Tuesday, July 29, 2008

JamaicianMECRAZY!

We have arrived in Jamaica. Our flight took us most of the day yesterday, but we arrived last night to the wonderful scent of Jamaican Jerk Chicken and the chirping of tree frogs. PS The chicken was PHENOMENAL! We have FINALLY already started to relax and fully take it all in. We slept in this morning, made dinner reservations for tonight, and a couples sunset massage for tomorrow afternoon. It's going to be a great trip.

Anyway, we hopped on the Internet to email our families letting them know we arrived safely (and to let anyone who reads my blog know how happy I am), when we stumbled upon an email from our photag! I have to share, but he is such a tease. I am so blown away by his incredible talent. I can't wait to see the rest!!!! Also, he offered to do a Trash the Dress / Day After shoot for us for free! Mr. Scott and I are just...in awe. Sean and his wife Gina are just amazing wonderful people and we are so fortunate to have found them. Anyway, without further ado....here are some teasers from the amazing Sean!

Saturday, July 26, 2008

I'm Getting Married!!!

Today Mr. Scott and I are getting married. I am so excited to marry the love of my life.

Its so interesting because I have been waiting for my moment to hit...when I suddenly realize I get to be with this person who is so awesome for the rest of my life. And it hasnt happened. I have a theory. My theory is that I've already had that moment. It's called getting engaged. When I said yes to him, my whole life changed. I feel that these last six months have been a perfect opportunity for us to really prepare for our lives together. I don't have a moment because I'm ready. More than anything I am excited and happy to be marrying him.  I can't wait.

T Minus three hours.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

CRAZY!

So, I am getting married in two days. Thats right...two. Im so sorry I am away and have been for so long. I still have so much to share and promise to do so...at a later date. Why? Well anyone that has gotten married understands there is just a lot that goes on in your last week. Let me recap where I am:

1) Just about everything is almost done. Today is my day to tie up loose ends. Lack of sleep up til now has actually proved useful.

2) Showering has fallen off of my priority list. Im just OK with smelling.

3) I havent worn makeup in close to a week. The bags under my eyes are starting to consume my eyes. Not a good sign.

4) Mr. Scott is tired and working hard. I love him more each day. However, I may need to reconsider number 2 if I wish to keep Mr. Scott. :)

5) I sugguest you try to process the concept of getting married before you are two days out. I cannot cram anymore to process into my tiny brain right now. Its full of vows, favors, and OOT bags.

6) Pay Kinko's to fold and staple our programs was the best idea ever

7) Having my mother and two sisters work non-stop on our wedding has been the biggest blessing and my gratitude extends beyond words.

8) Having Future In-Laws I like is incredible.

9) I'm pretty tired. I've started drinking coffee again...too bad my whitening will be all for not. Grind and Brew coffee maker, welcome back into my life!

10) I miss blogging. its such a stress relief for me. Hang in there crowd! Ill be back with plenty of details! I'M GETTING MARRIED!

Friday, July 18, 2008

Monkeys climbing on Branches

So Ms. B and I are off to the flower mart today and to begin making our centerpiece mock ups! We wanted to use Manzanita branches as part of the centerpieces (the branches are amazing), but here is the thing: I'm cheap. You heard me. I am. You see, a three foot Manzanita branch at the flower mart in Los Angeles will run you anywhere from $15-$30. Where I grew up in Northern California, we had a backyard of Manzanita (much to my mothers dismay). But when I say a backyard, I really should clarify and say a forest. So the thought of paying $30 per branch when I had it in my backyard was sickening.Step in my Madre. She flew down last weekend for my shower and what did she bring with her? Manazinta.  I love it! I am so grateful and it ended up saving us so much money in the long run. I promise to take pictures once I am done with the mock up, but in the meantime, here is Ms. B with our idea...

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Hair Trials....Literally

OK MR. SCOTT...YOU STOP RIGHT THERE!

I'M SERIOUS MR!!!

THESE FOR THE EYES OF FRIENDS, FELLOW BLOGGER, AND READERS ONLY!!! YOU MAY ONLY READ THIS AFTER OUR WEDDING....GOT IT?

