Still a Miss.

Where has Mrs Buttah been????

2008-08-15T10:24:00.001-07:00

Iam sorry I havent been around lately. But I have a good reason, here is my hall pass...

Yep that is right we are expecting our first baby! We just found out yesterday that we are having a healthy baby GIRL!!! We had a great ultrasound and were able to see all her organs and limbs. She is right on track to make her January debut! So what do you say will you accept my hall pass for being missing????

Virgin Island Hopping. Honeymoon Part 2

2008-07-29T07:21:00.001-07:00

After we spent two full days on St. Thomas we decided to venture off that island and see the other islands near us.
We were able to visit the island of Tortolla one of the British Virgin Islands. It was nice. But not much to do. We only stayed there a few hours. But the boat ride to the island was worth the trip. They have a large craft market but it was closed. So that was a bummer. We did speak to some locals that said we should try suba diving. Mr Butterscotch doesn't swim so that was out of the question. but if you are a fan of the water sports this would be a great place to visit!
You do need your passport to visit any of the British Virgin Islands. After all unless you come from the United Kingdom you are traveling to another country.

The next day we went to US island of St. Croix. This island had a bit more to offer.
That had a small mall and more shops. You can also visit Cruzan Rum Distillery. We went on a weekend so it wasn't open. But from what we heard you can taste some of the local rum.
We did learn about a law that the islands have that day. The heat was at least 90 degrees that day so Mr Butterscotch too off his tank top and was shirtless as we walked the streets. So a unmarked black SUV (which I still question the validity of this man, but I wasn't going to argue). He pull over and said in a thick accent "hey, island law, you must wear a shirt". Well we watch enough Dateline locked up aboard shows, so he put his shirt back on and on we went walking.

We headed back to St. Thomas and spent our remaining two days pool side and being newlyweds (wink). But all good things must come to an end. and I was so sad to leave and go back to the real world.

To find out more information to travel there take a look at http://www.usvi.net or http://www.bvitourism.com

How could I forget this?!?! Honeymoon part 1

2008-07-29T04:35:00.000-07:00

I have been looking at Mrs Toucans honeymoon pictures and swooning over all the fun they must have had. And then I remembered I never did a post about our honeymoon!!! How could I forget?!?! So first let me say I love it when I have Mr Butterscotch all to my self. I think I had this smile on my face almost the whole honeymoon (me at dinner our first night).

Our honeymoon was all about us relaxing together doing whatever we wanted! It was the best week ever! When we originally talked about our honeymoon we really had a lot of great ideas of where we wanted to go. But in the end we decided to go the the US Virgin Islands. Mostly because it was a place neither of us had been and because it sounded romantic. St. Thomas seemed to have the most to offer, we figured we would stay there and island hop as much as we could.
We did have some concerns since the week before we planned on arriving hurricane Dean had just made a mess of surrounding islands. Luckily Dean passed over the Virgin Islands. We booked our tickets and hotel through expedia. Overall it was all great, the down side is they switched our flights around so rather than going from Seattle, Atlanta, Virgin Islands they added Puerto Rico between Atlanta and the Virgin Islands. We were suppose to be on a large plane but with the switch we ended up on a 9 seater plane. Holy Moly!!! They asked us how much we weighted and weighed our luggage. Gosh I hope nobody else fibbed about their weight like i did.

We landed safely (phew)! Off to our amazing hotel. The Frenchman's Reef & Morning Star Marriott Beach Resort was a on top of a cliff looking out onto the ocean.

Basically there was no bad view around the entire hotel! The only down side of our hotel (and really all the hotels on the island) you have to take a taxi to get into the "city". The city isn't really a city but it more of a play full of yummy restaurants and shops. But the Safari bus or regular taxi cars are very reasonably priced.
Once in downtown you can spend the afternoon wandering in and out of the shops. Their were about 5 or six blocks jammed packed with shops along the narrow streets. one thing St. Thomas is known for besides their rum is their jewelry. They have a ton of jewelry shops.

They also have an small flee market that you can get your hair braided or buy local hand made goods.
Their are a few ways other than to get around St. Thomas.
You can rent a car. Personally I am not a good driver in other counties. And the Virgin Islands would be no expectation. They drive on the left side! Our taxi drivers whipped around the corners with no problems. Unless you count that we almost got into an accident just about very ride. Leave the driving to the locals.
A water taxi and ferry if you want to see the island from a different point of view. The water taxi is mostly to get you from one side of the island or over to the bay. The ferry is the most cost effective way to island hop. And of course you can always walk! If you choose to walk make sure you have a destination in mind. Most of this island is full of hills and has limited sidewalks. We also read a few warning to beware of the beaches since some tourist stick out like a sore thumb and can easily be take advantage of.
We were luckily our hotel also included a private beach.

You have to be prepared to share the beach and other areas around the resort with these fun creatures.

Yep iguanas are everywhere around the island. When you least expect! Always look where you are going especially at night. One of the hotel staff told us if we snapped our fingers at them they would move. It worked, but they would come right back, often times not waiting for you to pass by.
Each night we went back to our hotel rum bar. We were able to look out onto the bay from there. We had our own private balcony in our room too but the hotel had steel drums each night for the guests to enjoy. Check out this evening view!

Up next we island hop. The Butterscotch's visit Tortolla and St. Croix.

The Ex-Effect

2008-04-16T11:45:00.000-07:00

When Mr Butterscotch and I got married we never really had to have the talk of "so can my ex come to the wedding". It was just a non issue. But I always find it very interesting when a couple for whatever reason feels compelled to invite one of the ex’s.

This past Saturday Ivana Trump walked down the aisle at her ex husbands estate Mar-a-Lago. Now we all know that both Ivana and Donald have moved on from their 13 year marriage. Since Donald and Ivana had three children together it is so nice to see them getting along as an extended family.
Now I am all for happily family time but this wedding filled with unique moments A) Donald sister was the officiant B) Ivana had 25 (yep, 25!) bridesmaids and C) Donald had been remarried a few years prior on the same estate.

So where do you stand on having the ex coming to your wedding? What about the ex family at your wedding?
Don't get me wrong if my non existent rich ex were to offer me his lavish estate for my wedding I would jump on that offer! But would you? Be honest, if you ex offered a amazing location for your wedding, would you take him up on it?

Here are a few more pictures of the wedding (check out that floral arch!!!).

Here is Donald picture at his 2005 wedding at the same estate.

2 friends + same wedding date = WAR!!!

2008-03-31T15:12:00.000-07:00

Well it seems like Hollywood has figured out what a money maker the topic of weddings are for film. One of the highly talked about movies among brides was this years 27 Dresses. Soon we have Patrick “McDreamy” Dempsey starring in Made of Honor coming out in May.

Mrs. McButterscotch *wink :)

I just found out two of my favorite actress Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson will be staring in a movie tentatively titled Bride Wars opening in 2009.

*Picture from Getty Images
Whoa, such a harsh title! So I did a little investigating to find out what the movie was about. What do you know, it actually is a topic that I have seen being talked about on the boards. Two best friends get engaged and they set their wedding date on the same day!!! Sounds like a good movie!
Well ok it doesn’t seem that the readers have quite that same problem but I know plenty of us, myself included, have scheduled our wedding dates, colors, venues and the list goes on so that we do not bump into friends weddings closely.
What is something you have done for your wedding because another friend is getting married?

Uh...sure, Easter dinner at our house...(big gulp)

2008-03-21T08:17:00.000-07:00

*Mrs Butterscotch as a bunny back in the day.
So Mr Butterscotch and I have decided to take on the task of host hosting Easter at our house this Sunday. This is our fist big family "event" at our home and I am a little nervous to say the least. Like some of you ladies I only recently began really "throwing down" in the kitchen. Most of my culinary repitwar is only good for two people. Now I will be cooking for 15+ people! Thankfully my wonderful mother in law and sister in law are coming over to work their magic.
But still since it is at our house I have decided to take on a side food item or two, decorations and of course Easter isn't complete without an egg hunt for the kiddies!
What great hosting tips do you have for me for my first big family gathering at our house?

I am 29 and No Boys Allowed

2008-03-18T20:16:00.000-07:00

I happily lived with my parents until I got married this past August. We totally got along they loved having me there and I loved being there. I didn't have many rules most of my teen years, so they carried on when I was an adult. I could come and go as pleased, I didn't have any chores and best of all I could have people over whenever I wanted. But I did have one rule, no boys allowed in my bedroom. It wasnt because he didnt trust me. He always told me he truested me to make good choices. But he had some very strong ideas of what was and was not approrpiate for a yound lady to do. I guess in a way I agreed with him since I never asked if a guy could come into my room to hang out.
When it snowed here back in January Mr Butterscotch and I spent the night at my parents house (its is closer to both of our jobs). It was really funny having him over. We didn't sleep in my old bedroom since their is no bed but we were camped out in the living room. I had many a slumber party in that living room growing up. As I feel asleep I had a funny though about how he was the first guy to offical have the ok to sleep over. I only had to wait 29 years for that to happen!
Do any of you have a no boys allowed rule until you get married? How do you or your fiance feel about it?

Me + Single Friends + Your Help = Love

2008-02-13T12:35:00.000-08:00

I dont get to play match maker that often. And with tomorrow being Valentines Day I am thinking about how this year is different than other years. Long gone are the Valentine's spent at home, at the movies or with a groups of other single friends. The best thing is I am married so I have an automatic date!
Truth be told my single friends circle isn’t as big as it once was. But I do have two friends very near and dear to me that I want to desperately help hook up. Not just for Valentines Day but for the long haul. Sure I have more than just two single friends but these two are special. Both are hot, smart and very funny. And in my opinion they are a catch! I know we all have had to kiss a lot of frogs to meet our prince charming. But I think my friends have met that quota in the frog kissing.
I know so many of you have great stories of how you met your mate, I need your help! Tell me where are some of the best places you met your future husband or wife to be. Do you love helping your friends find love?
***And in case anyone has any nice single guy friends in my neck of the woods that would like to meet my friends please let me know! Here are their pictures. They both are in their late 20’s, they do not have children, educated and love to travel.

Help me pick!

2008-02-01T16:38:00.000-08:00

2008 has a lot of milestones in store for the Butterscotch's. We are celebrating our 30th birthday's (30 is the new 20, thank you very much) and we also will have hit our 1 year anniversary of wedded bliss. Although I plan on having a big birthday month extravaganza like always. But I want to do something extra special.
I have been dropping hints to Mr Butterscotch that I think we should do one fabulous trip to combine those two monumental occasions. And he agreed!!! But I feel like I am overwhelming him with ideas. So now I need your help.
I have narrowed down to a few places I would like to visit for either the first time or for a repeat visit.
So I turn to you the wonderful readers, I need help! What place do you think I should focus on with my hint dropping to him?

1. Italy- I have been Mr Buttah has not
2. Greece- Neither of us have been
3. France- Mr Buttah proposed to me at the Eiffel Tower
4. Bora Bora-Neither of us have been
5. Africa- Neither of us have been
6. Spain- I have been Mr Buttah has not
Or stay closer to home...
7. New York-Both of us have been

Which location should I start really pushing for? Or do you have any other places I should think about?

I have a confession

2008-01-31T11:28:00.000-08:00

I have very few bad habits. I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I always wear my seat belt. But I do love television! Yup that is my confession. I love all sorts of shows, but I have a real weakness for reality shows. You name it I have probably watched it (no really just try to stump me! :) ).
One of my regular shows Real Housewives of Orange County spent the season following around Lauri one of the housewives as she prepared for her wedding.

Her wedding to George was really spectacular. But what I really liked was it was her third wedding and I think his second and they didn’t really stick to any “second time around rules”. In fact I think the wedding they had was really just for them. It was really fun watch her pick out a dress because she met with Austin Scarlett who was a designer on Project Runway and now is a designer for Kenneth Pool bridal. Ahhh, I love when my reality shows cross paths!
Here is the bride and bridesmaids together. I love the green!

The wedding was held on their property. The ceremony was in the garden and a large tent was used for the dinner and her florist made use of all the greenery already around the property.

Can you imagine having the top designers help your personally find your dream dress!?! Well Lauri had Austin's help in finding the dress that was perfect for her! I think he did a good job!
Pictures courtsy of lauriwaring.com

Lots of fun Tonight!!!

2008-01-29T11:05:00.000-08:00

So tonight I will be on beetv on weddingbee.com!!! Starting at 7:30pm! Hope to see you there!

We've Got Something in Common

2008-01-29T07:16:00.000-08:00

I love it when I see couples that have hobbies or similar passions in life in common. I have always thought sharing a common thread with your significant other actually helps bond a couple together in many ways. How many people do you know that started off as friends and then realized how much they had in common and fell in love!
Mr Butterscotch and I share a lot of common interests. One of our passions in life is we both love to travel! I think we both are happiest when we are out of town, together of course :) . I am currently busy dropping hints on where I think we should go for our 1 year anniversary trip, but more on that in another post. Another thing Mr Butterscotch has done for me is shared his favorite hobbies with me to the point were I actually enjoy them also. Who knew I would actually not dread the start of basketball season!
Our friends Ambra and Andre have in recently inspired me to find more for Mr Butterscotch and I to do together. Ambra and Andre were married back in 2006, in fact her knot bio was a bio of the week on weddingbee.com at one point,
http://community.theknot.com/cs/ks/user/page.aspx?username=nykola&MsdVisit=1 .
You must check out their bio it is amazing! Their love story is inspiring, they had their very first kiss on their wedding day! But recently they started sharing hosting duties for their online radio show http://politickinradio.com/. They have interesting discussion topics and the two of them together make the show fun! I mean just look at the commercials they made for their show!

