onto the next chapter… :)

a little less than a year ago i created this blog to share my experiences in wedding planning…it was a good outlet for me, especially since my wealth of wedding knowledge was just too overwhelming for the poor people who’d have to hear about place settings, chivari chairs, favors, gowns and whatever other small detail i had become obsessed with at the time…i also was hoping to give fellow brides some helpful tips since we all need to stick together and avoid bridezilla-ness as much as possible  :)

so to wrap up this chapter of our wedding story, i should probably bring you up to speed on the last few weeks before and after the wedding…

my family came to town the week before…i worked until one week before the wedding and found myself especially swamped since i was trying to prepare myself for a 3 week vacation…once i finally left the office that friday, i realized that the whole wedding was finally in motion. i still had MANY tasks to do and was hoping my mom’s family could help me (which they gladly did)…i tried to be as prepared as possible before our hectic week but it seemed like there just wasn’t enough hours in the day!

my family thoughtfully gave me both a bachlorette evening with the girls and a smaller shower. our bachlorette party had us all learning how to pole dance (i am definitely NOT a natural). it was pure comedy i must say…so glad we did it! we then had dinner at buca di beppos…it was the perfect ending to a really fun night :)

the smaller shower was for the benefit of my family that couldn’t be here earlier…everyone came over to my new apartment and we had dinner and opened up lingerie gifts…nikki also made sure we had a few games to play (like family feud, toilet paper bride, etc.). my hubby also helped the ladies decorate our home…it was sweet to see him cover our whole place in crepe paper…it was awesome!  :)

after these two events i found myself with nearly no time and a massive list of tasks to do…all i can recall is feeling constantly tense…i must have looked like a wreck because i was so wound up! at any rate we all made it through and it was finally the day of our rehearsal…

we got a late start right off the bat…we were nearly an hour late (and the whole appointment was barely an hour). most of our family was waiting for us and my anxiety was through the roof, yikes! somehow we quickly got through everything and then proceeded to our rehearsal dinner  :)

jaime and i were wound pretty tight since we spent a good portion of the afternoon in traffic, frantically trying to get to the venue! we arrive at kathi and steve’s home and i was blown away by the set up! jaime’s mom, marilyn, kathi, nancy and other friends collaborated to set up the home in a beautiful way…there was antique umbrellas hung above one long table! there were different candle holders in one long line on the table…it was gorgeous…not only did it give such an awesome glow to the table, but there was so much character in each candle holder…beautiful, just beautiful!

then inside there was an awesome spead of food, it was bbq style but with some serious class…nany also made a collage of photos with jaime and me through the years…it was fun looking at the shots with our friends and family, a lot of whom were represented there too…really memorable evening!

so the day before the wedding us ladies went to the east bay and got pedicures and manicures…we also had lunch then headed to the hotel to settle in…some of us broke away for a little shopping in a local area…it was super relaxing to get away for a while and have some shopping therapy…

we wrapped up the evening with some zachary’s pizza at the hotel patio…i went to bed pretty early considering how busy the evening was…such a pretty night…

the day of the wedding was BUSY! i was pretty calm all day until the final 30 minutes before the ceremony…there were so many things going on that it was hard to be as calm as before…either way it all worked out and the made our way to the bridges…it was a really warm, sunny day and everyone looked terrific…my groom was crying at the altar as i walked up, i was so excited to finally see him…everything from that day was a blur but i do remember smiling a lot and thinking that this was it and we were going to be married  :)

i could go into more detail but overall it was a really wonderful day…i’m glad we took the time to bring together all our family and friends…it was incredibly stressful at times but i am thankful that God gave us this terrific moment.

i thought i would miss wedding planning but i like the quiet of being at home and enjoying our place more now…maybe it’s because our home is our solace…a place of rest…

so onto the new frontier…first holidays…first anniversary…first everything…it might seem like a simple life, but i think we commonly take for granted the simple things…thank God for it all  :)

lucy - the magical seamstress :)

this might sound too basic to even mention, but it’s not enough to just buy a dress. it’s equally important to make sure it fits in the best way possible. i have personally neglected this for the last year. just to give you an idea of how much, it took me 9.5 months to finally get my gown altered.

a friend of mine used lucy pineda (a local seamstress) to create her gown and suggested i go to her for my alterations. right before my appointment i discovered that another friend also used her so i was really excited to meet her.

she did not disappoint! not only is she incredibly knowledgeable and skilled, she’s also funny and personable. it was a pleasure to spend time with her and you can tell how much she loves her job and helping brides. she told me several stories about brides who were deserate for help and she was able to assist them with only a couple days to spare. it’s great to work with someone that has a big heart :) she helped me find good undergarments and make changes to the dress that only an expert would have seen. it’s so nice to feel you are in good hands, especially when it comes to your beloved gown.