OK, MAYBE I'M GOING A LITTLE OVERBOARD HERE...BUT I'M SERIOUS MR SCOTT! :)


Well, my first hair trial did go well (YAY!) but...it wasn't perfect. Let me walk you through this.
 I went to Santa Monica to a salon called Forme Salon. They had some of the best prices on the west side for day of bridal hair...and really that is what was important to me. Anyway, I brought in some pictures. Let me be clear...I LOVED the back of my hair! But there are things I would
 change. First...Pictures....Here I am san makeup and looking pretty gross and slightly cross-eyed all at the same time...it's a talent to look this good. Anyways, part one that I didn't like about my hair was the front. It just too boring and simple. It looks the exact same as what I look like when I go to work with a low bun. So...yes, we need to fix the front.
Secondly, I asked for a lot of body on the top of my head...in case you can't tell, I'll tell you it's not there. She had finished five minutes before and was already starting to sink...not good. So I may have her add an extension underneath the top of my hair to give it more lift. Then the real problems started...
 After an hour, part of the back started to fall out...and then, I noticed how incredibly frizzy and gross the top of my head looked from all the teasing of it to achieve the body I wanted to badly...(see below)
I never showed a picture of the back, so here it is. Gorgeous right? All the curl that is pinned up is actually natural!
 I went home and added my silk Gardenia to my hair...I love Gardenias. It looked pretty good. I couldn't add the veil because I was too nervous about Mr. Scott coming around. So at the end of the day I made a few decisions. It's OK that my hair started to fall out after only a half hour because 1) She didn't use that much hairspray and 2) the rest of it held up the entire rest of the day...including a ride in Mr. Scott's dad's hot rod at 85 MPH without a top on the car....can you say impressive? The things I have decided to do different are the following:

1) I will go in with my hair curly and not straight. I loved that my stylist didn't touch a curling iron to my head. I also have noticed that I have more body when I don't dry it straight. Further, I think having it curly in the front will help me not look so "everyday".

2) I will ask her to add some fake ...umph...to the top of my head to add some extra body.

3) I want the bun a little higher. It sat too far down and was literally sitting on my neck. I want a low bun, but it actually got hot to have all that hair there. I don't want it in the center of my head, but maybe a little higher

4) She needs to use a bit more hairspray without allowing the crunch factor...if that is possible.

5) My silk flower...I'm in love.

H2O is Better!!!

On to DIY project two! Mr. Scott was wonderful and helped me put together out water bottles that will be in our OOT bags, as well as our ceremony site. We also made labels for our wine bottles which will be at the rehearsal dinner. They are VERY cute and as soon as I take a picture of those, I'll post one. In the meantime, here is Mr. Scott hard at work cutting the labels!  
Here is a close up of all the labels (we fit four on a page!)  
We used this adorable Nutrition Fact Sheet which said things that were extremely cheesy like..."Love...100%, Trust....100% Fear....0%" etc. 
We just peeled off the labels, applied glue dots, and Voila! Our waterbottles! :)

The Sweetest Kind of Gift

Alright! Today I promise and influx of posts! I feel like I have so much to share!!

Yesterday marked my last day at my office. :( It was truly bittersweet. I have been so fortunate to work with the wonderful people I have worked with and gain the experiences I have had. I am just incredibly grateful for it all. That was the bitter part...leaving them. But! There is a sweet part which is that I can dedicate myself 100% to all things wedding. So with that said, I shall begin my posting stories!! First up Charity Tokens!

Mr. Scott and I decided that we didn't want do traditional favors because we personally have never liked them and most favors cost a lot for no reason. Mr. Scott and I have also started to have a social conviction regarding the amount of money and waste that goes into weddings. So because of that, we decided our money was going to a good cause. While we have only picked one of the three charities (It's a lot harder to narrow it down then you would think), we have begun making the tokens. The idea was stolen from Mrs. Lovebug on weddingbee. At the time I didn't have a Xyron so I couldn't quite do the same thing she did, so I improvised. Below is a shot of all the supplies you will need.
 Scratch paper, two colored ink pads, construction paper, hole punch, embossing powder in different colors, and embossing tool.
Since our colors are black and white, we made both black and white tokens. Step one, punch circles...
Step Two: Stamp each circle with desired stamp. Be sure it is nice and wet and then cover completely with embossing powder.

