Regarding Clothes: A Dilemma

Whoa! It is the end of March! Which means that April starts tomorrow. Did you know that? Somehow, I lost track of that bit of info.

Reasons why this matters:
1. Marc's birthday is April 2nd. Guess who has a present for him? Not me!
2. Our engagement pictures on are April 5th. Guess who has clothes to wear? Not me!

I am so woefully unprepared for April to arrive!

For the engagement shoot, I'm aiming for two looks: first an every day look - something that looks like us; second a fun vintage-y look that may be a bit over-the-top!

I totally have my fun outfit, but I don't know what I'll wear for my normal outfit. Most days I'm in either scrubs, workout clothes or pajamas. I live a glamorous life. None of those are quite picture worthy.

Want to see what my fun outfit is?? I know you do! I apologize for the lack of actual photographs. I'm at work right now, and at the mercy of the pics I can find online.

It started with the hat. I got it from Goodwill online (a site which will make several more important entries into my wedding planning) My hat is blue, but similar to this:

How fun is the birdcage veil hat? SO much fun is the answer.

Then came the dress, from Overstock.com

Sassy!

And finally, Cole Haan shoes from Nordstrom Rack. Similar to these, but peep-toed.

Cole Haan shoes are made by Nike, and use Nike air technology and are SO comfy.

A bit of a mish-mash of color, but in my head these pictures are black and white, so I'm not too worried. And the colors are all fun anyway, so it may end up looking okay.

I'll top it off with my new Clinique Butter Shine Lipstick in cranberry cream





And I'll try to style my hair into a 1940s look a la Rita Hayworth or Ginger Rogers







Add to that whole look some props, and we're set. Well. I'm set. I'm not sure what Marc will wear to match me! He does have an idea, though, so I'm going to go with it.

See how prepared the fun look is?? What am I supposed to do for the normal look?

And in the meantime, what should I get Marc for his birthday?

DIY: Bridesmaids Cards

Definition
DIY (abbreviation): Do It Yourself

Pronunciation: \ˈdü\ \ˈit\ \yər-ˈself, Southern also -ˈsef\
Usage: noun; often attributive
1: the activity of doing or making something (as in woodworking or home repair) without professional training or assistance; broadly : an activity in which one does something oneself or on one's own initiative (from Merriam Webster)
2: a way to slowly sap time, energy, money and sanity from oneself
3: something that generally follows the statement "They want how much money for that? I could totally make that myself"

Enter DIY project Numero Uno of our wedding: The Bridesmaids cards. See, in DIY Bride Land it is common practice to ask your prospective wedding party members if they will be in your wedding party by giving them cards.

These can range from traditional, to artistic, to humorous to edible, and anything in between:


I decided to blaze my own path, and to try a new project for me: paper cut out cards.

First, I drew a circle on a card, using my handy-dandy circle-drawer-contraption-thingy. (It's actually a circle cutter, but I stuck a pencil in there instead of the blade)


Then, I drew a template using my ruler and a pencil. It felt like a school project at this point. Anyone else use a ruler obsessively for school projects to make sure the writing was all straight? Anyone? Just me? Okay then.


I cut that out, then used it to trace the pattern onto the real cards. I used my X-acto knife to cut out the part that I didn't want there. A la carving an elephant by removing everything that doesn't look like an elephant. I added a little notch, too, on the side.


I added some fancy freehand decoration around the outside of the circle.


I turned the cards into little pockets by using foam mounting tape to close two of the three open sides.


Then I created the inserts: the card that completes the question, and the reply card, complete with cute "yes, no, maybe" stamp I found on clearance at Michael's and some wedding-theme appropriate stickers.


I bent a paperclip into a (more or less) heart shape.


Then clipped the two insert cards together. I didn't want the smaller card to get lost.


Et voila! The completed cards! I was able to arrange breakfast with four of the five bridesmaids during a visit home, and passed out the cards. The fifth bridesmaid lives in San Francisco, so I met her for lunch one day. Like a dolt, I forgot her DIY'ed card, so I had to pick up a store made card.


So, there you go! The first of many DIY projects that will make their way into our wedding. I am having so much fun so far! I'm waiting to get overwhelmed - I know it is coming!

Adventures in Venue Searching: An Olymic Size Affair!

Our third venue of our first day of venue searching was the absolutely amazing High Camp at Squaw Valley Home of the 1959-60 Winter Olympics

If you'll remember, this was a place Marc 'found' as we drove up to visit the venue I'd researched for weeks. It turns out that Marc spent many, many days skiing there while he was in college. He loves Squaw. Probably even more than I love Target. And to him, High Camp at Squaw is a place where he feels at one with the world. Pretty big selling point, no?

