I loved the idea of making door hangers for our guests and have seen so many brides make some really great ones! I decided to give it a try. I found quite a few templates out there, but decided to tweak mine just a bit.

I have lots of leftover wood grain paper and want to carry that theme throughout the wedding. I decided to make a template and made each hanger 3.5″ by 8″. I was able to fit 3 on a page.

The design elements I included were:

• Our bird on a limb image
• The typical “Please Do Not Disturb”
• I found an image that read “Thank you for sharing our wedding with us” – I can’t remember where this came from – if someone knows, please share!
• Our bird

I then used my handy home “cheap” printer and am really happy with what came out.

(how scary does my hand look?!?!?)

Did you put any DIY elements in your OOT bags?

Source: WeddingBee.com

The wedding will be quite the crafty affair, since I’ve been crafting all my life. There will be lots of kraft paper with various stamping and printing effects, tons of fabric, and some great ribbons. My mother is a fabulous seamstress and will be using the lace from my grandmother’s wedding dress (my mom also wore it). It’s from 1951, is entirely made out of lace, and has an 11’ cathedral train. I’m thinking I’ll be able to harvest enough lace to cover my entire dress in it and still leave some for the other granddaughters.

Since I’m trained as an architect, I have a love for certain kinds of paper. Mainly trace paper—there is plain white and then there is butter paper. Doesn’t that name just sound delicious? It’s a yellow-hued trace paper that I’ll be using along with the plain white to make flowers, invite belly bands, and hopefully a few other things.

I also love kraft paper and chipboard. I know it sounds odd, but if you glue together a bunch of layers of chipboard and then saw it and sand it like a block of wood, it smells so good. It smells like the burnt wood of a winter fire.

If I could think of a nice way to incorporate basswood, I would, but I haven’t found the right method for that yet.

Since I was raised by quilters and the wedding is in Texas, we’ll probably have a bunch of quilts from Momma Moonbeam’s vast collection strewn about the outdoor portion of our venue. There are wrought iron cafe tables and a gazebo out back, so hopefully people will wander out there.

In keeping with that down-home feel, there will be a dessert bar with some homemade tasties and others bought from the local bakery, Haby’s.

Here’s a look at my pin-up board.

Are you incorporating any elements from your profession into your wedding?

Source: http://www.weddingbee.com/2009/09/03/starting-off-with-inspiration/

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I’ve toyed with the idea of having a kids’ table. And not one where all the children are forced to eat dinner at, I mean one with things for them to actually do. I’m thinking crayons, butcher paper, and candy. But I’m not sure if I should do this. I see it going one of two ways: 1. Kids will play, color, and eat candy to their heart’s desire while leaving the parents alone to mingle, drink, eat, etc. 2. Kids will drag their parents over to the kids’ table to show off all the crafts they are making and the parents won’t be able to mingle, eat, and drink. I want everyone at the wedding to have a good time, including all our little guests.

And then I found the cutest activity books from We Met in a Bar. And now I think I have to make this, or the kids at our wedding will not have fun.

How cute would it be to have our very own activity books at the kids’ table? Maybe between now and next April, a light bulb will go off inside my head and I will suddenly have this amazing crafting talent.

Source

What are your thoughts on a kids’ activity table? Will it help give parents a chance to mingle, or do you think parents will ultimately be stuck crafting with the kiddies?

Have you seen this movie yet?

You should, if you haven’t already. It has two of my favorite actors (Amy Adams and Lee Pace) and it is my new inspiration for my wedding. The wardrobe! The decor! The music! They are simply wonderful. I’m listening to the soundtrack as I blog away…

First, let’s look at the set. I love the muted colors and the decor details:

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All images below courtesy of IMDB.

The contrast between the muted colors and gold is somehow done in a classy manner and does not look tacky.

Is this not the most fabulous just-got-out-of-bed-but-I-still-look-glamorous robe?

I’m not so sure about the Minnie Mouse hat below… but I do love the sassy dress on Amy Adams. Somehow I think the red belt is overkill. I know it’s supposed to be cute but I just don’t think women of that era would have paired those two colors together. It looks too modern to me… but that’s just me.

