The Weather

We arrived in Flagstaff Monday, five days before our wedding and it was just beautiful.  The sky was bright blue, the sun was shining, there was gorgeous mounds of snow piled on the ground and the temperature was comfortable.  The 10 day forecast at the time was predicting 10 more days just like that.  SWEET!!  By Wednesday there was a predicted snow storm rolling in on Monday, by Thursday the storm was hitting Saturday--the day of our wedding, but by friday morning it had already begun.  Guests were flying and driving in from all over the country and I was concerned about people getting to and from the rehearsal dinner, ceremony and reception safely. 

Saturday morning on the drive over to get ready for the big day the storm hit big time.  The snow and wind were swirling all about us.  It was freezing, the wind was crazy, and I didn't get half of the shots I wanted because it was just too dang cold to stay outside. BUT, after it was all said and done, by the time everyone got to the lodge for the reception, everyone commented on how cozy, warm and intimate it was.  It truly felt like a fairy tale looking out the windows and seeing blankets of white. 

I knew people were anxious about the drive back to Flagstaff (the reception was about 25 miles away) and wanted to get on the roads before they got too bad.  I think I probably had the shortest reception of all time...started around 5:30 and we were out of there by 8:30pm...yet we got in all the elements of a reception, it was SO FREAKING fun, and my baby and I (we waited to have sex until our wedding night...so we were anxious to get back to our honeymoon suite if you know what I mean...wink, wink) wanted to get to business.  Our friends got back safely and partied in downtown Flagstaff the rest of the night and people told us that our wedding was the best and most fun they've ever attended!  Woohoo! 

So I guess if rain means good luck on your wedding day, a blizzard must mean we have an amazing future to look forward to!

When Things Go Wrong: Part III

I am supposed to be in Miami right now on a layover waiting to fly to Panama City, Panama.  Instead, I'm still in Flagstaff with a urinary tract infection from hell.  *Warning...talk about sex and medical stuff is about to be discussed, so if you are my grandmother or from church, this might make you a little uncomfortable.  I would stop reading NOW. 

Ok, if you're still with me, I have to say that every single moment until last night at around 11:30 pm has been blissful.  Andy and I waited to have sex until our wedding night...I know...this is hard to believe in this day and age--but we were committed to waiting.  So, needless to say, we had lots and lots and lots of sex in the past few days.  What I don't understand is why, when I found myself doubled over in pain last night and called my friends to tell them that I had a wicked UTI, none of them seem surprised?!  "Oh, that's really common...yeah...lots of women get them on their honeymoon."  Um....where is the handbook that says don't have sex in a jacuzzi tub bubble bath?  Or, make sure to pee before and after sex.  Ugh...lesson learned. 

I know in the future Andy and I will look back and laugh.  I was in so much pain I couldn't leave the toilet seat for about 7 hours.  He was there right by my side, rubbing my back and wiping my tears.  He drove out in the wee hours of the morning to pick up antibiotics, cranberry tablets and all sorts of other remedies to try to ease my pain.  He even pulled out a deck of cards to distract me.  What a sight that must have been...me on the toilet seat, him sitting on the bathtub with a pillow between us as a table and us playing cards.  I couldn't help but laugh out loud at the situation.   All I kept thinking about is the fact that there was no way I was going to be able to fly.  He held my hand and said it would all work out.  So, praise the Lord, we got our flights moved to Friday, rearranged our hotel stay, and my antibiotics are kicking in. 

And, I have the most amazing, wonderful, compassionate, loving, studly husband in the universe.

Miss to Mrs.

Wow...all the planning, all the details, all the craziness, and it was all worth it.  February 20th, 2010 was the best day of my life.  It was so much freaking fun!  I was so excited the night before I barely slept one hour, but I ran on pure adreniline the next day.  There are so many particular moments throughout the ceremony and the reception that were just magical and I can't wait to share about each one of them.  But for now, I just wanted to share a couple of photos and will post again soon.  My husband and I (it's so fun to say husband!) are headed off tomorrow to Central America.  My posts will be a bit more infrequent since I'll be posting from internet cafe's...but they will definetely come. 

2 Days!!

I've been MIA for a few days.  The internet wasn't working at my in-laws and I've been going through blogging withdrawel.  I've really missed reading and catching up on all my blogger bride friends and I look forward to catching up on everyone's wedding updates as soon as I find a spare minute! 

My bridesmaids are flying in today.  I'm so excited to see all my girls--it's been rough planning a wedding with my friends scattered across the US, but tonight's gonna be a good night, tonight's gonna be a go-ood night! ooohhhh-hooooo!

All the last minute details are coming together, it finally seems real now that I'm here in Flagstaff.  The playlist has been figured out, the centerpieces chosen, the church decorated, the only major thing left is figuring out my darn hair.  Other than that, gonna get a mani pedi tomorrow and truly try to enjoy every moment leading up to the big day! 

I'm not sure if I'll have time to post another blog before the wedding, if not, I'll update everyone ASAP! 

