Wednesday, September 17, 2008

RECAP! Ceremony Site!

Before I jump into flowers and everything else, I thought I would start with how we dressed the ceremony site. We didn't need to do too much because this was the view:It was simply so beautiful outside we didn't feel the need. I feel like our touches are really summed up below:I bought parasols from Chinatown in LA. They were pretty cheap, but do plan on spending a half a day there to wander around and look for the best price. I got mine for $5-$7 each. Also, a lot of the parasols are different colors with painting on them. Since we were having a black and white wedding, I didn't want to mess with that by bringing in colored parasols. I am so glad that I did that! Plus, it made for some really cool pictures post wedding. :)Another thing we did was line the aisle with lanterns. I didn't light the candles because it wasn't dark outside and I didn't think we needed to. The lanterns looked really cool and it was a great unique touch. It was very nautical too!

Finally our programs. Man were those a labour of love! It was about six pages. The first just had the date, time, and location as well as our names. Then we had the the bridal party and order of service, we had some announcements regarding our ceremony (later post) and regarding the cocktail hour and we ended with our favorite verse and a picture of us.

The beginning of the aisle was marked by two separate flower arrangements and blocked off my a shell rope (we kinda did a whole nautical theme accidentally).
I was told to try to mark the beginning and end of your aisle...to really define it. We tried to do this and it turned out really nice.
We also had petal cones on the aisles to be thrown on us after the ceremony. That was a great idea and I strongly encourage that over confetti or birdseed. Its cleaner and classier. A tip I got from a florist was to use carnations because when it's just petals you can't tell what they are, and they are much cheaper. :)

Finally, we also had extra water bottles made from our OOT bags and so we brought those to the ceremony too. It wasn't too hot on our wedding day, but I know our guests appreciated it. :)

Coming up next...getting ready and ceremony details!
All photos courtesy Sean J. Mason

Sunday, September 14, 2008

RECAP! Let them eat Cake!

Our wedding was SUPER DIY. Some of that was intentional, and some of it was not. So instead of recapping everything all at once, I am going to recap the DIY aspects first since those are so time consuming and many readers are prepping for their weddings.

One of the things I am SUPER grateful I did was to have Mr. Scott's Aunt make our wedding cake. We saved money and it turned out exactly the way we wanted. I have a few pieces of advice for any who take someone up on their offers to do something for your wedding. 1) Offer to pay for the supplies and mean it. We did this and though Mr. Scott's Aunt wouldn't hear of taking our money, we had budgeted for it just in case. 2) Make sure to give the person a nice note or gift. Mr. Scott's Aunt didn't make it to the rehearsal dinner because she was working on the cake until the morning of the wedding. We wished she could have been there to share in the joy of it all, but we have decided instead to give her an incredible thank you note and gift. 3) Be prepared that your cake may not turn out exactly like you want it. That was not our situation, it turned out PERFECT!, but I was prepared for it to not turn out the same just in case. I didn't want to be disappointed. If the cake is the one thing you care A LOT about, then have a professional do it. If there was something that mattered a lot to me, I paid out for it to be done professionally. There is something to be said for professional workmanship (it's the reason they call them professionals.) This was one of those things that I am glad I didn't pay out for. AND 4) make sure you like the work of the person doing the favor. Mr. Scott's Aunt has done hundreds of cakes before including a wedding cake to feed 1,500 people! I had looked through her book and told her things I liked and didn't like. I completely had 100% faith in her abilities and I truly think that made all the difference. So without further adieu, here is our inspiration, followed by our wedding cake!

Our cake inspiration is actually an April Reed cake.Doesn't it look amazing? She got exactly what I was looking for! So similar to the April Reed cake yet totally our own! The crazy thing was that my entire bouquet was Orchids...a fact no one knew until the day before...not even myself. AND! The flowers Mr. Scott's Aunt used on the cake? ORCHIDS! The bridesmaids bouquets were supposed to be closer together (something our DOC should have done...but that's for another post). A few of the flower petals fell off the cake, but I didn't care! I thought it was beautiful! AND SO TASTEY! I thought I would add a few pictures of Mr. Scott and I cutting the cake. Just for fun! :) All photos courtesy of Sean J. Mason...we love him!

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Meet Maid Ms. B!

