Barrister Bride

so many projects...so little time

2011-04-19T15:59:00.005-04:00

Today was my very last day of class...EVER!! Like, seriously, I am officially both a JD and an LLM! TWO graduates degrees under my belt...how did that happen!!?!

ok. well. not "officially." I still have to finish my thesis, submit one paper and take a final...but I'm oh-s0-close. Once I'm done with that I can FINALLY focus on the wedding.

Speaking of which, I am getting married in ONE MONTH!!!! WOOOHOOOOOOOO.

As a little celebration, today after class, I decided to stop by a great little antique store on my way home. Here's what I picked up:

As usual, I made a impulse vintage purchase and now I'm wonder, what should I do with them!?!?Originally, I was thinking I could use them under the centerpieces but I don't think I'll be able to get nearly enough. Then I was considering using them on the dessert table under the cake stands and such. Then, since I don't have enough on my plate (*note the sarcasm), I thought I should MAKE something! Of course, why not?

How great is this?

{Made it}
While cutting them in half would allow me to get more bang for my buck, I don't feel great about cutting apart vintage handmade doilies. The owner spent 20 minutes telling me about all the places her (recently deceased) mother bought each and every one of these doilies! I just wouldn't feel right cutting them in half.

So the search continued and I found this:

Emily O /Elizabeth Anne Designs}

According to the DIY tutorial, you just have to iron and starch the doilies a little to get them to hang without flopping all over the place. This certainly seems like a viable option. It's a simple DIY project that doesn't complete destroy the doilies.

Best of all, when I told the owner I needed a small one to try and make a ring pillow, she threw this one in for free! She said "for luck and a great marriage."

I was thinking I could just get some linen/burlap and make a little pillow and then stitch the doily onto the pillow. Then I found this:

{Soda Pop Design}

It's a DIY doily ring bowl! Granted the tutorial is in German but if you just stick the link into google translate its totally DO-ABLE! Unfortunately the doily I have isn't great for this but I thought the tutorial was so great that I just had to share. PLEASE someone make thisand tell me how it goes. Even if I can't make this for my own wedding, its a great present for future weddings and so adorable.

Does anyone have any great doily inspiration they can share?! I need something easy that I can do with only a handful of doilies.

A lovely lounge

2011-04-15T05:40:00.008-04:00

I've been doing A LOT of vintage posts recently. From my love for vintage mismatched plates to my obsession with vintage hankies, I've been vintage crazy! Now as a change of pace I want to talk about my Cake & Champagne reception.

As you may recall, we will be having an early morning wedding. Originally, I wanted to get married at sunrise (it's been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember) but we decided to spare my guests the agony of waking up at 5am.... sooooo we are having the wedding at 9. (I know, I know... but the invites are out so it's happening at 9!) After getting married down on the beach, the guests will join us back at the villa for an amazing brunch!

One of the common complaints about brunch weddings is that people can't really "party" at 11am! After much thought, we decided to also host a Cake & Champagne reception in the evening. At first we were going to do it in the main living-room but the space seemed like it may be too large for our group and there is something so special about dancing under the stars, so we decided to take it upstairs! If you remember the rooftop terrace at the villa, we've decided to hire a dj and turn that area into a lovely dance/lounge space.

This is what the space looks like:

{Punto de Vista - Facebook}

We are going to rent a clear tent, rent some great white furniture and hang ribbon and candles in the space. We are also trying to get our wedding logo screen-printed on some throw pillows to add color to the space.

The great thing about the villa is that there are already lots of throw pillows and great white furniture at the house. So hopefully we'll be able to get away with renting just one or two pieces and just screen printing a dozen pillowcases or so. (Plus, I'll be able to take the pillowcases home!)

These three photos are the inspiration for the space:

{KT Merry via Style Me Pretty}
{Jasmine Star via Style Me Pretty}
{Mel Barlow + Allan Zepeda via i love swmag}
Later I'll talk about the great desserts and late-night snacks we have planned! After all, it wouldn't be a late-night lounge with out late-night bar foods, right!?!?

What do you think? Do you think my guests will love it or think its a little self-indulgent to invite them BACK for more festivities?

To love and to cherish: vintage hankies

2011-04-06T05:47:00.015-04:00

{Melissa Musgrove via Marry You Me}
First of all, I want to apologize for my absence the last few days. That being said my wedding is NEXT MONTH!!

In the last month, I have been in Spain, France, Belgium, and Germany. Along the way I've collected a number of great little trinkets to include in our big day. I'll blog about all the great stuff I've picked up but today I just want to talk about vintage hankies!

Much like the rest of the blogosphere, I am head over heels in love with vintage handkerchiefs.
I've been picking up handkerchiefs at flea markets across Europe at around $0.25-$0.50 a piece!

Here are some of my favs!

{Personal Photo}
Last weekend, I also picked up three handmade lace embroidered hankies in Brugge, the lace capital of the world.

{Personal Photo}
This one is for my bridal bouquet. Since it's all white I'll probably use some twine or pink ribbon to add some texture and color.

{Personal Photo}
I picked these up for mama Pancakes and my FMIL . I am considering getting them embroidered with our wedding date but they are so sweet already, that I may just leave them alone!

Now that I have all these lovely floral hankies, I have to decide what to do with them. I originally thought I would take the traditional route and put them in a basket for my guests, much like our very own Mrs. Cheeseburger.

{Mrs. Cheeseburger/Photographer: Jessica Ames}

But then I began to have second thoughts. This may sound a little selfish but hear me out. One of the reasons I am reconsidering the hankies in a basket option is because I am not sure that many people will appreciate having a vintage hankie. On the other hand, I would LOVE to own 30 vintage hankies. I would use them all the time! The less selfish version: I really want to give my guests favors/gifts that they will not just appreciate but enjoy and cherish. So I am thinking perhaps I should use the hankies for something else.

Here's a great way to present these hankies as gift to your bridesmaids. Lauren's blog has a complete tutorial on how to put together these sweet little gifts.

{Lauren Elise Crafted}

Now if you've been on the wedding blog circuit from awhile you will recognize this next picture. I mean, who doesn't love Dani, from Oh hello Friend! Not to mention the gorgeousness that is Simply Bloom (and if you don't know what I'm talking about, you should probably head over and check out both their blogs. After you finish reading this blogpost, of course. :D)

{Simply Bloom via 100 Layer Cake}

Point is, a vintage handkerchief banner could be soooo perfect. Imagine it hanging over a dessert table with a gorgeous cake and lots of baked goodies piled high on perfect little vintage cake stands!

I think I prefer the triangle look but the squares with the clothespins also has a certain rustic sweetness to it. I image this option would photograph really well at an outdoor wedding with a slight breeze. Doesn't that sound to die for?

{Jill Thomas via Style Me Pretty}

Then there are these less traditional uses which I don't love as much but I thought I'd share!

{Once Wed via Fill Your Well}

{For a DIY tutorial check out: Skip to my Lou}

Last but not least, here are some great things I could do with the hankies after the wedding.

Wouldn't a vintage hankie quilt make the best wedding memento?

{Etsy: Mary McCulty's Design Shop}

{Poppytalk}

What do you think? How would you put these vintage lovelies to use? What other options did I miss?

L.A. Times

2011-04-06T05:03:00.004-04:00

A few months ago, my FMIL mentioned that she had found "the perfect" MOTG dress, but with a price tag of $3800, it was way outside her budget. I also vaguely remember her mentioning something about writing a letter to a "fashion expert" to ask for advice.

Yet, no one was more surprised than I was to see this letter featured in the L.A. Times Image Section:

Dear Ms. Magsaysay,
My beloved son is getting married in May, and my taste in dresses exceeds my bank account.

I have attached a photo of two dresses I really like. They are similar in many ways. The photo on the left has more than one dress -- I am interested in the one in the middle, which I have marked in the photo, but those dresses cost upward of $3,000.

As mother of the groom I am told not to wear white or off-white, and not to wear the color of the mother of the bride which is, I think, kind of a soft purple, maybe called mauve. The bridesmaids are wearing a pink, soft. I hate pink so that is out. I kind of want some shade of mauve. Too bad for the rules I guess. Since we are having a destination wedding (Costa Rica) and I am a teacher, the lower the better for cost...less than 300. Is there hope? My hope is for a dress with a vintage '20s look.

Click here to read more.

Let's dish about mistmatched vintage dishes

2011-03-20T11:59:00.000-04:00

{Source: Etsy -$108}

Mr. and I are soon-to-be homeless. Right now, we live in an adorable one-bedroom in the center of Amsterdam, overlooking a lovely canal filled with swans and ducks, but come May 2nd we are HOMELESS! The reason I am telling you all this is because I LOVE vintage plates. I am head over heels obsessed with vintage plates. BUT, since we don't have a home, we really aren't in a position to accept a lot of traditional gifts. We literally have no idea where we'll be from May - October but chances are that we'll be living out of suitcases and a storage unit. That being said, we have to be careful about what we buy and what we register for.

One of the most amazing things about living in Amsterdam is the proliferation of antique stores! I spend at least 4 hours a week just wondering through all these trinket-filled stores, running my hands over everything.

So here's what I've decided. I would love a set of small mismatched vintage plates of my very own. I know other Bees have blogged about this in the past, but I can't help it. Is it just me? Is this just a passing fad?

{Source}

{Source}

{Source}
{Source}

There are really two issues at play here. One, I want mismatched vintage plates at my wedding. and two, I want vintage plates of my very own.

1. For the Wedding

I did a little research and it looks like there are dozens of UK based companies that rent vintage plates, and only a handful based in the U.S., and NONE that ship internationally (understandably).

This means there is virtually no way I'll be having vintage plates at my wedding. :(

2. For me

Although I'm strongly considering collecting my own vintage plates over the next few weeks and shipping them back to the U.S. myself. I recently stumbled across Antiquaria, an amazing online vintage home goods store. I immediately added half of their plates, cake stands and tea cups to my registry. For instance, how amazing is this 5 piece china place setting?!?

{Source}

So even though my wedding may have to be "vintage plate-less," perhaps my home won't!

Do you still love mismatched vintage plates? What about other places to register for vintage China?

Planning a mini-moon

2011-03-19T01:00:00.000-04:00

{Source}
As everyone knows, one of the best things about having a destination wedding is getting to have wedding and honeymoon at the same time. Unfortunately, Mr. and I will not be able to enjoy Costa Rica or the post-wedding glow the way we had hoped. As it is, my graduation from law school is the Monday before the wedding and I start bar review classes 3 days after the wedding. So, we decided that we'll do our honeymoon after I take the Bar at the end of July. At that point we'll be able to take 2-3 weeks to travel to some exotic location like Bali, South Africa or the Maldives.

However, that doesn't mean we can't take a mini-moon! With all the stress of moving back to NYC from Amsterdam, getting ready for the wedding, graduating from law school and getting married, we figure we'll need a few days before we get back on another plane. It would be just 3 days/2 nights to reconnect as husband and wife, and enjoy the post-wedding glow.

I know a lot of ladies have honeymooned in Costa Rica so I thought I should share and get some feedback!

These are my top three choices:

1. Hanging in the Tree Haus at Rancho Pacifico

{Rancho Pacifico}
Perched on a platform 20 feet above the ground and amongst the treetops, the treehaus hideaways offer seclusion, tranquility and an up and close experience with our extensive and pristine tropical rainforest environment.
Why we love this place? A great place to unwind after the big weekend and prepare to dive back into life in NYC.
Price: $450/night

2.Glamping it up at Rafiki Safari Lodge

{Rafiki Safari Lodge}
Rafiki is a wilderness luxury tent camp and conservation project focusing on adventurous sustainable tourism. The spacious luxury tents were imported from South Africa. The lodge is nestled on 842 acres of pristine jungle along the Savegre River, 30 km south of Quepos and Manuel Antonio in Costa Rica.

Why we love this place? This place has amazing reviews. We would be able to go white water rafting come back to a unique location and enjoy the natural beauty of Costa Rica.
Price: $282 for 2 person tent/$4oo for honeymoon suite

Since our flight leaves early in the morning on the 24th we are planning on doing our last night in San Jose.

{Finca Rosa Blanca}
We are looking at Finca Rosa Blanca Coffee Plantation and Inn, which is is an organic shade grown coffee plantation right outside of San Jose. At the Inn, guests are encouraged to participate in the picking, processing and roasting of Finca Rosa Blanca coffee. What could be more amazing than enjoying fresh organic homegrown coffee IN Costa Rica?
Price: 250/night

The truth is, there are LOTS of cheaper options at equally gorgeous boutique hotels. The thing about us Pancakes, is that we love adventures. It wouldn't be a honeymoon without a little Costa Rican adventure thrown in. It just doesn't seem right to stay at a Marriott or a Hilton when we could stay at a family-owned (luxury) coffee plantation instead!

So, what do you think? How did you decide where to 'moon? What were you looking for romance? adventure? relaxation?

Day of Silence

2011-03-17T12:48:00.005-04:00

Like many of you, I am heartbroken by the situation in Japan. Tomorrow will be a day of silence on the blogosphere in respect for the devastation in Japan. Take the time to reflect for those who have lost loved ones, who have lost their home and pray for them.

Blogger’s join me in silence and all the other blogs tomorrow for Japan with Love.

You are cordially invited...

2011-03-15T10:26:00.012-04:00

First of all, I have to say that I have the BEST bridesmaid in the world. (you may remember her from my save the dates.) So before I moved to Amsterdam in January, I went to her house in Stamford, Connecticut and dropped off my HUGE box of wedding crap.

Since then she's been working like a busy busy bee to get my invitations out on time and they finally went out last week. Let's just take a moment to appreciate how amazing my bridesmaid truly is... this is what her coffee table drawer looked like for weeks:

If you remember, I was inspired to do boxed invitations. The first thing we did was finish the invitations. Then we had to order boxes. I looked at a number of places but finally settled on Uline because they were they only place that had the dimensions I wanted (9 x 7.5 x 3). Since we got kraft boxes instead of fancy colored boxes, they were only $0.60 a box.

Without further ado, here are my invitations:

Now piece by piece. We decided to go with three pieces. First, the map. I hand drew the map and L scanned it into her computer (did some magic fancy desiger things). We decided to print the maps on vellum and finished it off with a little twine.

We also included handmade luggage tags. I bought the linen and ironed on the "stamp." My sisters added the grommets, my mom sewed the corners into angles for me, I added the strings, Mr. P cute all the little plastic squares and L used her machine to sew the squares on. (If I have time, I'll put together a proper DIY post!)

For our RSVP cards, I ordered these great pre-cut cards from Envelopper Inc. Best thing about Enveloper is that they have free shipping for all orders over $50. So I also ordered the pink tissue paper and label paper from them! Since we are living in Amsterdam, we decided to do our RSVPs online. It was just too expensive to include postage to Amsterdam, and was seemed like a bad plan to have the RSVPs sent to anyone else.

We sealed the pink tissue paper with a little pink vintage label. I got the template from iDIY and added the words "Pura Vida" across the top. Our wedding date along the middle and our names along the bottom.

The last thing we did was order this great return label stamp. I designed the stamp myself and then L had it made up at a place across the street from her apartment. It cost around $10.

So that's it. Ta-da... Our wedding invitations! It was sooooo much more work than I could have ever anticipated but it was definitely worth it. One of the things about having a wedding planner is I feel like I don't get to DO that much. It's a lot of decision making via email or skype. Plus I've gotten a lot of great feedback which doesn't hurt! :D

How much "work" were your invitations? Was it worth it??

Ringbearer Book

2011-02-22T23:51:00.001-05:00

As usual, my daily blog run-through has got my wheels turning. While I know I don't need any additional projects on my plate, I saw this precious Ringbearer book for sale on Ruffled and it got me thinking.

{Source}
I thought it was such a precious idea and both Mr. and I LOVE to read. He's a huge sci-fi, fantasy nerd... a la Ender's Game, The Golden Compass,and don't forget comic books!! I, on the other hand, am a huge romantic, and have a soft spot for the classics...Jane Eyre, and Little Women. We tend to pass books back and forth a lot but there is one book in particular that has really touched our hearts, "You Shall Know Our Velocity." First of all, how AWESOME is the name of the book. I think it pretty much sums up our life motto! The 2002 Dave Egger novel is about two wayward friends who go on a journey around the world with the intention of just blowing through $80,000 by arbitrarily giving to people they decide are most deserving... on the way they do things like battle bears and practice jumping from tree to tree while 20 feet in the air. THIS IS SO OUR LIFE!

Plus look at how awesome the cover of the book is. The book actually starts on the front cover:

{Source}

So I'm figuring we could DIY some sort of vow book, which would serve as the vehicle for transporting our vows safely from the US to Costa Rica and down the aisle. We could wrap it up all pretty in lace and ribbon.

While I was writing this post, I saw a post about Ruby Lane:

{Source}

Ruby Lane is an e-commerce website that is designed to bring buyers and sellers of vintage everything together, online. They have quite a selection of vintage books but they don't all come cheap. (They also have a great selection of vintage jewelry, if your looking!)

{Source} If you can't find the perfect book, you can always just make it! This couple put together this adorable book cover for their e-session but I'm sure with a little brainstorming it could be a cute book cover for other occasions.

I know people have done a lot of cool stuff with books. I really really love this book so I don't want to cut it up or take out pages but I would love to incorporate this lovely book into our big day.

Anyone else love this book? Anyone use an important book on your big day?

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T05:07:00.005-05:00

{Source}
In honor of Valentine's day I thought I would get a little sappy. After all there is nothing better than celebrating valentine's day when you actually have someone you love to celebrate with.

To the man I love and my very bestest friend, I dedicate a poem.

i carry your heart with me
(i carry it in my heart)
i am never without it
(anywhere i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear no fate
(for you are my fate,my sweet)
i want no world
(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart
(i carry it in my heart)
-E.E.Cummings

I heart you and I can't wait to marry you!

Happy Valentine's Day to all the lovebirds out there!

I miss summer

2011-02-10T12:21:00.003-05:00

{Etsy via Lovely Cluster}

I miss summer. OMG... I miss summer. Let's be honest, at this point, I just miss the sun! Turns out she doesn't make much of appearance here in Amsterdam during the winter months.

This is really the longest I've ever gone without tropical weather. Last winter, Mr. and I went to Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic and the year before we went to Miami and Mexico. This year we didn't go anywhere because we are saving for the wedding and the we had the big move...Let's just say I am in desperate need of my Vitamin D, but since I can't afford to fly to the tropics I've decided to spend my days shopping for the perfect wedding weekend swimwear.

In order to avoid bridal bikini lines, I've decided that a strapless bikini would be the best option. I'm totally obsessed with Vix and love everything I've bought from them but it's always super on sale. There is something about Brazilian swimwear designers that really speaks to me. I also adore Californian swimwear. I don't know that much about flowers, dresses, make-up or shoes but when it comes to swimwear... I am totally in the know.

1. Something Bridal a.k.a.white - I love white swimwear but always worry about transparency.

{Vix- $99}

2. Something tropical - I love mix and matched swim wear. I love bright colors and I LOOOOVE prints.

{Vix -Top $49;Bottom $50}

Here are some more budget friendly options:

{ASOS- Top $27.58; Bottom $20.69}

{Victoria's Secret- $38}

Don't forget an adorable cover-up!! How cute is this ?

{Vix-$99}

Anyone else missing the summer sun?? What are some other great budget swimwear stores I should consider?

Presenting....My dress!!!

