Long Time No Post!

Oh. Hey. 

It's been a while, hasn't it? 

I swear, I've got a good excuse though! I've been busy...with important things...like starting a new job, having family in town, and oh yeah, getting married!! 

We haven't gotten our photographer's pictures back yet, so here are a few that my mom (and sister) took! I'm still editing the pictures from our little getaway to Park City, so those will be up soon.

Since we've been back, our lives are in total chaos. There are boxes and clothes and pictures and things EVERYWHERE. Also, I'm discovering my huge kitchen isn't as huge as I thought. I'd really like to fly my sister's boyfriend back out to finish organizing my kitchen for me. (yeah, he totally organized our kitchen last Friday! He just did it...I swear I didn't ask him or anything.) 

Tonight I used our brand-spankin-new Kitchen-Aid mixer to make soft pretzels. I was a little terrified because my baking adventures usually turn into baking disasters. But, I'm happy to report that they turned out WONDERFUL! And so did my BBQ pulled pork sandwiches in our new Crock pot. I felt like such a good wife having dinner all ready for when Todd came home from work tonight!

:)  

sneaky peaky

Those things up there? Those are what I'm using to make our guest book. I finally found the missing piece when my mom was here so as soon as I get motivated (tomorrow probably) and can take some good pictures, I'll share. 

This is probably one of the things I'm most excited about. :D


**Update** The details & pictures will be posted on Wednesday for Wedding Wednesday! :)

We made decisions. I didn't take any pictures.

Thursday, after prepping for my mom's visit, Charlie and I went to pick up my mom at the airport!!! I was so excited. I've been feeling kind of. . .stressed. . .lately because of the wedding and planning and stuff. (I've discovered that I really suck at making decisions. But, I'll get to that on Wednesday) and I was ready to have my mom here to help me with the planning! 

Thursday we went to Provo, ran some errands, and checked out the church building and made all sorts of progress. I finally picked out my jewelry, two days before my bridals...talk about last minute purchases. (we won't even talk about how we checked on my bouquet on Thursday, completely hated it, and had them redo it completely. Stressed) 

Friday was another day of wedding planning. We went to the rental place to order linens and on our way discovered the wonder of Tai Pan Trading.  Oh my heavens...if you live in Utah and haven't discovered this place...go. Now. Please. The lady that we talked to at the rental place said, and I quote: "You're planning a wedding and HAVEN'T been to Tai Pan?!" like it was some sort of crime. And, I mean, believe me. This place was just...well...that lady was right. If you're planning a wedding in Utah (or decorating a house in Utah) you MUST MUST MUST go to Tai Pan. Now. 

Saturday. How do I describe Saturday? We decided that we wanted to do a pre-shoot instead of stressing about photos on our wedding day (that's a whole new Wedding Wednesday post now that I think about it...) and part of the reason I wanted to do it was so we could catch Todd's reaction of seeing me in my dress for the first time. Well boy did we. It was one of the most fun days of my entire life. I wish I could share the pictures...but you must wait! ;) 

Speaking of pictures...I didn't take any. Well...I did but just with my phone. Which is a bummer because I have my new gorgeous camera that failed to get off my living room table the entire weekend. Boo. So...here are some iPhone pictures because I suck...

I painted my nails just for my mom. It was to avoid getting yelled at. ;) 

remember when Mormon's weren't allowed to use spoons? THIS proves that wrong! 

Charlie missed momma obviously

Don't forget that Wednesday is Wedding Wednesday around here! This week is going to explain how I came to understand that I stink at making decisions. 

I'm So Lucky

I'm so lucky to have gotten the chance to have an amazing photographer work with us for the wedding. Seriously guys, he's awesome. Right after we got engaged, I knew that the photography was going to be my 'one thing I want to splurge on'. Photographs are important to me. Maybe it's because my mom takes so many darn pictures that it's rubbed off on me, but I knew from the moment Todd asked me to marry him, I wanted to have a good photographer document this wonderful time in our lives. 

In walks Bryant Livingston. He's been voted one of Utah County's best photographers for a few years running now (I think he's up to five years in a row. Wow!) He used to be in Todd's parents Ward down in Provo and when Todd's mom Carolyn suggested I look at his website, I did. And oh gosh did I fall in love. I knew I wanted to have him photograph our wedding. And thankfully, he was available for our wedding! AH! PERFECT! 