Now for a little groom style:

The happy couple is on their way to America in order to escape from the war, just like how Mr. Chick and I will be on our way to our married lives together soon. I told you this movie was perfect!

Which movie has inspired your wedding?

OK, I have to ‘fess up. From the moment that I got engaged, I thought I wanted no part of the wedding shower tradition. It just seemed so… traditional. A close friend of ours (who is doing a reading in our ceremony) made an offer to throw me one right after she found out we were engaged, and I refused. “We’re not registering,” I said, “so I don’t need a shower.”

So, what happened? I changed my mind, of course. Over the months, as I watched several friends wed (including virtual friends) I started to get jealous of all the love they were experiencing at their showers. I wanted one now, too! So, I dropped a few (not-so-subtle) hints to some of my friends, and they gracefully obliged with the awesomest, most Miss Mouseiest shower of all time.

The shower took place at my and the Dude’s house! This was maybe a bit nonstandard, but it was great for me—I didn’t have to go anywhere! The hostess (a good friend who happened to be crashing at my place until her sublease came through) set up the living room and kitchen area while I hid in the TV room watching reruns of America’s Next Top Model. Didn’t she make the place look pretty?

Everyone chatted as people started to arrive.

The hostess finished laying out the provisions.

There was a plethora of food (mostly vegetarian–score!) from Central Market. Mmmmm.

Chicken-stuffed poblano peppers and veggie lasagna

After eating all of this delicious food, I only had to sit still to open one card—a joint gift from all of my shower guests, plus a couple of people who couldn’t make it.

The gift was… wait for it… Rock Band Beatles Edition for Wii! But, I would also have to wait for it… because it doesn’t come out until September 9th. Not to worry, though. My lovely hostess brought over her Rock Band equipment and both Rock Band 1 and 2. So, we all refilled our champagne glasses and/or grabbed beers and crammed ourselves into the TV room to play Rock Band into the night.

I only have two pictures of us playing Rock Band, and they both look like we’re all really bored. But I swear it was WAY more fun than it looks!

My mom’s the only one who looks like she’s having any fun, and she didn’t even play!

Later on, the Dude and one of his friends (the husband of one of my awesome shower guests) showed up to join the party.

The shower was perfect! I just wish I had taken better pictures. I don’t even have a picture of my outfit with the blue Mary Jane heels that I wore. I suck at this documentarian stuff! I’ll get better pictures at the bachelorette party, I promise. Oh, and at the Rock Band Beatles Edition party that is very likely to take place two nights before the wedding!

Would you consider having a nontraditional shower? If so, what would yours be like?

This is a story about the importance of paper.

There was an invitation I liked:

I saw it on a website. I ordered a sample. It seemed to take a while, but one day it arrived in the mail. I liked the look of it in person, the feel of the raised lettering. I showed it to Mr. DD. He held it in his hands and looked at me.

Finally he said: “This paper is like the cardboard in cheap underwear.”

No, we didn’t end up getting those invitations.

Do you think paper quality is important too? What’s your favorite high-quality paper?

Well, one of us is off. The car is packed and I’ll be making my way back to the UP tonight after work! My fiance (that’s one of the last times I’ll get to say that word) will be staying for one more night and coming up on Wednesday after work. The rest of the week will be filled with the projects I couldn’t do from afar, mainly packaging the favors and putting together the OOT bags, final meetings with a few vendors, etc. The decorating at the reception site begins tomorrow as well, so I’ll be checking in now and then to see the progress. Maybe I’ll even post the progress if I have time (keyword: IF)!

Until then, I’ll leave you with a picture of the last project I finished yesterday: the escort card display! Sorry for the terrible picture, but the cameras are already packed so I had to resort to using my phone. The escort cards are finished as well, and they will hang from the ribbons going across the board. Thank you to the lovely Mrs. Quiche for the last minute inspiration and escort card cutting assistance!

