Fashionista in Training

My little sissy is darn cute. No, seriously, you have never seen cuter. And what's more, she loves shopping! For dresses! Pink dresses! Now you know we we're related...

I'm certain she will be the most adorable flower girl of all time. She has yet to find the dress for the big day, but shopping, as we all know, is in itself an artform. See for yourself:

The only other time I have seen such sheer joy on little lady's face was upon meeting and hugging both Belle and Minnie Mouse at Disneyland (and you know kids are bonkers for Disney) at which time she visibly shook with happiness. It looked a whole lot like this photo below. Have you ever seen anyone more excited to be wearing tulle? Doubt it.

Then again, you haven't seen the pics of me in my wedding gown yet...

Jonathon Bought a Suit

It's so exciting! He won't be waiting for me at the end of the aisle in boardshorts... Hoorah.

This is not the suit, his is a lighter charcoal grey, but by the same designer. He is going to look HOT! Oh yea. The suit is supposed to be in to Nordstrom by February... gulp. Here's hoping it is perfect because that is cutting it awfully close. Send good vibes. No boardshorts... no boardshorts... no boardshorts...

PS: My dress and veil are waiting to be tried on and hopefully taken home this Friday. If nothing else, we will both be clothed on our big day! YESSSSSSS.

More Old Photos!

This super-genius plan of mine to make an old school photo scrapbook for our wedding guests to sign from photos that they send to me is turning out beautifully. Three people down, 82 to go!

These beauties came from my Aunt Debby. That's her in the exceptionally fashion-forward ruffly swimsuit. I think that look is actually quite trendy right now! Way to be hot Auntie! And her son Alex, my cousin, is sittin pretty between my bro and I in the second pic.

Loving the Oshkosh and the blue and pink onesies. We. Are. Bad. Ass. I think it's clear Tilda Swinton fashioned her entire esoteric look, from the hair to the monochrome rompers, direct from this very photo of me. You're welcome Tilda.

Thank you Aunt Debby!

PS: 110 days till the wedding!!!

Homeward Bound

It's raining here in LA and all I want to do is curl up and cozy down.

What's makes a wedding cozily romantic? When it feels personal and intimate. Need some inspirational ways to add that homey touch?

How about a gorgeous lace, lily and rose two-tier cake that's almost too pretty to eat? A front-porch display of wine and candy apple parting gifts for you guests? Just add an explosion of rust-colored hydrangea and the guest will be drooling all the way home. Maybe fabric bunting flags to mark your table numbers? I know! Pie, lots and lots of pie.

Loving these very autumnal romantic bits from the blogosphere...

Friday Gown Showdown: Honeymoon Edition

All of this wedding planning makes me want to escape to my happy place. I'm not sure about you, but my happy place involves the beach or pool by day, mojitos or margaritas by night and cute dresses that can be worn with sandals all the time. With all of the wedding plan hiccups I faced this month, I am starting to understand why brides turn into bridezillas, and why that whole honeymoon thing is so popular.

Trina Turk has a very lovely boutique in Palm Springs so she is the absolute perfect designer for breezy Palm Springs-esque honeymoon (or rehearsal dinner) dresses. Below, the Zinnia dress, Bonita dress, Coachella dress and Decadence dress. Eat your heart out El Paseo.



Having more of a St. Bart's glam-type honeymoon? Lucky! These BCBG Max Azria gowns are just dressed up enough but still beachy chic.


We are in Palm Springs this weekend meeting with our priest, doing our tasting, scouting rehearsal dinner sites, sniffing some flowers, checking out hair salons and having a merry time! Full report when we return.

Sparse Succulent Tablescapes

OK, I really don't want to complain to you about the torture that is finding reputable and service-minded vendors for our wedding, but alas, it has come to that. I have been having issue with finding legit Palm Springs area florists that don't think they are working with Oprah's budget. What is that?

In this economy, you would think florists would understand that flowers are a complete luxury. Granted, they are a luxury that I am seeking whole-heartedly... I just wish the word "wedding" didn't automatically cause the bottom line of a cost proposal to quadruple. You know? I think I am going to start telling people I need decorations for my "church group" and see what the amounts look like in comparison.

We have two meetings this upcoming weekend with Palm Springs florists, so hopefully all goes well. Thus far, it is looking like the world just really wants J and me to have a sparse reception in a flowerless loft-style rectangle of concrete, cement and glass.

Not bad, but not exactly elegant...

Would a flower-less wedding be the end of the world? Obviously not, but if I'm honest, it feels kind of lousy... In reality, I know that a) it will all work out like it is meant to and b) the part that matters is the ceremony and the togertherness and I am not concerned about that in the least.

Plus, I have found these pics that are making me feel much better...

This couple has a way more industrial look going on at their reception site than we do, and look how stoked they are to be going in to party. I mean there's like scaffolding as decor and these people are ready to rock. This is great perspective for me. I know that no matter what the reception looks like, it is going to feel amazing to have everyone in one spot. I just want it to both look and feel amazing and to not go crazy in the meantime. Is that so much to ask?

Also, one of the pluses of serving dinner family style is that there is less need for over the top floral centerpieces. A lovely runner and some potted succulents and these folks (who were married in Joshua Tree) were good to go. Really simple and organic looking, just lovely.

Also and in addition to... my amazing bridesmaid Aimee volunteered to make us some gorgeous luminaries that will both beautifully dress up our reception site and add a personal touch. I think the site will look very different at night, and the candlelight will be very romantic and soft. So no need to panic, right?

OK, whew... I just needed to talk myself out of that one. I think I'm OK again. I'll let you know after the weekend...

Old Photos in My Inbox Make Me Happy

If there was a job that was simply "look through old photos, mess around with them in Photoshop, and make things like books out of the photos" I would be a bazillionaire. Because I am industrious when it comes to that stuff. I don't want to give away all of our secret wedding surprises, but what the heck...

For our wedding guest book I wanted to incorporate all of our guests, you know, the ones the book is named after. So I have asked all of our invitees to email us a few old school pics of us and them which I am going to Blurb (or use some other fantastical photobook generator) into a fantastical book! I also secretly am using this tactic to get as many cute pics of my fiance as possible, since I haven't seen that many of him as a kid (before the age of 14 when we met anyhow... awe!).

I didn't, however, really realize the burden of this little project would fall directly on the moms, but so far the only responses to my request for pictures have been, "I'm sure your mom has a good one of us somewhere" ;) That's ok... She does. And so does my Future Mother in Law. And so does my awesome Stepmom who took the project on in full-force and has started scanning old photo albums in their entirety and emailing them to me! YES.

How cute is my family?! OLD SCHOOL!


Thanks Shells ;)

I know this project is kind of asking a lot from our guests but I am so stoked about it. It will get finished in the long run I know, I was just hoping I could get it done in a shorter run.

Just Like Frodo

The parts of planning our wedding that make me the happiest are parts that I usually don't post up here on the ol' blog. For example: all the discussions with Mr. Fiance about being an old married couple, my wedding gown (which just makes me beyond giddy), and all of the awesome convos with friends and family about the wedding.

I talked with my little brother on the phone today. He is 9, but will be turning 10 a week before our wedding. He is also our ring bearer. I asked him if he knew what his job would be during the wedding and he answered, "Yea, I'm just like Frodo, only the rings aren't evil!"


And that my friends, is what makes this girl an extremely happy bride. Not the flowers, or the cake, or the invites, or the dress (OK I lied, the dress totally makes me happy) but the part where the wedding gives us reason to bring everyone important to me and J to one place to just celebrate. Also, apparently, it gives us an excuse to expel evil from Middle-Earth... or something.