From This Day Forward

48 Days to Go: Drama 2.0

2010-09-04T20:55:00.002-05:00

So, these were supposed to be my flower girl dresses. Unfortunately/Fortunately, I had to find new ones last week because, last month, my flower girl's moms found out that the dresses should have been ordered a couple of weeks beforehand. Not a big deal, just unexpected. After searching and searching, I decided on these. They're different than what originally wanted, but I like these a lot better. Ahh, everything's back to normal again!

74 Days to Go: Drama 1.0

2010-08-09T22:34:00.003-05:00

Oh, man! Last week was one stressful week! I think if I blogged about it all in one sitting, I might never write again! So, I've decided to break that week-long wild ride into four different stories. Enjoy...

Before I begin, let me reiterate that I absolutely adore my wonderful ring that Scott proposed to me with! It's beautiful, unique, sparkly, and has a sweet story behind it--I mean, he picked it out himself and told me all of these reasons why it reminded him of me...so sweet and special to me! Like other girls (at least, I think) I wanted an enhancer/wrap/jacket/guard--whatever you want to call it--as a wedding band and to add even more sparkle! Who wouldn't, right?

Well, we went to Zales where Scott got my ring to look for an enhancer. We met a really, really helpful woman named Dena who works at the Quail Springs Mall's Zales...I'd highly recommend her to anyone who's looking for jewelery...and she said I'd need a tracer ring to be commissioned for either or both sides, and then I could just buy any enhancer off of the shelf to work with my curvy design, since the tracer ring would be flat. After I thought it over, I decided that wasn't exactly what I wanted, so we went back to see if the jeweler could just make me an enhancer similar to this one...nothing flashy, nothing to expensive, just a modest--in fact, simpler than this one--ring. She said we'd probably be looking at $300-$450. I had to give her my precious ring to send off to the jeweler, so he could give me an accurate estimate for one-two rings with and without diamonds. It was awful--so weird now to not having the ring for a few days, ha ha!
But the worst part is that, when the appraisal came back to the store, the clerk (who I had never worked with this whole time) was so appalled by the price quotes that she told the jeweler no and had him bring my ring back to the store!!! When she called me to tell me my ring was back and to break the news to me, so told me that she had canceled any further dealings with the jeweler for me because she was so shocked by the price, that it was the most expensive quote she had ever seen, and said that she wasn't sure what my ring even looked like, but she thought it might be really detailed. I mean, it's got detail and I love it, but it's not super intricate! Anyway, the guy wanted $900-$3000 to make my ring/rings...I don't really even know what the quote was for because I didn't actually see it! Ugh! No , thank you!

So, now...mostly last week, not really this week...I'm kind of bummed because I'm just going to have my engagement ring and no wedding band to get married with. I know it doesn't really matter, and that marriage is so much more that a ring, but it's just what I was expecting to have and it's kind of hard to change my thought pattern! We're planning on buying something similar--definitely less expensive--to the rings the guy was going to make me on down the road. Anyway, this was the first thing that really didn't work out during our whole engagement/wedding planning, so it's not that bad, but boy, did it pave the way for an irritating week!

103 Days to Go: Always the Seamstress, Almost the Bride

2010-07-11T00:54:00.007-05:00

Phew! I just finished making Scott's niece a set of motorcycle-inspired garters for her August wedding. She and her fiance, David, are going to be getting married at the Sturgis Rally in South Dakota!

This was the most difficult set of garters I've ever made, but I had so much fun doing them! This was my first time to work with leather and grommets, but not the last! :o) I'm going to make a couple more sets of these and sell them on Etsy, so feel free to browse around and pick yourself up a set, if you'd like!

Bridal Garter

Side view of Bridal Garter

Toss garter

Side view of toss garter

I am so anxious to work on my own garter set, but I am having a tough time deciding what I want! I've been scouring fabric stores for the perfect supplies, but can't commit to anything! Good thing Scott's not made out of notions, ha ha!