If you are thinking, ‘that is one huge escort card board,’ you are right…

It’s 4’x6’. Remember, it has to fit about 325 cards on it! I just hope people can reach the top and bottom rows!

I’m curious, if you had a large wedding, how did you display all the cards? I’m thinking a table would be much more practical for so many escort cards!

A few months ago, Mr. Poodle an I decided we were going to marry “on paper” months before we say “I do” next January at his grandparents’ ranch.

Even though neither of us wanted to be legally married before our wedding celebration, we had to go this route after finding out that I wont be able to work until 3 to 4 months after we file for my AOS (Adjustment of Status – that’s the step that follows the legal marriage). It takes that long to get a Green Card (job permit) in the mail.

So basically, we had two options:

• I could move there and work on the wedding planning for about two months, forget the idea of trying to get a job, and we would get married in January and apply for AOS after that. This would give me an extra 3 to 4 months to sit on my butt and try to find something to do after the wedding.
• OR, I could move to California and we could just sign the papers to “make it legal”, and apply for the AOS as soon as possible. I could use the time waiting for the AOS to process to craft and go crazy over our wedding related tasks! This way, the timing would work out almost perfectly, giving me just a couple of weeks after the wedding to start the search for a job.

We decided the last option was the way we wanted to go and also decided that the “legal date” will not be important to us. We’ll celebrate our anniversary on our wedding ceremony date, not the “legal date”.  Actually, none of our friends know about this (only our families – and now YOU! ). Plus, I don’t want to be address as a MRS. after that day, because we are not giving that date the symbolism of the “BIG STEP” we will be making. We will call each other husband and wife only after our January event.

So, it’s not a big deal, and I bet Mr. Poodle will wear short pants and a shirt that day. BUT, I’m a girl!!! I can’t help it! I need a cute DRESS!

I know I’ll have some other occasions to wear cute dresses to, like a shower (If I happen to have one) or the rehearsal. But I know we will end up taking at least one picture that day, and I don’t want to be in shorts and a shirt.

I still have a lot of work to do in the sewing department (finishing the top of my dress, table runners, and 3 BM dresses), but I’ll have nothing else to do once I move, since I’ll lose my actual job. (Yay! Oh no, I mean… boo. ) So, another dress project would be great!

So, here are my inspiration dresses!! I though it would be nice to have a “bridal-looking” dress, with soft colors, a wavy look, and cute flower accessories.

– Rose and Ruby Inspiration

Maybe I can add little hint of color like the ones on the right?

{ Dresses From Rose and Ruby – via Beauty and Lace }

Then I headed over to one of my favorite places where I like to web window shop—Anthropologie! I found these two cute little dresses that I really liked. They’re not totally bridal, but I could easily wear any of these  again!

- Anthropologie Inspiration

{ Clustered Petals Dress by Anthropologie }

{ Behind-the-Clouds Dress by Anthropologie }

Then, I stumbled upon Sika Designs. I’ve had these dresses saved on my computer and needed an excuse to make something similar ever since I started the search my wedding dress. I was so blown away by these  cuties!

- Sika Designs Inspiration

{ Dresses from Sika Designs – Fusion Collection }

{ Dresses from Sika Designs – Wonderland and Spellbound Collection}

I have so much inspiration in my head that I need some help choosing an option, because I like everything, and I can’t make 3 dresses!

As far as we know, we’ll be signing the legal papers soon after I move to California. So weather will not be a huge factor, and I could pretty much wear any of the above dresses.

Which of the dresses do you think I could continue to wear on a daily basis?

Lulu has once again come to our rescue.

I was telling – okay, complaining to – her about how much people charge for engagement shoots, and she kindly offered to photograph our engagement shoot! She is an excellent photographer, as you may remember from this picture:

We came up with a couple of photos to get a feel of what we are going for. I love the vintage look, and I like to keep the background very simple and muted, with maybe one point of focus that is colorful. You probably remember these pictures from a previous post:

Jill Thomas Photography:

Josh Goleman:

Jonas Peterson

I love how the subjects almost blend into the background. Very subtle and pretty, but not frilly.

