Miss Penguin, Sacramento
Age and Occupation: 26, Video & TV Producer/Director/Editor
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Doctor of Physical Therapy
Engagement Date: January 29, 2007
Wedding Date: June, 2008
Blogging Since: September 14, 2007
Venue: Winery in the Gold Country
About Me: I'm a silly mess of a girl who, above all else in this world, LOVES the Spice Girls. I eat sushi at least 3 times a week, and feel guilty about how much it costs the other 4 days a week. I love designer jeans and cheap accessories. I don't like sweets, but I love the UCLA Bruins!
Escort Wine Charms
May 16th, 2008 @ 5:23 pm by Miss Penguin
Taking gobs of inspiration from two of the most talented gals around, Huckleberry Karen and Lisa at Bellissima Vita, I sat down last night to make our escort cards that will tell guests where they are seated and also serve as wine charms for folks to keep track of their wine glasses.
The inspiration:
photo: Ed Pingol
E-Pic Q and A
May 16th, 2008 @ 9:59 am by Miss Penguin
Dear Miss Penguin,
Why do you have so many freaking pictures of yourself?
Answer: I dunno. And I have no idea what I’m going to do with all the pictures. But these turned out wonderful! I was going to forgo engagement pics altogether because I thought they were strange….which is why I put it off until 3 months before our wedding. But actually seeing them come to life has changed my mind. Of course, what to do with them now? Who knows. Here’s our session with our faboo photographer, Sarah K. Chen! I can’t wait to reunite with her at the wedding!
I’ll refrain from having a one way conversation with myself now and move on to the pictures…
Guest Pictures, All in One Place
May 15th, 2008 @ 12:05 pm by Miss Penguin
Why mess with success? Mrs. Lemon showed us how to collect non-pro photos from our guests via Flickr, and I ran with it. Originally I planned to copy her idea exactly, however, my inkjet printer isn’t equipped to handle small pieces of cardstock (I bought blank, pre cut business cards), so I had to go the Gocco route.
Because I turned to Gocco, I wanted to keep the font pt size above 10, and wasn’t able to fit all the pertinent info with a 10 pt font, so I made some minor modifications. Ultimately, it’s just an extra step, which isn’t too bad.
Finding a Balance Between Photos and Reality
May 14th, 2008 @ 3:30 pm by Miss Penguin
I was referred to my makeup artist, Lisa Deniz, by my neighbor. She’s a Business Manager for Bobbi Brown at the Nordstroms in the Roseville Galleria, and since getting my makeup done by a Bobbi Brown artist in LA for my Engagement Pics with Sarah K Chen, I was sold.
Rather than charge me for a trial, Lisa had me stop by an event where she was repping Bobbi Brown. On a side note, if you hire a makeup artist that typically works at a mall counter, she should be happy to let you stop in to the store when she’s working to give you a “free” trial. And by “free” I mean that it would be a great idea anyway to buy the extras you’ll need for touchups on your wedding day (pressed powder, lip pencil, lip gloss, whatever) so really, you’re just getting a makeover disguised as your makeup trial.
Anyhoo, my trial went great. I asked for a smokey eye, and I got it, although I’m rethinking it for my actual wedding day…it seems a little too “nighttime” for me, even though I’m most comfortable with a smokey eye.
Travis Hoehne + Penguins = Travhenguins!
May 13th, 2008 @ 1:39 pm by Miss Penguin
Um yeah. That title sucked. I tried. 
The disc for our first engagement photo session has arrived and it is AWESOME! Travis has this amazing ability to really get people to come out of their shells. Granted, it doesn’t take me much to come out of my shell (and apparently, within 5 minutes, flash my panties at you) but Mr. Penguin is quite the shy guy, and Travis’ incredibly happy and positive attitude really warmed Mr. Penguin up quite quickly. Here’s some highlights from the day:
Classic Pengy Face!
Regular Playlist, Regular Bride
May 12th, 2008 @ 11:24 am by Miss Penguin
To the shame and embarrassment of some of my “cultured” friends, I’m ridiculously into Top 40 music. If Ryan Seacrest likes it, so do I. It took the power of 10 horses for me not to add Miley Cyrus to my wedding playlist. I think my bridesmaid Jess would vomit all over my white dress.
There. I said it. I love Miley Cyrus. Don’t hate.
That being said, I spent the last two days compiling a “Regular Playlist for a Regular Bride,” and I hope some of you will be able to benefit from it. I separated the songs into categories, Beginning with “key songs”, then cocktail/dinner songs, and finally, reception songs divided by tempo. It’s about 7 hours worth of music!
Key Songs:
mother/son dance song TBA (Yeah, that’s right Mr. Penguin, get on it).
Cheating
May 10th, 2008 @ 3:03 pm by Miss Penguin
Mr. Penguin and I bought our wedding rings last weekend while in Minnesota…we took advantage of the lower sales tax out there, which was nice (Cha-CHING!). Mr. Penguin’s ring has to be made, but I was able to bring mine home that very day!
Anti-Bustle
May 9th, 2008 @ 11:31 am by Miss Penguin
I dreaded bustles even before I found my wedding gown. I vowed to get a gown with a sweep train, just so I could get a tiny little underbustle that no one would ever notice. When I thought “bustle,” I had visions of old musty Victorian drapery smack dab on my booty. Eew. But alas, I fell in love with a gown with a rather long train, which was the exact opposite of what I had envisioned:
More like a Peacock than a Penguin!
How to Use a Bonefolder
May 8th, 2008 @ 8:30 am by Miss Penguin
I bought a bonefolder about a year ago, misused it a few times, and forgot that I had it. I couldn’t really figure out how it worked, and I kept making these shiny creases in my paper, so I gave up on using it.
What is a bonefolder?
A bonefolder helps you create perfect creases on cards and helps smooth out paper. Notice when you try to fold something by hand you get kind of a “jagged” crinkly crease? Bonefolders will create a professional looking fold at home.
image: paper-source.com
Shower Favors For The Young’uns
May 7th, 2008 @ 1:47 pm by Miss Penguin
Never one to arrive empty handed when kids are involved, I showed up to my shower fully armed with 15 pounds of candy and some other goodies for the young girls to take home. I actively participate in bribery on a regular basis. What can I say… what I lack in child interaction skills I make up for in buying a lot of candy. The dilemma was that the ages ranged from 2-16, and I didn’t have time to run around town buying individual gifts. Also, if you don’t give everyone the same thing, it might be a little unfair, and I wanted to avoid that too. So here’s what I came up with:
