Slack. Ass.

I have to apologize to my girls...this holiday thing has made me a total slacker in my world of blogging. But I am working, working, working on all things paper for my wedding. I have spent the last two days finalizing all of the little details and ordering supplies to make my invitations. I promise I will post it as soon as I finish getting the mock-ups done and get some good pictures. In the meantime, here is a sneak peak of our R.S.V.P. card. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

I know I have been a blogging slacker lately but things have been insane this holiday season! I will definitely have some new, exciting things to share after Christmas.

With that in mind, I wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

I've been tagged!

I was tagged by Cheryl & Lauren

First of all, here are the details:

1. Link to the person that tagged you
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs
5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

So here are 6 random facts about me:

1. Bobby and I met at the worst bar ever. It is called the Why Not Lounge and back in 1976 it was voted one of Playboy magazine’s top 20 clubs and the same people are still there. Dated as it is, it is a great place to people watch!

2. I have 4 cats. I was one away from becoming the cat lady on the street when I met Bobby. I had 3 girls, Josie, Kaley and Merlot. Bobby moved in and brought Zoe with him, and then there were 4…

3. I treat my Louis Vuitton bag like it is my baby. I know that sounds bad, but it was a gift to myself when I got a promotion and it cost me a small fortune. I love it, but truth be told, I probably wouldn’t have spent the money if I knew I was going to get engaged the very next week…then again, I probably would have...

4. I am a constant fidget. I cannot sit still. I always have to be doing something. Even if I am home relaxing and watching TV I am still on the computer doing wedding stuff or working or something.

5. My parents have been married for 35 (almost 36) years and have been together since they were 16. It gives a girl a lot to live up to…

6. I will only drive white cars. I hate any other color for me. This is a great debate in my household as Bobby loves black cars. We are keeping my white car and paying it off. Bobby will be driving it and I am getting a new one in March. He wants black, I want white. Guess who’ll win that one…LOL!


I am tagging:

Valerie, Kelly, Dana, Kathryn, Amanda, Tavi

All it takes is some crafty shopping...

...to find the perfect shoes.

Last week I posted about my dream wedding shoes, a $900 pair of Christian Louboutin d'orsay pumps. Way, way out of my price range.

Today I found my shoes. A beautiful pair of Nina's for 1/10th of the price. They have a lot of similarities and Nina's are a brand I know will fit well. I am so excited, I just had to share!

By the way, my mom is making out like a bandit since we changed the wedding from September to June. She got my first pair of earrings I bought and now she will get to wear my shoes too. I have to admit, I LOVE my first pair of shoes but I cannot wear them as they snag my new dress. I really don't feel like tripping down the aisle, but mom may have to borrow them...I don't know if I can give them up that easily!

The little things...

Everyone looks good in candlelight and I am planning on using plenty of it. It is one of the least expensive ways to make your wedding look expensive. Dim the light, or cut them completely and use tons of candles. Use them as your main centerpiece. Candles will always b e less expensive than flowers and have just as much of an impact. The photo is from Amanda's amazing wedding which you can see on her blog, Vintage Glam.

If you cannot do strictly candle centerpieces, consider adding lots of votives. I got mine at the Holy Grail of all things cheap, Old Time Pottery. Perfect cylinder votive holders for 39 cents each. Add some votive candles from Quick Candles for 17 cents each and you have a lot of look for a little dough.

Since we are on the topic of hair...

...These are some of my favorites and the inspiration for my look.

I definitely want to do an updo with some sort of feather and floral accent. I love the look of the second photo in on the top row. That has such a retro, glamorous vibe to it and is really my main inspiration.

As for the veil, I am actually having two! I am doing a very traditional cathedral length veil for the ceremony and changing into a birdcage veil for the cocktail hour and as long as I can put up with it for the reception. I love the look of both so much and I just couldn't choose between them. On that same note, a great place to shop for a veil if you are a bride on a budget is Occansey Designs. There you can make a custom veil (or two) for a fraction of the cost of most bridal salons.

Hair & Make-up: The bane of my wedding existence.

I don't know about you, but this by far has been my biggest wedding challenge. It is one of those things I thought I had all figured out but then I started to do a little too much research and just like that, I quickly found myself in the land of the undecided.

I am not necessarily talking about how I want to wear my hair and makeup, more like who is going to do it. I was fine until I started reading all the reviews. But that is what you are supposed to do, right? I mean, you can't go around town trying every stylist and make-up artist available? Well, I guess you could, but at what cost? Ugh.

I guess it is just SO important to me. I spent so much time and effort doing all this research on different hairstyles I would like, plowing through magazines looking for the perfect make-up look...Not to mention the fortune invested in a dress and veils and accessories! All so I can look just right on my big day.

I guess I just don't want someone to screw it all up at the eleventh hour or I am just too much of a control freak to really trust someone else to do it. Either way, and once again, ugh. Luckily for me, I have time. So for now, it will stay completely undecided.

Thanks for listening to my ramblings. I needed to let that one out...

How to Tuesday!

How to...Make your own "perfect pair" signs!