2011-02-08T20:17:00.005-05:00

After much debate, I have decided to post my dress.

Ok... well, kind of.

It's not me, its just other people in my dress.

*** I'm serious Mr.! if you are reading this, continue at your own risk!***

So here it is:

{Christine Farah via Ruffled}
{Christine Farah via Ruffled}
{Source}
{Source}
How fabulous is it! I heart it.

At first I hated seeing other people in my dress... It made it feel less special somehow, but now I love it! I love seeing the way it looks in different context, on different brides, and at very different weddings.

Do you stalk your dress? How does it make you feel to see it on other brides?

Help!... What are these flowers?

2011-02-02T05:26:00.001-05:00

{Source}

After months and months of looking at flowers, I'm FINALLY beginning to get it! Flowers can certainly be lovely. I have previously posted about my love for (aka obsession with) dahlias and mentioned on numerous occasions, my obsession with orchids. Then I saw these lovelies:

{Source}

Aren't they adorable...and a little weird, BUT what are they!?!? I don't know anything about flowers and try as I might, I can't make google produce the information that I seek!

So I first saw these lovelies in these bouquet which I also adore (and have posted MANY MANY times):

{Source}

I didn't think much of them at first, but I'm really loving the way they look in the little glass vase. So who can help me out?!? What are these lovelies called?

Slight Chance of Shower

2011-01-31T15:45:00.002-05:00

Some of you may remember the Christmas blizzard of 2010, if you don't, it took place the day after Christmas and dumped two feet of snow on New York City! The thing was that my family (two sisters, one niece, one nephew and my mom!) had come to stay with me (and Mr.) for A WEEK in our tiny ONE BEDROOM APARTMENT. Now if you aren't Chinese you may not understand how you end up with your 3 adults and two children staying in your living room, but it if you are, you understand how impossibly hard it is to say no!

At first it didn't seem like the worst thing in the world. I LOVE my family plus there is SO much to do in NYC that I figured they wouldn't be around that much. Then the blizzard hit they night they arrived! If they had been on a flight just a few hours later, they would have never made it at all. So after a day of board games and wedding crafting we decided it was time to venture into the snow.

Day one looked like this:

{My mom, me, my sister, and my other sister holding my nephew}

{Mr. and Me}

We decided to go for brunch three and a half blocks away and it took almost 30 mins to get there! By the time we got back (and built snowmen in the street) everyone was EXHAUSTED.

The next day we tried again...this time we had a big day! We went to Bryant park to check out the ice skaters, then to the fabric district to get project supplies, then a little shopping in midtown, headed down to China town for lunch, and finished off with a little more shopping! It was a looooong cold day... yet for some reason my sisters kept talking about having a girls night out!

By the time we got home it was almost 4 and my sisters were super excited to go get drinks later that evening. I secretly knew I was not getting back out of my pajamas. As 6 o'clock rolled around my baby sister mentioned that one of her friends was in town and she would love to go see her. I happily gave her instructions and wished her well. Unfortunately that was not enough she wanted me to take her! I dug my heels in, I was NOT leaving my house! Soon my other sister was on my case as well. I was increasingly annoyed, after all they were staying in MY apartment and I had walked around freezing cold, slushy, crowded NY ALL DAY!!

Finally they got to Mr.! Before I knew it, he was trying to talk me into going out with my sisters... Traitor! I had finally decided that I would secretly walk my sisters to the subway and then get of the train behind them... horrible, I know BUT I was freezing and tired!

Luckily, they broke!

They told me that they were planning a surprise bridal shower for me and two of my bridesmaids had come in from out of state (in the blizzard!!), and were waiting for us downtown! I felt horrible! After a few forced hugs and lots of kisses, we all finally got dressed and headed down.

{My baby sister, Me, My other sister}

{Me, Bridesmaid L, MOH N, Awesome Friend S}

They even got us an ice cream cake! I love ice cream cake. We tried to do practice cake cutting pictures but the cake was frozen so they turned out like this...

My niece loved the ice cream cake even more...her shirt should say " I love ice cream cake & NOT sharing"

This is my family's reaction to my "wedding smile." I've been practicing a new smile (aka no bottom teeth) but my family seems to think its HILARIOUS! (notice that they all have the EXACT same laugh!)

{Mom holding nephew, My baby sister, Me, My middle sister}

I think the smile looks perfectly natural....well not "perfectly" natural but it's definitely getting there.

Well, thanks for the FABULOUS bridal shower ladies. It's the best surprise bridal shower I've EVER had. Sorry I was such a "zilla".

Has anyone else been a HUGE "zilla?" How'd you make it up to the people you raged on!?!?

Letterpress of my very own!

2011-01-30T13:51:00.005-05:00

After months and months of looking at wedding invitations, I finally decided to create my own design. I really wanted something unique, personalized and whimsical. Basically, it needed to be something that I felt would reflect the feel of our wedding. I kept telling Laura that I wish I could just hand write a invitation to each of my guest. Finally, we decided that I would hand write my invitation and then send it out to a press and have it letterpressed! Genius, I know! The design part didn't take that long. Laura used her fancy-pants design program to figure out the lines and spacing. Then I traced the invite and gave it a personal touch.

