Nov
26

fall-wedding-ideas-fall-bouquet-2_s600x600

Chatting via email with my best friends a few days ago, one girl asked the rest of us who were married, engaged, or in a long term relationship if we really thought we found our “dream man” and what makes him that for us.  We’ve a very honest group of friends and she expected real, raw answers from  us.  She wanted us to share the struggles, the triumphs, or anything else that made our significant other- perfect for us.

So in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I thought I would share a few of our mushy, lovey-dovey answers to this question about why our husbands or fiancé (aka our “dream man”) makes living in this world a wonderful reality and why we’re thankful for them…

Written and shared by friend Nicole (married 4 years):

I know LaMonte is my dream man made for me. I’m not perfect and Lord knows he’s not perfect by any means but when we first started kickin it I really wasn’t sure I was feeling him like that and he would tell you the same about me. The funny thing is before we started dating I actually prayed about wanting to meet my perfect match even if we didn’t have to be involved at the time but I laid out specific guidelines in my prayers and LaMonte was who I got. Honestly I smile and think about how lucky I am all the time because he really does make me happy, we talk all the time about every and anything and sometimes just for hours and hours about nothing. I miss him a lot when he’s out of town on business. He is a Great Dad and a Great Husband.

Written and shared from friend Tahiana (married 5 years)

I know I have! =)  Just when I think I can’t be any happier in my marriage something else comes up and we overcome yet another obstacle. But I can say that I did not know he was my perfect man until we grew together as a couple. So maybe we just grew to be perfect for each other. It’s amazing how much you continue to learn about each other as you get older.  One thing that I love is how much we talk or communicate to each other about anything and everything. Future, past, present, finances, sex, work, kids, etc. When we first met we spoke on the phone for 6 hours straight…and if you stick us in a room alone now we can still talk for 6 hours straight.  When he’s gone for the night I realize how much I get done around the house because he’s not around for us to chit chat. I can just see us at 90 years old in wheelchairs just talking about the past 70 years of our life, LOL. Another thing I love about him or us is that we make a great team. Of course we’ve also had to build that throughout the years with the kiddies and both of us working. Anyway I can go on and on about this topic. =) 

Written by Me (Engaged! Together 2.5 years, marrying July 2010)

Do I think I found my “dream” man? Of course! I sit here saying “where do I begin?”

We wake up loving each other more than the day before, we know each other better than anyone else, can read each others minds, and take care of each other better than anyone else could. We know how to entertain ourselves and make each other laugh uncontrollably every single morning, afternoon, and night. Laughing now thinking about how silly we can be. We can talk for hours about nothing at all.  Although “space” is good for us, we hate being away from each other- even if it’s one of us just running to the store around the corner for 15 minutes. And our life revolves around “fun”!  We eat “fun” food, play “fun” games, watch “fun” things on tv- fight with our infamous “fun” swords to lighten the mood if we’ve been arguing. We want a “fun” wedding day! Feels like we’ve known each other our whole lives but still feels so “new” at the same time. We’ve experienced so much in our short 2.5 years together and because of it, know we can get through a tsunami together if we needed to. We can get “down” like anyone else or any other couple, but when we do we just remind each other about how bright our future is together. 

Mark is all the good things I’ve ever dreamed of having in my future partner. As I dated different guys over the years, I’ve said before “I wish he (whoever he was at the time) could have the fill in the blank that so-and-so had, and the fill in the blank that so-and-so had, etc.” Well the weird (and great) thing is, Mark has ALL the fill in the blank’s!!! LOL. We clicked from the first email, phone call, to our first date (and my best first date ever!), and of course ever since! I knew he was “the one” during our first date. He’s a true gentleman (still opens my door, car door, pulls out my chair at restaurants, lays down his jacket so I can walk over a puddle! Ha ha! He cooks for me every night, okay- I’m spoiled and maybe I just need to learn how to cook!).  I love how he loves everyone in his life including my family and friends and knows how to take care of his “family”- me!

Mark is good for me because he keeps me on my toes!!  Never know what to expect from him! Lol!  Okay- I’m done for now. Whoops I wrote a lot as usual…but I’m the engaged one though right- still on “Cloud 9” and “head over heels in love”….LOL!

