THE Dress!...and other attire.

Can you believe you are getting married!? If you are still in shock, I will believe it for you!!!

You get to go shopping for the most precious, but expensive, single dress you will most likely ever wear. (Unless you are competing in the Miss USA Pageant. But only 50 women a year get that far in the competition.) Anyways, you get to have fun, hang out with family and friends, and put down a small lump sum on a dress all on the same day. Sometimes you end up shopping for a few weeks, and that is okay, but keep in mind that most dresses take 4 to 6 months to be made once your order is placed.

Make your appointments early, with travel time in between, and be on time. Most bridal boutiques give you a 90 minute appointment with a consultant. If you want to arrive early and look at the dresses they have on the floor most shops are okay with that, but do not forget to remove your dirty dusty shoes.

When you arrive, be open and honest with your consultant. She is there to help you, the bride, not cater to the 20 opinions in the room. She will ask you questions, read your body language, and pay attention to only you. Have fun and try on dresses that catch your eye, but make sure you ask her what dresses she would pull for you to try. From personal experience, they know what dresses look good on you, and what will never look good on your body type. Most importantly, have FUN while you are shopping. Do not get discouraged if you do not find the dress on day one-it will happen eventually!

Bridesmaid dresses and tuxedos are usually available through your bridal boutique as well. Because you get everything in one location, they usually have HUGE deals. Keep this in mind when thinking about tux rentals, bridal party attire, flower girl dresses, little black dresses, a reception dress, and all accessories. The more you buy the more you save!

Remember that this day is all about you, and your wedding day should be very special. Get a dress that makes you feel stunning-because you are!

Places To Shop:

Pure Bridal    Modern Dress

Hope's Bridal     David's Bridal

 

Happy Shopping!

Selecting Your Media Vendors

Next step...
 
Now that you have been able to secure a location for your ceremony and reception, we can move on to your media vendors. These vendors fill up fast and do not come cheap. Hear me out because they can make or break your memories from your wedding.

 Videography: Many people ask themselves if they really want a video of their wedding to be professionally done or shot by a friend. Does the budget allow for a professional? Well, I spoke with a friend of mine, Michael Hennings-Wedding Memories of Omaha, on his thoughts towards videography. I asked him why he thinks hiring a professional is the best way to go. His response:

 “You should get a professional and modern videographer for your wedding because you spend twelve to twenty-four months planning for one single day, you'll spend more money than just about ever before on any one day, and you'll have all the closest people in your life all around you, and you probably will barely even have time to enjoy it. Your wedding day is such a blur. It's exhilarating and it's exhausting, and it leaves very little time for reflection. Video brings back all those memories that otherwise you probably wouldn't get to enjoy, and moments you inevitably would have missed with your closest family and friends. It may even show you things that you'd never realized were happening. And photography captures a different side of it, but you don't get to see those memories truly come to life.” 

 Photography: Every couple wants their special day captured by a camera. The photographs you get four to eight weeks after your wedding are a great memory and you want them to be timeless. Or, in my opinion you should want them to be timeless. Photographers are most commonly found by word of mouth or on photography blogs. I think the internet is a great source, but make sure you see multiple examples of their work. If you find wedding pictures you like, ask the couple what photographer they used!

 I personally think that a large portion of your budget should be spent on your photographer. I cannot emphasize enough that if you have a bad photographer, who does not understand the camera, and depends on Photoshop to "enhance" the photos, you will be disappointed with your photos down the road. Do not sign a contract without seeing hard copies of their work. Read the contract word for word. Many photographers own the rights to the photos for years. If you want the rights to the pictures make sure that is agreed upon. I know all of this sounds harsh, but I am only looking out for you. Promise. Once you are comfortable with your photographer you should put down your deposit and lock in your date. 

some photographers I suggest:

Ember Grove Photography  

Expressions Photography     Logan Clement Photography 
 

Music: Your DJ can be booked now, or in a couple months, depending on your wedding date. I would also say that you will get the best DJ by word of mouth or personal experience. Bridal boutiques often have business cards or will recommend who they have seen put together a rockin' dance party!