2 more weeks to go and i get to see the altered dress…it’ll be nice to have it at the right length and fit. 5 more weeks and counting until the wedding, ahhhhh!

livestrong to the rescue

a few months ago i put up a post about my wedding favors…i was really excited about using the hope bracelets that the american cancer society sold. i kept all the information and decided to order them at a later time (since i wasn’t sure what my number of guests would be). needless to say i regret waiting…

i placed a call to the american cancer society and they told me they did have the bracelets i wanted. they only came in purple but there would be no problem sending them soon. they were even cheaper then i remembered. i should have known right then that these weren’t the right bracelets.

so about 2 weeks later i get a package in the mail. to my surprise the bracelets were nothing like the picture i posted previously…they were made of shoe lace material with hope written on the bracelet and it was tied together with two plastic beads. as much as i might have been willing to keep them, it wasn’t what i had in mind.

since the wedding is so soon i started to get nervous about the favors. i knew we could come up with a solution but with the stress of so many other things, it was really difficult to think straight.

a couple days after i got the first bracelets, i was having a discussion with my sister and we thought about the livestrong bracelets. they have a special meaning for my sister and me, here’s why: when my dad had cancer we met a man at his infusion center that had ordered several of the bands. back then we knew nothing about them and this man proceeded to tell us about lance armstrong and the livestrong foundation. he also gave us our own bracelets which i still have…it was a really crazy time for my family and i was proud to wear something that supported cancer research and the improvement of the lives of cancer patients. after recalling that experience and thinking about how wonderful the livestrong foundation is, there was no doubt in our minds that these bracelets would be the perfect giveaway. they have also become a symbol of the cancer struggle and triumph, so this actually became an easy decision.

i think about my dad all the time, just as i know jaime thinks of his lolo. it’s impossible to express in words just how important they were to us. all i know is we’re both better people as a result of their presence in our lives.

…could i have a side of sanity with that? thanks!

hello all…

i apologize for my 4 month reprieve…it’s been insanity planning a wedding while also organizing a move. basically, i’m pooped!

but i’m back with all my little tips and plenty more topics to discuss…one is the madness of wedding planning  :)

the more i plan my wedding, the more i realize how complex an experience it really is. the problem is when we first spoke of marriage, we discussed how the most important part of our wedding is making that public commitment to one another…basically the rest didn’t matter. the truth is that our commitment is definitely the most important element, but a wedding is a full celebration which honors that union. It is also a time for reuniting our loved ones and the opportunity for people to give back to us as a couple through gifts. weddings are so much more than just the “i do’s”, it’s a massive celebration with all these elements combined. bottom line is that our commitment is the basis by which this whole experience is orchestrated.

in a sense it’s no wonder that relatives, friends, etc. want to help you make it the best experience ever or want to attend. after all, when people have known you a long time they want to share in your joy.

of course, it’s not hard to imagine the possible clashes that can occur during the wedding planning stage. take heart fellow brides! it might be difficult, but then again it comes with the territory. just know your limitations and make it a point to relax once in a while. :)

…and now you’re invited

one of the most publicly shared pieces of the wedding are the invitations. it is how you communicate this special day to your loved ones. it can also be an important design element, tying your color themes together with some graphics if you so choose.

having received my fair share of invites over the years, i was tremendously excited to work on my own. i went straight to a great friend of ours, victoria rodrigues. she is a wonderful graphic designer so naturally we looked to her for our invitations (definitely check her out!).

i had a few ideas in mind for the invite and i gave her my thoughts. i wanted to do a navy trimmed invitation with some sort of ivy/leaves design. before i knew it, ria came up with some great graphics to choose from. once we found our favorite designs, we worked on how the invitation would come to the guests (shape of invites, exact color shades, etc). after a lot of back and forth, tweeking and finalizing, the invitations are finally in my hands.

we opted to go with letterpress (debossed ink) and i love the formal, elegant look it creates. i’ve looked at our new invites over and over, just in disbelief that this is our final wedding invitation. it is hard to believe i’m old enough to get married at all (though at 27 i clearly am!).