Our Meet the Maids Series continues with Ms. B!WHERE WE MET: Ms. B and I met when I was in the womb. :) She is my biological sister so I do not even remember our first meeting. (Below is Ms. B with me when I was just a baby.)WHAT I LOVE ABOUT HER: Ms. B is hilarious. No really, she is one of the funniest people I have ever met. We laugh for hours about nothing and everything. More, she is more than a sister. I have always said Ms. B and I are sisters by chance, but friends by choice. She is my best friend. I call her for anything and everything and cannot imagine our lives without each other. We are related, so we have no always seen eye to eye, but the thing I love about Ms. B is that she is constantly trying to challenge me and allow me to challenge her. We both love each other a lot and have such similar insights, feelings, likes, dislikes, tastes, and preferences that I swear she is my soul mate. She is incredibly giving of her self, her time, and her money. She does so many nice things for people just because she loves them and cares. She is truly an inspiration to me. (Below is a picture of Ms. B and I when she was helping me move into my college dorm.)WHY SHE WAS CHOSEN: She watched the Sound of Music with me 100 times in a row and will sing and dance along with me. Who else would do that? Beside being my sister, I always knew Ms. B would be my maid of honor because she and I have such a close bond. We are close friends and close sisters. Of anyone in the family, no one's relationship is as close as ours. We have always had visions of getting married and watching our kids play together because we have never wanted to live far from one another. Ms. B has opened her arms and thus the family's to Mr. Scott. We have bonded a lot with Ms. B and her boyfriend Mr. B. We fondly refer to our favorite couple as B squared. I know how much she has come to love Mr. Scott as her brother and I am just so incredibly proud to have such an amazing older sister to constantly look up to. She is an incredible woman. (Below is a picture of us with B2)FIRST IMPRESSION: Since I don't remember, I will give you Mr. Scott's first impression of her "She seems nice and not like she is sizing me up. I hope she likes me."

Recap! Rehearsal Dinner

Alrighty folks! So as I begin my Super Wedding Recap, I thought I would start with our rehearsal dinner. As a lot of people know, I had a big DIY list and was going a little crazy. But it truly all worked out!

Ms. Kryland, who lives in Seattle, came down the week before the wedding to basically run errands with me and help me finish...well everything. I have to say that there is no way I could have done this without her. She was absolutely amazing and I am so grateful for her time, energy, encouragement, and love. I had SO MUCH fun hanging out with her and spending time catching up on the important things in life. The few days prior we finalized and finished. So I will start with Friday, the day before the wedding.

Mr. Scott and I really wanted to do a laid back kind of atmosphere for the rehearsal dinner. We didn't want to do a BBQ or something on the beach, but that was a lot of extra work and having someone else do that for you is just much easier. We knew our wedding would be more formal, so we decided to have it at C & O's Trattoria on Friday night. They have amazingly good Italian food (Mr. Scott's favorite!) and a fun atmosphere. We brought in our own wine and dessert and that turned out to be a wonderful idea. Our friends and family definitely had a great time. The best part of the night though, was definitely when the ENTIRE restaurant burst out singing "That's Amore!". It was such a perfect evening!!!Here is Mrs. E and I. She was so gracious my entire wedding. I showed up to the hotel to check in prior to the rehearsal. I was exhausted, with low blow sugar, and desperately needed a shower. I walked in to find out she had already checked in for me, had crackers and cheese waiting, a fresh pot of coffee, and a hot towel. I was SO GRATEFUL and she put me in an instantly better mood. Words can't describe my gratitude enough.Here I am with all my beautiful maids!And Mr. Scott will probably kill me for this one, but here he is with all the guys goofing off. My brother is the one pretending to hit him...little jerk ;)

Monday, September 8, 2008

Recap! Bachelorette Party!

Mr. Scott's bachelor party was held the same day as my shower in LA. his groomsmen and friends did an incredible trip canoeing down the Colorado River for the weekend. I know he had a great time and I was so grateful to his friends for throwing an incredible party for him!

As for me, I didn't want to do my party the week before the wedding, so I did it the month before! We got together and met up at the Highland Hotel in Hollywood. The room was completely decked out with decorations, games, penis, condoms, and food! It was awesome! We sat around and opened presents (I got A LOT of lingerie!), ate Penis cupcakes and got dressed. Then we went to a FANTASTIC dinner with the girls (the only real going out we did). We were serenaded during dinner and I was proposed to as we left. Then we simply headed back to the hotel for a few games, some truth or dare, and a lot! of girl talk! :) It was just what I wanted in a Hen Party. It felt like a big girls slumber party / girls night out / bachelorette / hang out time. I loved every second. I think Ms. K said it best when she said "It was like a girls slumber party on crack." Perfect. :)
Getting proposed to! There was also a table of four girls sitting next to us (who I can't find the picture of) who bought me a drink "with their condolences". They were so kind and I thought it was so sweet of them to do that. I told them I would "Pay it Forward" to the next bachelorette I saw.
That's right...I had a Penis Pinata... =...AWESOME!

