I am so pleased to announce that one of my December weddings– April and Glenn’s wedding– was featured on Style Me Pretty yesterday.  I loved April and Glenn’s style, from the succulent details to the soft colors.  I had a wonderful time at their wedding- you can click below to check out my original blog post about their Puerto Vallarta wedding, or you can head over to the Style Me Pretty Destination wedding blog to see the post about April and Glenn’s wedding.

First, I sit down with my boys and we go through some of our favorite photographs this year.  They can choose their favorite photograph of themselves from the year- this year, they both chose images from our trip to Switzerland this summer.

It’s pretty easy to find great custom Valentine’s templates for purchase online, but the second step is to tweak that template to fit the folded card design.  I print my images through my pro lab- ideally I want to fold the card and staple it on the bag of candy, so I either create a card or tweak the template that I purchase so that it will work for a folded card.   They boys and I generally choose a nice, simple message for the back of the card, and then choose a complementary solid color for the inside of the card (since it will be invisible until the candy bag is opened).

Then we stuff cellophane bags with the candy of choice for the year.  I like wrapped candies so that the kids can help me.  Finally, fold the cards over and staple them to the top of the candy bags.  The boys love taking in custom valentines to their classes, and I love working on a photo project with them.

Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful weekend!

Melissa and Gary were married at the beautiful Playa Fiesta Hotel in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in January.  Melissa told me that most people don’t know that Gary had proposed exactly one year before the wedding date, and that’s why they chose January 21- it held special meaning for them.  The proposal was so cute- Gary had their English Bulldog run by Melissa with a distinctive blue box in his mouth- Melissa opened the Tiffany box to find a gorgeous engagement ring!  She said that she wasn’t surprised that their dog was a part of the proposal since he is a big part of their family!

Melissa and Gary met in 2004 when they were introduced by their friends, Nancy and Robert (they were also in the wedding party).  Puerto Vallarta was an easy choice for them once they decided on a destination wedding- they had been to Vallarta quite a few times together, and it was the one place that they could envision asking all of their friends and family to gather.

Melissa wore a beautiful Monique Lhuillier dress (a gift from her dad!) and Jimmy Choo shoes.  Gary and the groomsmen wore Hugo Boss suits.  Melissa also brought a few details down for the wedding- the place cards were from Etsy (Left Beach Fotos), and the giftbag was also purchased on Etsy (from Mis Nopales).  Melissa and Gary are from Chicago, and Melissa brought down one of her favorite Chicago treats for the giftbags– Popcorn Balls from Garrett’s, which are a Chicago tradition.

Here are a few of my favorite images from the day:

Congratulations, Gary and Melissa!  I really enjoyed being a part of your gorgeous wedding.

Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful weekend!

Kathleen and Sherwin met through work- they are both respiratory therapists, and they met when Kathleen accepted a job at the hospital where Sherwin worked.  They knew that they wanted a destination wedding on the beach, and they were drawn to Las Caletas in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

From the bride:

The wedding details all came together as we wanted a hot pink and tangerine wedding theme . We wanted a small but romantic wedding and that’s exactly how it felt . When I walked down the aisle I couldn’t believe how beautiful and great the details looked . We had hot pink and tangerine rose petals down the aisle , along with 3 tall vases on each side with submerged flowers . The chuppa was organza white tulle with a white rose petal curtain in the back . We decided to do our own vows and it was the best thing we could decide to do because the words really came from our hearts .  My dad cried all the way down the aisle , but told a close friend of mine ‘that it was the happiest day of his life’…this really melted my heart . 

Our first dance was Charlie Wilson’s “You Are”, dedicated by Sherwin to me and really had us both in tears.  My dad’s song was my “Mi Nina Bonita” by Vicente Fernandez which he has dedicated to me since I was 15 yrs old (so you see why we all had waterworks/tears in full effect most of night).