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This past weekend I went back up to the UP for the last time before the wedding. In addition to vendor meetings to make sure everyone is on the right track for the big day, I had my makeup trial.
When I got to the salon, Leah, the girl who will be doing my makeup, told me to look at the makeup book they have to see if there were any pictures I liked. I had done a little research myself beforehand, but due to printer issues at my parents’ house (and trying to print the pictures 5 minutes before the trial) I had arrived empty handed. I showed her a picture in the book with a lighter shade of eyeshadow on the inner half of the eye and darker on the outer half. I said I’d really like to emphasize my eyes and she agreed that that was a good idea. Then she went to work.
For foundation, she applied a mix of tinted moisturizer, foundation, and some kind of shimmery add-in. While I don’t ever wear foundation, it was light and didn’t feel like my face was suffocating, as some foundations make me feel. She added a little bronzer and blush as well.
For the eyes she applied two shades of brown, lighter on the inside, and darker on the outside. She also applied some brown eyeliner and black mascara. For lips, we went with a light pink color with some gloss on top.
When I looked in the mirror, I was a little disappointed.
Please forgive me for all the DIY posts lately. Honestly it’s all I’ve been doing the past few weeks! Here’s a project that anyone can do… it’s super simple! So easy in fact, I’m not sure it requires pictures. But I took some for you anyway!
I’m not sure where I first found them, but for a long time now I’ve wanted to use canvas bags to fill with goodies for our out-of-town guests. I always seem to be an OOT guest at weddings, and it is so nice to have some snacks already in the hotel room when you are tired and hungry after a long drive. Our guests will find these cuties filled with treats in their rooms!
And now for the super simple tutorial:
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We’ve recently started to gather props and supplies for our “faux”tobooth! I was in Paper Source this past weekend for something totally unrelated, when I came across these chalkboard prints! At $6.95 a piece, I had to have them! We’ll mount them on some foam board and they’ll be ready to write on!
Last week I sent out our rehearsal dinner invitations! While not completely necessary, I really wanted to send out invites for the rehearsal dinner so there was no question as to who was invited and to make sure everyone knew what the plan was for dinner. Also, since our RD will be at Mr. M’s parents’ house on a lake outside of town, I wanted to make sure people knew how to get there!
I found my inspiration for the invitation design a few months ago, and even put them together a few weeks ahead of when I needed to send them! I was pretty proud of myself of being so on top of these.
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All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
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handover (n.) 1. Unpleasant physical effects, usually affecting the hands, following the heavy use of a corner rounder to make wedding programs or other stationery.
After rounding 3,000 corners this weekend (with the help of two lovely bridesmaids), you could say that I have a handover.
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Obviously, there is no question as to where the bride and groom sit at their own reception. Whether at the head table or a sweetheart table, either way, the newly married couple usually know where they should sit, and no honorable wedding guest would dare take those seats. Are the little signs we see designating the chairs for the happy couple unnecessary? Probably. But are they super cute and just begging for a photo op? Most definitely!
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
One month from now, I will be walking down the aisle to meet my groom. It is kind of surreal to me how fast time has been moving lately. It seems like Mr. M proposed just last week, but it’s been over a year now! This engagement has been one of the most fun and exciting times for us as a couple, and also one of the most stressful times, trying to juggle all of the wedding planning along with our normal lives. Speaking of stress… I’m beginning to feel it. I have a few too many items to finish in the next 31 days, and I’m praying that somehow I’ll be able to put everything together.
I believe that just about every bachelorette party I have ever been to has one thing in common. No, I’m not thinking of drinking, although that is usually a part of them, as well. I’m thinking of the “paraphernalia”, as I like to call it. Tiaras, veils, giant light-up rings, and the ever-so-important sashes designating the bride-to-be as the bachelorette.
Sporting my very own bachelorette sash made by my MOH Dona.
Since I am somewhat familiar with a sewing machine, and very well-versed in puffy paint application, I have been previously called upon to be the Maker-of-the-Sash.
Early on in the planning process, we decided on our wedding favors. With a serious disdain for knick-knacks and a guest list of 325, we knew we wanted our favors to serve a purpose and come with an affordable price tag. Being a professional wedding guest myself (I should really count how many weddings I’ve been to in recent history) I thought back to the types of favors that I appreciate the most. The edible variety have always been my favorite. They are enjoyable and useful and don’t collect dust on my shelves. They make my tummy happy after a few hours of drinking and dancing. Really, what’s not to love? Edible favors were the clear winners in our book.
