#15 - keeping your ideas in order.

i've been crafting a lot lately which is probably why i haven't been obsessing over posting on here. i want to do a lot of designery elements of the wedding myself but i have SO MANY IDEAS!! my advice to anyone who has the same problem i do is:

keep a journal/idea folder/blog.

i know people tell you to do it all the time and really is essential. especially if you are planning a DIY wedding and most especially, if said wedding isn't for a very long time (i.e. 14 months)

trends change so often as well as a bride's mind so keeping a journal is what will keep you from jumbling up your ideas or forgetting them altogether.

this is what i use when i'm not around my computer.



Black n' Red Notebook

it's comes in a range of sizes and has got a nice sturdy hardcover to keep it from getting all bent up which is good for when you lose it in the bottom of your handbag.

now go a head and try it!! take it with you wherever you go. write down products/ websites, items/ideas you see in magazines, something you saw in a store window, etc. when it comes time to decide on what elements you are going to use, you will have it all there, in a nice little package, right in front of you. all of those things you have to choose from will be exactly what you like.

i promise it will make your planning a lot easier!

#14 - it's a sad day in tinsel town

i know this has nothing to do with weddings but:

R.I.P. Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Ed McMahon and Sky Saxon.

my heart goes out to all of your family and friends.

#13 - maybe it is unlucky.

i can't get motivated today. i don't know what it is. it is gorgeous outside (as usual) and all i feel like doing is sitting here, in silence and filth, and look at nonsense on the internets.

by the way, in case you don't know, i am a victim of this less than lovely economy and have been recently laid off. i need to change the field (music business) i've been working in for the last 10 years because there is NO WORK and will not be any for a looooong time and i find it very difficult to settle on which path at this fork in the road is the correct one to take.

sometimes it is so overwhelming even thinking about it that i just choose to ignore it all together.

so for now, i will just sit here. in the middle of the road. and instead of staring at the many directions i could take, i will go shoe "shopping".

shoes always have a strange way of cheering me up.

#12 - shoes.

wouldn't these be the perfect wedding shoe?



Alexander McQueen Pink 'Love' Peep Toe

i think i'm in love. (and they are marked down $369.00 from $925.00!!!)

#11 - good news.

i got an email from the marvimon house today and if we move some things around in our budget we should be able to afford it!!!!

it's generally pretty pricey but there are a few things on our side that will allow us to have some discount action. here is the formula that i have come up with:

sunday wedding + 70 guests = saving a couple thousand dollars

did you hear that, folks? a couple thousand!! not a couple hundred, it's a couple thousand. boy, am i stoked!! i'm going to make an appointment asap to visit and i will let you know if it all turns out well.

(this is turning out to be a good day after all.........)

#10 - dress me up.

i've been really thinking about how to approach the bridesmaid's dresses. i was lucky enough to be the maid of honor in my best friend's wedding and i ended up loving my dress that i had to wear. her only rules were that it had to be from anthroplogie. how cool is that! so i picked a gorgeous anna sui design and it was perfect for the wedding and for me to wear again. that being said, i want to be that cool for my maids so i am going to go with j crew's wedding collection. my maid of honor is petite with a small chest and has a love for all things vintage. this is my pick for her:


Printed Erica Dress

the rest of the ladies range in sizes. two have really (i mean DD's) large chests and no booties and the other one is athletic and petite. i'm gonna give them the option of choosing which ever one of these dresses fits them best. that way they can wear it again and not be bummed that they had to spend the money on something totally ugly that they would never wear again.


Silk taffeta halter sangle' dress

Silk chiffon twist-tank dress

Silk taffeta strapless sangle' dress

Silk chiffon Sophia dress

Silk taffeta Lorelai dress

as for the mothers, i haven't found anything just yet. i will most definitely keep you posted.

#9 - food.

mr. and i got into discussing food yesterday. we are waaaaaaaay into food so i can see this is going to be a very difficult decision on our part. i went through the types of food we may want at our reception and this is what we came up with:

american
french
greek
korean
southern/bbq

these are the types of food we could agree our guests would not be offended by. if it was up to us we would go with ethiopian or morrocan or something the contains bizarre foods that most people are turned off by (i.e. octopus, beef tongue, etc.)

i'm really leaning towards southern/bbq. i think it would be awesome to have a really down home feeling meal in a super elegant and modern setting. we shall see.

ok, now for some research. i will let you know how it turns out.