What hobbies do you and your fiance/husband share a passion for? Have you started started enjoying something that he loves that you never thought you would?

Red Carpet Hair

2008-01-28T10:34:00.000-08:00

I remember last year I was watching every red carpet, award show and pageant I could to get ideas for my wedding hair. In fact my wedding hair was inspired by Jessica Alba at the Oscars a few years ago. So with the writers striking cancelling so many shows I was super excited to see the Screen Actor Guild awards on last night. Even though my wedding has already happened, a girl never knows when she will need to have some hair inspirations. :)
Here are a few of my favorites from the SAG awards. Which style do you like? Are you getting wedding hair inspiration form a celebrity?

I love you!

2008-01-28T07:25:00.000-08:00

Last night Mr Butterscotch and I went out to Target to get some snacks for the movie we were going to see (his movie pick night, Meet the Spartans, here we come!). While he was scanning the DVD section he pointed out a movie called Paris, je t'aime. I was so excited for many reason, it made me think of his proposal, showed he was thinking about something that was special to us and I love looking at a French words and actually knowing what it means!
During the movie I started to think about Valentines day. I know its 3 weeks away but since this is our first as a married couple I want to do something special for him, that won't break the bank. Yes, that is right I think I will actually make him something. Why not?!? I already have my crafty hat on thinking of my cards for the valentines card swap.
With my intermediate French skills in mind I started to think about how do you say I love you in different languages? After a little digging I found a few I thought I would share with all of you! I will be sure to show you what I end up doing with all my new words of love!
What language do you tell you honey you love him in? Any special phases you can share with me!
Albanian - Te dua
Arabic - Ana behibak (to male)
Arabic - Ana behibek (to female)
Armenian - Yes kez sirumen
Bulgarian - Obicham te
Cantonese/Chinese Ngo oiy ney a
Corsican - Ti tengu caru (to male)
Croatian - Volim te
Czech - Miluji te
Danish - Jeg Elsker Dig
Dutch - Ik hou van jou
Estonian - Ma armastan sind
Ethiopian - Ewedishalehu : male/female to female
Farsi - Doset daram
Filipino - Mahal kita
Finnish - Mina rakastan sinua
French - Je t'aime, Je t'adore
Gaelic - Ta gra agam ort
German - Ich liebe dich
Greek - S'agapo
Hawaiian - Aloha wau ia oi
Hebrew - Ani ohev otah (to female)
Hebrew - Ani ohev et otha (to male)
Hindi - Hum Tumhe Pyar Karte hai
Hmong - Kuv hlub koj
Hungarian - Szeretlek
Icelandic - Eg elska tig
Indonesian - Saya cinta padamu
Inuit - Negligevapse
Irish - Taim i' ngra leat
Italian - Ti amo
Japanese - Aishiteru
Korean - Sarang Heyo
Latin - Te amo
Latvian - Es tevi miilu
Lebanese - Bahibak
Lithuanian - Tave myliu
Mandarin Chinese - Wo ai ni
Moroccan - Ana moajaba bik
Nahuatl - Ni mits neki
Navaho - Ayor anosh'ni
Nepali - Ma Timilai Maya Garchhu
Norwegian - Jeg Elsker Deg
Pig Latin - Iay ovlay ouyay
Polish - Kocham Cie
Portuguese - Eu te amo
Russian - Ya tebya liubliu
Spanish - Te quiero / Te amo
Surinam- Mi lobi joe
Swahili - Ninapenda wewe
Swedish - Jag alskar dig
Swiss-German - Ich lieb Di
Tajik Man turo Dust Doram
Tagalog - Mahal kita
Taiwanese - Wa ga ei li
Tahitian - Ua Here Vau Ia Oe
Tamil - Naan unnai kathalikiraen
Telugu - Nenu ninnu premistunnanu
Thai - Chan rak khun (to male)
Thai - Phom rak khun (to female)
Turkish - Seni Seviyorum
Ukrainian - Ya tebe kahayu
Urdu - mai aap say pyaar karta hoo
Vietnamese - Anh ye^u em (to female)
Vietnamese - Em ye^u anh (to male)
Welsh - 'Rwy'n dy garu
Yiddish - Ikh hob dikh
Yoruba - Mo ni fe
Zimbabwe - Ndinokuda
For the full list go to http://www.theholidayspot.com/valentine/wish101languages.htm

Sunday in Seattle

2008-01-18T16:17:00.000-08:00

There I am in one of the wedding have been in. So I was looking at this picture and I decided. Ok I have to see it! I have to see 27 dresses! After all I was a bridesmaid 5 times myself and I still have 2 more single girlfriends and two sisters so I am sure my bridesmaids duties are not done forever.
I would love to meet you readers from or around Seattle!
I will be at
Regal Meridian 16
1501 7th Ave
Seattle, WA 98101
this Sunday to see the 4:35pm showing of 27 Dresses!
Come meet me there it will be a lot of fun!

I Like Lists

2008-01-17T13:04:00.001-08:00

I would be lying if I said Mr Butterscotch and mine first 5 months of wedded bliss has been smooth sailing. Sure overall it has been wonderful but we never lived together before the wedding. So we are finding out tons of new things about each other. Including a few new pet peeves. Ifor example, even though the dishwasher is right there Mr Butterscotch will just put his dirty dishes on top of the dishwasher rather than in the dishwasher. Or he is learning that basketball two nights a week is about my limit.
But lets prentend in a perfect world I am perfect and he…well, he has a few things to work on. Just my luck I found a list called 10 Steps to Being A Better Husband by By Craig Playstead (http://men.msn.com/guides/10best/article.aspx?cp-documentid=6013996>1=10821). I like lists that I can show
These don’t all apply to Mr Butterscotch and I but some of the ideas were good. What else would you add to the list for grooms and or even brides to be?

1) Take an interest in something your wife is really passionate about.
This can be especially tough for guys, because we generally feel that if someone else has interests that differ from ours, they're morons. It's not an easy task, and being able to show interest in something that matters to someone you love shows growth—and that's terrifying. Good, but terrifying. Accomplish this and you'll make her feel better about herself, and you get better insight into what makes her tick.

2) Put the kids to bed.
Once a week give her the night off and put the kids to bed by yourself. Let her take a hot bath, read a book, or check gossip on the Web and forget about the kids. I'm always amazed how happy this makes my wife. It ranks somewhere between low-end jewelry and a Hawaiian vacation.

3) Learn to apologize.
This is the easiest one, and the hardest one. A marriage is a marathon, and we all fly off the handle too quick or let our temper get the best of us sometimes. When you're wrong, it's best to step up and apologize. It's amazing how fast "I'm sorry" can defuse a stupid argument about something you can't even remember.

4) Thank her for putting up with you.
Every once in a while, just thank her for putting up with you. That's all you have to say. Don't launch into a list of your faults, or the story about coming home two days late from that Vegas bachelor party. Just thank her, and let her know that you understand that you're not the easiest person in the world to live with.

5) Clean up after yourself.
Take care of that late night snack or morning cereal bowl. Setting them in the sink is one thing, but go that extra mile and actually put them in the dishwasher. After all, no one enjoys scraping bacon dip off a bowl that's been sitting too long or smelling the chili from the night before. A beer bottle on the counter the next morning is even worse.
6) Make time for just the two of you.
Take her on a date once a month. Surprise her by arranging child care, ordering a pizza for the kids, and getting a sitter. She will be so thrilled at your ability to take care of the details that reservations at the best restaurant in town aren't even necessary. The fact that you love her enough to do this would make a Big Mac taste like cracked crab.

7) Groom yourself.
Don't embarrass her when you venture out of the house. Check the ears, nose, neck and yes, feet for hair or other growths that shouldn't be there. She not only wants you to impress her friends by how you act, but also by how you look.

8) Get away from the family.
Yep, you're getting a free pass. This takes a left turn from the others, but it's essential. Get away from all your responsibilities and go camping or on a golf outing with the guys. You'll laugh, relax, and recharge your batteries. And all three will make you a much better husband when you return.

9) Deal with your side of the family.
Help your wife set expectations with your side of the family when it comes to making plans. Don't make her inform your parents that they won't be seeing their grandkids on Christmas this year—pick up the phone and do it yourself. Dealing with extended family can be a huge stress throughout the year, and you don't want the burden to fall entirely on her.

10) Don't lose your dating manners.
Remember, she's your wife, not one of your buddies. Don't burp during dinner, or squeeze one out during the movie as she's reaching for the popcorn. You wouldn't have done that while you were dating, and you shouldn't do it now. Continue to try and impress her. Do everything you can to keep the fire alive, and fight the urge to let the passion die. Find the new, hot place to eat or take her to see a cool band that's in town. Have fun, laugh, and make sure you tell her how great she looks.

Making it Extra Special

2008-01-16T07:21:00.000-08:00

Well last week was a big baby boom in Hollywood. One of the new mommies Christina Aguilera has released a video with her song Save Me From Myself. It has snippets of her getting ready and of her actual wedding to Jordan Bratman in 2005.
I really like this because it is timeless and it must have extra special meaning to them as a couple with her singing! I have been a bad Mrs and haven’t really done much with our video yet but this has inspired me!

What fabulous things are you planning on doing to your video to make it timeless and unique for years to come?

I promise I will not haunt you!

2008-01-15T09:01:00.000-08:00

Last night while Mr Butterscotch and I watched basketball on tv I saw a commercial for Eva Longeria Parker (aww cute she added his name)new movie called "Over Her Dead Body". From what I gathered by the preview it is about a woman who is accidentally on the day of her wedding by an ice sculpture. Ouch! After Eva death her friend begins to date her now widowed fiance. Eva's character then haunts the couple. Cute way to make a morbid topic fun, right?

Mr Butterscotch and I have talked about the "what ifs" of our lives. Also last week I was talking to him about Miss Lovebug post with the scary mount lion incident. What if one of us were tragically killed the other could remarry with my blessings. But what if I were to die of natural causes! I know most people would say "of course he/ they can remarry or date if I pass away". Well sorry I don't want him to date for like 10 years! Ok maybe not 10 years... 9 years and 11 months is great plenty. And of course I promised him I would not haunt him when he started to date. Ok I don't want him to be sad and alone but I guess I don't have a magic number in my mind that makes it ok.
Much to his annoyance (after all he was watching basketball) I started to talk about what I think would be a respectable amount of time for him to begin looking for love again, what we would do if one was in a comatose state and even where our final resting place should be. We haven't done our will's yet since we do not have children and all of our property is shared. I know it seems morbid, but I always rather be prepared a little than have no idea what we would want if that were to happen. This is also another reason why I insist no matter how busy or mad we are we always say "I love you" and a kiss before we walk out the door.
How about you and your significant other, have you talked about the "what ifs"? Do you have a magic number for when they could start dating if you were to pass away first?

Frosty the snowman get married!

2008-01-05T10:17:00.000-08:00

So my friend Julia sent me the cutest proposal of her friend brother Stavros proposing to his girlfriend Moira this holiday season in the big Apple! awww how cute is that!

Yet another reason I miss planning

2008-01-04T09:12:00.000-08:00

I loved being engaged! It was so fun! All the fun planning, all the pretty magazines. One of my favorite things to do as a bride was the Seattle Wedding Show.
It's that time of year again and the wedding show is this weekend!
Here is all the info you need to go!

Washington State Convention & Trade Center
800 Convention Place, 4th Floor
Seattle, WA 98101

Saturday January 5th 2008
10:00am to 5:30pm (ticket sales open at 9:30am)

Sunday January 6th 2008
10:30am to 5:00pm (ticket sales open at 10:00am)

Tickets are $16.00 per person and can be purchased at the door.
Children twelve and under are admitted free.
$2 Off coupons are available at all exhibitor locations.
Tickets go on sale at 9:30 am Saturday and 10:00 am Sunday.
Discount tickets are available in advance this fall by purchasing at weddingshow.com
***My best suggestion for anyone going to the show is to wear shoes and clothes that are comfortable! The show is huge and you will be on your feet for a few hours.

Something is missing

2007-12-18T07:16:00.000-08:00

I use to say I felt naked without earrings. But since I got engaged and now married I feel naked without my rings. I had forgotten all about something I wanted as a gift until I saw Mrs Snowpea post last week http://www.weddingbee.com/2007/12/12/were-married-again/ about her new wedding ring. And I love her new ring! I remembered that I had wanted a right hand ring! Something dainty and but still with some personality. I love sparkle so I am pretty sure I want some stones and not just a plain band. I don’t want it to take a way from my wedding and engagement rings that I wear on my left hand. But I just feel so unbalanced. I see other women and friends that have a nice right hand ring and now I think I want to try it out and see if I like it. Here is what I was thinking of, what do you think?
Of course I love Snowpeas ring

Here are two more that I like the general style of picture courtesy of Tiffany.com

And here is what my wedding ring and engagement rings looks like. The wedding band is channel set diamonds and sapphires and the engagement ring is a round solitaire.

