at: design. I cannot say I will only design weddings, I'm very domestic and love home design, too. But the proportionately overwhelming stats on my dress design posts from you guys show me that the next step I need to take is...

Real Bride. Real Cool. Real Married!!!

Hey everyone! Remember our lovely Emily and Alex? Well they're officially hitched! Yup! 20 days and counting. Ems recently shared some swoon-worthy shots on her blog of the wedding DIY details as well as a couple of shots from the honeymoon and wedding itself!

One of the wood signs made by Alex

My BHLDN addiction turned useful.

From left, clockwise: Pennant flags by Em, their collaborative Save-the-Date, "Best Dog" ribbon with flower, mums, Steep Street Wedding Photo, vintage tablecloths, Steep Street dancing photo.

Congratulations you two! On being married and still being tan from Costa Rica!

OMG CUTE.

Working on my SMP & All.Women.Stalk Submissions

Almost Friday again!

Dawn Pohlen

I have been sifting through the wedding photos picking the ones I will edit first. I have 76 from our photographer, some from Shawn's mom's camera and we're also waiting for the video to be done because some stills were taken from that for pictures, too!
As you brides know it takes a lot of weddings to make the blogs we love go 'round with features. Fortunately for wedding blogs, there are over 2,077,000 weddings in the U.S. each year! The U.S. is not the exclusive source for wedding features, though. You have to take into consideration brides from around the world with web access as well! This is approxiamately 41,975,000 weddings around the world every year, over 20 times the amount of weddings happening in the U.S.!
This helps me mentally prepare for refusal of our wedding for sure. The success of our wedding lies within us, NOT within the 1 in 42 million chance that we get featured somewhere. Besides, who cares about the people who say "No, thank you," to seeing and sharing pics of your rad wedding? No, THANK YOU! Now we can move onto people who lurve us and would like nothing more than to squee over our photos all day.

Dawn Pohlen

In any case, it would be a major thrill to have many people identify with and receive your wedding with interest. To better increase our 1 in 42Million chance, I have found several articles about standing out in the oceans of wedding being submitted these days. It comes from Style Me Pretty, which is basically the same thing as hearing it from the horse's mouth. Read here.

Are any of you ladies or guys out there submitting your wedding to be featured anywhere?

How to Read Wedding Magazines

There was nothing I throuroughly enjoyed more than taking a crisp $20 bill down to the bookstore to purchase 3 or 4 wedding magazines when we got engaged. I bought them a couple different times and took any free ones laying out in places we registered--duplicate or not.
Now I'm not the average Midwestern bride that gets married in a church and has a reception in a hotel. If you are, I wouldn't have to tell you how to read magazines! They are made for that kind of awesome experience. For those who are more like me, or want something that isn't in the magazines, don't write the Knot off quite yet; there's still things the mags are good for.

Inspiration
The books are filled with pictures and ads (also pictures). Don't skip over them; this is not a magazine. It is a wedding magazine. The pic of the centerpiece you skip over could be the One. Don't pore over every page, but be objective and look at each photo for a good amount of time.

"NO" ideas

What DON'T you like about the magazine? In the magazine? Is there a photo of a reception you think is the ultimate tacky festival? Cut it out! Making an antonym inspiration board when you're first planning is actually a lot more helpful; at that point you're bombarded with ideas you like. If you find one you don't like, there's a definite no. We must learn to celebrate this word later, so start now!



Read it Backwards
The only thing you should skip in wedding magazines is the table of contents. Don't expect what's coming next. Take no context with any photos. One thing that helps me with this is actually a funny habit of mine: I read magazines backwards. I don't know why, I just start in the back cover and read to the front.
Read your magazine front to back, read a new one, and then pick up the first one and read it backwards. You'll be like, "Did I see this?! I don't remember that!" It's like having fresh eyes when it's in a new order!
Remember that the Wedding Industry pays a ton of money to put their interpretations of being married into these mags. Only you can tell what being married/getting married will look and feel like to you. Most of my wedding magazines were for gathering "NO ideas" and it helped us a lot!

After you read them, I suggest giving them to a friend who would be interested or is getting married. Just because it's a new month doesn't mean the ideas from last month won't work anymore! What are some of your favorite magazines? Do you cut them up, give them away or save them?

On My Wedding Day to you, Bride-to-be

bridesupnorth.com

I have but one regret during our entire engagement: I wish I had been more overt about me being a Bride.
Sure you have the engagement ring (probably) and the glow, but lots of teeny-boppers wear fake engagement rings now for "fashion." When you're young-looking like me, no one can "tell" for sure, even though my ring doesn't look like a cheap cocktail ring from Walmart. If it does look real, you simply look too young for that to be so.
I would wait for people to ask me if I was engaged when getting a manicure instead of exclaiming it like I wish I had. I would never talk about more than what was asked about concerning the wedding. I just figured that no one cared as much as I did, right? I'd probably annoy them...
Well from my experience on my Blog and the Weddzilla blog, I'd say people are pretty happy for you when you blurt it out to them. They get very interested. This month I was a little more flamboyant about being a bride and I've really enjoyed it; to the point I wish I'd done it all along.
So REVEL, you brides-to-be!!! REVEL!!!