Since my family has always been quite proficient in the baking department, the type of edible favor was a no-brainer. We would have to bake some sort of cake. But what kind do we give as a favor if we are serving wedding cake at the reception? Oh yes, the most delicious kind of cake ever… my mother’s cardamom cakes. Delicious and dense, resembling more of a coffee cake than wedding cake, they can be made in cute little bundt cake pans, glazed, and sprinkled with powdered sugar. They also freeze well, which was important since there was no way we’d be waiting until the last few days before the wedding to knock out 325 of these babies. We made a few test cakes, froze them, and ate them after one month and two months. They both tasted fine after thawing, and we were sold on the mini cardamom cake favors.
I have been searching for a dress for our rehearsal dinner for a few months now. I originally wanted to take advantage of the fact that, as the bride, it is perfectly acceptable for me to wear a white dress. Alas, I don’t think that is in the cards for me. I have searched and searched and searched and cannot find a white dress that is semi-casual (since our rehearsal dinner is being held outside at Mr. M’s parents’ home) and that you cannot see through. I don’t think those two criteria are very stringent, but apparently they are.
Exhibit #1.
Oh yeah, I can’t even show it to you. I fell in love with this cute strapless white and metallic silver BCBG dress at Lord & Taylor months ago, but they didn’t have my size. Anywhere in the US. I looked all over the internet for it as well and couldn’t find so much as a picture of it. Sad.
Exhibit #2. This dress made me swoon from the second I laid eyes on it.
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With a little more than a month left to go, you would think I would be taking projects off of my list at this point. Instead, I added one on. Uninspired when it came to designing our programs and sick of teal taffeta table runners being the only sewing I’ve done in months, I decided to make a simple garter to wear on the wedding day.
Sunday, July 27th, 2008. That’s the day that Mr. M got down on one knee in the middle of the Chicago Botanic Gardens and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. It was an incredibly special moment, and I was the happiest girl in the world.
Then he gave me this…
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Weddings plans can change at any minute, and our wedding has been no exception! I had told you all how we had won a fabulous photography package for our wedding, and that part has not changed, thank goodness.
The part that has changed though, is the photographer duo that will be snapping the pictures on our big day.
Our original photographers were worried they may not be able to make it to the wedding due to some unforeseen circumstances, so they called their photographer friends to see if they’d be willing to offer us the same package. After approval on both our end and their end, the switch was made! Enter the husband and wife team at Deborah Cull Photography!
Deb and Matt will be coming up to the UP a few days before the wedding, and they have even offered to take some engagement pictures of us in the days prior as well! We had taken engagement pictures last winter, but it will be nice to have some summer/fall shots of us without our wedding Check out these engagement pictures that the talented pair have taken recently.
As I mentioned last week, my bachelorette party was this past weekend! I drove up to Milwaukee on Friday, and picked up my bridesmaid Anna at the airport on the way. We started with a dinner of fish and chips and Summer Shandy at the Miller Time Pub and waited for the rest of the girls to arrive. Everyone joined us at the hotel as they got into town and we just chilled out, drank a few beers, chatted, and went to bed relatively early. We had a big day ahead of us!!
In the morning we got up and took our time getting ready before heading to The Wicked Hop to start the day off right. I began the day with a delicious mimosa, while my matron of honor Dona opted for the “liquid brunch”—aka, the sickest looking Bloody Mary I had ever seen.
As requested, here are the close-ups of our invitations.
I embossed the pocketfold using our flourish stamp from Paper Source, teal ink, and clear embossing powder. The belly bands were made using Ruby Stardream metallic cardstock.
The invitations were made with white linen cardstock backed with Ruby Stardream metallic cardstock. A matching purple double-faced satin ribbon was tied in a knot and attached to each one. I took the flourish pattern from the stamp and made a vector drawing of it to print it on all of the invitation pieces. I thought about stamping and embossing each one, but ultimately decided that I value my sanity too much to do that. I quickly nixed that idea.
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Mrs. Mascara, Chicago/Upper Michigan Age and Occupation: 25, Biomedical Engineer Fiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Process Engineer Engagement Date: July 27, 2008 Wedding Date: September 2009 Venue: Catholic ceremony, reception at local armory About Me: A lover of Mr. Mascara, crafting, baking, Gossip Girl, diet soda, and all things wedding. A Yooper girl somehow displaced in the Chicago suburbs, planning a wedding from a distance, and counting down the days until I marry my best friend.
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