Showing posts with label advice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label advice. Show all posts

5.27.2009

Not so nervous

I suppose its a very common thing to be nervous before a wedding. After all, you are saying "I do until death do us part." (Well, those weren't our words as we "wrote/plagiarize/personalized" our own vows.... but I'll get into that later.) And there are plenty of examples where that doesn't hold true or you don't know the other person as well as you thought. And of course, there is also the fact that its going to be all eyes on you for most of the afternoon / night. Leading many to outwardly or inwardly feel like this:
But for me, I am pretty comfortable in my own skin. Would I like for that skin to be a bit more toned or tan? Sure. But, overall, I'm a pretty happy camper with myself. And all my friends and family and family-friends know me pretty well. So we've got the "center of attention" fear covered.

As far as the nervousness due to details and things going wrong, I had a wedding coordinator that I trusted. I had done all my planning and decisions, it was her job to pull it all off. I am sure some things went wrong, its just bound to happen. I only knew of one snafu and when someone came to me with it, I tossed up my hands and said "not my problem go find the wedding coordinator". Part of that level of comfort and relaxation was because I trusted her so, and part of it was that I knew the wedding would still happen if the programs got lost, or if the centerpieces were goofed or whatever else. As much effort went into those details, there were still that, details. Small details that many would overlook anyway, and while beautiful and full of heart, wouldn't affect the outcome of the day.

I am by NO means a perfectionist. (If you click forward to 3:48 you'll see Charlotte's freakout about a perfect wedding.)

Long shot, reach for the stars and don't stop 'til you get there drive and stubbornness - sure, thats me. As long as it isn't work related, close enough is fine by me. Its a shade or two off? Who'll notice? We are 10 programs short? No one here bites (besides me), they can share! The words weren't perfect? Am I getting graded on this? When small things go off plan my first response tends to be something along the lines of "So?" or "Oh well" or "there was a strict plan?" My mother actually sat me down for a serious talk a few days before the wedding. Her "we need to talk" mode freaked me out more than anything. She very calmly let me know that while she didn't yet know specifics, things would indeed go wrong. Falling short of perfection shouldn't ruin my day. It just might rain and there is nothing we can do about it, etc. At this point I felt like I was in the twilight zone. I kept looking behind me wondering if she was really talking to me. I suppose my mom was afraid of me having a freakout like Charlotte did in the above video, but that is soo not me. I sat there wondering if the speech was for me or for her. I reminded her that we chose the venue in a good part because of the really good rain back up plan and the stress-free manner in which it could be implemented if need be. At one point she said she had looked at the weather report and was sorry, but it might rain. My reaction was, "Why, is it your fault? Cause if it is - THEN I'd be pissed!" To say that I am flexible is an understatement... you'd think that would make wedding planning easier. Oh, the irony! Anyway... back to my nerves, or lack thereof.

And then there is the kicker cause for truly being nervous, saying "I do." [Again, not our actual words... but for another post.] Was I nervous for it? Honestly, no. I was lucky enough not to loose sight of the marriage for the wedding. This wasn't a decision that I was nervous about. I couldn't even begin to count how many people asked if I was nervous. When I said "nope" it never failed that I got that look that said "Yeah, right. Every bride is nervous." It actually really began to annoy me. I kept wanting to respond with a "You obviously don't know me, or us, and you should feel free to keep your cynical face to yourself. "

This is my WEDDING! I was excited for it. This was the moment when before God, beloved friends, and all kinds of family, we would officially start our lives together. And then after, there was going to be one hell of a party! What could be better?

This is me, dancing to some wonderfully cheesy sing-a-long, a la "Heaven on Earth" or "Livin on a Prayer". Nervous, notsomuch. If anything I kept having to be scolded and reminded to be serious. We were having a damn good time and this was just the beginning.

12.16.2008

I Can't Get No, Satisfaction

This is actually one of my favorite pictures from a reception. Obviously, not that its an amazing photo or anything (I took it with my little point and shoot). Its just a couple of people I know, dancing and having a good time... and wait... whats that red thing on his head?