I definitely want a picture of us with Blue holding these prop moustaches!

Bella Grace Studios:

One more kitty picture. Just one. I promise!

Our ideas so far for taking pictures are at Rice University, 13 Celsius, the Waterwall, House of Pies, in front of our garage door, and the historic chapel at Houston Heritage Society.

How did you come up with your engagement shoot locations?

Ranunculus is another word I didn’t even know a couple months ago, but I seriously do heart ranunculus. I might even consider a full ranunculus bridal bouquet. Just look at their tissue-like petals. The word comes from the latin word frog. I don’t really see the connection, but I used to catch frogs all the time as a kid, so I think it’s fate. Just look at them. How can you not swoon?:

Source

{Martha Stewart Weddings, Martha Stewart Weddings, Verbena Designs, The Knot}

Do you have a newfound favorite flower now that you’re planning your wedding?

… the wedding gift edition.

We’re BACK! The wedding day was perfect (a few snafus, but still perfect), and the honeymoon was amazing and relaxing. We got many fabulous gifts from our friends and family: some off our registry, some clever and thoughtful, and some not quite ’us’.

My favorite registry gifts :
1. Pyrex Glass Mixing Bowl (via Macy’s) – I actually got this as a shower gift and use it ALL THE TIME. It’s glass, but it has rubber on the bottom so it doesn’t slide around on the counter. It also has a pouring ’spout’ and ’handle’… both so helpful for clumsy people like me. Love it.

2. KitchenAid Mixer (via Macy’s) – Shocking, I know . While I haven’t ’baked’ anything with it yet, I’ve made meatloaf with it – it mixes those heavy ingredients so well. And mashed potatoes: again, it just smashed right through them, with no hassle at all. It’s perfect for lazy people like myself.

My favorite non-registry gifts:

1. Leather Picnic Set – for two

(image)

2. Christmas Stocking – Inside was an “Our First Christmas” ornament and a gift certificate for our first Christmas tree.

Gifts I’m Still A Little Confused About :
1. Sex Straps – To um, bind our extremities to the four corners of the bed. I’m so glad I didn’t open that one in front of my parents. It wasn’t a joke. We checked. This falls in the bad and ugly categories.

Have you received any random gifts that weren’t on your registry? What was your favorite?

Finding the Blogosphere…
I didn’t find out about the blogosphere until I found Weddingbee in the spring of 2008. I was recently engaged and in the midst of planning my own wedding. Like many other bees, most of my friends and family were located hundreds of miles away. On top of that, I was the first of my close friends to get married, so I was completely new to the wedding scene. In fact, the last time I was a bridesmaid was when my big brother got married and I was fifteen years old! I was looking for inspiration for planning a destination, eco-friendly, daytime wedding. I found Mrs. Radish and I read every single post. That day, another addict was born…

Deciding to Apply…
When I first found Weddingbee, it didn’t even occur to me that I might apply. I had never blogged before and like so many other brides, I didn’t think that anyone would care about my wedding. I felt like there was nothing ‘special’ about my wedding. I wasn’t on a specifically small or large budget; it would be a small affair, and the destination part of the wedding meant there would be minimal DIY projects. But, the more I read WB, the more I realized there was actually a lot more diversity than my first glance lead me to believe.

A major focus of our wedding was planning a ‘green’ event. But, Mr. Pinot Noir was less concerned with eco-friendly choices and more concerned about the food, the venue, and how much fun our guests could have. The end result was what I called a green wedding in disguise.

Blogging for Weddingbee was a really great part about planning our wedding.

I felt like I had the ability to inspire so many people and spread the word about what it means (and doesn’t mean) to have an eco-friendly wedding. But, even thought blogging can be a ton of fun, it is also hard work. On more than one occasion I spent my evening blogging instead of cuddling with my fiancé. He understood how much I liked blogging, but I would be lying if I said the time commitment never caused any friction between us. It is important for any applicant to weigh the pros and cons and examine their lifestyle to see if blogging on a regular basis will fit with their goals and priorities.

