Colors!

A favorite topic of many. It was one of the first questions I got after I was engaged, "What are your colors?" I had no idea when or where we were getting married, let alone what colors! It has been a big thought of mine lately, usually when I should be studying. I am down to two choices and keep going back and forth. Both combinations will have a lot of "wood tones" worked in there (my fiance is quite the craftsman and can do quite a bit with wood) but more on that later. First off, blue and green. I love the natural feel.



Second (I'm leaning towards this one), yellow and green. I love the pop of yellow.

Eekk! Any comments. I haven't figured out exact shades, these are just jumping off points!

Paparazzi

It has been forever since I have written! Eekk, school has been overwhelming! I have less than 3 weeks as an Austin resident and really am starting to feel the heat. I am trying to get "local" things done that I can't really do easily from Dallas. Next week, I am going to meet with two photographers. They both meet my requirements so now it is more about chemistry (as a chemistry nerd, I think this is uber funny). Here are my requirements:
1. Good price!
2. Unlimited time--I want to be sure everything is captured.
3. DVD with all of the edited photos and un-edited photos.

Both also have a photography team, so there would be two shooters.

Option 1: Photography by Cho. They are a husband/wife team and seem awesome.

Option 2: Mike Reed Photography. His photographs look really fun.

I can't wait to meet both and I will report back next week when I have made my decision!

To Do...

So, I realized that my semester is starting to rap up as April is coming quickly. This semester I am supposed to do three things:
1. Design our wedding website.
2. Book a photographer.
3. Book a officiant.

I haven't done any of 'em. I've had a busy semester but I know that it is just going to get busier through the rest of the semester and then the summer is going to take off full blast! So here is my game plan:
1. I like nearlyweds.com, they have a $50 2-year plan that will fit us great.
2. I'm at a loss here. I really need to start looking for one that will fit into my budget. I have seen a lot of high dollar ones though!
3. At the church I went to growing up, the pastor left years ago for Maryland and I haven't really started going anywhere else consistently, so I'm on the hunt for a good one in the San Antonio area!

My (much needed!) Sping Break

Last week, I was on spring break and knowing it was my last ever, I did try and spend it having a great week!

The first day the weather was bad (but we still fished!) but the second and third were gorgeous!

We even caught some fish (it is a Sheep's Head!)

I love the background of this picture (and the foreground!) :)

New Loves

I have always loved babies breath but never thought about it for weddings. The price is right and I love the whimsical look of it. The only think that it is missing for me is color. I love bright colors and I think that I could add the color with the ribbon and such.



I would have never thought that you could do something like this with babies breath, but wow. I think that it is so sweet looking.
realsimple.com



I love the vases too...

I love the bouts! I just love that there is nothing cheesy about the babies breath.

All other pictures from Sedona Bride.

Friday the 13th

TOTALLY not wedding related, but I don't like Friday the 13th. I'm a little superstitious to start with and this year there is going to be 3 Friday the 13ths. This happens once every 11 years.

Here are five of our favorite Friday-the-13th facts from LiveScience.com:

1. Fear of Friday the 13th — one of the most popular myths in science — is called paraskavedekatriaphobia as well as friggatriskaidekaphobia. Triskaidekaphobia is fear of the number 13.

2. Many hospitals have no room 13, while some tall buildings skip the 13th floor and some airline terminals omit Gate 13.

3. President Franklin D. Roosevelt would not travel on the 13th day of any month and would never host 13 guests at a meal. Napoleon and President Herbert Hoover were also triskaidekaphobic, with an abnormal fear of the number 13.

4. Mark Twain once was the 13th guest at a dinner party. A friend warned him not to go. "It was bad luck," Twain later told the friend. "They only had food for 12." Superstitious diners in Paris can hire a quatorzieme, or professional 14th guest.

5. The number 13 suffers from its position after 12, according to numerologists who consider the latter to be a complete number — 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 apostles of Jesus, 12 days of Christmas and 12 eggs in a dozen.

Moving to the DFW

In a couple of months Grant and I won't be a long distance couple anymore. I am so excited about it I can't even stand it!! But...we are both moving to the DFW area. For those of you that are familiar with the area, you may be asking, "which area?" I have no answer. We have no idea. Neither of us have spent a lot of time there, unless the hours and hours we spent driving around count. Our requirements are different and we are figuring out how to mesh them.

I want:
-close to downtown--I really hate commuting.
-safe! This is harder than I thought.

Grant wants:
-newer home. He will be doing the repair work so I understand
-safe! One same want!
-2 car garage. He has a lot of garage-related hobbies :)

I hope we can find something and I can get back to spending my free time looking a wedding stuff. :)

Guy Garb

I've been thinking about what Grant is going to where at the wedding lately. We decided that a beige suit would fit our location and style best. And..he can always wear a suit again.