Seattle to Flagstaff

Our morning started at 3:30am to catch a 6am flight.  Our bags were packed and we were off to our destination.  Goodbye Washington!

We landed to gorgeous sunshine and fluffy snow blanketing the streets.  I'm so freaking excited to finally be here.  Now the reality is truly setting in.

With 5 days to go I've lost 2 bridesmaids, don't know what I'm doing with my hair, what jewelry I'm wearing, what I'm doing for centerpieces or decor, and to be honest, I really don't care.  In 5 days I will be married to a man that I have dreamed about my entire life!

Packing, packing, packing

It's hard enough to pack for a destination winter wedding; but on top of that I'm trying to figure out how to pack my life into a backpack as my honey and I leave everything behind and head off to Central America.  I've got about 30 mini piles on the living room floor and I've been standing amidst it all dumbfounded.  How the heck am I gonna fit everything I need into a carry on and a backpack?

I must admit, it's been quite detoxifying to let go of mostly everything.  The thought of starting off with mostly nothing but the the essentials (i.e., lingerie, bikini's, flip flops, sunscreen and birth control) is kinda refreshing.

When Things Go Wrong: II

Only 8 more days.  My life revolves around checklists, packing bags, phone calls, details, PMS, moving, to-do's and then BAM, a single phone call smacks you in the face with perspective.  One of my bridesmaids called me today and told me her husband has been diagnosed with testicular cancer.

Wow.  Life can change in an instant and it makes you stop and realize that all these little things that seem all consuming, well, they really don't matter.  I hung on to my fiance and just couldn't let go.  But I did let go of all of those little things.

5 Minute DIY Project

I lack patience, skill and creativity to incorporate too many DIY projects into my wedding.  I did however see a DIY idea that I knew I could duplicate that wouldn't cost a lot of time or money.  Project is kind of a hefty word, this wasn't exactly a project.  It took me about 5 minutes...but I've seen this in a few wedding pictures and new I wanted to do it. 

 

  

I was too lazy to include the date; 2-20-2010 is a lot of "round numbers," but I'm happy with this little fun surprise at the bottom of my shoes! 

What I Learned in Pre-Marital Counseling

I LOVED going to pre-marital counseling.  But that probably doesn't come as a surprise to those who know me; I'm totally into psycho babble regarding personality assessments.  I heart taking "get to know yourself better" tests.  I love Myers Briggs, birth order analysis and learning about love languages.  So seeing how my partner and I "matched" up was really fun and interesting.  I think it helps that we were already "pre-determined" as compatible based on e-Harmony's matching system, but it was pretty confirming to hear our counselor say that we were one of the highest scoring couples he's ever counseled.  (Aww yea!)  I realize that points and answering questions on-line regarding our viewpoints on finances, children, roles, communication, etc are not the be all end all of determining a successful marriage.  But it sure was great to learn that we have similar outlooks on the "big stuff."

The most significant thing I took from this experience was the answer to this question.  Our counselor asked, "Five years from now, when the romance and novelty has worn off and you've had the fight to end all fights and I ask you, why did you marry _____, what is your answer?"  We each answered sincerely and lovingly and looked back at our counselor pleased with our answers looking for affirmation.  We learned our answers revolved around how I made Andy feel and how he made me feel.  He told us our answers revolved around ourselves....that the other person was fulfilling our individual expectations or desires.  But what happens when those expectations or desires stop being met?  This is when a lot of marriages start falling apart because this is the basis of "why I married _____." 

Our counselor explained that marriage is a calling.  (*We went to a Christian counselor, so "calling"  includes a spiritual connotation).  Five, ten, or 20 years from now if Andy and I are going through a rough patch and someone asks me why I married him...I'll say without hesitation, I was called to.  When you feel called to do something, when you know without a shadow of a doubt that your marriage is a divine appointment,  you don't let anything stand in your way.  This truly was an "ah-hah" moment for me.  I wonder how many marriages might make it through the rough times if they truly understood before hand that they were called to be husband and wife.  Called not to just love each other, but called to honor, respect and serve one another even when we don't feel like it.

Weekend Wedding Shopping

I was on the hunt all weekend for two items.  The bachelorette party dress and the rehearsal dinner dress.  You would think that these items wouldn't be difficult to find, but no, I literally drove to multiple cities, scoured malls, boutiques and discounts stores and after all that shopping, my last resort was Ross and TJ Maxx.  SCORE!!  Not only did I find both my dresses at Ross for dirt cheap, I found a gorgeous, chocolate brown rabbit fur shrug on clearance at TJ Maxx!

The bachelorette party dress was difficult to find because my MOH who is throwing the girls night, themed it a "Black and White" party.  Guess how difficult it is to find a fun white dress this time of year that isn't a wedding dress?  Hard, it's freaking hard.  The only thing I need to figure out is what to wear over these cute little numbers; there's gonna be about 5 feet of snow on the ground and let's just say these are not exactly winter weather friendly!

For the Bachelorette Party...found it for $17.99 at Ross

I think I'll wear this with brown tights, cowboy boots, and I need to find something warm to wear over it.