 

Why are you thankful for the man in your life and what makes him your dream man?

 

***Thanks Windy for the post idea!

Nov
14

Ladies-

If you haven’t already checked out the latest giveaway on iDIY, you must go now and enter for a chance to win your very own DIY letterpress machine!

Letterpress-Giveaway-Steps

Luzel from iDIY has partnered with Lifestyle Crafts on this giveaway and its a goodie! What DIY kind of bride on a budget wouldn’t want to have a crafty little machine like an L Letterpress of her own to create invitations, announcements, save the dates, and more!

L Projects Mosaic Final

The giveaway ends November 18 so hurry! While you’re there make sure to subscribe for lots of great DIY project ideas!

Category: DIY, Stationary  Tags: ,  One Comment
Nov
04

Having a beach wedding and worried about your guests getting sunburned or cold at night?  How about leaving shawls for the women like one of Pacific Bride Guide’s girls did….

Punam Bean Pacific Bride Guide- Shawls for guests

or leaving little sunscreen bottle favors in your guests welcome baskets…

Sunscreen favorEvent Blossom via Amy Atlas

Nov
03

So I’m so excited to finally be able to post our save the dates since 90% of guests received them already. The other 10% are Mr. Oceanside’s guy friends whom I am still waiting on the addresses for and also not worried about them being readers of my blog so won’t disappoint anyone by posting them here.

The inspiration came from a similar project I saw done professionally but unfortunately was way out of budget.  So I  undertook the task of creating our save the dates myself.  Our save the date was similar to a newspaper announcement telling our guests a short story about how and where we got engaged, leading to our wedding location and wedding website information.

I created the file in PowerPoint and ordered the grey cardstock paper and vellum envelopes from Paper and More.

Picture 005

Save the Date

Picture 008

I loved the look of vellum envelopes that I’ve seen a few other blogging brides use and knew I had to use them as well.

I positioned the address label on the outside of the envelope and card inside the envelope just perfect so the words “Save the Date” would be shown through the envelope.

Picture- Stack

From the back of the envelope you could see our picture and the wedding date through the vellum.

Picture 027

I also downloaded the Quentincaps, Veteran Typewriter, and OldNewspaper Type fonts from Dafont.com for free and used them throughout the various parts of our save the date.

Picture-STD Collection

Picture 017

I voted against ordering the custom stamps with our picture again due to budget and went with good old USPS’s King and Queen of Hearts Love stamps at regular postage prices.  I was really excited I actually chose to go this route because I think they added the perfect touch to our envelopes!

Picture-STD Final

STD Final

I was really excited about the end result up until I mailed them out! I started having second thoughts about how they really turned out, what would people think of them, worried about whether or not I mailed them to the right addresses, etc.  I admit I had a few sleepless nights, but Mark assured me they were great and that HE loved them. That of course made me feel better because ultimately WE are the only ones who needed to be happy with the way they turned out and we were.  I’m just a perfectionist and a worrier!  I started getting responses from those who received them and of course everyone thought they were so cute and creative!

Soon I’ll start working on our DIY wedding invitations and can’t wait to challenge myself again and see how they turn out!

Nov
02

I’ve been so blessed to have so many great people in my life.   I’ve kept the same circle of friends for many, many years, some whom I have known for almost 16 years!  That is why it might have come as a surprise to some when Mark & I decided to only have a best man and maid of honor in our wedding party. If we were to have a “big” wedding party, I would have had my 3 sisters whom I’m very close to, 6 of my girlfriends whom I’ve known since middle school through college, and of course my cousin Katrina who will be my maid of honor.  We chose to keep it small though as far as the “wedding party” goes. That still won’t take away from the fact that all these ladies are very important to me.  Although I know they won’t be standing next me physically on my wedding day, they’ve stood by me for so long and so I will honor them.  Since you’re allowed to do whatever you want on your wedding day, I’ve named these girls my “Friends of Honor.”  And so just like many girls had a “special” way of asking their friends to be their bridesmaids, I chose to do something similar. I’m still working on something for my sisters and cousin but here is peek at what I did for my girlfriends….