109 Days to Go: Gettin' Pretty

2010-07-05T22:26:00.004-05:00

Scott's Uncle John and Aunt Dani own this awesome salon in Fort Smith, Arkansas called Beyond Vanity. They are coming up the day before the wedding to help me out and I am so excited! Uncle John is going to do my hair like Carrie Underwood's in the picture above. We all think that it's similar enough to my daily style that I'll still look like myself and be comfortable. I generally don't wear curls, so that'll be a huge change for me! Lame, I know, but I'm a pretty simple girl for the most part, ha ha!

Aunt Dani introduced me to something that I can't wait to do! She's going to do my nails and use this new product called Shellac, which is supposed to last up to two weeks. That would be ideal!

I'm so glad that his family is so willing to help me and I'm really comfortable around them, so it's going to make my Big Day a lot less stressful! Ahh, I can't wait to get pampered!

111 Days to Go: Flower Girl Dresses

2010-07-02T16:55:00.004-05:00

I finally found my flower girls' dresses! I love these--they're just so sweet! I really think they'll be able to re-wear them a few more times after the wedding.

The girls are going to wear them in Truffle and I've asked their moms to have them wear gold flats. I think they'll really compliment Laura's and Jessica's dress.

I'm going to try to make them little kissing balls to carry down the aisle. I'm planning on using these colors and a few peacock eyes tucked in between tulle puffs. I'll probably use a ribbon similar to the one Erin is going to hand our wreaths with. I thought the girls would like to keep the balls...we'll see if they turn out alright first, though, ha ha!

112 Days to Go: All Dressed in...Ivory

2010-07-02T16:31:00.011-05:00

I picked up my dress today! It came in a little over a month early, so this was a super surprise! It definitely needs to be pressed, but I don't think it needs to be altered, which is going to save at least $200!

The seamstress gave me these options for a bustle, but I'm not even sure I'm going to have her put one in. I only have a slight train, which I chose purposefully, so I'm hoping if I don't have one, it won't be a huge deal.

over bustle

under bustle

free-bustlin'

My sister/Maid of Honor came into town to help me out with the dress. She is such a nerd and makes me laugh! It was so good to have her be weird with me in a potentially awkward situation!

All in all, I think I'm pretty happy with the dress! I just need to figure out how to wear my hair, keep working out, and definitely even out my sweet recess-tan!

113 Days to Go: Feather My Wedding

2010-07-01T17:45:00.001-05:00

I've always loved anything vintage. I am really attracted to things from the 1920's-1960's, especially. In the first stages of wedding planning, I knew that I wanted something elegant, glamorous, unique, youthful, and vintage-inspired. Yesterday, I told you all about my bird brain and how my cake is inspired by pheasant feathers. Originally, I had planned on incorporating all of the things I wanted into a very subtle and sophisticated fall theme.

Well, after I started looking at my dress, my ring, and thinking about my cake, I thought that I should almost completely change directions and go for an Art Nouveau theme. I can't tell you how much fun I'm having with this!

The colors Christie, our baker, is planning on using on my cake reminded me of a peacock. I've always loved peacocks and jewel tones, and knew that they were used a lot in Art Nouveau, so thus began my crazy journey into more featherdom!

I knew that I had hit the nail on the head when I came across this awesome picture below! This is very, very similar to what my bouquet will look like. I'm anxious (again) to see it! These are silks, and my florist, Erin, is going to use royal dahlias, teal-sprayed hydrangeas, berries, peacock eyes, peacock balls, and maybe a peacock sword or two. She's also planning on using the peacock ribbon around the stems, which I LOVE, but I haven't been able to find it anywhere. I would love to use it in my garters, so I might have Scott screen print some peacock feathers on to some ribbon for me!

My mom and I have been on alert trying to find all-that-is-peacock! Before we went to A Bloom Above the Rest, which we really should have done in the first place, we went to another florist who was highly recommended by our wedding coordinator, Julie. He wanted over $4,300 for curly willow, peacock feathers, votives, and LED lights! There was barely any flowers in his arrangement ideas! So, between our visit to his shop and Erin's, my mom and I have scrounged up some really fun centerpieces in the most unexpected places!