Now all I need is a lake.... hmmm...
www.brides.com

love it. www.brides.com

I want a picture like this one. I like his shoes in this one quite a bit. www.brides.com

I actually checked out the place where this wedding was. The ceremony would be right on the river (sigh..) but overall wasn't really what we were looking for. www.theknot.com

Oops. This isn't suits. Oh well, the wedding above was a June Hill Country weddding and needed fans too! I love these. www.theknot.com

The "Why" of Our Locale

Grant and I saw A LOT of wedding venues and looked at even more online. He has been the MOST patience and sweet guy through this whole process. I guess that is why I'm marrying him (and a whole myriad of other reasons..).
Here is what we looked at in person:
1. Winfield Inn
2. Ye Kendall Inn
3. Nimitz Museum
4. Grape Creek Vineyards
5. Terrace Club
6. Thurman Mansion
I can't even list what we looked at online! The reasons that I picked the Hofmann Ranch are numerous but kinda hard to put into words. It was just one of those things that you know it when you've got it. Here is what I judged on:

• owners/coordinators--Are they easy to work with, did they return emails/phone calls?
• ceremony site--I really want to get married at the same place as the reception so this was very important to me.
• location--I am really excited that the Hofmann Ranch is close to my hometown, it will make things a lot easier.
  
• rain plan--Yes, it is Texas and it rarely rains but if there wasn't a plan I am sure that it would!
• time you can party til--some places cut you off at 10pm!
  
• overall feel--This is your gut on the place.

Befores and Afters of my Home

I just wanted to show what an awesome job my (soon to be) brother in law did on my kitchen and bathroom. I think that it has really taken the place from the 1970s up to modern times. In the kitchen we replaced the tile (it was SO old and gross) with brown 6" square tiles and a brown and beige back splash. We also painted the cabinets an "ivory mist." I really love paint names.


This is the living room painting that my fiance and I did when I moved in a couple of years ago. Yes, the mirror wasn't removed (I think they stuck it on with super glue!) and just painted (a couple of coats over the mirror. No one would ever guess that there was mirror under there.


I still need to put on the hardware (brushed nickel knobs) but I love it. I'm so glad I get to enjoy it for a couple of months until I move out in May.


I am so sad that I don't have a before of this bathroom because the difference is huge. There is a new counter top and faucet changed out from the old circa 1979 yellow top that was on there before. The cabinet went from the same goldy brown that was in the kitchen to ivory mist as well. We also added the border around the mirror. What a difference!!


So I hope all of these changes will help my very loved condo sell in a couple of months. If you know anyone who is looking to buy a beauty of a condo in soon--send them my way!

Under the Three Month Mark!

And I am not talking about the wedding! Less than three months until Grant and I are no longer a long distance couple. Yes, it is only 2 hour away, but I don't care--I can't wait to not have to drive (and no more classes only clinicals for me and graduation for Grant).

The Food (my favorite part!)

I realized today that we decided on a wedding location but I haven’t given any more information on it. It is about 20 minutes outside of San Antonio in the adorable community of Castroville. They really have some cute shops and places to eat including…The Castroville Café. They also provide all of the catering for the Hofmann Ranch. So after touring the ranch (and falling in love with it), we headed into Castroville for lunch. Super yum. I am really excited to have the wedding food in their capable hands. For weddings they do three options:
1. Formal seated meals.
2. Banquet service (buffet).
3. Family style.
I knew I didn’t really want formal seated because it doesn’t fit with the wedding and people can’t change their minds when they see all of the awesome food. Banquet is good, but you see it everywhere and Grant and I LOVED the idea of family style when we were first introduced to it at the Salt Lick many moons ago. We probably won’t have anyone at the wedding with crazy food requests (vegetarian, vegan, only free range chicken ☺) so family style it is. The number of menus that Gary Carter (owner of The Castroville Café) has is awesome. Here are some of my favorite options:
• Chicken cordon Bleu with White Wine Cream Sauce
• Grilled Pork Loin Chop
• Pecan Crusted Chicken Breast
• Beef Tenderloin
• Confetti Chicken (didn’t know what this one was but he described it, it sounded awesome)
We can easily do two options with family style and then people get what they want (aka both options). Any ideas on which two to pick?

Dog Days of Summer..

When looking at wedding venues, I was quite obsessed with having a good rain plan. I really wanted an outdoor wedding and didn't settle until I picked a great place that has a wonderful plan. What I didn't think about as much was, what if the wedding was a typical Texas day in June: HOT, HOT, HOT! I think that I am going to have to do fans at the ceremony. Here are some ideas I love. I really don't want anything with our picture on (I just don't want our faces waving back and forth to keep people from sweating it up).

I heart sandalwood fans. At about $0.90 they may or may not be to much (they would double as a great favor)
knot.com

theknot.com

www.theknot.com (I like the matching bottle of water. I probably will just do grocery store bottled water.)

theknot.com

Pinching Pennies!

I have a little confession: I'm cheap and with a move (Austin --> Dallas!) and a wedding in the future, I know I will have to shell out some big bucks! I am always looking for a good deal and if you got one send it my way! I read this post at This Young House (take a look, it is an awesome site and look at their backyard wedding--too cute!) and wanted to share my online money saving ways.