Choosing Pinot Noir…
Choosing my character was a no-brainer. The beverages class of icons had just been released, and since we were planning a wine country wedding, it was the perfect choice! I just love when things work out so perfectly like that!

Blogging Tips…
I’m don’t know if I’m in the position to be giving tips about blogging – I still have so much to learn myself – but a couple tidbits come to mind.

1. Blog Often
   My favorite blogs are those that post regularly (at least 3 times a week). Because they are always popping up on my Google Reader I can remember their personal story and I just feel more connected with them.
2. Comment Love
   The best way to get new readers is to spread the comment love on other bloggers’ sites who write about similar topics as you do. I found that the number of subscribers and commenters I had quickly started to grow when I made a point of commenting on other blogs and boards.
3. Stay (Mostly) Positive
   Try to stay positive and upbeat. I’m not recommending you write posts full of lovebirds and butterflies when you are having a terrible day, but try to write more positive posts than negative ones. Most people are not going to want to listen to you whine and cry on a regular basis.

These days I’m blogging about open water swims, hilly bike rides and long runs on my triathlon blog, Commitment is Liberating. You see, I fought off the post-wedding blues by jumping feet first into the world of triathlon.

Can we be real here? Like, really real? This post has to do with weight, and size, and wedding pressure to look completely perfect at all times.

When I bought my wedding gown, I was in the middle of a super workout frenzy. In my adult life, my weight has fluctuated a lot. On dress buying day, I weighed 155 lbs. I was doing pilates three times a week, running 3 times and week, doing the Shred and other cardio often, as well. My tummy was flat! I could run two miles without stopping (for someone who couldn’t even run half a mile in high school, this was an AWESOME accomplishment)! I felt amazing.

The day I went in for my first dress fitting, over five months later, I had gained ten pounds. As my day to day schedule got more hectic, I didn’t have as much time for exercising. As our wedding budget got bigger, I didn’t have as much money for private pilates and yoga classes. All of these little changes added up. And when I tried on my dress, it showed. The dress fit, but was tight in the thigh area, which happens to be my “problem area”. I have a 28 inch waist and 42 inch hips. It’s ridiculous! But, it’s just the way I am built, and no amount of cardio or weights or dieting will change that ratio. In fact, when I am on a workout kick, my waist gets smaller, yet my thighs get larger and more muscular!

Like I said, my dress was tight in the thighs. Tight enough, apparently, for the alterations person to tell me to stop eating for two weeks. To advise me to start the “walking diet” and walk away the fat on my thighs.

I would love to be telling you that this didn’t affect me. That I let the rude comments roll off my back. But it did affect me. I immediately hated what I saw in her mirror. I started berating myself for not spending the last eight months dieting, like “a good bride should”. I couldn’t believe I was going to be getting married looking like this. I was mad at myself. I was discouraged. I felt worthless.

In reality, I should have been mad at the seamstress!

Instead of doing the right thing and leaving her studio immediately, I let this woman make comments on my shape for the next 20 minutes while she pinned and cut and scrutinized. I smiled and nodded and promised to work on my weight…

I held myself together throughout the meeting and waited until I was safely in the car with Mr. S to get upset. I didn’t cry; I just felt sick to my stomach. My thoughts were erratic… Hhere we are, a month from my one and only wedding day and I didn’t starve myself for the past year to look perfect, and now I have to face the consequences by walking down the aisle in front of everyone with enormous thighs!!! OH NO!!!

It wasn’t until two days later that I realized how ridiculous I was being. I had let a silly comment from my seamstress take over my brain for a full 48 hours, and I had no reason to let this go on.

There is SO MUCH pressure for brides to look “perfect” on their wedding day. From the dress consultants who will ask, “How much weight are you planning on losing before the wedding?” to the magazines that advertise step by step “bridal diets”, the pressure to change your body for your wedding day is extreme.