 The last weekend in October, Todd and I had our engagement photos taken and while they've been on his website for almost as long, I just got my hands on a CD that he gave Todd. He did some editing and I was floored when I saw them. 

I just wanted to share a few and gush a little bit on how adorable Todd is. And how adorable Charlie is. And how amazing Bryant is. Seriously, how lucky can one girl get? 

Thank you SO MUCH Bryant for doing such an amazing job. I'm so glad he was available to shoot us and I can't wait until we take the bridals and the actual wedding day and reception! 

All I Want is 4 inch Pink Glitter Heels...

And apparently, that's too much to ask for! I've searched EVERYWHERE for the perfect pair of pink glitter heels that have the right height heel and aren't hideous. 

So, I'm making my own. 

Wish me luck?

Favors & Centerpieces!

I mentioned a few times that I've found my favors and centerpieces! Well...I mean...in all honesty it was my mom who found them, drove all around Utah with me to find what we needed, and came up with the ideas. I just agreed. 

These are the favors! We're going to have the mini mason jars for one reception and then the other little jars for the other. (I haven't decided which quite yet) And the ribbon is going to get wrapped around it. The little flowers are going to get hot glued onto the tops of the little jars and on the side near the little clasp on the mason jars (I think. They might go on the top but I think they're going to end up on the side) 

 The pitches below are going to the centerpieces. I'm going to buy flowers in bulk myself the day of and then arrange them myself (for both receptions. We'll be shipping these to Michigan. Double duty! Score!) Some of them will have the green ribbon wrapped around the top and some will have the pink (both are 2 of our 3 colors). The daisy lace ribbon will get added to all of them with the pink or green ribbon for an extra cute little shabby chic vintage touch. 

I can't wait to start working on these! :)

I'm a DIY Bride

'Tis true.

And I am totally okay with that. I've always been what I deem a wanna-be creative person. I have all these ideas bouncing around up there in my little noggin but due to sheer laziness, being intimidated, lack of funds, or a combination of all four, I rarely really craft like all the amazing blogs I follow on here (confession time real quick: I secretly want to 'bloggy famous'. I know. It's embarrassing, right? But, what can I say? I just really want to have one of those cute blogs that has bunches of tutorials and readers and know that someone likes what I write and create...Ok...back to non-embarrassing items.) 

Now that we have THAT awkward confession out of the way...let's move back to the task at hand. So, I have this awesome opportunity to be a DIY bride, right? I get to have a hand in everything that goes into my wedding. I've always been a the-knot.com stalker (okay. confession #2. I've been stalking that website for years. Okay. Stop laughing now.) but I've never really had a solid idea of exactly what I want. But now that I have a budget, a date, and that one important thing...a groom ;) I can finally dream!

We're going to be having a romantic, rustic vintagey themed wedding (I hate that word. Theme. Blech. It conjures up visions of hot pink zebra print or butterflies everywhere or crystals dripping from everything because it's a crystal themed wedding. Alright, I'm stopping before I loose anyone else who had a themed wedding) 

So, we're going with a rustic feel to the reception. And to accomplish that we're (hopefully) going here: 

(source) 

I say hopefully because they don't set their prices until Mid-November for the next year. Meaning, they don't actually start booking dates until they set their prices. Stressful, hey? But, I'm confident it'll work out. ;) 

The inside will be filled with twinkling lights 

(pinterest)

Said lights will be bought right after Christmas to save $$$. We all know that the day after Christmas, those suckers go on sale. The word 'Sale', by the way, is a DIY-Bride's favorite word. 

I'm also making my own centerpieces and will be arranging the flowers myself after buying them from a wholesale shop that's down the street from my house. This week (after I recovered from being on my death bead) my mom and I drove all over Utah to pick up these puppies: 

(actually, they're the white ones to the left, but you get the idea) 

And some cute ribbon to match our colors (honeydew green, tulip pink, and chocolate brown) to tie around them to add a pop of color.

I've got a few other ideas bouncing around in my head (thanks a lot to pinterest really) that I'm going to be working on in the next few months. I'm really excited to continue planning and to see this turn out to be a wonderful day. But, in all honesty, as long as I get married in the Temple to my best friend, the rest is just icing on the cake. Because let's face it...my future hubs is all kinds of adorbs isn't he?