wedding poster radness

Loved the idea of this wedding poster and found myself talking about it to some friends recently. Figured that meant I should post it cuz if it's cool enough to discuss in real life, it's cool enough to include in my post collection. Photography and poster by He & She Photography found vi Snippet & Ink.

can't get over it

It doesn't seem fair that we have to go to work today. Could I just call in and tell them I'm recently "fianced?" It's a special day! Week! Month! Am I going overboard here? I feel too excited to go about my day "normally" - can I possibly think clearly when the notion that I am now engaged is lighting up my brain!? Also...all I want to write about is what a crazy feeling it is to know, to "officially" know, that this wonderful man I love actually really truly wants to spend the rest of his life with me! It's crazy! Monumental!

My life has changed forever. Or it will in 11 months when I become a "wife" and My Guy becomes my "husband." Suddenly I'm feeling entirely too immature for this...

our engagement story

"Devil's Bridge" - Tony Trupp photography

Today began like any other fantastic summer Sunday. We set off this morning for a day of hiking in spectacular Sedona. When we came home this evening, we are a couple of lovebirds "officially" engaged to be wed. Yes. Officially engaged. What a phenomenal day!

Details:
We decided that we needed to get up into Sedona this weekend, and My Guy suggested the "Devil's Bridge" hike...it was the first Sedona trail we ever explored together in the summer of 2005. It's a breathtaking hike, at the culmination of the trail is a natural bridge made out of the red rocks.

That's where it happened, on top of the beautiful red rock bridge...he knelt on one knee, took my hand into his slightly trembling fingers and asked me with a huge smile on his face! Tears came. Many many tears. (To clarify, I was the one crying, he was beaming!) I couldn't believe that I cried at all - I mean, we've been planning this wedding for months now. His commitment to me was not a surprise and I knew we would be "official" soon. I guess I just had no idea that I had all of that emotion pent up for that specific moment. But I did. It was like my heart took off racing up the mountain and the flood gates were opened: as my heart soared, my eyes poured! We couldn't stop smiling! And kissing! And laughing! And embracing! There were hikers nearby who saw it happen and everyone was cheering and clapping...a couple of hippie hikers were on the bridge too and they gave us a "blessing" (right after they took our picture):

"May your life always be filled with adventure and love and passion for your life together"

Thanks hippie hikers, I couldn't wish for anything more!

So that's the story! WE'RE ENGAGED!

sedona sunday

It's been a great weekend and it's about to get groovier with a lil Sedona day trip.

Hiking in Sedona is so spectacular it's practically a spiritual experience.

Hope you're having a great weekend too!

eco chic notecards

eco-friendly flowers and leaves (printed on recycled kraft cover stock paper!)

So I'm a fan of the stationary shop, Baumbirdy. Like a huge fan. I've already written about them here when I discovered their beautifully unique wedding invitations. And while browsing their Etsy boutique this morning I fell in love (again) with their stationary line...cutest notecards ever.

I'm a letter writter. I have a drawer full of notecards that I collect and send to my chums and family. I save my favorite designs and most special cards for the notes I send my grandparents in South Dakota, and the one's I send to my parents. My mom saves all the notes I write her...(the designs are too pretty for her to throw away!) I keep my favorite notes and postcards that people send me too...hang 'em up on my wire card holder on a wall in our office. It's plum full. I love that.

hint of nature (I love this one best....these patterns are great!)

triangles

hearts (printed on recycled kraft weight paper!)

the worst wedding traditions

picture via Tacky Weddings (which is hysterical btw)

I nodded in agreement with this list....read the full explanation here if you're so inclined. Reprinted on Perfect Bound:

Big Bridal Parties

Matching Bridesmaids

Long Vows

Throwing Rice

Assigned Seating

Expensive Wedding Favors

Throwing the Bouquet **

Removing the Garter **

Drunken Toasts

Leaving For the Honeymoon the Morning After
A Bridal Party Head table (I added this because I think they are awkward...the are awkward if you are IN the bridal party yet your date has to sit at another table without you...and they are awkward because the bridal party faces the guests and eats their food in front of everyone...and they are awkward because they can't easily communicate with anyone except the two people sitting next to them)
Smashing cake in each other's face (I'm sure many people disagree with me on this one...but I really hate this. It just doesn't come across as "playful" to me...it's weird.)

