And they lived happily ev...

A week ago, one of my very good friends got married. It was one of the most beautiful weddings I've ever been to. Everything was amazing, the food, the decor, the music, the dancing, and...the bride...she was  gorgeous! And her and Mike looked soo happy! They are currently on their honeymoon, and I wanted to post a couple pictures from that night...and please forgive the focus a bit, it started to get dark and it was tricky taking pictures (also the reason I only have a few).

Only picture I got of Nikki and Mike that turned out...booo to the dark!

Friend of mine from work, she says her husband
NEVER smiles for pics, but we got one, ha ha!

Favors that Nikki made, LOVE!

Decor, again, LOVE!!

Engagements!

Matt and I took our engagement photos on Tuesday night...and our photographer is CRAZY fast and posted a couple of pictures already....WOoHOo! We only have 13 posted online, he's mailing the rest to us so I will have more to show soon. But with the ones he's put up so far, I think most of them turned out REALLY well! Please comment on his blog, cuz if we get 10 people or more, we get free prints...so comment, comment, comment! :)

http://blog.jameserickphotography.com/?p=12590

The Call

It CAME! IT CAME! iT CaMe!!!!

Okay, had a moment. ;) I just got a phone call, and the dress, MY wedding dress (eek!) that was supposed to ship on the 26th, apparently shipped early, and IT'S HERE!!! I'm sooo excited to pick it up tomorrow, can't wait!

Okay, I'm back, that's all...

Watched pot...blah blah blah

Have you ever noticed how the mail is ALWAYS delivered right. on. time. when you don't care? And have you ever noticed it's ALWAYS late when you're expecting something??? BAH! I know, I know, a watched pot never boils. But seriously!! I need my package! I have the patience of a three-year-old, which is to say I have none.
At the moment I'm expecting an order from the cutest store on the planet: Maurices! What does this have to do with the wedding? Well, like ANY self-respecting female would, I immediately decided that since we are getting engagements done next week, I needed a new outfit! Done! ;)  So, I went online to look, and who knew I chose the BEST year for a teal wedding? Maurices main colors for fall are red and teal! WOoHOo! So, I bought several, and I shall fashion show them for Matt and then take the ones I don't like back to the store (bless in-store returns). I'll let you all know how it goes (once the mail comes!)....'til then!

And how was your weekend?

This last weekend, well, kinda blew by. Wait no, REALLY blew by! I preface this story with, yes, this is wedding related. My dad is a general contractor (the best in the world!!) and he was commissioned last fall to build a greek monument in the International Peace Gardens here in Salt Lake City. Matt got involved and has been helping build it since then. This last month or so, they've really REALLY been working to get it finished.  I was volunteered to help with the first layer of mud on the sculpture last month (messy, but fun!).
They've been painting and sculpting non-stop and this last weekend was the last phase. Matt coerced me on Saturday to come help with the final two coats of stucco on the "lid" part. I was put to work piping stucco onto the lid...and when I say piping, I mean I broke out the cake decor set and went to town! :)
My dad wanted it to look like ruins so there was a specific technique involved. We, and I mean the entire family, spent the day doing that (haha, I'm a stuccoer now...or stuccoist, stuccoette, stuccoess, meh, I dunno!).
Sunday was the day they FINALLY transported it across Salt Lake valley and onto the pillars that were already in place. I went down earlier with Mom, thinking we would watch as they moved it, but seriously, I think I have gray hairs from the stress of it! We couldn't help with it, soooo, we left. It was VERY unerving to watch it teter and groan under the strain, yikes! Matt called me once it was lifted and Mom and I went back down there to take some pictures for dad....and for us all. I LOVE the way they all turned out! My dad is AMAZING at this stuff, and it turned out soooooo beautiful. The coolest part of the story for me, is next week, Matt and I are getting our engagements taken there. I'm so glad I'll have pictures of this work of art my dad and Matt created!

The crew, hard at work. (Matt, my brother Alex, and Dad)

Close-up of the texture...

Isn't it pretty???

Officially: The first engaged couple to take a picture in front of it. 
Funny, there were already TWO brides that afternoon who were
waiting for us to finish and leave so they could get pics in front of it.

Awww...

The crew

My favorite! The crew, aaaand the help. :)

Destination anyone????

I know we have a lot of time before the big day. Hell, we have a lot of time before the YEAR of the big day...but there are certain things I would like to accomplish WELL in advance. One of them? Honeymoon. Let's face it, the earlier you book, the better the deals are.
And yes, I know, I know, shouldn't be that difficult to choose a destination.  After all, it's pretty much a splurge vacation. But Matt and I have had some trouble coming up with places we would like to go. What's the issue, you ask? Most people love to do the beach thing for a honeymoon. And, for starters, I'm about as dark as an albino. Plus, I don't tan, I glow. No really, I DO. If you're next to me in the sunlight, you need sunglasses because of me...more than the sun. Yeeeeuuupp!
Soo, because of this, I'm not exactly enthralled with the idea of a tropical setting. Sure, it's fun to lay on beach, but only when you can stay in the sun longer than ten minutes. Did I mention I burn like crazy??? I drove down the canyon in my car last weekend with my arm in the sun....I now have a sunburn. That would be a fifteen minute drive. Fif-teen. Minutes. So you see, we're trying to think outside the box with this whole honeymoon thing. Does anyone have any suggestions? Where are some fun places? Where did you go on your honeymoon? We've never been on a cruise, so that would be fun. But since we've never been, I have NO clue where we should go or anything about a cruise! I would be grateful for any and all suggestions on this one. We DO have a lot of time, so there's no need to panic about scheduling it yet, but I'd like to get some ideas! :)

Pocketfolds...