Finding the right letterpress was the hard part. After all, I had to figure out who to trust with my invites. I considered a number of options: Mercurio Brothers, Thistleberry, White Aisle, Wild Ink Press, and Parklife Press. First, I emailed them all to confirm pricing since I was requesting an irregular number of invitations (65) and wanted to submit my own design. Unfortunately, a few of them never even responded to my email so they were immediately cut from the list. Then I cut all the places that were out of my price range.

Once I had my top three I sent another email requesting samples and asking follow-up questions. (doing my due diligence and all...). I finally picked Travis at Parklife Press. He asked me what I was looking for and sent me a free selection of samples. Best part, I gave him the wrong address by accident and once I realized my mistake, he over-nighted a second set of invitations! He was fabulous, not only did he respond quickly to all my emails but they were personalized and casual responses (nothing canned or overly formal). I felt that he would be easy to work with and I could definitely trust him with this very important responsibility.

Let me just say, I was right! The invites turned out beautifully. My fabulous invitations came in just three days before I left for Amsterdam. I was so busy moving (packing, cleaning, etc) that I forgot they were coming! What a pleasant surprise :D

Here's a little peek:

A little love goes a long way

2011-01-29T21:44:00.002-05:00

If you are or have ever planned a wedding, you are well aware of how much money a wedding costs. It's really quite ridiculous and sometimes it feels so unnecessary and super selfish. I am currently working on a LLM (Masters of Law) in International Criminal Law at the University of Amsterdam, so I spend my days reading about the most horrendous crimes on earth (ie. mass rape, genocide, torture, etc). After hours of that, I feel so silly spending hours looking at wedding porn! I totally need the escape but end up feeling crazy guilty.

The more I thought about it the more I realized there has to be some way to have my wedding and eat it too...so, to speak. I know that a lot of people donate money on behalf of their guests in lieu of favors, which I think is great! On the other hand, why take the money from your guests when you can take it from corporations ;) Here's some of the great organizations I found that totally make that possible:

{Source}

On I Do Foundation, you can raise money for charity simply by registering with one of their partner stores. Up to 10% of guests' gift purchases from these partner stores will be donated to your selected charity. These donations are made at no additional cost to you or your guests.
In addition to a charity registry you can shop from select stores which will give back a certain amount of their proceeds to charity! Additionally, they have partnered with Traveler's Joy to give back 3% of whatever you raise for your honeymoon!

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Brilliant earth is an amazing company with a strong moral compass. They have a three pronged mission focused on: providing quality products from pure sources, encouraging change in local communities affected by the industry and promoting growth by donating 5% of their proceeds to help communities who have suffered from unethical practices in the jewelry industry.

{Baking for Good}
Baking for Good is dedicated to providing high quality, irresistible treats that are perfect for any occasion. Moreover, they're committed to helping great causes raise money for things that matter. That’s why 15% of every purchase goes to the cause of your choice!

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The Bridal Garden is New York City's only not for profit bridal boutique. They sell gently used dresses at up to 75% off the original prices and all proceeds go towards education programs for children in the city!

It makes me epically happy to know that I can use my wedding to help others. What have I missed?? What are the options available in your community??

Travel Themed Goodies

2011-01-10T20:23:00.002-05:00

First of all I want to apologize for my absence and lame-o posting over the last few weeks. Between Christmas, my family's one week visit, finishing up my final semester at law school and moving out of New York (during one of the snowiest winters!) to Amsterdam, I've been a little busy. Now that I'm in Amsterdam, I will finally be able to get back to the business of blogging.

Right now, I am super jet-lagged and achy from moving huge suitcases across the Atlantic so I don't have the energy to do a wedding planning updates. Instead, I decided to do a travel-themed post. In honor of my move to Amsterdam, here is some fabulous travel themed wedding inspiration.

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{i-do-it-yourself.com via Just happily ever after}

Happy travels!

Ready for "The Aisle"

2011-01-02T21:31:00.003-05:00

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If you remember my post about the Aisle, you will excited to hear that tomorrow is the very first sale! Starting at 11am EST The Aisle will be featuring discounts on wedding related items from the following designers:

Monique Lhuillier
Angel Sanchez
Elizabeth Fillmore
Oscar de la Renta Jewelry
Suzanne Couture Millinery

If you haven't sign-up, click here to join! Happy shopping!

Merry Christmas!!

2010-12-25T19:30:00.003-05:00

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Sorry I've been a little silent lately. Things have been super crazy but I have a lot of exciting posts to share after the holidays. In the meantime, MERRY CHRISTMAS! I hope your holiday was filled with friends, family, food and lots of fun!!

xoxox
D & O

What's a bride to D.O.?