Marc made contact with Scott, the Executive Chef and wedding guy at Squaw Valley. Scott was nice enough to make time in his schedule to show us around that afternoon. I actually can't speak highly enough of Scott - he was absolutely wonderful - laid back and totally knowledgable.

Anyway, to get to High Camp, you have to take an aerial cable car, from about 6000 feet up to the top at 8200 feet elevation. Here is Marc on the cable car. Check out that view!



I found this ride somewhat scary. Terrifying, actually. It was kind of a windy day, and it was a loooong way down. The cable car has been in operation for years, and is well maintained, but I still found it scary.



The view from High Camp was AH. MAZE. ING. Breathtakingly so. Though the stiff wind might have been part of the breath-taking part. Soooo gorgeous. This picture was taken at the site where the ceremony is held. I could definitely see why Marc loves this place so much, and I was definitely in love.



Then we ventured inside... This is where the reception would be. It is in the restaurant/bar area that is up at High Camp, and is open for skiiers during the winter. It is shaped like a half circle, with several different levels and niches. The dance floor was... small would be a generous description. There really was not a great set up for a head table. The bathrooms were built for skiiers - no frills. The view, though was spectacular. 180 plus degrees view of Squaw Valley and Lake Tahoe.



AND! There is an ice skating rink at High Camp! They allow weddings to rent out 2/3 of it for an hour or so. How fantastic would it be to come skating in the middle of the reception?? Can you not imagine me and my whole bridal party out there teetering around on skates?



So, to recap Day 1 of The Search:

- Cal Neva: Wonderful ceremony and reception sites, great view, smelled like cigarettes
- North Tahoe Event Center: Great ceremony site, totally unexciting reception site
- High Camp at Squaw: AMAZING view, great ceremony site, reception site = meh., and scary cable car ride to get there

Definitely some options, but we were not done yet!

More inspiration

I recently saw an article on Real Simple that said eggplant is a universally flattering color. I thought I'd try out an inspiration board with Tahoe and Eggplant. I chose grass green and chocolate brown as the other colors.

What do you think?

Adventures in Venue Searching: Alas the Nose and a Boxy Affair

In our previous posts, we decided to look for venues around Lake Tahoe and set the bar for the 'ideal venue.'

With a more specific location in mind, I searched through many websites looking for venue ideas around Tahoe. They range from State Parks, to beach front locations, to woodsy retreats to mountain top vistas and even to chartered yachts or ski-access only locales. I narrowed down my choices based on price range, and what pictures and reviews I could find. The Knot was again helpful for a lot of this, though it seemed that they only have a snapshot of the vendors available in any given area. I found more places through local Tahoe wedding related sites - www.tahoeweddings.com, www.beautifultahoeweddings.com and so on.

I finally picked a place to look at. I was so excited! It felt like it took forever to me - remember, I'd been looking at this stuff for a couple of months by this point. In reality, a short 11 days after getting engaged, Marc and I were on the road to our first venue visit.

Let me introduce you to:
Cal Neva Resort!


This place is famous for being on the California-Nevada state line. The state line even passes through the swimming pool!



It was also, famously, owned by one Frank Sinatra for a few years in the 1960s. He hung out there with his friends - Dean Martin, John F. Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, and others. There were also parts of "The Godfather" filmed here.

What a fun history! And how perfect for a vintage feeling wedding.





Below is a picture of the (reportedly famous) Indian Room, the room where they have the largest weddings. The fireplace sits squarely on the state line, and as the Wedding Manager told us: the BMs sit in California, the groomsmen in Nevada. The bar is in NV, and the dancing in CA.


The outdoor ceremony site was also perfectly lovely:


And, seriously, could you find a better view?


In addition to the fun history, the vintage appropriate atmosphere and the beautiful view, there were two other huge pluses: the Wedding Manager, Sharon was so very quirky in just the way that I love, and the price was FANtastic for the Tahoe area. Plus they had lots of dates available!

Unfortunately, the only draw back was a negative so large that it overshadowed all of the good things. See, this is a resort and casino. And the casino part was fully in Nevada. Where they still allow smoking. And have since it was built in 1926 and rebuilt in 1937. And even on a Monday afternoon, with a closed casino, the place reeked of cigarette smoke.

I almost was able to overcome the smell, but the thought of people's first impression of our wedding being "yuck! cigarettes!" just didn't jive with us.

Incidentally, it may be a good thing that we didn't choose CalNeva - I just saw this article! The casino is closing "temporarily" due to financial issues. Doesn't sound good...

I had no idea how long visiting a site would take, so I had only scheduled one visit for the day. And that was after HOURS of exhaustive research.

On the drive up there, Marc found two more places to go visit. While he was driving.

Frustrating. But research is my forte, and Marc knows Tahoe better than I do, so... I guess that was bound to happen!