We found these pretty amber hurricane-ish lamps at Wall's, one of my favorite stores now, for just under $16 each! The top looks like a fleur de lise, but also kind of feather-like. I'm going to place a flameless, ivory pillar candle in each vase. I tried a real candle and it was gorgeous, but the to of them got really hot! I'm hoping that everyone takes a centerpiece, so I don't want to burn anyone! A burn mark is not the best wedding favor! I'm planning on setting them on a piece of square glass and Erin is going to put a few votive-size vases with a dahlia posy on each vase scattered around the table, too.

We also found these funky leaf-shaped bowls at Big Lot's, but we think they look kind of like peacock feathers! We found them on clearance for about $10 a piece. Erin is going to float a royal dahlia in each bowl and have a some of those dahlia posies setting around the bowl. Oh! I almost forgot! To add some color to these vases, she's going to cut apart this old Christmas tree garland that my family and I have and float the beads in the vases. I think they'll look really pretty!

Okay, here comes the part where I get the least opposite reaction I hope for, but I absolutely love these goofy things! They are giant Art Deco urns with iridescent coque feathers spilling out of them! We got two sizes--I think 24'' and 13'' urns--mostly in shiny green with a hint of bronze and black, but a few of them are these red and black ones.

Erin is going to stick curly willow in the top of the large ones and hang clear, square glass votives with candles from the branches! She's going to use some really awesome wire that gives an extra pop of color. I loved these urns just the way they are, but they started to look heavy, gothic, and needed some depth. We got each urn half off at Hobby Lobby, for about $50 per large urn and about 15 bucks for the smaller ones. Kind of a splurge, but they really make a statement...of some kind! :o)

This is a shot of the gazebo we'll have the ceremony in. We're hanging these cute feather wreaths around the lanterns. I don't think we need much, since it'll be so dark out at 7:30 in the evening in October! You probably won't be able to see much!

This is the arrangement I'm doing for our guest book table. It's actually not a guest book. It's and address book...or, it will be, at least! Do you know how hard those things are to find nowadays? Thanks, technology!
Oh, and last, but certainly not least: this is what I'm going to use to make our guest/address book pen! Ha ha! I think it will be fun! I think this is just about all of the feathers I'm going to use!

114 Days to Go: Sweet Tooth

2010-06-30T10:21:00.013-05:00

It's been several days since I've written anything...18 to be exact...and my friend, Charmaine, who's also getting married soon inspired me to write a new post! :o)

I have had the biggest sweet tooth lately and am dying to sink my teeth into one of our delicious wedding cakes from Sugar in Norman, Oklahoma! But, I have several days left to wait which is a good thing for my diet! Christie, our baker, does such an incredible job! I absolutely fell in love with this Bubo cake up top, but it didn't fit into our budget and only feeds 20 people. I adore it, though!

This is a super rough sketch of what my cake will look like. It's round...I really wanted a square cake, but read that they're more expensive since getting them planed evenly is so tedious. You definitely get what you pay for! They are gorgeous cakes and I'll always secretly covet all square cakes at my friends' weddings, ha ha!

I have been obsessed with birds lately. I definitely don't want one for a pet, and would probably create an awful string of profanities if one landed on me, but my house and my wedding could very well be mistaken for an aviary! Have me casually walk by anything at Target with a bird on it, and you bet it's in my cart in a hot second. Mention that something has feathers in it, and it's now the inspiration for my whole wedding. Geez! Here's hoping that I can pull this all off tastefully!

Anyway, when I was going with the glamorous fall theme--gilded pumpkins, metallics, pheasant feathers, sparkly leaves--these two pictures of male pheasant feathers caught my eye and became the inspiration for my cake!

Originally, I fell in love with the contrast of your typical pheasant feather. Then, I gravitated towards them because of their texture. After I came across the first picture, I was shocked by the vibrancy of the colors! So, I took these pictures to Christie and she's going to whip something fun up with these ideas in mind. I'm SO anxious to see what she comes up with! Not knowing exactly what it looks like is about to make me pop! But, I love surprises...good ones, at least, ha...so I can wait! My cake's flavor is called White Wedding. It tasted really good, and I love the name!

