Paying It Forward Winner

Thank you to everyone who commented on the Paying It Forward post! According to Random.org, the winner is...

Miss Want!

Congratulations and I will be contacting you soon!

xoxo

A Farmhouse Wedding

One of my daily wedding blog reads is The Farmhouse Wedding. Nicole and I have similar priorities and interests (cupcakes). Well, she and her fiance are now in the running for a free wedding from The Not Wedding. Just take a look through her posts and you'll see that they deserves this one. Voting ends April 5th!

An Urban Wedding

I have been on the lookout for a little white boho dress (under $200) for easier mobility while dancing.* Finally this morning it dawned on me - Urban Outfitters.

I love the first dress but I might have to wait for the sale.

*And, yes, I am PRO dress change no matter who it bugs. My minor was costume design so I'm big into costume changes. I would wear a different dress for every portion of the day if I could! And who says I'm only wearing this dress once? Who made up that dumbass rule?

Cool Kids

Remember this couple?

Well, turns out, they are as cool as they look. Check out their invitations:

Holiday Weddings - Yay or Nay

We live on the opposite coast as our families and most of our friends so there are very few opportunities to see our loved ones. It was important to us to have our wedding on a three day weekend in order to have more time with everyone. Since I want to start grad school next year (leaving Labor Day weekend out) the three day holiday we decided on was the 4th of July. I was pretty excited about it. We could have sparklers and a BBQ. Plus the 4th falls on a Sunday so most people would get Monday off. Then I read this. Granted this person is a total a-hole but would you resent a couple who had their wedding on a holiday weekend? I mean it's not Christmas, people! We're not doing it to save money (I didn't even think of that); we're doing it to have more time with our friends and family. What do you think - yay or nay?

{photo from here}

Linda and Harriett

I love this save the date postcard from Linda and Harriet. I'm big into the vintage font.

I also love the vintage paper as envelope liner.

Free Flourishes

I love a sweet flourish. Free flourishes are even better.

Martha's Invites

So I didn't get all the invites out of my system last week. Captain and I have very different aesthetics so I've been trying to collect inspiration to find a middle ground. He wants a nautical theme, I want retro french...we'll figure it out. Anyway, as much as I love Martha...her 50 Inspirational Invitations just were not doing it for me. Only a few stood out:

Surprise Wedding part II

Jamie just sent me this. I'm in love.

"Boy proposes. Girl says “hell yes!” Girl and Boy start planning The Wedding. Girl is disgusted by The Wedding Industrial Complex. Boy doesn’t know his ass from his elbow. Girl loves Boy anyway. Economy hits skids. Girl thinks planning wedding is load of crap. Boy agrees. Girl and Boy devise devious plan. Girl and Boy tell friends and family wedding is canceled and they are eloping next year. Boy will plan a surprise birthday party for Girl in June. Girl and Boy’s friends and family will all be there. Girl and Boy will get married. Surprise!"

Exactly.

Surprise Wedding

Weird. I just told Captain last night that I wanted to have a surprise wedding when we went home in June (he wasn't buying it). At least now I know it can be done!

{via We Met in a Bar}

Giving it Away and Paying it Forward

I have been really lucky recently with giveaways and super talented people offering to do nice things for me so I thought I would pay it forward with a little giveaway. I have this little shop and I like to make pretty little things. I would love to make a custom piece for someone - could be for your wedding day or just any day, it can be a feather or floral piece, it can be something totally different that anything you see in the shop - I am up for anything.

Leave a comment with a little description of what you might like OR post this post on your blog and leave a comment with the link. I will randomly pick a winner at the end of the month.

San Diego Honeymoon

I started writing a very long comment on this post at The Wedding Report when I realized I should just blog about it. No offense to The Wedding Report but the places mentioned can be super tourist-y. Not that there is anything wrong with that since there must be a reason they're so popular. No doubt there are great treats to be found downtown but there is SO much more in San Diego that just should not be missed. It is the perfect town for a honeymoon or just a vaca. Though it can be on the price-y side there are tricks to doing it on a budget.

Where to stay

Park Manor Suites: Once I post our engagement photos you'll see that this hotel has a killer lobby. It has a spectacular European feel to it and the prices can't really be beat for San Diego. Plus it is right across the street from all the amazingness that is Balboa Park.

Empress Hotel: If you want to stay in La Jolla, right near the beach, but do not want to spend $300+ a night this boutique hotel is perfect. It is two blocks from the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art and three blocks from my favorite section of beach in La Jolla - pretty much only locals hang there so it can be pretty quiet even in the summer.

Where to Eat

Even though I talk bad about SD once and awhile, there is no doubt that I will never eat such good food every again in my entire life. Anything you could ever want is here.