1. Online Coupons (all are links. Click , print and SAVE!!)

40% off at Hobby Lobby and Micheal’s





10% off at Lowe’s and Home Depot if you register on their websites

2. Craigslist.com—Check here before even venturing to Ebay (it takes too much patience for me) or Amazon (local=no shipping and no waiting :) )

3. Slickdeals.com—my fiancé is always finding me great deals here.

4. Do it yourself if possible. I am lucky that my fiancé is a DIYer. While I am homemaking cards, dog beds, and anything that has instructions, he is changing the oil, laying wood floors and building awesome furniture (pictures of the goods later this week hopefully).

Pockets

Pockets in wedding gowns are awesome. There is no reason for them (like many things wedding related) but I'm still in love.


www.amsale.com -- I love their blue collection..

www.amsale.com

http://www.jcrew.com -- Great wedding dresses here that I would have NEVER expected!

Rusty's New Bed!

So I had a fun crafty weekend! I also make Rusty a cover for a dog bed that Grant got him at Cabela's! If anyone had tried to get a large nice dog bed, you know how expensive they are (see here). Grant wanted camo, so I obliged (he did paint part of my desk yellow when I asked him to :) ). Anyways, I don't have a sewing machine so I had to hand sew it (yuck!). It turned out pretty good (hey it is a dog bed) and I think that it is strong (everything is double stitched).

Huge mark-off = happy Rusty!


Huge bed = no so happy sewer!


I put buttons in because I hate zippers big time.


And here is the finished product--I really hope that Rusty like it!!

Card Making

Since Grant and I decided that we are going to make our own invites for the wedding, I have been looking at different ways or creating cards/invites. When I heard that one of my best friends from high school was engaged and I needed to send a card, I decided that we should try out card making. I have been making cards for a while, just with my printer but really was ready to turn it up to 11 (what movie?!?). Today, we tried heat embossing for the first time. We got the materials at Joann Fabrics (one of my favorite stores!) and away we went!

1. Stamp on the image you like (no image :( sorry)

2. Cover with embossing powder and dust off when dry. Don't be stingy here, you get to keep it!



3. Decorate the envelope too!


4. Heat gun time.. Just heat up the design until the color changed to shiny.

I loved all of the cards I made. It is a really easy project and turn out great.


You can't see the 3D of these cards. They really look expensive but aren't at all. Overall--great project and can't wait to do it for the invites! Next up is the dog bed project--Rusty is excited....

The Date Game is Over!

Well, big news! We finally picked a date! We are getting married June 5, 2010! It is also my brother's birthday but over a LONG distance phone call (he is stationed in Afghanistan), he said we could borrow the date.

Decision Day

One day late ain't too shabby (after a little schedule alteration, hehe). Drum roll please.....and our pick is.....






I'm in love with the place and our finalized date will be up as soon as Hofmann Ranch gets our green backs :)

http://www.hofmannranch.com/

Hofmann Ranch

Today my mom and I went out to the Hofmann Ranch in Castroville, TX. It is run by Charlotte and Hans Hofmann. They are a great couple that used to run a shop that we loved back when it was in business. Here is the Grande Hall out on the Ranch. They do a beautiful job decorating the place and has a great country feel to it.

Grande Hall.

Inside Grande Hall set up for a reception.

Outdoor pavillion that can be used for a ceremony or a reception.

Patio. Can also be used for a ceremony or the cocktail hour. It is decision time (end of January is tomorrow so you'll be hearing soon).

The three big options right now are:
1. Terrace Club
2. Hofmann Ranch
3. Thurman Ranch (Salt Lick BBQ)

(all pictures from http://www.hofmannranch.com/ and photographer Donna Gustin)

Salt Lick BBQ

Last weekend, Grant and I went out to the Salt Lick BBQ. They have an wedding venue called Thurman Mansion. It is actually very pretty. The ceremony would be held on the front "lawn" which is actually a huge grassy knoll that overlooks a vineyard. The reception would have Salt Lick BBQ for dinner (served family style--fun!) in the ballroom of the mansion. The ballroom is not huge and if you had a really big wedding (200+) it would be too small for you. I do love the brides and grooms rooms--they are spacious and the brides has a claw foot tub (le sigh)...

Mansion from the front- all lit up.

Ballroom of Thurman Mansion.

ceremony site in front of the mansion (grassy knoll :) ). Also has great chairs included... Grant and I haven't been really pleased with the help from Salt Lick. And there wouldn't be a event coordinator there during our wedding... We'll see.

We have one more (I know!) place to go see. It is in Castroville (outside of San Antonio) and I'll be going with my mom next weekend, so stay posted for that.

(All images from thurmanmansion.com/mansioninfo)

Inspiration

This week is my last week of freedom before the semester starts up again.  I have collected some of my favorite wedding things.  

1. Hair Flowers.  I know that that veils are the typical wedding day accessory, but who could resist these fun treats.

www.knot.com

www.etsy.com

www.etsy.com

2. Colorful wedding shoes.  I love this little pop of color under a white wedding dress.  So fun and since white isn't my color (i spill), they are even better.

www.theknot.com

www.theknot.com

www.theknot.com

3. DIY Wedding Bouquets--These things are hundreds of dollars from different florists and some ingenious girls, have said no and made their own.  Even check out this website for a how-to: Flower Video.

www.weddingbee.com

www.weddingbee.com

www.stylemepretty.com