Scott is a sweet, simple man, and his cake definitely reflects that! Originally, I had imagined that he would have something intricate and unusual, since he's a graphic designer. Then, I tried to think of crazy groom's cake ideas that he might like. I found these two pictures and just knew he'd choose one of them!

The Sooner Schooner...BOOMER!

A Master Chief helmet from Halo--I cannot figure out how to play this game!

So, what did my very interesting, super creative fiance choose? Something very delicious and mega chocolaty! His flavor is called Chocolate Chip Fudge and he's having chocolate butter cream frosting with milk chocolate curls piled up all over it. Yum! There's a small possibility that it will also have fresh strawberries placed around it, but Scott's not a fruit-man, so it'll probably just be a giant pile of delicious chocolaty heaven!

We're also having a spiced carrot kitchen cake with butter cream frosting to satisfy the penny pincher's sweet tooth! It's so delectable and such a great way to save a few more dollars! Mmm, all this talk about cake has me craving something sweet. Off to take a GIANT swig of sparkling flavored water...think that will do the trick? :o)

132 Days to Go: Bridesmaids' Dresses on The Cheap

2010-06-13T12:00:00.000-05:00

Check out my great find on eBay!

These are my gorgeous bridesmaids' dresses! I got two of them for under $98.00, which saved me a ton of money! I figured Laura and Jessica could re-wear them. They're easy to dress up or down. So, in the link I included above, you'll see that this dress is currently $0.99 with a VERY small shipping and handling fee. Wow! If I had just been a little more patient...ha ha!

133 Days to Go: My Beautiful Dress

2010-06-12T12:31:00.001-05:00

I am so excited about this dress! I found it online and went in to David's Bridal the next day to try it on. I think I tried on about 12 dresses there. This one was the third dress I tried on. I was so relieved that it looked good on me. I really fell in love with it the night before! It should be in on August 5, so I'll post pictures of it then.

In the mean time, check out my cute wedding shoes I bought to tide me over! :o) They're super sparkly! I think they'll be fun with my dress and can't wait to try them on together again!

134 Days to Go: Inspired!

2010-06-11T12:00:00.001-05:00

Last night while I was watching TV, I saw a new show called Bridal Bootcamp. It follows ten girls (one is eliminated each episode) who are hoping to shed enough pounds to reach their goal weights and have the wedding of their dreams. Being a bride, and wanting to trim down a bit before the wedding, I was instantly interested. The show itself isn't extremely interesting, but it is kind of inspiring!

They had an ad for Anytime Fitness during one of the commercial breaks, and the girl featured in it lost about 25 pounds in just a few months--maybe two--and was the size she wanted to be for her wedding day. She looked great and I'm hoping I'll find the same success when I enroll next week.
One thing about Bridal Bookcamp that bothered me and reassured me at the same time, was all of these average-sized girls who hate their bodies! They're cute girls...girls I would never have guessed had an issue with their bodies! A lot of the girls on the show are size 12 and they'd like get get down to a size 6. I felt bad that they couldn't see how pretty they are already and that they didn't need to change. But, at the same time, it was kind of interesting to see that even those girls who I would kill to look like had things that they're not proud of, either. I guess beauty really is in the eye of the beholder.

Anyway, I'm going to follow this show (while I run/walk on the treadmill) and sign up for my gym membership next week. Wish me luck! I need all the encouragement I can get! :o)

135 Days to Go: Party of Twelve

2010-06-10T12:00:00.003-05:00

I've never been one of those girls who wants 42 bridesmaids. Luckily, Scott isn't the type of person to ask every friend he's ever had to be a groomsman, either. We decided to keep our bridal party fairly small and it's a little bit nontraditional, but it suites us!