1 Day

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Here I am.

I will be married tomorrow forever after. I am not nervous, but the butterflies in my tummy are Amazonian.

I feel so many, many things.
I am happy to tears constantly; I am so excited; and I am so sure of Shawn and Me.

I just know that Shawn is the right man for me; everyday I am reminded when we discuss everything from having kids to what to eat for dinner. It helps that we agree on most things, but it is nice that even if we don't agree we always work through everything in a respectful and loving way.
We have worked so hard for so long at this wedding that we are strangely ready to be over it! Don't get us wrong; we are looking forward to the wedding more than anything we have anticipated thus far in our lives, but we're ready for the marriage. We want life to be quiet again so we can snuggle down like bunnies with our animals and watch Adult Swim at night until we fall asleep.
Honestly, we're just ready to take our life back from wedding planning! Before wedding planning, being bunnies daily was our Common law Status. After we're married things will go back to that status but we'll be able to do things we want to do like fix up our (soon-to-be found)New House together and get scars from it. We want to have babies and raise them into big people. We want to walk together, holding hands forever. We'll be living just like it was, but now it's in 3-D! WE are not changing, the status of the RELATIONSHIP will be.
We are making a promise to be together forever no matter what. Just as people change, feelings change; you cannot simply marry for emotional reasons alone. It is not enough. Marriages go through periods of YEARS where things might be just "not the same as before" but the couples who stay together during those rough spots usually fall in love with their spouses all over again.
My only advice to married people: love the other person as you want to be loved, and stay together. For better or worse.
You swore!

So on this day, my last day as a single lady, to all my single ladies: Just don't rush your life to get to any point, whether it be married or any other status. Waiting forever for Mr. Right is better than having a beautiful short-lived wedding with Mr. RightNow.
And always remember that everything happens for a reason! Everything.

I love you all, and all your words of support and kindness have really changed my life. I wish I could hug you all in person and share what you each have personally given me. You're beautiful!

Cardigan Mini-Project

I am a huge fan of the bride-in-a-cardigan. Especially in my color, yellow.

However, it is not hard to find a picture of a bride in a cardigan. Even yellow cardigan bride comes up with a lot of results on google. I will wear a cardigan because I like this trend and a hoodie (like I usually wear) just won't do. To separate myself from the rest of the cardigan brides and yellow cardi-brides I replaced the buttons my cardigan was made with and sewed the replacements on, sourcing them from my very own collection. Now I have a special, very buttony cardi that is perfect for MEEEE!

LOVE IT!

Colored Wedding Dress Crinoline Part 2: Mere Mortals Dye Poly Tulle

So I tried to dye my ivory crinoline yellow about 2 weeks ago with regular Tulip Dye... FAIL. The deeper shade of ivory it turned rinsed right out!
Upon investigation into the material contents of the crinoline, (Read: I did online research, called the shop I bought my dress from, and then FINALLY called my dress designer's world headquarters) I found that it is Poly-tulle. It is made of Polyester.
Now folks, no mere mortal can dye polyester fabric. However, I do not take kindly to the idea of a white crinoline I could have just left attached to the damn dress!
So I did some more research into what WOULD dye polyester. Apparently there is a poylester dye that comes in its very own packet and everything. It is called iDye Poly and although it comes in limited colors, it comes in yellow and it works! Shawnie did most of the work and I stood by with my nervously bitten lip.

We put a stainless steel bucket on the stove with warm-to-hot water in it. We put it up to level 4 on the burner to get it simmering. We added the skirt and Shawn stirred it constantly to keep the color even and to keep the crinoline from cooking!

It got gradually darker over the course of 30 minutes.

Before

5 Minutes

10 Minutes! Soaked up a lot of color!!!

Woohoo! Results!!!

I'd like to thank Shawn (for dying and emotional support), Grandpa (for using his bathtub and carwashing bucket without fear of stains) and my mom (for listening to me bitch when it wouldn't work and I couldn't figure out how to make it work!). I will have a colored crinoline for under my dress.

There is a downside to this DIY: it took SO. FREAKING. LONG. that I handed it off to my alterations lady for Part 3 : the elastic waist. All I will have is after-after pics! Hang in there!

2 Weeks Until We're Married Bunnays!

14 Days Until We're Married!

Our Birdcage cardholder is done! This was Shawn's Grandma's birdcage from her canary, Tweety. It was destined for garbage last summer until I spoke up and took it, not knowing at the time what it would end up as. Now look at it. Shawn is entirely responsible for the cleaning, drying (with the air compressor!) and painting the whole thing.

He even cut out a cardboard circle for the bottom because he thought it would be more stable. All I did was literally hot glue a few things on it.

The moss bunnies are done, also! They started out with green gingham ribbons around their necks and pink flower eyes. They're HiLLjO+Shawn-licious now! Shawn's mommy painted the eyes and noses and I glued on the bow ties.

I got my Bride's bag in the mail!!! I ordered it from etsy shop Pinkvelvetpress. They made me a custom listing for my order and it was here on time! The bag is only around $12 and they have it in all different colors. You can even customize the color and style of the font! I was very happy with my bag!!!

