Friday Gown Showdown

Jane Yeh vs. Elizabeth Fillmore in the battle of the gown with the most interesting texture...

Also, continuing on with my internet stalking of bridal photographers, check out http://margaretsinger.com/ and http://www.lovecaptures.com/ I think I'm in love... Why do they have to be from the east coast??? Daggg....

Big Pouffy Flowers

Seeing as how we are getting married in the desert, I know I should be investigating interesting succulent and cacti bouquets (and I suppose I SORT of am) but I say NO! It's not a white wedding without big pouffy flowers!

Even though lilies are by far my favorite flower, they just don't feel right for the wedding to me. In case you're wondering what particular big pouffy flowers I do have in mind, here are my absolute favorites that I am hoping to incorporate into our wedding: peonies, ranunculas, protea, sweet peas, parrot tulips, lily of the valley, anemones, and hydrangea (and gardenias, even though I know they're not pouffy). Yum!

I always thought it was silly to obsess over the florals for a wedding but now that I am planning my own wedding, searching out the perfect bouquet has become quit a pastime of mine. Here's some gorgeous ones containing the flowers I love...

The idea of paper flowers intrigues me, but these are the only ones I have found so far that don't look completely terrifyingly kindergarten kraft homemade and unfortunately they are PRICEY.

Just for fun, here's a couple with the dreaded succulents that actually look good...

Hair Dilemna

Boy do I need a haircut! I have been trying to hold out until April/May because I have so much good stuff coming up then: J's birthday, Michele's parents 50th wedding celebration, Rachel's graduation, my birthday and most importantly (for hair reasons) my friend Aimee's big day!

Whew, with all of that funness coming up, I need to get crackin on my "get finer plan" (as Lindz would say) asap. Hopefully J and I will have a photographer picked out by May and we can do our engagement photos while my hair is looking hotttttt!

These are two hair cuts I am really feeling. Although, apparently I would need to look saucy and go shirtless to really work either of these looks.

Bridalcentric Weekend Goodness

It's so much fun planning a wedding! Whenever I am bored (or Jon is playing video games and I want to sit with him but not watch grenades and snipers) I either read a bridal magazine or blog, or search the internet for wedding related vendors and ideas. What the heck do married women do all day once the wedding is over?

This weekend was very bridalcentric. On Saturday my mom and I went on our first bridal gown shopping excursion. Yay! It was so much fun and it made me feel like a REAL bride, eeek. Once they put the veil on for the first time, I definitely teared up a smidgen. I tried on pretty much every variety of dress there was from super conservative to a little too sexy. Although I did not by any means find "the dress" I definitely got a feel for what looks good on and what doesn't. My mom might have a different opinion though because (in very uncharacteristic fashion) she kept telling me everything was too revealing! I think she was having a motherly moment or two. All in all, it was a great trip but it just whetted my appetite for more dress shopping!

Continuing on with the weddingyness, today Jon and I met up with Paul and Leanne from Sargeant Photography. We really like their artsy style and we got along great with them. I think that's really important since the photographers are probable the people we will be spending the majority of our time with on our wedding day. They were very down to earth and easy to talk with and they seemed to be about our age. They showed us some of their albums of work and talked over our "vision" for our big day. It was fun. Plus we were in Santa Monica and it was gorgeous out so what more could you ask for! We are still looking around at other photographers but this was a very good starting off point for us to practice our wit and charm along with our amazing haggling skills.

I'm sure there will be more updates (than you can handle!) soon but that's all for now.

XoXoXoXo

Friday Gown Showdown

Jim Hjelm vs. Alvina Valenta in the battle of the lovely lace. Sigh... so romantic.

Finding a Photographer

YAY PHOTOS!

The photography for our wedding is definitely our number three priority (after the ceremony and having a blast with our friends and fams of course!) so we have been hemming and hawing away about who to go with. Here are the final (I think) choices in no particular order...

Anika London
I love their photos because they are all so bright and happy looking. These people know how to capture light in such a gorgeous way. Do yourself a favor and check out this link to our friends Katie and Steve's wedding photos... they used Anika London in November and we fell in love with their photos! Watch out for the tall handsome devil in all of the groomsmen shots.

http://anikalondonmedia.com/blog/?p=1621

Sargeant Photography
I love that a lot of these wedding photographers are married couples who work together. These two have a gorgeous photo in Paris on their "about us" section and here are some more of their lovely pics:




Amanda Lynn Photography
I've read some of her blog and she has a very funny personality, which I can see being a major plus on someone's wedding day. Plus I love that her pics seem very personal and emotional.



PS: I am quit obsessed with wedding photographers and while these are the few, the proud that we have narrowed down for our own big day, there are a couple more listed in the "I'm Obsessed With" section as I am, well, obsessed. Check em out.

Venue scouting in Palm Springs

Two weekends ago J and I went down to Palm Springs for our whirlwind tour of the local wedding venues. It was a very good mini-vaca that we certainly needed. Not only did we have so much fun but we also definitely narrowed down the options! Below is a small sampling of the 13 venues we toured.

We also found an amazing self-serve fro-yo place right down the street from my Gram's house that has been eluding us all these years. I'd say it was a very productive trip.

We started off looking at the Las Palmas Resort and Spa in Rancho Mirage. This hotel is certainly beautiful and its close to "The Rivers," everyone's favorite hangout.



Next we looked at the Viceroy Hotel in Palm Springs. Very pretty space, for sure, with lots of style.




On to the famed Parker Palm Springs where J just barely beat me in one serious chess match.


We loved the Colony Palms Hotel in Palm Springs and were even lucky enough to see them setting up for a wedding as we were touring. They had a neat pool/cabana area with live jazz!



We absolutely loved the Ace Hotel and Swim Club in Palm Springs. It was very artsy, everyone there was so helpful and genuinely nice, and they even allow dogs (with a dog park on the premises) so Teeny would be invited!


Besides all of those beautiful hotels, we also toured quite a few restaurants in the valley such as Le Vallauris and Spencer's in Palm Springs, and Cuistot and Bing Crosby's in Palm Desert.




All in all we certainly saw a lot that we liked. We both love Palm Springs so much. It is beautiful, fun, relaxing, there is so much to do or not do and the weather is perfect. If it doesn't work out for Palm Springs than our back-up plan is Malibu. Here's a pic from our backyard beach at Pt. Mugu. Ahhh, Malibu...

Friday Gown Showdown

Nicole Miller vs. Melissa Sweet in the battle of the interesting neckline. Oh the things you do to my (sweet)heart...