Something I have always imagined, though, is having my little sister, Laura, as my Maid of Honor and that's about it. Naturally, she was my first choice when that stage of preparation was underway. Laura is a government reporter for a local newspaper. She's recently moved out of town to be closer to work and I miss her so much! I wish she was able to come into town more often to go to my bridal appointments with me! I'm looking forward to spending time with her soon.

I also chose one of my greatest girlfriends, Jessica, to be my bridesmaid. I met Jessica about four or five years ago at a house party I had. My good friend, Nathan, brought his new girlfriend to the party and I fell in love with her immediately! We always laugh at that because neither one of us had really gotten along with other girls well in the past, ha ha! Jessica my hairstylist and she's going to help me figure out a way to wear my hair with my new h eadpiece that just came in the mail today! Scott's Uncle John is going to be doing my hair on The Big Day, so we're practicing until he gets in town. Check back for pictures after Friday! :o)

I'm having three flower girls: Jenna, Scott's youngest niece, and Presley and Addie, two of my previous students. Jenna is five and lives in a small town in Oklahoma, just about three hours away from us. She loves ladybugs, singing, and making pizza with bizarre ingredients! Jenna is such an adorable girl. She's got an incredible since of humor--I just love being around her! Presley and Addie will be in second grade next year. I taught both of them in Pre-K and Kindergarten and am so proud at all they have done in school this year! I love all of these girls so much and am so glad they can be part of our day.

Scott's best man, Josh, and his groomsman, Brian, have recently moved to Seattle. Josh moved there with his wife, Mali, from L.A. They were married last October in Bella Vista, Arkansas and it was an absolutely gorgeous wedding! Oh, you should have seen the chapel! It was tucked away in a quiet little spot in a park and it's made out of glass and wood. Their wedding was really sensual: you could see the changing leaves falling, it smelled like fall, you could hear the wind blowing through the trees...ah! I loved their wedding. My favorite of all time!

While Josh and Mali lived in LA, he worked on the sets of movies and TV shows. It was always so fun to hear his stories about which celebrity he had worked with, or which one he had run into on the street! He and Mali decided to move to Seattle after the wedding last year and moved there a few months ago. They're getting used to it and like it a lot, so far! We are planning on visiting them sometime after the wedding. We really need to save up some money for the trip, though!

Brian moved to Seattle from Arkansas. He's also enjoying it and has recently started his own blog and is still uploading videos to YouTube! If you ever need a good laugh, or want to hear a cover of almost any song or a strange original, check out his channel.

Jackson is our ring bearer, Scott's youngest nephew, and Jenna's older brother. He is super athletic--we have high hopes for him! :o) Jackson recently met Billy Sims and even got to do the Heisman Pose with Billy! It was one of his proudest moments, ha ha! Jackson is a great football player and won several awards in Track before school let out for summer! He's such as sweet boy with amazing manners! We couldn't be more proud of him!

Finally, Scott's oldest niece and nephew, Ashley and Cameron are also going to help us! They are our guest book attendants. The guest book is actually going to be an address book. I figured that we'd need addresses for thank you notes, Christmas cards, and invitations, and that I probably wouldn't look at an actual guest book very often, so this just seemed like a more practical choice! Believe it or not, it's pretty difficult finding an address book these days...not shocking because of the Internet, I guess!
We're just really happy that so many of our family members and close friends will be helping us out! It's always nice to surround yourself with happy, positive people in stressful occasions!

136 Days to Go: He Liked It, So He Put a Ring on It.

2010-06-09T12:00:00.003-05:00

On Saturday, May 1, Scott and I went to the OKC Zoo to participate in the MS Walk, sponsored by my school. It was really drizzly and pretty cold for May, so by the end of the walk we looked pretty rough!

After the walk, we came back to my house. Scott asked me if I was hungry, since we hadn't eaten breakfast yet. I told him that I was, but we would need to go get some ingredients from the store in order to make breakfast. He needed to get his wallet out of his truck and walked out to the driveway. I heard the doorbell ring, and when I answered it, he was proposing!!!

I was so excited and wanted to call everyone we know, but we decided to wait and surprise our families in person. It was difficult to keep the secret, but it was worth it! Our families couldn't be happier. We are so loved!

