i was born by the river

it's the home stretch guys! i have exactly 29 days (excluding today) until i become a mrs! i'm getting a bit anxious because we've been dealing with some not-so-reliable vendors and because so many of the things on my monthly to-do lists for this wedding have been pushed into the month of may. however, there's a silver lining too: we signed the lease on our new home (hence, all the pins of interiors on my pinterest lately)!

this last period has been very bittersweet and full of mixed feelings. i don't usually talk about very serious/personal things here, but one of the most difficult things about this period of time is my grandmother. she has fourth-stage lung cancer, but by God's grace has been okay for the most part living on her own... until the past couple weeks. the wonderful part of having my own business, is my ability to go and see her in the middle of the week and just help where needed. last week when i went to see her, i found that she had fallen in the restroom and couldn't get up for hours. we took her to the ER, where the doctor found fractures in both feet and in her hip. i know i shouldn't, but i feel so guilty that my wedding is during this period of time, where our family has more than enough to deal with. yet, despite what seems to be a bad situation, i trust that God is working and using the seemingly bad for his good plans.

it's definitely been hard to be 100% at life: relationships, managing my business, preparing for marriage, etc.. i definitely feel that i'm not doing well in either category because i'm constantly being pulled to and from each one. i keep waiting for the period of time after the wedding when i can focus on one thing and be excellent at it, but i know that's not the nature of life :).  in any case, here's looking forward to finally getting hitched!

i wish i could post photos of the things we're working on but i want it to be a surprise!



(image: nicolette's studio via odette)

pretty paper

just wanted to share some pretty paper today, just because.
top: liner paper used for our invites; bottom: our engagement photo packaging!

developing days

it's been crazy y'all.

i can't believe we only have 2+ months left till the big day!  i try not to freak out when i look at my to-do list and there are still a million things in the march category. i'm already behind on invites, i  designed the main parts in what time i had free over the course of 1-2 days.  i still have 100 booklets to design and sew together... sigh. i can't wait until all i see is strike-throughs on my list.  i'm thankful that pretty much most of our vendors are booked and within our humble budget (and one of them will be a fun surprise for our guests).

saturday, T and i went down to SD for premarital (we have only 1 left!) and tried to go back in time and live up our college days. sadly, it was pouring the entire day and we left feeling a bit jipped (we didn't even get any carne asada fries!). the next day, i assisted the lovely jen (iartu) and shot  justina blakeney's wedding. i was so stoked to shoot at her little jungalow, which was a small space transformed into a magical space.

the very next day i got sick (as i so often do), and declared the day a no-work/editing day....and originally a no-computer day until i couldn't help but watch an episode of the walking dead (my new guilty pleasure). yesterday was back to work and today was wedding errand day. i almost regret my choice to make my own envelope liners. to end a perfectly productive day of driving around, i also got back a roll of film... the act of which i think is one of life's greatest simple joys (even if it's just a test roll to test out a new body).

our engagement photos

 thought i'd finally share our lovely engagement photos shot by the even more lovely jill thomas. i'm so excited and flattered because they got featured today on oncewed! setting up the tablecloths and wooden posts took quite some effort, but i think it totally paid off. i'm also relieved we don't look awkward... with me being behind the camera usually and T being camera-shy, we were bracing ourselves for the worst!

a delightful bouquet and update

one of the things i'm looking forward to most at our wedding is our wedding florals. we have a wonderful florist, which i am infinitely thankful for... to even have the budget for it is amazing since i almost went the DIY route.

since we're getting married in santa barbara, i couldn't very well go to the LA flower mart the morning of and whip up a bunch of arrangements, haul our butts up north and still have time to get ready. now that the day is coming near and i actually have to make all the things that have been swimming in my head..it's quite overwhelming. SO, anything i don't actually have to make for the day of and can just pay someone i trust to be amazing... i'm all for.


(amazing bouquet: honey of a thousand flowers!)

save the date!

check out our save the date video, shot by one of our groomsmen! we were a little disappointed that it would be raining that morning, but it all worked out great!

wedding e-party!

a little peak at something i made for our wedding website! soon to be done... then i'll sleep.

will you be my bridesmaid

a little recent project. fold out kraft booklet!

a food truck wedding

ever since i saw this food truck wedding shoot on GWS i've been obsessed with finding an equally cute and tasty food truck. down-home meets classy and unique!

i tried inquiring about MIHO, but alas, san diego is quite a ways from santa barbara. i also considered kogi truck and some other food trucks, but i'm worried about how fast the food-output is. anyone have any experience with wedding food trucks? T and i need some affordable catering for our wedding...and when i say affordable i mean REALLY affordable.