Oh yeah! Its his tie!! The band was rocking and playing satisfaction and they were having a good time and really getting in to it. I really hope to end up with a shot of a bunch of guys with ties on their heads at our wedding. Mental note - add Satisfaction to play list.

This was the wedding of the son of a woman my mother and I know from church. My Dad was off sailing in the Caribbean, and Adam was flying, so Momma Duck and I went together.

Aren't we cute? :)
We had a good time, but there were a lot of things from this wedding we will be trying not to repeat. A quick rundown of lessons learned:
  • Uber short ceremony
  • Bar Blockade
  • No assigned tables
  • Tables outside in the 30 degree weather
  • Food outside in the 30 degree weather
  • No utencils
  • Tables scattered inside and out and we never saw the bride and groom or toasts or cake cutting or anything
Many people talk about making the ceremony short and sweet and moving on to the celebration part! I was so getting on board with this way of thinking. Until this wedding. Everyone knew it was a small church and seating might be a problem, so we got there 20 minutes early and got some of the last seats. We talked with others in the pews and then the wedding began...i blinked... and then it was over. Wait - what? Did I fall asleep? I checked my Mom's watch and found out that 15 minutes was it! I felt like I had missed a step... or 5. So while the notion of short and sweet is nice, in practice it left all the guests thinking "I got here 20 minutes early, the ceremony was only 15 minutes long... I was waiting longer than I was watching the wedding!"

Then we moved on to the reception, which was a beautiful old hotel. I don't know if more people RSVP'd "yes" than they expected, or if this was teh way they planned it, but there were two large dining rooms of tables, tables in the bar, and tables outside ... and it was 30 degrees outside. I quickly noticed that not only were there no seat assignments, the tables weren't labeled, so there would be no escort cards either.

We quickly pounced on a table in the bar with a few friends from church, as others were wandering around trying to decide where they were supposed to go. The bar also had terrible traffic patterns so while most of the bar was empty, you had to wait 20 minutes to get in the door unless you knew you could go around the outside. Maybe it was just ebcause we were in the bar, but we never saw or heard toasts or cake cutting, or the bride and groom. We were, however, near a TV so we watched some football, drank, and danced to the music of the band. It was any other evening at a bar with some friends. Oh, and the food was set up outside in the 30 degree weather, and they ran out of utincels... so I ate with my fingers. But other than all that, the band was great, and we had fun dancing. It was just a large lesson learned in things I'd like to do differently.

Anyone else care to share lessons learned?

10.08.2008

Goin back to Cali

Ok. Really, it's my first time to Los Angeles (outside of LAX anyway)... but am I the only one who still gets LLCoolJ in my head?


:-) Sorry, couldn't resist.

I will be in LA for the remainder of this week, and the beginning of the next. I'll be visiting with bridesmaid *K (aka Minnie Mouse),
(Bridesmaid *K, Stitch, and Me at DW a few years ago)

house hunting, hoping to talk my way into UCLA grad program, and of course - going to Disney Land!Who would have thought LLCoolJ and Disneyland would be in the same post?

Anyway, this obviously means that blogging will PROBABLY be limited. (I saw probably because I am taking my computer and who knows?) But just for fun... look what will be coming up soon!!
My Foot, with *A's too small for my foot barefoot sandal!

I made bridesmaid *A 's barefoot sandals last weekend! And this time I took pictures so I can post a how-to DIY!!! AND....

3 of the 5 bridesmaids dresses arrived yesterday!! I go to see them in T minus 1 hour!!!! I'll take pictures and post a review of the dresses and the shop I've been dealing with.

Stay tuned!

But in the mean time.... stalk THIS blog.. I just love it!

Any LA advice or must-see's as an intro to the city? (I will be moving there this winter, so it's not imperative that I see and do it all now... but advice and suggestions always welcomed!!)

8.18.2008

Engagment Photo Tips

Ahh the wonder of the bridal blog world. I followed someone else's picture to Allebach Photography and then started scrolling through the older blog entries when i found this little gem of info...

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Aug 1, 2008

10 Hot Tips for Engagement Photography

We get many questions about Engagement Photography. Like what do I wear, where do you recommend and what is it like. We list 10 tips and answer a few questions about engagement photography on our handy dandy new pdf: 10 Hot Tips for your Engagement Photos. In the pdf we talk about what to wear. Over the last year we are thinking about implementing a "no khaki pants policy" when people ask engagement session - what to wear. What do you think? Should we let people wear khaki pants instead of jeans for the engagement session?



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Happy Monday!

8.12.2008

Dresstastic Drama!

I thought about making yall wait for the dress photos through a couple of potentially boring posts about my weekend accomplishments.... but I am not that patient a person and want to share about my pretty dress!!! Ok, thats really all the drama this post contains; that I almost teased yall with other posts first.
MY DRESS ROCKS!!!!!!
Must I point out that from here on down is an Adam-free zone??
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*OK - are we Adam free now?
Good. So, quick reminder. I ordered my dress from Casablanca and I can't brag enough about this company. You can piece together any aspect (bodice style, bodice detailing (lace or whatever), skirt, neckline (with specified inches!), back line (with specified inches!), SKIRT LENGTH!) at almost no extra cost. (SIDE NOTE: I HATE their online/magazine photos. I saw my base dress -style 1892 - in the mag and said I thought it was ugly.... someone else had to point out it was actually my dress!!! Lesson Learned: DON'T go by magazine pictures!)

So, without further ado...

TA DA!!!

See how its kinda buckling a little between the bodice and the shoulder straps? Yeah, umm - I lost an inch on my waist since we ordered it so now it sits just a little too low. So my beautiful dress will be headed to a seamstress for fitting. Whoops.

LOVE LOVE LOVE that we added that V to the back. Its just enough to be a little fun without giving structural issues.

Me and the Momma Duck. There is one of one of my bridesmaids and I (woohoo for luck of her coming into town this particular weekend) but I have yet to get my mother to email it to me.

I wasn't annoyed I was just talking! And no, that is not necessarily my head bling.


So, we got home (we = mom +me) and she decided to touch up her hair... which gave me a couple minutes of down time... so I put my dress back on! And it turns out.. my cat is a fan.

Curious Kitty.

Confused Kitty.

Yuppers - thats my dress. Whatcha think?

Anyone else hate the magazine photos of a dress they loved?

Anyone else put their dress back on anytime they had at least 2 minutes down time?? I DID!!! In 1 weekend I put that dress on at least 8 times. =D

6.26.2008

Not-so-Detail Oriented Bride

We (I) interrupt this wedding locale choosing train of thought to bring you fantastic advice. I'll get back to my locale choosing in just a few...
Via An Excited Bride, I read this article that I believe every person to get engaged should read. In today's world of color coordination, DIY details, and magazine worthy wedding photography, its easy to miss the forest for all the trees surrounding you. None of these things are bad. DIY is a great chance to figure out what you can do and create! (or sometimes it leads to the discovery of why professionals charge so darn much for it!) Details can really pull an entire room together. But getting lost in those details - notsomuch. While no one intends it, sometimes everyone needs a little reality check kick-in-the-pants reminders of how to make it a truly great celebration. Sometimes it needs to be from a loved one, and sometimes it needs to be from a complete stranger. But nothing makes me laugh and gets the point across quite like this article. My favorite line: "As my caterer likes to say, your bridesmaids' dresses do not need to match the linens unless you plan to use the bridesmaids as centerpieces. (Hey! It could cut your flower bill.)" :)


Anyone else get the immediate idea o
f calling your bridesmaids and tell them your grand new money saving idea!??! Or am I the only one who loves messing with my friends to see the reaction?

(image courtesy of Health Literacy Innovations)


Next Stop- wedding planing train gets back on its tracks and picks a city!