Step Three: Shake off the excess powder and apply heat from the embossing tool to the circle's ink and powder. Be careful of your fingers!

Once completed, you are left with wonderful tokens! :) The U is for our new last name and I LOVED the stamp. Once the tokens were complete, we put them into glassine bags and sealed them with a sticker the same size as the tokens with the same stamp. We will have three over sized Brandy glasses for each person at the wedding to go drop their tokens into. Each token is 50 cents and they can donate all six to one charity or break it up. We are really excited about how these turned out!

Monday, July 14, 2008

Elegant Elizabeth

Has done it again! Elizabeth Anne Designs posted this board today and I had to share. Its so gorgeous!

See you in July?

So I realized a promised a big post today but I forgot that Mr. Scott and I are going to see Coldplay tonight at the Forum here in LA. I am so excited to see them and have never seen them live before. It should be a good time. So instead...I will promise on tomorrow. I promise!!! In the meantime I will just fill you in on a few things that are going on to give you an idea of where my head is.

1) Mr. Scott had a fantastic time at his B party and came back very dirty and scruffy and tired. He was like a tall glass of water and I drank it in! :)

2) I got a lot of wedding stuff done thanks to bmaid Mrs. K. I have a surprise DIY project but I can't post it until after the wedding. I promise I will though!

3) I finally saw SATC with Ms. J, Ms. D, and Ms. JB...we had cosmos and then headed over. I realize I did nothing wedding related but it was so nice to just relax and take it easy and disconnect from everything wedding related for a night.

4) Mr. Scott's family threw me a beautiful shower on Saturday. Ill have pictures soon. I just feel so incredibly blessed to be welcomed in to such a wonderful family.

5) I went to our venue...things are looking good!

6) I got to see my mommy all day on Saturday!!! It was so much fun to hang out with her (OK, drag her around all day with me doing errands) and I was so grateful she got to come to the shower. I love my mother incredible amounts and things just aren't the same during this wedding time without her. Hooray for her coming down early!

7) I am majorly slacking on thank you notes...majorly!

8) We have lost our day of coordinator. I don't want to talk about it just yet...

9) I have wanted to post pictures for a really long time on my blog and haven't...sadness

10) My last day of work is Wednesday! Then my full time job becomes all things wedding.

11) Lastly, I was trying to catch up with thank you notes this morning on my train ride to work. I caught myself writing "Can't wait to see you in July!" And then it hit me...it is July. Mr. Scott and I will be married in less than two weeks. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? I cant! And I can't wait!

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

I have been so swamped at work lately and on the home front. Of course I am swampped this close to the wedding...Murphy's Law! I swear! Anyway, I am really REALLY going to try to post some pictures of finished products and little DIY stuff I have been doing. This weekend is Mr. Scott's bachelor party and I am SO EXCITED for him. His two best friends also happen to be his two best men and are planning the event. I am sure it is going to be the ultimate guys weekend. I am so grateful that Mr. Scott has such wonderful men in his life and more than that, that I soon will get share them too. It is such a treat when you get a whole new group of friends because they have relationships with and love the man you love!

Anyway, I hope to get a lot of good stuff done this weekend while he is gone and hope to get a big post together for Monday. Regardless, I will try to post a few details prior to this weekend of past events. Ill get to it tomorrow? Bad blogger, I know. In the meantime, here are some AMAZING inspiration boards that have already inspired me from weddingbee.

And another tasty morsel from Tastefully Entertaining...pun intended! :)

Toast Master!

Martha had these great champagne flutes on her blog the other day! I L-O-V-E the Edge ones!

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Child's Play

Mr. Scott and I are still young and not too many of our friends and family have kids that will be coming to the wedding. But I was still inspired while reading through my Google reader today and decided to show some creative ideas to really entertain your small guests and keep them involved in your big day. First a little favor for the little ones.
Australian Entertains

Great idea for a centerpiece!
Candy Spirit


The Knot


Creative table numbers
Lilly Darby

You and Your Wedding

Monday, July 7, 2008

Wedding Organization!