Also I will be on Beetv tomorrow night starting at 7pm Pacific time or 10pm eastern time.

Only by 5 months!

2007-12-08T15:47:00.000-08:00

I was just looking on msn.com and they had a story about the Hottest Cougars in Hollywood. Now I have never dated anyone young enough to be able to classify myself as a "cougar" but, I am younger the Mr Butterscotch. Ever since April Mr Butterscotch has been teasing me to "enjoying my last year in my 20's". I am older than him only by 5 months! Age has never really bothered me that much, but his constant teasing does get under my skin once and a while. Since we are so close in age I can say we have a lot of common memories of growing up. And while the rumor is that men are less mature than women I can say Mr Butterscotch and I are just about at the same level when it comes to maturity But I wondered how some couples who do have a big gap in age make it work? And how do you ladies that are older feel about being the older one in the relationship?

My new name

2007-11-29T13:24:00.000-08:00

So about two weeks after we got married I changed my last name. I was happy to do so. Choosing to change or not to change your name is totally personal. Mr butterscotch didn't care one way or the other so it was all my choice. When I made the change officially at work it was a big to do. All my co-workers were confused by my email and who was this new person or my nickname (which was based on a combination of my first and last name) didn't flow as nicely anymore. So now I have been Mrs X for a little over 3 months. About a month ago I started a new job. Nobody at my new job knows my maiden name so there was no confusion for them. I was introduced to everyone as Leah X. In fact the first few days I was sick of hearing my name being said over and over again as I met everyone. And today my new business cards arrived. And there it was in black ink, I was Mrs X. Oh. Wow. I am officially Mrs X to everyone. The name that I have been known by for 29 years is gone.
Sure I still accidentally sign my maiden name on occasion but I just giggle and cross it out and write my married name. I love my new name but it is such a funny thing to have a name one day and a new one the next.
Are you or did you change your name? How long did it take for you to get totally use to it?

Macy's Friends and Family

2007-11-27T16:42:00.000-08:00

I just love it when I can save a little money! With so many gift exchanges right around the corner this coupon from Macy's will come in handy! It is good starting tomorrow! Let me know what great deals you find! I plan on getting a few gifts from there and maybe even my holiday party outfit!

Thankful

2007-11-21T08:07:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is tomorrow and I'm taking a moment to reflect on how much everything has changed since last year and all that I am thankful for. This time last year we were newly engaged, not living together and we barely had started to plan our wedding. Now we are happily married, living together in our first house we bought :), and the wedding is all but a memory. Sure we did have a few bumps in our road this year but, I am so thankfully for everything we have. we have wonderful family and friends that are all in good health, I have a new fabulous job that I am loving. Best of all each night I get to curl up next to Mr Butterscotch and wake up next to him each morning. How about you what are you thankful for this Thanksgiving eve?

Can I get a re-do

2007-11-03T14:17:00.000-07:00

Last week I talked about what I would not change. But there were a few thing that I would have loved to have a do-over on.
1. Guest pictures. I really wish I would have had our photographer take photos of each table at the reception. I can remember most people that were there but, a handful of people I cannot for sure remember.
2. People in my dressing suite. I really wish I would have set better boundaries for who I had coming into my bridal room. It was chaos at some points. Finally I had one of my bridesmaids ask everyone to leave. If I could do it over again it would have been just me and my bridal party.
3. Make up touch up. I don’t know how this slipped past me but I wish I would have remembered to reapply my lipstick before I started my formal pictures. I was wearing a long lasting lip color but the color was much more vibrant in pre-ceremony pictures. Have one of your BM carry your lipstick with them. Trust me you will be too excited and you will forget to reapply.
4. Rethink inviting “crazy” relatives. While I am not saying I wouldn’t invite them. What I am saying is that I would have had better “just in case” plans set up. If you have a family member or a friend that you really want to be included in your special day have a plan for anything that may come up with them.
5. Plan for the gifts. I knew we want to take the gifts home with us, I just didn't plan for so many or for the larger packages. If I would have thought about it we would have either cleared out the car better or had my family take them home and we would have just gotten them the next day.
6. OK this one isn't really a wedding day lesson learned but a pre-wedding redo. Go dress shopping the first time alone. WHAT?!?! I know this sounds crazy! But I took friends the first 2 times. Then after that I went alone. It allowed me to really figure out what I liked. Friends and family will ohhhh and ahhhh at many of the dress you try on or they may just tell you how much that dress sucks. Either way you cannot listen to your inner voice with everyone else putting in their two cents. Now all that said, I still wouldn't change getting my "most
important" family and friends to help me narrow down my choices to my final pick.
7. Practice dancing. Sure I jumped up and down, twirl led and swayed in my dress. But I didn't practice dancing in it. So before the big day just try a few of your moves out in your dress just to be sure you can move the way you want on your dance floor.
8. The night before I think I got 4 or 5 hours of sleep. Luckily I was so excited on the wedding day that I wasn't dragging around the next day. But I know it can really put some brides in a bad mood. I didn't sleep in my normal bed that night so between the excitement and unfamiliar surroundings I was wide awake. Figure out what you should do just in case you cannot sleep the night before. I wouldn't suggest sleep pills but maybe some soothing tea, a warm bath or bring a book. DON'T DO MORE WEDDING PROJECTS. The idea is to get some sleep not keep going.
9. Have a place for the kids. The kids in my bridal party were next door to my dressing room. Overall it was fine. Until they reached the 1 hour mark. I think I would have had a few other locations (away from me) for them to run wild and free.
10. Don't sweat the small stuff. Overall I didn't worry about anything all day. But when I did it was normally silly. Please relax, enjoy the day and enjoy the moments. You can fully relax on your honeymoon!

What suggestions would some of you offer to brides to be.

What I would do again

2007-10-22T10:17:00.000-07:00

The longer we have been married the more I have had a chance to look back on the day. It all really happened so fast, but I think we really made the most of it. If I had to do it again here is what I would not change and I would recommend for other brides. What would you recommoned to a bride to be?

1. Take a moment after the ceremony and before the reception to talk with your new husband. Mr Butterscotch and I actually had two moments. First as we exited we waited for our guest to go outside we were in a stairwell waiting. We had this short time of about 3 minutes all alone to just take in each other and the amazing thing we had just experience. Then we took a few pictures and we walked to our reception venue. Again we were alone together and we talked about the day so far and what we had each done the night before and that morning. As we walked passing cars honked and yelled congratulations. We both couldn’t stop smiling at each other. I think all couples should take a few moments together to just reflect about the ceremony and enjoy a quite moment before the reception.
Us right before we hid away in the stairwell.

2. Day of coordinator. When my friend got married last year she had Amanda as her wedding coordinator, after the wedding I heard the bride say many times that Amanda was irreplaceable. I was so lucky that Amanda was available to be my day of wedding coordinator. She was amazing! She went to our reception venue and supervised as the vendors arrived. She is an interior designer by day, but is available for day of coordinator or she can help plan from start to finish. Amanda has a refreshing passion for weddings. With her at the venue it really kept my mind at easy while I was at the church getting ready to walk down the aisle. When Amanda was done she made it to the church to give me the thumbs up, so I knew the guests would be walking into a room that was perfect!
This was one of the best thing that I did because it kept me calm and my mind off of what was going on down at the club. Unfortunately she doesn’t have a web site yet (she is working on it) amandatrinb@yahoo.com
3. Plan early. I was made fun of for planning right after we set a date but for me that was so helpful. Everything was done well in advance and I never felt rushed.
4. Eat breakfast. I like most brides was so excited I was up an hour before I needed to be. So I sat down with my dad and ate breakfast. Thank goodness I did because I didn’t eat again for hours.
5. Give yourself a deadline on projects. I set a date for myself and if it wasn’t done by the week before the wedding well then it wasn’t getting done. I had the whole weekend before the wedding to relax and really enjoy what was to come.
6. Realize it’s about a marriage not a wedding. Sometimes it is hard to remember that as the day gets closer. Weddings are exciting and it really easy to have moments that you and your family forget what the day is really about. Really keep reminding yourself that this is just a moment and the really important thing is a good foundation for a happy marriage.
7. Let it go. About two weeks before the wedding I started to let go of things. If the questions that were being asked were not going to have a lasting effect on our marriage (notice it wasn’t about the wedding at that point) my response was “I don’t care”. We just had so much going on with buying our house, getting married going on a honeymoon I just didn’t care about what color nail polish was going on people toes.
8. Video tape the ceremony. We didn’t have a budget for a professional video, instead we had our friend tape our ceremony and other key parts of the day. I was so happy he did! The next morning we watched the video and I cried all over again! Sure it may not be fancy but it is well worth it if you know someone with a camera.
9. Savor each moment! From the moment you get up to the time you drive away with your new husband. Savor the all moments that occur that day.
10. Thank the key people personally. Although I thanked my dad throughout the planning, the first thing I did as we came into the reception was thank him. Last week I gave him his birthday gift it was a http://www.weddingbee.com/2007/10/11/wedding-picture-gifts/ picture of us at the wedding. He loved it! He is currently thinking of where to hang it in the living room for it. Whether you plan on giving your family or bridesmaids and groomsmen a gift or not be sure to just thank them for taking time to be with you during the day. They really do appreciate it.

Spoiled little brat

2007-10-11T07:34:00.000-07:00

That is what Mr Butterscotch will say to me, in a loving way of course. You see I am somewhat spoiled. I blame my dad. HA I am kidding! My dad raised with the help of my grandma, I was the only child in the house growing up. The person I am today is because of them. My dad is so supportive in every way, he was more than happy to make sure we had the wedding that we really wanted.
So here is my dilemma. My dad birthday is coming up. I asked myself this question, what do I get the man that never asks for more than new socks? Originally I didn't want to give our wedding pictures as gifts. I know you can do a million things photos these day! You can put them on cards, blankets, purses or even a puzzle!
But I think I have the perfect gift.

I have blown this photo up to 8x10 in metallic printing process. I was going to do a nice frame with it also. This was taken at right after we came into our reception and I was thanking my dad for well...Everything! So far I have managed to give my dad the run around on my pictures, thank goodness his birthday is next week, I don't think I can keep coming up with excuses! The gift is simple but I know he will love it. What do you think, good gift?
Are you planning on doing something unique with your pictures after your wedding?

Today Throws a Martha Stewart Wedding

2007-10-05T07:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Miss Jasmine asked us the question "Would you ever let your parents choose your wedding gown for you?" http://www.weddingbee.com/2007/10/04/father-and-mother-know-best/
I don't know some of you were apprehensive about that. So would any of you be up for letting complete strangers plan you wedding if the total cost of the wedding to you were free?
Today was the day on Today :)! If any of you have been watching the Today show this summer you may have been following the story of Martha Stewart throwing a wedding for one lucky couple. This morning Jessica and Cody finally got to have have their dream wedding! It was amazing! For those of you who haven't been following, the audience gets to help plan the wedding by voting on key aspects of the wedding. Here are some highlights for today. Images from nbc.com

My vendor cliff notes

2007-10-04T17:48:00.000-07:00

Photography- Tor Clausen Grade= A+
Tor was wonderful! My pictures are so pretty!
http://www.torstudios.com/

Bridal Dress- La Belle Elaine Grade= A+ by Private Label by G
My dress came on time and the staff was very nice. I also had my alteration done there and they customized the back of my dress. They did an excellent job!
http://www.labelleelaines.com/

Bridesmaids- Moms Maids and More Grade= A
All of our bridesmaids dress came in early and the staff was great. They do not do alterations so that is why they didn't get an A+
http://www.momsmaidsandmore.com/

Tuxes- Mens Wearhouse-Tukwila Grade= C-
I know mistakes can occur but rudeness just isn't what I wanted to deal with. This is the only vendor I would not recommend.

Flowers- Loves Me Flowers by Kendra Yaple Grade= A+
She gave me ideas that I wouldn't have even thought of!
http://www.lovesmeflowers.com/

Church- Mount Baker Park Presbyterian Grade= A+
They were the best! Our pastor, church coordinator and organist made our whole day superb!
http://www.mtbakerchurch.org/

Reception- Mount Baker Club Grade= A
Great location and well kept.
http://www.mountbaker.org/index.php

DJ-Emerald City Productions Grade= A+
Kept the party going and had online requests for us and our guests.
http://emeraldcityproductions.net

Catering- Seasoned in Seattle Grade= A+
The food was so great and the staff was wonderful.

Cake- Despi Delite Bakery Grade= A
Our cake turned our not only pretty to look at but it was so good!

Hair- Gene Juarez in Bellevue Grade= A+
Bridal hair by Tim
Tim is the updo king! He did an amazing job!