And for two whole days, I got caught up in this mindset. I contemplated not eating, doing a fast, a cleanse, anything that would help me drop some weight. It is a crazy thing when someone makes you feel like you have lost control of your own body.

Here is the real deal, though. I already eat pretty healthy foods (okay, maybe my cupcake trials were catching up to me, but on a normal day to day basis, I eat well). I can’t really cut out any food without cutting out essential nutrients. I exercise pretty regularly, but I had let some of it go in the past few months. I vowed to not worry about it, work out when I can, but not be extreme about it, and buy a really good pair of Spanx to smooth out any lumps and bumps! I also vowed not to let any comments from someone who doesn’t even know anything about me other than my measurements affect my mindset.

Will I lose ten pounds in the next ten days? No. Will I look perfect for the wedding? Depends on your idea of perfect. Will Mr. Sprinkle tell me I look perfect? Yes, he always does. Will I believe him? I hope so! Luckily, my seamstress will be nowhere near our wedding, and I will be surrounded by people who love me exactly the way I am right now; not twenty pounds thinner, or two inches taller, or in a more expensive dress, or with whiter teeth, or tanner skin…

Have you felt the pressure to look perfect on your wedding day? How are you dealing with it?

In one big effort, thanks to some help from a few faithful friends, we managed to finish our menu/programmes in 2 nights (it took 2 because we ran out of ink on the first night, which is pretty impressive on the whole, I think).

(if you look closely you will see one lone packet of Milano cookies, brought back for me by one of Mr Lightning’s friends – you have no idea how hard it is to ration these things)

With a ceremony to be held in the middle of our reception venue, we decided to combine the menu and programme into one package of information. Only vital information was included, as at this stage we didn’t want to have to go and buy more paper. The end result is small and sweet and should fit nicely on a napkin. Each card is slightly smaller than the next so that it reads like an index. Also, in case you should ask, “program” is commonly spelled “programme” here in South Africa, and we thought it suited the set better.

(if you have a read through the menu you will see the very delicious Medallion of Beef with Chili-Chocolate. This will be my meal of choice and I highly recommend it if you haven’t tried it before – I promise it is quite a remarkable combination)

In addition to the menu/programme, we made our photobooth tickets. Opting for vellum paper for this project, the final product was very pleasing and if we have more time we’d like to make some to put in a jar alongside the booth (for effect, of course).

What are you looking forward to eating most at your reception?

I’m not sure that I want to go the traditional route with the guest book, but I have not really decided what I want to do either. Here are some things I’m considering for our guest book.

Using our engagement pictures as a photo book for guests to sign:

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I definitely like this idea, and it’s a high contender. It’s a shame that people will only see one of our engagement pictures on the save the dates we send out.

A wedding bench for guests to sign, just like Miss Apple Cider:

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I like that we would have something in our house that all our guests have left a sweet note on. But I definitely don’t know how to whittle a bench or do any sort of woodwork, and I don’t know that this will really go with the “theme” of our house, but it is definitely a cute idea.

Genealogy tree book from Melangerie NYC:

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Everyone can write a little note, to be placed in a genealogy tree book that we could frame later. It shows how everyone at the wedding is connected to Mr. Fro Yo and me, and we also get a note from them. This is definitely a sweet idea, and one we can hang somewhere in our house to have always.

Manzanita guest tree

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How could I not throw this in as one of the options considering my love (ok, mild obsession) with manzanita trees? I even found a how to! This is a VERY high contender. AND if we’re unable to afford manzanita trees on every table, this will still allow us to have one that serves a very special purpose. And really, how could you pass it up and not leave a note? It’s so gorgeous! I would probably then take all the notes off and put them in a scrapbook later. I could still keep the tree somewhere in our house (maybe).

Which guestbook style do you like best?

Dances, you ask? Why yes, there was certainly a lot of dancing going on at the Quiche reception. As a matter of fact, the dancing began before the dancing was “supposed” to begin – during dinner! A slight mix-up with our Dell-to-MacBook playlist conversion resulted in a few songs that were, um, out of order. No worries!