For each vendor you want to book- videographer, photographer, or DJ- read contracts, ask questions, and make sure ALL of your vendors have a passion for what they do! If they have a love for making your day perfect, you will see it in the quality of their work, and by the smile on their face.

Michael also commented on just that-the joy in the job.

"The best thing about what I do is without a doubt getting responses from people after they see their wedding video. Almost nothing else matters in comparison to that email, card, or phone call I get after I show someone how beautiful their video turned out. When someone tells me that we were the best thing they did on their wedding day, I think that makes it all worth it.

The next best thing is getting to be creative, artistic, and really make something beautiful."

Happy contract signing!

Let The Countdowns Begin!

Its getting to that point in time where count-downs are starting to form! 
And considering how much I plan, this only a handful of countdowns that are continually running. I need an app for my phone that can have multiple countdowns, that I can personalize. I should get on that. 

6 days until my final interview with Marriott International!!! Wow. Real life is starting a lot sooner than I would like it too...

16 days until my last VEISHEA celebration at ISU and 21 days until Alumni Relations Dignitaries Day! (on that committee!) I am very excited about this week, besides the fact that I have 3 exams and a project due this week, but nonetheless it will be fun!! It always is. Currently stressful-to the point where I could NOT for the life of me remember the word 'VEISHEA' when asked what office key I needed. Weird.

5 weeks... FIVE WEEKS PEOPLE...until I graduate from my beloved Iowa State University. AHHHHH!!!! I cannot even begin to fathom this amazing four years coming to an end. Eeek. I will be a crying mess at graduation, I just know it. I can barely even write about it without feeling completely nostalgic.

6 weeks until Joe and Melodie get married and I make sure it all goes according to plan. Yay for weddings and happy people in love! And we have a canopy already being set up. Whoop! One more thing off of our to-do list. Soft pink, silver, and grey will create a beautiful glow as the two become one and live happily ever after. :) (I am a sucker for a good wedding...but you already knew that.)

9 weeks until Josh and Callie tie the knot with my help. Would you believe that my little Callie and long-time friend Josh are about to be married! Their whimsical "night under the stars" inspired setting will be soft and romantic as we celebrate Jesus through their marriage.

Picking Your Venues

Howdy Y'all! Welcome back to my blog. I am currently writing weekly about some current and huge topics concerning wedding planning. Here is my first post. Please leave comments or questions. 

First things first: Congratulations on the engagement! I hope you have taken a week and let it soak in, smile big, and show off your new ring. Now, let us begin the exciting and wonderful process of planning your wedding. We have much to do in a time frame that will fly by faster than you could imagine.

Step one is to chose a date, but if a venue for the ceremony or reception is particularly important to you, see what dates they have open before you pick your official date. There are many things to remember, and a few questions to ask, when picking out the perfect venues.

1.     Is your date available?

2.     What is the deposit price and total cost?

3.     What is the capacity for seating with rounds and eight-foot tables?

4.     Do they have an in-house caterer, recommended, or no catering regulations?

5.     What is the alcohol policy?

6.     What are the decoration guidelines?

After you have the answers, and they are to your liking, go ahead and ask a few people for their opinions. Do not waste time making this decision. You want to get your name on that date if you decide to go with that venue. When you have secured your locations, let the daydreaming begin! Start writing down ideas, cutting out pictures, making idea boards, and developing what you want your day to look like.

Thank you for reading!!! Check back in next week for more helpful tips and tricks to planning your perfect day! 

a few links to try out.

ask for my help   www.mywedding.com   www.weddingwire.com   try your local convention bureau

My Family is Growing

Holy engagements!!! I am in wedding heaven

Ryan and Emily get engaged in Paris, on the Eiffel Tower, right before they attend the 2012 Olympic games. Wow, did he set the bar high!!!