I have better pictures in my trial post.
http://www.weddingbee.com/2007/07/24/butterscotch-hair-trial/

Cold hard cash

2007-10-01T07:23:00.000-07:00

In some cultures it is a tradition to have a money dance. I love the money dance, and it is culturally expected in Mr Butterscotch family. But we decided early on were not planning on doing a money dance. Personally I felt our guests had "spent" more than enough on us. Just having them at the wedding was really the best gift we could have asked for. But we ended up having one, and I am so glad we did!
As we finished up our first dance one of our groomsmen and his wife (who happens to be from the same culture as Mr Butterscotch) made an announcement that the money dance was next. At that point we were up for anything so it sounded like fun!
Check out the money in my dress!

I started to fun out of place to put the money so I got my sister to hold it while I danced some more.

Whoa!!! One at a time please!

I loved having a money dance because of a few reasons.
1. I got to chat with some guests that I may not have gotten a chance to.
2. Mr B is totally shy so it was so funny seeing him dance with everyone.
3. We both laughed so hard because it was so unexpected.
4. Okay I cannot lie the extra cash was nice to have!

So this is one of those things that I was originally opposed too but ended up doing and I was so happy we did. What is/was there you are/were opposed to doing that is tradition for your culture or family?

I would like to thank the academy...

2007-09-27T07:53:00.000-07:00

OK maybe I don't have an academy to thank, but I did have some really great reception vendors that made our wedding day superb!
Emerald City Productions grade= A+
As you can see in my earlier post http://www.weddingbee.com/2007/09/26/rock-yo-hips/ our guests had a good time. The music was great all night! Emerald City is two brother business, we originally met with Dan to go over the type of reception we planned on having. He wasn't sure at the time if he or his brother Bryan would be doing our wedding. About two weeks before the wedding I got a nice call from Bryan introducing himself since he would for sure be doing the wedding. He assured me he would be there about and hour and a half prior to guests arriving. And he was! Both of the brothers were very nice and were always able to answer any questions or concerns I had. Since we knew that we were having a younger crowed it was important that our DJ had a laid back personality. Emerald city not only has a great DJ service they also have lighting. We chose to just have the music, since our venue already had great natural lighting. My favorite part about this service was they had an online request site for us. We had our own site and another one for our guests to request music. On our site we were able to review what guest had requested and I was able to add anything to the "Do not play" list.
http://emeraldcityproductions.net/

Reception: Mount Baker Club Grade A
Location, location, location. We chose this venue because it was in the location we needed and was the perfect size for the amount of guests we we having. The club is amazing well kept. The staff was helpful and very knowledgeable. They were able to give recommendations for rental places along with some pictures and typical floor plans. Since we are members of the community we received 50% off the tab! The only thing I really didn't love about the venue was the lack of accessibility on the day of. Since we were renting chairs and needed to set up tables and linens it would be nice if we had access a little sooner. We did pay extra to have access earlier but only two hours. I decided I didn't want to eat up my whole 50% savings on set up time. They also were very slow to cash our deposit check, it took them almost a month. That was annoying! But they made up for it when they sent back our cleaning deposit within a few weeks of the wedding. It held our 150 guest with no problem and we had a big dance floor. http://www.mountbaker.org/index.php

Catering- Seasoned in Seattle Grade= A+
The food was so yummy! We found them at the wedding show. Their prices were reasonable enough that I wanted to check them out. I liked them because they were local to the area that everything was being held at and of course the food was really good! They had a really great package that included all the buffet linens, plates and utensils. Some nice touches were, as we were entering the hall the lead waiter came to greet us. I thought that was very nice. We had a plate of our already passed hor`derves waiting for us at the head table also.

At the end of the night they even boxed up all of the left overs for us! We had at least three households that took some home and didn't have to cook for a few days!

Rock Yo Hips!

2007-09-26T07:59:00.000-07:00

Once the ceremony was over it was time to party! Our church was only three blocks away from our reception hall so Mr Butterscotch and I were able to privately walk together to our reception. It was the best thing we did! We hadn't seen each other prior in the day so it was excited chit chat about what we had each been doing that morning.
Here we are walking into our reception. *check out the DIY banner I made!

One more kiss before we get introduced.

We walked in to Bonnie and Clyde by Jay Z and Beyonce. Funny story, Mr Butterscotch friend Steve said that we were like Bonnie and Clyde (I wont say why :)) but we both thought it was so funny we wanted to walk into that song.

So many people had flown in, we really wanted to make sure they all had a great time! My only request to my dj was no electric slide! Or any other dance that had our guest in a line flowing directions. Here are some of the silly highlights of our guest having fun!

When Lip Gloss by Little Mama came one my BM Kori ran and got 5 glosses for all of us girls to put on during the song, ha ha ha!

Whoa! By the end of the night I had really worked up a sweat! But it was worth it!
photos by Tor Clausen

I love sweets!

2007-09-21T07:20:00.000-07:00

I love things that are sweet to the taste buds. So a good tasting cake was important to me, more so than the design of the cake. I hate cakes that are too dry or frosting that are too sweet, ugh, nothing is worse than a unappetizing cake. Luckily I was able to find a baker that not only made delicious cakes but also very pretty cakes. Despi Delite Bakery on Beacon hill in Seattle made our wedding cake a hit! I met with the baker Christian a few months prior to the wedding date. I showed him the design I wanted. http://www.weddingbee.com/2007/07/10/butterscotch-my-cake-version-10
Funny thing actually happened when I went in. As we were talking he asked what middle school I went to, turns out we went to school together same class and everything (small world). Anyways, Christian assured me he could come up with the cake of my dreams, he gave us some great suggestions. We had a layers of white and chocolate. Here is what our cake looked like. I wish you could have tasted it!

If I may toot my own horn for a moment, check out my DIY cake topper. I had a lot of love for that damn thing, and it turned out exactly how I wanted it.

These pictures are so funny, I didn't see the kids doing this until I got my proofs back...

Bad kids! :)

Let's get suited up!

2007-09-13T06:40:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of the guys in their tuxes and my review of my vendor. They all looked great!

Mens Wearhouse-Tukwila
C- I know mistakes can occur but rudeness just isn't what I wanted to deal with. I worked in costumer service for years so bad customer service will totally kill an experience for me. At the wedding show in January I paid $10 to get $25 off all our tux rental at a free grooms tux with 5 rentals. We placed our tux orders a few months prior to our wedding date. All the men came in and were measured. The people at the store were totally nice and helpful during that visit. Then it came time for the tux pick up.
Mr Butterscotch and one of the groomsmen went in two days prior to get their suits just as requested. Well the groomsmen jacket was the wrong size. It was too small. So they asked that he come back in the store tomorrow at 5. Uh problem our rehearsal starting at 6 on the dot. But as long as it was for sure ready at 5 he would be able to get to the church in time. I called the store later that night to confirm the order would be ready at 5 that day or hopefully I could get it when I went in to get the ring bearer tux in the morning. I was totally nice. Here is how the conversation went:
Mrs Butterscotch-Hi, I am calling about a tux rental
Store-Oh, hold on I need to get someone that can help you
MB-Ok...On hold for 10 minutes
Store-Hello
MB-Hi I have a question about a tux
S-oh sorry hold on...a few more minutes pass
S-Hi how can I help you
MB-I have a question about a tux
S-What is your question (hooray finally, some help)
MB- I have a groomsmen who had a jacket in the wrong size yesterday and he was told to come in tomorrow and pick it up at 5. I wanted to confirm it would be ready at 5 or maybe a little sooner.
S-Our truck comes in normally around 5 so we will have to unload the truck and sort through it so it maybe a little after 5.
MB-Ok. Here is the situation, we are having our rehearsal tonight at 6 so is there a way you can have the tux jacket at the top of you "sorting list"
S-No. The jacket will be here when the truck gets in and we will get it for him as soon as we can. It is coming from another location
MB-Alright, can I go to that location and pick up the jacket? he will be in at 5 like he was told to be and hopefully it will be ready to go.
S-No.
MB-Uh...(waiting for an elaboration of why I cannot go to the other store)...
MB- Ok then, he will be in at 5 like he was told to be and hopefully it will be ready to go.
At this point I am a tad bit annoyed, mostly because the long hold and the semi tone from the sales lady. I still needed to go pick up the ring bearer tux so I figured I would double check on the 5pm arrival time.

I arrive at the store the next morning and no other customers were there.
MB-Hi I am here to pick up a tux and check the status of another one.
S-Ok go to our tux desk.
I go back to the tux desk two girls are sitting there chatting neither looks up to acknowledge I am there at first, and they do I got the look as if I was interrupting them.
MB-Hi I need to pick up the tux for my ring bearer.
She get his name and goes get the tux
MB-Ok great thanks, Now I have another tux for this groomsmen the jacket was the wrong size, I guess a truck comes in today with the new size. What time will it be here?
S-after 5
MB-(dratz!) Great thanks. Now if the ring bearer jacket doesn't fit what time do you open so we can get a replacement.
S-(totally rude)Uh well... he really needs to be here now, and if it doesn't fit then we need to know by 3.
MB-(uh ok I was just asking)The thing is he is in summer camp so he wasn't able to come with me to run around the day before the wedding. And I won't actually see him until tonight at the rehearsal.
S-Well then there is nothing we can do if the tux doesn't fit.
MB-Nothing, you don't have any extra sizes kept in case this happens?
S-No, it is all at our warehouse.
MB-Ok, thanks.
At that point she obviously didn't want to deal with answering simple questions, so I left with the tux completely annoyed. So here is by beef with the store, they were rude. Also the lack of not having spare sizes at the store for quick fixes on there mistakes seems inefficient. I totally understand mistakes happen and in the end everyone tux fit. But I would not advise this location due to the lack of good customer service from the staff. The tuxes were in great shape and the guys looked good in them. The cost per tux was $100 (with the $25 off). It was a little steep but I got the look that I wanted.

Morning sadness

2007-09-12T18:24:00.000-07:00

As of yesterday the Butterscotch's have been married for one full month. I am loving all the extra moments we share together now. The only thing I am not loving is when I have to leave in the morning and he is still sound asleep. Most day we leave at the same time but his days off fall on days I have to work. So on those mornings it is so hard for me to leave. I just want to stay in bed all snuggled up and warm next to him. I get a pain in my heart when I leave. I finally fessed up to his about my morning sadness and he just kissed me on my forehead and said "I like it when you leave, I can stretch out" But then he laughed and gave me a kiss. Between us, I don't think he was joking!
Does anyone else have this problem?

Here comes the bride....

2007-09-07T07:14:00.000-07:00

Our ceremony was perfect! And I am not just saying that because it was my wedding, it really did go very smoothly. At five o'clock and preceremony pictures are over. I had one more look at my self, dress, veil, earrings, necklace, bouquet all check, ok lets get this show on the road, I was ready to go.

Time to go and hide before guests arrive.

The outside of our church. We got married at Mount Baker Park Church and they are wonderful. The pastor met with us many time during the past year he was patient and never judgemental. He really made our premarital counseling all about what was best for us.

The stained glass windows really set the ambiance.

Guests start sitting down

Line up ladies

Our wonderful church coordinator begin to light candles

Are well all here...

I was wasn't picky at all and I kept the music really tradition. The moms and the girls all walked in on Ava Maria by Schubert

Tears of joy!

The doors are opening

Here we go! I walked down the aisle to Bridal Chorus from Lohengrin by Wagner

Yeah! We are getting married!

Everyone looks happy!

Whoa! That went by fast! Kiss, love you babe!

I am now a Mrs!

We hide away while everyone went outside. We had a few moments to ourselves to really enjoy what we just did.
The Church bells began to ring so it was time for our fabulous rice toss exit to the reception!

Up next its time to party!

Making it my own

2007-09-06T07:07:00.000-07:00

A few months back I mentioned I was making a change to my dress. http://www.weddingbee.com/2007/06/28/new-dress/. Originally my Private Label by G dress went straight across in the back. I knew my dress was the the best for my body and it really had all the elements that I wanted in a wedding dress. But something was missing...there was something that I just knew I wanted to be different. It wasn't until the dress arrived and I had my first fitting that I realized I need some extra pizazz in the back. When I went in for my second fitting I asked the seamstress what could we do to have it dip in the back. A few pins later she was ready to start my dip. I think the results turned out great! I loved the back of my dress. I really felt like the dress was a little bit more of my own and not like any other bride.
This is the back after I had the dip detail added.

Here is the before from knotbio of southerngrl *her dress is also in a different color than mine but you get the idea :)

Posed vs. Candid

2007-09-05T07:23:00.000-07:00

I wanted really wanted a mixture of both posed and candid shots throughout the day. We all have seen the wedding albums were it is just page after page of forced poses. No matter how many times I watch Top Model I still don't have my model pose totally perfected. So rather than worry about that I wanted to make sure we had many candid pictures throughout the wedding. I really want to be able to look at our pictures in 50 years and have them look like a day in motion.
But then I started thinking the benefits of having posed pictures can also be timeless if done in a natural way. I was very lucky to have a good photographer that made this happen. I had a mental list of posed pictures I wanted captured beyond the bride and groom shots. For example I really wanted to be able to capture all of our families together, my siblings and I needed a new picture together as well and a individual shot of us with each bridal party member.
Then their is was grey area of pictures types that i didn't know about until I started to take my pictures. They are I will loosly call posed candid. They are pictures that look candid but they are actually somewhat posed.
When you hire/hired your photographer what style of photographs did you request more or less of?
Here are a some of my favorite posed and candid pictures.
I love this one because it is posed (Tor asked me to stop and look back), but it looks somewhat candid(mostly cause I didn't know what I was doing :)).