*note: My Guy happens to love these traditions. He thinks they are hilarious and totally necessary for our own celebration. (Makes me wonder a lil about him actually.) And no matter how much convincing he thinks I need, I will not be groped in front of my parents while he searches under my dress for a garter. Not gonna happen. It's just not my scene. AND I refuse to highlight the "singleness" of some of my girlfriends and family members...I always hate being singled out to go and try to catch the bouquets of my newly married friends. It's awkward. Eh...just a personal preference.

What are your least favorite wedding traditions?

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the colors of a wedding

Such lovely photos...such lovely colors....delightful actually.
Pictures by Lisa Warninger Photography.

I love color. Bright vibrant hues, rich dark palates, or soft and wispy combos. Gosh, I really just love 'em all. So, you can imagine how hard it is for me to nail down a color palate of my own. I go and drool over every single color combination at The Perfect Palate. Can't help it.

This is another one of my lil bridal decisions. Color.

The one color I ALWAYS come back to is yellow. I really, honestly, truly identify with yellow...and feel that if my soul was a color, yellow could quite possibly be it. And not just the bright sunshine yellow, but all shades and variations. For reals.

So. Yellow it is. (yay!)

But what else? It's a mountain wedding after all, so green would be a logical choice for another color. Hello green trees, green leaves, green stems. Plus it's My Guy's fave color. OK. Green it is! (yay - two down!)


Now accent colors. Would you listen to me? Accent colors? I know. I sound so particular and half bridal-nutty. But, I care. Who knows why. But I do.

I love the colors in the picture above...and revisit this incredible bouquet that I lust after. It's weird because I'm not a "pastel" girl and I don't own a single article of pink or purple clothing. In fact, it's quite odd that I'm so drawn to these colors. But I am. I sort of love them for a wedding...for my wedding.

Part of me says F it. Just pick all the colors I like and use 'em for different things. A yellow, pink, white and green bouquet...bright yellow centerpieces, and a variety of colors for the lanterns or pom poms decor. Our save-the-date is already an assortment of colors and who knows what our invites will look like. Can I take this unconventional approach to color like I do with the whole "wedding theme" thing? Recall, I don't have a "theme" so much as I have a wedding location: mountain / forest (and actually there has been a small development in this area that I'll divulge another time). These colors remind me more of a garden than a mountaintop. I think mountain and I think bright wildflowers...but I think "my wedding" and I think peonies and ranunculus. Go figure.


Well. I just solved a couple questions during the composition of this post:

Yellow...
Green...
Whatever else I like.

strawberry hedgehog *sale*

So by now you are probably well acquainted to my passion for Strawberry Hedgehog's handmade eco-friendly luxurious soaps. I've blogged about their amazing products here and here (and you'll probably hear about them every month as I receive my soap from their soap of the month club).

Big news my friends. They are having a 10% off their body product line and their handmade soaps! You can bet I bought some fun stuff! Hurry! Sales ends tomorrow!!

real life: broke ass bride

*note: not a mountain wedding...but a really fantastic wedding with unique photography!

I've been following Dana on her fantastic blog, Broke Ass Bride for awhile. She recently tied the knot and posted her pictures... I can't get over them (I've watched her slideshow more than once!)! I've never seen wedding photography quite like this and I think it's exquisite! It looks as though the actual "theme" of the wedding was "happiness and jubilation!" Check out their images here...you must. You'll smile for sure!

wedding wish wednesday: #6 having handy helpers

Julie Harris Photography

Being the diy bride that I am aspiring to be, I realize that it will not be as "easy" as I assume. I know that I'll need help, probably crazy tons of it. No no, I'm not stressing already...I swear. I actually think that it could be really fun to decorate and get things set up with my friends and family. There are a zillion things to accomplish that day: make bouquets and flower arrangements, hanging lights and pom poms or lanterns, set up the centerpieces, light candles, do the mantle, cake table, heirloom pictures, isle decorations...and all those other things that I haven't even thought about yet.