yes, it is all really happening. before we know it we’ll be receiving rsvp’s  :) 5 months to go!

fun little knot games…

a little while back i came across this fun little design program on the knot, it’s called “my inner bride.” not sure if you were a barbie fan, but i definitely was and it brought back all the fun “dress your own barbie” instincts in me, haha. here’s my little mock bride and i have to say this is pretty close to what i’ll look like on the big day  :) ….by the way it’s less than 6 months away, aHHHHHH!

a bridal shower by santana row, don’t mind if i do ;)

a friend of mine sent me a link to enter a sweepstake hosted by santana row. if you win, you get a free shower and about $5000 worth of prizes. pretty decent, huh?

santana row sweepstakes

i NEVER win anything, wouldn’t it be awesome if this was my first prize!  ;)

View high resolution

when we first started this nuptual planning journey, i thought right away about the favors. i know that sounds odd but i wanted to make our favors useful/meaningful. at first i thought we’d give food since that seemed like a nice gift and was universal to all. i explored this idea more and, as much as i liked it, it just wasn’t what i had in mind.

after having searched the internet and coming up empty, i was brought to an idea by my cousin. she mentioned that a friend did a charitable donation as a favor. the way she presented this was she created scrolls with a note saying that a donation was made on each person’s behalf to some charity of the couple’s choosing. we talked about how it was modern and a great way to use money that would be spent on favors for a good cause instead. my only reservation was the scroll…i just didn’t feel it was a good favor. although the sentiment behind it was good, i felt as though there needed to be something that people could take home from the event (which i believe is the purpose of the favor). so as much as it seemed like a good idea, i put it aside and started searching for others.

a week or so later i came across an article from the knot that talked about charitable donations as favors and the ways couples used this as a give-away. my favorite idea was using the plastic band that organizations sell for their cause with a note saying that a donation was made on behalf of each guest. this finally helped me bridge the gap between my cousin’s idea and my desire to provide an actual gift.

i also wanted to take it a step further. the whole point of making a donation is to give the money to an organization that is close to your heart. both jaime and i lost very important people in our lives to cancer (my dad almost 5 years ago and jaime’s grandfather almost 20 years ago). i wanted to honor these people with our donation too.

with all of that being said, here is my final concept: we will purchase “hope” bracelets from the american cancer society for each of our guests, thereby giving the money alloted to our favors to the american cancer society. we will then package each bracelet in a box with an outer label saying:

“in honor of jack guingona and jaime gonzalez, sr., a donation has been made on your behalf to the american cancer society.”

i love that the favor is a way to remember jaime’s granfather and my dad. it’s hard missing someone and wishing they were there, so i’m glad we have a way to show people we love them and they are missed.

themed weddings can also be fun  :) a while back, as i was browsing the internet for some ideas, i came across the cherry blossom wedding theme. it’s inspiration is (of course) the japanese cherry blossom tree. the color combinations are usually different tones of pink with brown. some even use pink with a minty green. i particularly like this theme because it successfully connects other elements of the wedding together (like designs on the invitations, flowers, favors, etc.) by one common design thread, the cherry blossom tree branch.

similarly, you can use anything as a muse for your color theme. i’ve read of brides using the fourth of july or christmas as their themes (because of the time of the year) and they utilized the common colors associated with these holidays. some also use nature as their inspiration, like the beach or a garden. another idea is to use a favorite hobby or interest as your theme (like golfing or music). lastly, you can base your theme around your background/culture (perhaps a hawaiian theme). if you do this, just make sure to match your theme carefully with your venue; for example, a beach theme would seem odd at a winery.

a great question to ask yourself is: do i have an interest, hobby, favorite item that can serve as a theme for our wedding?

subdued tones are also wonderful for a wedding. you can use them to either act as a base against another brighter, strong color or use them alone to create a classic, clean look. some subtle colors that i like are chocolate brown (which i’ve mentioned previously) and champagne.

chocolate brown is such a rich color that there are many potential matches. some favorites from the last few years are pale pink, bright green, rust orange or baby blue. each pairs nicely with the richness of brown and allows you many options by way of flowers, etc. some also choose to pair it with ivory or champagne to create a classic, elegant look. my cousin paired brown and champagne with antique looking roses (pale pink and different shades of ivory), my mom still raves about her bouquet.

champagne also has many elegant matches. my favorites are pale pink, rust orange, or magenta. although i didn’t go with these colors for my own wedding, i love how champagne has a timeless feel to it.