The Rehearsal Dinner Dress...got this one for $39.99 at Ross

 

And my favorite find...the chocolate brown rabbit fur shrug, on clearance at TJ Maxx for $34.99

Sad Goodbyes

So if you haven't heard, after I get married me and my new hubby are moving overseas to Central America.  He is currently a youth pastor which means there are a lot of folks inviting us over for dinner to spend time with us before we leave.  I've only gotten to know his church community over the past few months because I was living in Seattle when we met, nevertheless, goodbye's have always been difficult for me.  There is one goodbye that I found has been harder on me than I ever imagined.  Andy sold his beloved VW bus (Gwendolyn) last week.  We have so many fond memories in that bus--my favorite of all was getting engaged in it.  It's odd, I never thought I'd get so attached to Gwenny; but she has so much sentimental meaning.  We were planning on driving off on our wedding night in her.  We had planned to road trip up the 101 in the future and enjoy many more camping trips.  I grew quite fond of that sweet little bus.  Unfortunately, she needed some repairs that we just couldn't budget it right now, so we had to let her go.  It was a sad, sad day.  I wanted to create a little photo tribute in her honor.  Bye, bye Gwenny.  (Another bus will definitely be in our future!)

 

  

  

 

And the winner is....

And the winner of the custom designed wine labels from I DO Labels is....

BridalHood

Congratulations!! 
Send me an email to claim your prize!

Flowerless Wedding

It kinda just dawned on me that I haven't incorporated real flowers into the decor yet.  My bouquet and the bridesmaid's bouquets are being created from a talented designer on Etsy.  I just LOVED this and it was the inspiration for my custom bouquet and it was so much cheaper than getting a real one.  My future mother in law just called and told me they just arrived at her house and they look gorgeous!  I can't wait to see them!

I still don't really know what I'm doing for centerpieces yet.  I can't really collect items because shipping them would be a pain in the booty.  Fortunately, my mother in law, who is incredibly talented is collecting and planning, and most likely creating the most amazingly simple, yet elegant centerpieces I could ever have imagined.  All I'm really sure about is that we are utilizing candles.  I haven't heard of or seen many weddings that were flowerless, but I think I might be one of them!  I'm not against flowers, I think I just lack the creativity and the cash flow to incorporate them.

Hmmmmm...have you been to a wedding that didn't have flowers?  What do you think of the idea?

And don't forget to enter the GIVEAWAY...the winner will be announced tomorrow!!

DIY Hair: Part II

I got this second round of inspiration from a photo posted on the Relentless Brides' blog. 

I realized quickly that

1. Bangs are necessary to get this look
2. After teasing the hell out of my hair and using an ungodly amount of hairspray, this look is probably best achieved with naturally wavy or curly hair.  Not flat, fine, stick straight asian hair.  

Nonetheless, I figured I shouldn't waste the hairspray and give up.  So I got this quasi, poofy result.  I didn't bother to try and do something with the back...I just tossed it in a bun.  

Hmmmmm....I can already tell that this might be the thing that stresses me out on my wedding day!

You can read about my first attempt at my hair here. 

Don't forget to enter the GIVEAWAY here. 

**Giveaway!**

Wooohooo!  I'm excited to share with all you lovelies my first giveaway of custom designed wine labels from I Do Labels.  I just ordered my wine labels to recover the ugly Trader Joe's Charles Shaw labels.  Check it out!

Isn't it ADORABLE?  I just love it! 

So in order to be entered into the contest visit I Do Label's Etsy shop, choose your favorite label and write it in my comment's section.  For a second entry become a Discovery Street follower, and for a third entry repost this giveaway on your blog and send me the link! 

Good Luck!  I'll announce the winner on Friday!

Makeup Trial Run

My fiance read my blog about "The Face" and told me he really likes my makeup the way I do it and doesn't think I need to change it too much.  I don't want to not look like me on my wedding day--I've had many friends regret getting their makeup done on their wedding day because they felt like they didn't recognize themselves in their photos.

Here's the thing.  I'm a cryer.  A big fat emotional bucket of tears.  As much as I'd looooooove to have long, luxurious lashes and wear fake eyelashes, I know they'd fall off an hour after putting them on.  As much as I'd love to have gorgeous, seductive, smokey eyes, I know I'd look like a drowning racoon by mid ceremony.  And as much as I'd love to have sexy, glossy lips, I plan on smooching my man all day and night and would end up making both of us looking like clowns.

So, after my trip to Sephora, I took some pictures of how the gal did my eye makeup.  

 

  

 

This is a super easy look to reproduce.  The key is using waterproof mascara and eyeliner.  For all the asian gals out there who have a hard time finding a mascara that actually keeps your lashes up, I HIGHLY recommend Shiseido's Lasting Lift in Black.  It is the only mascara that I've found that keeps my lashes in place all day.  I'm not wearing any foundation in the photos, but I wear Bare Minerals makeup for an airbrushed look.  I'm still trying to figure out what lip color to wear.

Anyone have any fun makeup tips/tricks/products they'd recommend?