The girls did a wonderful job and I am so grateful for their time, money, efforts, etc. Thanks ladies!

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Meet Maid "Mrs. E"!

I realized I never finished my "Meet my Maid" series, but really love the three girls I left out, and wanted to be sure that I posted about each of them. So I will finish up with Mrs. E, Mrs. K, and Ms. B!

Meet Maid Mrs. E!

WHERE WE MET: Mrs. E and I have been best friends since fifth grade. I met her at an open house. She thought I was a nerd, and I thought she was a snotty wench. But we worked through our differences and became the best of friends. (Below is us in high school in Mexico!)

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT HER: Mrs. E also loves Jesus A LOT! She has been an incredibly loyal, supportive, encouraging, and fun friend to have. We have been friends for so long and have shared so much, it is almost hard for me to find both the words and the time to explain everything I love about her. One of the things that I have always loved about Mrs. E is her graciousness. She is always the first to offer help and encouragement and the last to seek it. She never asks for praise, but simply lives loving others as much and as deeply as she can. She is such an incredibly intelligent, smart, and beautiful person. We have many similar tastes and likes and dislikes. She encourages me daily and my only hope in life is that I can be as supportive of her and Mr. E as possible. We have been through thick and thin...tough times and good times. But we have always remained friends. Over the years, our friendship has developed and to this day, I can truly say our friendship means even more now than it ever has before. I just can't use enough words to describe how much I value our relationship. (BELOW: We worked together for one glorious year. It was so fun and I am so grateful for the time to re bond with her and try to be a better friend to her. This was at Disneyland for one of the conferences we went to...)

WHY SHE WAS CHOSEN: Mrs. E is one of my oldest friends. We share of love of many things and we share many memories. Beside not being able to picture my day without her, I simply couldn't imagine life without her. She was supportive and yet skeptical of Mr. Scott the way all good friends should be. However, she got to know him and grew to love him and value his love for me. She has supported us 100% and I can't imagine not having a person like that not standing next to us when we commit our lives to each other. I will never forget telling her I was engaged and watching her cry saying "I knew this day would come, yet I never thought this day would come!" and then laughed. She is seriously one of my favorite people in this world. I have been so blessed by God to have a best friend in her. (BELOW: Mrs. E at our wedding)

FIRST IMPRESSION: That Asian girl is such a wench! She is so snotty, I really want nothing to do with her." (Oh how times change!!!)

ABOVE: Mrs. E's wedding...

RECAP! Shower

I realized that I had never posted about a few pre-wedding events. So before I really dive into my wedding recap, I thought I would post about the beautiful shower Mr. Scott's family threw for me. It was held down here in LA at a family friends house and hosted by his Aunts. The food consisted primarily of dessert (YUM!) and was attended mostly by Mr. Scott's family and family friends. It was such a blessing for me to be able to meet so many people who care so much for Mr. Scott and I was so honored to be thrown such a wonderful event with such wonderful people attending. Mr. Scott and I were definitely showered with gifts! More than that though, it was such a wonderful joy for me to be reminded that I am marrying into a wonderful family. Mr. Scott's family has welcomed me with open arms and I truly feel apart of their lives, not just that I am stealing there son. I can't imagine what it is like to have horrible in laws, or people you don't get along with because my experience is completely opposite. I am so thankful for that. First we played the "bag game". There were 21 different household items in individual brown paper bags and you had to guess what they were. The winner got to take everything home. I thought I would be terrible, but I ended up getting 20 of 21 correct!!!!
The food...My mother came down for the shower. It was a half surprise (I learned of it the week prior), but I was so touched that she could make it. Mr. Scott's mom and my mother get along extremely well and I am convinced they would be best friends if they lived closer. I think it was fun for Mr. Scott's mom to get to spend more time with my mother as well. This is Ms. B, my mom, me, and Mr. Scott's mom.This is Mr. Scott's Aunt Carol. She helped a lot with the shower and made our wedding cake! I adore her.I was SHOWERED with gifts! These were the beer glasses we registered for from Ms. J. I knew Mr. Scott would be excited.I got a very fancy nightie for night of from the mom of Mr. Scott's Band's old lead singer (did you follow that?). I LOVED IT!I was laughing at the back of this card which had a picture of Mr. Scott in Mrs. V's wedding years before. It was so special.This was a handkerchief from Mr. Scott's grandma. It was real Irish lace for his Irish lady. She had used as had three other generations in Mr. Scott's family for their wedding. It was to be my something borrowed.Here is me with Ms. B and my beautiful ribbon bouquet. :)