Posed sibling picture

Then candid ones when we went looking

This was during a bridal shot when our niece decided she wanted to run and play so it turned into a candid!

This is a posed bridal group shot.

Ok I went a little over buget...

2007-09-04T07:26:00.000-07:00

But it was worth every penny! When I originally started reviewing our wedding budget with my dad we allotted $200 for flowers. I know some of you are the "WHAT!?!" Well the thing is Mr. Butterscotch and a few of our other family members are very allergic to pollen and even have a skin reaction to grass and flowers. So I didn't really see a need to have a large floral budget. I thought I would find some practical alternative. Well after a few months of looking into other ideas I decided to at least see what a florist had to offer. I went into each meeting with only one request, my bouquet had to have Iris's in it. I met with about 6 florists and while their ideas were great, either the price was all wrong (i.e. too much) or I just didn't really click with them. Since we originally didn't have a large floral budget we decided to reviewed the estimates thus far, I had quotes ranging $1400-$5000. Based on my needs we agreed $2000 was more than enough to allot to flowers but of course I was going to do my best to come under that.
My last florist I had to meet with was Kendra at Loves me Flowers www.lovesmeflowers.com. At this point I was ready to resume my alternative ideas search. But once I sat down and talked with her, I had hope again for flowers. Kendra was very knowledgeable of the different types of flowers and what I could or could not get away with for allergies. Bonus for me was Kendra was familiar with our venue she came up with centerpieces that would compliment the room and incorporate iris and hydrangea! She is also very nice, I can easily say she was the nicest florest I met with and wasnt the least bit turned off when I really did not have many ideas of what I wanted. She was more than happy to help guide me to what she thought would work with the room and our colors.
Her final estimate was very affordable and she was willing to work with me if that wasn't within my budget. But her quote was well within our budget and as soon as I had the "ok" I speed dialed Kendra to book the date! :)
On the wedding day Kendra was right on time and as soon as she brought in my bouquet at the church I knew I had made the correct choice in having Kendra do my flowers. It was breathtaking!
Here are a few shots of the flowers by Tor Clausen.
My bouquet had white Iris and white roses.

I just loved how the flowers are so striking against their dresses.

The groomsmen and my brother/usher wore the purple iris

My brother aka the usher

The groom, my dad and grandma wore all white iris. His Mom and Dad white orchids. This picture is funny because my grandma was cold so she left her sweater on, it was like 80 degrees out. Gotta love the Grandma!

So for under $2000 I was able to get
1 Bridal bouquet
5 Bridesmaid bouquets
8 boutonnieres
16 centerpieces
cake flowers
tea lights for all the tables
and Kendra was even nice enough to throw in a gift table arrangement!
My guest were able to take the centerpieces home which was a huge hit!
Here are a few candid shots at the reception so you can see the centerpieces.

Our ring bearer at the gift table before the reception started with our complimentary bouquet. P.S. Check out my last minute DIY card box!

Not one bad one in the bunch.

2007-09-01T07:51:00.000-07:00

My bridesmaids were wonderful! They were all helpful throughout our whole engagement. And on the actual wedding day they were even more amazing. They helped answer questions from vendors to family so that I would not be disturbed all while keeping track of me and Mr Butterscotch so we didn't cross paths. I don't think my sister/maid of honor left side that day until it was her turn to walk down the aisle. I let the girls pick the dress and I think they choose well. It was flattering on all of them.
They all looked so amazing!

Now a little vendor info on the bridesmaids: We purchased their dresses at Moms, Maids and More in Bellevue. We originally placed the order in February and they would be there by the end of May for pick up. They came in a whole month early! The staff was very nice and helpful. Their dresses are by Bill Levoff. I had the 5 girls in the blue and one usher in a violet.
The shoes were from C.B. Collections and I got them for $15 each from Bealls Florida.com. They matched the dresses perfectly and what a steal!

Its almost 5 o'clock

2007-08-31T09:55:00.000-07:00

Sure everyone tells the bride your day will go by so fast. So when my sister came in to our bridal suite and said "It's almost 5 o'clock we should start getting ready" I was shocked. I still would swear to you I had just looked at a clock and it was 3! Oh well, I wouldn't complain about getting into my wedding dress! Here are our professional getting ready pictures.
Pictures taken by Tor Clausen

Time to head up stairs for our bridal party pictures...What do you think so far? I love how the black and white pictures look! I swoon every time I look at them. More to come soon!

Freeze frame

2007-08-30T10:28:00.000-07:00

And I have pictures to prove it! Our wedding day was perfect! The sun was shining and birds were chirping from the moment I got up. I really don't even know where to start! I guess if I could freeze time at any point of the day it would be this moment.

I know some brides would choose the moment they first saw their groom. But not me. At this moment as we exited the church the bells were chiming and our families and friends were cheering with joy! And we were husband and wife! Ok, ok, ok it was basically my Cinderella moment come to life. ***Watch the end of Disney Cinderella and you will know exactly what I am talking about.
Photography: Tor Clausen
If I was a teacher I would give him A+++! I met Tor last year when I was a maid of honor at my friend Kori wedding. I loved the photos he took at her wedding so it was an easy choice when I got engaged a few months later. Tor has a wonderful way about him and he can put anyone at ease. Which is exactly what we needed since the groom is shy and not fond of taking pictures. tor was always available to answer my questions prior to the wedding. He was at the church on time and had already scoped out some great places for us to take pictures. I can honestly say I didn't even really notice him around that much, that was how well he blended in with the crowd. His prices are very reasonable and the finished product...well I can honestly say I couldn't be more pleased. http://www.torstudios.com/

Ahhh....

2007-08-29T22:04:00.000-07:00

Ok let me see a show of hands, how great are honeymoons??? Everyone should take a honeymoon! Its better than a vacation! St. Thomas was so beautiful, we spent 24 hours a day together and...we get to come back to the same house!!! It was like the icing on my honeymoon cake!
When we got back I had a fun surprise in my mail...My pictures! I will be back in full form this week. I cannot wait to share!

That darn Dean!

2007-08-20T07:17:00.000-07:00

We are very lucky that hurricane Dean has passed over our honeymoon location. I almost feel like we should be wiping our brows with a "phew". Our final two choices were Mexico or the Virgin Islands. And the only reason we didn't choose Mexico is because we knew we could easily get there one day. But I cannot even imagine how frustrating it is for everyone else that has their honeymoons hanging in the balance. Does anyone else have a honeymoon back up plan?

Whirlwind

2007-08-15T09:52:00.000-07:00

I feel like Dorothy after she landed in OZ. What a whirlwind of a weekend I had! The wedding was wonderful! Not one snag during the whole day.

Here is a teaser picture taken by my beyond wonderful photographer Tor.

Practice makes perfect

2007-08-15T07:16:00.000-07:00

Friday night before the wedding we had our rehearsal. We had a great time! Everyone was there on time 6pm sharp! A few months prior our pastor that was performing the ceremony had told us that when it came to the rehearsal he would be running the show. And he did just that. I think we were done in less than 45 minutes.

Here are the girls getting the aisle ready. We used chiffon and hydrangeas. HA! I caught Trisha off guard!

All the girls came down alone one by one and here is my sister the maid of honor

Ok dad its our turn

All us girls ready to go at the front

Ok now we get to practice putting on our imaginary rings...

A fake kiss a few moments later and ta dah! The rehearsal was over. Next it was time to party at the rehearsal dinner!

Good Morning!

2007-08-11T07:02:00.000-07:00

It a little before 7am and I am wide awake! I did pretty good I got about 5 hours sleep. I went to bed at 11, woke up at 2 watched some tv and went back to sleep. Yeah right! I just laid there praying I would fall asleep so I wouldn't have puffy eyes. thankfully eventually I did, only to have my alarm wake me up what seemed like to be 15 minutes later. Oh well, don't want to sleep the day away.
Last night rehearsal was a huge hit! Everyone left fully and not one slice of pizza was left in a box. I wasn't nervous just excited, but not jittery excited a calm wave came over me as I came into the church. Maybe I had too much to do or maybe Mr Butterscotch slipped a calm pill in my drink (kidding). Whatever it was I hope I have that same calm feeling today. In about 7 hours I will be walking down the aisle with my father by my side to my groom, yippy!!!!! I can't wait to tell you all about it (in a few days, wink :))

Happy Wedding Eve!

2007-08-10T08:11:00.000-07:00

I just got a text from Kori one of my BM. Happy Wedding Eve it said. Wow! It is the eve of my wedding day! Crazy how fast this time has gone by so quickly. I am so excited! I cannot even listen to our first dance song without tearing up. And today I get to go pick up my dress!!!!! It will be all pressed and ready for the big day! Tonight is my rehearsal :)! We are having a very casual dinner following. Our church has a huge brick courtyard (very Italian). What would go best with an Italian courtyard??? Well Italian food. We are having pizza, pasta and salad. I really wanted to do Italian sodas but I decided to keep it simple so water and pop it is. I think that will be more the enough. How formal or casual are you going for you rehearsal?

When to take it off...

2007-08-08T17:09:00.000-07:00

I just started to think...When do I want to take my veil off. It's a one layer catherderal length. But do I want to take it off prior to entering the reception or right after? I like the idea of walking in with it on but I dont want to dance in it. Hmmmm...When are you taking off your veil? What do you think I should do?

Selective hearing

2007-08-08T16:12:00.000-07:00

I had always had a theory that Mr Butterscotch had selective hearing. He proved my theory 100% with one phone call yesterday. We have a few guy friends of his that will be helping out during the day. I asked most of them to wear something in our color pallete of Lavender and sapphire or french blue. I sent them all emails and even spoke personally to many of them. Please keep in mind Mr Butterscotch picked our spefic blues back in December.
Miss B-Hey babe
Mr B-Hey, so what color blue should the guys wear?
Miss B- Saphire or french blue
Mr B- So like what,? A navy blue?
Miss B-No, not navy. A blue, Like that blue shirt that most men have, a french blue. Or a darker blue but lighter than navy.
Mr. B- ANd they can wear purple too?
Miss B-Yep, like a lavender, not purple like a grape, much lighter than that.
Mr B- So no purple?
Miss B-UGH!!! Are you kidding me?
Mr B-What? I love you...(he knew I was getting annoyed)
Miss B-Just have them wear any blue or a light purple. And I love you too. Do you remember us talking about this months ago?
Mr B- I love you.
Miss B-I love you too.

What has your groom had to ask you about, even after you have talked about it many times before?

Nope, I dont need any help, thanks...

2007-08-07T07:01:00.000-07:00

I admit it I am an organized bride! I like being organized. I knew we had almost a year to plan the wedding so I started planning early. I set a deadline of last weekend to have it all done and if it wasn't done well...too late. And I was able to get it all done just as I had planned. And now in my last week of planning I am getting tons (more than normal) amounts of friends wanting to help with unfinished stuff. I feel bad because I just keep telling them "nope, I don't need any help, thanks. I finished that a few weeks ago." Maybe I should have waited....anyways, as I sat alone on the couch relaxing on Sunday watching We go bridal Sunday and the style network wedding marathon, it dawned on me, what the heck will I do with my allotted weekend wedding time? I mean I have had things planned revolving around DIY projects, tastings, fittings for months. And now I am sitting at home eating fat free vanilla ice cream (can't eat the real stuff for another week :()watching bridal shows galore. I started to cry because this was it! My last Sunday, and tomorrow would be my last Monday and soon Tuesday. My final week as a engaged person was counting down. My perfect engaged time would be metamorphosing into a marriage. Shortly after Mr Butterscotch surprised me and came home early, he just took one look at me (did I mention, I looked like a crazy person, ratty hair, glasses, PJ's with huge flowers, basically I was a hot mess!) anyways, he just looked at me and laughed which made me laugh. He saw I what I was watching, came over gave me a kiss and decided I needed to get out the house. Ahhh....just what I needed.
Has anyone else had a had their pre-wedding breakdown? How bad was yours?

Single digits

2007-08-04T06:06:00.000-07:00

We are down to a single digit for our countdown. And guess what?!?! I started to get a little flutter in my stomach! Not nervous flutters but excited flutters! This also means I am finally able to check the 10 day forcast. And mother nature and I are now best friends. Sunny weather! Yippy! Now I can even check off the weather from my list of things to take care of. Yes, I had my sunshine dance ready to go, and yes it did involve the lyrics of "rain, rain, go away come again another day"! Can anyone else tell what there wedding day weather will be like yet?

The best $60 I have ever spent!

