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Because of our K1 Visa, we need to be legally married within 3 months of me entering the country. We decided we wanted to do that as soon as possible so that we could move on to the next step of our Immigration Process AOS (Adjustment of Status).
The idea was to go to a courthouse with a few family members and sign all the papers, just like Miss Doxie did. But in our first week together, we decided to change our plans (we made lots of changes that week).
During one of our dinner talks with the Future in Laws, FMIL B came up with a really cool idea. Since we already decided earlier that a really close family friend was going to officiate our legal ceremony, our ceremony could take place pretty much anywhere. B asked, “Why don’t you guys get married at the beach?”
We were sold!!!
We planned it so everyone we wanted to be there could make it, and we set the date. But, we only had 7 days to plan our legal ceremony. It was going to be crazy, I could feel it!
The next day, Mr Poodle and I went down to the coast and drove around looking for the perfect place.
Mr. Poodle drove I snapped pictures. 
But my mother is one heck of a designer. And since all the bridesmaid’s dresses that caught my eye were simple and sweet, I asked my mom what she thought about maybe, possibly making them! I would help, of course, but she’s seen enough of my failed projects to know that I’d be more of a bench warmer. She agreed that it would be more cost-effective for my bridesmaids and asked me to show her examples of what I like.
During our Let’s-Make-Dresses Phase, my mom considered various fabrics as I flipped through pattern books to get an idea of what’s out there.
This pattern immediately reminded me of Samantha Harris! She wore a gorgeous blue dress on Dancing with the Stars recently, and my sis-in-law thought it would make a pretty bridesmaid’s dress. I tried to imagine it in a soft, pink fabric, like Carrie Underwood’s dress:
Whew, as far as changing names goes, I’m grateful to just be changing a few cards and documents rather than changing one of these babies:
Claudia is one lucky lady I’d guess. Anyway.
I was absolutely dreading the whole process from start to finish. It seemed very mysterious and confusing and like it would be difficult.
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So you know how we got engaged, but you don’t know when we had our first kiss. Listen up ladies, here it begins.
Mr. Fro Yo and I met over Memorial day weekend on a Friday night at a bar. Saturday I was supposed to go out on a date with someone else, but after my short interaction with Mr. Fro Yo, I knew that I was WAY more interested in where that was going then where the other date was potentially going. So I did a mean thing… I canceled on the other guy… at like 4 PM the night of our date. I know, I know. I didn’t know what to say, and I had no idea if I was even going to see Mr. Fro Yo again (although he did get my number), but I thought if I felt that interested after a couple hours of playing pool, it was worth it try.
So, the next night we did meet up again––at the same bar. We played some more pool, and with the same group of friends. Only this time, we were both more open about our interest in each other. After closing time, we decided to keep the party going and watch a movie together. For some reason we picked the 40 Year-Old Virgin.
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So, you know when you’re out with your friends celebrating a birthday party, or a bachelorette party, or, um, the fact that it’s Tuesday and you’ve made it through the day? And inevitably, someone gets everyone together and takes a group shot of everyone enjoying themselves? And then, they flip the camera around to see how the picture turns out, and everyone agrees that it’s “awesome”! And thennnn, that person promises to email you a copy or post it on Facebook — but they kind of never do? And you maybe sort of want to nag them about posting it but you don’t want to seem pushy… so you wait a few weeks and they still don’t post it, and by then you figure that they probably have better things going on than posting a picture, so you kind of forget it (although secretly, in the back of your mind, you know that if it was you that was in charge of posting it, you would have done it by now)?
Yeah, I’ve been there, too. (Um, obviously.) I realize that sometimes it just takes effort to find the cord to connect your camera to your computer, upload and sort the pictures, take out the ones where someone’s eyes are closed/someone’s not looking/someone’s talking, and then send them around for everyone else to see. I get it. I understand that you’d rather be watching Gossip Girl than dealing with that mess.
Which is why for our wedding, we’ve gotten a Canditto. A Can-dit-whaaaaat?
… are MY wedding goodies! I spent the better part of today trolling garage sales, in search of anything I could use at our wedding. I already have 40 mason jars, to be used in various ways at the ceremony and reception. And today, I hit the MOTHER LODE. See for yourself…
(personal photo)
See!!! I got an awesome assortment of vases and bowls. I’ll probably use the vases with the mason jars to create RAD centerpieces. And the candy-dish type things will be used on our candy buffet.
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Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
When I first started researching destination weddings, there was one thing in particular about them that made me gasp and say, YES, I want to do THAT: the beachfront Trash The Dress photo sessions (a.k.a. TTD).
What can I say? There’s something so beautiful, so fun and so… well, hot… about all those pictures of brides rolling around on the sand in their wedding finery that heck, I couldn’t resist.
So two days after our wedding day, Mr Breezy and I set our alarms for sunrise and, after hitting snooze a couple times and finally yelling “Oh fudge we’re late!!“, we threw on our clothes and sprinted down to the beach to meet our photographer Photophil.