2010-12-22T17:58:00.002-05:00

As you know, I want to be able to use the word bride as much as possible on my wedding day. I know a lot of people prefer to got the "Mr" & "Mrs" route, but I figure I have my whole life to be a "Mrs." That being said, I had originally planned on doing simple chalkboard bride & groom chair signs tied with some burlap, lace and pink ribbon. Simple and sweet. done and done.

Then, on a shopping frenzy, I picked up these large white letters on sale at Michaels. They were only $1.50 each, plus I think it's kind of sweet that our initials spell "DO." I literally had no plan, I just bought them and hoped I could work them in somehow. Now I am thinking they might make great chair signs. However, I am not entirely ready to give up on the "bride" and "groom" signs. I have collected a series of inspiration pictures and I am hoping I can kind of incorporate these different elements into a cohesive design. (Hang in there I know there is A LOT going on!)

I really like the sweetness of these signs... we are also using a lot of whimsical calligraphy at our wedding so like this but smaller might work.

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I love the feel of this one. The mix of items is really pretty, I feel like this would only work for my chair though, I would want to make the grooms chair a little more masculine. Maybe we could do pink ribbon and lace on mine and burlap and lace on his.

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I think this whole setup might be the closest to what I want. Instead of blue ribbon it would be pink or lace. However, I would hang the letters a little lower and then add the words "bride" and "groom" to the chair.

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After all that, I realized that maybe its just too much. Maybe I should just K.I.S.S. (Keep it simple, silly) it. Look at how sweet and simple these striped letters.

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I love the print on these letters. I think I also prefer the way the letters are hung with the two strands instead of just one.

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I love these fabric pom-poms, I think they are a great touch and would be super simple. I don't love the white, on white, on white, but since my chairs will probably be gold/silver, then I can add a pink pom-pom or fabric flowers to my chair and burlap ones to the groom chair. hmm... so many possibilities.

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As an alternative to adding bride and groom signs to the sign, I could somehow try to do something like this: There is actually a great tutorial on how to do this... the problem is that I only have one set of letters so I really can't afford to mess them up with a DIY project.

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Love these. Simple. Romantic and really diy-able!

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I think I'm gonna keep the letters white, do something simple with burlap, ribbon and lace and just call it a day. Who would have thought chair signs could be so complicated!?!

Surf with Style

2010-12-19T19:35:00.000-05:00

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A while back, pretty much out of nowhere, Mr. mentioned that he would really like to incorporate a surf feel into our wedding. Since Mr. almost never thinks about the wedding or offers up an unsolicited opinions I figured I should take this pretty seriously and see what I can do to incorporate his love for surfing.

Of course I haven't quite figured out how I am going to incorporate a "surf feel" into my whimsical, romantic, vintage summer wedding, but I thought I should do a little googling for inspiration and here were some of the most inspirational details I found:

I clearly won't be doing any of this... I am pretty sure I will fall face first into the water, thereby ruining my hair and makeup... so, um, yeah, no surfing pictures.
{Rock N' Roll Bride}
I love this surfboard chalkboard idea. I would also make a great seating chart. I also think that the chalkboard would fit into my theme... I don't really know what colors surf boards come in, but I think a vintage wood surfboard could look amazing and super stylish.
{Avant Bride}
I love this wooden board. However I don't know if we could bring TWO surfboards back to the US with us, since Mr. will already bringing his board down from LA. I also don't know where we would put a surfboard in our TINY New York apartment. Although I should keep in mind that we won't live in a tiny apartment forever!
{Alistair Humphrey}
I thought this cake topper was super cute and appropriate because I will probably have to drag Mr out of the water on our wedding day!
{Fun Wedding Things}
I just liked this picture. I think I could definitely pull this off during our trash the dress session. How hard can it be to lay on your stomach and paddle?? As long as the water is pretty flat, I won't get myself killed! (I'm actually a pretty good swimmer. I was on the swim teach for 7 years, I was a lifeguard for two summers, and I've taught swim lessons for the red cross!...I just happen to have a fear of the ocean. Blame shark week!)
{My Wedding}

I'm gonna have to do a lot more thinking but I think there is definitely a way I can make this work.

Has anyone else incorporated surf elements into your wedding? What other weird/fun things did your SO ask you to incorporate into the wedding?

2 Flower Girls & A Ringbearer

2010-12-16T08:59:00.001-05:00

I am so blessed to have an amazing family. I was raised in a very traditional (co-dependent) family and am super close to my fam. I talk to my baby sisters every day, three or four times a day. I also talk to my parents 4-5 times a week... did I mention we are uber co-dependent?

That being said, the family is GROWING!!

{Personal Picture} My baby sister has two a-mazing kids who are are going to be my flower girl and ring bearer. Our wedding is about a week before her third birthday and the ring bearer will be about 10months old.

{Personal Picture} Also, my very favorite cousin who is going to try super hard to get to my wedding all the way from Malaysia, has an A-DORABLE daughter, who would be my second flower girl. She will be 2.5 at the time of the wedding.