My wish is that my friends WANT to help! That people jump in and take part in creating the celebration with us. My sister keeps telling me, "yea right, you are going to be getting ready all morning you won't have time to decorate!" I guess this could be true...I dunno. It just sounds like it would be memorable to spend a couple of hours with my buddies being crafty.

I have such talented folks in my life, if they help me, our celebration will be even more fantastic than I can imagine. Plus, I think it sounds like homespun fun. Hey. A girl can wish.

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diy: photobooth invitation

Found this rad idea on iDiY...is this not the COOLEST!? I happen to adore it.

*note: enter the 125 free save-the-date contest and you could use this idea!

weeds + mason jars = fantastic

Got give it up to my girl Linda who sent me this link from her current home in Brazil!

Aren't these fantastic? Simple, and green,and perfectly summer. I really love how clean and pretty the presentation is. Who knew weeds could look so chic?

tina tarnoff papercuts sale

While doing a lil extra Etsy surfing tonight I stumbled across Tina Tarnoff, an artist whose work is created using paper cut by hand. Her work is delightful! The best part, for June 21 and 22 her Etsy shop is having a Summer Solstice sale: buy 1 get 1 FREE!! I had to get the word out on this wonderful deal to all my artistic blogging friends who appreciate a beautiful piece of artwork (that's affordable!)!!!

Some of her pieces are romantic, some are whimsical, and all are lovely.

new quirky beauty pieces

Dana over at Quirky Beauty has some new pieces that are definitely worth a browse...and a buy. She even has a new necklace collection and a new veil collection!

a table full of flickering flames

Hello beautiful table. I love you. I really do.

Mason jars are back on. (via here.)

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etsy insight: fascinating creations

Remember my first bridal buy? I love it!

Fascinating Creations, a lovely lil Etsy shop, is full of hand-made, fashion forward, ridiculously chic and affordable bridal birdcage veils. To be honest, I never really thought that I was a "birdcage bride" but I immediately felt smitten with this veil and the price was right so I went for it! So glad I did - have you seen my bridal portraits??






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milkglass musings

via Style Me Pretty

I've written about mason jar centerpieces here and here and really truly thought that would be my direction. Until I see images that look like these and I get all hung up on hobnail milk glass. It would bring a lil more elegance to the inside of our ski lodge that's for sure.

Sure is pretty.

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wedding wish wednesday #5: that they "get it"

image via Jennifer Bowen

Do you ever think about the direction your wedding would take if it weren't for blogland? I do. And it makes me thank my lucky stars that I found my way to the blogosphere. It's opened my mind to expressing my own unique taste and sense of style. However...when the typical and traditional wedding "rules" aren't followed, how do guests react? For example, when I brought up the notion of wanting pies instead of a wedding cake, I was met with faces of confusion. If details like "pie" throws people for a loop, how will people react to the rest of the slightly whimsical details I hope we embrace for our celebration?

One of the benefits of blogland is that we have the luxury of being inspired by the designs and details that suit our tastes by following our fave blogs. I've noticed that I tend to gravitate towards the homespun simple organic weddings where brides look unfusy (yet lovely of course!), where ceremonies are performed in nature, the stationary is unique and art-inspired, that green eco-friendly concepts flourish, my list goes on.

I have a wedding wish that my guests "get it" - that they realize that the small details of our celebration are meaningful, deliberate and a true expression of who we are.

hand drawn invitations

Saw these on Green Wedding Shoes...too stinkin' cool for words. Artist Anna Bond, created her customized stationary company, RIFLE...check out their site and their blog. This is the kind of thing that I would spend my entire budget on if I gave into my compulsive behavior. I'm trying to be very very strong during this whole "idea accumulation stage." Because I love this. Loads.


*DON'T FORGET to enter the contest to win *125 INVITATIONS* here!

my bestie was the chillest bride

My best friend's wedding was this past weekend. Their wedding rocked and let me tell you why:

1. in selecting a venue, they wanted a beautiful place that was fun, lovely and affordable....AND let them have an affordable open bar cuz these two like to par-tay! They hit the jackpot with the western ranch they found and everything fell into place.