We didn't take any pictures of the second place we visited. It was about 10 minutes from CalNeva, so we just stopped in to the North Tahoe Event Center

Here is a pic of the ceremony site:


Yes, it is right on the beach. Pretty dang amazing.

Other positives:
- Very nice (though not very quirky) contact person
- Price not too bad
- You can bring in your own alcohol - generally a HUGE cost

Negatives:
- The room available to host a wedding our size looked kind of like this (but bigger, without the chairs):

No windows. Just a big, boxy room with a projector screen at the front. With the amazing, beautiful lake less than 50 yards away.

Apparently large groups will have the eating in there, then move to the smaller, lake front room for dancing and cake. But by that point the sun would be down!

Anyway. Overall, I was impressed with our first two visits, though neither was ideal. We had one more visit that day, but it deserves a post of its own, so stay tuned!

E-pics

Definition
E-pics (abbreviation)
Engagement Pictures

Main Entry: en·gage·ment pic·tures
Pronunciation: \in-ˈgāj-mənt, en-\ \ˈpik-chərs\
Function: noun (plural)
Etymology: American

1 : photographs taken after an engagement, before a wedding
3 : historically taken to accompany engagement announcements in the newspaper, or for use on Save The Date cards
4 : a way to practice smiling for the camera and see what sorts of crazy faces you make before your actual wedding photographs
5 : a way to take some fun photographs that attempt to portray the unique relationship between a couple in a relaxed manner
6 : something that Brenna and Marc were not planning on having

Why not have E-pics? Well, my reasons were many:
1. Attempting to budget
2. We already have a fantastic photographer (who also happens to be a friend, and wonderful person). Unfortunately, said fantastic photographer lives pretty much ALLLL the way across the country, and neither of us is planning a trip to the other side of the country any time soon

So, I guess I had two reasons not to do E-pics.

Then, came Groupon. Ahhhh, Groupon. For those unfamiliar with the wonder that is Groupon, it is a website that features new coupons/gift certificates every day or two. It is called "Group"on because a certain number of people have to purchase the coupon before it is activated. For example, if at least 50 people pay $25 for a $50 gift certificate to a hip restaurant, then the deal is on!

Few things in life make me happier than finding ways to save money on things. I love coupons, and sales, and thrift stores, and even (very rarely) dumpster diving. Why pay full price for something when just a little extra work will get you the SAME THING for LESS MONEY. The thrill! (Never mind the things that I buy because it is SUCH A GOOD DEAL and never use...)

One day, I innocently checked the Groupon* for San Francisco, and there it was: $65 for engagement pictures, with all the pictures on a CD, and one re-touched 5x7 print. Aaaand, I bought it. I couldn't help myself! I think it is a relatively new photographer, and though I have seen the website (and like the pictures), I have no idea what we're getting into. We're scheduled for our 'shoot' in a couple of weeks. I'll keep you posted!

* Incidentally, I have also purchased tooth whitening for the wedding. I heart Groupon.

Since I can't rush completely into things without some research, I have taken to looking at engagement pictures online. Fun! People get so creative.

Here are some pics that I like. I'm going for a woodsy feel, hopefully with some water and lush nature-y things.



Photography: The Studio B Photography
Aren't those mossy trees so cool?! It's like another world, and they're this splash of color in there.


Photography: Todd Johnson Photography
I love pictures with streams and bridges and trees. This is great because it has the feel of all of that. I must admit a small part of me wants a 'standing-on-a-log-over-a-river-a-la-Dirty-Dancing' picture. I don't know if I could convince Marc to do it...


Photographer: Punam Bean Photography
Again, dreamy looking with fun outfits! I love her dress.


Photography: Carrie Patterson Photography
I love the sun and her cheerful yellow dress and the lush greenness.


Photography: Caroline Tran Photography
Not quite keeping with the nature/tree theme. But they're floating! I love it!!! I'm seriously thinking about getting balloons to use as props.

Adventures in Venue Searching: The Search Begins

Soooo... Before I can fully tell this story, I have to come clean. I am guilty of one of the Sins of Dating (according to Brenna). Starting last June-ish, I am ashamed to say, I started... looking at wedding stuff! Horrible! See, Marc and I were approaching our two year anniversary, we were already planning on moving in together, and I was in an easy-ish stretch of residency (not to make excuses)... and it just sort of... happened.

It started with engagement rings - innocent enough, right? That progressed to wedding dresses, becase, well, just because. This naturally led me to one of the largest wedding planning sites around: The Knot. And to look at ALL the dresses, you need to join. And to join, you have to put in all your info, including a wedding date*. And so it happened, late one night in a slow Pediatric Emergency room, I started 'planning' a wedding. For October 16, 2010. Before I was even engaged.