Vagabond: Our favorite place to go for special occasions. Really romantic and cozy and yummy. After dinner, walk across the street and get natural ice cream and a cupcake at The Daily Scoop. Walking around South Park is fun too and is my most favorite section in San Diego.

There are a few places you can go for sushi. If you want to keep it cheap but still good go to Sushi Deli in Mission Hills (not downtown). Watch out for the line of hipsters though (sometimes it take 1.5 hours to get in!). The best sushi I've been able to afford is Sushi on the Rock in La Jolla. Ono Sushi in Hillcrest is a close second.

For the best fish tacos (and this is a hot topic here so this is JUST my opinion), go to El Zarape in University Heights.

I am a breakfast FREAK and have a lot of favorites here:

Big Kitchen

: Whoopi Goldberg used to work here back in the day. It's always packed and it's very, um, boho but it has the best pancakes ever.

I have never been here but it gets pretty high marks from everyone I know - The Cottage in La Jolla.

The Mission in North Park has a long wait but it's pretty good.

Hash House a go go: Another long wait and HUGE portions so split it but yummy delicious.

The best coffee in town is at Cafe Bassam on 5th. And it is super cute inside.

What to Do

There is pretty much at least one thing here for you no matter what you're interests are.

Ride bikes on the boardwalk from PB to Mission Beach and then hit the amusement park up for a Ferris Wheel ride. Or take the ferry to Coronado and rent bikes there.

There are a gazillion beaches and a few tucked away secret places that I can't tell you about or I will be shot. My favorite is in Solana Beach. If you just turn anywhere you see a coastal access sign and not many cars you know you're there.

For music geeks, go to the Casbah and read this blog for weekly shows.

For shopping, go back to South Park and North Park for little boutiques. La Jolla can be pricey but it's nice to window shop for fun.

There is so much hiking if you're into that - Mission Gorge, Torrey Pines and, if you're up for a ride, Palomar Mountain is my favorite.

You can play tennis AND Frisbee golf at Morley Field or just take a picnic in the grove.

There are a lot of good museums - in Balboa Park, MCASD downtown and in La Jolla. You could just spend a day at the park going to the botanical gardens (FREE!) and all the musuems. Do NOT leave the park without going to the rose garden on Park Ave and taking a ride on the merry-go-round.

Ok, now that I probably have no excuse to be bored ever if I can name all those things! For a real life "homeymoon" in San Diego check out A Desert Fete.

{photo by Jamie}

Photo of the Day

{via The Little White Book}

Grapevine Couture Wedding

So I googled "whale wedding invitations" just to see what I would find and the most incredible invitation suite by Grapevine Weddings popped up. A.maz.ing.

{more photos at Ritzy Bee Blog}

Evan B. Harris

We kind of have this thing for ships and whales and stuff so I totally wish Evan B. Harris could design my invitations. I'm also in love with the Tom Waits' song "Fish and Bird" from Alice and have always wanted a bird and whale motif kind of like Harris' whale and mermaid painting.

Hippie Wedding

If you haven't realized it already I'm a little schizo and now I want a boho/hippie wedding instead of the rockabilly/glam affair I was thinking of originally. I suppose it always had a little boho hidden in there but now I want to go total boho. This photo Peony::Love posted today just totally pushed me over the edge. Maybe my dad will get his 1979 Triumph out of storage and take me for a spin in my wedding dress!

Sweet Penelope

Now for some of us who are on a budget, designer and letterpressed invitations may not be the most economically savvy route. DIY invitations are becoming more and more popular but what about the Photoshop-challenged folks out there. We still want beautiful invites that don't look like they've been made with Microsoft clip art. That is where nice folks like Sweet Penelope come in. She creates the design and you just print those bad boys out. I've been working on my own designs but I may be tempted to get Elisa Ho of Sweet Penelope to take over. Plus she does custom work and it's stunning. There is always the option of having her print them as well in case you decide last minute that you have too much on your plate. Perfect.

{my favorite}

Flush Designs

Let's start out with big dreams and work our way down from there, shall we? I love the idea of designing and printing invitations myself BUT if I had money in my budget for a professional I would definitely consider Flush Designs.

My all-time favorite inspiration right now.

WE-dding

I have had invitations on the brain lately so I've decided to dedicate this week to the designs that have inspired me so far.

BUT I just have to get one little rant off my chest.

This whole wedding business is supposed to be about TWO people sharing their love with their friends and families, correct? It is supposed to be an expression of their love and commitment. Something that reflects who they are as a couple. A COUPLE.

So why is it that just the word wedding provokes serious opinions in everyone from your mother to the random guy at the grocery check out line? (Actually my mother knows me too well to think anything I do is weird. Or to tell me anyway.)

SO -

Don't shoot me a dirty look when I tell you I want to do all the flowers myself.