When my and Mr. Q’s favorite Tim & Faith duet started playing, we knew we had to get up and karaoke. Yes, I quasi-karaoked at my wedding. SCARY! But fun.

*

I used my Red Stripe as my mic, Mr. Q used a butter knife… classy…

Knowing that most people would want to dance dance, I only chose few slow songs. I emailed our married guests a sly note feigning exasperation at picking our first dance song & asking what their first dance was, in order to get some suggestions. Those songs ended up being our slow songs of the night – it was really sweet.

Mr. Q’s cousin (& our yogi/videographer) and her husband hadn’t danced to “their song” since their wedding day 14 years ago!

*

LOVE these two!

And occasionally, a song would come on that required us to shake it. So, we did!

*

*

Now that we were nice & warmed up for Dance Party USA via Jamaica, it was time to cut the cake & dance our (second) first dance.

What do you think? Did we smash cake all over each other?

Um, NO.

It’s a popular song these days, but this song has been a mantra for us for many years—Better Together. Jack Johnson is one of the best singer/songwriters out there & his music is always filtering through our house.

“There’s no combination of words/ I can put on the back of a postcard
No song that I could sing / but I could try for your heart
Our dreams – they are made out of real things
Like a shoebox of photographs / with sepia-tone lovin’

Love is the answer at least / for most of the questions in my heart
Like “Why are we here” and “Where do we go / and “How come it’s so hard”
It’s not always easy / and sometimes life can be deceiving
I’ll tell you one thing / it’s always better when we’re together

“It’s always better when we’re together
Yeah, we’ll look at the stars when we’re together
Yeah, it’s always better when we’re together”

“I believe in memories / they look so, so pretty when I sleep
Hey now, and when I wake up / you look so pretty sleeping next to me
But there is not enough time / There is no, no song I could sing
and there is no combination of words I could say
but I will still tell you one thing
We’re Better Together”

Next up, everyone else gets down!

Pictures, unless noted by a *, by Ashley Colhouer.

____________________________________________
Previously in the Quiche Jamaican Extravaganza:
Ya Mon! Back to Reality
Ya Mon! “Goin’ to Jamaica & We’re, Gonna Get Maaa-arried”!
Ya Mon! Who Zip Lines Before Their Wedding?
Ya Mon! Reggae Sailing
Ya Mon! Practice Makes Perfect
Ya Mon! Rehearsal Dinner/Party/Bonfire
Ya Mon! Jamaican Mornings
Ya Mon! Getting Pretty
Ya Mon! Crewcuts Model (aka Boys Getting Ready)
Ya Mon! The Dress, The Dress, The Dress!
Ya Mon! Our First Look & The Attack of the Veil!
Ya Mon! The Ceremony Begins…
Ya Mon! The Ceremony Continues
Ya Mon! Strike a Pose: The Wedding Party
Ya Mon! Strike a Pose: The Family
Ya Mon! Strike a Pose: The Bride & Groom
Ya Mon! Flowers & DIY Details
Ya Mon! The Reception Begins

So, following up on an idea I found many months ago, I finally got around to personalizing a special pair of wedding day socks for Mr Lighting. It is probably the easiest and sweetest gift you can give a groom – and perhaps each time he wears them he’ll remember that those were the socks he got married in!

To make this super easy project I bought some good quality socks with an argyle stitched pattern, used one sheet of think card, and a small length of ribbon.

A few short words graced the emblem that we have used throughout the wedding and it was folded and glued in place around the socks.

And voila! This little gift will accompany another sentimental gift which I’ll be sharing soon.

What small sentimental gifts did you get your groom?

My wonderful stylist and colorist Jeanette had made the trek up the mountain to do my hair for our wedding (for free). She also had done my cut and color for me the week before as a wedding present. I honestly LOVE her! Here we are getting started.

Midway through, however… my stomach started to rumble. So my wonderful bridesmaid/makeup artist brought me some strawberries and champagne. Honestly-how incredibly awesome is it to be a bride?!

