China So Pretty You Could Wear It

It's like the moment you put on your wedding dress, this is the one, you just knew.

I fell in love with it's detail; every piece was different and had a sort of vintage feel with modern silver embelishments that when stacked turned into a stunning layered design. Westwood's Lilly of the Valley collection with Martha Stewart, enough said, it was perfect.

{Insert Ashley's China Picture Here}

Your china carries your wedding into your every-day-life at home. Intertwining it from every holiday to special occasion you share under your roof. To this wedding planner, it's imparitive each bride & groom register for their own set, to carry a piece of their very own wedding forward to the next generation.

WAIT......What if your china could look like your dress? Red carpet dress designer Marchesa has made that wish a new reality. From the inspirations that they have used to create their wedding dress collection, now inspires their new collection of fine china.

Meet Marchesa by Lenox being introduced to the bridal registry world this fall. The line is totally inspired by their line of beautiful wedding gowns.

{Beautiful Dress turned Plate Picture Here}

{Other Dresses Soon to be Plates Here}

Pictures Compliments of Marchesa

Here's to the Breakups

“What you need to know about the past is that no matter what has happened, it has all worked together to bring you to this very moment. And this is the moment you can choose to make everything new. Right now.” ~Anonymous

You only move up after a break, that's why they call them break-ups. Shaped and molded, break-ups are what make you into the person you are supposed to be and then, just like that, you are one step closer to the man of your dreams.

The best part about break-ups? The songs. OH breakup songs, you are the best.

So, for all of the someday-bride-to-bes who read this blog because your heart can't wait to meet your prince charming these are for you (and secretly, they are every married girl's guilty pleasure because if it weren't for the crappy exes we wouldn't have our wonderful husbands!).

Kellie Pickler ~ Best Days of Your Life

Laura Bell Bundy ~ Giddy on Up

Carrie Underwood ~ Undo It

This post is dedicated to my best married girlfriend who when I was going through a break up said to me "I am so jealous, you get to sing to the left by Beyonce and mean it!"

*Lucky* in Love

Some believe that it is fate, others believe you were at the right place at the right time and some don't care how it happened just that it did. True love is rare and only few find it, and those few are considered *lucky*.

Speaking of luck....what's the first thing that comes to mind??? Vegas perhaps?

Inspired by a mini vacation my husband and I took last week to the "City of..." wait lets change that, "The City of Luck." there that's better, I started thinking about the destination bride. The bride who wants to have a wedding outside of Arizona but doesn't want her guests to travel far to attend.

Unfortunately, Vegas has a bad rap for the 10 min drive-thru weddings, little chapels off the strip where a officiant dressed like Elvis can marry you, and not to mention...tear tear....it hurts to even think about it, eloping (No planning?? What?!). Sure, it's for some, but not for most.

With the help of the very talented Chelsea Nicole of Chelsea Nicole Photography, a Las Vegas Wedding Photographer, I wanted to showcase some more intimate locations to have a Vegas wedding while keeping it sophisticated.

Let's begin with Chelsea Nicole and cover the Vegas basics......

Toasts.....

Black Jack....

Night Life....

and of course Slot Machines. :)

The Bellagio ~ "Bella" means beautiful in Italian and that is truly what the Bellagio is all about. Two beautiful chapels are just the start of the options for couples. The South Chapel holds 130 guests, the East Chapel holds 30 guests. Settled outside over looking the hotel's famous fountains Terrazza di Sogno that can hold 34 guests.

Photo Courtesy of The Bellagio

Photo Courtesy of The Bellagio

The Springs Preserve ~ Located only a few minutes off of the strip this both indoor and outdoor venue has only one caterer, Wolfgang Puck. You can be assured your food will be nothing short of perfection. :) The property can hold up to 200 guests in a wide array of locations.

The Venetian & The Palazzo~ This takes the cake on romance. If you have ever even just walked through The Venetian you know detail is their strong suit. From a gondola ride, to a waterfall and a chapel adorned with a painted ceiling these two hotels don't lack in the variety of areas you can plan your wedding day.

Photo Courtesy of The Venetian

Photo Courtesy of Chelsea Nicole

The Wynn ~ Stunning. For the bride who wants a high-end Vegas style wedding The Wynn is just that. The Wynn offers three settings for weddings: the Lilac & Lavender Chapels located inside the hotel and the Primrose Court located outside. It doesn't even look like Vegas!

Photo Courtesy of The Wynn

I had to include this last picture because only in Vegas do you have the option of a Pirate marrying you.