2007-08-03T07:35:00.000-07:00

What did I get for $60 that I could official say was worth every penny???? Our marriage licence! Yeah!!! Mr Butterscotch and I went down to the administration building this week and got our licence. Here in Seattle you must have your licence 3 days prior to the wedding ceremony. But the nice thing is that you can go and get the licence 60 days prior to the ceremony. The office does close at 4:30 and I think our receipt is stamped 4:27. No blood tests, no passports, just our drivers licences and a quick oath that we told the truth on our application. It was so easy! What are the rules in your neck of the woods? Any tips on how to make the process smooth?

Do you want me to get you some singles???

2007-08-01T09:30:00.000-07:00

That is my only question that I will asked Mr Butterscotch on his bachelor party night. Really, I have no concerns when it comes to his big night out. Maybe its is because I know he isn’t into the strip club idea, maybe its because I know (most of) his friends wouldn’t allow him to act a fool, maybe it’s because he doesn’t drink alcohol so I know he will be aware of his actions. Or maybe it is because I totally trust him.
I have been very surprised by how many women give me the “you poor thing” look when I tell them that Mr. Butterscotch is having his bachelor party this weekend. But I really am OK with it. I had my party and so should he. I was talking with a few girlfriends and they had stories about how upset and mad they were when their husbands had a bachelor parties. One person even cancelled his trip to Mexico with the guys!!! Another told me she had rules for him.
1. No strippers
2. No kissing other girls
3. You must come home tonight. and it went on….
Frankly I was thinking if #2 was even something you thought he would do then you have bigger problems than his bachelor party.
This got me thinking…Is this something I should be paranoid about? Are you nervous about his bachelor party or is he nervous about yours?

Come on Barbie let’s go party!

2007-07-31T09:14:00.000-07:00

What a weekend! It was time for my dream Barbie bachlorette party! The girls and I had a great time! Here in Seattle we have a huge Torchlight parade to get the city ready for Seafair! The girls picked me up at 6:30 and off we went! We ended up at the restaurant called Toi (where else would Barbie’s eat:)?) the best part was the restaurant was right on the parade route so we were able to have some extra entertainment. The staff at the restaurant was great! Especially our waitress Jane! At around 10 the restaurant begins to change over into a night club. And that was when the real mayhem began! Here are a few PG-13 pictures from the night!
P.S. I am wearing a wig!
Let the fun begin!
"The three B" Bride, Bollywood and Birthday Barbie!

Punk Barbie and Day to evening Barbie

Time to Dance with Chocolate Barbie and fru-fru Barbie

Party Barbie was having fun with Day to evening Barbie!

Me with a Pirate Arrrggggg :)

Had to say hello to Seattle finest! What good sports they were!

By the end of the night Party Barbie feet hurt so Bollywood Barbie gave her a piggy back ride...

Here is the whole group! Including Pretty Barbie, sophisticate Barbie and Black Barbie who I don't have single shots of...

What a great night! All the girls told me the past few days what great time they had and how much they loved the theme! My girls did a great job! I cant wait to show you the invitations they created for the fun night!

Barbie gets a Party

2007-07-31T06:42:00.000-07:00

My friends and I always say the invitations set the tone for the event to come. It was no surprise when I saw the invitation for my bachlorette party. Here is what each guest got in the mail.

Mid-way through dinner Birthday Barbie announces that they will need everyone to come up with one task for me to accompish troughout the night. This is her say I have an annoucement...

This is me pretending I cannot hear her.

Here is my list. As you can see I didnt complete them all (amen!)

A few days later Birthday Barbie brought over a CD to me with all of the pictures the the night! How thoughtful!

Maybe...

2007-07-30T12:19:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday was our rsvp due date. Out of 160 invited we have 4 no’s, 5 maybes and 10 no reply. The no reply are the least of my concerns, we can call them to find out if they can attend. It’s the “maybes” that had me concerned. You notice I say had. Our final count is due to the caterer this week so a maybe is just too up in the air, I need a yes or a no. So yesterday as I watched a marathon of “whose wedding is it anyways” I got some great tips on how to deal with the maybes and unexpected guests.
Since the maybes were friends of mine I basically said “I would love you to come, but, I am turning in a final count to the caterer, you will be first on my list to show the photos to from our big day!” After I did this I felt better, If they were able to give me a for sure answer of yes or no then great but if there plans were still up ion the air, well then, sorry (the extra plate can be $$$ in our pockets). I didn’t feel guilty or impolite, just relieved that I was now on my way to getting my final count.
Does anyone else have any good suggestion on how you have dealt with your “maybes”?

I love my job!

2007-07-27T07:59:00.000-07:00

Yep that is right I love my job. Why? Because we get to leave early today! ha ha ha! Next Wednesday is the start of August, WHOA! That means I will be in my wedding month in a few short days!
Last Friday I knew I had a busy weekend ahead. But this Friday I am pretty sure I will collapse in exhaustion on Sunday. Well here is my Friday manifesto...
1. Pack and move more stuff
2. Call the baker and get the cake finally square away
3. Buy paint
4. Paint the room at the new house :)
5. Buy wig for Barbie bachelorette party
6. Get a final wedding hair cut on Saturday
7. Buy ribbon to finish programs
8. RSVP's due Saturday- Go over guest list Sunday
9. Barbie Bachelorette party Saturday
10. Clean kitchen of the new house :)
11. Curl up in a ball and pass out from exhaustion
12. Start teeth whitening
13. Work out!!!
I am sure I have more to do...But this list is making me want to start my mental breakdown right now (why wait?!?:))
As some of you noticed and may have a new opinion of me, yes that is right a Barbie bachelorette party. No, it's not what you think...OK maybe it is. All of my guests are going to be dressed up like a Barbie! So far I have heard that we will have a 70's Foxy Brown type barbie, 40th anniversary barbie, tennis Barbie, bollywood Barbie and that is just a few! And of course I am bride Barbie!
How are your weekends jammed packed as you get closer to your wedding?

Pretty in Pink

2007-07-26T08:33:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday my bridesmaids threw me a pink filled French themed bridal shower. Despite the 75 degree muggy weather the party was a success! They built the color palette based on the dress that I had bought a few months prior and I had told the girls what I planned on wearing, they just ran with it from there. Since I knew I was wearing pink I also had the ladies in my family (my grandma, mom and sisters) wear pink too! On the outside of the building the girls had placed a pink runway for me and the guest to walk in on. Most of the party was kept a secret from me. The food was amazing! We had lumpia, macaroni salad, fried chicken, tea sandwiches, cream puffs, Madeline's, two cakes and the list goes on. They even had a baby pink punch to drink! The pictures are blurry but you will get the idea, here are a few highlights…

Yeah fondue!

Lets just say I wont need to buy toilet paper for a while.

I just love my shoes!

Here is my one of my sisters in her pink!

Kori hard at work making my rehearsal bouquet

ahhhh.... what a fun day!

Ohhh that is so sweet...

2007-07-25T10:37:00.000-07:00

My friend Michelle is flying up for the wedding!!! When we decided to have our wedding here at home I knew we would have a few out of town guests that would be able to make it. My friend Michelle who I only get to see maybe once every other year was finishing up her last semester of law school when I got engaged so I knew by the time the wedding rolled around she would be studying for bar exams looking for a law firm to work at and just busy with life over all. When I talked to her last she said she would let me know what her schedule looked like. So when she emailed me and let me know she was for sure flying up I was so happy! I have been so surprised with how many out of towners are making such efforts to be here for our wedding day. Every time I think of it my heart just fills up with happiness!
Have you been surprised by how many people from out of town are coming to your wedding?

Hair Trial

2007-07-23T10:42:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday I went in and had my hair trial. I had a slight advantage because I use to work in the salon I was going to while I was in college. I need to have someone that is ok with working on African American hair. Sure some people think just because they can work with curly hair they can also do my type of hair, but that just isn't always the case. I knew I wanted Tim to do my wedding hair for the past 5-6 years. While I was working there this girl came into the salon for an prom updo. Her hair was thicker and longer than mine. She looked like a lion! She sat down in Tim's chair and about and 45 minutes later she was done and she looked amazing! At that moment I told Tim "one day you are doing my hair for my wedding" fast forward many years later to this Saturday afternoon. I had my hair accessory and pictures in hand. The moment I sat down in Tim's chair and showed him what I wanted to do he was sure we could achieve the look I wanted. Here are the pictures I showed him.

Yep the famous Jessica Alba Oscar moment. I just loved this hair! It was classic and I figured it would work with my long face. Here is what I got. *WARNING- I had been packing all day so I look a little oogie in the face but focus on the hair.

I will be playing with veil placement more but here is the front so you can get an idea.

I love it! Tim did a wonderful job and this was just the trial.
Now a quick second review in case anyone likes my hair comb. I got it at this great store out in Tukwila call All About Weddings. They are wonderful! The staff is beyond helpful and knowledgeable about their products and all things wedding related. Their web site http://www.allaboutweddingsnw.com/ doesnt really offer much but that will just mean you should go stop in the store :). Here is a picture of my comb.

Program Peek

2007-07-23T10:22:00.000-07:00

This weekend was busy busy busy! I had a lot of projects I was trying to wrap up. In the end I got half way through and I still need to finish some. Here is a sneak peek at the program covers.

It’s my stardream sapphire paper in booklet size A7 and I stamped a modern Eiffel Tower in silver. I used starlight silver by Brilliance. My aunt Pam who is a stamping queen let me borrow her stamp and recommend I get a quick drying ink since the paper is so metallic. The ink drying in about 5 minutes but I allowed them to dry over night just to be on the safe side. I had absolutely no smudges the next day. Here they are some of them drying out.

**This ink is also good to use if you are using vellum.

Busy Weekend

2007-07-21T09:04:00.000-07:00

Ok this weekend is going to be a mad dash for me all around town
1. Must start on programs covers. (stamping)
2. Hair trail
3. Start packing (we get the keys Monday!)
4. WORK OUT!!!
5. Start Tear of Joy pockets
6. Finish favor fans
7. Mani and Pedi
8. Bridal shower!!! relax

Next week I not only get to start moving into the house but we are so getting our marriage licence!!!

eBay virgin no longer

2007-07-20T07:59:00.000-07:00

I searched to the ends of the earth to find a reasonably priced 2T simple flower girl dress (I even was shopping in Miami for one with no success:(). The flower girl dress I finally found was on eBay! I was a eBay virgin, had never bought anything on eBay before this. But when I found this dress for 24.99! I had to get in on the bidding war!

OK so maybe there was no war but I did win this dress. The shipping was a little pricey at $14.99 but it kept my total cost to $39.98 which was under $40 so I cannot complain! I got this from eBay seller CuteClothesForKids. I ordered it last Saturday the 14th and it was at the house yesterday the 19th. In perfect condition! I am replacing the sash to match the other flower girl dress. But she can keep the pink sash and flower to use another time. Then when I was looking around I noticed they had $15 boys tuxes! Now that is a steal!

Photo Guestbook Review

2007-07-19T07:33:00.001-07:00

At the end of last month I ordered my photo guestbook from My Publisher. It arrived in my hot little hands not too long after that (8 days to be exact). I ripped the package open with excitement. And there it was a perfect hardback book filled great moments in our relationship. The photo quality was suburb! And the pages are very heavy duty so I do not have any concerns with the quality of them lasting a lifetime. The cost of this book was $29.80 before tax and shipping (yes we have an 8.8% tax in Washington :() The cover options are good, I choose a 20 page book in navy linen. Here is a picture of the cover. It is 11.25" wide and 8.75" high.

There was some concern with my book from the hive that I may not have enough room for people to sign. We I have decided that will not be a problem. There was plenty of room around some the pages along with the whole front and pack page are blank.
Here is a picture of me turning the page, I wanted to try and capture the paper quality along with the picture quality for you *excuse my hand

The other thing I like is that the page didn't collect a lot of smudges. I looked through it along with 5 other people and I didn't see any smudges on the pages. But they do offer a photo finish to them so that was nice I don't have to worry about fingerprints.

Next I have started a pen test in the back of the book. I will see which pen works best for the pages. Because the pages are more like photo pages I am testing some acid free pens that are safe for photos. Any suggestions on a pens I should be on the lookout for?

My cake final draft

2007-07-19T07:21:00.000-07:00

I dropped off my final design for my baker last week. My original cake version 1.0 design was a little too light for my taste. My BM Kori was able to tweak the colors and here is the final pattern.
*the colors appear darker than they are
The color is actual a really jewel toned blue. This is just the bottom and middle layer.

I also mentioned before that I got the idea from the knot magazine. Well I was able to get the original picture back and the cake I saw was by JollyBe bakery located in NY. Her cakes are so pretty. They are hand painted and the designs she has on her website are amazing! Here is the original cake from the magazine.

I think my friend did a great job replicating the pattern! I can't wait to see it next month.

Mi casa es su casa

2007-07-18T16:26:00.000-07:00

Ok so our house is not the white house....But in my mind our first home will be just as grand.
And in a few short days we finally are closing on our first house! So exciting! We have never lived together so this will be such a fun new journey for us as a newly married couple. I had some serious anxiety about being a home owner but Mr Butterscotch held my hand through the whole process and now I am over the moon with joy! And believe it or not buying a house was less stressful than parts of planning our wedding have been.
Where are you planning on living once you have tied the knot? Or if you already live together, what is the one tip you can give us for this big adjustment?