Enjoying some bubbly

While I was getting ready, so was the rest of the house. Here is my sister and her friends getting all beautified! Each of us having our own room sooooooo helped with the mirror and cramped bathroom situation.

Makeup time! Now I must admit: having a bridesmaid who’s also a manager at Mac is a huge blessing. Besides her being incredibly talented and awesome at what she does, she also has tons of colors and brushes that I just want to play with nonstop!

Smacking my lip color together. And check out the brows- I have the most crazy brows that like to swirl in all directions. She totally got them under control.

Talking with some of my bridesmaids about everything that was about to happen. EEEEK! So exciting!

Our flower girl dress and shoes

Madison (our flower girl) was having so much fun in her dress that she kept swirling and jumping from the bed. Here I am catching her in one of those moments:

My mom and bridesmaid Natall. She’s the mother of our flower girl:

And finally, here I am watching as some of our guests start to arrive. Watching as dressed up family members and friends started to arrive to watch Mr. Espresso and me get married was such an unreal feeling, but an absolutely amazing one. It was actually happening. After all of the phone calls, planning, tastings, contracts, and booking—the day was finally here.

Miss something? Catch up here:

Morning Time
Fancy vs. Not Fancy at the Rehearsal
The Day Before
Proof That It Did In Fact Happen

So you’re trying to take some photos of your bling. Or your finished DIY menu cards. Or the sweet shower invitation you got the other day. And you already know Anne Ruthmann’s tutorial like the back of your hand. But the pictures just aren’t coming out right. Why???

My hunch is: You’re probably not playing close enough attention to Step #3.

Good light is ESSENTIAL to a great photograph! The easiest light to work with is natural light because it’s the most powerful and consistent. Make your way to a nearby window or take it outside. If you don’t have any natural light to work with, you can get creative with a flash light, the light coming from your computer or TV, or just any ol’ light in the ceiling or from a lamp around your house. In order for the light to be bright enough in an artificial lighting situation, you may need to get closer to the light source, which is why a flashlight may sometimes work better in these situations.

The first time I tried to take these shots, it was a gloomy day and I was trying to use the natural light from a north-facing window. Every single shot I took was blurry. Since I don’t have tons of artificial lighting in the house, I decided to be patient, knowing that the best shots I take are on sunny days.

And a few days later, I got a perfect day!

I positioned myself under this west-facing window on a sunny afternoon:

And started clicking away.

I also used a white sheet of paper as a background. This helps to bounce the available light back at the camera and the object, giving the camera the illusion that the setting is brighter than it really is.

Pictures come out blurry for two reasons, generally. One is focus. You have to have focus. If your camera is having trouble with this, try a simpler background. My white envelope worked perfectly for this.

The other is shutter speed. Your camera’s shutter speed will slow down if your environment isn’t bright enough. I’m sure you’ve taken a photo at a party and heard how long the camera took to snap it, and thought “that’ll for sure be blurry”. That’s because your shutter was open too long. The camera leaves the shutter open as long as it needs to to absorb enough light for an adequately bright shot. Unfortunately, most people can’t stand statue-still for longer than 1/20th of a second or so, and so we get blurry photos.

I snapped about 150 photos of Mr. Mary Jane’s ring on that aforementioned cloudy day. Most were shot at 1/10 of a second, and I got maybe two usable shots. When I changed location and shot on a sunny day with a bright background (the envelope), I took about 100 shots (at 1/80 of a second or faster shutter speed) and almost all of them were crystal clear.

Yes, I have a pretty nice camera. But that really doesn’t matter as much as you may think. Your skill and knowledge matter much more than how much your camera cost. Case in point:

I took that one with my Canon Powershot SD300 Digital Elph, which is a 5-year-old, 4 megapixel point-and-shoot:

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So if you’re having trouble getting a good shot, don’t whine about how much your camera sucks.

1. Follow Anne Ruthmann’s tips.
2. Get your camera to focus properly (even if that means a very simple background).
3. GET MORE LIGHT!
4. THEN, get some MORE LIGHT!

What’s your number one tip for amateur photographers?