Photo Courtesy of Treasure Island

My Dad

He never had to say I love you because I already knew. During my fourth grade band concert he would make me laugh from his seat in the audience because he knew how scared I was. When my mom would go to work he let me and my sisters build forts out of the couch cushions. He videotaped every swim meet, every cheerleading competition, every dance performance, every special moment of my life.

And then he got sick. He got really sick. He suffered from a terrible heart attack when I was a sophomore in high school. During a normal afterschool cheerleading practice my mom walked in and told me I had to go with her “right now, you have to come right now.” My dad was in the hospital.

He underwent open-heart surgery, countless other surgeries and procedures. I prayed a constant prayer in my heart for months “Please God, we need him. I don’t know what we are going to do.” One night I asked my mom’s friends if my dad was going to die. They didn’t have an answer, and my heart broke.

Thankfully, months later my dad got to come home and he cried, and well, we all cried. He never had to say it, I already knew, he loved me.

To my Dad, on the 28^th Father’s Day I get to spend with you, thank you, for being you and for knowing what it means to be an amazing dad. I love you. Happy Father’s Day!

Baking is FUN

Let me preface this post......I love to bake. I don't like eating what I bake, just the baking process. Not that my baking tastes bad, but if I ate everything I baked it would be TROUBLE. Since you can never make a batch of one, the rest is always given away.

Now let me introduce you to Funfetti. Funfetti, meet Blog Reader. Blog Reader, meet Funfetti. This Pillsbury creation that has become more of an obession. I don't typically cook "out of the box", but this is an exception. An Exceptional Exception!! Thanks to my friend Renee and her sister Richelle I learned how to make Funfetti Truffles. The recipe below...

1. Take one (1) box of Funfetti cake mix and pour contents in bowl.
2. Take one (1) containter of Funfetti frosting and scoop into bowl.
3. Mix cake mix and frosting together. After completely mixed, using hands roll mixture into individual balls about an 3/4 inch in diamiter.
4. In a double broiler melt colored chocolate chips. Wilton makes the best for this!
5. Cover a cookie sheet with foil or wax paper.
6. Individually dip each Funfetti mix into melted chocolcate so that it is completely covered.
7. Place ball onto covered cookie sheet and let cool.

And THAT's it!!!!

My little sister Hannah has an *addiction* to Funfetti, thus she was just the person I appointed to assist me in this baking endevor.

The goodies went with Hannah to work the next day. ;)

A Spin on the Wedding Website

So, half of your guests are coming from out of town and half of which have never met your fiance! Almost like a Match.com, your family and friends meet your soon-to-be spouse over the internet through your wedding website. But with the thousands of designs you could choose, who do you choose?

I HAD to share the lovely couture site of Keith & Rebecca who are getting getting married on September 25th. It's fun, colorful, happy and full of love just like its Bride & Groom! I asked Rebecca to give a little "insiders" information on her wedding planning experience. Below you will find a little education on all things wedding from your guest blogger Rebecca (along with some pictures, there are more at the end of the post). :)

Photos Courtesy of http://www.amandarockafellow.com/

How did keith Propose?

After nearly 7 years together, Keith finally proposed during a weekend getaway to Chicago. Not only did he take me to a swanky hotel in the city, but he wined and dined me at Geja’s Café, a romantic fondue restaurant in Lincoln Park. Apparently Keith was taking too long to pop the question (which isn’t surprising since it took seven years to begin with) because the waiter brought out the celebratory champagne before he even got the ring out of his suit pocket. What I thought was a mistake by the waiter turned out to be the push Keith needed to finally jump!

What has been the most fun & most difficult parts of planning your wedding?

Balancing what I want and the reality of what I can afford has been the most difficult part of the wedding planning process. This is made more complicated by the fact that we are having a backyard wedding where we are managing all of the catering and rentals. The BEST part of wedding planning has been the small details-the space, the invitations, the website, the table design, etc. These are the elements that make my wedding unique.

Where did you take your engagement pictures? Was there any inspiration for where they were shot?

Our beautiful engagement pictures, shot by Amanda Rockafellow, were taken in Tucson, AZ –our hometown! Amanda took us all over The University of Arizona campus, 4th Avenue, and Downtown –all places that we love and enjoy. We wanted lots of color, candid shots, and a more urban setting.

Why did you decide to do something different for your website? Who made the site?