Ack!

Phew. It feels good to get that off my shoulders.

The reason that is relevant? Well, The Knot has oodles of information, including venues. Somehow I progressed from wedding dresses to venues. And I was HOOKED. It was really looking at venues that gave me wedding fever.

::Aside:: By the way, the reason looking at wedding stuff makes my dating sins list is because it turns you (me) into a big crazy ball of craziness, and leads to 'discussions' wherein you (I) end up in a big ball of crazy tears. Not good. So, to my dating friends out there: DON'T DO IT!! ::Back to regular scheduled programming::

And then I went and fell hard for one specific venue. Remember how I mentioned that I loved the Columbia River Gorge? While I do love the Gorge, I loved this even more. Here are some pictures:











Isn't that amazingly gorgeous? Doesn't that make you want to paddle out in that charming canoe into the middle of the beautiful lake and just stay there forever? With your brand new husband? Doesn't that MAKE you want to get married?

What is this magical location? It is called Bridal Veil Lakes and it is in Corbett, Oregon. Which I've never heard of before.

::Aside the second.:: Um, please, someone get married there and invite me. 'Kay? ::Done::

This venue became the location against which all other venues were compared. Not a truly fair comparison, as I've never actually been to Bridal Veil Lake, and obviously the only pictures I've seen show the place at its best.

Nevertheless, as I began my REAL wedding planning (six months later...) this place was in the back of my mind as I started searching Tahoe for our venue.

To be continued...

* When you sign up for the Knot, they start MAILING YOU WEDDING THINGS. And, after you move in with your boyfriend (not fiance), the Post Office FORWARDS THEM TO YOUR NEW ADDRESS. Thankfully, Marc never checks the mail, and the recycling bin is on the way back in...

Gocco! Fail?

Melissa is here! As my maid of honor, I figured I'd make her work for me this weekend, in addition to running in a half marathon relay. (Go Yard girls!)

So, my save-the-dates (aka STDs for you non-wedding-blog-readers) were part way done, but I wanted to use my shiny new Gocco for another part of the STD.

If you haven't seen a Gocco print, feast your eyes on these:




Doesn't that make your mouth water and your head hurt wanting to make something just as extraordinarily awesome?!

I hadn't heard of a Gocco until about 4 months ago, after which I bought one from eBay. Melissa has known about them longer than I, and was excited at the prospect of using one, so I decided to finally break out my Gocco while she was here. Prior to that, I had spent hours watching how-to videos and reading about people's trials and travails with Gocco, and how many attempts it took to get it right and how frustrating the whole process was.

Well. I felt prepared. I had read everything I could find. Should be no problem, right?

Wellll..... It worked in a way... It certainly has a particular feel to it. Wanna see pictures? Haha! I'm going to make you wait! After I send them out (in April) I will post pictures.

Melissa and I are going to celebrate today by having lunch on the Napa Valley Wine Train. Mmmmm. Wine. And trains!

A Scrub a Day Keeps the Doctor(ing) Away

While this is a very important part of my job (as well as every day life):


There is an unfortunate consequence:



Dirty, dull, dingy ring!

This didn't matter much when I wore inexpensive jewelry to work, but now that I have a ring that isn't only a ring, it is a symbol of something bigger... well, I want it to be shiny! After a month or so of being engaged, I started to realize that my ring was... shiny, but... not as shiny. Oh no! What to do?! I was worried that the alcohol gel I used regularly at work was eating away at the diamond! Gasp!!

Then I remembered that diamonds are the hardest substance on earth. So, while alcohol gel may bring tears to my eyes if I have a papercut, it is likely not harming my diamond. But still... not shiny... what to do?

You know how as you grow older, you realize how much smarter your mom is getting? Expressed perfectly in this Story People print:


Well, anyway. It turns out that my mom has set a wonderful example for me every day: she flosses nightly. And, maybe less important for my health, but more relevant to the topic at hand: she cleans her rings regularly. And when I asked her how often (again worried over-cleaning could hurt the diamond), her answer: "every day!" Every day!

Since then, I've been cleaning my ring after every shift at work. I'm not quite industrious enough to do it every day quite yet. (And sadly, I'm cleaning the ring more frequently than I floss...)

Here is a demonstration, with illustrations:

Before:



Cleaning!:



After (excuse the fuzz stuck in the prong on the left side pic!):



Can you tell the difference? Maybe? Well, I can anyway. And it makes me smile to have a clean ring. Thanks Mom!

And, for fun, more ring shots!!!

Ring with nature:


Ring with coral:


A rock among rocks:




From far away:


A closer look:


And, finally, masquerading as a head lamp on a tired person:


Taking pictures of the ring is fun! Especially when it is shiny!!

I'm going to go floss now...