Carnival of Love

I can NOT stop staring at these photos by Jessica Purvis Of Mabel & Charlie's FANTASTIC, offbeat, crazy carnival elopement. Love this mantra: Vow not to do anything because you are 'suppose to'.

{All photos by Jessica Purvis}

Runaway Wedding

Do you ever just want to run off with your lover man and get hitched on the spot. No froufrou dress, no centerpieces, no confetti. Just you and your man in the moment. I do. All the time. What is SO wrong about getting married by Elvis in Vegas? It's a six hour drive and it would be spontaneous and romantic. McG is not spontaneous and only accidentally romantic. He wants the whole shebang. I just want to be married to him. And to be honest I get kind of offended when he says no, we can't hope in the car and go to a drive-thru chapel. If he really wanted to marry me, I mean really wanted to, would it matter where and when it was? We can always have the big party later, right? Take these two love birds - Jen Gotch (you know her and love her from my polaroid blog) and her now-hubbie. They felt it after just one week! They knew they just needed each other and went off to Vegas. How sweet is that???

{all photos via Smitten}

Color Me Married

Yeah, I signed up at Martha Stewart Weddings, what of it?! I thought it would be useful except I didn't realize I was going to have 187 items in "my checklist" and 298 vendors in "my budget". None of which I plan on doing or using. Did I mention that I don't think I'm the traditional bride (yikes, have we come up with a new word for that?!)?

Then I took the color quiz to find out what my "colors" should be? My choices were not spectacular. Everything was so awfully hideous that I just chose the not so bad of the bad.

So I'm taking things into my own hands and not letting Martha push me around anymore. Some color inspiration I've collected:

Amy Chin

Desire to Inspire

I just love this wild, wild wedding! Can't you tell!

Book spines found via Black*Eiffel

Found via Sayonala

Goals and Vision

(the very first inspiration board I ever made)

I have another confession to make. Before McG and I started talking about this wedding, hem hem REUNION, business on a daily basis I already had an idea that he was ready to propose. I've been ready for about eight years but he was taking his precious time. Then this past May my best friend came to visit. I had to work so she and McG spent the day hanging out and we all went out for sushi and booze that evening. Well, get a few cocktails into my dear lady friend and she will sell her nana out. No, she's a precious dear and I love her madly but she can't keep a secret to save her life. So she turned to me at the bar and whispered "He wants to marry you." I started looking at wedding blogs the next day and compiling my inspiration boards. I tend to get overly excited about things and jump right into the planning process. It's been a lot of fun and I love seeing shiny, happy people at their weddings.

So as far as our planning process goes we've talked about a few details but nothing major. I really like the philosophy over at 2000 Dollar Wedding.

Come up with your vision first:

"What do you want to think and feel about your wedding when it's all said and done?"

Then how you will know if that vision was acheived:

"What do you want your guests to think and feel about your wedding when it's all said and done?"

Last, focus on the nitty gritty:

"What are the smaller details that align with creating those feelings?"

Here is an idea of what I want to feel like when it's all said and done in picture form:

{images: I forget!; brides, Ruffledblog, offbeatbride}

The Epic, Rad and Awesome

So after the very upsetting results of Prop 8 I decided that I no longer wanted to get "married" or have a "wedding." Instead we would be have an "epic, rad and awesome."

You are cordially invited to our epic, rad and awesome!

Well, the other day I told McG that we shouldn't get married. Actually, I had been up all night thinking about it and making myself sick with worry. I'm not sure what about the traditional wedding I'm not into. I have a little bit of social anxiety and sometimes can't be in large crowds. The idea of standing in front of all those people and exchanging very personal sentiments with my beloved kind of scares the crap out of me. And then being the center of attention all day/night? Not my style.

So I said to McG, we shouldn't get married. I said, "You don't want a wedding, you want a reunion." (This is half true. We have many friends distributed all over the country so getting them together would be spectacular.) "And I don't need a wedding to prove that I'm going to be with you forever. I already know that I'm going to be with you forever. I've already made a commitment to you."

Then he told me I was full of it and he liked the idea of getting married, blah blah blah.

But I refuse to call it a wedding. From now on it is The Reunion.

Also, I hate the word bride so if you have any suggestions for another word that would be stellar!

{photo via Unicorn Diaries}

The Courting and the Wooing

Gawd, I've hated almost every "How We Met" I have ever had to read. I'm in love but that doesn't mean I don't taste bile during romantic comedies. I can be mooshy gooshy with McG (new top secret codename for you know who). No, I'm not some ice queen. I love romantic things like Amelie and unicorns, polaroid cameras and tandem bicycles but I hate the following: Sandra Bullock and he said/she said first date descriptions.

On that note, here's how we met (from my point of view ONLY) -

Ah, college!

We both went to a very small, very boho, alternative education, clothing optional college in New England. We both lived in the loud house on campus. We were both sophomores.

Turns out I don't actually remember our first meeting. No, it wasn't like that. I was sober (ignore above reference to party house). I've been told that we were introduced by my best friend/roomie in the house living room but, apparently, McG wasn't so memorable at the time. I, however, had a signature walk (ooh la la) that McG remembers to this day.

Not until I became friends with his roommate and he got a hair cut did I notice him and develop a HUGE crush. Fast forward to me sticking a post-it note on his door saying "Someone has a crush on you. Come down to room 309" to wrestling turned make-out sessions to full on love fest.

I was totally smitten. Like totally obsessed, crazy in love (emphasis on the crazy). He broke my heart after three months right before winter break and came back the next semester with a new girlfriend. (He's really a SUPER sweet guy but was a bit of a serial dater back then) I was totally heartbroken but I told him that I knew in five years we would get back together....

I was wrong. It was actually four years, at a party in NYC, dancing and having a blast, and I was FINALLY over him. What does he do? Sends me a love letter and a mix CD. What a jerk!

It's been four years (eight since our first meeting) and we have moved across the country together, adopted a puppy together and every day I fall more in love with him (ew, I just threw up in my mouth a little).

{photo via A Cup of Jo}

Veiled Vows

Can you keep a secret?

This isn't my first time.

I have another blog. My family, friends and boyfriend (along with new blog friends and perfect strangers) all read it on a daily basis which is wonderful. But there are some things that I would prefer to keep a secret.

Like my non-existent wedding plans.

I'm not engaged. I mean we've been talking about it every day and even have a date in mind but nothing is officially official. Our parents have no clue. Our friends are in the dark. Nonetheless, I can't imagine planning ANYTHING anymore without blogging about it (is that sad?) I need a storage space of images and links to be able to refer to at all times.

So here it is.

Veiled Vows.

I hope you have fun and find inspiration with me on my journey toward marital bliss.

{photo via Loveology}