The Thing I'm Excited About Right Now...

So since the wedding seems so far away and by the time the wedding actually comes, who knows what I'll be blogging about, right now I'm just gonna share what's got me doing back flips (although not literally).

*****A HOMEMADE PHOTOBOOTH*****

I had thrown out the idea of a traditional photo booth to my mom when we first started planning and got two big thumbs down right away. Cost, practicality, and the fact that it didn't match the theme of shabby chic. While those are all valid reasons, I still was a little butt hurt.

So I did what most resourceful girls would do, I got on the internet to find a way to make it happen. And it all started with this Snap Station idea that I found. But the idea of using vintage cameras didn't quite appeal to me since I'm not a photographer but after a late night lemon drop session with my mom and another internet search we found this homemade photo booth idea. So viola!!

The decor will be a perfect addition to that of the wedding: think white furniture, vintage accessories, disposal cameras, lots of props, some of my Grammy's things from her house and you've got exactly what was meant to be! My own homemade photo booth/snap station/memory maker and all for less than nothing and not $800+ that a real photo booth cost for a few hours!!

Am I just crazy or is that not the coolest thing to have???

The Start of Planning for My Big Day

Good Golly,
I don't know where to start. well, lets just say, I'M FINALLY ENGAGED TO BE MARRIED TO MY BEST FRIEND!!!
(Yes, that may seem cheesy, but after 10 years, he still know when to laugh with me, when to push my buttons to bring me back down to planet normal (or just make me stare at him and wonder what is HE thinking), when to love like its going out of style, and when to just let me be a girl. )


All that aside, we've been engaged for almost 9 months and still have15 months until the wedding. When I got engaged, I wanted a long engagement (and now I'm glad I did since Meg-a-Leg is joining in the engaged category, but more on the later) and it's paying off in both the financial aspect and the diy/brain storming aspect.


I'll tell you what ideas, vendors, and projects we've started or locked in.

Venue: After lots of internet searching, cold callings and drive-by scouting, we booked the 2nd place we actually met us. It's the Villa Chanticleer in Healdsburg. With the rose garden, and the wisteria, it's perfect. Not to mention it's about 20 minutes from my parent's house, my dad's American Legion is affiliated with it, and it's a ceremony and reception site in one, so no one has to travel from place to place.


Date: This actually took some thought. Although no one had booked it for 2012 yet, I didn't know what date to choose. Our first date was my 18th birthday and I didn't want to get married on my birthday (if you know me, you'd understand: my birthday SHOULD be a national holiday in my opinion). We got engaged June 2nd (one day shy of our 10 year anniversary), and that's too close to my birthday. We decided on a Saturday wedding for our out of town guests and to able to spend more time with family, so the most logical choice was June 30th. So 6/30/12, here I come!!!!


Food: Since my dad used to be a part of several different catering groups, it's a logical choice for us to be doing the food ourselves. The day before, he'll be doing all the prep work, but since he's FOB, he'll hand his duties off to someone else to finish cooking and setting up the buffet line. On the menu:  2 meat options, sushi (also our veggie option and our FAVORITE food), potatoes of some kind, rolls, and salad. (Don't want to get more specific than that, my guests won't know every thing, but it's going to be delicious).


Photographer: This was a no brainer for us. We LOVE Erika. She's the kind of friend, who ALWAYS has her camera with her, shooting the most beautiful pictures that look like nothing special when shes taking them, but magnificent when they're done. She's done several weddings(the first was her sister's) and has more between now and then. It also helps that she knows us and our personalities so she'll really be able to get "us" on film. 


Flowers: We have been given access to my mother's friend, Sue's cutting garden. She is for hire at Missy Green Jeans. I completely love her work and it goes great with my shabby chic motif. My aunt will putting together the decorations for the reception and this is the idea were going for. She did the decor for my engagement party and they were everything I could ask for. The bridesmaid and I (along with the help of my mom and aunt) will be wrapping their own bouquets the day before the wedding.


Cake: I've know what my wedding cake was going to look like since the day the day I saw it in 2009. I'm not going to share what it looks like with everyone but it's so perfect. We did however find the baker. She's a friend of the families. She did the cake for my engagement party so I could sample her work, and that also meant so did everyone else! Here's what that cake  looked like and I couldn't have been happier. (BTW, my mom did that glass slipper and the flowers were edible ones from Sue's cutting garden.


DJ: This is still not 100%. Mr. H has a friend who is a DJ. He doesn't do anything but for people he knows. Mr. H says that he's really good and plus he's a friend, so cost is on our side. We're going to go listen to him in June at his father's birthday party and if all goes well, he's hired!