Well, let me start by saying if Russell + Hazel had come out with this beauty before I started planning, you better believe I would have rushed out and gotten it. However, they have graciously given us broke as a joke brides access to some of their organization power! All their templates are available on their website! Look here!

In the meantime, I will just say that there are some things to look forward to. This weekend, I had my hair trial, finished our water bottle labels, started our OOT stuff, started our programs, redid our budget a bit, moved in some more, and took a bit of time to relax. Ill have more posts to come about all the goodies! Stay tuned for tomorrow!

Black and White all Over!

Style me Pretty always has amazing inspiration boards. As I am a sucker for anything black and white, I decided to share!

Friday, July 4, 2008

Feeling Patriotic anyone?

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY EVERYONE! Mr. Scott and I are off to hang out with Ms. J and her BF by a BBQ and pool for the day. Then it's off to Mr. Scott's parents for fireworks. I was feeling very patriotic and Sparkalatti had a great fourth inspired board.
Style Me Pretty has done it again! So I leave you with their blue, white, and black inspiration, with promises of returning soon!

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Vintage me this!

Southern Style Weddings posted this board and I LOVED it!!! I had to share.

Showers coming down on me!

Well, though I still have not received photos from various friends regarding my bachelorette party, I did finally receive some pictures from my WONDERFUL Tea-Themed shower that I thought I'd post. There are a lot so bare with me. :) First off, then details. Look at this BEAUTIFUL table! Ms. B really out did herself. The colors were navy and yellow (two of my favorites). I loved her creativity and presentation.

The flowers had jeweled initials that read K-M-U for my first, current last name, and new last name!
This is my first picture of the food table until...
I realized they weren't done bringing it all out yet! Tea sandwiches, fresh fruit, freshly baked scones, veggies in dip, some of the best tea I have ever had, and this delicious soup served in martini glasses (which I failed to get a picture of). I loved how creative she got with her presentation. She also added peonies on the food table because Ms. B knows how much I love them. They were pink (which Ms. B knows I don't particularly like) but their fluffy goodness made the pink completely worth it!

I had to put this picture of my grandma in. There is no purpose other than to show how much she hates having her picture taken!
After our tea, we played a few games. The first one was a fill in the blank of old wife's sayings. Like "home is...where the heart is." "A penny saved....is a penny earned." Here we are hard at work.
Mr. Scott's mom won this round! She later confessed that she doesn't care about the prizes and just secretly loves winning!
My favorite aunt won Bridal Bingo!
Next came the gifts! And can I just say how blown away I was? People's generosity continues to amaze me!
My mom brought her wedding veil for me to wear. It just so happens that that weekend my family decided to show me all of their wedding clothes etc. I almost wish I would have known about it all before I bought my things because I still think I could have reused a lot of it!
While I opened presents, we played another game. Ms. B had called Mr. Scott and asked him a few questions. I had to guess the answers. I have no idea what I was laughing at below, but I LOVED this Anthropologie Apron Mrs. E's mom sent me! It totally matches our red, black, and white kitchen. That and it is the first apron I have ever owned.
I got an answer wrong so I was hiding behind an antique fan my mother gave me for my wedding day. The question "If Mr. Scott could be any superhero, what would he be?" My response, "Ohh that's a tough one because he was a big nerd and liked to read comics. It's either Superman or Batman...hum...I'm going to go with Superman and yes that is my final answer." It was batman.
The INCREDIBLY talented Ms. Elle gave Mr. Scott and I a beautiful picture frame. And inside, was a sketched picture that you will find in the corner of my blog. She is so talented and I just know I will cherish this picture for years to come. Mr. Scott's mom suggested I find a place to display the picture somewhere at the wedding and I think it's a great idea! I wish the picture was a little better so you could see it.
Here is Ms. B with our party favors...Lingerie Lollipops! :) She is just so creative. Doesn't she look lovely?
And at the end of the day, here is everyone minus Brenda who was taking the picture. THANK YOU LADIES SO MUCH! It was the BEST shower a girl could ask for! And a special thanks to my mother, Ms. B, and Ms. Elle who really pulled the whole thing together and worked effortlessly to shower me in style. I cannot express how amazed I was!