Katie and Neil get engaged and will be wed in September 2013!!!

Kylie and Derrick get engaged and will tie the knot on December 31, 2013! 

(Just in case you do not realize, this means-NEW YEARS EVE WEDDING!!!!!!!!)

WHoooooHooooo! I am so excited to help three of my favorite cousins with their huge days.

My cousin Mary, her parents, and myself are hosting an engagement party at our family’s furniture store this August for Katie & Neil and Kylie & Derrick. Invitations are being made and the menu is being picked out. I am in charge of desserts, obviously, and the décor. I want to class things up with heavy hors d’oeuvres, rich desserts, alongside wine and cocktails.

Boys get your fancy pants on and girls bring your dresses-we have a real party on our hands!

More Cake!

a funfetti sprinkle cake with almond buttercream accented with almonds to fit the color scheme 

couple's cake table-scape

shout out to Logan Clement for amazing pictures! check out his work HERE

Quadruple Chocolate!

Chocolate Lovers Unite!!!!

I may have gone a tad overboard with these delectable creations.

Double chocolate cake with chocolate chips baked right into the batter. Then I made chocolate butter cream by adding cocoa powder to the mix. I piped that on and sprinkled the semi-sweet mini chocolate chips! You know that funny white look that chocolate chips get as they age, well I hate it. It will ruin a decoration. To remedy the white coating, I put the chips in a cupboard near the oven. They got warm enough to soften, but not melt, making the white film disappear! Whoo!

YUMMMMMMMMMM!!!!

Hmmm, I wonder what I can bake next! Who has a birthday coming up?

Giant Birthday Cupcakes!

About a month ago I promised to make a batch of sweet treats for my photo taking-coffee loving-friend, Logan Clement. I may have let time slip by, but I would say by the reaction on his face as he took his first bite, it was worth it. 

I went garage sale hunting with a friend a few weeks ago and found a giant cupcake/muffin tin! I knew I had to get it...because really, who the heck does not love a GIANT cupcake. Am I right people? Twice the cake and twice the frosting. I rest my case.

These Funfetti cupcakes came from a box, and with some tricks up my sleeve, they apparently turned out way good! Almond butter cream frosting adorned the top in a swirly pattern of sweet goodness. I know because I licked the beaters. I dressed them up with some fun sprinkles for a pop of color! Logan, being the phenomenal photographer that he is, agreed to take a few fun photos of my latest creation. (Click HERE for his blog!)

Here they are!!!

Top View!

Black and White

Cube Pic!

 A cupcake from Heaven on a Cloud...ha ha!

I may be obsessed with cupcakes, considering I just made another batch for our Call-A-Thon at church, but I just cannot help myself! I LOVE baking!

A Winery Wedding

Sarah & Ben Bradley

March 31st 2012

A day full of God's glory and joyful smiles.

It all started in the Cornerstone Church office when I heard screams of congratulations as the happy couple, sporting matching T-shirts that declared their engagement, walked through the halls. I wondered back to the front desk and heard the story of their epic engagement. As Sarah and Ben got back into work mode, Sarah came up to the front and asked if I could possibly help her with her reception, like I had for a mutual friend the month previous. I told her I would check my calendar. What an awful response- I was terrified to have so much responsibility. After a few weeks, and some serious consideration, I agreed wholeheartedly and dove into the challenge. After months of planning, meeting, chatting, emailing, calling, sending text messages, and visiting locations, the day had arrived. Here are a few stunning photographs from the day. Thanks go to Logan Clement for amazing shots!! (Click on his name for his Facebook page, or click HERE to see his blog.)