That being said, how am going to get three toddlers down the aisle?!?! At first I was think we could do a wagon situation. Flower girl D loves nothing more than to pull her brother around the house... so she could probably handle it. I am not to worried about stage fright, she is quite the ham.

PLUS Babies in wagons are super adorable!

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I love this kid. He has the best hair. Plus who doesn't love a cutie in a suit.

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How much do you love the "hear comes the bride" sign. Also doesn't this baby look like an Anne Gedde baby. She looks like a little baby fairy, but I am partial to babies in tutus.

As far as I can tell there are two problems. (1) How would I get a wagon to Costa Rica? Maybe they have them there??(2) Can you even pull a wagon through the sand?? More importantly, could a 3-year-old pull a wagon through sand?

If I can't get this wagon thing to work out, I will just have one of the bridesmaids walk the ring bearer down the aisle. I have 6 bridesmaids and only 5 groomsmen so it would actually work out quite well.

Does anyone have any other suggestions on how to get three toddlers down the aisle? What about sand-friendly alternatives to a wagon?

My Something Blue

2010-12-14T14:24:00.011-05:00

MY DRESS IS HERE! So I may or may not be wearing my wedding dress as I type this post. At first I considered, not opening it at all. Who was I kidding!?!? I ripped it open like a kid on Christmas morning. First of all, it fits like a glove. I don't even know if I need alterations.

Second, now what?!? My wedding isn't until May what am I suppose to do with her until then...

{Friends: The One With All The Dresses}
I did a little bit of googling and learned that depending on the dress, you can either keep your dress stored in a box/bag under your bed or hanging. However you shouldn't hang your dress for more than 6-7 months.

UNDER THE BED STORAGE

If the dress has beading, pearls, sequins, rhinestones or anything else that makes it heavy it needs to be stored flat.
If the dress has heavy fabric suspended relatively weak fabric, it is also a good candidate for the "under the bed" treatment. A heavy dress with narrow shoulder straps or a dress with net insets in the bodice are examples. You don't want the weight of the hanging dress to pull it apart.
Wrap the dress in a white sheet, then store it under the bed. Mine came in a long, flat box but if you don't have one, you can pick up all sorts of under the storage at Target. This will protect the dress from cats and dust bunnies.

HANGING IN A GARMENT BAG

If your dress is relatively plain, check the fabric content. Natural fibers need to "breathe," which they cannot do in a synthetic garment bag. A dress of silk, linen, cotton, or wool should be wrapped in a cotton sheet. You can leave a plain, not-to-heavy dress on the hanger.
If, however, your dress is good old polyester, with little or no trim, it can stay happily on its hanger in a garment bag for seven months. A very heavy dress might start to pull apart after seven years of this treatment, but polyester is remarkably stubborn stuff. A 100% polyester dress with no appliqued trim can be washed in the washing machine and allowed to drip dry, too.
If your dress has a mixed fiber content, follow the procedure for the most demanding fiber.

For more info click here.

For now I am going to keep her hanging, however I think the safest bet will be to put her back in her box until the big day. My seamstress is coming out here this weekend to do my first fitting. I'll be sure to post pictures once I have another person around.

The perfect smile

2010-12-13T11:34:00.003-05:00

So let's talk wedding photos. They are this HUGE investment and they are really the only thing that lasts past the wedding day (other than your love for your new hubby/wife, of course!). Here's the thing, after taking my engagement photos I realized that I have a huge smile. Mr. makes me laugh and never takes life seriously... so during our entire e-session I was grinning from ear to ear. Now this might sound sweet but how will I ever get myself under control on my big day!?!? I really love these romantic subdued wedding pictures.

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This is what happened when we tried the oh-so-sweet head on the shoulder move:

I literally couldn't stop smiling! He kept whispering silly nothings in my ear. Sigh. I love the man but he makes it so darn hard!

While I totally recognize that there are lots of reasons to be smiling from ear to ear on my wedding day. I love how intimate and tender those moments are... I only hope that me and Mr. are mature enough (or comfortable enough) to get it together for our big day.

So here's the crazy obsessive bridezilla part: sometimes I make us practice being serious! Usually I just catch our reflection in a mirror in our apartment (usually while we are brushing our teeth or something) or walking by a window or in the review mirror while sitting in a cab. Hehehe. I know its silly and usually ends with us making "blue steel" faces or making gangster faces or just plan silly faces, but I'm honestly worried.

Do you have any photography concerns? How are you dealing with these concerns? Did your e-session calm these fears or make them worse?

Barrister Bride to Be

2010-12-11T18:43:00.008-05:00

I don't do this that often but I just wanted to spread a little love and say thanks to a fellow barrister BTB. I have a fabulous friend, J, who was the genius behind Barrister Bride and she not so long ago had her own e-pics taken so I just wanted to share these gorgeous pictures with you and show her photographer Joe Elario a little love!

All photos courtesy of Joe Elario

If you head over to his website you'll see that he's having a contest for the best engagement session of the year and J has been nominated. So if you love the photos as much as I do, you should vote for her!

Happy Saturday ladies!