2. flowers = she picked her favorite flower, in her favorite color, and she was done. This took her a whole 5 seconds to accomplish.

3. dress = she tried on a couple dresses and ended up buying her favorite one the same day (this actually saved her money too, as the boutique she was in gave a discount if you bought on your first visit.)

4. delegation = Becky's big sister, and Matron of Honor, loves weddings and pretty much took it upon herself to organize the details as Becky really doesn't care about minutia.

5. favors = her sis suggested fortune cookies, Becky liked the idea. Done.

6. bridesmaid dresses = one Saturday as many of her bridesmaids as possible got together to go look for dresses. She wanted us to all wear the same dress in a specific green, so we went to a couple bridal boutiques and we all tried on dresses. The one that looked the best on all of us "won." (this was actually a really fun thing to do, it gave us girlies a chance to hang and plan bachelorette weekend stuff)

7. hair = picked up a sparkly rhinestone headband at a jewelry booth back in January when we were at a bridal convention. She didn't go back and forth on the matter....she didn't try it on a gazillion times and wonder, "should I get it!? I don't know! OMG!" No. No. She saw it, liked it, tried it on, sold. Then...while getting ready she realized that the headband might give her a headache so she skipped it...hello comfort!

8. rehearsal dinner = catered Mexican food in her sister's backyard...it was a rad PARTY in itself!

9. alcohol = open bar, obviously. And amazingly.

10. centerpieces = the venue had several options, or she could have brought in her own. She selected one they already had. They were pretty. And included at no cost. Easy choice.

11. photographer = found one. Didn't stress about it...didn't interview a crazy ton. Just found one that took good pictures.

12. groomsmen = they will wear whatever Joe (her now hubby) wanted and she didn't care at all.

13. cake = at the taste testing she liked four of the samples so much she ordered one layer of each...but she didn't care to learn the actual "types" of these cakes. This is typical Becky and made me crack up: when I asked her what flavors she picked out she shrugged, "I dunno...but they are GOOD!"

14. officiant = friend of a friend.

15. time of ceremony = sunset. Duh. We live in Arizona where the sunsets are magical.

16. make-up = left that to the pros at M.A.C.

17. hair = friend of a friend (btw she has the most gorgeous red hair...like....ever....and her hair was breathtaking and is now how I want to wear my hair for my wedding...is that too copy-cat?)

18. ceremony = traditional short and sweet "I Do's"...no stressing over composing "the perfect vows". It was lovely and I cried...a lot of us cried.

19. guest list = invited all the family and the best of best friends they could possibly afford. And everyone was there...it was a freakin' reunion of massive proportions. I squealed all night long hugging old friends, hearing of their current adventures, meeting friend's new babies and spouses. It was amazing.

20. guest book = snapfish book of their engagement shots via A Sophisticated View.

We cried a little, danced a lot, drank a few, and had the best day ever. Wedding wishes do come true!

busy being becky's bridesmaid

One Love Photo

I'm standing in my best friend's wedding this weekend and I'm so excited! Though I did try my bridesmaid dress on last night (it's been a month or so since I've done that) and I found that it is too small...I look a lot like a sausage. Had to don two pairs of Spankx and the thing zipped up.

I know what happened, I discovered Capt'n Crunch: Crunch Berries and now I'm addicted. Whoops.

wedding posters anyone?

ello there via here

Poster Bride

I've already posted about Unless Someone Like You here (because I've been totally smitten with her work for the past year) and I just can't shake the idea of having a wedding poster. It sounds so fun and quirky...a real momento.

I have no intention of actually sending people rolled up posters as invitations...talk about expensive...and really nobody wants a poster about someone else's wedding, right? Not even my mother. But I like (as in really really like) the idea of having a poster made up for us, and then using the same image printed small to send through the mail the "normal" way.

I have visions of vintage western travel posters dancing around in my head.

here and here: from here

here and here: both from here

ello there via here

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