Some brides get a second dress specifically for their TTD session so they can go crazy and not worry about ruining it but I always knew I’d wear the same one I got married in. It doesn’t have any delicate beading or lacework so I thought it would probably be OK, but mostly, I just loved it and couldn’t imagine wearing another dress. I figured that if I ruined it beyond repair, at least I’d have a lot of photos of it and the knowledge that I really did get every single ounce of fun out of it that I could.
Warning: We got so many incredible shots from our photog that honestly, I had a heck of a time picking just a few to share with you so please forgive me if this is a super photo-heavy post…
As the sun started to peek over the horizon, our trash the dress–er, make that ‘trash the DWess’–session started off innocently enough with some fooling around with one of the parasols I had brought with us to Punta Cana.
Let me just start of by saying that I am so lucky to be marrying such an understanding, compassionate, and laid back man.
I say this because I initially had absolutely no desire to change my name, ever. Even as a little girl, I couldn’t imagine having anyone else’s last name but my own. I quite like my last name, it meshes well with my identity. It’s a strong—yet pretty and proper sounding—British name. It’s one of those names that goes well with everything, but isn’t super common, like Smith or Jones.
To be honest, I was a bit nervous about telling Mr. Rainbow that I was planning on keeping my last name. Most men (like my dad, for example) are so against the idea of their wife not having the same last name. When I broke the news to Mr. Rainbow, his response was something to the tune of: “Really? Okay, if that’s what you want sweetie, whatever makes you happy.” Gosh, I love that man. What potentially could have caused a huge fight between many other couples, was not even a ripple on our radar.
Fast-forward a few weeks later and the gears in my brain started spinning: “What if we decide to have kids? Whose name will they have? I don’t want to be the only one in the family with a different last name!” I came to the conclusion that I just wouldn’t feel like we’re a family if we didn’t have the same last name. I knew I didn’t want to toss out my last name and just assume his, as if I had acquired someone else’s identity. I still wanted to be me.
As the girls were getting their hair and makeup did at the Ranch Creek cabin, the boys were in the cabin next door known as the Red Quill. Albeit, they started a couple of hours after we did. In both cabins, groomsmen and bridesmaids were opening up our gifts and our homemade cards featuring the horse that Mr. CB drew. I had it turned into a stamp somewhere along the way.
Lights and lanterns, you brighten (ha!) my wedding world and I can’t stop looking pictures of magical outdoor weddings with incredible lighting. So much so that while I was once certain of my lighting concepts, I am now a doubting Thomas. (Side note: Is there a female version of the phrase doubting Thomas? Doubting Thomasina?)
Let’s start with lanterns. I love this shot with the setting sun pouring light into the room. Gorgeous.
When I talk about budgets I like to be specific, so I’m going to share with you our wedding budget.
Mr. Spaniel and I have a budget of around $30,000, most of which is generally being paid for by our parents. I would have loved for us to be able to pay for our own wedding, but—alas!—I am a starving student and he is a starving recent graduate. The only wedding we could afford would have been in city hall, followed by ramen for two. Rather than let us elope, our parents have stepped up and are helping us out substantially.
| Ceremony (location fee, officiant) | $400 |
| Reception (venue rental, food and service, beverages and bartenders, cake and cutting fee) | $17,000 |
| Bride’s attire and accessories | $2,000 |
| Groom’s tux and accessories | $250 |
| Flowers and decor (bouquets, boutonnieres, corsages, ceremony decorations, reception decorations and centerpieces) | $2,000 |
| Music (ceremony and reception musicians) | $2,000 |
| Photography | $3,000 |
| Stationery | $750 |
| Wedding rings | $2,000 |
| Gifts (bridesmaids, groomsmen, parents) | $600 |
| Total | $30,000 |
So many lovely hostesses helped make my shower special and I wanted to give them small tokens of my appreciation. I decided to make them some magnets that they could use on their fridges or in the office. I loved crafting them by hand and hoped that they seemed extra special to the ladies!
I was really excited that I already had most items that I needed to make these magnets. As a compulsive crafter, I have a ton of crafting supplies that I keep telling myself will come in handy some day. That day came!
Supplies:
Have you ever done one of those quizzes in teen girl mags that claim to educate you on how to “Dress for your Shape”? Usually, your answers result in one of these four possibilities:
Once you know your “basic shape”, the magazine goes on to educate you on the perfect date outfit for your body type, or a prom dress that will highlight your “positive attributes”. Equipped with this knowledge, you can go on to be your most fabulous self!
But what about those of us who don’t quite fit into these four standard types? Are we doomed to never find out which outfit will look best on us?
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Alright my lovelies, I need your assistance.
Which design should we use for our holiday cards this year? I made a few options using our wedding pictures a) because I love them, and b) I want everyone to see them!
Option 1 : Ornaments
Whenever I go to a foreign country, I try to go in without any expectations at all. Inevitably, I end up failing at that because we all have these visions of faraway places in our heads that we can’t force out or forget — they are safely tucked away after being absorbed from dramatic scenes in classic movies or vividly descriptive passages in our favorite books.
Greece is no different. While I tried to be as open-minded as possible about the experience that Mr. Star and I were about to embark upon together, there were many sights we saw that were entirely expected on my part.
Brightly-colored buildings, for one
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