 

  Prairie Moon Winery was the place to be that night. The happy couple made the food that was served a huge priority, giving thanks to all of their guests. Christianis Catering served an amazing Italian meal for the 230 guests. They also provided all of the centerpieces, the cake stand, and wine tree! Their staff was an absolute joy to work with, even while I stood there watching each and every move they took. It had to be perfect... ;)

I also had the privilege of helping with the cake top. They decided to go with 300 cupcakes and realized that needed a cake to cut! I volunteered to make them one. I also LOVE to bake...if you had not noticed. I made it the night before, and almost ended up crying as the almond butter cream frosting would NOT stick to the cake. But, after serious prayers, the frosting began to stick. PHEWWWW! And the flowers went in the morning of the wedding. And, if I do say so myself, it looked great!

And besides the random decorations, I took the guestbook very seriously. We had a custom archway built and brought in. I adorned it with lights, ribbon and twine, in order to create a clothesline effect for each guest to attach a note card to. I had empty wine barrels moved under the clothesline for the supplies needed to create a one-of-a-kind signature. It is hard to describe, so here are the pictures! 

The frame holds the directions of how to sign the guestbook. 

 

 

 

Overall, this weekend celebrating the marriage of Ben and Sarah was a total success. Sure some things were misplaced, rushed, and even forgotten. (Oops!) But at the end of the night, they were happily married. Sarah looked BEAUTIFUL and Ben was very handsome. The whole entire wedding party looked pretty sharp too. Families and friends were joining together in laughter and tears of joy. The dancing went long into the night and I slept very well after all was said and done. 

A Look Ahead: A wedding cake for Nathan and Elena this August, a possible baking adventure for Katie and her fiance, and a wedding next May for a couple I work with!!!

A Look Ahead: A Winnery Wedding

Oh weddings, how I love them and all the fun that goes along with each one. I am currently planning and coordinating the reception for a wonderful couple. They are hosting their celebration at Prairie Moon Winery in Ames, Iowa. WHAT A COOL PLACE!!! This rustic hall, complete with distressed wood beams and twinkle lights, comes with a majestic window wall. These floor to ceiling windows makes their vineyard a perfect backdrop for any occasion. I only have to add a few strands of lights to frame out the space. Deep purple and burnt orange will really add to the already wonderful wood tones. I am really excited about this one. The guest book, cake table, gift table, and various other hints of decor will be adorned in purple ribbon and hints of burlap. I am also making their cupcake stand cake topper. If that makes any sense. Pretty much it will be a 6 inch round cake that sits on the very tippy top of this awesome cupcake holder. We picked out their cake and frosting the other day and I am pumped to bake this one! I will be sure to add pictures of the event, but the picture above is a little teaser. We have about seven weeks until the big day! I also get to hang out with a buddy all day! The photographer is also a co-worker of mine. Oh yes, I got a second job, I am now the official music booking agent for Cafe Milo. I love it!

I also got to bake some serious cupcakes for my roommate, Renae. They were triple chocolate cake with coffee buttercream frosting. I only modified it a small amount and it still tasted great! Well, I didn't actually have one, but my roommates eating 12 of them in a span of less than 24 hours confirmed that they were good.

Photography. I dabble.

I decided to dabble in a little bit of photography
and started with a wedding. I know I know....
another wedding that I was somehow involved in.
I have always loved taking photos but this is my
first serious job. I had such a blast and get to hand
over the pictures to the happy couple soon!
Congrats to the Stowes!

Christmas!

Merry Christmas Eve and Merry Christmas everyone! Oh how I do love Christmas and the pure joy that seems to seep out each crack and crevice of any one you run into. Parts of the Midwest were snow-less on this very day, but it was convenient for traveling folks.

Eve. Our festivities began at 5pm with my brother and his girlfriend in tow. We had to get some last minute gifts for our annual white-elephant gift exchange! Of course. Leave it to my brother to wait until the LAST minute. But it surely led to some fun times. We proceeded on our way to my aunts house where dinner, family, friends, and presents were waiting. We took Rigby, our new puppy, who turned out to be a handful, but it was worth the smiles he brought to many faces. After we all ate and told stories that made milk/wine shoot out of our noses, we started circling up for our gift exchange. After an hour of opening, wheeling, dealing, stealing, yelling, hiding, and walking away happy, I unfortunately ended up with a mini pool table and a Huskers bottle-opener. I will not be putting either of these to use anytime soon. I really should have opened my own coffee themed present that I put into the mix. My cousin Kay and I talked in English accents the ENTIRE night. It was rather hilarious. It is so funny that you will prolly fall of your chair laughing. Then my other cousin and I looked at her new house and talked about the wedding coming in June! Cannot wait to be a bridesmaid! Woooo!