Results of Last Minute Veil DIY!

Hello, lovelies.
So yesterday I described how all the while that I have been planning my Wedding Day ensemble, I simply knew I did not want a traditional veil. I thought the answer for me was a hair wreath. I tried to make one for 6 WEEKS until I finally designed one I like. While that was failing previously I tried a simple flower in the hair, which I love, too.
I took all my accessories with me to my final fitting last Saturday only to discover that I don't like my accessories with my wedding gown! The shoes are too bulky with the dainty dress and the hair wreath only perpetuates my young-as-hell looks. I want to look grown up and womanly like all the brides I see at their weddings. I'm okay with looking like my young-faced self everyday but on my wedding day I want to look like a woman. The hair wreath is lovely, but not for me.

I don't recall where I saw it but recently there was a bride featured on one of my favorite blogs who had a version of a birdcage where the netting was in a crescent shape across only her eyes. I wanted to try one of those, but I had to find a good picture and find out what it was called!
After much googling of terms like "mini birdcage" and "eye veil" I found out that they are called bandeau veils or visor veils.
I googled up some good reference and inspiration photos and got to work making a diagram and list of supplies for myself (I have become VERY organized whilst planning!). I had everything but mini combs to attach it in my hair. After going to Sally Beauty I didn't find mini combs, but I got the 2-prong pincurl clips that looked like they would work, too.

I went home and laid out my supplies and got to work. It took around 5 minutes. Ava helped me mark my tulle; she bit it! But it was actually just where I needed to cut it... odd, yet wonderful! I cut a double-length to make a double layer of tulle by folding it in half. Then I folded the outside corners on each end to the center, pinching the layers together as I folded. Then I sewed a stitch and knot into the layers to keep it together before attaching it to the clip. The clip felt most secure in my hair with the prongs pointing down towards the floor, so I sewed each one onto the backside of sewn tulle clusters. The veil itself was "done" after that. I chose to add a sunflower barrette on the left side of it for my flower in the hair.

Which do you like better?

Why do I do this to myself?!

After my final dress fitting on Saturday with all my extras, I came to a hard realization: I love my dress and I love my accessories, just not together! I think I am lucky because I still have time and I am not discovering this the day-of. I also feel lucky because it is freaky-common for brides to start hating their dress around the point we are at in wedding planning. Neither of those things happened so I am just focused on fixing my accessories at this point.
I am going to go barefoot until someone tells me to put shoes on that day. I love my sandals, but I REALLY love how my dress looks with me barefoot. It's so right.
The headpiece makes me look like a little girl in a big wedding dress. I do not appreciate looking younger when I already look like a baby! I want to look like a woman on my wedding day for my Shawnie.


lifespringphotography.com

 So, having said all this I go forth to make something new. Yes, at 16 days to the wedding, a new project.

The Last-Minute DIY Visor Veil

Inspiration:

Check back tomorrow for the results and a whole good lot of photos!!!

It's raining outside... but I feel all kinds of sunshine.

This morning it was raining for me, but about a half hour ago, the sun poked out and all was well again.

Last week I tried to schedule MOH Meaghan and my hair/nail/toes appointments when I got my awesome haircut. The next day I called to make it 2 nail/toe appointments and they said they'd call back. I never heard back so I called again today and they told me Kristin, my personal hair dresser, is booked for my wedding day.
CRASH. BOOM. BANG.
My world fell down around me. I finally decided not to DIY my own hair with my DIY makeup and I can't have it? The one lady besides myself I let touch my hair is busy on my wedding day?
I intermittently cried as it showered outside.

At 12:45 I decided to go see Shawn at lunch and cry to him. He made me feel better and told me, just as my mom did when I called her on the way, "Everything will be ok."

And it was.

At 3:21 PM Kristin called me herself to say that since she is doing my pedicure, she'll just steal me away to do my hair!
Isn't she amazing? Anytime I need anything for my hair whether it's Tuesday or my wedding day, she gets it done and it's done how I see it in my head. That is why I only let her touch my hair!
So even though it's rumbling thunder outside still, I am all sunshiney and happy again.
I'm still crying, but I'm happy now!

Everyone go say Congratulations to Laura of Saying I Do. She's getting hitched tomorrow!!! We love you, Laura!!!

see the girl with the diamond ring... she knows how to twist that thing

When I was first engaged, I would take about 100 pictures a day of my hand with my new engagement ring. Ok, so it wasn't quite that many, but I saved these photos and now have a collection of them. I'm sure it's something we all are doing/did at one time!

JUST ENGAGED!!! Like 5 minutes prior!

The Photo everyone MMS'd me for!

Summer love and an engagement ring!

It looks super good in the Beetle while I'm driving, too!

In comments, link to your photos of your ring!!!

...The final countdown.



1 Month to Go

Anne Nguyen

So many things are going through my mind right now.
And I'm happy.

To purse or not to purse?

I never buy myself purses. I mean, my newest bags are 2 years old and they're from Pamida. That's fine, but I want a big-girl bag again!
I found this little number, what do you think? Worth $45?