Everyone is booked

2007-07-17T13:33:00.000-07:00

That is right, I have every vendor booked! Phew! And with less than a month to spare. I just confirmed with the DJ that it is all set and I will have music at the reception. We are meeting with him tonight. I considered having a band but since we are much more of a R&B/Hip hop couple a DJ was the best way to go. I really considered a lot when choosing this important role at the reception. It had to be someone that didn't annoy me and definitely not cheesy. I actually saw on one web site "Our DJ will ever put on a gold vest and help encourage non-dancing guests onto the dance floor" AHHHH!!!! That is my wedding nightmare.
I really like the DJ we hired because they gave us a flat rate for the reception. Most places added on time per hour over 4 or 5 hours. And our DJ is an actual full entertainment service so they also had lighting. I decided to currently pass on the lighting but I can always change my mind. They have a great site that we can have our wedding music preset and even pick out our songs like on itunes. Most importantly they are non-cheesy. Now we get to finalize our wedding song. We have so many songs that bring back great memories that it is really hard to pick just one. I want something timeless to us. Only a few more weeks to go and I will be twirling around on the dance floor at my wedding reception!

My Mom is like Erica Kane

2007-07-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

When I was 5 or 6 my mom reminded me of Diana Ross. They looked a lot a like, really glamorous. But at that point in my life my mom had only been married once. Fast forward 20+ years and she is now up to number 5 marriage. Seems like a lot, huh? Well that is because it is a lot! Now when people ask me about my mother and what she is like I still say she looks like Diana Ross but she is more like Erica Kane from All my Children. Each marriage and each divorce has a great story behind it (and yes, she has even married the same guy twice and one marriage that lasted two weeks), but I won't get into that. But what I will say is that for me as a child with a mother that is addicted to marriage, getting married was something that I really took a long time to consider. Mr Butterscotch and I dated for a long time and neither of us were in a rush to get married. At some points neither of us were sure if we ever wanted to get married. I know everyone says they go into marriage thinking "OK this is it forever". But we know forever isn't always forever. People grow apart, people change and love changes. As it is right now Mr Butterscotch and I have been dating longer than any of my mother marriages. While we dated we really took time to let each other grow up together and apart and figure out what we each really wanted in life. Now we both feel very prepared for marriage and what is yet to come.
How did you and your fiance prepare for the "til death dues us part" while you were dating? Do you know any Erica Kanes, and what have you learned from them?

I didn’t mean to do I swear!

2007-07-16T12:35:00.000-07:00

It started off as an innocent trip to Target. I decided since my shower was next Sunday (smiling ear to ear!) I wanted to update the registry and make sure were had enough options for everyone in many price ranges. I went to the customer service desk and asked to update my registry the girl helpfully asked me “would you like a copy of your registry now so you can see what you would like to add or remove?” I said “yes”. So off I headed to house wares and as I walking I started to look at the list. And there, right there in my face I saw the word “fulfilled”. What fulfilled, what does that…wait…does that mean… yep someone got us a gift! So exciting! I didn’t mean to see what was already bought and I don’t want to become a registry stalker (although it is so temping). But the happy feeling I felt in my heart when I saw that was amazing. Now I have two other registries that I want to quickly update as well…I don’t even know if I want to be surprised or if its better knowing...What are your thoughts on know what people are getting you?
Has anyone else accidentally looked and seen what been already bought? Do you look or do you want to be surprised at what you get?

Gonna dress you up in my love...

2007-07-13T13:33:00.000-07:00

You've got style, that's what all the girls say....Ahh love old school Madonna on a Friday! That also was the song that was going through my head as I ran to the dress shop for my final fitting today at lunch. I was so excited to see how the changes I had made looked and I wanted to see myself in the dress one last time before the big day. Here is a sneak peak of my dress
***If for some reason my fiance has found his way onto here. STOP!!!! Do not look any further! A small hint of my dress is below and I want you to be completely surprised on our wedding day, love you!

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AHHHHH!!!! I love it! Now that my alterations are complete I wanted to give the highest recommendations to my dress shop. La Belle Elaine's in Seattle were superb! I originally ordered my dress back in November with a nice sales girl named Nikki. She was great and she even put up with my friends that came along (long story). Sadly Nikki was leaving at the first of the year but she assured me everything would be all taken care of. She was so good she even picked out this dress since I had orginally passed it by. My dress was due to arrive in May. So when when it arrived here a whole month early I was thrilled! The girls at the desk are always very helpful and every time I called the shop with a question they were able to help me quickly. I mentioned before that I wanted the back of the dress to dip down. The seamstress team at La Belle Elaine's is a wonderful mother and daughter duo. They were wonderful! They both were very helpful and I couldn't be more pleased with the changes made. I would highly recommend the shop and getting alterations done by them. They are also pressing the dress for me I am leaving it there until the day before the wedding and then Maria will press it and have it all ready for me to pick up.

Final fitting

2007-07-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

I get to slip away at lunch today for my final dress fitting. So excited! Sadly I cannot post pictures of my dress in case the mister stumbles his way onto here. But I will hopefully be able to give you a sneak peak. Ok now I just need everyone to pray to the weight Gods that everything fits ok.

Fanfare

2007-07-13T07:48:00.000-07:00

Back when I was first began planning I decided to dip my toes into the do-it-yourself world. I mean I had plenty of time, right? I set my game plan and decided to do the cake topper, invitations, programs and menu cards/donation favor. Whoa! How the months have flown by! But finally I finished my wedding fan favors. I had always planned on doing donation favors but wasn't sure how I would present it to the guests. We knew we wanted to do something to honor the Butterscotch's uncles that were no longer with us. But so many of the ideas were swimming in my head, as I have mentioned before last year we had record heat in August. That is when I put the idea together to make fan favors. Ta dah...
The paper and punch mimic the same that I used in the invitations. This is the menu side. Yummy....Doesn't it sound good!

This is the donation favor side, I found some great wording suggestions from the actual charities and from other brides.

At the bottom of each fan I drilled a tiny hole in each craft stick. Threaded some ribbon and added an Eiffel Tower charm.

Put a little old fashioned Elmer's glue and there it is, one donation fan.
Cost breakdown per fan
Stardream Sapphire (discontinued from Paper Zone) .24 per A7 card stock
Stardream Opal (discontinued from Paper Zone) .24 per A7 card stock *later cut down at costco at no charge
Craft sticks .05 ($3.99 for 75 at Joanne)
Eiffel Tower charm .42 cent at shipwrecked beads
Glue & ribbon were free already had some
Total 0.95 per fan
WOW!!!! What a savings! Now we have taken our allotted traditional favor budget and used it for a donation towards our chosen charity. The savings is great, but what we are really hoping is that more research will help save lives.
How did you choose you favor for your guests?

Is the puff in???

2007-07-12T07:54:00.000-07:00

I have been happily looking at the celebrity wedding pictures for the last few hours. And I noticed with two very recent weddings that the brides veils were really full! Wait, did I miss an upcoming bridal trend? Last year veils were shear or non-existent. But I have seen a few that the puff is back. I personally chose sheer because I had a lot of pretty detail on the back of my dress that I like and wanted to be seen. How did you pick your veil or why are you choosing not to wear one at all?

Sit down and shut up!

2007-07-11T11:15:00.000-07:00

With our wedding about one month away we (and when I say we, I mean me) have now started to get the so can I bring a date? And from who you may ask. Family members (and when I say family members I mean my family)! And it's family members that are in no way paying for this wedding. My wonderful father is paying for this wedding from top to bottom and he has had no requests from me, well just one and that was to make sure I didn't spend too much. Now in the last week I have had at least three different people ask to bring a date or a friend. My answer each time is "No, I am sorry we don't really have room". Which is so true. But I really want to say "No, just sit down and shut". Followed by the lecture of "this day is about people that are important to us being there to share our special day and support us in our life long journey, blah blah blah". My RSVP are due back in about two weeks and even then I still have a "B" list of people we are waiting to bump up. People that we like but were not sure if they would be in town in August. So- No you cannot bring the hot date your hoping to get lucky with, and no your best friend from high school that you haven't seen in 40 years cannot come and I am sure your boss that I have never met is great but NO THEY CANNOT COME TO OUR WEDDING! Ah, that felt much better. Why do people feel that it is OK to pester the soon to be wed with their requests so close to the darn wedding day? What are some of your guest requests that people are asking you that is making you pull your hair out?

Ok I am a Junkie

2007-07-11T09:14:00.000-07:00

OK I will admit it, I was happy to hear Eva Longoria was getting married before me. Why you ask? Because I am an inspration junkie! I love getting inspiration from other brides. So I was so please to hear that Eva who I think has a cute personal/ red carpet style was getting married. And finally OK magazine has posted a few pics for me to see. And so far it made me ohhhh and awwwww. How about you, what celebrity weddings have you gotten some inspiration from?

You make me feel like dancing

2007-07-10T15:25:00.000-07:00

I am finally one step closer to having a DJ! We had a family loss in May so I have been having a hard time getting this last vendor booked. But here is my dilemma...What is the average length of time booked for a DJ? We will head out the door to enjoy our wedding night around 10:30 so is it OK to have the DJ start packing up at 11? As it is we will be adding extra hours (most DJ I spoke to run in 4-5 hour increments). How long are you booking you DJ for?

This one is too hot...but this one is too cold

2007-07-10T13:55:00.000-07:00

And this one is just right. That is what I like to think the wedding day will be, not too cold and not too hot but just right. We live in Seattle so the weather no matter what time of year is questionable. My friend Renee got married in August 05 and she had thunder, hail, rain you name it. But then last year August we had record heat. I think this year we are heading for the same sunny (cross my fingers) weather. Then I thought *Crap* I am going to be hot in my dress when we take outdoor photos. Sure I could have my sister fan like I am Cleopatra (hand feed grapes not needed) or I could carry a lovely fan... I was wondering how do you plan to stay cool on your big day?

Summer Ringtones

2007-07-10T10:04:00.000-07:00

Since the summer time has finally arrived here in the northwest my engagement ring has begun to sparkle again under the Seattle sun! And next month my wedding ring will join the fun! I really thought a lot about the band I wanted, something that was classic, had meaning to both of us and most of all I wanted it to look good on my hand. I didn't want to get a whole new set because I love my engagement ring. I apologize for the bad nails I am in need a of manicure:) . Here are our ring...
I chose the diamond and sapphire band to represent both of us(our birthstones).

Here are the engagement and wedding band together

Here is his ring. He wanted something plain originally but after we took a look he decided he need something a little interesting. I really like it because it's classic.

And here they all together.

What do you think? What is the story behind your bands?

Shower me with your love

2007-07-10T09:43:00.000-07:00

I finally got the inside scoop on my bridal shower! One of my bridesmaids dropped off the invite to my grandma (my nickname for her is Lady) this weekend. This is a little bigger than the other invitation everyone else got. I requested that if they were planning giving my grandma anything to read they need to make it senior citizen friendly. And they did! Looks like my theme is going to be in the pink and black family with maybe some french twists. Which is perfect since I already had my shower dress picked out (wink)! I think they did a great job! Most of the shower has been a secret until now, so I am very excited to see what else they have up their sleeves. How about you do you know what type of shower you are having?

Make sure you get my good side

2007-07-09T15:47:00.000-07:00

What can I say...my father is an artist. I have grown up surrounded with hand painted pictures and sketches my whole life. I have seen that some brides are lucky enough to have their dress designer make them a quick sketch of their dress as a keep sake. When I saw this sketch of Eva Longoria's dress it got me thinking. Yep... I am going to requested that my dad sketch my dress as a fun little keep sake. Or wait is that silly? What do you guys think of this idea?

My cake version 1.0

2007-07-09T12:29:00.000-07:00

I finally found a cake that I love! It was in the knot magazine. The only thing between me and my cake was a few thousand miles :). But never fear the bakeries in Seattle are superb! I had my good friend and Bridesmaid Kori make a mock up of the design that I wanted and from there we are tweaking the colors and the any aspects of the design. Here is what we have so far. The color will defiantly be the signature sapphire blue. But I really like how this looks so far. What are your thoughts?
The cake as a whole

Close up of the pattern

I am not a paper person!