Christmas. I woke up late, showered, and got ready for my brother, sister, and her boyfriend to come over for present opening and dinner. It was a small gathering but a fun one nonetheless. I got a few fun things and money for a winter coat! I just love family time and all of the fun that comes from it. Babs, my brothers girlfriend is teaching me how to knit tonight during the second half of Daaaaaaa Bears game! I hope I can make a scarf real fast.

I got to bake with my good friend, Sarah, for our holiday happenings! Here is what we made! We may have gone a tad overboard but had so much fun adding big chunks of holiday goodness to these previously simple almond bark pretzels......Oh, and this was only 1/3 of our goodies! We gave them as gifts. :)

Finals are done. Grades are posted. I am happy. I am home!

Wow it sure does feel good! I was worn out beyond what I thought was possible. Then I elect to work extra hours over break. Ha. WHY? Well, because Christmas is a little expensive! So many people I love that I want to give something to, and so much baking to do. I suppose it all costs money. I have so much blogging to catch up on. Ha ha....shoot. I think, to be organized I will just start a new post!

Here we go! Christmas baking!

Hello Wednesday of Dead Week at Iowa State University! I decided to make triple peppermint sugar cookies last night for our connection group Christmas party! I totally cheated and used pre-made dough, pre-frosting, and already broken candy canes that I crushed just a little bit more. What can I say, I was pressed for time! But nonetheless they were a hit and the recipe made so many cookies! So I shared with our neighbors, the local coffee shop staff, and two apartments full of friends in the building next to mine! I got to hang out with a dear friend of mine, Divya, for a while after I delivered her cookies! She is the biggest encourager ever and I am constantly blessed by her when we get to see each other. Yay for friends that live so close! And now I want to bake more, because it all started with the peppermint. Pinterest has me making...oh I don't know...300 recipes for the holidays! I cannot stop pinning all of the cute things I want to make and share with my family. It does not help that I have been on a diet since September 3rd and will not eat any of these delicious goodies. Maybe I will have to give myself grace for Christmas Eve and Christmas! ;)

Anyways, I should really get back to writing papers for grades instead of using blogging as a valid excuse. Because it is. Ha.

Its Beginning To Look A LOT Like Christmas!!!

Oh happy day! Only two weeks until my semester is done-finished-over-the end, can you tell I am ready!? I have so many ideas for Christmas. Mainly I wish I had a home to decorate, because let's face it, I would probably paint the house in warm winter colors just for the holidays. But, because I don't, I will decorate my parents home and bake a ton! I do want to make ornaments for my Malawi teammates. If it works I will post a pic or two!

As for baking, I wanted to make this Chocolate Wasted Cake but I got sick over Thanksgiving break so that put a damper on things. I also did not get my chocolate covered espresso beans made. Bummer!!! But Christmas break will yield a plethora of desserts as gifts and for our Eve festivities. I want to dip pretzels really badly! I also want to make some sort of peppermint cookie, cake, cupcake, or SOMETHING!

A new goal of mine: I want to pick apart a Psalms or two a day and write all over my bible so that I can revisit my notes later! So far I am loving it!

