Engagement Entertainment

This weekend I successfully finished asking my closest "sisters" to be my bridesmaids! It took a little longer than I had planned due to schedules and stomach pains that delayed some of the planning, but I wanted to do it in person if I could. I'm so happy to at last have my squad! Given our Beauty and the Beast theme, I could see no other way to ask someone to be a bridesmaid than with a single red rose. As a pretty and personal touch, I also included a monogrammed necklace with their initials on each pendant (gold in color to match our wedding color too)! Unlike, The Bachelor , everyone received a rose--except for one bridesmaid who was not able to travel. Instead, I mailed rose petals for her daughters to practice with (flower girls in training)! The best part of asking was seeing the reactions of my friends. It reminded me of their reactions when I first told them the news that I was engaged. These are just some of my favorites from that announceme...

I've been to conferences, conventions, collectible shows, toy shows, and rock shows (that's rocks and minerals, not rock concerts). My dad has a lot of interests, and he often brought me along to conventions throughout my childhood until his hobbies became my hobbies (not the rock shows so much, but I'm still big into comic book conventions). Many of these events took place right at Cashmen Convention Center in Las Vegas, so I was familiar with the location of the Bridal Spectacular Bridal Show I'd seen advertised on Facebook and websites. I never thought I'd get a chance to go to a bridal show. And though I knew the general structure of a convention "show" (you walk past people's booths or tables as they convince you to buy things or show off the neat stuff they offer) I really didn't know what a "bridal show" was all about. As luck would have it, though most of the Vegas bridal shows are in January ( after my December wedding date...

Is it bad luck to see the groom in his tux before the wedding? I sure hope not, because you can bet I wanted to be there to see my dear fiance try on tuxedos. In addition to helping him pick the right one for our (my) vision, it's always fun to see him get dressed to the nines. Basically what I was hoping for was a blue tuxedo--navy blue classy. Something that would match our color scheme and make him stand out a bit from the crowd and the rest of his groomsmen. He likes blue, and the navy display tuxes were on point, so he didn't object to trying on a few different styles in that color: one with a necktie, one with a bow tie and tuxedo jacket, and one with a suit jacket. I can't tell you which one we picked because even we haven't decided yet (I have my leanings, and he probably has a favorite that he's not telling me so I can choose unbiased, but nothing has been ordered). While I haven't officially finalized my bridesmaid dresses e...

Today I was asked if any of my wedding was going to be DIY (Do it Yourself crafts) or if I was hiring a professional. I answered that it would be a little of both! While I absolutely love the crafting process (as evidenced by my engagement photo shoot preparations ), I can also freak out when things don't go just quite perfectly (see my " controlled chaos " post). So, to feel like I was still involved in the design process but also to relieve myself of some of the stress, I decided that a mix of DIY and funds well spent on pre-made designs seemed like the best way to go. DIY invitation preview! If I was a little bit less of a perfectionist, and a little more patient, I might do more DIY. Because stores like Michael's and JOANN are a little slice of paradise to me. Seriously, I once walked in to Michael's with the intention of buying one specific thing. Literally the instant I walked through the doors I was distracted by a cute display and forgot w...

Karaoke Kisses! I'm singing "I Want to Spent My Lifetime Loving You" from The Mask of   Zorro , by the way. I have a confession to make. I don't really know anything about music. When I was in fifth grade, I was the only girl in class who didn't really know who Madonna was. I wasn't ever sure what kind of music was "hip" or "hot" or "in", and had to rely on the radio station, my friends, and my little brother to tell me what I should be listening to. I didn't learn a musical instrument in middle school or high school. I can't read notes to save my life. I'm not your typical "music" person. But here's the thing: I LOVE music. Even not having a favorite genre or knowing the names of bands or being able to contribute any kind of talent to the art form, I absolutely love songs. I probably couldn't survive my 40-minute commute to work without my playlists. I'm a regular at Karaoke Q, belting ou...

I didn't expect it to rain on my cake tasting day, but given how hot Vegas summers tend to be, I'll take it as a sign of good luck. The rain did bring the temperatures down, and while I worried that my carefully organized paperwork and growing notebook would get soaked, I managed to protect them with a mixture of bags and umbrellas as I hurried my way from the parking lot into a new bakery, Las Vegas Custom Cakes , with the fiance. I like to think of myself as a bit of a bakery connoisseur. I've been baking since around 2007 myself. I've scouted various local bakeries that have come and go and come and stayed in Henderson and Vegas throughout the years. I've ordered custom cakes in the shapes of video game logos, Rubik's cubes, children's book characters, and Disney princesses. I've watched cake design competitions on Food Network and even taken a cake decorating class at JOANN . So I thought I knew a little of what to expect. But I had never...

Tasting number one did not disappoint! As a baker, a foodie, and avid Food Network viewer back when I had cable, food is a very important part of my life (and well, everyone's since we kind of need it to live). I was looking forward to the tasting of our dinner options, not only to check off some crucial decisions that needed to be made, but because we get to eat! And we might be too busy at the wedding to taste the food then. Upon arrival at the venue, we were greeted by our wedding coordinator and taken to a private room with place settings for her meal, our day-of coordinator's, my fiance's, and mine. There were place mats, water glasses, and ivory appetizer plates ready to go--all very classy. The incredibly polite waitress on staff even placed our napkins on our laps for us and made sure our water glasses never dipped below halfway full. It was, honestly, a bit of delightful pampering. The chef came out to introduce each course from hors d'oeuvres options (both...

I felt like June and July were fairly smooth. I jumped on top of the planning process, made contacts, kept notes organized, and made some crucial decisions. Then August rolled around and I found myself having to re-visit some areas and re-evaluate some choices. While having the opportunity to improve  certain aspects of my wedding before they are finalized is ultimately beneficial, the stress of now second guessing myself has made this month a little more bumpy--not so much in terms of the wedding planning itself but in terms of my attitude toward the wedding planning. As much as I enjoy organizing, crafting, creating, and celebrating, it might not be the best idea to put an introverted, indecisive, perfectionist in charge of a wedding. Especially when you want to make everyone happy (including yourself) and everyone has an opinion. I don't mean this in a bad way--others' opinions allow me to see decisions from a different point of view and include things I'd never...

Shh...it's a surprise! Don't share this link too much, or everyone will have already watched it before the big day! But, for your eyes only, a special preview of the photo slideshow/montage we hope to play at the wedding! It's only about four minutes long, and the music may change, but at least you can see if our technology skills have worked!