we have an option we're gonna check out soon, but if you guys know any great catering options in santa barbara, throw me a line!

i love these little personalized touches!

making a home

(source)

T and i signed up for our first registry yesterday! surprisingly, he was pretty much trigger-happy all over crate and barrel but i was the more selective, careful (and timid) one. if i was considering between two different tea kettles, he'd come by and scan them both before i knew what was happening. good thing we can always change our minds later. haha!

in any case, it made me very excited imagining the home we will be building together! for a young married couple like us, i'm sure it will be very bare bones but i can't wait to use my creative juices to make it as home-y and inviting as possible. :)

for you married folk, what things do you love that you put on your registry, and/or something you wished you had registered for but didn't?

wedding photographer

not having the greatest day... trying to amend with coffee and sweets. in addition, i also thought i'd share some good wonderful news. we booked our photographer! guess who?

DIY hair pin

a cheap bride's gotta do what a what a cheap bride's gotta do.

so, i absolutely love bhldn's dewed vines hairpin, but there's no way i'm gonna pay $140, even if it might be for my wedding. so here is my ghetto version (still a work in progress). i had some beads lying around and bought some gold wire for a few bucks at joann's. this isn't a tutorial by any means, i barely knew what i was doing. just a lot of guessing and twisting until kind-of resembled the original.

our wedding venue!

still a secret for now, but here's a sneak peak of our wedding venue (or part of it).... the fun of wedding planning is coming back!

see those vintage suitcases and furniture? there's much more where those came from (couches, props, etc.) and all available for our use! score! when i'm excited i only type with exclamation marks!

starry nights and gold embers

(i'm mesmerized by this painting i saw on oncewed posted by sarah of saipua.)

i'm so so so so glad october is here. even more glad fall is here as well. it is definitely one of my favorite seasons, even though we don't get that seasonal here in southern california. the chilly air, the crispy leaves, the sunny-yet-windy afternoons. pour me a cup of pumpkin spice latte and watch me nap.

the MANY things that have been happening to me:

- shingles scare (turned out to be a bad bacterial infection)
- weddings
- my own wedding planning... and wanting to tear out my hair because of The Impossible Venue Search
- FINALLY FINDING A WEDDING VENUE! (will post some sneak peaks later)
- it goes on and on.

hello naomi

I'm in love with these sweet, delicate cakes from Hello Naomi! Too bad she's located in Australia...or maybe that's a good thing. She makes cakes, cupcakes and cookies, all with an eye for detail and design!

07.23.11

posted the proposal story over on my photography blog!

our wedding (palette)

(left to right, top to bottom: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ,6, 7)

Believe it or not, my fiance has taken a very active role in the life of our wedding colors. He has been bugging me all week to give him a selection of colors I'd like for our wedding. So, I had some free time today and decided to whip something up and give the man what he wants!

Here's a very basic idea of what I want our colors to be (I know, it looks like I want all the colors in the world). Lots of subtle hues (ivory, beige, muted blues and pinks, peach, sage green, etc.) with pepperings of coral, mint, gold and silver. The last block represents wooden textures I'd like to have in our wedding. :) This is all happening in my head though, who knows how it will turn out.

I realized today that a very exciting part of planning your wedding and working on a tight budget is being given motivation to learn new skills!

Some things I'm planning to learn or improve on for wedding projects:

- calligraphy
- woodworking (ha-ha)
- sewing
- painting

- floral arrangement

- dancing (this is for day-of. probably the toughest thing on here, seeing as i have no rhythm at all.)

Hopefully I'm not being too ambitious....

sweet firsts

I know you all are still waiting to hear the details on the proposal and see how wedding planning is coming along, but it's just been too busy! I'm really just letting it all soak in.

This saturday T and I attended a lovely outdoor wedding at an equestrian center in walnut. I experienced two firsts: being a flower girl (yes, a flower girl in her 20's) and going to a wedding as a fiancee. Aside from the initial embarrassment of wearing a yellow dress obviously designed for a little girl, it was so much fun just relaxing with T & old friends and simply being a guest (and not behind the camera). (the above photo was of their cute cupcake table, put together by some of the bride and grooms' lady friends)

I'll try getting on with the proposal photos asap and boarding the wedding planning-blogging train (or, as much as I can without giving away everything!).

I do!

Guess what everybody? I'm getting married!

I feel like I'm already losing my mind thinking about how I'm going to make a budget wedding work in LA (or SB), but I have faith! I'm anticipating lots of late night crafting parties...

Stay tuned for details on how he proposed :)

Any tips from those of you past the wedding planning madness (or still in it)?