The Happiest Place on Earth

I am headed to Los Angeles for work, hopefully squeezing in some wedding band shopping, and definitely Disneyland! I can't wait to catch up with Minnie and Mickey after all these years. I didn't have time to bake for the occasion but if I had I would've used Mickey as my inspiration.

Summer

As we hit the 2 month mark I already feel the summer slipping away from me! I recently organized my calendar which led me to put together a list of all the things I wanted to do before Labor Day. Between bridal showers, bachelorette parties and our wedding in August I would like to squeeze in a few summer favorites!

1. Spend a day like a tourist in San Francisco - Ian and I have been trying to walk across the bridge or visit Alcatraz ever since I moved home 3 summers ago, hoping this is the summer!

2. Enjoy drinks/dinner outside whenever it’s warm.

3. Go on a hike or two or three...

4. Spend some time relaxing in Kenwood not focused on the wedding (seen here).

5. Organize our Kitchen in hopes of fitting at least a few of our wedding presents!

6. Get a tan - I don't tan easily but I'm hoping between Kenwood, Tahoe and Mexico I can form at least a little tan before August.

7. Find time to bake a fresh fruit pie in our new pie dish.

8. Spend time with family and friends!

9. Spend at least one weekend in Tahoe - it's embarrassing but Ian and I have been to Tahoe together since last September when we got engaged (seen here).

10. Get Married (no biggie)!!!

What’s on your summer to-do list?

Veil or No Veil

I have my first dress fitting this weekend, which has me thinking about how to complete the look. I'm not sure if I'm a veil kinda bride, but I also don't see myself with a headband or a birdcage. Thoughts?

Bridesmaids Lunch

This post is long over due, but as the wedding quickly approaches I thought I would share a few pictures of another DIY project I completed a while back. My mom organized high tea for my bridesmaids and I back in March and I thought it would be fun to give everyone a little more information so I put together a little booklet which included information on attire, accommodations and contacts for everyone in the wedding party. I tied it off with a yellow bow and gave it to them along with a little gift bag. My mom is also very crafty and made matching champagne flutes with everyone's names on them, also tied with a cute yellow bow. The whole day was perfect and mad me even more excited to share my wedding experience with these wonderful girls!

Receiving RSVPs

Another sneak peak into our invitations...RSVP envelopes. We mailed our invitations last week (seen here) and already we have received so many positive responses! I love checking the mail and finding these polka dot RSVP envelopes in the mailbox.

Bow Tied Cupcakes

I recently launched a second blog called Sweets and Celebrations in order to chronicle my baking. To see more of these bow tied cupcakes along with other Sweet things simply click here!

Wedding White

I've never considered myself a traditional bride and something about wearing ALL white on my wedding day never quite appealed to me. I always planned on wearing a white dress (and possibly a veil) but that is where I drew the line and therefore started my search for yellow shoes and accessories. As our wedding draws near I have started to embrace wedding white and while most of my wedding will still be non-traditional, I've slowly changed my mind about accessorizing my wedding day ensemble. These are just a few of my favorite white accessories I'm contemplating on incorporating into my wedding...you'll have to wait until August to find out if I wear all white or mix it up with some yellow!

Colorful Paper

I love colorful things which is why we chose Yellow for our wedding color! These colorful paper projects have my mind spinning and have me wondering when I can fit some of these fun DIY projects in between now and August.

Invites are in the mail!!!

I don't want to give away too many details just yet but we finally mailed our wedding invitations and I couldn't be happier! They were a true labor of love as I personally designed, stuffed, and addressed all 100+ of them. I couldn't be more pleased with how they turned out and something about mailing them makes me feel like this whole wedding is actually happening...and SOON! I will post detailed pictures once I know our guests have received them, I just hope they like them as much as I do!

Something Blue

I love Mason Jars so when I came across these Mason Jar Invitations (which are customizable and FREE via WeddingChicks) I fell in LOVE. I have been hunting for my something blue and instantly I questioned why I had not thought of using these beautiful blue mason jars in my wedding. Don't get me wrong I am crazy about the milk glass vases we have collected, I'm just also a little crazy about these guys...maybe I'll buy some a do some redecorating around the house instead!

Kenwood

Kenwood 2010 - Pre Wedding Chaos

March 2011 - Our flooded Ceremony Site

May 2011 - the pond is gone and construction has finally begun

May 2011 - a glimmer of hope, the bocce ball court is in

June 2011 - The Rain is back and construction is put on hold...

If you've ever planned a wedding you know how much work it is and if you haven't planned a wedding then consider yourself in a for a big surprise someday. Ian and I decided to get married in Kenwood at my parent's wine country vacation home and when we made this decision we thought that planning a wedding at a family home would be so much easier and more meaningful. Fast forward 7+ months and boy were we WRONG!

Last November the backyard looked great and then the winter hit and so did the rain which caused our wedding site to flood. This derailed all of our landscaping plans and led to additional cost and chaos. The pond finally drained by the beginning of May and construction finally begun (2 months later than originally planned). It seemed like as soon as construction commenced the rain came back and so did the pond. It's now early June which brought about even more rain and a temporary hold on construction. Planning a wedding is challenging enough without the added pressure of landscaping deadlines and unexpected weather. All I can say is that I hope it stops raining before August!