2007-07-09T10:19:00.002-07:00

I am not a scrap booking, craft stores, Paper Source loving bride. But luckily I have friends that are. I know many brides to be find that making your invitations as one of the most cost effective ways to help with the budget. And Miss Butterscotch happens to be one of those brides. When my two good friends took me to paper source I vividly remember one saying to me "so what type of blue do you want?" and I looked at the wall with the about 10 different shades of blue and pointed to the whole blue section simply replied "blue". She laughed at me. So I have come a long way since my first visit. And while I am still not a paper person I can at least pick a blue.
I told the hive that the cost of our day so far is hovering around $15,772ish. Here is the cost break down of my invitations.
Envelopments 5x7 pockets 1.69 per pocket *Originally $2.25
Envelopments 8x11 cover weight .41 per sheet *Originally .54
Stardream Sapphire (discontinued from Paper Zone) .12 per invite
Stardream Opal (discontinued from Paper Zone) .12 per invite
4 bar reply envelope in Sapphire .30 per invite
Cutting costs done at Costco .12 per invite
Sticker to close pocket .10 per invite
Clear plastic to mail invites .05 per invite
Sticker Labels (both the to and return labels) .10 per invite
Stamps to mail and with the return stamp 1.28 per invite
Total per invite $4.29

I would have loved to keep them under $4 but the feed back that I have gotten from family and friends has been well worth the extra cost and labor. And when I went to get them weighed at the post office I have a small crowd of postal workers impressed too! All in all I got exactly what I wanted. We are using the Chopin script that you see in my mock above throughout the wedding (*programs and fan favors posts to come soon :)) We also as you will see used plastic slip covers to mail them in rather than spend more money on envelops.

*My envelopment cost were discounted by 25% since I purchased more than 100 and my local vendor had a special donation drive going that if you donated rolls of toilet paper to a local women shelter they would give you a discount on your purchase.

I didn't include the cost of the $9 corner punch or the $9.00 spray glue since I can use both items again for other project.
Here are some pictures sorry that they are not the greatest but the paper is so metallic that the glare was unavoidable. What do you think?

What was your invitation budget and how did you stick to it or what were you willing to spend a little more on?

To thank or not to thank

2007-07-09T07:00:00.000-07:00

I have a minor pet peeve-Thank you notes. They must be sent at some point! Now agree to disagree with me on this if you want. But I personally love getting a thank you for the couple saying they like my gift. I really try hard to think of what I will get the soon to be wed couples in my life so is it too much to ask for a thank you note? Now that I am a blushing bride to be I am starting my search for the perfect thank you note. My invitations were DIY and I rather not go that route with these so I am on the hunt for the perfect thank you note that I can purchase. Here are the top choices so far. What do you think of my choices? And where do you stand on to thank or not to thank?
I was thinking these for the wedding thank you notes (remember we get engaged in Paris)

From paper source

From paper zone
and these for my bridal shower thank you notes

From Papyrus

From Papyrus

I'm back!

2007-07-06T09:29:00.000-07:00

Ahhh what a difference a week makes. I love vacations! Sure I got a little darker than I planned but that Miami sun has a mind of its own. We are in the one month countdown phase so I will be posting like crazy these last few weeks!

Third time is a charm

2007-06-28T08:30:00.000-07:00

This is my third attempt of writing out my budget. Why three times you say? Each time I would start I would get to the point of remembering something not done or someone not called. I would think about saving what I had done but then disheartened by the massiveness of what I have yet to do. Hence why this is my third time at this. But Finally I am at a point that I don't care what I have left to do! I am going to be strictly positive about what I have accomplished. And I have accomplished a lot (see positive thinking already at work). I will make this as reading friendly as possible. Please keep in mind we are not quite married yet so some numbers are the estimate. Our budget was loosely set at 12,000 with a 150ish guests.

Reception Venue $1150 tables included *discounted rate since we are members of the community.
Church $950 including pastor, building fee & coordinator
Pianist $150
Dress $1600 with alterations
Veil $25
Shoes $40
Hair $230 with trail a few weeks prior
Make-up $30
Garter $12
Groom tux Free! Gotta love Men's wWearhouse!
BM gift also Free! My grandma made each girl an crocheted afghan.
GM gifts $100 total
Parents gifts $150
Invitations and Programs DIY $450
Favors fans with menu & donation info $50
Donation to charities as favors $200
Chartering $4500 Full dinner buffet. including plates, flatware, glasses and waiters
Rentals $750 chairs and linens
Cake $300
Cake Topper $50 DIY
Flowers $1600
Photographer $2400
Videographer Free We are having a family friend do it and then we will edit it later.
DJ estimated $800 *due to a family emergency we are looking for a DJ still so this is my max amount I would like to spend.
Photo Guest book $35
Flower girl dresses $80 *apx for two
Flower girl baskets $20 for two
Petals for aisle $100
Total cost of wedding to-date 15,772

Memories that will last a lifetime...Priceless. :)

Ok so we are over budget, but as I said in the beginning our budget was loose and I knew I would have some wiggle room. I went over on my estimated photographer, DJ and floral costs. I really did do a lot of research and tried to get the most bang for my buck on all aspects of the wedding.
I didn't include the rings because they were not really a "wedding day" expense in my mind. I also didn't include the honeymoon or rehersal dinner costs because they too were not a "wedding day" expense in my mind.

Milestone moments

2007-06-27T09:59:00.000-07:00

I got to thinking this morning and realizes my vacation to Miami is my last vacation before the wedding. Gulp! I started thinking about all the vacations I have taken as a "single girl" and next vacation I will be a "married woman". Smile! And then the best thought popped in my head- when I get back home I will officially be able to say I am getting married next month. Yippy!!! I just love all the big and little milestones I have had during our engagement. There was the-we set the date moment, thank goodness I found my dress moment, the venue I love has our date open moment, finally the wedding is in 100 days moment and now the we are getting married next month moment! Of course we all had the oh my gosh we are engaged moment but what have been some of your favorite moments so far?

No, not the kid question again...

2007-06-26T12:59:00.000-07:00

“When are you going to start having kids?” Ever since we got engaged this has been the question. I feel like I should have a little note taped on my head that says "we are not having kids right away". Family and good friends I don’t mind so much when they ask. But casual acquaintances that see I am engaged and start in with that it does hit a small nerve. Normally I will politely smile and “answer no time soon” or “in a few years”. But in my head I am thinking “Can we just make it through the wedding before you ask me that!” What questions have you been asked while planning your wedding that drives you up the wall?

P.S. Prior to being engaged the question I constantly got was “so when are you getting married” which is just as bad ad the kid question.

S.O.S to Miami brides

2007-06-25T07:29:00.000-07:00

I need a vacation before my head pops with wedding ideas and house buying stress. So off I go later this week to the fabulous city of Miami with my one of my best friends. The original purpose of this trip was planned before I got engaged. We were to visit my brother who is attending college down there, but what perfect timing! I have heard some really great things about Miami. I am ready to enjoy the sun, the food and I am dying to go shopping! I figured while I am there I would also look the last item on my list. A simple (and I do mean simple) white flower girl dress in size 2T. I already have one taken care of but unfortunately the sale rack didn’t include 2T :(. Not that it has to be on sale but come on $100 for a toddlers dress is just not what I planned on doing. Can any of you Miami brides give me some suggestions of places to look while I am down there? Here is what my other flower girl dress looks like.

Also this is our first visit to Miami. I would love any suggestions that you could offer for fun places that we should not miss!

Ceremony Decor

2007-06-22T07:57:00.000-07:00

As I have mentioned before our ceremony will be held in Church. Its a lovely. Huge bell tower, beautiful stain glass windows and wooden pews. Now here is my dilemma. How much do I need to decorate? How much are your decorating your ceremony venue? Come on all crafty brides here is your time to shine! And all of the brides that feel like they have a black thumbs when it comes to crafts tell me what you plan on doing too, I am all ears of any ideas!

Shy guy

2007-06-20T17:41:00.000-07:00

I am a very open and vocal kind of bee. I love to meet new people and standing front of a crowd to make a speech has never scared me. Mr Butterscotch doesn't feel the same way. He isn't really into meeting new people if he doesn't have to and he hates taking pictures. Some may call it anti-social but I just call it shy. And I love my shy guy :), I think we balance each other out. One thing he has requested from me is to always leave his name off my blog along with any pictures. But wait I love taking and being in pictures so, ugh, to him! So I apologize in advance for any pictures that are posted with his face dotted out.
Now that said, I just ordered my picture filled guest book (yes he actually gave me the green light on this). It will be in my hot little hands sometime next week. I chose photos of us through the years along with shots of us as kids. I will post my review of the quality once I get it. I used my publisher and I know they have had a bad rap within the hive. But the cost and basic easiness of organizing the book were too good to pass up. Here is the layout. On the opening page I put the proposal story followed by many years of pictures of the Butterscotch's. What do you think?

and the winner is....

2007-06-18T14:07:00.000-07:00

Yeah I am Miss Butterscotch! They just posted my intro on weddingbee.com. Take a look. I will be posting my "get to me a little more" tomorrow. In that I will tell you a couple of the reasons why I chose butterscotch as my name. And a little more about me and the Mr. Butterscotch.

Last major thing to check off...

2007-06-16T16:45:00.000-07:00

DJ and Tuxes. And that is it...Well that and a handful of other random small task here and there. This weekend one of my dad fathers day gifts will be to go to the tux store with me. We thought about having him in just a suit but since his job doesnt have a dress code like taht we decided it would be much more cost effective to rent. My wonderful fiance is busy doing wedding tasks today and he just informed me that Mens warehouse says its crunch time for rentals and we should get our order in FAST. But I have two months! Oh wait I only have two months.

Exciting News...

2007-06-15T13:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday after a long day at work I got a wonderful email from my favorite wedding site weddingbee.com and drum roll please.....I get to be a new bee! So exciting! They gave me a few choices of names too but I am keeping mine a secret until my grand debut next week. Wish me luck!

A penny saved is a penny earned...

2007-06-15T08:39:00.000-07:00

That is my motto when it comes to some wedding items. Sure I was willing to drop a small fortune when it came to my venue and dress, but luckily I didn't have to on either. So whenever I see a chance to save a few pennies I go for it. For example my flower girl dresses. We waited until after Easter to find the dresses. Well although that was a good plan in theory it did still have a few bumps. My girls are my sister 9years old and our niece 1 1/2 years old. So that is about a size 8 and 2T. I found my sister one dress at JcPenny on sale for $29 originally $59! It's a plain white dress so I felt $29 was a great price. And I added some customizations to the dress to give it some pizazz! What do you think? I also made our ring pillow in the same material. The material was also on sale and I had my 40% off coupon from JoAnn's so for the 3 yards I bought it was only $4 for silk!
Before

And After

The fabric and the ring pillow

Miracle cream

2007-06-13T14:35:00.000-07:00

I am pretty lucky and I have really good skin, but like any well planning bride I am thinking ahead to the big day. I rarely breakout (knock on wood). But I do get tiny bumps on my forehead if I don’t wash my face after I work out or if I am really stressed. That was until I found my miracle cream about two years ago. I love this stuff! I went in and got a facial and my tech recommended I try this. Ahhhhh it feels like a breath of air on your face! So I used it for a year with true dedication. But then I got cocky and decided I didn’t need it and would switch to a different and less expensive brand. Well I used the lesser brand for like 3 months and in that time my skin was not as semi-flawless as it was on the daily moisturizer from skinceuticals. So back on the skinceuitcals for about a month now and my skin is glowing! No really it is so wonderful! I have recommended it to all of my girlfriends and now I just wanted to share it with you. For this jar it is about $40-$50 it last a long time because you don’t need to use gobs and gobs of it. I think it last on average 4 months. Sorry I don’t have a before and after photo for you but if you ever see this out you should ask the counter for a sample and see what I am talking about.

P.S. I took this to Sydney with me and I got a little over baked from the sun and my skin felt like heaven when I put in on and I didn’t peel at all either.

Sexy back!

2007-06-12T12:15:00.000-07:00

Ok so here is the picture of my gorgeous maid of honor in her dress. What do you think? I love the jewel toned color. All of the girls are either olive toned or dark complexion so the dress looks great on them! The shoes are dark in this picture but they match the dress perfectly and they were only $15 on amazon and no dying needed!

2 months are you kidding me?!?!?

2007-06-11T09:26:00.000-07:00

UGH!!! As of today the wedding is in exactly two months! CRAP!!! We got engaged in late September set our wedding date in November, I had so much time ahead of me! And now in two month I will be walking down the aisle, are you kidding me? Don't get me wrong I am way happy, but talk about how time fly! I have finally gotten out of my slump (my uncle wouldn't want me to be sad during this time) This weekend was really productive. I finished the flower girl sashes and the ping bearer pillow I even started on the wedding fan favors. Oh and the major vendor I was able to check off is rentals. My dad and I went to the rental place and placed our order and paid for it. So here is what I still need to do at with two months to go...
1. Hire a Dj
2. Find 2nd flower girl dress
3. Finish initial banner to hang on door
4. Fan favors
5. Order picture guest book (also finish scanning in picture of us)
Hmmm....that is all that I can think of but as you can see they all all pretty important.

Long time no blog

2007-06-04T15:09:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have been away. My wonderfully amazing Uncle Darien who was battling lung cancer passed away just about two weeks ago. He was only 45 and never smoked a day in his life. The only thing that has given us peace is to know he is no longer in pain. I had originally planned to make donations instead of favors at the wedding. I was hoping that I could have his say in honor rather than in memory. I am grateful that I am able to donate to hopefully help another family going through this. Personally I think donations is much more useful than a favor. We are already feeding the guest a full and yummy meal, not to mention how grateful we are everyone can be with us on the day. So I wanted to memorialize the three uncles that are no longer with us. What do you think? Do you love getting favors at weddings or do you appreciate a donation more?