Pocketfolds....who knew something soooo simple could be sooo hard (and expensive) to come by? I hadn't heard of these before a week ago. Well okay, I've SEEN them, but I had no clue what they were called, if anything. Turns out? Oh yes, these lil' buggers have a name, and they are crazy expensive to buy! Whew!

I looked at a couple of tutorials trying to find different places to order them. But, in the end, I've decided to make mine for our invitations. Yup, I'm crazy.  But we have a lot of time before the wedding, so I figure if I tackle a few here, a few there, it will be fine. *deep breath* :) Here's a picture of the trial run invite I made this week (don't judge too much, it's a rough draft). Also, please forgive the color distortion, I just quickly took these and the lighting was horrible:

The belly band will have our monogram on it for the
finished product....it's a work in progress :)

Inside. The stuff that isn't done: the invite part will be landscape
 orientation...plus there will be several insert cards.

Dry embossing. Love. :)

Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set by Stampin' Up! Sooo cute!

I have an embossing machine I will use for the rose on the end of the pocketfold. And, after much deliberation, I've decided to print the actual invitation card landscape instead of portrait orientation (so basically, it will read sideways). That was my mom's input: it will make the card more uniform since the RSVP and the other insert were printed that way. 

Anywho, I've decided to order the paper online from AnchorPaper.com.  They've given me a great quote on some metallic black paper, so that's the one I'm going with.  I'm putting in an order this week, so hopefully it will come soon, and then I'll post a tutorial with measurements, instructions, and pictures of the pocketfolds!

Monogram: How-to

This last week I created a monogram for Matt and I. I've seen several versions of this online, so this is just kind of updated tutorial. :) Here's a picture of the finished product:

Not too bad, eh? I liked the way it turned out, pretty good I think. For this, I used a simple font for the M and Kuntsler script for the A. First things first, this requires a photoshop program.  The one I used is Adobe Photoshop Elements, not sure what version. Open a new project, and I made mine about 4 x 4 inches (I ended up cropping it quite a bit). Make sure the background is set to transparent. Open a text box, select the font, and type in one letter, doesn't matter which one. Open another text box (this will open another layer) and type the other letter. Then, move one over the other, positioned the way you like. Once the image looks good, select the eyedropper option and pick up the color of one letter. Then, using the paintbrush, paint over certain areas where the letters intersect. This will make the letters intertwined. :) Once you've completed that, open a third text box and type in your first names and the date of the wedding. That's it! Not much to it! Make sure to save it in PSD form not JPG, this is important to keep the graphic quality. 

When? Where? Questions, questions, questions!!

The moment you get engaged, you are flooded with questions from family, friends, and people who you haven't talked to in years that just...come out of the woodwork! What's the date? Where's the venue? What does your dress look like? So many questions! Lucky for Matt and I, we've been to enough weddings that we had a "general" idea of what we wanted. So, here are my answers, at least the ones we have so far:

When: April 28, 2012
Colors: Teal and Green (Black and Ivory)....hence the blog :)
Where: The Cliff Lodge at Snowbird Resort (beautiful ski resort, and only twenty min. from my house!)
What dress: Well, it's chosen, but shhhh, it's secret! ;)
Whose the photographer: James Erick Photography - we're getting our engagements taken next week, I'm soooooo excited!!

Not much decided yet, I gotta get movin' on stuff! My current project is invitations....a little early you say? Well see, I'm making our invitations, so I thought I better get designing and ordering the paper...at least! I've designed a monogram for us, and I'll be finalizing the "trial run" invitation and ordering paper this week. At least, that's the plan at the moment! I'm hoping that the invitations will set the theme for the wedding decor, which I've also decided to do myself. Haha, we'll see how it goes....lord.
I'll post soon with monogram pics and instructions. :) 'Til then!

This is me.

I'm engaged to be married. I'm engaged to be MARRIED! :) 
Sometimes it seems like a dream...you know, the whirlwind of dresses, reception centers, fabrics, ribbons, cakes, flowers, the whole nine yards. I once heard a quote that weddings are performances put on by amateurs...kinda true! I have NO idea what I'm doing, and the little I do know is from friends who've gone before me. Ah! Trying to figure out measurements, looking at tons of tutorials, checklists, it can get overwhelming. I'm all about spreading the love that is DIY. :) I intend to do a lot of the wedding prep myself, and hopefully put some info out there for others. Please join me in my adventures, and feel free to ask questions! I'll do my best to answer!
So, here is my blog, my journey, and my life....as a bride! :)