CIMG0003

I custom made a greeting card through Snapfish. I choose the 12 photo template and inserted pictures of me and my ladies throughout the years.  I ordered 7, one for me to keep and so I could also use it as practice.

CIMG0004

Once I received the cards in the mail, I created a word document and adjusted the page size to fit the size of the card.  I created a monogram (since I didn’t have the professional monograms just yet) and on each card wrote a personal note to each girl. I’m glad I ordered an extra card because you can see from the picture, it came in handy since I made a few errors using my home printer.  Since the card is glossy, I allowed the ink to dry on each card for 2 days under a desk lap. With my practice card I found that even after allowing them to dry for a few days, the ink would smear a little if touched.

So each girl loved their card and glad fully excepted the position as what they’ve termed themselves, my “unofficial” bridesmaids. I’ll eventually frame my card to remember all the support they’ve given me over the years, the planning process, and on my wedding day. They are the BEST!

Oct
12

BodyLargo-200

So you girls may have heard of Ardyss,  a line of body, nutrition, personal care, and beauty products. Well my best friend Windy became an independent distributor of Ardyss.  One hot item is their body reshaper. It’s doing wonders for many women! Yes, I believe you still need to get your exercise in and eat healthy to lose weight, but if you’re in need of a quick reshape or lift for any of your “trouble” areas, this might be a solution for you. I’ve seen the before and after pics  and they are amazing! Check her out for more info!

Oct
12

Wow- I became speechless today when my best friends emailed me the details of my bachelorette weekend which has been a surprise until now.  Since I’m not even getting married for another 9 months they didn’t want the details to leak before they could tell me themselves.

caesars-palace-at-night

They have already sent out an invitation (via time & money saver Evite!), booked our rooms at the Caesar’s Palace, and planned out the entire bachelorette weekend festivities! I LOVE them SO much and am so lucky to have these girls in my life.  From what I can tell this weekend is going to be lots of FUN and one to remember!  Or maybe not remember…we all know what happened to the guys in the movie “The Hangover.”  Super hilarious movie!!

hangove

Oct
09

I love more modern save the date and wedding invitations.  The paper and envelopes for my own save the dates should be arriving today so guess what I’ll be working on this weekend??  I can’t wait!  Almost 85% of our guests will be coming from all over the country to celebrate with us so I’ve been anxious to get them out in the mail. I want to give everyone as much notice as possible to save and plan for our July wedding in California next  year.  I won’t be posting my save the dates until they are in the hands of our guests, but here is a modern-vintage save the date and rehearsal invite I found in Jamie Konet’s Etsy Shop that I love!  Check her out.

Antique Save the Date- by Jamie Konet's Etsy Shop

Jamie Konet's Etsy- Rehearsal Invite

Oct
06

STEAPLE MONOGRAM1

STEAPLE MONOGRAM2

How fabulous are these monograms! Paige from Red Rose Designs delivered as promised with a quick turnaround and just simply PERFECT design to go with our colors and the “modern-vintage” look I’m going for!  I also asked her to try to incorporate the infinity symbol into one of the designs and she did!  These will be perfect for our invitation suite and other wedding decor.  I’m super excited Paige was able to work on our monograms for us.  I’ve been following her on Facebook since she started her new business and love to keep up with her most recent work, promotions, and progress.  Become a fan!

Oct
02

So social networking can be both good and bad depending on how “plugged in” you are all the time. I’m guilty of being obsessed with wedding blogs, Brides.com, The Knot and definitely so with Weddingbook on Facebook! OMG- I love reading about the daily planning updates, gripes and drama, celebrations, seeing pictures of DIY projects, etc. from all the girls on Weddingbook from all across the country!

Well another great thing about it is the great network of support you get from everyone. People like Paige from Red Rose Designs, started out using her creative gift and started creating monogram designs and such for Weddingbook brides and would even offer her services for free! Well talented Paige got so many requests that she was able to successfully launch her own Monogram & Save the Date design company!  Her prices are very affordable and if you read the testimonials you can tell she’s great to work !  Paige will be taking a shot at our monogram design over the weekend and I can’t wait to see it next week!  For now, take a look at some of her other creations….