One day I came across these super cute "perfect pair" signs from knottie Suzebride and I absolutely fell in love with them. They are super easy to do. I used Microsoft Publisher to make these signs. If you do not have Publisher, you can download a 60 day free trial here.

For this project you will need:

Microsoft Publisher

Heavy cardstock

Wide ribbon

Paper cutter

Exacto Knife

1. Start a blank document on Publisher. You want to choose a custom size and make it 6.5" x 11". Go to format and select background. Choose the color you would like your background to be. I chose yellow.
2. Next add a box. There will be a toolbar to the left with all sorts of shapes and options on it. Select the rectangle and draw your box. The one in the photo is 5" x 9.5". After you draw your box you can format it by either double clicking or right clicking and selecting "format autoshape". Here you can select the type of line, weight, color, etc. I used a solid 8pt line. I also chose a fill color to make a nice background for the lettering.
3. Next, add a text box. You can find this on the same left hand toolbar. It is the first option. It looks like a bunch of squigily lines with an "A" on it. draw out your text box and type the wording you want in it. In the sample I typed the first word "perfect" and changed the font to "benjamin" size 200pt.
4. Your sign is done at this point, now all you have to do is print it out. The best thing to use is heavy cardstock. I printed them on my home printer on the highest quality setting.
5. Finally, cut the sign to size using a paper cutter. Then, using an exacto knife cut slits the width of the ribbon you are planning on using in the cardstock. The best place is hidden where the wide outer border meets the first border. I noted the area on the photo. Run your ribbon through the slits, tie to your chair and voila, "perfect pair" chair back signs!

Is it wrong...

That I want to spend as much on my shoes for the wedding as I spent on my dress? Sometimes it is really tempting to do platinum on platinum...I don't even want to admit what I would do for these gorgeous Christian Louboutin shoes for my wedding. Maybe I will get lucky and they will end up on Bluefly or eBay for half the price. Oh, one can dream!

How I would take boudoir shots...

In honor of my girl Robyn who is taking her boudoir shots today I thought I would post a little collage of some sexy pics! These AMAZING photos were taken by Beth Cocuzzi of Pussycat Pinups. Her work is so brilliant and I wish I lived in L.A. to take advantage of her superior talent. I love the look of these pin-up boudoir shots. I am obsessed with the 1940's and if I decide to take them, this is the look I would want. These women are so beautiful and exude sex appeal with no need to bare all. I love that it leaves a little to the imagination, but remains undeniably sexy!

Why aren't you on sale?

I saw this super cute dress I must have for my rehearsal on Mod Cloth. It fits perfectly into my little retro wedding. I can totally picture it with some cute yellow and gray flats like these from JCrew. So adorable.

The little things...

We all know the saying "don't sweat the small stuff" but in a platinum wedding, it is all about the small stuff. The details are everything. In this weekly post will focus on just that, the details.

I am utterly obsessed with brooches. I have been collecting them for my bridesmaids, mom, grandmother, myself...basically everyone who will have either a bouquet or corsage for the wedding. I think they add a little detail that is unexpected. They also give all of the women in your wedding a keepsake they can use again. All of the above brooches are from eBay store The House of Crystal. Every auction starts at 99 cents with free shipping. Happy shopping!

This wasn't popular when I picked it last year...

When we decided on June we also decided to have a summer themed wedding. For me, yellow has always been a summer color and I absolutely LOVE the color gray. I have used it in my house so I figured why not use it for my wedding too. Somehow this is become "the" new color scheme. Oh well, what are you going to do, I still love it though! The photo is my inspiration board I did for my wedding. Enjoy!

A little about me...

Ok, so I guess I should tell you a little about me. My name is Christina and I am a Wedding-a-holic. (Crowd says "hi, Christina".) Seriously, I have issues. I live, breathe, sleep my wedding. I am that crazy, obsessed bride. I can't help it. I just can't.

In my non-bride life I work as an interior designer by way of artist and pastry chef. I have done interiors for over 8 years now and I love it. However, my new passion is weddings. I love everything about them, and not just my own. I am seriously reconsidering my career at this point. Ok, there I go again, wedding rambling...

Anywho, I am engaged to my wonderfully sweet and loving fiance Bobby. We have been together for 5 1/2 years now and we are getting ready for our June 12, 2009 wedding. I cannot wait to be his Mrs. It is so exciting!

P.S.-I am also completely and utterly addicted to The Knot Boards. I am not kidding. Completely addicted.

First Blog, First Post

When I first started planning this wedding I did what every other girl planning her wedding does, I logged on to The Knot and started watching every bridal show known to mankind. One day I stumbled across the weekly display of wretched excess called Platinum Weddings. I am sure you have seen this show. It is the one where all these ridiculously rich people spend more than I owe on my house for their weddings. Yeah...that wasn't going to happen.

I soon found myself addicted to this show. It was like a car wreck. I didn't want to watch but I couldn't take my eyes off of it. Worst part of it all was that I too wanted the platinum wedding. I wanted the decor, the flowers, the dress, everything. One big problem though, I had nowhere near the budget these couples had.

So it began, my platinum wedding on a budget.