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I finally have professional photos from our day uploaded and ready to share. Let’s start at the beginning, shall we? I will probably post the details by category first, then loop back and post photos of the key parts of the event in chronological order. It’s pretty overwhelming sorting all these photos, but it’s a fun way to reminisce upon the day.
All photos are copyright M. Norwood Photography, unless otherwise noted. Also, please note these are from digital proofs. The actual, high-resolution photos are even better!
At 8 AM, we girls got up and started to get pretty, oh so pretty.
If you’re like me and needed a little (ok, more like a few months’) break from wedding tasks, here’s a little incentive to get you to make those returns, exchanges, and registry completion purchases. Macy’s, and most other more traditional registries, typically give you 10% off one big shopping spree at the end. However, from October 25 through November 6, Macy’s will give you 15% off. They will also have some great sales on housewares, bed, and bath going on then as well, compounding the savings. Not so great if you’re returning stuff, but wonderful if you’ve got stuff you want to get off your registry.
I almost didn’t do this, but I am so glad a friend convinced me to do it. Click here for my previous entry with instructions.
Supplies:
Kolo Newport scrapbook, 11″ x 14″ size, red.
Kolo cloth-hinge refill series B, soft white.
Kolo Legato photo corners, soft white. They now have self-stick ones, which I would have used had they been available at the time.
Sakura Pigma Micron pens, 05 tip, archival felt tip pens in sepia. Purchased from my local Dick Blick.
2 Polaroid cameras + film. I borrowed the cameras from a friend. The cheapest film I found was at Costco for $45 for 5 packs of 10 exposures each. After you add in LA County sales tax, that came to about $0.97 per exposure. Yes, eBay is an option, but many of the bulk lots they sell on there may have past due expiration dates. For the unexpired film, after adding in shipping, it was more worth it for me to pick up spankin’ new film during a usual Costco run.
I normally don’t like rehashing things I’ve seen make the blog circuit and featured on more than one, but what a great event and awesome ideas. David Stark used paint chips for a backdrop, chandeliers, and even table numbers.
Featured on Weddingbee
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
“Make an elegant invitation statement without the fuss. Stylish invitation sets with matching envelopes, reception and response cards included.”
I have a new favorite dessert place. It’s ideal for me because I can pick up some pick-me-ups from Vanilla Bake Shop on my way home after a long day.
The white on white, oh-so-girly interior.
It is truly the little things that make a world of difference. Here are a few of the little things we did right. Some of them intentional, some of them not, but they all added up to an amazing day.
1. Spending the night before apart. It added to the anticipation and excitement. It also led to a sweet phone conversation before going to bed the night before, and I got to spend some time with my bridesmaids that day/night before. My intention was also to spend a little bit of time alone to reflect, but I knocked out before that could happen because of #2.
2. My bridesmaids planned a primping day for the day before. At first I was a bit skeptical and didn’t want them all to have to shell out for spa treatments. It was, however, the best.decision.ever. We soaked and steamed before our treatments, then soaked and steamed a bit more afterward, lounged/napped, and finally took leisurely showers. I highly recommend the Burke Williams in Orange. Yes, at the Block. I, too, was skeptical of a spa at a “meh” mall at first, but it’s nicer than the other two locations I’ve tried. We were all the consistency of overcooked noodles after that, so we drove back to the hotel and promptly knocked out. No night before insomnia for me!
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
These were my tiny tokens of appreciation for the lovely ladies who have been such a great part of my life these past years.
- Professional hair and makeup, including tip.
The piles. And this isn’t even that bad. I spent a good half day organizing and compiling all this fun into the neat, compact piles pictured here. Initially, it was a truck bed full and mid-size sedan’s worth of haulage that we painfully unloaded the next morning.
It sounds so cliche, but our wedding day was truly such an amazing, poignant, and fun day! We just got back a few days ago, so we’re still trying to get our heads back on straight. BUT…I’d hate to leave you all hanging, so here are few random teasers from friends’ cameras, for your viewing pleasure.
Getting married in the shade of lovely bamboo. . .
I picked up the dresses on Friday, and they look fabulous! She pressed them for me, so the silk dupioni is beautifully crisp rather than very wrinkly like in my previous post. The quality of work is good, and she nailed the design from one image each of the front and back that I provided.
Sorry, LA girls, Laura Bravo is out of north OC, but worth the drive. My two local bridesmaids who live in K-town didn’t mind the two drives they had to make down on Saturday mornings (no traffic time!), though. I found a few other seamstresses closer to LA proper, but they were around $75-90 for labor on the dresses only. Still not bad at all, for a custom dress, but we couldn’t beat $50 per dress. One caveat, though, the cost will definitely depend on your specific design.
She prefers to measure your girls (or you) herself, but she did make my NYC bridesmaid’s dress from measurements her NYC tailor took, and we e-mailed to Laura. She then has the dresses pretty much done a couple of weeks before the wedding, and your bridesmaids come in again to try them on. Ours fit my bridesmaids perfectly, and the only adjustment we needed was to the length of the sash, which she left long on purpose in case we wanted to tie them into bows as I hadn’t specified. This saved my girls some money, too, since alterations are pretty much included.
5 days ago:
Our table numbers/menus are done! I did a simple tent card, since three sides are perfect for a pic of me [at the same age as the table number], a pic of him, and the menu. It’s great since it can stand on its own, too. No need to find, buy, rent, or borrow any of those [mostly] banal table number holders out there. Yes, yes, there are creative, beautiful stands for table numbers that don’t have to break the bank, but this lazy bride didn’t even want to bother searching, budgeting or wasting even one extra brain cell on it (they are a rare resource, since bridal brain has kicked in, after all). I have a large ream of beautiful, bright white cardstock that I bought for under $20 at Kelly Paper for miscellaneous paper projects such as this, so I set out to do something using only my computer, that paper, an inkjet printer, and minimal other supplies. I came up with the following.
Tower o’ numbers:
It fits like a glove! I am so glad as I have horrible visions of SDBG (that’s Strapless Dress Boob Gap) in my head, especially since I have virtually no chest. Now all she has left to do is do the bustle and steam it. I’ll pick it up a few days before the wedding.
With the detachable train [how I’ll wear it for the ceremony]:
[Not me. It’s the bride from whom I bought the dress.]
Without the detachable train, unbustled [how I’ll wear it for pre-ceremony photos]. The sweep train on my dress is a little bit longer.
[Again, not me. This is knottie ctnjbride. Unfortunately, she no longer has a bio up.]
One more [pseudo] DIY project down, about 271 more to go!
Luckily, a friend of mine had an extra Kolo Newport album (11×14 size)…in red! She sold it to me for a very reasonable price. I slipped one of our engagement photos in. Cover, check.
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Mrs. Lime, Los Angeles Age and Occupation in 06: 25, Design Fiance's Age and Occupation: 25, IT Engagement Date: July 7, 2006 Wedding Date: August 5, 2007 Venue: An historic estate About Me: Between work and wedding planning, I try to squeeze in napping, drawing, random spurts of craftiness, tennis, and eating lots of Sprinkles cupcakes, dark chocolate, and noodles of all kinds. Mr. Lime and I have spent our adult lives growing up together, and we're very excited to finally be getting married!
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