Here is a picture of my gorgeous ring! It's very effective a recess--oh, how it sparkles! We're going to be shopping for an enhancer in the next few months, so keep your sunglasses close by. 8o)

137 Days to Go: How It All Began

2010-06-08T12:00:00.002-05:00

Scott and I attended UCO at the same time. He was studying graphic design and I was taking education classes.

One day, I decided to stop by Starbuck's in the University Center. I got in line behind a tall redhead with a very interesting hairstyle, a labret piercing, and headphones. There was just something about him that immediately interested me!

The guy in front of us was taking FOREVER to complete his order, and he was being difficult. Scott turned around and said something to me that cracked me up! I was so ashtonished that he had spoken to me that, to this day, I'm unable to recall exactly what his first words to me were! All I remember is that he said something really dry and witty about the situation, and I was hooked!

He waited for me to get my drink, and we walked me to my class. I had class in the Education Building and he had class in the Art and Design Building. They were pretty close by, but we had never seen each other until that day! On our walk to my class, we made plans to go out for a drink at a different Starbuck's that weekend.

I was so excited to go out on our date; he just seemed really cool, ha ha! That afternoon, Scott called to confirm our date. We talked about getting tea and sitting out on the patio to talk and get to know each other a little better. Somehow further plans for the evening came up in the conversation...something about what we'd do after Starbuck's. And, that's when it happened. Something I'll never forget and Scott may never completely live down. He said, "We'll just see how the night is going and then we'll decide if we want to do something afterwards."

He (supposedly) didn't mean it like that, but I took it to mean: If-I-don't-like-you-the-night-will-end. Ugh, dread. So, all through our date I was trying to judge if he was into me or not. Turns out he was and hadn't been testing me at all. He says that when he said that, it just meant that we'd see what was still open by the time we'd finished talking...sure. :o)

Well, we ended up going to see In Good Company--blah--and Denny's since it was so late. Before he dropped me back off at Starbuck's, I asked him for a goodnight kiss (fresh, rawr!) and we made plans to go the the OKCMOA the next morning so he could help me with an assignment.

Five years and several days later, we're still together. I must have been fantastic at Starbuck's!

138 Days to Go and I'm Starting a Blog

2010-06-07T19:06:00.001-05:00

Sure, there are a million things I could be doing right now to prepare for the wedding...especially working out...but, instead, I have decided to start a blog about my life as a fiance, a wife, everything in between, and everything after.

I guess you need to know a little bit about me, if you plan on keeping up with this blog. My name is Hillary, I'm 27, newly engaged, and on my cherished summer vacation from teaching Kindergarten at a very competitive Independent School in Oklahoma City.

I've taught Kindergarten for three years, and pre-k the year prior. I attended the University of Central Oklahoma in my hometown, Edmond. I studied early childhood education and I'm currently pursuing my master's degree in reading. I love my job dearly--all of my students are exceptional. I especially love it during the summer, after an intense year of teaching my kids things I didn't learn until 2nd or 3rd grade! They are super advanced, so I use the summer to recoup and soak up as much me time as I can so, naturally, I started a blog about myself! :o)

When I'm not in my classroom, I'm running my garter business, Below the Belt. I finally have more time to dedicate to it and am in the middle of making more of my most popular seller, the Zebra Hot Pink Garter Set. Making garters is just something fun and "grown up" that I like to do after a day of singing Raffi songs.

Other than that, I love spending time with my two super sweet sugar dogs, Walker and Holden, my friends and family, and of course, my fabulous fiance, Scott! I've got several home improvement projects going on at my house right now. His parents are coming down for his birthday (July 3) to meet my parents, so I'm trying to get everything in tip-top shape! In fact, I'm pretty sure that in the time it took to create this blog, the newest coat of paint has had more than enough time to dry.

With that being said, I'm off to touch up the ceiling and start sanding cabinets. Be sure to check back tomorrow when I tell you a sweet little story of how we met! Thanks for reading!