A Few Thoughts

I want to bake more than I do. It is such a fun and stress reducing activity that lets my creative juices flow. I decided to bake my Orthodontist and his team my trademark Spice Cupcakes. This time I am making an almond butter-cream frosting and topping it with crushed sugar crystals, ground coffee beans, and grated chocolate flakes for that professional finish. They deserve it!! I also will be making a thank you for a couple guys that built me a bench for our balcony! Triple chocolate cookies with vanilla butter-cream sandwiched between 2 gooey morsels. YUM! I know these will be good! I also cannot wait to go home for Thanksgiving break! I will, of course, be making my famous truffles for dessert. I am thinking about trying a new flavor other than original, mint, and pretzel. Any ideas?!? Maybe a peanut butter one is in order! I LOVE peanut butter. And after the holiday I will be making a Chocolate Wasted Cake that I found on Pinterest. I will add a touch of peanut butter for the recipient who loves peanut butter like I do. I am sorry this post is without a picture but just wait for the next 2 weeks and I will have many posts to look at.

And then planning, baking, and all things CHRISTMAS will be unleashed! Bring it on! Wooo!

Wedding Cake!

Wedding cake number one done and being eaten! WoooHooo! I am pretty pleased with how this one came out. The bride and groom were happy too! I got the frosting idea from "i am baker" and tried it out once last Spring, so when Kendra told me she needed a wedding cake, I stepped up to the challenge. We talked a lot about her wedding while we couldn't sleep due to the dog fights in Africa. She took my suggestion of a dessert bar and asked her talented friends to bake lots of goodies! She sent me a text message about 2 months ago worried about her cake and I told her I would be happy to do it. It was a really neat way I could contribute to her big day! Plus that, it served as my wedding gift to the happy couple!!

Here is what went into the cake. Two boxes of vanilla cake mix into two 10 inch and two 6 inch pans. Baked like normal, but for less time. I used a classic buttercream frosting to make roses out of frosting with a 1mm tip. Then I added 24 real roses to bring in the colors of the wedding to the cake! It weighed a TON! It was really fun to make and I had friends hanging out with me all day while I worked on it! We all went to Kenda and Beau's wedding together and got the cake to the reception without any problems! Praise the Lord we didn't hit a bump on our drive!!! I was really blessed with the compliments I recieved but I am really really blessed to have this God-given skill. I sure hope I get to use it again real soon. ;)

The Smith Wedding

Mr. & Mrs. Smith, two of the most fun people I have ever met, got married September 24th and asked me to do their reception hall and all that jazz. It was so fun helping Sarah, a friend of about 15 years, plan all the decor, order the apples, and just help her ideas play out. The picture to the left is the area where the dinner and mingling took place. I am sorry for the ghost-like image in the middle but I had to avoid using the flash. The strands and strands of hundreds of twinkle lights were all borrowed and put up the day before along with the tulle. The tables were set by the staff at the reception hall. The tables had four different centerpieces pieced together with candles, roses, mirrors, glass containers, and rose petals. The entry way had the gift table and the generation table. Both were decorated with apples, lights, candles, and roses to help everything flow together. Their guest-book was unique and required no awkward waiting line to place your signature in a memory book. They had stamped note cards at each place setting with instructions on the wedding favor. The favor was an apple, to tie in all of their wedding colors, with a pinned in leaf containing instructions on how to make their guest book. It was really fun to see people writing notes to the bride and groom. The wedding was Christ centered and the day was breath taking. Thanks go to Mr. and Mrs. Smith for such an incredible day!
(This is the wedding favor)

Happy Friday!

Today is a wonderful day and the sun is shining and the temperature is bearable in good ole' Ames Iowa! Tomorrow is a big day for me. I am officially making my first "cut-the-cake" wedding cake! Holy Cow I am getting nervous about this task. I went to the flower shop yesterday and have 24 dozen white and orange roses being chilled. I have the cake pans and mixers. I picked out my frosting recipe with the help of my brothers Matt, and McClain, and I am ready to get to work bright and early.

I m blessed to be making this cake for my tent mate of 6 weeks, Kendra. We spent last summer in Africa together sharing our lives with orphans. She is such an amazing friend and woman of God and I am honored to be a part of her HUGE day.

Oh my goodness golly I LOVE weddings.