Don't give me a hard time when I say I want a tutu, a pony and a gold skeleton. Ok, I'm not doing that but still.

When you get married you can have all the frou-frou goodness and spend all the money you want.

Thank you.

The End.

{photo via The Audrey Hepburn Complex}

I Love You, Man

I saw a preview screening of "I Love You, Man" last night and I have not cried while laughing like that in a long, long time. I'm a little bit in love with Jason Segal now but that's OK. I did not laugh when I saw Rashida Jones' dress, though, because it is MY dress! Like the dress that is sitting in my closet right now. It does look damn good on her though. I'm digging the blue suit on Rudd too and I wouldn't mind walking down the aisle to that. I mean the suit not Paul Rudd. I swear. (Semi-spoiler alert below, btw)

Engagement Party 101

I'm a little confused about the proper etiquette on this one. I always thought it was in poor taste to throw yourself an engagement party. Isn't that what families and friends are for? To throw endless events in your honor? Just kidding. Anyway, I really want a party. I don't care about presents. I just want to have a party. For us. Do I throw it myself if no one else is going to do it (families and friends are 3000 miles away for the most part)?

Did you have an engagement party?

Who threw it for you?

I Want Your S*t

OK, I know this is a little premature but most of the gals who read this blog are most likely going to get hitched before I do. Lord knows, Captain likes to take his sweet ass time. Anyway, this is me pleading for your s*t. If you don't think you'll want to hang onto those 50 glass jars or 80 white paper lanterns, hey, just pass those puppies my way. 120 teal napkins? Sure, I'll take 'em right off your hands! 10 glass cake stands? No problem! Seriously, email me. I want your s*t. OK, no more cussing from this lady, I swear.

Inspiration Board: Clare's Simple and Romantic Affair

Clare asked me for an inspiration board to merge her whimsical fantasies with her fiance's more subdued desires. I'm all about the little details and I think a marriage between simple and elegant can totally work. The color choices - black, white and sky blue - already set a clean tone so playing it up with fun details won't look overdone at all. Simple invitations with swooping calligraphy and rows of tea lights paired with stunning chandeliers. Plus he has no say in the fitting room so your dress can be as fancy-schmancy as you want!

The Keep-Me-Ups

I have a bad case of the keep-me-ups. When did this start happening to you? I really didn't think it would happen only a week after getting engaged. And having Captain (I'm changing his name to captain bc that's what I call him on the other blog and it's too confusing now to call him all these different names) snoring next to me like a wee little baby does not help.

Here are the causes of my current state:

• What the hell do I know about feeding 120 people?


• Will it rain? Oh my god, it's going to rain.


• Can I really make invitations within budget?


• Am I crazy person?


• Can't we just go to Vegas?


• Will I have enough booze?


• I need some booze. and an ambien.

Is this really going to go on and on for the next eighteen months? How do I turn it off and get some shut eye???

{photo via here}

UPDATE: Thanks for your comments everyone. I know it's all going to be OK. I get like this about everything - Christmas, the first day of school - and usually I don't even think about stuff until my head hits the pillow. Then my brain goes into overdrive and I come up with new projects and I can't go to sleep until I've finished, OK, started them. :) I'm sure it will get better...right?

Photo Fatale

So we may be the luckiest couple of kids in the whole wide world. We actually won the Feather Love Photography contest that I mentioned last week. Well, truth be told, there was a tie. The other couple is GORGEOUS so I'm excited to see how their shoot turns out. I have been scheming and dreaming about OUR shoot since I found out. I don't want to give too much away but here some images I have found so far for inspiration:

Why oh why did I grow out my bangs??? Should I cut them again? Hmmmmm....

{photos via myspace, segue-mag, audrey hepburn complex, janus films, hannah and landon}

Can We Just Stop for a Moment

And talk about this -

That Loving Feeling

I want my wedding to feel like this. So free and full of love. 175 people on a $3K budget? Not bad, my friends, not bad at all.

{photos from once wed here and here}

The BIG Weekend

I'm sorry I've been missing for the past few days! I've been out maxin' and relaxin' in Big Sur. It was amazing. Seriously, go, no run, to Big Sur. The. most. romantic. weekend. ever.

And now I can tell you my biggest secret of all. For two months, I've had to keep this from you and it has been so hard. On my birthday, when McG told me that my present would be two days on a mountain top in a yurt he also asked me if I would like to participate in a "super secret engagement ceremony." It was so perfect and so us. We laughed and cried. I am no longer a crazy girl who writes a wedding blog without actually getting married. Now I'm a crazy girl who writes a wedding blog and IS getting married. Sweet!

I'm not ready to share details quite yet. I want to keep that just for us but here is the happy couple post-"ceremony".

And here is the bling -

And I told my mom and she's already envisioning tents in her backyard. Fabulous.