Websites have become as essential as the wedding invitation has traditionally been in communicating the details of your event. This is especially true for backyard weddings where you might need to communicate parking and shuttle plans, detailed directions, etc. as they come up. WeddingWindow.com, The Knot.com, MyWedding.com are all host sites where you can share your engagement pictures, registry information, location details, and more. If you are a little more tech savvy and willing to put in a few hours of work, there are host sites like wix.com that provide templates for small businesses, personal portfolios and, of course, weddings! For a small cost, wix.com also allows you to create your own domain name (ex. keithlovesbecca.com). For me, this was criteria number one. I also wanted to take full advantage of our engagement photos; we had a ton and we couldn’t pick just a few! This format also allows for a little more flexibility in what you want to highlight. I think this website is a true reflection of the kind of wedding we are planning –fun, colorful, and full of love for friends and family.

What fun traditions or special moments are you going to incorporate in your day that is unique to only your wedding?

I don’t know if I have entirely unique details, but there are some things I am really excited about –late night taco truck, twinkling lights, lace table overlays, Mexican tin stars, bright corn husk flowers, and signature cocktails!

What piece of advice would you give other brides planning their big day?

Give yourself time if you want to do it right –especially if you are planning a wedding where you or a professional event coordinator are arranging all of the catering and rentals. This is a big job! My second piece of advice is to do your research. High quality does not have to equal high cost. Thirdly, know what elements of your wedding really matter and spend your time on those. Don’t worry too much about the rest.

For those U of A Alumni (Go Devils!) you should know where this shot was taken.....

Photos Courtesy of http://www.amandarockafellow.com/

Keep Calm, Touché

It sits on my desk. The pretty little notebook my husband gave me during a week when I needed a little encouragement. A week God answered my prayer for good steady events with a laugh and landed more than just *steady* in my lap...try 4 events! A blessing? Yes. Grateful? Absolutely.

A little background for those of you just getting to know me, I have a dog and her name is Cupcake. I named her after one of my favorite things!! I LOVE cupcakes, not eating them, just seeing them. They are pretty, petite, come in any color you can imagine, equipt with sparkles or sprinkles and can make just about anyone smile.

So when Diana Elizabeth took a picture of my husband's gift last week little did she know how much it was going to mean to me.

I adore the Keep Calm gallery and company and all of their fun products. And after a little research found out a bit of their history.

"Upon the outbreak of World War Two the British Government's Ministry of Information commissioned posters to be distributed throughout the country as a means of allaying public fear. Three different posters were produced and while the first two designs were widely distributed the third poster, simply bearing the words 'Keep Calm and Carry On' along with the royal crown, was held in reserve intended for use only in times of extreme crisis.

"Although hundreds of thousands of these posters were produced, only a handful ever saw the light of day. Even now 'Keep Calm and Carry On' is a phrase which perfectly encapsulates the traditional British 'stiff upper lip'."

I found a couple other Keep Calm designs online and wanted to share.....starting with a few of my favorites....

Anthropolgie Takes the Plunge

Your kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom have all been inspired by their decor. Your closet always seems to have one more available hanger for a piece of their clothing. And a meal is just not complete with out wearing one of their multi-fabric layered aprons while cooking.

Anthropologie has captured the hearts of many and has been the romantic inspiration behinds hundreds upon thousands of weddings this year alone.

Well, they are not stopping there. The brand's parents company, Urban Outfitters Inc., announced that Anthropologie will have a BRIDAL collection as early as Spring 2011 on their websites! From accessories and bridesmaids dresses to heirloom wedding gowns.

I can just hear the pitter-patter of soon-to-be-bride's hearts now. :)

Picture courtesy of Anthropologie.

Peachy Keen & Berry Happy Memories

It was straight out of a movie. The strawberry stand on the side of a two lane road with a sign that read "Fresh Strawberries. $3 a pint." Born and raised in Arizona I couldn't believe my eyes. Fresh berries! Grandma would buy a flat and back to her home we would go, knowing what was on the menu for breakfast that week.

Her southern Oregon ranch was at least 100 acres and I spent every summer of my childhood there. "I'm trying!!!" I yelled at my sister Sarah as she told me to reach further to grab the best looking plum on my Grandma's tree. "Got it!" I can still remember it....I would climb down and we would sit on the wood post fence and eat together, two sisters best friends. During the day we would play in the barn, climbing on bales of hay, picking wildflowers, playing with farm animals or catching butterflies in jars which grandma always made us let go.

With my childhood behind me I am creating all new memories. Brad & I headed out to Schnepf Farm this past weekend for their annual Peach Picking! :) A huge box of peaches & a LONG car ride later..

"What are we going to do with 13 pounds of peaches?" I paused to think how to answer my husband's question.

"I am going to make a peach pie, maybe two peach pies." Good answer.

"Have you ever made a pie?" Pause......."No." Bradly just looked at me and smiled.