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Suddenly a Mrs

That's right folks, I have changed the blog title back! Because...suddenly I am a Mrs! I have to say it took a little getting used to. The whole idea behind the fact that I am Mrs. Scott now. Even at school when people say "Oh! You're married?!" I have to remind myself to say yes. :)

It's not that married life is really that much different at this point. Maybe when the new house, kids, safe white All-American neighborhood full of wasps becomes appealing to me...maybe then it will feel different. Maybe we just need a year to fully experience this whole "two become one" phenomenon that binds us together. Maybe we just need one more year of close intimacy for it to feel different.

Maybe not. After we were married, the only thing that felt different was the fact that Mr. Scott got to stay around for everything. it's great! But this simply feels like the next natural step...the next natural progression in our relationship. Mr. Scott makes me stronger and more confident. But I felt that when I was dating him.

Then again, there is a little something that is different. There is that fact that we come first in each others lives now, even before family. There is also a perk called benefits! Woo who! There is the benefit of insurance, but also of knowing you are the immediate next of kin. There is also the tax break that I am sure I will love come April. But above all, there is a social stigma that attaches itself to you once you are married. People look at you differently, treat you differently, and expect different things of you. I feel people expect me to be more grown up and mature than I feel now. I see them give me the once over when they realize my age. And of course, we are asked "out" much less than we were. We're married now..hence we are now boring or dull. Definitely not. :)

Needless to say, I was thinking and experiencing all of these things at Mr. Scott's groomsman's wedding, our at home reception, and law school orientation. So without further delay, here are some pictures from Mr. Scott's groomsman's wedding! This is me sitting with our friends waiting for the ceremony to start! This is Mr. Scott walking the MOB down the aisle. Isn't he handsome? And we finally got a picture of us (I had requested one all weekend!)

Monday, September 1, 2008

Falling off the face of the planet

Well, I was told that once you get married, you fall off the face of the planet for a month. SO TRUE IT IS! Mr. Scott and I celebrated our one month anniversary a few days ago and have been living in wedded bliss ever since July 26th!

Here is a brief run down of what we have been up to:

1) We went to Jamaica and made it before they evacuated the tourists due to
Hurricane Gustav! We also managed to avoid the Chino Hills earthquake down in LA while in Jamaica but for some reason got LA news on our TV in Jamaica and got to watch all the details.

2) We arrived home and moved in...sort of. We moved in but are still in the process of unpacking. We are hoping to have a housewarming / get together soon, but man is it time consuming and exhausting! I am hoping we don't have to move again for awhile.

3) I had orientation for law school and am about to start week three. Its not as horrible as I had imagined, but it is definitely keeping me busy. Mr. Scott has already been amazing and I am so grateful for him daily. It is my goal for him to know how much I love him and how grateful I am for his amazing selflessness and his incredible patience with me and school.

4) We saw one of Mr. Scott's groomsmen get married and experienced our very first wedding..post our wedding. Talk about a great experience!

5) We had out At Home Reception up north for my friends and family that weren't able to make it to the wedding. It was so laid back and fun and we really had a great time. My mother put in so much work and the credit really deserves to go to her.

6) Mr. Scott decided to start job hunting and is now in the market for a new employer, hopefully dealing with commercial real estate.

7) One of my very best friends Mrs. E and her husband moved back up north. It truly makes us sad to lose such good friends who lived so close.

8) We set the date for our Trash the Dress / Day After shoot with our
photag. I adore him and am so excited to see all he has in store...more on this later.

9) We are truly disgustingly happy...Mr. Scott and I. :)

10) Finally, I have been so bad about posting over the last month. Its awful really. So if I still have some readers, bare with me while I work on getting back in the groove and updating life. I realized that this was such a great stress relief for me during the wedding planning and yet, I still need that release. So I will be trying to do some recaps on the wedding over the next few weeks. AND, if you're lucky, maybe you will even get some highlights from the above list. For now, I will simply leave you with one of my favorite things about being married:

I love that I never have to say goodbye at night. I love that Mr. Scott gets to stay! :)