#8 - engagement rings.

i can not decide if i want to show you my exact ring for fear of someone copying it. it's not that i would be angry if someone did make a replica. i think mr. would just be disappointed that it was no longer the only one in existence. but i will share with you who made it and you should absolutely check his stuff out.

his name is rich and he is the man behind spragwerks. he used to be a diesel mechanic in new jersey and now he lives in los angeles and designs really amazing jewelry.




Spragwerks Jewelry

my ring is custom made out of a pine twig that was found in griffith park on one of my dates with mr. it also includes a .5 carat diamond in a bezel setting. i LOVE it!!

#7 - sketchy.

so i finished the sketch for our possible save-the-dates. the way this will be used is going to be the surprise.


see....i told you i was crafty.

#6 - save the date.

i was going through all of my favorite blogs last night to find inspiration for our save the dates. i was showing mr. all of my favorites. i really love different typefaces, and i wanted to showcase that when all of a sudden mr. says "why don't we do it tattoo themed?" "THAT"S IT!" i said. i know it might sound cheesy but what i see in my head is most definitely not.

mr. used to be a shop assistant at a famous-ish tattoo shop here in Los Angeles so he's got some drawing skills. (going to art school doesn't hurt either!) i will absolutely share when the project is finished. i just know it will come out totally amazing and i can't wait to get them finished!!

the best part is, the design will be incorporated into our engagement photo session. it's gonna be so much fun!

#5 - themes.

i don't know what it is, but i find the concept of a "wedding theme" kind of silly. it makes me feel like i'm putting together my high school homecoming dances all over again. (i was a student events coordinator all four years of school.) i can see how choosing a theme would keep you on track when deciding important elements such invitations and centerpieces but i don't really think a theme is for me.

instead, i will use color as my inspiration. we decided on chartreuse, rust, silver grey with white and black accents. color is very important to us because we are both artists. i got mr. to home depot and put together paint chips and we came to a conclusion rather quickly.

now what flowers/fruit/plants do i pick?

#4 - unimportant.

i know i haven't posted anything on here in a while. it was because i didn't think anyone would actually care about what i have to say.

but now i realize, with the help of other blogs, that it's NOT about what other people think. it's about getting my ideas down on "paper" so that i can sort through later. the ideas will always be changing, as i am always thinking...and thinking....and thinking.

so, with that said, we have decided to do our wedding in Downtown LA. it fits. it's what we are about.

i really looooooove this place.

Marvimon House

i reeeaaaaally hope it falls in our budget. i've sent them an email and am hoping to receive good news soon.

#3 - a place for the family.

i just found out that Mr.'s family will be donating their timeshare weeks to provide housing for my family and our wedding party!! that will save us soo much money!!

YAAAAAYYYYY!!!

#2 - where?

so we've gotten the when out of the way and i believe my first order of business should be to determine the "where".

mr. and i have discussed this and since we are both originate from two different places - he is east coast, i am midwest - that we will get married in california. we met in palm springs so (if we can afford it) we want to tie the knot there.

pros:

weather, weather, weather, weather and weather

cons:

none of our family lives here and since we live in the capital of excess-land, it may be hard to stick to our $10,000 budget.

i'm thinking i'm going to tackle this as a destination wedding (although, i don't really know what that even entails). i have a few places in mind already:


The Ace Hotel & Swim Club


The Riviera

i need to contact these places so i can see the pricing. (i'm sure they are waaaaay out of my budget!!) i love the idea of having the reception by the pool!!

on another note, mr. and i tend to disagree on what an affordable hotel room costs per night. i know these places run $150-$225 per night to start but if we are filling up the rooms, they should give us a discount.......right?

#1 - a little introduction.

me: hello everyone!!
everyone: hello ms. punk rock!!

..................................................................................................................................................

why a wedding blog? well to be quite frank, i need a place to store/share all of my wonderful (or not so wonderful) ideas. i am new to this whole blogging thing so bear with me. hopefully this will be entertaining or informative, if not both!

here's some quick facts:

• he is from the east coast and i am from the midwest but we will (hopefully)be getting married in sunny southern california.
• our guestlist is small...somewhere between 50-75 people.
• we want to pay for the majority of it ourselves using $10,000 as a starting figure.
• i am super duper crafty, so you will see lots of DIY inspiration on this site.
• i LOVE planning, making lists/schedules, researching and generally learning about stuff.
• i've only ever been to two weddings in my entire life and i'm determined to make this one memorable without spending bajillions of dollars.

oh, and one last thing.....the target date is October 31, 2010.

let's get to it!!